The recent bonds-for-notes overnight legislation ... read full story / add a comment

Confusion reigns in Iran. The Iranian people have suffered from Imperialist sanctions but corruption and incompetence is rife amongst the ruling elite. The governor of Iran’s Central Bank, Mahmoud Bahman has been sacked for making improper withdrawals from client accounts. Yassamine Mather analyses the situation. Full text at link.

In Iran, presidential elections are looming, the economy is in freefall, the public hanging of small-time criminals is creating an atmosphere of terror, repression is worsening and workers are protesting throughout the country. There are unconfirmed reports of an explosion at the Fordo uranium enrichment plant and the infighting between factions of the regime is shown live on state-owned TV. Meanwhile, Israel has bombed a military facility in Syria, claiming it is used by Iranian Islamic guards, and civil war is breaking out in Iraq, Iran’s main Shia ally. Finally, the country’s aerospace agency has sent a monkey into space! All in all, as far as Iranians are concerned, it has been an eventful start to 2013. ... read full story / add a comment

VIDEO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFuLbx_UkW4
... read full story / add a comment

The Anti Eviction Taskforce (AET) have written to all Government Ministers across all political parties on behalf of all distressed mortgage holders in Ireland today, delivering a mandate to bring a motion before the Dáil to ban eviction in Ireland. This letter will arrive on the desks of all Ministers on February 4th 2013.

To explain the logic behind this mandate: The Government and Financial institutions continue to ignore the issue of distressed mortgages, which is resulting in much family distress, family break-up and, in some cases, suicide. While, as yet, eviction is not an everyday occurrence, it is only a matter of time before eviction becomes common place. This threat, along with the inaction by both the Government and Financial Institutions to devise credible resolution is disabling distressed mortgage holders and resulting in impasse. ... read full story / add a comment

On Feb 1st, St. Bridget's Day and Human Rights Day, Galway Pussy Riot in solidarity with the three Pussy Rioters two who were sent to a Russian labor camp gave a 20 minute riotous and righteous rant outside AIB bank in Galway calling for the tearing down of the false gods of capitalism, the freemarket, greed, their minions in the Irish Government and the Troika. ... read full story / add a comment

Today, Shell to Sea held a morning protest outside Bellanaboy refinery to highlight Shell's announcement of profits of €19.6 billion for 2012.

Brandishing signs including “Shell Destroys Communities & Environment” and “Harmful to Local Community”, members of the community blocked trucks drawing material to Shell tunneling compound at Aughoose. ... read full story / add a comment

On Saturday 2nd March the Prorgessive film club and the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign are proud to present a special Palestine Mini-Film Festival in The Pearse Centre (aka The Ireland Institute), 27 Pearse St, Dublin 2. The festival begins at 2pm sharp.

NOTE: Entry to all films is free, and film start sharp. ... read full story / add a comment

2013 G8 summit will be held in Lough Erne, Co Fermanagh.

The summit will be held in June at the Lough Erne Hotel. ... read full story / add a comment

Last Thurs 24th Jan 2013, the Irish and British governments agreed on a memorandum of understanding for energy trading between Ireland and the UK. This will pave the way for the export of Wind Energy to the UK. This would likely make use of the electric interconnector completed last year between the UK and Ireland although it may need additional cables.

The wind resource in Ireland is probably greater than what the Irish electrical grid can cope with and hence the idea is that the surplus wind energy can be exported to the UK which has a far larger electrical demand than here and could probably take every watt exported.

Unfortunately it seems that there is a bit more to this though the official green good news because apparently there are plans by a number of companies to erect up to 2,300 wind turbines in the Midlands of Ireland. Is blighting our landscape for the UK the way to solve the energy problem? ... read full story / add a comment

Friday Rally:Austerity – weapon not policy 7:30 – 10pm, Liberty Hall, Eden Quay, Dublin1
Chairperson: Paul Murphy MEP
Speakers:
Jimmy Kelly (UNITE)
Cllr Ruth Coppinger (Socialist Party & anti-property tax campaigner)
Owen Jones (Author of ‘Chavs: The demonisation of the Working Class)’
Andros Payiatsos (Greek Socialist)
Tommy Sheridan (Scottish Socialist) ... read full story / add a comment

Free Learning Festival in Dubzland Venue (in Seomra Spraoi.), February 25th - March 2nd. We're offering a tonne of free workshops and lectures, and we'd like you to be involved, either as a participant, volunteer or in running a workshop or talk. ... read full story / add a comment

As fascism and racist attacks continue to grow in Greece and with the rising popularity of Golden Dawn, the physical presence of organised fascists on the streets of Greece has increased. Greek anti-fascists are ramping up their presence on the streets of Athens and other cities and are confronting the threat of Golden Dawn while defending minorities groups.

