Workers Solidarity Movement

This book is a collection of essays by and interviews on anarchism with the man who has recently been voted the most popular intellectual in the world, (not that he was very impressed by that!)

Though the issue of the Rossport pipeline was last in the news when the the five local men were released from prison, the conflict with Shell hasn't gone away. Since then the government commissioned a report, which essentially whitewashed Shell and gave the go ahead to build this dangerous pipeline

It's one of anarchism's fundamental claims that it's possible to organise in an effective manner without submitting to authority. Not only that, but we believe that it's more effective than organising in a hierarchial manner as it makes use of everybody's talents and minimises the alientation that comes with decisions being made over your head. That's why we don't have a leadership - we think it's ineffective.

Ireland now has six euro billionaires, Northern Ireland Assembly has cost taxpayers £78 million, 1,250 barristers and solicitors earn more than €200,000, Bertie Ahern received no less than 5 pay rises in the 6 months

The (Irish Ferries) dispute escalated on November 24th when goons from a private security firm brought Eastern European seafarers onto the ships. If the ferries resumed sailing the dispute would be effectively over, with Irish Ferries winning hands down.

The old union motto "an injury to one is the concern of all" is taken more seriously by ordinary union members than by many of our "leaders". The Irish Congress of Trade Unions, sheltering behind the 1990 Industrial Relations Act which makes strikes in support of other workers unlawful, didn't call for a national walk-out. We knew they wanted us to strike and march but their over-cautious approach didn't exactly inspire workers with particularly aggressive employers.

On December 14th the three week dispute at Irish Ferries came to an end. SIPTU claimed that the deal protects a "threshold of decency". Irish Ferries had offered redundancy to 543 crew members, who were to be replaced with staff employed on wages of just €3.60 an hour - less than half the national minimum wage.

"I think it only makes sense to seek out and identify structures of authority, hierarchy, and domination in every aspect of life, and to challenge them; unless a justification for them can be given, they are illegitimate, and should be dismantled, to increase the scope of human freedom.

ICTU general secretary David Begg condemned the anti-bin tax campaign. He did this at the same time that the state was jailing protesters and refusing to collect rubbish from thousands of households in Dublin.

One in eight people in prison in the 26 counties left school at age 12 or younger. Less than 17% stayed in school until age 17 or older. According to the Prison Adult Literacy Survey released in September, 52% of prisoners are functionally illiterate. Yet the government prefers the option of jailings rather than putting the necessary resources into the schools - which would doubtlessly reduce the incidence of petty and anti-social crime.