
Sean Bell


Day of Roses celebration planned in Glasgow to honour Catalan political prisoners
ANC Scotland event to be held at Queen Margaret Union, Glasgow, 3pm on Saturday 28 April
THE CATALAN NATIONAL ASSEMBLY (ANC) OF SCOTLAND will reflect the politicised nature of the most recent La Diada de Santi Jordi, the celebration of Saint George observed throughout Catalonia, by honouring those “being held in prison for their political ideas”.
At a special event held at Glasgow University’s Queen Margaret Union on Saturday, 28 April, ANC Scotland will host an evening of discussion and music themed around Catalonia’s present struggle.

Analysis: What do revelations about BBC political vetting tell us about press freedom in the UK?
After a report from the BBC itself revealed that political vetting within the corporation went on far longer than previously claimed, how is the UK’s public broadcaster to be judged?
THAT POLITICAL VETTING took place within the BBC was hardly a secret, even prior to a new report from journalist Paul Reynolds last week, which detailed the extent to which potential BBC personnel were judged and often secretly banned based on their supposedly ‘subversive’ affiliations or connections.

£320m in arms sales to Israel since 2014 render UK 'complicit' in Gaza atrocities, campaigners argue
UK is “sending a message of support for the collective punishment that has been inflicted”, Campaign Against Arms Trade say
ANTI-ARMS TRADE campaigners have hit out against the sale of weapons to Israeli forces, following the release of new figures showing that the UK has licensed over £320m worth of arms to Israel since the beginning of the 2014 Gaza war.

Analysis: 5 key questions that advocates of federalism have yet to answer
The publication of a new Common Weal paper and a recent intervention by Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard have raised the issue of UK federalism once again
FEDERALISM is a recurring, seemingly perennial feature of Scottish constitutional discourse.

The return of Blair and Bolton: How liberal interventionism made an unlikely revival
Sean Bell finds that the Syrian civil war has spurred a revival among those who advocate military action on humanitarian grounds despite the experience of Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya, and has seen the anti-war Left reanimated but also divided in a way it wasn’t in the past

'Come clean about Prestwick's role': Nicola Sturgeon challenged on possible airport involvement in Syria strikes
The First Minister offered no denial when questioned if the Scottish Government-owned airport was used in the latest military action against Syria
CONTROVERSY over the use of the Scottish Government-owned Prestwick Airport by United States military returned to the Scottish Parliament today [19 April], as First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was unable to confirm whether or not Prestwick had facilitated this month’s strikes against Syria.

Analysis: Why the strikes on Syria were illegal and why it matters
While the UK Government has defended the legality of its latest intervention against the Syrian state, it has offered no response to the multiple, specific arguments that such action was illegal
IN THE AFTERMATH of the joint US/UK/French military strikes against targets within Syria last week – intended, according to Prime Minister Theresa May, to “degrade” the ability of the government of Bashar al-Assad to make use of chemical weapons – the UK Government has defended its actions as entirely legal, despite mounting evidence to the contrary.

'Learn the lesson from Iraq': Salmond echoes Corbyn's doubts over Douma attack
Alex Salmond has joined Jeremy Corbyn in expressing doubt over who was responsible for the chemical weapons attack, despite Theresa May’s declarations of certainty over the Syrian Government’s culpability.
FORMER FIRST MINISTER Alex Salmond has stressed the importance of “letting the importance of international inspection complete before military action”, following Prime Minister Theresa May’s repeated assertion that responsibility for the chemical weapons attack in Douma lay with the Syrian Government.

Analysis: After May's speech to parliament on #SyriaStrikes, here's the 4 questions she's still not answered
From the legality of the military action to the effectiveness of the strikes, Theresa May still has plenty of explaining to do
PRIME MINISTER THERESA MAY today [16 April] stood before the House of Commons to defend Saturday’s military strikes against Syrian Government facilities alleged to site chemical weapons.

Activists demand Edinburgh science festival cease ‘greenwashing’ fossil fuel companies
Sponsoring projects like the Edinburgh ‘eco-village’ is a way for companies to “cover up the climate crimes they are complicit in,” claim activists
THE EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE FESTIVAL should drop all sponsorship from companies and concerns involved in the fossil fuel industry as of 2019, activists have argued.