How different are men and women? Very, according to some. John Gray’s book “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus” is based on the idea that there are fundamental differences between the genders. It may be just another self-help book on relationships, but it has also sold over 30 million copies and been translated into 40 languages.

Deborah Tannen’s book “You Just Don’t Understand: Men and Women in Conversation” was on the New York Times bestseller list for nearly four years and has been translated into 24 languages. Pope Benedict, when still a cardinal (and an obvious expert on gender) in a statement on the role of women wrote that women’s characteristics were “listening, welcoming, humility, faithfulness, praise and waiting” in the first statement published by the Catholic church on the role of women in a decade. In January 2005, the president of Harvard argued that women were underrepresented in science because biologically they weren’t as capable at scientific thinking as men. During his time as President the number of tenured jobs offered to women at Harvard fell from the low 36% to the even lower 13%.

"MCD have buried this, going as far as to close the message boards on their Oxegen subsite but thankfully a Google cache holds some of the threaded information. This has to be a new low? Reports of people being kicked from behind and then laughed at by security when taking a piss outside, random assaults, tents being set on fire and over all incompetence seem to dominate reports of the Sunday." - Pinhead, Indymedia User.

Indymedia users are adding to claims that ugly scenes typifing recent Oxygen festivals were compounded this year by "riot conditions in Camp A on Sunday/Monday night, the towers pulled down, the rampaging drunks, druggies and robbers and assaulters setting light to tents and the undermanned out of control security who tackled both the law breakers and the innocent with equal viciousness. ( 1)" With a rising tide of cynicism directed at MCD's chief, Denis Desmond's claim that "the fans were amazing, incredibly well behaved and good humoured” there are now concerns that MCD shut down the popular forum on its Oxegen site, in an effort to pour water on an organic forest fire of bad publicity in internet land, threatening its lucrative festival brand. Security at the event was contracted to Eventsec who previously faced accusations of incompetence from football fans. Claims from an Oxegen message board handle, eventSecurity, that "anyone that got a dig or rap deserved it" , were retracted as a wind up by the same handle on another board and the Oxegen site. This fake security statement may have contributed to the sites closure.

Despite a rumour mill that MCD has threatened real time media with legal action, the Mirror ran a story with a sensationalist "I Predict A Riot" headline pulled from a Kaiser Chiefs song. In a mainstream media tradition, the paper used an image from more severe crowd disturbances at a recent Leeds Festival to illustrate the Oxegen trouble. In an article romanticising the rock festival experience, SF's Danny Morrison commented how "at Oxegen there was little or no sense of any form of solidarity with the underprivileged or the exploited of this earth." Maybe its worth remembering how, a for once critical NME described a mythologised Feile'95 as "a decaying Gaelic football stadium upon whose pitch several hundred gymnasium crash mats and multifarious rock bands have been unceremoniously dumped, as the promoter sits back and lets the cash roll in." See kids, nothing really has changed. In the festival swamp of concession stands, an uncritical media that slaps the promotions companies on the back for ads while stoking up hysteria around "young people" with the other - its always going to be the fans that loose out.

Links of note on this story: Google caches of removed Oxegen threads critical of the festival and MCD. | Fastfude users discuss ejections from tent at 6:30am in camp A | Boards.ie users discuss the festival | The Other Side - set up to respond to Oxegen site closure From Youtube: Fire in camp and much more footage of bands and randomness by "citizen reporters." | Another one | Thumped forum users discuss a "descent into anarchy."

Worth looking at: IRMA And Piracy: Interview With A Vampire | IRMA Sweeps On File Sharers | The Clampdown on Raves | A Beach Party&Close Encounters of the Garda Kind

"Those words ring in my ears and haunt my dreams every night. Those words came from an Iraqi man after we shot into his car at a checkpoint near the Baghdad station. We had given a hand and arm signal to stop but they did not. There were four Iraqis in the car three of them were fatally wounded." - Former US Marine, Jimmy Massey.

Jimmy Massey was a member of the US Marines for 12 years. He was deployed to Iraq as a Staff Sergeant in command of 35 men. During his tour of duty in Iraq his troops were responsible for the killing of approximately 35 unarmed civilians including children. He refused to continue killing and asked to be seen by a psychiatrist and was then sent back to the US for treatment. He was honourably discharged from the military in 2003 and was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Jimmy Massey is a founding member of Iraq Veterans Against the War. He is currently in Ireland as a witness in the trial of five peace activists from the Pit Stop Ploughsahres who disarmed a US Navy war plane in Shannon airport on the 3rd of February 2003.

Also of Interest: A video of Jimmy speaking the last time he was over in Ireland | Interview From The Frontline | Pitstop Trial Begins in Four Courts | The Mysterious Indymedia Anti-war Archive Machine

The followoing is a report of a speech delivered by him at a recent public meeting in Dublin.

On 3rd February 2003, five individuals took part in an anti-war action at Shannon airport. This action involved disabling a US Navy war plane that was using Ireland as a pit stop on its way to Iraq. The five were equipped with hammers, and set about disarming the plane using these tools. They were arrested on the scene and were charged with causing criminal damage worth US$2.5 million.

The first trial began in March 2005, but ended in a mistrial. A second trial in October 2005 also collapsed when it emerged that the newly appointed judge had a personal relationship with US president George W Bush, whose administration instigated the invasion of Iraq. The five will now stand trial at the Four Courts from July 5th to 19th.

This group is known as the Pit Stop Ploughshares, and the following article contains some thoughts on some of the other activities of the group, to put the action at Shannon in context.

Excerpt:
“ In the discourse about the Pit Stop Ploughshares on indymedia and elsewhere, the focus has obviously been on the disarmament action in Shannon, more than 3 years ago. But there is much more to this group than this, and this action becomes much more meaningful when it is seen in the context of a wider set of activities. As well as taking action against something, the Catholic Worker movement is also about taking positive action for something. As well as acting against injustice and violence, the movement aims to take action to create and sustain peace, community, and a sense of solidarity with those who are socially excluded.”

Recent anti-war coverage on indymedia Ireland: Report on warship protest | Photo essay on Ploushares benefit gig | War dead remembered with showers of flowers at Shannon airport | Palme D'Or winner Ken Loach and 'Barley' screenwriter Paul Laverty support the Catholic Workers | Catholic Worker press release | TRIAL UPDATE: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 and 4

More: Peace on Trial website

The Wheelock family have moved from their family home in Summerhill, in north inner Dublin. They had lived in 34 Sean O'Casey Avenue for over 20 years. There was emotional scenes as the Wheelock family gathered their belongings for the move. Neighbours were visibly upset and some were openly crying.

One neighbour, Thomas Boyle at number 29, who has known the family all his life, said that "its terrible what they're being put through. They are decent people; we can all see whats happening with the police around here, and we support the family 100%. Its a sad day, and we'll miss them. Who knows who's going to move in now."

There was no Gardai patrolling outside on the street last night as the house lay empty. The family have moved to an undisclosed location in the city.

Larry Junior said "we couldn't stick it anymore, the Garda harrassing us, it was getting worse and worse. Day after day they were using horses and dogs, and shining lights into the house, laughing and joking at all hours. They looked a sad lot. It was very upsetting for my mother and father. So that is why we decided to move. Hopefully they wont have another excuse at our new home."