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Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category

This is a pretty bizarre statement by anyones definition of the term, from Richard Humphreys, the Labour councillor in Stillorgan. The best bet has to be where he refers to the Flotilla, bringing medical aid to Gaza, as a “Mediterranean jaunt”. Right…..

Cllr Richard Humphreys, the Labour Party Councillor for the Stillorgan Ward, has appealed to the passengers and crew of the MV Saoirse, set to take part in the Gaza flotilla, to heed the warnings of the UN and President Obama, and stay at home.

“Ultra left politicians such as Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Councillor Cllr Hugh Lewis, and Paul Murphy MEP, would be fulfilling their duties better if they stayed at home and attended to their constituents, rather than heading off for this ill-advised Mediterranean cruise.” Humphreys said.

“This is not just my opinion” Humphreys said. “This flotilla is in defiance of the call by the Secretary-General of the UN, Ban Ki-moon, that such flotillas should be discouraged, and blocked by member states, as they may only provide a focus for violence. President Obama’s administration, and Hilary Clinton in particular, has made the same appeal to call off this flotilla.”

“I fully support the call by Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore that all sides must avoid the completely unjustified violence associated with the last flotilla. In my personal opinion, the responsibility for that violence rests with the Turkish terrorists who attempted to kill and injure members of the Israeli Defence Forces in front of their colleagues. No defence forces anywhere in the world that are worthy of the name would have responded to that murder attempt with anything less than immediate and potentially lethal force.” Humphreys said.

“While I appreciate the humanitarian sentiments motivating some of the flotilla participants, it has been openly admitted by some of the organisers that the aim of the exercise is not to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza. Such aid can be readily brought through on land in any event – as the UN Secretary-General and the Obama administration have pointed out. The ultimate object of the flotilla is to break Israel’s Naval Blockade on Gaza. The purpose of naval blockade, according to the Israeli Government, is to prevent the importation of weapons and explosives being used to launch illegal attacks on Israel’s civilian population by jihadist organisations committed to Israel’s destruction. Hundreds of such rocket attacks, using munitions smuggled into Gaza, have been launched this year already. Despite the good intentions of some of its participants, the ultimate beneficiary of the flotilla could therefore, unfortunately, be terrorist organisations.” Humphreys said.

“Gaza’s civilian population must also be protected – not least from their terrorist rulers Hamas who have unleashed a repressive, homophobic and misogynist regime on their unfortunate population. I hope the Unity government will herald an improvement in this regard but this cannot be taken for granted.”

“Instead of Ultra Left Alliance politicians waving goodbye to their constituents for an ill-advised Mediterranean jaunt designed to cause a provocation, we need real political progress towards ending Hamas attacks on Israel, protecting the civilian population of Gaza, easing the blockade by political agreement and ultimately towards a balanced two-state solution based on mutual recognition and respect.” Humphreys said.

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It really seemed to be one of those catchphrases in the run up to the visit. The visit would lead to euro notes growing on trees and coins spewing out tourists arses. Well, having had an English tourist sleeping on my couch for the last few days, I can tell you that the QEII visit was far from “great for tourism.” While he got some cracking shots of Dublin City’s landmarks, most were marred with lines of luminous jackets in front. He got little sleep due to the incessant buzz of the Garda helicopter hovering low across the city, awoken early by Garda spotters / snipers taking postion on the roof above our living room window, and found the welcoming atmosphere of Dublin City somewhat dampened by the presence of 8, 000 Gardai, pockets brimming with overtime cash.

I could bore you with stories of how it took me two hours to get from one side of O’Connell Street to the other, or of getting stopped and searched twice within the space of a minute, or of my flatmate being refused entry to our street, but as they say, a picture paints a thousand words. Cheers to, again, English tourist Alex S for all the snaps.

The view from the window.

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“The revolution will inevitably awaken in the British working class the deepest passions which have been diverted along artificial channels with the aid of football.” Leon Trotsky.

A couple of weeks back, I got the oppurtunity to interview Gabriel Kuhn of PM Press, and author of “Soccer versus the State.” Anyone on here knows our views when it comes to football, keep it local, keep it real and forget about your barstool; a lot of that is covered in the interview. Not initially done for here, it was DFallon who suggested I put it up.  If you’ve an interest in football, history and politics, read on.

Notorious Boo Boys

1) Football comes in for much negative criticism from the left, mainly criticisms similar to Trotsky’s above, deriding it as cathartic and a distraction. Yet in recent years, we’ve seen iconic events like the “Football Revolution” in Iran, the Greek riots following the death of Alexandros Grigoropoulos (where Panathanaikos fans fought against the police side by side with Anarchists) and the Al-Ahly Ultras in Egypt and their apparent hand in revolution there. How influential has football been in Rebellions and amongst the rebellious throughout history?

