Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission opens for business

Today was the official opening of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission. The idea is to provide a civilian oversight of the Gardaí and provide a way for people to make complaints about the police without going through the Guards themselves. Unfortunately, only invited members of the corporate media were allowed into the opening, so this indymedia report is confined to the outside of the building.

Amazingly, the Gardaí tried to stop me taking pictures on the pavement outside, and even tried to block the camera. Eventually after trying to interrogate me they stopped and sulked from a distance. I think they realised that they couldn't arrest me outside the GSOC offices on their opening day, but they were certainly considering it for a while...

Related Links: Shell to Sea Complaints to Garda Ombudsman. | Your Rights & How to Deal with the Gardaí. | McDowell: Ireland's Next Top Model | Large Crowds Demand Justice For Terence Wheelock | Garda Ombudsman Site | Mickey McDowell Announces Ombudsman | Reclaiming the Streets: The Garda Review on Ballinaboy

The D-case of a 17 year old woman who has been prevented travelling to England for an abortion continued in the High Court today. A pro-choice solidarity rally took place outside as well as a brief anti-woman counter rally.

This was the first anti-woman counter rally during the case, it attracted less than 1/3 of the attendance of Saturdays pro-choice rally at the GPO despite the fact that many of the anti-woman activists had brought along young children to make up the numbers.

While the pro-choice rally ran from the morning into the afternoon the counter rally was only present for an hour - little more than photocall in the hope of getting media attention. 'D' refused to be intimidated by the counter rally and walked through it to enter the courts - they packed up and left shortly afterwards.

Related Links: Images and Audio From Previous Rally | Alliance for Choice Calls "D" Case A Tragedy | Teenager Seeking Abortion Challenges HSE | Report of Rally In Support of Miss D | Doctors For Choice Advocate Choice | Founding Documents of Choice Ireland | Revolutionary Anarcha-Feminist Group Hold Meeting On Choice and Class | A UCD Student Reports On Her Experience with Rogue Clinics | European Court Of Human Rights Turns To Restrictive Irish Abortion Law | Report From Rally At Rogue Information Clinic Choice Ireland WSM On Gender

Funnily enough the march was delayed as the organisers needed permission from the police to march down. The same Garda joked that they should have brought sniffer dogs. A kid who joined the march who was being photographed, said "I don't even smoke that shit"

There was a Father Ted moment or 5 when 'Ghost Town', by The Specials, was played over and over. Lot's of young (and some not so young!) chanted loudly "We're Not Criminals" and "Free the Weed".

There was a Labour Youth Banner and speaker at the very end, whose brevity was very welcomed after Ming of Roscommon fame, presented a rather academic, articulate and thorough defense for the uses of cannabis. He also outlined the personal cost that he has borne campaigning for the decriminalisation of cannabis. There were anarchists, socialists, republicans, nationalists, Irish, Catalan and Basque all taking part. The event had more of an air of the annual Gay Pride Parade. The representative from Labour Youth gave said that LY was committed to decriminalisation of cannabis.

Related Links: Johnny Potsmoker Takes To The Street | Another Photo Essay From Dublin's Marijuana March | Marijuana March: All This Canna-biz In Toronto | 2002 J-Day In Bushy Park | Cannabis Legalisation Ireland | Irish Centre For Cannabis Policy Reform | Legalise Cannabis Myspace | Cannabis On Erowid

Today is the 88th anniversary of the largest 'Mayday' demonstration in Irish history, when what the Belfast Newsletter described as "a little band of disgruntled Red-Socialists" led 100,000 workers through the streets of Belfast. Everywhere else in Ireland in 1919 had also seen massive Mayday demonstrations, with 10,000 demonstrating in Burr Co. Offaly.

Outside of the North East, these had been called for the 1st of May in order "to demonstrate the solidarity of workers and to reaffirm their adhesion to the principles of self-determination". But Belfast marched to a different theme on the 3rd May. Both North and South a massive wave of working class militancy had grown and although these struggles shared a common rhythm they happened in isolation from each other.

The Flood Files:
1916 - Connolly, blood sacrifice and defeating British imperialism | 1916: Just what are we celebrating? | The 1798 Rebellion | Robert Emmett and the 1803 Rising | The Orange Order | Neither Orange nor Green | Troops Out!

Caleb McCarry is the senior U.S. official responsible for U.S. government planning to support a "transition to democracy" in Cuba through the President's Commission for Assistance to a "Free" Cuba.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice chairs the Commission for Assistance to a "Free" Cuba and named Mr. McCarry as Transition Coordinator in July 2005. The Transition Coordinator reports to the Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs on a day-to-day basis and to the Secretary of State on important policy matters.

McCarry previously served on the majority professional staff of the International Relations Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Related Links: The Friends of Cuba Protest Call | Cuban Ambassador Speaks To Labour Youth | Cuba Support Group Ireland | Maradonna Arrives in Cuba | Castro Alive and Kicking