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Volume 5 Issue 1 - February 2010 Who are the Real Enemies of Open Society? Page 4
The Argument for a Better Healthcare System
On the FrontLine: an eyewitness account from Tibet
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Jerry Larkin explores the ties that bind Politics to Music It can‘t be denied that music has always been a thundering force for change - an important tool for political and social protest. It‘s also true to say that the music industry has changed utterly in the last decade or so, due to many factors like the Internet, the easier availability of music and the resulting trend of illegal downloads. And while the radicalism of the 60‘s is only known to me and my generation through history books, music has remained an important political and social actor. Politics and music remain inherently linked - although in different mediums to previously. A recent example of the power which the Internet and music hold in the modern world was the successful Facebookpowered campaign to get Rage Against the Machine‘s 1992 single Killing in the Name to Christmas Number 1 in the British charts, ahead of the winner of the X-Factor (whose name has probably been forgotten by the majority of the British population). This inspiring song, written about the rampant racial abuse suffered by minorities in Los Angeles, was possibly the least-suited song for Christmas Number 1, with its pertinent anger and explicit-ridden lyrics, but the campaign succeeded due to sheer people power. Of course some cynics may say that RATM are also part of Sony, and that the record company was still making a profit due to the campaign, but this overlooks the fact that history was made – a viral campaign by ordinary people overcame a media behemoth in the shape of X-Factor. As well as having repercussions in the music industry, it could also affect political circles, by further continuing the trend of greater online presence – which was so crucial in Rage Against the Machine, fa- Obama‘s victory in the US Presidential Elecmous for their Leftist inclinations tions in 2008, and for which the Labour John Lennon was no stranger to politics or controversy
Party is pioneering in Ireland. Music has once again become a crucial tool of protest and change, with musicians becoming almost akin to freedom fighters. The way in which musicians have publicised and released their work has changed utterly in the recent past, with bands like Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails giving away their work for free on the Internet – the musical equivalent of a middle finger to the moneyobsessed music industry. This defiant streak has been evident in many bands; most noticeably with the Seattle band Pearl Jam. After exploding onto the music scene in the early 90‘s with their debut ‗Ten‘ – which highlighted many social issues such as homelessness, and depression – they had a self-imposed exile from the spotlight. They even sued Ticketmaster for their monopolistic practices and ripping off of fans - but lost the case. However, they continue to support many progressive causes such as the closing of Guantanamo Bay, reproductive rights for women, environmentalism, etc. and are part of a new breed of musicians who see their fame as a vehicle for supporting beneficial change in society. This is nothing new, with figures such as Bob Dylan and Neil Young‘s music having strong political overtones, and events like Live Aid and Live 8 having greatly affected the world in their time. Music has always affected social change, and to a certain extent, vice-versa. So what will the 10‘s hold for music? Will music be as political as it was in the 90‘s? Well there‘s no denying that the trend of illegally downloads will continue apace, unless the industry adapts to this change. We have seen in Ireland the clumsy agreement between the record companies and Eircom to block illegal downloads, but prohibitionism will hardly stop the trend. Expect the major media players to put pressure on politicians to come up with a solution to keep their pockets lined. I believe that while the ‗war on terror‘ was a major issue in the 00‘s, likewise climate change will be the major issue of the 10‘s to musicians and artists – unlike the Iraq war, this will eventually affect us all.
Also: Are Fees really off the Table? SDLP or not to be?
Your National Youth Executive National Chairperson—Rory Geraghty
International Officer—Neil Warner
As National Chairperson, Rory is responsible for the smooth running of Labour Youth as a whole, along with acting as the public face of the organization.
As International Officer, Neil is responsible for representing the organization at European level and beyond.
Email: lychair@labour.ie
Email: lyinternational@labour.ie
Vice Chair/Campaigns—Kirsten Gordon
Equality Officer—Colm Maguire
As National Vice Chair and Campaigns Officer, Kirsten is primarily responsible for the formation and execution of Labour Youth National Campaigns. She also acts as Chair of the organization in Rory‘s absence.
As National Equality Officer, Colm is responsible for making sure the organization is fair and equal to all. He also liaises with Labour Women and Labour LGBT.
Email: lycampaigns@labour.ie
Email: lyequality@labour.ie
National Secretary—Brian O‘Connor
Ed & Policy —Isobel O‘Connor
As National Secretary, Brian is responsible for taking minutes at all Labour youth events, and at NYE meetings. He is also responsible for correspondence, accounts and fundraising.
As Education and Policy Officer, Isobel is responsible for drafting Labour Youth Policy Documents. She is also responsible for running the Tom Johnson Summer School.
