…not with Sturgeon as leader. Or, pushing graciousness to its limits, at least not with the current strategy of Sturgeon and her team shaping the party’s political direction. On the face things, Scottish separatism ought to be at an all-time high. In fact, if polling is to be believed, it is at an all-time high. […]
Month: August 2019
As Boris Johnson aims to ‘suspend’ Parliament, lets assess the Twitter damage of this ‘very British coup’
On 28 August, the Prime Minister (PM) of the UK Boris Johnson dropped a bombshell. As reported by the BBC, Johnson has asked the Queen to suspend Parliament “just days” after MPs return to work from the summer recess. The plan comes only several weeks before the Brexit deadline of 31 October. But this prorogation of […]
Please Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland can and must do more to stand in solidarity with the people of Brazil
Dear First Minister I am writing to alert and to ask you for attention to the political situation in Brazil. Since the political coup which resulted in the impeachment of Dilma Roussef, the country has suffered with the rise of far-right politicians. The election of Jair Bolsonaro, was received with great fear and sadness by […]
Zombie Stalinism: 25 years later, who wants the Berlin Wall back?
Twenty-five years on, how has the fall of the Berlin Wall affected our analysis of Soviet Russia? How has what we have learnt changed our analysis of post-’89 Eastern Europe, Russia and the current situation in Ukraine? The deepest discussions in the international workers’ movement about the relationship between dictatorship and democracy happened in the […]
Unite was right to pull out of Pride Glasgow because of its ‘commercialisation’
On 16 August, Unite the union issued a statement on why it “is not taking part in Pride Glasgow“. The statement came just 24 hours before the event, held on 17 August. As reported by the BBC, Unite’s Scottish LGBT+ committee said it did not agree with charging organisations to take part in the demonstration. In […]
ASDA are the Latest in the Tory Fight against our Rights…
As a lifelong trade unionist & socialist to boot, I find some flaws in the GMB’s stance regarding the current situation within ASDA changes to employees T&C’s. Maybe this is a personal rant, But I’d like to look at it objectively. Where do I start? Maybe at the beginning is always a good place, Even […]
Butterflies and wish trees, wasp bikes and big pokey sticks
I was actually writing a very patriotic and in depth article about this ( https://twitter.com/_ungagged/status/1157976219054485504?s=21 ). However my being mired in depressive nostalgia of my potential close ancestors “emigrating” was interrupted by a foul stench. It started off innocuously, just a whiff of what the fuck. It escalated into me inviting my friend along to tut […]
The Chinese Economic Model: Threat or Future
The collapse of the Soviet Union brought with it the end of the Cold War and an apparent end to any challenge to Western capitalism. Fukuyama famously called it “the end of history”, others called it the end of ideology. Western neoliberal hegemony and “free markets” were to be the new unchallenged normal. It wasn’t […]
Scotland’s Love for Labour, Lost?
On Labour’s travails A week, as they say, is a long time in politics and there must be many Scottish Labour members out there wishing the past week had never happened. It all started when John McDonnell made it clear that a UK Labour Government would not stand in the way of a second independence […]
“Washing one’s hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral.”
…Quote – Paulo Friere. https://ungagged.podbean.com/mf/play/kuu2t6/Pod_1_take_2_Mixdown_1.mp3 On this Podcast… PLEASE SUPPORT US – we need to pay bills. A cup of coffee keeps us ungagged! Paypal.me/ungaggedleft On this Podcast: George Collins – Interview with Shawna Hawk Part 1: Media Island and claiming space for the empowerment of women of color. Part 2: Reparations and […]