Jonathon Shafi
@Jonathon_Shafi
Socialist. Weekly newsletter on independence and Scottish politics: http://jonathonshafi.substack.com
What lies behind the US-EU trade deal is not “bad negotiation” on the European side as such. It is the jointly agreed arrangement of longterm and fixed American hegemonic control of the Western hemisphere as the world system transitions from unipolarity to multipolarity.
After just 24 hours a quarter of a million people have signed up to a yet to be named left party. This already supersedes Reform. There are huge numbers of people looking for ways to effectively advance socialist politics - and a collective responsibility to ensure we do so.
We’re now into a second summer where violent disorder by racists is being glossed over and excused whilst peaceful protests are stigmatised and criminalised.
The Isle of Eigg is a Scottish island owned by the people who live there as a result of a community buyout in 1997. An inspiring exercise in democracy, it has now chosen to stand in full solidarity with the Palestinian people.
Still not read a comprehensive or convincing analysis of what exactly is going on with the United States. When you package the various elements together it is looks to be in a state of serious breakdown. Almost as if this is too big a historical development to properly digest.
Brendan O’Neill and Spiked are the last making what they see as an “intellectual” defence of the genocide. They are so far down the culture war rabbit hole that they will defend mass murder if it means they are differentiated from a certain section of “the left.” It’s pathetic.
Packed @GlasgowStopWar meeting tonight with speakers including @andrewfeinstein and the great Stephen Kapos. A real determination in the room to redouble our solidarity efforts with Gaza and to defend civil liberties at home.
Scottish politics, democracy & indy are at a low ebb. No one should pretend otherwise. Some salutary home truths from @Jonathon_Shafi including the need to challenge the inertia of the SNP, call time on Yes & stop pretending indy is just round the corner. thenational.scot/politics/25330…
I remember my first political public meeting. It was on the run up to the G8 summit in Gleneagles in 2005. @TariqAli_News spoke and made a simple point: “Judge people by what they do, not by what they say.” Stuck with me ever since, and recalled it watching David Lammy today.
In the week that John Swinney reveals his new strategy for independence, it transpires his government failed to ensure Scotland received a penny from £350 million worth of Ferry contracts. This from a government who claim to have a ‘Green Industrial Strategy’.
When COP26 came to Glasgow, Greta Thunberg went straight to the picket line in support of striking cleansing workers. “AOC” went for a “hilarious” Irn-Bru based photo-op with Nicola Sturgeon. One had principles then and one has principles now.
We live under a state which takes people like this into custody for “terrorism,” while it arms and participates in a genocide. No words adequately capture the mendacity and moral weakness of those in power.
In recent weeks I’ve seen some very open racism in the street. When you see this it’s a sign that things are getting bad. Yes it’s dispiriting - but we have overcome it before and will do again. We need to rebuild a culture of solidarity. That entails overcoming demoralisation.
Breaking🚨: Medical sources at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah have confirmed to Al-Jazeera that an 18-month-old girl has died of malnutrition inside the hospital wards. People are fainting in the streets and arrive in influxes as they fall from fatigue and hunger.
The world system is in transition but the calibre of MSPs is at its lowest ebb in the devolution era. In 'Low Ebb', @Jonathon_Shafi & @SophieJayJoe argue for the careful reconstruction of extraparliamentary movements to confront the Scottish establishment. scottishleftreview.scot/low-ebb/