A younger comrade explained to me how he had travelled over 600 miles to be allowed into a field in Fermanagh to destroy a fence which had been specifically erected for that purpose. It was a sacrificial offering to the black block, complete with blunted razor wire so that they would not injure themselves in the thrashing. Just when you thought this scene could not get any more surreal, hear this. Beyond this field lay another barrier, and inside that fence there was a man from the security forces stating that if anyone attempted to get into this field there would be serious consequences. As per normal in these situations, the violence was always going to come from those in uniform. The stewards from the Socialist Party approached the black block and explained to them that the busses were leaving.
On a private island in the lake, far away from this absurd scene, the leaders of the G8 were meeting undisturbed.
Andrew, a member of Workers Solidarity Movement, gave an eyewitness account with photos of the Gezi park protests and the state brutality against people in Istanbul, where he spent a week recently. Sevinc , an anarchist from Turkey, gave details of the background of the struggle.
The video is includes photos & video from Gezi park. Recoded Thursday 27 June, 7.30 at Wynns hotel, Dublin
Despite spending in the region of a million euro and getting the backing of the catholic church its now clear that the anti-choice extremists of Youth Defence & the Pro Life Campaign were resoundingly defeated when the Dail finally voted though legislation implementing the X-Case judgment of 21 years ago. This time last year they were confident that they already had enough Fine Gael TD's on board to block the required legislation but they reckoned against the wave of public anger that followed the death of Savita Halappanavar after she was denied a potentially life saving abortion in a Galway hospital.
These texts are written and edited by the Garda Research Institute which is composed of residents, community workers and educators who have both personally experienced Garda violence and have heard countless negative stories about the gardaí. They came together to examine the role of the gardaí and in particular to spark debate and discussion about who gets targeted by the police and why.
The text is structured in the following way. Following the introduction and a piece on the making of the gardaí, the pamphlet is divided into three sections, the first of which looks at the experience of the policed. The next section looks at the policing of protest by the gardaí. The final section looks at responses to policing and examines how grassroots activists and movements have attempted to make the police more accountable.
For ease of reading you can download a PDF of the entire text in A4 format or fold over A5 format.
Shell to Sea campaigner Naoise Ó Mongáin asking Garda to stop videotaping his grand daughter during a protest at Shell's refinery on Saturday.
“If you don't like me, how can you like my child?”
The following is a report from the situation at the Drishane Castle direct provision centre, after successful protests by residents there this week forced a number of immediate changes there. Listen to the audio clips attached to hear directly the opinions of the residents themselves. These audio clips can be listened to individually or as one full recording.
Interview with Texan Anarchist, Jen Rogue
Q. How easy is to get an abortion in Texas?
Depends on what you mean by “easy.” To begin with, there is a very conservative culture that shames and silences women about sex and opts for abstinence-only sex education, which contributes to abortion being inaccessible. Texas is almost ten times the size of Ireland and has the nation’s largest rural population, which is yet another obstacle to access, given the limited options in health care. Additionally, with a price tag of $450 to $3,000 (depending on how advanced the pregnancy is), the cost alone makes access to abortion a huge challenge.
Q. How was this law going to change the situation?
The bill would ban any and all abortions after 20 weeks. Also, it would require clinics to be certified as “ambulatory surgical centres” and their doctors to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles. This would close almost every clinic in the state, leaving only 5 out of the current 47.
The Workers Solidarity Movement has decided to withdraw from the Campaign Against Home and Water Taxes. Please see statement below. We have made a donation of €1,000 towards paying off the debts of CAHWT.
1. It is now clear that the boycott of the property tax has collapsed and with it, any chance of defeating it in the coming period. The tactic of boycott was enough to defeat the household tax, but with draconian powers handed over to revenue to collect the property tax, much more was required.
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