We are at a fragile moment in the life of the Resistance, and it seems people’s nerves and judgment are fraying the longer the war wears on. Pissants scatter dispiriting remarks about like litter. Fanatical contingents accuse anyone who holds a different view of being controlled opposition. Self-righteous inquisitors feel they have the right to tell you what you should and shouldn’t write about, how you should and shouldn’t spend your time. Purported allies ambush individuals of supreme integrity.
We don’t need ‘leaders’, ‘voices’ or false idols for our revolution
Anyone who paints themselves as an ‘outsider’ while broadcasting on platforms that reach millions is taking everyone else for a mug. They’re allowed to do this because they provide a safety valve for people to rally around, under the illusion that they’re actually part of something more oppositional.
The people will prevail – with or without the left!
by Paul Cudenec A timely condemnation of the way a corrupted “left” is helping to impose the new global dictatorship has been issued by veteran US […]
How to Be an Upstander
I have taken pains to protect the identity of my saboteur [I’ll call her S] because—as will become evident when you read these exchanges—she appears to be suffering some sort of psychological crisis, and I don’t blame her but rather her mental illness. As such, I have substituted any terms that could be traced back to her posts and indicated these substitutions in brackets.
Ode to a Whistleblower (Video Tribute to Daniel Ellsberg)
After Daniel Ellsberg passed away, I republished my poem Ode to a Whistleblower to honor his memory and further Dan’s dying wish to #FreeAssange. Then a couple of weeks ago, Diane Perlman asked if I would be willing to provide a video of myself reading this poem for the tribute she and her co-director Todd Pierce are organizing at the Whistleblower Summit on July 30, National Whistleblower Day.
What Noam Chomsky Can Teach Us About Freedom of Speech
“If you believe in freedom of speech, you believe in freedom of speech for views you don’t like. Goebbels was in favor of freedom of speech for views he liked. So was Stalin. If you’re in favor of freedom of speech, that means you’re in favor of freedom of speech precisely for views you despise. Otherwise, you’re not in favor of freedom of speech.”
—Noam Chomsky
When the overload gets too much and something snaps…
We live in a media saturated age. We get bombarded with adverts pretty much all the time, trying to convince us that if we don’t buy their product or use their service, we’re somehow inadequate. Bombarded to the point that a growing number of people simply want to switch off.
You Cannot Break Us
“The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender, or submission.” —John F. Kennedy
This Independence Day, let us celebrate the indomitable nature of truth, the infectious spirit of freedom, and the resilience that empowers us to triumph over adversity.
A search for some spiritual depth…
Recognising our place in nature means an awareness of the passing of the seasons and the changes that brings. It’s about the celebrations and rituals that mark the passing of the year from the winter solstice, Imbolc, the spring equinox, Beltane, through to the summer solstice and back via the autumn equinox.
Ode to a Whistleblower
I am republishing my poem Ode to a Whistleblower to honor the memory of Whistleblowers’ Whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg (April 7, 1931–June 16, 2023) and shine a light on the looming extradition of his treasured friend Julian Assange.
Building for change from the base upwards
It’s about working towards how we should be living. That’s living in a community where people have an attachment and connection to the village, town or city neighbourhood they live in and the people they live alongside.
Supporting Animal Ag is Antithetical to Supporting Freedom
Fundamentally, the pro-freedom movement’s defense of meat consumption is flawed on many levels. . . Pro-freedom groups ignore the close relationship Animal Ag has with Big Pharma, government, and lobbyists.
Narrowing down the parameters of discussion
I’m far from the only person feeling that the parameters of what can and cannot be discussed and debated these days have been narrowed down over the last few decades. A tendency that for a variety of reasons, has accelerated over the last decade.
The Simple Life: Back to the Future
A swim in the lake on a summery day in May. Baking bread and doing the dishes. Selling from a stall in the Saturday Market; […]
A way forward?
It feels that the environment movement is in grave danger of allowing itself to be used and abused in the name of imposing the ‘great reset’. A ‘reset’ that will subject the vast majority of the population to a very limited life while the elites who presume to rule over us continue to swan around flaunting their wealth.
Beyond Extinction
‘They stole the children from the land. Now they want to steal the land from the children.’ —Tahltan protest sign, Kabloona Keepers On the small island […]
The Grift of ‘Bridging Divides’
Just like DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion), ‘bridge building’ work is financially lucrative and socially alluring — especially among social justice ideologues who are eager to collect virtue points.
Why do I do this to myself?
Why has the frustration and pain of being an activist got worse? I’ll try to explain. I used to be very tribal. Once I’d found a political home, I’d defend it and my comrades vigorously. Any nagging doubts I had were packed away in a box and hidden in a dark cupboard. That was until the point when it started to become clear that what I thought was a ‘for ever’ political home was changing and going off in a direction I couldn’t travel in.