Dear Taoiseach,
Dear Tanaiste,
Dear Ministers,
Dear members of the 31st Dáil Éireann, In my last letter to you I discussed Tamboran's claim that almost as much gas could be recovered from the Laugh Allen Basin as from the 8 times larger Barnett Shale in Texas, US. Please take a look again at my updated article, Leitrim has $55bn gas reserves, Tamboran claims https://sites.google.com/site/frackingireland/leitrim-has-55bn-gas-reserves-tamboran-claims
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I was present in the Commons on January 24, when foreign secretary William Hague made a statement on European Union sanctions against Iran. In response to a question, he said that, while the UK was “not calling for, or advocating, military action”, it is “the job of our armed forces to prepare for many contingencies” and “all options remain on the table”. This was reflected on the Labour front bench by shadow foreign secretary John Spellar, that well known progressive politician (there’s no irony in Hansard, but I hope it’s not the same in this meeting). Spellar reflects the same attitude - that we should be ready for military action ... read full story / add a comment

"The Realities of Hydraulic Fracturing" - Dr. John O'Connor
'Fracking Inhumanity' - Jessica Ernst MSc

A series of presentations on the potential impact of hydraulic fracturing, or 'Fracking' will take place in Dublin, Sligo, Fermanagh and Leitrim next week. Dr. John O'Connor and Jessica Ernst, M.Sc., will travel from Canada to address key issues in relation to the practice of Fracking, and to address public concerns in relation to the proposed extraction of shale gas in the North West using this controversial method ... read full story / add a comment

Since approximately the early 1980s Capitalism has been on the offensive to attack working conditions and take away the hard won labour rights of the previous century or so.

In those years we have seen manufacturing jobs move offshore and increasing amounts of temporary and part-time jobs which have less rights than full time jobs.

We have seen multi-national and chain stores declare bankruptcy to allow these firms to walk away from their healthcare and pension obligations, only to re-open the following week.

But yet this is not good enough and the capitalists and because of the logic of capitalism itself, as usual never give up and have their sights firmly set on things like decent wages, holiday pay, sick pay, pensions and health-cover.

And leading the latest innovation in exploition is IBM Germany with their new programme called, "liquid" and reported in an article titled 'IBM launches new form of day-wage labour' on the www.wsws.org website. ... read full story / add a comment

This post is a quick response to an SWP internal members bulletin, which was presumably leaked by one of their members - available to read here: http://tomasoflatharta.com/2012/02/09/kubla-heard-from-...else/. It gives an insight to the real views of the SWP on a number of issues including the ULA and the CAHWT. I want to take up some of their points relating to the Household tax campaign, which I object to and to offer what I think is the real situation with the campaign. ... read full story / add a comment

An insight into prison life in Ireland, namely Castlerea Prison, Co Roscommon. On 21st April 2010 I was convicted of assaulting a number of Gardaí in relation to Shell to Sea protests and sentenced to 6 months imprisonment. Remission for good behaviour means that prisoners will have their sentences reduced by a quarter, once you keep your nose clean. I was given credit for 2 weeks time served previously in 2009, before I was bailed out pending my appeal. So I spent 4 months in jail from April to August in the summer of 2010. ... read full story / add a comment

Campaign Against Household and Water Tax ... read full story / add a comment

Last weekend some members of the Irish Occupy camps came to stay at the Rossport Solidarity Camp. There was good numbers already on the camp for winter and so along with our fellow city based campers we numbered 25 – 30. We decided to try shut down Shell’s Aghoos tunnelling compound for the morning. ... read full story / add a comment

Yes, it’s kicking off everywhere.

Over the last 18 months we have seen a sea change in resistance and popular consciousness. The Arab Spring has put revolution back on the agenda of global politics.

In Britain, we’ve seen the occupation of Millbank and student revolt, the huge TUC March and now the massive N30 strike.

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Public Meeting: The Crises of Multiculturalism.
Speaker: Dr. Gavan Titley
Lecturer in Media Studies, National University of Ireland Maynooth ... read full story / add a comment

Leonard Peltier, a Native American activist was born in 1944 in North Dakota on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation. He is the 11th child of 13 children and from his early years suffered racism and brutal poverty at the hands of US government and its officials. ... read full story / add a comment

During an international meeting in December 2011 in Frankfurt am Main, several left wing organisations and grassroots unions from Greece, Spain, Poland, Austria and Germany decided to launch a joint effort against capitalist reforms under the current crisis. ... read full story / add a comment

On Saturday 28th January Unlock NAMA opened an occupied building in the center of Dublin for a day of lectures about NAMA, Ireland's 'Bad Bank.' The event was cut short by a large number of police who turned up and ordered them out of the building. In this 40 minute interview Andrew Flood interviews Cat & Moira from Unlock NAMA about the occupation, what NAMA is and what Unlock NAMA demands. ... read full story / add a comment

The website www.rate-your-solicitor.com. has been shut down without trace. ... read full story / add a comment

Today's occupation is happening at 66-67 Great Strand Street, Dublin 1. Come down and support the occupation - get involved in the debate during the day. Today one of NAMA’s properties in Dublin has been opened to the public. The building will host a series of talks and workshops engaging the public in the questions that surround debt, property speculation and asking how we can use NAMA buildings for social and community purposes.
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Sean Sherlock, Minister for Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation, has introduced new legislation that is being called Irelands SOPA. The legislation is being introduced as a statutory instrument which means that it will be implemented by the signature of the Minster and not a vote in the Dáil. ... read full story / add a comment

Make your voice heard against war and repression, urges Hands Off the People of Iran chair, Yassamine Mather

The war drums against Iran are beating ever louder. The new embargo on Iranian oil, to come into force on July 1, is only the latest in a long list of measures imposed by US and EU imperialism. It bans all new oil contracts with Iran, and cuts off all existing deals. Also, all of the Iranian central bank’s European assets are to be frozen.

We are told that the sanctions are designed to weaken the regime and “force Iran back to the negotiating table” over its nuclear programme. This is clearly nonsense:

In reality, the ‘nuclear danger’ is used by imperialism as an excuse to deal with an increasingly unstable situation in the Middle East. Imperialism has recently lost a number of friendly regimes in the region (like Egypt) and needs to reassert control in this oil-rich area. War is also a useful distraction from economic misery and the current crisis of capitalism. ... read full story / add a comment

Dublin is still reeling from its boom period and the cacophony of high-flown plans it threw up. Now that it's all over, how do the various projects stand up? ... read full story / add a comment

The following open letter concerning hydraulic gas fracturing in Ireland was recently sent to the Pat Rabbitte, Minister for Communications, Energy & Natural Resources. Several other people have written to the minister and have received no reply.

This is an important issue because it concerns contaminating the land and water for the benefit of just a few over the rights and interests of many and protection of the environment. ... read full story / add a comment

More trouble for the islamist NTC. Full text at link.

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Fighters loyal to Libya's overthrown leader Muammar Gaddafi took control of a town south-east of the capital on Monday, flying their green flags in defiance of the country's fragile new government. The fightback by Gaddafi supporters defeated in Libya's civil war, though unlikely to spread elsewhere, added to the problems besetting a government which in the past week has been reeling from one crisis to another. Gaddafi himself was captured and killed in October after weeks on the run.

Accounts from the town of Bani Walid, about 200 km (120 miles) from Tripoli, described armed Gaddafi supporters attacking the barracks of the pro-government militia in the town and then forcing them to fall back. ... read full story / add a comment