Archive for the ‘Ernest Mandel’ Category
Institutionalized Sectarianism in the North of Ireland – Ian Paisley, Prayers for Partition, Marching Feet in Derry
Today’s Stormont Administration is controlled by the Democratic Unionist Party, founded by far-right religious rabble-rouser Ian Paisley. Despite the honeyed words of today’s peace process, the Northern state’s government is choked by institutionalized sectarianism. Paisley’s spiritual children will descend on Armagh City on October 21 reciting prayers for partition.
October 11 1988 – Ian Paisley heckles the “AntiChrist” Pope in the European Parliament
Read the rest of this entry »President Michael D Higgins Rejects Religious Invitation Issued by Men of God in Armagh – The Right Decision – The 1921 Partition of Ireland Created a Carnival of Reaction
Eejit is a great word living within the English language spoken in Ireland. Author Mike Finn reveals the meaning in a sentence of nine words : “Those advocating Brexit are an awful shower of eejits”. Likewise, those who advocate “marking” the partition of Ireland are an awful shower of eejits. President Michael D Higgins is no eejit.
Michael D has become a spokesperson for the vast majority of people living in Ireland who hate partition. He will not attend a religious event in Armagh commemorating the 1921 creation of the Northern Ireland Orange State. An opinion poll on the issue shocked numerous pro-Unionist forelock-tuggers in Ireland – 81 per cent of people in the 26 County bit of Ireland agree with the President’s decision.
“Huge backing for President Michael D Higgins” – Irish News Headline
Read the rest of this entry »Afghanistan, the End of the Occupation and the LeftOnline event by ISO and the marx21 network (Germany) with Nancy Lindisfarne and Jonathan Neale (UK)Wednesday 6 October, 6pm Ireland and Britain 7pm CET
Afghanistan, the End of the Occupation and the Left
Online event by ISO and the marx21 network (Germany) with Nancy Lindisfarne and Jonathan Neale (UK)
Wednesday 6 October, 6pm Ireland and Britain 7pm CET
Join Zoom meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81981905958, Meeting ID: 819 8190 5958 With translations ‒ Dari, German and English
The Taliban have defeated the United States of America imperialism and its allies in Afghanistan. The eyes of the world witnessed an event which is part of a shift and reordering of international power structures.
Anthropologist Nancy Lindisfarne and activist-author Jonathan Neale published a detailed article on the return of the Taliban a few days after the “fall of Kabul” on 15 August. It has received much attention, some of it controversial. We invited the two experts and comrades, who have known Afghanistan well for more than 40 years, to the debate.
What does the victory of the Taliban in Afghanistan mean? Why was Kabul conquered so quickly? What is happening to Afghan women now and why do so many Afghans support the Taliban? How should the left itself in view of this?
The Taliban have defeated the United States of America imperialism and its allies in Afghanistan. The eyes of the world witnessed an event which is part of a shift and reordering of international power structures.
Article “Return of the Taliban: The end of the occupation” in German:
https://www.marx21.de/rueckkehr-taliban-ende-besatzung-afghanistan/ https://intersoz.org/nach-der-afghanistan-besatzung-deshalb-sind-die-taliban-wieder-da/
Article in original: https://annebonnypirate.org/2021/08/17/afghanistan-the-end-of-the-occupation/ Website of Nancy and Jonathan: https://annebonnypirate.org/. Theses from the essay:
The Fascist Origins of Fine Gael in the 1930’s – Manus O’Riordan – one of his last posts.
Manus O’Riordan, who died unexpectedly on Sunday September 26, was always writing and publishing. This was one of his last Facebook posts – it is re-published here in his honour.
FOR THE DECADE OF CENTENARIES: REMEMBER COSGRAVE!
W.T. Cosgrave , Fine Gael Fascist and President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State 1922-1932.
These photos show the first Vice-President of Fine Gael, W.T. Cosgrave, in dress suit, with the first President of Fine Gael and Blueshirt leader, Eoin O’Duffy, and the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Alfie Byrne, at a November 1934 Blueshirt / Fine Gael rally in the Mansion House.
