Category: Uncategorized
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Sylvia, not Emmeline
Some thoughts on that far-right bookshop article’s bumpy journey round the world It is certainly a stereotype to say that a meeting of women is an argument, a stereotype that has a lot of evidence to keep it going. To my mind, it’s not really a criticism – I think it’s because women’s gatherings tend…
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Find a loose thread, and pull!
Did you know that the average lifespan of a state is 326 years? What’s even more exciting is that mega-states – hierarchical organisations of control that cover more than one logical, geographic area – only last an average of 155 years. Did you know that the overarching reason for states’ extreme obsession with secrecy is…
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It’s hard work, being a law-abiding citizen
It’s also sometimes hard to believe that’s the best thing to do. From the Kinder Trespass to the anti-genocide ‘granarchists’, it’s hard to see what, if not organised rule-breaking, could win the case for humanity — but let’s give it a go. I certainly believe the thing to do is to apply your best brain…
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Very angry day, nice evening
I was not where I said I’d be on the night of the eclipse. I did some messaging, tried to mitigate complications it may have caused but wasn’t one hundred percent successful. That happens sometimes. I know my limits, and on the whole, I function – that’s what decades and decades of practice in coping…
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The alarming tale of the far right bookshop in rural Suffolk
Guest blogger Simon Edge was horrified to find a far-right bookshop on his doorstep. He was even more horrified to discover it was backed to the hilt by some prominent gender critical figures. The Suffolk village where I live is a well-known destination for day-trippers and prides itself on its quirky range of independent shops.…
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Like a snowball
Or: what happens when your playbook doesn’t work any more This week, the big story amongst women’s and lesbian and gay campaign groups was that Amnesty report, that labelled some of our favourite organisations as ‘anti-rights’ groups. The report was very quickly withdrawn when the letters and emails from the slandered organisations started flying around…
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Addendum to Amnesty post
I’m told Amnesty have taken down the offending lists but, apparently, not before several targeted organisations have prepared to sue. I hope they go ahead. The lists are out there, with all the others that aim to bully women into silence. Recompense should be required — and the story needs to go far, so that…
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Amnesty International: A growing threat
*** addendum to Amnesty post*** I wrote recently about the founding conference of a group I joined, called For A Materialist Left. It was all about how socialism has been defanged and led astray by identity politics. One of the speakers, Chetan Bhatt, spoke about how identity politics leads inevitably into division and hate, and…
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Climate crisis: we’re sunlighting!
Good news! We are united! One of the startling things I learned at the excellent People’s Emergency Briefing event held in Bexhill (St Peter’s Community Centre, 3rd July) was that 86% of the population want the government to take urgent action to deal with the climate crisis. I mean, to deal with the climate crisis.…
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Echoes, encounters, encampments
The film starts with a shot of empty grass surrounded by a tall fence. “Create a space for people to gather, and they will do it,” says someone remembering the recent encampment. I’m thinking about Greenham Common, about the New Age Travellers’ encampments, then about Parliament Square, how I stood and stared at that ancient…
Kay Green 