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]
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]
Unknown to most people, the White Helmets brand was conceived and directed by a marketing company named “The Syria Campaign” based in New York. They have managed to fool millions of people... [read more]
It is not easy for any of us to get our heads around the complexities of modern economics. Many capitalists themselves and certainly most politicians no longer understand how the system really works... [read more]
In the first of her interviews using the novel 'Lego Serious Play' method, Patrizia Bertini speaks to one of the occupiers at the OccupyLSX camp.... [read more]
If Diane Abbott is serious about standing as a real alternative to the Milibands, she should espouse a leftwing platform, says Steve Jones.... [read more]
Netanyahu doesn't care. Peace is the last thing he has on his troubled mind. He is far more committed to the eternal conflict with both the Arabs and the Iranians. After all, what would life be like without enemies?... [read more]
The whole thing could have been a huge practical joke, if it had not been real. All of Israel was taken in. Left, right and center. All the newspapers and TV networks, without exception.... [read more]
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]
Despair is easy. It is also comfortable, whether in Berlin or Tel Aviv. Looking around at this moment, despair is also logical. But despair corrupts. Despairing people create nothing, and never did... [read more]
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 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]
Sartre once remarked that the attempt to construct a philosophy that goes beyond Marxism simply recreates a pre-Marxist view that is no longer relevant to current understanding... [read more]
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]
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]
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]
John Green translates and reflects on an interview with Edgar Most formerly of Deustche Bank and of the GDR State Bank, where he considers capitalism vs. socialism.... [read more]
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]
I was about to write an article about Pesach eve' when I remembered that I wrote exactly the same article six years ago. So I am sending the old article again – I just have nothing to add.... [read more]
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]
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]
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]
The Syrian government is truly fighting to defend itself against an armed opposition that is violent, sectarian and unpopular with the large majority of Syrians... [read more]
The story of the White Helmets is principally a “feel good” hoax to manipulate public perception about the conflict in Syria and continue the drive for “regime change”... [read more]
Only by developing a set of radical and progressive alternative political solutions can Labour be able to challenge effectively this upsurge on the right... [read more]
In uncertain times, “cash is king,” but central bankers are systematically moving to eliminate that option. Is it really about stimulating the economy? Or is there some deeper, darker threat afoot?... [read more]
Niall Ferguson has a very conservative world outlook which, when applied to the analysis of current social reality, has a tendency to so warp his perceptions that the situation he writes about becomes an imaginary inverted world... [read more]
Let's put it bluntly: to try to stop IS means supporting the Assad regime. Bashar al-Assad is an abominable fellow, but he has kept Syria together, protected its many minorities and kept the Israeli border quiet... [read more]
Bryan Gould, former Labour shadow cabinet minister, says Labour's leaders must be prepared to do the hard work needed to produce a convincing alternative in line with much current and developing economic thinking... [read more]
It’s not only the Scots who are disillusioned with Westminster politics. The 2015 election once again doomed the north to five more years under a leadership it hasn’t voted for... [read more]
My father once taught me how to withstand blackmail: imagine that the awful threat of the blackmailer has already come about. Then you can tell him: Go to hell... [read more]
Immigration, and how the parties claim they will control it, is one of a handful of issues that will be pivotal in swaying swing voters either right or left in this year’s general election... [read more]
The truth is that the situation in Italy is getting desperate. Amongst those under 25, unemployment is as high as 40% with many of those in work underpaid and on short term contracts... [read more]
On Boxing Day, ASLEF members employed by London Underground Limited (LUL) staged a 24 hour strike and the press have been predictable in attempting to whip up hysteria and outrage, reports Karl Davis... [read more]
In his latest article analysing “Left-Wing” Communism: an Infantile Disorder, Thomas Riggins looks at Lenin's views on what sort of relations a Marxist party should have with the trade union movement... [read more]
Since the federation of Australia in 1901, more than 100,000 young men have died, fighting to protect their country. But the real victims here were those affected psychologically, writes Finn Bowen. ... [read more]
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]
As expected the state is warming to the task of cracking down hard, as they like to put it, on looters/rioters past, present and future. Cameron and May have been strutting around talking tough about what they are going to do. ... [read more]
Bush may be gone, but right-wingers in the US are still exploiting public fears of terrorism to pursue their foreign policy agenda, as Ramzy Baroud explains.... [read more]
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]
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]
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]
Today is the last day of the 93rd year of my life. Ridiculous. If by a miracle I could be returned to, say, 14, and travel all this long way again, would I like that? No, I would not.... [read more]
Western media continue to distort the chronology of cause and effect, inverting reality to claim that North Korea is provoking the West. John Pilger talks to T.J. Coles about the situation.... [read more]
Western media and Democratic Party politicians have made a major campaign accusing Russia of “meddling” in the U.S. election. The following are major problems with the “anti-Russia” theme, starting with the lack of clear evidence.... [read more]
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]
When I was 10 years old, my family fled from Nazi Germany. We were fearful that the Gestapo was after us. Then our train crossed the bridge that separated Germany from France, and we heaved a deep sigh of relief.... [read more]
This is the second 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]
Even Churchill had, amidst the overgrown hedgerow of complex racism, a deep-rooted sense of decency and humanity when he acknowledged the injustice to Palestinians... [read more]
On 23rd October 1956, political revolution against Stalinist dictatorship lept from the pages of Leon Trotsky’s writings and roared into life in Hungary.... [read more]
“The individual is handicapped by coming face to face with a conspiracy so monstrous he cannot believe it exists.” (J. Edgar Hoover, Elks Magazine, August 1956).... [read more]
After World War I, when the victorious Great Powers carved up the Ottoman Empire between them, France insisted on the creation of a Christian Lebanese state under its stewardship... [read more]
"How sad if Labour’s courage should fail it, so that it lags behind progressive opinion, just as a new mainstream is developing." A commentary by Bryan Gould, former Labour shadow cabinet minister... [read more]
The world is undergoing a populist revival. From the revolt against austerity led by Syriza to Jeremy Corbyn’s surprise victory as Labour leader... [read more]
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]
Abu Mazen was very different from Arafat. Arafat was flamboyant, spontaneous, extrovert. Abu Mazen is rather withdrawn, introverted, cautious, meticulous... [read more]
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]
The veteran left wing Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn has declared that he is putting himself forward to go on the ballot paper for the Labour leadership election... [read more]
