Search London Progressive Journal
That defining moment: On anti-Muslim films, cartoons and my Gaza neighbour
Insulting Islamic symbols often represents a breaking point for many Muslims. Spiritual, religious figures and symbols often represent the last hope to which poor, humiliated and disenfranchised people cling onto with absolute ferocity, writes Ramzy Baroud. ... [read more]
Has the Swedish Left Lost Again?: The 2014 Electoral Implosion, Civilian Deindustrialization and the Swedish Dilemma
Part 1 of Jonathan Feldman's analysis of the recent Swedish general election... [read more]
Obit: Never a Soft or quiet Russell
W Stephen Gilbert pays tribute to Ken Russell, the enigmatic, eccentric film director who died on Sunday. ... [read more]
Natural England Loses Credibility
How often will Natural England (NE) be told by judges to release information about the ongoing badger culls?... [read more]
Compassion Should Extend Beyond The Home
Former MP and member of the Labour shadow cabinet, Bryan Gould, provides a riposte to Roger Scruton’s piece in The Guardian... [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 Different Sources of Unemployment, and the Economic Remedy for Each of These
Unemployment is a complex phenomenon. The ultimate roots of all large-scale unemployment is the lack of an adequate economic understanding by a country’s professional economic advisors and its politicians... [read more]
The Landed Mafia
Those of us who defend the planet are increasingly subject to abuse. It is the price we pay for confronting the power of money, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
Misunderstanding the FARC
Garry Leech on why the media's so-called 'experts' on the Colombian guerrilla group keep getting it wrong.... [read more]
A Third Palestinian Intifada in the Making
Prominent journalist and author Ramzy Baroud considers the many uncertainties ahead for the Palestinian struggle. ... [read more]
Against Da Law (Part 2)
The law is indeed trickier than a snake, and can slip under obstacles and slither away into the undergrowth. It leaves in its wake tattered truth and battered justice... [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]
A Lonely Lawyer
By now every Israeli has seen the TV clip several times - showing a 14-year old Arab girl being shot dead... [read more]
Penrose Inquiry: “Bad Blood”, biological terrorism and cover-up under a failed western democracy
The Penrose Inquiry, the public inquiry into the circumstances in which patients treated by the NHS in Scotland became infected with Hepatitis C, HIV, or both, through the use of blood or blood products published its Final Report on Wednesday, 25 March 2015... [read more]
The Left, Anti-Zionism & Anti-Semitism
For those of us who study Israel and Zionism from the vantage point of Britain, there are some things we are able to predict with unerring accuracy... [read more]
Education, Education, Deprivation
If you were a university student at any time from 1962 to 1989, you received a maintenance grant; it started off at a little under £400 p.a. and reached £1,430 in 1980... [read more]
Menace on the Menu: Development and the Globalization of Servitude (Part 1)
In his book ‘The World Economy: A Millennial Perspective’, economist Angus Maddison noted that India was the richest country in the world and had controlled a third of global wealth until the 17th century... [read more]
The Pen Trumps the Sword Anytime (Part 1)
The first part of an 'Introduction' to an illustrated book of poetry by Dr Faysal Mikdadi. The collection, Painted into a Corner, appeared in the summer of 2014... [read more]
Crusaders and Zionists
Lately, the words "Crusaders" and "Zionists" have been appearing more and more often as twins... [read more]
Hannibal ad Portas
The last war has come to an end, the next war has not yet started, so let's use the time to speak of many things. Of Hannibal, for example... [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]
Fighting FGM, Human Trafficking in Manchester, UK
On 18/1/2014, around two hundred people gathered in Manchester for a fundraising benefit to aid the cause of teenage asylum seeker, Olayinka, who faces the risk of Female Genital Mutilation, if forcibly returned to Nigeria... [read more]
A Brief Guide To Early Chinese History: The Mongol Conquest Of China And Its Consequences
George Tait Edwards introduces the next in a series of articles about early Chinese civilisation to help put into context the country's recent economic rise... [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]
A new front opens up in the war against nature
George Monbiot says that the Countryside Alliance’s campaign against a ban on lead shot strikes him as motivated by the age-old attitude of reactionary members of the landowning classes: that they will not be subject to the laws or considerations that affect lesser members of society. ... [read more]
The Acceptable Face of Violence
The recent claims about India’s poverty having fallen by around seven per cent provided a stark reminder of the violent times we live in, writes Colin Todhunter.... [read more]
Who Cares About Carers?
Will Stone on the desperate need for radical reform of the UK's woefully under-funded social care system.... [read more]
A Scandal a Day Keeps the Voters Away!
Steve Jones talks us through New Labour's latest sleaze mess.... [read more]
Is Gender-based Violence the Greatest Barrier to Equality?
Amnesty International's Lucy Wake on the ongoing worldwide struggle against gender-based violence.... [read more]
Shadow Networks: Violence, War and Plunder in the Great Lakes Region of Africa
Colonial rivalry and capitalist exploitation are at the heart of the violence in the Congo.... [read more]
The Post
Spielberg’s film The Post is about events that are now history. Yet they remain so relevant.... [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]
Lament in an Insane World - Saudi Arabia: The Tragedy of the “Ships of the Desert.” Stateless, Expelled Camels.
The last straw will break the camel’s back.... [read more]
The Invisible Diasporan (Part 1)
Mallards Cottage was where I wrote my first novel. I called it The Return. I used to dream most of its events – the very plot was born of a dream on Christmas Eve of 1976... [read more]
The Pawn Queen
Theresa May’s moral failings are evident. They are certain to lead to political failure that may take some time to become evident.... [read more]
The Crowning Achievement of Bob Dylan
The mid-Seventies album Desire is for me Bob Dylan’s crowning achievement... [read more]
Self, Celebrity, Debt And Sport
"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority it is time to pause and reflect" Mark Twain... [read more]
Iraq Invasion - Anniversary of The Biggest Terrorist Attack in Modern History?
Since terrorism is again in the news, it is timely to revisit one of the biggest acts of terrorism in modern history - the illegal invasion and destruction - ongoing - of Iraq... [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]
The BBC – a flawed institution but worth preserving
The Tories must not be allowed to destroy the BBC. For all its flaws, it is well worth preserving... [read more]
The Reign of Absurdiocy
There is no such thing as "international terrorism". To declare war on "international terrorism" is nonsense. Politicians who do so are either fools or cynics, and probably both.... [read more]
A major factor in Jeremy Corbyn’s appeal to voters
It is Labour’s long-standing support for, and failure to challenge, the central tenets of neo-classical orthodoxy that has disabled any challenge they have tried to make to any other aspect of the Tory progamme... [read more]
Monsanto's 'Hand of God': Planned Obsolescence Of The Indian Farmer
Global agribusiness is playing fast and loose with poor people’s lives and is profiting handsomely.... [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]
Economic Policies for an Incoming Labour Government (Part 3 of 9)
The Different Uses of Credit Creation... [read more]
John Cantlie writes from within Islamic State captivity… what messages should we take from his article?
Freedom of speech and expression has become a much debated concept depending who interprets and how it is defined... [read more]
The Pen Trumps the Sword Anytime (Part 3)
The third part of an 'Introduction' to an illustrated book of poetry by Faysal Mikdadi. The collection, Painted into a Corner, appeared in the summer of 2014... [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]
The Dangers of Form Agnosia
Kate Zagoskina describes the West's tendency to shut its eyes to the bigger picture and ignore the link between action and consequence... [read more]
The Afghan child “suicide” bomber and 8 year old Yemeni drone “spy”: Whose “truth” and whose “propaganda”?
There is often online censorship on insurgents for alleged “propaganda” and instigating violence yet we do not see the same level of censorship for governments that churn out false information on Afghanistan and drone civilians... [read more]
One of the truest journalists is a cartoonist armed with a penguin
Steve Bell is a contemporary Hogarth, with a touch of Peter Sellers, writes John Pilger.... [read more]
Banks versus the People: the Underside of a Rigged Game! (Part 3) - The greatest offensive against European social rights since the Second World War
We should not underestimate the capacity of the elites to make the most of a crisis situation writes Eric Toussaint... [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]
The Fat of the Land
The European Union's farm subsidies are a modern equivalent of feudal aid. As Europe suffers under austerity, it's right to call for reform, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
The USA: Glorious Diversity or Cruel Contradiction?
Faysal Mikdadi takes a look at the reality of the 'American Dream'... [read more]
Spot the Difference: Public Relations and Journalism
Finn Bowen asks that in light of the possible convergence of Public Relations and Journalism - once completely separate professions - can we ‘trust the truth’ the media portray? ... [read more]
The Children Are Still Dying: Violence is Not News
Somewhere in my home I have a set of photo albums I rarely go near. I fear the flood of cruel memories that might be evoked from looking at the countless photos I took during a trip to Iraq, writes Ramzy Baroud.... [read more]
The ethical case for ‘people power’
Peter Tatchell sets out the ethics and efficacy of direct action protest across a range of issues, including OutRage!’s successful campaign against the police harassment of the LGBT community... [read more]
Coming to Grips with Zizek
Two new books by Slavoj Zizek have recently been reviewed by John Gray in the The New York Review of Books, here Thomas Riggins reviews Gray's article.
... [read more]
Looking in the mirror, living in denial: The Arundhati effect
Colin Todhunter reveals the motives behind those launching personal attacks on Booker prize winning novelist, activist and social commentator, Arundhati Roy ... [read more]
Spying an opportunity
Stephen Gilbert argues that surveillance over the whole population involves an erosion of our basic liberties. We give away our rights at our own peril.
... [read more]
Noncommittal for kindle or less than kind?
The Kindle - an infinity of reading or a bibliophile's nightmare? Stephen Gilbert shares his thoughts on the matter.... [read more]
Goodbye homophobia. Hello sexual diversity
Peter Tatchell gives his thoughts on what a post homophobic society might look like... [read more]
The State of Racism in Britain
UK society is dead. Or that is what its detractors would like you to think. Many will point the finger not at our leaders or themselves but towards those who they believe don’t belong here - immigrants and asylum seekers, writes Chris Bath.... [read more]
Why capitalism likes us to behave irrationally
It’s a great irony that although human beings, as distinct from other animals, are characterised by their ability for rational thinking, so much of our behaviour is irrational, argues John Green.... [read more]
Interview: Behind the Lines
Hussein Al-Alak speaks with a Jordanian based activist involved in helping Iraqi refugees who have fled to Jordan.... [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]
The Gay Liberation Front's Social Revolution
Forty years ago, the Gay Liberation Front challenged society's gender system. Peter Tatchell looks back on four decades of activism.... [read more]
Behind the Israeli Wall: A Lesson in Reality
Rich Whiles' timely new book takes a refreshingly honest look at the experiences of the victims of Israeli apartheid, writes Ramzy Baroud.... [read more]
An Interview with Yvonne Ridley
Tomasz Pierscionek talks to award winning journalist Yvonne Ridley about her capture by the Taliban in 2001 and subsequent conversion to Islam, as well as her views on the recent rise in Islamophobia and political opposition towards the veil... [read more]
Beyond Violence and Non-Violence: Resistance as a Culture
Political resistance is not simply gratuitous violence - is a collective response to oppression, writes Ramzy Baroud.... [read more]
Dispatch from China: Number 15 Has Left the Building
The fight against climate change presents a peculiar set of challenges for media oulets balancing corporate business models with the urgent need for critical debate, as Ramzy Baroud explains.... [read more]
Gaza’s Kite Runners
Ramzy Baroud on how the simple act of flying a kite came to symbolise resistance in Gaza.... [read more]
The Internet: A Democratising Force or Information Overload?
Matt Genner examines the impact of the dot com revolution on democratic debate and political activism.... [read more]
An Important but Risky Victory for Venezuela and for Socialism
Gregory Wilpert assesses the implications of Hugo Chávez's referendum victory.... [read more]
In Defence of Socialism
As the capitalist world engages in much earnest soul-searching in response to the current financial crisis, Tomasz Pierscionek challenges the deeply-ingrained hostility towards socialism which pervades much of contemporary political culture.... [read more]
THE F WORD
RTFM? Baffled by those initials? No, it's not the latest in cool social media acronyms, but an older caveat, dating back to early 20th century military slang... [read more]
The Siamese Twins
After commenting on most of the episodes on the first Israeli Prime Ministers in Raviv Drucker's TV series "The Captains", I must come back to the one whose episode I have not yet covered: Yitzhak Rabin.... [read more]
You can’t have human rights in a neoliberal economy: Britain and the Universal Declaration at 70
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1948... [read more]
Civilisations, a current television project, stimulates responses
Civilisation is the culture of cities, of permanent settlements. These demand social organisation to administer to the needs of citizens... [read more]
What the Hell?
What the hell am I? An Israeli? A Jew? A peace activist? A Journalist? An author? An ex-combat soldier in the Israeli army? An ex-terrorist?... [read more]
What We Need
One of the most frustrating aspects of analysing current events is just how fast the world-picture changes... [read more]
Knowing Who We Are
What is happening is real enough. Finding the causes of this undeniable reality is problematic. Yet more problematic is finding an acceptable way of articulating what I see... [read more]
North Korea - As Trump Threatens, the Nation Still Struggles with America’s Lethal Legacy
“Throughout the world, on any given day, a man, woman or child is likely to be displaced, tortured, killed or ‘disappeared’ … More often than not, the United States shares the blame.” (Amnesty International, 1996) ... [read more]
And Where is Glastonbury?
The hope is that we wake up to something within our grasp at last.... [read more]
Whoso Confesseth and Forsaketh
In the tumult of the last few days, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the "unification" of Jerusalem, one of the articles stated that "even peace-activist Uri Avnery" voted in the Knesset for the unification of the city.... [read more]
One, Two, Three – Rejoice!
