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offsite link North Korea Increases Aid to Russia, Mos... Tue Nov 19, 2024 12:29 | Marko Marjanovi?

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The Saker

Indymedia ireland

Indymedia Ireland is a volunteer-run non-commercial open publishing website for local and international news, opinion & analysis, press releases and events. Its main objective is to enable the public to participate in reporting and analysis of the news and other important events and aspects of our daily lives and thereby give a voice to people.

offsite link Army Sergeant Travis Decker Murdered His Three Children After Being Denied Mental Health Care at JBL... Sat Jun 07, 2025 04:52 | JBLM Whistleblowers
A corrupt military police force and incompetent Commander who denied emergency mental health care and crisis counseling to an American service member resulted in the murder of the sergeant's three young daughters

offsite link Gaza doctor grieves her nine children killed in Israeli strike Sun May 25, 2025 20:00 | imc
Israeli regime continues it's slaughter
'The children were completely charred'

Paediatrician Alaa al-Najjar was treating victims of Israeli attacks when her children were killed by an Israeli strike on their home

offsite link British doctors working in Gaza describe territory as a ?slaughterhouse? Sat May 24, 2025 00:23 | imc
There?s no food getting in so people are starving,? surgeon Tom Potokar says
British doctors working in Gaza have described the territory as a ?slaughterhouse,? where the patients they are treating are severely malnourished.

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offsite link It is time to talk about the Out of Control Immigration. Mon Mar 31, 2025 22:12 | imc
For the last few years since the CV19 scamdemic undocumented immigration into Ireland has surged. No one is allowed discuss it because they do not want any rational debate about it. If you do you are labelled an extremist. However this out of control immigration is fully facilitated by the Irish government and the EU and the shady figure behind the Neo Con movement pushing for endless war, wokeism and globalist agenda.

offsite link [Dublin] National Demonstration for Palestine: End Israeli Apartheid & Genocide Thu Mar 06, 2025 22:35 | ipsc
Sat, 22 March 2025, 13:00 Assemble at the Garden of Remembrance, Parnell Square, Dublin 1
The Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign, supported by over 150 Irish civil society organisations, has called another National Demonstration for Palestine on Saturday 22nd March.

The march will begin at the Garden of Remembrance at 1pm and finish outside the D?il on Molesworth Street/Kildare Street to bring our demands to the Irish government?s doorstep.

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Lockdown Skeptics

The Daily Sceptic

offsite link Kneecap ?Two-Tier Justice? Row After Glastonbury Case Dropped by Police Fri Jul 18, 2025 17:00 | Will Jones
Police have closed the criminal investigation into Kneecap?s Glastonbury performance, where the band called for a "riot outside court", prompting criticism of "two-tier justice" by the Shadow Home Secretary.
The post Kneecap ‘Two-Tier Justice’ Row After Glastonbury Case Dropped by Police appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link The Epping Protesters Have Had Enough of Being Ignored and Lied To Fri Jul 18, 2025 15:00 | David Shipley
Last night's violence in Epping is the desperate cry of people who have been ignored for decades, says David Shipley. Violence must be condemned. But if the state doesn?t change course, and fast, we will see many Eppings.
The post The Epping Protesters Have Had Enough of Being Ignored and Lied To appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link From Vaccine Passports in 2021 to ?Britcard? in 2025 ? Why We Need a Digital Bill of Rights Fri Jul 18, 2025 13:00 | Alan Miller
From vaccine passports in 2021 to 'Britcard' digital ID in 2025, it's becoming clear we need a Digital Bill of Rights to protect us from being brought under the technocratic grip of a surveillance state, says Alan Miller.
The post From Vaccine Passports in 2021 to ‘Britcard’ in 2025 ? Why We Need a Digital Bill of Rights appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Why is Modernity so Ugly? Fri Jul 18, 2025 11:00 | Joanna Gray
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The post Why is Modernity so Ugly? appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link The Climate Consensus Died in Parliament This Week Fri Jul 18, 2025 09:00 | Ben Pile
This was the week that the climate consensus died in Parliament, says Ben Pile. In the debate that followed Ed Miliband's statement on "nature and climate" something new was heard in the House of Commons: dissent.
The post The Climate Consensus Died in Parliament This Week appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

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Voltaire Network
Voltaire, international edition

offsite link Will intergovernmental institutions withstand the end of the "American Empire"?,... Sat Apr 05, 2025 07:15 | en

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?127 Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:38 | en

offsite link Disintegration of Western democracy begins in France Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:00 | en

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?126 Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:39 | en

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Voltaire Network >>

Principles for a Left Alternative. May-June 2015

category national | politics / elections | opinion/analysis author Monday June 01, 2015 23:13author by Pbp Report this post to the editors

The following statement, as a contribution to the debate at the conference organised by the R2W unions on June 13, has been agreed between the People Before Profit Alliance,the Anti-Austerity Alliance, and some independent left-wing activists including Cllr Brendan Young.