See http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/art-and-design/visual-art/ireland-s-past-in-colour-blueshirts-fiddlers-and-dún-laoghaire-baths-in-a-whole-new-light-1.4679870 for the provenance of the Fascist Cosgrave in colour.
Heil Willie!
On February 28, 1934, voicing his opposition to the Fianna Fáil Government’s Wearing of Uniforms (Restrictions) Bill, the Fine Gael TD and future Taoiseach John A Costello proclaimed in Dáil Éireann that “the Blackshirts were victorious in Italy and the Hitler Shirts were victorious in Germany, as, assuredly, in spite of this Bill and in spite of the Public Safety Act, the Blueshirts will be victorious in the Irish Free State”.
Or, as Encyclopaedia Britannica describes the first Fine Gael Taoiseach:
“John A. Costello, in full John Aloysius Costello, taoiseach (prime minister) of Ireland from 1948 to 1951 and from 1954 to 1957. A prosperous lawyer who had served as attorney general, he owed his selection as taoiseach to a coalition of several parties (including his own Fine Gael) and prominent independent politicians united in opposition to Eamon De Valera’s Fianna Fáil.”
Death Notice; Funeral and Wake Details; Tributes : https://rip.ie/death-notice/micheál-manus-o-riordan-glasnevin-dublin/470919. https://rip.ie/cb.php?dn=470919. https://cedarlounge.wordpress.com/2021/09/29/manus-oriordain/
2021 General Election Result in Germany – Preliminary Notes – Will Berlin go Red-Red-Green?
- These are the official numbers :
- Preliminary official result
- Distribution of votes
- 24.1% CDU/CSU (Christian Democrats)
- 25.7%. SPD (Social Democrats)
- 10.3% AfD (Far-Right)
- 11.5% FDP (Liberals)
- 4.9% Die Linke (Left)
- 14.8% Greens
- 0.1% SSW (Danish Minority)
- 8.6% Others
Distribution of seats
Total seats
735
- 196 CDU/CSU
- 206 SPD
- 83 AfD
- 92 FDP
- 39 Left
- 118 Greens
- 1 SSW
A Red-Red-Green coalition is just short of a majority 206 +118+39 = 363
https://www.dw.com/en/top-stories/s-9097
Do any readers know the politics of the single SSW member?
“Do minorities have their own parties?
In Germany there are four state-recognized minorities: Sorbs, Danes, Frisians and the German Sinti and Roma. There is only a special party for the Danes and Frisians in Schleswig-Holstein, the South Schleswig Voters Union (SSW). It is standing for election to the Bundestag for the first time in 2021. The SSW has a good chance of gaining a seat, because it is exempted from the 5 per cent clause as a protected minority. This means that the calculated average number of votes needed for a single mandate is sufficient for the party to be represented.”
https://www.deutschland.de/en/topic/politics/the-german-federal-election-facts-about-the-bundestag-and-electoral-law
The far-right party, the AfD, are shunned by all other parties (including the Christian Democrats and the Liberals).
German voters made very positive decisions about housing in Berlin elections
Voters in the German capital, Berlin, alongside casting ballots for the makeup of the new German parliament and for their local legislature, also took part in a referendum on whether to force large real estate companies to sell off most of their housing units.
With Berliners casting more votes in a day than the city ever had, there was chaos and delays at several polling stations. About 34,000 helpers were working at more than 2,250 polling stations across the city.
Therefore, final results on the nonbinding referendum are not expected until Monday.
After counting 27% of the ballots, a clear margin was already emerging: 56.9% had voted in favor and only 39% against the proposal.
“This is just an extrapolation, we won’t get the final results until tomorrow! But even this number shows that Berliners have had enough of speculation and mad rents,” the movement to expropriate Berlin housing corporations said on Twitter.
