Maggie, Maggie, Maggie Giles Scott-Smith,(1) who wrote about the Congress for Cultural Freedom in Lobster 36 and 38, has written a very interesting study of Margaret Thatcher’s first visit to America in 1967.(2) Scott-Smith shows that Thatcher, then a junior shadow spokesperson in the Tory Party, was talent-spotted by the State Department’s man in the … Read more
The killing of WPC Yvonne Fletcher in public view and for no apparent reason remains one of the most notorious murders of recent decades. For sixteen years there have been few signs of any serious attempts to locate and bring to justice the perpetrator of this outrage. Finally, this April, in an outstanding piece of … Read more
Since 1945, an Agricultural Revolution has occurred in Britain whose significance and impact outstrip anything which occurred in the 18th century. It has turned farming from the practice of husbandry into a form of industrial production, transformed the landscape through its destructive effects on traditional features and substantially changed the nature of the food we … Read more
The history of the police, fascism and anti-fascism in Britain, is dominated by three very different interpretations. First, there is the argument that the police acted as a constraint against fascism: intervening against fascist groups as the need arose. Second, there is the opposite view: that the police were a hindrance to anti-fascists, acting always … Read more
Assassination or ‘targeted killings’? Joshua Raines of the University of Iowa College of Law argues that although assassination, ‘narrowly defined’ [sic], is illegal, ‘targeted killings’ could well be permissible under ‘just war’ criteria. The US should therefore pass legislation that allows for ‘…targeted killings under a very narrow range of circumstances with adequate checks built … Read more
Parish Notices Thanks to Martin Collins, Grattan Healy, Robin Whittaker (in particular), Rom, Terry Hanstock, Jane Affleck, Dr Sean Gabb, anon in Dubai and Simon Matthews for cuttings and other information. Morris Riley – an apology In Lobster 37 (p. 47) I said his book, Philby: the Hidden Years, had been ‘published without anyone looking … Read more
STANLEY MAYNE A Socialist Caucus pamphlet put out in June 1984, Cold War and Class Collaboration: Red Baiting and Witch-Hunts in the Civil Service Unions suggested that ‘A rather mysterious affair occurred in the IPCS (Institute of Professional Civil Servants). Its General Secretary, Richard Nunn, who had in April 1962 correctly realised that the Radcliffe … Read more
See note(1) Very few notions generate as much intellectual resistance, hostility, and derision within academic circles as a belief in the historical importance or efficacy of political conspiracies. Even when this belief is expressed in a very cautious manner, limited to specific and restricted contexts, supported by reliable evidence, and hedged about with all sort … Read more
The Case Against Israel Michael Neumann Oakland (US): CounterPunch, $15 Edinburgh (UK): AK Press, £10, 2005 The Power of Israel in the United States James Petras Atlanta and Black Point: Clarity Press and Fernwood Books, 2006, $16.95 In a year in which Israel’s attacks on Lebanon and Gaza were accompanied by more stories of … Read more
In the course of my research into the U.S. Army LSD tests (see Lobster 23) among the U.S. Army records, I encountered a few vague references to similar experiments conducted in the U.K.. On February 28, 1993 I faxed a letter to Dr. Graham S. Pearson, the Director of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment … Read more
