Flavia, Photographer from Italy

The Media Centre at the Athens ESF is a bustling hive of activity enabling activists, professional media and anyone who wishes to communicate the ESF to a wider world to do so. So how does the Media Centre work? Everyone volunteers their experience and expertise to help get things off the ground and running smoothly. Two groups involved in setting up and running the support for the Media Centre are Hellug and AWMN. Each was approached a month before the forum to provide the hardware and internet access through their network.

So why did they get involved with the ESF?

'It's fun, it's what we do, we learn something and it's a challenge!' says Mick Flemm (not his real name!).'It's a huge challenge, we've had up to 120 laptops, the media centre computers connected onto a backup system we weren't sure would work!' Cirrus, who finshed his service in the Greek army just 3 months ago, describes how it's the biggest single project they've been involved with. When asked about problems all eyes go up to heaven with lots of gesticulating and pooh pooh sounds. 'Problems?' he asks, 'we found chaos! We had to cable the entire network and phone lines and only got access to the main server two days ago!' Mick Flemm adds ' we didn't know if the bandwidth and access points we set up would have enough capacity for everyone, if we had enough coverage. Now it's great, OTE has set up their network and we can now do video streaming which we weren't able to do before'.

Initial reports coming in from the ESF in Athens, courtesy of Indymedia Irelands own Paula Geraghty, include photo essays here, here and here; and a description of the media centre.

"Ha! Get Down There Young Fella Ya'll Only Do Yourself An Injury

Wicklow based Basta youth collective, a radical non-profit youth group, are to find themselves homeless as Paddy’s Hall in Greystones has been boarded up.

The group of self-organised teenagers have been using the hall for over a year to put on alcohol free, drugs free gigs as well as film showings and providing space for their Basta drama group.

Paddy’s hall has been the groups base of operations since they formed in October 2004 and has played host to bands from across Ireland as well as American and European acts. It has also provided space for many local bands to play who wouldn’t normally have a chance to play to large crowds of their peers.

Originally owned by the local protestant church the hall was sold on to a consortium of developers who allowed Basta to continue using it so long as they provided their own insurance. The hall is now to be boarded up as local youths are constantly breaking in and vandalising the building.

Some Related Links:

Basta Youth Collective Mission Statement | Punkforit - a forum where parts of the scene that has developed around the Basta Youth Collective engage in discussions on politics, culture etc | Photo's from Basta's Xmas and NY's afternoon gig. | Radio Doc on Hope Promotions, who were diy gig promoters doing rock/hardcore gigs in Dublin between 1987 – 1999 whose memory still inspires people today

Dermot Mannion

As the lies about European restrictions on investment begin to unravel you don't have to be a socialist, to be concerned about the employees or even worried about transport links to feel that Aer Lingus should stay in state hands.

This is not a sentimental or political debate.

This is just a rip off.

Camp Re-Opening

Last weekend Rossport Solidarity Camp was re-opened. The origin of the camp was the Solidarity Gathering on the first weekend in June last year. This happened days after Shell were due to start work at Glengad, a beach across the estuary from Rossport, work which has yet to commence. This gathering also saw the inauguration of the national wing of Shell to Sea.

The background to these events was attempts to enter farmlands to build the Rossport part of the pipeline, and injunctions from the High Court. (There had been a NUI Galway Ecology Society visit to the area in February). The camp began as Rossport residents prevented Shell’s trucks from entering their village with a ‘park in’. Another notable event at that time, the middle of June, was a visit to the area by some shareholders, who got a bit of a shock.

With the imprisonment of Willie Corduff, Brendan Philbin, Vincent McGrath, Philip McGrath and Micheal O‘Seighin, on the 29th of June, mass picketing began on all active Shell sites in Erris, see Rossport Resistance Steps Up a Gear, Report from Rossport, Photo Report from Rossport, A Few Days of Struggle in North West Mayo.

At this time the camp got up and running, in Rossport, and with an off-shoot in Glengad, and occasional other off-shoots in various parts of the proposed pipeline route. Campers picketed the Rossport compound, which was successfully closed down, and the camp also served as a sort of info-point to where people could travel and learn about what is happening. Good reports from the camp last summer are here and here.

The camp organised the Tenth Grassroots Gathering at the end of August, as well as the solidarity week.
Read on for a full report with photos on the re-opening on the camp:

Gardai help a car through the picket

An ongoing dispute between members of the Building and Allied Trades Union (BATU) and Collen Brothers construction which has led to the jailing of three workers now appears to be escalating into a major dispute between workers and the company. Today (Feb 21st 2006) a picket at one of Collen's sites at University College Dublin (UCD) Belfield managed to halt work despite the presence of 60 hostile Gardai.

Despite the actions of the Gardai, which involved an early arrest of a picketeer and the construction of roadblocks in order to attempt to impede people joining the picket, there was no damage or trouble. A succesful blockade of the site was undertaken with the assistance of UCD Student Union. The Student Union had earlier passed a resolution supporting the 3 jailed bricklayers.

Although instinctive sympathies run high in support of the men, there are some questions over whether the demand for "local labour" as opposed to "union only" is diverting the campaign into a xenophobic dead-end. This could be a significant misstep in maintaining public sympathy and the sympathy of the broader labour movement.

Update: Feb22 Garda/Collen actions condemned. Feb23 picket continues