Recommendations

Books
Bohm, David: On Dialogue. Routledge 2004.

From the back cover:

Never before has there been a greater need for deeper listening and more open communication to cope with the complex problems facing our organizations, businesses, and societies. Renowned scientist David Bohm, ‘one of the most searching thinkers in modern physics’ (Nature), believed there was a better way for humanity to discover meaning and to achieve harmony. He identified creative dialogue, a sharing of assumptions and understanding, as a means by which the individual, and society as a whole, can learn more about themselves and others, and achieve a renewed sense of purpose.

Held, David: Models of Democracy. 3rd ed. Stanford University Press 2006.
Hofstede et al: Cultures and Organizations, Software of the Mind: Intercultural Cooperation and Its Importance for Survival. 3rd ed. McGraw-Hill 2010.

A brilliant book that describes cultural differences and explains what is behind them. In this edition there’s also a chapter on evolution of cultures which is fascinating to read.

Isaacs, William. Dialogue and the Art of Thinking Together. Doubleday 1999.

A good book on dialogue, combining Bohm dialogue and systems thinking in an easily readable form.

Jordan, Bill: Social Policy for the Twenty-First Century. Polity Press 2007.

“Social Policy for the Twenty-First Century provides a thoughtful and comprehensive analysis of social policies and their roles in the transformations in human development, economic development, social relations, politics, redistribution, and social justice in the current intensely globalized era. The volume is most impressive in its truly global reach, and in the fascinating cases that serve as examples of the complex issues of wellbeing and policy.” Joya Misra, University of Massachusetts

Lefebvre, Henri: Critique of Everyday Life 1-3. Verso 2008.

I’m in still the process of reading these but I quote the back cover: “A work of enourmous range and subtlety, Lefebvre takes as his starting-point and guide the ‘trivial’ details of quotidian experience: an experience colonized by the commodity, shadowed by inauthenticity, yet one which remains the only source of resistance and change.”

Trigilia, Carlo: Economic Sociology: State, Market, and Society in Modern Capitalism. Wiley-Blackwell 2002.

A must read for anyone interested in economy.

Online articles
Norman Fairclough: Global capitalism and critical awareness of language

News sites
Guardian
Good reporting, though often with a British tone (no wonder!). The live blogs are enjoyable, as are the Comment is Free articles with their comments.

Presseurop
Presseurop delivers “the best of the European press, in 10 languages”. The site is sponsored by the European Commission (read the memo).

Worldcrunch
Worldcrunch delivers the best global journalism previously shut off from English language readers: selecting, translating and editing content from top foreign-language outlets. (quote from the site)

Aggregation services
Netvibes
My choice of online dashboard, into which RSS feeds are delivered. I have grouped them on their own pages, e.g. World news, Tech, Linux and Games.

Pulse News
A brilliant app for mobile use, though seems sometimes buggy on Android.