Dr Robert Braun, veteran politician and senior member of Hungary’s opposition party, MSZP, speaks with Dr Tomasz Pierscionek about Hungary’s transition from Eastern Bloc state to neo-liberal democracy and describes the challenges currently facing the country... [read more]
Recently a young worker and member of the Leeds Marxist Society, Ben Curry, travelled to Cuba as an international delegate to the May Day celebrations. We publish below his thoughts on what is happening in Cuba... [read more]
Former MP and member of the Labour shadow cabinet, Bryan Gould, discusses the findings of a recent OECD report which revealed that UK housing is among the most overpriced in the world... [read more]
The form of state prevalent in the developed capitalist world at the time of the Commune was a state that functioned to support the bourgeoisie in its war against the working class... [read more]
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]
George Tait Edwards comments on the comparisons and contrasts between the policies and personalities of Shinzo Abe, the Prime Minster of Japan, and David Cameron, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom... [read more]
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]
After the disaster that was Nick Clegg's attempt at electoral reform it appears that reforming the voting system may be off the agenda for at least a generation, longer if the two main parties have their way, writes Bobby Gant.... [read more]
The Israeli-US rhetoric towards Iran is more than just hollow threats. History shows us why Iran is next in the firing line, and why an invasion just might be inevitable. ... [read more]
Palestine has become a “non-member state” at the United Nations as of Thursday November 29, 2012.The draft of the UN resolution beckoning what many perceive as a historic moment passed with an overwhelming majority of General Assembly members: 138 votes in favour, nine against and 41 abstentions, writes Ramzy Baroud.... [read more]
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 2)... [read more]
Since the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776, the US has struggled with its foreign policy and its perceived role within global politics. Finn Bowen discusses the past, present and future of US foreign policy... [read more]
Earlier this week, Malala Yousafzai was brutally shot by gunmen as she was returning home from school. Masked assassins stepped onto a bus filled with terrified children, identified her, and shot her at point blank range in the head and neck.... [read more]
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]
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]
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]
Is there a single reputable argument in favour of positive discrimination? The fact that so many of our institutions are unrepresentative of the make-up of society is of course deplorable, but manipulating recruitment in order to create an artificial balance is no way to put this right, writes W Stephen Gilbert.... [read more]
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]
Uri Avnery discusses how a recent resurgence of hostilities between Islamic militants and the Israeli army could undermine a growing social protest movement within Israel, playing right into Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s hands.... [read more]
Dr Tomasz Pierscionek describes the treatment of war veterans, from the Vietnam era to those returning from present day conflicts, and highlights the continual deceit war-mongering governments use to deceive the public. The real enemies are not foreign but domestic.... [read more]
Rich Whiles' timely new book takes a refreshingly honest look at the experiences of the victims of Israeli apartheid, writes Ramzy Baroud.... [read more]
The enormous popularity of Italy's right-wing demagogue is a reflection of the corrupt cynicism of contemporary mass culture, argues Paolo Mossetti.... [read more]
With the right-wing press this week celebrating the anniversary of Margaret Thatcher's rise to power, David Brandon reminds us that it was Thatcher's politics that paved the way for the present crisis. ... [read more]
Examining mainstream media coverage of recent international conflicts, Tomasz Pierscionek argues that the nearly all-encompassing false reality of the Hollywood sci-fi classic "The Matrix" is merely an example of art immitating life.... [read more]
Addressing a Lenasia rally in solidarity with the people of Gaza on 14th January, Zwelinzima Vavi characterised the Israeli government as a racist regime comparable to Apartheid South Africa. ... [read more]
As the mainstream media complacently celebrate the security pact which purports to confer independence upon the puppet regime in Baghdad, Ramzy Baroud provides a withering assessment of what the agreement really means.... [read more]
In less than a month, the four year anniversary of the Saudi-led war on Yemen takes place, with no real solution in sight or clear hope for a total cease-fire in one of the world’s poorest countries... [read more]
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]
Ehud Barak has "broken the silence". He has published an article in The New York Times attacking our prime minister in the most abrasive terms... [read more]
Political commentators have long been puzzled by the fact that, right across the globe and for several decades, the political left has been in retreat and – more than that – has apparently been unable to mount any significant challenge to the growing neo-liberal hegemony which has dominated western democracies since the 1980s... [read more]
A team of researchers at the University of Oxford published the results of a survey of the world’s best artificial intelligence experts, who predicted that there was a 50 percent chance of AI outperforming humans in all tasks within 45 years... [read more]
During my lifetime [3/4 of a century at current prices] UK and US socio-political goalposts have shifted so far to the right that - were we actually talking about a sports field - the centre line has been re-branded as radical.... [read more]
From whatever angle one looks at it, the death sentence is a barbaric and stupid measure. It has been abolished by all civilized countries, except some US states (which can hardly be called civilized)... [read more]
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]
The stark truth is that the left has long ago lost its way politically. Sadly those left fractions, whose kneejerk political solution is to organise an obligatory protest action where slogans, such as “Dump Trump”, are chanted ad nauseum, have become an obstacle to the advance of socialism... [read more]
The real sad fact is that in every single speech since the inauguration, the main theme – indeed, almost the only theme - of President Donald Trump is I – I – I.... [read more]
And so the Bonaparte of Momentum was born. At a stroke, Momentum’s democratic structures have been abolished; the tireless work of thousands of Corbyn supporters over the past year-and-a-half thrown out the window... [read more]
President Donald Trump – we must get used to these three words. The only one thing that can be said with some certainty is that nothing is certain. That this man is totally unpredictable... [read more]
It has been widely commented that the two main contenders in the US presidential race are both deeply flawed candidates, even that they are both unfit to hold high office... [read more]
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]
I have grown up unable to say where I belong, due to having two passports and two nationalities which taught me to look at the world from two very different angles... [read more]
What we now appear to be witnessing is the final bitter breakup of the Conservative Party into two warring factions, neither of which have any care for the continued integrity of the United Kingdom... [read more]
It seems no radio, television news or current affairs programme is without Blair giving his opinion on the upcoming UK referendum on whether to stay in the European Union... [read more]
Some days ago, Yitzhak Herzog said something especially obnoxious. He declared that his party is failing at elections because people believe that its members are "Arab lovers".... [read more]
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]
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]
In a landmark infrastructure bill passed in December, Congress finally penetrated the Fed's "independence" by tapping its reserves and bank dividends for infrastructure funding... [read more]
All governments encroach, creep into our lives, and smother our minds with ever more legislation that infringes our human rights and civil liberties... [read more]
