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The Plough
(Web site http://www.theplough.netfirms.com/)
Vol. 4- No 15
Wednesday 20th June 2007
E-mail newsletter of the Irish Republican Socialist Party
1) Editorial
2) IRSP Speech at Bodenstown United
3) Not Even A Liberal Democracy!
4) McDowell Invited To The Brigands Table
5) End British army recruitment in schools
6) From the media
7) What’s On
Editorial
In the Plough Vol 4-14 we carried an account of a conference in
Derry and the acceptance of an IRSP proposal to have a united Wolfe
Tone Commemoration in Bodenstown where Tone is buried. The united
march took place last Sunday June the 17th when about 300
republicans from a variety of organisations and none took part in
the united march. Below we reprint the three major speeches
delivered at the grave of Wolfe Tone. No doubt in the coming months
all organisations will reflect on what occurred and decide if there
should be a next step and if so what it could be. Regardless of
whatever decisions organisations take there is certainly one issue
that should be looked and that is the continued harassment and
persecution of dissent and radicals by the Political Special Branch.
The whole area on Sunday around Bodenstown was swamped by the Free
State Special Branch intent on repressing dissent to the policies of
the state.
Subsequent to the march members of the IRSP were raided in their
homes and arrested in the 26 county state. These actions by the
Special Branch are most definitely not a respond to any so called
terrorist threat nor a clamp down on criminal gangs but a clear
attempt to stop the growth of republican socialist ideas among the
young working class activists growing disillusioned with the
consensus politics within the state.
Only recently over 300 people picketed a Gardai station in protest
at the death of Terence Wheellock after been released from Garda
custody. There is little doubt that the Gardai are hated in many
working class areas of urban districts in the 26 counties. But when
there are questions raised about their behaviour the establishment
closes ranks and defend their police force.
There is a duty on all those who value the free expression of
political opinion to come together to defend that right of political
expression. While it is in the main republicans who bear the brunt
of state oppression the Special Branch also victimise those who
campaign against any injustice in society. It is time there was a
concerted campaign against political victimisation.
________________________________________
IRSP Speech at Bodenstown United
Fellow Republicans, Comrades and friends,
It is indeed an honour and privilege to be asked to speak at this
united commemoration for Wolfe Tone. It is also an honour to stand
in this place where the founding father of Irish Republicanism is
buried. Theobald Wolfe Tone was a radical for his time and one of
the few who recognised the importance of liberty, equality and
fraternity.
Today many people pay lip service to these ideals but rare indeed is
it that they practice them. But those who gather at the grave of
Tone have a duty to uphold those values no matter what difficulties
and decisions we face. In upholding these universal values we stay
true to the real nature of Republicanism. Not for us the artificial
fostering of differences, of tribal camps, of us and them, of
Catholics and protestants, and British and Irish. All who live and
breathe on the island of Ireland have an entitlement to the same
rights and duties as every other citizen regardless of religion,
race political viewpoint or sexual orientation. That was what Tone
meant when he said that he wanted to replace the artificial
divisions of catholic protestant and dissenter with the common name
of Irishman.
The presence here today of differing shades of republicanism is a
clear sign of the times we live in. We in the Republican Socialist
tradition say clearly that Irish Republicanism has suffered a grave
defeat. Today we point the finger for that defeat clearly at the
forces of British Imperialism. There is little to be gained by
pointing an accusing finger at anyone other than the British.
Too many times in the past Republicans have allowed themselves to be
manipulated into turning on our own. We say no more. No more name
calling, no more feuds, no more marginalisation, and exclusion. No
more bitterness and divisions. No more!!
Of course what differences we have we should clearly outline them
and articulate our positions but without rancour or spite and
extending respect to the views of others. Not only is that the right
thing to do but it is in the overall interest of republicanism that
we do so. For we need to win over the mass of the people to our view
and that can’t be done by preaching only to the converted here at
Bodenstown.
Where ever there is struggle, protest, strike or demonstrations the
banner of Irish Republicanism must be firmly seen providing
leadership. That is the way to renew republicanism in the 21st
century. W e must become relevant to the lives and aspirations of
the ordinary people and our demands and actions strike a cord in the
heart of the ordinary men and women in the street.
