I live in Lochwinnoch, just outside Glasgow and I am active in Real Democracy Movement, SANE (Solidarity Against Neo-Liberal Extremism) and the movement against unconventional oil and gas extraction.
In the radical spirit of the great reform movement, the Manchester People’s Assembly for Reform has launched a digital brainstorm to crowd-source ideas that rethink… Read More »Democracy reboot through a crowd-sourced charter
Finding Evald Ilyenkov is a bit of a detective story, charting the rediscovery of long-buried events and writings by a remarkable Soviet-era philosopher. Much of his… Read More »The passionate logic of Evald Ilyenkov
Mozambique will struggle to ever recover from the impact of Cyclone Idai, with “inland oceans” forming and the main port, Beira suffering 90% damage. Beira… Read More »Climate change is destroying the soil we rely on
The Bio-fuel Deception: Going Hungry on the Green Carbon Diet by Okbazghi Yohannes, Monthly Review Press, review by Penny Cole The story of bio-fuels is… Read More »There’s nothing green about bio-energy
A Presentation to South Shields meeting “Make 2019 the year Corbyn becomes PM” jointly organised by Real Democracy Movement – Penny Cole, on line… Read More »Neoliberalism is the engine driving the climate crisis
A programme of climate change action that a Labour government could implement. Presented by Penny Cole to the Momentum South Tyneside-Real Democracy Movement ‘Make 2019… Read More »Climate change actions for a Corbyn government
Presentation by Penny Cole at Getting to Grips with Neoliberalism teach/learn-in at Wigan, November 24 The chart shows that during the entire neoliberal period of… Read More »Eco-crisis at a tipping point
Suddenly, and in the face of big community opposition, an attempt is being made to make Glasgow a hostile environment for migrants. First, it was… Read More »No “hostile environment” in Glasgow
The flooding in South Texas, Louisiana and beyond is an expression of the crisis of global and national governance that has abandoned people to the… Read More »States abandon people to climate-driven destruction
The aftermath of the fire at Grenfell Tower has shown that the state is no longer fit for purpose. It cannot help its citizens. It… Read More »The system crashed – reboot with real democracy
The public in Scotland has not really had a chance to consider the GE2017 proposals put forward by Corbyn and May – because Scottish Labour and Tories… Read More »Voting Labour’s a tough call for Scots, but one we need to make
The reason we obsess about where to place our vote is a symbol of our disempowerment not our power. I’ve been following/commenting in a LONG… Read More »Voting cypher v. Real Democracy
Penny Cole, a member of the National Union of Journalists Glasgow Branch, marks May 3, World Press Freedom day Three of Trump’s global friends have… Read More »When Trump calls “fake news”, remember who his friends are
We are in a different world politically since the first referendum on Scottish independence was held in September 2014. The vote for Brexit is driving… Read More »For a people’s independence for Scotland
Forcing fracking on communities, the government shows it functions as the strong arm of the fossil fuel industry. Thousands gathered in Manchester to protest against… Read More »United Against Fracking
The Tory government’s decision to allow a third runway at Heathrow Airport underlines how the political and corporate worlds have become entirely estranged from the real world. This is… Read More »Tackling climate change demands democratic revolution