Workers Solidarity Movement

These are the articles and PDF files from Ireland's anarchist paper, Workers Solidarity, published in 2003

Workers Solidarity No78 - November 2003

PDF of Workers Solidarity 78 for you to print out

1 (no) law for the rich
The last months in Dublin have seen the jailing of ordinary working class people for protesting against the bin tax. A tax whose introduction was not only opposed by most people but which tens of thousands are refusing to pay.

Palestine and the International Solidarity Movement
The ISM has had a good deal of success in helping out in some of the day to day situations faced by ordinary Palestinians

Thinking about anarchism - Unequal power, unequal pay
During the year a spate of reports have 'discovered' what a lot of workers already know - that equal pay for equal work just doesn't exist.

Robert Emmet and the rising of 1803
A review of the book by Ruan O' Donnell on the 1803 rising

Debate on Iraq war
An (Iraqi) Kurd living in Ireland replies to us on democracy and the war in Iraq. This is a longer version of his letter than the one that appears in the printed/PDF editions

The Social Forums: Abandon or Contaminate?
The social forums can be stage-managed election and recruitment platforms for authoritarians and reformists. At the same time the social forums have attracted hundreds of thousands of people seeking a way to change the world we live in

Bin Tax - what has been going on
The campaign against the bin-tax in Dublin has seen an upsurge of community resistance to the government

Cornered Council - Approach with caution
At the time of writing 15 people have been in prison for peacefully protesting the imposition of this unjust bin-tax. On Oct 14th and 15th a co-ordinated action resulted in all the bin depots across all four council areas being blocked by demonstrators thus effectively shutting down the service

Chile: 30 years of 9-11 protests
Throughout the country Chileans commemorate September 11th 1973, the day of Pinochets bloody (US facilitated) coup. This is a longer version of the article than the one that appears in the printed/PDF editions

"Direct Action" and "A Day Mournful and Overcast"
We review two Anarchist History Pamphlets from the Kate Sharpley Library

HASC meetings in Cork
About fifty people gathered in Mayfield GAA club in the first of a series of meetings re launching the campaign against the refuse charges in Cork city. This is a longer version of the article than the one that appears in the printed/PDF editions

That's Capitalism
From schools to napalm capitalism makes a mess of the world

David Begg: Bertie's new partner
ICTU general secretary David Begg condemned the anti-bin tax campaign. He did this at the same time that the state was jailing protesters and refusing to collect rubbish from thousands of households in Dublin.

PDF of Workers Solidarity 78 for you to print out

Workers Solidarity No77 - September 2003

PDF of Workers Solidarity 77 for you to print out

The service charge con
Taking from workers to give to the rich

Review: Rudolf Rocker: Nationalism and Culture
For Rocker, nationalism was the foremost ideology - or mythology - which the ruling classes were using to bind the working class to them in an ever tighter form of voluntary submission.

Liberia: The myth of humanitarian intervention
Every so often the newspapers fill with stories of a crisis in some third world country. We see pictures on our screens of gunmen, starvation and suffering; inevitably we hear calls for humanitarian intervention.

Review: NEFAC web site
Overall, an excellent, well laid out, up to date site from NEFAC and a fine addition to anarchism on the "inter-web".

Mutual Aid
Mutual Aid is the fuel an anarchist society will run on. It is also what keeps capitalist society going in spite of all the hardship, greed, and exploitation that exists.

Red & Black Revolution 7
In this issue of our magazine, we continue our tradition of dealing with the pressing issues of the day for anarchists and libertarians

That's Capitalism
Inequality in Britain

Why all the fuss about Aer Rianta?
The state company which runs Cork, Dublin and Shannon airports is to be broken up if the government get their way.

Blockade the trucks - Don't fall for council scams
As we go to print, the bin charges battle has started in earnest in Dublin with Fingal Council's attempt not to collect non-payer's bins.

Organising for Change
Just as combining against the bin tax or against the war makes us stronger so too does combining in political organisations.

Water tax in Northern Ireland
Northern Irish homes are to be subjected to a tax on water, unless enough of us get together to stop the government's plan.

Fight for a women's right to choose
Belfast High Court refuses to say when abortion is legal
Dublin - Alliance for Choice launched

Workers Solidarity No76 - August 2003

PDF of Workers Solidarity 76 for you to print out
 

Bosses want to privatise buses and trains
The FF/PD coalition are pushing ahead with plans to privatise buses and trains. Should we worry, does it matter who the boss is?

The consequences of transport privatisation
More cars on the road means more road building, more road repairs, more traffic jams and more air pollution.

What is Imperialism
Imperialism is the process whereby powerful groups try to extend their power and increase their wealth by bringing ever more of the world under their domination. Although the word comes to us from Roman times, imperialism has been around for a lot longer?

Iraq war aftermath - Slaughtering democracy
The US/UK war against Iraq, trumpeted as a war for 'democracy', illustrates what this 'democracy' means in practice.

New history of anarchist organisation
Review of Alexandre Skirdas: Facing the Enemy: A History of Anarchist Organisation from Proudhon to May 1968.

Direct Action is next step for the Anti-Bin Tax campaign
We must send out the message that we intend for every truck to pick up all the rubbish on their bin run. The Council must understand this, and the government must understand it. If non-collection is attempted, trucks will be blockaded into our estates until everyone's bin is emptied.