I remember the first few Independence Days, just after the foundation of the State of Israel. There was spontaneous jubilation, we were all out in the streets, the celebration was real. This year's Independence Day was not a happy affair... [read more]
The Great Rift
I believe that it is there that the solution lies. We must get rid of the occupation, by all available means, the quicker the better.... [read more]
Lebanon Has a Few Stragglers Living There
As ever in life, there were compensations that made life tolerable despite many difficulties.... [read more]
Trading Places
More than ever in human history, we're caught in a tug of war that threatens to destabilise entire populations and even to redefine geo-political and cultural boundaries.... [read more]
Getting out of mass society in order to foster social change
Social change needs good politics. Good politics needs communities. And communities need individuality... [read more]
Lenin Deserves To Be Rescued From His False Reputation
2017 is going to see many revised versions of the October Revolution. Some prejudices need to be countermanded even before they are uttered. Lenin’s reputation is overshadowed by, and confused with, Stalin’s.... [read more]
Alone Of All The Arts
Writing is the hand that feeds society’s conscience and consciousness. Writing examines life, the essential process of civilized awareness, the fuel of serious social discourse... [read more]
The Only Way Is Ethics: A Crash Course in Six Parts
Part One: Now You See Me, Now You Don't... [read more]
The Great Rift
The tragedy of present-day Israel is not that there are so many divisions, but that they all converge in one large rift.... [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]
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]
Fear of Assimilation
The Israeli Ministry of Education has struck a book from students' reading list. The cardinal sin was the plot: a love story between a Jewish girl and an Arab boy... [read more]
Iraq Inquiry – Five Year, £10 Million Whitewash of Blair Regime?
Bereaved UK families who lost sons and daughters in the illegal invasion of Iraq have now threatened legal action against Sir John Chilcot... [read more]
From Liberal Hand-wringing to the Political Economy of Assassination: The Charleston Shootings and Mainstream Society’s Complicity in Murder (Part 2)
The ways in which guns are deployed has something to do with the systems in which they are embedded... [read more]
Rewriting Democracy: Scotland’s movement towards independence with a National Yes Registry
Many people thought (and hoped) that Scotland voting No in its Independence Referendum last year had laid that idea to rest. Far from it... [read more]
The Fourth of July and the right of revolution
Every schoolchild in the United States is exposed at one point or another to this famous passage from the Declaration of Independence... [read more]
Is Britain now Too Gerrymandered To Be A Genuine Democracy?
During the last 27 years, Conservative and Coalition Governments have passed legislation aimed at reducing the voting rights of people not likely to be supportive of the Conservative Party... [read more]
The CIA, Torture, and American “Democracy”
The Senate report on CIA torture reads like a Stephen King novel, a transcript from the Nuremberg trials, or Josef Mengele’s notes from Auschwitz... [read more]
What GMOs Are Really About: Profits, Power and Geopolitics
Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are not essential for feeding the world... [read more]
If you must eat meat, save it for Christmas
From chickens pumped with antibiotics to the environmental devastation caused by production, we need to realise we are not fed with happy farm animals, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
Deaths in detention: Defence of Human Rights group in Pakistan on a “high- risk” mission to Swat
Many innocent people have become victims of the state in Pakistan as successive governments assisted the US with its War on Terror operations after 9/11... [read more]
Decent Respect
Sweden, like Britain, was always considered a "pro-Israeli" country, loyally voting against "anti-Israel" resolutions in the UN. If such important Western nations are reconsidering their attitudes towards the policy of Israel, what does it mean?... [read more]
Has the Swedish Left Lost Again?: The 2014 Electoral Implosion, Civilian Deindustrialization and the Swedish Dilemma
Part 3 of Jonathan Feldman's analysis of the recent Swedish general election... [read more]
Has the Swedish Left Lost Again?: The 2014 Electoral Implosion, Civilian Deindustrialization and the Swedish Dilemma
Part 2 of Jonathan Feldman's analysis of the recent Swedish general election... [read more]
Labour's vision
Labour leaders have often been eloquent in articulating a vision of the kind of society they want; it is explaining how that vision is to be realised that seems to be the problem... [read more]
The Jihadis Return - ISIS and the New Sunni Awakening by Patrick Cockburn
Dr Tomasz Pierscionek reviews Patrick Cockburn's latest book... [read more]
Happy Independence Day? India, Monsanto, GMOs and the Bigger Picture
On 15 August, India will mark its 67th anniversary of independence from Britain. It may seem strange to some that a nation would publicly celebrate its independence while at the same time it less publicly cedes it to outsiders... [read more]
Challenges to the rights of sexual minorities in Africa
A Ugandan Catholic priest analyses the reasons for the existence of homophobia in Africa... [read more]
Is a Tea Party movement about to kick off in Britain?
A fallen government minister who fought the ‘green blob’ seems to be contemplating a US-style insurgency, 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]
Acquiescing to Big Biotech: The Deceptions and Falsehoods of the GMO Lobby
British Environment Secretary Owen Paterson is a staunch supporter of the GMO sector despite mounting evidence pointing to the deleterious health, social, ecological and environmental impacts of GMOs... [read more]
An Oslo Criminal
The death of Ron Pundak, one of the original Israeli architects of the 1993 Oslo agreement, brought that historic event back into the public eye.... [read more]
Changing The Flag
New Zealand has decided to change its flag. This was only briefly mentioned in the media here. But it is a significant example for us... [read more]
Banks bluff in a completely legal way
Part 8 of Eric Toussaint's series Banks Versus The People: The Underside Of A Rigged Game!... [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]
Bread and Circuses in a Digital Age
Bread and circuses have always been a central aspect of ruling class hegemony and a means of keeping the masses in a soporific state... [read more]
Mandela is gone, but apartheid is alive and well in Australia
In the late 1960s, I was given an usual assignment by the London Daily Mirror's editor in chief, Hugh Cudlipp. I was to return to my homeland, Australia, and "discover what lies behind the sunny face", writes John Pilger.... [read more]
Waiting for Mangabe or Slavoj Zizek on Mandela's Socialist Failure
This is a reply to Slavoj Zizek's article "Mandela's Socialist Failure" published online in The Stone (a New York Times maintained philosophy blog) on December 6, 2013... [read more]
The Banks, Fragile Giants
Part 5 of Eric Toussaint's series Banks versus the People: the Underside of a Rigged Game shows that big banks continue playing with fire, because they are persuaded that governments will save them whenever necessary... [read more]
The JFK Conspiracy Theories and Why they Still Matter Today
It is now fifty years ago, come November 22nd, that John F Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas in an event that had a huge bearing on the course of history from that day on... [read more]
Why bad movies keep coming out and what to do about it
Unlike the babbling brook of Hollywood – with its suppression of truth, fake heroes and warmongering – a masterpiece, or just a good movie, is unforgettable, writes John Pilger.... [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]
An Excerpt From Carl Sandburg’s Poem “Yes, The People” Re-considered As An Economic And Political Commentary
All people receive new information through a kind of perceptual grid consisting of their background, education and prejudices, which modifies their capability to absorb new information... [read more]
Iraq: The Beats and the Bedouins
After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, day to day accounts of what was taking place did not come from left or right wing journalists but from ordinary Iraqi writers, who gave outsiders a unique insight into events... [read more]
International Relations and the Classroom
We in Britain are often subject to the age old criticism of being insular and self engrossed. Whereas this is not strictly speaking true, there is an element of truth in this belief... [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]
Banks versus the People: The Underside of a Rigged Game! (Part 1)
Eric Toussaint looks at 2007-2012: Six years that shook the banking world... [read more]
Michael Gove and Antonio Gramsci
It is fashionable to claim that Michael Gove has been influenced by Antonio Gramsci says David Lindsay... [read more]
Monuments to Conscientious Objectors,
David Lindsay highlights a campaign to raise money to erect a monument to three forgotten groups of individuals... [read more]
Becoming free, the need for a child to read!
Growing up, I was fortunate enough to come from a family where reading books was encouraged and seen as vital for the development of spelling. Visits to the library were a past time and among the furniture of the home, heaped book cases were normal... [read more]
Britain's Poverty Addiction
I was absolutely horrified to read that the UK Government may be underestimating the numbers of families in poverty, by up to an estimated 40%, according to academics at Edinburgh University writes Hussein Al-Alak... [read more]
Shimomuran Economics: The No-Debt Investment Credit Creation Path to More Rapid Economic Growth
George Tait Edwards MBE makes the case for the urgent implementation of Keynesian economics to stimulate growth, based on the economic model's previous success in the US, China and Japan... [read more]
Hold the front page! We need free media, not an Order of Mates
The other day, I stood outside the strangely silent building where I began life as a journalist. It is no longer the human warren that was Consolidated Press in Sydney. It seems in Australia, hard-won rights are being buried beneath corporate might, writes John Pilger.... [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 Self-Hating State
Devolving policy to “the market” doesn’t solve the problem of power. It makes it worse, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
A Capitalist Command Economy
Forcing schools into the hands of unelected oligarchs is the latest contradiction of everything the market fetishists claim to stand for, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
Assimilation or Separatism?
Susan Walpole argues that the problems facing Christians, Muslims, Jews and other religions today appear to be firmly rooted in their ideologies of identity... [read more]
The Shame and Duty of a Paranoid State
The rise of neo-Zionism in Israel goes against everything Jews have struggled against for centuries, explains Oliver Thompson ... [read more]
Obituary: Colonial officer, overseas aid administrator and champion of the oppressed who advanced the cause of gay people in the Civil Service'
Richard Kirker remembers Ian Buist: the quintessential Civil Service mandarin, but also a doughty proponent of social progress. He had a fearless determination to champion the rights of the victims of injustice, minorities and the marginalised.... [read more]
Obituary: Colonial officer, overseas aid administrator and champion of the oppressed who advanced the cause of gay people in the Civil Service'
Ian Buist: Ian Buist, CB, colonial officer, overseas aid administrator and champion of human and gay rights, was born on May 30, 1930. He died on October 19, 2012, aged 82, remembered by Richard Kirker.... [read more]
As Gaza is savaged again, understanding the BBC's historical role is vital
We must understand the BBC as a pre-eminent state propagandist and censor by omission, says John Pilger.... [read more]
Netanyahu’s High-stakes Game in Gaza: Same Time, Same Place
Many key phrases have been presented to explain Israel’s latest military onslaught against Gaza, which left scores dead and wounded. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is flexing his muscles in preparation for the Israeli general elections in January, suggested some, writes Ramzy Baroud.... [read more]
Lip Service to Peace: EU as an Enabler of Netanyahu’s Colonial Policies
Europe is different, as we are often reminded. The general wisdom is unlike the US’ unconditional support for Israel. European countries tend to be more balanced in their approach to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, writes Ramzy Baroud.... [read more]
The internet- Plutocracy's Achilles' Heel?
Ironically Capitialism's well founded fear of unfettered public access to matters of vital importance stems from the advent of the internet, writes Jim Handley... [read more]
The Empire Trapped: The US’ Unpromising Role in the New Middle East
Since the Second World War, US foreign policy has been largely predicated on military adventures, by severely punishing enemies and controlling ‘friends’. Diplomacy was often the icing on the cake of war, writes Ramzy Baroud.... [read more]
Nuclear power, the energy of protest: The future could be renewable
With proper commitment and investment in renewable energy and a push towards an alternative model of development, the future need not resemble the past or indeed the increasingly catastrophic present, writes Colin Todhunter. ... [read more]
Condemnation partly motivated by hindsight
The condemnation of past behaviours has become fashionable. It is partly motivated by hindsight. It is also partly motivated by sheer outrage, as any decent and humane person cannot help but be outraged by man's often barbaric treatment of other human beings, writes Elizabeth Ellis.... [read more]
Mass media directing the masses
Luke Innes looks at the effect of mass media on the working class in Britain... [read more]
Mining The Past
Paul Lloyd looks back at the findings of a coroner’s inquest that investigated the deaths of seven Cumbrian miners nearly a century ago.
... [read more]
Hooked On Treachery
Edward Bernays is known as the father of modern advertising/propaganda. Colin Todhunter emphasises and how we must and indeed can break free of the addictions and fears being promoted daily.... [read more]
Nothing ‘Accidental’ in Mali – More Misery Awaits
Northern Mali promises to be the graveyard of scores of innocent people if African countries don’t collectively challenge Western influence in the region, writes Ramzy Baroud.... [read more]
More than just a Game: football as the modern opium of the masses
The spectacle of sport, like the 2012 Euro Cup, is the primary medium through which nations and national identities are imagined, writes Ilia Xypolia.... [read more]
Camping Needs Solid Ground
LPJ's arts correspondent and resident philosopher, Stephen Gilbert, comments that an emphasis on celebrity is the prevailing television flavour of the age, infecting every genre of programming, whether appropriate or not... [read more]
Starving and Broke: Yemen’s Renewed ‘War on Terror’
Yemeni forces continue to push against fighters affiliated with al-Qaeda. Their major victories come on the heels of the inauguration of Abd Rabbuh Mansur al-Hadi, who is now entrusted with the task of leading the country through a peaceful transition writes Ramzy Baroud.... [read more]
The state of Alternative comedy
This year Britain’s king of alternative comedy, Billy Connolly, hits 70-years-old. Still alive and kicking. But is the notion of alternative comedy dead asks Miles Caston.... [read more]
The passion of Bradley Manning- the story of the suspect behind the largest security breach in US history
Dr Tomasz Pierscionek reviews a book about Bradley Manning- the young American soldier recognised as being the source behind thousands of documents that appeared on the Wikileaks website... [read more]
The symbolic violence of reality television
Prior to the encroachment of neo-liberal policy into the economic and cultural landscape of Britain, television programmes we would typify as ‘entertainment shows’ were built around the dominant working-class lifestyle and values, writes Tom Chivers.... [read more]
Political policing
Still needs a lot of editing, especially last part...... [read more]
Why Israel Attacked Gaza: Bibi Stirring Trouble
The first Israel missile sped down to its target, scorching the Gaza earth and everything in between. Palestinians collected the body parts of two new martyrs, while Israeli media celebrated the demise of two terrorists, 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]
Lucy Parsons: labor activist, writer and revolutionary- A Liberation Black History Month profile
Women of every oppressed nationality are often at the helm of revolutionary movements. Unfortunately, the contributions of women are frequently dismissed or forgotten... [read more]
Anti-Semitism and Israel’s Inherent Contradictions
In a recent article, columnist Yaniv Halili described British author Ben White as 'anti-Semitic'. He also denounced Arab Knesset member Hanin Zoabi for writing a forward to White's latest book, Palestinians in Israel: Segregation, Discrimination and Democracy, writes Ramzy Baroud.
