Month: May 2018

Current Affairs Ireland

Robbing Peter to pay Paul

The sleek intercity train connecting Amsterdam to Rotterdam zips between the two cities in a mere forty minutes and, with a fare of only €15.40 (£13.50), puts our fares to shame. The Dutch railways are still nationally owned, operated by Nederlandse Spoorwegen, and the route between the two cities claims […]

Imperialism

Bombs away!

In 1985 a delegation of women from the United States held a press conference in Managua, Nicaragua. This was at a time when Nicaragua was suffering a terrorist campaign, waged by the United States. The women assumed—correctly—that the site of the conference would attract more attention to their plight. All […]

Trade Unionism

Mandate conference: Building for the future

At the end of April, Mandate held its biennial conference, with more than three hundred delegates from the retail and bar sectors in attendance, under the theme “Organise! Organise!! Organise!!!” The conference was opened by the general secretary, John Douglas. His remarks were not “grandstanding” or throwing shapes but instead […]

Trade Unionism

Mayday, mayday!

If the workers take a notion They can stop all speeding trains; Every ship upon the ocean They can tie with mighty chains. Every wheel in the creation, Every mine and every mill, Fleets and armies of the nation, Will at their command stand still. —Joe Hill   The trade […]

Imperialism

European integration versus democracy

The European Union continues to push forward with deeper integration, as that is the economic and political imperative of European big business. The EU Commission continues to promote its strategy of deepening integration. It has proposed a finance minister for the euro zone and transforming the European Stability Mechanism, which […]

Campaigns Imperialism

Polluting the skies over Bray

The British military’s recruiting squadron The Bray War Show has gleefully announced that the British air force Red Arrows will strut their stuff over the skies of Bray, and probably Dublin, this July. The organisers of this war show forgot to mention that only last month, on 19 March, a […]