Islamic State fighters have conquered Rahabi in Iraq. They control the Libyan coast near Sirt. In Syria, they just lost Tall Abyad to the Kurds, but are spreading out in the center of Palmyra. Thomas van Linge is keeping an eye on their movements. The 19-year-old wears a hoodie and, although he only just graduated from high school, he already knows better than most people where the Jihadists are heading, which areas they are occupying and where they've been beaten back. That's because van Linge makes some of the world's best maps of chaotic war zones from the desk of his childhood bedroom in Amsterdam. He has never been to Syria, Iraq or Libya, and he learned Arabic on YouTube. 
 
 The young Dutchman isn't just keeping an eye on Islamic State and its "caliphate," he also knows what the rebels of the Free Syrian Army, al-Nusra Front and Lebanon's Hezbollah are doing. In Libya he's monitoring the Zintan Brigades, in Nigeria he's watching Boko Haram, in Eastern Ukraine he's keeping an eye on the separatists. "All places where people are rising up," he says. 
 
 His maps have been used by CNN, the New York Times and even SPIEGEL. The question is: Why is a 19-year-old interested in the situation at Syrian front lines? And how does he manage to depict these conflicts so precisely, with more details than almost any other professional cartographer? 
 
 Thomas van Linge still lives at home, in a small house near Schiphol Airport, where Star Wars DVDs line the shelves. When he looks out the window, he can see hazelnut bushes and a slide in his front yard. He shrugs with his shoulders -- he has no answer to the question. He's a practical person and believes that everyone should just do what interests them. Afraid of failing at something? No, he says. He claims not to know that feeling. 
 
 At school he did theater. He learned the anthroposophical movement art known as eurythmy and completed an internship in a home for senior citizens. He has collected money for species in danger of extinction and memorized the names of all the birds and mammals of central Europe. He attended a school called the Free School, a Waldorf institution where lessons follow the principles of Rudolf Steiner. One of the ideas of these progressive educators is that students shouldn't only be made to learn how to think and feel, but also how to want -- i.e., how to do things. 
 
 Moving into the Real World 
 
 One evening four years ago, van Linge saw a show on CNN about the Arab Spring in Egypt. He saw furious young people fighting for their freedom on Tahrir Square in Cairo. His mother is a psychologist, his father an economist, and they raised him to be a free thinker who views the world as a place of promise. He says he often wished that others were as free as him. 
 
 So he selected the Syrian civil war as the subject for his specialized work at school. He looked up a map of Syria on Google and began inputting front lines and rebel groups. He used different colors. He established contact with activists and gained their trust. They, in turn, sent him information. Then he continued tinkering with the map. In January 2014, he released it for the first time on his Twitter account, @arabthomness. Now he has over 14,000 followers from around the world. He regularly updates the maps. 
 
 A flood of information flows together on his mobile phone from Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. He Skypes with fighters on the front, corresponds with activists and charities and even gets messages from other cartographers. In all, he claims to use over 1,100 sources for his Syrian maps. 
 
 Now that he is finished with high school, van Linge has been doing a lot of thinking about what he should do next. He says he's like to work freelance, be outside and travel. During his research he learned about a young Syrian whose parents died. She now needs to take care of her little sister alone. Thomas van Linge often thinks about the two. He knows, he says, that his maps don't help the girls. 
 
 That has inspired him to think about traveling to one of the places soon he so far has only known from his maps -- possibly into the Kurdish region in northeastern Iraq. He believes he's spent enough time monitoring the situation from afar. He feels that it's now time for him to help people where their suffering is actually taking place. ||||| Thomas van Linge’s colorful, detailed maps showing which parties control which parts of Iraq, Libya and Syria are a hit whenever he posts them on Twitter. They have been cited on news stories in the Huffington Post, Lebanon’s Daily Star and Vox, as well as on the University of Texas at Austin’s website. But van Linge isn’t a policy expert and he’s never been to the region: In fact, he’s just a Dutch high school student who tracks the war on social media. 
 
 Van Linge, who goes by @arabthomness on Twitter, has amassed nearly 11,000 followers since joining the platform in January 2013, the year he published his first map. Many of his followers work for influential think tanks or suggest policy for the region he maps. 
 
 Van Linge’s latest map of conflict-ridden Syria, updated June 5, 2015, illustrates just how complex the situation in the country has become. In northeastern Syrian Kurdistan, a tip of yellow is mainly in control of the Kurdish YPG (People’s Protection Units), while the country’s west is a mix of red—representing the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad—and varied green blotches representing the Free Syrian Army and mixed rebel and jihadi-controlled countryside. The city of Aleppo is a palette of colors representing myriad forces like Jabhat al-Nusra, Islamic Front and government soldiers vying for power, making normal life for civilians a deadly struggle. 
 
 The rest of Syria is a vast swath of countryside, colored gray, controlled by the militant group Islamic State (ISIS), and punctuated with black circles denoting ISIS-controlled towns and cities. The map is corroborated by news reports from last month that say ISIS now controls around 50 percent of Syria. 
 
