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Weekly Worker ☭ ‘No-platforming’ and speech controls are rooted in the cross-class politics of popular frontism and only serve to strengthen the right, argues Mike Macnair. This is an edited version of his talk at CU 2026

Back in October 2024 I wrote an article in this paper, ‘Crushing it in the egg’.This was addressed to the view on the left that sufficiently violent action against the fascists at an early stage of their development could crush fascism “in the egg” and prevent it developing rapidly. I looked at where that idea came from.

It comes from a writer called Daniel Guérin, writing about the rise of Nazism in Germany. He quotes Hitler and Goebbels as saying that, if the opponents of Nazism had crushed it in the egg by sufficiently violent force in the 1920s, then it would never have succeeded. 

In reality, this Hitler and Goebbels story is complete nonsense, because actually the Nazi Party was one of a number of far-right parties that organised veterans’ groups to beat up leftists. They acted as external auxiliaries of the German state, with the support of the police and the judiciary, who protected them against the leftists who wanted to organise self-defence against them. 

Continue @ Weekly Worker.

Standing For Open Debate

National Secular Society ★ Amendment to Health Bill would require all circumcisions to be performed by healthcare professionals.

7-September-2026

An MP has put forward measures to regulate the practice of ritual male circumcision, following recent deaths of children.

An amendment to the Government's Health Bill would make non-therapeutic male circumcision a "regulated activity" that can only be performed by a suitably qualified healthcare professional.

The National Secular Society, which campaigns to protect children from harms caused by religious practices, has said the measures are "an urgent necessity" to protect children from serious harm and even death.

At least five babies have died in the UK since 2007 following medically unnecessary circumcisions, while many more have suffered "life-threatening" post-circumcision complications.

The amendment was tabled by Labour MP for North West Cambridgeshire Sam Carling.

Carling said: "The need to strengthen the regulation of non-therapeutic male circumcision could not be clearer.

The tragic death of Mohamed Abdisamad in 2023, and other tragic deaths and serious injuries in recent years, has shown that the legal framework in this space is simply not good enough. My amendment would enact the recommendations of the coroner in Mohamed's case . . .  

Continue @ NSS.

MP Acts To Regulate Circumcision Following Child Deaths

The Guardian 📰 Written by Rory Carroll. Recommended by Louth For Ever.

Party insider reveals how election campaign was blindsided by rise of anti-immigrant feeling in new book


For Siobhán Fenton, the dream of Sinn Féin winning power and leading a progressive leftwing government evaporated the day she was canvassing in Dublin and felt a cold, sharp sting on her neck.

She was in the passageway of a block of flats in the inner city, knocking on doors, and looked around for the source. Fenton, a media adviser to the party leader, Mary Lou McDonald, felt another sting on her shoulder, then another on her forearm.

They were coins, thrown from a balcony above, where a man’s voice was shouting. “Sinn Féin traitors!” he roared. “Mary Lou Mohammad! Ireland is full!”

It was May 2024, and instead of steaming towards victory in local and European elections – widely deemed a foregone conclusion, to be followed by a historic triumph in a general election – the party was experiencing a backlash fuelled by anti-immigrant sentiment in what was usually a bastion of working-class support.

The coins left Fenton with gashes and bruises that augured an electoral hammering.

Continue @ The Guardian.

‘Sinn Féin Traitors!’ 🪶 How Far-Right Rhetoric Derailed Party’s Path To Power In Ireland

Right Wing Watch 👀 Written by Kyle Mantyla.


Christian nationalist MAGA pastor and right-wing conspiracy theorist Lorenzo Sewell used his Sunday service to ask his congregation to pray for him before he flew off to Texas to speak at the convention Republicans are holding ahead of the midterm elections.

While many Republicans are not particularly thrilled about attending the midterm Trump-a-palooza convention, Sewell is excited by the prospect of rubbing shoulders with Trump administration and elected officials to press them about how his church can be among those raking in government funding.

