North Korea Increases Aid to Russia, Mos... Tue Nov 19, 2024 12:29 | Marko Marjanovi?
Trump Assembles a War Cabinet Sat Nov 16, 2024 10:29 | Marko Marjanovi?
Slavgrinder Ramps Up Into Overdrive Tue Nov 12, 2024 10:29 | Marko Marjanovi?
?Existential? Culling to Continue on Com... Mon Nov 11, 2024 10:28 | Marko Marjanovi?
US to Deploy Military Contractors to Ukr... Sun Nov 10, 2024 02:37 | Field Empty
Anti-Empire >>
Promoting Human Rights in IrelandHuman Rights in Ireland >>
Australian Drugs Regulator Knew mRNA Vaccines Can Enter Nucleus and Integrate into Genome Despite Of... Wed Dec 18, 2024 17:07 | Rebekah Barnett
Emails released under FOI?reveal that senior staff at Australia's drugs regulator knew mRNA vaccines?can?enter the cell nucleus and integrate into the genome, despite the official line that such events are not possible.
The post Australian Drugs Regulator Knew mRNA Vaccines Can Enter Nucleus and Integrate into Genome Despite Official Denials, Emails Reveal appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Turkish Crime Boss Allowed to Remain in U.K. on Human Rights Grounds, Judges Rule Wed Dec 18, 2024 15:39 | Will Jones
A Turkish crime boss said to be one of Britain?s biggest?drug dealers?has won his human rights battle against deportation after the UN Refugee Agency intervened and judges rejected a Home Office appeal.
The post Turkish Crime Boss Allowed to Remain in U.K. on Human Rights Grounds, Judges Rule appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
The New Scientific Priesthood Wants Complete Control of What We Are Told Wed Dec 18, 2024 13:32 | Dr David McGrogan
The ambition of elites to "manage the infodemic" amounts to the establishment of a scientific priesthood that wants full control of what we are told to ensure we only come to approved conclusions, says Dr David McGrogan.
The post The New Scientific Priesthood Wants Complete Control of What We Are Told appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
China Cancels Christmas in Hong Kong ? Leaving Churches Fearing for Their Future Wed Dec 18, 2024 11:22 | John MacNab
China has cancelled Christmas in Hong Kong this year. Officials have ordered that the usual celebrations be 'toned down'. It's part of a creeping intolerance that leaves churches fearing for the future, says John MacNab.
The post China Cancels Christmas in Hong Kong ? Leaving Churches Fearing for Their Future appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Brits Could Face Up to ?20 a Year Extra on Energy Bills to Fund ?Carbon Capture? Technology Wed Dec 18, 2024 09:00 | Will Jones
Brits could face an extra ?20 a year on energy bills to fund unproven carbon capture technology as the Government proposes to spend ?21.7 billion on projects to capture the gas from the air and store it underground.
The post Brits Could Face Up to ?20 a Year Extra on Energy Bills to Fund ‘Carbon Capture’ Technology appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Lockdown Skeptics >>
Voltaire, international edition
How Washington and Ankara Changed the Regime in Damascus , by Thierry Meyssan Tue Dec 17, 2024 06:58 | en
Statement by President Bashar al-Assad on the Circumstances Leading to his Depar... Mon Dec 16, 2024 13:26 | en
Voltaire, International Newsletter N?112 Fri Dec 13, 2024 15:34 | en
Israel Passes Law Allowing Four-Year Detention Without Trial or Evidence Fri Dec 13, 2024 15:27 | en
Jihadist Mohammed al-Bashir, new Syrian Prime Minister Fri Dec 13, 2024 15:24 | en
Voltaire Network >>
View Comments Titles Only
save preference
Comments (4 of 4)
Jump To Comment: 4 3 2 1No, I’m afraid there was no humour in evidence in that review – it was a sour, bitter sectarian rant. The author was determined to pour scorn on the POUM at all costs. Probably finds Spain a bit of a challenge to his “Marxists are all the same” attitude, and doesn’t like acknowledging the fact that the POUM leader Nin was tortured to death by Stalinist agents. It’s perfectly true that the POUM were a lot smaller than the CNT, but they were singled out for persecution by the Stalinists way before the anarchists. And if we’re going to talk about size, by that logic it’s outrageous for anarchists to write about Makhno when discussing the Russian revolution. Ridiculous nonsense that gives anarchism a bad name. There's plenty of intelligent writing on Spain by anarchists, you must have been smoking something funny if you thought it was a good idea posting a link to that dreadful article
The review in question is a rather short satirical and comical one. Nowhere is there the "idea" that it's a trot conspiracy, just points out that it will no doubt be used as a recruiting tool after the fact. The review also points out the certain almost revisionist tendencies of the film, and the need to take from anarchist history to add an air of "cool". Though in it's favour, the film does touch on a critique of the anti-fascist unity/popular front versus social revolution debate.
While not everything Loach has done is by definition, because he has done it, wonderful, the review linked to is on the bizarre end of ridiculous. Often when the left debates Spain in 36 there is more heat than light. But the idea that "Land and freedom" is a conspricacy to let the "trots" have public meetings is a just plain daft.
The question about the spainish revolution is surely that it didn't win. A critique if Stalinism is perhaps the road to insight on the road to an answer, but an argument that says the poum were shite cos i hate the swp isn't much use to man nor beast.
The film doesn't show the torture and murder of Nin (the non trot leader of the Poum), it doesn't show the disputes among the anarchists around the Friends of Durretti etc etc etc.
But it's a good film about revolution -- to steal from Orwell ( who was in the Poum -- but no enemy of anarchists in Spain or Britain) it was about shooting fascists.
It is possible to enage about Spain from beyond the sharpened ballpiont pen.
See the movie and talk the issues.
And finally to be provactive
SWP view:
http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/article.php?article_id...=9249
note includes interviews with veterans (including for those that like the train spotting element that ageing stalinist Jack Jones)
the best article in my view is the one by Michale Eaude on Barcelona. -- but hey what do i know I'm a trot.
This review of the Ken Loach film Land & Freedom first appeared in Black Flag #207