While the carcass of the Celtic Tiger may be long devoured; the rate of homelessness, precarious housing, insane rents, slum landlords and a lack of social housing, or appropriate accommodation for students, are still on the rise. Throughout the island of Ireland, the ownership and misuse of property decides our safety, our employment, our education […]
We Need To Talk About Housing | Forward #25 Read More »
I recently had the opportunity to speak with a citizen of North Korea living in a city called Wonsan. Located along the Eastern side of the peninsula, it is a port city containing a naval base. The city in which he lives contains numerous major factories for the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) and
A Conversation with a North Korean Citizen Read More »
As tensions flare up between Moscow and Washington over the imperial intervention in Syria, we must first break down and analyse what has transpired so far regarding the Syria situation, we then must look at past occurrences of western intervention in the Middle East and begin to understand the underlying pattern of imperialism within these
The Imperialist Interest In Syria Read More »
“Any refusal or failure, without good cause, to attend this information session or to subsequently participate in Jobpath may result in your Jobseeker payment being reduced”. These are the threatening words that over 100,000 young Irish people have read, myself included. This statement is intended to frighten the recipient into a state of paralysis. Already
Jobpath — A Bridge by Another Name Read More »
Scooby Doo is ultimately a materialist portrayal of the world. The protagonists, a group of travelling young people without a fixed home or source of income, are frequently confronted with ghosts and ghouls. These spectres are never the superstitious incarnations which they at first seem to represent, but are always contrived in order to hide
Scooby Dooby Doo, Why Are You? — A Marxist Analysis Read More »
In January, the Turkish military launched an offensive; “Operation Olive Branch” against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) which consists of mainly Kurdish militias, led by the YPG and YPJ, their women’s division. This was launched in the Afrin district and Tell-Rifaat sub-district, both controlled by the SDF. Turkey claims this imperialist manoeuvre is a means
Analysis: Afrin, Turkey and the YPG Read More »
Recent events in Tallaght during the snow storm brought out the good, the bad and the ugly in social commentary but most notably it demonstrates how a distinct sense of economic morality predominates; demonizing one end of society while avoiding discussion of white collar crime by those with systemic protection. Commentators such as Frankie Gaffney,
Beholden to Capital Read More »
In our modern era, an environmentally friendly society and capitalism are inherently incompatible. In this increasingly consumerist society, the expansion of capital requires extensive exploitation of the Earth’s natural resources. We see in many countries around the world today that multinational corporations continue to devastate the natural environment and abuse the indigenous populations in a
Capitalism and the Environment Read More »
FT, Corcaigh There is a paradigm shift being promoted in Ireland today – but by whose hand and in whose interest? Organised labour with a shared national identity and a pool of democratic heroes and martyrs to draw from to inspire their contemporary struggles is difficult to subjugate, divide or to be utilized in the
A Response to a UCC Historical Society Event in 2016 Read More »
FT, Corcaigh When I was growing up in Ireland in the 2000s, the trolley crisis permeated national discourse at multiple levels. The media was saturated with horror stories of patients consigned to languish in crowded hallways in wretched conditions. Consultants were paid extortionate fees for dubious contribution. A two tier system created odious waiting lists
Monopolized prescription drugs and the Irish government: Healthcare’s hidden crisis Read More »