Spokesman Books

The Bertrand Russell Peace Russell Foundation supports an important initiative from Greece (see below). A nuclear-weapons-free zone in the Middle East would enhance security in the region and the wider world. For decades, Israel's large nuclear arsenal has created instability, with Saudi Arabia now identified as the latest regional power seeking its own nuclear weapon. A nuclear arms race in the Middle East is of direct concern to the European Union, which abuts the region in the Eastern Mediterranean. So, as Greece prepares to assume the rotating Presidency of the EU in January 2014, it is vital that the Greek Government keeps in mind the interests and concerns of the wider Union and ensures these are represented at the proposed conference in Finland, initiated by the UN under the auspices of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, whenever it takes place. Greece has a vital role to play in securing Europe's peace and security. This cannot be done in absentia, and

Cinema-goers in Nottingham will have the chance to see Dirty Wars next month at Broadway Cinema, Hockley. The film will be screened on Tuesday 17 December at 6.30pm, with an introduction by Roger Bromley, Emeritus professor of Cultural Studies at Nottingham University. (For Spokesman Books' original post on the release of Dirty Wars, see http://spokesmanbooks.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/dirty-wars-film.html )

Film producer Anthony Arnove on the UK cinematic release of Dirty Wars :         Dear friends,   On Friday, 29 November 2013, the Sundance award-winning documentary Dirty Wars, featuring the journalist Jeremy Scahill, releases in theaters across Britain, from BRITDOC Films ( http://www.britdoc.org ) and Picturehouse DOCS.   Journalist Glenn Greenwald calls Dirty Wars 'one of the most important political films of the last 20 years' with 'remarkable, news-breaking revelations' and author John le Carré describes it as 'gripping, compelling and totally convincing.' The New York Times named the film a Critics' Pick and called it 'utterly riveting.' I'm proud to be a producer of this film, many years in the making, which has received critical acclaim in the United States as well as a wide theatrical US release this summer, on more than 150 screens. In late November and early December, I'll be joining Jeremy Scahi

Dave Putson, Spokesman, 183 pages, paperback, £15 How many times have the tabloid headlines screamed: ‘Health and safety gone mad!’ The idea that the rules governing our health and safety are an ‘albatross around the neck of British businesses’, as David Cameron announced recently, gives a clue to the reasoning behind the media offensive. Dave Putson’s book, Safe at Work? is a welcome riposte. Putson, a health and safety rep for London courts, traces the development of health and safety legislation, from the campaign to eradicate ‘phossy jaw’ suffered by Victorian match women and legal disputes over compensation, to the role of factory inspectors. Before the comprehensive 1974 health and safety legislation, there was carnage across industry, with death and serious injury at work commonplace. The new laws were an important breakthrough, yet the number of people who still lose their lives or contract serious illness is frighteningly high – in 2012-13 some 148 people died at

Following the police raid to remove journalists and others occupying the offices of Greek public broadcaster ERT, SYRIZA called a demonstration in defence of democracy in Greece which gathered in Syntagma Square in front of the Parliament on the evening of Sunday 10 November 2013. Greece takes over the rotating presidency of the European Union in January 2014. For six months, including the campaign for direct elections to the European Parliament in May, Greece will preside over the affairs of the Union. In foreign affairs, will Greece prioritise peace in the Middle East and advance the creation there of a zone free of weapons of mass destruction? Will it bring to bear its good connections in the region so that the EU reinforces the momentum towards peace in Syria and constructive engagement with Iran? Under the Greek Presidency, what will be the priorities of EU policy towards Israel with respect to its illegal occupation of Palestine, the continuing construction of the illegal