Cuba Support Group Ireland is pleased to announce the dates and venues of a nationwide speaking tour by Canadian academic and author, Keith Bolender, a world expert on the blockade of Cuba.

His talk will be based on his latest book, Cuba Under Siege: American Policy, the Revolution and Its People.

In it, Bolender explores how Cuban society has been affected by 50 years of ‘non stop hostility from the world’s most powerful nation’. He offers extensive historical analysis, firsthand interviews and expert comment.

Most significantly, perhaps, Bolender puts the blockade of Cuba into the historical military context of the tactic of siege and analyses the psychological impacts of this on the besieged population, with some remarkable insights from historical parallels. Through this contextualisation, the potential of American policy to deliver its stated intentions is evaluated with uncomfortable conclusions for policy makers. read full story / add a comment

This year 2013,the year of the 100th anniversary of the Great Dublin Lock Out of 1913, also marks the 36th anniversary of the murder of Socialist Republican Seamus Costello. Seamus was murdered by anti Working Class forces in Dublin on October 5, 1977. A great loss to the fight for Socialism and Republicanism. read full story / add a comment

Issue 53 of
Red Banner: a magazine of socialist ideas
is available now from bookshops or from the address above for €2 / £1.50 read full story / add a comment

Protest in solidarity with Greek anti-fascists in the wake of the murder
of Pavlos Fyssas. read full story / add a comment

Just stop for a moment and imagine the power and belief in working class political non violent direct action. What have we done with the words of Irish Scottish political activist CONNOLLY: "you can hoist the green flag over Dublin Castle but unless you build a Social Republic, all your efforts will be in vain" remember Irish republican Peader o Donnell read full story / add a comment

On why it is so difficult to break away from the established social order read full story / add a comment

In 2012 the attempt by the government to Quebec to introduce a 75% fee hike was defeated by the organisation of a mass student strike that lasted over 6 months. That fee increase was part of the global process of imposing the privatisation and commodification of education. Since the victory, organisers of the strike have been being doing speaking tours to aid the process whereby "youth and students everywhere are becoming increasingly conscious of the need to organize as a means to defend education as a social right". In September this tour reaches Ireland where we need to hear how a sustained and militant student movement that can win is built. read full story / add a comment

Talk in the Teachers Club by one of the book's editors. read full story / add a comment

A report this Thursday will reveal MI5, the FBI in the USA, and special branch in the Irish State in the south, "starved" paramilitary police in British Occupied Ireland, of vital intelligence, that would have prevented a massacre, in which twenty-nine people died after a 500lb bomb exploded in the middle of Omagh..The victims families commissioned a private report by a London law firm, the SBP, which included experts, who obtained sensitive intelligence, demonstrating major failings by all the Police forces, before the attack, which caused the massacre. read full story / add a comment

Peasants in Colombia deserve respect and dignity. To show them our support we will meet in front of the EU House (18 Dawson Street, Dublin 2), Friday 13th September, at 17:30.

Bring a ruana, a Colombian bag, a sombrero vueltiao if you have, or a positive message of solidarity with the farmers to show them that they are not alone. read full story / add a comment

On wednesday last a squat in galway was evicted.One young woman arrested for "trespass likely to cause fear in another person", after she had been woken from her bed to the sound of 3 burley men attempting to kick in the door. Meanwhile, to every 1 homeless person
are 67 deralict houses in Ireland read full story / add a comment

Merriam-Webster defines democracy as:

1 a : government by the people : rule of the majority b (1) : a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly (as in the ancient Greek city-states or the New England town meeting) — called also direct democracy (2) : a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them indirectly through a system of representation and delegated authority in which the people choose their officials and representatives at periodically held free elections — called also representative democracy

2 : a community or state in which the government is controlled by the people; specifically : a state in which the supreme power is held and exercised directly by the people rather than by their elected agents *in a democracy the people meet and exercise their government in person; in a republic, they assemble and administer it by their representatives and agents— James Madison read full story / add a comment

This article by the Revolutionary Socialists of Egypt is directed to their supporters, explaining in detail the principled stance they have taken. No to the Military Junta and No to Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood. Full text at link.

Terrible massacres and violent repression, a huge escalation in attacks on Egyptian Christians and churches, the consolidation of the repressive military state continues apace. These are the momentous political developments we have experienced during the last few weeks.

They pose enormous challenges to the revolution, but they also contain opportunities toprepare for the coming waves of the revolution, which the Revolutionary Socialists can use effectively to build the movement, provided that we develop tactics capable of dealing with changing circumstances. read full story / add a comment

At the dawn of the 21st century, the long struggle for Irish National Liberation is far from completed. Today Ireland and her people find themselves subjected to the interests of International Imperialism. Three giants of International Imperialism co-operate and compete with each other for dominance in Ireland, namely the US, the European Union and British Imperialism.
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On the morning of the 14th of August police raided Rigaer 94, Fridel 54, Reiche 63a and several other flats, there was also a comrade arrested at Liebig 34. read full story / add a comment

A night of fancy dress, music & dancing. read full story / add a comment

The bloody dissolution of the sit-ins in Al-Nahda Square and Raba'a al-Adawiyya is nothing but a massacre—prepared in advance. It aims to liquidate the Muslim Brotherhood. But, it is also part of a plan to liquidate the Egyptian Revolution and restore the military-police state of the Mubarak regime.

The Revolutionary Socialists did not defend the regime of Mohamed Mursi and the Muslim Brotherhood for a single day. We were always in the front ranks of the opposition to that criminal, failed regime which betrayed the goals of the Egyptian Revolution. It even protected the pillars of the Mubarak regime and its security apparatus, armed forces and corrupt businessmen. We strongly participated in the revolutionary wave of 30 June.

Neither did we defend for a single day the sit-ins by the Brotherhood and their attempts to return Mursi to power. read full story / add a comment

Argentina_Quilmes: Call for International Solidarity Across Borders
diffusion is appreciated
Messages of Support: mtdlc2006@yahoo.com.ar
Buenos Aires_Quilmes: Torched community center in Quilmes
read full story / add a comment

Critique started in May 1973. It was announced at the first national conference at Imperial College, a conference addressed among others by Ernest Mandel, Ralph Miliband and Hillel Ticktin. Some 500 people attended. The first issue had a print run of 2500 which quickly sold out. The issues of the 70s used to sell around 4-5000 copies very largely in bookshops in the UK, the Continent of Europe and the USA. As the USSR began to mutate the focus of the journal changed to a critique of capitalism. Throughout its focus remained on political economy and the need to reinvigorate Marxism given its Stalinist degradation.

As the first Virtual Special Issue of Critique, we have selected articles which have either formed the basis of the work of the journal or which complement it. In the first instance Critique sought to develop a more credible modern Marxist theory of the USSR and of the Cold War. With that it needed to update the theory of a socialist/Communist society. In turn, the journal turned to a critique of existing Marxist theory of capitalism and so to the question of decline and to finance capitalism. read full story / add a comment

Comrades & friends, Please e-mail to info@embamex.ie addressed to Ambassador: Mr. Carlos Eugenio Garcia de Alba at the Mexican Embassy, Dublin. Protesting against these killings and to demand that his government bring the culprits to justice. The CPI has also send a message of solidarity to our sister organisation in Mexico asking them to pass on our sincere condolences to the families of our murdered comrades.

Communist Party of Ireland read full story / add a comment