 Thomas Van Linge/Newsweek 
 
 “I want to inform people mostly and show people the rebel dynamics in the country,” Van Linge told Newsweek, referring to his motivation for creating his maps. “I also want to inform journalists who want to go to the region which regions are definitely no-go zones, which regions are the most dangerous, and also to show strategic developments through time.” 
 
 Van Linge’s interest in the region was first sparked by the events of the 2011 Arab Spring, particularly the Egyptian revolution. He started following trends in Libya and Syria and made his first map showing the situation for the YPG and Kurdish forces in Syrian Kurdistan in December 2013. Then someone asked him to make a map of Syria as a whole. 
 
 “I hadn’t really considered it at the time, but I was annoyed by other maps that didn’t make the distinction between rebels and ISIS groups of areas, which were still at the time intertwined,” he said. In the past 16 months, he’s also made maps of Eastern Ukraine, Somalia, the Palestinian territories and the northern part of Mali, which saw fighting between Al-Qaeda and Tuareg rebels, although the Syria maps get the most attention. 
 
 When he starts a new map, which usually takes several weeks to finish alongside his schoolwork, Van Linge takes a large file of a blank map and uses the most humble of tools to start coloring it in: Microsoft Paint. 
 
 “I’m not very sophisticated with computers,” he said. 
 
 Thomas Van Linge/Newsweek 
 
 The sources for Van Linge’s maps include Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, as well as personal contacts in the region, including within the Free Syrian Army in Aleppo and others in the Kurdish region north of Aleppo. He estimates he has around 1,000 sources for all his maps, which he uses to corroborate claims of territorial control. 
 
 “When I see, for example, a status update of a rebel group on Facebook in which they claim they’ve captured a small village, then I usually wait until either other sources report it or footage from rebels within that village shows up on YouTube before I make the edit on my map,” said Van Linge. 
 
 He then uses a map tool on Google Earth to make and edit shapes of controlling territories, like the mint green boomerang shape showing a low amount of rebel-controlled countryside in southwestern Syria, which he replicates in the Paint file. 
 
 The finished product is shared on Twitter and is often retweeted several times. Pieter Van Ostaeyen, the Belgian jihadist expert described by the Financial Times as an “armchair terrorist tracker,” has also started republishing the maps on his website. 
 
 Despite Van Linge’s age and relative inexperience in the world of foreign affairs, some Middle East experts have applaud his maps. Joshua Landis, director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, said he finds the maps “among the most useful,” mainly due to the color blocking system employed by Van Linge. Most mapmakers, Landis says, use “spindly strands of highway control” to show the areas run by ISIS, which might underestimate the group’s power. 
 
 “Controlling large swaths of desert, where few people live, is strategically important. No one would make a map of Algeria or Saudi Arabia like this, only ISIS,” said Landis. “By updating his maps frequently and sticking to tradition by trying to depict how much actual territory ISIS controls, Thomas van Linge does us all a favor.” 
 
 Rana Khalaf, a researcher at the Centre for Syrian Studies at St. Andrews University, also found the maps useful, but said it would be helpful to highlight the uninhabited desert regions, as well as to use intersecting lines to show contested areas where control can change overnight. 
 
 Van Ostaeyen, who publishes Van Linge’s maps but primarily uses Twitter to track and communicate with jihadists, also spoke of how helpful the maps are. 
 
 “I found it really interesting to see the evolution of everything going on,” he said. “Thomas’s maps are one of the best published on what’s going on in Syria and Iraq.” 
 
 At the start of their correspondence, Van Ostaeyen didn’t know Van Linge’s age and was impressed when he found out he was a teenager. He wasn’t, however, surprised. 
 
 “I’ve seen so many weird things, like the Shami Witness case [Van Ostaeyen was in close contact with Mehdi Masroor Biswas, the man behind the pro-ISIS account, who was arrested in Bangalore, India, last December], that I can’t be surprised anymore by something,” said Van Ostaeyen. 
 
 Van Linge’s Twitter feed is more than just maps: it’s also a valuable resource for news of ongoing humanitarian crises in the region and around the world. He posts photos of the aftermath of shelling and retweets activists who post graphic photos of children killed by weapons in Syria. He says he does this to raise awareness now that the international media is largely ignoring daily bomb attacks. 
 
 “By tweeting every bombardment, every victim of the Assad regime or ISIS, I believe you’re reminded of these crimes, these events,” said Van Linge. “They’re ongoing everyday even though they don’t make headline news anymore.” ||||| MORE WORLD Jan 14, 2019 By © Mario Sixtus (Creative Commons CC BY 4.0) Join Berliner Gazette’s 20th anniversary initiative on communal tools for planetary challenges! #climate change #migration #digitalization 
 
 Religious discrimination in British state schools Jan 6, 2019 By Many state schools in the United Kingdom are faith schools. These openly select their pupils based on the religious practice of the pupils and their parents. It is a system where a detailed account of how many times you attend a religious service, or the exact age at which your child was baptised determines whether you will manage to get a place in the school of your choice. 
 
