Archives: Blog entry

A <em>blog entry</em> is a single post to an online journal, or <em>blog</em>.

Coverage of the massive M21 Water Charges demonstration in Dublin

March 21st saw tens of thousands of protesters take to the streets of Dublin once more for 3 marches from different points of the city that converged in O’Connell st. This video attempts to give a sense of the huge size of the marches by mixing footage taken from among the marches on the streets with that taken from overhead during the huge rally at the end.

Our coverage started early in the morning on our new Solidarity Times page with "19 buses are leaving Donegal as we write for the long trip to Dublin and the massive M21 protest marches against the Water Charge"

NCAD students occupy director office and read demands

Post date April 7, 2015

The simmering student revolt that started this spring in Amsterdam and spread to the LSE in London has now reached Dublin. Austerity has meant the acceleration of the EU neoliberal plan to turn universities into over packed and pressured factories churning out little human units optimised for industry.

Engels on The Housing Question and Proudhon

Sorry for the lack of blogging – as indicated in my last blog on Proudhon and labour-notes, I have been busy on a critique of Marx’s The Poverty of Philosophy which includes the marginal notes made in Proudhon’s copy. Below is an extract from the work currently in progress – an appendix Engels’ The Housing Question where Marx’s colleague – like Marx – practices his powers of invention against the Frenchman.

Using Facebook as a newspaper – About the WSM FB tag

Post date February 20, 2015

Regular readers of the site may have noticed I’ve been posting a lot more news items as blog posts in the last months and that a new tag, WSM FB has appeared on them. That tag indicates the item was original written for the WSM Facebook page.

Churchill and the crushing of the Greek Left at the end of WWII

Post date February 15, 2015

Both Churchill & Greece are in the news, but who remembers that Churchill was behind the brutal suppression of the Greek left towards the end of world war two, a suppression in which former Nazis were rearmed and with British troops killed thousands of Greeks?

The man Churchill put in charge of the operation, Sir Charles Wickham, for qualified for this brutal counter insurgency role because he had been the first Inspector General of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, from 1922 to 1945.

J31 – Water Charges march fills both sides of Quays

Post date January 31, 2015

Dublin city centre came to a complete standstill this afternoon (31/01/2015) as thousands of people marched in the city centre as part of a day of action that saw dozens of marches all over the country. The two photos here were taken seconds apart and show the north & south quays packed with protesters.

Irish Water battle comes to Sean O’Casey’s doorstep

Post date January 28, 2015

The Irish Water battle came right to the door step of Sean O’Casy’s home on Inisfallen Parade this morning (28 Jan 2015). Garda assaults have seen one person injuries and attempted intimidation on balaclava wearing goons hired by Irish Water is continuing.

We note that while the media has had a huge focus on insults shouted at the president no questions have been raised at why ‘security’ are not only following and videoing residents but are now running around masked up and refusing to identify themselves. It seems extraordinary that the media have failed to notice this while at the same time having such a focus on verbal insults (which have now been apologised for). You’d almost think they had an agenda.

Notes on the racist ‘Independent Greeks’ (ANEL) Syriza has gone into coalition with

Having written a long piece on the election of Syriza yesterday I saw this morning that they have gone into coalition with what has been described as an anti-migrant right (or even far right) party called the Independent Greeks ( or ANEL). ANEL have a strong anti-ECB stance but on the level of seeing Greeks as a victim of an ‘International Conspiracy’. Tie that into their leader claiming falsely that Jews pay no Taxes and it should sound warning bells. They do have 15 elected members so it gives the coalition a strong majority and Syriza have worked with them in the past. Presumably this and their strong anti ECB stance is why Syriza has decided that their anti-migration policies are not important. [Translation into Greece]

Proudhon, Marx, labour-notes and wage-labour

Post date January 8, 2015

And a happy new year to all! Well, it is 2015 and I’m back at work after a very nice holiday in which I watched a lot of superhero movies. I caught up on all the pictures I missed thanks to having children and not knowing enough people without children locally to baby-sit.

“Pierre-Joseph Proudhon: an uncomfortable thinker” by Nicola Chiaromonte

Proudhon has been interpreted in many ways, some more honestly and accurately than others. Two of the most dishonest and, sadly, influential have been by Karl Marx and American liberal J. Salwyn Schapiro. While the former’s work is discussed in the introduction of Property is Theft!, space preluded discussion the latter’s attempt to portray Proudhon as a fascist.