Month: March 2013
Free Bradley Manning!
On Tuesday 12 March, the audio recording of a former United States Army soldier’s speech to a military court, in which he gives his reasons and motivations behind disclosing over 700,000 government documents to WikiLeaks, was released.
Can society be rid of anti-gay prejudice?
After decades and more of courageous and determined campaigning by sections of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, same-sex civil partnership and marriage are being won in one Western European country after another. It lends legitimacy to the natural optimism that acceptance of gay sexuality is on an exponential upward curve.
Nothing more to give – No to Croke Park II
“Nothing more to give” sums up the position of public sector workers who are struggling to survive in the midst of the never-ending economic crisis.
‘Two-pack agreement’ – more institutionalisation of austerity
It's now almost three years since European Commission President Barroso announced "a silent revolution in terms of stronger economic governance by small steps". This has meant using the economic crisis to impose a model of authoritarian neo-liberalism in Europe.
History: The second world war for global power
The Nobel Peace Prize was last year awarded to the European Union for its role in “transforming most of Europe from a continent of war to a continent of peace”. European Council president, Herman Van Rompuy, extravagantly claimed that the EU is the “biggest peace-making institution ever created”. War and peace, however, are decided not by the success or failure of ‘peace-making institutions’, but by deep social forces at work within capitalism, as the history of the second world war shows. socialistparty.net reviews a recent study of that conflict.
Property Tax: The war begins in earnest now
From this week the latest bitter austerity pill will be administered to our hard pressed low and middle income earners as letters arrive in every home from the Revenue Commissioners demanding the new property tax.
Action Plan 2013 – ‘The Gathering’ writ large
Another year and another instalment in the Action Plan for Jobs from the government. After the self-proclaimed sensational success that was the 2012 action plan, with 92% of its targets being hit, unemployment still stands at over 14%. Self-congratulation is no congratulation.
March 8th – the day of international working women’s solidarity
For over a hundred years, March 8th has been the day on which to commemorate the great struggles of working women for a better deal at work and in society. It is also the day to celebrate the contribution of women – some famous, many unknown - in the fight against oppression and for socialism.
Hugo Chavez dies – the struggle continues
Millions of Venezuelan workers, the poor and youth will mourn the death of Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez on Tuesday 5 March. Thousands reportedly took to the streets in Caracas chanting “Todos somos Chavez”, ‘we are all Chavez’.
Rape Culture & capitalism
The vile gang-rape of a 23 year old student in Delhi, India and her resultant death in December 2012 has brought the social scourge of rape into sharp focus. Horrifically, this particular case was in no way out of the ordinary in its nature or severity. What made it exceptional was the explosive response to the travesty – the “rage against rape” that brought masses of women as well as of men opposed to the huge prevalence of rape and sexual violence perpetrated in the main against women and children, onto the streets in outrage.
