Comrades!
June is proving to be an
exciting month. It began splendidly, with the near-incineration of
Buckingham Palace during the Queen's Golden Jubilee idiocies, and
with the Senegalese victory on the football field over their erstwhile
French colonisers. We can only hope that the World Cup continues to
provide belated political retribution,
with England, Belgium, Spain, Germany, Japan, and -- most of all --
the USA, joining France and Portugal in the dustbin of history, so
that we can look forward to a thrilling final between Senegal and
the Republic of Ireland on 30 June in Yokohama.
While we wait, there is
much to entertain and edify at the Turtle this month. Although the
recent flood of articles has slowed, the quality of the Turtle's fayre
more than compensates for its quantity. Dave Renton presents us with
a fine analysis of Anarcho-stalinism,
a trend that has reasserted itself in some Left organisations, and
to which he is opposed. We also reprint Taiaiake Alfred's recent editorial,
presenting a perspective on the "War on Terror" from the
frontlines
of indigenous peoples' struggles in Canada. And Joe Bord has forwarded
us an email memo from the heart of the New Labour establishment, which
we will publish shortly, outlining the structure of the planned Third
Way Modernisation of the People's Organ. Our Arts section has also
swollen over May, for we are proud to hail a new addition to our poetry
section, a cheer penned by Ithaca's
Radical Cheerleaders, for use on anti-capitalist protests as a
feisty alternative to "We shall overcome".
It also gives us great
pleasure to announce that our Historians-in-Residence have been reviewing,
and have been pleased by their materiel, Marc Mulholland by The
Irish Story, Ted Vallance by Star
Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. This latter is, alas, the
only treatment of Empire that we are able to offer this month as our
Symposium on Hardt and Negri's book suffers yet another postponement.
If you're wondering quite what to do with that Empire term
paper, or have Empirical thoughts of any kind, you've one final chance
to get them to the Editors.
Potential contributors
may be troubled by the number of delays that the Symposium has suffered.
Never let it be said, however, that the Turtle fails to deliver on
its promises. Many months ago, the Editors were pleased to announce
the retelling of a classic English children's book, updated with Chinese
characteristics, for our younger cadres. This month, at long last,
we are proud to present the first instalment of The
Mao of Pooh, to coincide with an Ask Uncle Rosa question concerning
The Way.
Finally, continuing our
tradition of celebrating high-achievers from the left, this month
the Turtle
Salutes the Yes Men, a collective of iconoclasts who, towards
the end of May, announced the dissolution of the WTO to the world
press. Read about them, and much more, in this month's Turtle. If
this month's issue looks a bit thin, there's an easy and agreeable
solution; write for the Turtle! As ever, the Editors are keen for
articles, poetry, commentary, reviews, prejudice, and submissions
of all stripes (except red, white and blue).
Allez les rouges!
Avanti popolo!
The Editors
