Home

News Of The World – Workers Lose Their Jobs, Murdoch keeps His Profits

Date: Fri, 2011-07-08 15:05

Very few progressives will mourn the passing of the ‘News Of  The World’.  When Rupert Murdoch’s son, James, announced that the paper was to cease publication many cheered.  Revelations over the past few days about the extent to which private investigators and some journalists and executives completely disregarded common human decency in their scramble for profits had exposed the tabloid as scurrilous and without shame.

Film Night: J.S.A.: Joint Security Area, South Korea (2000) Sunday July 10th, 19.30 at Solidarity Books

Date: Fri, 2011-07-08 14:24

Film Night on Sunday nites hosted by Couchsurfers International 

J.S.A.: Joint Security Area, South Korea (2000) directed by Park Chan-Wook (director of acclaimed Old Boy) Sunday July 10th, 19.30 at Solidarity Books In the DMZ separating North and South Korea, two North Korean soldiers have been killed, supposedly by one South Korean soldier.

What kind of democracy for the Arab world?

Date: Thu, 2011-07-07 11:34

In a previous article, I said that the events shaking the Arab world today are as relevant as those that shook the world in 1989 [1]. Not only can parallels be made on the extent and depth of discontent over a vast geographical area, but also because this whirlwind of popular fury places a question mark over a particular geopolitical architecture that was hitherto believed to be as strong as steel. In this case, these long-standing dictatorships were fed, promoted and installed by the geo-strategic interests of the USA (and its junior partner, the EU) in an area of critical concern as far as oil is concerned. In 1989 the political consequences of the demonstrations were deep and long-lasting - the fall of "real socialist" regimes not only meant the fall of a few unpleasant bureaucratic dictatorships, but because of the relative weakness of a truly libertarian and revolutionary Left, represented the fall of a set of political values and horizons that were incorrectly associated with the Soviet bloc, and the overwhelming rise of neo-liberalism as the unquestioned system in the economic, political, values and ideological field.

Outrage At Paltry Fine For Death Of Worker

Date: Wed, 2011-07-06 19:57

A Dublin family has expressed its outrage at the imposition of a €100,000 fine on a leading construction company for the death of a worker in 2007. 28-year-old father of two, Eddie Fowler, died on 18th January 2007 following a workplace accident on the site of the Charlestown Shopping Centre in Finglas.  Mr. Fowler was fatally injured when he was struck by a plank which blew off scaffolding in high winds.  An inspector from the Health and Safety Authority, Kay Baxter, told a court hearing that workers should not have been allowed onto that section of the site that day. 

The Spanish Revolution: A quick introduction

Date: Mon, 2011-07-04 14:58

The 19th of July marked the 75th anniversary of the beginning of the Spanish Revolution. For a brief time, capitalism and the State were replaced by solidarity, mutual aid and respect for others. Workers and peasants, who were deeply influenced by anarchist ideas, ran society collectively and gained control over their lives, industry and land. A central part of the revolution was the struggle against a fascist attempt to take over Spain. We remember both the magnificent triumphs and tragedies of the Spanish revolution and attempt to learn from our comrades’ mistakes.

Anarchism, Internationalism & the Euro Zone Crisis

Date: Mon, 2011-07-04 14:40

The euro zone crisis, and the mainstream opinion formers’ response to it, raises the question of nationalistic understandings of the way the world works, and how these understandings frame our perception of where our interests lie.

Census shows no housing shortage

Date: Mon, 2011-07-04 14:12

The 2011 census results show that Ireland is not suffering a housing shortage. But taken with local authority waiting list figures and homeless statistics , it shows clearly that we have a housing distribution crisis. The latest statistics from the Central Statistics Office regarding the latest census shows 294,202 vacant housing units in the state; that's almost 15% of all houses in existence.  To better illustrate the meaning of this let us take the example of Cork City because that conveniently excludes the issue of holiday homes in rural locations. Cork City has 6,386 vacant houses according to the CSO or 11.4% of homes in the city.

The Coming Attacks on Irish workers

Date: Mon, 2011-07-04 10:42

After the hyperbole of the election campaign, we have started to realise that rumours of a new day in Irish politics were greatly exaggerated. Somewhat deflated, we now sink back into the same old crisis. While the limited exposures of the Moriarty tribunal have shown us how politics works for the rich, we are about to learn exactly how it works for the rest of us.

Countering the "Pro-Life" Rally - Pro-Choice Counter Demonstration

Date: Sun, 2011-07-03 16:32

WSM and other pro-choice activists took place in a counter demonstration to the “Rally for Life” which took place in Dublin yesterday. The anti-abortion rally was organised by Youth Defence (including “The Life Institute”(previously Mother & Campaign – an outgrowth of Youth Defense) and Belfast Based "Precious Life". Approximately 2,000 people seem to have attended. The pro-choice counter demonstration, organised at short notice was still attended by around 300 people. Many attending the anti-abortion rally came from all over Ireland and even included a small group of migrants from the Philippines. There were some tense exchanges between pro-choice campaigners and anti-abortion marchers.