Grand Canal, 3rd Lock, Inchicore, Dublin - iced over or not! read full story / add a comment

In a letter published today in the Irish Times ( https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/letters/israel-and-arms-trade-...78396 ) newspaper, Minister of State Finian McGrath and fifty other Irish TDs and Senators have called for an arms embargo to be placed on Israel, and for “an end to the bi-lateral arms trade between Ireland and the apartheid state”.

In addition to independent Minister McGrath, the signatories include members of Sinn Féin, Solidarity-People Before Profit, Labour, the Green Party, Independents 4 Change and other independent members of the Oireachtas, who condemn “the shooting dead of some 205 [Palestinian] protestors, including 40 children, and wounding of more than 5,000 people by live fire [on the Great March of Return] in Gaza since April”. read full story / add a comment

The two shameful actions have been decisive for securing him the first place in the polls and are also enough to pay him the cassation of his candidacy and his replacement by Ciro Gomes, third place in the first Brazilian round. read full story / add a comment

LASC, as an organisation with a mission to expose injustice in Ireland and Latin America and to stand in solidarity with the people of Latin America who are resisting oppression and are struggling to create a fair and inclusive society, shares the concerns of many of our members in relation to the current situation in Nicaragua. read full story / add a comment

The present Irish farmer has proven over the last number of years that he is one of the finest producers of quality food in the world. By his dedication to his work in adapting to modern revolutionary methods and long hours in caring for his animals’ health and dietary needs he is first class. read full story / add a comment

New IPCC report on 1.5°C shows the urgency of transformational policy change if we are to avoid dangerous climate change. But Ireland is still lagging behind.

The IPCC special report on global warming of 1.5°C is the most important climate science report of the decade. It offers the most exhaustive and authoritative assessment of the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and the action needed to stay below this threshold. The report will hugely influence international, EU and domestic climate policy making over the next few years. read full story / add a comment

Only the second Papal visit in 2,000 years by the first non European Pope. Pope Francisco is from Argentina where the United States client state ruled with terror, kidnappings and politically motivated assassination. His papacy appears to have many proactive enemies from wiithin reactionary Catholicism globally and (neo) liberal elites in Irish media & NGO sector. The recent visit was in visual and audio contrast to the only other visit of the papacy to Ireland. Pope John Paul 2nd in 1979 (the year of the Mountbatten assassination, Warrenpoint, punk). What does this tell us about Papa Francisco and contemporary Irish society? read full story / add a comment

There have been numerous attempts to frame the Assad regime with launching and carrying out chemical attacks in Syria. All of them so far have either been fake or carried out by the so called 'Rebels' and terrorists largely backed by Washington, London and Paris through their proxies in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey before it turned away from the US after it organised an attempted coup against Erdogan.

In all cases the chemical attacks and talk of them has been used by the US and it's allies as an excuse to bomb Syria. There is absolute no reason and motive for Assad to use chemical weapons either now or in the past. At this stage he has won the war in Syria and expelled most of the terrorists or done deals with them and arranged for them to be bused out. From a logical and motive point of view it would be insane for him to do this. He would gain zero. On the other hand it makes perfect sense not so much for the terrorists who are just pawns in a bigger game, but perfect sense for the US because Syria has been on their target since at least 2001 and they have wanted regime change from the start. They have also been humiliated that their terrorists have been defeated and their regional plans thwarted. This turn-around happened largely happened after Syria invited Russia into Syria to help in the war effort and it represents the fist time since the breakup of the Soviet Union that Russia has been able to get up of it's knee and challenge the destructive insanity of the US. And so this gives some background to the report below that appeared on RT.

“Foreign specialists” have arrived in Syria and may stage a chemical attack using chlorine in “the next two days,” the Russian Defense Ministry said. This will be filmed for international media to frame Damascus forces.

Defense Ministry Spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said the operation is planned to unfold in the village of Kafr Zita in Syria’s northwestern Hama Province in “the next two days.”

read full story / add a comment

Justin and Anne Morahan have started a petition to Pope Francis asking him to intervene in the case of Julian Assange. There have been recent reports of Julian's health deteriorating due to lack of light, fresh air, isolation (no visitors allowed). There are also rumours afloat that he may be removed from the Ecuadorian embassy in London and extradited to Mr Trump's United States where capital punishment is still in vogue. read full story / add a comment

The wildfires that struck Rafina, north east of Athens, have now claimed at least 80 lives with the number set to rise as many are still missing. This terrible catastrophe shows the interaction of climate change and austerity, both the result of a society that puts people before profit.

