NM's blog

 From the mouth of  a former CIA operative – someone who in principle defends the criminal action of US imperialism, inverting the reality of who is the real culprit and the real threat . His only concern is how a crime should be committed. Related Why Iran is not Venezuela

“The real strength of Darolshafa’s text is that it shows the main divide in Iran is not simply about who supports the Islamic Republic and who opposes it. The deeper issue is a struggle over the meaning of change itself. For the first people, survival comes first. For the second, the fall of the regime at any cost. For the third, a secular and legal transition. And for the fourth, social revolution. “This is not just a disagreement over tactics. Each of these projects produces its own people and speaks in their name. One calls on the “Nation of Imam Hussein.” Another invokes the “Nation of the Lion and Sun.” The third speaks of the “Iranian nation” or “the people of Iran.” And the fourth speaks of the working class and the oppressed. The conflict is not really over words. It is over hegemony. It is about which force gets to present itself as the true political voice of society.” A good summary

Just another Brit attacking a whole religion and all Muslims for the actions of a tiny minority. Another Brit who is now 'intellectually' not different from the far-right neo-fascists. Another Brit who has planned a show in Israel, i.e. unashamedly being complicit in the genocidal war. Another leaning far right Brit who quotes from the Quran without historical or present context.  Related As Brooke Ivey Johnson put it on the Metro , “ There is something uniquely deflating about watching a figure once synonymous with sharp, absurdist brilliance slip into reactionary cliché…   Watching him railing against imaginary enemies online, you can’t help but feel that what’s really being lost isn’t ‘Englishness’, but perspective. ”  British historian Simon Schama needs a history lesson

The media manufactures discursive cover, lawfare groups weaponise legal frameworks, institutions enforce discipline, police stage public spectacles of sovereign power, and so on. This division of labour allows repression to appear diffuse, uncoordinated, even spontaneous. Yet the cumulative effect is systematic and constitutes a multi-sited assault that targets solidarity from every direction while granting each actor plausible deniability. No single institution bears full responsibility; no single hand is seen to strike the blow. This insulates each node from legal liability, public outrage, and reputational damage, allowing institutions to maintain their liberal self-images while participating in illiberal outcomes. — European Legal Support Centre ,  The Multi-Sited Repression of  Palestine Solidarity in Britain,  2026, p. 30.

The Alibi of Capital