State of fear
The war on terror has provoked a global state of siege. Richard Swift sees a spreading 'occupation mentality' that may be visiting your neighbourhood soon.

They are watching you
– a survey of how and where.

Be very afraid!
Sara Ahmed on the use and abuse of the selective fear mechanism.

Crackdown
Aziz Choudry charts the way security forces are using anti-terrorist laws against the social justice movement.

Occupied World – THE FACTS

Putin’s terror card
The terror crisis has brought strongarm rule back to Russia, as Fred Weir reports.

Vigilante heaven
In Latin America the forces of order have gone freelance. Anastasia MoLoney exposes the continent's social cleansing industry.

Insecure lives
Jeremy Seabrook explains how the global economy is driving both rich and poor into an insecure future.

An open letter to
George W Bush
Theodore Roszak has had enough.

Counter-Clampdown
A guide to resisting the forces of occupation.

FROM THIS MONTH'S EDITOR

They say the 3,000-odd that died tragically on 9/11 changed everything. But surely 12/26, when a quarter million died in the Asian Tsunami, is a tragedy and date of more profound import. Or are some lives more valuable than others? If we are to have real security in the world, surely there needs to be more equality in how lives are valued.

A few years back we changed the words perched at the top of our front covers from ‘the people, the ideas, the action in the struggle for world development’ to ‘the people, the ideas, the action in the fight for global justice’. Development just didn’t seem to mean much any more – or maybe it meant too much. The word ‘security’ is a lot like the word ‘development’ – it can mean anything to anybody. It’s often hard to wrap your head around just what is intended. There is national security. Old age security. Financial security. Food security. Emotional security. The list goes on and on. The general sense you get is that you can’t have enough of a good thing.

But can you? It is often said that there is a tightrope to walk between freedom and security. Too much of one takes away from the other. So complete security could also mean a complete lack of freedom. Don’t know about you, but that would make me feel pretty insecure.

Richard Swift
for the New Internationalist
Co-operative
rswift@web.ca

Letters
In defence of the IMF; countries should co-operate outside the WTO; why the Left should oppose abortion; money is an illusion.
PLUS: Letter from Lebanon The country has become a playroom for 'Gulfies', as Reem Haddad explains.

Southern Exposure
Ritual drama around the murder of an Inca emperor, photographed in a Peruvian mountain village by Malu Cabellos.

View from the South
The wonder - and the water - of Uruguay's first-ever Left election victory. Eduardo Galeano celebrates.

Currents
Former opium farmers in Afghanistan sell their daughters to pay debts; logging is tearing the Solomon Islands apart; Zimbabwe targets NGOs.
PLUS: WordPower – The language of international relations.
PLUS: Speechmarks and Seriously

Worldbeaters
The rising power in US foreign policy is an intellectual who is as enthusiastic about Boer War history as he is about free trade. Meet Robert B Zoellick.

Big Bad World
Polyp applauds the corporate response to the tsunami.
PLUS: NI Prize Crossword

FRONT COVER ILLUSTRATION: LOU BEACH
MAGAZINE DESIGNED BY: ALAN HUGHES
On-line mag maintained by: Simon Loffler
All monetary values are expressed in US dollars unless otherwise noted.

© Copyright 2005 New Internationalist Publications Ltd. All rights reserved.