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The Lairds of Learning
Who are the most ruthless capitalists in the Western world? Whose monopolistic practices makes WalMart look like a corner shop and Rupert Murdoch look like a socialist?... [read more]
Salisbury, Skripal and Novichok – a local view
From the moment the news came out that on Sunday March 4th in Salisbury, one of England’s revered cathedral cities, a Russian spy and his daughter had been poisoned by some form of ‘nerve agent’ my reaction was ‘Oh dear’. ... [read more]
The Mind Thieves
The evidence linking Alzheimer’s disease to the food industry is strong and is growing, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
The Economy: Happy Days Are Here Again! For Whom?
Last week the stock market made a great leap forward. "Dow Leaps to Record" the Wall Street Journal blazoned on its front page. Thomas Riggins shows that the resurrection and coming again of the Dow is only one expression of the economy... [read more]
Kissinger and Shultz on 'The Iran Deal'
The Wall Street Journal on 8 April turned over an entire editorial page to former secretaries of state Henry Kissinger and George Shultz... [read more]
Tiananmen: the massacre that wasn't
What really happened 25 years ago in Tiananmen Square?... [read more]
Doctors and Drones 2014: Interview with Tomasz Pierscionek on the updated Medact Report
Journalist and researcher, Carol Anne Grayson, talks to Dr Tomasz Pierscionek about his involvement in campaigning against the use of armed drones ... [read more]
The Counter-Enlightenment
What happens to people when they become government science advisers? Are their children taken hostage? Is a dossier of compromising photographs kept, ready to send to the Sun if they step out of line? George Monbiot writes.... [read more]
The Grime Behind the Crime
It seems crazy, but the evidence about lead is stacking up. Behind crimes that have destroyed so many lives, is there a much greater crime asks George Monbiot.... [read more]
US Imperialism Looks Beyond the Middle-East
Nathaniel Mehr on the latest round of sabre-rattling emanating from the United States.... [read more]
Corporate Media Bashes Venezuelan Government's Law Decrees
Chavez critics don't explain Venezuelan law or how Supreme Court rulings interpret it. Nor do they report how the Enabling Law works, that the nation's Constitution authorizes it, that four other presidents used it, among many other things. How can they? It would expose their false accusations and discredit their entire argument.... [read more]
Federal IDs for All US Workers: A Trial Balloon?
According to an article in last Thursday's Wall Street Journal, the Senate is considering a bipartisan plan to require all working people in the US to carry a biometric ID card. Thomas Riggins reports... [read more]
Politically Transmitted Disease
Rising rates of teen pregnancy and STDs in the United States are the result of programmes intended to stamp them out, argues George Monbiot.... [read more]
New Site Design and Features
The site's had an overhaul with new features and a new design added. Our Webmaster takes us through the changes.... [read more]
The Cheapest Way to Save the Planet Grows Like a Weed
Planting billions of trees across the world is by far the cheapest and most efficient way to tackle the climate crisis. So states a Guardian article, citing a new analysis published in the journal Science.... [read more]
Iran: the Historical Cradle of Civilization, the Origin of Human Diversity, and the Bastion of Humanistic Tolerance
An article by Davood Rhani... [read more]
The Zoroastrians’ Future? A religion deemed in decline but a vibrant culture now gone global burgeons and thrives!
... [read more]
Trump, Fake News, and the Press
Donald Trump is absolutely correct when he says the mainstream news media lies, purveys fake news, and is the enemy of the American people... [read more]
Health and Humanity Part 3: Charity Begins At Home
Increasingly, it appears charities and NGOs are behaving in a corporate fashion, which may or may not be a good thing.... [read more]
Just A Ride
The Wachowski Brothers’ 1999 Film 'The Matrix' centres upon the concept that the modern world may not be all we perceive it to be... [read more]
Health and Humanity
I would humbly suggest to the readership that we should, instead, start 2016 off with some ‘navel gazing... [read more]
Questions of Power and Slavery
All governments encroach, creep into our lives, and smother our minds with ever more legislation that infringes our human rights and civil liberties... [read more]
Killing Off Community Banks: Intended Consequence of Dodd-Frank?
The Dodd-Frank regulations are so lethal to community banks that some say the intent was to force them to sell out to the megabanks... [read more]
Pakistan government shames itself over Israeli drone connection… no friend to Gazans
Last year July 2014, Mansoor Jaffar, a senior journalist for Al Arabiya, wrote a scathing article critcizing Pakistan for its “zombie-like response" to the Gaza killings... [read more]
Why Public Banks Outperform Private Banks: Unfair Competition or a Better Mousetrap?
In November 2014, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Bank of North Dakota (BND), the nation’s only state-owned bank, is more profitable than Goldman Sachs Group... [read more]
To pay or not to pay?
