Nov/Dec 2001 |
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Nov/Dec 2001 |
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Millionaires go to WAR! Expect
world's workers to fight for them!!
What do Bin Laden and George Bush have in common?
Resistance to war
A look at the history of anarchist and other resistance to war and
the impact it has had
Religion & belief
We believe that people should be empowered to be in control of their
own destinies. That means opposing the power of the churches.
WAR on Terrorism = WAR on the
innocent
We need to build a world in which not only war but also social,
political and economic inequality are abolished. Building that world
requires a lot more than simply opposing this war but it does include
building an anti-war movement.
Sectarian intimidation &
North Belfast
The horrifying ongoing scenes of sectarian intimidation outside Holy
Cross Primary School in the Ardoyne area of North Belfast have
shocked everyone.
Government wants to keep exporting
women
The government is going to have yet another abortion referendum next
spring. At present abortion is only allowed in Ireland if the woman
is in imminent danger of death because of her pregnancy.
Did you hear about democracy in
SIPTU? Neither did we!
Democracy in SIPTU? A nice idea but one we will have to fight for.
International anti war
protests
Although this massive mobilisation has taken place in almost
spontaneous circumstances, its arrival should not surprise us. The US
is clearly linked with an economic strategy ("neo-liberalism") that
has brought misery and poverty to huge numbers.
Keep on binning the bin tax
Reports from the campaigns in Dublin and Cork
Review of Case Studies in Hypocrisy
and US Human Rights Policy
A short review of two spoken word CD's by Noam Chomsky on US foreign
policy
Grassroots activists to meet up
in Dublin
It is important that any network is independent of political
organisations and that it is organised in a libertarian, grassroots
manner so that everyone involved gets an equal say in decisions made.
That's Capitalism
The homeless, working to death in Japan, poverty in Britain, Michael
O'Leary and grants, hunger in Africa while bosses treble wealth
Tough on War:
Tough on the causes of war
Why anarchism is the only real alternative to war. Re-printed from
the Against War and Terrorism pamphlet
Getting organised
Who is behind this paper and why do we put it out? What have we been
up to recently?
PDF file of Workers Solidarity No 67
Download, print out and distribute copies of the paper
According to the WTO, the GATS agreements cover 160 services' sector. What few people realised when the deal was first done is that the GATS also includes healthcare, education, housing, water, waste management and other basic services usually run by government agencies.
There is a lot of nonsense turning up on TV, radio and in the newspapers, which tries to make anarchism little more than another word for violence. In reality anarchists are no more violent than anyone else
The Old Head of Kinsale in Co. Cork is an area of renowned beauty. It has been enjoyed as an amenity by locals and by people from outside Kinsale who have heard of the traditional walk out along the Old Head to the lighthouse at the tip of the headland
Capitalism: Boom to bust? Is this as good as it gets?
We can't say how long it will be before this downturn spreads into the rest of the economy, but we can say that it is only a question of time. Capitalism moves from slump to boom to slump
The Dublin Campaign against the Bin Tax is entering a crucial phase. Meetings calling for a mass campaign of non-payment have been held in various areas throughout the city.
What did you hear about Genoa?
One of the interesting things to do with rolling news-coverage, such as on Sky News, is to watch how the spin changes in the course of the day.
Irish campaigner arrested and beaten
The most frightening experience involved my arresting Carabinari attempting to stab me. When this happened my mind thought of people who had died of gunshot wounds in French detention and for a moment I did question my future
Bolivia: debtors armed with dynamite and molotovs
In La Paz, a group of small debtors armed with dynamite and molotovs occupied the building of a banking supervisory agency. There they held hostage 94 of the institution's functionaries
Get involved in building anarchism in Ireland
We need YOU to get involved. At its simplest this could be taking 10, 20, 50 copies of each issue and distributing them to your friends, workmates and neighbours
Restructuring and resistance: Diverse voices of struggle in western Europe
This is an inspired book that succeeds in explaining why many people in western Europe are opposing capitalist globalisation. It does this by doing what the mainstream media will not, giving them a voice.
Why Mick O'Reilly was victimised
He has been a thorn in the side of the Irish government and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) bosses, being the only member of the ICTU executive to consistently oppose the 'social partnership' deals.
More on the bosses crazy world
As we go to press, workers are still occupying Peerless Rugs in Athy. The plant had closed on July 4th
PDF file for you to print out and distribute
Elderly evicted from nursing homes as rich get tax amnesties and politicians get bribes
Families of elderly people who can no longer afford to pay for their care in nursing homes are being told to remove them. The average cost of keeping an elderly person in a home has jumped to £400 a week
Illegal immigrants defy Spanish government and win - Thousands of "Sin Papeles" get papers
A seven-week occupation of 10 Barcelona churches earlier this year resulted in a victory for illegal immigrants in Spain. The occupations have spread to and continue in other towns
Reports from the campaign in the Liberties and Walkinstown
Bin Tax: Building for the future
Dermot Sreenan who is on the ad-hoc co-ordination committee for the Corporation area looks ahead to the sort of victory we need.
