Giuliano Giuliani is a leading Italian Trade Unionist whose son Carlo was murdered by the Italian Police during the July 2001 protests in Genoa against the G8 Summit. Since Genoa, Giuliano and his wife Haidi have become stalwarts of the international anti-globalisation movement, speaking at countless events and protests as well as campaigning for justice for their son. He will speak at a public meeting organized by G8 Mobilise on Thursday 26th May in Dublin.

Four years on from Carlo's murder, do you feel any closer to achieving justice for him?

It is very difficult after waiting for four years to even think about achieving justice. But we are doing everything possible to ensure that the truth be acknowledged. Carlo was killed while he was trying to defend the others and himself from being shot at by the police. Carlo tried to resist: this is the truth. Along with this truth, we also want to find out the exact chain of command on those days, and we want someone to take political responsibility for Carlo's murder. This is absolutely necessary for our country, for democracy, and in particular for all the other young people who are looking for a better world.

How have the police behaved during the investigation?

Terribly, no investigation has really been carried out, not even into the most disgraceful and violent behaviour of the police. After he was hit by a bullet, Carlo was kicked while he was lying on the ground and then one policeman broke his forehead with a stone. This is the behaviour of Nazis. So was what they did at the Diaz school or at the Bolzaneto barracks or in the streets: torture, extremely violent beatings, both physical and mental. These facts are unworthy of a civilized society and they cannot remain unpunished. Instead they are trying to cover, to hide and to mix up everything. Some Judges are also not doing their jobs, because dismissing a case, like Carlo's murder, contributes to the truth being hidden.

:-) .:.-) @-) +-) €-) $-) %-) maith an rts! & tell me you auld fellahs and auld wans, did yiz think the day would come when a pirate flag would fly in Dublin, and your james connolly would be hooded, and your sean o'casey would have a bridge and the civic guards would be on bikes watching the kids scrawling in crayon on the wall?

Welcome to the XXI century

Related Link: James Connolly Internet Archive
Related Story: May Day Speech: Joe Higgins' Challenge to Irish Trade Unions

It would be fair to say that left libertarian politics has experienced something of a renaissance in Ireland in recent years. However there are many arenas of struggle where its theory and practise is relatively undeveloped. This conference focuses on two such areas: the environment and women.

Ideas for Change is being organised by the NUI Galway Ecology Society. Taking place on Saturday January 29th it will feature discussions, both practical and theoretical, on the environment and popular ecological struggles, and on feminism and the struggle for reproductive rights.

The Sixth Grassroots Gathering was an earlier and more ambitious conference which the Ecology Society was involved in organising. This is our 'end of year report' for 2002/2003.

Suas are a newly arrived charity operating out of several Irish universities and sending volunteers to work in schools in India. Within two years they aim to have 20 groups in third level institutions around the country, and 7,000 members.

So far, so what? Well a while ago they were running their big publicity campaign to get overseas volunteers for the summer of 2005, and if you saw their green glossy posters decorating some colleges you might have noticed the words 'World Bank' on them. Part of the volunteer program includes 'development education' given by World Bank personnel.

Somewhat incongruous isn't it? I have limited knowledge of the world of charities and NGOs but those I am familiar with are more often found crying out against the World Bank.

This is a two part exploration. Firstly here is a backgrounder on the social causes of world hunger and on the devastating policies of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Secondly here is an investigation into the Suas 'development education' course and the whole issue of World Bank window dressing.

Related Links on the World Bank:
Global Issues · Whirled Bank · Bretton Woods Project · New Green Order · World Bank Boycott

Other Related Links:
Suas · The Ecologist on Greenwash · Friends of the Earth on Greenwash · Globalisation and Poverty: Vandana Shiva

Map from the World Development Movement showing civil unrest against IMF policies 0.11 Mb IMF impact 0.04 Mb

From The Newswire:

In Genoa we sprayed the Carabineri vans with the slogan “We are Winning”. But increasingly it seems like we’re not winning. Where next?

"Its been five years since the global street party in London on June 18th 1999 brought the fight to where it mattered – the square mile, the heart of the City. Much as North American activists would like you to believe that the “Battle of Seattle” was the first major anti-capitalist street demonstration to hit the western/northern world, they’re just practising their usual cultural imperialism again (presumably they’re blinded to the reality of it with an inflated impression of their own self-importance) – now all the world can share in Michael Moore, Eric Schlosser, Greg Palast, Naomi Klein, etc, instead of hearing a range of global voices fighting against capitalism (someone referred to it as “McActivism” the other day)."

Related Links/Materials
Photograps from the June 18th action in London
Why London Mayday was cancelled this year
Reclaim The Commons in San Franscisco
G8 Fix Shit Up!
Another article on the possible end of the anti-capitalist movement
Discussion thread of the article on Urban75