Politics

By Ivana Kaz A Response: Propaganda and the Very Conventional Political War A recent article entitled “Propaganda and Russia’s Unconventional Political War” showed what I feel to be a very one-sided take on the issue of war and new media. I’ve taken it upon myself to try to counter this and at the very least show that the West uses similar, if not the same, tactics. It’s important to note that although it may seem like I lean anti-West or pro-Russia, that is...

By Luca Foschi This time the news barely reached the front page. Last week a gas attack in Kfar Zeita, a small town near the Syrian city of Hama, killed two people and injured scores. Footage on YouTube shows a medical team trying to revive several young children. Damascus and the splintered rebel front blame each other for the poison assault, but there are bigger questions at hand. Wasn’t the Assad government supposed to hand out all its chemical warfare...

By Deiniol Jones In a recent article in the New Statesman, Brendan Simms argued that we have entered a new era in relations between the Russia and the West. The annexation of Crimea and the instability in the south-east of Ukraine are overturning the post-Cold War international order. Propaganda and the innovative use of social media is an integral feature of Russia’s ‘unconventional, political warfare’, which seeks the creation of a ‘New-Russia’, a gathering together of the Russian ethnic population...

By Tomás McGoldrick, Ireland Correspondent  Last week saw the first state visit by an Irish President to Britain. For the first time since Ireland gained its independence in 1922 the relationship between the two countries is seen as strong enough for Michael D. Higgins to be able to visit his nearest neighbour in what Taoiseach Enda Kenny called ‘a golden age’ for Anglo Irish relations. There are close cultural and family links between the two countries. Britain has been the destination...

Adam Walker talks to Jenni Herd  Today, younger generations are being bombarded by negative press that offers little hope for their future. In the past decade the global media has broadcasted multiple conflicts, the threat of financial crisis against modern economies and the continuous message that our world is dying. Add to this the fact that young people are often misrepresented as hooded thugs, binge-drinking slackers or computer-obsessed antisocial regressives’ all of whom shun society and personal responsibility, and you...

By J T Coombes When the expenses scandal kicked off in 2009, by the very nature of the extent of the abuse it shocked society to its core. Eventually it led to sackings, resignations, apologies, some repayments and a few imprisonments. Today we are yet again assailed by the knowledge that financial abuse continues in the shape of Maria Miller, and that the sums involved are again vast. Not only that but again there is desperate resistance to admit blame and...

By Artur Salles Lisboa de Oliveira Petrobras has been a symbol of Brazilian pride since its foundation back in the fifties. The state-owned oil company attracts all sorts of investors ranging from small time backers pursuing gains by investing their savings for the education of their children to big time players interested in having a say in the decisions of the corporation. However, in the past few years the government has wilfully overlooked rising indebtedness and plunging shares which has created...

Economist Oliver McAninch finds out why the BBC could be responsible for global destruction. ‘Global warming is a load of old rubbish’ is something you’ve probably heard more than once in your local boozer.  ‘Climate has been changing for millions of years – it’s no different now’ was dismissively barked at me by Dave over a beer. Is my mate down the pub correct? When the world’s leading meteorological and environmental scientists, commissioned by the governments of 195 countries (essentially...

By Rob Telford, Green councillor for Ashley ward, Bristol The great democratic hope for General Election 2015 For decades, the UK has essentially been a two-party system, with third parties (whether Liberal/SDP/Lib Dem, SNP/Plaid, Green, BNP or UKIP) not being able to gain enough votes to overhaul the two largest parties (Labour and Conservative) at any General Election. At the same time, fewer and fewer people are choosing to cast their votes for the two largest parties. In 1951, 96.8...