At a Press Conference today Free Gaza say that passengers on the boat kidnapped by Israel are held in a detention centre and are not allowed to see an Attorney.

The plight of Palestinians who are also incarcerated in Israel is mentioned and a request is made for world-wide help and action for them also

(E-mail addresses have been removed).
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Protestant abuse victims must also be heard
Irish Times, Wednesday, July 1, 2009

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2009/0701/1....html

OPINION: Victims of Protestant prejudice and State neglect are at a disadvantage, writes DEREK LEINSTER

YOU DON’T have to be a Catholic to be listened to as a victim of institutional abuse, but it seems to help. That is my experience as a Protestant victim of institutional neglect. Like all sufferers, I am a victim of prejudice.

It was prejudice that forced my mother into the Bethany Home in Orwell Road, Rathgar in 1941 for the “social sin” (as one cleric put it) of being pregnant out of wedlock. To add to her burden, her gestating baby had a Catholic father. Marriage in those circumstances was out, and so was I, fostered out to a dysfunctional family in Wicklow where I was beaten black and blue and (I mention it since it seems to be what Irish people are most interested in) sexually molested. read full story / add a comment

Sunday June 28th saw the most intense burst of direct action against Shell in Erris so far in this phase of the campaign to thwart the Great Gas Robbery and the destruction of Erris along with its community. A tripod on a road bridge near McGrath's Bar held up vital repair gear for the pipeline winching operation for over four hours. This was followed up by a five-person lock-on on the same road a bit nearer the Shell compound. Together, they delayed winching operations for twelve hours, and there were nine arrests in all. Meanwhile, three Solidarity Campers managed to sneak into the Shell compound at Glengad and get out without being arrested. read full story / add a comment

Working people continue to bear the brunt of the economic recession in terms on job cuts, poverty wages and house repossessions, while the rich and powerful in our society are bailed out again. This is state capitalism and comes under various forms from thatcherism to neo-liberalism.

The Belfast Anarchist Communist Discussion Group, set up by the Belfast branch of the Workers Solidarity Movement recently invited Michael Reinsborough to give a talk on the topic of neo-liberalism.

The public meeting took place on Wednesday 17th June in the Belfast Unemployment Centre.
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In a reprise of last year's repeated arrests on the waters of Broadhaven Bay, Shell's Gardai have arrested Pat 'the Chief' O'Donnell and his son Jonathan while they were fishing in Broadhaven Bay this morning. Their two boats were commandeered by Gardai and brought to Ballyglass pier under tow and naval escort. Gardai claim that the two boats were 'loitering', the new term for criminalising fishermen exercising their rights to fish in their native waters. Pat's brother Martin is currently still on the water in the bay fishing in his boat. Meanwhile the Solitaire is less than an hour away from arriving off Glengad. read full story / add a comment

The Iranian government’s campaign to mold ‘model’ Islamic citizens has not only fashioned a profound crisis of loyalty to the religious ‘ideals of the revolution’, it has nurtured action that many have silently prayed for - as the public sphere, the last bastion of the religious elites grip on power, was shot open by their own guns Sunday. read full story / add a comment

Hi folks!
In the most hysterical hatchet-job to date on the campaign against Shell's discredited and disastrous inland refinery experiment in north Mayo, Sunday World crime-fighter Paul Williams turns shock jock as he presents a "documentary" about the Corrib Gas project on TV3 at 9pm on Tuesday, 2nd June. To accompany what is set to be an entertaining farce, we bring you a one-off Telly Bingo game so you can track whether any facts, relevant information or editorial balance creeps into the show. read full story / add a comment

Balazs Nagy: Can you tell a few words about yourself and how you got to the situation that you are in?

Victor Agosto: Ok, I am Victor Agosto, I joined the Army of the United States in August of 2005. I was sent to Iraq in October of 2006. And I stayed there until November of 2007. And while I was in Iraq I turned against both wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And now my unit is sending me to Afghanistan - or wants to send me to Afghanistan - but I have already told them that I am not going to go and that I am not going to obey any orders supporting my unit's deployment to Afghanistan. read full story / add a comment

In April, twenty six traffic attendants were sacked for resorting to a half-day un-official strike, after management ignored their grievances over working conditions. read full story / add a comment

Upcoming launch for Pathways To Palestine, affiliated with MAP [Medical Aid Palestine ] this Wednesday. The 4000 mile cycle aims to raise money for humanitarian aid and awareness of the plight of ordinary civilians in Gaza.

