Vote No to EU Austerity Treaty – Bailout People Not Banks – Public Meeting, Liberty Hall, Monday March 5, 7.30pm
First Poster of the 2012 EU Austerity Referendum Campaign
- Bailout People Not Banks
Link to PDF of Poster is Here :
More Information on the Danish Red-Green MEP Soren Sondergaard Here :
Soren Sondergaard on Denmark and the Euro
Danish People’s Movement Welcomes Foreign Workers
Public Action was needed to force the government to hold a referendum.
We have extra time after the Lisbon Treaty 1-1 draw – let’s score in extra time and win this European battle on Irish Soil – start the fight back against the parasite banks in Ireland, spread the spirit of rebellion beyond our shores to the rest of Europe.
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United Left Alliance calls for a NO vote in ‘Austerity Referendum’
The five United Left Alliance TDs (Richard Boyd Barrett, Joan Collins, Clare Daly, Joe Higgins and Seamus Healy) today called for a NO vote in the referendum on the Fiscal Treaty – the austerity treaty. Read the rest of this entry »
The Lenin Wars (new outbreak)
A debate, which is only the latest round in a longer and wider debate (itself a tributary of an even older debate), is being fought in various publications and websites. It is about Lenin, the Bolsheviks and what kind of party the Bolshevik organisation was (or even if it was a separate party for most of the time).
The new round has centred on the first volume of the most influential political biography of Lenin in these parts, Tony Cliff’s’ Lenin, Volume 1: Building the Party (London: Pluto Press, 1975). Some of the heavyweights are there: Pham Binh, Paul Le Blanc and Lars Ti Lih.
It is a debate of close relevance to the matter of how revolutionary marxists should organise today, to what type of parties we should be building, and therefore should be of great interest to Tomás’ readers.
As is often the case the easiest place to follow it is the Links Australian/International web journal. Links have gathered all the contributions together and put them into a single clearly followable page. It began, or reached prominence (as is also often the case) on Louis Proyect’s Unrepentant Marxist site.
Put a pot of coffee on or open a can and enjoy; you will learn too of course.
Action on ‘X’ Public Meeting Gresham Hotel, Tuesday 21 February, 7.30pm; Broad Support for Dáil Legislation
Action on X
The Irish Times Reports :
A PRIVATE Members’ Bill which would provide for limited access to abortion will be introduced in the Dáil next week.
The Bill, to make abortion legal where there is a “real and substantial risk to the life” of the pregnant woman, will be introduced by Socialist Party TD Clare Daly in private members’ time and will be voted on in the House on April 19th.
Over 60 organisations and individuals, including seven TDs, two Senators, trade unions, academics and doctors have called for “immediate legislation in line with the ‘X’ case”.
More Here :
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0218/1224311978354.html
There is an impressive media round-up here :
Action on X After 20 Years
http://www.facebook.com/actiononx2012
Public Meeting on February 21 Read the rest of this entry »
SIPTU NEC calls for suspension of proposed Household Charge
From SIPTU this morning:
17th February, 2012
SIPTU NEC calls for suspension of proposed Household Charge
The National Executive Council (NEC) of SIPTU has called on the Government to suspend the proposed Household Charge on the basis that it is unfair and regressive.
At its monthly meeting today (Friday, 17th February) the NEC unanimously supported a motion stating that;
“The Household Charge as currently proposed by the Government is a flat tax which is unfair and regressive in that it subsidises wealthy people at the expense of middle and low income families. The NEC supports the principle of a fair and progressive property tax which is proportionate and which recognises that wealthy households can afford to pay more than those with modest earnings while those on lower incomes should be exempt. Read the rest of this entry »
Labour Members’ Forum
An egg from Maman Poulet 14th February 2012
Labour members meet to talk about policy alternatives
As they approach their first year in Government the Labour Party have held carefully choreographed meetings of party members before their equally carefully choreographed conference in Galway next month.
Last night about 200 members met in Stillorgan to question Eamon Gilmore on the party’s actions in government on subjects including the Vatican Embassy, tax breaks for investors and the like.
Independently of the head office verbal dances, a grass roots members meeting is being held in Dublin this Saturday. Entitled the Labour Members Forum, the organisers have sent out word far and wide.