"We are 59 days out before the midterms and I want every single believer in Jesus Christ to ask these people who want our votes, 'How are they going to give the church government contracts?'" Sewell proclaimed. 

The church should be the conduit of compassion in government contracts. The church should be the fiduciary of federal funds. You know why? 'Cause nothing's more lucrative than a government contract.

"Oh, I'm preaching real good," Sewell added. "It's okay, I brought my own amens with me. I don't need nobody's amen. I brought it with me today."

"There's nothing more lucrative than when the government is paying you to do a service," he continued.

Continue @ RWW. 

MAGA Pastor Lorenzo Sewell Is Openly Angling For Lucrative Government Contracts

Lynx By Ten To The Power Of Two Thousand And Ninety One

 

Pastords @ 61

 

A Morning Thought @ 3263

Kate Rice ✍ The advance of modern technology is undoubtedly something to be celebrated. Scientific and medical advances allow doctors to diagnose disease, detect injuries and develop life-saving treatments. 

These are innovations that have transformed our lives, and we’re far better off than our ancestors were for it. So why has the rise of generative AI become such a divisive issue?

Beyond its well-documented environmental impact through the immense resources required to power and cool data centres, generative AI also raises political, ethical and cultural questions. This is particularly relevant when considering its growing use by businesses and organisations in the North of Ireland.

Venues such as Felons, PD and the Rock Bar are longstanding institutions within West Belfast's Republican community, and alongside preserving Republican history and culture, they have consistently expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people. But I was a bit disturbed to find out from a friend living in West Belfast that all three have recently used generative AI to create promotional posters and flyers and for many, this presents a potential contradiction.

The most widely used generative AI platforms, including ChatGPT and Google Gemini, are developed by companies whose technologies have become intertwined with the Israeli state. Investigations by the Associated Press found that advanced OpenAI models, accessed through Microsoft's Azure OpenAI Service, have been used by the Israeli military to process, translate and analyse intelligence data. Internal documents also showed a dramatic increase in Microsoft's AI services being used by Israel following the attacks of 7 October 2023. OpenAI has also amended its usage policies to permit certain national security applications, when previously it prohibited military applications.

Google has faced similar scrutiny, like in 2021 when Google and Amazon signed Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion contract with the Israeli government to provide cloud computing and artificial intelligence infrastructure. Google maintains that the contract supports civilian government services rather than military operations. The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) reports that, during 2024, Google processed additional requests from the Israeli military for access to Gemini AI technologies. Google itself disputes this characterisation of its work, maintaining that Project Nimbus is meant to support civilian government services.

The AFSC also notes that Google dismissed more than fifty employees who protested the company's work relating to Israel and Palestine, and that Alphabet later removed its previous commitment not to develop AI for weapons or surveillance applications as mentioned above.

Questions surrounding AI are not limited to military partnerships, but to the general content we are exposed to online. This year, Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs contracted Havas Media Network, which in turn signed a $6 million agreement with the American company Clock Tower X LLC to coordinate a large-scale digital communications campaign. According to reporting by Responsible Statecraft and Snopes, the campaign's stated purpose is to combat antisemitism online. The campaign has also been described as an effort to expand Israel's digital public diplomacy by distributing content across platforms popular with younger audiences, such as TikTok.

Even though this agreement was not made directly with OpenAI, it’s still a worrying concern of potential organised efforts to shape the online information environment, that may influence the material that AI systems and search tools draw upon, and that search engines show to us. The extent of that influence is difficult to measure, but to me it raises some pretty legitimate questions about how political narratives are reflected in AI generated responses.

