Over 30 years of anarchist writing from Ireland listed under hundreds of topics
Welfare cuts spell a war on women
Date: Mon, 2008-02-04 23:58
Under the guise of fighting poverty, the Government is set to attack the welfare of lone parents.The Irish Government is planning to replace the ‘One Parent Family Allowance‘, a welfare payment for single parents of children under the age of eighteen with the ‘Parental Allowance‘. The primary difference between two is that while the OPFA ends when the parent's youngest child is eighteen, the PA ends when the youngest child turns eight. At this stage the parent will be transferred to an ordinary unemployment benefit, and will thus be forced into the job market. At present the policy is on trial in Kilkenny and Dublin, but the Government hopes to apply it throughout the state in the next Budget.
Organising to beat the boss: Interview with a Belfast retail worker
Date: Mon, 2008-02-04 21:49
This is an interview with a member of the TGWU who is attempting to organise a union in a leading Irish Sports Shop in Belfast. It describes the problems facing workers in the retail sector who are exploited by their employers and start organising themselves in their own work-place to improve their conditions. These problems are even more acute when there is no history of unionisation in the workplace and a limited awareness of people's rights as workers.
Due to potential libel action and its consequences for the union we are unable to print the company’s name. 'An Ireland of equals' what rubbish!
Irish Ferries: Exploiting workers and insulting Wilde
Date: Sun, 2008-02-03 18:00
When Irish Ferries launched their new €50million vessel in Dublin Port on Tuesday 29th January, 400 guests from the tourism, freight and shipping sectors attended the naming ceremony. How many of them, I wonder, took a moment as they quaffed their champagne and nibbled on their canapés to ponder on the news revealed by International Transport Workers Federation inspector, Ken Fleming, that the workers who would be manning the ferry will be paid as little as €4 per hour?
Gathering of Irish Feminists
Date: Fri, 2008-02-01 01:51
RAG, the Dublin-based anarcha-feminist collective, are organising a gathering in Ireland on the 2nd–5th May 2008. This will be a chance for feminists to come together to discuss, learn and share in a radical but supportive environment. As plans for the weekend are being drawn-up, we want to ask you to scratch these dates into your diary now. It is intended that this wonderful event will take place in a rural setting away from Dublin - location to be confirmed. Costs will be kept to a minimum. Feminists and children are all very welcome.
Feminism, Class and Anarchism
Date: Tue, 2008-01-29 20:33
It is quite common these days to hear criticisms of “mainstream” or “middle-class” feminism from anarchists or others on the revolutionary, and even the not-so-revolutionary, left. In particular, anarchists are often quick to criticise any feminist analysis that lacks a class analysis. This article argues that feminism in its own right is worth fighting for and that when it comes to ending sexism an insistence on always emphasising class can end up merely distracting from the fact that as anarchists we need to be unambiguous when it comes to supporting feminism. Rather than distancing ourselves from other feminists or seeking always to qualify our support, our emphasis should shift to developing and promoting our own brand of anarchist feminism.
Week of action for Iranian oppositionsts
Date: Mon, 2008-01-28 23:08
We have received this appeal from the Worker-communist Party of Iran.
Week of Action in support of jailed students and political prisoners in Iran (2–9 Feb 2008)
Book review: 'How non violence protects the state'
Date: Mon, 2008-01-28 19:35
“Pacifism simply does not resonate in people’s lives everyday realities, unless those people live in some extravagant bubble of tranquillity from which all forms of civilization’s pandemic reactive violence have been pushed out by the systemic and less violence of police and military forces.”
“Ultimately, nonviolence is created and encouraged by the State, and antithetical to anarchist revolution”
Belfast Shell To Sea protest
Date: Mon, 2008-01-28 17:36
On Friday 1st February Shell Oil will announce their profits for the year (last year they announced that they had made £20 billion). To mark this Shell to Sea in Belfast will be holding a candlelit vigil outside Belfast City Hall to remember the victims of Shell's money grabbing and to ask why they can't afford to send their gas refinery in Mayo offshore.
Protest - Justice for asylum seekers
Date: Sun, 2008-01-27 15:24
Protest
Dáil Éireann
Kildare Street, Dublin
1 pm, Wednesday 30 January
Is non-extraction the answer?
Date: Sat, 2008-01-26 14:12
In response to growing discussion of ‘zero growth’ ideas among some environmentalists, Alan MacSimoin asks Is non-extraction the answer?
In recent years, with climate change dominating headlines regularly, it has become popular among some environmentalists to propose non-extraction of fossil fuels as a viable way to reduce the effects climate change. But if this idea was taken up what would be the result? Less oil & gas being processed means what is available will rise in price. That’s the logic of capitalism. And having to pay even more for home heating and cooking is not going to change the habits of the wealthy but would have a big impact on most of our pockets. Making things even more expensive than they are at present will not exactly endear environmentalists to most people.