OSCE and the Indivisibility of Security By David Morrison The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has 57 participating states in Europe, Asia and North America. At a conference in Istanbul in November 1999, the OSCE adopted a Charter for European Security, Paragraph 8 of which prescribed the basic principles on which security for participating states was to … Continue reading OSCE and the Indivisibility of Security
Putin’s Dilemma — Editorial 1 America was determined to stop Nord Stream 2. But for different reasons than most people think. People assume that it wished to stop it because it meant America could find a lucrative market for its Liquified Natural Gas (LNG). That was undoubtedly a positive result from America’s perspective. But that was not the main … Continue reading Putin’s Dilemma — Editorial
The New Liberal Party — Editorial 2 It was reported in the Financial Times on 18th Feb that Labour has entered into a de facto agreement with the Liberal Democrats on how to fight the next general election. It’s an unsurprising development. Starmer is focussed on ousting the Tories at the next general election but has come to … Continue reading The New Liberal Party — Editorial
Levelling Up or Covering Up? The government White Paper on levelling up. By Dave Gardner In 2019 the Tories won a general election largely on the basis of capturing seats that have traditionally sent a Labour MP to Westminster. These are for the most part seats in the Midlands and the North of England that … Continue reading Levelling up or Covering up?
“On the edge in Ukraine” Diary of an ex-Corbyn foot soldier (March, 2022) Dictionary definition of “foot soldier”: “…a dedicated low level follower…” Michael Murray: murraymicha@gmail.com; FaceBook: Michael Murray London (1) The politics of the last atrocity (2) NATO and the Ukraine (3) Stop The War on the Left! … Continue reading On the Edge in Ukraine
LABOUR AND HOUSING – Part 7. The destruction of local authorities as housing providers. By Eamon Dyas Determining the economic discourse. The previous article in this series showed how building societies and banks were incapable of supplying mortgages on the scale required by the Tory Government’s 1979 Right to Buy scheme. It explained how local councils … Continue reading The Destruction of Local Authorities as Housing Providers
AFTER THE BOMBS FALL WE’LL BE ONE You make the world in your own image. The remorseless banks of piggery that snatch at your meagre savings, without interest while throwing millions to a shady property developer who build homes beyond the reach of those who build them. Organised crime will be much more sophisticated, in … Continue reading After the Bombs Fall
The Two Party System Eamon Dyas Since the Grey report the media has been concentrating on Johnson’s crumbling support among MPs. We’ve also seen the Unionists flexing their muscles (Poots' removal of checks on U.K. goods in defiance of the Protocol and Paul Givan’s resignation) by the Unionists - something I don’t see as purely … Continue reading The Two Party System
THE PERSECUTION OF JULIAN ASSANGE (Part 1) A review of Nils Melzer: The Trial of Julian Assange, Verso Books, 2022 A CASE FOR A RAPPORTEUR ON TORTURE By Peter Brooke The persecution and torture of Julian Assange can only be understood in its details as caused by the coming together of two distinct political projects. On the one … Continue reading The Persecution of Assange
Listening to Italy by Orecchiette The new old President On 3 February 80 year old Sergio Mattarella was preparing to move house after the end of his seven year term as President of Italy. He was emphatic that he had no wish to serve again. The process of electing a successor started on 24 January … Continue reading Italian Presidential Elections
Notes on the News By Gwydion M. Williams Notes on the News Diplomacy – a Polite Name for Intimidation The Bane of Ukraine China Still Rising x Tolkien, Race, and an Amazon Blessing Snippets Silly Truckers Monbiot – Terrified of Hopes of Rescue Warmer Seas Mean Worse Weather And After Covid-19? Diplomacy – a Polite … Continue reading Notes on the News
Ukraine: Where to find the Truth in enormous detail By Craig Murray https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2022/02/ukraine-where-to-find-the-truth-in-enormous-detail/ In the massive propaganda blitz over Ukraine, there is one place where you can find, in enormous detail, the truth about what is happening in the civil war conflict zone on a daily basis. That is in the daily reports of the Organisation for … Continue reading Ukraine and the OSCE
News conference following Russian-German talks 15 February 2022 Following Russian-German talks, Vladimir Putin and Federal Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz made statements for the press and answered journalists’ questions. The US and the UK must be very unhappy about the Putin/Scholz meeting, which was all about enhancing the well-developed economic relationship between Russia and Germany, including Russia's supply of energy … Continue reading Putin/Scholz meeting
The Strange Death of Labour England There was certainly no garden party for the Labour Party leadership when the result of the Leave voting North Shropshire by-election was announced. The seat had been a Conservative seat for over 100 years with the Liberal Democrats coming second until Blair’s 1997 election victory, when Labour took 2nd place. In 1997 … Continue reading The Strange Death of Labour England—Editorial 1
The S-Word – Editorial 2 Starmer used the “S” word [Socialism] in an article in the Guardian in 2020 and avoided it in an interview in December 2021. This is easily explained by the Labour leadership election that took place in the interim. He used the “S” word in 2020 when it served his leadership ambitions … Continue reading The need for Policies—Editorial 2
How the Establishment functions From Craig Murray's blog: I suggested in my last post that the British Establishment may be looking for a way out of the terrible Assange debacle without raising difficult truths about the United States justice and penal system. The functioning of the Establishment, the way it forms a collective view and … Continue reading Assange by Craig Murray
Diary of an ex-Corbyn foot soldier (February, 2022) Dictionary definition of “foot soldier”: “…a dedicated low level follower…” Michael Murray: murraymicha@gmail.com; Facebook: Michael Murray London On 25th January, the Labour Party National Executive Committee (NEC) voted 24 - 13 against a motion calling for the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) Whip … Continue reading “Time for a new Parliamentary Party of the Left?”
How to Pay for it - 150,000 new council dwelling per year at social rents. By Michal Lerner To win the next general election, Labour must give bold answers to the question ‘How will you pay for it?’. Let us therefore imagine an interview between an interviewer (I) and a member of the Shadow Cabinet (L) and suggest … Continue reading How to Pay For It — Q & A
Labour Affairs 