Over 30 years of anarchist writing from Ireland listed under hundreds of topics
Meet the New Boss: Greek Police Baton & Tear Gas Migrant Demonstration
Date: Mon, 2015-02-23 13:58
On Saturday February 21st, police in Greece batoned and tear gassed protesters outside one of the migrant detention camps now being run by Syriza. Militant protests both inside and outside the camp resumed last weekend after the suicide of a Pakistani migrant, Nadim Mohammed who had been held for 18 months, released and then returned to the Amygdaleza camp. The news of the suicide broke on February 14th along with the news that another migrant had killed themselves in Thessaloniki police station.
Ireland - No Water Charges! Italy - No TAV!
Date: Sun, 2015-02-22 13:00
Our struggle is international!
In solidarity with the NO TAV struggle.
Let's put an end to useless major public works and to the repression of protesters!
As thousands marched against the repression of anti-water charges protesters in Dublin yesterday, a similar demonstration was taking place in Turin. Thousands of protesters took to the streets to oppose the construction of the controversial high speed railway from Turin to Lyon.
The following is a statement signed by organisations of the Anarkismo network, including the WSM.
The Origins and Development of the Movement against Water Charges in Ireland - Audio & Video
Date: Fri, 2015-02-20 16:17
A talk about the development & future of the campaign against water charges, a mass campaign of resistance to privatisation of water and an austerity tax that has emerged in southern Ireland involving hundreds of thousands of people.
Watch the video
Water Charges & Civil Disobedience: Unjust Laws are to be Broken
Date: Fri, 2015-02-20 13:00
What is important is that we do what is right, not what is legal. Sometimes these things overlap, often they are in conflict. What the struggle against the water charges has shown clearly is that a slave men
tality of blindly obeying the law will never lead to a better world. We must attend to real justice, not the judicial system.
There's a famous quote from US historian, author, and activist Howard Zinn:
“Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience. Our problem is that people all over the world have obeyed the dictates of leaders …and millions have been killed because of this obedience …Our problem is that people are obedient allover the world in the face of poverty and starvation and stupidity, and war, and cruelty. Our problem is that people are obedient while the jails are full of petty thieves … [and] the grand thieves are running the country. That’s our problem.”
Housing Activists' Cases Dismissed From Court
Date: Tue, 2015-02-17 21:33
Today 8 housing activists from An Spreach Housing Action Committee and from D8HAC were up in court. All 8 were charged with trespassing on the 29th of July 2014 in a vacant flat in Charlemount Street in Dublin’s south inner city. All charges were dismissed by the court. This is a small victory for the housing groups, but the struggle continues it is not the end of the campaign to highlight the homeless and housing crisis.
Factory owned by Israeli drones firm Elbit Systems has been occupied + shut down!
Date: Tue, 2015-02-17 21:21
Great news from Kent, England this morning where a factory owned by Israeli drones firm Elbit Systems has been occupied + shut down!
ACAB: All Cops Are ... Bounded
Date: Mon, 2015-02-16 15:00
This photo was taken at Thursday evening's demonstration against the criminalisation of protest - in particular the arrest of almost 20 people for participating in a 2 hour blockade of the Tánaiste 3 months previously. It shows protesters holding signs saying 'ACAB' – but what does this mean? It means 'All Cops Are Bastards'. We can hear some people objecting already: 'not all Gardaí are bad'. But please hold on, that's missing the point entirely. ACAB doesn't mean that each police officer as an individual person is nasty, sadistic, dishonest, and so on. It means that every police officer is bounded by their job as an agent of the state, and this necessarily causes cops to act like 'bastards' - whether or not they want to.
A cop goes to work as a cop, not as an individual. They cease to be 'John Murphy' and become 'Garda B203', anonymous law enforcement officer 71032. ACAB means that no matter how nice a person the cop is individually they must break strikes, attack social movements, execute homophobic, sexist, and racist laws, deport and evict people, and even torture and murder, because that is what the police do. Feel free to make a conscientious objection, you will be fired.
Water Charges Protesters are Living 'Anarchy Fantasy' Says Irish Catholic Editor
Date: Sun, 2015-02-15 14:00
On Newstalk's Pat Kenny show Michael Kelly, editor of the Irish Catholic, said: 'There are some people who are kind of living ... anarchy fantasy through a lot of this, these ... kind of ... Irish Water protesters. There's no question of that'.
Mr. Kelly is surprisingly correct. The principles of anarchism are to be seen everywhere you turn in the struggle against the water charges.
People coming together in solidarity, building community spirit through the initiative of individuals, practising real democracy to organise against the injustice of the powerful, so that we may free ourselves from the burden of toil and arbitrary authority and live contentedly - this is the anarchy fantasy.
Shame on Labour for Opposing Fatal Foetal Abnormality Bill
Date: Tue, 2015-02-10 20:00
Tonight members of the Labour Party voted against a bill which would allow abortion in situations where the foetus has no prospect of survival.
Once again, the Labour Party vote against abortion legalisation on petty political grounds. Once again they promise that they will introduce legalisation. The first time they did this was in 1991, 22 years before the promised legalisation had not materialised. Labour lie, women die.
The second time they did this was after Savita Halappanavar died in October 2012. Within months of this they again voted against abortion.
On visiting the Zapatista community of Oventic
Date: Tue, 2015-02-10 17:56
Last November, I took part in a week-long language school at Oventic, Chiapas.[1] I spent the week living and learning with two US-based comrades – Laila, a tattoo artist and socialist/feminist from Memphis, and Michael, a housing rights activist from Baltimore – alongside the wider Zapatista community of Oventic. Our ‘guides’ for the week were our neighbours – Natalio and Paloma as well as Stephanie (who was learning to be a teacher) and Efrain (a linguist, philosopher and educator all rolled in to one). These were the people we met and spoke with every day. What follows are some reflections recorded along the way.