Lipmugi Etxarri. Art of Crass.

From the Basque Country, a famous tune is plagiarised and young and old celebrate their Basque culture, old and new. Members of Hesian and other Euskal artists included. No cringing here!



From MocaTV, an insight into the art of Crass. It's maybe worth mentioning that Gee Vaucher's role in the collective and considerable contributions to Crass' output isn't covered in sufficient depth. Go here for more. Now you know where Banksy got his ideas.



And back home in Dùn Eideann:

Basque solidarity gig

 

Was a pleasure to meet some Basques on the independence march in Edinburgh. Some of their notable punk, rock, ska and hardcore bands will be over in Engerland's capital city in November to raise money for Basque prisoners in Spain. A worthy cause as Madrid's draconian way of dealing with 'the Basque Problem' is to lock up swathes of ordinary Basques - almost all of whom have no connections to violence.

Well worth supporting if you make it down. Otherwise, it would be a pleasure to see them in Scotland at some point - perhaps sharing a stage with our own indigenous rockers?

Yes men from south of the border

The days of portraying pro-independence Scots - sometimes called 'Nats' - as anti-English have more or less gone. These days though, you're more likely to have the likes of the 'Poison Dwarf' of New Labour, Brian Wilson rolled out to argue the... 'positive' case for the Union?

Maybe not then. His latest outpouring of bitterness in Da Hootsmon mainly argues that working class Scots are much the same as working class English.

So far, so good. Shame he doesn't extend his logic to proposing that Ireland applies to be ruled from London once more. Or are the Irish working classes different somehow? Hell, why not get the French working classes ruled by David Cameron and William fckng Hague as well?

It's an obvious point that's been made before but surely to be internationalist you first need to add your own nation to the mix?

Let us stand in solidarity with the poor of England. But where does Scotland being ruled by London-based millionaires fit into this?

Here then are three progressive Englanders who very much welcome Scottish independence. Just don't expect to hear their views in the West Highland Free Pravda anytime soon.


Ken Loach, filmmaker

If I had the change to be independent from the Tory-Liberal-New Labour bunch, I 'd jump at it. Scotland has the right to hold any referendum it likes. The English ruling class are such dyed-in-the-wool imperialists that they can't conceive anything can happen without your approval. But I think: go for it. Other colonised countries have asserted their independence.

Billy Bragg, singer-songwriter



Jaz Coleman, composer and frontman of Killing Joke