In today’s world change is the only constant. Everything changes
adapts or it dies. We here today must, if Republicanism is to remain
relevant, adjust to changing circumstances and times. But never at
the cost of our fundamental core beliefs that actually make us what
we are.
We in the Irish Republican Socialist Movement are clear about our
position that there cannot be independence without socialism nor
socialism without independence. For us the liberation of the working
class in Ireland is our primary goal. Therefore we seek to win the
working class to the banner of socialism. But we clearly recognise
that the major contradiction in society is the partition of the
island and the continuing presence of imperialism.
Of course there are tactical differences as to how the struggle
against Imperialism should be continued. Let me make it clear from
this platform that regardless of any tactical differences, (and the
Irish Republican Socialist Movement position has been clearly spelt
out many times) we have the utmost respect and solidarity with those
who take a different road from us. That is why we can work with
others around issues such as solidarity with political prisoners.
The Irish Republican Socialist Movement expresses our solidarity
with all those worldwide who spearhead resistance to both
Imperialism and reactionary nationalism. Irish republicanism should
never be confused with Irish nationalism. Republicanism is
internationalist radical and revolutionary or it is nothing!
Today’s show of unity is but a small step. No one has been asked to
sacrifice principle. No one has been asked to compromise their
beliefs. A small step. But a journey must always start with one
step. Having taken this step let us all evaluate, discuss and debate
today’s events and regardless of what decisions individual
organisations take as to future steps let us all agree that no one
of us has the monopoly or the copyright for Irish republicanism.
All of us here at the grave of Tone, are reasserting the right of
our country to be freed from foreign interference. That was noble
aim in Tone’s day. It is a noble aim today.
Fellow republicans, comrades and friends today we renew our
republican beliefs. Walk away from here today renewed with the
determination that come what may the struggle for the establishment
of the Republic continues. Up the republic-forward to socialism.
Speech by Gerrry Ruddy IRSP
________________________________________
32 County Sovereignty Movement Oration
A Chairde, Comrades, Fellow Republicans,
We are gathered here today to honour and commemorate Theobald Wolfe
Tone, generally recognised as the father of Irish republicanism.
It is a privilege to be asked to address you at this hallowed spot
were republicans renew their commitment to bring an end to British
Parliamentary Activity in Ireland.
The core tenet of Wolfe Tone’s republicanism was to break the
English connection with Ireland.
In other words he belonged to a separatist movement and I am very
proud to say that the separatist tradition is very much alive today
and we stand united as Irish Republicans whose core tenet is to end
the British imposed partition of our country and to end the
violation of Irish National Sovereignty.
We in the 32 County Sovereignty Movement recognise the importance of
a United Republican forum which allows the republican base alongside
the Irish people to debate, discuss and analyse the legitimacy of
British Rule in Ireland.
It allows us all to maintain the constitutional position of our
respective organisations and through debate and discussion it allows
us to make democratic decisions on areas of agreement.
Democracy and democratic accountability is the key to success as
republicans move forward to ensure that the republican project is
nurtured and made relevant to the Irish people today and in the
years ahead.
It is an understatement to say that the undemocratic nature of the
GFA and the changes to it made at St Andrews have seriously damaged
the advancement of republicanism and has delayed any successful
challenge to British interference in Irish affairs.
However, it is equally true to say, that the republican base has had
for some time serious reservations about the direction in which they
are being led by the Provisional leadership.
This was evident during the public meetings against British Policing
in Ireland when hundreds turned out to air their discord at
accepting such a police force.
The united voice of Concerned Republicans, Ex POW’s, The IRSP and
ourselves in the 32 CSM exposed the lie that the RUC were reformable
with a mere name change to the PSNI.
The PSNI are in reality a British police force, it is they who knock
on our doors when arresting suspects, it is they who continue to
harass and detain us on our own streets, search our cars and
intimidate our families because we are Irish.
One of the most frequently asked questions today is what was
achieved from the British inspired agreement from the republican
point of view?
In truth what has been achieved is worse than nothing because the
forces of constitutional nationalism have once again brokered an
agreement which accepts that partition can be legitimately
permanent.
That agreement was designed to end opposition to British Rule in
Ireland.
