by Shannon Hayes, Yes!, USA - How families are achieving ecological, social, and economic transformation... starting under their own roofs.

by Britta Sandberg, Spiegel, Germany - Less than a decade ago, tourists shunned Morocco because of its poor infrastructure and supposedly unsafe conditions. Now, though, a major initiative started by the country's king has turned Marrakesh into a playground for the world's rich and famous. But not all of the effects have been positive.

by Sarah Posner, American Prospect, USA - At yesterday's National Prayer Breakfast, President Obama revealed that he still falls prey to the idea that religious beliefs are unimpeachable -- even when those beliefs affect the liberty of others.

by Anne Seith, Spiegel, Germany - We all gravitate towards people who are like ourselves. It would help a lot if we could make more men become aware of these dynamics. It would also be helpful if women would be aware of it.

by Melissa Harris-Lacewell, The Nation, USA - When gay men and lesbians can openly and proudly point to their sacrifices for our country then they can call upon our country for full first-class citizenship.

by Anne Seith, Spiegel, Germany - Many countries have started to see a rebound from last year's economic recession. But will it last? Economists at the World Economic Forum in Davos warn that paying down massive public debt will be "very, very painful."

by Kajalie Shehreen Islam, The Star, Bangladesh - Simi, Trisha, Rumi. The stories of girls and women who have been provoked to commit suicide by 'eve-teasers' are common -- even the few which make it to the public eye via the media.

by Sheila Lalwani, Spiegel, Germany - It's no secret that many immigrants have a hard time in Germany. A new study has found that women wearing headscarves have a particularly hard time on the job market and a quarter of those with Turkish backgrounds face discrimination when looking for work.

by Sarah van Gelder, Yes!, USA - There's a growing movement to cancel Haiti's foreign debt as a way to return to the Haitian people the authority to rebuild their lives and their country.

by Sarah E. Mendelson, Foreign Policy, USA - A week after the deadline for closing the detention center, the United States is no closer to a satisfactory outcome.

by Helena Frith Powell, The National, UAE - Whether by choice or necessity, more women are reversing roles with their husbands to become the main breadwinner for the household.

by Samiha Shafy, Spiegel, Germany - While nations bicker about who should cut greenhouse gas emissions and by how much, scientists are dreaming up their own solutions to global warming. A German professor has created a filter which extracts more than a thousand times more carbon dioxide from the air than a tree.

by Sujatha Samy, Tehelka, India - France has to come to terms with the changing face of its society and opt for more nuanced laws that would not alienate its minorities.

by Alyssa McDonald, New Statesman, UK - The Icelandic prime minister talks to the NS about scrambling to rescue an economy under pressure from the UK while under fire from fellow Icelanders.

by Susan Feiner, Dollars & Sense, USA - President Roosevelt knew that significant federal spending was the key to economic security.

by Rebecca Solnit, Le Monde Diplomatique, France - The failure of national governments in Copenhagen doesn’t mean there is no future with them. Much was accomplished – even the refusal to be bullied into a false ‘solution’ accord by the global south. Tiny countries stood up to China. A global movement found its ties.

by Andrea Reidl, Spiegel, Germany - Carbon fiber and aluminum are so 2009. This year's best bicycling model is made out of bamboo and hemp. A new generation of manufacturers are coming up with some of the most environmentally friendly transport yet. Lighter, stronger, more comfortable and these bikes have also got a much smaller carbon footprint.

by Hillary Rodham Clinton, Foreign Policy, USA - The United States seeks a safer, more prosperous, more democratic, and more equitable world. We cannot be assured of that progress when one-third of humankind live in conditions that offer them little chance of building better lives for themselves or their children.

by Amy Goodman, Truthdig, USA - Since stimulus funds will now be directed to supply more scanning equipment at airports, what about spending money to ensure mammograms and prostate exams at community health centers?

by Tara Lohan, Yes!, USA - More and more neighborhoods are making the transition to a climate-friendly community. Has yours?

by Deborah Campbell, The Walrus, Canada - Can Al Jazeera English cure what ails North American journalism?

by Annette Langer, Spiegel, Germany - Eight months after a powerful earthquake struck the Abruzzo region of central Italy, many of its cities and villages still lie in ruins.

by Tara McKelvey, Boston Review, USA - The political fallout from the Iraq war and the government’s failure to care for its veterans has been far-reaching.

by Susanne Koelbl, Spiegel, Germany - The German-ordered bombing in Kunduz left behind dozens of widows and orphans. Now, survivors and relatives of the dead are looking for compensation. Some, though, worry that the money will fall into the hands of the Taliban.

by Ellen Goodman, Truthdig, USA - Countries are wrangling over everything about human-induced climate change except the increasing number of humans inducing it.

by Ellen Brown, Yes! Magazine, USA - State and local leaders are considering creating publicly owned banks that can funnel credit to where it is needed most: directly into the local economy.

by Arundhati Roy, Outlook, India - The low, flat-topped hills of south Orissa have been home to the Dongria Kondh long before there was a country called India or a state called Orissa.