Email: lysecretary@labour.ie
Email: lyeducation@labour.ie
Recruitment Officer—Cathal McCann
Youth & Development—Neil Ward
As National Recruitment Officer, Cathal is responsible for the recruitment and retention of new members. He is also the primary coordinator for the National Recruitment Campaign.
As Youth & Development Officer, Neil is the Labour Party Staff Member responsible for the administration of Labour Youth. He is also a non-voting member of the NYE. Email: neil.ward@labour.ie
Email: lyrecuitment@labour.ie
Communications Officer—Conor Ryan As National Communications Officer, Conor is the Chief Editor of the Left Tribune, and Chairperson of the Left Tribune Editorial Board. He is also responsible for the overall design strategy, and online presence of the organization. Email: lycommunications@labour.ie
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PLEASE RECYCLE OR PASS ON
www.labouryouth.ie
Table of Contents 2-
NYE Profile
Comrades and Friends,
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Table of Contents & Editorial
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The Open Society and its Real Enemies
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An Argument for better Healthcare
It is my great pleasure to bring you the first Left Tribune of the new decade! And what a 10 years the world has just left behind—9/11, Resource Wars in the Middle East, the Rise of China and of course the election of President Barack Obama.
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Legalisation does more Harm than Good
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Our Young Councillors
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Are Fees really off the Table?
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A Message from SIPTU
10 - Events and Campaigns; Sept 09 — Feb 10 12 - SDLP or not to Be? 13 - Special Report from Tibet 14 - Book Review: Europe, a Faltering Project 15 - Film Review: The Road
Friends, 2009 was a fantastic year for Labour Youth particularly as we doubled our membership nationally, registered the highest number of delegates ever for Youth Conference and led the fight against Youth Unemployment, 3rd Level Fees and the most brutal budget the country has ever seen. Labour Youth represents all Labour Party members under the age of 26. We have, are and probably always will be, the most active youth wing of any political party. Over the course of the year, there will be regular events for members to attend including the annual Tom Johnson Summer School in July, National Youth Conference in November and 5 National Meetings held throughout the country over the course of the year. In addition to this, there is also a variety of Working Groups that members can get involved in. By getting involved in these Working Groups members can influence the day to day decisions that we make. To find out more, please email the relevant NYE Officer for the area you wish to take part in. I want to thank you all again for electing me as your National Chairperson for the year, if at any stage I can help please just drop me a line at lychair@labour.ie
Rory Geraghty
Closer to home, we have also borne witness to interesting times. The story of the early rise to the utter demise of the Progressive Democrats in their ill-fated Marriage to Fianna Fáil reads almost like a work of fiction. It must be said however that any fictitious work is probably running slightly overlong by the time it promotes a man like Michael McDowell into the ―heroes‖ seat! If the story of the PDs was the original, then it can be assumed that we are witnessing the sequel in the form of the utter humiliation of the Greens in Government. As if in a Greek Tragedy, they sold out their principles and did a deal with the Devil (or in this case with Fianna Fáil) in exchange for State power, only for the electorate to punish them mercilessly for their hubris. What is the lesson to be learned from these two sagas? Anything Fianna Fáil touches is doomed to whither and die it seems. Let‘s not forget that these last 10 years also saw Bertie and his pals run riot with our public finances. Like a gambler at the Horse-races, they threw our money and our futures at the property industry in an effort to artificially prolong the boom. For this reason, while the Youth of 2000 never had more to look forward to, the Youth of 2010 is facing an uphill struggle to reclaim their country from those that have mismanaged it and thrown away their potential. It will not be an easy struggle, but if the last 10 years have taught us anything it is that as with what happened to the PDs and the Greens, Fianna Fáil can suck the life out of whole nations and entire generations. Let us hope that through our work now, the Youth of 2020 will remember them only as the latest occupant of the Dustbin of History.
Conor Ryan Chief Editor: Conor Ryan Editorial Board: Emer Sugrue, Kerrie Creedon, Kerri Ryan, Sam Ryan, Audrey Walsh, Ray Kelly Contributors: Jerry Larkin, Peter Kelleher, Eoghan McMahon, Grace O’Donoghue, Colm Lawless, Brian O’Connor, Neil Warner, Conor Ryan, Rory Geraghty Thanks to: Neil Ward, Youth & Development Officer
Interested in writing an article? Email: lycommunications@labour.ie Page 3
The Open Society and its Real Enemies urably more dear. Dermot Ahern doesn‘t think so, but then again he didn't think GAMA workers were worth much either. He has once again shown himself to be a textbook example of a Wildean cynic. The price of a referendum: the value of our right to free speech?
