If there is a vote on the Euro compact campagainers should not go up a blind alley.

A lot of Irish Government and establishment figures dont actually know much about the workings of Europe in depth when you scatch
the surface.

Dont waste time on them. read full story / add a comment

After they had agreed the final wording of the intergovernmental agreement—the "Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union"—the member-states of the euro area pronounced that the treaty “represents a major step towards closer and irrevocable fiscal and economic integration and stronger governance in the euro area,” which they claimed “will significantly bolster the outlook for fiscal sustainability and euro area sovereign debt and enhance growth.”

According to the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, the euro-zone member-states have set themselves on an “irreversible course towards a fiscal union.” She told an international gathering at Davos:

“We have to become used to the European Commission becoming more and more like a government.” read full story / add a comment

Theresa is serving 6 months for crossing the line at the School of the Americas, Ft Benning, Georgia, USA last November on the anniversary of the slaying of 6 Jesuits & 2 Salvadoran co-workers (mother & daughter). They were murdered by Salvadoran troops recently returned from training at S.O.A. Ft Benning. There was a solidarity vigil last November at the U.S. embassy Dublin while the nonviolent resistance wa taking place to close this School of Assasins at Ft. Benning. read full story / add a comment

A new study led by the Georgia Institute of Technology provides further evidence of a relationship between melting ice in the Arctic regions and widespread cold outbreaks in the Northern Hemisphere. The study's findings could be used to improve seasonal forecasting of snow and temperature anomalies across northern continents.

Since the level of Arctic sea ice set a new record low in 2007, significantly above-normal winter snow cover has been seen in large parts of the northern United States, northwestern and central Europe, and northern and central China. During the winters of 2009-2010 and 2010-2011, the Northern Hemisphere measured its second and third largest snow cover levels on record.

"Our study demonstrates that the decrease in Arctic sea ice area is linked to changes in the winter Northern Hemisphere atmospheric circulation," said Judith Curry, chair of the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Georgia Tech. "The circulation changes result in more frequent episodes of atmospheric blocking patterns, which lead to increased cold surges and snow over large parts of the northern continents." read full story / add a comment

DO YOU KNOW that Ireland could hold the Eurozone at our mercy regarding our national debt, the Anglo-Irish promissory notes and the terms of the Troika’s Memorandum of Understanding? This can be done by requiring a referendum instead of Oireachtas approval of the “Decision” of the EU 27 to amend Art.136 of the EU Treaties so as to authorize the establishment of a permanent €500 billion fund for the Eurozone, the “European Stability Mechanism Fund”, to which Ireland must contribute €11 billion? read full story / add a comment

“It would be tragic and fatal if we were to lose democracy on the road to saving the euro”

- Dr Andreas Vosskuhle, President of the German Constitutional Court, 2011

“There are 27 of us. Clearly, down the line, we will have to include the Balkans. There will be 32, 33 or 34 of us. No one thinks that federalism, total integration, will be possible with 33, 34, or 35 States. Clearly there will be a two-speed Europe: one speed that moves towards a Federation for the Eurozone and one speed for a Confederation within the European Union.”  

- French President Sarkozy, 8 Nov. 2011 
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YOUTUBE -"Giuseppe Conlon" performed by Joe Black at Giuseppe Conlon House, London

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQsUcLAx03U&list=UUn6VMo...=plcp

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Evidence is mounting recent weeks that hare coursing can no longer ward off accusations of deliberate cruelty and ecological vandalism. Opposition to it is increasing, with a former district court judge and the prestigious Irish Wildlife Trust caoming out in favour of its abolition. read full story / add a comment

In the first comprehensive satellite study of its kind, a University of Colorado at Boulder-led team used NASA data to calculate how much Earth's melting land ice is adding to global sea level rise.

Using satellite measurements from the NASA/German Aerospace Center Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), the researchers measured ice loss in all of Earth's land ice between 2003 and 2010, with particular emphasis on glaciers and ice caps outside of Greenland and Antarctica.

The total global ice mass lost from Greenland, Antarctica and Earth's glaciers and ice caps during the study period was about 4.3 trillion tons (1,000 cubic miles), adding about 0.5 inches (12 millimeters) to global sea level. That's enough ice to cover the United States 1.5 feet (0.5 meters) deep. read full story / add a comment

Seven Catholic Workers, a Quaker, a doctor and a priest were detained and searched following the marking of the M.O.D. Buiding in Whitehall in an anti-nuclear weapons action on Ash Wenesday read full story / add a comment

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions has criticised spending cuts in the community and voluntary sector as “short-sighted and ultimately self-defeating.” Launching a new study on the impact of cuts – Downsizing the Community Sector – Congress General Secretary David Begg said it was clear many of the cuts were taking place “below the radar and out of the spotlight. But their impact is enormous. In many communities these cuts are eroding the social fabric, eating away at what binds those communities together,” he said. read full story / add a comment

The constant removal of sand is now threatening the existence of the islanders. When the affected inhabitants of the islands observed the vulnerability and realized that the authorities were doing little to protect their land from the illegal sand-miners, hundreds islanders including women and children came out of their houses on 3 October 2011. They captured one dredger and six perpetrators while the remainder of the dredging workers and perpetrators fled the scene. read full story / add a comment

A national organization representing thousands of military veterans is calling on the US Army to abandon court martial proceedings against Private Bradley Manning, the accused Wikileaks whistleblower. The young soldier, who has been imprisoned for 21 months, will be formally arraigned today (Thursday, Feb. 23) at Fort Meade, Maryland. Army prosecutors say they will file 22 charges against PFC Manning, including “aiding the enemy,” a crime that can be punished by the death penalty or life in prison. read full story / add a comment

Israeli Apartheid Week is an annual international series of events held across the globe. The aim is to educate people about the nature of Israeli apartheid against the Palestinian people and to build the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement locally and globally. Last year, IAW took place in over 60 cities across the globe and this year the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (http://www.ipsc.ie) is proud to again host a series of events in Ireland. read full story / add a comment

On Tuesday Shell to Sea spokesperson Terence Conway was handed two 3-month prison sentences for protesting against Shell's Corrib Gas Project. Throughout the week local residents have been protesting on the roads while many of their supporters are up in court in Belmullet, which so far has resulted in fines totalling 5,825 euro. read full story / add a comment

The right-wing Heartland Institute think-tank , which produces anti-scientific propaganda for climate change denial purposes , has often been criticized for its links to mining, oil and mineral extraction industries . These links would seem to have been confirmed by the publishing of documents on the Desmogblog site on February 14 that , if authentic, reveal much of the "inner workings " of Heartlands . read full story / add a comment

This short video gives a summary of reasons why workers employed in the Community Sector need to organise in order to defend the vital services they provide. It's time for all Community Workers to demand their right to collective bargaining, and have their say over the future of the Community and Voluntary Sector! Join us on the Road to Recognition! read full story / add a comment

In Belmullet district court on Monday 20th February, 6 campaigners were
convicted of a total of 13 charges between them with fines totaling 3,035
euros. While this went on, local residents blocked Shell's haulage route
between Bellanaboy refinery and the compound in Glengad.
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The Government seems determined to push ahead in the next few months with the ratification of two important treaties: the “Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union” and the revised “Treaty on the European Stability Mechanism.”

The two treaties would make member-states of the euro zone into regimes of economic austerity, involving deeper and deeper cuts in public expenditure, increases in indirect taxes, reductions in wages, sustained liberalisation of markets, and the privatisation of public property. read full story / add a comment

Music, dancing, games and a bit of trespassing. read full story / add a comment