Politics

International arms companies make a killing in Turkey: a case study of the Roboski Massacre

Today, Turkey continues its brutality in its war against its Kurdish population. The state is imposing new curfews daily in the south-east of the country. Hundreds of citizens have been killed so far, whilst the western mainstream media and politicians remain largely silent about the massacres. Anti-militarist activists in the UK, however, are taking action against atrocities carried out by […]

Another routine execution by Israeli troops

This video, provided by B’tselem, an Israeli group that monitors the occupation, clearly shows a soldier executing a Palestinian in Hebron. He is killed with a shot to the head after he is already disabled and lying on the ground, posing no threat to anyone. The Israeli army has called this a “severe incident” and is investigating. Let’s see how seriously […]

The Astonishingly Crap Science of ‘Counter-Extremism’

A new United Nations report published this February has criticised prevalent approaches to countering ‘radicalisation’ as ineffective, conceptually flawed, and more likely to reinforce extremist narratives than prevent them. The report to the UN Human Rights Council is authored by Ben Emmerson QC, the UN Special Rapporteur on Counter Terrorism and Human Rights. Emmerson is a leading British lawyer, deputy […]

‘Chilling Effect’ of Mass Surveillance Is Silencing Dissent’

Thanks largely to whistleblower Edward Snowden’s revelations in 2013, most Americans now realize that the intelligence community monitors and archives all sorts of online behaviors of both foreign nationals and US citizens. But did you know that the very fact that you know this could have subliminally stopped you from speaking out online on issues you care about? Now research […]

One Time 4 the Mind by Frankie Boyle

I’ve never given a lecture before, so let me apologise in advance. I’ll be talking about things which some of you will know more about than me, I’ll touch on struggles that are not my own, and I’ll definitely get some of this wrong. I had second thoughts about doing this: guys with beards telling everybody how it is is […]

Profits of death: disaster capitalists fan flames of war in Syria

American, European and Russian corporations are the only ones winning from humanitarian disasters of their own making. As a tentative ceasefire continues to hold in Syria, with the next round of peace talks having resumed this week, you’d be forgiven for thinking that there might be an end in sight to a conflict that has raged for nearly five years. […]

Edward Snowden: ‘we must seize the means of communication’ to protect basic freedoms

A gathering of journalists, hackers and whistleblowers in Berlin this weekend heard former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor, Edward Snowden, issue a call for citizens to find ways to take direct control over the information technologies we use everyday. The Logan Symposium, organized by the Center for Investigative Journalism (CIJ) based in Goldsmiths University, London, also heard from Wikileaks publisher […]

The Hateful Trait: Demonisation Of Poor Reaches New Low

Is a mother who has just given birth and is sitting in her hospital bed, by definition, work-shy? Is a father who raises three young kids full time while his partner works by definition work-shy? If you answered no to those questions, congratulations! You have managed to understand employment statistics in a more nuanced way than Dr Adam Perkins, the new […]

Endless War, Eternal Peace

The downing by NATO member, Turkey, of a Russian aircraft on the Syrian-Turkish border in November 2015 – the first of its kind since 1952 – brought into sharp focus the complex patchwork of contending geopolitical and strategic allegiances against what is ostensibly a unified military response to ISIS. Turkey’s role in supporting the Al-Qaeda affiliate, the Al Nusra Front, starkly emphasises […]

The real coalition against Daesh is the “4+1”: Russia, Syria, Iran, Iraq plus Hezbollah

The real coalition against Daesh is the “4+1”: Russia, Syria, Iran, Iraq plus Hezbollah. Their advances on the ground, and on the record, speak for themselves. The US-led-from-behind coalition is mostly for show.  Pepe Escobar is an independent geopolitical analyst. He writes for RT, Sputnik and TomDispatch, and is a frequent contributor to websites and radio and TV shows ranging […]

Veterans For Peace Answer Questions From Serving Soldiers

Veterans For Peace received these questions a while back from serving soldiers via the Fill Your Boots Facebook Page. VFP UK Coordinator Ben Griffin has finally gotten around to answering the questions, his answers are by no means comprehensive. Comments appreciated…   1. Do you think it’s suitable to refer to the organisation as veterans when they clearly renounce all ties to […]