Joseph Stiglitz shows that a suspension of debt repayments can be beneficial for a country and its people... [read more]
Piketty, The Wall Street Journal, and Rational Conservatives
Thomas Piketty's book, Capital in the 21st Century, has almost had the effect of a tsunami on economic thinking in the United States, writes Thomas Riggins... [read more]
The GM Biotech Sector's Complete Contempt For Democracy: Don't Be Fooled By The Propaganda
Strategically placed politicians and scientists are conveying the message that GM food is both safe and necessary... [read more]
A manifesto for rewilding the world
A mass restoration of ecosystems offers us hope where there was little hope before, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
Lying Around Like Dogs In Ditches
Just two weeks ago in the London Progressive Journal I wrote of the hundreds of Republican supporters seeking refuge at La Sauceda who were rounded up by Franco’s forces and slain at El Marrufo in Andalucía in the Spanish Civil War, today I report on another burial that took place on Sunday, writes David Eade.... [read more]
Australia and Asylum Seekers: Media Perspectives
The issue is not 'boat people' but imperialist expansion explains Finn Bowen
... [read more]
Unmanned Drones- the future of warfare?
The London Progressive Journal gives its take on current events in our editorial column... [read more]
Professor Nutt Urges New Thinking on Drugs
As the controversial medical expert David Nutt finds himself back on the news agenda, Tom Bangay considers the vexed question of drug law reform.... [read more]
Defending the NHS Against Privatisation: John Lister talks to London Progressive Journal (Part Two)
The second part of Tomasz Pierscionek's discussion with prominent anti-privatisation campaigner John Lister.... [read more]
The Proceeds of Crime
The US and British governments have created a private prison industry which preys on human lives, says George Monbiot.... [read more]
Pro-Death
George Monbiot considers the implications of attempts to reverse progress on abortion.... [read more]
Neoliberalism Has Met Its Match in China
When the Federal Reserve cut interest rates last week, commentators were asking why. According to official data, the economy was rebounding... [read more]
The Marxism of Perry Anderson
This short essay is a study of the Marxism of Perry Anderson... [read more]
Climate Destruction - bearing witness with Dahr Jamail
“The question is not are we going to fail. The question is how?” Stephen Jenkinson, author and storyteller.... [read more]
Crimes of Empire: How Historical Fake News Contributed to Imperial Genocide
Fake news is as old as empire, maybe even older... [read more]
Climate Change, Extreme Weather, Destructive Lifestyles
Throughout the world heat waves, flooding and uncontrollable wildfires have caused widespread havoc, lives have been lost, homes destroyed, livelihoods ruined. ... [read more]
Fox in the Hen House: Why Interest Rates Are Rising
The Fed is aggressively raising interest rates, although inflation is contained, private debt is already at 150% of GDP, and rising variable rates could push borrowers into insolvency. So what is driving the Fed’s push to “tighten”?... [read more]
The Bayer-Monsanto Merger Is Bad News for the Planet
Bayer and Monsanto have a long history of collusion to poison the ecosystem for profit. The Trump administration should veto their merger not just to protect competitors but to ensure human and planetary survival.... [read more]
The War on the Post Office
The US Postal Service, under attack from a manufactured crisis designed to force its privatization, needs a new source of funding to survive. Postal banking could fill that need.... [read more]
Student Debt Slavery II: Time to Level the Playing Field
The lending business is heavily stacked against student borrowers. Bigger players can borrow for almost nothing, and if their investments don’t work out, they can put their corporate shells through bankruptcy and walk away.... [read more]
Regulation Is Killing Community Banks – Public Banks Can Revive Them
Crushing regulations are driving small banks to sell out to the megabanks, a consolidation process that appears to be intentional. Publicly-owned banks can help avoid that trend and keep credit flowing in local economies.... [read more]
Dear Mr. President, Be Careful What You Wish for: Higher Interest Rates Will Kill the Recovery
Higher interest rates will triple the interest on the federal debt to $830 billion annually by 2026, will hurt workers and young voters, and could bankrupt over 20% of US corporations, according to the IMF.... [read more]
What a State-Owned Bank Can Do for New Jersey
Having a cheap and ready credit line with the state’s own bank can have similar benefits for New Jersey and other states... [read more]
“Ryancare” Dead on Arrival: Can We Please Now Try Single Payer?
The new American Health Care Act has been unveiled, and critics are calling it more flawed even than the Obamacare it was meant to replace... [read more]
In the meantime things are getting meaner
In the meantime there is a crisis of democracy. It is not a crisis in one country. The peace dividends we were promised have been squandered.... [read more]
Funding California Schools: Proposition 51 Versus a State-owned Bank
There is a much cheaper way to fund this $9 billion school debt... [read more]
Central Bank Digital Currencies: A Revolution in Banking?
Several central banks, including the Bank of England, the People’s Bank of China, the Bank of Canada and the Federal Reserve, are exploring the concept of issuing their own digital currencies... [read more]
Clintonites Prepare for War on Syria
Neoconservatives including Clintonites are pushing hard for a direct US attack on Syria to prevent the collapse of their regime change project... [read more]
What the Trade Union movement can learn from the junior doctors’ dispute. (Part 1)
All industrial disputes should be assessed to see what we can learn for the future, and the junior doctors’ dispute is no different.... [read more]
Turkey’s Attempted Coup - Cui Bono?
“The individual is handicapped by coming face to face with a conspiracy so monstrous he cannot believe it exists.” (J. Edgar Hoover, Elks Magazine, August 1956).... [read more]
Health and Humanity: Conclusion
A healthy human, with a foundation of biopsychosocial health, could hope to find their purpose in life... [read more]
Bank of North Dakota Soars Despite Oil Bust: A Blueprint for California?