Football has been attracting the masses around the world for over a century. Where masses gather, the powerful lose control – unless we’re talking about orchestrated mass gatherings, which are characteristic of fascist and authoritarian regimes. But this doesn’t really work with football, since it is hard to orchestrate a football game. Football is too unpredictable.

Authoritarian regimes have always used the prestige that derives from football victories for political purposes, but they have had a hard time to use football as a general propaganda tool. The Nazis abandoned national encounters altogether after an embarrassing loss to Sweden in Berlin in 1942. And it is not only the game that is unpredictable. So are football crowds. You never know which direction their desires might take. There is always a potential for rebellion – unfortunately, there is also always a potential for reactionary celebrations of the status quo. Neither football nor football fans are rebellious per se. We have radical supporters, we have fascist supporters; we have football teams that spur nationalism, we have football teams that spur international solidarity. At the right moments, the rebellious side comes through, as in the examples you mentioned and in many others: long before the current uprising in Libya, the terraces of Libyan football stadiums turned into spaces of dissent whenever Gadaffi-favoured teams were playing; in the 1980s, Polish workers made regular use of football stadiums to express support for the then illegal trade union Solidarność; in fact, the very first steps to regulate the game of football in the early 19th century was caused by regular antiauthoritarian riots in connection with the inter-village football games at the time.

Football does have the cathartic and distracting dimensions that many leftists deride, no doubt. But it also has a subversive dimension. The challenge for radical football-loving activists is to fuel the latter.
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‘I wish to advise you that your application has been refused. This decision has been taken on the basis that no postering applications for events between 15th and 25th May are being granted in the interest of promoting a clean environment for Dublin City during forthcoming State visits.’

-An email sent by Dublin City Council to various groups who applied for for permission to erect posters ahead of the royal visit to Ireland.

Regardless of what one thinks of the visit, this is remarkable. Even during the visits of George W. Bush and other controversial state figureheads, postering has been permitted. It’s worrying to see the council refuse the right to poster on political grounds.

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Bread and Roses was a feminist fanzine published by the UCD ‘Women’s Liberation Group’ in the mid 1970s. It was a crudely designed, black and white  stapled zine. This issue is 18 pages and is from early 1975.

I featured issue 2 on the UCD Hidden History blog a while back.

On the title:

The slogan “Bread and Roses” originated in a poem of that name by James Oppenheim, published in The American Magazine in December 1911, which attributed it to “the women in the West.” It is commonly associated with a textile strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts during January-March 1912, now often known as the “Bread and Roses strike”.

This issue features a fairly provocative front cover showing a “before and after” shot of a woman, pregnant and unhappy and then the same woman, smiling, alighting from a plane with the caption “Visit Britain … and leave your worries behind”

Front cover. Bread & Roses (Issue 3). 1975.

Contents:

Housework – Marion Connolly

Italy: Abortion At Issue –  Cristona Cona (Italian Women’s Lib Movement)

The Next Purge … Radical Feminism? – Tony Dunn

Political ‘Science’ or Apologetics for Women’s Oppression? – Betty Purcell

A Commentary on UCD Women’s Week – Fiona Nolan

Doctors Report – C. Fisher

The Subservient Woman – Fiona Nolan

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The case of Gerald McDonnell, the 63 year old Dublin Port worker up in court over the ‘floating picket’ that formed part of that 8 month dispute in 2009, has been adjourned until April 1st.

Supporters are appealing for people to show up at Parkgate Street at 10am on the day.

There was a great crowd there this morning and it was heartwarming to see the support for Gerald.

In 2009, a group of workers in Dublin Port fought an 8-month long strike against forced redundancies and pay cuts. The workers and their local community showed bravery and determination in what was a difficult struggle. Their employer, Marine Terminals Ltd. (MTL), was eventually forced to come to an agreement with the strikers.

On 27th August 2009, a number of the strikers participated in a peaceful ‘floating picket’ aimed at h…ighlighting their dispute. The image which appeared in several national newspapers and in many online publications of the picketers’ tiny boat dwarfed by the Stena Line Ferry showed clearly the bravery of the action, and was very effective in highlighting the dispute.

Now over 18 months later, one of the dockers involved in the dispute has been arrested and charged in relation to this ‘floating picket’. 63-year-old Gerald McDonnell is facing 3 charges under the Maritime Safety Act. If convicted he could face a fine of up to €250,000.

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Unlike some in this photo, Gary Redmond still has an elected job.

Some interesting news today, that the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) have re-elected Gary Redmond for a second term as President. Redmond of course was the USI President who moved quickly on November third last to condemn students engaging in “anti-social behaviour” before it was clear just what had happened at the Department of Finance on Merrion Row.