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]
Forty five years ago Gamal Abd-al-Nasser died at the early age of 52. It continues to have a huge influence on the present, and probably will on the future... [read more]
Greece could restore the liquidity desperately needed by its banks and economy by nationalizing the banks and issuing digital loans backed by government guarantees... [read more]
The all-Tory government has only been in place for four weeks. The amount of daft and non-think policy statements coming out would be laughable if they weren’t so dreadful... [read more]
History shows us that there are (at least) two kinds of peace agreements. One kind, the stupid one, is based on power. The other, the intelligent, is based on common interest... [read more]
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]
Everybody knows what the Israeli elections are about. The choice is stark: on the one side, the dream of a Greater Israel "from the sea to the river"; on the other side, an end to the occupation and peace... [read more]
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]
Reams have been written about how awful and oppressive East Germany was - a virtual slave state with Stasi surveillance informers everywhere. That image was rudely demolished in a curious way the other day... [read more]
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]
The proposal to hand back some decision powers to member states of the European Union regarding GMO approvals is currently being discussed, writes Colin Todhunter... [read more]
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]
In the "The Philosophy of Bertrand Russell" volume in the Library of Living Philosophers (1944) VJ McGill (1897-1977) published a detailed critique of Russell's political and economic philosophy... [read more]
Nelson Wan provides an overview of Marx's explanation for why capitalism goes into crisis, discussing the inherent contradictions within the capitalism system... [read more]
Dr Tomasz Pierscionek discusses how UKIP seek to plug an electoral void that ought to be filled by a Labour Party offering a socialist programme... [read more]
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]
Carol Grayson reports on the status of Bowe Bergdahl, an American held prisoner by the Taliban since 2009, and provides a transcript of the unedited version of a video of Bowe which the Taliban recently released... [read more]
Rightwing politicians and their press use talk of patriotism to disguise where their true loyalty lies: the wealthy elite, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
Money is the lubricant that permits the economic system to work. Goods and wealth that are produced, distributed, circulated, used and owned do so because of money... [read more]
No Gibraltarian, and come to that anybody living in the real world, will believe the confrontations at sea last week over the reef laying and the six hour car queues to leave Gibraltar at the weekend were anything but linked, writes David Eade.... [read more]
The article based on the findings from Transparency International on its Global corruption Barometer was squeezed in at the bottom of the Spanish newspaper. This isn’t because the editor thought it unimportant it is just that the reports on the various corruption cases engulfing the centre right Partido Popular left little space, writes David Eade.... [read more]
In the General Theory Keynes made four key comments that presage the practice of Shimomuran investment credit economics writes George Tait Edwards... [read more]
When James Wharton stages his Canute-like attempt to prevent Labour from taking back Stockton South, then that party ought to put down an amendment declining to give the 'Daft Bill' a Second Reading in view of its entire failure to address some issues, writes David Lindsay.... [read more]
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]
We have offshored the problem of escalating consumption, and our perceptions of it, by considering only territorial emissions, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
Former Labour MP and Shadow Cabinet member, Bryan Gould, reflects on the tendency to lionise and exaggerate the importance of Margaret Thatcher's contribution towards promoting free market economics... [read more]
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]
The choice on the one hand is for people to be a resource for a rich economy. The choice on the other is for a rich economy to be a resource for society. Alfie Stirling explains... [read more]
Thomas Riggins concludes his analysis of Lenin's 'Left-Wing' Communism: an Infantile Disorder and looks at what conclusions can be drawn from the book's previous nine chapters... [read more]
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]
A new campaign to honour the memory of the militant Suffragette Emily Wilding Davison on the 100th anniversary of her tragic death was launched on 29 November at the Firebox Café in King’s Cross. David Morgan reports
... [read more]
In chapter seven of "'Left-Wing' Communism: an Infantile Disorder" Lenin addresses himself to the ultra-left claim that socialists should no longer work with or be members of bourgeois parliaments. Thomas Riggins explains.... [read more]
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]
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 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]
Recent demonstrations in protest of the rising cost of living have swept across the West Bank. While they are not indicative of a Palestinian version of the ‘Arab Spring’, they are still an important first step, writes Ramzy Baroud.... [read more]
No solution will come from our chain-of-command—the solution is fighting our chain-of-command. Michael Prysner, former US army corporal and Iraq war veteran, discusses record suicides amongst active-duty soldiers and reminds troops that they do not have to fight wars of imperialism... [read more]
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]
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]
As the Spanish 15-M protest movement celebrates its first anniversary, LPJ Iberian correspondent, David Eade, reveals that the movement is spreading from main street to mainstream... [read more]
Uri Avnery reveals that in Israel senior military officers and intelligence chiefs are speaking out against President Binyamin Netanyahu's calls for war with Iran. However, Netanyahu ignores their warnings and carries on regardless... [read more]
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]
Karl Davis makes the case for the Labour Party to embrace its Trade Union roots as part of its challenge to show there is an alternative to the unpopular austerity programme implemented by the Tory dominated Coalition... [read more]
In the first of a series of articles, by internationaly renowned Greek economist Professor Lefteris Tsoulfidis, focusing on the origins and state of the European economic crisis, Professor Tsoulfidis discusses whether Capitalism has a future... [read more]
Stephen Gilbert challenges the so called 'accuracy' of ICM opinion polls and shows how Labour continues to miss classic opportunities to rebut Conservative policy. ... [read more]
Richard Becker dissects Obama's 2012 State of the Union address and shows that the 'CEO of the imperialist ruling class is carrying on with business as usual... [read more]
David Eade reflects on Ed Balls' recent speech at a Fabian Society conference and asks whether the Shadow Chancellor is more of a hinderence than a help to his own party... [read more]
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]
Jeff Bigelow discusses how the state of Indiana has become the latest battleground in the fight to prevent 'right to work' legislation coming into force
... [read more]
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]
An in-depth critique and analysis of the beginnings of the civil war in Libya and what was at stake for all parties involved in the final conflict, split into three parts. (Part 3)... [read more]
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]
As Colonel Gaddafi’s regime enters its final days, Brian Becker looks at NATOs involvement in bolstering the rebel movement and the truth behind the so called campaign of ‘humanitarian intervention’ ... [read more]
Uri Avnery, Israeli writer and founder of the Gush Shalom peace movement, offers a warning from history as he examines a modern form of racism taking root across Europe.... [read more]
Catherine Wilson on the continued disparity of wealth between the indigenous Australians and the rest of society and empty attempts by the government to change this.... [read more]