... [read more]
The Blockbusters
Uri Avnery shows how the differences that exist between the different cultural blocs in Israeli society are a barrier to peace ... [read more]
An outRageous! essay on The Arts, Education and The People.
This rant is aimed at your crassness, Cameron. It goes to the heart of what is art, and why it's so important in preparing people for democracy, says outRageous!... [read more]
My Granny Speech
Attending social security and disability appeal tribunals in 2012 is like watching a Dickens adaptation on the television, says Felix McHugh.... [read more]
From Kim Jong Il to Kim Jong Un
Reece Ferguson provides a detailed report of the funeral of late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il... [read more]
The Terrifying Prospect of Becoming Something You Loathe.
Deborah X ponders over a dilemma... [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]
Voters swing behind the PCE on its 90th anniversary
David Eade recounts the history of the Communist Party of Spain and shows that the party still has influence in Spanish politics... [read more]
The Health and Social Care Bill and the Negation of Democracy
Colin Leys discusses the profound impact that the Health and Social Care Bill will have upon the publically owned National Health Service... [read more]
Talking Politics with Hratche Koundarjian
First-time voter Chris Mason-Felsing met with Labour's Hratche Koundarjian to discuss Labour's Gernal Election prospects.... [read more]
The Naming of Things
George Monbiot suggests one small way in which the collapse of biodiversity could be slowed.... [read more]
Activism is Change, Not academic Squabbles and Bickering
Ramzy Baroud calls for a greater sense of community among Western-based supporters of the Palestinian cause.... [read more]
Western Media, Not Israeli Hasbara
Despite the best efforts of the mainstream media to play down the barbaric assault on Gaza, Israel cannot win the public relations war, argues Ramzy Baroud.... [read more]
Return to Family Values is Way Out of Crisis say the Tories
The Conservative Party started their election campaign on familiar ground, as John Green explains.... [read more]
We Need an Index of Human Rights
Measuring and ranking every country's observance of human rights would give nations an incentive to raise their game, argues Peter Tatchell.... [read more]
“…And A Little Child Shall Lead Them”
Barack Obama has weakly capitulated to Binyamin Netanyahu over Israeli settlement-building in the heart of the Arab community in East Jerusalem, says Uri Avnery.... [read more]
Voting Reform Will Empower the Left
Changing Britain's electoral system would benefit Labour and radicalise politics, says Peter Tatchell... [read more]
Green Shoots of Economic Recovery?
Mick Brooks considers recent claims that the world economic system is on the mend.... [read more]
The Economic Crisis and Poor Countries
Mick Brooks compares the 'boom and bust' economics of the past twenty years with similar patterns in the 1920s and 1930s: once again it is the poorer nations that stand to lose the most.... [read more]
Ecuador's Correa Hoping for Parliamentary Majority
Samuele Mazzolini previews the forthcoming elections in Ecuador.... [read more]
Book of the Month: "Beyond Bogota" by Garry Leech
This month's recommendation is a work of great courage, insight and journalistic integrity, as Matt Genner explains.... [read more]
The Tempo of the Struggle
Socialist Appeal's Terry McPartlan provides a Marxist analysis of the current financial crisis.... [read more]
Book of the Month: Matti Kohonen and Francine Mestrum Eds, "Tax Justice"
In the first of our regular "Book of the Month" features, Matt Genner recommends this insightful collection of essays on economic reform.... [read more]
Interview: Rob Miller of the Cuba Solidarity Campaign
Rob Miller answers Tomasz Pierscionek's questions about the Cuba Solidarity Campaign.... [read more]
Ecuador Pushing to Break Free from the Cycle of Debt
Samuele Mazzolini examines a bold new intiative from the Ecuadorean government, aimed at establishing a coordinated transnational policy among debtor nations with respect to the crippling debt burdens that are stifling progress in the developing world.... [read more]
The Rights of Women as Casualties of War
With two tragic Palestinian deaths receiving international publicity, Ramzy Baroud considers the everyday suffering inflicted upon women in times of war and occupation.... [read more]
Why the UN is Crying Out for Reform
With the US President-elect soon to enter office on a promise of "change", Luke Aldred argues that the international security system is a prime candidate for a radical overhaul.... [read more]
The Working Class Must Not be Left to Pay for Wall Street Mess
Socialist Appeal's Walter Leon on the far-reaching implications of the financial crisis. ... [read more]
Brown Inches Closer to Ingsoc
Tom Bangay on why Brown's Britain is sleepwalking into a surveillance society.... [read more]
The Contest for the Centre
Matt Genner on how the ongoing struggle for the political centre ground is undermining democracy.... [read more]
Smuggling Music and Sex Education: 'Bravo' Magazine in the German Democratic Republic
Alexa Van Sickle looks back on a popular magazine which achieved cult status in East Germany during the Cold War era.... [read more]
Manufactured Famine
George Monbiot on the European trade initiatives which are likely to exacerbate existing food shortages in the developing world.... [read more]
Why David Cameron Blames the Poor
Peter Taylor-Gooby argues that the Conservative party's latest attempt to scapegoat the poor reflects the extent to which Thatcherite individualism has poisoned British society after over a decade of New Labour in power.... [read more]
Argentina Divided Over Agrarian Tax Reform
Samuele Mazzolini examines recent developments in the Argentinian Senate, where the right have rallied to block progressive tax reforms.... [read more]
How the NHS was Founded – the Fight Against Private Medicine
As Britain's National Health Service celebrates another milestone anniversary, Barbara Humphries reviews sixty years of struggle against encroaching privatisation.... [read more]
Cultural Values and the “Amstetten case”: what the International and Austrian Media are Saying About Josef Fritzl
Alexa Van Sickle dissects the response of national and international media to the Josef Fritzl scandal.... [read more]
Pro-Death
George Monbiot considers the implications of attempts to reverse progress on abortion.... [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]
U.S. IMMIGRATION: Is It Still an (inter-)National Asset or a Heartland Liability? You be the final Judge!
Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free ... [read more]
The Changing Political Discourse about Israel and Palestine
This is the transcript of a brief talk given by Dr Faysal Mikdadi at the screening by the Dorset Palestinian Israeli Peace Group (DPIPG) of Eran Riklis’ film ‘Lemon Tree’ on Wednesday 20 June 2018... [read more]
The March of Folly
The Israeli argument was that the victims were shot while trying to "storm the fences". Actually, not a single such attempt was photographed, though hundreds of photographers were posted on both sides of the fence.... [read more]
What's the Big Idea?
A little riddle for your amusement. It has more to do with class capitalism than you might suppose... [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 Great Day
Two days ago, the State of Israel celebrated its 70th birthday. For days we heard about nothing else. Innumerable speeches full of platitudes. A huge festival of kitsch.... [read more]
From Afghanistan to Anantnag via Abbotabad (Part 1)
The death of twenty people on April 1 between Indian security forces and armed Hizbul Mujahedin militants in Anantnag district in Indian-controlled South Kashmir is a stark reminder of a criminal legacy of the anti-colonial religious-nationalism that has its modern roots in the Afghan jihad... [read more]
A Song is Born
The situation in the Gaza Strip is as close to hell as one can get. Food at subsistence level, electricity for two to four hours a day, the water is polluted. Work is extremely scarce. Only the most severely ill are let out.... [read more]
Salisbury continues to suffer while Theresa May plays Novichok game
On Easter Saturday I revisited Salisbury to see for myself. This was, after all, a holiday weekend, and Salisbury should be packed with people. Yes, car parks were full but…... [read more]
Advertising Ghosts in the Political Machine by OutRageous!
Are You The Ghost or The Machine?... [read more]
Joining The Labour Party
In September 2016 I did something I never believed I would ever do. I joined the Labour Party.... [read more]
A Writer's Place
It was a masterpiece of evasion. He was asked, as other writers were, to comment on the needs of publishers to seek out work of merit that might not be commercially viable... [read more]
Labour Leave – Not the Way Ahead
It is true that in the EU referendum, more people (52%) voted to leave than remain (48%) with the EU. But of the total electorate, that was 37% wanting to leave, 35% wanting to remain, and 28% that did not vote. ... [read more]
Leaders of the world
In years gone by it never bothered me too much who was leading what country or international organisations because there were so many good leaders about who knew how the world worked... [read more]
UK Government Bribes its Way to Climate Change
Despite falling apart at the seams over its Brexit ‘negotiations’ with the EU, and its internal fights and scandals, bringing shame and embarrassment to the UK, Theresa May’s government is determined to carry on with its money-oriented and earth-trashing policies... [read more]
After the Euphoria
A weak government whose core values are misguided by nostalgia for a lost empire... [read more]
Crumbling World
A poem by Kay Channon... [read more]
Reasons to Be Cheerful 2017
2017 is almost done. Many things have changed in the world whilst others remain the same. Capitalism and greed are still rife... [read more]
Not Feeling But Falling
With extraordinary candour Theresa May has admitted that the case for the free market is not the given she believed it to be... [read more]
A Tale of Two Stories
This Tuesday morning he arrived at the gate as usual. But something aroused suspicion among the guards. He was wearing a jacket, though the weather was quite hot on this early autumn day. The guards asked him to remove his jacket.... [read more]
Despair of Despair
My optimism about the future of Israel irritates a lot of people. How can I be an optimist in view of what's happening here every day?... [read more]
North Korea an Aggressor? A Reality Check
The mention of one tiny country appears to strike at the rationality and sanity of those who should know far better... [read more]
How Much Is A Job Worth?
There was a time when organized labour was widely and regularly accused of greed and social irresponsibility when campaigning for more equitable wages. Today we see fortunes bestowed on the managers of capital without anything like the same measure of censure. ... [read more]
Yemen - Court Battle Exposes UK-Saudi Arms Deals And Humanitarian Tragedy
On Monday 10th July, a ruling was handed down by London’s High Court, which should, in a sane world, exclude the UK government ever again judging other nations' leaders' human rights records or passing judgement on their possession or use of weapons.... [read more]
The Myth of Trump’s Nationalism and Non-Intervention
For all their obvious flaws, one of the good things about early Trump supporters in the US was their opposition to war.... [read more]
The Four-Letter Word
Nobody will start peace negotiations if they believe that peace is impossible. The belief in peace will not make peace certain. But at least it will make peace possible.... [read more]
Mosul’s “Liberation”: Another Fallujah, Dresden - or Hiroshima?
"In the United States today, the Declaration of Independence hangs on schoolroom walls, but foreign policy follows Machiavelli." (Howard Zinn, 1922-2010)... [read more]
Reactive Mismeasures: The New Yorker and the "New" Cold War Propaganda (Part 3)
This is the third part of a paragraph by paragraph commentary on a recent article posing as journalism in the March 6, 2017 issue of The New Yorker... [read more]
Palestine's Nelson Mandela
Divide et impera – "divide and rule" – since Roman times this has been a guiding principle of every regime that suppresses another people. In this the Israeli authorities have been incredibly successful.... [read more]
Cui Bono?
Cui bono – "who benefits" – is the first question an experienced detective asks when investigating a crime.... [read more]
Reactive Mismeasures: The New Yorker and the "New" Cold War Propaganda (Part 1)
This is the first of a five part paragraph by paragraph commentary on a recent article posing as journalism in the March 6, 2017 issue of The New Yorker... [read more]
University of Terror
Some days ago, a man committed an act of terrorism in the center of London, a city I love.... [read more]
Respect the Green Line!
The most incisive analysis of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict I have ever read was written by the Jewish-Polish-British historian Isaac Deutscher... [read more]
The left as an alternative to both populism and neoliberalism
2016 has been the year of Brexit, Trump’s election and the defeat of the Italian prime minister Renzi in the constitutional referendum... [read more]
Power Will Be Restored
Would or could a different leader of this or that have altered the prospect of past, present or future... [read more]
The Call of the Nation
A dark wave is submerging democracies all over the Western world.... [read more]
A Word About Fidel
Fidel – a revolutionary hero to some, a ruthless tyrant to others. Why, we must ask, should the question be posed in terms of such polarity?... [read more]
Congressional Hawks Rush to Intensify War in Syria
One of the big lies regarding Syria is that the US has been inactive... [read more]
America’s Brexit: to fight Trump, fight Capitalism!
What once seemed unthinkable — akin to an episode of the Twilight Zone — has become a surreal reality... [read more]
“Confronting China”: John Pilger Talks about His New Film, America’s ‘Pivot to Asia’, and the Role of Japan and Australia
T.J. Coles, author of Britain’s Secret Wars talks to multi-awarded-winning journalist, author and filmmaker, John Pilger, about his new documentary, The Coming War on China... [read more]
The Kissinger Story
Kissinger achieved his goal. The Soviets lost the Arab world to the United States. Until Vladimir Putin came along... [read more]
Corbyn versus the Consensus
In any political movement there is a tension between what is desirable and what is possible... [read more]
Inner Transition: an introduction
I recently took up the challenge to talk about inner transition in the garden of an eco-village project in Värmland County, Sweden... [read more]
Civil War
Something strange happens to retired chiefs of the Israeli internal Security Service, Shin Bet.... [read more]
Insanity Rules - Pentagon Personnel Illegally in Syria Accuse Syrian Air Force of being “Foreign Military Aircraft.”
One can only conclude that the US Administration, Pentagon and the entire State apparatus have collectively lost every last shred of sanity.... [read more]
The Criminality of American and British Illegal Immigrants in Syria
The illegals are UK Special Forces in Syria to assist the “moderate” head chopping, hand chopping, child-decapitating “rebels.”... [read more]
If Only...