Anti-Bin Tax = tax dodger?
The politicians the big farmers and the bosses don't hold back when it comes to defending their interests. We should do the same, and no better way to start than by telling them to stuff their bin tax.

Coca Cola Boycotted for (complicity in) Murder
Members of the Latin America Solidarity Centre and other individuals are working to promote the boycott and to raise awareness of this issue in Ireland

Argentina- a living laboratory of struggle
The popular movement in Argentina has not been defeated. The newly elected president will go on the offensive with all the powers at his disposal. However the assemblies, occupied factories and Piquettes will resist and may even experience a new growth.

Grassroots Gathering 5 - the birth of a movement
We came out of this weekend stronger and will hopefully go on from here so that the growth of the Grassroots movement continues. The next GG goes West, Galway in the Autumn

That's Capitalism
Money markets, Guantnamo Bay and Mary Harney

Disco Disco - occupied and evicted
Activists of Autonomous Community Spaces (ACS) entered 42 Parnell Square in central Dublin, a building which had been vacant for 11 years. They were violently evicted the following day.

About this paper
Get involved in the production and distribution of Workers Solidarity

Unpublished as WEF meeting cancelled: What is the World Economic Forum?
The WEF has been described as the first "'true International of capital". It's widely credited with being the organizing force behind capitalist globalisation

PDF of Workers Solidarity 76 for you to print out

Workers Solidarity No75 - March/April 2003

PDF of Workers Solidarity 75 for you to print out

Act to stop their war!
The leaders of the UK, USA, and Ireland aren't listening. It's time to make it impossible for them to continue to ignore us.

Money is the king at the Old Head of Kinsale
As in the past we need to defy the ban on walking on the Old Head. Most important of all we need to start building now for a 'mass trespass'. This summer will see a new round in this important battle

Bin Tax Battle Enters New Phase
The campaign against the bin tax is set to enter a new phase before the summer as the government brings forward new legislation to give the Councils the power to refuse to collect the bins of non-payers

Thats capitalism
Inequality in the world today

Support those facing charges for Direct Action at Shannon
At least 19 people are currently facing prosecution out of the October and March direct actions at Shannon airport.

What is violence and who says so?
Any violence necessary to defend an anarchist society would be tiny and marginal compared to the violence routinely meted out every day by capitalism.

International anarchist statement against the war
Anti-war statement from anarchist groups all over the globe

Direct Action - your questions answered
Your questions on Direct Action answered in the context of the sometimes hysterical debate about the Grassroots Network Against War (GNAW) action at Shannon on March 1s

Grassroots Gathering &endash; A sun kissed weekend in Limerick
The fourth Grassroots Gathering happened at University of Limerick on the St. Patrick's bank holiday weekend.

A year of CAZ
The Cork Autonomous Zone has bee functioning for over a year now. The shared space has become an irreplaceable part of the agitational infrastructure of anti-capitalism in Cork city

The March 1st action at Shannon
If you were anywhere in Ireland in the last week of February you can't have missed the hype ahead of the March 1st direct action called at Shannon by the Grassroots Network Against the War (GNAW)

Global actions against the war
Action speaks louder than words in the run up to this war!

Review of Malatesta: Life & Ideas
Most of the book is taken up with short extracts from Malatesta's writings on various subjects, for example 'Ends and Means'; 'Anarchism & Violence'; 'Reformism'; 'Trade Unions' and many more.

A rabid neo-liberal wages war on the poor in the USA
Social spending is plumetting in the USA, leading to some strange things happening

Review of infoshop.org
There are a large number of anarchist news services on the internet - one of the best ones covering North America is the news section of infoshop.org.

PDF of Workers Solidarity 75 for you to print out

Workers Solidarity No 74 - Feb 2003

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War: who is it good for?
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.

War is the health of the state
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

US anarchists against the war
One of the favourite arguments of the pro-war crowd in Ireland is that anyone who opposes the war is 'anti-American'.

International Direct Actions against the war
Listing of international actions against the war

Direct Action and fighting to win
Anarchists are not particularly interested in protesting against the evils of the world - we would prefer to abolish them!

Colombia 3 - wrong people in the dock
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'.

The Anti-Bin Tax - keep connecting with the punches
Despite the fact that the Dublin City Council effectively has it's hands tied they could not let the Christmas pass without trying to frighten people into paying their precious double-tax.

'Justice' and 'Equality' in action
Just in case you had any illusions about the fairness or impartiality of the Irish 'justice' system

That's capitalism
Bullets in the USA and tax in Ireland

'Partnership' deals
Mating Season in the Industrial Relations Jungle!

Michael Moore's censored America
Review of Bowling for Columbine, and book, Stupid White Men

Couriers organising
The militant couriers decided to act collectively when agitating for the pay rise as one to one bargaining with an employer always leaves the worker negotiating from a position of weakness

Report of EU summit Copenhagen protests
In December protests were held at the EU summit in Copenhagen

Pamphlets on anarchism
In short supply have been the cheap pamphlets that allow you to check out anarchist ideas without spending the equivalent of two or three hours pay.

Print out and distribute the PDF file of WS74