In the minds of many Polish politicians and the majority of the public, shale gas is not so much an economic windfall, or a new industry promising employment, or an alternative source of fossil fuels, but a mythological weapon against a mythological enemy, a gargantuan pepper spray against the bad Russian bear.
Earlier this year I reported in an article for QX Magazine upon the 'anti-gay propaganda' legislation being passed in Russia, effectively banning the mention of the word 'gay' upon the streets of large, otherwise cosmopolitan cities such as St Petersburg.
One hundred years after the first international drug control treaty was signed the failure of the "war on drugs" is indisputable. In Europe two distinct trends are emerging around how countries are choosing to tackle drug policy; a punitive, criminalization approach--which is failing dramatically and expensively--or one based on scientific evidence and harm reduction--which is bearing fruits.
If you haven't seen The Price of Sex - Women Speak by Brooklyn photographer Mimi Chakarova- please do. It's a heart-wrenching, deeply disturbing film about young women forced into the underground sex trade. I've met Mimi at the Frontline Club in London, and this is what she told me about the making of the film.