by Jess Smee, Spiegel, Germany - With its massive glass dome, the Plantagon Greenhouse wouldn't look out of place in a sci-fi movie. And if all goes smoothly, one may soon crop up in a city near you. In these days of global warming, its creators argue, it's not a question of if it will become reality but, rather, when.

by Tamar Sharabi, Upside Down World, Canada - An interview with a women's rights leader before the 'free' election.

by Malayapinas, World Pulse, USA - Under the Arroyo government, violence has worsened as more military forces have become involved in the lawlessness and culture of impunity that reigns all over the island.

by Lindsay Beyerstein, In These Times, Canada - Last week in the Phillipines, dozens of politicians and journalists were dragged from a campaign convoy by about 100 armed men.

by Diana Lungu, European Journalism Centre, EU - Over the past decade, myriad reports about human trafficking from or through Moldova have appeared in European and US media. The articles are often sensationalist; they obscure the issue or tarnish the image of entire countries – as well as the mainstream media’s reputation in general.

by Naomi Klein, The Nation, USA - Ten years after the Seattle protests, climate activists are poised to make the U.N. climate change summit their "growing up party."

by Jen Phillips, Mother Jones, USA - Yes, according to a report released yesterday by the United Nations Population Fund. "Women—particularly those in poor countries—will be affected differently than men," the report states.

by Lizzy Ratner, The Nation, USA - These are not happy days for America's young and striving. Young people have lost 2.5 million jobs to the crisis, making them the hardest-hit age group.

by Christine MacDonald, E. Magazine, US - Momentum is building to block new coal-fired power plants and end mountaintop removal mining. Is there enough political will to make the break?

by Lauren Gelfand, World Politics Review, USA - In eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the annual arrival of the holiday season brings with it the sinking realization that no matter

by Ankita Chawla Delhi, Hardnews, India - Obstruction to freedom of expression makes the insistence on one's own space and speech invaluable. When public spaces are patrolled and right to express oneself is suppressed, personal freedom is at stake.

by Julie Hanus, Utne Reader, USA - Most U.S. citizens have been largely insulated from the daily impact of our country’s wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Now, as the nation grapples with the Fort Hood tragedy, we may find we can no longer ignore the psychic burdens that our soldiers must bear.

by Rhyen Coombs, WorldPulse, USA - World Pulse sat down with MP and women's rights activist Mu Sochua in Berkeley, CA, just before she returned to Cambodia, where she fears new charges of treason and prison for her fight against corruption.

by Nancy F. Koehn, Fortune Magazine, USA - First and foremost, Steve Job is an entrepreneur. And that is how history will long remember him. Not primarily as a fiduciary or an institution builder or an administrator (though he has worn all those hats),

by Anna Badkhen, Utne Reader, USA - On a bullet-scarred side street in Baghdad’s downtown, where U.S. Marines famously helped tear down the statue of Saddam Hussein in April of 2003, an inconspicuous entryway tucked between a steel-shuttered shop and a rickety candy stall leads to a flight of steep concrete stairs. Operated despite recurring death threats and lack of government support by a team of 35 Iraqi activists who call themselves the Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq (OWFI), the shelters offer a glint of hope for civil society.

Rakhi Chakrabarty Delhi, Hardnews, India - The obscure 6,000 sq km forest of Abuj Marh is the cynosure of eyes in India's security establishment. It's here in Abuj Marh that the CPI-Maoists have their strategic base and headquarters. No government agency, state or central, has had any existence here, and CPI-Maoists extort money from government contractors, health workers and even school teachers.

by Natalie Parke, Foreign Policy, USA - There is a new humanitarian crisis unfolding in Somalia, and the United States is partly to blame. Despite sending $2 million and 40 tons of arms and ammunition to the country's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) earlier this year, now, the United States is withholding humanitarian aid until relief agencies agree to comply with strict, game-stopping conditions.

by Sharon Begley, NEWSWEEK, USA - Al Gore steps onto the portico of his century-old white colonial, its stately columns framing him and the black Lab mix, Bojangles, that he and his son rescued from a shelter as a birthday present for Tipper.

by Hilary Mann-Leverett, Foreign Policy, USA - Direct US-Iranian negotiations in Geneva and Vienna this month over Iran's nuclear program demonstrate something very positive about the prospects for U.S. diplomacy with Iran.

by Christina Lamb, The Spectator, UK - Since the war on terror began, Christina Lamb has believed that the answer in Afghanistan was to send more soldiers. Now, after eight years of fighting and no end in sight, she has changed her mind. Victory is not an option.

by Anna Quindlen, Newsweek, USA - Assessing a young presidency. Barack Obama campaigned as a populist firebrand but governs like a cerebral consensus builder. The founding fathers wouldn't have it any other way.

By Abigail Hauslohner, Khan Younis, Gaza, Time, USA - Mohammed al-Ghiez sets his laptop on the concrete rooftop of a school in the central Gaza strip. As he turns up the music-a blend of American hip-hop, techno and Palestinian rap-the rest of his B-boy crew starts warming up by jumping rope.

by Ann Jones, The Nation, USA - Gen. Stanley McChrystal says he needs more American troops to salvage something link winning in Afghanistan and restore the country to "normal life."