March 2008

International Women's Day Events

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Upcoming events taking place as International Women's Day approaches:

Successful gig fundraiser for Dublin Shell to Sea

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Just a very brief report on the Dublin Shell to Sea gig last night (Friday 29th February) – A really good turn out of eighty or so paying customers on a maggoty, windy, rain spattered night – about eight WSM members spotted by this observer! I think roughly 500 euros was made by Dublin Shell to Sea. I took no pics so yea’ll have to do with ones lifted from myspace! First up were Section 4 of the Criminal Justice act featuring Rosport Camp Veteran Bob on bass.

Offsetting Democracy

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Carbon trading and offsets distract attention from the wider, systemic changes and collective political action that needs to be taken in the transition to a low-carbon economy. Promoting more effective and empowering approaches to climate change involves moving away from the blinkered reductionism of free-market dogma, the false-economy of supposed quick fixes, the short-term self interest of big business.

Cork Discussion: Celebrating Int. Women's Day

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Cork WSM Branch is hosting an open meeting .... all welcome!

Picket in support of sacked migrant worker in Belfast

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"The Great appear great because we are on our knees,Let Us Rise"

Dublin: Shell to Sea Public Meeting

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Speakers on corruption, the pipeline and the environment and the campaign to move the refinery offshore...

Belfast: Direct Action gets the Goods!

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Belfast WSM, along with members of Organise!, trade union activists and other left groups as well as workers from Delaney's itself, took part in successful pickets outside Delaney's restaurant on Thursday and Saturday.

HSE It’s Management Stupid. Or is it?

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Warranties expired! New facilities left idle! More mind-boggling news about the crisis in Ireland’s health service.

Mayday in Cork - Join Us

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As many people know May Day is international workers day. Across the world it’s a day of protest and struggle. It’s also a day to celebrate solidarity. In Cork a new May Day Committee that includes the Independent Workers Union is meeting regularly to make May Day in Cork even bigger and better. We need you! If you are interested in helping to organise events, or if you have ideas or you just want to meet and help out, we’d love to see you along. The May Day Committee meets every fortnight at the IWU offices on North Main Street.

Towards a Cure - WSM Health Pamphlet

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Radical health reform, in terms of creating equality and accessibility, and stopping the agenda of privatisation and for-profit medicine, is one of the great challenges facing Irish society.

In this pamphlet, anarchists explain the reasons why such change is needed, give examples of important first steps in creating change, and describe the type of struggle that is necessary if we are going to win.

Thinking about Anarchism: Religion

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Anarchism has traditionally been hostile to all religions because by their very nature they tend to be authoritarian. A supernatural creator who sets the rules is naturally considered to be the ultimate source of authority. And its authority means humanity’s obedience. If there is a god, it would, in the words of Bakunin, be necessary to abolish him. But a creator doesn’t exist, so we are left with the more mundane task of spreading the good news that values aren’t handed down from on high, but emerge from human society.

WSM Archive of Educationals Dealing with the Anarchist Movement to 2008

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On this page we have archived educationals and talks given to WSM meetings dealing with the anarchist movement in general. Specific topics include arguments for political organising, analyses of contemporary prospects for revolution, travellers' accounts of anarchism in Africa and South America and others. Some of the pieces are useful only for historical purposes, but most are still relevant today. We hope you find it useful.

Bertie - the Minister of Finance with no bank account?

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It is going to be complicated when you look at the finances of man who had NO bank account from 1986-1993. This was due to the fact that he was going through a divorce and he had a joint bank account with his wife. Being an honorable man he wasn’t going to put his money into that account. He took the decision to not open a bank account at all. In the meantime he managed to save up £50,000 IEP by 1993. This meant he could’ve bought a house for that in pure cash. Didn’t his ‘life partner’ buy a house in the area the following year for just over £40,000 IEP. Who is he? No one other than Patrick Bartholomew "Bertie" Ahern.

Paul McCartney should have brought Bertie in as a consultant on his recent divorce proceedings.

Belfast: The future of trade unionism

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Politics without parties - The future of trade unionism


When: 7pm to 10pm, Thursday, 3 April
Where: Ulster People's College,
1 Lower Crescent, Belfast
(just a short walk from the ADM venue)

Speakers include:

Donnacha DeLong, NEC New Media rep

Jason Brannigan, Organise!

Chekov Feeney, Workers Solidarity Movement

WSM activity at the start of 2008

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MFebruary saw many of the newer members meet up at a day long session for discussions about anarchist ideas, why we talk about class, how we fight women’s oppression, anarchist organisation, anarchist history, the Spanish Revolution, Russia: revolution and counter revolution and practical organising in our unions & communities.

The continuing detention of Martin Krämer

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This is a call out forwarded from the Gipfelsoli Infogruppe, the international media response group set up in the run up to the 2007 G8 in Germany. It follows the continuing detention of Martin Krämer, a German activist involved in the current anti G8 mobilisation. Initially arrested by police in the city of Vanino in the Habarovsk region of the Russian Far East March 3, Martin was turned over the FSB agents, in whose hands he was harshly interrogated and beaten. Martin was accused of carrying "extremist" and "secret" documents. These included archival materials from the 1920s, long since made public, that Kramer had for research purposes. Also included were a copies of the Ukrainian anarchist paper Liva-Sprava and Udar, the paper of Vladivostok's Autonomous Action.

Making Cops Accountable - What Communities can do to organise resistance

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The first thing I want to do is to commend the many people who have done sterling work to expose police corruption and unaccountability both in Ireland and elsewhere in recent years. In particular I want to commend the Wheelock family. One of the worst things that can happen any family is to lose a loved family member in circumstances such as the manner in which Terence was killed. To stand up to demand answers from the organs of the state is extremely difficult in such circumstances. To withstand harassment as a result to the extent that the Wheelock family have done compounds the difficulty. Wilting in the face of such harassment would be understandable. But that’s not going to happen. And that level of strength and courage is an example to all of us.

A walk through the history of radical Dublin

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There are the notes about six locations in central Dublin of historical importance to the left.  You would walk the route between them in about 30 minutes.

It’s Time to Fight for Quality Public Healthcare

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The tragedies, the mistakes and the disputes roll on. Mary Harney and the HSE merrily proceed with their agenda of privatisation. They continue to run down the public health service while creating opportunities for profit-driven healthcare, business opportunities for their already rich friends. They ignore the misery and anger of patients and health workers while trying to divert our attention from the real causes of the problems in Irish healthcare.