March 2008

That's Capitalism WS102

Date: Tue, 2008-03-25 23:05

Chairman of Louth County Council Cllr Jimmy Mulroy, speaking in a debate about the abuse of workers by some employment agencies, said that while Irish people, "need €12.50 an hour, people from Lithuania are doing very well on €8.50 an hour." Mulroy, the owner of an electrical firm, later defended his remarks, arguing that many migrant workers were "very happy” with lower pay. Fianna Fail head office “disassociated” the party from the councillor's comments, but there was no suggestion of him being disciplined or deselected as a candidate.

Freedom, Democracy and Republicanism

Date: Tue, 2008-03-25 23:08

For decades they sold the concept of ‘freedom’ and talked about a ‘socialist republic’ but now, with Martin McGuinness chuckling around the world with Ian Paisley, it’s clear that Sinn Fein’s concept of ‘freedom’ and their supposed vision of a ‘32-County Socialist Republic’ was at best an illusion.

Why there is an International Women’s Day

Date: Wed, 2008-03-26 00:05

Every year we celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8th. This goes back to 1910, when an international conference of socialist women decided that 'women the world over set aside a particular day each year to remember women and their struggles.'

Ireland's Imperial Adventure in Chad

Date: Wed, 2008-03-26 00:09

Most people will be aware that Irish troops are being sent to Africa as part of an EU 'peace-keeping' mission to Chad and Central African Republic (CAR), but many will be relatively unaware of the background to the conflict and the reasons for the mission. Chad and Central African Republic are both resource rich (oil, gold and uranium in Chad, gold, diamonds and uranium in CAR) but economically underdeveloped former colonies of France.

Racism in the north - Who are the real spongers?

Date: Wed, 2008-03-26 00:17

Welcome to the new era in the north, in which waiting lists for social housing are at their highest in over 30 years, landlords like the local Rooney brothers continue to plunder our communities to make way for ‘yuppie’ flats. Meanwhile, our local politicians are expected to receive a 16% pay increase while we are expected to bend over backwards for the bosses and supposedly wait for the ‘trickle down effect’.

Belfast: Protest Against Water Charges

Date: Wed, 2008-03-26 23:11

Where? Castle Place (opposite Primark), Belfast
When? 1pm Sat 5th April 5th
Who? Organised by the We Won't Pay Campaign

Hundreds Attend 3rd Anarchist Bookfair in Dublin - 2008

Date: Thu, 2008-03-27 13:03

The Dublin Anarchist Bookfair – held this year on the weekend of 14th and 15th March – has firmly established itself as the biggest and most exciting event on the political left in Ireland.

Sicko ... Coming Soon to Cork?

Date: Thu, 2008-03-27 23:26

Sicko is the name of the new Michael Moore film exposing the US health service for what it is – a profit hungry machine that puts money first and people second. In the good ol’ US of A, if you don’t pay when you get sick then it’s tough luck. Beacon Medical Group is our very own Irish version of Sicko. They are the spearhead of Mary Harney’s new ‘co-location’ plan for the hospital service in Ireland and in January they submitted a proposal to build a large ‘private’ hospital on the grounds of Cork’s University Hospital (CUH) in Wilton.

Will the Lisbon Treaty vote change anything?

Date: Fri, 2008-03-28 23:22

Last year, the EU Constitution was defeated in referenda in France and the Netherlands. Europe’s governments quickly got together and rewrote the constitution as an incredibly complicated list of amendments to existing treaties. Together these amendments make up the “Treaty of Lisbon.” Valery Giscard d’Estaing, the president of the Convention on the Future of Europe which did much of the ground work in drafting the constitution, has concluded that “the difference between the original Constitution and the present Lisbon Treaty is one of approach, rather than content”.

Peaceful Demo. in Poland Against US Missile Base Ends In Police Brutality

Date: Mon, 2008-03-31 15:01

On Saturday March 29th over 700 people attended a protest at noon in the city of Slupsk, Northern Poland, against the Polish government's plans to permit the construction of a US missile base, part of their notorious 'Star Wars' program. On Friday and Saturday solidarity vigils were held with Polish activists in Prague, Dublin, London, Hamburg, Berlin, Moscow, Washington and the U.S. spy base at Fylingdales in England