March 2021

Newsletter number 3.

More kind feedback dropped in last month, many thanks!

A few days after posting the “February 2021” newsletter, I uploaded the text “The Difficult Road to Peace in Northern Ireland”, a joint review of the books Peace of Pacification? Northern Ireland After the Defeat of the IRA by Liam Ó Ruairc, and Where Grieving Begins by Patrick Magee. Similarly, I uploaded “Ecological Leninism: Friend or Foe?”, a review of two new books by Andreas Malm on radical environmentalism, shortly after posting the “January 2021” newsletter. So, now, I’m trying a different approach: I’m uploading a new review, “Diaspora Anarchism”, together with this post. Go figure! Perhaps I’ll even make a feature of it. A new review every month? We’ll see. For now, “Diaspora Anarchism” looks at the anthology There Is Nothing So Whole as a Broken Heart: Mending the World as Jewish Anarchists, edited by Cindy Milstein.

It’s been a big month for winter sports, with several world championships. For the German daily junge Welt, I have written about those in biathlon, Alpine skiing (one and two), speed skating, and Nordic skiing. For good measure, I also wrote about tennis, reviewing David Berry’s book A People’s History of Tennis. If you have the least inkling of interest in winter sports, you should watch Katharina Liensberger‘s second run at the world championships slalom in Cortina d’Ampezzo.

CounterPunch published a new article of mine, “What Happened to the Anarchist Century”. It revisits a piece that Andrej Grubacic and David Graeber wrote in 2001, titled “Anarchism, or The Revolutionary Movement of the Twenty-First Century”. Kindly, Andrej Grubacic wrote a response to my article.

The “Sámi Library Service” in Norway has listed Liberating Sápmi: Indigenous Resistance in Europe’s Far North in their database, which I am happy about.

With regard to the many great things that friends of mine do, you must, if you understand German, listen to Sebastian Friedrich’s radio feature “Der letzte Tag”, which tells the story of the heinous far-right shooting in the German town of Hanau in February 2020 through the words of the victims and their friends and families. The tales are as heartbreaking as the reactions are inspirational.

Last but not least, with the International Committee of the SAC (my union), we are active in a solidarity campaign with striking textile workers in Bangladesh, United Against the Dragon. The campaign is ongoing and any group can get involved!

Alright. Back in a month. Stay safe!