A group of grassroots Labour members from a broad range of constituencies have come together to start a discussion about how we as members believe our party can deliver on the values of the Labour Party. We are organising a Labour Party Members’ Forum, “What can Labour do in government?” on Saturday 18th February in Wynn’s Hotel in Dublin. The Forum is aimed at grassroots members of the Labour party, to hear and debate alternative policy solutions to Ireland’s social and economic challenges.
Speakers confirmed include Dr. Mary Murphy (NUI, Maynooth), Michael Taft (UNITE), Mags O’Brien (SIPTU), John Douglas (ICTU), Orla O’Connor (National Women’s Council of Ireland) and Tom Healy (ICTU).
Labour Party Head Office seem to have themselves in a quandry as they try to find who has organised the meeting with a very interesting line up. A little birdie tells me it kicks off at 10.30am and runs all day in Wynnes Hotel. Maybe head office will send along someone to take notes. More information from Labourmembersforum(@)gmail.com
Postal vote for election of nonaligned to ULA sub-committee
The following email went out to ULA members, or some, yesterday:
From: “United Left Alliance” <contact@unitedleftalliance.org>
Date: 15 Feb 2012
Subject: ULA sub-committee election
To:
Dear all,
As announced in our previous email a sub-committee is being established to:
– recommend interim arrangements for representation of unaligned members on Steering Committee,
– discuss future development of ULA including the development of participative structure,
– consult all members on these issues and
– report to Steering Committee who will report to conference.
The Steering Committee has agreed that 2 comrades who are members of the ULA but not members of any of the founding organisations, should be part of the subcommittee.
To that effect, we are proposing to set up a postal vote where all such members can take part in the election of two individual ULA members onto the subcommittee. The subcommittee will have eight members in total.
A postal ballot is not ideal but the Steering Committee felt it was best if the individual members on the subcommittee were elected by all such individual members in the ULA.
The Steering Committee to contact by email/letter all comrades on our membership database to ask if they would like to participate in this election to the subcommittee.
As we want to establish the subcommittee as soon as possible, could you get back to us by or on Thursday 23rd of February as to whether you wish to participate in this election and make sure you include your full postal address so you can be sent a ballot paper.
Please note this is an election of members to the subcommittee on structures. The election of individual members to the Steering Committee will take place at the ULA Conference in April.
In relation to nomination: Nominees must not be members of any of the founding organisations – the People Before Profit Alliance, the Workers and Unemployed Action Group (Tipperary) or the Socialist Party. Nominations can be by ULA branches or by individuals, in which case the nominee should be proposed and seconded and again should be communicated to the ULA office by Thursday 23rd of February.
Please note:
- · If you want to participate in the election of two ULA members, who are not part of any of the founding groups, onto the subcommittee on structures, get in touch with your full address by Thursday 23rd of February.
- · Nominations for this election can be made by ULA branches or by individual members, a proposer and seconder and should be sent to the ULA office by Thursday 23rd of February.
Thanks,
United Left Alliance
That little birdie again: ULA conference 28th April
Tomás is reliably informed that the ULA conference has been reset for Saturday 28th April 2012.
France: The NPA in Crisis
Both the SWP internal communication of 6th February and a commentator on it reffered to the Nouveau Parti Anticapitaliste (New Anti-capitalist Party, NPA) in France. It has truely suffered the dramatic decline in membership mentioned. The NPA is particularly significant for those of us who promote a new pluralist radical left and it deserves consideration beyond hostile and misleading soundbites.
We reproduce below an article on the NPA, complete with comments, by Jason Stanley, from the January/February 2012 issue of the US magazine Against The Current, an analytical journal for the broad revolutionary left sponsored by the Solidarity group there. It is a model, for any online discussion, of informed substance, civility, commitment and calm.
France: The NPA in Crisis
— Jason Stanley
FRANCE’S NEW ANTI-CAPITALIST Party (NPA) is in crisis. While only two years ago many on the international left talked about the NPA as one of the brightest lights on an otherwise dim revolutionary horizon, today the Party is hemorrhaging members and struggling to stay afloat. Read the rest of this entry »
Belfast to Boston Via Afghanistan
Eamonn McCann has written a fascinating account of former Royal Ulster Constabulary Officers who urged a legal assault on the Boston Archive in order to settle old scores :
Norman Baxter’s Long Crusade
Well worth reading :
http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/02/13/norman-baxters-long-crusade/
Mr Baxter was part of the police team that unsuccessfully investigated the 1998 Omagh Bombing.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8356020.stm
Tomás Ó Flatharta 