The Mayday Conference initiated by the Right2Water Trade Unions was designed to bring union members, community groups and political representatives into dialogue about an alternative to the political and economic establishment. We welcome the fact that these unions initiated such a meeting to build a political movement based on the anti-water charges struggle of the last eight months. Unfortunately, the meeting was a limited and invite-only event, without sufficient space for discussion.

Open up and democratise the June 13 conference

To best achieve the potential for this movement, we believe that the process needs to be opened up and democratised. Without grassroots participation, any political initiative will lack the energy and vibrancy needed to challenge the political establishment. So we think the follow up conference on June 13 should have delegates invited from all of the community groups campaigning against water charges, selected over the coming weeks at local meetings.

On June 13, the conference must also be designed to allow genuine debate and maximum inclusion. In place of structured inputs from selected speakers, the event should be bottom-up and participatory. It should be designed to allow as many contributions as possible and allow for decisions to be made by those present.

For an anti-austerity, anti-coalition approach – based on struggle

To initiate the debate, the R2W unions have developed a document entitled, Policy Principles for a Progressive Irish Government. The basis of the Principles document is a series of seven economic and social rights. The R2W unions have asked for “further discussion and input”. In responding to this call, we believe that a number of additions and amendments need to be made.

Firstly, any proposed political initiative must not become a replacement for the grassroots struggles that have brought us to this point. In relation to water charges, the document proposes that “Irish Water PLC’ and domestic water charges will be abolished within the first 100 days of a government endorsing this policy”.

We must not wait for a progressive government to abolish water charges. What if such a government is not elected? Abolition can only be won by an organised boycott and continuing the protest movement on the streets. People power and protest is the only way to beat austerity measures and the best way to build support for the actions of any future left government.

We think the 13 June conference should make a public statement calling for mass non-payment of the water charges. This is the crucial stage of the campaign and the crucial question. It would be negligent if a major conference of large sections of the anti-water charges movement takes place and does not issue a call for people not to pay. Instead of giving confidence to the movement and impetus to continue organising and mobilising, it can give the impression that the only focus now is the election.

Secondly, any Principles document must rule out coalition with Fine Gael, Fianna Fail and Labour. These parties have had many opportunities to protect the interests of working people and they have failed repeatedly.

Coalition with Fianna Fail, Fine Gael or Labour would be disastrous for any political movement that wants real change. It would mean managing an economic system which operates against the interests of the majority, instead of organising to resist attacks against working people and building a movement to replace that system. The result would be sell-out and disappointment for people.

Thirdly, implementing the rights proposed in the R2W document will require an expansion of public spending. We must ensure that the cost of providing these rights is placed on the wealthy, speculators and big business as opposed to more taxation of working people, which should be reduced. Meeting the rights outlined requires a programme which clearly breaks from the logic of austerity and the domination of profit, which is inherent in capitalism.

Opposition to austerity should not stop at the border. We think austerity must be fought both in the North and the South. The implementation of Westminster cuts by Stormont is no more acceptable than the implementation of Troika cuts by the government in the South.

Breaking with austerity policies will immediately bring a progressive government into conflict with the EU elites as we are currently seeing in Greece. In order to withstand this pressure the Principles document must also commit to protecting working people, even if it means breaking the rules of the Eurozone and EU treaties.

Currently the document calls for “A European Debt Conference to restructure sovereign debt throughout the Eurozone”. This will neither be possible nor sufficient. Syriza also called for a Debt Conference prior to their election only to be denied it by the EU establishment.

In the face of these bully-boy tactics, the founding principles of any new, progressive political movement must include a strategy of debt repudiation, including the option of unilateral debt cancelation if the Troika continues to reject a write-off of debt from the financial collapse. The alternative is to keep implementing austerity to satisfy the Troika. It should also commit to breaking the rules of the Fiscal Treaty, which is a charter for indefinite austerity.

Campaign against discrimination and oppression

Finally, the Principles document of any new left movement cannot only deal with economic issues, but must also deal with issues of oppression in Irish society. It is necessary to campaign for separation of church and state with regard to social legislation and the education and healthcare systems. This includes fighting for full LGBTQ rights and an end to all discrimination. It also means fighting for repeal of the 8th amendment and for the right to abortion in Ireland.

It must also commit to repeal the Industrial Relations Act which makes it hard for working people to take effective action. It must commit to abolishing the direct provision system for asylum seekers and take a stand against racism and discrimination of all sorts. The movement should take a clear stand in opposition to the policy of Fortress Europe responsible for the deaths of thousands in the Mediterranean.

In summary, we think the 13 June conference should:

  • be open and democratic, inviting delegates from all campaigns against the water charge;
  • explicitly reject any coalition with Fianna Fail, Fine Gael or Labour;
  • openly call for non-payment of the water charges
  • have a principled anti-austerity approach of repudiating the bankers’ debts and supporting public investment to meet the needs of people, the environment and create decent jobs;
  • campaign against oppression and for democratic rights, including LGBTQ equality, for repeal of the 8thAmendment and oppose racism and the scapegoating of minorities.

Related Link: http://www.peoplebeforeprofit.ie/node/1266
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