February 2003

Who stood to gain from the Iraq war? Not us.

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As war looms in the Gulf again we can be sure that, whatever the outcome, hundreds of thousands of lives will be destroyed by the conflict. A UN report leaked in December estimated that the war will cost the lives of half a million Iraqi civilians and create a million refugees as a result of both direct deaths and the deliberate distruction of infrastructure. Furthermore the unwilling soldiers of Saddam's conscript army face whole-scale butchery at the hands of the powerful US war machine.

Why War is the Health of the State

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Recent revelations in the Washington Post regarding Bush's eagerness to engage in war on Iraq only serve to prove what is morbidly obvious: War is always in their sights. Six days after the Trade Centre strikes in New York the Bush Administration had already initiated plans to take Iraq out. Is it just coincidence that Iraq has the second largest oil reserves in the world? One should not be shocked - such political behaviour is de rigeur in a system, in a society, that places the relentless quest for wealth and power above the lives of the inhabitants of the planet.

US anarchists say no to Iraqnophobia and yes to freedom

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One of the favourite arguments of the pro-war crowd in Ireland is that anyone who opposes the war is 'anti-American'. Leaving aside the fact that they are reducing the one billion population of the Americas to the 250 million resident in the US is there anything to this claim? The hundreds of thousands who have already demonstrated against the war in the US obviously don't think so. Anarchists in the US are part of the anti-war movements there. Below we reproduce the text of a leaflet produced by one anarchist group there for the January 18th anti-war demonstration in Washington DC.

International Direct Actions against the Iraq war

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The large demonstrations in Britain (300,000) Italy (1,000,000) and the US (200,000 DC, 150,000 San Francisco) against the war have got some media attention. Alongside these is a spreading wave of direct action. These protests are far, far smaller, in part because the mainstream anti-war movements have failed to promote (or even opposed) them. But they are significant because as the politicians continue to ignore the popular anti-war sentiments direct action is a way we can bypass them and start to bring this war to a halt.

Beyond the politics of 'lets have another march' - Direct Action & fighting to win

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Anarchists are not particularly interested in protesting against the evils of the world - we would prefer to abolish them! Political parties, of both left and right, are happy to make statements and mount ineffectual protests that are intended to achieve little more than a bigger profile for their own party. And when their party gets big enough they will sort out everything for us. That might be alright for those who merely want to change their rulers. It holds no appeal for anarchists who want to abolish the division of people into bosses and workers, rulers and ruled.

The Colombian 3 & state repression in Colombia

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The trial of the Colombia 3 has produced a frenzy of speculation in the Irish media about whether they are guilty or not, and how this might effect the 'peace process'. What is all too lacking, however, is any background to Colombia itself. This is not too surprising. Andrew Flood looks at the situation there and argues that it is the Colombian state that should be in the dock.

Council sends out 1000's of letters threatening anti-bin tax protesters

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Despite the fact that the Dublin City Council effectively has it's hands tied (not being able to take anyone to court until the case outstanding from September is heard in the High Court) they could not let the Christmas pass without trying to frighten people into paying their precious double-tax.

'Justice' and 'Equality' in action - one law for the rich and another for the poor

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Just in case you had any illusions about the fairness or impartiality of the Irish 'justice' system:- On the same day as 'celebrity chef' Tim Allen was allowed to buy himself off a prison sentence for the possession of child pornography, five Romanian men were jailed after a court found that "it was reasonable to infer that they intended to commit an offence in a shop in Co. Wicklow last November". Allen's sentence of a nine-month prison sentence was reduced to one of 240 hours community service on the payment of EUR40,000 to a child welfare charity - proof, if proof is needed, of the fact that there is one law for the rich and another for the poor.

That's capitalism - WS74

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At the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant in Montana, production is at its highest rate in 15 years - higher than during the Gulf War. They recently received a $92 million contract to produce 265 million rounds of small-caliber ammunition for the US Army. Why so many bullets? There are approximately 24 million people living in Iraq, thus it seems it is either lunatic overkill, or the excess is for use against other peoples living within Bush's "axis of evil", or it's a cash gift to his arms business pals.

The Programme for Prosperity and Fairness - a crap deal for workers

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Around Christmas once every three years of so we enter into a special mating season in the industrial relations jungle. The mating of three unlikley species, the goverment, the bosses and the trade unions takes place. This spectacle is so spectacularly ugly to witness that it's never covered by TV cameras. Each mating season is given it's individual name and this time in 2002/03 attempts were under way to sire a son to the 'Programme for Prosperity and fairness'.

Michael Moore's censored America - Stupid White Men

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Michael Moore is an American film-maker and political commentator. He's probably best known for his documentary Roger and Me, which charts the effects on his hometown Flint, Michigan when General Motors, the town's largest employer, decide to relocate their factories to Mexico. That breakthrough film was followed by TV series, such as TV Nation, and now another film, Bowling for Columbine, and book, Stupid White Men.

Couriers organising in Dublin

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Cyclone pushbike couriers gained a small but significant victory last November when they achieved a pay rise in the face of considerable management opposition. Though the pay-rise was only in line with inflation, management had flatly rejected this proposal and so provoked an organised response.

Report of EU summit Copenhagen protests 2002

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In December protests were held at the EU summit in Copenhagen. Ian Lynch attended the demonstrations and tells Workers Solidarity a little about it.

Pamphlets on anarchism

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There is an increasing number of books about anarchism being published every year. As anarchism grows in popularity more anarchist organisations are able to produce books, and mainstream commercial publishers certainly see this growing popularity as a way of making extra cash.