Despite North Dakota's collapsing oil market, its state-owned bank continues to report record profits. This article looks at what California, with fifty times North Dakota's population, could do following that state's lead... [read more]
Clean eating versus industry
During the eighties and nineties here in the UK we were broadly encouraged to eat lower fat spreads such as margarine, associated with a push for polyunsaturated fat consumption... [read more]
What is to be Done with the Banks? Radical Proposals for Radical Changes
Immediate measures for moving towards socialisation of the banking sector... [read more]
Exposing the Libyan Agenda: A Closer Look at Hillary’s Emails
Before 2011, Libya had achieved economic independence, with its own water, its own food, its own oil, its own money, and its own state-owned ban... [read more]
Junior doctors’ struggle escalates as Tory desperation shows
So far this year, junior doctors – for the first time in over 40 years – have taken two days of industrial action in defence of their terms and conditions, and to defend the NHS against Tory cuts and privatisation.... [read more]
Hillary Clinton on Cutting Drug Costs - ie: Kick the Poor off Medicare
Forbes magazine doesn't always paint a rosy picture of capitalism... [read more]
Humans, Dancers, Travel and Fight Club
Air travel is one of humanity’s main technological advancements thus far, but does it make us more or less ‘human’?... [read more]
Health and Humanity Part 4: MIC and BPS
The recent and ongoing reaction of the political class here in the UK to the first prominent peace-promoting party leader in recent times is a yardstick for the modern politician’s disregard to anything Eisenhower said... [read more]
Health and Humanity
This upcoming series on health and humanity comes at an interesting time... [read more]
Hang On to Your Wallet: Negative Interest, the War on Cash and the $10 Trillion Bail-In
In uncertain times, “cash is king,” but central bankers are systematically moving to eliminate that option. Is it really about stimulating the economy? Or is there some deeper, darker threat afoot?... [read more]
The Inverted World of Niall Ferguson: On the Real Obama Doctrine
Niall Ferguson has a very conservative world outlook which, when applied to the analysis of current social reality, has a tendency to so warp his perceptions that the situation he writes about becomes an imaginary inverted world... [read more]
Syria: Russian Intervention Exposes Coalition Lies
How speedily the lies of the “international community” in general, and those of the US and UK in particular, about the Syrian situation are unraveling since the participation of Russia... [read more]
From Liberal Hand-wringing to the Political Economy of Assassination: The Charleston Shootings and Mainstream Society’s Complicity in Murder (Part 1)
The larger social architecture defined by the academic, political and corporate ties of the gun lobby helps explain how we could systematically take the fight to the NRA... [read more]
Greece: Alternatives to the Capitulation
On 5 July 2015 the Greek people overwhelmingly rejected the austerity measures imposed by the institutions that were known as the Troika... [read more]
Re-Packaging Masculinity in Tony Abbott’s Body Politic - A Painting
In 2015 the industry of terrorism has moved into a new phase and the scenarios I painted – such as the militarisation of civil society - have gone mainstream... [read more]
Sin, Socialism and Sacrilege
In some ultra-conservative circles the issue of gay marriage has become the cause célèbre du jour.... [read more]
Life, Oil and Ghosts in the delta of the river Niger
Sweet and light - crude oil from the delta of the river Niger is the major Nigerian commodity and European and American companies export it for a profit... [read more]
The Impunity Enjoyed by the Banks must Stop
The final part of the series by Eric Toussaint - The Banks and the “Too Big to Jail” Doctrine... [read more]
Why leaving fossil fuels in the ground is good for everyone
As a new report is published on the need to limit fossil fuel production to stop dangerous global warming, the UK is poised to pass an act committing governments to extracting as much oil out of the ground as possible, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
Big banks’ tampering with interest rates
Part 5 in the series by Eric Toussaint - The banks and the “too big to jail” doctrine... [read more]
Western Bio- Terrorism: Struck off for “Islamic sectarian violence” but no action against doctors killing patients
Carol Grayson discusses different perceptions of the phenomenon of extremism... [read more]
Why climate ‘uncertainty’ is no excuse for doing nothing
Former environment minister Owen Paterson has called for the UK to scrap its climate change targets... [read more]
On gloves, rubber and the spatio-temporal logics of global health
Over the last decades and not least through the UN’s Millennium Development Goals, health initiatives have received unprecedented attention and funding... [read more]
Gaza should make us sick; but we need a more courageous, honest and truthful debate
An article from Dr David McCoy, public health physician and chair of global health charity Medact... [read more]
Machismo underpins war and tyranny
A macho mindset is a psychological precondition for all oppression... [read more]
Reading Lenin: Materialism and Empirio-Criticism Thomas Riggins
Thomas Riggins talks us though the rest of Chapter 4 of Lenin's book Materialism and Empirio-Criticism ... [read more]
Lenin on the State and Revolution: The Paris Commune (1871)
Thomas Riggins reviews Chapter IV of Lenin's State and Revolution (1917)... [read more]
Iraq: US and Israel Plan Destruction of the Nation State
The Yinon plan is an Israeli strategic plan to ensure Israeli regional superiority. It insists and stipulates that Israel must reconfigure its geo-political environment through the balkanization of the surrounding Arab states into smaller and weaker states... [read more]
Rethinking Economics The Washington Consensus vs the Tokyo Consensus Background
On Tuesday 6 May 2014, I published a blog about ”Shimomuran Economics and the Rise of Japan”... [read more]
The return of George Orwell and Big Brother’s war on Palestine, Ukraine and the truth
In his latest essay, John Pilger describes the liberal "one-way, legal/moral screen" behind which great power and its Orwellian propaganda ensure an impunity for war and deception, dependent on what Leni Riefenstahl called our "submissive void".... [read more]
The elixir of life – in a poisoned chalice?
