ON LOOTING AND STATUE TOPPLING

These  two short pieces have been taken from the Scottish Left Forum ON LOOTING AND STATUE TOPPLING   __________ The initial US BLM protests were accompanied by looting and statue toppling. This amounted to oppositional ‘shock and awe’ tactics. These which were mainly responsible for breaking through the usual media silence and downplaying of constitutional…

RACISM – CALLING A DIFFERENT TONE

The Emancipation & Liberation Editorial Board (EB) is posting this article by Will Stratford of the Platypus Affiliated Society (PAS) in the USA about the Left’s response to the BLM protests. PAS is a Left propagandist think-tank. The  EB is taking up Stratford’s challenge to the Left to publish his arguments. We invite others to…

THE GEORGE FLOYD DEMONSTRATIONS IN IRELAND

These two articles from Socialist Democracy (Ireland) look at the response in Ireland (south and north) to the killing of George Floyd and then the response of the  PSNI and the Garda to these demonstrations. The first article argues for the power of solidarity in the face of shared exploitation and oppression rather the  ‘allyship’…

COVID-19 -JOHNSON’S CRIMINAL INCOMPETENCE

 Eddie Ford (CPGB-WW) argues that by global standards the UK government’s handling of the pandemic has been appalling.   COVID-19 -JOHNSON’S CRIMINAL INCOMPETENCE     Last week we reached the grim milestone of 40,000 officially certified deaths from Covid-19. Given that at the start of the pandemic there was talk of 20,000 being a “good result”,…

JUSTICE FOR GRENFELL

It is 3 years since the tragic deaths of 72 people at Grenfell Towers. This video Justice for Grenfell was produced by Edinburgh Trade Union Council, the FBU, UNITE and the Living Rent campaign.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiYXW4cT8vM&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR0JsCRIt7pVOzUjEYcqZQkEYjLWiyoRrVvxuoFDZLg2UZVuQmcjn8H5RD0   also see:- DEMOCRACY BURNS DOWN

ONE MAN’S TERRORIST

Connor Beaton reviews One Man’s Terrorist by Dan Finn. This first appeared in Red Pepper.     ONE MAN’S TERRORIST – A POLITICAL HISTORY OF THE IRA When the Irish government announced plans earlier this year to host a special commemorative event for members of the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) who were killed in the…

RACISM, CAPITALISM AND CLASS STRUGGLE

Thus article, written by Josefina L. Martinez, in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd, was first posted by Left Voice in the USA.   RACISM, CAPITALISM AND CLASS STRUGGLE   The anti-racist uprising in the United States over the brutal murder of George Floyd reopens a strategic question: How do we link the…

FANTASY FOOTBALL – THE IRISH LEFT AND FORMING A ‘LEFT GOVERNMENT’

This article, originally posted by Socialist Democracy (Ireland) looks at the attempts by People before Profit and RISE to form a ‘Left government’ in Ireland with Sinn Fein.    FANTASY FOOTBALL – THE IRISH LEFT AND FORMING A ‘LEFT GOVERNMENT’     Recently People before Profit reopened talks with Sinn Fein about building an alternative…

CRISIS AND THE NEED FOR CONFLICT

Mike Macnair makes the case for seeing current political developments in the world as a move from neo-liberalism proper to nationalist rivalry. This is similar to the case Allan Armstrong has made on this blog about the switch from neo–liberal hegemony to Right populist ascendancy.   CRISIS AND THE NEED FOR CONFLICT   What we…