Colombia - where trade unionists are in fear for their life

Colombia solidarity meetings in Galway 27th May and Dublin 28th May.
Jorge Gamboa who is visiting Ireland as a guest of Irish Congress of Trade Unions, is a member of the National Executive of CUT Colombia. In 2008 whilst in his role as leader of the Colombian Oil Workers Trade Union he led a national campaign against the privatisation of the Colombian State Oil Company and it was during this campaign that the attempt on his life was made. 48 of his fellow Trade Union members were shot dead in Colombia that year. This talk will focus on how Europeans can exert pressure on the Colombian Government to insist that they protect the rights of trade unionists and human rights defenders.

Galway Meeting on Thursday the 27th May at 8pm, The Western Hotel, Prospect Hill, Galway.

Dublin Meeting on Friday the 28th at 5.30 pm, Teachers Club, 36 Parnell Square, Dublin 1.

In the water with the devil - which way is the tide flowing

I've often wondered about compromise. As a union member all my working life, 23 years to be exact, I have heard officials discussing policy with their members. I've been party to negotiations which have resulted in both sides agreeing to things they wouldn't necessarily wish to. At home with family we compromise every day, quite plainly sometimes you need to do things you don't really want to do. But there's always an end result.

With that philosophy in mind, I agreed to be a member of a congregation from the Vegetarian Society of Ireland that met with a Tesco nutritionist today. Tesco are a company I avoid most of the time. For that i'm in a minority. They have a huge share of the market and for obvious reasons. So when they asked to meet with the veg soc it was accepted. We went along and made our points about food miles, vegan products on the shelf and local products. We stated what is important to members of the vegetarian society of ireland. We spoke about the dublin food coop and how we buy products from them. They were listening and offered to bring our concerns back to those who need to to hear them. We won't revolutionise tesco but who knows maybe there will be something different alongside those egg filled quorn products in future

ted leo and the magic of the pharmacists

In these desperate times remedies are in short supply. I spend most of my time talking about pay cuts, the emphasis on banks over people, a state hellbent on pleasing international monetary markets rather than its people. Thankfully people like Ted Leo, James Canty, Crist Wilson and Marty Key are playing together in a band. They have released the best album of 2010 in the Brutalist Bricks. It is a collection of power crafted pop songs built on punk rock. Its got XTC, The Jam, Clash, Pogues, Stiff Little Fingers with a bit of funk and US hardcore intelligence. My whole family love this one. So when we heard Ted Leo and the Pharmacists were playing Dublin the three kids were nearly as excited as me. We all trooped into the soundcheck courtesy of Foggy Notions http://www.foggynotions.ie and jumped for joy when Bottled In Cork was dedicated to the offspring.

The first time I came across Ted he was playing in the Sin Eaters when they travelled over to Ireland for some shows with the Van Pelt in 1995. They played a forgettable gig in Fusion Bar but there was something about one Sin Eatr that held my interest. This one was ted Leo and I have been following his recording output intently ever since. Remarkably any one of their 6 albums is a good starting point but start with the Brutalist Bricks and you will be happy
http://www.matadorrecords.com/ted_leo_and_the_pharmacists

penny rimbaud - dublin may 7 2010

Penny RimbaudSeomra Spraoi May 7 2010http://blog.southern.com/2010/04/penny-rimbaud-gigs-in-derry-dublin-and-belfast/
We were offered a night of and for 30 mins we were given a glimpse into the art life of a poet. I was there because Penny played drums for Crass. Crass were the band that politicized me and my peers. Some brought it to varying degrees and chances are Seomra Spraoi wouldn't exist as a space if Crass hadn't led the way in the early 80's. Musically they were better known as the straightforward anarch punks. We tended to forgive them for their more experimental extravagances. Crass eventually stopped playing and for more info and a fascinating insight read Tonight was one of those extravagancas. It started off well with some good banter but when the poetry started i was wandering. Wandering to a place where people are being held to ransom by international financial markets. Wondering when Penny will set the world to rights so we can all go "yeah man, let's change this world". I started thinking about Arthur Scargill and his speech last week. How Arthur was telling u sall to stand up to the man, stand up and be counted. When I switched back to the here and now that was Seomra Spraoi Penny was regalling us with a tale of how it's a struggle to get up in the morning as the day would be a battle with oneself. When I heard people laughing, thinking it was a joke, I wished it was Arthur Scargill up there. It was a moment of history having Penny speak in Dublin but sometimes all historic events aren't joyous ocassions.