Longevity science may divide us into treated and untreated: the first living ever longer, the second dying even younger than now, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
Banks and the New “Too Big to Jail” Doctrine
Part 1 of the series 'Banks and the new “too big to jail” doctrine' by Eric Toussaint... [read more]
The War on Democracy
Dr Tomasz Pierscionek describes how yet another nation has fallen victim to 'Shock and Awe' ... [read more]
Capitulating To Monsanto And Wall Street: What Future India?
The Indian Oil and Environment minister has added fuel to the debate about genetically modified organisms (GMOs) by approving field trials of 200 GM food crops on behalf of companies like Monsanto... [read more]
The Peoples Assembly - Flexing Our Muscles
Dr Thabo Miller encourages the People's Assembly to adopt an electoral strategy... [read more]
The forgotten coup - and how the godfather rules from Canberra to Kiev
Washington's role in the fascist putsch against an elected government in Ukraine will surprise only those who watch the news and ignore the historical record. Since 1945, dozens of governments, many of them democracies, have met a similar fate, usually with bloodshed, writes John Pilger.
... [read more]
Ukraine: a very Western coup
Dr Tomasz Pierscionek provides an analysis of the situation in Ukraine... [read more]
What can we do with what Thomas Piketty teaches us about capital in the twenty-first century? (Part 2 of 2)
Part 2 of Eric Toussaint's review of Thomas Piketty book Capital in the Twenty-First Century... [read more]
How we ended up paying farmers to flood our homes
This government let the farming lobby rip up the rulebook on soil protection – and now we are suffering the consequences, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
How we ended up paying farmers to flood our homes
This government let the farming lobby rip up the rulebook on soil protection – and now we are suffering the consequences, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
The Logic of War Crimes in a Criminal War
When U.S. marines carried out the savage and systematic execution of Iraqi families and small children in Haditha [in November 2004], it was initially reported as a “battle” with “insurgent casualties.”... [read more]
Bum Rap for the Rapa Nui
A new report details a re-evaluation of the view that the native inhabitants of Easter Island (Rapa Nui) were responsible for the collapse of their population... [read more]
Artists and the Law: Exploring A Jurisprudence Of New Capabilities
When I first heard the suggestion that the judiciary and greater Parliamentary oversight could redress the reckless use of new capabilities by Britain's security service GCHQ, an image flashed into my mind of a 1903 painting by Australian impressionist Tom Roberts - known locally as The Big Picture... [read more]
Forget Conspiracy Theories, The Truth Is Often More Shocking
Dr Tomasz Pierscionek shows how truth can be stranger and more shocking than fiction... [read more]
A journey into the vice-ridden world of banking
The primary objective of the world’s leaders is to avoid another banking and financial crash that could be worse than the one in September 2008... [read more]
New York City Mayor's Race: Living Wage or Wage Slavery: de Blasio vs. Lhota on the Dignity of Labour
The election for mayor of New York City is less that a month away and Bill de Blasio's lead in the polls appears insurmountable... [read more]
Climate Change and Marxism
Using Karl Marx's early works, Elijah Pryor asks if there is an alternative to the Capitalism vs Communism debate?... [read more]
Greek Capitalism at a Critical Point
Greek capitalism continues to be the weak link of the Eurozone as it is still under the “intensive care” of the EU support mechanisms for the fourth consecutive year and is in recession for the sixth consecutive year... [read more]
USC cancels event with war criminal General David Petraeus one day after veteran-led protest announced
Former Iraq war veteran, Michael Prysner, explains how the anti-war movement has General Petraeus running scared, from LA to NYC... [read more]
The Leveraged Buyout of America
In a letter to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, US Representative Alan Grayson and three co-signers expressed concern about the expansion of large banks into what have traditionally been non-financial commercial spheres... [read more]
Making the World Safe for Banksters: Syria in the Cross-hairs
In an August 2013, journalist Greg Palast posted evidence of a secret late-1990s plan devised by Wall Street ans US Treasury officials to open banking to the lucrative derivatives business... [read more]
Currently Mistaken Ideas in Western Economics and Their Suggested Corrections (preferably soon) Part 1
Economist George Tait Edwards straightens out some of the economic myths taught at Western universities (Part 1 of 2)
... [read more]
The formula for revolution
Three years ago few predicted that a revolution, a coup and an emergent civil war would soon explode in a country considered a prime tourist hot spot and ruled by the same autocrat for nearly 30 years
... [read more]
EU Urgently Needs To Put Its Democracy In Order
David Eade argues that democracy is under threat across the entire European Union... [read more]
The Public Debt of Japan and China – Funded by Investment Credit Creation or by Foreign Borrowing?
