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I was educated at the University of Manchester, Swansea University and the Polytechnic of Wales, where I studied History, Philosophy and Intellectual and Art History (MA). I have lived and worked in Ireland, Germany and Holland and the UK as a barman, labourer, soldier, Aircraft sealer, Trade Marks Examiner, Ministerial Policy Adviser, Head of International Relations at the Welsh Office and Principal Private Secretary to the Presiding Officer at the National Assembly for Wales.
I left the Civil Service in 2005 disenchanted with politicians and have since dedicated myself to art and writing. My paintings, as my writing, are personal and intense. The Night Traveller (MJ Maguire) was my first novel and was published in 2010. My art and writing say all there is to know about me.
(31 comments) SHARE Thursday, June 30, 2016 Tony Blair, War Crimes and the Plot to Remove Jeremy Corbyn
Mark John Maguire argues that the imminent publication of the Chilcott Inquiry Report into the conduct of the Iraq War is the reason that so many Blairite Labour MPs and establishment figures are desperate to remove Jeremy Corbyn as Leader of the Opposition. If Corbyn calls for the investigation of Blair for War Crimes, it will be an unprecedented moment in British History.
(93 comments) SHARE Thursday, October 17, 2013 Obama v Hitler: a shocking depiction and a shocking truth
A doctored photograph of Obama showing him with a Hitler moustache has appeared in Indiana, inviting comparisons between the Nazi dictator and Obama. Amidst howls of indignation from his supporters and many Americans who instinctively recoil from the comparison, there may be a serious point to be made about the state of US society and the conduct of the US, both in the world and at home.
(38 comments) SHARE Wednesday, January 7, 2015 Je Suis NOT Charlie
Mark Maguire argues that supporting press freedom by identifying with an Islamaphobic publication is a bad principle.
(46 comments) SHARE Tuesday, April 5, 2016 Who Leaked the Panama Papers?
Mark John Maguire argues that the true intention behind the release of the Panama Papers is an attack on Western opponents and signifies a new departure in information warfare techniques.
(13 comments) SHARE Sunday, October 30, 2016 The Lesser of Two Evils: why Noam Chomsky is wrong in advocating this principle in the 2016 US Presidential Election
Mark John Maguire offers a rebuttal of Noam Chomsky's argument in support of the "Lesser of Two Evils" principle in the 2016 US Presidential Election. He argues that LEV can only be applied to circumstances where there is no other moral option, where the exigency is great and where the choice is clear. He further delivers a detailed critique of Chomsky's 8-point argument which exhorts the left to vote for Hillary Clinton.
(9 comments) SHARE Saturday, December 18, 2010 The risks of pursuing Julian Assange
MJ Maguire argues that the pursuit of Julian Assange by the US in an effort to punish him for the release of secret US documents is a mistake, both at a consitutional level and that ultimately it must fail as a strategy for dealing with the genie of the internet.
(29 comments) SHARE Tuesday, November 28, 2017 Why the ICC should Prosecute a Western Leader
The jailing of Ratko Mladic last week for war crimes committed during the Yugloslav wars of the 1990s has brought to book one of those reviled by the West - but it has yet again highlighted the absence of Western figures from the international-justice process. Mark John Maguire argues that the broad auspices of the ICC was intended to remedy this inequality and that if the ICC is to survive it must address this criticism.
(86 comments) SHARE Thursday, March 15, 2018 Murder in the Cathedral City and other Cautionary Tales
Mark John Maguire argues that the British Government must provide evidence of its claims with regard to Russia and its alleged involvement in the poisoning of 2 people in Salisbury. This is in line with natural justice and with due process. Following the British Government's recent history in respect of making wild and untruthful claims in respect of Iraq, Libya and Syria it is vital that proper tests be applied to its claims.
(14 comments) SHARE Thursday, July 27, 2017 Under Sentence of Death: Charlie Gard and Great Ormond Street Hospital
Charlie Gard is expected to have his life ended in Great Ormond Street Hospital despite the wishes of his parents and offers of help from institutions and medical facilities around the world - including the Vatican. The appeals process has run out and he will die within a couple of days. The decisions and processes involved have raised concerns about the UK's medical system and especially Great Ormond Street Hospital itself.
(7 comments) SHARE Sunday, May 4, 2014 United We Fall, Divided We Stand. Ukraine: the Narrative of Dissent
Ukraine is divided along ethnic and geographical lines over its future and latent hostilities have emerged between the east and west of the country. These have been stirred up by the US, EU and Russia. Mark John Maguire examines their role in the crisis and the historical traditions within Europe that have led to this debacle. He argues that division of the country is the only realistic solution to the crisis.
(16 comments) SHARE Wednesday, August 28, 2013 Syria, chemical attacks and other lies
The recent chemical-weapons attacks in Syria are too reminiscent of the WMD claims prior to the Iraq war. No one seems able to prevent the gradual destruction of the Middle East at the hands of the US and its accomplices. Mark Maguire argues that the attack is a false-flag operation, that Iran is the next candidate for destruction, and that a new civilian catastrophe is about to unfold in the Middle East.
