UK politics

Gaza: A Brutal Demonstration Of “Western Values”

I find Westerners in general, and Europeans in particular, extremely indoctrinated and obsessed with perceptions of their own uniqueness. Many see themselves as chosen people, after going through a one-sided education and after relying on their media outlets, without studying alternative sources. — André Vltchek, Soviet-born US political writer, 1963-2020. On 20 March 2006, on […]

The Last Flurry: The US Congress and Australian Parliamentarians seek Assange’s Release

On February 20, Julian Assange, the daredevil publisher of WikiLeaks, will be going into battle, yet again, with the British justice system – or what counts for it.  The UK High Court will hear arguments from his team that his extradition to the United States from Britain to face 18 charges under the Espionage Act […]

Western Racism laid the Foundations for Israel’s Genocide in Gaza

It should surprise no one that the prize-match fight for the rule of international law has pitted Israel and South Africa against each other at the International Court of Justice at The Hague. The world is split between those who have crafted a self-serving global and regional order that guarantees them impunity whatever their crimes, […]

Bypassing Parliament: Westminster, the Royal Prerogative and Bombing Yemen

There is something distinctly revolting and authoritarian about the royal prerogative.  It reeks of clandestine assumption, unwarranted self-confidence and, most of all, a blithe indifference to accountability before elected representatives.  That prerogative, in other words, is the last reminder of divine right, the fiction that a ruler can have powers vested by an unsubstantiated deity, […]

Sunak’s Dad’s Army Option: David Cameron Returns

Openly ignored by his incendiary, now ex-Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was left with few options.  Retaining her would continue a process of blighting his already precarious prime ministership, suggesting weakness and a distinct lack of authority.  Kicking her off the Cabinet front bench would, while reasserting some measure of control, […]

Unintended Ironies: Condemning the Armistice Day Marches

Armistice Day is one of those disturbing occasions of the year when humanity’s folly is laid bare.  It should be an occasion to remind said humanity about the stupid waste occasioned by war and its war-crazed planners who generally elude the dock; instead, it’s an occasion to extol its virtues and remind the reactionaries that […]

Starmer is selling Labour to big business; in power he will do the same

What has happened to Britain’s opposition Labour Party under Keir Starmer? The familiar adage “follow the money” helps make sense of the party’s policy shifts ever further rightwards. Labour plumbed new depths earlier this month when it conceded that, in power, it would maintain the government’s cap on child benefit, restricting financial help to the first […]

“On The Highway To Climate Hell”: The Climate Crisis, Activism And Broken Politics

Last month, the United Nation’s environment agency issued arguably its starkest warning yet about the climate crisis. The failure by governments around the world to cut carbon emissions means there is ‘no credible pathway to 1.5C in place’. Limiting the rise of global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels was the international agreement at COP21, […]

Rishi Sunak: A Thatcherite in Downing Street

They are falling like ninepins, and the Tories have now given the weary people of Britain yet another prime minister.  And what a catch: stupendously wealthy, youthful – the youngest in two centuries – and a lawbreaker.  As Chancellor of the Exchequer in the government of Boris Johnson, he was fined for breaches during the […]
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The Bond Vigilantes Get Busy

While the levels of schadenfreude will be going through the roof given the unfolding farce in British politics, the resignation of Liz Truss as UK Prime Minister was troubling in one vital respect.  True, her juvenile salad understanding of economics, which involved spending billions on tax cuts and energy subsidies, was lamentable.  To cope with […]
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