Discontent among the uninformed tends toward unreasoned emotion. The educated dissentient is able and willing to identify the nature of a problem and articulate an indictment of the problem’s source.... [read more]
Putting Labour Together Again
Former Labour shadow cabinet minister, Bryan Gould, explains how a parliamentary party ready to unite behind its leader would in turn invite and deserve a considered response from Corbyn... [read more]
What the Hell
What the hell has happened to them? Have they gone crazy? The British, of all people?... [read more]
The Day of the Rhinos
Position after position is taken over by the far-far right, which is ruling Israel now. Slowly. Very, very slowly.... [read more]
In the Panama Capers we Trust
The leaked Panama Papers, from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca & Co, are spilling the beans on the details of what the rich, powerful and greedy get up to with unseemly amounts of dosh... [read more]
Under the Lime Trees
One of the most famous lines in German poetry is "Don't greet me under the lime trees."... [read more]
Remain or Brexit: the UK’s referendum on the European Union
The only reason the UK is having a referendum on whether the UK should stay in (Remain) or leave (Brexit) the EU, is because of the difference of opinion within the Conservative Party.... [read more]
The Left Case For Brexit
Former Labour shadow cabinet minister, Bryan Gould, puts forward the left wing case for Brexit... [read more]
The Great BDS Debate
But what does peace mean? Peace is made between two enemies. It presupposes the existence of both. When one side destroys the other, as Rome destroyed Carthage, it puts an end to the war. But it is not peace... [read more]
An Unlikely Story: the Radio Times sells badger culling
The latest issue of the Radio Times must be making anti-badger culling people spitting mad... [read more]
Holy Water
In the last few months Netanyahu has appointed new people to several of the most important government functions... [read more]
EU - Should we stay or should we go?
Former Labour shadow cabinet minister, Bryan Gould, questions the economic benefits Britain supposedly derives from being part of the EU... [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 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]
Labour and the Trident Question
We all knew that Trident missiles would become an issue when Corbyn became leader of the UK Labour party... [read more]
The Widening Gap
In any list of Israel's 100 most important women, Ilana Dayan would occupy a prominent position... [read more]
The big private banks run on LTRO
Part 6 of the series 'Too Big to Fail' by Eric Toussaint... [read more]
How David Cameron's Coalition Government Stole the 2015 General Election
This article is an edited extract (from section 3.9) of the book How David Cameron Fixed The 2015 General Election and Much Else ... [read more]
The Scottish Industrial Revolution, or The Scottish First Industrial Miracle 1700–1800
Most accounts of the origins of the industrial revolution are Anglo-centric, focused upon how the industrial revolution in England began from about 1750... [read more]
King Bibi
The real danger of Netanyahu's reign is his total lack of an answer to Israel's main problem... [read more]
The Benn Speech
While lauding the courage of the Kurds in resisting ISIS “on the ground”, Benn studiously avoided mentioning that those doing most of the serious fighting are led by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)... [read more]
Building the Fight against Austerity
It has been a depressing few weeks for the supporters of the Labour Party’s new leader Jeremy Corbyn... [read more]
Cameron’s Strategic Defence and Security Review and the New Cold War
Every state that ever existed in world history has sought to justify its actions abroad by claiming that it is has the moral right and justice on its side... [read more]
There are thousands of reasons not to bomb Syria
There are many reasons why Members of Parliament should not vote in favour of bombing Syria... [read more]
Palestine
Just to think of Palestine is evocative. From the lush orange orchards to the laden olive groves... [read more]
Weep, Beloved Country
Sometimes, a small incident can pierce the darkness and reveal a frightening picture... [read more]
What if David Cameron is a Gerrymandering PM?
Frankie Boyle the Scottish comedian used the Comment is Free section of the Guardian to ask the question “What if David Cameron is an Evil Genius?”... [read more]
An Anti-Austerity 2015 UK Budget
George Tait Edwards explains how Shimomuran-Wernerian macroeconomics is the best available path to prosperity once the politicians of the West understand the effectiveness of that option... [read more]
What’s wrong with Britain?
One glance on Sunday morning at The Guardian website demonstrated quite clearly what is wrong with Britain – and, probably, the rest of the ‘developed’ world... [read more]
The Ministry of Fear
"We have nothing to fear but fear itself," said President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He was wrong... [read more]
The left wing case for quitting the EU
Much of the left would agree that the European Union does not always function in the best interests of either the European or International working class... [read more]
UN Farce: Saudi Arabia to Head Human Rights Council
The UN has appointed Saudi Arabia’s envoy to the United Nations Human Rights Council to head (or should that be “behead”) an influential human rights panel... [read more]
A lurch to the left
Bryan Gould, former Labour shadow cabinet minister, explains why Jeremy Corbyn's campaign appealed to those who are disturbed by increased poverty and widening inequality... [read more]
The Face of a Boy
The Israeli occupation in the Palestinian occupied territories is being filmed all the time. Everybody now has cellular phones that take pictures... [read more]
The Douma Market Attack: a Fabricated Pretext for Intervention?
Eric Draitser raises important questions about the recent attack on a market in the Syrian town of Douma and highlights gaps in the official narrative of events... [read more]
Jewish Terrorists
Some of my best friends demand that I write an article condemning unconditionally the "administrative detention" of Jewish terrorists. ... [read more]
Sheldon's Stooges
In Japan in the good old days, Binyamin Netanyahu would by now have committed hara-kiri... [read more]
The Nuclear with Iran and the Prospect of Regional Transformation
The long anticipated historic nuclear accords between the P5+1 countries and Iran is now poised to set a new milestone for non-confrontation and dialogue... [read more]
Ideological reforms vs Greek democracy
Bryan Gould, former Labour shadow cabinet minister, explains how Europe is witnessing a triumph of ideology over common sense ... [read more]
War Crimes? Us???
The concept of "war crimes" is dubious. The biggest crime is starting the war in the first place... [read more]
Marching Against Austerity: London 20 June 2015
Up to 250,000 people came to London and no one can argue that the demonstration, organised by The People's Assembly, wasn’t representative of the broad spectrum of people’s anger against Tory policies... [read more]
Why are Labour's leadership hopefuls so right-wing?
Bryan Gould, former Labour shadow cabinet minister, asks why the Labour Party throws up would-be leaders who are clearly so reluctant to rock the boat... [read more]
The Labour leadership election
Bryan Gould, former member of the Labour shadow cabinet, describes what is missing from the leadership contest... [read more]
Staying in Touch with the Real World
Former MP and member of the Labour shadow cabinet, Bryan Gould, explains how economic teaching lags behind reality... [read more]
The USSR – the Democracy You Didn’t Know About
Kate Zagoskina explains the origins of democracy and it various manifestations throughout history... [read more]
Governments submit to “Too Big to Fail” banks (part 1)
Since 2007, the major Central Banks of the most industrialised countries have lent massively to private banks at very low interest rates in order to avoid their failure... [read more]
Cats in a Sack
A fight is going on. A fight of all against all. A fight without rules or limits... [read more]
The Riderless Horse
There were events in 1951 which helped shape the subsequent history of much of the world... [read more]
An Iranian model of altruism, volunteerism, philanthropy and scholarship in the Diaspora
The devotion of one’s intellectual and material resources to the betterment of human society has been emphasized in Persian literature, culture and religions since the earliest times... [read more]
The Messiah Hasn't Come
As the American saying goes: "Today is the first day of the rest of your life."... [read more]
Farkhunda and Lahore killings: Acts of violent sexual perversion by “out of control” men
The men who attacked Farkhunda and their supporters are deluded if they think their actions were in defence of Allah... [read more]
Iraq: The Destruction of Nineveh’s History – Murdering Mesopotamia
March 19th commemorates the twelfth anniversary of the beginning of the destruction of Iraq... [read more]
Economic Policies for an Incoming Labour Government (Part 8 of 9)
The Community Interest Bank Key to Local SME Development... [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]
So you want to help Africa Owen Paterson? Then stop promoting ideology and falsehoods to push GMOs
Former UK Environment Minister Owen Paterson this week accused the European Union and Greenpeace of condemning people in the developing world to death by refusing to accept genetically modified crops... [read more]
Newcastle Unites to give Pegida the push: One message “We’re black and white”
As expected the people of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne with a reputation the world over for their friendly attitude and tolerance took to the streets of Newcastle today with a very simple but strong message to Pegida... [read more]
Our government’s big green idea: let’s subsidise natural disasters
Britain pays billions to support farming, and then billions to repair the catastrophic damage it causes, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
Is Russia a Kleptocracy?
Many anti-Russian commentators today have no problem with classifying Vladimir Putin's government as kleptocratic... [read more]
A Slow-Burning Revolution
Former MP and member of the Labour shadow cabinet, Bryan Gould, details the beginnings of a paradigm shift in economic thinking... [read more]
Has Democracy Gone Missing? Or was it ever here?
People are suffering from a deficiency which is as unbalancing as a hormone or vitamin deficiency. What we are severely lacking in is democracy... [read more]
Libya Lies - Rape as a Weapon of War - Made in the USA?
The US Ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, and Foreign Affairs advisor, Samantha Power, are credited with helping persuade President Obama to intervene in Libya... [read more]
Hegemony and Illusion
Only patient and sustained grassroots work among the masses can sharpen their consciousness and help them shed any illusions about the prevailing system. We must be under no illusions. There is no fast-track to the Revolution... [read more]
Complicity of Dexia in very serious Human Rights violations in the Israeli occupied territories
Part 8 of the series 'The banks and the “Too Big to Jail” doctrine'... [read more]
Iraq’s Children: Ever Expendable - From Madeleine Albright to “Save the Children.”
By 2010, seven years in to an unending war, over a quarter of Iraqi children suffered from Post Traumatic Stress disorder... [read more]
A Teacher's Lot Is Not a Happy One
Inspectors come into my school for a maximum total of two days. They observe a few teachers for about twenty minutes each and then pass momentous and life changing judgements on their practice... [read more]
Winston Churchill the Novelist
The fiftieth anniversary of Churchill's state funeral brings out the usual accolades as well as the customary recriminations... [read more]
With this attack on community energy the big six win out over 'big society'
By changing the rules, this government has sabotaged the promise of a UK community energy revolution and secured the dominance of the big six energy companies, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
The role of the state in the space race
In April 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first person in space, when Vostok 1 made a successful orbit of the Earth. ... [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]
U.S. cops kill at 100 times rate of other capitalist countries
How many people are killed every year by the police in the U.S?... [read more]
Taming corporate power: the key political issue of our age
Big business and its lobbyists have taken control of our politics. But there is an alternative. In the first of a new series, here’s how we can take on the fat cats, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
Dying for Industry
Pathological cruelty and neglect have to be dealt with so that animals do not fall prey to the farming trade’s worst practitioners... [read more]
The Son of my Eyes
Ruvi Rivlin, who was recently elected to the high but largely ceremonial post, is far from being a leftist... [read more]
Unpaid internships and the hypocrisy of capitalism
According to research conducted by the Sutton Trust, an educational charity based in the UK, almost a third of university graduate interns are being forced to work without pay, as a means of ‘getting their foot in the door’ of their respective careers... [read more]
The Unholy City
In its long and checkered history, Jerusalem has been occupied by dozens of conquerors. Uri Avnery's weekly article... [read more]
Wine, Blood and Gasoline
Kafr Kanna, a village near Nazareth, is probably the place where Jesus – according to the New Testament - turned water into wine. Now it is the Arab village where the Israeli police is turning stones into blood... [read more]
Muhammad, Where Are You?
About a month ago, on the eve of the Jewish New Year, the government statistical office published a set of interesting items about the population of the state... [read more]
‘Cleansing the stock’ and other ways governments talk about human beings
Those in power don’t speak of ‘people’ or ‘killing’ – it helps them do their job. And we are picking up their dehumanising euphemisms, writes George Monbiot.... [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]
It's time to shout stop on this war on the living world
Our consumption is trashing a natural world infinitely more fascinating and intricate than the stuff we produce, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
Ah, If I Were 25
Recently, Haaretz columnist Ari Shavit has written an article in which he equally condemns “extreme rightists” and “extreme leftists”, those who advocate war and those who advocate peace... [read more]
Lots of soldiers could die in Iraq — and not fighting ISIS
U.S. troops today should take that lesson to heart. It is not worth being the cannon fodder in another arrogance-driven military adventure in the Middle East... [read more]
How the media shafted the people of Scotland
Journalists in their gilded circles are woefully out of touch with popular sentiment and shamefully slur any desire for change, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
Drug and Bank Lords
Part three of the series by Eric Toussaint: The banks and the “too big to jail” doctrine... [read more]
Oil, Blood, Confusion, Fear: Fuelling The British Public's Appetite For War
Back in 2003, Tony Blair stated that Saddam Hussein could hit Britain with a missile within 45 minutes. He also said that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction... [read more]
Farah, A Gazan “Anne Frank”
Farah, who began blogging when she was just 12, sends her messages to be read by global audience, most of whom she will never meet... [read more]
Machismo underpins war and tyranny
A macho mindset is a psychological precondition for all oppression... [read more]
Monsanto’s Biotech Public Relations Makeover: Lubricating the Wheels of the GMO Trojan Horse
Monsanto believes it is having trouble getting its message across to the public. Last year, it began a makeover. It realised that it and GMOs have an image problem... [read more]
Sick of this market-driven world? You should be
The self-serving con of neoliberalism is that it has eroded the human values the market was supposed to emancipate, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
Israel slates Gaza for fighting back but why the double standards on “resistance”?
The Palestinians of Gaza consider themselves to be living within “occupied territory”, a fact recognised by the United Nations Human Rights Council and Human Rights Watch due to the fact that Israel maintains control of Gaza’s airspace, waters and borders... [read more]
A sea-change
Steve Richards is right to say that next year’s election will not, and should not, be decided by personality politics. So what will determine the voters’ preferences, asks former MP and member of the Labour shadow cabinet, Bryan Gould... [read more]
The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership: Sound Science and the GMO Biotech Sector's Version of Science
Coming from the GMO biotech industry, or its political mouthpieces, the term “sound science” rings extremely hollow... [read more]
GMOs, Corporatocentrism And Economic Plunder: The Right To Challenge And Refuse
The recently leaked report by India's Intelligence Bureau - ‘Impact of NGOs on Development’ - accuses certain activists and civil organisations of working against the national interest by colluding with foreign interests to undermine development and growth... [read more]
The Failure of Western Neoclassical economics - Invention without innovation results in increasing poverty
Many individuals in the Western nations are still great at invention, but innovation — defined as the transfer of these inventions to the factory floor — has generally failed in the West... [read more]
Comparison of the Washington, Berlin, and Tokyo Consensus Zones -Which one really works?
