Mumia abu Jamal’s Radio Essays. With the death of Mr Thomas Duncan shortly after his arrival from Liberia, West Africa, the Ebola crisis has burst into millions of news screens generating deep levels of fear and xenophobia. To be sure, Ebola is a serious health concern, for it has a seventy per cent mortality rate,…
Rana Plaza – When art meets reality
Pauline Bradley reports on art that brings to life the struggle of sweatshop workers in Bangladesh No caring person can have failed to be shocked at the news of the collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory on 24 April 2013. This eight-story commercial building collapsed in Savar, a sub-district in the Greater Dhaka Area,…
Scotland out of NATO
Eric Chester reports on recent developments in the Scottish peace movement The Trident missiles armed with Nuclear warheads located at Faslane Naval Base have become a flashpoint for Scottish activists. One of the few specific pledges made by Alex Salmond and the SNP during the referendum campaign was a commitment that no nuclear weapons would…
The Middle East: Imperialism’s curse
Nick Steff looks at imperialism’s legacy in the Middle East in the light of current events. The Middle East has been fought over for many centuries. Its importance as the bridge between East and West and as the birth place of three of the world’s most influential religions means it has been a continual target…
CATALUNYA PREPARES FOR INDEPENDENCE
Liam O’Hare (Common Weal writer and Radical Independence campaigner) reports on the movement for Catalan independence In recent times, the winds of change have been sweeping Scotland and Catalonia. Disillusioned with big government, austerity economics and a lack of democracy, mass movements have emerged to demand radical change and self-determination. While the reasons fuelling the…
The Importance of Republicanism
Bernadette McAliskey gave the following talk at the ‘London Says Yes’ rally held on September 6th 2014 Going back in history there was the Great Debate in English democracy between Edmund Burke and Thomas Paine, which too may people forget. This debate preceded the more radical discussion on the rights of the working class. The…
England – nationalism versus republicanism
In England during the referendum, members of both the Left Unity Party (LUP) and the Republican Socialist Alliance organised meetings in London, Leeds, Manchester, Nottingham and Sheffield. In the aftermath of the September 18th, Steve Freeman (RSA and LUP/Scottish Republic Yes Tendency) provides his analysis of the campaign and its political consequences. On Thursday 18…
RIC – a Scottish republican movement in the making?
In the aftermath of the referendum, Allan Armstrong examines the potential for the Radical Independence Campaign The campaign for Scottish independence has been the largest movement for popular democracy seen in these islands since the Irish War of Independence. In terms of electoral participation it was unprecedented. Voter registration was 97% and voter turnout was…
Weeks when decades happen
Murdo Ritchie analyses the result of the independence referendum and what it means for Scotland the rest of the UK state. “There are decades in which nothing happens and there are weeks in which decades happen.” Lenin When 1,517,989 voters (44.7%) declared they were prepared to abandon their primary, legal national identity to build a…
Scottish Independence – A Feminist Response
Book Review: Scottish Independence – A Feminist Response, Authors: Cat Boyd & Jenny Morrison Publisher: Word Power Books Even when we lost we felt like we had won something It was an exciting time to be involved in Scottish politics. There was an optimism and vibe in workplaces and on the streets that I can…