Articles
Sunday, April 27, 2025
Donald Trump is a man in a hurry. Better prepared than when he came to office in his first term as President, he has embarked at breakneck speed on achieving his international and domestic objectives. He is not hampered by the niceties of diplomacy nor does he pay lip service to other countries and their leaders. This has come as a shock to Western “allies” of the US, whose second class position in relation to the world’s hegemonic superpower Trump has made painfully clear. They are struggling to adjust to this new reality.
The EU is struggling with multiple problems of weak leaders and economic and political stagnation. In Britain too Kier Starmer’s government is failing to address the country’s economic problems nor is it trying to meet the needs of the British people. In fact, the reverse. It is threatening more cuts to welfare and services to fund war and the arms build-up.
So the old imperial European powers are not well placed to challenge Trump by carving out an independent road for themselves. But he will face other challenges from within the US establishment and from a disgruntled voter base, who will be made worse off by his policies. There will be resistance too from the Global South. The question is what will the long-term impact of his policies be and will he actually make the US stronger or weaker?
Friday, April 25, 2025
Although Trump is notoriously erratic, beneath the surface of this and his egregious, insulting behaviour there are consistencies. One is that he will continue to support Israel as the bastion of US interests in the Middle East and Palestinians who continue to suffer from Israel’s genocidal actions both in Gaza and the West Bank.
One bright spot in a rather grim political landscape in Britian has been the unified and determined campaigning by activists in solidarity with Palestine. In particular we can learn from the past success of the boycott of South African apartheid to mobilise people to boycott Israeli apartheid now.
Tuesday, April 22, 2025
There is a long history behind the West’s objective of destroying the government in Syria. The long campaign of military action and sanctions which eventually led to Assad’s defeat. His overthrow will have a profound impact on future prospects for Syria and the region, including the Palestinians whose cause has been weakened by these events. The West backs the terrorists who now control the country and who are oppressing and killing people from ethnic and religious minorities and women from all groups. Meanwhile the United States is still involved and Israel and Turkey are vying to carve up bits of Syria for themselves. The future looks grim for Syrians.
Tuesday, December 31, 2024
Russia is routinely accused of interfering in democracy in other countries. While these accusations have been insubstantial, there is a growing body of evidence of Israeli interference in British politics.
Both in the United States and in the UK pro-Israel groups have channeled cash into defeating pro-Palestine law-makers and funding a wide range of Members of Parliament. In the UK some of these groups have close working relationships with the Israeli embassy and have arranged for trips to Israel by MPs. This funding and these relationships are being used to further the interests of a foreign power and undermine British sovereignty as well as subduing criticism of Israel's genocide against the Palestinians.
Thursday, October 17, 2024
Israel is continuously escalating its genocidal war against the Palestinians in Gaza and increasingly in the West Bank too. It has no interest in ceasefires or negotiations as it seeks to turn Palestine into an uninhabitable wasteland which it can permanently occupy. On the contrary it is now seeking to expand its aggression to Lebanon and Iran and to provoke a regional war.
Wednesday, May 29, 2024
Israel has long defied international law and has been repeatedly censured by the United Nations, which has also supported the Palestinians. As the genocide in Gaza continues, Palestinians are now the front line of defence for international law and the United Nations as its institutional expression.
The west does not talk about international law, but rather the rules based order – by which it means its rules and its order. Whilst the United Nation has not always been progressive – the security council has an inbuilt western bias – yet it has always been an arena of struggle for anti-imperialist forces.
South Africa’s bold move taking Israel to the International Court of Justice has proved a rallying call for supporters of Palestine and upholding the international law which Israel flaunts.
Seeing the danger of the UN becoming a real force to counter western aggression Israel and the US have launched attacks on UN institutions, especially those which offer practical support to the Palestinians, like UNRAW. The global south, South Africa and the Palestinians are taking the lead in defending international legal norms from the west.
Sunday, May 26, 2024
There is always money to be made from war and Ukraine and Gaza are no exceptions. The arms industry has certainly benefited from both these current conflicts. Increasingly, however, electronic systems are vital to fighting wars. the US company Palantir has contracts in Israel, Ukraine and here in the NHS. It has been described as “…the AI arms dealer of the 21st century” and works closely with the US government. So what is it doing in our NHS? Apparently “integrating health data”. Access to data is a prime objective of tech companies and Palantir’s role in the Health Service has met widespread opposition.
Saturday, February 3, 2024
Israel's war on the Palestinian people of Gaza has united the world against the West. This has created difficulties for imperialism and there are mounting problems for Israel itself. As the genocide continues the West and Israel are trying to plan a future in which they will control the outcomes for the Palestinians. The Palestinian right to self-determination is a demand which we must uphold.