George Tait Edwards compares three separate economic systems presently operating around the world... [read more]
Update On Shimomuran Economics: The Day May Come
Western governments and their advisors can no longer continue to ignore the work of the master economist Dr Osamu Shimomura (1910-1989) who provided the insights which have produced the high growth of the China Sea economic zone... [read more]
Anglophobia Abroad
Miles Caston makes some interesting observations whilst on holiday in Corfu... [read more]
The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, A Thatcherite Revolution: “Free Trade”, Corporate Plunder and the War on Working People
Prior to the recent national elections in India, there were calls for a Thatcherite revolution to fast-track the country towards privatisation and neo-liberalism... [read more]
Saving the world should be based on promise, not fear
For 30 years I banged on about threats. But research shows we must to be true to ourselves – and to the wonder in nature, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
Police, Guns, Action – how safe were England’s pilot badger culls?
The British government’s policy to rid England’s cattle of bovine TB by culling badgers is unravelling writes Lesley Docksey... [read more]
A strategy for improving economic performance
Former MP and member of the Labour shadow cabinet, Bryan Gould, discusses a strategy for improving economic performance and addressing inequality... [read more]
In Their Own Juice
According to press reports, President Barack Obama has decided to let Binyamin Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas “stew in their own juice.”... [read more]
Welcome to Britain, the new land of impunity
No matter the criticisms made or damage done, fat cats and politicians seem able to cling on. Often their efforts are rewarded, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
Common Factors in Cases of Economic Resurgence
Successive British Governments have persistently denied the importance of industry in the national economy, with some of ministers foolishly regarding industrial decline as inevitable writes George T Edwards... [read more]
UK: Prime Minister Finds God, Bans Bishops, Priests, the Poor – and Crutches
When Prime Minister David Cameron pulls a stunt, or indeed, announces a “ground breaking” new policy, it is pretty well guaranteed to back fire. Indeed, his coalition government policy U-turns are heading for encyclopaedic... [read more]
This cash for grouse scandal shows how Britain has become a plutocrats' paradise
We subsidise the landed gentry and their shotguns. While the poor are plunged into brutal insecurity, the rich are untroubled, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
The Death Of Blair Peach: Remembering A Day Of Infamy
Blair Peach was killed 35 years ago today. Lindsey German, who knew him as a radical young teacher, looks back at the day in Southall when anti-fascists bore the brunt of police brutality... [read more]
Pakistan’s shame: Missing persons at epidemic proportions, campaigners call for urgent action
Carol Grayson highlights the campaign against enforced disappearances in Pakistan... [read more]
Tony Blair, George W. Bush and David Cameron: Hijacking God?
There must be something in the water at Number 10 Downing Street, writes Felicity Arbuthnot... [read more]
Who Owns the Future?
Bryan Gould states there is no novelty in arguing, as George Osborne does, that there is no alternative to his destructive and divisive policies of austerity... [read more]
Ukraine and Crimea - an Illegal Putsch and a Democratic Referendum
Felicity Arbuthnot discusses the outcome of the Crimean referendum in view of rampant propaganda being hysterically stirred from Washington and Whitehall... [read more]
The Monster on the Hill
There is nothing better than a scandal every week. A juicy scandal excites people, engages the media, takes our minds off matters like war and peace, occupation and apartheid... [read more]
Who is the terrorist? Drones, PTSD and the boy traumatised to death
I am outraged at seeing the photo of Hamza Hassan Bin Dahaman, a Yemeni youth so traumatised at witnessing a drone strike that he never recovered from the experience... [read more]
Warren’s Post Office Proposal: Palast Aims at the Wrong Target
Investigative reporter Greg Palast is usually pretty good at peering behind the rhetoric and seeing what is really going on. But in tearing into Senator Elizabeth Warren’s support of postal financial services, he has done a serious disservice to the underdogs... [read more]
Give and take in the EU-US trade deal? Sure. We give, the corporations take
I have three challenges for the architects of a proposed transatlantic trade deal. If they reject them, they reject democracy, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
Carry out the legacy of Hugo Chavez!
5th March marked one year since the death of Hugo Chávez, the great Venezuelan revolutionary, who was an inspiration to the masses in Latin America and across the world... [read more]
God Bless Putin
Binyamin Netanyahu is very good at making speeches, especially to Jews, neocons and such, who jump up and applaud wildly at everything he says, including that tomorrow the sun will rise in the west... [read more]
Pakistani accountant raises concerns for human rights of foreign workers in Saudi, claims Labour Law “not working”
Amendments have been made to Labour Law in Saudi Arabia to protect the rights of both foreign and Saudi workers, at least that is the theory but is it working in practice?... [read more]
Ukraine: a very Western coup
Dr Tomasz Pierscionek provides an analysis of the situation in Ukraine... [read more]
Missing Moazzam: For former Guantanamo detainee, the ordeal continues
I am missing the presence of Moazzam Begg as an important contributor to the daily political debate on terrorism and counter-terrorism on social media... [read more]
Pakistan: Warning letter on human rights abuses in state custody was ignored, Taliban kill 23 FC men in retaliation
I express my deep sadness when hearing of the torture and unlawful killing of persons in state custody or the recent execution of 23 Frontier Corps (FC) soldiers by Tehrik -i-Taliban (TTP) Mohmand Agency.... [read more]
'Good' and 'Bad' war - and the struggle of memory against forgetting
The regime that Washington created in the South, the “good” Korea, was set up and run largely by those who had collaborated with Japan and America, writes John Pilger.... [read more]
'Good and Bad' war - and the struggle of memory against forgetting
The regime that Washington created in the South, the “good” Korea, was set up and run largely by those who had collaborated with Japan and America, writes John Pilger.... [read more]
Did an undercover cop help organise a major riot?
The wrongly convicted activist John Jordan claims the Met helped plan serious civil disorder. An independent public inquiry is now vital, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
Lenin's State and Revolution: Chapter One Parts 2&3
Still basing himself on Engels' work, Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State, Lenin points out that the State is the first form of society exclusively to base itself on a given territory... [read more]
In Defence of Lenin
Following the 90th anniversary of Lenin's death, Rob Sewell reviews his legacy... [read more]
State and Revolution: Chapter One: Class Society and the State
Thomas Riggins explains how, according to Lenin, the State is a product of the irreconcilability of class antagonisms
... [read more]
Spend Now, Pay Later?
Climate change is happening, all over the world, not just in certain locations... [read more]
In India, a spectre for us all, and a resistance coming
Neoliberalism has failed the vast majority of India's people. But the spirit that gave the nation independence is stirring, writes John Pilger.... [read more]
Time for a complete withdrawal in Afghanistan, we should never have invaded in the first place
Journalist Carol Grayson was asked to write an article on the war in Afghanistan for a new magazine, Afghan Zariza, but was told that the “boss” thought it was “too inflammatory, so the article was banned from publication!... [read more]
Iraq’s Persecuted Christians
The Christmas day attacks against Iraq’s Christian community has once again thrust this besieged and dwindling minority back into the media writes Hussein Al-Alak... [read more]
Britain's Legacy in Palestine (Part 2 of 2)
Dr Faysal Mikdadi publishes an excellent account of Palestine's history, focusing on how the economic, racist, religious, nationalistic, commercial and orientalist attitudes of Britain shaped the land and its people (Part 2 of 2)... [read more]
The Death Of Robber Ronnie Biggs
Last week the news broke that Ronnie Biggs has died at age 84. Whilst I can certainly spare a thought for his family as they grieve, l cannot reconcile the popular perception held by many that Biggs was a kind of 'loveable rogue' who got one over on 'the man'... [read more]
Angel Face
Seeing her face on the TV screen, one is struck by her beauty. It is the face of an angel, pure and innocent... [read more]
Racism Is Alive and Well - Yet So Polite
Carol Anne Grayson's recent article evoked so many memories of my own life in Britain since the late 1960s. Grayson is undoubtedly right in feeling so uneasy at what she had experienced of Britain's racism... [read more]
Nuclear scare stories are a gift to the truly lethal coal industry
Coal is a much nastier power source than the one we have chosen to fear in a deadly form of displacement activity, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
The Many Major Uses of Investment Credit Creation: A brief walk through the observed results so far, and the future possibilities made available through Shimomuran Economics
Money is the measure of all things and personal wealth sets the boundaries of what the individual and his or her family can afford... [read more]
Britain's Legacy in Palestine (Part 1 of 2)
Dr Faysal Mikdadi publishes an excellent account of Palestine's history, focusing on how the economic, racist, religious, nationalistic, commercial and orientalist attitudes of Britain shaped the land and its people (Part 1 of 2)... [read more]
Special Report: Interview with British “jihadis” and what you won’t read in the “Tackling Extremism in the UK” report
British journalist, writer and film producer Carol Grayson conducts an exclusive interview with a member of the Taliban and a British born 'Jihadist' ... [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]
Russell Brand and the Nixon inequality shock
Russell Brand's call for revolution reverberated with many beyond the underclass he referenced... [read more]
The Major Policy of the Current Coalition Government is NOT Fiscal Balance But an Increased Rate of Income Shifting From Wage Earners to the Pockets of the Already Rich
The policy of the Coalition Government is not the much-trumpeted and unachievable aim of a balanced budget but the deliberate lowering of median British living standards and the production of more poverty... [read more]
Is Islam Compatible with Democracy?
The Western world, used to its democratic frame of mind, is constantly telling Muslims in general and Arabs in particular, to build democratic governments... [read more]
The problem with education? Children aren't feral enough
The 10-year-old Londoners I took to Wales were proof that a week in the countryside is worth three months in a classroom, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
Causality and Necessity in Nature
Thomas Riggins explores Lenin's take on the theory of knowledge of dialectical materialism and of empirio-criticism... [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]
Why is Apple so shifty about how it makes the iPhone?
The paragon of modern tech risks losing its shine by dodging queries about Indonesia, and an orgy of unregulated tin mining, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
Flourishing in a Not-For-Profit World by 2050
Imagine waking up in a world where you feel good about going to work, no matter the nature of your job... [read more]
Obama's rogue state tramples over every law it demands others uphold
For 67 years the US has pursued its own interests at the expense of global justice – no wonder people are sceptical now, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
Obama's rogue state tramples over every law it demands others uphold
For 67 years the US has pursued its own interests at the expense of global justice – no wonder people are sceptical now, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
Currently Mistaken Ideas in Western Economics and Their Suggested Corrections (preferably soon) Part 2
Economist George Tait Edwards straightens out some of the economic myths taught at Western universities (Part 2 of 2)... [read more]
The Lake District is a wildlife desert. Blame Wordsworth
I revere Wordsworth the poet, but not his view of farming as a benign force. The Lakes fells don't need world heritage status – just fewer sheep, writes George Monbiot.... [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]
What is behind this fracking mania? Unbridled machismo
Promoting extractive industries is seen by politicians as a proper, manly pursuit, even if it makes no sense, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
Banks versus the People: The Underside of a Rigged Game! (Part 2)
The European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve are at the service of the major private banks... [read more]
The Failure of Innovation in the Anglo-Saxon Economies
George Tait Edwards examines the role of innovation in economic development... [read more]
Who is killing the people of Iraq?
The United Nations recently warned that the ongoing turmoil inside Syria and Iraq has formed a situation where "the battlefields are merging” into one, writes Hussein Al-Alak... [read more]
Why Will Labour Not Readmit Me?
On 12th May, I re-joined the Fabian Society and the Christian Socialist Movement, writes David Lindsay... [read more]
The Crime of Alleviating Poverty: A Local Community Currency Battles the Central Bank of Kenya
Ellen Brown reports on how former Peace Corps volunteer Will Ruddick and several residents of Bangladesh, Kenya, face a potential seven years in prison after developing a cost-effective way to alleviate poverty in Africa’s poorest slums... [read more]
The Palestinian Right to Education
Dr Faysal Mikdadi explains how education is the key to Palestinian liberation and democracy... [read more]
The Errors of the ‘Localism Act’: Tax, Growth and Urban Expansion
Elijah Pryor identifies several problems associated with the introduction of the Localism Act... [read more]
A Critique of the analysis of Karl Marx within the BBC’s ‘Masters of Money’ Series
David Benbow critiques the BBC's ‘Masters of Money’ episode, aired last year, that focused on the economic theories of Karl Marx... [read more]
Who Turned the Lights Off?
Thomas Riggins reviews Jonathan Israel's analysis of Anthony Pagden's new book - The Enlightenment and why it still matters... [read more]
The Alternative 2013 Spending Review, Or What Mr Osborne Could Have Said If He Understood Macro-economics
The Spending Review by George Osborne contained no surprises. But suppose Mr Osborne really understood economics and actually wanted to improve the British economy. George Tait Edwards provides a constructive speech for a competent chancellor... [read more]
On summer solstice, my £100 bet against solar power ends - who won?
Solar may be popular but environmentalists must be hard-headed about how to reduce CO2 in the cheapest way, writes George Moniot.... [read more]
There is a war on ordinary people and feminists are needed at the front
The problem with media-run "conversations" on gender is not merely the almost total absence of male participants, but the suppression of class, writes John Pilger.... [read more]
Socialism and Christianity
David Benbow compares the tenets of Christianity with Socialist theory... [read more]
From Ragged Trousered Philanthropists to Label Wearing Ostriches?