By Eoghan McMahon As I‘m sure most readers are aware, the Defamation Act came into force on the first of January this year. It is a thoroughly cynical piece of legislation and has genuinely put us back four hundred years in terms of our civil rights. As a nation we don‘t have the best of histories in regard to progressive politics, but this sets a new low. I‘m not going to try to explain why any reasonable person would want to resurrect such a bigoted historical artefact, but what I will try to show you, hopefully merely reinforce in your head, in this article is why we need to make sure it is repealed. The liberal democracy we all know and love/hate (it is one of those relationships!) depends on a number of fundamental rights, giving the priory to each and every citizen in order to function properly (These are well known to every good civics student and an attempt to give an exhaustive list of them here is unnecessary). The one we must pay particular attention to is the right to free speech. It is from the idea that everything can be questioned that all other rights flow. The right to think without boundaries, to lead a lifestyle that is not of the norm, to critique our actions and those of others, to critique our traditions, our leaders, our patterns of consumption, our sexual mores and taboos, our way of life. To look objectively at a situation and ask the question: is this right? What am I doing here and what is it for? All progressive action, all human progress is made possible only through the admission that all knowledge is open to refutation. There is no price not worth paying for free speech. The price for allowing it to disappear is immeas-
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The constitutionality of this legislation is also questionable on a number of fronts. Firstly our right to be treated equally under the law, regardless of religious conviction is directly under threat. The privileging of religious convictions over non-religious convictions, which is effectively what this Act does, constitutes a hierarchy of belief over non-belief, religion over non-religion. Thus, our equal status under the law is under threat. We deleted most of the articles which privileged religion from our constitution in 1973. We, the people, put through the 5th Amendment Act in the hope of ensuring constitutionally assured free speech and equality for all. Why are we allowing the comeback of such backward thinking? A truly republican state must be free from all partisan links, including those with religion.
thing which hasn‘t been seen in the West since Communism (I refer to the Communist party mantra that nobody will investigate the party but the party.) For more information on the campaign to have the laws repealed visit Atheism Ireland where you‘ll find more arguments against the law and information about the campaign to have it removed. I‘m going to end this article with a quote from one of Europe's greatest living philosophers; Slavoj Zizek, who puts things in an untypically succinct fashion. ―Words are never only words: They matter because they define the contours of what we can do.‖
“All progressive action, all human progress is made possible only through the admission that all knowledge is open to
refutation.”
Article 40.6 guarantees us that the state will protect our liberty in expressing freely our ideas and opinions. Article 44.2 states that the state shall not endow any religion, or impose any disability on people on account of religion. Here we have a situation where the government has actually passed a law that directly curtails this freedom, on the grounds of religion! The right to express ideas critical of others, their ideas and convictions without fear of litigation is the flipside of the right to practice ones faith without fear of persecution. One cannot exist without the other. This Act creates a hierarchy of ideas by placing some out of reach of the critical eye, somewww.labouryouth.ie
Canada: An Argument for Better Healthcare cal needs. All cosmetic surgeries still come out of your own pocket as these are rightly considered to be non-essential. G.P. and specialists are free of charge and can be chosen at your will. Medicare is funded through general income taxation but some provinces do charge a fixed monthly premium, for example in the Province of British Columbia, any one person earning CA$28,000 (around €18,000) or more has to pay CA$54 (around €35) per month premium.
By Peter Kelleher Given the current state of the Health Service Executive, it is mind boggling that the CEO of that body, Prof. Brendan Drumm was given a scandalous €70,000 bonus recently for ―performance related activities‖. When we consider that the HSE has not filled positions vacated in the service, closed wards and handled cancer test results badly, not to mention the sheer incompetence of the Minister for Health, Mary Harney, during the co-location mess, it is outrageous that this money should be paid out. ―Performance related activities‖ mean that you do your job well and neither the Minister nor Prof. Brendan Drumm has done so. The main point of this article, however, is to show that it doesn‘t have to be this way. One country, in my view, has got its healthcare ran the way it should be. Canada.
The majority of Canadians greatly value Medicare, an example of how much they value it was seen in November 2004 when Canadians voted Tommy Douglas as the Greatest Canadian in a show of the same name which was ran by the CBC. He is widely seen as the ―Father of Medicare‖. However, this isn‘t the road we‘re going down. We‘re going down a path that will lead us to a healthcare system like that of the U.S.