Over 100 people turned out at the Greek embassy in Dublin to support Greek anti-fascists, while solidarity demonstrations also took place in Cork and Derry. ... read full story / add a comment

Read about the late Aaron Swartzs association with WikiLeaks. Full text at link.

In a series of tweets, WikiLeaks disclosed that deceased Internet activist and Reddit co-founder Aaron Swartz may have contributed to the organization and had even been in contact with Julian Assange. WikiLeaks said it was divulging this information “due to the investigation into the Secret Service involvement with #AaronSwartz.”

Swartz, who committed a suicide on Jan. 11, was arrested two years ago for breaking and entering into an MIT storage closet and accessing an Acer laptop that he programmed to download millions of scholarly articles from the JSTOR database. The Secret Service took charge of the Swartz investigation two days before his arrest and provided the prosecution with information that led to its harsh pursuit of the 26-year-old. ... read full story / add a comment

Seminar - Making the Case for Decent Work
24 January 2013

Making the Case for Decent Work - Seminar -

Registration - 9.30am

Advance registration for this event is essential to guarantee a place. ... read full story / add a comment

Join us in Solidarity Books on Wednesday Dec. 23rd at 8pm, for a showing of ‘The Treasure of the Sierra Madre’ (1948) 126 mins, Dir. John Huston ' ... read full story / add a comment

Abortion Rights Campaign established in Dublin today, 19/01/20130

At a national pro-choice meeting in Dublin today, the name and aims of the newly established Abortion Rights Campaign were announced. Groups and individuals from across the country, including Cork, Dublin, Galway, Limerick and Belfast came together to discuss and agree the next steps for the movement.

The aims of the campaign include legislation on the X & C cases and repeal of the 8th amendment to the Irish constitution. Actions and events are being organised across the country over the coming months.

Speakers at the event included Clare Daly TD who said, “The Abortion Rights Campaign is not a sprint, it's a marathon and we're here for the long haul. In the meantime, we want the immediate introduction of legislation for the right to safe, legal abortion when a woman's life is at risk, including from suicide. We also want the simplest, broadest legislation that includes the right to abortion in the case of fatal foetal abnormality. We will keep the pressure on until we get this." ... read full story / add a comment

An insight into prison life in Ireland, namely Castlerea Prison, Co Roscommon. On 21st April 2010 I was convicted of assaulting a number of Gardaí in relation to Shell to Sea protests and sentenced to 6 months imprisonment. Remission for good behaviour means that prisoners will have their sentences reduced by a quarter, once you keep your nose clean. I was given credit for 2 weeks time served previously in 2009, before I was bailed out pending my appeal. So I spent 4 months in jail from April to August in the summer of 2010. ... read full story / add a comment

SWP crisis: Opposition emboldened as demand for recall grows
The leadership can no longer lead - but a positive outcome to the crisis requires more than the removal of the entire CC, argues Paul Demarty

The Socialist Workers Party has been waiting a long time for a revolutionary situation. On some occasions, as with the fatuous ‘All out, stay out’ slogan it advanced to striking public sector workers last winter, it has tried, with dismal results, to force one - or delude itself into thinking there is one. Now, it has got one. But there is only one catch - it is not Britain that has been plunged into such a crisis, but the SWP itself.

Read more...

Letters
Rebellion; Shocking; Victim; Quantity left; Conflict site?; Coining it; Crippled; ‘Anti-Germans’; Erfurt required?;

http://www.cpgb.org.uk/home/weekly-worker/945 ... read full story / add a comment

The latest loyalist sectarian attack on the people of the Short Strand illustrates the unchanging reality of life for large sections nationalist community in Belfast and throughout occupied Six Counties. Once again it is the nationalist people who must bear the brunt of loyalist mobs who have unleashed in order to further the political agenda of the unionist political establishment. ... read full story / add a comment

Why have I not been charged for being on the runway at Shannon airport Oct 7 as part of the Drone action week? ... read full story / add a comment