MIK SABIERS savours the first headline solo show of the stalwart of Brighton’s indie-punk outfit Blood Red Shoes
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Fake news fuel West’s war propaganda
WILL PODMORE welcomes a book that exposes the recent US (and British) anti-Russian machinations
WAR TETE-A-TETE: Vlodymyr Zelensky and Joe Biden last Saturday
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STEVEN ANDREW is moved beyond words by a historical account of mining in Britain made from the words of the miners themselves
CAILEAN MCBRIDE welcomes a refreshing and timely study of the way officialdom creates structures that exclude LGBT+ rights and humanity
The bard mourns the loss of comrades and troubadours, and looks for consolation with Black Country Jess
CHRIS MOSS relishes the painting and the life story of a self-taught working-class artist from Warrington
MARY CONWAY is disappointed by a star-studded adaptation of Ibsen’s play that is devoid of believable humanity
Russophobia: propaganda in international politics
by Glenn Diesen
Palgrave Macmillan £89.99.
THIS is an exceptionally important book. It exposes the Nato campaign, led by the British and US governments, to whip up hatred of Russia.
In 2015, the British government launched the Integrity Initiative, “dedicated to revealing and combating propaganda and disinformation.” According to its website 95 per cent of its funding comes from the government, the US State Department, Nato and Facebook.
The Initiative was largely aimed at Russia, although it could also target domestic dissent. In December 2018, the Sunday Mail reported that the Initiative was targeting the Labour Party’s leader Jeremy Corbyn. That is, the government was using public funds to attack the official opposition.
The US government cynically used vaccines for propaganda purposes. The US Department of Health and Human Services’ annual report revealed that the government had tried to persuade the Brazilian government to reject Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine, despite the Bolsonaro government’s appalling failure to provide enough vaccines, which led to the deaths of 605,000 of its citizens.
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WILL PODMORE welcomes a demonstration of the incomparable virtues of rail travel, and the political obstacles to realising its potential