Now that the dust has settled on Ed Miliband's surprise victory in the Labour leadership election, Michael Prior considers the challenges facing the new leader as he seeks to move the party away from Blairism.... [read more]
Eric Hollies puts today's coalition government in historical perspective by looking back on the brutal public spending cuts imposed by the Thatcher government.... [read more]
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]
On the 90th anniversary of the Kapp Putsch, Socialist Appeal Mick Brooks looks back on how Germany's working class united as one to resist a reactionary coup d'état.... [read more]
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]
Khaled Taja, 70 years old and the iconic figure of Arabic drama, is planning to play the leading role in a movie about the tunnels of Gaza, writes Iqbal Tamimi.... [read more]
Lila Ghobady outlines why Iran's 'reformist' candidate does not represent a real alternative to the repressiveness of the incumbent regime.... [read more]
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]
Laura Hayhurst-France on the artistic and moral decline implicit in the immense commercial success of the artist/businessman Damian Hirst.... [read more]
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]
Civilisation is the culture of cities, of permanent settlements. These demand social organisation to administer to the needs of citizens... [read more]
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]
From the moment the news came out that on Sunday March 4th in Salisbury, one of England’s revered cathedral cities, a Russian spy and his daughter had been poisoned by some form of ‘nerve agent’ my reaction was ‘Oh dear’. ... [read more]
The US Postal Service, under attack from a manufactured crisis designed to force its privatization, needs a new source of funding to survive. Postal banking could fill that need.... [read more]
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]
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]
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]
On the 26th May 1967, using money borrowed from my stepmother after swearing her to secrecy because I lived in unjustified terror of a very kind Dad, I boarded a flight to Jerusalem... [read more]
Honduras is in crisis. The national election took place on Sunday 26 November. Results posted that night showed the challenger Salvador Nasralla with a 5% lead with 57% of the votes tallied... [read more]
In early 2003 it was claimed that Iraq was a threat to other countries. Today we have something similarly ridiculous and dangerous. Supposedly the Syrian government decided to use a banned chemical weapon which they gave up in 2013-2014... [read more]
If anyone is still wondering why North Korea was being “provocative” in missile tests and repeatedly declaring what would seem to be a daunting arsenal (although there is still no irrefutable, concrete proof of deliverable, long range nuclear weapons capability) here is just a small taste of what it’s southern neighbor, in cahoots with Godfather America, has planned... [read more]
It says the Likud is the most cunning instrument for keeping the Mizrahim down. That the endless rule of Binyamin Netanyahu, the very personification of the Ashkenazi elite... [read more]
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]
Caesarea was built by King Herod some 2000 years ago and named after his Roman master, Augustus Caesar. It once again became an important town under the Crusaders, who fortified it.... [read more]
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]
A year ago the UK voted to leave the EU after a stupid, unnecessary referendum. Not only that, but it has emerged that the Brexit campaign was funded by some secretive and dodgy deals.... [read more]
When I first heard that, on April 4, Bashar al-Assad had bombed Khan Sheikhoun with nerve gas my inner voice whispered: wait. Something wrong. Something smells fishy. First of all, it was too quick. Just a few hours after the event, everybody knew it was Bashar who did it.... [read more]
When Adlai Stevenson ran for the presidency, he was told "Don't worry, every thinking person will vote for you." "But I need a majority," Stevenson famously replied.... [read more]
Perhaps the most sadly significant sign among the daily deceits currently stinking up the White House, is the redefinition of "presidential."... [read more]
The present Israeli government coalition consists of 67 (out of 120) members of the Knesset. Each member wants to be elected again (and again and again). In order to be reelected, he or she must attract the attention of the public. The simplest way is to propose a new law. A bill so outrageous, that the media cannot possibly ignore it.... [read more]
I am a Palestinian. Do not relegate me to some imperial design suiting Israel's ends and tell me to pack off to Jordan or anywhere other than where I was born and where my forefathers have lived for well over a thousand year... [read more]
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]
The insane threats also come from a man who achieved five draft deferments during the Vietnam war, thus has no knowledge even of what one bullet can do, let alone the vapourising monstrosities he seems to think he has divine power to unleash on a whim.... [read more]
I come from a fairly long line of mercantile family forebears with strong business skills and profit inspired attitudes. Although I chose not to go into business as my brothers did and I became a teacher of English, every emotional nerve in my body believed in wealth creation as being the only way forward for all.... [read more]
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]
As I will show below, it is likely the deaths in Khan Sheikhoun were caused by an armed opposition faction, not the Syrian government. The goal was precisely what has happened: a media firestorm leading to direct U.S. aggression against Syria.... [read more]
In a few weeks, Israel will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Six-Day War. Millions of words, most of them hollow, will be poured out. As usual.... [read more]
March 25th was the EU’s birthday. It was celebrated in London and elsewhere by anti-Brexit demonstrations. Initially organised by Unite for Europe, supported by the European Movement and the 3 Million group of EU citizens living in the UK... [read more]
If someone had told me 50 years ago that the rulers of Israel, Jordan and Egypt had met in secret to make peace, I would have thought that I was dreaming.... [read more]
Donald Trump is absolutely correct when he says the mainstream news media lies, purveys fake news, and is the enemy of the American people... [read more]
Trumpism is not a uniquely American phenomena. It is the local variant of an ultra-right anti-establishment ideology that has a worldwide manifestation... [read more]
I was invited by Mahmood Abbas, the President of the Palestinian National Authority, to take part in joint Palestinian-Israeli consultations in advance of the international conference in Paris.... [read more]
How much should individuality be important for progressive forces? And is it possible to reconcile economic utility and individual autonomy?... [read more]
The investment potential of the Russian economy offers good reasons why it is time for the West to take a more positive attitude towards the country. The President-elect might be doing everyone a favour in the long run, David Morgan argues.... [read more]
While some of the mainstream media are unsuccessfully seeking to tarnish Castro’s image, thousands upon thousands of messages are pouring into Cuba from literally all over the world to pay homage to him... [read more]
For eight months there was hardly a drop of rain. A strong, hot, east wind blew in from the desert. The land dried up. Any little spark could have started a major fire.... [read more]
We do not really know who Trump is, and what he will do during the next four years. We know only the Trump of the elections: a nasty person, a megalomaniac, a liar, an ignoramus.... [read more]
The British government has spent “over £100 million” since 2012, “working closely with a range of actors” to “find a political solution to the conflict and prepare to rebuild the country in the post Assad era.” ... [read more]
Political ideas and structures don't die easily. The human mind is lazy and apprehensive, and clings to familiar ideas, long after they have become obsolete... [read more]
Luck can be a great benefactor. It can also be the cause of catastrophes. I seem to remember that one of those evil Greek gods or goddesses destroyed their human victims by making them lucky.... [read more]
