ANARCHIST PUBLICATIONS:

ISSUE #110 OF 'WORKERS' SOLIDARITY':

They keep them coming, and they keep them coming well. Workers' Solidarity is the eponymous publication of the Irish 'Workers' Solidarity Movement'. Always a good read and a fine example of making anarchism relevant to the ordinary person. This latest edition is available in downloadable pdf format. Here's the promo from the Anarkismo website.

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Workers Solidarity 110 now online:
July - August 2009 Edition of the Workers Solidarity freesheet is now online for you to download or read.
Workers Solidarity 110
Click on one of the links below for a PDF version of the northern or southern edition of Workers Solidarity 110.

PDF of Workers Solidarity 110 Southern Web Edition 1.6 Mb

PDF of Workers Solidarity 110 Northern Web Edition 2.7 Mb
Anarchism and the WSM

In the aftermath of the racist attacks that forced over 100 Romanians to flee their homes in South Belfast, the local Workers Solidarity Movement branch is hosting an afternoon of discussion about how we can tackle racism. This will be happening in the city centre on Saturday July 18th. Watch out for posters or check www.wsm.ie for the time and venue.

Workers Solidarity Movement members who took part in the defence of homes in Belgravia Avenue and Wellesley Avenue will give their account of what happened. With the rise of the far-right, as reflected in the nazi salutes and slogans of the attackers, do we need militant anti fascism today?

There will also be discussions about the anarchist idea - anarchists want to get rid of the state and capitalism but what will we replace them with? How will we organise transport, education and health? What about crime? And we will be debating the best form of organisation for anarchists. Everyone is welcome to drop in and take part, or just to have a look.

Meanwhile in Mayo the arrival of Shell’s pipe-laying ship was preceded by an increasingly aggressive attitude by Shell’s security and the Gardai towards protesters. This reached a new level when local fisherman and Shell To Sea activist Pat O’Donnell had his boat boarded by four masked men who held him and his mate captive before sinking the vessel.

WSM members have been stepping up their work in Shell To Sea to support the local campaigners and to highlight the billions being given away to Shell and other multinationals. The corruption we live under is undeniable in this case. A disgraced cabinet minister, Ray Burke, signed rights to literally billions in gas and oil away to big oil companies. In return the taxpayer got nothing. And this is hardly commented on in the press or on TV.

Millions of euros have been spent on what has felt like a garda occupation of Erris. Finding that money was no problem. It’s such a different story when money is needed to keep beds open in Crumlin children’s hospital or get a new school building in Tipperary. Looking after one of the wealthiest companies in the world appears to be more important than giving our children decent schools, or even saving their lives.

We know there are very real limits to what we can cover in a paper that appears only every two months, but we do hope that it gives some idea of anarchism. And we hope it shows its relevance to the very real concerns people have at present.

We are producing 10,000 copies, in northern and southern editions. We would like to make that a lot more. To interest people in anarchism we first have to let them know it exists, and that it is nothing like the absurd stereotype conjured up by much of the media.

If you want to help us let more people know about the anarchist alternative, why not take a bundle of Workers Solidarity and give them out to friends, at work, at gigs or put them through neighbours’ letterboxes. Send us your name and address, and we’ll send you 20 copies (more if you want them).

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In This Issue

The Battle Against Shell in Mayo

1. The Corrib Gas field is worth over 30 billion euro. Enough to get Ireland working again. 2. Under the deal signed by the corrupt Minister, Fianna Fail’s Ray Burke, the taxpayer has no stake in the gas field and gets no royalties.

The War on Youth

On RTE news on 18/5/09, Mary Hanafin stated, in her usual Orwellian fashion, that the Department of Social and Family Affairs (DSFA) had now provided a financial incentive to encourage those under 20 to go into training or education. This ’financial incentive’ involved cutting the dole to €100 per week for new claimants under the age of 20.

Seize Their Assets - Break Up the Criminal Gangs

PAYE taxpayers are only not being forced to bail out bankers and speculators, we are told that we also will have to meet the compensation and legal bills of a giant paedophile network. And we should be grateful that the child abusers are throwing in a few bob towards the cost!

