Video Of The Week

The very clear lessons on coalition with the right that now must be re learned by the left in Ireland all over again. The failure so far to rule out a coalition involving Fianna Fail, Labour and Fianna Gael is a failure to learn the lessons of historical compromises of the past. The left in Ireland must set out to build a real alternative to the narrative of austerity propagated by the capitalist parties in Ireland and supported by Labour.
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A new Trade Secrets law to be voted on next week by the European Parliament threatens a massive clampdown on journalists and whistle-blowers, write Anne Friel & Anaïs Berthier, giving corporations the right to sue those who disclose private information even in the public interest to protect health, safety and environment.
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The Solidarity Times facebook page is reported today that Water charges protestor Stephen Bennett is being sent to prison. Here is their report.

The Water charges protester Stephen Bennett will be in jail for one month tomorrow. He was not convicted of anything, instead the courts attempted to impose 'protest ban' bail conditions which he has continued to refuse to accept. All sections of the water charges movements should be demanding Stephens immediate and unconditional release.

"To my Friends, Comrades and to the Irish Water movement. I send this message of solidarity from my cell in Cloverhill prison, where I have been since May 20th. read full story / add a comment

The drip feed of questionable deals carried out by NAMA is well under way. Regularly now, we see information reaching the public domain whereby NAMA have sold stressed assets at less than their real value and the purchasers are turning them over within 2 years, at profit ranging from 30% to 40%/ The purchasers are mostly foreign investment funds – ‘vulture funds ‘ – who have picked on the carcass of the stressed Irish property market. Many of them have retained the assets, and become serious players in the residential rental market in Ireland, especially Dublin, and have developed a controlling influence, managing to drive up rents astronomically in our capital city. This all doesn’t make them evil people – they just do what they do, it’s called unfettered Capitalism - our problem as Irish citizens is that our Government have allowed a situation to develop whereby the vulture funds win and the Irish tax payer loses. And our present Neo Liberal Government think that this is all fine. I believe otherwise. Here’s my Leader’s Questions with Taoiseach Enda Kenny this week, who knows that all is not well. - read full story / add a comment

Privatisation of Postal Services - A great little neoliberal country to do business in…

Yesterday afternoon in the Dáil, we discussed the Communications Regulation (Postal Service) (Amendment) Bill 2015 – a piece of legislation that represents the latest push by this Government to further its neoliberal agenda through the privatisation, or “outsourcing,” of public services in this country. Under this new legislation, our new national postcode system – Eircode – will be privatised and administered by Capita Ireland, which is part of the £7bn Capita multinational corporation, a global conglomerate with vast experience of snapping up lucrative state contracts around the world.
I asked the Minister why at least €27m of taxpayers’ money is being pumped into a postcode system that many in the delivery industry have described “lacking vision” and utterly useless, while at the same time, rural post offices are being closed down, further isolating the communities they serve. Rural Ireland, and in particular those most vulnerable, are being abandoned in favour of big business. Here’s my contribution in the Chamber. – read full story / add a comment

www.transcendireland.com read full story / add a comment

Visual Artists Ireland [NI] will open a new dedicated Northern Ireland office on Friday, July 3rd in 109 – 113 Royal Avenue, Belfast BT1 1FF. The office will be a focal point for the advocacy and support of Northern Ireland’s visual artists and will be managed by Rob Hilken, Northern Ireland Manager reporting directly to Noel Kelly, Chief Executive Officer, Visual Artists Ireland who will also have a base there. read full story / add a comment

In an increasingly bizarre turn of events that raises fundamental questions about the credibility of the much - publicised ‘1st Independent MAYO’ political initiative, prospective candidate Stephen Manning of Ballhaunis, Co. Mayo was advised last Wednesday by project organiser Eddie Farrell that a decision had been made to exclude Mr Manning from participating in the process.
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About 6 uniformed naval officers in complete uniform walked Grafton street around 21.00 hours on the 17th of June 2015.
They went into Mc D. Grafton street. read full story / add a comment

The REGRET Group recently received a list of all the adverse reactions
reported to the Irish Health Regulatory Authority (HPRA) following
vaccination with the HPV vaccine Gardasil. read full story / add a comment