Mother Teresa has been beatified by Pope Francis I, after a series of "miracles" (where the role of modern medicine was conveniently swept under the rug) were fished out from her lifelong record running clinics for the poor in India.... [read more]
Neoconservatives including Clintonites are pushing hard for a direct US attack on Syria to prevent the collapse of their regime change project... [read more]
The historic leader of the Cuban Revolution celebrated his 90th birthday on 13 August 2016. CSC executive member Dr Francisco Dominguez looks back at his legacy and internationalism... [read more]
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]
By downplaying all the issues that adversely affect the environment, the politicos have been mutually assuring our own demise - and theirs!... [read more]
Reports of Erdogan supporters beheading soldiers in public, and film of screaming crowds stamping on the bodies of soldiers who were trying to surrender, expose the atavistic sentiments for revenge that the coup seems to have unleashed as a backlas... [read more]
"Anti-Semitism in France" is now all the rage in Israel. A huge propaganda effort is invested in this campaign. The aim is to induce French Jews to come to Israel... [read more]
This constantly troublesome and disloyal bunch of Labour MPs don’t care about the country or their Party. They cannot see that it is they, not Corbyn, who are making the Party unelectable... [read more]
Natanz is the name of the ancient and tranquil township whose otherwise noble name has been excessively abused by the Western and US media circus in the past decade... [read more]
As we stroll along the transitory journey of life, it is only natural to progressively focus first and foremost on our education, acquiring skills, career aspirations, and perhaps marriage... [read more]
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]
A group of soldiers, supported by a major part of the political scene, has mutinied against their commanders. This is a major menace to the structure of the state, a challenge to what remains of our democracy.... [read more]
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]
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]
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]
The scorched earth onslaught of 2003 and subsequent years of bombings brought further radioactive pollution in orders of magnitude. The US is now bombing again.... [read more]
By 1967, the situation was quite different. The causes of the new war were disputed, David had turned into Goliath, a world-wide Cold War was on... [read more]
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]
During 1980 a small group was formed to act under the aegis of Michael Grylls, MP, who was then the Chairman of the back bench Industry Committee in the House of Commons... [read more]
It is not very pleasant when serious people around the world – historians, psychiatrists, diplomats – ask themselves if my prime minister is completely sane... [read more]
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]
A report from Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health reveals that forty four percent of US children are living in poverty... [read more]
Bryan Gould, former Labour shadow cabinet minister, asks how voters are likely to view a party that so manifestly lacks the courage of its convictions... [read more]
On 5 July 2015 the Greek people overwhelmingly rejected the austerity measures imposed by the institutions that were known as the Troika... [read more]
In 2015 the industry of terrorism has moved into a new phase and the scenarios I painted – such as the militarisation of civil society - have gone mainstream... [read more]
As with everything to do with “The New Iraq”, the death of the country’s former Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Tariq Aziz, 79, was announced with a lie... [read more]
To the great puzzlement and consternation of pundits and pollsters, the British general election produced what seems a great democratic victory for the Conservative party... [read more]
A few days ago, Israeli TV Channel 10 broadcast an investigative story about the 2006 Israeli attack on Lebanon, known as "Lebanon War II"... [read more]
After Labour’s dismal performance in Thursday’s election there have been a lot of theories on why it turned out to be such a terrible night for the party... [read more]
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]
This week I won a dubious distinction: a groundbreaking Supreme Court judgment has been named after me. It is an honor I would have gladly dispensed with.... [read more]
England’s Easter was the culmination of recent events which have brought the would-be great and good to their knees - and knee deep in hypocrisy... [read more]
I fear the outcome of the general election; I fear the deals made by politicians desperate to stay in power, deals that will further harm the disadvantaged poor... [read more]
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]
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]
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]
The negotiations between the newly elected Greek Government and the other Eurozone states have been a battle between pragmatism and extremism... [read more]
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]
The term Zionism can mean many different things. Like the term socialism, for example. Francois Hollande is a socialist. So was Joe Stalin. Any resemblance?... [read more]
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 vicious cycle of state and individual terror continues unabated. Marxists have long explained that imperialism and Islamic fundamentalism are two aspects of the same reactionary phenomenon—the decay and decline of capitalism—which threatens to take the whole of humanity down with it.... [read more]
The Shas party has split into two. Opinion polls show that both parts are hovering around the 3.12% threshold which is now necessary for entering the Knesset, after the minimum was raised by the last Knesset... [read more]
"Vice is a monster of so frightful mien, As, to be hated, needs but to be seen; Yet, seen too oft, familiar with her face, We first endure, then pity, then embrace." (Alexander Pope, Essay on Man)... [read more]
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 fourth 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]
Movies about abandoning Earth reflect the political defeatism of our age: that adapting to climate breakdown is preferable to stopping it, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
If ISIS had approached the borders of Israel this week, nobody in the country would have noticed. Israel was riveted to a court-room drama... [read more]
If I could choose between the two rhetorical gladiators, I would rather have Mahmoud Abbas representing Israel and Netanyahu representing the other side... [read more]
It’s not enough to defeat Tory ideology. We also have to defeat the Tory propaganda machine that brainwashes people with their slogans and catch-phrases... [read more]
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]
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]
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]
After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the capitalist counter-revolution in China, an immense political vacuum opened up in ideology and politics on a world scale. Article by Dr Lal Khan... [read more]
The horrific carnage we have seen unleashed in Gaza in recent weeks - a humanitarian catastrophe - would not have been politically or economically affordable without the tacit acquiescence of the global jewellery industry... [read more]
What is happening right now in Ukraine may not just be another conflict that will rumble on for a few years and then slowly end in a messy compromise... [read more]
The war was over. Families returned to their kibbutzim near Gaza. Kindergartens opened up again. A ceasefire was in force and extended again and again. Obviously, both sides were exhausted.... [read more]
The similarities between the building of Israel and the US are astonishing. The native people are portrayed as savage, inherently violent, unable to understand peace... [read more]
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]
The Israeli media are now totally subservient. There is no independent reporting. "Military correspondents" are not allowed into Gaza to see for themselves, they are willingly reduced to parroting army communiqués, presenting them as their personal observations... [read more]
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]
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]
