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 […]
Before 2011, Libya had achieved economic independence, with its own water, its own food, its own oil, its own money, and its own state-owned bank. It had arisen under Qaddafi from one of the poorest of countries to the richest in Africa. Education and medical treatment were free; having a home was considered a human right; and Libyans participated in an original system of local democracy. The country boasted the world’s largest irrigation system, the Great Man-made River project, which brought water from the desert to the cities and coastal areas; and Qaddafi was embarking on a program to spread this model throughout Africa.
Western media is using the reported number of 250,000 war dead as if they were all civilian victims of the government – which is far from truth
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. 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 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 […]
On February 23, I wrote “Syrian Ceasefire Agreement: How Putin got what he clearly articulated in October 2015, and why Western Elites are worried” followed by “How Western Media is Setting Up Assad and Russia to Blame for Ceasefire Failure” and on February 24, “Seems the US Government is Backtracking on Efforts to Make the Ceasefire Stick“. As events move […]
Thousands of young people who sought refuge in Britain as unaccompanied child asylum seekers have since been deported to war torn countries that are in part controlled by Islamic State, the Taliban or other repressive regimes, a Home Office minister has admitted.
On June 28, 2009, when Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State, democratically elected Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was overthrown by a military coup. The United Nations, the European Union, and the Organization of American States condemned the coup, and on July 5, Honduras was suspended from the OAS.
Only in the Soviet Union and under the STASI in East Germany were NGOs expected to hand over lists and personal details of all their members/volunteers – “In particular there should be no attempts by public authorities to make NGOs effectively agencies working under their control..” (Council of Europe) – “the registration of volunteers has no place in a democracy” […]
You Can’t Earn a Living on the Minimum Wage When presidential candidate Bernie Sanders talks about income inequality, and when other candidates speak about the minimum wage and food stamps, what are they really talking about? Whether they know it or not, it’s something like this. My Working Life Then A few years ago, I wrote about my experience enmeshed in the […]
“As I have walked among the desperate, rejected and angry young men I have told them that Molotov cocktails and rifles would not solve their problems. I have tried to offer them my deepest compassion while maintaining my conviction that social change comes most meaningfully through nonviolent action. But they asked – and rightly so – what about Vietnam? They […]