4 Students.
4000 miles.
14 countries.
40 days. read full story / add a comment

The long running struggle in Erris (Rossport) against Shell's attempt to impose an experimental gas pipeline on the local community has erupted in recent days with repeated local direct actions against the compound Shell are trying to construct. Meanwhile the state, at the behest of Shell, continues to press vindictive prosecutions against local activists. Back in March retired school teacher Maura Harrington for jailed for 30 days, today the state returned for another pound of flesh and she was sentenced to another 7-10 days in Mountjoy prison. At very short notice over 20 activists from Dublin Shell to Sea gathered at the prison gates and showed their outrage by blocking the entrance of the prison van containing Maura in to Mountjoy for about twenty minutes. read full story / add a comment

On Saturday 9th May, the Belfast branch of the WSM held a public meeting at An Culturlann in West Belfast on ‘Can Direct Action achieve success’.

Contributions from former Visteon workers, Dessie McEnroe and Mark O’Hara on their participation in the occupation, building links with fellow workers and lessons learnt.

Here is a short report and audio recording from the discussions.
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The Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) were present at this year's Mayday march in Dublin City. The IPSC formed one of the biggest contingents in a very poorly attended demonstration. I can't say for definitely, but it was suggested, several times by different people in attendance, that this was the smallest Dublin mayday march ever - why this was the case is not for me to say. read full story / add a comment

As part of this year’s Mayday celebrations the Anarchist Communist Discussion Group formed by the WSM, hosting a talk on ‘The roots of Mayday and its relevance today.” The talk took place on Tuesday 5th May in Belfast city centre. read full story / add a comment

Tesco are just putting the finishing touches to a shiny new store complete with multi storey carpark that puts another nail in the coffin of any character that the centre of Douglas had left. (Two shopping centres, A Topaz garage, lots of carparking space , a McDonald’s…. you get the picture. There is a nice Farmer’s market in the park on Saturday though). Anyway, that aside, Tesco is trying to lay off all its workers and then rehire them under tighter contracts. The first lay offs are meant to begin tomorrow (30th April). The workers, supported by Mandate, their union, are out on strike until this is sorted out.

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Three speakers talk about the pro-choice struggles in Ireland they were involved in over the last three decades. These include the 1983 anti-referendum campaign, the Womens' Information Network, the SPUC v students case, Dublin Abortion Information Campaign, X-Case, Repeal 8th Amendment, 1992 Referendum, Dublin Abortion Rights Group, Alliance for a No Vote, 1998 referendum, Choice Ireland and the D-Case. read full story / add a comment

Interview conducted today at the plant. Workers remain determined to achieve their demands despite attempts by the administrators to evict them.

Solidarity is Strength! read full story / add a comment

Yesterday Torab Saleh who took part in the Iranian revolution of 1979 spoke in Dublin of his personal experiences of that time and the challenges it presented to him and others on the left. This is the audio recording of that meeting. read full story / add a comment

Shell's illegal Glengad compound was dismantled last night and Goldman winner, Willie Corduff was assaulted by masked Shell security during truck protest.
Yesterday Shell’s attempts to restart their works on the Corrib Gas project were ground to a halt after only eight hours. At 6-30 a workforce of about 20, backed up by around 50 private security guards erected fences to re-establish a compound. This compound is the would-be on-shore pipe installation base. Works were seriously hampered when local people and solidarity camp activists occupied machinery.

By 4 o clock Rossport Five member Willie Corduff was still refusing to leave the from under the truck, which he had occupied in the compound and all work had ground to a halt. Shell were unable to continue as Willie was preventing necessary equipment being used.
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On Ocean FM's 'Paddy Clancy' show, (Saturday 11/04/09) , the Tánaiste informed listeners how everyone knows that shoppers are only going across the border for cheap booze. Appearently the €800million in vat revenues lost to cross border shopping is as a result of the legions of Irish people searching out bargain booze in the north of Ireland.

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