DIANA JOHNSTONE—In the days following Oct. 7, mainstream media interviewers tested every politician with the demand to condemn Hamas as an “Islamist terrorist organization.” Almost all enthusiastically complied, emphasizing their support for “Israel’s right to exist” (whatever that might entail). From Communist Party leader Fabien Roussel to Eric Zemmour, founder of a nationalist party to the right of Marine Le Pen’s, French politicians were unanimous in condemning Hamas’ “brutal terrorist attack” – with one exception. The notable exception was the country’s leading leftwing politician, Jean-Luc Mélenchon.
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Veteran correspondent Diana Johnstone provides an indispensable map to French politics
34 minutes readDIANA JOHNSTONE—Jean-Marie Le Pen was fiercely anti-de Gaulle, not least because President Charles de Gaulle conceded independence to Algeria. That is ancient history to his daughter’s generation. Marine Le Pen has increasingly identified with Gaullism: patriotism, national independence and a social conservatism that respects the interests of the working class.
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DIANA JOHNSTONE: Omerta in the Gangster War
16 minutes readDIANA JOHNSTONE—It cost billions of dollars to lay the Nord Stream 2 pipeline across the Baltic Sea, from near Saint Petersburg to the port of Greifsfeld in Germany. The idea was to ensure safe natural gas supplies to Germany and other European partners by going around troublesome Ukraine, known for readiness to use its transit rights to siphon off gas for itself or blackmail clients.
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A review of Diana Johnstone’s book “Circle in the Darkness: Memoirs of a World Watcher”
22 minutes readRICK STERLING—Johnstone describes the spectacular growth of the “Yellow Vest” movement in France. She documents how it began, how it was supported and joined by common people and how it reached across party lines. She contrasts the broad support of the Yellow Vest movement with narrow support of the student protests of May 1968. She writes, “Sociologically, this revolt was the opposite of May ’68. Instead of privileged students, imagining a non-existent working class revolution in a time of prosperity, this was the working class itself , in hard times.”
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Circle in the Darkness – Memoir of a World Watcher: Latest Diana Johnstone book reviewed
17 minutes readJIM MILES—NATO and European unity covers another large thematic area. She discusses how NATO and the European Union actively promote the neoliberal order as conditioned by the U.S. and other global hegemonic financial powers against the best interests of their own people and against the best interests of many sovereign states in the world.