May 2011

May Day 2011 Celebrations in Cork

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This Sunday, the international celebration of the working class was marked in Cork with the now-traditional May Day march organised by the Independent Workers Union. Cork WSM also marked the occasion by hosting a pair of talks after the march on May Day-related topics at Solidarity Books on Douglas Street. As a finale to the day's festivities, a fundraising cabaret was held for the union and the bookshop that night at the Spailpín Fánach on South Main Street.

Shell's bog road torn up at Rossport Solidarity Camp weekend

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The May bank holiday saw the annual Rossport Solidarity Camp gathering, this year across the road from the new Shell compound at Arghoos in Erris. As has become traditional the gathering combined a direct action with workshops and socializing. On the Sunday most of those present went to the launch of fisherman's Pat O'Donnell's new boat. There was a constant Garda presence around the camp throughout the weekend but despite the destruction of some 60m of Shell's bog road no arrests were made.

Cork: Film Night: Ama's Children director Juliano Mer Khamis (2003), Wednesday 11th May, 8pm @solidaritybooks

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Ama’s Children director Juliano Mer Khamis (2003) Ama’s Children is the story of the children involved in Freedom Theatre set up by an Israel woman Ama Mer Khamis in Jenin Palestine in the early 90’s. A decade later her son returns and finds out what has happened to the children due to the occupation since their involvement in the project. Juliano was murdered in the West Bank recently.

Soccer versus the state

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Book cover pic
The following is an interview recorded with PM Press's Gabriel Kuhn about the subject of his recently published book of the same title, that he will be talking about at the Dublin Anarchist Bookfair on Saturday 14th May, at Liberty Hall at 14:00. The interview was conducted by WSM member and avid Bohs fan, Ciaran M.


 

“The revolution will inevitably awaken in the British working class the deepest passions which have been diverted along artificial channels with the aid of football." Leon Trotsky.

1) Football comes in for much negative criticism from the left, mainly criticisms similar to Trotsky’s above, deriding it as cathartic and a distraction. Yet in recent years, we’ve seen iconic events like the “Football Revolution” in Iran, the Greek riots following the death of Alexandros Grigoropoulos, where Panathanaikos fans fought against the police side by side with Anarchists and the Al-Ahly Ultras in Egypt and their apparent hand in revolution there. How influential has football been in Rebellions and amongst the rebellious throughout history?

Football has been attracting the masses around the world for over a century. Where masses gather, the powerful lose control – unless we're talking about orchestrated mass gatherings, which are characteristic of fascist and authoritarian regimes. But this doesn't really work with football, since it is hard to orchestrate a football game. Football is too unpredictable.

10,000 to guard the Queen and Obama

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10,000 soldiers and Gardai will be deployed to protect the queen of England and US president Barrack Obama during their visits in May. Over 20 million euros will be spent by the state on the visits.

Patrick Galvin - renowned poet and socialist has died

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Patrick Galvin, the renowned Cork writer and socialist, has died.  Born in Margaret Street in Cork in 1927, Paddy was a prodigious and accomplished writer producing many works in poetry and drama, as well as writing the memoir The Raggy Boy Trilogy.  He was also a most accomplished balladeer and many of his early works were in this form.

(Image: Patrick Galvin at his birthday party last summer).

Details of 6th Annual Anarchist Bookfair Announced - Press Release

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Responses to the economic crisis and the bank bailout in Ireland, Greece and Portugal, and reflections on recent revolutionary events in the Arab world will feature among the many topics up for discussion at the 6th Annual Anarchist Bookfair which will be held in Liberty Hall, Dublin on Saturday 14th May.

Parasite queen to bring chaos to Dublin streets

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Next week the latest in a long line of parasitic chancers who have ruled Britain and (up to 90 years ago) all of Ireland for centuries will descend on the city of Dublin. As a result some one million people are going to have their lives seriously disrupted and tens of thousands have already had to suffer intrusive Garda calls at their homes. Streets all over the city will be closed, Garda will be harassing pedestrians and motorists, even the zoo will shut. And all for what? That is a question that seems impossible to answer.

Why We Should Oppose the Queen's Visit – report on Cork WSM Meeting

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On last Tuesday evening at Solidarity Books a small but very interested audience listened to James McBarron of Cork WSM give a talk outlining why people should oppose the impending visit of the queen of England to the Republic of Ireland. In his presentation, he reminded us that the institution of monarchism, the British monarchy in particular because of its historic role, is bound up intimately with the promotion of imperialism, militarism and privilege, and therefore should be opposed.

Anarchist writings on Irish Republicanism

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Since our formation in 1984 the WSM has produced over a hundred articles providing an analysis of Irish Republicanism from an anarchist perspective.  These have ranged from analysis of the issues of the day (eg the Peace process or the targeting of building workers) to detailed re-examination of the history of the republican rebellions and movements.  You can find many of there articles in our Irish Republicanism collection of articles on this site along with some of the key documents of Irish republicanism.