Surprise, Surprise, More Government Lies

From the outset of the financial mess the Irish Government currently find themselves is, they have tried pinning the blame on anyone but themselves and their big business buddies. They have been quite willing to perpetuate lies and untruths in order to deflect public ire away from themselves.

Mayo and Bolivia: The Fascist Link

For the last eight years the local communities in Rossport and Glengad, County Mayo have been resisting petro-chemical giant Shell’s plans for a high-pressure gas pipeline from the offshore gas fields to an online refinery at Bellanaboy. The project is a significant health and safety risk in the medium term, as admitted by Shells own engineers at a recent local forum examining the project. It already has caused high levels of aluminum pollution of the local water supply.

Direct Action Gets the Goods: Visteon Occupation Pays Off

The occupation of the Visteon motor parts factory in Belfast ended on May 3rd when the company gave in and agreed pay extra compensation of between six month’s and nearly two year’s money to the workforce for the loss of their jobs.

Thinking About Anarchism: The Politics of Climate Change

In recent years climate change has loomed large in the public imagination. Scientifically, there is little doubt that it is a real threat to the future of human civilisation. The greenhouse effect has been known about since the early 19th century - gases in the atmosphere such as carbon dioxide, methane and water vapour trap heat from the sun, causing the climate of the planet to heat up over time. Probably the most spectacular known example of this effect in action is on Venus.

Film Review: Looking For Eric

Born of a Catalan mother whose family fought Franco’s forces in the Spanish Civil War and a father who juggled a nursing career and a passionate interest in painting, Cantona’s humble lineage portrays a character quite different to the one we should have expected from the one on the field, with his upturned collar and puffed out chest, his air always suggested that of a French nobleman; that and his football eventually led to him to be known as King.

Snouts in the Trough

Elections have passed, faces change but the corrupt political class remains. MPs of all parties made common cause in attempting to delay and minimise the disclosure of their fraudulent behaviour and life of grandeur and wealth, subsidised by the taxpayer.

That's Capitalism

Local DUP councillor, Adrian McQuillan seemed less than outraged at the sectarian murder of Kevin McDaid in Coleraine. He wrote it off as “tit for tat” and went on to excuse the killers: “What reason can you see for there being tricolours up yesterday afternoon, a Sunday afternoon? None other than for to get a reaction from the loyalist community…”

Race Hate Attacks in Belfast

At the time of going to press, only 14 of the 115 Romanians targeted in racist attacks in Belfast earlier this month have decided to remain in the country. The rest are returning home.

LABOUR IRELAND:
WORKERS' OCCUPATION OF WORKPLACE PAYS OFF IN IRELAND:
According to the Irish Platformist publication 'Workers Solidarity' # 99 (see the Workers' Solidarity website for access to the original article in their magazine) an occupation of the workplace by Irish workers at the Reilly Bookbinders in Wicklow paid off for the workers involved. Last summer the boss, Richard Geraghty, told the workers at the plant that the lease was up on August 1, and that the work was to be moved to the Czech Republic. He also announced that the firm was bankrupt anhd counldn't pay them their redundancy payments as rfequired by law. All but one of the workers had 15 years service, and some had over 20 years. In previous bankruptcy manoevers Garaghty had always managed to come off in the black.



The 14 workers at Reilly Bookbinders responded with a workplace occupation on July 18th, an occupation that lasted a month. They refused to allow any equipment or customers' orders to leave the building. The workers refused some rather pathetic offers from management, and in the end they received the payments that Garaghty calimed there was no money for. the company in question had been the recipient of 900,000 in previous government largesse. It may be that the government gave one final bail-out to their dear friend by paying the workers what was owed them.



