Terrorists I am scared of
I lived in New York through 9/11, orange alerts, red alerts, purple alerts and all the rest, and never really felt a visceral fear of Al Qaeda, any…
I merely belong
When I lived in the USA, I was always amused and confused by people who puffed out their chests and said how…
More mindless killing
To continue for a moment the theme of senseless killing for squalid and trivial ends, I’m reading a book of essays by…
How about a little humanity?
Does this sound familiar? A war in the Middle East launched for obscure reasons. The justification changing constantly according to what ministers…
Remembering Haymarket
I am often too cynical for my own good. So I am taking time to reflect on the fact that on 1st…
American left-wing blogs are myopic
I’m very new to blogging. I go out into the world and look for blogs that I might be interested in — things that are left-wing, radical, socialist,…
International Workers’ Memorial Day
Thanks to Aotearoa-based Spanblather, I have discovered very belatedly that it’s International Workers’ Memorial Day today. According to the Bureau of Labor…
Library cuts
I love libraries. Always have. I could spend all day in a library, working my way through the stock. I even love…
Strange experience in a public toilet
I was coming out of a public toilet in central London today (Paternoster Square, near St. Paul’s, if anyone’s interested), when I…