In 1946, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) led by Tommy Douglas, were elected to the Government of the Province of Saskatchewan. It was the first time in North America that a Social Democratic party was elected to lead a Government. One of the first acts that Premier Tommy Douglas brought in was the Saskatchewan Hospitalization Act 1946. This act gave most of the people of Saskatchewan free hospital care and, but for a lack of funds, universal healthcare would have been provided. In 1966, thanks to pressure from the NDP at federal level, the minority Liberal Government, led by Prime Minster Lester B. Pearson, introduced the Medical Care Act 1966, which introduced Medicare.
I hate to say it, but this is where we are headed for. This form of healthcare is more damaging to your health than actually being ill. Over most of the past year, President Obama has been trying to push through a bill that will see Americans who haven‘t got healthcare insurance get healthcare insurance. During this debate, the Republican Party has done anything and everything to stop Obama making any change to the status quo. Rightists like Former Gov. Sarah Palin, Rep. Michelle Bachmann and Rep. Joe Wilson have used every underhanded tactic possible to stop any bill. This may not be because of any political reasons but it might have something to do with the fact that a number of America‘s health insurance companies ―donate‖ hundreds of thousands, if not millions of Dollars to the political campaigns of Republican and some Conservative ―Blue Dog‖ Democrat Senators and Representatives. On Keith Olbermann‘s ―Countdown‖, he stated that the real ―Death Panels‖, a term made famous by Former Gov. Sarah Palin when she lied about Obamas proposed reforms of healthcare, were the healthcare insurance companies like United Health.*
Medicare works by the Ministry for Health, issuing you with a ―Care Card‖ which provides for all of your essential, basic medi-
We‘re not at the dire situation that U.S. healthcare is in but we‘re close. It is not just the health insurance companies but
all the disaffected doctors and nurses who work hard and now have their jobs threatened, all the closed hospitals and wards and those hospitals and wards which will soon be closed, all those patients who suffered needlessly because of long waiting lists, inflated administration staff numbers (staff which could work on processing payments for the huge amount of unemployed people, for example), all the overpaid people in the HSE and all those patients who were given false test results or worse suffered death. All of that makes up the legacy of this Government‘s twelve year mishandling of the Health portfolio. When the Labour Party gets into Government, we should have the Health ministry so as to clean up the mess that the current Government and in particular Minister Harney has left us with. I believe the best way to do this is by fully adopting and implementing the system of healthcare that current exists, and has existed for more then forty years in Canada and more then sixty years in Province of Saskatchewan. Any system where someone with a private health insurance card is getting better treatment, at a faster rate because of that private health insurance card then someone else who is part of a State run Medical Card scheme is fundamentally flawed. By implementing Canada‘s system, all foreseeable healthcare costs are included into the overall amount of income tax that each person pays. At worst, people may have to pay a small, monthly premium on top. We all know the value of good health and how by having a strong healthcare system that focuses on preventative measures, allows people to see their doctor at no charge and, if needed, will provide the most riskiest procedures at no fee is what drives down the cost of the health budget. It does not lead to more administrators or cuts to the wages of medical staff. The Province of Saskatchewan got the healthcare issue right in 1946, the rest of Canada got the healthcare issue right in 1966. Ireland should get healthcare right now, before it too late and the first question a doctor asks when you need to go to hospital is ―have you got insurance?‖
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Legalising Prostitution Does Far More Harm than Good prostitution on any given day in Ireland, and between 87 and 97 percent of these women are migrants. Furthermore, the same report indicated that 90% of these women did not become prostitutes out of choice but were forced into it out of circumstances that include extreme poverty. Many are also a victim of human trafficking. Additionally, numerous reports show that 90% of prostitutes would prefer to exit prostitution.
