Spokesman Books

Our good comrade and friend, Michael, died in London on 7 May after several weeks in hospital following a fall at home. During his long and eventful life, he worked closely with the Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation and the Institute for Workers’ Control, and was a regular contributor to  The Spokesman  journal. We shall miss him greatly, and will publish a full appreciation later. Michael’s funeral is at 12 o’clock on Wednesday 10 June at Golders Green Crematorium (West Chapel), Hoop Lane, London NW11 7NL.

A young whistleblower submariner has published a damning account of lax safety procedures, inadequate training, and poor mental health amongst some personnel on board one of the four UK Trident boats. Please see the link below. He is William McNeilly, an Engineering Technician Submariner for the UK's Trident II D5 Strategic Weapons Sustem. The UK leases 58 Trident II (D5) submarine launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) from the United States Navy under a system of 'mingled asset ownership'. AB (able-bodied seaman) McNeilly was on board his first extended patrol earlier this year. He is now absent without leave, and has said he will give himself up to the police. His testimony speaks for itself, and should be carefully examined, since it confirms the growing impression that accidents involving nuclear weapons are all too prevalent. McNeilly also raises the possibility of deliberate terrorist targeting of the UK Trident oper...

Based in Athens, The Paragraph offers an informed and humorous perspective on Greek and Global affairs, born of a longstanding relationship with the Russell Foundation (the 'Northern Garrison'). Here we re-blog an abridged version of Theo Iliadis' latest bulletin, published on the 70th anniversary of VE DAY. *** Dear friends, hello! We hope you are all doing as well as possible in the 'interesting times' we are living in, on a global scale. As you know, The Paragraph has been out of circulation for some time, but today we thought that we should not let this joyful and thought-provoking anniversary pass without sending you all a Special Issue, together with our heartfelt wishes for all that is good in life. Hence we congratulate our dear Paragraph friends and readers of all nationalities, on the 70th Anniversary of the Allied Victory against Nazism. The anniversary of what is known the West as VE Day (Victory in Europe Day), and in Russia simply as Vict...

The Morning Star carried this review of Trident Undone (Spokesman issue 127) on Monday 11 May, by James Walker. Click the image below for a larger version. The review is also available online at https://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-82d6-Laying-the-Trident-myths-to-rest#.VVDCPo5Viko

On Spokesman's A Pacifist at War , edited by Nicholas Griffin, Satish Kumar says: The book clearly charts the journey Russell is on - the journey opposing the war and searching for love. This search continued throughout his life. In 1961 he led the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, which also led him to a brief imprisonment when he was almost 90. I was 25, a young man sitting in a cafe in Bangalore, India, reading about it. I thought, "Here is a man of 90 going to jail for peace in the world. What am I doing here drinking coffee?" His full review, which appeared in Resurgence & Ecologist magazine issue 290, is available here.