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 Edition Les invités de Mediapart Why the Claas Relotius case proves Der Spiegel’s greatness Dec 30, 2018 By Claas Relotius was a prize-winning journalist for German magazine Der Spiegel, described by colleagues as amazingly talented, and on December 3rd he won, yet again, Germany’s Journalist of the Year award. By Monday December 17th, just a fortnight later, Relotius had to kiss goodbye to his career for fake reporting. Italian translator and European affairs commentator Alessio Colonnelli argues here why the debacle has nevertheless not dented his faith in Der Spiegel. 
 
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 Heecheon Kim in conversation with Hilde Teerlinck - Gwangju, South Korea Dec 2, 2018 By This is a transcript of a conversation between artist Heecheon Kim and curator and director of the Han Nefkens Foundation, Hilde Teerlinck, during their visit to the Gwangju Biennale. The Han Nefkens Foundation produced the video Every Smooth Thing Through Mesher which was shown at the Gwangju Biennale 2018. 
 
 Patience has burst: EU's 'red card' for Moldova Nov 26, 2018 By A former employee of Moldova's Foreign Ministry, expert and political scientist, Andrei Burachev, examines the current situation in Moldova. 
 
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 Immigrant children contemplate escape, even suicide as months pass in Chicago shelters Sep 9, 2018 By Internal documents reveal despair and tedium in one of the United States’s largest shelter networks for unaccompanied minors. Melissa Sanchez, Duaa Eldeib and Jodi S. Cohen report for ProPublica. 
 
 Edition Les invités de Mediapart An appeal for justice for the deported Chagossian people Aug 31, 2018 By The Chagossians are a people who were forcibly removed by Britain from their Indian Ocean homes in the Chagos Islands between 1968 and 1973 in order to provide the United States with an airbase on the island of Diego Garcia. Five decades on, they continue to fight for their right to return to their homeland, and their case will be heard by the International Court of Justice of the United Nations beginning on Monday, September 3rd. This is a solemn appeal to to eight American film directors to help the Chagossians find justice at last. 
 
 48 hours in Charlottesville: fear, nausea, and a sad lack of surprise Aug 12, 2018 By A year on, ProPublica's reporter A.C. Thompson says the violence at the white nationalist rally in Virginia in August 2017 did not shock him - but the inaction in the face of it did. 
 
 Edition Les invités de Mediapart The story of five young Palestinians at the World Cup in Paris Jul 14, 2018 By Al Jazeera English's chief political analyst, Marwan Bishara, tells here the story of a group of young Palestinians who came to Paris to attend the football World Cup in 1998. "I think about these young men and those glorious days whenever there’s a World Cup," he writes, "and I bet, like me, they wish Croatia luck but are rooting for Les Bleus on Sunday." 
 
 The duty to investigate, the courage to reveal Jul 1, 2018 By By Edwy Plenel The truth needs help and that's why Mediapart needs you. Now, more than ever, lies are all around us, serving the vested interests of political and economic powers. Over ten years there have been countless issues of public interest that would never have emerged without our investigative work. For this work to continue, in total independence, we've just one means of support: your subscription. 
 
 Mediapart celebrates ten years. It's not enough! Jul 1, 2018 By By Edwy Plenel Earlier this year Mediapart presented its turnover, accounts and financial results at a press conference. This springtime exercise in transparency, which is something of an exception in the media, was also an opportunity to take stock of Mediapart's first decade - before going on to invent the next one. 
 
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 Major religions sing from the same hymn sheet on assisted dying Mar 6, 2018 By By Melextra JET Relying primarily on the word of a Christian union representative, the traditionally Catholic newspaper La Croix reports on the unity of the major Abrahamic religions in France with regard to the ethics of end of life issues, and how this show of thoughtful solidarity has apparently impressed the French government's social advisory body. 
 
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 French thyroid patients face Kafkaesque pill shortage after drug scandal Jan 16, 2018 By If you have a thyroid problem, better not to live in France. Last year angry patients hauled the French health authorities over the coals after enduring months of sickness from a new version of their sole treatment. So the government promised a choice of drugs. Yet three months later, those drugs are very hard to find. Not fun if your health depends on taking the right pill every day. 
 
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 We demand the release of Loup Bureau Aug 21, 2017 By By La SDJ De Mediapart French journalist Loup Bureau was arrested on the Turkey-Iraq border on July 26th and then arbitrarily detained and placed under investigation for “participating in a terrorist group”. In this joint statement by the Société des Journalistes (journalist ethics watchdog committees) from 13 French media organizations, including Mediapart, we demand his immediate release. 
 
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 Edition ProPublica How a major US internet company helps serve up hate on the web May 8, 2017 By Cloudflare, a prominent San Francisco outfit, provides services to neo-Nazi sites like The Daily Stormer, including giving them personal information on people who complain about their content, reveals US investigative website ProPublica. 
 
