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…
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…
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…
Library cuts
I love libraries. Always have. I could spend all day in a library, working my way through the stock. I even love the weird library smell (what is that? It’s not the smell of books, because bookshops don’t smell like…
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 saw a strange sign on the door: “Images are being recorded for security purposes…” (so far so good)…
Rip Your Heart in Two
The Sunday papers often have sad stories. People with cancer, children needing transplants. Tug-at-the-heart-strings-over-your-tea-and-Cornflakes stuff. This Sunday’s Observer was different, though. The story of Noel Martin doesn’t tug at your heartstrings — it rips them out of your body, shreds…
Good on you, Hugh!
It’s not often that I support violence, but in this case I completely support Hugh Grant, who is in trouble for throwing a tub of food at a photographer. I mean, seriously, how many photos of celebrities leaving their houses…
If it’s good enough for Einstein…
It’s funny how conservatives always complain about left-wing thought dominating academia. They set up absurd organisations like Campus Watch dedicated to rooting out liberal bias, and hound anyone who dares to criticise capitalism, the government or the status quo in…