After years hidden away, Oldham’s memorial to six local volunteers who died fighting fascism in the Spanish civil war has been restored to public view, marking both a victory for campaigners and a renewed tribute to the town’s proud International Brigade heritage, says ROB HARGREAVES
THE postman was late. My dog pooped in the street. Local schools face budget cuts. The Windrush generation have their citizenship rights threatened and terrorists are everywhere. And the link? It’s all the fault of the Russians.
Such is the state of meltdown in national politics that paranoia and misinformation form the principal “avoidance” weapons the Tories now have for deflecting attention from the mess they are in.
As Judgement Day approaches in the Brexit debacle, government deflections will become all the more bizarre.
GUILLERMO THOMAS enjoys a survey of the current state of the CIA (aka Langley) from an expert and insider of sorts
Washington plays innocent bystander while pouring weapons and intelligence into Ukraine, just as it enables the Gaza genocide — but every US escalation leaves Ukraine weaker than the neutrality deal rejected in 2022, argue MEDEA BENJAMIN and NICOLAS JS DAVIES



