June 2009

Seomra Spraoi Summer Sizzler… Dublin

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We won’t guarantee summer...

But you can expect...

Anarchist Group asks ‘Why bother voting?’

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Anarchist organisation, Workers Solidarity Movement (WSM), has claimed that voting in Friday’s local, European and by-elections is a waste of time.

The European elections: only struggle pays!

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From June 4th to 7th, European voters are called to the polls to choose who will "represent" them in the European Parliament.

As anarchist communists, we do not think elections can bring any real change, as we prefer direct democracy to representative democracy. In other words, we prefer decisions affecting all workers to be discussed and made by those workers themselves, collectively.

The European Union's functioning and goals are opposed to this self-managing model and thus to the interests of the workers and the people. Its leaders despise the people so much that, although they may ask for our opinion, the only answer allowed is one which accepts the EU's political line which has already been decided eslewhere. The EU's attitude to the rejection by referendum of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe exemplifies this fact.

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Limerick: Anarchist Stall

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Members of the Cork branch of the Workers Solidarity Movement will be travelling to Limerick this coming Saturday to do a stall. With the latest issue of our newspaper, our bookservice and magazines we hope to make a splash!

June Bank Holiday 2009 protest against Shell compund in Erris - video

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Over the June Bank Holiday weekend dozens of people traveled from all over Ireland to Erris to join locals in ongoing resistance to Shell's project of imposing an experimental gas pipeline on the local community.

Sectarian murder in Coleraine

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The brutal sectarian murder of voluntary community worker Kevin McDaid in Coleraine has again exposed the ugly face of sectarianism in Northern Ireland and the fallacy of the so-called peace settlement.

Belfast: Is neo-liberalism dead?

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Working people continue to bear the brunt of the economic recession in terms on job cuts, poverty wages and house repossessions, while the rich and powerful in our society are bailed out again. This is state capitalism and comes under various forms from thatcherism to neo-liberalism.

The speaker will present a brief overview of neo-liberalism and how it affects working people and the environment. Is neo-liberalism just naked capitalism under a different name? Does increased state involvement in the economy signal the end of neo-liberalism, or is it just a temporary measure?

Boat sunk, local fishermen attacked for opposing Shell

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At 2am on Thursday morning, Pat O'Donnell's boat the 'Iona Isle' was boarded by four masked men and sunk out at sea, near where Mr. O'Donnell lays his fishing pots off Erris, North Mayo. Mr. O'Donnell and crewman Martin McDonnell were attacked and held down by some of the men, while others went below deck, where they proceeded to sink the boat. Both local men have been taken to Castlebar General Hospital, where they are recovering.

Queer Spraoi Presents: Culchie Queer Night, Dublin

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Featuring:

Culchie Disco
Lovely Boi's & Gurrrls
Confession Box
Culchie Queer Cabaret
Sexy Priest Competition
& more...

Racist thugs chased from South Belfast Rally

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Last night, local residents organised a rally on the Lisburn Road in South Belfast against a spate of racist attacks against Romanian families.

Since last Wednesday, a gang of youths have attacked the homes of families living in Belgravia Avenue and Wellesley Avenue every evening, smashing windows and shouting racist abuse, forcing one family to leave their home on Belgravia Avenue.

Dublin: Protest at Iranian Embassy

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There will be a protest at the Iranian embassy at 1pm Saturday organised by Hands Off the people of Iran followed by a public meeting at Semora Spraoi

Dublin: S2S football and social

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Five a side football tournament to raise funds for Shell to Sea followed by trad session in town

The Iranian Election a ‘Legacy of Martyred Flowers’

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The Iranian government’s campaign to mold ‘model’ Islamic citizens has not only fashioned a profound crisis of loyalty to the religious ‘ideals of the revolution’, it has nurtured action that many have silently prayed for - as the public sphere, the last bastion of the religious elites grip on power, was shot open by their own guns Sunday.

Belfast: Public gathering on racist attacks‏

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You will have seen the brutal attacks and subsequent forced removal of ethnic minorities from their homes in the South Belfast area.

A reply to Mark McGregor’s attack on the WSM on Slugger O’Toole

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Mark McGregor should check his facts before embarking on baseless comments without any shred of evidence or truth, before deciding to demonise those who attended the rally as a crime and stayed with the Romanian families, who actually requested help and assistance.

Sligo: Public meeting on anarchism

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When?: Saturday The 27th of June
Time?Time : 3pm
Where? Lissadell Suite, Sligo City Hotel

The Workers Solidarity Movement is hosting a talk on the financial crisis and other systemic crises faced by global capitalism including the ongoing destruction of the ecological base and the speedy approach of hard resource limits to capitalism's "infinite growth" model, all of which demand an urgent transition to a more sustainable, just and equitable social model.

Who’s going to pay for the crisis? - Dublin

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Public Meeting to discuss the current crisis, gobal justice and what we can do in the here and now.

Thursday 25th June - 7:30pm
Central Hotel, Exchequer Street, Dublin

Speakers:
Lidy Nacpil (Jubilee South, Philippines)
Andy Storey (Afri)
Mark Malone (Seomra Spraoi)

Chair:
Ailbhe Smith (UCD School of Social Justice)

Video: Solitaire flees Shell to Sea kayakers action

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Five kayakers breached the Solitaire's unilaterally declared 500 metre exclusion zone yesterday evening (Thursday) in a daring offshore action. Despite the presence of Navy warships, Garda water units and private security vessels in Erris waters, the determined fishing boat approached the vessel. The kayakers made directly for the Solitaire, dodging Shell and safety boats, and came within 100 metres of the pipelaying ship which immediately left the area, roughly ten miles off the Mayo Coast. This was the culmination of a day of action against the Solitaire.

Shell Pipe-Laying Ship Arrives Under Navy Warship Escort

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Warships and other Irish navy vessels today escorted the world's largest pipe-laying ship, the Solitaire, into Broadhaven Bay in north Mayo, where it will attempt to lay part of the offshore section of the Corrib Gas pipeline. The community around Shell's operations is now besieged and intimidated by hundreds of Gardaí, Shell security and naval vessels, all in the cause of giving away Irish gas to multinational companies.

Interview as the Solitaire arrives in Erris

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This is an 8 minute audio interview with Fin who arrived at the Rossport Solidarity camp in June 2009 as Shell's ship the Soliaire started lying pipe. It's about getting there, what is going on, the events of this morning, the level of policing and what is to come.