Yes Orkney

By Fiona MacInnes The official ‘Yes Orkney’ inaugural meeting took place in Kirkwall recently after several months building a twitter and facebook presence. The facebook page has grown to over Continue reading →

For A’ That – Episode 7 – Creative Recountancy

Another quartet for this week’s For A’ That podcast. This time the group comprised Andrew (or “him”), poet, activist and Bella Caledonia co-editor Kevin Williamson and Rory Scothorne who was a co-founder of the National Collective. We discussed the Continue reading →

People and Parliament Revisited

By Alastair McIntosh In the run-up to Devolution in 1997 I was concerned that the level of political debate was not going deep enough. There was much talk about politics Continue reading →

Scotland in Europe

By Alyn Smith Scotland and the EU is the Brigadoon issue of Scottish politics: it appears, disappears, reappears, goes quiet, explodes onto the front pages again only to then recede Continue reading →

Culture is a not an industry. Creative Scotland n’est pas une pipe.

by Kevin Williamson “One-dimensional thought is systematically promoted by the makers of politics and their purveyors of mass information. Their universe of discourse is populated by self-validating hypotheses which, incessantly Continue reading →

Scottish Indy Podcast Episode 14 – with Veronika Tudhope from Scottish CND

For the 14th episode of The Scottish Independence Podcast Michael Greenwell spoke with Veronika Tudhope of Scottish CND.They talked about their recent decision to join the Yes campaign , about the history and Continue reading →

A Cluster of Cells and a Form of Rule

We thought that @WingsScotland had neatly summarised the entire Royal pregnancy debate in this tweet: “Let me say this… a Royal baby is something the whole nation will celebrate” – Continue reading →

Patrick Harvie MSP responds to UK Chancellor’s Autumn Statement

by Patrick Harvie MSP “George Osborne continues to wage his war on reality, creating ever greater poverty and inequality in our society and backing the wrong fuel for our energy needs Continue reading →

Dark Mountain Writing: Inching A Claw’s Length Closer Towards Understanding Interrelationship

by Em Strang It’s winter on the edge of Dartmoor. A steady downhill slope into rain and wind and sleeping flora. No green growth. It’s the ideal time to get Continue reading →

The taxing question that dare not speak its name: What should Scotland do?

by Kevin Williamson Next year, hopefully, the Independence debate will move out of the intellectual shallows of a Labour-SNP Punch-and-Judy Show and begin to put flesh on the bones of Continue reading →

From the Province of the Cat: A Wounded Stag

by George Gunn Living on the north coast of the mainland of Scotland it can seem, at times, that you live in a totally different country from the one inhabited Continue reading →

For A’ That Episode 6 – The Meedja

  Episode 6 of For A’ That again features two guests along with Andrew and myself. This time we were joined by Peter Geoghegan, a freelance journalist, and by Philip Challinor who is Continue reading →

The Seven Wonders

Scotland’s Stories: Imagining and Making Our Own Collective Future by Gerry Hassan Scotland’s future is about greater self-government but at the same time it has to be about more than Continue reading →

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 →