Akbayan took exception to Senator Bongbong Marcos’s statement that there was no downside to being a Marcos should he decide to run for higher office in 2016.

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Camp against TTIP. read full story / add a comment

International camp against TTIP! read full story / add a comment

International calling for a camp against TTIP in Brussel, Belgium.

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The 4th Annual March for Choice will take place in Dublin on Saturday September 26th marking the Global Day of Action for Access to Safe and Legal Abortion.

The March will kick off at 2 pm in Dublin at the Garden of Remembrance (assembling from 1.30pm), and like last year, we are asking that you bring a wheelie case if possible to make the effort and sound of travel abundantly clear!
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The Right2Water campaign had called for a national demonstration on Sat Aug 31st and quite a lot of effort had gone into publishing this with tens of thousands of leaflets distributed throughout the country and buses laid on to many of the major towns.

There was a fair bit riding on this because figures show that significant percentage of households had still not paid and during the summer the government plans were upset when EuroStat came back and said Irish Water had to appear on the government accounts.

In the meantime government ministers have been claiming it would not be privatized but when pressed on whether this is rock solid, they turn out to be quite slippy on this. And there is reason for this because the TTIP treaty between the USA and EU currently being negotiated in secret is a corporate wishlist that will allow corporations to sue governments through the Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) which are corporate courts run by corporate lawyers and take precedence over national laws and there is no right of appeal. It will allow corporations to say that it is unfair competition to have things like our health, education and of course Irish Water in state hands and therefore it should be privatized. This is not some myth because the ISDS mechanism has already been used at least 500 times in other countries for basically lowering health standards and environmental protection. If TTIP is passed and so far Fine Gael have been in favour of it, including the ISDS, then they will say their hands are tied and they had to privatize Irish Water and of course every other thing. read full story / add a comment

Clean Coasts Big Beach Clean weekend will be taking place on the 18th, 19th & 20th September. This year they are teaming up with the International Ocean Conservancy again for the International Coastal Clean-up event. Last year 560,000 volunteers in 91 countries removed 7,257 tonnes of marine litter from the world's oceans. read full story / add a comment

This peaceful assembly is part of Global Bersih initiative that will see solidarity rallies and gatherings by the Malaysian diaspora, and is set to take place in over 30 cities across the world on the weekend of 29 & 30 August 2015. These global rallies are in support of the Bersih 4.0 rallies that will be held in Malaysia that same weekend.

The last peaceful rally, Bersih 3.0 in 2012 in Kuala Lumpur, ended up with participants wounded by police brutality, tear gas and blasted by water cannons. read full story / add a comment

This is a repost of an article from the WSM. In a further confirmation of the empty nature of electoral democracy its been revealed that the Dublin City Council manager wrote to the company building the controversial Poolbeg incinerator to assure them they could ignore the two city council votes against the project. This after a special meeting when 50 out of 52 councillors voted against the proposal! read full story / add a comment

CHANGE OF VENUE TO: National Gallery of Ireland, Merrion Square West, Dublin 2 The demo will be at the Millennium Wing entrance, Clare St.

David O’Sullivan, EU Ambassador to the United States and cheerleader for TTIP will be speaking on: 'Transatlantic Relations and TTIP'

Join us for an hour to show him and his cronies that we reject ... read full story / add a comment

The vintage Hawker Hunter fighter plane that crashed on to a busy roadway during an air show in Shoreham, Sussex on 22 August also performed at recent air shows in Ireland at Shannon, Bray and Foynes. Between them these were attended by up to 150,000 people. read full story / add a comment

The Right2Water campaign has called another major demonstration in Dublin on Saturday 29th August 2015 at 2pm.

The government is still on the hop because not enough people have paid their water bills and we can still beat them. This is why they have now said they have capped the amount out for another couple of years but don't be fooled, we need to keep the pressure on. They are also in negotiations for the TTIP treaty which between Europe and the US and is a corporate wishlist and includes provisions to allow them to sue governments if they do NOT privatise public services including of course water. At this point they will claim they had no choice and the "decision" was taken out of their hands. So integral to winning the Right to Water is to defeat the TTIP and ensure it never gets passed. read full story / add a comment

Recent reports have suggested that Ireland is set to become the most obese country in Europe. read full story / add a comment

Annual Eve of All-Ireland Rally , Dublin : 19/9/15 , at 2pm, GPO. read full story / add a comment

The August Socialist Voice is now available online.

In this issue:
Greek and all European workers paying a heavy price
As events unfold in Greece it’s clear that the EU is determined to make Greek workers pay for the crisis now engulfing the country.
The Greek debt, like the Irish debt, is simply unsustainable and unpayable. The impact and renewed assault on Greek workers will be felt throughout the European Union: it will not be confined or contained within the borders of Greece read full story / add a comment

Cuid de na photos ón obair agus craic ag féile na saoirse na laethanta seo caite. read full story / add a comment

On 5th of August 2015 the Irish Navy ship LÉ Niamh was sent to help an overcrowded vessel about 25 miles off the Libyan coast. As two rigid inflatable boats (Ribs) from the LÉ Niamh approached they signaled to the people to stay where they were so that life jackets could be given out.

However, according to Capt Dave Barry: “Whatever happened, a number rushed to one side, and it capsized and sank in a couple of minutes”.

A total of 367 survivors and 25 bodies were taken to the Sicilian port of Palermo.

Up to 700 people were believed to have been on board. read full story / add a comment

The Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign is proud to host a premiere screening of the award-winning ‘On the Side of the Road’ by Israeli director Lia Tarachansky on Saturday 5th September 2015, at 3.30pm in the Drumcree Community Centre, Ashgrove Road, Portadown.

FREE ENTRY but spaces are limited, so please come early to avoid disappointment.

The film is a challenging and important documentary about the creation of the Israeli state and the impact this has had both on Palestinians and Israelis. The film will be followed by a discussion between the audience and the director who is touring the film around Ireland. read full story / add a comment

The Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign in association with the Progressive Film Club is proud to host a premiere screening of the award-winning 'On the Side of the Road' by Israeli director Lia Tarachansky on Wednesday 9th September 2015, at 7pm in the Pearse Centre (aka The Ireland Institute), 27 Pearse Street, Dublin 2. Note: Spaces are limited, so please come early to avoid disappointment.

FREE ENTRY but spaces are limited, so please come early to avoid disappointment.

The film is a challenging and important documentary about the creation of the Israeli state and the impact this has had both on Palestinians and Israelis. The film will be followed by a discussion between the audience and the director who is touring the film around Ireland. read full story / add a comment

Bord na Mona’s right to extract peat for horticultural use is being challenged by an environmental group.

Friends of the Irish Environment [FIE] have written to Offaly County Council stating that ‘unauthorised development has been, is being and may continue to be carried out near Derrinboy, Co. Offaly, comprising the drainage of peatland and extraction of peat without planning permission or environmental impact assessment.’

The site, located north of Birr, is more than 200 hectares in size. It was previously an Area of Scientific Interest and a proposed Natural Heritage Area. read full story / add a comment