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Discord, doubt and division

I started a thread on my Facebook page the other day to grab the attention of anyone I’ve still not made alternative links with. I said I’ve had enough of being messed about by social media. After a few exchanges and various emails, it was clear that most of my friends thought I should swap…
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They may not exist but they keep producing good work

In the month that the Scottish courts finally went so far down the rabbit hole they’ve succeeded in convincing themselves that women don’t exist as a material entity, the tabloid press have reached the point where most people are aware that something rather silly is going on but most have yet to realize the gravity…
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A land of remembering and forgetting

“For in Palestine we do not propose even to go through the form of consulting the wishes of the present inhabitants of the country … Zionism, be it right or wrong, good or bad, is rooted in age-long traditions, in present needs, in future hopes, of far profounder import than the desires and prejudices of…
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Twits, cops and sisters

Leading to: What can I say about politicians? Reflections Last night, I ended up drinking hot chocolate in a Wetherspoons in Bexhill at umph oclock in the morning and found myself flipping through a magazine – gosh look, Spoons have their own magazine! It said that Spoons inform themselves about what people think by listening…
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They changed the name, but I still think of them as Twits

I thought there ought to be something out there that’s actually from me today, so here it is: I would like to say thank you to all the people who went on the march in London yesterday to call for a ceasefire. I wasn’t there but if I had been, I would probably have chosen…
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The trouble with conspiracy theories

A tale of peace and renewal Most countries these days wouldn’t shamelessly set about trying to move or destroy an entire population. Genocide is against international law but more importantly, it’s against all of our instincts. Killing, injuring and traumatizing children is against all of our hearts. So we think ‘why, really why?’ It is…
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The People we need to know about and some things we can do

(and Kingdom of Olives and Ash review part 2) I started reading this book after October 7th because understanding what’s happening in Israel / Palestine had suddenly become priority one. So urgent did it seem that I wrote a hasty paragraph or two when I was only halfway through, because I was already thinking I…
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Dear Socialists

*Header pic: Andy McDonald was one of the three MPs who turned up to talk to the RMT and their supporters when we went to Westminster to argue for the ‘keep the guard on the train’ campaign. (an aside perhaps, but vital for solidarity in the current struggles) Dear socialists, I’m glad you’ve remembered thought-crime…
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Kingdom of Olives and Ash

Writers confront the occupation edited by Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman It’s hard to imagine what military occupation is like, if you’ve never had the misfortune to experience it. You try, and you’re never sure you’ve got there. It’s why I’ve been reading this collection put together in conjunction with Breaking the Silence, an organization…
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To those MPs, Cllrs and TU reps who haven’t yet called for ceasefire

Yes I know about the party directives, the potholes, the budget battles, the urgent community issues, the desire to win the next election etc You can’t solve any of those things in the middle of World War Three. The best you can say to yourself is that after World War Three, there won’t be anyone…