Silent Singing and John Maclean

 George Gun has written this article first posted on bella caledonia.  It commemorates the 100th anniversary of John Maclean’s death on November 30th 1923.  It argues against Maclean’s death being viewed mainly as a historical commemoration for academic historians, but that his politics in the last year’s of his life are highly relevant to the…

Gerrard Winstanley: Christian communism

The following article on Gerrard Winstanley outlines how Winstanley became to be seen as a key  figure in a linger historical ccommunist tradition. It was written by John Gurney and first posted by The Tribune. GERRARD WINSTANLEY: CHRISTIAN COMMUNISM For Diggers leader Gerrard Winstanley, any Christianity which focused on individual salvation was bankrupt – Christ’s…

William Cuffay – the Chartists’ black leader

The following article was written by Tom Scriven, a historian of Chartism, socialism and 19th century radicals. This article first appeared in The Tribune. WILLIAM CUFFAY- THE CHARTISTS’ BLACK LEADER The son of a freed slave, William Cuffay played a key role in the struggle for democracy in Britain. A country which respected its history…

The politics of Welsh independence

Craig Lewis (RSP) has written this article for RSP and RCF members to bring us up to date about political developments in Wales. At a time when the Scottish independence movement is in limbo, it s good to see the advances being made in Wales. THE POLITICS OF WELSH INDEPENDENCE Support for Welsh independence has…

Love and magical thinking: from the Province of the Cat

The following article by George Gunn was first posted on bella caledonia,. LOVE AND MAGICAL THINKING FROM THE PROVINCE OF THE CAT Next year in September will be the tenth anniversary of the 2014 referendum campaign. Although the result was gut-wrenchingly disappointing those who were 16 then and first-time voters will be 26 in 2024,…

Portrait of a revolutionary: Guevara in Kilkee

The following article was written by Jim Aitken and was first posted by culture matters.   PORTRAIT OF A REVOLUTIONARY: GUEVARA IN KILKEE   Sixty years ago, in 1963, an Aeroflot flight from Moscow was on route to Havana and had to stop at Shannon airport due to fog. Shannon, then as now, is famous…

Languages do not “die”, they are persecuted: A Scottish Gael’s perspective on language “loss”

 The following article was written by Paul Meighan and was first posted on bella caledonia. LANGUAGES DO NOT “DIE”, THEY ARE PERSECUTED: A SCOTTISH GAEL’S PERSPECTIVE ON LANGUAGE “LOSS” Two-thirds of the world’s 7000-7500 languages are Indigenous languages. One-third of Indigenous languages are experiencing language loss and “as many as 90% are predicted to fall…