Carnival Of Socialism #6 (Orig. posted Blog-City)

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July 9, 2006

Greeting socialists, anarchists, communists, disenfranchised, dispossessed and free thinkers one and all and welcome to the 6th Blog Carnival of Socialism. I feel the timing of this carnival is particularly pertinent coming as it does almost exactly a year after the Make Poverty History March in Edinburgh on the 2nd July, the Carnival for Full Enjoyment and subsequent heavy-handed police action in Edinburgh on July 4th, the protests outside the Gleneagles complex where the G8 leaders were meeting on July 6th, the announcement of London as ~~sucker~~ host for the 2012 Olympic Games and the bombings in London on July 7th. As someone who was in Edinburgh at that time along with many other good comrades it is a privilege to be hosting this edition and I have enjoyed reading the submissions that have come my way. My thanks to all those who took the time to submit and to John Angliss who had the original idea and the presence of mind to get us all involved.

Comrades, I therefore present your Carnival Of Socialism #6: (the colour key for readers is that the green highlighted will take you to the main site whilst the red will take you directly to the article in question)

Riversider presents an easily accessible starting point for those looking to make a difference using the Blogosphere as their weapon – How To Build A Community Campaigning Blog.

Richard Estes, American Leftist debates the US policy on the remaining oil rich countries and looks at whether or not the chaos of the war in Iraq will have an effect on the way the US interacts with other countries – “101st Airborne, Neoliberal Division”

Mike McGehee of the libertarian socialist/anarchist blog “Truth Addict” breaks the mould of the stereotypical Texan “We Should Be Building Stalagmites of Unconditional Love” if one can retain hope and clarity in the lion’s den as McGehee has, it must surely be an inspiration for us all.

Reasonable Conservative Jon Swift debates the relative minutiae of camel and needle sizes in Warren Buffett Turns Against God posted at Jon Swift.

Andrew Rihn reinforces the mantra “those who forget the lessons of history are doomed to repeat it” in his appraisal of the US and Philipines Happy Filipino-American Friendship Day posted at And time yet for a hundred indecisions.

Not content with organising the whole Carnival of Socialism structure the tireless John has also been delving into the left-wing Blogosphere, he has found the following 3 articles which prove he must have far too much time on his hands!

The very reliable George Monbiot tackles a rather worrying trend in the rise of mental health disorders in the young.

The incomparably well-read and researched Le Colonel Chabert illustrates that proper political theory and critique is alive and well in Warrior Clerks. You’ll need your wits about you it is complex, erudite and fascinating.

In Welcome to Wonderland, Ravenblade offers us an alternative to the vacuous millionaire media version of international current affairs. He also has a rather nifty cartoon blending nazi symbolism, Bush and Cheney and a Disney adaptation of a classic children’s fairy tale!

Media Star Big John, still basking in the glory of his Guardian appearance contributes his case to be regarded as a Bollinger Bolshevik, minus the Bolly which he can’t afford on his pension!

Deborah Orr in The Independent says when referring to woman wearing the burkha and hijab “these garments are physical manifestations of outdated, cruel and degrading traditions.” Jim on The Daily (Maybe) argues eloquently that “No, actually the Saudi Arabian regime, and others like it, are the physical manifestation of the worst aspects of these traditions, but Orr chooses to focus all her bile on female immigrants.”

My long-standing Republican comrade Longrider is receiving visitors for musings of a more regal nature.

Durruti breaks the golden rule of polite conversation mixing both religion and politics in a good chewy piece Fundamentally Flawed where he seeks to bury the notion of ‘the enemy of mine enemy is my friend.’

The ever vigilant Lenin’s Tomb highlights the task facing Craig Murray, a man the government have taken a serious dislike to on account of an irritating habit of telling the truth. Murray faces court action and the gvernment is seeking to supress documents by Monday 10th July. it seems therefore all the more important that people see these documents, how they then choose to continue to diseminate this information is up to them but it cannot harm Murray’s cause if they continue to be in the open.

Whilst I would in no way seek to denegrate the importance of our Carnival and those who participate in it, it is important that we remember there are many would would seek to repress our message, some because they do not understand it and have been spoon-fed for so many years that they would be hard-pressed to know genuine political ideology if it bit them on the arse but others because they understand all too well just how dangerous to their prosperity any tinkering with the world order may be. There are already pin pricks in that great Hoover Dam of capitalism and it is our job to whittle and chip away and make the holes bigger until they can no longer be ignored.

It is our job to win over, or in many cases win back the indoctrinated whilst dismantling the ideology of the oppressors. The thanks we will get will be no more than the East German writers and thinkers who made up Neue Forum and brought about the first stages of the dismantling of the German Democratic Republic in 1988-9 but that does not and should diminish the importance and significance of the task.

That completes the submissions I have for this Carnival, it’s been my pleasure to host and therefore it is just left to me to thank you for reading and look forward to Carnival Of Socialism #7 chez Shane.