Month: April 2010
Lady Gaga & Female Liberation?
Pop sensation of the moment, Lady Gaga, has recently topped one billion views of her videos on Youtube. Her new 10-minute music video Telephone is creating quite a stir. The video has been praised as exemplifying “liberated” female sexuality and Lady Gaga herself has been held up in the media, including by feminists, as a “feminist icon and a gender revolutionary” and “a strong symbolic figure… for the openly and secretly flamboyant of all genders and sexualities.”
Joe Higgins on the public sector deal
Public sector workers who were listening to the radio on the morning of 30 March must have thought they misheard, when details were given of the proposals for their pay which their leaders were coming back with, following talks with the government.
Never again – Toyosi anti-racism march
On Saturday 10 April in an angry but peaceful protest up to 3,000 people marched from Parnell Square in Dublin to the Dail to express their disgust at the killing of 15 year old Toyosi Shitta-bey from Tyrelstown in Blanchardstown on Good Friday.
Unite against division and racism
The killing of Toyosi Shitta-bey in Tyrellstown in West Dublin on Good Friday is a huge tragedy for his family, friends and the whole community and has outraged many throughout the country. That such a young life, with immense talent, could be so brutally ended has left many in shock.
It is vital that working class people from all backgrounds unite and send out a very strong message that such senseless and violent attacks have no place in our community and will not be tolerated. The whole community must also ensure that the investigation into Toyosi’s death is vigorous and pursued to the very end.
Communities must unite against racism
Easter Monday night’s vigil in Tyrrelstown, west Dublin, for the slain 15 year old Nigerian lad, Toyosi Shitta-bey, was as uplifting as it was desperately sad.
The attendance of about 1,500 braved the unseasonal, biting cold to pay their tributes and make a powerful statement about the kind of society in which they want to live.
Nigeria – Socialists arrested
Police today (7 April 2010) arrested Dagga Tolar, the Secretary of the Lagos state chapter of Labour and Civil Society Coalition (LASCO) and a member of Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM – CWI in Nigeria), along with Akpos Okoro, community activist and Aderemi Ismail, community activist and organizer and member of the Ajegunle Branch of the DSM.
New economic data shows – Recession no end in sight
Recently released economic figures have given lie to the idea that Ireland is in the midst of an economic recovery and that the recession is over! Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan and the government emphasised this so called recovery to sell the harsh December budget. The theory went that if we pulled up our socks now and took our medicine, it will all be over soon, he was lying and now the reality is hitting home.
Public service deal – Why you need to Vote No
The most important objective for public sector workers was the scrapping of the pension levy, restoration of pay cuts, protection of pensions and terms and conditions. None of these objectives are met by this rotten deal.
Bank bailout – Giving away your future
“It's the classic fairytale gone bad. A brave little country was given three wishes: low interest rates, high wages and billions in multinational investment. For a brief moment in time, for the first time in its history, Ireland was wealthy and had the respect of the world. Then it threw it all away. And that’s why they call it Namageddon.” - The Wall Street Journal.
