107cowgate

By Larry Pinkney “Each generation must discover its mission, fulfill it or betray it, in relative opacity…They realize at last that change does not mean reform, thatchange does not mean improvement.” -Frantz Fanon Albert Einstein correctly noted that the definition of insanity is “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results,” and yet the … Continue reading »

By Jim Slaven Ten years ago today Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez was returned to power following a short, failed coup d’etat. On April11th 2002 Chavez was taken into custody by the Army as Venezuelan oligarchs, supported by the United States, attempted to seize power and depose the democratically elected President and Government. After two days in custody … Continue reading »

By James Kelman In an American journal I read a prominent English writer was described as ‘very British’. What can it mean to be ‘very British’? Could I be described in this way? Can my work be described as ‘very British’? No, not by people in Britain, or by those with a thorough knowledge of … Continue reading »

Below is a 1973 documentary by the brilliant film maker Kenneth Griffith about the 1916 Easter Rising. A fascinating piece of social history featuring interviews with veterans. Well worth watching to the end for some wise words from Tom Barry.

What follows is an important statement from the James Connolly Society. Following a lengthy investigation, and after briefing our activists, the James Connolly Society would like to put the following information into the public domain. We have made this decision in the interests of transparency and also to alert the wider community to this ongoing … Continue reading »

This article first appeared at Irish Law and Democracy Committee and the original can be viewed here. Shortly after Girvan LJ convicted Brendan McConville and John Paul Wotton of the murder of PSNI Officer Stephen Carroll, ACC Drew Harris, head of Criminal Investigations and Special Branch in the PSNI, made a point of walking over to the … Continue reading »

On April 2nd 1987 IRA volunteer Larry Marley was shot dead by a pro British death squad at his home in Ardoyne. His funeral was delayed for three days due to attacks from the RUC as APRN reported at the time: There was a massive demonstration of popular resistance to British injustice on Wednesday when … Continue reading »

Below is a statement from Cairde na hEireann, one of the targets of the Loyalist bomb plot, following the guilty verdicts on reduced charges in the trial. Cairde na hÉireann would like to take this opportunity following the guilty verdicts, on reduced charges, at the trial of Trevor Muirhead and Neil McKenzie to express our … Continue reading »

By Dan Hind Historians tell us that there were two quite distinct British empires – the first an Atlantic empire built on North American colonies and Caribbean possessions and the second an Asian empire, built on control of India and coercive trade with China. These two empires were deeply criminal projects, in the specific sense … Continue reading »

By Eleanor Murphy I still remember my first day at work in Vita Cortex in April of 1972. It was pre the oil crisis and we were experiencing a bit of an economic boom. Situations vacant in the daily newspapers were 10 a penny, but from that first day in 1972 I was so happy … Continue reading »

This Reflection could be written today, tomorrow or any other day without any risk of being mistaken. Our species is confronting new problems. When I stated 20 years ago at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, that a species was in danger of extinction, I had fewer reasons than … Continue reading »

By Larry Pinkney One of the political rallying cries of the Black Panther Party was, “Serve the peoplebody and soul.” Alondra Nelson has brought forth a highly informative, meticulously documented, extremely relevant, and deeply engaging historical account of precisely how the daily activism of the Black Panther Party, in the area of health care, positively impacted … Continue reading »

Below is a recent episode of Absent Justice in which Moazzam Begg interviews Rizwaan Sabir and Hicham Yezza about their wrongful arrest by British police. Both men were arrested while undertaking legitimate academic research at the University of Nottingham and held under anti terrorism legislation. There are obvious parallels between the British state’s abuse of … Continue reading »

By Robert Fisk I’m getting a bit tired of the “deranged” soldier story. It was predictable, of course. The 38-year-old staff sergeant who massacred 16 Afghan civilians, including nine children, near Kandahar this week had no sooner returned to base than the defence experts and the think-tank boys and girls announced that he was “deranged”. … Continue reading »

Footage from meeting held in Conway Mill, Belfast on International Women’s Day demanding the release of Marian Price. The meeting was organised by local women and speakers included Raymond Murray and Bernadette McAliskey.    

