Languages do not “die”, they are persecuted: A Scottish Gael’s perspective on language “loss”

 The following article was written by Paul Meighan and was first posted on bella caledonia. LANGUAGES DO NOT “DIE”, THEY ARE PERSECUTED: A SCOTTISH GAEL’S PERSPECTIVE ON LANGUAGE “LOSS” Two-thirds of the world’s 7000-7500 languages are Indigenous languages. One-third of Indigenous languages are experiencing language loss and “as many as 90% are predicted to fall…

Police turned up to a coal mine operating without a licence – to arrest protesters

The following article by Glen Black was first posted by The Canary. It highlights the police role in protecting corporate lawbreakers and criminalising protestors.   POLICE TURNED UP AT COAL MINE OPERATING WITHOUT A LICENSE – TO ARREST PROTESTORS On 5 July, Extinction Rebellion (XR) blocked access to Ffos-y-Fran coal mine in Wales. The mine is infamous for…

The real honours of Scotland

The following article by George Gunn from the Province of the Cat was first posted by bella caledonia. It links King Charles receiving the ‘Honours Scotland’ with the seizure of the land under feudalism. This continues  to this day, albeit it as aggressive capitalist expropriation. However  it  acknowledges its feudal forebears in the pomp and…

Your country – George Gunn

EL&SD is posting the new poem written by George Gunn. It highlights the continuing iniquity of land tenure in Scotland. YOUR COUNTRY   Your country is sold off in 45,000 acre parcels at £25 million a go by the inventor of the sticky back label who bought it from a down on his luck laird…

Leigh French – a tribute

It was very sad news to hear of the death of  Leigh French, co-editor of Variant. I was invited in the context of IndyRef2 to speak to a meeting organised by Leigh and Gordon Asher. What we shared in common was an appreciation of the significance of cultural struggle in challenging capitalism. Although we differed…

Empire state of mind

The following article by Mike Small was first posted on bella caledonia. It examines the the environmental legacy dating from the day the Cuyahoga River caught fire on June 22nd in 1969 to June 4th, 2013 when New York recorded the worst air quality indicator for any city in the world, following the major fires…

Stuff ‘single person’ leadership

We are reposting this article, written by Mike MacNair, which was first published by Weekly Worker. He argues that despite its ostensible archaism, the coronation of Charles III reflects the thoroughly modern practice of one-man management. STUFF ‘SINGLE PERSON’ LEADERSHIP In March 1649, after the execution of Charles I, parliament passed “An Act for the abolishing…

We are citizens not subjects

The Radical Independence Campaign issued the following statement for the Calton Hill republican rally on May 6th.     WE ARE CITIZENS NOT SUBJECTS The Radical Independence Campaign initiated the 2023 Declaration of Calton Hill, signed by nearly 3000 people.  We welcome those attending today’s rally organised by Our Republic.  We are here to challenge…

James Connolly and the coronation of Edward VII

The following article was written by James Connolly in 1902 in response to the coronation of Edward VII. The full version can be seem on the Marxist Internet Archive. CORONATION OF KING EDWARD VII   Fellow-Workers, Unless unforseen accidents intervene to prevent this consummation, His Majesty, Edward VII, King and Emperor, will be crowned on…