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 'As a white nationalist, what do you do?’ Dec 18, 2016 By US investigative website ProPublica talks to Chip Berlet, who has spent the past four decades studying right-wing political movements as a writer, activist and scholar, about the forces behind President-elect Donald Trump’s ascendance. 
 
 Climate : The End of the Paris Prophecy Dec 12, 2016 By Donald Trump’s election win is bad news for the Paris Agreement and very bad news for the climate. Here's a piece by Maxime Combes & Edouard Morena initially published in Jacobin. 
 
 How journalists need to begin imagining the unimaginable Nov 25, 2016 By Journalist Masha Gessen, who has spent years reporting on Vladimir Putin’s rule in Russia, talks to US investigative website ProPublica about how her colleagues in the industry should be covering President-elect Donald Trump. 
 
 I, Daniel Blake Nov 13, 2016 By © Entertainment One UK Wow! What a powerful film 'I Daniel Blake' is. Sitting in the cinema and climbing into Daniel’s world for 100 minutes is painful. Somehow Ken Loach is able to transport you into the shoes of principal characters Daniel and Katie and as a result, with each passing scene your anger and empathy rise to great heights. It’s exhausting! 
 
 Edition Les invités de Mediapart Barack Obama’s legacy for black America Oct 31, 2016 By By La Rédaction De Mediapart “In black America, the Obama presidency and the backlash it provoked have rekindled a spirit of resistance not seen since the era of Black Power, both in politics, with the rise of Black Lives Matter, and in culture,” writes Adam Shatz, a New York-based contributing editor of the London Review of Books and a scholar in residence at the New York Institute for the Humanities. 
 
 US identifies key player in IS attacks on Europe Oct 30, 2016 By American officials say the investigation of the assaults on Paris and Brussels has led them to a shadowy Moroccan militant who was raised in Southern France and now lives in Syria. Sebastian Rotella reports for US investigative website ProPublica. 
 
 Passport Control Oct 11, 2016 By By John Von Sothen Passport control in US airports used to be a no man’s land politically. No longer so. I recently noticed small changes put into place, changes I wouldn’t have picked up on had Fox News not been staring me right in the face. 
 
 Brexit pledges on immigration prove worthless Oct 11, 2016 By By Jack78 UK government minister's statement casts doubt on EU immigration promises made during referendum. 
 
 'Terror in Europe' - new documentary Oct 8, 2016 By The recent series of terror attacks in France and Belgium lay bare an array of security shortcomings, most of which remain unaddressed. In a forthcoming documentary, investigative news site ProPublica and investigative TV documentary makers Frontline examine what went wrong and why it is so hard for Europe to protect itself from the growing threat. 
 
 Edition ProPublica Amazon and its pricing algorithm Sep 22, 2016 By Amazon bills itself as “Earth’s most customer-centric company”, but this report by US investigative website ProPublica found that its algorithm is hiding the best deal from many customers. 
 
 Europe’s Left after Brexit by Yanis Varoufakis Sep 6, 2016 By The former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis lays out plans by DiEM25 – the Democracy in Europe Movement - for resisting from within the European Union. 
 
 What I learnt from teaching at the 'Jungle' in Calais Sep 2, 2016 By By La Rédaction De Mediapart British volunteer Lena Anayi has spent time teaching French to migrants at the so-called 'Jungle' in Calais. Here she recounts her experiences and explains why she wants the plight of the migrants to stay high on the news agenda. 
 
 To Be or To Have? Aug 22, 2016 By Just when you think you are getting to grips with the language something as basic as the difference between 'to be' and 'to have' knocks you off your perch. 
 
 ‘Clothing like any other...’ Aug 17, 2016 By By Edwy Plenel Several mayors of French seaside towns have slapped a ban on the wearing of burkinis, the Islamic full-body swimsuit, on local beaches, citing a supposed threat to public order and even hygiene. Mediapart editor-in-chief Edwy Plenel argues here that the ban is an outrageous stigmatisation of French Muslims in a society that is losing sight of the fundamental rights of citizens. 
 
 Who do EU love? A letter to the 48% Jul 4, 2016 By Dear 48%, I was delighted to see you take to the streets on Saturday, but puzzled by some things you said. 
 
 Edition ProPublica The best reporting on Donald Trump Jul 31, 2016 By If elected president, Donald Trump has promised to “open up” libel laws so he can sue news organizations like they’ve “never got sued before.” While the First Amendment is still intact, US investigative website ProPublica compiled a list of some articles he might have his eye on. 
 
 Edition ProPublica The best reporting on Hillary Clinton Jul 31, 2016 By Clinton has been in the public eye for four decades - and there have been investigative stories about her for nearly as long. US investigative website ProPublica presents a chronological guide to them. 
 
 Brexit: Why I accept it but do not respect it Jun 25, 2016 By After Britain voted for Brexit European political leaders have been saying that they regret but respect the decision. I don't. That is, I accept the democratic verdict of the British people, of whom I am part, but I don't find anything to respect in there. Particularly as people like me were excluded from voting. 
 
