Hugh Green continues his great service of translating articles that are responding intelligently to the Democracia Real Ya and Wikiacampadas demos in Spain. Most recently he’s put up one by communications maestro Manuel Castells (see  John Green’s book reviews of his The Information Age Trilogy and Conversations with Manuel Castells)
Hugh says he translated it as [...]

That Keith Richards has really let himself go, hasn’t he?
Quizmistress Anne Robinson: Which Mick is the lead singer of the Rolling Stones?
Idiot English Contestant: Is it Bono?
Those for whom Irish music is epitomized by the seisiún or the céilí, featuring a bodhrán player, a guitarist, a fiddler, a tin whistler and Shane MacGowan, will be [...]

They call themselves the ‘Indignados’, or the ‘Indignant’, and for more than a week they have been on the streets of major cities around the country voicing their dissent at the economical and social outlook of the current Spanish government, and objecting to the two-party system that leaves people with very little choice when it [...]

Over the weekend, William Wall brought this 2002 article by David Graeber, which has recently been republished on the site Autonomy Against Barbarism, to my attention. It reminded me of John Green’s review of Graeber’s “Possibilities” which we put up in 2008. The reason AAB are posting Graeber’s NLR article now is because of the [...]

There’s a protest planned for Dublin in solidarity with Democracia real YA! which is to coincide with many other cities around Europe.
This Saturday 21st of May, 2pm at the Spire on O’Connell Street.
Join the Facebook event page or this one and read the manifesto.
If you speak Spanish here are live twitter feeds from Spanish [...]

Hugh Green of Punishment of Sloth provides some very helpful detail on the ¡Democracia Real YA! campaign in Spain, which saw a massive 50 city-wide demonstration last Sunday (May 15th).
He also compares the nature of the various Irish campaigns with the emphasis of ¡Democracia Real YA!
“The post-crisis ‘civil society’ initiatives -whilst differing in scope and [...]

“You’re not from around these parts, are you, Señor?”
“On the run from the authorities and living in Cork.”
“Died in the arms of a rent boy from a methamphetamine overdose.”
“Lost his house in a poker game, went insane, now raising llamas in Monaghan for gladiatorial combat.”
“Locked herself in a cellar in 2005 and refuses to come [...]

It’s What’s Underneath That Counts! (Not the Udders)
“What is the most common expression in Ireland?”
This was the question which was pose for a competition recently in one of Ireland’s most wide-read magazines, Ireland’s Own (target demographic: widows/spinsters aged 90 to 130). Although my subscription to the magazine was let lapse once I retired to the [...]

Enough Space for All the Books a Fascist Could Read!!
Being very sensible, over the past fourtnight (which is only actually two weeks: I will never get the stupid English!) I have been very busy organizing my return to my spiritual home, lovely holy pissing Ireland, having heeded the call from End O’Kenny (see last week’s [...]