Molly has blogged on the subject of workplace occuptions her in Canada previously(see our archives for Jan 28, 2008), and she sees no reason to change her opinions. This sort of tactic is to be encouraged for many reasons, both short term and long term. In the short term it is a very effective way of putting pressure on the employer and safeguarding the bargaining position of the workers involved. In the long term it acts to draw out the idea that workers have property rights in their jobs, just as local communities have property rights in the workplaces situated in them. While individual occupations may succeed to one degree or another (understanding that it is an more effective tactic at some times rather than others) the long term effect of people adopting such tactics is beneficial for society as a whole. This is in contrast to the underhanded proposals of certain Leninists who use such events to promote the idea that such failing enterprises should be "nationalized under workers' control" (as if ANY Communist regime has EVER acceded to the sort of "workers' control" present in many so-called "capitalist" enterprises today). The Leninists who offer such things are FULLY aware of the unrealistic nature of their proposals, but they think that raising unrealistic demands (they DEMAND everything from the social-democrats and union leaders that they hope to replace) will somehow "educate" the workers involved. and thereby bring them to the sort of "radicalism" that their favoured party espouses. This is called a "Transitional Program", and its fundamental dishonesty flounders on the rocks of one simple fact. The people that such parties hope to propagandize are at least as intelligent as their would-be manipulators (often much more so), and they recognize the unrealistic nature of such "demands" from the get-go. It would be far better to be totally upfront and honest from the very beginning, and not try to turn each and every labour struggle into a recruiting drive. Yeah, the gains that can be made by certain tactics may indeed be limited, but in the long run it is better to be honest about this fact and not engage in leftist bullshit. But honesty is hardly the strong suit of communists.



In any case see the original reference for an example of how such tactics have been effective in one instance. May they be repeated to the extent that they become "normal" not just when plants are closing down but in other labour disputes.

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

THE BREADLINE:

A RETURN TO THE SUBJECT OF PRECARIOUS LABOUR:

The Anarkismo site has a new and interesting article on what is called in Europe "precarious labour". Over here it goes by other names; "temporary labour", "insecure jobs", etc.. All these and others are names for the same thing, the trend whereby international corporations are moving increasingly to "disposable workers" who can be hired and fired at will. This, of course, is all to the benefit of the corporations and, of course, is of no benefit to those ordinary people trapped into such a system. The writer says,

"With the increasing influence of business interests on the state, and with the near destruction of social security, workers' existence has become increasingly insecure as more and more workers find their job security similarly increasingly unpredictable. Precarity, alongside casualization and contingent labour is a term aptly used to describe the changes wrought by these and the form of working class existence that has developed because of them. Rather than the job-for-life and the job security associated with such, workers are being coldly molded into an acceptance of labour that rests on the whims and qualms of the bosses rather than an environment that is within the worker's power to effect and change....

READ MORE at the Anarkismo.net site.

The author of this essay whose Gaelic last name probably is pronounced the same as mine is a member of the Irish Workers' Solidarity Movement. These Irish neo-platformists are some of the best organized people in anarchism today. Go to their site to see what Molly means, and also to download pdf copies of their publications such as Red and Black Revolution and Workers' Solidarity.

THE RISING OF THE MOON:

NEW PDF PAMPHLET FROM THE STRUGGLE COLLECTION:

The Rising of the Moon is a new 40 page pamphlet available as a downloadable pdf from the Struggle collection at http://www.struggle.ws/pdf/andrew/risingmoon.html . You can also read the pamphlet online at http://www.struggle.ws/andrew.html .

The pamphlet is a collection of anarchist articles on the Irish rebellion of 1798 and the 1916 insurrection that led to the creation of Eire as an independent republic. The subtitle is An Analysis of the Development of the Left, Republicanism and Working Class Struggles.

NEW ISSUES:
WORKERS' SOLIDARITY
ABOLISHING THE BORDERS FROM BELOW

Workers' Solidarity, the journal of the Irish Workers' Solidarity Movement (http://www.wsm.ie ) now has issue number 94 online. This issue has articles on the Rossport community struggle in Ireland, the activities of the WSM, and other union and community struggles in Eire. There is also an interesting piece on 'The Role of an Anarchist Organization' explaining the platformist policies of the WSM. Much more besides. To download the pdf format of this mag go to http://struggle.ws/pdfs/ws/ws94.pdf .

Abolishing the Borders From Below is an anarchist journal from Eastern Europe. They have recently published issue # 27 (December, 2006) with a theme of "education and upbringing". It includes reports from Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Ukraine and the Czech Republic. There are also reports on other social struggles and anarchist organizing from around the region, including the above and also Russia, Estonia, Hungary and Slovenia.
Abolishing... doesn't have a pdf version. They depend on a print circulation and are looking for distributors. To contact the editorial collective write to wielkowitsch@hotmail.com . To contact the magazine on other matters write abolishingbb@riseup.net . The website of the mag is at http://www.abb.hardcore.lt .
Molly