Over 30 years of anarchist writing from Ireland listed under hundreds of topics
BACK to the FUTURE: Imagining the Future in a post-revolutionary world
Date: Fri, 2011-05-20 13:36
Editors’ Note:
Much of our time as revolutionaries is spent on the routine of organising in the here and now – building a campaign, organising for a demonstration, planning for a trade union meeting…. Too often we don’t manage to take time to step back from the here and now and imagine or envisage what it’s all about. But without dreaming, without imagining a future the daily humdrum can seem dispiriting.
Peripherals Revolt: Spanish Square Occupation Movement Challenges Austerity and Worthless Elections
Date: Fri, 2011-05-20 12:29
Since the demonstrations called last Sunday, the central squares of cities all across Spain have been occupied by camps of protestors, furious at austerity and the uselessness of all the existing politicians and the pointlessness of this coming Sunday's local elections.
The movement consists mainly of young people, both students and unemployed or precarious young workers calling themselves by names such as Juventud Sin Futuro (Youth Without Future) and #DemocraciaRealYa (Real Democracy Now!). Bypassing existing organisations, whether political parties or trade unions, the participants have organised themselves via Facebook and Twitter, in the manner of the Tunisian and Egyptian activists of the Arab Spring.
Re-building a trade union movement from below
Date: Fri, 2011-05-20 11:38
It is no exaggeration to say that the Irish trade union movement is in crisis. Even a cursory glance at trade union density figures demonstrates the depth of the crisis. Just 34% of the overall Irish workforce, and only a worryingly tiny 20% of part-time workers, are members of trade unions.[i]
VIDEOCRACY: Broadcasting Control over the Italian Psyche - review
Date: Fri, 2011-05-20 10:06
Erik Gandini’s “Videocracy” is an intriguing and distressing documentary film that explores Silvio Berlusconi’s media empire, and the deep impact that it has had on Italian society and culture. Gandini’s investigative endeavour was released in 2009, but the trailers were blocked on the six main Italian television channels, which are controlled by Berlusconi. It was a tacit form of censorship aimed at obstructing Videocracy’s popularity, the alleged reason for doing so being that it was offensive to Berlusconi’s reputation. This backfired completely as the block created mass-hype about the film, and when it was screened at the Venice Film Festival it was received by a huge audience and accolades.
Garret "the Good"?
Date: Thu, 2011-05-19 16:44
Former Taoiseach Garret Fitzgerald's death was announced this morning. As is usual in such circumstances we are being subject to a load of old guff, very rarely in such instances are we treated to an honest assessment of a mans life instead we are expected to believe in the individauls perfection. The great phrases you will hear for the next week will be that he was "a patriot who always put the national interest first", "an honest man, a fair man", "he did the state some service" etc. At least the last is true, Garret Fitzgerald was a thouroughly pro-state, pro-capitalist, pro-EU, pro-imperialist politician. He never wavered in his support for the capitalist order.
The Crisis and Core & Periphery in the Eurozone - Peripheral Vision
Date: Thu, 2011-05-19 15:33
At the same time that we are witnessing a wave of popular protest in North Africa and the Middle East against aged and corrupt neo-colonial dictatorships, in the heart of Europe we are witnessing something unprecedented and absolutely extraordinary.
History appears to moving in the ‘wrong direction’ in the so-called peripheral countries of the Eurozone.
Review: The Kronstadt Rebellion, Still Significant 90 Years on
Date: Thu, 2011-05-19 13:13
Zabalaza Books, the anarchist printing project linked to the Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Front (ZACF) in South Africa, recently produced this pamphlet to commemorate the Kronstadt uprising in March 1921, when the sailors and workers of the Kronstadt naval base rose up against the Bolsheviks and were slaughtered by the dictatorship.
British Queen's Dublin Castle banquet protested by a few hundred as Garda harass activists
Date: Thu, 2011-05-19 11:54
About 250 people took part in the éirígí organised march on the banquet for the British Queen staged in Dublin castle last night. WSM members joined the demonstration but Garda had intercepted the person transporting our flags and banner to the protest leaving us somewhat invisible. This was part of a pattern of suppression of visible protest that occurred throughout the visit of the British Queen despite Garda claims that they would "facilitate protest" in advance of the visit.
Dublin - march on the banquet of the British and Irish elite in Dublin castle
Date: Wed, 2011-05-18 09:52
Some 30 million euro is being wasted between the visits of the US President & the British Queen to Ireland. One of the grosser occasions of the visit of the British Queen will be tonight (Wed 18 May) when the royal parasite will be sitting down to stuff her face with our local wealthy 1% at Dublin Castle. The WSM is planning to join the eirigi organised March on the Castle from 5.30pm on Wednesday, May 18th at St Catherine’s Church on Thomas Street, Dublin 8. The march will depart for Dublin Castle at roughly 6.30pm. The protest which will include speeches, music and street theatre is expected to last until at least 8.30pm.
We will be carrying a large new banner reading "Old Ruler, New Rulers : Class Struggle Continues .." highlighting the common purpose of the Irish and British elites in keeping Ireland safe for capital. If your feeling a little outraged by this and all the disruption of the visits we'll see you there, on the streets.
Why we don't welcome the visit of the British Queen
Date: Tue, 2011-05-17 10:01
The British Queen - An enemy of the working class, an enemy of the poor, head of the imperialist British state, symbol of privilege, inequality and oppression.
The visit: why now?
There is a drive to normalise the British occupation of the six counties and partition. It is part of a wider pattern to integrate Ireland into the loose alliance of imperialist nations. There has always been a desire on behalf of the British state, the USA and the European Union to engage Ireland as a junior partner in the imperialist club. The ending of the war in the north and the gradual normalisation of relations between Britain and Ireland has allowed an acceleration of this process. The visit of Britain's Queen Elizabeth is all part of it.