 Why I want the UK to stay in the EU Jun 21, 2016 By The UK really is divided in two for this landmark vote and it looks as though the outcome will be a nail biting finish as it is ridiculously too close to call. Around 3 weeks ago I’d have said that the vote lay slightly in favour of staying with the EU but now it appears that slightly more people want Brexit... 
 
 Britain's alarming propensity to disenfranchise citizens Jun 15, 2016 By Nowadays we believe that democracy is one person, one vote. But does nationality or place of residence confer the right to vote? Britain has got those criteria all mixed up in its referendum on membership of the European Union. Up to two million Britons living abroad are disenfranchised, but some non-Brits living in the UK are able to vote. It doesn't make sense. 
 
 Edition English Club Mediapart English wants your views! May 17, 2016 By By Graham Mediapart English, the English-language section of Mediapart, invites your blog contributions about whatever topic stirs you, concerning France or elsewhere in the world, which can be published here on our homepage Club column in a spirit of debate and exchange. 
 
 "For the Muslims": my book about Islamophobia in France Jun 8, 2016 By By Edwy Plenel Published in French in 2014, my book about islamophobia in France is now avalaible in English, at Verso Books. Added to this English edition is a previously unpublished foreword and articles written after the Paris attacks of 2015. 
 
 Wear patterns: how what’s missing can help us see data better May 1, 2016 By Lena Groeger of US investigative website ProPublica asks: What answers can we find by looking at data that appears in the real world as a byproduct of what has been “used up” or “worn down”? What can we tell from what’s left over? 
 
 Mexican human rights defenders say they are target of smear campaign Apr 25, 2016 By Ginger Thompson of US investigative website ProPublica writes: On the eve of the release of a report investigating a student massacre in 2014, its authors and other human rights advocates feared an attempt to pre-empt the findings and discredit the work. 
 
 Edition ProPublica Meet the Panama Papers editor who handled 376 reporters in 80 countries Apr 18, 2016 By Eric Umansky of US investigative website ProPublica writes: As the Panama Papers continue to embarrass leaders across continents, one thought has kept occurring to me: how the hell did the organizers pull it off? How did they make sense of so many documents? And, most importantly, how did they stay sane during it all? So I spoke with Marina Walker Guevara, who helped shepherd the project. 
 
 Spies and shadowy allies lurk in secret with help from offshore firm Apr 6, 2016 By By Danyves Firm helps CIA operatives and other characters — real or fanciful — from the world of espionage set up offshore companies to obscure their dealings 
 
 Edition Les invités de Mediapart Building independence Mar 16, 2016 By By La Rédaction De Mediapart Mediapart was launched eight years ago, on March 16th 2008. Here we present a few facts and figures about our development, beginning with an introduction from editor-in-chief Edwy Plenel on the construction of Mediapart’s independence. 
 
 Edition ProPublica Belgium's deadly circles of terror Mar 24, 2016 By Coordinated bombings in Brussels may have been in the works for a long time, aided by an underworld where crime and extremism blur together, reports US investigative website ProPublica. 
 
 France opts out of International Conventions on Human Rights Feb 22, 2016 By By Melextra JET Editor of technological news website Next INpact, Marc Rees, reports that France has requested a derogation from the UN's International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Having already temporarily opted out of the European Convention on Human Rights, Rees shows that the French state is therefore currently contravening all of the international human rights agreements it has helped to draft. 
 
 The State of Emergency in concrete terms Feb 22, 2016 By By Melextra JET The morning after the State of Emergency was imposed, French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve outlined its key aspects. This article from the website of national radio station France Info was one of the first to reveal details of the new security measures. 
 
 State of Emergency: introduction Feb 22, 2016 By By Melextra JET In this blog on the theme of the French State of Emergency, a group of Lille University masters students present a range of reports from the French media about the security measures introduced in the wake of last year's terrorist attacks. Their English versions of the articles, complete with glossaries and notes, provide an insight into how the French press is treating this controversial subject. 
 
 Edition Les invités de Mediapart Yanis Varoufakis: a manifesto for democratising Europe Feb 4, 2016 By Former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, who last September stepped down from his post in the radical-left Syriza government, has launched his Democracy in Europe movement, DiEM25. Its ambitious aim is a radical overhaul of Europe’s institutions and the introduction of absolute transparency in decision-making, to be completed by 2025. Mediapart publishes here the manifesto Varoufakis presented in Berlin on February 9th, a plan to “regain control over our Europe from unaccountable ‘technocrats’ and shadowy institutions”. 
 
 Edition ProPublica I ramped up my internet security, and you should too Jan 26, 2016 By Some people make dieting resolutions in the New Year. I make security and privacy resolutions, because those are the things that keep me up at night, writes ProPublica reporter Julia Angwin in this account of how she upped her defences against hackers and spies. 
 
 Edition ProPublica The corporate takeover of the American Red Cross Dec 14, 2015 By Gail McGovern, a former AT&T executive who had taught marketing at Harvard Business School, was hired as CEO of the American Red Cross in 2008 to revitalize the charity. Seven years on, it has cut hundreds of chapters and shed thousands of employees, reports US investigative website ProPublica. 
 