By Rory Geraghty Every year, without fail, a motion is brought to Labour Youth conference regarding the legalisation of prostitution. Having scanned through the last number of Left Tribunes and Labour Youth Leaflets, I notice that there is no mention of prostitution or sexual exploitation. Despite the importance that this issue bears to members, it seems that we never discuss it beyond the realms of our conference floor. Bearing this in mind, I felt that it was important to raise it for discussion and what better way to do that, then through our ever fabulous Left Tribune. First and foremost, I feel I should be honest. I am vehemently opposed towards the legalisation of prostitution so please don‘t accuse me of bias as I‘m being quite clear and upfront with my views. Having spent the last number of weeks researching this issue for work, I have come to the conclusion that prostitution is a form of modern slavery and as such should be eradicated and NOT accepted. Let‘s be honest here, what five year old jumps up and says ―Daddy I want to be a prostitute‖. To legalise prostitution is to legalise discrimination, exploitation and human suffering. A recent report issued on behalf of a number of NGOs that work with victims of prostitution, including the Immigrant Council of Ireland, found that up to 1,000 women are involved in indoor
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This dismisses any argument that prostitution is a mere business contract between two consenting adults. As the evidence suggests, the women involved had no choice or alternative and were forced into becoming prostitutes. So let‘s kill this argument once and for all that we should legalise prostitution because people have a right to be prostitutes. I will never subscribe to that nonsense. As I‘ve already indicated, what child aspires to be a prostitute when they‘re asked what they want to be when they grow up? People end up in prostitution because they have no choice. Another common argument put forward by those who subscribe to the legalisation model is that of harm reduction. Those that advocate this position do so because they believe that prostitution can‘t ever go away. They accept that we are stuck with it and that we may as well make it safer for those involved by legalising it and ensuring that those who do sell their bodies can do so safely and free from harm. This, however well intentioned, is simply naïve. The legalisation of prostitution has not worked in reducing the number of people who become victims of prostitution, nor has it helped to eradicate the criminal element of prostitution. In fact, it has led to the absolute expansion of the sex trade business. Countries with a legalisation policy have seen an increase in the number of people being trafficked, to work as legal prostitutes, to meet the increase in demand that comes with legalisation. These people come from backgrounds of extreme poverty and are manipulated, tortured and often forced against their will to travel and become sex slaves.
and it couldn‘t be easier. In 1999 Sweden introduced a policy of criminalising demand for sex, ie: paying for sex became illegal. Mirroring this, prostitution was decriminalised and services were offered to prostitutes to allow them to gain freedom from the sex trade. Over the last number of years, this policy has seen a dramatic reduction in the number of women who fall victim to prostitution. Furthermore, it has seen a significant decrease in the number of victims of human trafficking, in Sweden. For example, a recent report indicated that there were 400 cases of human trafficking in Sweden in comparison to 10,000 in neighbouring Finland, where demand is not criminalised. Although 400 is still too many people falling victim of trafficking, it is important to bear in mind that it is significantly lower than Finland‘s figure. Furthermore, there is some evidence to suggest that for some of these women, Sweden was not their final destination. Following on from the success of the Swedish model, Norway introduced the same policy in 2008 with Iceland following shortly after. It is also envisaged the UK is to implant this process later this year. Let‘s be honest, it‘s never right to buy a person. For the most part, victims of prostitution don‘t live it up in the Hilton, nor is it only once a day that they are expected to sell their body. The reality is that most prostitutes are expected to service multiple people a day, something that brings with it a huge amount of physical and psychological damage. At our last conference we adopted a policy similar to that of the Swedish model. It‘s about time that the government implemented it here, to protect the victims of this modern slavery and end the exploitation of vulnerable people who fall victim of the sex trade.
I hear those out there, who are reading this and thinking that perhaps I‘m not providing any alternatives and that this article is merely a rant against legalisation. I mean, is there an actual alternative to legalisation? Can we eradicate prostitution and end another form of modern exploitation? The answer is yes
www.labouryouth.ie
Our Young Elected Officials
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Are Fees Really off the Table? “While we may have won an important battle on fees, we still have a war to fight!” By Conor Ryan Last year, students and faculty from all over the country mobilized and took to the streets against the Government in numbers not seen since the early 90‘s. Their message was simple, but damning for Education Minister Batt O‘Keefe: ―No Cutbacks, No Fees, No Fianna Fáil TD‘s!―. Fianna Fáil was in the process of trying to reintroduce college fees, which had been abolished previously by Labour Party Minister for Education Niamh Bhreathnach. Whether organized by Students Unions and the USI, Political Organizations such as Labour Youth, or Campaign Groups like the Free Education for Everyone (FEE) Campaign, students and young people were incensed that their education was coming under attack by an incompetent Government determined to make them pay the price for a crisis they did not cause, and they were determined to show it.
The truth of the matter is, things have not gotten much better—just more dishonest! While overt tuition fees have not been reintroduced, college registration charges are set to soar to unprecedented levels, effectively establishing fees ―through the back door‖. This is incredible when one considers that the registration charge was raised from 900 to 1500 Euros just last year. That is 3000 Euros per year for a family with 2 College-bound dependents, right off the Batt (pun intended)! Families cannot afford this extra strain on their already stretched finances. College is not and has never been cheap, and with the current state of the Grants system, this arrangement would leave far too many without the prospect of Higher Education.