Economist George Tait Edwards puts paid to rumours of impending financial crises in Japan and China... [read more]
Collapse in Support for Democracy
David Eade looks at the indicators suggesting Spaniards are losing faith in democracy... [read more]
The Key Relevance of the Writings of Professor Kenneth Kenkichi Kurihara
George Tait Edwards explains how the writings of economist Kenneth Kurihara serve as the gateway to understanding Shimomuran high-growth economics ... [read more]
Stop and Frisk: What Mayor Bloomberg Really Thinks About Minority Youth
New York City Mayor Bloomberg tries to defend the NYPD's massive stop and frisk program directed against minority youth... [read more]
Bulgarian Democracy: In A Delicate State
David Eade revisits Bulgaria a month after the elections that brought the Bulgarian Socialist Party to power.... [read more]
The Road to Damascus
Tomasz Pierscionek deconstructs the story behind calls for intervention in Syria... [read more]
Nations Get what their Financial-Industrial Systems Deliver: A Comparative Analysis of Three Different Groups of Financial-Industrial Systems
George Tait Edwards compares three different financial-industrial systems and considers the merits of each model... [read more]
Reading Lenin: Materialism and Empiro-criticism [Part 5]
Thomas Riggins continues to guide us through Lenin's Materialism and Empiro-criticism... [read more]
The Battle to Save Democracy
Last week I spent several days in Budapest at a conference organised by the Party of European Socialists (PES), David Eade reports... [read more]
Waiting 17 months for an appeal...
Paula is depressed. She has no motivation to look after herself, to eat or to get dressed. Some days she stays in bed and doesn’t open the curtains. Felix McHugh discusses the hurdles one of his clients faces in trying to navigate the welfare system.... [read more]
Betrayal Without Remedy: The Case of the Missing Wages
Thomas Riggins explains how the US company Hostess Brands Inc. took its workers' wages and used them to cover its own expenses ... [read more]
Social Constructionism Applied to Working Class Educational Attainment
Elijah Pryor looks into the origins, definitions and theory of Social Constructionism and explains inequalities faced by working class children in education... [read more]
Extreme Weather: The Maya and Us
Two weeks after Superstorm Sandy ravaged New Jersey and New York thousands of people are still without power, food or portable water and are dependent on the city, state and federal government, and increasingly on Occupy Sandy (the volunteers from Occupy Wall Street and related groups) for basic survival goods, writes Thomas Riggins.... [read more]
Call Mr Robeson – a Life with Songs
John Green writes about the life and work of one of America’s greatest singers who was ‘disappeared’ from public life and airbrushed out of the history books... [read more]
Struck Dumb
Despite hurricane Sandy, neither Barack Obama nor Mitt Romney will speak about global warming. The danger this poses is huge, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
Why drone assassinations just don't work
The London Progressive Journal gives its take on current events in our editorial column... [read more]
Rhetorically Speaking: US Elections and the Middle East
US elections are manifestly linked to the Middle East, at least rhetorically. In practical terms, however, US foreign policies in the region are compelled by the Middle East’s own dynamics and the US’ own political climate, economic woes, or ambitions, writes Ramzy Baroud.... [read more]
Turkey’s Policies at a Crossroads: From Zero-Problems to a Heap of Trouble
It seems that media consensus has been conclusively reached: Turkey has been forced into a Middle Eastern mess not of its own making; the ‘Zero Problems with Neighbours’ notion, once the foreign policy centrepiece of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), is all but a romantic notion of no use in realpolitik, writes Ramzy Baroud.... [read more]
Arrigoni’s Murder Trial in Gaza: Answers Not Just a Verdict
Justice for Vittorio Utopia Arrigoni has been paramount, but we also expect the Gaza government to hand down more than a verdict, also answers to those trying to kill Vittorio’s dream – along with our humanity, writes Ramzy Baroud.
... [read more]
Economic Growth or Abnormal Swelling?
LPJ's India correspondent Colin Todhunter reports that India may have had eight or nine per cent economic growth until this year, but this doesn't show a true picture... [read more]
Britain: BMA strike - The Truth
Last month's day of action by doctors in Britain attracted a lot of criticism from the Tory press - no surprise there! Dr Tomasz Pierscionek puts forward the case for the doctors' strike and explains what really happened.... [read more]
This is free Europe, never again!
The London Progressive Journal gives its take on current events in the latest editorial... [read more]
Murdoch, Mensch and a new England Manager
The London Progressive Journal gives its take on current events in the latest editorial... [read more]
CIA and MI5 linked to assassinations in the Congo in sixties
Shortly after progressive Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba was overthrown by a Western backed coup in 1960, the former UN secretary general, Dag Hammarskjöld, died in mysterious circumstances. John Green asks if the two events were in any way connected.... [read more]
East Africa at the Brink: Hidden Hands behind Sudan’s Oil War
Once again Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir waved his walking stick in the air. Once again he spoke of splendid victories over his enemies as thousands of jubilant supporters danced and cheered. But this time around the stakes are too high, writes Ramzy Baroud.... [read more]
Rewilding Our Children
When my second child reaches my age I fear the NHS, along with the tiger and rhino, will be part of a mythologised arcadia, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
Costly ‘Freedom’ in Afghanistan: On Morbid Wars and Logic
The Afghans are a proud people with a long and formidable history of resistance to foreign occupation. The fact that they have always prevailed, however, should not distract from the horror they still routinely experience, writes Ramzy Baroud.... [read more]
What's behind Kony 2012?
