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Rights, Freedoms and Repression
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Magnificent support, yesterday, in Rossport for the Shell to Sea Campaign (photo report) galway |
rights, freedoms and repression |
news report
 Saturday February 17, 2007 18:48 by Tom O' Hawk - Shell to Sea
 "For the menace of our enemies hangs over us, and the essential immediate purpose is to show the spirit that animates us, and how we face the future" (Terence MacSwiney) And the spirit that animates us was evidenced yesterday in the 500 or so people - the majority as far afield as Cork - who showed to bear witness in magnificent measure to the unrelenting struggle of the people of Rossport against a government who has joined forces with a ruthless predatory corporate power in the steamrollering and criminalising of legitimate dissent As Giovanni Gentile put it, in a definition Mussolini subsequently claimed credit for: "Fascism should more appropriately be called corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power." If Gentile defined the nature of the beast, it is MacSwiney who inspires us to bring the fucker to heel whether at the forthcoming General Election or through endless protest and endurance : "It is not they who can inflict the most but they who can suffer the most who will prevail ... those whose spirit is strong will endure to the end and triumph" (more or less, the words of MacSwiney). |
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Nick, Martha and Uisce
Amanda Slevin
The crosses in the background commemorate the murdered Ogoni 9
While dressing as a clown at a g8 summit or other activist gathering might seem like a good idea, I have no idea why people thought dressing as clowns at an event which would hopefully bring the locals and their supporters closer together was a good idea. Some of these clowns seemed to be the same serial-activists who were part of the "clown army" from the UK.
Many present on that mornings march mentioned how irritating and counter-productive the clown element was, not to mention the idiot from Cork blasting techno as early as 8.30am from his sound system. Are we to be a freak-show seperate from the community or regular people standing in solidarity?
more a case of Maura atop a van about to visit fire and brimstone on the black heart of Shell and all its works?.
below is a link to an interview with maura bu village mag.
http://www.village.ie/people/profiles/made_in_mayo/
Tom what 'corporate power' and 'corporatism' mean in the context of Italian Fascism is not the unification of the state and big buisness.
In that context it means more the unification of employers and workers, over seen by the state, and working together for the good of the nation, in particular bodies called 'corporates' which were I think meant to be like mediveal guilds.
The idea orginiates with Catholic social teaching, and was popular here with former leader of the IRA and Fine Gael Eoin O'Duffy.
The nearest parallel in contemporary Ireland is the social partnership talks.
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporatism
Semantics aside, Terry, "a merger of state and corporate power" is the salient, operative phrase and its flowering is clearly seen in Bush's Amerika where an unhealthy passel of his cabinet are ex and, no doubt, future corporate honchoes working towards corporate power and greed, its manifestation in Ireland, in comparison, is small potatoes, where Ahern & co are clearly hand in glove with the builders, the US in regards to the facilitation of yankee troops and CIA torture planes through Shannon Airport, Shell, vested interests, etc.
Beyond "medievalism" What's in a name? that which we call a rose. By any other name would smell as sweet" ?.
In December 2006, according to the Washington Post, "There are about 100,000 operating in Iraq, not counting subcontractors, a total that is approaching the size of the U.S. military force there, according to the military's first census of the growing population of civilians operating in the battlefield." An unhealthy number of these "government contractors" are Blackwater security operatives,Murder Inc, who can murder with impunity and so far legal immunity. According to Democracy Now or is that Counterpunch? their founding honcho has called for the end of government and for the world to be ruled by corporations.
George Monbiot, a dude not noted for bullshit, is of the firm view this is in the offing?.
I was there.
I can't for the life of me think why Mayo people wouldnt
like clowns as much as anyone else.
I dont think you appreciate the seditious possibilites of
clowning. Need to broaden one horizons me thinks
West Tyrone Ógra Shinn Féin organised a solidarity protest and leaflet drop for the beseiged community of Rossport on the day of action - Friday 16th February.