A package of trade bills stalled today when the US House of Representatives defeated one portion of the package while voting in favor of another. Trade Adjustment Assistance, a program to assist US workers who lose their jobs because of trade agreements, failed by a vote of 302-126. This worker assistance is part of the Trade Act of 2015 which would give President Obama Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) to move international trade agreements through Congress without amendment. Congress must pass trade assistance within two remaining legislative days in order for TPA or "fast track" to be sent to President Obama's desk. read full story / add a comment

Press Release 21st May “Act now – save the future of our food!” The coalition of No Patents on Seeds! has published an international call to European governments to stop patents on plants and animals. They are warning that international corporations such as Monsanto are taking more and more control of resources needed for food production. As recent research shows, the European Patent Office (EPO) is about to grant 30 patents on plants derived from conventional breeding to Monsanto and its affiliated companies. The Swiss company Syngenta can expect to receive around a dozen patents very soon. Many of the patents claim vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers, cauliflower, carrots and lettuce. read full story / add a comment

Liadh Ní Riada MEP has strongly criticised the call of Fine Gael MEP Sean Kelly to have a potential international court for TTIPs Investor-State Dispute Settlement mechanism (ISDS) located in Ireland.

She said that Kelly has completely betrayed his responsibility to defend the interests of the Irish people.

The mechanism of the International State Dispute Settlement court is part of the highly controversial TTIP agreement which has been met with widespread public opposition across the European Union read full story / add a comment

The European Citizens’ Initiative "Stop TTIP" has reached a new record number of signatures a few days ahead of a critical vote on TTIP in the European Parliament. With 2 million signatories, this is the largest European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) since the introduction of the instrument in 2012. In order for an ECI to be successful, half this number would suffice. Moreover, Stop TTIP has collected the required minimum number of signatures in 14 EU Member States, double the amount needed to receive an official response from the European Commission and a hearing in the European Parliament. read full story / add a comment

RESOLUTION of SYRIZA - KAISARIANI District, on the WAR IN UKRAINE AND THE planed SANCTIONS of EU AGAINST THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

Today, on 9 June 2015 SYRIZA Kaisarianis voted and adopted the following resolution:

"At the beginning of 2014 the legitimate president of Ukraine was toppled by a violent coup organised by far right and Nazi elements.
The inhabitants of the Crimea and Eastern Ukraine did not recognize the new regime and decided by referendums to become independent. In particular the cities of Lugansk and Donetsk they have experienced for the last year the barbarism of the bombing by the Kiev regime with heavy artillery in their cities with carnage of dead and infrastructure disasters read full story / add a comment

The well respected Mahon Says No anti-water charges group have issued a statement warning that "Right2Water and the Socialist Party both need to take a step back and consider the potential damage their mutual mudslinging will cause, and all in the name of getting their representatives elected read full story / add a comment

We the undersigned Irish people stand for the human rights of Black people in Baltimore and across the U.S.

We stand with the families and friends and all those struggling for justice for Freddie Gray, Carlos Alcis, Clinton Allen, Wendell Allen, Raymond Allen, Anthony Anderson, Alonzo Ashley, Jordan Baker, Orlando Barlow, Cedric Bartee, Ronald Beasley.....

https://irishstatement.wordpress.com/2015/05/31/irish-s...tter/ read full story / add a comment

Various groups unite and conducted a peace march from Sandiganbayan to the House of Representatives in support of the immediate passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) and for lasting peace in Muslim Mindanao.

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In the face of figures from the EPA that show we are unlikely to meet our Climate Change Targets and Ban Ki-moon’s call for ‘Ireland to do more to curb Climate Change’ An Taisce is calling upon TDs to put forward amendments to strengthen the Climate Action Bill.

The Climate Action Bill currently going through the Oireachtas is weakly drafted, fails to ensure existing targets are met and further delays meaningful action. The Bill is now scheduled for Committee stage on Tuesday 9th June. An Taisce and other NGOs involved in ‘Stop Climate Chaos (SCC)’ are calling on all TDs to put forward a series of amendments to ensure the Bill contains legally enforceable targets. read full story / add a comment

Apple must be forced to repay taxes lost through dodgy deals with government, say tax campaigners

Tax justice campaigns group Debt & Development Coalition Ireland (DDCI) today welcomed the fact-finding mission to Ireland of the European Parliament Special Tax Committee on Thursday 28th May.
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/committees/en/taxe/home.html read full story / add a comment