(5 comments) SHARE Sunday, November 15, 2015 Flying the French Flag and other mischiefs
The specific outpouring of public grief over the tragic events in Paris ignore much worse events that occur daily throughout the Middle East and thereby value some lives over others. He also sees this as something that plays into the strategies of Western governments in terms of justifying further military adventures in the Muslim world.
(17 comments) SHARE Saturday, February 6, 2016 Assange's Unlawful Detention Ruling Puts UK in the Dock, by Mark John Maguire
Mark John Maguire argues the UN's legal ruling on the unlawful detention of Julian Assange puts the UK in an untenable position, where it finds itself in the same Dock as Saudi Arabia and Myanmar for unlawful detention. He further argues that the Assange case provides a seminal moment in the on-going struggle between a Government's right to govern and a People's right to know.
(3 comments) SHARE Monday, April 9, 2018 Salisbury Poisoning: The Questions That Won't Go Away
Mark John Maguire argues that the UK Government's highly improbable - and evidence-free - narrative concerning the "Salisbury poisoning" needs to be challenged if we are to establish 1) what kind of poisoning took place in Salisbury and 2) who - if anyone - was responsible for it. To date, the only victims appear to be 2 guinea pigs and cat, which were the victims of neglect and starvation by the authorities.
(2 comments) SHARE Friday, January 21, 2011 Iraq War Inquiry: The Blair Bush Letters Should be Released
Mark Maguire argues that the Chilcott Inquiry into the war in Iraq should insist on the release of the letters Tony Blair wrote to US President George Bush in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq and that the Cabinet Secretary Gus O'Donnell should be instructed to do so if necessary.
(1 comments) SHARE Thursday, January 6, 2011 A Case of Police wasting the Public's time?
MJ Maguire discusses the impact of wrongful arrest on the suspect arrested in the Joanna Yeates Clifton murder case who was released without charge. He argues that the police should exercise restraint in using their powers to arrest someone on suspicion of a serious crime and that they should always have objective evidence for doing so.
(1 comments) SHARE Wednesday, December 31, 2014 A New Year's Resolution for Palestine
The vote of the UN Security Council to deny the Palestinian people their own State was an affront to the world. It was, however a moral victory for the Palestinian cause and increases the inexorable progress of the Palestinians to securing statehood.
(3 comments) SHARE Thursday, December 3, 2015 UK Airstrikes in Syria:a display of National Virility
Mark John Maguire argues that the UK's decision to join airstrikes against Syria is counterproductive, without moral justification and represents an attempt to stem its loss of international status as a world power.
(9 comments) SHARE Sunday, December 19, 2010 The Nobel Peace Prize: Liu Xiaobo and Julian Assange - A Laureate of the future?
The parallels between Liu Xiaobo, Nobel Laureate, and Wikileaks chief Julian Assange, are examined by author MJ Maguire, who argues that true democracy has nothing to fear from giving its citizens full access to information.
(1 comments) SHARE Tuesday, September 15, 2015 The United States' and Europe's Debt To Refugees
Mark John Maguire argues that the US and Europe must take full responsibility for the refugee crisis and make redress for the policies and aggressive military actions which have produced it.
(1 comments) SHARE Tuesday, June 21, 2016 Should I Stay or Should I Go? Why A Vote To Leave The EU Will Make No Difference, by Mark John Maguire
Mark John Maguire argues that the outcome of the UK referendum on whether to remain in the EU or leave will have no impact on the UK's Membership of the EU and that the drive for European unity is part of an old and expansionist strategy that has dominated European history for the past 2000 years .
(1 comments) SHARE Monday, September 9, 2013 The People v the President: a dilemma for democracy
As the US Congress gears up for its debate on intervention in Syria in the face of widespread domestic and international scepticism, the stakes are high for Obama, but much higher for democracy and for the principle of representation that underpins democracy. Congress's role, as that of any legislative body, is to act as a check on absolute power, not as an endorsement to it.
(7 comments) SHARE Monday, December 31, 2018 I Don't Know What The Weather Is Like In Moscow - A Case For Respect in 2019
Mark John Maguire argues that mutual respect in discussing and arguing about such polarising issues as Donald Trump's Presidency and Brexit, is essential if a healthy, free, democratic society is to remain as the cornerstone of our society.
(1 comments) SHARE Wednesday, January 26, 2011 Fatah's negotiation positions exposed
Documents leaked to AL Jazeera concerning the Palestinian Authority's negotiations have all the hallmarks of authenticity about them and expose President Mahmoud Abbas as a ruthless and self-serving man.
(1 comments) SHARE Friday, January 14, 2011 A Case of "running amok' in Tucson Arizona
The case of the Tucson shootings is looked at as a modern phenomenon mirroring the counter-cultural experience of 'running amok' in South East Asia. Author MJ Maguire believes it is phenomenon which has become familiar in the West and will become more frequent in the future.