One thing I didn't mention yesterday was the attitude socialists should take toward awards and lists. I understand some on the left take umbrage at them, but as far as I'm concerned anything that can introduce socialist bloggers and socialist politics to a wider audience is a good thing. That's one reason why I haven't and won't be boycotting Iain Dale's annual poll, and why I'm submitting the following ten to the Orwell Prize for Blogging.
Without further ado:
A 'Racist' Strike? - on the outbreak of strikes at Lindsey oil refinery in late January.
Goodbye Jade - Jade Goody succumbed to cancer amid a tawdry media spectacle. This is what I thought about it.
Men of the People - while everyone was going frantic over expenses, this post takes a look at the second jobs of selected shadow cabinet members.
Marxism and Michael Jackson's Death - a Marxist look at the celebrity and demise of the King of Pop.
Daniel Hannan, the NHS and Twitter - what the Twitter storm around Daniel Hannan's attacks on the NHS say about the relationship between media and politics.
Murdoch: The Blogger's Best Friend? - I look forward to the time when Murdoch rolls out his pay walls.
Nick Clegg: Closet Socialist? - first of a two part review of Nick Clegg's pamphlet, The Liberal Moment.
Move Over Labour? - the problematic nature of the political space to Labour's left.
Porn As Ideology - is it useful to think about porn as an ideology?
The Lifespan of Political Blogs - 21 months on average, in case you're wondering ...
8 comments:
I will enter as well, but I haven't worked out which ten yet
I've decided to enter - all though I'm a little hamstrung as a fair few of my better writings were articles for Socialism Today or the Socialist and are therefore ineligable. I only tended to polish the writing style properly if I was writing for publication elsewhere, so I probably haven;t a cats chance in hell of winning
I've picked
http://leftwingcriminologist.blogspot.com/2009/01/socialists-on-criminal-justice-system.html - Commentary on Eugene V Debs article on the effects of prison labour
http://leftwingcriminologist.blogspot.com/2009/01/will-israels-leaders-be-put-before-war.html
I ask whether the trial of Israels leaders for war crimes that some of the anti-Gaza bombings campaigners were calling for would be a possibility.
http://leftwingcriminologist.blogspot.com/2009/02/my-run-in-with-law.html
My account of how certain 'anti-social behaviour' policies are money spinners for companies
http://leftwingcriminologist.blogspot.com/2009/03/brunstrom-watch-i-meet-brunstrom.html
My encounter with the then chief of north wales police, Richard Brunstrom
http://leftwingcriminologist.blogspot.com/2009/07/haitian-election-boycotts-masses-reject.html
My comments on the massive election boycott in Haiti in the summer
http://leftwingcriminologist.blogspot.com/2009/07/british-prison-in-nigeria.html
I pick apart the governments announcement in the summer of its intent to build a prison to house nigerian convicts currently imprisoned in Britain
http://leftwingcriminologist.blogspot.com/2009/11/out-with-bad-mercenaries-in-with.html
I highlight that the mercenaries the US government is hiring to replace Blackwater with are just as unsvaoury as they are
http://andnowforsomethingcompletelysectarian.blogspot.com/2009/12/raging-against-machine.html
My take on the xmas number 1 battle
http://andnowforsomethingcompletelysectarian.blogspot.com/2009/11/trotsky-on-paris-commune.html
I look at Trotsky's analysis of the Paris Commune and critique Donny Gluckstein's view of this
http://andnowforsomethingcompletelysectarian.blogspot.com/2009/09/bnp-and-council-cuts.html
I point out the BNP's statements on making public sector cuts more severe in Kirklees
and one that i replaced with the above at the last minute
http://leftwingcriminologist.blogspot.com/2009/02/naming-and-shaming.html
I argue that naming and shaming should be directed at 'respectable criminals' rather than petty offenders
I wouldn't worry, I know I'm not going to get anywhere either. It's a purely cynical audience-boosting exercise!
Here are my ten:
http://steveaitch.wordpress.com/2010/01/03/ten-for-the-orwell-prize-for-blogging/
I have no problem with lists in themselves. Just Iain Dale's.
Oops, no, here they are:
http://steveaitch.wordpress.com/2010/01/03/the-orwell-prize-for-blogging-addendum/
Alas, if I were to win an Orwell prize for anything I've written I would have to write an angry exposé of the Orwell Prize's loss of standards.
On the other hand, Obama won a Nobel Peace Prize, so I suppose anything can happen.
Seems like a good place to plug what I wrote last year on the Orwell prize.
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