There is also the question of creativity itself. Generative AI cannot create independently, it only produces content by learning patterns from vast collections of writing, artwork and other media created by human artists. Many artists, writers and musicians argue that these systems rely upon their work without consent, credit or compensation. As AI-generated content becomes cheaper than commissioning human creators, concerns about the future of creative professions continue to grow. Within the Republican community, this raises another uncomfortable question. Ireland's history is one of protecting language, literature, music and artistic expression against centuries of suppression. Organisations and community centres with a basis in Republican values have consistently promoted Irish culture and the importance of preserving it. Is embracing generative AI technology, something that many artists believe undermines human creativity consistent with those values?

If solidarity with Palestine remains a core principle within many Republican spaces, it is reasonable to question whether relying on technologies developed by companies whose products have become integrated into Israeli government and military infrastructure reflects that commitment.

Another difficulty with AI usage in our era is that it’s not always clear which apps and websites use these particular AI models. These include services like Canva and Meta.

Ultimately, the debate surrounding AI is not simply about convenience or innovation. It is about culture, ethics and the values we choose to support. If you asked my personal opinion, I think I would rather celebrate the intelligence of people working to preserve Irish and Palestinian culture than rely on systems whose outputs are shaped by vast datasets and the priorities of the companies that build them.

Sources



As Israel uses U.S.-made AI models in war, concerns arise about tech’s role in who lives and who dies


⏩Kate Rice is a peace baby.

Sons of AIreland

Geordie Morrow 🖌 with a sketch from his collection of art work.

 
⏩Geordie Morrow is a Belfast artist.

Here Comes A Man

Anthony McIntyre ⚽ It was a performance worthy of an Arne Slot side, the mane of thick black hair on the head of Andoni Iraola alone preventing the crowd thinking a Slot doppelgänger had turned up in the Liverpool technical area for the occasion.

Even a shaky Liverpool side going through a period of rebuild should be able to outdo Nottingham Forest and Fulham at home. They have failed on each outing, managing only draws and a goalless one at that this afternoon in a game the London visitors could easily have won. 

Iraola's side were just dull, not worthy. Unimaginative, lethargic, underwhelming, pedestrian, lacklustre - pick any adjective you wish from the Slow Horses dictionary and the cap will fit. Even cumbersome Jackson Lamb can move quicker than the Liverpool midfield. 

Before the final whistle pulled the curtain down on the most boring show on Merseyside this afternoon, fans were exchanging their seats in the stadium for chairs in pubs, there being so little to hold them in place and certainly nothing as appealing as a refreshing pint or a whiskey neat. The post-match inquests in the bars close to Anfield would have found little to suggest that this season is going to be much of an improvement on than last year's debacle. Alvaro Arbeloa was the happier of the two Spanish coaches at Anfield today where he picked up his first point of the season.

It was appropriate for an inquest to be held for another reason. There were no signs of life in the play of the German international, Florian Wirtz. The time to poop or get off the pot has come yet Wirtz is still squatting over it. We could imagine with the shit he plays it would be easy to fill the pot with it, but no. He uses his feet for shifting copious amounts of the stuff rather than his jacksy. Brought in to deliver the exquisite killer pass through the lines, Wirtz has managed instead to fluff his lines on nearly every occasion he has been given the opportunity.

Wirtz has replaced Nabi Keita in every sense of the word, replicating the Guinean's uselessness with the precision not seen in his passing in a Liverpool shirt. Keita never even reached the point where he could flatter only to deceive. He flattered none and fooled no more. A collective sigh of relief heaved up on Merseyside when he departed. 

Wirtz has filled the same shoes Keita could not use. In a red shirt he has not made it, he is not going to make it. Liverpool need to offload him while there is still time. An ever shrinking window remains open through which other sides have not yet worked out that Wirtz is not good value for money. That way they can recoup something of the large fee they paid for the service he has never delivered and before they have to hire a skip to take him away.

⏩Follow on Bluesky.

Nabi Wirtz

Muiris Ó Súilleabháin ✍ The latest Ireland Thinks poll puts Irish unity at just 2 per cent when Southern voters are asked what issues they think should be prioritised. 

