Last Sunday, the 7th of July, a crowd of 100,000 gathered at the Salthill Air Show. Treated to a display of military prowess billed as the 'greatest free show in Europe', the crowd 'ooh'd' and 'aah'd' as Hercules helicopters, F-15s and a B1 bomber streaked overhead. Defending the air show, The Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, who opened proceedings, announced that allowing military aircraft to entertain crowds was not a breach of Irish Neutrality (see Irish Times article). The Galway Anti-War Alliance disagree. They made a loud and vocal protest at the show, airing their contempt for aircraft like the B-1, and pointing out that the price of one B-1 could provide clean water to several thousand villages in the third world (see their press release).

There are allegations that Irish neutrality, which the government claim they are protecting in the current round of Nice treaty negotiations, has been quietly eroded for years now. US military aircraft have been landing in Shannon, refueling, and taking off for the Middle East since the Gulf War (report). Since September 11th the amount of US military traffic coming through Shannon has dramatically increased (reports 1, 2, 3). No longer content with simply refueling they are now carrying out training exercises, something that is mostly unreported in our mainstream news.

The Irish government's claims that these are merely transport aircraft rings false with reported sightings of F-16s and AC-130s landing at the airport. It was an AC-130, which bombed the wedding party in Kandihar last week.

Limerick is several thousand miles from Afghanistan, but it is clear that there are ties between the quiet comings and goings in Shannon and America's 'War on Terror'. Our government is loudly fighting to secure Irish neutrality at the EU summit in Seville, and at the same time quietly breaching our neutrality daily in Shannon.

Related link: Refueling for peace

The situation in Palestine has become more and more extreme in the last couple of weeks. Reports are emerging regularly which detail the use of mass internment against Palestinian civilians living in refugee camps. Many Israelis and foreign observers have been taken aback at the dark symbolism of reports of internees having numbers printed on their skin.

Meanwhile the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the targeting of Palestinian militants for extra-judicial executions continues despite the arrival of an American peace envoy. A series of shocking photographs of such a killing have been relesed in the last few days. It is all depressingly reminiscent of events in Northern Ireland during the early days of the 'troubles'.

IMC Israel is an excellent source of detailed on-the-ground reports of events as they unfold and shows that the Israeli support for the murderous military campaign against the Intifada is anything but monolithic. Up to 250 Israeli Army Reservists have refused to serve beyond the 1967 borders. Objectors are ending up in Israeli prisons as a result of their protests. Another 2,795 Israeli civilians have declared their support for the Reservists on a second strongly worded document that said: "Since we understand that the missions of occupation and oppression do not serve Israel's defense, we express our solidarity with all those who refuse to engage in them."

Perhaps the most disturbing reports are those which indicate that a large proportion of Israels Jewish citizens are in favour of some kind of ethnic cleansing of the occupied territories.

Reports from IMC Palestine are also regularly posted on the site.

Background information and ongoing analysis of the situation can be found in the Middle East Watch section of Znet

Bank Holiday Monday: up to 1000 people partied hard on the streets of Dublin on the south side of the River Liffey along Burgh Quay and George's Quay. The east end of the quay at Butt Bridge was blocked and at 3pm the party was in full swing with three sound systems, capoeira, football, twister, dancing, bongoing, cheering and guerrilla gardening. As a disused car was pushed onto the street the Gardai made their first attack, arresting 2 or3 people including one on crutches. After 2-3 hours of partying the crowd disbanded into smaller groups, one making its way towards Dame St. and then Civic Offices, Wood Quay. The Gardai then continued attacks with batons, injuring many including children and passers-by and making over 20 arrests. There have been many accusations from all sides of overuse of excessive force by Gardai, and of removing their numbers in order to be anonymous.

New: RTS Legal Update
A meeting of the Legal Defense Group will take place on on Wednesday 29th May - all those who were beaten or charged are invited.
Reclaim the Streets information on legal situation. See also reports of treatment of people who have made complaints: 1   2

Photos 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Audio Video
Full reports of street party + violent aftermath: 1 2 3 4 5

Censoring the media: This photo sequence shows indymedia camerapeople being prevented from filming. Also a camera battery was taken from an Indymedia journalist and an Irish Independent photographer was arrested

Statements from Reclaim the Streets: 1   2   3

Legal Defense Group
A legal defense group has been set up to deal with issues arising from the behaviour of the Gardai, and a solicitor has been retained to persue legal action against them. All those who were assaulted by the Gardai, or witnessed an assault, are being urged to make contact.
Meeting on Wednesday 29th May

On Friday the 26th of April 2002 in NCAD, Dublin, 10 televisions were sacrificed using a sledgehammer, an axe, an aluminum baseball bat and a pick axe. There’s a number of reasons it was done, you can check them out here:

If, on the other hand you just want to look at photographs and video of people thrashing the idiot box you can go straight here:
Photos 1: Feel your pain, TVs.
Photos 2: The Televisions have been Sacrificied
Photos 3: More TV Death

Video 1: Television Sacrificial Ceremony
Video 2: Ultimate TV Carnage

Who thought TV could be this much fun?
Television Sacrifice improves your health:
- at the point of contact of weapon and television tube, endorphins will be released into the bloodstream, reducing stress and alleviating aggression.
- aiming the weapon will improve your hand to eye co-ordination
- whereas watching television will increase your levels of zombification, smashing television actually stimulates thinking and interaction with other humans.
(The original announcement of the event appeared on the newswire here)

The Public Order Act, passed in 1994 and subsequently one of the more draconian and controversial pieces of Irish legislation, has come back into the public eye with the passing of amendments related to "trespassing" in the dying days of the Dáil. Activists have certainly been aware of this Act as it stands, as it's one of the most effective weapons of the Gardai when confronted with any demonstration. Even when it was originally passed, politicians argued about the wording for weeks and the President (Mary Robinson) summoned the Council of State to consider if it was even constitutional. The new offences have the potential, if used in a certain way, to further curtail civil liberties and the right to protest. They are directed towards members of the Traveller community - who have called a protest on May 2nd