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offsite link North Korea Increases Aid to Russia, Mos... Tue Nov 19, 2024 12:29 | Marko Marjanovi?

offsite link Trump Assembles a War Cabinet Sat Nov 16, 2024 10:29 | Marko Marjanovi?

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The Saker

Indymedia ireland

Indymedia Ireland is a volunteer-run non-commercial open publishing website for local and international news, opinion & analysis, press releases and events. Its main objective is to enable the public to participate in reporting and analysis of the news and other important events and aspects of our daily lives and thereby give a voice to people.

offsite link Army Sergeant Travis Decker Murdered His Three Children After Being Denied Mental Health Care at JBL... Sat Jun 07, 2025 04:52 | JBLM Whistleblowers
A corrupt military police force and incompetent Commander who denied emergency mental health care and crisis counseling to an American service member resulted in the murder of the sergeant's three young daughters

offsite link Gaza doctor grieves her nine children killed in Israeli strike Sun May 25, 2025 20:00 | imc
Israeli regime continues it's slaughter
'The children were completely charred'

Paediatrician Alaa al-Najjar was treating victims of Israeli attacks when her children were killed by an Israeli strike on their home

offsite link British doctors working in Gaza describe territory as a ?slaughterhouse? Sat May 24, 2025 00:23 | imc
There?s no food getting in so people are starving,? surgeon Tom Potokar says
British doctors working in Gaza have described the territory as a ?slaughterhouse,? where the patients they are treating are severely malnourished.

Plastic surgeons and orthopedic specialists from the UK are based at the Amal and Nasser hospitals in Khan Younis in the south of the territory.

Dr. Tom Potokar, a plastic surgeon specializing in burn injuries, has worked in Gaza 16 times but said this mission had revealed a level of destruction far greater than his last visit in 2023,

offsite link It is time to talk about the Out of Control Immigration. Mon Mar 31, 2025 22:12 | imc
For the last few years since the CV19 scamdemic undocumented immigration into Ireland has surged. No one is allowed discuss it because they do not want any rational debate about it. If you do you are labelled an extremist. However this out of control immigration is fully facilitated by the Irish government and the EU and the shady figure behind the Neo Con movement pushing for endless war, wokeism and globalist agenda.

offsite link [Dublin] National Demonstration for Palestine: End Israeli Apartheid & Genocide Thu Mar 06, 2025 22:35 | ipsc
Sat, 22 March 2025, 13:00 Assemble at the Garden of Remembrance, Parnell Square, Dublin 1
The Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign, supported by over 150 Irish civil society organisations, has called another National Demonstration for Palestine on Saturday 22nd March.

The march will begin at the Garden of Remembrance at 1pm and finish outside the D?il on Molesworth Street/Kildare Street to bring our demands to the Irish government?s doorstep.

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Lockdown Skeptics

The Daily Sceptic

offsite link ?At What Point Did We Become North Korea?? Nigel Farage Tells US Lawmakers in Washington About Starm... Wed Sep 03, 2025 19:05 | Will Jones
Nigel Farage today told US lawmakers in Washington that the UK is in an "awful, authoritarian position" and resembles North Korea as he highlighted the appalling treatment of Graham Linehan and Lucy Connolly.
The post “At What Point Did We Become North Korea?” Nigel Farage Tells US Lawmakers in Washington About Starmer’s “Awful and Authoritarian” UK appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Round-The-World Motorcyclist Has His Bike Stolen in Nottingham Wed Sep 03, 2025 17:11 | Sallust
A round-the-world motorcyclist has had his wheels and his equipment and possessions stolen in Nottingham, after having already travelled through 17 countries on his way from Mumbai to Cape Town via London.
The post Round-The-World Motorcyclist Has His Bike Stolen in Nottingham appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Graham Linehan to Sue Metropolitan Police for Wrongful Arrest Wed Sep 03, 2025 15:34 | Will Jones
Graham Linehan has said he will sue the Metropolitan Police for wrongful arrest and a breach of his free speech rights as Met Commissioner Mark Rowley says officers should not get involved in "toxic culture wars".
The post Graham Linehan to Sue Metropolitan Police for Wrongful Arrest appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Rayner Must Be Sacked After Admitting Underpaying Tax on Second Home, Demands Badenoch Wed Sep 03, 2025 13:00 | Will Jones
Angela Rayner is fighting for her political future as Kemi Badenoch demands Keir Starmer sack her after she referred herself to the ethics adviser following an admission that she did not pay enough tax on her second home.
The post Rayner Must Be Sacked After Admitting Underpaying Tax on Second Home, Demands Badenoch appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Britain?s Descent Towards Civil War is No Accident Wed Sep 03, 2025 11:23 | Michael Rainsborough
Britain's descent towards civil war is no accident, says Professor Michael Rainsborough. Decades of 'divide and rule' policies from the radical Leftists who have colonised our institutions were revolutionary by intent.
The post Britain’s Descent Towards Civil War is No Accident appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

