Thinking

The Burkini Affair: a follow-up

Just wanted to do a quick follow-up to the story of Manal Omar that I posted a few weeks ago. (Brief synopsis: woman tries to wear Islamic-style swimsuit in British fitness centre and all hell breaks loose.) Islamophobia Watch points…
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Happy Bank Holiday!

Why, exactly, does it have to rain every Bank Holiday Monday? Personally, I blame the name. Bank Holiday. I mean, who names a public holiday after a bank? Do banks have any good connotations for anybody? I’m surprised we don’t…
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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 more than I felt afraid of the IRA living in London during…
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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 proud they were to be American. Now that I’m back in London, the government here declares its intent…
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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 Texas Death Row inmate Gene Wilford Hathorn. He’s been on the Row for 21 years now, and has…
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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 think can “sell” it to the people at any particular time. Disregarding the United Nations. Bombing people in…
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Remembering Haymarket

I am often too cynical for my own good. So I am taking time to reflect on the fact that on 1st May 1886, thousands of workers in Chicago went on strike to demand an eight-hour day. The police attacked…
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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, environmentalist, anarchist, etc. The name “LeftAlign” is a clue to my general…
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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 Statistics there were 5,734 fatal occupational injuries in the USA in 2005. In my time as a journalist…
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