Eugene Puryear describes some of the hidden motivations to bringing Joseph Kony, leader of the Lord's Resistance Army, to justice... [read more]
Alfred Russel Wallace: Socialist and co-founder of evolutionary theory
Next year will see the centenary of the death of Alfred Russel Wallace. Simultaneously with Darwin the discoverer of evolution due to natural selection, but history has largely eclipsed his name under Darwin’s immense shadow, writes John Green.... [read more]
Hollywood is a place where they'll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul
In an exclusive for the London Progressive Journal, writer and former actor John Wight reflects on his years in Hollywood and shines a spotlight on the ‘glamour’ of life in the movie industry... [read more]
The NHS will last as long as there are folk left with the faith to fight for it
The London Progressive Journal gives its take on current events in the latest fortnightly editorial. (Dr Tomasz Pierscionek encourages the campaign to derail the Health and Social Care Bill).... [read more]
NONE SO BLIND - An outRageous! challenge
outRageous! lays down the gauntlet to all readers of the London Progressive Journal... [read more]
Euro zone crisis: A Green alternative
We are watching economic injustice crush a nation before our eyes.
On 20 March, Greece must meet the next tranche of debt repayments,says Alfie Stirling.... [read more]
Liberal Constipation
Conservatism is linked to low intelligence; but the real idiots are the progressives letting it win, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
Youth unemployment figures reveal Britain beating its 'personal best'
The London Progressive Journal gives its take on current events in the latest fortnightly editorial... [read more]
The Lady Doth Screech too Much
Rhys Harrison reviews 'Iron Lady', a recent film about the life of Margaret Thatcher ... [read more]
The Sacrificial Caste
In this and other nations, there are groups of children who can be abused with impunity, says George Monbiot.... [read more]
A new year
The London Progressive Journal gives its take on current events in the latest fortnightly editorial... [read more]
A Conservative Christmas Carol
The London Progressive Journal gives its take on current events in the latest fortnightly editorial... [read more]
Poor's show
Ever since the decline of European Socialism in the 1980s and the collapse of the Soviet Union in the ’90s, capitalism has considered itself king of the world and has behaved accordingly, says W Stephen Gilbert.... [read more]
Though cowards flinch and traitors sneer
The London Progressive Journal gives its take on current events in the latest fortnightly editorial... [read more]
Even devils will fall...
The London Progressive Journal gives its take on current events in the latest fortnightly editorial... [read more]
A violent double standard
Phil Bates cast an eye on David Cameron's hypocrisy and the recent threat of rubber bullets being used by police... [read more]
The end of the world as we know it…
In the first of a new series of editorials, the London Progressive Journal gives its views on current events... [read more]
Think of a Tank
The “free market thinktanks” and their secret funders are a threat to democracy, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
Why I think students fees are a good thing...
In an ideal world (one in which The X Factor is but a terrible dream, foisted upon us by a vengeful Satan), students wouldn't have to pay tuition fees, says Chris Mason-Felsing.... [read more]
Out of the Ashes
Now is the time to start planning for a new economy, not dependent on growth. ... [read more]
Leon Panetta in Iraq: More lies, more war
Michael Prysner, reveals how the newly appointed American Secretary of Defence, Leon Panetta, is bringing back Bush-era rhetoric and pushing to extend the occupation of Iraq.... [read more]
Medics Resist Tory NHS Plans
Tomasz Pierscionek looks back on last month's demonstration against Tory plans to privatise the National Health Service.... [read more]
The Hunt for FARC Commander Alfonso Cano
The Colombian military has had numerous successes targeting high-ranking leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in recent years. Its two greatest successes were the killing of secretariat members Raúl Reyes in 2008 and Jorge Briceño, alias “Mono Jojoy,” last year. By Garry Leech... [read more]
Obama's Next War Project
For all its rhetoric on Iraq, history suggests the Obama administration is likely to embark on a new war, says Rhoderick Gates.... [read more]
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Misunderstanding the FARC
Garry Leech on why the media's so-called 'experts' on the Colombian guerrilla group keep getting it wrong.... [read more]
Clinton Revises Colombia’s Drug History to Justify US Military Role in Mexico and Central America
Garry Leech reflects on the Orwellian distortions in Hillary Clinton's recent comments on the history of US involvement in Central America.... [read more]
Defending the NHS Against Privatisation: John Lister talks to London Progressive Journal (Part One)
Tomasz Pierscionek talked to veteran health campaigner and London Health Emergency information director Dr John Lister.... [read more]
The ‘Last Ever’ Issue
Our site is changing from its current weekly format to a more conventional blog-like design. London Progressive Journal’s webmaster explains what will change and why.... [read more]
