The Leveller
Articles from The Leveller, the quarterly newspaper of Irish anarchist group Organise!, first published in May 2009.
Loyalist Decommissioning
Organise! analyse the recent Loyalist paramilitary decommissioning.
Fifteen years after the announcement of the CLMC none too secure ceasefires and four years after PIRA decommissioning Loyalist paramilitaries have also decommissioned. Well the UVF and RHC have while the UDA has made a faltering and internally acrimonious start.
Pumped Up Vigilantes?
A response to Derek Hanway's (director of Irish traveller organisation An Munia Tober) claims that those who defended the Roma under attack in Belfast in the summer of 2009 were pumped up vigilantes.
Derek Hanway’s article in the July/August issue of Fortnight magazine, among other inaccuracies and distortions, accused anti-racist activists of being pumped up vigilantes whose actions were counter-productive.
No Gods, No Masters: how the churches and politicians failed to help the Roma in Belfast
Comments on the failure of the churches and politicians to tackle racism in Belfast.
When the attacks on Roma homes in South Belfast finally ceased after a week, it wasn’t because of the actions of eager politicians or earnest church representatives. However when the Roma made the final decision, 6 days after the first attack, to leave their homes, politicians were in for the photo ops, and the churches weren’t far behind in using the crisis to promote themselves.
Combating racism and fascism means combating capitalism
Article on racism, the far-right and the recession, emphasising that the battle against racism and the far-right, is also a battle against the social and economic conditions that are its root cause.
The flight of the vast majority of the 116 Roma from Belfast in June following sustained and co-ordinated racist attacks emphasises the need for effective action against racists in our society. The recent return of 12 of the Roma men in the first week of August with families to follow does not take away from this.
Belfast fascist Neil House exposed
An expose of a Belfast fascist attempting to form an all-Ireland 'white-power' gang.
A BELFAST man, who previously ran for election as a “socialist” has become an unlikely new high profile member of the far right in Ireland.
Neil House (31), from south Belfast, was exposed for his part in hosting a meeting of members of the Stormfront “White Pride” website in Dublin earlier this summer.
Victorious Belfast Traffic Warden speaks
From issue 2 of The Leveller, this is an expanded version of the story of the four-month battle against bosses by Belfast traffic wardens. This article contains extracts from an interview with an NCP worker involved in the dispute elaborated on the deal they had won, and how they fought their bosses.
Belfast traffic wardens have expressed joy at finally winning their demands in their struggle against their employer NCP. The workers were engaged in almost daily protest since April after 28 were sacked for taking part in wildcat industrial action over working conditions and sick-pay.
Protests continue in Belfast for sacked Nortel workers
Protests continued today in support of 87 workers sacked with no redundancies at the Nortel plant outside Belfast last March.
Workers and protestors gathered outside the Bedford Street offices of Nortel's administrators, Ernst & Young, in Belfast. Members of Organise! joined the sacked workers as they unfurled banners and handed information lealfets to shoppers and workers in central Belfast.
Monson could face jail time
Professional MMA fighter and anarchist Jeff Monson faces potential jail time when sentenced this October in connection to a graffiti incident in November 2008.
Anarchist grappler and MMA fighter Jeff Monson could face jail time over an alleged November 2008 graffiti incident on the Capitol Building and an army recruitment centre in Olympia, Washington, USA. Monson, who has used his high-profile to discuss anarchist politics, was arrested initially in January.
Thomas Cook Dublin: Workers Released
The 28 workers arrested this morning for occupying the Grafton Street outlet of Thomas Cook were released this afternoon after agreeing not to resume their occupation or damage the property of Thomas Cook.
On Friday 31 July Thomas Cook managers and security went to close down shops in Dublin at 10 a.m. Over 70 staff were sacked and offered an appalling 5 weeks redundancy pay with the threat that it would be dropped to two weeks if the workers did not accept it. Staff in two of the outlets then occupied their workplaces in response.
Lewisham Bridge School Heritage listing upheld
Parents occupying Lewisham Bridge Primary School in south-east London are a step closer to keeping the school open after the English Heritage Grade 2 status of the school was upheld.
Supporters and parents of children have been encouraged by the news that Lewisham Bridge Primary School's status as a Grade 2 English Heritage site has been upheld. This means that the school cannot be knocked down and replaced, as had been intended.
