Over 30 years of anarchist writing from Ireland listed under hundreds of topics
6 reasons why YOU should be Pro-Choice
Date: Wed, 2015-09-30 16:34
Here's 6 reasons why you should support the decriminalization of abortion and the pro-choice position.
Abortions rights are just one part of the struggle for full ( reproductive ) freedom
Date: Wed, 2015-09-30 16:25
The demand for abortion rights is a shallow one if all that it means is a right to a safe and legal abortion. The demand for abortion rights must be brought into the greater battle for full reproductive freedom.
Reproductive freedom means that if someone is pregnant and does not wish to be they are supported, financially and emotionally in that decision. Likewise, if someone wishes to have a child they should not be constrained by, for example, financial issues.
In 2013 15 of the super wealthy in Ireland paid a total of only €1.8m tax
Date: Wed, 2015-09-30 15:38
Rich people in Ireland as elsewhere are good at not paying taxes. When you give them a chance to prove you wrong we get figures that show that in 2013 just 15 of the super wealthy paid a total of €1.8m.
Who are these rich people and how do they do it? By rich we mean that you have an income of more than €1 million rolling into you from around the world, and that you have assets of more than €5 million here. That is some wealth right there. How they manage it is that whilst they might live here they register to pay tax in a low-tax haven like Malta or Monaco.
People's need for housing before markets property speculators and bankers
Date: Wed, 2015-09-30 14:08
People's need for housing has to be put before the considerations of the markets, the property speculators, and the bankers.
Property is once again on the rise which means this is a great time to be a landlord as you kick tenants out on the streets on some pretense, only to get in a new batch at a higher rental rate. The neo-liberal agenda has really given a free hand to the landlords to do what they wish, whilst the banks are only too happy to take homes of families who cannot meet their mortgage obligations, so that they can sell it or rent it out for quick cash.
The political policing of the AAA - if voting changed anything..
Date: Wed, 2015-09-30 12:17
Sometimes the old ones are the gold ones. The attempt by the Irish state to damage the electoral chances of the Anti Austerity Alliance by hitting them where it matters - in the pocket - reminds us of how shallow parliamentary democracy is. The Anti Austerity Alliance is the political front the Socialist Party runs under but for the next elections its unified with the SWPs People Before Profit as the rather lengthy AAA - PbP.
It's broadly understood that cash determines who wins an election more than any other factor. Indeed with the US presidential election, for almost a century, the winner has always been the candidate who had the most money behind them. So in terms of influencing the outcome of an election denying a party the right to fundraise is probably the single most effective tactic short of banning them outright.
1000s march for Choice through Dublin on Saturday 26th September - report with videos of speeches
Date: Wed, 2015-09-30 10:35
Thousands of people took to the streets of Dublin Saturday 26th September on the warmest, sunniest day in quite some time, to demand the fundamental right to abortion services on this island. The 4th annual March for Choice, organised by the Abortion Rights Campaign, began with a gathering at the Garden of Remembrance on Parnell Square.
March for Choice - video report
Date: Tue, 2015-09-29 15:23
Last Saturday the 26th of September saw thousands of people take to the streets of Dublin for the now annual March for Choice. The march is organized every year by the Abortion Rights Campaign.
The current key demand is that for the repeal of the Eighth Amendment. This amendment passed in 1983 equates the life of a mother with that of a foetus. It's implementation through the legislation of the Labor Party party and FIne Gail government means in effect that a doctor who helps a pregnant person have an abortion or someone who procures one in Ireland could face a jail sentence of up to 14 years.
“We want them back alive!” Dublin Solidarity with the Disappeared of Ayotzinapa, Mexico
Date: Tue, 2015-09-29 14:04
Can you imagine the state using its police force in order to create opportunities for capitalists to make money? Can you imagine natural resources not being used for the benefit of an ecologically sustainable society and instead being used purely for corporations' profit?
Over a year ago, on the night of 26 September 2014, a group of student teachers in the Mexican state of Guerrero were ambushed by municipal police as they travelled in a convoy of buses through the city of Iguala. Five people, including two students, were killed when the officers opened fire on the buses, and another student was later found dead, his body showing signs of horrific torture. Forty-three other students simply disappeared without trace [1].
Irish Water bills burned in Kildare
Date: Sun, 2015-09-27 14:45
Yesterday afternoon in Newbridge, Co. Kildare, a crowd assembled at 2pm outside the town hall in order to collectively burn their bills in a symbolic act of defiance of Irish Water and the government's plans to introduce a double charge for water provision. The assembled protesters understand that if everyone paid up and Irish Water managed to establish these charges, they would rapidly increase to the point where water charges were a lucrative revenue stream for the company and a significant drain on our limited incomes.
If that were to happen, the government would certainly privatise the company and virtually gift ownership of the rights to water provision to a profit seeking company. Nowhere in the Water Services Act (2013) does it say that privatisation is prohibited. In fact, Eurostat noted in a letter to the CSO in July of this year that "Privatisation Of Irish Water Is Ultimately Envisaged". Further, Irish Water was established as a subsidiary of another privatised company, Bord Gáis (privatised in mid 2014 as part of the IMF/Irish State engineered giveaway of Irish assets to international capital).
Homeless march on the opening of the Dail
Date: Thu, 2015-09-24 16:56
The opening of the Dail was marked by protests by organisations campaigning on housing and homelessness and by over the top policing of them. Steel fences and dozens of Garda were used to hem a crowd that was probably never larger than 120 into the end of Molesworth street, presumably least any TD have to interact with them as they sought to flee the Dail.