One Holy Land United With Liberty and Justice for All
The absurd mythology of Zionism cannot hold firm forever, writes Ahmed Amr.... [read more]
Welcome to Palestine: A First Hand Account of Arbitrary Detention
Ten days ago, London Progressive Journal contributor Assed Baig was arrested and grilled by Israeli solidiers who mistook him for a Palestinian. His story offers a glimpse of the everyday reality for many Palestinians.... [read more]
‘Islamism’ in the Western Imagination
Richard Greeman kicks off his 16-part series, 'Contextualising the Threat of Radical Islam', by taking a critical look at the Western media's appropriation of World War Two terminology to legitimise the 'War on Terror'. ... [read more]
Iran, Israel and Latin America: The Media States Its Case
Ramzy Baroud scrutinises the mainstream media consensus on the designated enemies of the US.... [read more]
Heroes of the 21st Century
The first decade of the 21st Century has been marred by violence, militarism and oppression in the Global South. But there has also been resistance. Tomasz Pierscionek profiles some of the radical heroes of the past ten years.... [read more]
Workers' Participation is Necessary for Final Push in Iran
If the unrest in Iran is to culminate in a radical upheaval, Iran's workers will have to take centre-stage, argues Maziar Razi.... [read more]
Requiem for a Crowded Planet
George Monbiot's analysis of the failure of the climate talks.... [read more]
UK Libel Law Needs Reforming
Two high-profile cases in 2009 have highlighted the desperate need for reform of the UK's libel laws, as Demetrius Notice explains.... [read more]
The Real Climate Scandal
A scandal over faked evidence has been a boon to climate change deniers. George Monbiot looks to redress the balance.... [read more]
If Nothing Else, Save Farming
It’s probably too late to prepare for peak oil, but we can at least try to salvage food production, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
US Military Documents Show Colombia Base Agreement Poses Threat to Region
Garry Leech on the increasing international concern at US moves to consolidate and expand its military presence in Colombia.... [read more]
Preview of Ramzy Baroud's 'My Father was a Freedom Fighter'
Stephen Lendman previews the forthcoming book by journalist, campaigner and regular London Progressive Journal contributor Ramzy Baroud.... [read more]
The US and Colombian Roles in the Honduran Crisis
Garry Leech argues that the US role in the Honduran crisis represents a continuation of the traditional US approach towards democracy in Central America.... [read more]
Surrogates: Who's Behind the Attacks in Iran? (part one)
In the first of a two-part essay examining the background to the recent terrorist attack in Iran, Daniel Pye looks at the US government's employment of proxy armies or 'surrogates' in its bid for strategic control of the Middle East. ... [read more]
Interview: Malalai Joya Talks to London Progressive Journal
Steven Littlewood spoke with prominent Afghan pro-democracy campaigner Malalai Joya about elections, imperialism and the turmoil in Afghanistan.... [read more]
The Population Myth
George Monbiot says people who claim that population growth is the big environmental issue are shifting the blame from the rich to the poor.... [read more]
Exorcising the Ghosts of Paramilitary Violence: Reclaiming Liberty in Libertad
Garry Leech on how the Colombian community of Libertad has struggled to free itself from the brutal violence of Colombia's paramilitary forces.... [read more]
1,000,000 People to Vote Against New Labour, Conservatives, Lib Dems and the BNP
Matthew Edwards calls for a progressive alliance against Britain's mainstream parties and the fascist BNP.... [read more]
Interview: Michael Prysner Talks to London Progressive Journal
Tomasz Pierscionek interviews ex-US army veteran and prominent anti-war campaigner Michael Prysner.... [read more]
Africa in Colombia: The First Free Black Community in the Americas Continues Its Struggle
Garry Leech looks back on the historic struggles of Colombia's black community.... [read more]
Colombia’s Deteriorating Displacement Crisis
Garry Leech reports on the plight of Colombia's millions of displaced persons.... [read more]
Obama Administration Shifts US focus in Colombia from Counternarcotics to Counterinsurgency
Garry Leech on how the new regime in Washington is committing itself to a Colombia policy that is even more militaristic than that of the Bush administration.... [read more]
Interview with a Colombian Political Prisoner
Garry Leech interviews political prisoner Liliany Obando in her sell in Buen Pastor Prison.... [read more]
Ahmadinejad Re-elected: Israel and Obama’s Iran Puzzle
The crisis in Iran presents a singular challenge to Barack Obama's foreign policy credentials, writes Ramzy Baroud.... [read more]
Washington Post Shamelessly Promotes US Drug Policy in Colombia
Garry Leech critically analyses a typically obsequious mainstream portrayal of US policy in Latin America.... [read more]
Uribe’s Latest Misfirings Against the FARC
Garry Leech on how the Colombian government continues to lose moral authority despite its repeated claims that it is fighting an 'anti-terrorist' campaign.... [read more]
Colombian Government's Role in Human Rights Abuses
Garry Leech examines the appalling recent history of state-sponsored terrorism in Colombia under the US-backed President Uribe.... [read more]
Plan Colombia: The New Military Strategy for Afghanistan?