On March 6th 1988 three unarmed IRA volunteers, Mairead Farrell, Dan McCann and Sean Savage, were murdered by British forces on the orders of the Thatcher Government. In the aftermath the British state told lie after lie which their media repeated without any investigation or interest in establishing the facts. One exception was ITV documentary Death … Continue reading »

By Larry Pinkney “If you don’t know history, it is as if you were born yesterday”—Howard Zinn “Of all our studies, history is best qualified to reward all research.”—Malcolm X [el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz] The intensifying “clash” nationally and globally between what Malcolm X described as “those who want freedom, justice and equality for everyone and those who … Continue reading »

Govt forced to hold EU Treaty referendum The Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, has just confirmed in the Dáil that the people of the 26 Counties will be asked in a referendum to ratify the Brussels Treaty. The Attorney General has given her formal advice that, under the Irish constitution, a referendum is required on the so-called … Continue reading »

Roberto González, René’s only sibling and an important member of the Cuban Five’s legal team, is gravely ill with cancer in a Havana hospital. As Cuban Five supporters know, although René has served his unjust sentence of more than 13 years in U.S. prison, as a punitive measure he is being forced to serve probation in … Continue reading »

This year’s International Solidarity Week with the Basque Country starts this Saturday with events around the world. As part of this years events there will be two public meetings in Scotland. Both will feature a speaker from the Basque Country giving an update on the political situation. These will be important events for all those interesting in … Continue reading »

TWO young IRA Volunteers, Henry Hogan (20) and Declan Martin (18) were killed in an engagement with British armed forces in the mainly nationalist village of Dunloy, North County Antrim on 21st February 1984. The young men were described by a comrade in An Phoblacht in the wake of their deaths as courageous and dedicated … Continue reading »

Huey P Newton was born on 17th February 1942. Huey went on to be co-founder, with Bobby Seale, of the Black Panther Party of Self Defense. One of the most inspirational political leaders of the twentieth century Huey was a socialist, political prisoner, writer, intellectual and revolutionary. Below is an article on Huey and his … Continue reading »

Football, someone once said, is a funny old game and this week we have seen the wisdom of that remark. However you don’t expect to get your laughs watching political programmes but recently that is just what has been happening. This week’s Spotlight (only shown in the north and available here on the iPlayer) was … Continue reading »

The British state media is reporting that Sinn Fein is about to vote in favour of diamond jubilee events for Betty Battenburg. It reminded me of Connolly’s quote about similar events for Victoria’s diamond jubilee being a ‘Feast of Flunkeyism’, so I looked the article out and it is definitely worth reading again. Although written in 1897 … Continue reading »

Today is the twentieth anniversary of the murder of four IRA volunteers at Clonoe. The volunteers had earlier taken part in an attack on the RUC barracks in Coalisland and had made their way to St Patrick’s churchyard to make their getaway. After they had dismantled their weapons the hidden SAS soldiers opened fire from … Continue reading »

By News Unspun The headline “Chavez ‘would accept’ Venezuela election defeat ” ran on the BBC website on 14 January 2012, for a story which reported that Hugo Chavez would not ‘relinquish power if he loses elections due in October.’ When a news organisation deems it news-worthy that a country’s president would step down if not … Continue reading »

Press conference held by Colin Duffy after his release.

By Tom Stokes In 1891, in “The Soul of Man under Socialism”, Oscar Wilde had this to say – ‘What is said by great employers of labour against agitators is unquestionably true. Agitators are a set of interfering, meddling people, who come down to some perfectly contented class of the community, and sow the seeds of … Continue reading »

This article first appeared in Bella Caledonia, the original can be viewed here. By Jim Slaven The constitutional question has dominated Scottish politics for some considerable time. During the last parliament the SNP minority government tried in vain to get parliamentary support to hold a referendum on independence and since last year’s election of an … Continue reading »

By Jamal Joseph I walked into a Panther office in Brooklyn in September 1968. Dr. King had been assassinated in April of that year. I’d gone down to 125th Street in Harlem that night, where protesters swarmed the streets, setting trash can fires and hurling bricks at white-owned businesses. Some ran into the stores and … Continue reading »

Luke Kelly died on this day 1984. Below is the poignant last minutes of a documentary about his life and some clips of the man himself. I would not normally put so many clips in one piece but Luke Kelly is special. How Ireland could do with his powerful, radical voice speaking the truth to … Continue reading »

Forty years ago today 14 civilians were murdered by the British Army on the streets of Derry. Coverage of yesterday’s march in the city can be found here. The Bloody Sunday Trust website here and news of the resignation of the Trust’s Chair, Eamonn McCann, here.

By Patricia Walls My first encounter with Scottish sectarianism occurred way back in early 1997 in Glasgow. I made the error of going for an after-work pint in the Rosevale pub on the Dumbarton Road. Armed with nothing but a book, I had to leave the pub pretty damned quickly as it dawned on one … Continue reading »

The conviction and sentencing of paedophile John Smart will no doubt receive a bit of news coverage not only because of his horrific abuse of vulnerable children but also because of his links with the Conservative Party. Smart was a candidate for the Tories at the 2003 Scottish Parliament elections. It has also been pointed … Continue reading »

Happy 70th Birthday Muhammad Ali  

Below is a short tribute to Brigid Hannon who was buried earlier this week. I was fortunate enough to meet Brigid many times over the last 25 years and can only repeat what is said in the film, Brigid was a republican icon. A truly remarkable woman and a remarkable republican.

