All of the Peruvian commercial media regardless of their stance on the recent presidential elections have combined forces to condemn Hugo Chavez, "the Caudillo" who in his latest demonstration of megolomania has threatened to withdraw the Venezuelan diplomatic mission from Lima if Garcia is elected.

indymedia peru are calling for a support of indefinite strikes and have not featured the election (*)

Meanwhile the Peruvian state has appealed to all international bodies to safeguard the legitimacy of the second round of Presidential voting. read full story / add a comment

From Monday or Tuesday May 1st-2nd, a patient information pack containing information about Parkinson's, about some of the complications that can occur and how they are best treated, and about the Parkinson's Association of Ireland, may b collected by every person with Parkinson's (or someone else on their behalf) from their local pharmacy. THis has been a huge project, and we hope to reach EVERY person with Parkinson's. There is no cost for this folder; it is free, and hopefully will be read from cover to cover! More than Meets the Eye - that's the campaign title - there is more than meets the eye to Parkinson's. read full story / add a comment

There was a small enough turnout as per usual at this years May Day demonstration. Though suprisingly there was a very visible contingent of communists. read full story / add a comment

Implications of Minister For Justice' comments and actions around the February 25 riots; relationship of same to Minister's re-write of the criminal code currently under consideration by the Dail. read full story / add a comment

Neville Chamberline returned from his final meeting with Adolf Hitler waving a piece of white paper claiming that Hitler had given him an assurances about Germanys expantionist intentions. We all know what happened next.
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The points system for entry into university is a token of what was a fascination in Ireland with selection processes. Is it time to relax? read full story / add a comment

New Song read full story / add a comment

Uncivil Servant stand accused of playing politics at General Council. Uncivil Servant does not have anyone on General Council. read full story / add a comment

Erris drinking water comes from Carrowmore Lake. The lake is becoming heavily contaminated with aluminium as a by-product of the removal of peat from the site of the giant gas refinery that Shell seek to construct at Beal an Átha Buí (known in English as Ballinaboy or Bellinaboy).

As a part of Shell's scheme the company's contractors have had to transfer tons of peat from Beal an Átha Buí to a facility owned and operated by Bord na Móna at Srahmore. Underneath the top layer of peat is a substance called dobe, which has a very high aluminium content. Rain causes pools of aluminium contaminated water on the site to overflow and run into nearby Carrowmore Lake. Carrowmore Lake is the source of Mayo County Council's drinking water supply for the Erris area.

Controversy has raged about the condition of the drinking water in Erris, since it was found that the water treatment machinery that Shell's contractors are using has never worked to its full capacity. Shell to Sea observers have recorded that the machinery meant to purify the water has rarely worked at all.

The local authority has claimed that there is no problem with the water in Carrowmore Lake. The Council's own testing regime has detected high aluminium content in the drinking water, but instead of properly investigating, they have claimed that this is a consequence of human error in the laboratory.

Campaigners from Shell to Sea set up a table on Friday at lunchtime at the pedestrian entrance to the the Customs House and offered glasses of water from the Erris drinking water supply to staff of the Department of the Environment and Local Government as they leave for lunch.

An invitation to attend the water tasting event was sent to Environment Minister Dick Roche, but no reply was received, and of course he didn't appear.

Unsurprisingly, no one accepted the offer of a glass of water, nor did anyone from the Department come out to speak to the protesters.

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In spite of efforts by Euro MEP Sean O'Neachtain and others to discredit the facts that the CIA has been using Shannon airport for its torture rendition programme, the truth is gradually leaking out. It may take several years for so-called "concrete evidence" such as lists of tortured prisoners who were "rendered" through Shannon, and details of Irish government ministers knowledge and approval of these crimes, to become public, but this will come too. read full story / add a comment