Its aim was to update and normalise British Rule and to have
Irishmen and women administering it.
Those doing so now at Stormont are of the Home Rule tradition and
that is a tradition which sees British Parliamentary activity in
Ireland as an intrinsic part of Irish politics.
The strategic flaw in negotiations leading up to that agreement was
that the integrity and sovereignty of the Irish Nation was not
protected which meant that our sovereignty was not recognised by
either side. And the depth of this error is all the more compounded
when we consider that our own history begged us not to repeat it as
those in 1922 did. To quote from
Robert Barton, one of the plenipotentiaries during the Treaty
Debates,
“In these preliminaries the English refused to recognise us as
acting on behalf of the Irish Republic and the fact that we agreed
to negotiate at all on any other basis was possibly the primary
cause of our downfall. Certainly it was the first milestone on the
road to disaster.”
The negotiators allowed the violation of the rights of the Irish
people to continue and the quislings in Dublin facilitated it by
abandoning the people in the occupied area when they got rid of the
territorial claim.
The Provisional Movement’s flawed analysis allowed this to happen
and today the failure of their strategy is coming to fruition.
The undemocratic nature of that leadership is now proven to have had
no impact in the politics of the 26 Counties and that experiment is
now over. That State does not require two Fianna Fails.
In the occupied 6 counties sectarian politics is the only way those
at Stormont can secure votes but in the longer term that too will
fail.
In matters relating to social and economic issues it is evident that
the parties have only wish lists with no sound evidence, based on
research as to how they can deliver on them. They can only deliver
what the British government and the civil service allow. They are
Prisoners to the whims and self interest of the Queens Shilling.
There is no oppositional politics as it is all based on consensus.
There is no democratic decision making. They are all right wing
parties which allow the people to suffer. Eg House prices have
soared, our children and grandchildren cannot afford to purchase a
home. Public sector housing has ceased being built and those people
on low wages are caught in a poverty trap. The health services are
in crisis and is being further eroded to the extent that acute care
is no longer accessible in many rural areas.
I could go on and on.
However I believe that by coming together with this first small step
here today, Republicans United with a clear analysis, a clear
strategy, a clear vision and a clear challenge we will become a
force which cannot be ignored and with that unity we can ensure that
the violation of the rights of the Irish people will not go
unchallenged.
This is a new and inspirational time for republicans to advance the
spirit of Wolfe Tone’s ideals. And in attempting to do so we can
learn from his own basic belief that unity was essential in forging
a liberation movement. Pearse also recognised unity as essential and
we only have to look at the disparate groups which constituted the
Forces Of The Irish Republic which fought in 1916. The template has
been forged for us let us avail of it.
There is a lot of work to be done and the more organised republicans
become the more we can achieve.
We in the 32 CSM look forward to a close working relationship with
all republicans, working together to bring to fruition the
republican project.
We do not underestimate the enormity of the task and we are equally
aware of the forces against us from the establishment and their
propaganda. The deployment of those forces on both sides of the
border will have the sole aim of undermining the cause of republican
unity. Our greatest defence against them is democracy within all our
ranks.
Republicans United and Democratic will not allow anyone to cause
such dissention and those interested in becoming part of the debate
should be mindful that difficult decisions will need to be taken and
that anyone claiming to be republican and sowing the seeds of
dissent can only have an ulterior motive.
Lets commit ourselves today at this graveside to not only work
together on areas of agreement but to reaffirm that our decisions
are democratically reached and we can ensure that never again will a
leadership led movement be allowed to use the republican sacrifice
to further personal ambition in pursuit of self gain.
Go Raibh MaithAgat
(Delivered by Francis Mackey, National Chairman, 32 County
Sovereignty
Movement)
________________________________________
Ex- POW's & Concerned Republicans against RUC/PSNI & MI5
We have come here today to commemorate the life and legacy of
Theobald Wolfe Tone.His life was characterised by the struggle for
an Irish Republic and his continuing legacy has been the
continuation of that same struggle, passed down from one generation
to the next.Many of our lives have been touched in one way or
another by that struggle. Our opinions and our values have been
shaped by our commitment to the ideal of Irish freedom. Today we
renew that commitment.
