October 2012

1000s march for Choice in Dublin - photo slideshow

Date:

Saturday 29 September saw thousands march through Dublin as part of the March for Choice

 

This is a selection from the 180 photographs we published in our Facebook album of the March for Choice.

Jakub Polák, doyen of the Czech anarchist scene, dies aged 60

Date:

Czech anarchist, Anti-Racist and Squatter Jakub Polak passed away after a long term illness last week on Tuesday 25th September. Jakub Polák was born in Czechoslovakia in 1952. He became a political dissident as a teenager during the Prague Spring (1968). Because of his political activity Jakub wasn’t allowed to study in university. This made him even more involved in the various underground and dissident movement activities.

March for Choice - Thousands take to the Streets

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This year has seen a re-energised campaign for abortion rights  in Ireland, starting with the Action on X campaign at the beginning of the year but Youth Defense's awful billboard campaign over the summer invigorated pro-choice activists to take full scale action. On Saturday 29th September the March for Choice was organised to mark International Day for Decriminalisation of Abortion. This has also been organised a month ahead of a publication of a report on abortion from a government appointed expert group, which will examine how the Governement will handle the abortion issue.

Dub: Conversations about Anarchism - some basics

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The first of the 2012 Conversations about Anarchism will take place in the WSM space in Seomra Spraoi. Conversations about Anarchism is our friendly discussion based sessions designed for people who are new or fairly new to anarchism and want a chance to ask and hear answered some basic questions.

We are calling this first 2012 session 'An Introduction to Anarchism' and we will be using the five questions from the Anarchist FAQ to start off our conversation. These are

What does "anarchism" mean?
Are anarchists socialists?
Where does anarchism come from?
Why is solidarity important to anarchists?
Are anarchists in favour of organisation?

Dub: AFA Ireland 21st birthday weekender

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Anti-Fascist Action Ireland will be hosting a weekend of events to mark there 21st birthday on the 5th to the 7th of October in Dublin City.

Text of AFA announcement follows.  We have confirmed over 100 international guests so far from Glasgow, Huddersfield, London, Manchester, Liverpool, Brighton, Leeds, Naples, Rome, Venice, Toulouse, Berlin, Hamburg, Stockholm, Malmo, Copenhagen, Split, Bilbao, Oslo and Prague .

Solidarity Stroll - Fighting for Domestic Workers' Rights

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On Saturday, the 6th of October, the Solidarity Stroll took place, organised by the Dosmetic Workers Action Group and the Migrant Rights Centre of Ireland. They were calling for the Irish Government to ratify the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention on Decent Work for Dosmetic Workers (C189). This convention would give dosmestic workers the same rights as other workers.

Stormont rubber stamps Welfare Reform Bill

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Anyone with any illusions in Stormont as a 'progressive' alternative to Tory cuts from Westminster should take note after yesterday’s passing of the devastating Welfare reform bill.  The motion which will impact on thousands in NI and affect disability living allowance, housing benefit and employment support was passed in the second stage by 60 votes to 42. This biggest shakeup of the 'welfare' since 1945 has already been passed in Scotland and Wales and will bring in a single, Universal Credit to replace six income-related, work-based benefits.

The Croke Park Agreement – the very antithesis of Larkin’s trade unionism

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Next year, 2013, will mark the 100th anniversary of what many see as the most significant industrial dispute ever to have taken place in Ireland - the Dublin Lockout.  The employers of Dublin, led by William Martin Murphy, locked out over 20,000 workers in an attempt to starve them into submission and to smash the increasingly popular Irish Transport and General Workers Union (ITGWU).

Lisbrook House Asylum Centre Candlelight Vigil

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273 men, women and children have been left devastated with the news that Lisbrook House asylum centre, which has been home to many people for several years, is to close its doors. The residents of Lisbrook House are playing an integral role in the local Galway community but now are being scandalously moved out from their homes.

*Lisbrook House asylum centre residents and supporters will hold a candlelight vigil tomorrow night (Friday 12 October) at 8pm outside the facility.

