This article was originally posted by Socialist Democracy (Ireland), It highlights the inability of the ‘liberal’ institutions set up after the Good Friday Agreement to effectively challenge continued sectarianism built into the Stormont set-up. FLAG COMMISSION STALEMATE The Commission on Flags, Identity, Culture and Tradition (FICT) was originally set up in 2016 The long-delayed report…
Covid19 and the danger of barbarism
The following article by Mohsen Shahmanesh examines the social role of viruses and bacteria in four major historical pandemics. It was first published in Weekly Worker. DANGER OF BARBARISM We are now in the third year of the Covid pandemic, which has caused the deaths of something like five million people across the world…
Imperialism is responsible for Omicron
The following article. written by Sam Carliner of Left Voice (USA), highlights the role of imperialism in the mergence of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 IMPERIALISM IS RESPONSIBLE FOR OMICRON With capitalism acting as an incubator for pandemics, and vaccine nationalism preventing an effective global response, it is no surprise that the Omicron variant…
Tom Devine, the Highland Clearances, black chattel slavery and statues
EL&SD is posting two articles about Scotland’s leading historian, Sir Tom Devine. In the first, Barry Biddulph takes issue with Devine’s earlier opposition to the removal for the statue of the Duke of Sutherland on Ben Bhraggie near Golspie. He and his wife, the Countess of Sutherland, were responsible for some of the worst…
‘Greenwashing’ by Biden’s Democrats and the SNP
The first article posted here was written by Robert Belano of Left Voice (USA). It examines the role of Biden and the Democrats in the light of Cop26. The second article is a section of a blog from opendemocracy written by Laurie MacFarlane which highlights the role of the SNP government in paving the way…
Ukraine, Marxism and the National Question
In September Marko Bojcun’s book, The Workers Movement and the National Question in Ukraine, 1897-1918, was published. The Republican Socialist Platform co-hosted a Zoom meeting on 22nd September, at which Marko and others spoke and the issues raised by the book were discussed. Chis Ford of the Ukraine Solidarity campaign wrote the following introduction…
Repression of migrants at the Poland-Belarus border: a humanitarian crisis created by imperialism
This article by Frankie Levine was first posted by Left Voice (USA). Not mentioned, but also significant is the UK government’s commitment of British armed forces to back Poland (and undermine the EU leadership). The British Tory Party has the same international affiliation as the racist Polish Law and Justice Party. At the same time…
The Rittenhouse verdict is green light for right wing vigilantism
The following article by James Dennis Hoff, written for Left Voice (USA,) highlights the real nature of the Us state as a white imperial republic. The Wisconsin court’s support for Kyle Rittenhouse’s white fascist vigilantism did not occur in the South, with its Jim Crow/Ku Klux Klan legacy, or under the racist authoritarian populist ,…
British politics is an oligarchs’ cocktail party – Tory ministers are the waiters
The following article on sleaze and corruption in British politics by Adam Ramsay was first posted by OpenDemocracy. BRITISH POLITICS IS AN OLIGARCHS’ COCKTAIL PARTY – TORY MINISTERS RE THE WAITERS The recent onslaught of government sleaze shows once again why the UK has been called ‘the most corrupt country in the world’. With the…
Police intimidation at Cop26
We are posting two pieces concerning the police intimidation and kettling of the Young Communist League contingent on the Cop26 demonstration in Glasgow on November 6th. The first is by Mike Small of bella caledonia; the second is a statement from the YCL Central Committee. 1. POLICE INTIMIDATION AT COP-26 Saturday saw one of…