As well as holding a whiteline vigil, Ógra also destributed a copy of a letter which they have sent to Bertie Ahern.
West Tyrone Ógra Shinn Féin chairperson Barry McNally speaking after said,
"The give away of Irish Natural Resources is a crime which is being facilitated by the Dublin Government, the Rossport Community's health and safety is being risked and the Irish people's right to Natural Resources is being sold out the window to the highest bidder."
"Today in Omagh there was a very positive response and when we engaged with people who hadn't heard about the Rossport issue they where shocked by the actions of Shell, Statoil and the Dublin Government. There can be only one outcome of this, Victory to Rossport!"
The following is a copy of the letter sent to Bertie Ahern,
An Taoiseach,
In recent years the people and community of Rossport, Co. Mayo have been living a nightmare scenario. Local opposition against the construction of an on-shore gas pipe line by multi national giants Shell has caused great anger and frustration in the area.
It should be the job of the Dublin Government to stand shoulder to shoulder with this community against multi national companies who try and make a profit from Irish natural resources.
Recently I saw a picture inside the office of An Taoiseach and I noticed a painting of Padraig Pearse on the wall. The democratic programme of the first Dáil came to mind.
An extract of it reads,
“We declare in the words of the Irish Republican Proclamation the right of the people of Ireland to the ownership of Ireland, and to the unfettered control of Irish destinies to be indefeasible, and in the language of our first President. Pádraíg Mac Phiarais, we declare that the Nation's sovereignty extends not only to all men and women of the Nation, but to all its material possessions, the Nation's soil and all its resources, all the wealth and all the wealth-producing processes within the Nation, and with him we reaffirm that all right to private property must be subordinated to the public right and welfare.”
In respect of this quote and in respect fo the picture on your wall, the best way of remembering Padraig and the men of 1916 is to build a monument that shines as a beacon across the world, that monument of course, a Free Democratic Socialist Republic. Surely your government’s dealings with Shell in relation to Rossport, Co. Mayo runs contary of Padraig Pearse, the democratic programme of the first Dail and the 1916 proclamation.
To this end we would ask why your government has acted contrary to the Democratic Programme by selling off our Natural Resources to multi National companies?
And why you now persist in aiding these companies by using heavy handed Gardai assaults to force the construction of the pipeline
Is mise,
Barry McColgan
National Organiser
Ógra Shinn Féin
Letter sent to Bertie the Boy!
Ogra, if you still have faith that writing to bertie will do anything on this issue I'm afraid you're far more deluded than I ever suspected. Surely as supposed revolutionaries you don't have faith in the ruling class to side with anyone other than big business on this one?
I'm afraid a push is required if you are to be real revolutionaries. Perhaps joining the rest of us on the ground in Mayo next time would be a good starting point.
Well done to the letter writers and the petrol station picketers and the people in clown suits and spiderman suits and superman costumes and those who scale buildings and hang banners and leaflet shpping centres and carry out all the other creative actions that raise awareness and gather support and actually stop site works on occasion!
All these avenues are equally important, and it is the wish of the embattled people of Erris that whatever the individual can do, please do it. Some people are more suited to forging words than standing in a blockade, and it is this diversity that will overcome the great wrong that is the Corrib Gas Project.
Come to Mayo if you can, tell your friends, be creative, be non-violent, be determined... but don't just look the other way. That's all we ask.
Well done! Maura Harrington and all those who took part. A very successful day all in all, highlighting the key issues without resorting to violence and verbal abuse. Great to see so many people from all different backgrounds and ''all walks of life' taking part. long may it continue.
The atmosphere was electric.
Having seen the photos of the inside of the refinery it is truly remarkable that Shell have managed to be able to operate their excavations, seeing as they are breaking every health and safety rule in the book.
That interview by RTE radio with Maura H. was disgraceful, the interviewer was clearly biased
the fact he brought up ( substitute teachers) I felt it was a personal attack on Maura. We should be able to expect better reporting from main stream media.