  Vita Cortex Workers Website Vita Cortex Workers on Twitter Support Vita Cortex Workers Facebook Page The article below first appeared in the Irish Times. Funny how life goes on. In the Vita Cortex factory on Cork’s Kinsale Road, where 32 former workers have been staging a sit-in since it closed on December 16, life’s … Continue reading »

First programme in a TG4 series looking at the experience of women in the IRA features Rose Dugdale. Fascinating documentary about an inspirational socialist republican.

By Jim Slaven With Christmas out of the way thoughts turn to New Year resolutions. Politically this is more likely to entail agreement on a calendar of events, programme of work etc. However for any of that to make any sense these lists must be embedded in strategy aimed at advancement to realistic goals and … Continue reading »

December is traditionally prisoners month for republicans. A time to think about those men and women held in prison and their families on the outside. This year has been particularly depressing with several high profile (well as high profile as they can be when they are ignored by mainstream media) campaigns involving issues which evoke … Continue reading »

By Jim Slaven It has now been a week since the SNP government passed their Offensive Behaviour Bill in the Scottish parliament. Since then much has been written and said about the draconian and anti free speech nature of that legislation. In essence people have been restating positions which were already well laid out in … Continue reading »

Hugh Doherty is a former IRA POW who was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment after his and his comrades’ arrest in London in 1975. Now a successful artist, samples of Hugh’s works are currently being exhibited in the new Culturlann gallery on the Falls Road. In this feature, which appeared in the Irish News, Jim Gibney … Continue reading »

As the Scottish Parliament (or the Reichstag as one wit has taken to calling it) prepares to wave through the SNP’s Offensive Behaviour Bill there have been some interesting articles on the subject over the last few days. Here are two one from an SNP member and one from a Labour Party member. Lalland Peat Worrier … Continue reading »

John Lennon was shot dead on 8th December 1980. Although always associated with the Beatles, Lennon was a political artist and activist. His song Woman is the Nigger of the World was inspired by the writings of James Connolly and paraphrases his famous quote ‘The worker is the slave of capitalist society, the female worker … Continue reading »

“Imperialism leaves behind germs of rot which we must clinically detect and remove from our land but from our minds as well.”  - Frantz Fanon Frantz Fanon author, philosopher, psychiatrist and revolutionary died 50 years ago today.  

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez welcomed presidents from across Latin America and the Caribbean last weekend, as they arrived in Caracas to attend the official inauguration of CELAC, The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States. Cuban President Raul Castro hailed the long-awaited inauguration as the most important event to have taken place in Latin America … Continue reading »

Today is the anniversary of the death of IRA volunteers Danny Doherty and Willie Fleming who were killed while on active service in 1984. Danny Doherty was from the Creggan Estate in Derry. He came from a close knit family with strong republican views. His father, two brothers and sister were all imprisoned for their republican … Continue reading »

This is Dan Glazebook’s fascinating interview with Noam Chomsky exploring his position on the recent attack on Libya and particularly his support for the Libyan contras. This is a difficult interview for me. It was Noam Chomsky who first opened my eyes to the basic neo-colonial structure of the world, and to the role of … Continue reading »

A day in the life of a Maghaberry prisoner  An open letter by DD McLaughlin, an Irish republican prisoner on protest against strip-searching and other abuses at Maghaberry. A chara, We near the start of our 7th month on protest which started on May 6th 2011. The following is what a PoW has to endure … Continue reading »

Today is the 19th anniversary of the death of Pearse Jordan. Pearse, an IRA volunteer, was shot dead by British police in a shoot to kill operation. He was alone and driving along the Falls Road when his car was rammed by several unmarked RUC vehicles and as he left his car he was shot three times … Continue reading »

Just as Paul McBride was banging his gums about Hibs a new book, We Are Hibernian by Andy MacVannan, has been launched looking at the club from the fans perspective. Contributors including Irvine Welsh, Dougray Scott, Dick Gaughan and many others (including 107 Cowgate) give their views on the club, its history and its place in Scottish … Continue reading »

Figures released today by the Scottish Government have shown that Catholics are over 4 times more likely to be the victim of a hate crime in Scotland. The report into Section 74 Religiously Aggravated Offences covers the period 2010-2011. While the report and the statistics contained within it need to be analysed at length some initial thoughts … Continue reading »

The following is an open letter from Brian Warfield of the Wolfe Tones addressing recent attempts by the SNP and Scottish police forces to ban certain Irish songs. I am appalled at the policy of the Celtic Football Club board in the manner in which you have attacked the song traditions of Ireland. Allow me … Continue reading »

Inquests are to be opened into the deaths of 10 people shot dead by British troops in Belfast 40 years ago in what has become known as the “Ballymurphy Massacre”. Northern Ireland’s Attorney General, John Larkin, has written to the families confirming the fresh inquiries into the Parachute Regiment killings in the Ballymurphy area of … Continue reading »

Damien Dempsey and his band play at the Liberty Hall Centre last month for the Concern campaign.    

