Sunday 15 February 2009

Some Blogs You May Have Missed

At the start of the year I committed myself to promote collegiality and comradely relations between the scattered representatives of far left blogging. A current discussion has reminded me of this pledge. After all, Iain Dale does it and manages to steer a chunk of his audience to other Tory blogs (but to be fair, his 'Daley Dozen' often features liberal and centre left commentators - including on occasion serious wrong 'uns like Socialist Unity, Dave's Part and yours truly). So why can't we?

So in what I hope will be a semi-regular feature I'll be rounding up the new(ish) blogs on the left wing blogging block and plugging a couple more that have been around for a while but might not have had a wide circulation.
Anglo-Buddhist Combine - "MATT SELLWOOD - I am a 26 year old, living in Catford and working at Friends of the Earth. In a past life I lived in Oxford and was a Green Party city councillor. Now I spend my time helping Friends of the Earth local groups pursue effective activism, learning kung fu, and thinking about the world in general."
Archive Fever - "Essay archive for radicals and so on".
Armchair Socialist - "In between meetings, marches and gainful employment the Armchair Socialist indulges in all manner of amateur social, cultural and political commentary from a variety of Glasgow pubs and despite in an inexplicable lack of public demand, selected extracts will now be available via the wonder of t'internet. I should add that all views expressed are entirely my own and also confess that I do not in fact own an armchair."
Directionless Bones - "This is DirectionlessBones, the blog of Alderson Warm-Fork, an unreliable but enthusiastic cleromancer - one who divines hidden truths from observing the directions in which bones fall. All the views promoted herein derive from a small bag of grubby brittle bones, and no other source. These bones, judging from the readings so far, appear to hold a position that is anarchist, communist, feminist, and animal-rights-ist."
Excuse Me Whilst I Step Outside - "This blog is going to an act of remembering, and wondering about the future by a middle aged, ex-working class, long ago political activist of the Left."
Marxist TEFL Group - "Here in the Marxist TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language) group we believe English, in itself, is not imperialism and that learning another language can and should be an option for all. Not surprisingly, however, as the dominant ideas in every epoch are the dominant ideas of the ruling class, TEFL has become an instrument of subjugation and inequality. A justification for class society and imperial conquest. Here in our small marxist current we want to defend this simple proposition, give heart to socialists working in the industry or taking classes."
Michael Calderbank - "Michael Calderbank ...thinks we must thoroughly reassess socialist strategy, and strive to build an effective and inclusive movement of the Left both in Britain and internationally. We must learn to do politics differently, to be as imaginative, resourceful and creative as capital itself would seem to be. Activists from different progressive political traditions must come together to build a new hegemonic bloc that draws on the experience of the environmental, anti-globalization and women’s movements."
Missives from Marx - "Missives from Marx is written by an Assistant Professor of Religious Studies and features commentary on religion, ideology, and the academic study and teaching of religion."
Safe Space - A SSP blog offering commentary on key and not-so-key political events.
Tendance Coatesy - "This is a Critical Marxist Blog. News and comments from a Militant Secularist Ipswich Allotment Holder. Activism, theory, and the left, with a particular focus on French politics and European culture. "
VULGAR Marxism - Marxist politics, freedom for Palestine, Bristol, and Australian sporting news - a dangerous mix if there ever was one!

And here are a couple of blogs that may have passed you by -
JourneyManBlog - One of the few Socialist Party bloggers out there, it is a journey into "Socialism, History, Martial Arts, Motorscycles, Life and Other Stuff".
Infantile and Disorderly - Revolutionary blogging from a Manchester-based member of Permanent Revolution.

If you know of new socialist blogs (they don't necessarily have to be British-based), please let me know and I'll feature them in the next round-up.

One last thing. The
Carnival of Socialism is back again, showcasing the best commentary leftyblogland has to offer. Read it and support it by signing your blog up for a future carnival!