The Arab world is in turmoil. Syria and Iraq are breaking apart, the thousand-year old conflict between Muslim Sunnis and Muslim Shiites is reaching a new climax... [read more]
The principal threat to expression comes not from state regulation but from censorship by editors and proprietors, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
Flames are rising from Iraq's largest oil refinery at Baiji, the result of mortar attacks by the varying forces sweeping towards the capital city. Felicity Arbuthnot describes the latest tragedy to befall Iraq... [read more]
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]
Former MP and member of the Labour shadow cabinet, Bryan Gould, discusses a strategy for improving economic performance and addressing inequality... [read more]
The claim by Binyamin Netanyahu that he has a right to pick and choose the Palestinian government is rather astonishing, writes Uri Avnery
... [read more]
The scoured, scorched Highlands could be brought to life – maybe an independent nation will have the courage to act, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
The scoured, scorched Highlands could be brought to life – maybe an independent nation will have the courage to act, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
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]
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 Ron Pundak, one of the original Israeli architects of the 1993 Oslo agreement, brought that historic event back into the public eye.... [read more]
On 21 February I sent an email to the Government of Scotland, suggesting it would be an immense advantage to the “Yes” campaign for Scottish independence if the Scots adopted a policy of having their own currency when independent... [read more]
Former MP and member of the Labour shadow cabinet, Bryan Gould, discusses the flaws in Labour's proposal to devolve power to local regions... [read more]
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]
The other evening, within a matter of five minutes, I sent messages to socialist colleagues in France, Spain, Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania via Facebook and received answers back. The content was more social than socialist but I could have easily been organizing a Europe-wide campaign or demonstration, writes David Eade.... [read more]
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]
Spaniards and Gibraltarians will remember well the case of Cengiz Yalcin. However as the British, French and USA secret services were claimed to be involved in his arrest, the case probably reverberated around the world... [read more]
Most of us have read how difficult it has been for whistleblowers Julian Assange and Edward Snowdon since exposing state secrets, now imagine blowing the whistle from behind bars of one of America’s most notorious penitentiaries... [read more]
I don’t claim to be any expert on rap music but seeing a photo of Snoop Dog in a smart jacket at the White House in the company of Obama was a bit of a let down... [read more]
Michael Gove is a neoconservative member of Denis MacShane’s Henry Jackson Society, and thus also an admirer of Tony Blair and of George W Bush, neither of whom would have got any of the jokes in Blackadder... [read more]
Former MP and member of the Labour shadow cabinet, Bryan Gould, explains the need for politicians to restore public faith in the value of government and democracy in order to cure voter disaffection ... [read more]
The miners of northern Brazil live by the laws of power, honour, money and lust. But sometimes, karma asserts itself too, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
Thomas Riggins reviews an article by Alberto Alesina from the Harvard Economics Department - Women, Fertility and the Rise of Modern Capitalism... [read more]
It would be hilarious, if it wasn’t for the severity of the Syrian crisis, to read some of the allegations being directed against the Syrian based nun, Mother Agnes Mariam... [read more]
In the run-up to December 7's Latin America conference Victoria Brittain remembers Cuba's contribution to the fight for freedom in Angola and against apartheid 25 years ago... [read more]
I first heard Martin Schulz speak in Sofia in June at the PES Congress. He was then, as he is now, President of the European Parliament. He articulated a clear vision for reforming the EU which struck a chord... [read more]
From the 12th century to the beginning of the 14th, the Knights Templar, present in much of Europe, had become the bankers for the powerful and had taken part in the financing of several crusades... [read more]
I recently turned sixty five. This is the same age as the State of Israel. From our side of the fence (or should I say 'of the Separation Wall'), it the same date as the birthday of our dispossession as a Palestinian people... [read more]
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]
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]
The undermining of the middle classes, who are continually being pushed down into the working class, represents, at the same time, a weakening of the ruling class, who are finding it increasingly difficult to find a social basis for their programme - an international programme of austerity... [read more]
On Thursday 10th October the Marxist Student Federation hosted a fiery debate between Alan Woods, editor of In Defence of Marxism, and Orlando Figes, Professor of History at Birkbeck, University of London, on the topic of "The Russian Revolution: Triumph or Tragedy?"... [read more]
Former Labour cabinet member, Bryan Gould, takes to task recent comments made by Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Rachel Reeves on the subject of the unemployed... [read more]
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]
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]
According to a recent article in the New York Times two of the candidates running for mayor of New York have become alarmed about the worldview of Bill de Blasio, the front running candidate of the Democratic Party... [read more]
Meliorism "is the view that the world is neither completely good nor completely bad, and that incremental progress or regress depend on human actions." This view holds that "By creative intelligence and education we can improve the environment and social conditions."... [read more]
Cumbria Unison convenor Paul Lloyd argues that whereas Socialism may have lost its voice in the political arena, it is still present in our daily life... [read more]
Three years ago few predicted that a revolution, a coup and an emergent civil war would soon explode in a country considered a prime tourist hot spot and ruled by the same autocrat for nearly 30 years
... [read more]
There is no secret in saying that the National Curriculum was not introduced to promote co-operation or individual ingenuity. Elijah Pryor advocates a different model for learning... [read more]
Recently Simon Blackburn, the well known British philosopher, reviewed "Knowing Right from Wrong," the new book by Kieran Setiya, in the TLS... [read more]
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]
The true social democratic heirs of Hugh Gaitstkell would be, and are, opposed to the EU. Less well-known, but no less important, is that they ought to be opposed to nuclear weapons... [read more]
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]
I set off to Bulgaria after being selected by the Party of European Socialists to be part of the 100 plus team from all across the European Union to monitor the General Election. David Eade reports.... [read more]
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]
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]
Vladimir Putin's government's crack down on Pussy Riot may have helped save the Russian Federation from the 'peril' of creeping feminism, writes Thomas Riggins... [read more]
Confiscating the customer deposits in Cyprus banks, it seems, was not a one-off, desperate idea of a few Eurozone “troika” officials scrambling to salvage their balance sheets reveals Ellen Brown... [read more]
Patriotism is meaningless unless it extends to active participation in the fight against each and all of the threats to our sovereignty, to our liberty, and to our parliamentary and municipal democracy, writes David Lindsay.... [read more]
Congratulations to the British Falkland Islanders, including the large Saint Helenian community there, some of whom are my relatives on my mother's side, writes David Lindsay after a referendum that was controversial in some parts of the world.... [read more]
Comedian Beppe Grillo was surprised himself when his Five Star Movement got 8.7 million votes in the Italian general election of February 24-25th... [read more]
