Twenty years has passed since the Age of Extremes was published. Despite of the relative shortness of this period it shows new or newly seen changes on the global scene. The direction and magnitude of these changes are still not clear but this does not lift the need for analysing them and to investigate the possible social and political actions stemming from them.

See the original article in New Left Review 61, January-February 2010.

"Personal responsibility cannot be taken by so many of our fellow countrymen. The society should take it that provides neither sufficient jobs nor income for them," concludes the well known leftist economist in his study written for the European Social Watch 2010 report.

The decade long imperialist war waged by the US in Afghanistan now obviously seems to be lost. The defeat is partly due to the internal affairs of Afghanistan, the special features of the Afghan society and partly due to the mistakes and crimes made by the political and military leadership of the US. The war and its expected outcome are the failure of Washington and also the personal political fiasco of president Obama.

Original article: James Petras: Afghanistan: The Longest Lost War. Global Research, June 16, 2010 http://www.globalresearch.ca/PrintArticle.php?articleId=19758

This analysis shows that the present conflict between the Kyrgyzes and the Uzbeks is not a rebirth of a traditional "ethnic conflict" but sprang from the internal fight between the different fractions of the Kyrgyz elite. The tension was artificially agitated to meet specific economic and political goals. The author also outlines the social roots and international background of the conflict.