I’ve always had an interest in Nicaragua probably because the Sandinista revolution took place as I was getting interested in politics. That interest eventually led me to visit the country a few years ago and meet various ex FSLN (Sandinista National Liberation Front or Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional, depending on how good your Spanish is) combatants. The Sandinistas were … Continue reading »

There really should be a question mark after that headline but we’re doing so well with our predictions we didn’t bother with it. Following the SNP’s election victory earlier this year I made the somewhat bold (many thought deranged) prediction that Paul McBride would join the SNP. The thinking went something like the following. Paul McBride likes himself, actually … Continue reading »

By Tom Stokes Yes, at the end of a tortuous journey, made all the more tortuous by a deeply flawed ‘journalism’, we have a President-elect. In choosing Michael D Higgins to be President, over a million voters have given the wealthy Irish, and the rest of the political class, grounds for real unease. In his … Continue reading »

Glasgow Media Group have put together the following information on their proposals for a wealth tax. THE WEALTH TAX – Pay off the debt What is it? The Wealth Tax is a proposal to levy a one-off tax of 20% on the wealthiest 10% of the population in the UK. Why? This would pay off the … Continue reading »

Having an open, if not uncritical, mind on the Occupy protests I found this article from a Dublin based activist very interesting. It is followed by a fascinating documentary by Mick Duffield and Andy Palmer covering the ‘Stop the City’ protests in 1984. Which seem to me to be a precursor to the Occupy movement. … Continue reading »

A senior journalist at the Daily Record has been arrested and charged with racist behaviour following a football match last month. The journalist is Mark Smith who works as Deputy News Editor at the tabloid. Smith was on his way home from the Hearts – Inverness match on September 10th when he was arrested in Perth … Continue reading »

This week’s decision by the British Government to renege on their commitment to hold an inquiry into the state murder of Human Rights lawyer Pat Finucane has once again reminded the world of Britain’s policy of collusion in Ireland. Collusion with pro-British death squads, including the UVF and the UDA, in the murder of its own citizens. When the … Continue reading »

After the Government released the first Section 74 statistics it became clear that catholics were overwhelmingly more likely to be victims than protestants. The state then decided that future Section 74 statistics should be kept secret. For years ourselves and many others have demanded the release of this data so it could be analysed and … Continue reading »

On this day in 1990 IRA volunteers Martin McCaughey and Dessie Grew were murdered in a shoot to kill operation by British Forces. Both men were unarmed and their murders have long been highlighted by campaigners against the British state’s shoot to kill policy in Ireland. Their families continue to campaign to uncover the truth behind their murders.

Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Bill  Notes towards a response…. The Scottish Governments Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Bill has again been making the headlines and again not for the right reasons. Firstly the Labour Party very publicly decided to withdraw support for the Bill and then the Parliaments Justice Committee … Continue reading »

By Ewan Robertson Venezuela’s popular uprising of February 1989, known as ‘el Caracazo,’ “was a forerunner to what we are seeing in Europe, and in North America, (with) huge protests” against neoliberalism and the “Washington Consensus,” stated Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez, yesterday. In the Caracazo, “the Venezuelan people struck out against neo-liberalism, against the Washington … Continue reading »

This week we have seen protests from both Celtic and Rangers fans against the SNP Government’s new Offensive Behaviour Bill. Celtic’s Green Brigade kicked it off with a brilliant demonstration at their home game against Inverness last Saturday. They also followed it up with a statement explaining their actions, which demonstrated they had paid close … Continue reading »

Today is the 15th anniversary of IRA Volunteer Diarmuid O’Neill’s murder by British Police in London. Diarmuid was unarmed and in the process of being arrested when he was shot six times. Below is a BBC Spotlght documentary on the killing and Amnesty International’s report calling for an independent Inquiry. The Disputed Killing Of Diarmuid O’Neill During a … Continue reading »

Marcello Mega is a freelance journalist who has been unable to get this story in any newspaper. 107 Cowgate carries it in full below. By Marcello Mega THE CATHOLIC Church has condemned the Scottish Parliament for failing to address ‘visceral anti-Catholicism’ in Scotland by dismissing an academic report calling for an investigation into possible discrimination … Continue reading »

Public Petition ‘was dumped’ by Holyrood MSPs to give Scottish Govt anti-sectarian bill an easy ride MSPs closed sectarianism-in-justice-system petition so Scottish Govt’s anti-sectarian-at-football-matches bill faced less questions. LEGAL INSIDERS have today alleged a public petition lodged at the Scottish Parliament FOUR YEARS AGO by a retired businessmen, calling on Holyrood MSPs to “investigate and … Continue reading »