I wrote the basis of this text back in December 2020, when I was reading The Lord of the Rings aloud to my girlfriend every night, partly as a way of wiping our minds clear of the violence and absurdities of life under lockdown before we plunged into a hopefully forgetful sleep. But I think … Continue reading Concerning Hobbits (Notes to a Book on Tolkien)
Tourist-boarding
The ‘board’ is the instrument, not the method. — Christopher Hitchens ‘Believe Me, It’s Torture’ (2008) And then went down to the minivan, Set wheels to road, forth on the ungodly way, and We bore packed lunches aboard, our wearied ears Stopped with fingers against siren C-pop Piped amidships through singing speakers In the rosy-fingered … Continue reading Tourist-boarding
American Newspeak: US hegemony, woke lexicography and the end of thinking
‘A living language, one that people are using in all their daily affairs, is constantly changing: for every generation lives in a rather different world from its predecessor; it has new things and new situations to deal with, and it thinks and feels about them in a new way. But what people do not always … Continue reading American Newspeak: US hegemony, woke lexicography and the end of thinking
Western Garrison
As British administration ends, we are, I believe, entitled to say that our own nation’s contribution here was to provide the scaffolding that enabled the people of Hong Kong to ascend. — Chris Patten, ‘Hong Kong Handover Ceremony Address’ (1997) On this dormant volcano’s side, ceaselessly Erupting roads and towers, last night’s food, This morning’s … Continue reading Western Garrison
Zones of Interest: The Holocaust Industry in Film
It should surprise no-one that, in the middle of the 6-month liquidation of the Gaza concentration camp by the Israel Defense Forces, the UK film industry released not one but two films about the ‘Holocaust’.1 One Life, a UK film about a British man who helped Jews from German-occupied Czechoslovakia, was released in the UK … Continue reading Zones of Interest: The Holocaust Industry in Film
Settling In
‘And have you settled in?’ Thank you, Yes. Barely seen a cop at all. The food’s the best I’ve ever had, The women the most beautiful, And the city the most faithful To Alice Through the Looking Glass It’s ever been my joy to pass. One day I saw, in Chai Wan Park, An orgy … Continue reading Settling In
On Kowloon Ferry
Childless myself, I couldn’t say How old they were; but when she tore Her tiny raincoat open In protest at her mother’s fussing My slow smile burst into laughter. On the night ferry from Kowloon, New Year tourists from the mainland, Two mothers, each with one daughter, Their black hair tied in pigtails, One an … Continue reading On Kowloon Ferry
Gaza Selfie: Representing the Chosen People
‘Encouraging and integrating aliyah is a strategic event for the State of Israel. Aliyah in the coming years will serve as an enormous growth engine for the Israeli economy and an engine of values — a renewal and refreshment of Zionism.’ — Bezalel Smotrich, Israel Finance Minister, February 2024 There is a difference between the … Continue reading Gaza Selfie: Representing the Chosen People
Gaza Funeral
‘Mankind’s . . . self-alienation has reached such a degree that it can experience its own destruction as an aesthetic pleasure of the first order. This is the situation of politics which Fascism is rendering aesthetic.’ — Walter Benjamin In 2014, in response to Israel’s attack on Gaza, which was the most deadly in decades, … Continue reading Gaza Funeral
Khan Younis, February 2024
‘We will wipe this thing called Hamas, ISIS-Gaza, off the face of the earth. It will cease to exist.’ — Yoav Gallant, Israel Minister of Defence At one minute and fifty-one seconds In the drone footage you’re alive, a man Walking up a hill, swinging his legs and arms With a will and intentions, and, … Continue reading Khan Younis, February 2024
A Communist in Hong Kong 