Anti-Bin Tax protestors jailed in Cork
In June 2001 James McBarron along with two other bin tax protesters was jailed in Cork. We asked him to write about his experiences
Fighting Global Capitalism ..What sort of movement do we need?
Ireland has been on the fringes of the growing movement against neo-liberalism/capitalist globalisation. Since Seattle four organisations have attempted to function as umbrella groups for this growing movement.
Recently we received details of one of the newer syndicalist unions, the Siberian Confederation of Labour (SKT).
Thinking about anarchism - Democracy, majority rule, and autonomy
An element of real democracy is that decisions should be made by those who are effected by them. For a lot of issues, only certain people will really be effected by a decision, and so they should be the only ones to make it.
Fighting Nice and Getting involved
The ruling class got an almighty slap in the face when we voted to reject the Nice Treaty. The Workers Solidarity Movement and other anarchists campaigned for a 'no' vote
Anarchists in Derry had a busy pre-election period and we were distributing anti-Nice leaflets to encourage a No-Vote to Donegal-registered cars in the city
Mind your own Business: Economics at Work
Workers today face a sustained barrage of economic arguments and terminology which goes way beyond the old 'industry-speak' language of classical collective bargaining. Our bosses speak constantly of partnership and want to set up participation councils
Women on Waves ship at Dublin and Cork
Ireland's silence about abortion was dramatically broken when the Women on Waves ship visited Dublin and Cork.
Crooked banks, arms deals and Nazis
It didn't start in Seattle, it won't end in Genoa
Over the last two years a movement has been growing all over the world that seeks to end the rule of the banks. It didn't start in Seattle when the World Trade Organisation congress was blockaded in November 1999. It won't end in Genoa in July when massive protests will take place against the G8 summit.
The fight against the Bin Charges
In March 2001 the first of a second round of bin charges hit homes all over the Dún Laoghaire - Rathdown area. Though the charges have not yet been beaten, the campaign here is in a very strong position. Already campaigners are becoming active throughout the Corporation area and the Dublin and Dún Laoghaire campaigns are building links
Anarchist organisations meet in Madrid
Report on the LibWeek 2001 meeting hosted by the CGT in Madrid and a review of the declaration it issued
'Good Friday' - 3 years on has anything changed?
3 years on from the 'Good Friday' Agreement, and with the 6 Counties facing into a general election, it's a good time to ask whether anything has really changed on the Northern political landscape
In the WSM we're often asked why we spend so much time talking about the working class. Even the title of our paper, Workers Solidarity, seems a bit odd to some - why are we talking so much about workers? Isn't anarchism for everybody? And aren't we all middle class now?
Irish women - still having to get the abortion boat
A medical ship with a fully functioning operating theatre on board is coming to Ireland in June. The ship will travel to countries like Brazil and the Philippines where abortion is illegal and women are dying as a result of unsanitary and unprofessional backstreet abortions.
The foot and mouth outbreak has led to more precautions than any other 'crisis' in living memory. Government has treated it far more seriously than the heroin epidemic, which killed hundreds and ravaged so many of our communities.
Attempt to curtail protest defeated
If Dublin Corporation had their way, there would be no more large marches in the city centre. In April they tried to introduce new by-laws which would prevent protests occurring in O'Connell Street.
TRIPS and the WTO - killing millions for massive profits [In Greek]
The World Trade Organisation's Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) was created to allow multinational corporations to demand that their 'ownership' of intellectual patents be respected in all countries.
AIB profits, GAP profits, Michael Smurfit's pay, US crime exports etc
In April about 70 people from Belfast, Clare, Cork, Derry, Donegal, Dublin, Galway and Limerick came to the WSM's Ideas and Action gathering
Civil and Public Service Union has voted by three to one to reject the PPF revision to compensate for inflation
South Korean anarchists resist the military
Letter: Sligo bin tax and Sinn Féin
What are Sinn Féin up to in Sligo?
Issue 5 of our magazine Red and Black Revolution will be published at the start of May. It focuses on the anti-globalisation movement
Politicians - 57 varieties, all unfit for Human consumption
26 county secondary teachers, Aer Lingus workers and bricklayers are just a few groups of workers who have been lectured by TDs about "excessive" and "unrealistic" pay claims. Meanwhile 6 county ‘term time’ workers in the education system have been fighting for payments during school holidays.
Sweatshops, unions and Fortress Europe
The EU is continuing the exploitation of the people of North Africa through creating a special trade zone of some of the North African countries similar to the free trades zones North America has created in Mexico.
