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,…
James Connolly and Ukraine
The following article by Conor Costick was first posted by Ukraine Solidarity (Europe). It provides a critique of a section of the Irish Left organised by the Socialist Workers Movement through their front organisation People before Profit. They distort Connolly’s attitude towards winning wider support for Irish self-determination in the lead-up to and during the…
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…
Police turned up to a coal mine operating without a licence – to arrest protesters
The following article by Glen Black was first posted by The Canary. It highlights the police role in protecting corporate lawbreakers and criminalising protestors. POLICE TURNED UP AT COAL MINE OPERATING WITHOUT A LICENSE – TO ARREST PROTESTORS On 5 July, Extinction Rebellion (XR) blocked access to Ffos-y-Fran coal mine in Wales. The mine is infamous for…
The real honours of Scotland
The following article by George Gunn from the Province of the Cat was first posted by bella caledonia. It links King Charles receiving the ‘Honours Scotland’ with the seizure of the land under feudalism. This continues to this day, albeit it as aggressive capitalist expropriation. However it acknowledges its feudal forebears in the pomp and…
A monarchy based on slavery
This article by Mike Small on the links between the British monarchy and slavery was first posted on https://bellacaledonia.org.uk/2023/04/16/a-monarchy-based-on-slavery/. It was written just before the coronation on May 6th, at Westminster Cathedral, but with Charles coming to receive the ‘honours of Scotland’ on Wednesday 5th July at St Giles Cathedral the EL&SD Editorial Board is…
Your country – George Gunn
EL&SD is posting the new poem written by George Gunn. It highlights the continuing iniquity of land tenure in Scotland. YOUR COUNTRY Your country is sold off in 45,000 acre parcels at £25 million a go by the inventor of the sticky back label who bought it from a down on his luck laird…
Leigh French – a tribute
It was very sad news to hear of the death of Leigh French, co-editor of Variant. I was invited in the context of IndyRef2 to speak to a meeting organised by Leigh and Gordon Asher. What we shared in common was an appreciation of the significance of cultural struggle in challenging capitalism. Although we differed…
Rishi Sunak defends Suella Braverman’s appearance at radical ‘National Conservatism’ event alongside ‘Great Replacement’ conspiracy theorists and Covid deniers
The following article by Adam Bienkov and Karam Bales was first posted by the Byline Supplement. It examines those on the Tory Hard Right, who are preparing for Sir Keir Starmer-led Labour government to provide the political conditions for fascism in the UK. RISHI SUNAK DEFENDS SUELLA BRAVERMANS’ APPREARANCE AT RADICAL ‘NATIONAL CONSERVATIVE’ EVENT…