Martin Empson

Macron reappoints Sébastien Lecornu as French prime minister Lecornu, who resigned as PM on Monday, is tasked with urgently delivering a budget to parliament

First time as tragedy; second time as farce. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...

Details of the Manchester launch of Geoff Brown's A People's History of the Anti Nazi League, on Sat 1 Nov, in Friends Meeting House. Flyer is yellow with details of the event and a book cover. A QR code redirects to this booking website https://bit.ly/MancMarx

My friend and comrade Geoff Brown is doing a Manchester launch of his amazing People's History of the Anti Nazi League on 1 November, at the Marxism in a Day event. More info and booking here bit.ly/MancMarx

Republicans post fake image of Oregon protest – using photos of South America A federal judge had blocked Trump’s request to deploy California national guard to Portland

The Oregon Republican Party tried to help Donald Trump make the case for military intervention in Portland with an image of a fiery protest — but since Portland is calm, they had to fabricate one by merging old photos of police in Ecuador and protesters in Brazil www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

I've been busy organising for a Manchester Climate Justice march and rally on Sat 15 Nov, 1.30pm. Here's the graphic, with support from local environmental groups and trade unions.

Defend Our Juries defies Labour’s draconian call to stop Palestine protests Labour home secretary Shabana Mahmood demanded Defend Our Juries (DOJ) call off their protest in Trafalgar Square

DOJ’s statement said, “We urge you therefore to choose to prioritise protecting the community, rather than arresting those peacefully holding signs in opposition to the absurd and draconian ban of a domestic direct action group.” socialistworker.co.uk/palestine-20...

Police to get new powers to crack down on repeated protests, says Home Office Move follows arrest of almost 500 people at latest pro-Palestinian demonstration in London on Saturday

Government response to people being repeatedly angry at their policies, is to try and stop people expressing their anger. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Tagging the publisher @chelseagreenbooks.bsky.social

My latest book review looks at @nicolawriting.bsky.social's wonderful "Ghosts of the Farm". It tells the story of Julia White, a woman farmer in the 1940s, together with Nicola's own story and ponders land, gender, politics and much more. Read it.
resolutereader.blogspot.com/2025/10/nico...

MP letter action: call on Starmer to show up for the climate COP30, the annual UN climate change summit, is taking place in November in Belem, Brazil. As the climate crisis escalates, this is probably the most significant climate summit since Paris ten years ag...

I just wrote a @campaigncc.bsky.social letter: MP letter action: call on Starmer to show up for the climate. Write one here: actionnetwork.org/letters/mp-l...

I think the left should return to describing the likes of Starmer as "criminals of yellow social democracy" as in this Leon Trotsky quote from January 1919.

Why are any of you still in the Labour Party?

Met officers suspended over alleged abuse of suspects and support for Tommy Robinson BBC’s Panorama to broadcast allegations about wrongdoing at Charing Cross police station

Well, this will be worth a watch www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Revolutionaries, hegemony and the united front • International Socialism The working class is fragmented in its politics, including its support for different parties or no party at all.1 The existence of these divisions is not an accident of history that can be wished away...

"Revolutionaries should try to forge unity in action... This is the best guarantee of struggles winning, and in the process raising the level of combativity and class consciousness of workers­—so as to create more favourable conditions for revolutionaries" isj.org.uk/hegemony-and...

"Vietnam: The (last) war the US lost" by Joe Allen. My review of an interesting book that explores the nature of the US antiwar movement and why US imperialism was defeated in Vietnam. Much of relevance for today resolutereader.blogspot.com/2025/09/joe-...

Vale Ray Peckham: Aboriginal communist who changed history – Solidarity Online Paddy Gibson, Wendy Bowles and John Nolan look at the life of legendary working class Aboriginal activist Ray Peckham, and the lessons from his battles for Aboriginal rights

This is a fantastic obituary from @solidarity-aus.bsky.social in Australia about the Aboriginal communist Ray Peckham. Shows how anti-racist movements together with power of the organised working class can win big gains. solidarity.net.au/highlights/v...

YouTube video by NewsNation 'It's a 5-alarm fire for our industry': Soybean farmer on tariff struggles | NewsNation Now

Labour and tariff crisis for US farming. Statistics in this report as staggering. "US agricultural workforce fell by about 7% between March and July." www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPh2...

Tonight's film was Akira Kurosawa's Ran (1985), a stunning film visually, full of clever set pieces, but shaped by remarkable character acting and inspiring use of Shakespeare. King Lear will never be the same.

Comrades from Australia, Greece and Britain discuss the fight against the rise of the right and the fascists. Similar causes and dynamics to the movements from the right, and lessons to be learnt everywhere. soundofsolidarity.podbean.com/e/fighting-t...

I liked that book a great deal. Helped me frame events before I began to read deeper on the history of the era.

Here's the current altarpiece in the church at Mühlhausen. This is a replacement for the one destroyed in 1525, but the space is where Thomas Müntzer preached from, and where he would have spoken at before leading the rebels towards Frankenhausen in May 1525.

Operation Paperclip, from 1944 to 1959, took over 1500 German scientists, including the Nazi Werner von Braun to the US to launch the American Space Programme.

YouTube video by Edson Barbosa Once Upon a Time in the West 1968 Jill's Themem4v

Whenever I think of Claudia Cardinale I will always think of this scene from Once Upon a Time in the West which combines superb cinematography with Leone's wonderful theme & Cardinale's character moving through the centre of all the chaos and bustle. www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdL_...

In January 1986 seven astronauts were killed when the space shuttle Challenger exploded. The story of the corporate and bureaucratic failures that led to this tragedy is brilliantly told in Andy Higginbotham's brilliant book Challenger. My review
resolutereader.blogspot.com/2025/09/adam...

It's nothign to do with education or lack of education. It's about a world view that starts from racist assumptions about immigrants and generalises from that and has no comprehension of solidarity or resistance.

In all of the photos I've seen of the Tommy Robinson march not one of those supposed "concerned citizens" carries a banner mentioning cuts to libraries, school & NHS funding, low pay or disability payments. They don't care about those things. Racist politics dominated.

What's the best way to celebrate the Christmas season, a period of the Christian calendar dedicated to peace and kindness towards everyone?
Capitalism: Let's sell people an advent calendar of model tanks.

Gazan Physicist: "This is happening to human beings like yourself" New book by Gazan student Wasim Said on life and death during genocide is a cry for justice

NEW WRITING:

I talk about a new memoir that’s set to debut next week from Gazan physics student Wasim Said, aspiring astrophysicist, who has created a forceful record of the genocide. I also share parts of my conversations with Said.

The book is a must read. #BookSky 🧪⚛️🔭

British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah to be freed from prison Reports say writer, who has served six years for liking a Facebook post, has also been given a presidential pardon

"The British-Egyptian human rights activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah will be released from jail after serving six years for liking a Facebook post, Egyptian state media have reported." www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...

Cover of History of the Present journal. The special edition on "Thomas Müntzer and the German Peasants' War at 500 years" edited by Loren Goldman and Massimiliano Tomba. The cover is a plan red colour, fading to orange in the corner. The text also includes the details Volume 15, Number 1, April 2025.

My latest review looks at a collection of essays on Thomas Mützer and the German Peasants' War from a special edition of History of the Present journal resolutereader.blogspot.com/2025/09/lore...
@brianconnolly.bsky.social