It is a strikingly low figure for an issue that has supposedly moved to the centre of Irish political discourse. For the optimists amongst us, the good news is that this year’s figure is itself an improvement on the previous figure of 1 per cent and this no doubt will be presented as evidence of the irreversible momentum towards unity.

Almost forty years ago, in the 1987 Free State (that’s what we called it then) general election, Sinn Féin secured 1.9 per cent of the vote.

The two figures measure different things. One is the priority voters attach to the issue of unification; the other is electoral support for a political party. While nobody is seriously suggesting that only 2 per cent of people in the South support Irish unity, (Fianna Fail and Fine Gael both do), the drill down lesson for Sinn Féin, is difficult to ignore.

Sinn Féin has successfully escaped the 2 per cent club but the issue of Irish unity has not.

To the people of Ireland and Britain and their Governments, the northern problem is settled, and the northern natives have been pacified.

But it wasn't supposed to be like this.

Indeed, the present position is almost the antithesis of the republican strategy advocated by Gerry Adams as Sinn Féin began its serious move into electoral politics after ending abstentionism in 1986.

In The Politics of Irish Freedom, also published in 1986, Adams acknowledged the shortcomings of any campaign for Irish unity that depended upon Sinn Féin alone. Achieving the Republic could not simply wait for Sinn Féin to accumulate sufficient votes, seats and political influence to deliver the Republic. The task was much broader, Adams, argued. Sinn Féin's role was to help create the conditions in which a mass political and social movement, extending far beyond the party itself, could be built across Ireland around the demand for national self-determination.

That difference is important because it gives us a contemporary benchmark against which the subsequent strategy can be judged. The objective was not to build a mass Sinn Féin. It was to build a popular mass movement for radical constitutional change. Electoralism was a means towards that end. By engaging with the everyday political, social and economic concerns of ordinary people, republicans could escape their traditional isolation and broaden the republican constituency.

Nearly forty years later, the outcome is markedly different.

Sinn Féin has undoubtedly built a formidable electoral machine. A party that struggled to secure 2 per cent of the Southern vote in the 1980s now commands around a fifth of the electorate. It has dozens of TDs, is the largest party in the Northern institutions, occupies the office of First Minister and has arguably developed the organisational capacity to compete seriously for government in the South.

Measured as a project to build Sinn Féin, the strategy has been remarkably successful. Measured against the strategy Adams himself articulated, the verdict is considerably less flattering. The mass movement for Irish unity never materialised and seems unlikely to do so.

That is what makes the latest Ireland Thinks figure so interesting. After four decades of political engagement, electoral expansion and the normalisation of Sinn Féin as a mainstream political party, just 2 per cent of Southern voters identify Irish unity as a political priority.

The obvious response is that far more people support unity when asked directly whether they favour it. They do. But Adams was not arguing for the creation of a population passively sympathetic to the aspiration of Irish unity. Such a sentiment already existed in the establishment parties. The strategic challenge was to turn that sentiment into a national mobilisation, to create a mass constituency actively demanding irrevocable change.

On that measurement, it is difficult to present 2 per cent as a success. What Sinn Féin has built instead is Sinn Féin. People now vote Sinn Féin for many of the same reasons they vote for every other political party: housing, health, wages, taxation, public services and the cost of living. That is an extraordinary achievement for a party that spent much of the 1980s on the margins of Southern political life.

But a Sinn Féin voter is no longer necessarily a republican voter, still less a voter for whom Irish unity never mind a Republic is a pressing political priority.

The ballot box strategy was intended to use electoral politics to broaden republicanism beyond Sinn Féin. Instead, Sinn Féin broadened itself beyond republicanism.

⏩Muiris Ó Súilleabháin was a member of the Republican Movement until he retired in 2006 after 20 years of service. Fiche bhliain ag fás.

The 2% Club

Lynx By Ten To The Power Of Two Thousand And Ninety

 

A Morning Thought @ 3262

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