Culture Matters have published the second volume, Ghosts of the Early Shift – An anthology of radical prose from contemporary Scotland, following A Kist of Thistle – An anthology of radical poetry from contemporary Scotland. These have both been edited by Jim Aitken. Here Mary MacGregor, following her review of the first volume, writes a review…
Back to the past – again
James Harvey wrote the following article for Weekly Worker. It looks at the political significance of Tory government’s attempts to unravel the post-Brexit Protocol they signed up for over relationships with the EU and Ireland. BACK TO THE PAST – AGAIN Last week saw just the latest twist in the continuing stand-off between the British government…
What does the union flag tell us about the UK?
Allan Armstrong has rewritten the introduction to the first part of his book, From Pre-Brit to Ex-Brit. In this he takes a closer look at the history of the UK’s Union Flag. WHAT DOES THE UNION FLAG TELL US ABOUT THE UK? Today, even the United Kingdom’s most diehard defenders realise their state may not…
Approaching train wreck
The following article by David Lazare posted by Weekly Worker argues that far from being defeated, Trump’s Right Populists are making new ground, as Joe Biden flounders. It make the case that the US’s anti-democratic constitution is enabling this takeover. APPROACHING TRAIN WRECK Last April, Joe Biden was “the calm after the four-year Trump storm”,…
Manufacturing ignorance: keeping the public away from power
The following article was first posted by Media Lens. MANUFACTURING IGNORANCE: KEEPING THE PUBLIC AWAY FROM POWER In their classic book on the news media, ‘Manufacturing Consent’, Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky presented a ‘propaganda model’ of how the major broadcasters and newspapers operate. Whereas the ‘mainstream’ media declare that their aim is to educate,…
On police violence
The following article written by Mike Small on police violence in Great Britain, including Scotland, first appeared in bella caledonia ON POLICE VIOLENCE The state holds the monopoly on violence in our society. We can talk about male violence but the murder of Sarah Everard is also state violence and needs to be seen in both contexts. A…