Articles
Thursday, September 21, 2023
More cash is being earmarked for weapons, including for the war in Ukraine, but are the people’s interests best served by sacrificing their living standards to the military build-up or would they be better served by Britain taking a different path? The world is shifting, with new alliances emerging in the global South, resisting western diktats. So shouldn’t we consider abandoning the NATO alliance which only promotes imperialism and war, very different from the people’s interests, and join developments, such as BRICS, which emphasise collaboration and which challenge US dominance.
Wednesday, September 20, 2023
NATO's conventional war-fighting capabilities are very visible in the wars it has fought and its military build-up across the globe. Less visible but very important to NATO are activities such as its ideological efforts to win hearts and minds and it's development of cyber warfare capabilities.
Monday, September 18, 2023
50 years on from the coup against Salvador Allende's Popular Unity government new research has exposed the role of British governments in undermining Chilean democracy which started even before Allende came to power. Along with the United States it played its part in destablising the country, paving the way for the coup.
Sunday, September 17, 2023
How do commentators in other countries view world politics? A round up of views and events:
Prospects for peace in Ukraine
Expansion of BRICS
Africa rejects western control
Saturday, September 16, 2023
Mission to Moscow (Victor Gollanz 1942) was written by Joseph E. Davies who was United States ambassador to the Soviet Union from 1936-38. He saw at first hand the progress being made by the young Soviet state but also the threat that it faced from war. He gives a first hand account of the prominent individuals he met, his trips round the country and the refusal of the US to act to deter Nazi Germany.
Monday, May 22, 2023
The dangers of a third world war are very real. The United States and its allies in the West and NATO are pursuing the war in Ukraine, primarily to weaken Russia, and without regard to whether or not continuing the war is in Ukraine’s interests. More and more weapons and other forms of military support are being poured in with scant signs of progress. Though welcomed by other countries the US has rejected out of hand Chinese proposals to achieve peace.
Not only that, but the US is ramping up rhetoric and war preparations against China itself. Though Germany seems to have been happy enough to undermine its economy to serve US interests over Ukraine, Macron in France seems less keen to commit to a war with China. So far the divisions within imperialism have not broken the core of the US alliance, but countries of the global south seem ever stronger in their pursuit of a place in world affairs and to have economic, financial and trading systems that are not subservient to the US. Their strengthening alliances, refusal to join the war drive and advocacy for peace in Ukraine provides some hope in a grim situation.
The movement here needs to play its part in opposing the war drive, yet pro-peace voices have been marginalised and messages ambivalent. In the worst cases there are some in the unions and on the left who have joined the campaign for more arms.
Sunday, May 21, 2023
Voices advocating for a peaceful solution to the conflict in Ukraine have a big task and confront a substantial state-sponsored media machine. There are persistent untruths peddled by the mainstream media which, by their constant repetition, have a powerful effect on the public consciousness. These myths, for example, say that Russia was unprovoked, launched a "full-scale" invasion and that democracy is being defended in Ukraine. In addition there is the illogical argument the Russia blew up the Nord Stream pipeline. This reporting is certainly not the result of unbiased journalism and there are links between the state, military/security personnel and funding for this propaganda.
Saturday, May 20, 2023
The global financial system has so far narrowly escaped another meltdown as urgent measures by the US and Swiss authorities contained the recent crisis to specific banks. A worldwide crisis has been postponed to another day. However, the inherent problems in trying to regulate the banks and the contradictions in trying to manage capitalist economies were what led to this situation. It is only a matter of time before the system implodes under the weight of its contradictions.