What the Irish Government seems to fail to realize is the fact that graduates pay a disproportionate amount of Tax in this country. This means that each graduate in the course of their working lives will pay for their education several times over. What this also means, is that it is in the Country‘s financial interests for the Government to encourage a high degree of third and forth level attainment. This is even without mentioning the attractiveness that a highly educated workforce holds for foreign direct investment (which is also one of the principal reasons we were able to attain the Boom in the first place!) - education should be a no brainer of an investment! So what does this mean? While I loath to say it, it means that while we may have won an important battle on fees, we still have a war to fight! A war that cannot be truly won until we have a Government that genuinely understands the importance education should hold in any stable society or economy, and is willing to invest in kind. That understanding was present in the Labour Party when it pushed through the abolition of fees amidst opposition from both of the civil war parties, and it is the only major Party where it remains to this day.
Through mass protests, a sympathetic public and even a few media stunts and occupations, fees were eventually taken off the table again by a Green Party craving popular forgiveness for their disastrous decision to do the proverbial deal with the Devil in 2007 in exchange for some ministerial positions. Everything went back to normal, or so the government would have you believe.
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www.labouryouth.ie
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Events and Campaigns 09—10
Clockwise from Top 1 & 2: UCC/CIT Anti-NAMA Protest (featuring many a Lorraine Kingston election poster!) 3 & 4: NUIM and Dublin North Central Protest against ―Professor ― Bertie at NUIM
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www.labouryouth.ie
Events and Campaigns 09—10 Clockwise from the top 1: Newly elected LY Chairperson Rory Geraghty sits alongside outgoing Chairperson Gary Honer and Party Leader Eamon Gilmore at Youth Conference. 2 & 3: UCC Jim Kemmy Branch debating and winning the inaugural UCC Youth Wing Debate, gaining a shiny trophy, and good publicity for Labour in the process! 4: Senator Ivana Bacik addressing Trinity Labour on the issue of Blasphemous Libel
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SDLP or Not to Be? there are issues of structure and cohesiveness within the SDLP. Séamas argued that the SDLP position is to work with all parties in the South to achieve a United Ireland. While stating that the Labour Party had a part to play in this vision, he also argued the Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael were partners of the SDLP with respect to furthering the latter's political advancement.
By Colm Lawless & Brian O’Connor In August 2009, then Labour Youth Vice-Chair Brian O'Connor and National Secretary Colm Lawless travelled to Belfast to meet with and talk to Carmel Hanna MLA and LY-SDLP Member Séamas De Faoite. The purpose of the talks was to gain scope into the structure and direction of the SDLP. Below were their impressions: The SDLP was originally founded in 1970 as a moderate nationalist party that was to campaign for civil rights. Its support came from constitutional nationalists and the civil rights movement. This is still true with the typical SDLP voter being middle class and Catholic. The name was deliberately constructed to avoid emotive termsSocial, Democratic and Labour Party. The ‗original‘ generation of leaders featured prominently, often acting as the voice of reason of the polarised politics of the time. It is almost universally accepted that the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 was a success in ending the sectarian violence that plagued the North for most of the late 20th century. The SDLP was recognised for its contribution to the Peace Process with the awarding of the Nobel Prize to John Hume (jointly with David Trimble, UUP.) Since this time and especially following the 2005 election, there has been perceived confusion about the direction the party is to take and its place in contemporary Northern Irish politics. There is no profound sense of purpose that existed pre 1998. It is ironic that the party that was arguably the main architect of the Agreementit is based on values proposed by John Hume and the party years earlier - is now marginalised in an Executive
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body dominated by the republican Sinn Fein and the hardcore Democratic Unionist Party. Has it become a victim of its own success? The question of fostering of links with parties in the Republic has exposed the true sympathies of members. Carmel Hanna, MLA for South Belfast, expressed her solidarity with the Irish Labour Party. She acknowledged that some Labour members did not view the SDLP as sufficiently left wing. This view, she believes, probably comes from the comments and actions of certain representatives rather than the party as a whole. When asked, other party members proposed Fine Gael as the natural partner. The current economic quagmire is an opportunity for all parties to come up with a coherent response and recovery policy. Ms Hanna‘s view, and that shared by other SDLP members, is that Northern Ireland has been insulated from the upheaval because of the large number of public sector jobs and funding from the EU and the International Fund for Ireland, and that salary caps would be needed. It seems that Northern Irish parties have not devoted much thought to the crisis. Most is vague talk of job initiatives or foreign direct investment without any real substantive debate. The SDLP has not shown any left leanings in this area.
