“We can do better than this, and we have no right not to try. We have no shortage of those who have not given up.”
Black Lives Matter
“Kenmure Street was a stunningly successful example of solidarity and nonviolent resistance. We should not be surprised if the authorities’ next moves attempt to make both of these untenable.”
Sean Bell: The aftermath of Kenmure Street leaves challenges for us all
“From the viewpoint of the ruling elite, the convergence of a language used to describe domestic US racism and foreign policy objectives is pernicious.”
David Jamieson: How BLM undermined pro-Israel propaganda
“It would appear that Police Scotland are more frightened of belligerent football fans than nonviolent anti-racist protestors. That may be entirely rational – one does not need to be an expert in urban pacification to conclude that the latter can be kettled and bullied far more easily than the former. This does not make the double standard any less grating.”
Sean Bell: It is Police Scotland’s responsibility to answer to us, not vice versa
“Based on past experience, it is unlikely that those who bear some measure of responsibility for the siege of Washington will be forced to answer for it. Who or what exactly has the power to compel them into accountability?”
Sean Bell: It can’t happen here…
“Some – generally those who entered 2016 with rather fixed ideas about political reality, and never got over the trauma of those ideas’ defenestration – may look back and struggle to believe that any of it happened at all. Others – the many, many others who have suffered loss, pain and persecution at the hands of the administration – will have no trouble bitterly remembering that it did.”
Sean Bell: After four years of Trump, what have we learned?
“Does Trumpism represent a political project independent from the overarching imperatives of American empire? The answer to this question is ‘no’.”
Analysis: Plastic ‘populist’ – Trumpism failed on its own terms
“Currently, young voices in Scotland have come out in reaction to injustice, but in an almost wholly transitory manner. Nevertheless, our voices could be a permanent part of our political discourse.”
Common Weal Youth: Politically engaging young people will enrich our democracy
With mounting evidence that ‘lone wolf’ attacks are actually manifestations of organised far-right politics, is it time to refocus on fascism itself?
Analysis: Time to ditch the ‘lone wolf’ label – we are facing organised fascist violence
“The appearance of federal snatch-squads and anonymous armed groups in Oregon’s largest city since early July represents a new desperation on behalf of the state to repress a movement which has displayed remarkable staying power.”