The measure required a simple majority to pass as well as a “yes” vote from at least a quarter of all eligible voters, but, even if it does pass, that would only force the incoming Berlin city-state government to debate the proposal.
https://www.dw.com/en/germany-berlin-locals-vote-to-expropriate-real-estate-giants/a-59315431
Die Linke (Left) suffered a significant electoral reverse. It gained 4.9% of the National vote, losing 4.3% compared with 2017. By comparison the SPD and the Greens gained 5.2% and 5.8% respectively. The big losers were the Christian Democrats (down 8.8%). The AfD Nazis also lost ground (down 2.3%). The free-market Liberals, the FDP, held their ground (up 0.7%).
Here is a Die Linke pre-election statement :
Janine Wissler, Chairperson of DIE LINKE party, declares on the occasion of the Global Climate Strike on 24 September 2021:
A supporter of die Linke chairperson Janine Wissler
“On Sunday, we are facing a General Election. The coming federal government will be the last one that still has a chance to prevent the worst in climate protection and still achieve the 1.5 degree target. As the Left, we say: stop the politics of lost time. In the last three years, the many committed people at Fridays for Future have ensured that society, politics and business can no longer ignore the climate issue. Their fight for climate justice is making history.
DIE LINKE stands in solidarity with the climate movement. We call on our members to participate in the climate strike! We have requested the recognition of the climate emergency in the German Bundestag and are on the ground with MPs as parliamentary observers at climate protests.
With an “Immediate Programme for Climate Justice”, we want to set the course for a change in climate policy after the Bundestag elections. Our goal is climate neutrality by 2035. The Left Party is the guarantor of consistent and socially just climate protection:
We want to complete the coal phase-out by 2030 at the latest and introduce compulsory solar on roofs. In addition, we want to expand wind power, for 100% renewable energies by 2035 at the latest.
For us, a socially just mobility transition means: We want to expand public transport and make it free of charge. Making Germany a rail country: Railways must become a real, low-cost alternative to cars and air travel. No more fossil combustion engines from 2030. A moratorium on new motorway construction and finally enforce a speed limit.
We want to push ahead with the ecological refurbishment of buildings by investing billions and protect tenants from burdens by abolishing the modernisation levy.”
on behalf of Antje Dieterich
Press Office DIE LINKE Party Executive Committee
Press spokesperson Matthias Hinze – office 030 24009-543 matthias.hinze@die-linke.de
Deputy Press Spokesperson Götz Lange – Office 030 24009-674 goetz.lange@die-linke.de
Deputy Press Spokesperson Antje Dieterich – Office 030 24009-544 antje.dieterich@die-linke.de
German comrades will have to deal politically with this interesting electoral result. John Meehan September 27 2021
Bombing will not go softly: on Andreas Malm’s ‘How to Blow Up a Pipeline’.
[Guest post by Des Derwin]
I have written a long critical essay on Andreas Malm’s new ecosocialist book ‘How To Blow Up a Pipeline: Learning to Fight in a World on Fire ’ (Verso, 2021).
It was written quite independently of Alan Thornett’s review on the Global Ecosocialist Network website, and before I had read it. It concurs with his review in almost every aspect, though his response is expressed more forcefully and briefly than mine. The exception is Alan’s enthusiasm for James Hansen’s fee and dividend proposal, which strikes me, at first glance, as less realistic than the ‘Just Transition’ demand. The paper is here:
For a European shutdown in solidarity from below against the pandemic – For a ZeroCoVid Policy in Ireland
Irish Action – German Action – European Action – ZeroCoVid is the way forward.
The CoVid-19 virus does not recognise borders. Sign Circulate and Promote this Zero CoVid Call :
The appeal says: “We need a common strategy in Europe immediately to fight the pandemic effectively. Vaccinations alone will not win the race against the mutated viral variant – even more so if the pandemic fight continues to consist of actionist restrictions on free time without a shutdown of the economy.” Similar initiatives emerged a few weeks ago in other countries, notably the UK and Ireland, see for example Zero Covid The Campaign to Beat the Pandemic or the article “Covid is a Class Issue”.
https://zero-covid.org/language/en/
Paul Murphy is a RISE TD for Dublin South-West, part of the Solidarity – People Before Profit grouping in the Dáil. See below, one of many articles written and circulated by Paul Murphy promoting a Zero CoVid policy for Ireland and further afield.