According to an article in last Thursday's Wall Street Journal, the Senate is considering a bipartisan plan to require all working people in the US to carry a biometric ID card. Thomas Riggins reports... [read more]
In front of me is a copy of today's Khaleej Times; its front page story is about a speech by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed who is the Ruler of Dubai and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, writes Elizabeth Ellis... [read more]
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]
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]
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]
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]
I am a Palestinian British Muslim. I take great pride in my dual heritage. There shouldn't be a price to pay for this duality, but there is. I have paid it always reluctantly, occasionally resentfully and once or twice bitterly, writes Faisal Mikdadi... [read more]
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]
What we need is binding international agreements that reduce and eliminate the use of all chemicals that endanger the lives, health and well being of human beings and other life forms making up the biosphere, writes Thomas Riggins.... [read more]
Elijah Pryor looks into the origins, definitions and theory of Social Constructionism and explains inequalities faced by working class children in education... [read more]
LPJ French political affairs correspondent, David Eade, comments on the recent leadership election within France’s Conservative opposition party, the UMP... [read more]
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]
In 1920, Lenin produced an analysis of the political conditions in Germany after the failure of the Communist uprising in 1918. The Communists had split into two rival factions. The issues facing the German Marxists were somewhat analogous to those facing Marxist movements today, writes Thomas Riggins.... [read more]
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]
Anyone concerned about the anti-gay agenda of the radical right in the US will find scores of websites dedicated to the proposition that gay couples should not be allowed to adopt children, writes Thomas Riggins.... [read more]
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]
Thomas Riggins gives an analysis of Chapter Four of Lenin's 'Left Wing' Communism: an Infantile Disorder and describes the Bolsheviks' struggle against both 'opportunism' and 'petty-bourgeois revolulutionism'... [read more]
The Spain of today is in a deep financial crisis. Rather than the country pulling together it is pulling apart. LPJ Iberian correspondent, David Eade, discusses the possibility of the Spainish state breaking up into autonomous regions... [read more]
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 official position of Arab nations is unambiguous: solidarity with Palestine is paramount. But facts on the ground point to a disturbingly different reality, one in which Palestinians are mistreated beyond any rational justification in various Arab countries, writes Ramzy Baroud.... [read more]
Justice for Vittorio Utopia Arrigoni has been paramount, but we also expect the Gaza government to hand down more than a verdict, also answers to those trying to kill Vittorio’s dream – along with our humanity, writes Ramzy Baroud.
... [read more]
Doreen Carvajal writes in the New York Times about the possibility that our genes carry some memories of our ancestors' experiences and 'unfinished business'. Dr Faysal Mikdadi wonders whether this is beneficial, now and for a future generation. ... [read more]
To answer the question of what the world will look like after capitalism, we first have to decide what we mean by capitalism. If it means a system that arises from lending money at interest, then there will be no “after capitalism” writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
Under the guise of saving the natural world, governments are privatising it and rarely will the money to be made by protecting nature match the money to be made by destroying it, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
'Freedom' within the confines of what increasingly resembles an open prison isn't much to celebrate. The actual reality in Britain is economic meltdown and social crisis, writes Colin Todhunter ... [read more]
Felix McHugh, author of the book Damned Scroungers, is back with more stories about his daily struggle to ensure disability claimants receive the money to which they are rightly entitled... [read more]
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]
In 1947, Nehru spoke about a tryst with destiny. Free from the shackles of British colonialism, India was on course for a bright new future. Fast forward and witness the not so glittering outcome that Nehru didn’t have in mind, writes Colin Todhunter.... [read more]
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]
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]
At the weekend, I sent a letter to The Observer via email. So sure am I that the paper will not run it this coming Sunday that I breathe life into it by reproducing it here below... [read more]
The mainstream corporate media has been fooling the public for decades. It fails to shine a light on important decisions that are made behind closed doors by unaccountable corporate players, senior politicians and unelected bureaucrats, writes Colin Todhunter.... [read more]
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]
In the last of a series of articles on the French elections, David Eade looks at the breakdown of the National Assembly elections and the way forward for Francois Hollande and the Parti Socialiste ... [read more]
David Lane reviews a collection of three volumes compiled by Craig Calhoun and Georgi Derluguian chronicling the origins and aftermath of the global financial crisis... [read more]
I suppose I should have seen this coming. In January, I discovered that the forecasters employed by a company called Positive Weather Solutions, whose inaccurate predictions were widely used by the newspapers, don’t exist, says George Monbiot.... [read more]
The LPJ's India correspondent, Colin Todhunter, describes how India's true wealth creators are increasingly sidelined as temples to global capitalism spring up across the country... [read more]
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]
Adam Levick has been the managing director of CIF Watch since July 2010. He was born in Philadelphia and moved to Israel in 2009, Patrizia Bertini speaks to him through a 'Lego interview'.... [read more]
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]
John Pilger shows that Barack Obama’s sudden “conversion” to the cause of same-sex marriage barely disguises the prime motives of a president as reactionary and violent as George W Bush.... [read more]
Colin Todhunter, London Progressive Journal's India correspondent, reports on the worrying fusion of news and entertainment that is part of modern India... [read more]
Shortly after progressive Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba was overthrown by a Western backed coup in 1960, the former UN secretary general, Dag Hammarskjöld, died in mysterious circumstances. John Green asks if the two events were in any way connected.... [read more]
A one-sided justice sees weaker states punished as rich nations and giant corporations project their power across the world, says George Monbiot.... [read more]
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]
Pop dinosaurs head up Britain’s Eurovision challenge and the Olympic jamboree. New seasons of X Factor and Pop Idol are being spawned in some modern marketing womb of entertainment hell. They are destroying Britain’s reputation as an alternative music powerhouse, writes Miles Caston.... [read more]
Colin Todhunter reveals the motives behind those launching personal attacks on Booker prize winning novelist, activist and social commentator, Arundhati Roy ... [read more]
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]
In his latest article on the upcoming French Presidential elections, David Eade looks at the crucial role French voters living in Britain will play in determining the winner... [read more]
Ben Maisky explains how George Galloway’s overwhelming victory in the Bradford West by-election demonstrates a clear rejection of the three main parties and their policies.... [read more]
Gay marriage: 'oh dear, oh lor’, how did this become the issue of the hour? The world appears to have divided itself into two camps and I find myself in neither'- journalist and writer W Steven Gilbert shares his thoughts... [read more]
