A bird's eye view of the vineyard
Alternative Copy of thesaker.is site is available Thu May 25, 2023 14:38 | Ice-Saker-V6bKu3nz Alternative site: https://thesaker.si/saker-a... Site was created using the downloads provided Regards Herb
The Saker blog is now frozen Tue Feb 28, 2023 23:55 | The Saker Dear friends As I have previously announced, we are now “freezing” the blog. We are also making archives of the blog available for free download in various formats (see below).
What do you make of the Russia and China Partnership? Tue Feb 28, 2023 16:26 | The Saker by Mr. Allen for the Saker blog Over the last few years, we hear leaders from both Russia and China pronouncing that they have formed a relationship where there are
Moveable Feast Cafe 2023/02/27 ? Open Thread Mon Feb 27, 2023 19:00 | cafe-uploader 2023/02/27 19:00:02Welcome to the ‘Moveable Feast Cafe’. The ‘Moveable Feast’ is an open thread where readers can post wide ranging observations, articles, rants, off topic and have animate discussions of
The stage is set for Hybrid World War III Mon Feb 27, 2023 15:50 | The Saker Pepe Escobar for the Saker blog A powerful feeling rhythms your skin and drums up your soul as you?re immersed in a long walk under persistent snow flurries, pinpointed by The Saker >>
Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005
RTEs Sarah McInerney ? Fianna Fail supporter? Anthony
Joe Duffy is dishonest and untrustworthy Anthony
Robert Watt complaint: Time for decision by SIPO Anthony
RTE in breach of its own editorial principles Anthony
Waiting for SIPO Anthony Public Inquiry >>
Indymedia Ireland is a volunteer-run non-commercial open publishing website for local and international news, opinion & analysis, press releases and events. Its main objective is to enable the public to participate in reporting and analysis of the news and other important events and aspects of our daily lives and thereby give a voice to people.
Julian Assange is finally free ! Tue Jun 25, 2024 21:11 | indy
Stand With Palestine: Workplace Day of Action on Naksa Day Thu May 30, 2024 21:55 | indy
It is Chemtrails Month and Time to Visit this Topic Thu May 30, 2024 00:01 | indy
Hamburg 14.05. "Rote" Flora Reoccupied By Internationalists Wed May 15, 2024 15:49 | Internationalist left
Eddie Hobbs Breaks the Silence Exposing the Hidden Agenda Behind the WHO Treaty Sat May 11, 2024 22:41 | indy Human Rights in Ireland >>
News Round-Up Thu Jul 25, 2024 01:14 | Richard Eldred A summary of the most interesting stories in the past 24 hours that challenge the prevailing orthodoxy about the ?climate emergency?, public health ?crises? and the supposed moral defects of Western civilisation.
The post News Round-Up appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
George Orwell is Being Cancelled Wed Jul 24, 2024 19:30 | Paul Sutton George Orwell himself is being cancelled, says Paul Sutton. In a conversation with Oxford Literature postgraduate students, it became clear that the great opponent of authoritarianism was no longer welcome.
The post George Orwell is Being Cancelled appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Farage Calls for Referendum on European Convention on Human Rights Wed Jul 24, 2024 17:39 | Will Jones Keir Starmer says he will never withdraw from the ECHR because there is "no need" and Rishi Sunak did not disagree, despite it being the reason he failed to stop the boats. Nigel Farage says it's time to ask the people.
The post Farage Calls for Referendum on European Convention on Human Rights appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Fifteen Year-Old Swiss Girl Taken into Care After Parents Refuse to Consent to Course of Puberty Blo... Wed Jul 24, 2024 15:00 | Dr Frederick Attenborough A Swiss girl has been been taken into care because her parents stopped her taking puberty blockers, breaching a ban on conversion therapy. Is this what Labour means by a "full, trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices"?
The post Fifteen Year-Old Swiss Girl Taken into Care After Parents Refuse to Consent to Course of Puberty Blockers appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Net Zero is Impoverishing the West and Enriching China Wed Jul 24, 2024 13:30 | Will Jones The West's headlong rush to jettison fossil fuels and hit 'Net Zero' CO2 emissions is impoverishing us while enriching China, which is ramping up its coal-fired industry to sell us all the 'green' technology.
The post Net Zero is Impoverishing the West and Enriching China appeared first on The Daily Sceptic. Lockdown Skeptics >>
|
The WSM is 25
The Workers Solidarity Movement is twenty-five years old this autumn. A quarter of a century ago anarchists in Ireland came together to establish an organisation to promote and fight for our ideas.