However ,we must also acknowledge that the difficulties Republicans
face today are enormous. The current political status quo,based on
the Good Friday Agreement and the restoration of Stormont have done
untold damage to the prospects of establishing an Irish Republic.On
top of this, the Republican Movement has been split and fragmented
beyond recognition. Many of us are disheartened. Many are disgusted
by former comrades who betrayed all we fought for and all that Wolfe
Tone fought for.
For those who still believe in the Republican cause, the great
challenge of re-building the movement has been laid before us. The
theme of today’s commemoration is unity amongst Republicans. The
fact that this gathering has been jointly agreed among a range of
groups and individuals is a small but positive step in the right
direction.
There are many thorny issues to be resolved but we are confident
that these too can be resolved if we can build up goodwill among the
members of the Republican community.There are positive factors too.
Vast resources of skills and experience exist within our community.
These need to be tapped into and channelled into progressive
political actions.
In the interests of building Republican unity, we should be careful
not to fall into the trap of vilifying Sinn Fein supporters. For the
most part ,it is the leadership who are the villains. It is our job
to win back the ordinary Republican people and we are confident of
doing this by winning the argument and by making our agenda relevant
to our communities, the working class Irish Republican Community.
The recent electoral reversal suffered by Sinn Fein in the Free
State has begun to show the limitations of their strategy and has
served as a reality check for the more naive who actually believe
the Adams-speak that the agreement and Stormont are part of a
transition to a United Ireland in time for the centenary of 1916.We
know that nothing could be further from the truth. The British
occupation has been cemented for the time being, although it is not
politically correct to say so in certain circles.
The bottom line is that right now, some degree of unity of mind and
purpose among Republicans is essential. Today, we want to send a
message out to all Republicans right across the island, to the
thousands of ex-prisoners and internees, to the networks of safe
houses, to people who were arrested, who protested on the streets or
who put a coin into the Prisoners Dependent Fund. .The message is
simple: We acknowledge your contribution and we thank you but we
need your help again to ensure that the flame is kept alive and have
ownership of it. Never a return to any type of fascist leadership.
Ex-POW's and Concerned Republicans against RUC/PSNI & MI5 was a
pressure group that served its purpose when Sinn Fein betrayed
Republicanism by endorsing the BritishCrown forces. Now, a broader
front with a positive agenda is required.
The Ex-POW's group has been dissolved and regrouped to form the
Republicans Network for Unity. This network will undertake the tasks
we have heard of today and will ensure a proper place for young
Republicans who represent the future of us all.Those of us who have
experienced all types of oppression have a responsibility to reach
and embrace our youth so that they may be aware of all types of
danger which will lie ahead. We must guide and advise our young
people so that they with our assistance can lead us to the Republic.
Go Raibh Maith Agat
(Speech by B.McFadden)
________________________________________
NOT EVEN A LIBERAL DEMOCRACY FOR MANY
Recently down here in the healthy twenty six counties, healthy that
is if we ignore various illness’s such as liver disease, kidney
failure, various heart complaints and not to forget the unfortunate
victims of street crime i.e. stabbings and kicks to the head. Many
of these victims enter the various hospitals via the Accident and
Emergency department. This means that these people are not on the
list for admission but present themselves, quite rightly, to the A&E
department because they feel unwell or have been attacked.
Recently I was one of these people . On Thursday May 3rd 2007 I felt
very unwell, in fact I was in agony with severe pains across my
abdomen resulting in a temporary collapse. The only logical course
of action to take was to present myself at the A&E department of my
local hospital in Dublin which, after several examinations, admitted
me. After three days in the A&E which in reality acts as an extra
ward and casualty I was given a bed on a ward. I was informed by my
consultant that due to the severity of my condition I could expect
to be in hospital for some time.
I realised that on the 24th May there was to be a general election
in the twenty six counties. Surely I would be out of hospital by
then to cast my vote wouldn’t I? If this was not to be the case then
I naively felt positive that this great liberal democracy, meaning
that for one day in every normally five years democracy prevails,
arrangements would be in place to facilitate hospital patients to
vote. As my stay extended from one week to two I was beginning to
wonder whether or not I would be out of hospital to vote on election
day. As I went into my third week of hospitalisation I decided it
was time to ask my consultant what the chances were of me being out
of hospital by Thursday 24th, the election date. My consultant
replied “possibly” and that it “depended very much on the test
results” which there were many. The question which was running
through my mind was how to exercise my democratic right, farcical as
it is under the present system of liberal democracy, to vote. I
started making enquiries but nobody appeared to have any answers.
