The US based billionaire Elon Musk, close adviser to Donald Trump, has in the last week alone called for King Charles to dissolve parliament to enable a fresh election only six months after the previous one; said that Labour minister Jess Philips ‘deserves to be in prison’ and is a ‘rape genocide apologist’ for refusing an inquiry into child sexual abuse in Oldham; and praised the imprisoned fascist Tommy Robinson, claiming he was a ‘political prisoner’ who should be released. (read more)
A New Year’s Eve Palestine solidarity demonstration at
halfpenny bridge in Dublin saw the emergence of a new current – a press and
media movement based on Irish NUJ members.
The slogan of the current was; “Israel! Stop killing
Journalists!”
The Palestinian Journalist’s syndicate had reported that 190
journalists had been killed in a systematic targeting of Palestinian reporters
in Gaza. (read more)
We have reported earlier on the new threats facing the
people of Syria following the fall of Assad and on the geopolitical shift
towards Israel and the imperialist powers.
How do we explain this? Traditionally socialist groups
have been to the fore, using tools of class analysis to remove the superficial
elements of situations and the fog of war and expose the elemental struggles
beneath. (read more)
The Syrian people are rid of the Assad regime,
but are now in the hands of the imperialist powers and their stooges. Essentially
Syria as a nation state has been removed from the map. Large areas have been
invaded by Israel, Türkiye and the US. France has joined the other powers in
bombing across the state. The Jihadists, sponsored by the West, have taken over
the state claiming that they are now woke and will set up a democratic society in
4 or 5 years. (read more)
On 16th December Israel announced that it
was to close it’s Dublin embassy over “the extreme anti-Israel policies of
the Irish government.” The
grounds were “Last
week, Ireland announced its support for South Africa’s legal action against
Israel in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing Israel of
‘genocide’.” Earlier in the year Israel had recalled its ambassador because
of Ireland’s decision to recognise the State of Palestine. (read more)
“Suspension of
disbelief” is a concept closely associated with the world of drama, whether
that is theatre, film, television or books.
It describes the unspoken agreement that exists between creators,
performers, and audiences to avoid critical thinking and, for the sake of
emotional involvement and enjoyment, accept the false reality presented in
works of fiction. Such a concept also
operates in the world of politics. The Irish peace process is a prime example
of this. (read more)
The 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement in April 2023 was met with jubilation and celebration in Belfast. Past and present taoisigh (Irish government leaders), British prime ministers, US presidents and a raft of academics were brought together by the local universities and media in an extended celebration.Yet all is not well. If the decay of the agreement is of concern, the universal failure of academia, of the press, the trade unions and political parties to acknowledge such decay is astounding. John McAnulty provides that missing critique and suggests how Ireland will move beyond this historic inflection to fulfill the revolutionary implications of its initial struggle for freedom.
Buy Now: £6
(includes P&P UK & ROI)
10 April 2023
25 Years On: in the debris of the Good Friday Agreement
The 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement is being
marked by assemblies of the great and the good. Joe Biden rushes through the
North, avoiding attention to the barren political landscape. On RTE television
the ghost of Bertie Ahern dominates, while the high point will be the upcoming visit
of Bill and Hilary Clinton and Tony Blair to a celebration at Queens
University.
No-one will remark on the unsavoury character of
these saints of peace. Even less will anyone notice that the fine mansion that
they built is now in ruins. (read more)
Defend a woman’s right to tell
the truth - 20/10/21
People before Profit student
society calls for ‘no-platforming’ of feminists and LGB rights activists -
25/03/21
Puberty Blockers: An
unregulated live experiment on children - 17/04/21
Vulnerable children being seen
at Gender Clinics - 06/03/21
On the Reactionary Roots of
Queer Theory - 28/02/21
A new front in human
liberation, or a medical scandal in the making? - 09/01/21
Amnesty International Ireland opposes the right to free speech -
06/11/20
Gender Identity Ideology, the Trans Rights
Movement, and
homophobia - 27/09/20
Socialism, Feminism and transgender politics -
07/09/20
All COVERAGE
Socialist Democracy Statement on Coronavirus pandemic - 28/03/20
The promise and reality of vaccination -28/03/21
Herd immunity - myth and reality - 30/11/20
Coronavirus pandemic - a deepening health and economic crisis - 28/07/20
Protest, class conflict and Covid 19 - 06/05/20
Unionism’s silent shift on the pandemic
- 16/05/20
Ideology and Science - 05/05/20
Big Pharma in Ireland - 24/04/20
Europe and the pandemic - 09/04/20
All COVERAGE
Rayner O’Connor Lysaght Presente!
Tributes from
International
Viewpoint
Irish
Labour History Society
Socialist
Voice
Sráid
Marx
Emancipation,
Liberation & Self-determination
Workers
Liberty
Irish
Republican Marxist History Project
The
Pensive Quill
Irish
Left Archive
Obituray from the Irish Independent
A selection of writings by Rayner can be found online at:
Socialist Democracy
Arguments for a Workers' Republic
The Encyclopedia of Trotskyism
Red Mole Rising
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