Kevin Danaher speaking in Dublin

by Ed Rumana Wed Nov 27, 2002 18:34

Danaher is a waster. Never did a tap in his life and imagine a crowd of eejits are going to waste their time listening to him!

by rabbit and swp hunter Thu Nov 28, 2002 00:42

The real battle against Globalisation in this country is being fought by ordinary workers and fishermen fighting against Shell Oil in North county Mayo and against the multi national drug corporations who killed 79 young Irish people. The Judge was appointed by Michael McDowell to head the Lindsey tribunal and refused to broaden its terms of reference. Therefore the Lindsey Tribunal hardly suprisingly came up with a inconclusive and useless report. Now McDowell is saying it would cost too much money to sue these corporations through the US courts. Maybe he is more afraid of certain Judges abroad such as those who fined tobacco multinationals billions, than he is of his pet apointee to the tribunal. As for GR, let the useless fuckers keep tripping off to Genoa and Florence. They are making no contribution to anti globalisation in Ireland or to the struggles against the corporations above.

by Phuq Hedd Thu Nov 28, 2002 01:21

Although his limited analysis is correct in that the new world-trade rules being constructed place more power in the hands of the corporations and less in the hands of national governments it completely ignores the problems that existed before "globalisation" started to take root. He argues for "Fair Trade" as opposed to "Free Trade", instead of arguing for the distribution of goods according to need. Are Globalise Resistance condoning small-scale Capitalism by sharing a platform with him?

by the irish abroad - rhythmite Thu Nov 28, 2002 04:05 http://www.rhythmsofresistance.co.uk/

greetings from a nomadic international
who just checked into this thread
I think yer analysis is spot on
evidently there is a difference
between
'anti-gobalisation'
and anti-capitalist politics

our world is the world of the many
our oppressors are the few

noborders / no nation
erin go brea

by Sick of this shit Thu Nov 28, 2002 10:15

The Seattle demonstration was a succes thanks to direct action. SWP/GR bosses, German, Wingfield & co, like GW Bush, condemn it as an "anarchist" tactics. Check the debate about Shannon on this newswire if you don't believe me.

by Nicholas McMurry Thu Nov 28, 2002 14:45 Cork

I wish those who are purer than pure and have never made any contribution to capitalism honest types would stay on their mountaintops, while those of us who actually live in an unequal society try to improve the state of affairs.

There are many problems with GR, including the fact that they go for glitzy high-profile speakers and seem to have nothing but scorn for other active political groups in Ireland. However, having people speak who actually do not agree with all their politics is not a problem.

I believe that many people who take direct action would not describe themselves as 'anti-capitalist'. Does that mean that everybody taking part in such actions have compromised their politics?

Get over it!

by Phuq Hedd Thu Nov 28, 2002 20:33

What are you talking about Nick? You mention something about direct action. How does this relate to the problem of an organisation that is arguing for revolutionary change promoting a speaker who wants to return to the exploitation that is capitalism.

Your accusation about "people" being "pure" means that you are saying "shut the fuck up and don't criticize". I'm sure, for obvious reasons, that you wouldn't really want to take this attitude and let your irritation run away with you.

Uncritically accepting and supporting anyone that says "I'm against globalisation" means that you are uncritically accepting and supporting right-wing nationalists (from the Little Englanders to the BNP), Stalinists, protectionist Trade Unionists and all the other people played their part in making sure that a just, international communitarian society has never come into being. This happened because of their BELIEFTS: what they were motivated by.

Global Exchange are NOT the way forward. Their beliefs do not include a repudiation of the fundamental inequality at the heart of our world: capitalism.

Globalise Resistance has stated many times that they are anti-capitalist. It surprises me to see them promoting a capitalist. I want to know if this is a change in their direction.

You, Nick, may not want to know this: fair enough. So shut up, follow the flag and let Globalise Resistance answer.

One New York Times article contained the following quote from a pacifist, " 'Here we are protecting Nike, McDonald's, the Gap and all the while I'm thinking, 'Where are the police? These anarchists should have been arrested,' " said Medea Benjamin, a leader with Global Exchange, a San Francisco-based protest group. Ms. Benjamin was arrested later inside the trade meeting on trespassing charges." On the one hand, great success in solidarity was achieved by the mingling of anarchists, unionists, environmentalists, and others over a week of direct action.

by ollie - Katalyzer Fri Nov 29, 2002 05:26

I seem to remember Joe carolan 'sharing a platform' with Pat Kenny...that week (May 6th RTS week) lots of views ,anti-capatalist included, entered the public arena. Sometimes its good to engage with others, be they institutions or individuals. And Vincent Brown spoke at the last Marxism in Trinity, so I don't think enggaging with others is new for the SWP.
Also ,surely people who go to hear him can put the criticisms above directly to him. In mean, maybe it ain't as sexy as a Noam Chomsky gig ,but when Chomsky spoke in Dublin (waaaay back in 1993, or was it 4...can't remember) Chomsky attracted many disparate groups, because his analysis of the 'state of play' was, in their eyes , accurate.

by iosaf Fri Nov 29, 2002 14:27

..."we are now perhaps at a crucial stage for our movement´s development. When we began this process of challenging the current capitalist and globalist order, on the streets, in debates, in our media in universities we were dismissed as not having an agenda. We were dismissed by a rightwing English newspaper (The Daily Telegraph 1998) as being "anti-capitalist rioters intent on destruction, shadowey and sinister anarchists and communists".
We knew then as we know now that our ideas and arguments wuld gain credibility in the face of incredible odds, in the face of persecution ridicule and marginilisation. We knew then that our movement would widen, our methods of communication become more sophisticated, our message reach enthusiastic ears. But we also knew that the subsequent widening of our movement as it entered "mainstream" political discourse would involve as every other revolutionary struggle in the past a phase of possible "dilution" of our core demands and beliefs.
We knew that faced with lunacy of the continuing system they would say "you have no alternatives" / "you have no solutions", we knew that in but a short time "those solutions" would escape the margins and then be dismissed as "counter system" "too difficult to implement now" "utopic".
Yes our core demands of homes for the homeless, sustainable development for the poorest of our world, health care for the sickest of our world, ending of farcical world debt and the surreal computer game of meaningless numbers it has given us, freedom for our intelligence from perversion by war or patent systems, freedom of our biosphere from genetic inteference, freedom of our world from corporate ecological crime.
Yes it was quite a wish list, and we knew when wishing it that any "broad-band mainstream movement" which claimed to listen to our demands would first place them on western agenda as "ecological, pacifist, anti-globalist" in that order of priorities.
We took our demands to the streets, the doors of the very buildings that dared to trade in our global future.
We knew then as now that as every revolutionary movement has gained wider support there have arrived those who attempt to dilute the core beliefs and demands, but it does not matter, for we at the core, represent the will of the global majority.
This present day system is un-sustainable.
It is ludicrous and suicidal to continue.
The 21st century has opened and our intelligence shall be the free and common inheritance of humanity.
The realisation that this present day system is ludicrous, suicidal has now moved many to adopt our language, to speak of "anti-capitalism" to speak of "anarchy" "collectivism" "anti-globalism" so much the better for us.
We are mainstreaming the movement.
We are presenting the core beliefs which shall shape Western Civilisation in both its interior policies and its exterior relations with our global community for this forthcoming century.

the 21st century is the century of Anarchy.
The 21st century has opened and our intelligence shall be the free and common inheritance of humanity...."

[activist went on to talk about good places to take photos and interview "ordinary people" on how they "thought"]