There was a flurry of excitement some time ago about a controversial interview with Noam Chomsky in the Guardian. Chomsky himself strongly contested the account of his views given by the article, and in due course the paper repudiated it. Reading over the text, there’s little doubt that the journalist (Emma Brockes) was trying too hard to cause a stir – with the goal of scalping a well-known figure firmly on her mind, she lost the run of herself and delivered a sloppy, inaccurate and misleading piece. What many people lost sight of during the controversy, though, was the light it shone on a troubling problem: the persistence of left-wing stupidity concerning the Balkan wars of the 1990s.

There' something about airports and August which draws media like flies to...In Ireland we're ignoring the Guantanamo slots while we fight for our right to fly to London. In the UK august 2006 saw the establishment of a climate camp at Drax power station in North Yorkshire. This year it is at Heathrow and the standard injunctions, terrorist legislation and media hysteria are being brought to bear. Indymedia.ie has received this report from a short visit to the camp:

This years climate camp is now well underway. About 1000 people have set up camp on a squatted field just north of Heathrow airport. The aim of the camp is to raise awareness of and take action on the causes of climate change. (See main body for rest of report.)

UK Indymedia is providing excellent coverage including reports from the public internet access tent which is open for a total of four hours a day, over two main time slots and is running on a mixture of wind and solar power.

Related Links: Airport Watch Watches Mainstream Media Coverage | Scouts at Climate Camp | Children from school due to be demolished by 3rd runway at climate camp | Indymedia UK News ticker | RTE repeats reports of 'anarchists' in and around the climate camp |

Derry Anti-War Coalition visit to Lebanon
Over the past week I accompanied 12 members of the Derry Anti-War Coalition (DAWC), including the Raytheon 9, to visit communities in southern Lebanon which were devastated by the Israeli war last summer. We visited Bint Jbail and A'ita al-Chaab near the Israeli border, both of which received heavy bombardment from Israeli airstrikes and incursions from armoured bulldozers, tanks and troops, reducing civilian infrastructure to dust and pebble, their hearts to shock and fear, their eyes to tears for their lost loved ones. In addition to this, the DAWC protested outside the obliterated Palestinian refugee camp Nahr-al-Bared near Tripoli in Northern Lebanon.

From the Newswire:
Prompt action by some concerned locals in Co Clare and International groups in the past 48 hours has thwarted the plans of trigger happy types who were attempting an illegal mass cull of the Burren wild goat herd. It is likely that when the press and other attention has died down that they will try again so for anyone in the area who cares about what are now some of the last remaining indigenous goats in Ireland please look out and alert others if you see any suspiciously activity,

From the comments:
Is there a reason for the cull. The Burren is a haven for many rare plant types and if the aim of the cull is to prevent over-grazing, I can understand it..............

The wild goats of the Burren who were first brought to Ireland by neolithic farmers about 4,000 years ago and there is evidence some went wild soon after. this means that goats have been wild in this country longer than rabbits, hedgehogs or fallow deer...............

Still and all young goats[kids] are really good eating.They are great in a curry or roasted.Much healthier than beef or pork..........

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While an MEP explains the doubtful legality of the construction work taking place at Tara, Revolt Video get the workers on film, engaging in activities of even more doubtful legality. The guardians of the peace wade in and arrest 7 protestors, including a professor of specializing in Medieval Irish Studies at the University of Maynooth who had presented them with a letter from the EU commission.

Watch Revolt Footage Here

From the Newswire:

As a rumoured additional 20 diggers are told to be arriving onsite, the public step up their protest in protecting Soldier Hill, attracting the likes of University Professors, International delegates on Tourism and EU Member of Parliaments to rush to the scene in aid of the protest.

Between 10am and 2pm a bitter struggle ensued to try to stop the diggers from continuing, as the protestors also disrupt traffic by standing in front of dirt trucks that try to enter the site.

By 12:30pm at least 5 people were arrested for obstructing the construction,

Protestor Being carried off site trying to stop digger 0.32 Mb Dan Malone stops digger by standing on it 0.11 Mb Muirfeann Ni Bhrolchain, Professor at NUI just prior to her arrest 0.06 Mb EU MEP Cathy Sinott observes the tug of war over the gates allowing dirt trucks in and out of site 0.96 Mb Protest Signs after construction decide to cease for the day 0.61 Mb