Open Letter in solidarity with Freedom Theatre, Jenin

  The following Open Letter from  Scottish playwrights was first posted at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XnofXamSH8HkFhQyg1rhf4bQbsUrrOJYc2E1qacZQn0/edit   in response to the Israeli military attack on the Freedom Theatre in Jenin on the West Bank. OPEN LETTER IN SOLIDARITY WITH FREEDOM THEATRE (JENIN) As members of the Scottish playwriting community, we are horrified by the news that The Freedom…

COP28 is a death knell for 1.5°C

The following article written by Mike Small was first posted by bella caledonia. COP28 IS A DEATH KNELL FOR 1.5°C COP28 means the target of 1.5°C is over. Once you get your head around that reality you need to be operating in a spectacular state of self-delusion to be anything other than despondent. The problems…

Revealed: £281m of secret cash poured into UK universities

The following article by Jenna Corderoy and Billy Stockwell was first posted by openDemocracy. It shows that  the UK’s  top universities privately lobbied the government to keep secret the names of wealthy foreign donors. Russell Group leaders lobbied the government to keep names of foreign donors secret. REVEALED: £281 OF SECRET CASH POURED INTO UK…

The West agonises over an ‘atrocity upsurge’ while backing Israel’s genocide in Gaza

The following article by Jonathan Cook was first posted on his blog at Substack. It highlights the inconsistencies in the official Israeli account of events on and since October 7th and the willingness of much of the western media to go along with this, making it easier for Israel to pursue its genocidal policy in…

Land for the People (Scotland) Bill

Andy Wightman has begun to develop proposals for a comprehensive Land Reform Bill – “one that goes far further than existing proposals in reforming Scotland’s land governance”. This piece was posted by bella caledonia. This was published with Andy’s permission but you can read the original on Andy’s blog here.  LAND FOR THR PEOPLE (SCOTLAND) BILL…

Benjamin Zephaniah’s break-up of UK and the republican dimension

Benjamin Zephaniah’s unexpected death on the 7th December at the early age 65 has been a shock to the countless thousands, maybe millions, who have come to love his work. His autobiography, The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah, is a very powerful book.  It draws on a range of life experiences that few others…

The Uighurs and the Palestinians

This article compares  the treatment  of the Uighurs in Xinjiang (Eastern Turkestan) by the Chinese imperialist state with the treatment of Palestinians by the  racist, apartheid Israeli state backed by western imperialism – US, UK and the leading  EU powers. The author is a Chinese student with a partial Uighur background. This article was first…

The cultural is political: Gig for Gaza and the rebirth of Irish cultural activism

Padraig Mac Oscair wrote this article for Rupture, the ecosocialist quarterly of RISE – Revolutionary, Socialist, Internationalist and Environment. He reviews  the recent ‘Gig for Gaza Fundraiser’ in the 3Arena, as well as highlighting the clear link between the cultural and the political in expressions of solidarity from Ireland. THE CULTURAL IS POLITICAL – GIG…

Media, migrants and mobs in Dublin

Anne McShane wrote this response to the racist riots in Dublin in November 23rd , which was first posted by Weekly Worker. She argues that People Before Profit says the state is soft on far-right groups, but failure to deal with the housing crisis is the main problem. MEDIA, MIGRANTS AND MOBS Dublin hit the…

Less shock and more strategy needed after Geert Wilders victory

The following opinion piece was written by Mehran Khalili for Diem 25. In the light of Geert Wilders election victory in the  Netherlands Mehran  argues whenever a disruption candidate does well on the right, the reaction from the mainstream and the left is anything but analytical. That has to change. LESS SHOCK AND MORE STRATEGY…