"History is more or less bunk"... said Henry Ford, back in... history! NATO leaders sitting round the table at this week's summit treat history in exactly the same way.

    So, to much jubilation, they're increasing their defence spending to 5%. "More tanks, more jets (with nuclear weapons), and more guns are on the cards". They claim the enemy they're arming themselves against is Russia, because, by its invasion of Ukraine in 2022 it has, "shown it wants to expand into Europe".

    But is that really what the invasion of Ukraine has shown? There is another very different explanation for this: from history, precisely! Ukraine was part of Greater Russia, and then Soviet Russia by its own volition. Today Putin wants to pull it back into Russia's orbit (as he tried with Georgia, Chechnya, Azerbaijan, etc...) due to the West's policy to pull it away - and thus expose Russia all the better to their own intervention...

    So the reason given by western leaders for Putin's invasion is pathetically superficial and anti-historic. And it panders to the worst kind of nationalistic, right-wing posturing ("Slava Ukraine"), and never mind how many must die for it. There is no place for such reactionary (and lethal) nonsense in internationalist working class ranks.

    The origin of Putin's paranoia and fear of strong aggressors is backed up by history: a 50-year-long "Cold War", when the former Soviet Union was blockaded by the West, which ended with Soviet collapse. And then despite Russia's attempts to become "European" and join NATO - the paranoia of western politicians and their persistent Cold War mentality - not to mention their need for an "enemy" - meant that Russia was always refused entry to their club...

    And while the need for an "enemy" is probably not an adequate explanation for the relegation of Russia - as well as Iran, North Korea and China - to the role of "the bad guys", it's definitely part of it.

    Of course, in the context of the latest world economic crisis, rearmament gives a necessary profit boost for the capitalist class. And preparing for war also justifies the imposition of "discipline" (+screw turning!) on the working class.

    But forget reality. Forget the Cold War; forget how the EU/NATO broke all post-Soviet treaties and promises and deliberately excluded Russia... Forget that Putin is trying to turn back history's clock with regard to Ukraine to protect his backyard against an aggressive NATO. Remember: "History is bunk"!

    Don't ask who is the most dangerous aggressor. Don't ask who supports the bombing of Iran and the unspeakable horror inflicted on the Palestinians. And never mind the new rearmed stronger-than-ever NATO of today. Mark Rutte and "Dear Donald" - along with Keir Starmer bringing up in the rear - ask us to forget history - to forget the "war to end all wars" and "peace in our time"...

    They can be sure that we won't. We, the working class know our "enemy" and we know that no war is justified except the class war - to overthrow their imperialist capitalism and institute a new system which will get rid of classes for good.

Last Tuesday, MPs may have patted themselves on the back for voting to decriminalise abortion, after 379 (against 137) of them voted to amend the Crime and Policing Bill. But this is hardly "job done".

    A woman who terminates her own pregnancy outside of the 24-week rule (which remains in place under the 1967 Abortion Act) will not be prosecuted (under most circumstances). But anyone - health professional or not - who might be deemed to have helped her, remains under threat of a criminal charge and sentence.

    The amendment voted on is meant to remove women from the remit of the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act and the 1929 Infant Life Preservation Act - which are not repealed. And yes, a woman who accessed an abortion outside of the 1967 Act's restrictions could have faced up to a life sentence in prison. In fact in the past decade, more than 100 women have been prosecuted in England and Wales after an "unexplained pregnancy".

    But this bill has not actually decriminalised abortion; nor has it removed the restrictions under the 1967 Abortion Act which place obstacles (like the signed consent of two doctors) in the way of women needing to terminate a pregnancy. And although in 2022, due to Covid, terminations of pregnancies up to 10 weeks were allowed to go ahead after telephone consultation, the 1967 Act is not even being considered for amendment, nor full repeal.

    Already, obtaining an abortion on the NHS is nigh impossible (clinics are mostly private and costly), and the cuts are making this bad situation even worse. This minor Commons' amendment raised the issue once more and once more exposed why the fight for free abortion on demand, as a woman's unquestioned "right", is still very much "on".