THE IRISH STATE, THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND THE NEW ABORTION LAW

Socialist Democracy (Ireland) provides a further two articles outlining the continued resistance of the Right and Catholic Church to women’s rights in the aftermath of the historic victory over the Eight Amendment.   1. NEW IRISH ABORTION LAW A 350 million euro hospital for the nuns, 14 years jail time for those who exercise the…

AN IRELAND UPDATE – SOUTH AND NORTH

We posting to articles from the Socialist Democracy (Ireland) website on the current political situation South and North. The first looks at the recent Presidential election; the second at the collapse of Stormont. 1. IRISH PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: AN ELECTION WITHOUT CANDIDATES Throughout the presidential election one could only watch open mouthed as RTE, an organisation…

REMEMBERING THE WOBBLIES

Eric Thomas Chester,  is author of The Wobblies in Their Heyday (a history of the Industrial Workers of the World during its most vibrant period, the World War I era ) and Yours for Industrial Freedom (an anthology that provides insight into the IWW as it really was based on letters introduced by the prosecution during the 1918…

RENEGING ON REPEAL: A NEW THREAT TO ABORTION RIGHTS IN IRELAND

This article, first posted by Socialist Democracy (Ireland) on the situation in Ireland following  the earlier successful repeal of the 8th amendment highlights the need to organise independently of the state.      RENEGING ON REPEAL: A NEW THREAT TO ABORTION RIGHTS IN IRELAND After a period of quiet relief following the repeal referendum the…

THE IHRA AND APARTHEID ISRAEL

We are posting three pieces following the Labour Party’s adoption of the IHRA statement on Anti-Semitism. the first is by Moshe Machover, founder member of the socialist Matzpen Party in Israel, who successfully resisted  a joint Zionist and Labour Right attempt to have him expelled from the  Labour Party. The second is by a Shahd…

FRENCH POSTAL WORKERS INTERNATIONAL STRIKE FUND

French workers remain one of the best organised groups in Europe. This is why Macron has launched attacks on the rail workers (see http://republicancommunist.org/blog/2018/04/14/french-public-sector-workers-under-attack/) and the postal workers. The organised French working class offers the best alternative to the neo-liberalism of Emmanuel Macron’s En Marche and the rampant national chauvinist, racist Right populism of Marine…

EDINBURGH OCTOBER 6th – A RALLYING CALL FOR THE LEFT

Allan Armstrong puts the case for building a Scottish-wide Left contingent on the ‘All Under One Banner’ march in Edinburgh on October 6th   EDINBURGH OCTOBER 6th – A RALLYING CALL FOR THE LEFT   35,000 in Glasgow, 10,000 in Inverness, 13,000 in Dumfries and 16,000 in Dundee – ‘All Under One Banner ‘ clearly…

OPEN LETTER AND PETITION TO LEN McCLUSKEY

We have revived this open letter and petition from Ian Allinson of UNITE Grassroots Left. It calls upon UNITE members to reject Len McCluskey’s call for the Labour Party to adopt the IHRA definition anti-semitism.   OPEN LETTER AND PETITION TO LEN McCLUSKEY We the undersigned call on you to oppose the adoption by the…

LESSONS OF THE RED (REPUBLICAN) STATES TEACHER STRIKES

Eric Chester has sent in this article form Jack Gerson, a teacher activist on California, about the teacher strikes in  West Virginia, Kentucky and Arizona.   LESSONS OF THE RED (REPUBLICAN) STATES TEACHER STRIKE   Last Saturday (June 9), I attended the “Lessons of the Red States Teacher Strikes” forum featuring teacher leaders of the…