 'Change the system … ' : Why I did not hang a flag in my window… Nov 30, 2015 By Last Friday, a solemn tribute was given to the 130 victims of the Paris attacks. French flags outside of windows and tweet #ProudofFrance. A national unity cleverly orchestrated from which it was difficult to escape without feeling vaguely guilty. But martial ripost instead of a global response and COP 21 hypocrisy - this is the system that needs to change. 
 
 Letter to my generation Nov 25, 2015 By After the Paris attacks of November 13th, a battle cry similar to that of Charlie Hebdo's pen has been relayed on internet quite widely. This letter is a proposition to go beyond the mere symbol and to question ourselves on our society. 
 
 At Wembley Nov 23, 2015 By At Wembley Stadium, on Tuesday, 71,000 fans gathered to watch a France-England friendly and pay homage to the victims of last week’s attacks in Paris. The audience put on a brave face, chanting and jumping and waving their flags, but just four days on from an act of terror that claimed 130 lives, there was little joy to be had. 
 
 What Paris means to those who grieve Nov 18, 2015 By I was caught in a kind of crossfire after the Friday attacks in Paris: soothed by all the messages of compassion, solidarity and love for Paris, and disturbed by those who understood these messages as indicative of a partial attitude towards tragedies that unfold around the world. 
 
 Pre-COP: the gap between 2°C and 3°C is leading to new climate crimes Nov 8, 2015 By Three weeks ahead of the opening of COP21, French foreign minister Laurent Fabius hosts a Pre-COP meeting in Paris between November 8-10, a penultimate gathering of ministers from around one hundred countries. A meeting with civil society organisations was held on Sunday morning. Here is the statement delivered on behalf of Attac France, as a member of the international coalition Climate Justice Now. 
 
 Live on Mediapart: Yanis Varoufakis's view of Europe Sep 24, 2015 By By La Rédaction De Mediapart Yanis Varoufakis was a guest on Friday's special live and open access broadcast from Mediapart. The broadcast came five days after Greece's Parliamentary elections and Alexis Tsipras's former finance minister gave his verdict and observations on the outcome. Yanis Varoufakis also set out his vision of Europe and the profound reforms that need to be carried out in the eurozone to ensure that the single currency is no longer the instrument of a generalised policy of austerity in Europe. Listen to the broadcast (Varoufakis spoke in English with simultaneous French translation). 
 
 Edition Les invités de Mediapart The Paris Subterfuge: Budgeting for a Climate Tragedy Nov 5, 2015 By Clive Hamilton, Australian thinker and economist, is Professor of Public Ethics at Charles Sturt University in Canberra, a member of the Australian government's Climate Change Authority and the author of "Requiem for a species" and "Earthmasters: Playing God with the climate". Three weeks before the opening of the COP 21 climate conference in Paris, he raises here two major questions: "What will be the magnitude of the global carbon budget?" and "What is the proportion of total carbon budget allocated to each nation?" 
 
 Edition Les invités de Mediapart Piano Concerto no. 5, The Intifada ! Oct 26, 2015 By For the Palestinian students demonstrating at the Beth El checkpoint at the entrance to Ramallah, the English writer John Berger proposes renaming Beethoven’s Piano Concerto no. 5, The Intifada. « They too are inspired by a vision of happiness they cannot know in their lives. I send the Concerto as an arm to be used in their struggle against the Israelis who occupy and colonize their homeland. » 
 
 Edition ProPublica The colour of debt: how collection suits squeeze black neighbourhoods Oct 15, 2015 By In the United States, debt collection lawsuits are far more common among black communities than white ones reveals this report by investigative website ProPublica in a first-of-its-kind analysis of the issue. 
 
 Again on Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century Oct 5, 2015 By 
 
 Edition English Club A Plan B in Europe Sep 12, 2015 By Why we are convening an international summit on a plan B for Europe, open to willing citizens, organisations and intellectuals, by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Member of the European Parliament, co-founder of the Parti de Gauche (France), Stefano Fassina, Member of the Italian Parliament, former Italian deputy minister of economy and finance (Italy), Zoe Konstantopoulou, President of the Hellenic parliament (Greece), Oskar Lafontaine, former German minister of finance, founder of Die Linke (Germany) and Yanis Varoufakis, Member of the Greek Parliament, former Greek minister of finance (Greece). 
 
 Refugees in Budapest Sep 8, 2015 By By Gabihorn This morning it seems from media reports that the Hungarian police has given up trying to register the crowds of refugees coming through the broder with Serbia: "Have something to eat and drink, then go where you like " is what migrants arriving in Hungary are told now. 
 
 Refugees: learning from the past Sep 6, 2015 By This blog is both a cry of outrage and a plea: this is not the first time Europe has seen a tide of refugees, so let’s take the lessons from our recent past and stop greeting the terrible tragedy of today’s refugees with political and bureaucratic injustice. 
 