Séamas described the SDLP as a ―broad church‖, incorporating a wide variety of political affiliations. While this was a noble aspiration in the Civil Rights Days, one must question the direction of the SDLP. The Labour Party is her sister party and yet there are public reps from the SDLP attending Fianna Fáil Árd Fheiseanna. It is a case of the SDLP having been submerged in a quagmire in modern times. During the Civil Rights days, they served a noble purpose and fought with integrity for the rights of merginarlised communities. Today, they find themselves in a vicegrip between the DUP and Sinn Féin. The main challenge for the SDLP now is how it will define itself in the present day and hereafter. There are different undercurrents pulling in different directions and this is stopping the SDLP from creating a solid image.
The one area that the SDLP was unanimous on was the Lisbon Treaty. Asked whether the Lisbon Treaty and the second referendum in the Republic were important for the EU, Ms Hanna was certain of negative consequences that would have resulted from a No vote. In conversation with Séamas De Faoite, a former Labour Party member turned SDLP Youth activist, we discovered that www.labouryouth.ie
Special Report from Tibet
The following information came to the attention of LY International Officer Neil Warner through a third party. It is an account of a Tibeten women named Dolkar, who bore witness to the violence visited upon Tibet during 2008 by the Chinese Government. The following is an account of the situation in her own words: Since the 10th of March, we Tibetans were under very strict control. We had to carry ID cards and other official papers just to go into town. On every corner, the army stopped us with guns. On only one day were the army not there; as some foreign journalists were coming to Jokhang monastery. Normally the monasteries are closed (since 14th March). In the monasteries, such Sera and Drepung, older monks were allowed to stay, but the younger monks were arrested. Some were sent back to their village and some are kept in a training centre. They kept monks from Sera and Drepung separate. Fourteen monks from Sera monastery were arrested and put in prison, while another two hundred were put into the training centre. Around Lhasa after March 14th, people started disappearing. We can only guess that they have been arrested, but we don't know if they are still alive or dead. The families look in every prison, but we are never told anything. The Tibetan police have no power now, the Chinese army is strong and powerful – they can do whatever they like. Inside the prison, the Chinese army torture the political prisoners.
I will tell the story of one man, Tenzin D. On 14th March, he and his girlfriend went to eat lunch near Barkhor. After lunch, he was on his way back to work behind Pothala and he saw the Chinese army beating Tibetan people, so he went to help. The Chinese soldiers pushed him back, so he got angry – he grabbed a knife and stabbed the soldier's leg. The soldiers shot him and one shot went into his spinal cord. He collapsed and was taken to the army hospital near Sera monastery, but not for treatment. They kicked and beat him, they used electric shock, they put cigarettes on his head, face, chest and hands, and hot irons on the soles of his feet. And last, they cut one big part of flesh from his buttock and covered the wound with plastic.
His mother went to the army to get her son released or to get his body back. The soldiers thought he was dead or as good as. She paid them money and got him back on 1st April. He was alive, but the hospitals wouldn't take him because he was political. The family went back to the police to get special papers so that he could be treated in a hospital. The doctors took 3.5kg of rotten flesh from his buttocks, where it was infected under the plastic. His lower body is paralysed from the shot in his spine, and many of his bones are broken. His mother now treats and changes his dressings every hour, but we can see from his condition he won't live long. I heard about Tenzin from my friends and I went to visit him and tried to help his family. We have lots of problems like this, but most people agree not to tell the real story – if you tell, the whole family will be in big trouble. In Tuelung County, near Dongpachig village there is a place to burn the dead bodies. Some of the bodies are still alive when they burn them. They were very busy there day and night for the week after 14th March.
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Book Review— Europe: The Faltering Project (Jurgen Habermas)
Book Review by Neil Warner Jurgen Habermas ranks, along with Noam Chomsky, as possibly the greatest living progressive intellectual. In the past however, the German professor‘s work has tended to be inaccessible to a wider audience. This new collection of essays, centred around the question of European unity, offers a welcome improvement in that regard. Through still somewhat rooted in academic scuffles, it nevertheless provides a useful introduction to the key components of the man‘s thinking. Habermas articulates the fiercely ambivalent feeling which many of us feel about the EU; simultaneously finding hope in the international cooperation and counterweight to corporate power which it offers, while despairing at the sordid reality of bureaucracy, elitism and neo-liberal economic policy. His greatest theoretical contribution to political philosophy, his notion of the ‗public sphere‘, dictates much of his thinking in this area. The ‗public sphere‘ is a resource which is central to the health of every democracy. It entails a situation where equals communicate ideas with each without their discussion being undermined by coercion, tools of manipulation or external resources. It is the existence of something that at least approaches a public sphere in areas relating to public policy that allows us to achieve good policy. Sadly, such situations are becoming more and more elusive. Policy has increasingly shifted into the hands of European bureaucrats, largely out of necessity due to globalisation. However, the absence of a concurrent expansion of the public
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sphere has left them unaccountable to the public; while back home talk becomes increasingly empty as we become powerless to act on a local level. Observing this, the octogenarian Habermas is driven to a passionate plea that, for the sake of the future of democracy, that decision-making and debate on an EU level should be opened up to the public. He is clear that this entails more than a perfunctory increase in the powers of parliament or petitions that have no legally binding effect. What is needed is a complete shift in the accountability of the fundamental machinery of the EU; policy must be directly accountable to an informed and engaged public. For this we not only need institutional reform but reform of national ‗public spheres‘; where the public understands, cares about and can influence EU policy through the media. Perhaps only once we begin doing this will we achieve institutional reform. The good news is that, since we constitute the public sphere, its reform is in many cases in our hands. It is time for us to stop reacting about to the appointment of new Commission from the sole perspective of ‗what Maire got‘, but to ask what the commission as a whole means for our quality of life, and how we can influence its policies.
