Workers Solidarity Movement

On Thursday 20th January An Bord Pleanala announced their decision to approve the Shell high pressure raw gas pipeline. The decision shows the farce of project splitting, which allows authorities to pass dangerous sections of projects without going through a rigorous planning process. This is the last chance to resist this flawed project. It's time to stand up against the Irish Government, state bodies and Shell forcing their will on communities and on the country as a whole, regardless of proper process, economic sense, people’s safety, environmental laws and human rights. Whilst the people of Ireland are being crippled by the cuts in public services and forced in to huge EU and IMF debt, the great gas giveaway is the elephant in the room that could be our solution. The unjust deal can be renegotiated as we have successfully seen in other countries. The people of Ireland should have a say in how we sustainably manage our natural resources. The struggle against Shell is a struggle for everyone in Ireland. You can be part of it.

In what is clearly a concerted effort to smash their union organisation, over 170 Aer Lingus cabin crew have been ‘removed from the payroll’ by management in a dispute about rostering arrangements.

This film brings to the big screen the dramatic story of Shell’s blundering, sometimes violent, attempts to impose a high-pressure raw gas pipeline on a small North Mayo community. The documentary features footage taken over three years, from 2006 to 2008, by Risteard O’Domhnaill. It has all the ingredients, stunning landscapes, riveting action scenes and the real-life stories of local people who found themselves on the front line of the drama. The film is short on background to the whole issue and mentions very little on the actual dangers posed by the pipeline and refinery, as well as the giveaway terms the oil companies ‘extracted’ from Irish state.  However, in Willie Corduff, and particularly in Pat O’Donnell, the filmmaker has struck cinema gold. Through the words and, especially, the actions of these figures we get a good picture of just what’s at stake here and what it takes to engage in effective resistance.

The WSM has signed this international anarchist statement of solidarity with the revolt in Tunisia published by Anarkismo.net. "Our organizations affirm their full solidarity with the struggle of the Tunisian people for freedom and social justice and our support for militant anti-capitalist Tunisians. We condemn the attitude of the Western States and more generally their political classes, both right-wing and social democratic, who have always actively supported the authoritarian power of Ben Ali." 

[العربية ] [Français] [Deutsch] [Italiano] [Ελληνικά] [Dansk]

On Friday 4th February, Alternative Community Cinema will launch their 2011 series of educational and awareness film evenings in Annagry, County Donegal. The first event which is entitled “The IMF, The Truth!” will be held in Annagry Hall and will show the film 'The Shock Doctrine'. The film is based on Naomi Klein's book of the same name and is a look at how “free market” policies have come to dominate the world through exploitation.