Read the rest of this entry »“The Royal Navy will only be deployed to assist with fisheries protection and enforcement activities if requested to do so by the Northern Ireland Executive” – Political Dynamite in Laps of Sinn Féin Stormont Ministers
Will the Stormont Sinn Féin Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill authorize the British Navy to attack Irish and EU Fishery Vessels after Brexit on January 1 2021? Far-fetched? Hypothetical? Scare-mongering? Think again, dear reader.
The British Ministry of Defence (MoD) “told the Belfast Telegraph that gunships will only be deployed around Northern Ireland if requested to do so.”
“The Royal Navy will only be deployed to assist with fisheries protection and enforcement activities if requested to do so by the Northern Ireland Executive as this is a devolved matter,” stated an MoD spokesperson.
Here’s that political dynamite question again. A simple answer is needed.
Will the Stormont Sinn Féin Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill authorize the British Navy to attack Irish and EU Fishery Vessels after Brexit on January 1 2021?
Let’s demand a categorical answer : NO!
Update : the position in Scotland and Wales :
The Scottish government has ruled out any participation in UK ‘sabre rattling’ over fisheries. See related post: https://www.celticleague.net/news/scottish-government-distances-itself-from-use-of-force-over-fishing/. The Stormont government needs to follow the excellent Scottish example.
The Welsh devolved government is also responsible for UK fisheries policy – hopefully it will follow the excellent Scottish example and rule out deployment of the Royal Navy after January 1 2021. https://gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2019-01/180717atisn12396doc062.pdf
“Michelle O’Neill says No to Arlene Foster” – a refreshing thought
Charlie McConalogue (Fianna Fáil), the Dublin Government’s Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, is anxious. The Donegal TD hopes the problem will go away, urging “the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier to ensure that UK access to the single market is conditional on continued access share for EU fleets to British waters.” https://www.rte.ie/news/brexit/2020/1215/1184623-fisheries-brexit/
Read the rest of this entry »Scottish Salmon farmers tell Boris Johnson to seal Brexit deal
Scottish Salmon farmers tell Boris Johnson to seal Brexit deal
This Financial Times report neatly summarizes a Scottish Salmon Fishing Catastrophe created by Boris Johnson’s Brexit.
Scottish industry group says PM needs to decide whether he is on the side of business or politics
Mure Dickie, Edinburgh, December 15 2020
Mr Scott told the Financial Times that even with a deal fish farmers faced greater difficulties because of increased bureaucracy in getting shipments to the EU, which accounted for more than 64 per cent of the UK’s £250m salmon exports in the year to October.
Boris Johnson “needs to get his act together” and seal a trade deal with the EU to prevent major disruption to sales of farmed salmon, the industry group for the UK’s biggest food export said on Monday.
The comments from Tavish Scott, chief executive of the Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation, were the sector’s strongest intervention yet on Brexit and reflect rapidly deepening concern about the consequences of a no-deal end to the transition period on December 31.
Mr Scott told the Financial Times that even with a deal fish farmers faced greater difficulties because of increased bureaucracy in getting shipments to the EU, which accounted for more than 64 per cent of the UK’s £250m salmon exports in the year to October.
“Boris Johnson needs to get his act together . . . He’s got to decide what side he is on: is he on the side of business or is he on the side of politics?” Mr Scott said of the UK prime minister. “A deal is really important because the alternative is disruption to trade lasting, I think, not just weeks, but potentially a long, long time.”
The UK and Brussels on Sunday extended trade talks into this week but Downing Street said on Monday that a no-deal outcome was still the most likely.
Scottish farmed salmon was the UK’s largest food export in 2019, worth a record £618m, and the sector’s reliance on the EU market has increased this year because of a slump in sales to more distant markets, caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Mr Scott, a former Scottish transport minister and Liberal Democrat member of the parliament in Edinburgh, welcomed UK government plans to prioritise shipments of time-sensitive seafood exports across the English Channel. But he said such plans were unlikely to be enough to shield the salmon sector and wider UK economy in the event of a no-deal end to the transition period.