Frank Owen, the lead character in Robert Tressell’s novel The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, expressed his frustration at the dismissive response of his fellow workers to his arguments for a better society... [read more]
Why Radical Islam is Growing and How to Deal with It
After the 9/11 tragedy there has been a surge in the radical Islamist movement writes Ola Onikoyi... [read more]
Assata Shakur: Understanding the politics behind the FBI's new attack
On May 2, the FBI suddenly announced that they had placed Assata Shakur on its “Most Wanted Terrorists” list. The FBI's accusations target Shakur as an individual, but the labeling of her as a terrorist is an attack on all revolutionaries says Eugene Puryear... [read more]
The End of Money
It’s Time to End Our Slavery to the Money-System declares Oliver Thompson
... [read more]
The new propaganda is liberal. The new slavery is digital
What is modern propaganda? For many, it is the lies of a totalitarian state. In the 1970s, I met Leni Riefenstahl and asked her about her epic films that glorified the Nazis, writes John Pilger.... [read more]
Unchangeable Constitution?
I find it incredible that ordinary US citizens believe that they have the right to keep and bear arms in this day and age writes Susan Walpole... [read more]
An uninformed MP and a bigoted Judge
Ungrateful as I feel for bashing someone who was actually trying to be helpful, it was difficult not to (a) laugh and then (b) groan at a short letter I recently received from a client’s local MP, writes Felix McHugh... [read more]
Line of Battle
The 'private good, public bad' madness sees a bedroom tax foisted on the poor while the rich amass vast property wealth, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
A long and dishonourable tradition
George Osborne may be just about the last person in Britain to believe that austerity offers a real path to recovery from recession and the resumption of growth - and it may be doubted that even he remains a true believer, writes Bryan Gould... [read more]
From Goulash Socialism to Hunger March
David Eade discusses Hungary’s answer to the Jarrow march... [read more]
Barbican Centre Cleaners in Historic Strike for the Living Wage
Election Day for the Corporation of London will see a strike of cleaners at the Barbican Centre... [read more]
“Ich bin ein Bil’iner!”
This does not happen every day: a Minister of Culture publicly rejoices because a film from her country has NOT been awarded an Oscar. And not just one film, but two.
... [read more]
Corporate Blowback
Companies like EDF, seeking to terrify protesters with lawsuits, are likely to become victims of their own aggression, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
Greece's Big Smog: Neoliberal austerity, public health, and the environment*
Neoliberal austerity in crisis-torn Greece has a significant implication for public health and the environment. The disturbing reality is that the unbearable cost of heating oil for a large portion of the country's population has led to an increased use of solid fuel heating, writes Ilia Xypolia.... [read more]
Andalucía High Court backs workers’ champion
If you have an image of a person who is an old school Communist mayor and trade unionist in Andalucía the chances are you would come up with a description of Juan Manuel Sánchez Gordillo, writes David Eade.... [read more]
The real invasion of Africa is not news and a licence to lie is Hollywood's gift
It is as if Africa’s proud history of liberation has been consigned to oblivion by a new master’s black colonial elite, writes John Pilger.... [read more]
A Telling Silence
They parasitise us from above. But landowners and the Tory party's idle rich are spared the fairest and simplest of taxes, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
Wolf killings are based on the most cynical of premises
Governments in Russia, Canada and Scandinavia claim they need to protect lesser species and habitats – while continuing their smash and grab raid on natural resources, writes George Monbiot.
... [read more]
If you think we're done with neoliberalism, think again
The global application of a fraudulent economic theory brought the west to its knees. Yet for those in power, it offers riches, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
New York City Stop and Frisk Police Harassment Found Unconstitutional
Thomas Riggins reports on a ruling that states the "stop and frisk" policy used by the NYPD is a violation of the Fourth Amendment of the US Constitution ... [read more]
Lenin on the Need for Political Compromise
As part of his series of articles analysing Lenin's classic work "Left-Wing" Communism: an Infantile Disorder, Thomas Riggins looks at what Lenin had to say about compromise and cooperation with political rivals... [read more]
The day my inner anarchist lost out to the bourgeois me
A winter's day, some years back: a fall on the ice landed George Monbiot in A&E – and that's when he met the man with tattoos on his neck and knuckles.... [read more]
Cypherpunks – freedom and the future of the internet
John Green reviews Cypherpunks – freedom and the future of the internet – a book By Julian Assange with Jacob Appelbaum, Andy Müller-Maguhn and Jérémie Zimmermann... [read more]
In the US, mass child killings are tragedies. In Pakistan, mere bug splats
George Monbiot: Barack Obama's tears for the children of Newtown are in stark contrast to his silence over the children murdered by his drones... [read more]
The year of cataclysm for the NHS
It has been a big year for the English health service, for the wrong reasons. With so much happening so fast, Alex Nunns of the NHS Support Federation pulls together the strands to explain what is really going on in the NHS... [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]
Australia and Asylum Seekers: Media Perspectives
The issue is not 'boat people' but imperialist expansion explains Finn Bowen
... [read more]
A Different War in Gaza, and the War Ahead
Ramzy Baroud writes, in life, some phenomena cannot be explained by ordinary logic or technical language, let alone official discourses. How did Gaza manage to fight back with such ferocity and undying vigour in quelling the latest Israeli war despite years of a bloody siege and one-sided war in 2008-9?... [read more]
Now they do not need evidence, they create secret witnesses
Öcalan’s isolation may be over as the hunger strike ends in Turkish prisons, but the unjust trials of the opponents of the Government continue. Tim Baster and Isabelle Merminod report ... [read more]
Palestine and Israel: A Modest Suggestion for Peace (Part 1)
Faisal Mikdadi discusses the origins of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and presents a road map for achieving peace between all peoples and factions that reside in these lands (Part 1)... [read more]
Palestine Entangled: The Politics of Money
The link between political statements and action, and money is obvious for all to see. What may appear as political concessions can oftentimes be attributed to some frozen or funds waiting to be delivered. It is transaction-based politics at its best, writes Ramzy Baroud.... [read more]
Manipulating History: The Different Faces of ‘Popular Resistance’ in Palestine
Apparently, ‘popular resistance’ has suddenly elevated to become a clash of visions or strategies between the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah and its rivals in Gaza, underscoring an existing and deepening rift between various factions and leaderships, writes Ramzy Baroud.... [read more]
Who Needs an Unstable Middle East?
Being a supporter of Palestinian statehood used to be a more lonely road than it is now. It was difficult to mention Palestine in public because it was such a 'dirty' word, Susan Walpole writes... [read more]
Review: The Master
OK, I saw "The Master." Now I know what the fuss is about. I don't pretend to know the film's "message" but I walked out afterward seeing/feeling the world from its point of view, writes Jean Claude van Italie.... [read more]
Making the world a more dangerous place - the eager role of Julia Gillard
Julia Gillard has returned Australia to its historic relationship with Washington, similar to that of an eastern European satellite with Moscow, writes John Pilger.... [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]
The Spectre of Communism
The eulogies in the media for the late Marxist historian, Eric Hobsbawm, praise his historical insight yet express bemusement at his adherence to the Communist cause. Why is there a lack of understanding as to why so many of his generation remained loyal to the cause of their youth? John Green explains.... [read more]
‘So, how do you feel then? British or Palestinian or Muslim or whatever you call yourself? Hmm?'
NOT SURE ABOUT THIS ARTICLE ER 07/10... [read more]
Walk on, walk on...
When an individual with mobility problems seeks to obtain Employment and Support Allowance, simply getting to the assessment centre can be the first of many unpleasant battles. Felix McHugh reports.... [read more]
Principal Stages in the History of Bolshevism 1905-1917 and their Relevance Today
Lenin, in his book "'Left Wing' Communism: An Infantile Disorder," written in 1920, maintained that lessons from the Russian Revolution were of interest to those outside Russia. Thomas Riggins provides an analysis. ... [read more]
Romnesia
The parasitical ultra-rich often deny the role of others in the acquisition of their wealth – and even seek to punish them for it, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
US War Agenda: Coke or Goldman Sachs, What's Your Poison?
Colin Todhunter asks who in their right mind would be prepared to fight and die for Shell, Chevron or Coca Cola?... [read more]
Growing Isolation: Boycott of Israel Crosses to Governments’ Realm
Should Israel be worried? Very much so, for the age of total impunity is coming to an end. Critical voices of the Israeli occupation and mistreatment of Palestinians are rising - not only within civil society circles, but among world governments as well, argues Ramzy Baroud.... [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]
Unionbook: a Bastion of Online Activism
Rhys Harrison talks about Unionbook, the progressive activist's answer to Facebook and Twitter... [read more]
A boost for peaceful direct action in Spain
Jim Handley reports on recent Anarchist action against austerity... [read more]
Decoding Assange
John Green reports that Julian Assange is the new bête noir, the man to be vilified, smeared and slandered. In all the media hysteria about the rape allegations made in Sweden against Assange by two women he slept with, the real issue is being conveniently buried.... [read more]
How the chosen ones ended Australia's sporting prowess and revealed its secret past
John Pilger describes how sports-obsessed Australia's disappointing showing at the London 2012 Olympics have offered a glimpse of a secret past.... [read more]
In southern Iraq too, Ottoman-era heritage decays
Two cemeteries sprawl in this southern Iraqi town. One is for British and Indian soldiers. The other for Turkish veterans. Both died in World War I... [read more]
Shadow of London “Orbit” in Bosnia: Steel, Blood, and the Suppression of Memory
As ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel company, invests 19.2 million pounds of steel to construct a monument marking London’s Olympic Games, a disturbing story is emerging about the refusal to memorialise a former concentration camp in Bosnia it owns today... [read more]
Lurking Danger: Palestinian Refugees in Syria
Palestinian refugees in Syria cannot expect to exist outside a paradigm of danger and unpredictability. Their brethren in Lebanon learned the same lesson years ago, writes Ramzy Baroud.... [read more]
Poisoning Arafat
Uri Avnery asks whether the late Palestinian Prime Minister, Yasser Arafat, was assassinated by Ariel Sharon... [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]
If The Drugs Don't Work, The Drones Certainly Will: Imperialism In The X-Factor Age
Forget TV with informed debate when platitudes, simple emotion and 'common sense' outlooks will do, says Colin Todhunter.... [read more]
Britain’s Summer: A Juxtaposition of Sport & Politics - The Question of Nationalism
We may end up remembering 2012 for it’s grand summer of British national pride but we must not forget the country is in a terrible state and it doesn’t appear that things will get better, writes Joseph A. Daniels.
... [read more]
Change is the Only Constant: Got Any Spare?
outRageous! is back asking the questions no one else dares... [read more]
Women Candidates Campaign for Equitable Development in Papua New Guinea Elections
In a male dominated society, women have been largely excluded from politics in Papua New Guinea. Catherine Wilson reports on female participation in the elections currently underway... [read more]
Doing Politics
Tomasz Pierscionek reviews a book by former Labour MP Tony Wright, who sat in the House of Commons for nearly twenty years... [read more]
The Predicament of Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon
Palestinian refugees in Lebanon exist on the margins of a larger political question concerning the country’s irreconcilable sectarian, factional and familial divides, Ramzy Baroud reports... [read more]
Freedom of Speech or Freedom of Corporate Interest?
Elijah Pryor talks about the power of the media in formulating the public's opinions... [read more]
Reclaiming the NHS
This weekend healthcare campaigners will gather for a conference on how to fight the Coalition’s newly passed Health Act. Alex Nunns assesses their options... [read more]
Anniversary of Gaza Blockade: A State of Siege, and Normalcy
Condemning Israeli rights violations in Palestine by leading human rights and humanitarian organizations is nothing new. Unfortunately, such calls are rarely followed by any organized political campaigns, writes Ramzy Baroud.... [read more]
Paternal Vigilance
The LPJ's resident philosopher and arts correspondent muses on David Cameron's parenting skills, VIP security and the conclusions of some of our favourite television series.... [read more]
High Quality Healthcare- Competition brings Quality?
Tomasz Pierscionek sheds light on the recent High Quality Healthcare conference organised by pro free market think tank Reform ... [read more]
Longing to Reign Over Us
As is my wont, I found plenty to occupy me over the extended half-week holiday and never felt sufficiently at a loose end to find myself tuning in to any of the blowsy and noisy shenanigans somebody thought might be welcome to Her Majesty the Queen to mark the 60th anniversary of her accession, writes W Stephen Gilbert.... [read more]
The Politics of Truth
Politicians are easy targets and scoring points off aunt sallies is a national sport. Stephen Gilbert discusses the chasm between the accountability of political columnists and that of MPs... [read more]
A Bird’s Eye View
Uri Avnery explains a principle that has long guided Zionists: 'accept every compromise that gives us what we can get at any stage, but never let the final aim out of our sight'... [read more]
The Cuban Institute for Friendship with the Peoples
Tomasz Pierscionek writes about Cuba's internationalist outlook following discussions with a representative of the Cuban Institute for Friendship with the Peoples and his own observations in Havana... [read more]
The Palestinian Nakba: The Resolve of Memory
Writing about the events of Al-Nakba, Ramzy Baroud reports that every region in Palestine that was meant to be taken was captured, its people were expelled or massacred in their homes and villages. Ben Guiron ‘cleansed’ the land, but he failed to cleanse Israel’s past. Memory persists.
... [read more]
Dead-end journey
Colin Todhunter, London Progressive Journal's India correspondent, reports from Chennai on how a funeral procession through a poor neighbourhood is a metaphor for where India is heading with current social and economic policies... [read more]
Who are the benefit thieves?
