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Neither Washington nor Moscow: 5 reasons progressives must be wary of playing Putin’s game
EuropeI get it. People are understandably sceptical of pronouncements from the UK government and the intelligence services. Especially when these are mediated through that most untrustworthy of mouthpieces – Boris Johnson. The shadow of the 2003 Iraq ‘dodgy dossier’ looms particularly large in the collective consciousness of my generation. But it still shocks me that many of these people do not apply the same skeptical approach to the propaganda of a far-right Russian regime.
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The Very Best Day
EuropeIn the forthcoming election on March 18th, what is actually on offer is not the election of a peacetime president, but of a Supreme Commander; the type of leader who, in wartime, like Churchill or Stalin, cannot promise anything else but “blood, sweat and tears.” The figure of Putin, as it were, rises above economic and social policy, thereby transferring that obligation to the competence of government technocrats. Putin is the leader of the nation, primarily responsible for issues of war and peace.
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Putin, Skripal and the powerful ideological force of Russophobia
EuropeThe attempted murder of Russian ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, England – a story befitting the top shelf of espionage literature – has provoked both furious condemnation, and very carefully worded propaganda, from every corner of the international community. We should be skeptical, however, of denunciations launched after a party line quickly forms on a topic, particularly one with global implications.
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No evidence Vladimir Putin was behind U.K. assassination
EuropeCanada’s Justin Trudeau too has decried Russia’s “likely” involvement. The leaders’ careful use of the words “likely” and “plausible” reflects the fact that, to date, there is no hard evidence on who was behind the attack. Skripal, a former Soviet intelligence agent who had worked secretly for Britain’s MI6 during the 1990s, was probably not on Moscow’s Christmas card list. But he was not killed after being arrested and jailed by the Russians in 2004.
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Understanding Russia, Un-Demonizing Putin
EuropeThe Russian president is clearly a long-term thinker and planner and has proven to be an excellent analyst and strategist. He is a leader who can quietly work toward his goals under mounds of accusations and myths that have been steadily leveled at him since he became the Russian Federation’s second president. I’ve stood by silently watching the demonization of Putin grow since it began in the early 2000s –– I pondered my thoughts and concerns, and included them in a book published in 2011.
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Jeremy Corbyn is about to transform the Labour party – again
EuropeThis sounds pretty innocuous, but it might turn out to be one of the most transformative political decisions of the Labour leader’s career, because it could change how we think about political parties. If Corbyn gets his way, when you think of Labour, you won’t imagine rows of MPs on green leather benches, or a smartly suited minister chatting to a reporter.
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National Struggle and Class Struggle in Catalonia and Quebec: Complementary or Contradictory?
EuropeThe fight for control of our national fate, our resources, our environment and our industry cannot be successful without challenging the control by the ruling classes. That inevitably means looking beyond Quebec’s borders and calling on the working people in the rest of Canada to support our fight for social justice against the equally inevitable intervention of the Canadian state and its financial institutions.
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New Mass Resistance as Spanish State Jails Catalan Ministers
EuropeThat challenge is how to maximise support for pro-independence and pro-sovereignty forces in the face of what is certain to be a brutal campaign aimed at scaring every last doubter about Catalan independence to vote for the unionist parties. To stand a chance of defeating it, Catalunya en Comu will have to do more than just saying, as it has to date, “neither 155 nor the unilateral declaration of independence.”
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The Current Conflict In Spain Has A Lot to Do With Economic Failure
Economic CrisisAs Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy threatens to take over the autonomous region of Catalonia, it is becoming clearer even to casual observers who the bad guys are in this conflict. Generally, when one side is peaceful and seeks dialogue, and the other is committed to resolving the disagreement through force, repression, and violence — well, you get the picture.
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Communiqué on the Situation in Catalonia
EuropeIt is time to (re)start the patient construction of a project that goes beyond the 1978 regime and is capable of building fraternal relations between the different peoples of the Spanish State. The elites have proven incapable of solving the problems of the Spanish State; today more than ever, it is urgent to recover the leading role of politics for those below.
