Spokesman Books

To Friendly Political Parties and Movements Athens, 29 June 2015 Dear Comrades and friends, As you know, following the historic victory of SYRIZA in our national elections on January 25 of this year, a government of social salvation was formed in Greece, headed by our Party President, now Prime Minister Mr Alexis Tsipras. The new government’s clear mandate from the Greek people was to end the policies of extreme austerity, to relieve the socially weaker strata and to resolve the intolerable public debt crisis through negotiations, thereby creating the conditions for economic recovery and growth. Negotiations have been going on since February between the new government and our EU partners, together with the other institutions involved in the Greek program. From the beginning, the government’s position has been that the Greek people’s mandate should be respected and that Greece should be treated as an equal partner in the EU and the Eurozone. The neg...

This window panel featuring Bertrand Russell was spotted by a contact visiting Vienna.  Russell has been designated a 'Peace Hero' by Peace Museum Vienna , alongside Immanuel Kant, Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parks, Albert Einstein, Aung San Suu Kyi, Malala Yousafzai and numerous others. The museum's project Windows for Peace , installed in and around Stephansplatz in the centre of the city, brings the good work of these heroes to public attention again. 'As a street museum, it is open twenty four hours a day and charges no admission fees!' proclaims PMV 's website. Vienna is home to a peace heroine of its own, Bertha von Suttner, who is also featured in the exhibit. Her 1889 pacifist novel Die Waffen nieder! ( Lay Down Your Arms! ) overcame opposition and rejection from publishers to eventually become a bestseller, which has been widely translated and adapted. An international pacifist journal, over which she presided as editor between 1892-1899, was name...

Forum for Alternatives – eyewitness in Paris Tom Unterrainer Five thousand activists, politicians, trade unionists and intellectuals from Europe and beyond converged on Paris over the weekend of 30-31 May to lay the foundations for a continent-wide ‘Alliance Against Austerity’. Coordinated by the Party of the European Left (EL), the ‘Forum for Alternatives’ covered many themes but the issues of Greece, Austerity, Europe and the financial crisis took centre stage. Alliance Against Austerity Pierre Laurent, President of EL and General Secretary of the French Communist Party, opened proceedings with a call for the European left to prepare “for a new era in our common fight”. Laurent pointed to the “acceleration” of left parties and movements in parts of Europe and called for a united project against austerity. “Democracy, public services and tackling the power of finance” are significant elements as is the principle that “wealth should be used for social, economic and e...

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