Friday was declared ‘Departure Friday’ by democracy protesters in Egypt as a second Friday of mass protest was been called to drive president Mubarak from his 30 year reign. Huge numbers took part in these protests.
Recent days have seen intense street fighting as protesters had to defend themselves from mobs mobilised in a desperate bid by Mubarak to hold onto power. Meanwhile there are dozens of disturbing reports of secret police arresting protesters at their homes and workplaces. There has also been a sustained violent campaign against journalists which has forced the majority of them off the streets and onto balconies around the square. On Friday morning Aj Jazeera had its Cairo offices trashed.
Following the refusal of Mubarak to resign a mob of his supporters attempted to fight their way into Tahir square in Cairo on February 2nd where anti-Mubarak protests demanding democracy have rallied over the last week. Some of the mob who have been captured were carrying police ID’s. The intention appears to be to either drive the democracy protesters off the streets and/or create an excuse for army intervention to ‘restore stability,’ something the official opposition is now calling for. The UN has issued a statement fearing that 300 have been killed and 500 injured, its unclear if this refers just to today’s events.
After a week of popular revolt two million people are demonstrating in Cairo today demanding that president Mubarak and his son leave the country and that the regime be changed. An indefinite general strike has also been called by organisers of the movement.
New Years Eve in Dublin saw a gathering on the Hapenny bridge in Dublin to mark the anniversary of ‘Operation Lead’ when the Israeli attack on Gaza killed more that 1400 people. Meanwhile in Israel there were arrests of Israeli activists protesting the killing of a Palestinian women, Jawaher Abu Rahmah by teargas.
Saturday 18th December saw activists from a number of pro-choice organizations including the WSM rally at the GPO in Dublin to mark the European Court of Human Rights ruling in the ABC case. The short rally which took place in the bitter cold had been called at just over 24 hours notice by the Feminist Open Forum but still attracted a few dozen activists who have been involved in campaigning against Ireland’s ban on abortion in the last decades.
Several hundred people took part in "A Spectacle Of Defiance And Hope" in Dublin Friday night to protest the way the government have cut funding to vital community services. Janice Feighery a co-ordinator at an after school computer program for young people said “Community programmes are being devastated by the cuts. Our work with young people is strangled by lack of funds." The spectacle draws to a close the week of protests against the austerity budget.
Many of the hundred thousand plus people who took part in Saturday’s demonstration against the IMF/ECB four year plan would be disturbed to know that mixed among them were a number of secret police disguised as protesters. And it appears these Special Branch operatives were among the small breakaway march to the Dail that occurred after the main protest and which some media outlets seized on as ‘proof’ of the violence the Garda and that section of the media had been hyping in advance of the protest. 
Ireland has an indigenous revolutionary tradition that successfully mobilized tens if not hundreds of thousands in the struggle for more freedom over the 200 years since 1798. Irish republicanism has always included a radical democratic and leveling element and which continues to provide part of the culture of resistance of the most down trodden sections of the working class. Many believe this makes it the best base to build from, at the fifth 
November 24th the Irish government announced the details of the four year plan required as part of the ECB / IMF ‘bailout’ of the banks. There will be five billion worth of new taxes and 10 billion worth of cuts under this so called ‘National Recovery’ which in reality will take 10% out of GDP. As we show below almost all these costs are being dumped on workers, particularly low paid workers, the very sector that gained little or nothing during the boom years. the richest 1% are left with most of their legal tax dodges in particular the ability to avoid paying tax at all if they spend 6 months on holidays out of the country. [