 In Istanbul, three Syrian families look to the EU Sep 3, 2015 By By Alain Devalpo More than 1.8 million Syrian refugees are now living in Turkey. Despite a long tradition of welcoming refugees, the infrastructure put in place at the start of the Syrian civil war can no longer cope with such a high number of refugees. Here, three Syrian families who settled in Istanbul recount their experiences, the precariousness of their situations, and their plans to reach Europe. 
 
 Freeze fossil fuel extraction to stop climate crimes Aug 27, 2015 By By La Rédaction De Mediapart A hundred well-known figures have launched an appeal for a climate uprising, in the spirit of the social movements that put an end to the crimes of slavery, totalitarianism, colonialism and apartheid. Fossil fuels must be left in the ground, they should no longer be extracted and they should no longer be subsidised, say campaigners. 
 
 Edition Les invités de Mediapart Our Athens Spring Aug 25, 2015 By Former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis was the guest speaker at the yearly socialist ‘fête de la Rose’ gathering in Frangy-en-Bresse in Burgundy on August 23rd, invited by former French economy minister and anti-austerity campaigner Arnaud Montebourg. This is the text in full of Varoufakis’ revealing and insightful speech. 
 
 Edition ProPublica Amid drought, California experiments with leasing water rights Aug 7, 2015 By The state’s cities need water, and its farmers have it. Could leasing rights to it solve the crisis responsibly, asks US investigative website ProPublica in this analysis article by Abrahm Lustgarten. 
 
 Edition ProPublica A pharma payment a day keeps US doctors' finances OK Jul 7, 2015 By New data on payments from drug and device companies to US doctors show that many of the latter received payments on 100 or more days last year. Some even received payments on more days than they didn’t, reports US investigative website ProPublica, in a series of investigations tracking the financial ties between doctors and medical companies. 
 
 Edition ProPublica Left in the brain: the potentially toxic residue from MRI drugs Jun 17, 2015 By Researchers have raised alarms about unknown health risks of GE Healthcare’s Omniscan and Bayer’s Magnevist, drugs injected to get better MRI pictures that contain the heavy metal gadolinium. US investigative website ProPublica reports on the disturbing evidence. 
 
 #OpenEurope – an appeal for stories Jul 1, 2015 By By La Rédaction De Mediapart Get involved, tell us your stories, pass on the news! Mediapart this year launched operation #OpenEurope in partnership with seven European and Tunisia media outlets plus a number of associations, collectives and NGOs. The aim: to make people more aware of the migrant tragedy and pass on details of how people all over Europe are doing something about it. For that, your participation is vital. 
 
 Turkey: the temptation to legalise the violation of human rights May 17, 2015 By By Alain Devalpo While Turkey gets ready for a crucial general election on June 7th, more than 40% of voters say they would not trust the results and are afraid of major electoral fraud. In this context, the recent vote by the Turkish parliament on 'internal security' legislation is not reassuring. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s plan allows for the legalisation of certain human rights violations. Here academic Ibrahim Kaboğlu, a prominent figure in Turkish society, reacts against this security policy that started in the wake of the Gezi Park demonstrations. 
 
 Edition ProPublica When a US newspaper stared down the country’s largest advertiser Apr 22, 2015 By A little-remembered incident helped establish the notion that news organizations could and should preserve their independence from advertisers, reports US investigative website ProPublica. As Wall Street Journal publisher Barney Kilgore told Time magazine: "For years almost everything in Detroit has been 'off the record.' We just decided not to play it that way. It isn't journalism." 
 
 Edition Les invités de Mediapart What is common to the US, Greece, Portugal and others concerning Germany? May 12, 2015 By Inspired by a talk I had with two statisticians in the National Statistical Institute of Portugal, and against the background of the repeated critique by the US Department of the Treasury Office of International Affairs on German economic policy, I analysed the foreign trade between Germany and Portugal. The result clearly supports the argument of the US Treasury – and shows what European politics lacks most, writes Thorsten Hild, editor of the German online journal Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft – Analyse & Meinung. 
 
 Edition ProPublica Hillary Clinton’s top five clashes over secrecy Mar 17, 2015 By The latest flap over Hillary Clinton's private emails when secretary of state is far from the first time she’s been accused of lacking transparency. 
 
 Edition ProPublica Alberto Nisman and Argentina’s history of assassinations and suspicious suicides Feb 16, 2015 By Whether the death of crusading Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman is found to be a suicide or homicide, many Argentines probably won’t believe it. The past has taught them to always look for the sinister explanation. 
 
 In Diyarbakir, in Turkey, the Kurds are gaining their autonomy step by step Feb 26, 2015 By By Alain Devalpo The Kurdish capital of Turkey, which has two millions inhabitants, faces a perilous time but is also full of hope. Since the start of the 20th century, the Kurds have been split between Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey, but today this population without a state is at the heart of the reconstruction of the Middle East. 
 
