I admit that it’s a great title. And the opening few pages are kind of cute. And then — nothing. The book has absolutely nothing to say. And it’s based on nothing, other than Mark…Read more…
Qatar, the ILO and the unions
Six months ago, news broke that Belgian police had arrested the newly-elected general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) as part of the “Qatargate” scandal. The government of Qatar was accused of paying…Read more…
An emergency appeal for help from LabourStart
Let’s start with the good news. At the end of April, we held the most successful Global Solidarity Conference ever. Nearly 300 trade unionists from 30 countries gathered in Tbilisi, Georgia in an impressive display…Read more…
Tbilisi: Meeting at a time of wars, crises and catastrophes
I’ve just come back from an international conference that could not have happened thirty years ago. And it’s a conference that might also prove impossible to hold in just a few short years. LabourStart’s Global…Read more…
International working class solidarity in an age of crises, wars and disasters
The following was my opening speech to the LabourStart Global Solidarity Conference – Tbilisi, Georgia – 28 April 2023. Tbilisi, Georgia: Opening plenary of the LabourStart Global Solidarity Conference, 28.4.23. Friends, brothers and sisters, comrades….Read more…
Review: The Man Who Lived Underground, by Richard Wright
The opening pages of this book by one of America’s greatest writers were a shock both to Richard Wright’s agent and publisher. They were so violent and painful to read that the book could not…Read more…
Review: Making History, by Stephen Fry
I must be the last person in England to have never read anything by “national treasure” Stephen Fry, but this book came up in conversation recently, so I have now done so. The book had…Read more…
Review: Character in Georgia, by Aka Morchiladze with Peter Nasmyth
This short book feels like a much longer one, as it covers some of the long history of Georgian culture, focussing on the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It’s a book about poets and…Read more…
Review: The Blind Spots, by Thomas Mullen
Thomas Mullen is an author I’d never come across before, but his other books have gotten rave reviews. And this one had an intriguing premise: imagine a world where in the course of a few…Read more…
The dark side of IKEA
As a company based in Sweden, which is home to some of the world’s most powerful unions, you would think that IKEA would be an employer that understood the importance of workers’ rights. And if…Read more…
Review: Everyday Hate: How Antisemitism Is Built Into Our World And How You Can Change It, by Dave Rich
This is a very good and important book, and it deserves a wide audience. I read a lot about this subject and I still managed to learn things I didn’t know before. (I didn’t know,…Read more…
Review: Medea, by Euripides
I bought this book and read it just before seeing the play in London last week (starring the amazing Sophie Okonedo). Reading it and then seeing it made it absolutely clear to me why a…Read more…
Review: Bullshit Jobs: A Theory, by David Graeber
Five years after buying this book, I finally sat down to read it. It is very good. Unfortunately, the author passed away in the meanwhile and we will hear no more of his incisive —…Read more…
The tragedy of Clara Zetkin
As International Women’s Day approaches (8 March) some mainstream media will run their usual articles about the day and its history. Some may point out that the original name was International Working Women’s Day and…Read more…
Arming Ukraine: Lessons from history
Everyone knows that the only way to end the war in Ukraine — to really end it — is to ensure a Ukrainian military victory over the Russian aggressor. A decisive victory by the Ukrainians…Read more…
“Delilah” and domestic violence
The Ed Sullivan Show was a weekly television programme which was watched by millions. It helped define popular culture for decades to come by introducing groups like the Beatles to an American audience. In 1967,…Read more…
Review: Final Girls, by Mira Grant
Mira Grant has written post-apocalyptic books about zombies, a couple of novels about killer mermaids, and the like. Her stories are often (always?) about empowered women, contain lots of blood and gore, and healthy doses…Read more…
A spectre is haunting Putin
A spectre is haunting Vladimir Putin — the spectre of Andrei Sakharov. Sakharov was a physicist and the father of the Soviet hydrogen bomb. He later became a world-famous campaigner for peace, democracy and human…Read more…
Review: Just One Thing: How simple changes can transform your life, by Dr Michael Mosley
Dr Michael Mosley’s latest best-seller (or soon-to-be bestseller) is one of a number of new books that promise massive improvements in your life — if you just do one tiny little thing. And yet —…Read more…
The Tories, Russia and Lord Palmerston’s Ghost
Nearly 170 years ago, Britain was at war with Russia and Karl Marx was convinced that the Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston, was colluding secretly with the enemy. During his research in the British Museum Marx…Read more…