Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the myths and history of the ancient Greek city of Thebes and its depiction in Athenian drama. In myths it was said to be home to Heracles, Dionysus, Oedipus and Cadmus among others and, in history, was infamous for supporting Xerxes in the Persian War. Its prominence led to a struggle with the rising force of Macedon in which the Thebans were defeated at Chaironea in 338 BC, one of the most important battles in ancient history. The position of Thebes in Greek culture was enormously powerful. The strength of its myths and its proximity to Athens made it a source of stories for the Athenian theatre, and is the setting for more of the surviving plays than any other location.
11 December 2017
Jacobin Magazine: The Corbyn Doctrine
Some want to use Brexit to turn Britain in on itself, rejecting the outside world, viewing everyone as a feared competitor. Others want to use Brexit to put rocket boosters under our current economic system’s insecurities and inequalities, turning Britain into a deregulated corporate tax haven, with low wages, limited rights, and cut-price public services in a destructive race to the bottom. My party stands for a completely different future when we leave the EU, drawing on the best internationalist traditions of the labour movement and our country. We want to see close and cooperative relationships with our European neighbors, outside the EU, based on solidarity as well as mutual benefit and fair trade, along with a wider proactive internationalism across the globe. [...]
First, the growing concentration of unaccountable wealth and power in the hands of a tiny corporate elite, a system many call neoliberalism, which has sharply increased inequality, marginalization, insecurity and anger across the world.
Second, climate change, which is creating instability, fueling conflict across the world and threatening all our futures.
Third, the unprecedented numbers of people fleeing conflict, persecution, human rights abuses, social breakdown and climate disasters.
And finally, the use of unilateral military action and intervention, rather than diplomacy and negotiation, to resolve disputes and change governments. [...]
There is an alternative to this damaging and bankrupt order. The world’s largest corporations and banks cannot be left to write the rules and rig the system for themselves. The world’s economy can and must deliver for the common good and the majority of its people. But that is going to demand real and fundamental structural change on an international level.
Politico: EU to unveil military pact projects
An essential element of the pact is that it promotes a two-speed approach, in that only groups of member countries support certain projects. For example, a European Medical Command has been pushed by Germany with the support of the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Romania, Sweden and Slovakia.
The project that has the most support is a Dutch plan for increased military mobility. Twenty-one other countries back the idea and the Commission has already put forward a proposal. [...]
According to the list, Germany is the lead country on the crisis response project, but “it’s a game between the French and the Germans,” said a diplomat closely involved in the discussions. “It’s actually more of a French thing and it has an ultimate link with Macron’s idea to create an intervention force.” [...]
However, the list also shows that Poland will take part in two projects (military mobility and radio interoperability) and that Lithuania is the leading country in a “cyber rapid response team.”
Deutsche Welle: The dying rural communities in eastern Germany
In Berlin, 140,000 euros ($165,000) would get you a one-bedroom apartment on the fringes of town – and that's if you're lucky.
But, if you drive a little over 90 minutes south of the German capital, that same amount is enough to pick up a whole village. [...]
Whereas western Germany has been gaining inhabitants slightly, and the overall German population has held steady, eastern Germany – particularly when the eastern part of Berlin is bracketed out – has been losing people in past years. In 2015, the Federal Office of Statistics estimated that 12.5 million people lived in the former Communist east excluding Berlin. That was 2.3 million fewer than when Germany was reunified in 1989-90. And experts fear that number could drop further to only 11 million by 2030. [...]
The German constitution sets out establishing "equality of living conditions" as one of the goals of government. And with both of Germany's largest political parties, Angela Merkel's conservatives and the Social Democrats, struggling to attract support in eastern Germany, neither is likely to admit it's willing to let some small communities in the east disappear. In their official platforms, both parties have promised additional aid for struggling rural communities and infrastructural investments like bringing broadband internet to the German countryside.
read the article
But, if you drive a little over 90 minutes south of the German capital, that same amount is enough to pick up a whole village. [...]
Whereas western Germany has been gaining inhabitants slightly, and the overall German population has held steady, eastern Germany – particularly when the eastern part of Berlin is bracketed out – has been losing people in past years. In 2015, the Federal Office of Statistics estimated that 12.5 million people lived in the former Communist east excluding Berlin. That was 2.3 million fewer than when Germany was reunified in 1989-90. And experts fear that number could drop further to only 11 million by 2030. [...]
The German constitution sets out establishing "equality of living conditions" as one of the goals of government. And with both of Germany's largest political parties, Angela Merkel's conservatives and the Social Democrats, struggling to attract support in eastern Germany, neither is likely to admit it's willing to let some small communities in the east disappear. In their official platforms, both parties have promised additional aid for struggling rural communities and infrastructural investments like bringing broadband internet to the German countryside.
read the article
Independent: Michael Gove is waving the white flag over Brexit – but it’s not for the reason you would think
For many consumers of social media, the big election issues were not Brexit, or Theresa May’s mechanical personality, or her dementia tax, or Jeremy Corbyn’s promise to abolish tuition fees. They were worked up about May’s support for fox hunting and her failure to mention a ban on ivory sales in her manifesto.
Now Gove as Environment Secretary is on the side of the animals. He is banning bee-harming pesticides, insisting on CCTV in slaughterhouses, and supports a ban on trading ivory. He even says all the right things about climate change. The Green Party has praised him. He must have his sights on No 10. [...]
It was not May’s agreement with the EU27 that was a surrender; it was Gove’s Telegraph article. He has sued for peace with an eye to his own ambitions, and on behalf of his former friend, the Foreign Secretary, who has been noticeably more reluctant to heap praise on the Prime Minister. [...]
The generous interpretation of the Prime Minister’s handling of the cabinet Brexiters is that her careful management has kept them on board. In fact, Gove has been kept on board by a combination of his ambition and being forced to accept the realities of leaving the EU.
The Guardian: Suck it up, Britain: now you know how to negotiate with the EU
By giving in to each and every EU demand, the May government is showing that it is finally learning to behave like the junior partner it is. Brussels and EU member states are far too polite and constructive to say so out loud, but for the next decade or so the default position for Britain in its dealings with the EU is simple: you suck it up. [...]
So far, EU member states have shown a degree of unity that is often described as “remarkable”. But how remarkable is it really to keep one’s ranks closed when all Britain does is talk to itself about itself, leaving it entirely unclear what kind of Brexit it intends to pursue? Now that the actual talks are about to begin, the May government will be forced to choose between the options for a future relationship that the EU is offering, from a “soft Brexit” where Britain loses all political influence in Brussels but remains a member in all but name, to a “hard Brexit” where Britain assumes the same status as Canada or Turkey, a so-called “third country” with or without some sort of free trade agreement. [...]
There is no wish to “punish” Britain; why would you punish somebody for cutting off their own arm? Feelings of denial, shock or anger in Europe seem largely gone, too, and, these days, sentiment in EU corridors is perhaps best described as genuine pity. You wish this degree of helplessness on your enemies only. And in spite of all the insults, blackmail, hostility and ineptitude over the past few years many in Europe still see the British as friends.
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