UK
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The Long and the Short of Press Regulation By Dan Hind
Free expression is important. Its importance is often couched in terms of the common good. A society in which people can speak freely is one in which injustice can be remedied, corruption punished and so on. But it is also a good for the individual. Free speech is best means by which we can discover… Continue reading
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UK hospitals going digital to fill NHS budget shortfall – report
You’ll no longer need to leave your house to visit the doctor in the UK. Video chats will soon replace face-to-face appointments in a bid to save nearly $5 billion in healthcare costs, a report claims. Critics warn the move may put lives at risk. Continue reading
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Assange: A curious position for the UK to adopt?
There is great relevance in whether or not the US are actively planning to extradite Julian Assange- this is the key aspect to his appeal against extradition to Sweden and a key element in the decision of Ecuador to grant Assange asylum. In this respect, the resolution of the Swedish case against Assange pivots around… Continue reading
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A WEEK IS A LONG TIME IN GAZA. OR, HOW THE BBC COVERED 38 CONSECUTIVE BREAKING NEWS STORIES
The BBC’s reporting on the current conflict in Gaza has been subject to claim and counter-claim of bias from pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli camps. Surely they can’t both be right. I decided to take a closer look at the BBC Breaking News twitter feed to try and determine whether there was any substance to the claims Continue reading
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As Israel assaults Gaza, BBC reporting assaults the truth By Amena Saleem
The panel, chaired by Sir Quentin Thomas, a senior figure in the British Home Office, found “identifiable shortcomings, particularly in respect of gaps in coverage, analysis, context and perspective and in the consistent maintenance of the BBC’s own editorial standards.” Continue reading
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UK Police ‘elections’: undo the damage – sign the petition
It’s official: last Thursday’s elections for the Police and Crime Commissioner elections in England and Wales had the lowest turnout of any nationwide election since 1945. Continue reading
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Book/Event: All Knees and Elbows of Susceptibility and Refusal: Reading History From Below
The book All Knees and Elbows of Susceptibility and Refusal: Reading History From Below began as a discussion between two friends, Anthony Iles and Tom Roberts, about the politics of writing history. Neither are trained historians. They have assembled a critical and necessarily partial picture of the practice of ‘history from below’: historiographical tendencies which… Continue reading
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Fighting ‘Terrorism’ or Repressing Democracy? Britain’s System of Mass Surveillance By Dr. Paul Anderson
The focus of critiques of authoritarianism today lies increasingly in the use by liberal governments of ‘exceptional’ powers. These are powers in which an imminent threat to national security is judged to be of such importance as to warrant the restriction of liberties and other socially repressive measures in order to protect national security. ‘Terrorism’… Continue reading
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Gaza Under Attack – Protest
In protest at Israel’s latest escalation of violence against Palestinians whom they have blockaded in the Gaza Strip, local Palestine Solidarity Campaign groups, together with many other organisations are organising protests up and down the country. Continue reading
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NHS privatisation: Compilation of financial and vested interests
This list represents the dire state of our democracy. The financial and vested interests of our MPs and Lords in private healthcare. Over 200 parliamentarians all allowed to vote on a bill that they clearly have something to gain from. Who cares that they have put it in the register of interests. This doesn’t excuse… Continue reading
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UK Pathology Labs Suffer In Quality Under Serco Management
The privatisation of pathology services in two London hospitals has led to increased clinical problems and financial instability, an investigation by Corporate Watch, revealed in the Guardian today, has found. Continue reading
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Video: Big London Protests Against Austerity
Protest brings tens of thousands into the streets, but are such mobilizations enough to stop the cuts? Continue reading
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Video: Britain's Unions Bring London to a Standstill
100 thousand workers march on the capital as unions warn austerity isn’t working and threaten a general strike for the first time since 1926 Continue reading
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Video: Britain’s Unions Bring London to a Standstill
100 thousand workers march on the capital as unions warn austerity isn’t working and threaten a general strike for the first time since 1926 Continue reading
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British Democracy: Living in Fear, Kept in the Dark By Colin Todhunter
Earlier this year, I watched the BBC’s main political debate programme that allows an audience of members of the public to put questions to a panel of politicians and so-called experts. Syria was on the agenda. A member of the panel referred to the Syrian rebels as ‘freedom fighters’. Within a few minutes, all panel… Continue reading
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20th October demo & Europe Against Austerity conference
Coalition of Resistance has produced thousands of No Cuts placards and a ‘demo special’ broadsheet which includes statements from Tony Benn, Len McCluskey from Unite, Frances O’Grady the new General Secretary of the TUC and Natalie Bennett the new Green Party leader. Continue reading
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Introduction to “Well, How Did We Get Here?”
This essay tries to explain how we got here. By which I don’t mean the recent events leading up to the crash of 2008 – these have been discussed in dozens of books. Instead I want to set out the older and specifically British back story, both economic and political. Continue reading
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Video: Omar Khadr Returned to Canada After US and Canada Ignored International Law for Years
Michael Ratner: The Khadr case and others show how human rights have deteriorated in the US; Assange right to fear extradition Continue reading
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Child starves to death in Westminster By Rory MacKinnon
The 10-month-old boy was discovered dead in the family’s flat in north-west London in March, with a leaked post-mortem report showing ‘no food in his gut at all and so [he] had not eaten for several days at least’ – with evidence of ‘a long period of malnourishment.’ Continue reading
The New Dark Age 