On the morning of Tuesday22nd May I took matters into my own hands
and telephoned the appropriate department explaining my, and many
others, position. I was informed by the official on the other end of
the telephone that no such provisions were in place for hospital
patients, who could not give ten weeks notice of their impending
arrival as an in patient, to cast their vote. I told the official
that “this did not sound like democracy to me” and then continued to
lecture him on, despite its many faults and distortions, the former
Soviet Union had more in common with democracy than this farce which
denies a sizable minority of its electorate the right to cast their
vote simply because they are unwell. This means that under liberal
democracy, where the Liberal part is very much the senior, even on
the one day in five (or seven technically under the free state
constitution) that small window of democracy is closed if you are
unfortunate enough to be in hospital.
The next time some gombeen (sic) masquerading as a politician calls
at your door or is speaking on television speaking about democracy,
a subject it would appear they have a very limited knowledge of,
treat what clap trap comes out of their untruthful mouth with the
contempt it deserves. Fortunately I was discharged from hospital on
the afternoon of the 24th and did manage to cast my vote. The system
we live under is not democracy and never has or been intended to be.
However for some people it does not even constitute liberal
democracy
________________________________________
McDOWELL INVITED TO THE BRIGANDS TABLE
The Sunday world would not normally be the natural choice of the
Irish Republican Socialist Party as a means of gaining information.
This would be especially true if a certain person masquerading as a
crime reporter had anything to do with any article which the
information was gleaned from. However on Sunday, June 3rd 007 there
was a story in the above mentioned paper and given the fact that the
character outlined above had nothing to do with the article which
the following was taken I considered it fair game to use the report
on Michael McDowell by Sunday World reporter Sean Boyne.
On Sunday June3rd the paper could ’exclusively’ report on the latest
neo liberal antics of ousted TD and Justice Minister for the twenty
six counties Michael McDowell. On pages 4 and 5 of the paper Mr
Boyne reported, under the headline ’MICK HAIL McDOWELL’, that the
former TD ’was invited to join the shadowy club of the worlds most
powerful movers and shakers’. The Bilderberg group is one of the
most powerful, and certainly secret, gathering of global capitalists
on the planet, perhaps even more powerful than the much acclaimed G
8 which, after all only consists of heads of government. The
Bilderberg group is made up of ’ the chief political movers,
business leaders, bankers, industrialists and strategic thinkers’
and all meetings are shrouded in secrecy. It could be reasonably
described as the most highly powered Masonic lodge on the planet
which thrives on exploitation and profit, the highest echelon of
global capitalism, these people are the ultimate sweaters, grinders
and brigands. The article continues to inform us ’The outgoing
Justice Minister is one of 135 privileged guests at the very private
three day gathering’ which is top secret. ‘VIPs taking part have to
pledge not to reveal what’s said at the super secret conclaves.
Political leaders, business tycoons, as well as royalty attend the
annual meeting and it’s said that participants sometimes go on to
take top jobs on the world scene.
Bill Clinton went on to become US President, while John Major and
Tony Blair each went on to become UK Prime Ministers after joining
Bilderberg conferences’. The question which is begging is could
there be a top job for McDowell now that he is associating with the
capitalist systems elite? After all McDowell may have said he was
“retiring from public life” and, it would appear party politics.
However this does not amount to the same as retiring from politics
Most of which are nothing to do with one party or another in any
country. In fact party politics are well down the league table when
it comes to the pecking order of political power. Real power exists
outside any parliament or assembly and is held by groups like the
Bilderberg group which, if the Sunday World’s article is anything
approaching the truth is the top of the league. Could Michael
McDowell’s retirement from “public life” and subsequently party
politics be anything to do with the possibility that he could be in
with a chance of a higher powered job, certainly higher than being a
TD and Justice Minister, and definitely less public?. Of course
there is another minor detail and that is, if the Bilderberg group
is so secret how on earth did the Sunday World know so much about
them?. I suppose there are many possibilities, all of them shady,
but a stab in the dark is not one of them.