![Click on image to see full-sized version WSM meeting in 1986](../attachments/sep2009/25years.jpg) WSM meeting in 1986 What exactly is our aim? Well, to put it directly, we want to change the world so that we can live in a society that works on the principles of participatory democracy, real equality and full human freedom. In other words we want to build a classless society where there is no division of people into order-givers and order-takers – that is what anarchism stands for.
We are sometimes told that this a lofty aim, perhaps even impractical. We don’t agree. In the last century the workers’ movement came close to achieving what anarchists want on a number of occasions. One fine example was Spain in 1936/37 but there are others.
How we get to an anarchist society, how it will become possible, is completely tied to how we fight on the issues that affect us now. This has always been the anarchist movement’s strength. We are a movement of people like you, affected and angry about the same issues. We simply want this: to organise to win.
Twenty-five years ago in Ireland, it was hard to find much information on anarchism, let alone meet with other anarchists. The ‘left’ at that time was dominated by moderates from the Labour Party and those who espoused the idea that the Soviet Union was the sort of society we should aim to create! Yes, you are right, it was strange back then. The WSM was set up as break from this straightjacket.
We rejected the idea out of hand that socialism has anything to do with curtailing people’s freedoms (as was clearly the case with the old Soviet Union). We felt it was important for the left in Ireland to realise was that there is a bigger tradition of rebellion and socialism. This is the ‘libertarian’ or anarchist tradition – a working-class movement that celebrates individuality, diversity and free expression as well as the struggle for change.
Since the foundation of the socialist movement, we have always been opposed to the idea that meaningful change could be brought about any minority. We want democracy or course – who doesn’t – but the Dáil or Stormont have little to do with democracy, they are just about choosing a small group of rulers. You will never find anarchists standing in those elections.
As anarchists, the WSM argues that the most effective way to win any struggle is through our own power, by using ‘direct action’. What exactly is that? Well direct action is the idea that we are collectively strong and that if enough of us act together we can bring the necessary change.
A good example of direct action that the WSM was centrally involved in was the defeat of the Water Tax in the Dublin area. We argued that people should defy the law and not pay the tax. This is what masses of us did and the Councils were powerless! We won.
When the WSM was founded, we had just a branch in Dublin and the beginnings of one in Cork. We were small – determined mind, but small. Now, today, there are three WSM branches in Dublin alone, one branch (probably soon two) in Cork, a branch in Belfast – and we hope to have a branch in Limerick later in the year.
There are also WSM members and supporters across the country, in Sligo, Derry, Buncrana, Drogheda, Dundalk, Wexford, Tralee, Forkhill and Killarney to name just a few places. It seems fair to point out that there are very few big working class struggles that go on anywhere on this island that don’t see us involved in some way. This is a big step forward - a breakthrough.
A massive achievement for us has been our newspaper – this one that you are reading! It has gone from a circulation of 1,000 to 10,000. It could be a better paper and it could be bigger but all that is just a matter of time and more resources.
Alongside Workers Solidarity, the WSM has produced hundreds of different leaflets, magazines and posters over the years. Moving with the times too, we now have a big internet presence – see wsm.ie.
Membership wise we began with just five – yes five – and now there are just over sixty of us. Membership means agreeing with a general set of ideas about what we stand for; agreeing on a plan of action to spread anarchism; and giving a small amount of money to support the running of the WSM.
We organise ourselves democratically and twice a year we meet in conference to decide on policies and priorities. Over the years these priorities have seen us commit ourselves to a host of important campaigns. We have fought in our unions against ‘partnership’ with the bosses; we have campaigned for divorce and abortion rights; we have been involved in combating racism and sectarianism.
It would be wrong to suggest that it has been a cake-walk getting this far. When the WSM was formed in 1984, we didn’t realise how bad the recession was going to be – emigration was rampant and there was a lot of demoralisation. Here in Ireland we had to contend with ‘Partnership’ and constant imposition of an agenda on the shop floor that encourages passivity. But we dug in nonetheless and held on.
Crucially, during this first quarter century, we have always been sure about our ideas - not just about our ultimate goal but just as important, about the relevance of our methods. Time and again in our activism, we have won respect and support because we are prepared to stand side by side with people in struggle. So it should be.
At 25 the WSM remains clear about our objective. We intend to be part of a movement that makes a revolution. What we intend to do now is to take the next steps: to grow even bigger and stronger. Doing that of course is not solely up to us. As much as anything we need your assistance: think about getting involved, think about fighting back with us! We have a new world in our hearts.
|
View Full Comment Text
save preference
Comments (13 of 13)