SCOTLAND AND THE EASTER RISING

  Celtic Connections Event Friday, January 15th, 17.00 City of Music Studio, Royal Concert Hall   for tickets go to:-  http://www.celticconnections.com/events/Pages/event.aspx?ev=debf3997-126f-4987-8d5c-a5460122d826   Scotland and the Easter Rising, edited by Kirsty Lusk and Willy Maley brings together writers, journalists and academics to reflect on the part played by Scotland in 1916 and its legacies. The Easter…

THE WAR IN SYRIA

We are posting three pieces dealing with the situation in Syria. The first is the emergency motion passed overwhelmingly at the RISE National Conference in Glasgow on December 5th. The second was written by the World to Win Editorial Board just after the vote at Westminster to openly extend UK state involvement in the war…

JOHN MACLEAN COMMEMORATION DAY

On November 30th, 1923, John Maclean, the great Scottish socialist, died, after two decades of committed struggle.  Eric Chester (RCN) has written the following piece, which is a contribution to today’s celebration of John Maclean’s life.    JOHN MACLEAN – 1879 – 1923 Glasgow has a proud tradition of radical politics, one that is particularly…

UKRAINE: MINERS STAND TOGETHER STATEMENT BY THE NUM

CONDEMN THE DEFAMATION OF NUM SOLIDARITY WITH UKRAINIAN MINERS   The National Union of Mineworkers has issued a strong statement on the Ukrainian question as a rebuttal to a number of smears against their union.   That any section of the labour movement would engage in such smears is further evidence of the shocking depths of…

SOCIAL JUSTICE – RADICAL HISTORY, CENSORSHIP AND HOW THE TORIES STOLE OUR LANGUAGE

Pauline Bradley (RCN and RISE) outlines the emergence of the notion of Social Justice during the Liverpool Dockers campaign and how the Tories have attempted to hijack the term. SOCIAL JUSTICE – OUR RADICAL HISTORY, CENSORSHIP AND HOW THE TORIES STOLE OUR TERM Social Justice is a concept which has been stolen from the left…

SAVING STORMONT: THE LAST HURRAH?

The RCN has continually emphasised the significance of political developments in Northern Ireland. In contrast to England and Wales, where conservative unionism remains dominant, and Scotland where a hybrid constitutional nationalism/liberal unionism is dominant, in Northern Ireland reactionary unionism has become the predominant political force. Together the Ulster unionist parties and the loyalists have been able to push…

JOE HILL – ‘THE MAN WHO NEVER DIED’

JOE HILL  – ‘THE MAN WHO NEVER DIED’ featuring Arthur Johnston, Eileen Penman, George Duff, Forgaitherin’ and Ray Burnett Thu 5 Nov | 7pm (2hrs)   The Carrying Stream Festival Scottish Storytelling Centre   Reception: 0131 556 9579 Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43-45 High Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1SR Tickets from the Storytelling Centre: £10 (£8) 19…

MY IMPRISONMENT IN TURKEY – Steve Kaczynski

We have  been covering the detention of Steve Kaczynski in Turkey since he was arrested on April 1st. We have been part of the campaign to get his release (republicancommunist.org/blog/2015/08/07/free-steve-kaczynski/). Steve was freed  on September 18th. This article has been written by Steve and describes his experience and the current political situation in Turkey.   MY IMPRISONMENT IN TURKEY I was in…

The Making And The Breaking Of The UK State

This article by Allan Armstrong (RCN) was posted on this blog on 9.6.12, after being updated from an earlier version originally posted on 30.9.11. That article has become contaminated and so is being reposted. Although the most recent section has been superseded by the Scottish Independence Referendum, it still includes a lot of relevant historical material.…

THE REFUGEE CRISIS – AN OUTCOME OF CAPITALIST BARBARISM

THE REFUGEE CRISIS – AN OUTCOME OF CAPITALIST BARBARISM In response to the current refugee storm a Palestinian activist remarked that, if pictures of dead children changed anything, Palestine would long have been free. The bitterness is understandable. However it would be wrong to write off the response to the refugee crisis as light-headed liberalism.…