Michael McDowell is the grandson of Eoin MacNeill, nominal leader of
the Irish Volunteers in 1916, the man who tried to abort the Easter
rising. He later went on to take a high powered job as Attorney
General in the free state government and represented the twenty six
counties at the table of the Boundary Commission, and we all know
the outcome of those farcical talks. Perhaps high powered jobs
shrouded in secrecy are a feature of the McDowell genes. A genetic
gift bestowed upon certain family members handed down from God!.
Kevin Morley
RSYM Statement
End British army recruitment in schools
14/6/07
www.rsym.org
In response to the decision taken by The Educational Institute of
Scotland
to ban the recruitment by the British army in Scottish schools the
Republican Socialist Youth Movement have called on trade unions here
to adopt a similar policy.
Spokesperson Seán McGowan said “The lessons to be drawn from
Scottish trade unions are immense, the EIS represents over 80% of
Scottish teachers and although the debate at the conference was
tense, there was an overwhelming majority of teachers opposed to
recruitment.”
Mr. McGowan continued “For years the British army has been failing
to meet
recruitment targets. It is on record that the schools they target
when
attempting to recruit people are in the most economically
disadvantages
areas. No mention is made of the slaughtering of countless of Iraqi
civilians when young people are promised thousands of pounds and a
chance
to see the world.
“The British army and PSNI are openly recruiting and speaking at
schools
in west Belfast and other areas. This is done under the auspices of
normalisation of British rule in Ireland. The British army give out
free
stickers, t-shirts and glossy booklets full of references to pop
culture
as a means to deceive people.”
In conclusion Mr. McGowan said
“The British army have no place in either Ireland, Scotland, Iraq or
any of the other places they occupy. It’s up to us to expose and
challenge them at every opportunity.”
From the Media
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/052607Z.shtml
What Congress Really Approved: Benchmark No. 1: Privatizing Iraq’s
Oil for US Companies
By Ann Wright Saturday 26 May 2007
On Thursday, May 24, the US Congress voted to continue the war in
Iraq. The members called it “supporting the troops.” I call it
stealing Iraq’s oil - the second largest reserves in the world. The
“benchmark,” or goal, the Bush administration has been working on
furiously since the US invaded Iraq is privatization of Iraq’s oil.
Now they have Congress blackmailing the Iraqi Parliament and the
Iraqi people: no privatization of Iraqi oil, no reconstruction
funds.
This threat could not be clearer. If the Iraqi Parliament refuses to
pass the privatization legislation, Congress will withhold US
reconstruction funds that were promised to the Iraqis to rebuild
what the United States has destroyed there. The privatization law,
written by American oil company consultants hired by the Bush
administration, would leave control with the Iraq National Oil
Company for only 17 of the 80 known oil fields. The remainder
(two-thirds) of known oil fields, and all yet undiscovered ones,
would be up for grabs by the private oil companies of the world (but
guess how many would go to United States firms - given to them by
the compliant Iraqi government.)
No other nation in the Middle East has privatized its oil. Saudi
Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Iran give only limited usage contracts
to international oil companies for one or two years. The $12 billion
dollar “Support the Troops” legislation passed by Congress requires
Iraq, in order to get reconstruction funds from the United States,
to privatize its oil resources and put them up for long term (20- to
30-year) contracts.
What does this “Support the Troops” legislation mean for the United
States military? Supporting our troops has nothing to do with this
bill, other than keeping them there for another 30 years to protect
US oil interests. It means that every military service member will
need Arabic language training. It means that every soldier and
Marine would spend most of his or her career in Iraq. It means that
the fourteen permanent bases will get new Taco Bells and Burger
Kings! Why? Because the US military will be protecting the US
corporate oilfields leased to US companies by the compliant Iraqi
government. Our troops will be the guardians of US corporate
interests in Iraq for the life of the contracts - for the next
thirty years.
With the Bush administration’s “Support the Troops” bill and its
benchmarks, primarily Benchmark No. 1, we finally have the reason
for the US invasion of Iraq: to get easily accessible, cheap,
high-grade Iraq oil for US corporations.
