Politics

Jul 25, 2005

Military and mullah

The Guardian, 25 July General Pervez Musharraf has expressed irritation at the “aspersions” cast on Pakistan in the British media. After his extensive efforts to prove his loyalty to the US-British “war on terror” – efforts which have exposed him to assassination attempts – the General’s frustration is understandable. The alleged Pakistani links of the… Read more

Jul 24, 2005

Atrocity and introspection

LEVEL PLAYING FIELD The Hindu, 24 July The mid-afternoon queue in my high street bank is long and sluggish. It’s a hot day, by London standards, and everyone looks a little sleepy. There’s a woman in hijab and full length dark cloak, who seems cooler than most of us, standing in front of a middle… Read more

Jul 10, 2005

India: Embracing America

LEVEL PLAYING FIELD The Hindu, 10 July THE love affair between the Indian and U.S. establishments continues to blossom. Recently, Defence ministers Pranab Mukherjee and Donald Rumsfeld signed a new 10-year deal on military cooperation. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will shortly be a guest at the White House. Early next year, we’re told, President Bush… Read more

Jul 7, 2005

Message from London

A rapid response to this morning’s events This morning, the suffering, grief and terror that have visited so many innocents in recent years came to London. We have not paid the kind of price that people have paid in Fallujah, Najaf or Jenin, but it is a steep price nonetheless. And its root causes are… Read more

Jul 1, 2005

Guinness Book of Politics

Red Pepper, July 2005 Book Review Stop the War: The Story of Britain’s Biggest Mass Movement by Andrew Murray and Lindsey German (Bookmarks) The strengths of this publication are Noel Douglas’s vibrant design and its generous helpings of fiery, stylish anti-war visuals – including montages by Peter Kennard and Leon Kuhn, photos by Jess Hurd… Read more

Jun 26, 2005

G8 protests: who are the hijackers?

LEVEL PLAYING FIELD The Hindu, 26 June “FROM July 6 to 8, violent extremists will be converging on Scotland,” declares the Dissent Network, one of the groups planning militant opposition to the up-coming G8 summit, “They’ll be trying to meet at the Gleneagles hotel, and we’ll be trying to stop them.” A neat inversion of… Read more

Jun 14, 2005

So what’s wrong with the USA?

Level Playing Field The Hindu, 12 June, 2005 It’s been an interesting experience, being an American abroad, especially since 9/11. Whether in Europe or south Asia, people gape with disbelief at what appears to be an unchained American empire, contemptuous of the rules that apply to others, murderously indifferent to the value of non-American life…. Read more

Nov 25, 2004

Patriot Acts

The Nation, 13 December Review: Washington Gone Crazy: Senator Pat McCarran and the Great American Communist Hunt by Michael J Ybarra; Reds: McCarthyism in Twentieth Century America by Ted Morgan; Treasonable Doubt: The Harry Dexter White Spy Case by R. Bruce Craig; Alger Hiss’s Looking Glass Wars: The Covert Life of a Soviet Spy by… Read more

Nov 1, 2004

Steve Earle: rockin’ more than the vote

Red Pepper, November 2004 From movie theatres to music arenas, popular culture is proving a major battleground in the presidential election. Bruce Springsteen, the Dixie Chicks and Pearl Jam have been touring the swing states and ‘rockin’ the vote’. The gigs are packed but there’s a debate about just what effect any of it has…. Read more

Sep 20, 2004

Building an effective movement against occupation

Mike Marqusee looks at the challenge facing the British anti-war movement. Labour Left Briefing, October 2004 Of the many lies we were told about this war, perhaps the biggest was that it came to an end in the spring of 2003. As predicted, the wages of occupation have been death and destruction, mounting by the… Read more