The boxer Mike Tyson had once said that pre-fight plans rarely survived a punch in the face, Mr Scott said, adding: “I think we will get hit in the face.”
Without a trade deal, exports of chilled whole salmon would be subject to EU tariffs of 2 per cent and those of smoked salmon to 13 per cent. But Mr Scott said a bigger worry was the potential for delays in getting fish across the Channel to EU customers.
“The really significant danger is at the pinch point that is the Channel,” he said. “With a no-deal Brexit that blockage would be appreciably worse than if there is a deal.” Freshness is a major determinant of price for premium fish and any delay to that schedule could have a dramatic impact on the value of salmon to EU customers. The Increased paperwork and tighter customs and health checks could be compounded by the potential for action by French fishermen who would lose access to UK fishing grounds.
“The really significant danger is at the pinch point that is the Channel,” he said. “With a no-deal Brexit that blockage would be appreciably worse than if there is a deal.” Freshness is a major determinant of price for premium fish and any delay to that schedule could have a dramatic impact on the value of salmon to EU customers. The Increased paperwork and tighter customs and health checks could be compounded by the potential for action by French fishermen who would lose access to UK fishing grounds.
“If there is no deal, I think it would be fair to assume that French fishermen are not going to be very happy about life,” Mr Scott said. “And French fishermen’s approach to these things may be fairly militant.”
Asked about the salmon sector’s concerns, the UK government said: “Leaving the EU means we can take advantage of the growing global demand for great British produce.”
Asked about the salmon sector’s concerns, the UK government said: “Leaving the EU means we can take advantage of the growing global demand for great British produce.”
The government was intensifying public campaigns to let businesses know “exactly what to expect”, it said.
You could not make this up! Brexit is creating havoc, undermining the British State’s grip on Scotland, Ireland and Wales. The British Labour Party leadership flounders.
What’s happening? “Britain will do a Brexit Deal on Europe’s Terms” V Boris Johnson’s gunboats will put Johnny Foreigner in his place
A correspondent, Gregor Benton, asks : “War at sea? Johnson should think twice about what he pretends to wish for”.
Johnny Foreigner is not frightened.
Mr Johnson insists that the UK and the EU are “sovereign equals” but, as long as the EU maintains its unity, they are not equals in terms of power. And that is what has mattered in these negotiations. It is why Britain has made a series of painful concessions over the past four years – most notably by agreeing a separate status for Northern Ireland, which will see customs checks on goods crossing the Irish Sea, effectively dividing the United Kingdom
Gideon Rachman, Financial Times (See Above)
A few questions : If the British Navy attacks French Fishery Vessels 🚢 in the seas of Scotland 🏴 what will Admiral Macron do? Turn the other cheek? Grin and Bear It? Impose punitive tariffs on Scottish Fish 🐠 intended for tummies in France 🇫🇷? 80 per cent of fish 🎣 caught in seas “owned” by the British State currently are exported to the European Union, I am informed. The fish companies will quickly have warehouses full of unprofitable food. The Brexiteer capitalists could, we guess, dump the fish after a few months into the gullets of starving Brits for free. Is this the “Oven-Ready Brexit” promised by Chef Boris?
Boris Johnson’s Brexiteers are like cornered rats – so far they are throwing shapes at the EU crafty cats, Ursula of Germany and Michel of France. If Boris is only a play-acting jingo admiral, more passengers on board the doomed tory Titanic will jump ship. Warning signs are already flashing – Brexit is rejected by large majorities in Scotland and Northern Ireland. But what if desperate gambler Boris goes for broke, and attempts a repeat of something like his hero Margaret Thatcher’s Falkland Islands adventure? That’s unlikely, but good strategists plan for possible futures, including the improbable ones.
What should the left in Ireland and Britain say and do? It is a no-brainer :
Read the rest of this entry »“”I can’t imagine any Brexit deal emerging that will protect the jobs and livelihoods of my constituents, that will protect our rights and the environment. I believe Labour should have nothing to do with this Tory deal and vote against it”. British Labour MP John McDonnell.
Tomás Ó Flatharta 