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ASTONISHING: 500 years ago a simple statement spelled out the absurdity of war. In April, we remember the anti-nuclear weapons Aldermaston march: our “Thoughts” this month will concentrate on aspects of peace. “Can anything be stupider than that a man ...

AT A SEAT IN THE restaurant at the end of the universe, Douglas Adams – we hope – is sat penning more observations on the workings of the universe and its inhabitants. “Human beings, who are almost unique in having ...

TO END Women’s History Month, let’s remember that women’s liberation is a class issue too, not just a battle against patriarchy – whatever Margaret Thatcher might have thought. She may have risen to the highest office of state of any ...

THE POSITON OF women workers has improved slightly over the last 50 years – but the basic point which German politician Clara Zetkin makes remains true. “The capitalists speculate on the two following factors: the female worker must be paid ...

WHEN THE forces of reaction appear to be in the ascendancy, that is when you will see the oppressed summoning their strength to fight back. “This is a troubling moment in our history full of immense challenges. The global impact ...

A DETERMINED WOMAN remembers the days when black and Asian women were herded into very low paid jobs. “Imagine how humiliating it is for us, particularly for the older women, to be working and to overhear the employer saying to ...

A LEADING Asian woman writer challenges the UK establishment’s view of the Rotherham Sexual Exploitation cases – giving a very different view from that held by Home Secretary Priti Patel MP. “The media narrative around these cases – appalling crimes ...

THE VIEW FROM Planet Priti is of a UK that the downtrodden, impoverished and exploited will not recognise. “There is so much for the UK to be proud of – a world-class, modern economy and a free, fair and tolerant ...

HAS THE Executive Mayor of Newham lived up to her early promise? “As Mayor, I will put the people of Newham at the heart of everything I do. This will be a collaborative joint enterprise between residents, myself, councillors and ...

YOU THOUGHT the concise nature of texting was a new mode of expression? Maybe it’s as old as poetry itself. “The poem is a form of texting. It’s the original text. It’s a perfecting of a feeling in language – ...