RADICAL INDEPENDENCE CAMPAIGN SPRING CONFERENCE

RADICAL INDEPENDENCE CAMPAIGN   National Spring Conference City of Edinburgh Methodist Church, 25 Nicolson Square Edinburgh, EH8 9BX  Saturday, March 10th Doors are open at 11.00am and the event starts promptly at 11.30pm.   Session 1: 11.30 – 12.30 The effect of Brexit on Scottish independence – Maggie Chapman (Scottish Greens) and Neil Davidson (RS21)  Lunch:…

THE END OF THE ROAD – THE COLLAPSE OF THE NORTHERN IRELAND EXECUTIVE

  Socialist Democracy (Ireland) have posted two articles  the following  the collapse of the Northern Ireland Executive. These were first posted at:-  http://socialistdemocracy.org/RecentArticles/RecentIrishSettlementFoundersOnTheRockOfLanguageRights.html http://socialistdemocracy.org/RecentArticles/RecentClassPoliticsVersusModernity.html   1. THE END OF THE ROAD  THE IRISH SETTLEMENT FOUNDERS ON THE ROCK OF LANGUAGE RIGHTS When Sinn Fein collapsed the Stormont executive in early 2017 they put forward a very simple…

THE RED AND THE GREEN: A PORTRAIT OF JOHN MACLEAN

Gerry Cairns has published a new book,  The Red and the Green: A Portrait of John Maclean. This makes use of new material relating to Maclean’s relationship with the struggle in Ireland. Stevie Coyle posted the following review on Facebook, and there is an edited version in February’s  Irish Voice. Hopefully this informative review will be…

COWIE MINERS, POLMAISE COLLIERY AND THE 1984-85 MINERS’ STRIKE

Dave Douglass reviews Steve McGrail and Vicky Patterson’s Cowie miners, Polmaise colliery and the 1984-85 miners’ strike.    COWIE MINERS, POLMAISE COLLIERY AND THE 1984-85 MINERS’ STRIKE Great Strike of 1984-85: an unequal battle Polmaise was at the epicentre of the Scottish miners’ action in 1984. Like Cortonwood it was among ‘the first of the first’…

BERNADETTE MCALISKEY, SINN FEIN AND CIVIL RIGHTS

In early February, writing a platform piece in Belfast’s Irish News, Bernadette McAliskey reacted to Sinn Fein claims that they had led the early civil rights struggle. Socialist Democracy member, John McAnulty says Bernadette was absolutely right to slap down these absurd claims by a group that was not formed until years later. However much of…

MAJOR VICTORY FOR THE 94 UKRAINIAN MINERS FACING COURT FOR PROTESTING

In a follow up to an earlier posting, we are pleased to be able to report a victory for Ukrainian miners. This article was first posted at the Ukrainian Solidarity Campaign website at:- https://ukrainesolidaritycampaign.org/2018/02/21/major-victory-for-the-94-ukrainian-miners-facing-court-for-protesting/   MAJOR VICTORY FOR THE 94 UKRAINIAN MINERS FACING COURT FOR PROTESTING   The Independent Trade Union of Miners of Ukraine  has secured a…

AHED TAMINI – TWO FACED HYPOCRISY

  We are posting this article by Tony Greenstein about the Ahed Tamini Affair. It was first posted at:- https://www.weeklyworker.co.uk/worker/1189/two-faced-hypocrisy/   TWO-FACED HYPOCRISY     Ahed Tamimi: her treatment highlights the true nature of Zionism Over the past month a 16-year-old girl, Ahed Tamimi, has become a Palestinian heroine compared to Joan of Arc. Israeli Zionists…

TRUMP AND THE LEFT IN THE USA

Eric Chester wrote  the following article on Trump and the Left. It was originally posted on the Utopian e-zine     TRUMP AND THE LEFT IN THE USA Resisting the Trump presidency has lead many on the broad Left to focus on electing Democrats. However, is Trump the central problem confronting us, or is he just…

HANDS OFF AFRIN! SOLIDARITY WITH THE KURDS

If ever the Kurdish saying “No friends but the mountains” applied it is in the situation the People’s Defence Force/Womens’s Defence Force  now confront in Afrin on the Turkish Syrian border. In the Byzantine politics for which this region is infamous, for a brief period the interests of the US government and the Kurds in…

THE OUSTING OF BARRY MCELDUFF

The following is an article about the ousting of Barry McElduff, Sinn Fein MP for West Tyrone, after his notorious tweet. This article first appeared in Socialist Democracy (Ireland).     THE OUSTING OF BARRY McELDUFF A sustained campaign of outrage has led to the ousting of the Sinn Fein MP for West Tyrone. The campaign arose from the posting…