His union went on blame “left-wing’’ groups for the “destructive and anti-social violence”, and continued to hold this view even after the state broadcaster RTE broadcast incredible footage of the events at Merrion Row. It was surely unprecedented for the state broadcaster to raise such questions. A protest the following night was attended by well over 500 students, and not alone did Redmond not show: he issued another statement of condemnation.

The USI went on to call for the scrapping of the Croke Park Agreement, in a bizarre move out of touch with their historic links to education workers. Of course it was all unsurprising from the man who The Phoenix wrote “…can hardly be described as the Irish answer to Daniel Cohn-Bendit.” Of course Daniel Cohen-Bendit, for all his sins, was never a member of Fianna Fáil.

So, it’s another year in a Crumlin office for Redmond, and a bizarre chapter in the history of the Irish student movement continues. What are they like?

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No sambos at The Players Lounge at Fairview Strand for her majesty.

UPDATE HERE: “One will not be discriminated against”
-from éirigi facebook.

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Earlier on in town I spotted Eamon Gilmore and Enda Kenny hanging out at the Central Bank, which was covered up by crime scene tape. The message was a simple one: even after the elections (much fun as #ge11 was on Twitter) the banks run the show. The innovative protest was called by the 1% Network.

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The 'floating picket' used during the dispute.

The MTL Port Strike in 2009 was an interesting one, as the dock workers did quite well in gathering local support and there was a strong community presence on all the marches and demonstrations at the time.

One of the most innovative forms of protest I can recall took place during this dispute, with the ‘floating picket’ of the workers used against the port.

Now, 18 months on, a 63 year old man involved in the dispute has been arrested and charged. Incredible.

Meanwhile, Sean Fitzpatrick walks his dog in peace.

Gerard Mc Donnell was one of the workers involved in the 2009 MTL Port Strike to save jobs and preserve working conditions in Dublin Port. After 8 long months of struggle a deal was brokered and the strike was ended. Gerard is 63 years old.

On 27th August 2009 there was a ‘floating picket’ involving a small number of boats in the harbour. Gerard was recently arrrested and charged in relation to this event. He is facing 3 serious charges under the maritime safety act with a fine of up to €250,000 hanging over his and his families head. He was arrested, handcuffed and thrown in a cell.

Dont let the State stamp on Gerard!

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I got a text from hxci to tell me he was only about to upload that great image of the Irish Womens Workers Union when he saw I’d used it on Sunday in another post. It reminded me to upload this image of Delia Larkin, members of the IWWU and male trade unionists who made up the Jacobs Strike Committee on the steps of Liberty Hall. It’s obviously from the same day, and is a wonderful image that doesn’t show up as often.

Several people who would go on to be involved with the the Irish Citizen Army, such as Rosie Hackett, were involved in the Jacobs dispute.

One of the first women to come out in sympathy with the men was Rosie Hackett, a young messenger for the company, who had joined the Irish Transport and General Workers Union in the previous year. Two weeks after the successful Jacob’s strike, Rosie was one of the founder members of the Irish Women Workers Union, set up to protect women in the face of the appalling conditions in which many of them were expected to work.

In August 1913, when the tramworkers struck, Rosie and her fellow workers from Jacob’s again mobilised in support of the pickets and they gathered in O’Connell Street on 31 August for a rally against the employers. She was in the crowd that was baton charged by the police, resulting in the terrible injuries to the workers that made the day infamous as ‘Bloody Sunday’. On the following Saturday, three Jacob’s workers were sacked for refusing to remove their ITGWU badges and Rosie was one of the organisers of the supporting strike which began immediately afterwards.

The steps of Liberty Hall were a favourite place for the trade union movement to be photographed! The image below shows the men and women of the Irish Citizen Army at Liberty Hall in 1917, a year on from the insurrection. James Connolly’s secretary Winifred Carney is clearly identifiable in the front row on the left, next to the streetlight. It’s another great photograph on the steps of Liberty Hall.


Can you identify some of the women in any of the pictures? Leave a comment!

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Recently, we published the list of all T.D’s who voted to reduce the minimum wage. While the cut was not to be applied to those already in employment, the Davenport Hotel introduced the reduction against some of their workers already in employment there. The staff, all Eastern European, had a major victory today at the Labour Court when the court called for the workers to be reinstated and the cut reversed.

The Labour Court has recommended that five SIPTU members in dispute with the operators of the Davenport Hotel in Dublin after refusing to accept a cut in their minimum wage should be reinstated and that their previous pay rates be restored.

The Court has also recommended that the five accommodation staff be paid all the monies they would have earned had they not been removed from the work roster in early February.

In a major vindication of their position the Court today also recommended that the five women, all from Eastern Europe, should be included on the duty roster that is due to take effect on Wednesday (9th March).

-via Siptu.

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