In her latest article, outRageous! explains how the world-wide political agenda is peeing its pants in anticipation of agents of change.... [read more]
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]
For the five or six generations of solitary, sedentary boys in the middle of which fell my vintage (the baby boomers), the hobby par excellence was collecting stamps, recalls W Stephen Gilbert.... [read more]
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]
Following the decline of the manufacturing sector, in recent years, Dr Jonathan Feldmann discusses ways in which Britain could go about redeveloping its industrial base... [read more]
The capitulation by Labour to the austerity and cuts agenda of the Tories and the right-wing press has been confirmed by shadow chancellor Ed Balls' statement that Labour would not be able to reverse the Tory cuts and would maintain the pay freeze within the public sector if they come to power at the next election, says John Wight.... [read more]
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]
John Green asks whether we need a mass party to represent the unions and the left and to advance the interests of the entire working class (Part 2)... [read more]
A qualitative change is taking place within the European Union where it is crystal clear that national independence and democracy are being dumped without formal procedure or public announcement, says John Boyd.... [read more]
There is a rising tide of Euroscepticism within mainstream political parties and on the floors of national Parliaments throughout the European Union, says David Lindsay.... [read more]
No2VAG has a legitimate right to be heard by the NLWA, as Ellen Graubart explains. The campaign group has requested a hearing at the Authority's meetings, and three times the group has been refused.... [read more]
Despite David Cameron's attempt to brush the November 30th strike under the carpet and continue with his attacks on the poorest, John Wight predicts that strong resistance to the cuts will continue.... [read more]
Through a mist of tears, I caught up with the conclusion of 'My Transsexual Summer', Channel 4’s four-part fly-on-the-wall series, says W Stephen Gilbert.... [read more]
Uri Avnery explains how the three main pillars of Israeli democracy - the courts, the media and the human rights organisations - are under threat from the political right. ... [read more]
An in-depth critique and analysis of the beginnings of the civil war in Libya and what was at stake for all parties involved in the final conflict, split into three parts. (Part 2)... [read more]
An in-depth critique and analysis of the beginnings of the civil war in Libya and what was at stake for all parties involved in the final conflict, split into three parts.... [read more]
Patrizia Bertini comments on the slow beginnings of the Occupy Italy movement but notes that in recent days events have been picking up pace... [read more]
As the Spanish general election approaches, David Eade shows how a protest movement, led by the homeless, will be campaigning out on the streets.... [read more]
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]
In the third article in his series, 'Contextualising the Threat of Islam', Richard Greeman compares Islamic Fundamentalism with the U.S. regime's own brand on fundamentalist politics.... [read more]
Daina Z. Green reports on the terrorism of Mexican unions by their own Government in support of business interests over that of their own workers. ... [read more]
The Italian left has been in a state of stagnation for a number of years, but the emergence on the national stage of Nichi Vendola may precipitate a change in fortunes, as Samuele Mazzolini explains.... [read more]
Ramzy Baroud takes a critical look at the language used by Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority in their pronouncements on possible talks with Israel.... [read more]
The long-running tensions between Colombia and Venezuela have escalated this week after further provocation by the Colombian government, writes Eva Golinger.... [read more]
With news coverage gradually moving towards a 'paperless world' in the internet age, Ramzy Baroud considers the implications for political journalism.... [read more]
The assassination of Palestinian activist Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was a well-planned, violent and sadistic act of international terrorism, writes Ramzy Baroud. ... [read more]
Peter Tatchell urges the Football Association to push ahead with a planned anti-homophobia campaign which has mysteriously stalled this week. ... [read more]
John Green reviews this month's recommended read, which takes a critical look at the increasing dominance of corporate interests over civil society.... [read more]
Ramzy Baroud celebrates the spirit of international solidarity that has provided crucial practical and moral support for the Palestinian struggle in recent years.... [read more]
Ramzy Baroud condemns the scapegoating of Muslims by European politicians who are unwilling to address their countries' most pressing social problems.... [read more]
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]
Uri Avnery on how a spate of brutal murders by recent Jewish immigrants to Israel has focused attention on the country's controversial Law of Return.... [read more]
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]
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]
Chris Vasey considers claims that a lucrative Libyan oil deal may have been at the root of the controversial release of Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi.... [read more]
Whatever David Cameron may be saying publicly, massive public sector cuts will be a certainty if the Tories win the next election, as Steve Jones explains.... [read more]
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]
Derek Wall argues that only a fundamental change in the world economic system can meet the environmental challenges of the 21st Century.... [read more]
James Suggett on the Venezuelan government's response to the ongoing anti-Chavez campaign being pursued by the country's corporate mass media.... [read more]
With mainstream politicians apparently unable to find a way out of the present financial mess, Michael Prior believes now is a critical time for the left to mobilise.... [read more]
In the week that a controversial new law on pornography came into force, Symon Hill outlines his concerns about the implications for sexual freedom, and civil liberties more broadly.... [read more]
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]
In the week of Barack Obama's historic inauguration, Safreena Rajan examines the key issues which Obama will have to address in order to deliver on his promise of "change".... [read more]
Guardian journalist George Monbiot poors scorn on the notion that climate change issues are the preserve of a misanthropic middle-class snobbery.... [read more]
On the Fiftieth anniversary of the Cuban Revolution, Alexa Van Sickle talks to Manuel Yepe, the former Cuban Ambassador to Romania and close friend of Che Guevara, about what the future may hold for the Caribbean island. ... [read more]
Samuele Mazzolini met prominent Colombian politician Antonio Navarro Wolff, the governor of the southern department of Nariño, to discuss the many social and political problems affecting Colombia.... [read more]
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]
In the aftermath of the appalling US raid on Syria, Ramzy Baroud examines the familiar double-standard in the mainstream discourse on what constitutes unacceptable policy and aggression.... [read more]
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]
Richard Scorer on how the current economic crisis presents a challenge to the Democrats' cosy relationship with big business and finance.... [read more]
Forty years ago, on the night of August 20th-21st Russian and other Warsaw Pact forces invaded Czechoslovakia, thus putting an end to the ‘Prague Spring.’... [read more]
Robert Yourell of the American campaign group VoteStrike.com believes a general strike in September would send a strong message to Washingotn elites.... [read more]
Following on from last week's article, Sven Eric Balabanoff continues his look at the role of "Push-polling" in this year's US elections. ... [read more]
Illegitimate, out of touch and increasingly isolated, the Burmese junta may struggle to regain its former prominence in the aftermath of Cyclone Nagis. ... [read more]
Much of Colombia has rejoiced at the assassination of leading FARC member Raul Reyes. Samuele Mazzolini considers the wider implications of Colombia's reckless approach to counter-terrorism.... [read more]
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]