Garry Leech considers a worrying Washington initiative aimed at applying the disastrous 'Plan Colombia' counterinsurgency strategy to the battlefields of Afghanistan.... [read more]
Interview: Ilan Pappe talks to London Progressive Journal
Tomasz Pierscionek spoke with prominent Israeli academic and activist Ilan Pappe.... [read more]
Scrap It
Environmental campaigner George Monbiot tears into the UK government's proposals for stimulating the motor industry.... [read more]
Convention of the Left: Challenging the Two-Party System
With mainstream politicians apparently unable to find a way out of the present financial mess, Michael Prior believes now is a critical time for the left to mobilise.... [read more]
Interview: María Augusta Calle talks to London Progressive Journal
Samuele Mazzolini spoke to María Augusta Calle, a former member of Ecuador's Constituent Assembly, currently standing as a candidate for President Correa's Movimiento País coalition.... [read more]
Anatomy of an Investigation: The Colombian State’s War Against Civil Society
Garry Leech examines how the Colombian governmetn is using anti-terrorism as a pretext for a concerted attack on patently non-violent social organisations.... [read more]
US Policy Towards Venezuela and Colombia Will Change Little Under Obama
Garry Leech on why US policy towards its Latin American neighbours is unlikely to change significantly under President Obama.... [read more]
Interview: Carlos Bula Camacho talks to London Progressive Journal
Samuele Mazzolini spoke to Carlos Bula Camacho, Secretary General of Polo Democrático Alternativo, the Colombian opposition party.... [read more]
Interview: Manuel Yepe talks to London Progressive Journal
On the Fiftieth anniversary of the Cuban Revolution, Alexa Van Sickle talks to Manuel Yepe, the former Cuban Ambassador to Romania and close friend of Che Guevara, about what the future may hold for the Caribbean island. ... [read more]
Interview: Antonio Navarro Wolff talks to London Progressive Journal
Samuele Mazzolini met prominent Colombian politician Antonio Navarro Wolff, the governor of the southern department of Nariño, to discuss the many social and political problems affecting Colombia.... [read more]
Zimbabwe: Why the International Community Must Intervene
Examining the legal framework of humanitarian intervention, Alexa Van Sickle calls on the international community to act now to prevent a humanitarian tragedy in Zimbabwe.... [read more]
Plan Colombia Devastates Afro-Colombian Communities
Garry Leech examines the devastating impact of US policy in Colombia upon the country's Afro-Colombian rural communities.... [read more]
The Immigration Minister Can’t Be Serious
Sara Hall on the junior minister who's picking a fight...with NGOs and asylum seeker charities.... [read more]
Is There Really Much Difference Between McCain and Obama on Free Trade?
With the US elections just around the corner, Garry Leech examines the candidates' respective positions on international economic issues, and concludes that there is relatively little to choose between them.... [read more]
Free the Unborn! A Proposal for Slowing Down Politics
George Monbiot on why the struggle against climate change is being undermined by political short-termism.... [read more]
Colombia: Displacement, Disappearances and Extrajudicial Executions Increase Under Uribe
Garry Leech reflects on the rise in state-sponsored violence in Colombia under the presidency of Alvaro Uribe.... [read more]
The Final Offensive for the US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement is a Stark Contrast to Other Developments in the Hemisphere
Mario A. Murillo on the contrast between the US client regime in Colombia and the progressive politics of some of Colombia's Latin American neighbours.... [read more]
Colombia’s Double Realities: Threats Against Indigenous Communities Ignored as Calls for a Second Re-election of President Uribe Get Louder
As Colombia's President Uribe continues to target the country's indigenous communities, Mario A. Murillo examines why many Colombians are opposed to Uribe's reactionary government.... [read more]
Czechoslovakia
Forty years ago, on the night of August 20th-21st Russian and other Warsaw Pact forces invaded Czechoslovakia, thus putting an end to the ‘Prague Spring.’... [read more]
The Magic Pudding
George Monbiot on why the US government still pouring billions into missile defence.... [read more]
Interview: Mike Gonzalez Talks to London Progressive Journal
As we approach the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution, author and Cuba expert Professor Mike Gonzalez talks to Thomasz Pierscionek about the legacies of Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, and what the future may hold for Cuba.... [read more]
Israel and Western Hypocrisy: Mordechai Vanunu Talks to London Progressive Journal
Joanna Allan talks to anti-nuclear campaigner Mordechai Vanunu about his experience at the hands of the Israeli government.... [read more]
Venezuela’s Only Contacts with FARC were for Humanitarian Exchange Says Minister
Venezuela's foreign minister has refuted US-sourced allegations that Hugo Chavez has been financing the Colombian rebel group FARC.... [read more]
Interview: Howard Zinn talks to London Progressive Journal
Daniel Pye speaks to the legendary American historian and peace activist Howard Zinn.... [read more]
Resist the Ration Cuts!
Ending the food ration system in Iraq will cause a humanitarian disaster.... [read more]
How To Solve A Problem Like Auschwitz
The British government plans to educate children about the horrors of mass murder by sending them to visit the Auschwitz death camps.... [read more]
Interview: George Monbiot Talks to London Progressive Journal
London Progressive Journal's Haseeb Khokhar spoke to prominent climate change campaigner George Monbiot.... [read more]
The British Left Needs a Respectable Voice: Lindsey German talks to the London Progressive Journal
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