The fires in Greece take place in the context of an intense heat wave that is global in scale and has produced fires not only in Greece but in Northern Sweden above the Arctic Circle. Brid Smith TD visiting her sister in Sweden reports temperatures of 32C in the shade and 40C in the sun. In hotter parts of the world such as Algeria and Iran they are soaring well over 40C and approaching the limits of human habitability.

Fires, floods , droughts and intense storms – extreme weather in all its different forms – is what climate change means, not just rising sea levels in the future, and they are happening now. read full story / add a comment

This week the US Department of Education proposed new student "borrower defense" rules. read full story / add a comment

New Senate legislation offers additional options for Puerto Rico to cut its debt. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Ed Markey (D-MA) and Kamala Harris (D-CA) introduced the US Territorial Relief Act. If Congress passes the act, US Territories that experience natural disasters could qualify for debt relief. read full story / add a comment

The US Treasury is calling for greater scrutiny into the use of "anonymous" shell companies. Last week, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin urged Congress to quickly pass legislation to make the identity of shell company owners available to law enforcement. read full story / add a comment

The UN's globalization and neoliberalism seek to eliminate global freedom and western culture. It creates multi-culturalism and diversity which in the extreme undermines western culture but if a country is to survive it must defend its culture. The fake liberals, really a social class, drive both neoliberalism and globalization which gains the support of the swamp. Other political parties need to be chosen to overcome the swamp. For example, Donald Trump in America is having some success against the swamp. read full story / add a comment

News that a meeting has been arranged between Presidents Trump and Putin on 16 July was greeted with displeasure in many sectors of the western world, and especially by the military-industrial complex, the cabal of war-profiteering US and European oligarchs whose interests lie solely in maintaining their lucrative arms manufacturing empires. Trade is most important to them — but peace and friendship come way down their page of priorities, because it is enmity and distrust that lead to lucrative sales of weapons. read full story / add a comment

The US Senate voted for Puerto Rico disaster relief in the form of food assistance with the passage of the "Farm Bill." The Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018, included Senators Marco Rubio and Kirsten Gillibrand's amendment to fund Puerto Rico's Nutritional Assistance Program.  read full story / add a comment

October 20th October 2018 - 28th October 2018
Olive harvest program October 20th 2018 - October 28th October 2018

http://tobe-there.com/en/contact-us

The olive harvest time in Palestine is a wonderful time for a visit. The trees are full of ripe olives and in solidarity with the Palestinian land owners we will be part of this traditional experience. You can either climb a tree or work down on the ground. We collect the olives on the tarps and then in buckets and bags. We will have traditional Palestinian lunch on the fields and we will visit an olive press. Besides volunteering on the land you will have the chance to discover Palestine and travel around with your guide Baha, to understand the reality of the geo-political situation. There are excursions to Bethlehem, Jerusalem and Lifta, Hebron and the South Hebron hills, Ramallah (the Arafat Museum) and Nabi Saleh, known for its continuous non violent resistance. read full story / add a comment

DUBLIN DEMONSTRATION SUPPORTING Millions of Chinese, they Are Calling for an End to the Yulin Dog Meat Festival

A Demonstration by Irish Animal Rights activists is supporting other Vegan/Anti animal eating campaigners worldwide , especially Chinese activists who are hoping the Chinese authorities will crack down on the horrors of the notorious Yulin dog and cat eating festival from 21st to 30th june 2018. Officials failed to keep pledges to come down heavily on the appalling scenes of dogs being battered, blow-torched and butchered last year, leaving thousands of animals – many stolen pets – to die horrendously.

https://www.facebook.com/events/270969030137534/
(IRISH LINK)

read full story / add a comment

European Finance Ministers endorse a new Greece debt agreement that provides financing in exchange for maintaining austerity policies and economic reforms. read full story / add a comment

As part of a worldwide protest, solidarity was shown in Dublin to Julian Assange. Mairead Maguire called on the Irish Government to mediate between Britain and Ecuador to secure his release. Mick Wallace and Clare Daly also spoke. read full story / add a comment