 On Charlie Hebdo: A letter to my British friends Jan 11, 2015 By Dear friends, A horrid assault was perpetrated against the French weekly Charlie Hebdo, who had published caricatures of Mohamed, by men who screamed that they had “avenged the prophet”. A wave of compassion followed but apparently died shortly afterward and all sorts of criticism started pouring down the web against Charlie Hebdo, who was described as islamophobic, racist and even sexist. Countless other comments stated that Muslims were being ostracized and finger-pointed. 
 
 Edition English Club Scholars' Appeal for Greece Feb 5, 2015 By We the undersigned call on the governments of Europe, the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the IMF to respect the decision of the Greek people to choose a new course and to engage the new government of Greece in good faith negotiations to resolve the Greek debt. 
 
 Turkey: international press freedom on hold Feb 16, 2015 By By Alain Devalpo After the army, the judges, the police and the Turkish press, the conservative Turkish government keeps on finding new internal enemies. It is now the turn of international journalists to be the target of this government through attacks via the news or social media and even legal action. 
 
 On religion and irreverence. Analyzing the response to the Charlie Hebdo massacre Jan 20, 2015 By 
 
 Edition ProPublica Judge orders NYPD to release records on bomb-sniffing X-ray vans Jan 20, 2015 By The New York Police Department has a secretive programme that uses unmarked vans with X-ray machines designed to detect bombs. US investigative website ProPublica tried to find out more about it, but the NYPD refused to answer for three years. Now a state judge has ordered the New York City Police Department to release records on the programme. 
 
 Vive la Résistance! Jan 12, 2015 By Those who attacked France last week forgot that this is the country of resistance. On Sunday 11th January, 2015, a sea of people – no, an ocean – demonstrated against the killers of Charlie Hebdo, the assassins of ordinary police officers and the gunning down of Jews. It was a staggering sight to see, and was followed around the world. 
 
 Charlie Hebdo attack: this is not a clash of civilisations Jan 12, 2015 By The attack on Charlie Hebdo was an abominable tragedy. It struck the heart of one of our capitals and symbols of our democracies as terrorists attacked our freedom of the press. 
 
 Leviathan, directed by Andrei Zvyangintsev Dec 28, 2014 By Set in a remote village in the north of Russia, Leviathan tells with tragic beauty the story of Kolya, a car mechanic, in his struggle to prevent the local mayor from expropriating and redeveloping his land. 
 
 You can't kill the spirit Jan 7, 2015 By Paris, 7th January 2015.The day they tried to kill freedom.They don't know this song:“You can’t kill the spirit*She is like a mountainOld and strongShe goes on and on”... 
 
 No Justice in Lima Outcome Dec 14, 2014 By Late in the night, 194 countries of the UN framework convention on climate change finally found an agreement. Far from satisfactory, this agreement jeopardizes any "historic agreement" in Paris. The climate justice NGOs and movements, including Attac France and the Friends of the Earth France, have released this first analysis. 
 
 2015: a landmark year in Turkish-Armenian relations Dec 3, 2014 By By Alain Devalpo The year 2015 approaches and with it a series of commemorations to mark the centenary of the Armenian genocide. On November 22nd and 23rd, 2014, the Hrant Dink Foundation organised various lectures at the University of Ankara where participants discussed the closed border between the young Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Turkey. 
 
 Mediapart receives Jaime Arias award for journalistic excellence Dec 2, 2014 By By La Rédaction De Mediapart The Association of European Journalists in Catalonia and the Barcelona daily newspaper La Vanguardia have named Mediapart as the recipient of the inaugural Jaime Arias award for journalistic excellence, a prize that was created this year in memory of one of the leading figures in Catalan journalism.
– Thomas van Linge has become one of the most respected cartographers around when it comes to tracking global conflicts, including the advances of ISIS, Boko Haram, and separatists in Ukraine. His highly detailed, color-coded maps have been picked up by CNN, the New York Times, and the Huffington Post, among other media—and the 19-year-old creates them all from his childhood bedroom in Amsterdam, reports der Spiegel. Yes, 19. And the young activist has never even been to any of the war-torn regions he documents and taught himself Arabic on YouTube. "I want to inform people mostly and show people the rebel dynamics in the country," he told Newsweek in June. "I also want to inform journalists who want to go to the region which regions are definitely no-go zones, which regions are the most dangerous, and also to show strategic developments through time." How did a Dutch teen get to become one of the foremost armchair cartographers in the world? He tells Newsweek his interest was sparked while watching 2011's Arab Spring uprising, which spurred him to start following what was going on in Syria. He released a map in 2014 of that region on his Twitter account, which now boasts more than 15,000 followers who retweet his creations. Each map, which he colors in using Microsoft Paint, takes van Linge a few weeks to finish, using social media, YouTube, and any of his 1,000-plus sources on the front lines to gather and corroborate information, he tells the magazine. What's next for van Linge? He's contemplating heading to one of the far-off lands he's been mapping out to help the people suffering there in person, Spiegel notes. Check out a Syria territory progression video using van Linge's maps here. (Or click to read about a much-mapped island that doesn't actually exist.)