www.labouryouth.ie
Film Review—The Road cannibalism, violence and rape, whilst also instilling in him essentially humanist values. As for what came before, the past and history are rendered insignificant when faced with present necessities of food and staying warm. Likewise, personal identity is made irrelevant. A stranger is asked; ―Where are you from?‖ to be met with the terse reply, ―Does it matter?‖.
Review by Grace O’Donoghue It seems that in the past decade, the disaster film has become synonymous with blockbuster action and special effects - 'The Day after Tomorrow', 'I am Legend' etc track the Heroes ability to survive through and after in an apocalyptic event. The genre has become so codified – that, as in '2012' – the reasons and causes for the disaster are less and less clear. With these expectations in mind, John Hillcoat's adaption of Cormac McCarthy's 'The Road' provides an unusual addition to this genre. Very little time is spent focused on the apocalyptic event itself. Opening shots, highly saturated, of the pastoral and bright colours of wildflowers, quickly give way to a muted colour palette of greys and blues, which characterise a desolate landscape. Much of it was shot on location in Pennsylvania, using the existing landscape of coalfields, dunes, abandoned theme parks, run-down or decayed spaces. It was also shot in parts of New Orleans that had been destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. We follow the two father and son characters, played by Viggo Mortensen and Cody Smit-McPhee, with the son being referred to only as ―the boy‖. They travel along the road, headed south for the coast, in the years following an unidentified apocalyptic disaster that has wiped out all plant life and animals. Lawless armed gangs pose a constant threat, many have turned to cannibalism to survive. The father is thus presented with the difficulty of both teaching the boy to survive, amidst the threat of
With the breakdown of society, human relationships are reduced to tribalism, with 'deranged chanting' on the horizon. There is a pervasive atmosphere of mistrust and paranoia, strangers often ask and are asked ―Why are you following us?‖. In the two-person universe of father and son, the father attempts to make his son both suspicious of humanity and the other's moral fibre, yet thoroughly convinced of his own status as 'the good guy'. Whilst the father sticks to this binary opposition, it is the son who is more willing to trust and to offer help to strangers.
comes to strand for our under appreciation of processed materials and fuel.
“Despite these anxieties, and the blind stranger's claim that it is 'foolish to ask for luxuries in times like these', there are moments of old-world pleasure. “ It is perhaps because of its absence of an explicit political ideology, that 'The Road' becomes a vehicle for reflection. It is an existential, abstract, poetic filmdespite die-hard Cormac McCarthy fans who might resent the translation of his prose to Hollywood Cinema, it raises fundamental questions on humanity and our basic need to 'carry the fire' through the generations.
Yet, in a universally impoverished world, there is no possibility of help or aid from a wealthy source. In a brutal and harrowing manner, the modern man has not only become 'unaccomodated' but doomed to be a nomadic scavenger. The nature of the disaster is ambiguous, possibly nuclear, possibly climatic. The 90-year old blind man they encounter, played by Robert Duvall, claims that there were warning signs pre-disaster, saying, 'people thought it was a con, but I always believed in it'. This, combined with frequent earthquakes, seems to suggest an environmental root. Yet again, the underlying causes behind the current situation are irrelevant, faced with the present necessities for survival. Despite these anxieties, and the blind stranger's claim that it is 'foolish to ask for luxuries in times like these', there are moments of old-world pleasure. The Father finds and old can of Coca-Cola prised from an old vending machine, and the boy is delighted with its strangeness and fizz. Coca-Cola were reluctant about the use of their brand in the film, yet it
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