Workers Solidarity Movement

Elections have passed, faces change but the corrupt political class remains. MPs of all parties made common cause in attempting to delay and minimise the disclosure of their fraudulent behaviour and life of grandeur and wealth, subsidised by the taxpayer.

From the outset of the financial mess the Irish Government currently find themselves is, they have tried pinning the blame on anyone but themselves and their big business buddies. They have been quite willing to perpetuate lies and untruths in order to deflect public ire away from themselves.

PAYE taxpayers are only not being forced to bail out bankers and speculators, we are told that we also will have to meet the compensation and legal bills of a giant paedophile network. And we should be grateful that the child abusers are throwing in a few bob towards the cost!

Working people continue to bear the brunt of the economic recession in terms on job cuts, poverty wages and house repossessions, while the rich and powerful in our society are bailed out again. This is state capitalism and comes under various forms from thatcherism to neo-liberalism.

The Belfast Anarchist Communist Discussion Group, set up by the Belfast branch of the Workers Solidarity Movement recently invited Michael Reinsborough to give a talk on the topic of neo-liberalism.

The public meeting took place on Wednesday 17th June in the Belfast Unemployment Centre.

Mark McGregor should check his facts before embarking on baseless comments without any shred of evidence or truth, before deciding to demonise those who attended the rally as a crime and stayed with the Romanian families, who actually requested help and assistance.

The brutal sectarian murder of voluntary community worker Kevin McDaid in Coleraine has again exposed the ugly face of sectarianism in Northern Ireland and the fallacy of the so-called peace settlement.

Torab Saleh who took part in the Iranian revolution of 1979 spoke in Dublin of his personal experiences of that time and the challenges it presented to him and others on the left. This is the audio recording of that meeting.

Torab Saleh on the Iranian revolution of 1979 - HOPI meeting in Dublin by Andrew Flood on Mixcloud

The struggle against capitalism and authority is constant but each year on May Day the labour movement takes time out to celebrate its history and achievements. Rather than dwell on the hardships of struggle we take to the streets and remember what it is we are aiming for - the emancipation of our class. Climbing a mountain means paying close attention to the ground you walk but it's important to look up now and again in order to focus on exactly where it is you're headed.

People often pose the question, what can a strike achieve? The WSM policy on trade unions states the following: “What is anarchism? When we get down to basics, it is workers collectively running a free society. Instead of taking orders from the boss and serving his/her mad rush for profit at any cost, it is about working together for the common good.

Long-term Rossport campaigner, Sean Mallory, gives his views on the give away of Ireland’s natural resources and the recession. While the Irish economy was built on a construction boom and massive inward investment, it seemed to go unnoticed that, by our governments own February 2009 estimate, there is €315b euro worth of oil and gas deposits all along our western seaboard. At the same time, the government tells us that it has no money to pay for cervical cancer tests and the construction of specialised multiple sclerosis units, amongst other vital services.