The anarchist struggle in South America [In French]
Anarchists are once again on the march, their voices are being heard in mass social movements after many years of silence, and their message of self-organisation against capitalism is being listened to by an ever growing number of workers.
Bin Charges - a strategy to win
The key tactic which guaranteed success in the anti-water charge campaign was the refusal to pay. In the initial stages of the campaign, activists in local communities went from door-to-door encouraging their neighbours to join the boycott campaign.
Bin Campaign Set To Escalate In Cork
Cork Corpo. plans to jail bin charges activists it has fined under the Litter Act
Dublin Bin charges - Liars and Cheats
The vote to implement bin charges in Dublin Corporation in mid-January once again proved what a bunch of liars and cheats politicians are - no matter what party they come from
Thinking about anarchism - Democracy In Our Unions?
Trade unions were set up to defend and advance the interests of workers, but over the years have become more and more dominated by a largely unaccountable bureaucracy.
10 years after the Gulf War - Their New World Order is as deadly as ever
10 years after the Gulf War offically ended Britain and the US continue to bomb Iraq. It only occasionally gets into the headlines, normally when civilians are killed.
Saving democracy?, NAFTA, deportations, 590 billionaires, bananas, oil profits
If money can travel why can’t people? The simple answer is that the bosses want to profit from a global economy. Racism is good for business. It’s vitally important that we let the Irish Government and the State know that we will not allow them to get away with the deportation of people.
RWG : Defend Freedom of Speech
On the morning of Wednesday 7th February, Anthony McIntyre - a member of the Irish Republican Writers Group (IRWG) - was physically attacked and injured by one of the leading participants in the recent Sinn Fein led pickets on his home in West Belfast.
Review: The Corrosion of Character
This is a thoughtful and thought provoking book. It describes a section of society that is affluent and yet hollow and empty. Anyone working in a Celtic Tiger computer company will find much to think about in this book.
PDF file of Workers Solidarity No62
We're told we live in a free society. We have freedom of speech, we can work where we like, travel where we like, and can vote in elections. But how free are we?
On 28th March 2000 a group of eleven anti-racists occupied the Taoiseach's constituency office, in protest at proposed draconian measures against asylum seekers. The government was planning to introduce prison ships (so-called 'flotels'), forcible fingerprinting and the introduction of police from abroad to catch people fleeing injustice in their own countries.
Reports from the struggle against the bin charges in Dublin and Cork
A thank you letter from the Czech anarchists for Irish support for the people arrested at the S26 demonstrations in Prague
More bad news from the world of capital
Many African countries are chronically broke. They must regularly borrow money to finance the public sector and to service their existing debt. The IMF is willing to provide loans as long as the government will carry out a neo-liberal reform package, known as a Structural Adjustment Program (SAP). [An unedited longer version of this article ]
Last November about 70 or 80 people, from a number of left wing groupings, attended a conference in Dublin calling for 'Left Unity'. The organisers of the meeting wanted to set up an alliance like the Socialist Alliances in Britain, or even a new party like the Scottish Socialist Party. This would be an alliance, based on Leninist groups, coming together primarily to contest the next general election.
Anarchism is a very simple idea - basically society should not be divided into order-givers and order-takers, instead it should be organised in a non-hierarchical way. We don't need bosses, politicians, bishops or anybody else to tell us how to live our lives. Anarchists look to a society which will be based on the idea of 'from each according to ability, to each according to need'.
On Monday November 20th the Refugee Act came into force. The main purpose of the act appears to be to ensure that asylum seekers do not even temporarily attain the most basic rights of Irish Citizens and that they be kicked out as soon as possible.
Secondary teachers, rail signal workers and Aer Lingus cabin crew are just some of the workers who have taken on both their own bosses and the government. They aren't buying into the nonsense that we are all equal partners with our bosses and are all getting a fair share of the booming economy. Suddenly there is a chorus of very rich employers and their paid economists telling us that the great Tiger economy won't stretch to a wage rise that you might actually notice in your pay packet.
The secondary teachers took more than a few politicians by surprise. Regarded as the most conservative of the three teachers' unions, they were not expected to be leading a movement to break the PPF wage limits. Yet, that is exactly what they have done.
Kieran Allen's study of the Celtic Tiger was published with almost perfect timing as the bosses, the government and the trade union leaders lined up to tell workers that if they did not moderate their pay demands we might kill off the 'Celtic Tiger'.
You may remember back in early December the news being dominated for several nights by coverage of the European Summit in Nice. An endless stream of politicians and political experts offered us their opinions on what new voting arrangements might be introduced. You might even be aware that there was some opposition on the streets of Nice to the summit, on December 7th most TV news items started with brief footage of a bank being set on fire
PDF file of Workers Solidarity No62
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