November 2009

Audio: Class classification and its limitations

Date:

Recording of a WSM branch education that looks at 'what is class' and outlines many of the different classifications that have been used before asking whether this is right approach to the question at all. Followed by a brief discussion of class in relation to Joe Duffy phone ins demanding a public sector pay cut.

Get Out And March on Friday But Marching Is Not Enough, Organise for a general strike

Date:

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions’ ‘Get Up Stand Up’ protest on Friday 6th November is of huge importance. The government have made it clear that they intend to make ordinary workers pay for the financial crisis. Friday can be the start of us finally standing up and saying that we are not going to accept this.

Anti Child Labour Fundraising Quiz

Date:

Quiz to raise money to help fund an awareness raising trip to Ireland by Suman of the 'Movement for a Child's Right to Childhood' in India to talk about their work in rescuing children from bonded labour.

Press Statement: Anarchist Organisation calls for support for November 6th demonstrations

Date:

Anarchist Organisation calls for support for November 6th demonstrations but warns that ‘Marching Is Not Enough’

Solidarity with the Brazilian Federação Anarquista Gaúcha

Date:

On Thursday 29th October, the Civil Police of Rio Grande do Sul, under the command of Governor Yeda Crusius, broke into the premises of the Federação Anarquista Gaúcha. Police seized various materials such as posters, minutes of meetings, the hard disk of a computer and also the contents of refuse containers that were at the headquarters. They also tried to intimidate those who came to show their solidarity and names contained in the records of the organization's website. Two comrades were arrested and charged. [In Greek] [In Português]
[Français] [In Italiano]

The Belgrade 6 to be tried for International Terrorism

Date:

The six anarchist syndicalists arrested last September in Belgrade are now being charged with international terrorism.

Tens Of Thousands March In Cork

Date:

In the region of 20,000 workers march through Cork City centre today to oppose Government cuts and the ongoing attacks on wages and conditions.

The Rag no. 4 Launch Party

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The Rag no. 4 Launch

Navan Public Meeting: the economic crisis and the anarchist alternative

Date:

Public Meeting
Newgrange Hotel, Bridge Street, Navan, Co Meath
Saturday 14th November 2009
4pm

Huge numbers of workers march in ICTU Dublin protest

Date:

Friday 6th November saw tens of thousands of workers marching in Dublin as ICTU called protests took place in 9 cities across Ireland against the government attempts to make workers pay for the capitalist crisis.

Social Solidarity Network : Time To Get Organised

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The Social Solidarity Network "is a grouping of people who have come together to provide a forum for workers and communities to unite to resist the attacks and to build links across the many struggles which will break out over the coming months" that WSM members are involved in. Some 7000 copies of this SSN text were distributed on the Nov 6th ICTU demonstration against cuts in Dublin.

Noam Chomsky & the WSM discuss politics over breakfast

Date:

During Noam Chomsky's recent visit to Ireland five members of the Workers Solidarity Movement met him over breakfast to talk over a range of issues from Palestine to the capitalist crisis to social partnership to Iran to Obama and the US Labour Movement. Notes on the discussion are below followed by the audio recording itself.

Social Struggles in South Africa after Apartheid

Date:

At the end of October a visiting speaker from the South Africa ZACF was hosted by the WSM in Dublin and Cork. The audio of the Dublin talk will be found below. The opening section of the talk looks at the very recent repression of the shack dwellers movement, Abahlali baseMjondolo at the Kennedy road informal settlement. Several people were killed and over 1000 displaced when an ANC led gang targetted the settlement and a meeting that was in progess there.

WSM activity in the Autumn of 2009

Date:

We carried out an anti-Lisbon campaign involving the distribution of 15,000 copies of a special edition of Workers Solidarity and putting up posters advocating a no-vote. Our activity was designed to begin a discussion about the sort of Ireland and Europe people would like to live in, and was centred on the needs of working people. The vote may have been lost but several thousand people got to hear about the anarchist alternative.

Fascists Get the Boot

Date:

In October, Anti-Fascist Action successfully prevented a large European neo-nazi gig from going ahead in Kerry. Dozens of Slovakian, Polish and Czech neo-nazis were planning to spend a long weekend in Ireland to celebrate the birthday of a leading fascist living in Dublin who’s originally from Prague. AFA managed to stop the gig from taking place and even had the pleasure of bumping into a few of the Blood & Honour fascists in Dublin.

A veteran anarchist speaks of the Spanish revolution

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During his recent visit to Dublin, Workers Solidarity took the opportunity, over “bad coffee”, to chat to 93 year old Roma Marquez Santo about some of his experiences of the Spanish revolution. In 1936 Roma was a metal worker and a member of both the UGT trade union and the POUM, an anti-Stalinist communist party.

Anarchism and the WSM

Date:

We carried out an anti-Lisbon campaign involving the distribution of 15,000 copies of a special edition of Workers Solidarity and putting up posters advocating a no-vote. Our activity was designed to begin a discussion about the sort of Ireland and Europe people would like to live in, and was centred on the needs of working people. The vote may have been lost but several thousand people got to hear about the anarchist alternative.

Francisco Ferrer: Murdered By the State

Date:

Over hundred years ago this year, a huge campaign arose around the world to save the life of Francisco Ferrer. A Catalonian by birth, Ferrer was an active anarchist and well known across Europe and the Americas for his radical views on education. Ferrer’s enemies were not for turning though and the campaigns failed. He shot to death by firing squad on October 13th 1909. Born to Catholic parents outside Barcelona, Ferrer became involved at a young age in anti-royalist activities in Spain. He fled to Paris to escape the Spanish authorities and there became involved with anarchism and the great love of his life: education and learning.

That's Capitalism WS 112

Date:

If the recession is hitting everyone, who is buying the Goldvish mobile phone? This diamond-encrusted mobile costs a cool €1 million. See www.goldvish.com. And you can write the cheque with a limited edition Montblanc fountain pen for $25,000 (€17,072).

Review of Black Flame

Date:

This is an excellent work. It is wide ranging, both in terms of subjects covered and geography. The latter makes a welcome break from most accounts of anarchism, which are sadly all-too Eurocentric. The former sees anarchist analysis expanded from the usual subjects of political authority and economic class into gender and imperialism (and national liberation struggles). It covers such perennial issues as anarchist organisation (including ‘Platformism’), the Spanish Revolution and a host of others.