The Greatest Game In History … Scotland v England … is back!

by Kevin Williamson They say you can’t turn back the clock. And for good reason. Time only flows in one direction. But tomorrow, at high noon, Saturday 1st December, a Continue reading →

The Diverting History of Jimmy Gilpin and a famous Hullaballoo in Hornsey — ‘Twas a famous victory….’

By Stuart Christie Now let us sing, Long live Anarchy! And Gilpin, long live he! And when he next doth ride abroad May I be there to see! (apologies William Continue reading →

Exclusive: Interview with Maya Wind, an Israeli peace activist

Maya Wind is no ordinary human rights activist. Her beliefs and her activism have led directly to Maya being socially ostracised by family and childhood friends. They have led to Continue reading →

The amazing Minangkabua matriarchs of West Sumatra

Introducing a new Bella columnist, Fiona MacGregor. Fiona will bring a decidedly feminist perspective to our pages at the end of each month. Her first column looks at a matriarchal society Continue reading →

George Gunn performing at Neu! Reekie! this Friday

Venue: Summerhall, Edinburgh Time: 7pm-10pm, Friday 30th November Caithness poet and Bella Caledonia columnist George Gunn will be appearing at the final Neu! Reekie! show of the year in Edinburgh Continue reading →

The Future of BBC in Scotland

By Alex Grant How good is BBC Scotland? Ask an Irish comedian. When the BBC Trust states “our job is to get the best out of the BBC for licence Continue reading →

For A’ That Episode 5 – All Aboard!

For the fifth episode of the For A’ That podcast we ventured into a new area for us in that we had a 4-way discussion. Joining Andrew (The Peat Worrier) and myself Continue reading →

Participative localism v Kenny MacAskill’s folly

by Lesley Riddoch So now we don’t really need local councils. Scotland on Sunday reports that Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill believes local government must change to fit the “slimmed down” pioneers Continue reading →

This is not a protest

by Robin McAlpine Anyone who was involved in yesterday’s Radical Independence Conference knows the political buzz is justified, but the big question is ‘what next?’ The Radical Independence Conference which Continue reading →

Hope is the Rejection of the Status Quo

By Mike Small Here’s the text from Saturday’s Radical Independence Conference #RIC2012 with some of the follow-up responses. I want to talk briefly about how we shift from thinking and Continue reading →

Radical Independence Conference 2012 Declaration

This Declaration was read out at the RIC conference by Pat Kane: DECLARATION We call for independence for the Scottish people. No responsibility more defines a generation than its responsibility Continue reading →

The Scottish Indy Podcast Episode 13 – Robin McAlpine

For Episode 13 Michael Greenwell spoke with Robin McAlpine who, amongst other things, is the editor of Scottish Left Review and the director of the advocacy group The Reid Foundation. Democracy was a Continue reading →

Radical Independence Conference – 3 observations

by Pat Kane Some brief notes from the Radical Independence Conference in Glasgow – written for myself, and not in the spirit of “translating” abstractions and theories for wider use, something often Continue reading →

Norway, Scotland, and why I was wrong about the arc of insolvency

Last week Iain Macwhirter wrote an excellent article ‘Face reality: We could be as prosperous as Norway.’ It was a must read essay, not least because it was written by the journalist Continue reading →

Taking Ideology to the Streets: Sex Work and How to Make Bad Things Worse

by Nine “If you drive it underground so no one can find it, it wouldn’t survive.” Rhoda Grant, 2012 In many ways, Dana fits the profile. She’s a twentysomething woman with Continue reading →

Local currencies: Thinking local, acting global

by Peter Geoghegan In September, Peter Main handed over a fresh new Bristol pound note to buy a loaf of bread in a bakery in the centre of Bristol. Main Continue reading →

Radical Indy Conference 11: What are Socialist arguments for Independence?

by Neil Davidson One of the central problems facing socialists who support Scottish independence is that only a minority of working class people share our position. If we are to Continue reading →

We don’t need to count on oil to balance the books

by Ian Bell The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) advises that a country cannot depend forever on a diminishing resource. This is insightful. The institute also counsels that if you Continue reading →

A week is a long time in Gaza. Or, how the BBC covered 38 consecutive breaking news stories …

Analysis by Kevin Williamson The BBC’s reporting on the current conflict in Gaza has been subject to claim and counter-claim of bias from pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli camps. Surely they can’t Continue reading →

And the award for Scottish Political Poster Of The Year goes to…

The Scottish Labour Party have chosen to disengage from their own voters with regards to the possibilities that exist for Scotland: either within the Union or through Independence. Instead they’ve Continue reading →

Reading between the lines of the Scottish Government’s statement on Israeli attacks on Gaza

by Robin McAlpine I have been waiting with interest to see how the SNP responded to the Israeli actions in Gaza. The reason for my interest is to see if Continue reading →

Patrick Harvie calls for honest answers on Indy from Labour and SNP

by Patrick Harvie MSP The most important people in the debate about Scotland’s independence referendum are the ones who’ve not made up their minds yet. Some people are motivated by Continue reading →

Radical Indy Conference 10: Genuine self-determination means acting like republicans now

With just three days to the first Radical Independence Conference Allan Armstrong makes the case for a Scottish republic. Most people understand a republic to be a state without a monarch. Continue reading →

The names and ages of 62 men, women and children killed by the Israeli military since last Wednesday

Monday , 1pm: a BBC report states that the death toll has now risen to 94 Palestinians and 3 Israelis. 1- Ahmad Al-Ja’bary, 52 years old. 2-Mohammed Al-hams, 28 years old. Continue reading →

Noam Chomsky, Gilad Sharon and 10 Things You Need To Know About Gaza

A recent statement by Professor Noam Chomsky indicates a different take on Israeli aggression than he has had in the past. His statement has been misquoted over the weekend, so, for Continue reading →

For A’ That – Episode 4 – Hypothetically

Here’s the 4th episode of the For A’ That podcast where The Peat Worrier and myself (Michael Greenwell) are joined by Gary Dunion of, amongst other things, Bright Green Scotland. We talk about Starbucks and other Continue reading →

A Sonnet For Gaza by Kevin Williamson

A SONNET FOR GAZA Shalom. This is not a time for clandestine poets to hurl shoes over Jericho’s fortified walls. Stay calm. The stench of exploding verse will not deter Continue reading →

Radical Indy Conference 09: Refugees Welcome

by Margaret Woods I recently spent an extraordinary evening at the Citizen’s Theatre. To a packed audience the National Theatre of Scotland performed “Glasgow Girls – The Musical” – the Continue reading →

Critical errors of judgement affecting the referendum

by Jim & Margaret Cuthbert This article puts forward an argument which may, in Nationalist circles, be a minority view. Namely, that gross errors of judgement have been made in Continue reading →