Hal's Friday evening blog review #2: Green Manifesto

Hal Berstram takes a second bite at the gooseberry after a fortnight's layoff

I'm trying to turn this Friday evening random blog review into a regular slot. Obviously Friday evening is not the most obvious time to be trawling through the random feed on the blogger.com frontpage trying to find interesting things, but due to being completely knackered out by my job and by commuting into London almost every weekday, I find that surprisingly often, sitting in front of the computer on a Friday night amounts to a good idea. Sad, that.

Anyway, after reviewing a superb comedy blog (sort of) last time, I now bring you an excellent political blog from the US - with page decor very similar to giroscope. It's called The Green Manifesto, but goes a lot wider than environmentalism - a really useful collection of various news stories and analysis of US politics and foreign policy from a radical progressive perspective. For example, in today's post, 'Greenstigator' lays down a salvo of outrage at the f***ers who are running his country, particularly their treatment of elected leaders in certain South American countres (e.g. Bolivia, Venezuela etc.) as terrorists. Previous posts looking at rigged voting machines, the government's assault on civil liberties, and the extraordinary story of how a bandana decorated in peace signs was deemed offensive in Missouri are all essential reading.

The other great thing about it is that Greenstigator lives in Portland, Oregon - a place I have a special affection for as it's where Regional Bureau Chief Gordon Cole calls Agent Chester Desmond from at the very start of Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, one of my favourite films of all time (possibly the favourite.) Which is a ludicrous thing to get excited about, I know, but there you are.

Anyway do check the site out if you're into Red/Green politics. It's stuff like this that gives me hope that the US may one day fall back into the hands of the "good guys", rather than what Hunter S Thompson called "these cheap greedy killers controlling America today". I will be leaving a comment on The Green Manifesto to let the guy know that he is a class act.