Jerrie Ann Sullivan, one of the women who made a recording public in the Garda "rape tape" controversy, has said that the Garda Ombudsman investigation into the incident has been "about protecting An Garda Síochána".

But James Gill, the sergeant found to have made remarks about two female protesters arrested at a controversial Shell gas project at Erris, Co Mayo will escape any action because he recently retired. ... read full story / add a comment

Profit takes precedence as drinks industry representative body tries to downplay damning report about alcohol and it's relationship with domestic violence and rape in Ireland. In light of this report, perhaps those in government who still have some semblance of a moral compass remaining could override their complete deference to money, economic considerations and profit as the most important things in our society, and might now consider removing sales of cheap alcohol from supermarkets. This is long overdue as the strains on our already underfunded health system from alcohol related cases and the social breakdown exacerbated by the availability of cheap alcohol, often cheaper than bottled water, are becoming more and more pronounced. ... read full story / add a comment

Sharing Ireland is an informal project to connect anyone in Ireland who is interested in non-commercial culture. We want to encourage varied and meaningful forms of direct sharing, cooperation and mutual aid. ... read full story / add a comment

Three horses died on Cheltenham’s first day. ... read full story / add a comment

Red meat is not only unhealthy but can be positively lethal, according to new research ... read full story / add a comment

A good analysis of the EU fiscal treaty which we will naively be voting "yes" on. Be very afraid! It's only a permanent austerity treaty biased against social spending. ... read full story / add a comment

Issue 47 of Red Banner is available now. €2 / £1.50 from bookshops or the address above. ... read full story / add a comment

Eamonn McCann in todays Belfast telegraph writes about the 'losing' of Marian Prices pardon ... read full story / add a comment

Marian Price has been moved to Hydebank Wood a womens prison while her lawyers are set to begin judicial review proceedings against her internment.
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"Left" groups of a similar stamp to the ULA are being integrated into the highest echelons of government in other parts of Europe to act as responsible oppositions to austerity measures . One such group is Germany's Die Link , the Left Party , whose representative Christine Buchholz sits on the country's Defence Committee, a body 'charged with defending “the security of the country and of Germany’s allies, as well as the interests of Bundeswehr [armed forces] personnel on active service.”'
Shilton argues that the ULA is seen by the Troika as “a useful safety valve for popular opposition to the austerity policies of the major parties, and a potential future collaborator in government to defend the capitalist system against the working class. “
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PATRICIA Campbell worked as a nurse in the Belfast Trust for over 10 years, with a career that spanned a quarter of a century. However, ever since a minor accidental misdemeanour resulted in her dismissal, she has been engaged in an uphill battle to hold her employers to account. ... read full story / add a comment

Eoghan Harris never lets up on the killers of Jerry McCabe. But what does he have to say about the killers of RUC inspector Elliott? Harris was a member of Official Sinn Fein when this killing took place. The OIRA were supposedly on ceasefire for 2 1/2 years. There is no record of Harris condemning the killing of Insp Elliot at the timet. Will he condemn it now and explain why he thought it was ok in 1974?

Could it be that Harris is a hypocrite?

Two men have been arrested by detectives investigating the murder of a policeman shot dead during a bank robbery in Northern Ireland almost 40 years ago. RUC Inspector Bill Elliott was gunned down as he attended the scene of the robbery in north Belfast in 1974.

The 58- and 61-year-old suspects were detained in Co Antrim this morning. They have been taken to the police’s serious crime suite in Antrim town for questioning. Mr Elliott was driving on his own when he heard news that a robbery was under way at the Ulster Bank in the Rathcoole area in September 1974. The 48-year-old, who was married with a son, raced to the scene and died after a shootout with republicans from the Official IRA who were armed with two submachine guns and a pistol.

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Issue 46 of Red Banner is out now, available from bookshops or the address above for €2 / £1.50. ... read full story / add a comment

Anne McShane writes about the cutbacks, the DCTU march and the inadequacies of the fughtback campaign to date. On November 26 2,000 demonstrators marched in Dublin against the December 5-6 budget. This budget marks year two of a four-year plan to slash public spending and raise taxes - all part of stringency measures imposed by the International Monetary Fund/European Central Bank 2010 bailout.

The numbers on this year’s demonstration were tiny compared to last November. Then a mass demonstration was organised by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. An estimated 150,000 braved snow and ice to show their opposition to the strategy of draconian austerity. Militant speeches were given by the president of ICTU, Jack O’Connor, and its secretary, David Begg. Both pledged their active and wholehearted resistance to the IMF/ECB deal and vowed to defeat it. ... read full story / add a comment

This is a short report back by the WSM on Saturday's (Nov 26th) Dublin Council of Trade Unions protest march against the austerity cuts imposed by the IMF and ECB. ... read full story / add a comment

This article questions why the current crisis has so far failed to bring us together as a people and why, in the face of the prospect of economic meltdown, we're still merrily clinging to the status quo of individualism and conservatism. It also asks what role a progressive nationalism has to play in getting us out of the crisis. ... read full story / add a comment

How can the Irish people vote for a former Fianna Fáil luminary after all that has happened under the watch of the Soldiers of Density? ... read full story / add a comment

What baffles me about the current controversies over undercover policing in Britain is that what would be considered a serious breach of policing ethics over there would be considered mild in terms of British policing over here. Two stories came together this week to illustrate the point: allegations that an undercover cop in Reclaim the Streets organisations lied in court to protect his identity coincided with far more serious allegations regarding collusion on Monday's BBC Spotlight. All the while, politicians who ignore what the RUC did in the North are still asking Gerry Adams to condemn (again) the killing of Garda Gerry McCabe; they seem to think there were only a handful of victims in the conflict and they were all killed by the IRA. ... read full story / add a comment

Paddy Duffy chats with Executive Director in Amnesty International Ireland and campaigner and journalist Orla Tinsley about activism, their campaigning experiences and any advice they may have for young people in Ireland who wish to make change. October 15th 2011 at Dublin Contemporary. Introduced by SpunOut.ie Founder Ruairí McKiernan and Kathy Scott from the Office of Non Compliance and the Ireland-Iceland Project. Hosted by the Office of Non Compliance at Dublin Contemporary. ... read full story / add a comment

IRISH TIMES Mon, Oct 17, 2011 KITTY HOLLAND Higgins the big winner after FG's Mitchell pulls out http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/1017/1....html YOUTH FORUM: LABOUR CANDIDATE Michael D Higgins comfortably won over an audience of young people at a presidential youth forum in Dublin at the weekend, to which all seven candidates had been invited, but just five attended. While Dana “just declined the invitation” to the SpunOut.ie Youth Rising forum, Fine Gael candidate Gay Mitchell “cancelled at the last minute”, according to organiser Ruairí McKiernan. “I’m pretty disappointed in him. This was organised three months ago and last night he said he had to go to Cork instead. I think it says a lot about his attitude.” ... read full story / add a comment