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Voltaire Network
Voltaire, international edition

offsite link Will intergovernmental institutions withstand the end of the "American Empire"?,... Sat Apr 05, 2025 07:15 | en

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?127 Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:38 | en

offsite link Disintegration of Western democracy begins in France Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:00 | en

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?126 Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:39 | en

offsite link The International Conference on Combating Anti-Semitism by Amichai Chikli and Na... Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:31 | en

Voltaire Network >>

Ostensibly Proving a Commitment to Free Speech

category cork | rights, freedoms and repression | other press author Wednesday January 18, 2012 17:35author by Cathal Larkin - Cork Against Fascism - personal capacity Report this post to the editors

From this week's UCC Express, the Newspaper of Cork University. It doesn't have an online edition.

“If we, as a modern society, don’t believe in free speech for those whom we disagree with, then perhaps it should be questioned whether we believe in free speech at all”, wrote Chair of the Government and Politics Society, Ben English, in a recent letter to the Irish Times. This was after the Society proved their uncompromising commitment to free speech by inviting British fascist Nick Griffin to a debate in UCC. Of course there are many other, far more interesting, ways the Politics Society could demonstrate that commitment. They could hold a talk on control of the media, or invite a speaker from a marginalised group. Or to understand more about fascism and the rise of far-right parties across Europe, they could host a discussion among experts in the field.

Instead, the Society decided British National Party leader, Nick Griffin, is the man to spend the university’s money on. A contributing factor was hardly the desire for an intellectually stimulating evening, but him being an idiot most people disagree with is not a reason to oppose the debate happening. Nor is the fact that he has two convictions for racial hatred, denies the holocaust and is homophobic to the point of celebrating the bombings of gay bars. Neither should he be stopped speaking because his party have likened rape to being force-fed chocolate cake. To give a platform to someone who holds such views obviously shows terrible judgement on the part of those who invited him; but if these were the only issues, it would be better to just ignore the debate. Griffin and his party, however, don't just hold racist, misogynistic and homophobic views, but are also fascist organisers and the event will be used for fascist organising. This is the key reason why we should all pressure the university to cancel it.

Since the 1930s, Ireland has been luckily free of fascist street violence; however Britain has not. There we see a direct correlation between areas of BNP strength and racially motivated attacks. If you walk a little bit camp or are not white where the BNP have a gang organised, you are at serious risk of vicious assault. A few months ago The Sunday World published two stories revealing, thanks to an undercover reporter, that the BNP are trying to get a foothold in Ireland and already have in the country a network of contacts. While we are yet to see visibly active fascist gangs, “Keep Ireland White” and other racist stickers do intermittently appear on street poles showing there is a far-right presence.

Fascist organising at the February debate of course won’t happen with Griffin passing around a sign-up sheet, or from the platform inviting any wannabe fascists to a private meeting. Rather, organisers in the crowd will approach people who seemed impressed by Griffin after the meeting. And from that the nucleus of a ‘beat the snot out anyone who’s not white or straight’ gang could be formed. Alternatively, Griffin’s presence in the city could be used online to organise a private gathering of fascists.

“No no”, the Politics Society would no doubt respond, “Griffin’s views will be robustly challenged by the other speaker and from the floor, and the strength of our rational arguments will leave him looking ridiculous.” Not to question the quality of the arguments, and their most likely brilliant delivery; but the Politics Society don’t understand how fascism attracts people. It’s not like someone comes home from work one day and says to their wife, “honey, I’m thinking of becoming a homophobic racist, tonight I'll go to the university and check out the Nick Griffin debate to see how well these ideas stand up to rational scrutiny.” When the BBC had Griffin on Question Time in 2009, he was predictably made to look like an idiot by smarter people, but the party still grows. Modern fascism is the product of severe social exclusion and a sense of total powerlessness in an alienating, subjugating world. To think it can be stopped with a well held debate is delusional, risky, and irresponsible.

Nonetheless, Society chair Ben English thinks: “Freedom of speech is not, nor should it ever be subjective”. The BNP have a website and an online TV channel, but English seems to conceptualise free speech as the right to speak at a UCC debate, and then puts his dubiously constructed conception above people’s safety. That is of course, other people’s safety, as it's probably safe to assume that not many of the Politics Society's members live in the kind of marginalised areas where fascists usually organise. It’s revealing to note how university societies so often invite fascists to debates but never invite, for example, a supporter of a group like Al Qaeda. Obviously the threat that a small group of ruthless and organised terrorists pose to innocent people is recognised. To which innocent people is quite unpredictable, unlike with the group assaults delivered by fascists. The predictable victims of their attacks pay the price for the Government and Politics Society's irresponsibility.

Related Link: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cork-Against-Fascism/282925025097942
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