Now the choice is for US military personnel and their families to
decide whether they want their loved ones to be physically and
emotionally injured to protect not our national security, but the
financial security of the biggest corporate barons left in our
country - the oil companies.
It’s a choice for only our military families, because most
non-military Americans do not really care whether our volunteer
military spends its time protecting corporate oil to fuel our
one-person cars. Of course, when a tornado, hurricane, flood or
other natural disaster hits in our hometown, we want our National
Guard unit back. But on a normal day, who remembers the 180,000 US
military or the 150,000 US private contractors in Iraq?
Since the “Surge” began in January, over 500 Americans and 15,000
Iraqis have been killed. By the time September 2007 rolls around for
the administration’s review of the “surge” plan, another 400
Americans will be dead, as well as another 12,000 Iraqis.
How much more can our military and their families take?
(Ann Wright served 29 years in the US Army and US Army Reserves and
retired as a colonel. She served 16 years in the US diplomatic corps
in Nicaragua, Grenada, Somalia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Sierra
Leone, Afghanistan, Micronesia and Mongolia. She resigned from the
US Department of State in March, 2003 in opposition to the war on
Iraq.)
“Property asking prices down 10%.”
Asking prices for homes across Dublin have slumped in the past six
months, particularly in the wealthier suburbs of the city. That came
as no surprise to many economists. Morgan Kelly, professor of
economics at University College Dublin referred to the Irish economy
as “ a Bob the Builder economy”
Both the IMF and the OECD reckoned the Irish property market was
overvalued by at least 25%. Back in 1998, Ireland had a rapidly
growing economy, with interest rates at around 6% and rising. In
1999, as a member of the euro-zone, it switched to a single interest
rate controlled by the European Central Bank. Now, the main economy
in the euro=zone is Germany, and it was the polar opposite of
Ireland at the time. So Ireland ended up with a sharply reduced
interest rate, more suited to struggling Berlin, than racing Dublin.
Hence the house price boom, which has seen prices shoot up by more
than 200% in the past five years alone, fuelling an equally
superlative construction boom.
In 2005, the building sector accounted for nearly a quarter of gross
national product. It also employs 13% of the Irish workforce -
that’s more than one in eight of the working population.
So if the construction sector goes down, the Irish economy goes with
it. And right now building work is stalling.
Irish consumers are stuffed full of debt and vulnerable to any waver
in interest rates, Germany is recovering. And now the ECB is raising
rates - which suits the consumer in Berlin, but is an utter
nightmare for Dublin’s amateur property moguls. As more properties
come onto the market, prices fall. There are now 250,000 vacant
housing units on the market, about 15% of Irish housing stock,
compared to 100,000 units five years ago. So builders are responding
the only way they can - they’ve stopped building. The 12-month
running total for housing starts has fallen from a peak of 96,000 in
September last year to 83,000 now.
UK construction group Wolseley, which owns Brooks, Ireland’s largest
timber distributor, reckons starts will fall by 30% this year to
between 70,000 and 65,000. And less building means less builders,
which means longer dole queues.
“We’re looking at a horrible employment shock,” says Kelly, with
“very unpleasant consequences.”
He forecasts unemployment reaching 12%-13% within the next year to
18 months, as builders continue to cut back on construction. He
points to Arizona in the US, where housing starts have more than
halved, dropping from a high of 8,000 units a month last May, to
just 3,000 by November.
“Irish people are very casual about this. There’s an assumption that
construction workers are all Eastern Europeans and that they’ll get
back on the plane to Krakow,” when things go awry, he says. “But
foreign workers only make up 12% of the building workforce.”
Kelly reckons prices could fall by 50%. “In a typical property
crash, prices fall by 70% of what they’ve gained. That would imply a
rental yield of 8%, which is still very low” by historical
standards. “A 10% rental yield would imply bigger falls.”
And, as a small open economy especially vulnerable to external
developments, everything from a weakening dollar to higher interest
rates – both of which seems very likely indeed - could act as a
trigger for a drop, says Dr. Alan Ahearne, an economist at the
National University of Galway.
