The Fine Gael/Fianna Fáil/Green Party government has been characterised by an increasing shift towards NATO, an intensification of moves that occurred under previous governments, introducing new levels of entanglement with PESCO and other “common defence” initiatives. This is happening in tandem with the increased militarisation of the EU the ever-greater sabre-rattling of […]
Imperialism
Venezuela Fighting On
Once again, the Venezuelan opposition has refused to accept the electoral victory of Chavismo. Since the first victory of Hugo Chavez in 1999, the Venezuelan extreme right have used fascistic methods to try and break the Bolivarian Revolution. These include attempted coups, terrorist attacks against public health and education centres, […]
Recent Election in the Six Counties
The context within which any electoral or social struggles takes place is critical to an understanding of how the working class understands how or where change can be secured. The ongoing struggle between Irish democratic forces and forces wedded to imperialism is the basic context in which the elections must […]
Palestine and the Environmental Struggle: a debate between Andreas Malm and Matan Kaminer
A recent series of blog posts on the website of Verso Books, acclaimed publisher on the left, attracted a lot of attention online. Andreas Malm, best known for his excellent analysis of the capitalist systems of climate emergency, started this series off with his long and informative essay “The Destruction […]
James Connolly Commemoration at Arbour Hill
The following is a speech given by Cuban Ambassador of Ireland, Bernardo Guanche Henandez, at this year’s James Connolly Commemoration at Arbour Hill in Dublin: “Comrades all, I am very honored this afternoon to pay tribute to a historical figure of the stature of James Connolly, a prominent Marxist and […]
Book Review – Techno Feudalism by Yanis Varoufakis
The M-C-C’-M’ circuit means Money (M) which is exchanged for Commodities (C) – including labor power which also becomes a commodity in a capitalist society – involved in the production process to produce a value-added commodity (C’) which is sold for more Money (M’), and thus the accumulation of capital […]
Without fear, without hope
In an often mentioned quote from the Italian partisan and later president, Sandro Pertini exclaimed that “sometimes in life it’s necessary to fight, not just without fear, but also without hope.” Today, as we have access to a wide range of media reports on the major crises around the world, […]
Triple-Lock – The betrayal of a solemn promise to the Irish People
In one of the most disturbing recent Irish government announcements, Mícheál Martin has repeated his administration’s intention to press ahead with legislation to get rid of the triple-lock dealing with Irish military involvement abroad. Designed to protect this country’s neutrality, the triple-lock curtails the unrestricted deployment of Irish troops in […]
The Essence of Imperialism
Ireland suffered under the weight of imperialism in the past for the longest time and today continues to bear the oppression of the triple-lock of imperialism. People who are acquainted with Irish history know well the destruction and damage caused by imperialism on the population, the economy, culture, language, nature, […]
Imperialism for Slow Learners
When Barack Obama was elected as the first black president of the United States in 2008, there was jubilation and celebration of this “historic event”. The “We are One” concert was held on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to celebrate the incoming President Obama where Pete Seeger and Bruce […]
Gaza and the War Addiction of the Imperialist Class
We are in a pivotal moment in the global anti-war movement. Not since the Iraq war and the start of the so-called “global war on terror” have we seen so many people actively engaged in direct action, political education, boycotts and sustained protest. Rarely, if ever, has the racism and […]
Imperialism’s attacks on Irish neutrality
In January, Policy Exchange, a right-wing British think tank produced a report entitled, “Closing the Back Door: Rediscovering Northern Ireland’s Role in British National Security.” It has a foreword by two former British Defence Secretaries and is endorsed by a former First Sea Lord and Security Minister. It can therefore […]
Forced and Mass displacement of the Palestinian people: An essential pillar of the Zionist project
Statement by the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) It is not possible to talk about the emergence of the Israeli entity outside the framework of the doctrine of the massacres it committed since 1948, as the Israeli occupation sought, with direct support from the colonial Western countries, […]
The imperialist march to war
Mythology refers to Helen’s “beautiful face that launched a thousand ships”. This, according to legend, was the cause of the Trojan war. Whether true or not, what we can say in the modern era is that the face of major war is now the ugly face of capitalism at its […]
On Thomas Sankara
Thomas Sankara was born on 21st December 1949 in Upper Volta, which was a French colony, and like all African colonies at the time, the white colonisers exploited the natives by forcing them to build infrastructure so that they could more efficiently exploit the resources of the nation. Upper Volta […]
The 1953 Iranian Coup and the CIA
The official podcast of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) “The Langley Files: CIA’s podcast” recently had an episode about Operation Argo and gave some background to the CIA and the coup in Iran in 1953 against the democratically elected government of Mohammad Mosaddegh A few minutes in, the CIA historian […]