On 24th November over 800 people attended the Radical Independence Conference in Glasgow. Gregor Gall has written an article looking at this major event for the Word Power Bookshop Platform, entitled Scottish Independence & Letting a Thousand Flowers Bloom. It can be found at:- http://www.word-power.co.uk/viewPlatform.php?id=607
Uniting The Left In Scotland On A Principled Basis
On February 5th, 2011, after the ending of the court proceedings arising from ‘Tommygate’[1]See:- RCN statement following the Tommy Sheridan Perjury Trial., the SSP held a special meeting in Glasgow to discuss the lessons to be learned from the whole affair. The SSP annual conference, held in Dunfermline in April, also considered aspects of this.…
The Cooperative – Not So Good For Everyone
On 22 November, a dozen people, including members of benefit claimants’ groups Black Triangle and the Crutch Collective, Clydeside Industrial Workers Of The World, Glasgow Anarchist Federation, Glasgow Solidarity Federation as well as other individuals took part in the hour long picket of the Co-Op Bank and supermarket on the same street in central Glasgow.…
The Chicago Teachers Strike
The recent strike of Chicago teachers marked a watershed in the class struggle in the United States. In the aftermath of the disintegration of unions in the private sector, teacher unions have become a prime target. The attack has been mounted across the board, undermining wages, benefits, working conditions and job security, while also undercutting…
Union Leader Slams Ed Miliband – But Who Put Him There In The First Place?
Unite General Secretary Len McCluskey has launched a stinging attack on the Labour leader Ed Miliband claiming that he {Miliband] is “leading Labour to destruction”. McCluskey lambasts the Labour leader for “failing to support millions of low paid trade unionists” and thereby “disenfranchising the party’s core support”. All this is from a union leader so…
The 99%, The 1% And ‘Anti-Finance’
Oisín Mac Giallomóir of the commune argues the Occupy movement needs to oppose capitalist production not just capitalist finance and governments A lot of people have commented that a problem with the Occupy movement is that it is not clear what they are for. I think that is a smaller problem than the lack of clarity…
The First Shoots of a New Industrial Fightback?
The following encouraging developments on the industrial front highlight two of the strategies discussed and debated at the Third Global Commune event, the report of which can be found at:- Report of the Third Global Commune Event Major gains for Lower Paid at Heron Tower Dispute Brian Higgins and the Anti-Blacklist Campaign Success at Brussels…
Review of From Davitt to Connolly by Chris Gray
The following review of From Davitt to Connolly: ‘Internationalism from Below’ and the Challenge to the UK State and British Empire 1879 – 1895 appears in Issue 20 of Permanent Revolution Allan Armstrong, From Davitt to Connolly: ‘Internationalism from Below’ and the Challenge to the UK State and British Empire 1879 – 1895 (Intfrobel Publications…
From Davitt to Connolly – ‘Internationalism From Below’ Book Launch
‘Internationalism from Below’ and the challenge to the UK state and British Empire from 1879 – 1895 Launch on 19th November Venue: Word Power Books 43-45 West Nicolson Street Edinburgh EH8 9DB For More details see Internationalism From Below
Report of Second Global Commune Meeting
May 22nd, 2010 The second Global Commune day school, jointly organised by the Republican Communist Network (RCN) and The Commune, was held in the Out of the Blue Centre in Edinburgh on May 22nd. People attended from Aberdeen, Bristol, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London and Midlothian. The first workshop session, ‘After the Election, What Next?‘ was introduced…