Lord Freud, Welfare Reform Minister, recently said: "We always push for the strongest possible punishment for benefit thieves who are stealing money from the people who need it the most".If David Freud did not exist it would be necessary for a left-wing writer to invent him, writes Felix McHugh.... [read more]
Alternative living, not just a green gap year
Miles Caston explores an alternative 'Gap Year' idea for those wanting to differ from the norm. WWOOF lets you contribute to a local community abroad and help the environment through maintaining sustainable ways of living ... [read more]
Obama’s Afghan Pledge is Grossly Misleading
As the US President hints at a withdrawal from Afghanistan, R.M. Harrison wonders whether he has taken heed of the old saying “those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it”. ... [read more]
DEREK, or LITTLE by LITTLE
By common consent (at least among those like me who lived through it), the ‘golden age’ of broadcasting – at the BBC especially – was that which spanned the 1960s, writes W Stephen Gilbert.... [read more]
The Rest is Hasbara: Jenny Tonge’s Victory over the Lobby
Baroness Tonge, spoke at the House of Lords in January 2009 of the "impotence of the international community, not just in Gaza, but…over 40 years of occupation of Palestine by Israel," Ramzy Baroud explains further.... [read more]
The great 'American' nightmare
Whilst some have gained much from India's economic boom, many have also lost out from the 'Americanisation of India'. Colin Todhunter discusses.... [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]
The government's tragic argument against opposition to NHS plans
When it comes to the Health Minister’s plans for the National Health Service, the patients are against it, the nurses are against it, the doctors are against it, even the government are against it, says Chris Mason-Felsing.... [read more]
A Rebel’s guide to Rosa Luxemburg:
Dr Tomasz Pierscionek reviews a book on the life and ideas of revolutionary Rosa Luxemburg... [read more]
The Death Penalty: Flawed Justice
Introducting the death penalty is not only controversial but, as Chris Bath shows, it is too easy for mistakes to be made and for innocent people to die.... [read more]
The future for Tunisia
Thomas Riggins examines the background and ideology of the Ennanah Party, now heading the governing alliance in Tunisia following the overthrow of President Ben Ali ... [read more]
Cold War in Warm Waters: US-China’s Dangerous Contest for Asia-Pacific
A conflict is brewing, and China, emboldened by astonishing economic growth as well as military advancement, seems to be gearing up to challenge the US’s uncontested military dominance in the region, writes Ramzy Baroud.... [read more]
NONE SO BLIND - An outRageous! challenge
outRageous! lays down the gauntlet to all readers of the London Progressive Journal... [read more]
BDS: Power of the People at Work
The recent University of Pennsylvania BDS conference, organized by student group, PennBDS, was the latest example to illustrate both the effectiveness of the global movement and also of the real worry felt by supporters of Israel in the US, writes Ramzy Baroud.... [read more]
Penny Red – Notes from the New Age of Dissent
John Green reviews the latest book from an up and coming journalist who describes herself as a journalist, author, feminist, socialist, utopian, general reprobate and troublemaker... [read more]
The Politics of the Psyche
BBC 4’s Saturday night primetime slot is cornering the market in excellent European drama but we don’t need Denmark to point out how impotent we feel. However idealistic were its ancient Roman origins, the UK’s version of representative democracy has become as distorted as a burning pillar of wax, says outRageous!... [read more]
A manager's dog
‘I am his Highness’ dog at Kew;
Pray, tell me sir, whose dog are you?'
( Alexander Pope, Epigram Engraved on the Collar
of a Dog which I gave to his Royal Highness)... [read more]
Hurrah for Egypt!
Uri Avnery has warm words for the new democratically elected Egyptian parliament... [read more]
The world war on democracy
From the Chagos islands to Libya, a ruthless system has been at work, often resorting to violence whilst trying to maintain the illusion of democracy... [read more]
The Struggle Continues: US vs. Genuine Reforms at the United Nations
The country that has long been known to abuse its powers and privileges in the United Nations is now leading a campaign to reform the same organization, says Ramzy Baroud.... [read more]
Economic democracy – The next big social reform?
Peter Tatchell says democratising economic decision-making is the key to a fairer society and a more stable economy... [read more]
Waiting for False Prophets: The Puzzling Matter of the Israeli Liberals
Regardless of who may rule Israel, little change ever occurs in the country’s foreign policy, writes Ramzy Baroud.... [read more]
Why I’m Right and Everyone Else is Wrong
Emmeline Ravilious reviews Tom Harris - Why I'm Right and Everyone Else is Wrong, a collection of the MP's blogs and more... [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 Ghost Story Retailed (part three)
W Stephen Gilbert delivers an up-to-date, state and fate of the retail trade in Britain, it is partly personal and anecdotal, and partly a critical overview: part three.... [read more]
Why Libertarians Must Deny Climate Change
As soon as it encounters environmental issues, the ideology of the new right becomes ensnared in its own contradictions, says George Monbiot.... [read more]
A Ghost Story Retailed (part two)
W Stephen Gilbert delivers an up-to-date, state and fate of the retail trade in Britain, it is partly warmingly, personal and anecdotal, and partly a critical overview: part two...... [read more]
A Ghost Story Retailed
W Stephen Gilbert delivers an up-to-date, state and fate of the retail trade in Britain, it is partly warmingly, personal and anecdotal, and partly a critical overview: part one... [read more]
Palestine: Those Who Inspired Us in 2011
2011 had its share of tragedy. Human lives were lost in Palestine. But hope was also sustained by the sacrifices of numerous ‘ordinary’ people, says Ramzy Baroud.... [read more]
Unmasking the Press
The corporate newspapers are the elite’s enforcers, misrepresenting the sources of oppression, says George Monbiot.... [read more]
Good and Evil
What happened to considerations of good and evil? This is the question that Jean Claude van Itallie ponders.... [read more]
Boom at the top
At a time when the poorest are being hit hardest, W Stephen Gilbert comments on the obsence bonuses enjoyed by those at the top echelons of the financial sector and puts paid to the reasons most commonly used to justify such unfair practice.... [read more]
'Zero-Problems' Foreign Policy No More: Turkey and the Syrian 'Abyss'
Ramzy Baroud notes the U-turn in Turkey's foreign policy towards its neighbour Syria.... [read more]
The secret to obtaining DLA
Welfare rights worker Felix McHugh reports that, contrary to regularly repeated rumours, obtaining Disability Living Allowance is much harder than many are led to believe... [read more]
''You are fed up with him?''
Uri Avnery gives his opinion on a recent leaked conversation between Presidents Obama and Sarkozy... [read more]
Wearing Your Heart on Your Lapel
W Stephen Gilbert reflects on the politics of poppy wearing, its dissociation in popular society from what it actually represents and its hijacking by politicians. ... [read more]
The Incontinent of Europe
W Stephen Gilbert analyses recent events in Europe and makes the case for Britain to remain part of the EU... [read more]
This time he went too far: On Norman Finkelstein
Matt Hill takes a look at recent rhetoric from acclaimed author and historian Norman Finkelstein... [read more]
Why Freecycle could change the world
Deborah X tells of an online scheme were strangers share items according to their needs... [read more]
Local communities bear the brunt of the Con-Dem agenda
Deborah X provides a personal view of the effect of the coalition’s policies on single parents, their children and the communities in which they live... [read more]
Capitalism\'s Lost Generation
Rob Sewell looks at the global problem of rising youth unemployment... [read more]
To the river...
Emmeline Ravilious reviews Olivia Laing\'s latest book \'To the River\'... [read more]
Everybody\'s son
Uri Avnery comments on the recent Israel-Palestine prisoner swap and the release of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit... [read more]
Slavery for Dummies - Part 2
Part 2 of an analysis by OutRageous! looking at the slavery endemic in our modern society.... [read more]
The More Enemies, The More Honor
Uri Avnery reflects upon Israel\'s faltering relations with its allies.... [read more]
Book review: Venceremos
Dr Tomasz Pierscionek reviews Howard Waxman\'s first novel- a political thriller called Venceremos... [read more]
A new fiscal policy for London?
Oliver Healey explains how giving the London Assembly greater control over taxation would benefit both the capital and the country as a whole... [read more]
Modern Pauperism and its Consequences: A Dissenting View on the Riots in England (Part I of II)
The first part of an essay by Matthias Dapprich in which he adopts a class based analysis of the recent London riots.
... [read more]
Mental Health in the Workplace
Hussein Al-Alak shows how the Equality Act (2010) provides added employee protection for veterans suffering mental health conditions... [read more]
Are U.S./NATO powers aiming to make Syria into Libya 2.0?
Mazda Majidi asks whether the NATO attack on Libya was just a dress rehersal for a future invasion of Syria... [read more]
Venceremos Brigade challenges travel ban, promotes exchange
Mike Chrisemer reflects on his experiences of being a member of the Venceremos solidarity brigade on a recent trip to Cuba.... [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]
'Social justice' requires ending Israeli apartheid
Sarah Carlson looks at the growing social protest movement in Israel and discusses the need for the Israeli working class to combat not only the economic policies of their government but also its colonialist policies.... [read more]
United in our Heritage
In response to comments made by David Cameron, Hussein Al-Alak takes a look at the origins of ‘Britishness’... [read more]
UK riots: Missing the bigger picture
Tomasz Pierscionek examines a variety of proposals to deal with the rioting that swept London and reveals gaps in the logic of those calling for the usual knee jerk reaction.... [read more]
Innocent(ish) Until Proven Guilty
The British media have disregarded a key tenet of our democracy, endangering the safety of a woman who may be completely innocent.
... [read more]
Even the most powerful man in the world is not above a pie in the face
When media magnate Rupert Murdoch was summoned before the Commons select committee on 19th July, one man tried to ensure he would not walk away untarnished. Jonathan May Bowles, famed as the individual who threw a shaving foam pie at Murdoch, explains his actions.... [read more]
‘From the Gulf to the Ocean’: The Middle East is Changing
Ramzy Baroud on the future of Egypt and the Middle East now that revolution has come.... [read more]
African history: the need for its teaching in UK schools
Madeleine Louise Fry reflects on the Anglo-centric nature of history teaching in the UK's schools.... [read more]
From Tiananmen Square to Tahrir Square
Steven Colatrella on the nature of uprisings against the state in the wake of revolution in Tunisia and Egypt.... [read more]
Jody McIntyre: Victim of Police Brutality and Media Distortion
The case of Jody McIntyre typifies the hypocrisy of the media discourse on political violence, writes Ben Maisky.... [read more]
How Should We Invest? A Juxtaposition of War and Welfare
The coalition insists we need to cut the deficit. Fine - but that doesn't have to mean destroying the welfare state, argues Joseph Daniels.... [read more]
Media Ambivalence About 'Red Ed' is a Sign of the Times
Nathaniel Mehr reflects on the media reaction to Ed Miliband's success in the Labour leadership election.... [read more]
Rebranding Iraq: Playing with Numbers and Human Lives
As the US troop withdrawal begins in earnest, Ramzy Baroud asks: who won? And is the war really over?... [read more]
Towering Lunacy
Green enthusiasm for vertical farms shows that no one is untouched by magical thinking, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
Iranian judges defy their Supreme Court to hang teen
Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell on the plight of an Iranian man sentenced to die for being gay and what you can do to help him.... [read more]
Australia and Asylum Seekers: Another Offshore Solution?
Catherine Wilson reports on the Australian Government's approach to refugees and its attempts to avoid its obligations to the Refugee Convention by processing them overseas.... [read more]
Venezuela Breaks Relations with Colombia
The long-running tensions between Colombia and Venezuela have escalated this week after further provocation by the Colombian government, writes Eva Golinger.... [read more]
Cluster Bombs and Civilian Lives: Efficient Killing, Profits and Human Rights
An Amnesty International report has brought the issue of cluster bombs back into the public limelight, writes Ramzy Baroud.... [read more]
Britain's Coalition Government: Unleashing the Forces of Hell
It's now several weeks since the Tories swept into office, propped up by the Liberal Democrats. Chris Mason-Felsing looks at the story so far.... [read more]
Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon: Righting a Perpetual Wrong
Like Palestinian refugees elsewhere, Lebanon's Palestinian exiles are treated as second class citizens, writes Ramzy Baroud. ... [read more]
The Real Cost of the Banking Crisis
Mick Brooks reviews the Bank of England's assessment of the banking crisis.... [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]
Money’s Hunger
Industrial civilisation is trashing the environment. George Monbiot asks: should we try to reform it or just watch it go down? ... [read more]
Yemen’s Options: ‘Revolt, Migrate or Die’
Yemen is emerging as the latest casualty of the so-called 'War on Terror', as Ramzy Baroud explains.... [read more]
Book Publishers Should Embrace the Digital Age
Publishing can - and should - adapt to the changing technological landscape, writes John Oakes. ... [read more]
Italian Elections: More of the Same
Samuele Mazzolini reflects on an election that has consolidated the dominance of Silvo Berlusconi's centre-right bloc, and the continuing malaise of the Italian left.... [read more]
Fighting Racism in Italy: Immigrant Workers Lead the Way
Hugh Edwards considers the significance of last week's historic demonstration by Italy's immigrant community.... [read more]
Chimes At Midnight: Football in Crisis
Ordinary fans are being ripped off by the unfettered greed of modern footbal, writes Steve Jones.... [read more]
Election 2010: Whoever Wins, We Are in for Cuts
Decades of compromise have left the Labour party unfit to meet the challenges of the present crisis, writes John Green.... [read more]
The Useless Logic of Round Numbers
The media fixation with pointless symbolic milestones serves to trivialise the everyday misery of victims of US violence, argues Ramzy Baroud. ... [read more]
Book of the Month: 'The Lacuna' by Barbara Kingsolver
John Green recommends this witty and evocative political novel set in 1930s Mexico.... [read more]
Zionists Outraged as Holocaust Memorial Day Recognises Other Genocides
A number of recent initiatives have sought to place the narratives of Armenian, Rwandan and other genocide victims alongside the memory of the Jewish Holocaust. A vocal hardcore of Zionist bigots has reacted in predictable fashion, as Amanda Sebestyen explains.... [read more]
Gay Footballers and Fans to get FA from the FA?