Other related article collections include those on Loyalism, the 1916 rebellion, the 'Peace Process' & Sinn Fein.  We are in the process of creating these collections, use the search box to find additional articles or check the Imperialism listing which currently contains 150+ articles.

Spring Talks: Cork Labour and the Irish Revolution, 1916-1922 -Dr. John Borgonovo Tuesday, May 17, 8pm

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Solidarity Books is pleased to present the fourth and last talk in our Spring Talks Series: Public consciousness of ‘Rebel Cork’ during the War of Independence conjures images of the martyred Lord Mayors, the burning of the city centre, and flying column ambushes at Kilmichael and elsewhere. However, less obvious and less violent activities were equally important to the success of the independence movement.

Film Night: Chop Shop director Ramin Bahrani, Wednesday 18th May, at 8pm

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Chop Shop director Ramin Bahrani Chop Shop is the story of Alejandro a street smart Latino orphan on the verge of adolescence, who works in a Chop Shop ( an illegal breakers yard that sells on stolen car parts ). The Chop Shop is in a sprawling junkyard on the outskirts of Queens, New York.

In this chaotic world of adults, young Alejandro struggles to make a better life for himself and his 16-year-old sister, Isamar.

“ Touching, funny, sad and beautifully observed” Time Out
“ Flawlessly Observed… an unforgiving parable of American economic reality “..Screen International

Windsor and Obama visits: Good for Tourism?

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At the moment, the predominant view in the Government , the media and in business circles is that the two large, high-profile state visits by the British Queen and the US President will give a massive boost to Ireland, both in terms of increasing tourism and in terms of improving Ireland's current image of a bankrupt and disfunctional isle in the eye's of the world's media.

However, is this viewpoint accurate? It seems to me to be a naive and ill-thought out endeavour, without thinking seriously about the facts and implications.

Why we don't welcome the visit of the British Queen

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The British Queen - An enemy of the working class, an enemy of the poor, head of the imperialist British state, symbol of privilege, inequality and oppression.

The visit: why now?
There is a drive to normalise the British occupation of the six counties and partition. It is part of a wider pattern to integrate Ireland into the loose alliance of imperialist nations. There has always been a desire on behalf of the British state, the USA and the European Union to engage Ireland as a junior partner in the imperialist club. The ending of the war in the north and the gradual normalisation of relations between Britain and Ireland has allowed an acceleration of this process. The visit of Britain's Queen Elizabeth is all part of it.

Dublin - march on the banquet of the British and Irish elite in Dublin castle

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Some 30 million euro is being wasted between the visits of the US President & the British Queen to Ireland. One of the grosser occasions of the visit of the British Queen will be tonight (Wed 18 May) when the royal parasite will be sitting down to stuff her face with our local wealthy 1% at Dublin Castle.  The WSM is planning to join the eirigi organised March on the Castle from 5.30pm on Wednesday, May 18th at St Catherine’s Church on Thomas Street, Dublin 8. The march will depart for Dublin Castle at roughly 6.30pm. The protest which will include speeches, music and street theatre is expected to last until at least 8.30pm.

We will be carrying a large new banner reading "Old Ruler, New Rulers : Class Struggle Continues .." highlighting the common purpose of the Irish and British elites in keeping Ireland safe for capital. If your feeling a little outraged by this and all the disruption of the visits we'll see you there, on the streets. 

British Queen's Dublin Castle banquet protested by a few hundred as Garda harass activists

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About 250 people took part in the éirígí organised march on the banquet for the British Queen staged in Dublin castle last night. WSM members joined the demonstration but Garda had intercepted the person transporting our flags and banner to the protest leaving us somewhat invisible. This was part of a pattern of suppression of visible protest that occurred throughout the visit of the British Queen despite Garda claims that they would "facilitate protest" in advance of the visit.

Review: The Kronstadt Rebellion, Still Significant 90 Years on

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Zabalaza Books, the anarchist printing project linked to the Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Front (ZACF) in South Africa, recently produced this pamphlet to commemorate the Kronstadt uprising in March 1921, when the sailors and workers of the Kronstadt naval base rose up against the Bolsheviks and were slaughtered by the dictatorship.

The Crisis and Core & Periphery in the Eurozone - Peripheral Vision

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At the same time that we are witnessing a wave of popular protest in North Africa and the Middle East against aged and corrupt neo-colonial dictatorships, in the heart of Europe we are witnessing something unprecedented and absolutely extraordinary.

History appears to moving in the ‘wrong direction’ in the so-called peripheral countries of the Eurozone.

Garret "the Good"?

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Former Taoiseach Garret Fitzgerald's death was announced this morning. As is usual in such circumstances we are being subject to a load of old guff, very rarely in such instances are we treated to an honest assessment of a mans life instead we are expected to believe in the individauls perfection.  The great phrases you will hear for the next week will be that he was "a patriot who always put the national interest first", "an honest man, a fair man", "he did the state some service" etc. At least the last is true, Garret Fitzgerald was a thouroughly pro-state, pro-capitalist, pro-EU, pro-imperialist politician.  He never wavered in his support for the capitalist order.