Gal: Grassroots Gathering 13 in Galway - island wide gathering

Date:

Grassroots Gathering
Community struggles - campaign strategies - developing networks
NUI Galway, Friday October 12 - Sunday 14

  • Communities against fracking and drilling; movements against austerity; other sessions
  • What it is, practical details, grassroots principles, call for volunteers

NEW - FULL TIMETABLE AVAILABLE HERE(More details of sessions at the end of this post.)

Support the Marie Stopes clinic in Belfast

Date:

The opening of the Marie Stopes clinic in Belfast is a positive step forward for women’s rights and continuing battle for abortion services in Ireland.  While the 1967 Abortion Act has still not been extended to Northern Ireland due to an alliance of reactionary conservative forces from our local sectarian parties to the Churches.  This means that abortions can be carried out only to preserve the life of the mother, or if continuing the pregnancy would have other serious, permanent physical or mental health effects. There is strict assessment regarding any impact on mental well-being and the woman must consult with two clinicians.

Don: Peadar O'Donnell Weekend 2012

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Workers Solidarity Movement will be attending this years Peadar O'Donnell Weekend 2012 in the Rosses area of West Donegal. Hope to see you there if you can make it, as we will be providing an anarchist bookstall as part of a number of events organized for the weekend, so drop by and say hello and pick up some free anarchist info or buy a book.

Plan B is no alternative - time for an anti-capitalist Plan C

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We are publishing the following interview with David Harvie of the new English group "Plan C" carried out by Shift Magazine earlier this year. This interview has since been republished on Plan C's new website (www.weareplanc.org) launched this week. But we thought that although the interview is specifically addressed at political actors in England and the UK, the arguments over Austerity (Plan A) and a possible "New New Deal" or neo-Keynesian "Plan B" are also relevant to Ireland, where today organisations like Claiming Our Future are campaigning to build support for an Irish Plan B. We think the following is a useful contribution to that debate. Reprinted with permission from David Harvie.

LON: The Struggle for Abortion in Ireland (AF & WSM)

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In Ireland, both North and South, it is impossible for women to have an abortion. When we need the support of being in familiar surroundings, forcing women to make this journey is simply wrong. This should not be the case. Under the Irish constitution, abortion is not

DUB: Teacher unions' protest: Value Education, Fight The Cuts

Date:

Protest against attacks on the pay and allowances of Newly Qualified Teachers and against threatened increases in class size.  Organised by the 3 teacher unions

Molesworth St., opposite the Dáil

DUB: National pre-budget protest organised by CAHWT & DCTU

Date:

Jointly organised by the campaign Agfainst Household & Water Taxes and Dublin Council of Trade Unions, this protest is an opportunity for all those opposed to the household tax, property tax and all the other austerity measures of the current government to come together and show your opposition.

Meet at garden of Remembrance, Parnell Square

https://www.facebook.com/events/329894890442520/

DUB: CAHWT protest at Dublin City Council

Date:

The first round of letters from Dublin City Council to people in Dublin who have boycotted the unfair and unjust Household Tax are starting to land. Last month we had a very lively protest at the monthly meeting of Dublin City Council.

We were there to remind them that the Household Tax is an Unjust Tax!

This month we are going back to remind them that we are still here and we won't be bullied by Hogan's threatening letters.

Facebook destroys page & event effectiveness for advertising gain - make it a utility owned by the people

Date:

Over the last few months changes made by Facebook have greatly reduced the effectiveness of Events and Pages because it has become much less likely that someone following a page will see posts made by that page. According to Facebook on average only 12% of followers will see a given post. In 2011 Facebook did the same to events, multiple changes in the way events work saw response rates to event invitations decline from around 80% of those invited responding to this figure often being less than 20%.

Political implications of Facebook damaging Pages for advertising revenue

Date:

Recent changes Facebook has made to Pages & Events have greatly reduced its usefulness for radical political organising. Here I reject the idea that the reason for these changes is political censorship and examine what the actual reasons & effects are.   In doing this I'm building on my article of last week that argues that Facebook should be a collectively owned public utility and not a private company - in part because of the way it has sabotaged its own usefulness in the search for advertising revenue.