Over 30 years of anarchist writing from Ireland listed under hundreds of topics
The real cost of energy privatisation - a look at the UK
Date: Mon, 2011-10-31 19:52
As temperatures drop and household energy bills soar again this autumn, the PR battle to privatise our energy infrastructure is just heating up. The IMF/EU claim that competition, the favourite euphemism for privatisation, will lower costs for consumers. The Government claims, as usual, that it has no choice but to do what its overlords instruct. So now seems like a good time to observe how that privatisation has been working out for our nearest neighbours in the UK.
Dub: Conversations about Anarchism - No 3
Date: Mon, 2011-10-31 11:51
Join us for the third of our relaxed conversations about anarchism over some tea & coffee. Twice a month we are going to be having an open discussion about anarchism in the form of a conversation around a set of questions. The idea is to create a space where people interested in finding out about anarchism can have a relaxed conversation with each other. As each sessions we will be working through a set of questions taken from the Anarchist FAQ.
The meetings will take place in the Seomra Spraoi Social Center which is at 10 Belvedere Court, Dublin 1. You'll find a map of where Semora Spraoi is located on their website at http://seomraspraoi.org/
Trucks continued to be blockaded in Erris as state admits failure to implement EU Environmental Directives.
Date: Fri, 2011-10-28 11:04
The struggle against the Shell experimental raw gas pipeline being imposed on the people of Erris continued this week with Shell to Sea campaigners continuing to blockade peat removal lorries while a court case resuled in the state admitting it failed to correctly bring into law required EU Environmental Directives. However despite thus the State is still maintaining that the consents given to Shell, including one given by interim Fianna Fáil minister Pat Carey on the day of the last general election, are still valid.
Resistance pays off in Greece as bond holders burnt
Date: Thu, 2011-10-27 16:20
Months of intense resistance by ordinary people in Greece appear to have resulted in a partial victory. The EU crisis summit conceded that bond holders be forced to shoulder 50% of their losses. This did not come easy, Greek workers have staged several general strikes and Athens has seen day after day of large scale rioting.
The contrast with Ireland is clear. Here the union leadership called off token resistance in the first months of the crisis and workers passively marched, shrugged their shoulders and went home. As a result the ordinary Irish worker alone, the majority of 'the 99%', have shouldered all the costs. Bond holders will scontinue to have their failed gambles covered. Next week alone another 700 million will be handed over to the Irish & global 1% to cover their losses in Anglo. This is our ‘thanks’ for being the poster boys for austerity across Europe.
Top 5 reasons why X-Factor is better than the presidential election
Date: Thu, 2011-10-27 10:20
Today Irish citizens go to the polls. Some are complaining that the election has been reduced to a glorified X-Factor. We disagree, X-Factor is clearly better and here is why. People will vote in two referendums which threaten to change a lot and to select between 7 chancers for President who have between them offered much drama and little substance over the last weeks.
(Image: wikipedia commons)
The occupiers of Tahrir Square are with you - violence, defense & police repression
Date: Wed, 2011-10-26 12:17
This statement from 'Comrades from Cairo' expresses solidarity and a sense of common struggle with the Occupy movement that has sprung up across the globe. It explains that the movement in Cairo was not non-violent but rather when police tried to evict Tahir square "Barricades were erected, officers were beaten back and pelted with rocks even as they fired tear gas and live ammunition on us. But at the end of the day on 28 January they retreated, and we had won our cities."
Another World is Possible - Public Talk in Galway
Date: Wed, 2011-10-26 10:28
On Wednesday 26th October, the newly-formed Galway branch of the WSM will be hosting a public meeting.
Titled 'Another World Is Possible', it will feature a number of talks by WSM members which will serve as an introduction to anarchism, the history of anarchist struggles in Ireland, and local struggles, follwed by open discussion.
The meeting takes place at 7.30 pm in the Imperial Hotel on Eyre Square.
Irish Anarchist Review 4
Date: Fri, 2011-10-21 10:40
Welcome to issue 4 of the Irish Anarchist Review, produced by the Workers Solidarity Movement. This magazine aims to provide a forum for the exploration of theories, thoughts and ideas about political struggle, and where we would like to go and how to get there from the current situation. This magazine also seeks to be a place where people interested in revolutionary politics can read first-hand reports from people involved at the ‘coal-face’ of working-class struggles and perhaps reply to it with an article of their own. We believe there can be no revolution worthy of the name without a genuine sharing of political ideas between people.
An introduction to Michel Foucault's concept of Power
Date: Thu, 2011-10-20 15:05
Michel Foucault is a philosopher whose politics everybody seems to have a differing opinion on. He has been called a disguised Marxist, both a secret and explicit anti-Marxist, a nihilist, a new conservative, a new liberal, a neutral interpretivist, a crypto-normativist, a principled anarchist as well as a dangerous left-wing one, and even a Gaullist technocrat. An American professor complained that an obvious KGB agent like Foucault was being invited to talk at his country’s universities and the Eastern European press of the Soviet era denounced him as being an accomplice of the dissidents.
As Gaddafi falls - Lessons from Libya - imperialism, anti-imperialism & democratic revolution
Date: Thu, 2011-10-20 14:19
With Al Jazerra reporting that Gaddafi has been killed during or after the closing phase of the battle of Sitre Andrew look's back at the rebellion in Libya and the decade of co-operation with imperialism that preceeded it.
The sudden end of the Gaddafi regime some 6 months after the start of the Libyan revolt leaves some difficult questions unanswered for the left. Gaddafi’s determination to physically crush the revolt quickly transformed it into a civil war, a civil war that saw considerable imperialist intervention on the rebel side, intervention that was essential to their eventual victory. This and Gaddafi’s historic record led to some on the left taking his side in the civil war while other organisations tried to balance support for the ‘Arab spring’s’ arrival in Libya with opposition to imperialism. This question of where the balance lies between international solidarity with pro-democracy movements and opposition to imperialism could well rapidly return to the top of the agenda in a very much bigger way as the regime in Syria continues its months long military suppression of the democracy movement there.
(Image from B.R.Q. via Flickr under Creative Commons )