Damn it! Tentacled monster

I abandoned Amazon recently, because I didn't like quite a lot of the things they were doing, including pulling Wikileaks from their servers. They're not unionised either, so I assume their warehouses are sweatshop hellholes. I cancelled a £900 camera purchase, and moved book purchases to The Book Depository (fine views from the second-floor windows of their Texas branch): not such a good website but cheap, efficient and slightly less evil.

Now Amazon's bought that too. They're not content with owning ABE, the wonderful global network of second-hand bookshops. So I'm screwed: I've got to deal with evil if I ever want to buy a book again.


I could go to my local bookshop, you might whinge. Well, not really. It's Waterstone's, which is very poor, and if I restricted my second-hand purchases to the local charity shops, I'd soon be churning out academic papers on the Collected Works of Jeremy Clarkson and Catherine Cookson, because that's all they stock.

There are a couple of places left unstrangled by Amazon:
Housmans - the socialist and peace bookshop, which is thoroughly unionised.
Left on the Shelf - for all your used leftwing requirements.

But for anything else? You pay Amazon, whether you like it or not.

Angela's clashes

In my ongoing personal battle to save the economy single-handed, I've just received this classic 70s poster of the wonderful Angela Davis, and will take it to the framers tomorrow. Thanks again to Left on the Shelf - for all your commie-lovin' book and ephemera needs.

Picture this

A couple of pictures. One of the aftermath of all our Map Twats days out. The other is of a postcard I bought recently from Left on the Shelf, my favourite leftwing book and memorabilia shop. It seems strangely up to date, leaving aside the design of the old job centres. I also bought a Wapping-era 'boycott The Sun, News of the World and The Times' mug for using in the Media office.