Peter Tatchell urges the Football Association to push ahead with a planned anti-homophobia campaign which has mysteriously stalled this week. ... [read more]
From Gaza to Lebanon: Beware the Iron Wall, the Coming War
Israeli military strategists are planning for a new offensive against Lebanon, as Ramzy Baroud explains.... [read more]
The Kangaroo
A year into his presidency, Barack Obama has achieved relatively little in the foreign policy sphere. Uri Avnery urges him to keep trying.... [read more]
Women Who Fantasise About Group Sex Can Be Lawfully Raped, Says UK Court
A recent rape case at Preston Crown Court has shed light on the misogynistic logic used to determine the credibility of alleged rape victims, as Peter Tatchell explains.... [read more]
Soldiers for Hire
Melanie Macdonald on the dangerous and disturbing proliferation of neo-colonial private militias.... [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]
Consumer Hell
George Moniot asks: How do we break a system which now permeates every aspect of our lives? ... [read more]
Muslims Must Not Pay Price for Europe’s Identity Crisis
Ramzy Baroud condemns the scapegoating of Muslims by European politicians who are unwilling to address their countries' most pressing social problems.... [read more]
The Hypocrisy of Al-Demoqratia
A rising tide of official anti-Muslim paranoia in continental Europe is exposing the hypocrisy of Western democracy, writes Ramzy Baroud.... [read more]
The End of Certainty
Stephen Chan, Professor of International Relations at the School of Oriental and African Studies, talks about the adventures that inspired his new book, 'The End of Certainty'.... [read more]
Bye Bye, Dubai?
Mick Brooks looks at the unfolding crisis in Dubai, and its potential implications for the world economy. ... [read more]
Globalization Unchecked: How Alien Media is Suffocating Culture
Ramzy Baroud considers the cultural impact of global economic integration in 'third world' societies. ... [read more]
Champions of the Overdog
Local papers are vanishing. George Monbiot asks: Does it matter? ... [read more]
Bank Bailouts - Throwing Good Money After Bad
As the UK government plans further massive bank bailouts, Mick Brooks calls for the complete nationalisation of the banking industry.... [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]
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]
Jamaica: A Grim Place to be Gay
Peter Tatchell argues Britain should use its economic leverage to pressure the Jamaican legal system into reforming its backward approach to homosexuality.... [read more]
Venezuela’s Globovision to be Investigated Over Calls for a Coup D’État
Kiraz Janicke on the latest events in the bitter struggle between the Chavez government and Venezuela's right-wing corporate media.... [read more]
Lover of the Country
Uri Avnery remembers a writer and activist who devoted his life to challenging the militarism of the Israeli state.... [read more]
Colombia’s Deteriorating Displacement Crisis
Garry Leech reports on the plight of Colombia's millions of displaced persons.... [read more]
Who Killed Yasser Arafat and Why?
Ramzy Baroud considers the implications of the conspiracy theories surrounding Yasser Arafat's death five years ago.... [read more]
Afghanistan: Bloodshed Without End
In the week that the war in Aghanistan has returned to the front pages of British newspapers, Ewan Gibbs reminds us why Britain and the US are fighting.... [read more]
Marxists Must Stand Firm Against Ahmadinejad
An Iranian Marxist makes a plea to Venezuelans to reject their government's support for Iran's reactionary president Ahmadinejad.... [read more]
You'd Have to be Stupid
Derek Wall argues that only a fundamental change in the world economic system can meet the environmental challenges of the 21st Century.... [read more]
Book review: 'The New Latin American Left'
Nathaniel Mehr reviews an insightful edited collection on the new left in Latin America.... [read more]
Beyond Politics: People for Sale in a Hungry World
Ramzy Baroud reviews the findings of a US State Department report on human trafficking.... [read more]
Britain's Secret War in Colombia
As workers and trade unionists continue to be attacked by the Colombian state, Daniel Read looks at the involvement of Britain in assisting in this murderous process. ... [read more]
Should There Be a European Criminal Record?
Alexa Van Sickle examines the implications of a controversial new European Union initiative.... [read more]
Blue Desert
George Monbiot asks: Why is no one brave enough to stand up to the fishing industry? ... [read more]
Remembering the Indonesian Killings
The Indonesian massacres of 1965-66 rank among the biggest mass murders of the 20th Century. Looking back on this tragic episode, Nathaniel Mehr asked Noam Chomsky for his observations on the significance of US and British support for the massacre. ... [read more]
The Drones Are Coming: A New War on Civilians
Despite much talk of a change of culture in US foreign policy under President Obama, the bombing of civilians will remain a cornerstone of US strategy in the Middle East, as Ramzy Baroud explains.... [read more]
War Without Context: Fatah, Hamas and Flawed Language
Ramzy Baroud on the sinister manipulation of language which characterises the mainstream discourse on the Israel-Palestine issue.... [read more]
Clinton's Unpromising Start
Ramzy Baroud on the inauspicious opening phase of the new Obama administration's Middle East policy.... [read more]
Hillsborough Twenty Years On
With the nation marking the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough tragedy, Steve Jones reflects on the UK's worst stadium disaster.... [read more]
Monarchy: Wrong in Principle
Graham Smith, from the British campaign group Republic,on why republicanism matters.... [read more]
In the Name of Iraq? Luton Protesters Are Out of Touch
Hussein Al-Alak reflects on the recent tabloid furore over an ill-conceived miniature anti-war protest led by Muslim extremists in the UK.... [read more]
Twenty-Five Years On
John Haylett looks back on the struggle which defined the politics of a decade and paved the way for the rise of New Labour.... [read more]
Scrap It
Environmental campaigner George Monbiot tears into the UK government's proposals for stimulating the motor industry.... [read more]
Book of the Month: "Feminism and War: Confronting US Imperialism"
Nathaniel Mehr reviews this month's recommendation.... [read more]
The Great Depression
Michael Roberts argues that the big "bailouts" of financial institutions have exposed the fallacy behind the "free market" ideologies which have dominated British and American political and economic systems for the past thirty years.... [read more]
Support the Iranian People, Oppose Tehran’s Clerical Fascism
Peter Tatchell believes the left should unite against the theocratic regime in Tehran.... [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]
Report from a Refugee Camp in Kashmir
As India and Pakistan engage in sabre rattling troops have been moving towards their forward deployments, Assed Baig asks: What about the victims of this age-old rivalry?... [read more]
Banks in Crisis? Take them Over
With politicians and financial experts grasping at straws in their efforts to resolve the worst economic crisis in decades, Mick Brooks outlines the case for the nationalisation of the banking system.... [read more]
Unscripted: Green Zone Theatre and the Shoe Drama
Ramzy Baroud on how Muntadhar al-Zaidi's shoe-throwing intervention served to pierce, however momentarily, the veil of stage-managed deception which characterises Nuri al-Maliki's Iraq.... [read more]
The Cluster Bomb Treaty and the World’s Unfinished Business
Ramzy Baroud examines the curious logic behind the United States' refusal to sign a treaty banning cluster bombs - and finds it wanting.... [read more]
The Damian Green Affair: What are the Issues?
Steve Jones dissects the controversy surrounding the recent arrest of the Conservative politician Damian Green.... [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]
Benefit Claimants in Government's Firing Line
Fred McDowell on New Labour's latest populist diversion.... [read more]
The Recession is the Government's Opportunity to Act on its Green Promises
Luke Aldred argues the current economic crisis represents a perfect opportunity for the British government to implement far-reaching changes to make Britain greener and more sustainable.... [read more]
Their Guns Will Not Conquer
Daniel Pye on the multi-faceted struggle of the Karen against Burma's military government.... [read more]
Interview: Michael Albert on the Communal Councils in Venezuela
Michael Albert is a prominent activist and economist and a co-founder of Z Magazine. Adam Gill spoke to him about the Venezuelan government's radical "Consejos Comunales" initiative, aimed at deepening participatory democracy.... [read more]
Venezuelan Government Hopes for New Era of Peace and Respect with Obama
James Suggett on the Venezuelan government's positive response to the election of Barack Obama to the US presidency.... [read more]
US-Led Invasion Has Brought Destruction and Pillage to Iraq's Cultural Sites
Hussein Al-Alak on the callous destruction of Iraq's rich cultural heritage since the invasion of 2003.... [read more]
March Against Hatred: Racism in Russia
In the week that hundreds attended a symbolic "March Against Hatred" in St Petersburg, Sara Hall examines the worrying rise of racially-motivated violence in Russia.... [read more]
‘Justice’ Cut to the Bone
Rob Ray considers the effect of budget cuts across the criminal justice system.... [read more]
Unprecedented!
Michael Roberts on why the present economic crisis demonstrates the vulnerability of "free market" capitalism. ... [read more]
Talk of "Progress" in Iraq is a Smokescreen as Sectarian Militants Target Christian Community
As violence continues unabated in "free" Iraq, Hussein Al-Alak questions the convenient myth that there is something inherently natural about sectarian violence in Iraq.... [read more]
Difficult Times Ahead For Ecuador's Progressive New Constitution
Samuele Mazzolini on why Ecuador's new constitution is threatened by the vested economic and political interests of neoliberalism which have dominated Latin America for the past twenty years.... [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]
After the Crash of 2008, Who Owns the Progressive Future?
Jonathan Rutherford on how the current economic crisis has highlighted the iniquities intrinsic to capitalist society.... [read more]
Review: The Façade of Arms Control, by Anna Stavrianakis
Alexa Van Sickle reviews the Campaign Against the Arms Trade booklet by Anna Stavrianakis. ... [read more]
The Price of Free Speech
A grotesque case of legal bullying using a 13th-Century law shows that in some respects we still haven’t shaken off feudalism.... [read more]
Protect and Survive
George Monbiot on how Peter Mandelson is bullying the world’s poorest nations into following a development route that can’t work. ... [read more]
The Magic Pudding
George Monbiot on why the US government still pouring billions into missile defence.... [read more]
The Credit Cruch - One Year On
Twelve months on from the beginning of the current economic crisis, Socialist Appeal's Michael Roberts examines the causes and effects of the so-called "Credit Crunch".... [read more]
Ten Years On: The Iraq Sanctions
Hussein Al-Alak looks back on the murderous sanctions regime imposed upon Iraq prior to the overt aggression of 2003.... [read more]
Safety Initiatives are Criminalising Young People
As a new curfew is scheme is tried out in Cornwall, Matt Genner argues that such policies will only ostracise young people and perpetuate a culture of fear and isolation.... [read more]
Hedge Funds, Speculation and Capitalism
With market speculation very much in the news at the moment, Mick Brooks examines the phenomenon of the hedge fund, and its role in the current economic malaise.... [read more]
Ecuador Seizes Banking Firms
Samuele Mazzolini on the bold steps taken by Ecuador's President Correa as he bids to bring financial stability and security to the country.... [read more]
Dying for a Coke
Kacie Morgan on the campaign to expose the Coca-Cola company's links with right-wing paramilitary violence.... [read more]
New EU Immigration Policy is a Disgrace to Europe
Samuele Mazzolini on the outrageous new direction taken by the EU on immigration.... [read more]
Saying Sorry: Does it Ease the Pain?
Now that the Australian government has apologised for the pain it caused to its Stolen Generation, Vanessa Stevens asks: What does the apology really mean for Australia? ... [read more]
We Must Escape the Neverland of Market Fundamentalism
Neal Lawson, Chair of the campaign group Compass, believes the Labour party must free itself from New Labour's fixation with market fundamentalism and return to social democratic values.... [read more]
The End of "The End of History"
David Brandon examines the discredited view that world history came to an end when the Berlin Wall came down.... [read more]
Making a Killing from Hunger
Leading NGO GRAIN on why we need to overturn food policy.... [read more]
Building Ships to Die For
Seven Agir on the murderous consequences of competitiveness in Turkish shipbuilding. ... [read more]
A Policeman's Lot: The Police and Industrial Action
David Brandon on why the left must support the police in their current industrial dispute.... [read more]
Hay Festival Raises More Questions Than Answers
Matt Genner considers Naomi Klein's comments at this year's Hay Festival.... [read more]
The Failure of New Labour was to Ignore Society
Compass's Jonathan Rutherford believes New Labour has lost touch with society.... [read more]
Students and the Struggle for Human Rights in Colombia: An Interview with Colombian Student Leader Numa Paredes
Campaign group "Justice For Colombia" interviewing Colombian student leader Numa Paredes.... [read more]
How to Build a Human Bomb
George Monbiot argues that the Guantanamo Bay concetration camp is an affront to the very idea of justice.... [read more]
Green Belt – A False Blessing
Anton Howes believes affordable housing and environmentally-friendly urban living provides a more viable long-term solution to climate change than the false utopianism of the "Green Belt".... [read more]
Ken is a Loss for London
Despite his flaws, Ken Livingstone was a mayor Londoners could be proud of.... [read more]
Misplaced Pride and Shame in the Wake of a Crisis
The people of Kenya are pulling together - in spite of the country's political leadership.... [read more]
Freedom of Expression and the BNP
Chris Bath considers the ongoing debate about the limits of freedom of speech.... [read more]
Will Colombia's Democratic Left Seize the Initiative from Uribe and the FARC?
Samuele Mazzolini calls on both sides in the FARC-Uribe stand-off to make concessions in the name of democracy.... [read more]
Is Peace Possible in the Western Sahara?
Joanna Allan on the ongoing struggle of the Saharawi people.... [read more]
Snow Jobs
George Monbiot examines the detail behind "job creation".... [read more]
Conscription Is The Antidote To Militarism And Imperialism
We need to re-think the relationship between society and the military.... [read more]
Veiled Sentiments: Does The Burka Stand Up In Court?
A courtroom ban on burkas is not racist - just practical.... [read more]
Proposed Child DNA Database Will Increase Crime and Social Division
Matt Genner on the latest bright idea for crime-fighting.... [read more]
Polish Community Hits Back At Daily Mail
Chris Bath on the Daily Mail's crass xenophobia.... [read more]
"Unfashionable" Balkan Nationalism?
Victor Petroff on the rise of right-wing populism in Bulgaria.... [read more]
New Versus Old Right In Paraguay's Presidential Election
Ben Dangl looks at the candidates on offer in Paraguay's Presidential election.... [read more]
Working the "Graveyard Shift" (U.S.)
Josh Lucker considers the effects of night work on workers' health.... [read more]
This Week in the Media: Government Private Sector Bailouts, and the Furore Over Sharia
David Floyd believes the government's bailout of multibillon-pound private-sector companies is a big waste of everyone's time and money.... [read more]
Anti-FARC March Only Tells Part Of the Story
As millions march against the FARC in Colombia, Samuele Mazzolini considers the wider context of Colombia's internal security problems.... [read more]
Brown's Reactionary Britishness
The PM wants to celebrate Britishness...what does he mean?... [read more]
