The odd couple: Ruaraidh Erskine and John Maclean

We are posting this article by Johnnie Gallacher, who provided his own introduction:- As society stands hesitating at the ecological fork in the road to either ecosocialism or suicide, reflecting upon the unlikely political alliance between John Maclean, the revolutionary socialist, and Ruaraidh Erskine, the aristocratic Gaelic nationalist, can offer valuable insights. These relate to…

Former NATO military analyst blows the whistle on West’s Ukraine Invasion narrative

The following article by Jaques Baud, intelligence and security consultant and former NATO military analyst, has been much posted by those on the Left opposed to giving support to the Ukrainian people in their opposition to Putin’s invasion. The EL&SD Editorial Board  voted by a majority to post this article. Allan Armstrong has written a…

Catalangate: the surveillance state in Spain

The following article by Jordi Oriola Folch on the Spanish/Castilian state’s clampdown in Catalunya was first  posted on bella caledonia CATALANGATE: THE SURVEILLANCE STATE IN SPAIN On the 18th April, The New Yorker uncovered in an extensive report [1] the biggest case of espionage in an EU country. The Canadian organisation Citizen Lab had documented [2] the spying on…

May Day – a Ukrainian tradition

On May Day 2022 we are posting this  article from the Ukraine Solidarity Campaign about the tradition of celebrating May Day in Ukraine,   MAY DAY – A UKRAINIAN TRADITION Ukraine Solidarity Campaign extends May Day greetings to the labour movement and all working people in Ukraine. May Day 2022 is taking place in circumstances…

Ukrainian Socialist: ‘The future of demilitarisation lies in stopping Russia’s war machine now’

 Federico Fuentes (Green  Left, Australia) conducted the following interview with Vitaliy Dudin of Sotsyalnyi Rukh (Social Movement) from Cherkassy in Ukraine. It gives a Ukrainian Socialist perspective on events and addresses the state of the Russia’s invasion, the scale of peoples’ resistance and key issues such as Ukraine’s far right, NATO and sending weapons to Ukraine. UKRAINIAN SOCIALIST: THE…

Turkey is invading the Kurdistan region of Iraq – and the world has hardly blinked

The following article, written by Sarah Glynn, and first published by bella caledonia highlights the hypocrisy of the US, UK and NATO, as they arm Turkey to invade the Kutsish areas of Iraq. The Ukrainians, the Kurds, the Palestinians and the Uighurs amongst many others  all need out support against the rival imperialisms.   TURKEY…

For the victory of the Ukrainian people

 We are posting two artilces which challenge some on the the Left’s retreat into campism, apologising for one imperialism over another,  instead of providing solidarity ro the oppressed. The first article has as been translated, is written by Yorgos Muitralis, a vrteran Greek Socialist who opposed the capitulation of Tsipras and Syriza. He makes no equivocation about…

When the Bolsheviks created a Soviet Republic in the Donbas

This article written by Hanna Perekhoda (translated by David Broder) first appeared in The Jacobin. It examines the history of the creation of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, during the 1916-21/3 International Revolutionary Wave    WHEN THE BOLSHEVIKS CREATED A SOVIET REPUBLIC IN THE DONBAS The Donbas is at the heart of Vladimir Putin’s claim…

An open letter from Asad Ghanem to the Ukrainian president

In an open letter, first published in Al Jazeera,  political analyst Asad Ghanem urges the Ukrainian president to stop employing double standards and to support the Palestinian struggle.   Dear Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Your recent speech before the Israeli Knesset was a disgrace when it comes to global struggles for freedom and liberation, particularly of the…

Putin’s war and Jewish history

The history of Ukraine is inextricably linked with antisemitism, from the pogroms of the Russian Civil War to the Ukrainian nationalist complicity in the Holocaust. Such historical connections have once more come to the fore during Russia’s invasion of the country, now lead by a Jewish president. Here, historical sociologist Brendan McGeever writes on this complicated past, and…