Workers Solidarity Movement

ABOUT 200 people took part in the ‘march for houses’, organised by the North Belfast Civil Rights Association on the anniversary of the famous civil rights march in Derry 40 years ago.

Members of Organise! Belfast WSM also participated in the march including members of most republican organisations and most notably Carrickhill residents association.

Cork hospitals are under attack with major cuts planned ... Meanwhile Beacon Medical Group's planned 'Co-location' hospital in Cork draws closer. It would seem like high-time to call in the union and put manners on a few people but where is SIPTU's Joe O'Callaghan?

Senior members of the DUP have been busy embarrassing themselves over the last few weeks.Comments by Ian Paisley Jr that the PSNI should shoot dissident republicans on sight indicate the ingrained right-wing stance of the party. Meanwhile his colleagues have been outdoing him in making their party a laughing stock. Iris Robinson repeatedly put her foot in it by describing homosexuality as an abomination while Edwin Poots and Meryvn Storey clambered somewhere back to the bronze age in their bid to have Christian creationism taught in science class.

According to World Bank's 2008 World Development Report, 2.1 billion people live on less than US$2 a day. 880 million of these live on less that US$1 a day

Oil giant Exxon Mobil made a profit of $11.68 billion between April and June, breaking its own record for the highest quarterly profit by a US company.

Foreign Affairs magazine reported that in 2005 six hedge funds managers pocketed €2.15 billion dollars between them

The Irish navy gunboat, the LE Orla has been mobilized in the latest escalation of the standoff between Shell, the Irish state and Shell to Sea campaigners in County Mayo. The standoff comes after a relatively quiet period in the campaign and centers on attempts by campaigners to halt Shell's pipe- laying work in Broadhaven Bay and on Glengad beach, where Shell intend to bring their high-pressure gas pipeline ashore. The Irish navy gunboat has been called in after a request by Gardai and will support Garda facilitation of the Shell's works in the bay.

This afternoon, the Shell to Sea campaigner Maura Harrington ended her 10-day-old hunger strike after confirmation that the Solitaire had indeed left Irish waters. She read a statement to the press and the public outside the gates of Shell’s compound at Glengad in Erris, Co. Mayo, and then announced that her hunger strike had come to an end.

In June of this year the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) wrote to its members in all primary schools in the Republic announcing that a National Rally on the issue of class size would take place on Saturday 4th October. Posters were included for display in schools and staff reps were urged to begin the process of building a delegation of teachers and parents to represent their school at the rally.

Last week another communication arrived in schools from INTO head office. This informed members that the 4th October rally “will not proceed… as previously indicated.” Here Gregor Kerr, a member of the Dublin City North Branch of the INTO (writing in a personal capacity) analyses why the union leadership have backed off from the rally, asks whether they really have the bottle for a fight on this issue, and urges a grassroots campaign to deliver victory on the issue.

Shell to Sea activists and friends gathered at Daunt Sq. for a candle-lit vigil tonight to show their support publicly for Shell to Sea, and to show support for local anti-Shell activist Maura Harrington, whose hunger strike against the pipe-laying ship the Solitaire being in Irish waters continues.

Around thirty people took part in a protest at Shell HQ on Lesson street last night. Here are some photos and audio recording from the event.

The 2ND Belfast Anarchist Bookfair recently took place building on the success of the previous year. Stalls were provided by the WSM, Choice Ireland, Just Books, Organise! and Revolutionary Anarcha-feminist group(RAG) as well as groups from as far as England and Scotland including Solidarity Federation giving the bookfair an international flavour. The Bookfair provides a healthy platform for constructive debate and discussion from past to present struggles. To exchange experiences, to reflect and agitate are all essential ingredients for a stronger, more vibrant class struggle anarchist movement in the future. Below are some of the audio recordings from of the public meetings which took place on the day.