Press Statement: Anarchist organisation calls for No to Lisbon

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The Workers Solidarity Movement(WSM) has called for a No vote in the Lisbon referendum, referring to it as “a treaty for the rich”, and claiming that “people in Ireland can do a lot better than a choice between the clowns in the Dáil or those in Brussels”.

Sammy Wilson attacks victims

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The DUP’S Sammy Wilson has recently accused anti-racism groups of exaggerating the scale of racism to access public funding. This statement comes not long after more than 100 Romanians were forced to flee their homes in South Belfast due to racist intimidation and attacks.



Will the real communists please stand up

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Today the word "communism" is most often associated with the totalitarian one-party states of Soviet Russia or China. Nothing could be further from the anarchist goal of a stateless, free society. So the association of anarchism with communism seems, at first sight, perverse.

Vote No to Lisbon

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The Workers Solidarity Movement is calling for a No vote in the Lisbon referendum. It is a treaty for the rich, people in Ireland can do a lot better than a choice between the clowns in the Dáil or those in Brussels.

We oppose the EU's policies of privatisation, militarisation and attacks on workers' conditions but don’t insult people’s intelligence by saying that our current society in Ireland with its severe recession, diabolical public services and corruption is anything better. The major lack of democracy in our lives is not between us and the EU but between the Irish government and us.

The upcoming Lisbon vote is one of the rare occasions that the people get a direct say. But it’s only a very limited say. We get to choose between either a gombeen republic or an embryonic European state, neither of which makes for an exciting prospect.

Whichever way the vote goes, there is no indication that either a yes or a no vote will substantially alter the exclusion of the public from major public decisions. That requires a rethinking of the kind of society we want.

The problem is not the treaty alone but the EU as an institution.We call on people to Vote No to Lisbon but also to organise to take more control of our lives and to build real democracy in our communities and our workplaces.

The WSM Is 25

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The Workers Solidarity Movement is twenty-five years old this autumn. A quarter of a century ago anarchists in Ireland came together to establish an organisation to promote and fight for our ideas.

Bord Snip targets workers and pensioners

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The McCarthy or “Bord Snip Nua” report on public spending outlined a range of proposed cuts in government expenditure. Of the €5.3b in possible savings, it can be safely said that at least €4b of this (and probably more) targets the working class. Indeed, a full third of the cuts are aimed at pensioners and unemployed. In the private sector, attacks on our class continue in the form of pay cuts, short time and lay-offs.

WS111 - No to Lisbon

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A special issue of Workers Solidarity, no 111 is now online. It concentrates on making the argument for a No vote in the second Lisbon referendum as part of the WSM 'No to Lisbon' campaign.

Download Workers Solidarity 111 - No to Lisbon (Southern edition)

Dublin: Dock strike protest at High Court

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In relation to the injunction taken by MTL to prevent the naming and shaming of scabs, see media links below, and update on the official site website .

The case is to resume again next Thursday 10th September at 11am.

We are calling on supporters to demonstrate at the High Court , gathering between 10.30 and 11am. This may be a full hearing of the case, and will likely continue for a number of hours.

Thursday 10th September

High Court

Assemble: 10.30 to 11am.

The indications from the Labour Relations Commission is that of cautious optimism, to use a near meaningless cliche. There is still a way to go, and we cannot be certain of the companies true intent. We will keep you updated.

http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/eycwojaukfql/rss2/

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0904/1....html

http://www.mtldockers.com/

Dublin: Dock strike protest at City Hall

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To all supporters,contacts etc,

A motion in support of the striking workers and calling for intervention to end the dispute will be put before Dublin City Council at Monday evenings meeting. We will be hoping for unanimous cross party support for this but nothing is guaranteed yet. We are calling on supporters to gather at City Hall before the meeting to demonstrate our support for the workers.

Monday 7th September

City Hall (end of Dame Street)

6.15 - 7.15pm

Lisbon and Democracy - Do We Really Have a Say?

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It’s the time of year where we plebs get a chance to rectify our impertinence in rejecting the Lisbon Treaty. In itself, rerunning the referendum is hardly an affront to democracy. After all, people are simply being asked to confirm the decision made.