Posts Tagged ‘politics’
Learning to Swim – “an argument against a retreat from broad parties and electoral work” – Paul Murphy TD
Paul Murphy TD (People Before Profit, Dublin South-West) has written an interesting article :
Learning to Swim,;Paul Murphy; December 31 2023
It is published on the ISJ site, a British website :
“International Socialism is associated with the [British] Socialist Workers Party, but articles express the opinions of individual authors unless otherwise stated. We welcome proposals for articles and reviews for International Socialism..”
Paul Murphy is replying to a Joseph Choonara article; link here Revolutionaries and Elections
Here is Paul Murphy’s core argument :
Read the rest of this entry »Racist Scumbags in Ireland Are Burning Unoccupied Buildings – The Hug-a-Thug Policing Strategy of Garda Boss Drew Harris is coming home to roost
A question to Garda Boss Drew Harris : How is the Hug-a-Thug Policing Strategy Playing Out?
In 2023, in his weekly Sunday Independent columns, Gene Kerrigan wrote devastating examinations of Garda Boss Drew Harris’s strategy for dealing with escalating far-right activity in Ireland. November 23 2023 racist riots in Dublin’s city centre prompted this sarcastic Kerrigan twitter comment :
“The classic part of their playbook,” Drew Harris said of the far right, “is an over-response by the authorities. We are not going to fall into that trap.” How’s the hug-a-thug policing strategy playing out, Drew?
Source : The Drew Harris Hug-a-Thug Policing Strategy
Racist riots erupted on Dublin’s streets on November 23 2023. The “hug-a-thug” philosophy of Drew Harris finds its way into this Irish Times report :
Many Garda officers do not accept the disturbances on the night were “far-right riots”, saying the event was more nuanced. They say the trouble was whipped up by a small far-right element before opportunists with no ideology seized the chance to go on a rampage, taking on gardaí and looting shops.
Conor Lally, Crime & Law
How far right-sparked violence dominated the year in policing during 2023, Irish Times December 27 2023
The Irish Far-Right is on an arson roll – its activists are burning unoccupied buildings which are earmarked to house homeless refugees.
Read the rest of this entry »Did British Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer say “Israel has the right” to cut off food water and electricity to 2 million people in Gaza?
A resident of Great Britain advises these posters are appearing in an English city. The correspondent observes “Someone is sailing very close to the wind with electoral law even if it is an accurate account of what he said. This is the latest and biggest of a series of these that have popped up locally.”
Has anyone seen these posters in other parts of the British state, including the bit styled “Northern Ireland”. I am guessing the posters would be popular in Scotland and Wales. They could catch on!
A correspondent wondered “And of course it’s not what he said!” – so the blog team looked it up.
Read the rest of this entry »Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin opens the door to coalition with Sinn Féin
Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has said there would be “huge difficulties” with his party going into government with Sinn Féin, but did not rule out the possibility of such a coalition after the next election.
Irish Times December 26 2023
Fianna Fáil (FF) and Fine Gael (FG), two tweedledum and tweedledee capitalist parties, have controlled every government running the southern 26 county bit of partitioned Ireland since a 1921 Treaty was signed with the former occupying power, Britain. A carnival of reaction followed on both sides of the Irish border.
Faced with a false choice between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, the only rational policy for the left was and is : no coalition, on principle, with any right-wing party.
The need for this policy is explained in this interview with Paul Murphy TD (People Before Profit, Dublin South-West) : To all of them we say: rule out coalition with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael – interview with Paul Murphy TD after the February 2020 Irish General Election
Read the rest of this entry »The comments of Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald TD on Ukrainian refugees in Ireland are a mistake
I note the statement by Mary Lou Mc Donald TD,leader of Sinn Fein with regards to her view that the position to grant special status to Ukrainians following the Russian invasion in 2022 was a mistake.
At the time her party supported the government position. While party banners were not present, Mary Lou Mc Donald was present for protest outside the Russian Embassy in July to mark 18 months since the invasion.
I think it unfortunate that the Sinn Fein leader has now expressed a sense of regret at the level of support for Ukraine in Ireland. Sinn Féin and others have been loud in the support for Palestine rightly, but like so many have left their attention drift with regards to Ukraine.
Rather than reacting to the menacing activity of far right activity and call for a more robust policing and courts response to the fire attack at a hotel in Galway, the Sinn Fein leader’s comments will embolden the nativist elements.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tomás Ó Flatharta 