ANARCHIST PRESS:

WORKERS' SOLIDARITY CELEBRATES ITS 100TH ISSUE:

Since 1984 the Irish anarchist magazine 'Workers' Solidarity' has been slagging off the bosses, both political and corporate. In that time WS has gone from a solely print publication to an online presence that is part of a diversified collection of texts and publications. It has also spawned two sister magazines, 'Red and Black Revolution' and the new anarchist-feminist journal 'The Rag'. Now it's time to celebrate as WS publishes its 100th issue. Over the years WS has seen a number of formats, an 8 page monthly, a 20 page quarterly, a tabloid size and a free bimonthly downloadable for world distribution on their website. They tell their story of the whys and wherefores, the history and the struggles they have been involved in in an article reprinted at A-Infos and at the Anarkismo site. Read the full story at either of these two links. For now here are a few extracts that Molly found particularly choice:

"The birthday cake is ready, the candles are lit---This is the 100th edition of Workers' Solidarity. Why do we bother ? After all, nobody gets paid for writing, or doing layout, or stuffing envelopes, or putting copies through neighbours' letterboxes or giving them out at union meetings or in city centres.---Well, we are sick and tired of a system that won't provide us with decent health care, or economic security, or affordable housing. We are sick and tired of a system that pays farmers in one country not to grow food while people in another country starve to death, a system that spends billions on weapons of mass destruction but won't cough up to keep people alive.---There is nothing natural about this...."

"We think we have a better idea of how society could be run, and how change can be achieved. We are anarchists; we want a stateless and classless socialist society where people can participate directly in making decisions that will effect them, where there is no division into rulers and ruled, where freedom will enjoy no limit except that the freedom of others is not interfered with...."

"One story that still raises a smile was not hugely political. It was a short report from the long and bitter British miners' strike of 1984/85. "The police at Wath in the north of England got what was coming to them for spoiling the fun of the pickets. Miners built a snowman, and to give it a final touch they placed a toy policeman's helmet on its head. A right swine of a Superintendent did his nut. He ordered the pickets to remove the helmet. On being told to sod off he jumped into his landrover and drove at the snowman. Only to find out it had been built around a thick concrete post...."

"The anarchist movement in Ireland is growing. We were able to bring 4,000 to an explicitly libertarian and anti-capitalist march when the EU heads of state visited in 2004...."

For any anarchist publication to reach issue # 100 is a great achievement, as anyone who has gone this route can testify. In the English language only Freedom and The Match! have achieved this landmark. It takes a great amount of dedication to meet the deadline year after year with only modest successes to encourage you. Workers' Solidarity now boasts a circulation of about 8,000. As they say, "It's a drop in the ocean, but it's a slightly bigger drop these days.". Workers' Solidarity is available for free downloading at their website at http://www.wsm.ie/ .Drop on over to have a peek and help with its distribution if you like what you see.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WORKERS'

SOLIDARITY:

MOLLY BAKED YOU A CAKE