Something for the weekend
Even more miscellaneous than usual, my not-quite-weekly round-up of stuff I've read on the internet and think you should too...
Bob's beats
A wonderful playlist from Paul Gilroy of black British music since Windrush. Listen to this while you read the rest of this post.
Intellectual politics
Two by Ralph Leonard: on CLR James versus the posturing of identity politics, and on Edward Said the out of step intellectual.
Truth wars
The DFR Lab analyse Twitter's Russian and Iranian troll factories. Janine di Giovanni in the NYRB on Why Assad and Russia target Syria's White Helmets.
The British left
Peter Tatchell makes some sharp points for Clarion on Corbyn, internationalism and the future of the left.
Brexit/Lexit delusions
Peter Ryley on why we must disrespect the mantra about why we should "respect" the Referendum. Shiraz Socialist continue to document the madness of "left-wing" Brexiteering, this time on the Stalinist Morning Star's post-imperial delusions about Ireland. Marx, Engels and Connolly would be turning in their graves.
From classical liberalism to neo-fascism
Elliot Gulliver-Needham on why libertarians turn to the alt-right.
A wonderful playlist from Paul Gilroy of black British music since Windrush. Listen to this while you read the rest of this post.
Intellectual politics
Two by Ralph Leonard: on CLR James versus the posturing of identity politics, and on Edward Said the out of step intellectual.
Truth wars
The DFR Lab analyse Twitter's Russian and Iranian troll factories. Janine di Giovanni in the NYRB on Why Assad and Russia target Syria's White Helmets.
The British left
Peter Tatchell makes some sharp points for Clarion on Corbyn, internationalism and the future of the left.
Brexit/Lexit delusions
Peter Ryley on why we must disrespect the mantra about why we should "respect" the Referendum. Shiraz Socialist continue to document the madness of "left-wing" Brexiteering, this time on the Stalinist Morning Star's post-imperial delusions about Ireland. Marx, Engels and Connolly would be turning in their graves.
From classical liberalism to neo-fascism
Elliot Gulliver-Needham on why libertarians turn to the alt-right.
The global war on journalists
In Hummus for Thought, Saudi feminist Sarah Al-Otaibi on How Jamal Khasshogi’s murder has set new precedents.
#Spycops
Andrew Coates summarises the latest revelations about the shocking, decades-long British state surveillance and sexual exploitation of dissenters.
Marxish
PplsWar on myths around Leninism and democracy, showing that the Bolsheviks were repressive from the very start. Includes one bit which draws on Eric Lee's brilliant recent book on Georgia's forgotten democratic socialist revolution:
Historian Richard Evans demolishes Peter Hitchens' silly Europsceptic revisionist take on WWII.
Feeling itchy with faith
A great longish read for Lilith by Rokhl K on being caught Between skepticism and yearning on the Jewish Holidays.
Robert Fine
Eduardo Tovar on the late Robert Fine's legacy for Marxism, illustrated by this wonderful picture from the Battle of Lewisham I've never seen before.
Moments
Finally, I've made a few Twitter "moments" recently: on the march against the DFLA on Saturday (hopefully I'll blog about this soon), and on the Friday demonstrations in free Syria.
MarxishPplsWar on myths around Leninism and democracy, showing that the Bolsheviks were repressive from the very start. Includes one bit which draws on Eric Lee's brilliant recent book on Georgia's forgotten democratic socialist revolution:
in Georgia... the Mensheviks established a democratic republic without either Red or White terror, without waging war on the peasantry, without wrecking the economy, without shooting striking workers, and without creating famines that killed millions of people. The Bolshevik regime could not tolerate the threat of a good example and invaded Georgia to end this promising experiment in democratic socialism in 1921.History wars
Historian Richard Evans demolishes Peter Hitchens' silly Europsceptic revisionist take on WWII.
Feeling itchy with faith
A great longish read for Lilith by Rokhl K on being caught Between skepticism and yearning on the Jewish Holidays.
Robert Fine
Eduardo Tovar on the late Robert Fine's legacy for Marxism, illustrated by this wonderful picture from the Battle of Lewisham I've never seen before.
Above: Robert Fine with Jean Lane (in the clearing in the middle of the photo, slightly right of centre, holding Workers’ Action newspapers) at the anti-fascist march in Lewisham, 13 August 1977.
Finally, I've made a few Twitter "moments" recently: on the march against the DFLA on Saturday (hopefully I'll blog about this soon), and on the Friday demonstrations in free Syria.
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