“If we get a 25% drop in house prices over two to three years and a
big contraction in [construction] at the same time… there’s no doubt
that that would put the Irish economy into recession. And if our
export sector is hit at the same time by a falling dollar then
you’re getting a perfect storm of negative shocks, and then there
could be quite serious trouble.”
Letters
________________________________________
What’s on?
Indigenous action for land and sovereignty
Haudenosaunee Speaking Tour
Three representatives from the Six Nations on the Grand River
community in Ontario, Canada will be in England, Ireland and
Scotland between June 13 th ˆ 30th to give talks and have meetings
with other communities in struggle. The tour will visit Derry,
Belfast, Cork, Dublin, Rossport, London, Dale Farm Travellers site,
Edinburgh, Leeds, Bristol and Nottingham. The speakers will be Kathy
Garlow, who is a representative from the site of an ongoing (since
February 2006) land reclamation, Mary Sandy (an Oneida Nation Clan
mother- a representative from the traditional government) and
Josephine Sandy (a clan mothers assistant). They will speak about
the experience of reclaiming and defending a piece of land from
development. Their action has been incredibly successful, having
prevented the development and protected the land from an armed
police incursion. They will also talk about defending their
community against colonisation and the struggle for Indigenous
sovereignty. The Haudenosaunee have been living as a Confederacy of
nations organised by direct consensual democracy since 1142,
although there have been systematic attempts by the colonial state
to obliterate them as self-governed sovereign people.
Background:
Six Nations of the Grand River (a Haudenosaunee reserve in Ontario,
Canada) reclaimed forty acres of land on the 28 th of February 2006
that had been sold by the Canadian government to a housing
development company. The land is part of the Haldimand Tract (1784)
granted by the British in return for some of the Haudenosaunee
fighting against the soon to be United States, and thereby losing
their lands. Led by the Clan Mothers, (their traditional female
leadership) they set up camp on the burial ground and stopped the
bulldozers' work. A year later the land reclamation still stands and
the Six Nations community is asserting their sovereignty; not only
by taking back land that was sold by the government without title to
do so, but by practising their right to govern themselves and their
community.
The land reclamation has survived due to a tremendous show of
solidarity by a large part of the 20,000 strong Grand River
indigenous community. 150-armed police were walked back off the site
when hundreds of people arrived in response to the dawn raid,
indignant that the police had arrested and beaten the handful of
people who were sleeping there. Blockades and barricades were
erected that protected the reclamation land from further attack and
also were a powerful tool in forcing the Canadian government to take
the reclamation seriously. In June 2006 the government bought the
land back from Henco, the developer. The site has also weathered
many ongoing right wing demonstrations that play on local, non ˆ
native peoples' fears and racism.
The success of the reclamation at Kanonhstaton (the protected place)
encourages indigenous sovereignty struggles across Canada and the
United States. The Haudenosaunee are reasserting their traditional
ways, which include their surviving system of direct, consensus
based democracy (dating from 1142). Marx's vision of a classless
society was based on a early anthropology essay describing
Haudenosaunee governance. Women take an equal and leading role in
the traditional government. On New Years Day the Clan Mothers and
Confederacy Council reoccupied the traditional government meeting
house for the first time since its forced closure in 1924, when the
Band council system was imposed on the reserve. The colonial attack
on Indigenous people has meant systematic attempts to wipe out their
languages, government and identity as distinct peoples, as well as
taking their land base. However, these things, though not undamaged
still survive. Near and far to Six Nations Onkwehonweh (original
people) are taking action to halt development, mining, and
environmental destruction on their land.
Tour Dates (thus far):
Thursday the 21st of June- Rossport Solidarity Camp, County Mayo.
Saturday the 23rd of June ˆ Cork (tbc)
Sunday the 24th June ˆ Kebele centre, Bristol
Monday the 25th of June ˆ Dale farm (Traveller community), Essex
2.30 pm
Tuesday the 26th of June- Visit to House of Commons Human Rights
Group (midday)
And speaking event at the Radical Anthropology Group (evening)
Wednesday the 27th of June ˆ Sumac Centre, Nottingham, 7.30 pm
Friday the 29th of June- Seminar at Leeds University, Masters in
Activism and Social Change course (4pm)
Saturday the 30th of June- Edinburgh Forum, Edinburgh.
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