There is talk of a savage purge within the Labour Party. Except this time, it’s the ‘moderates’ who are facing the scythe of vengeance. That’s the official line in Progress anyway. (More…)
Geographies
When a boatload of migrants sets off from Libya in the direction of Italy, smugglers often tell those on board to get to international waters before raising the alarm. The migrants hope to be picked up by rescue boats run by humanitarian NGOs and taken on to Italy where they can apply for asylum. (More…)
Today, the media spotlight is on Philip Hammond as he tries to steer away from disaster and reassure the British public that the Conservative government might be worth keeping around. But the truth is that the Autumn Budget is boring and it was intended to be. What matters much more than the budget is the history in which we are living. (More…)
With Islamic State (ISIS) on the retreat in parts of northern and eastern Syria, activists and civil society organizations are refocusing their efforts on counter-extremism and establishing deradicalization programs, hoping to erase the militants’ entrenched ideology. (More…)
There is something to be said for relatability in a politician. Even Franklin Roosevelt, whose background was as firmly patrician as that of any US president, managed through the medium of fireside chats delivered over the radio to convince Americans the he understood their situation and cared about their fate. (More…)
It’s hard to keep up with all the screw-ups and psychodramas of the Conservative government these days. You’re afraid you’ll miss one if you as much as blink. (More…)
Homs, Syria – Akram al-Khoule and his 7-year-old son hold hands as they stare at the once familiar primary school building, now demolished, looted of its contents and stripped of its identifying markers. (More…)
One year after liberals and leftists sunk into despair at the presidential election of Donald Trump, and on the centennial of the Russian Revolution, American socialists won not just a significant electoral trophy, but mapped out a strategy for the future. (More…)
Watching the BBC debates on the legacy of the Russian revolution was never going to please a Marxist like myself. Typically you get stage-managed spats between people like George Galloway and Peter Hitchens, where both sides take the worst line possible. So the October revolution is either mystified or misconstrued. (More…)
After establishing a presence in northern Idlib and western Aleppo over the past month, Turkish troops and Turkey-backed rebels are now looking to expand their area of control along the border by moving further east into Aleppo’s countryside, a rebel spokesman told Syria Deeply. (More…)
It is now nearly ten months since Donald Trump took up the reins of power in Washington. It is fair to say that this has been the oddest, and perhaps the most disturbing period since Watergate. Mr. Trump and his associates have been busy philosophizing with hammers, speaking as if they were making the word of their agenda flesh, but governing with a mixture of bluster and indecision. (More…)
It looks like a storm is coming. Allegations of sexual harassment and assault are being raised everywhere and now Westminster is going to face the brunt. Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has just resigned. But this is nothing new. And there is surely more to come. (More…)