Spokesman Books

Russell Tribunal on Palestine New York Session 6-7 October 2012 Leila Shahid and Raji Sourani, two Palestinians, were prevented from attending the New York Session of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine, which met in the Grand Hall of Cooper Union during the first weekend of October 2012 with hundreds of people attending over the two days. They weren’t granted visas in good time by the US authorities. Their absence denied the Tribunal direct testimony from Gaza (Sourani maintains the human rights centre there), as well as the presence of one of its initiators (Shahid, together with Nurit Peled of Israeli-Palestinian Bereaved Parents for Peace, and Ken Coates of the Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation issued the initial call for the Tribunal in 2008). Both Leila and Raji had been present when the Tribunal was publicly launched in Brussels in 2009. Since then, it has held sessions in Barcelona (on EU complicity against Palestine), London (on corporate complicity), Cape Town (on th...

Oktoberfest: 10,000 years of Beers, not Bombs "Creating a better world one beer at a time." In September of 2009 President Obama hosted the famous "Beer Summit" with Harvard historian Henry Louis Gates (left) and Cambridge, Mass., police Sgt. James Crowley (center) at the White House. As Gates was returning from an out-of-town speaking engagement, he was arrested by Crowley on his own front porch for disorderly conduct. A very public national debate on race relations ensued, and President Obama brought peace to the warring parties over a glass of beer. Beers not Bombs works wonders!! Oktoberfest, a 200-year-old event first held by the Germans of Bavaria to celebrate a king’s wedding, now has gained international popularity. Hundreds of Oktoberfests to honor the “harvest” of new beer are held throughout the U.S. each autumn--the most massive gatherings occurring in Cincinnati, Denver, and La Crosse, Wisconsin. The global granddaddy of such sudsy fests o...

Levellers revisit Putney, in the spirit of H N Brailsford and Christopher Hill. The New Putney Debates 28th October - 11th November A series of free public debates organised by Occupy London. For full programme of debates see: http://thenewputneydebates.wordpress.com/programme and also see below. 365 years ago the original Putney debates discussed the need for greater democracy and a new constitution for England. Today these issues are even more relevant, with decisions that affect us all being taken by a few, decisions on economic policy, energy, climate change, welfare and education for example. All political power is inherent in the people – so how should we address the democratic deficit? Law & democracy day : How does the law relate to democracy? Whose interests does the legal system serve – the public or private interest? Do we need a new civil rights movement to elevate people and nature’s rights above corporate rights? Come along and have your say! Cont...

Fifty years ago, on 22 October 1962, America announced that spy flights over Cuba had revealed the construction of bases for Soviet medium-range missiles, and that America would impose a naval blockade on Cuba to prevent the delivery of further missiles. Bertrand Russell sprang into action to try to avert a deadly nuclear confrontation. Follow the link to read Cuban Missile Crisis – 50 years on by Bertrand Russell in The Spokesman 117 . Unarmed Victory by Bertrand Russell can be bought from the Spokesman Books website.

As Remembrance Sunday approaches, I feel more strongly than ever that the world is not as it should be. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Earth’s bounties are squandered and used to fill the pockets of the powerful. The so-called “war to end wars” was followed by another world war and by many localised ones, often characterised by unspeakable cruelty. In World War II my brother died, slowly and painfully of wounds, exposure and dehydration in a ship’s lifeboat. My boyhood friend, an RAF navigator, is buried in Germany. Our War Memorials list those who “gave their lives”: it would be more honest to say they were killed. If wars continue, thousands more people will be killed or wounded. Families will be devastated. Remembering is not enough. The best way to honour the dead is to work for the world they wanted, a world without war. We must learn to settle our differences by negotiation and to see violence as very much a last resort. We must not shake our heads in the belief...

Keep Space for Peace Week - October 6-13, 2012 International Week of Protest to : Stop the Militarization of Space No Missile Defense Stop the Drones End Afghanistan War No to NATO Expansion Convert the Military Industrial Complex Bring Our War $$ Home No Nuclear Power in Space or on Earth End Corporate Domination of Foreign/Military Policy List information Albuquerque, New Mexico (Oct 3) Showing of award winning documentary Pax-Americana & the Weaponization of Space at the Center for Peace & Justice, 202 Harvard SE, 6:00pm. citizen@comcast.net   Andover, Massachusetts (Oct 11) Merrimack Valley People for Peace will hold a vigil in front of Raytheon, 7:00-8:00am. brian@quirk.ws Bath Iron Works, Maine (Oct 6) Vigil across from administration building on Washington Street (Navy Aegis destroyers built at BIW) 11:30-12:30am Smilin’ Trees Disarmament Farm (207) 763-4062 Bhubhaneswar (Orissa state) India (Oct 6) Space issues education and a...

Leaked EU nuclear stress tests reveal hundreds of defects By Nikolaj Nielsen for EUobserver Hundreds of defects have been found throughout Europe’s nuclear reactors and mostly in France, according to an EU stress test report. The stress tests assess whether any of Europe’s 143 licensed nuclear power plants can withstand extreme events such as earthquakes and terrorists attacks. The tests were introduced after the nuclear accident in Japan's Fukushima some 18 months ago. EU energy commissioner Gunther Oettinger is to present the final report and recommendations in the upcoming EU summit on 18 and 19 October. “ We have reassessed all the nuclear power plants in Europe in the light of Fukushima ,” said commission energy spokesperson Marlene Holzner on Monday (1 October). Oettinger is also scheduled to present his findings to his fellow EU commissioners on Wednesday. The European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group (Ensreg), a group of senior officials from the national nuc...