On Saturday 11th June a Parade will take place in Dublin to protest the imminent introduction of a form of anti-social behavior order to Ireland. Rory Hearne who is involved in the campaign against the introduction of ASBOs here submitted this guide to what is at issue to Indymedia Ireland.

The controversial Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) and other amendments to the Criminal Justice Bill 2004 are due to go to the Cabinet for approval on June 7th and then through the Dail pretty soon afterwards.

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) recently highlighted why we should be concerned: “The ICCL is concerned that in the Criminal Justice Bill 2004, that there is a strong tendency to see solutions to crime in terms of increase of policing powers, creation of new offences…without the necessary evaluation of how powers are used…it is all too easy to advance “quick-fix” populist answers to crime, which lack any evidence base as to their effectiveness and in fact in time will contribute to an unjust system.”

ASBOs if introduced here could see a situation whereby normal activity becomes criminalised. Just look at some examples of ASBOS in Britain: A 13 year old was banned from using the word ‘grass’ , a 16 year old was banned from showing his tattoos, a profoundly deaf girl was served an order for spitting in public, an 87 year old was forbidden from being sarcastic to his neighbours, a football fan was banned from playing ball games in the street, a 17 year old was ordered not to enter or leave his home except by a back alley, a 21 year old was banned from wearing a woolly hat, baseball cap or hooded top, and an 18 year old was ordered not to meet with three or more other youths. He was later arrested for breaching this order because he entered a local youth club. (see www.nyci.ie)

There are several excellent programmes in Ireland which seek to deal with the underlying causes of anti-social behaviour but all are grossly underfunded and unable to achieve their potential. ASBOs, by seeking to punish and control such behaviour, will only increase the alienation of these young people and immerse them further into the criminal justice scene, for behaviour which in itself will not be criminal. It is a superficial response to a serious problem, a response which, although politically popular, is likely to make the problem worse, not better.

The Net Art Open is an ongoing uncurated exhibition of net art on Irish new media artsite Stunned.org. The exhibition is an open submission state-of-the-art showcase of Irish and International net art with a difference. All work submitted is accepted and rather then a traditional 'all work being simultaneously presented' the Net Art Open is blogged over the period of a year and delivered directly to the audience with RSS syndication.

Net Art is the newest art movement around, an art movement where the art is delivered directly from the artist to the public without the mediation of the art world. For artists it offers an opportunity to reach a global audience without art world institutional backing, to have that audience experience your work in the intimate space of the web browser and even more importantly to reach an audience who may never set foot in an art gallery.

There's no surprise then that in the last few years the net art scene has exploded with artists seizing the opportunity to take greater control over their own work, how that work is seen by their audience, and to escape the strictures placed on them by an art scene increasingly dominated by curators and 'gallerists'. Add to that increased access to computers, software tools ( thanks to the open source movement) and cheaper net access and the result has been a vibrant international net art scene with the physical limitations of gallery based art removed. Most importantly though net art offers the artist access to a much larger audience and a more direct relationship with that audience.

The problem, if indeed you can call this a problem, is that there is so much activity that even with the best will in the world it's hard to keep with all the new work being created online. Traditionally this has been done with community sites and mailing lists and these still play an important role in getting access to net art. However, as the net art world develops, curatorial models are becoming more important. While they have a role to play it is important to maintain the spirit that informed early net art and important to realise that curators tend to show only a snapshot of the net art scene that fits with their curatorial vision.

The Net Art Open was developed to fill this gap and to create a space which would show net art direct from the artists without any curatorial mediation. Originally conceived by Artie Doyle as part of the irishmuseumofmodernart.com project the concept was taken over by Stunned.org in 2004 and given a new format. The Net Art Open's central concept is that it is an open submission exhibition in which every submission (which meets the criteria of being net art) is accepted. In the latest edition the exhibition is rolled out one work at a time in blog format with each entry getting equal prominence. The exhibition is designed to make seeing new work as simple as possible so RSS feeds are published so the audience can incorporate the Net Art Open into their daily routine of checking their blogs and newsfeeds. A javascript feed is also available to facilitate easy integration of the exhibition into other websites.

Campaign Against the EU Constitution Press Statement

The decisive NON to the EU Constitution in the French referendum is the first step towards a new direction for Europe. The ordinary people of France have voted NON to the privatisation of public services, to the profit motive of the market dominating all aspects of life, and to further centralisation of decision-making in the hands of the EU elite. They have rejected a European Constitution that enshrines competition above solidarity - a Constitution that makes people in work compete for their jobs and wages against the unemployed and makes the poor compete against the very poor for scarce resources.

The French NON is a demand for a different Europe to the free-market politics of the EU Constitution - which would set in stone the same neo-liberal policies being imposed by the French government, and supported by many other European governments and the European Commission. This NON is a setback for neo-liberal politics throughout the EU. It is the first step towards an alternative direction for Europe, where the needs of ordinary people come first.

The leaders of other European countries and the European Commission must accept the French vote. There must be no campaign for a re-run of the French referendum and no anti-democratic back-room deals. The EU Constitution cannot now come into force and must be abandoned.

There should now begin a Europe-wide discussion on an alternative direction for Europe, with the NON campaign in France as its starting point. It should be public, open and inclusive - involving all parts of society and not based only upon the views of 'experts' or elected representatives.

The NON campaign in France has brought together a wide range of people - including public sector workers, the French radical Left, environmentalists, and those who seek an alternative to the global rule of the market - in a united movement against the politics of the EU Constitution. The movement in France is mirrored in other European countries, including Ireland. We look forward to the French movement continuing to campaign against neo-liberalism and militarism - and likewise the movement in other countries. For it is this movement that can begin to provide an alternative to the failed politics of the right and to the failed leaders of the traditional social-democratic parties.

Related Indymedia Ireland Stories
Non Merci, M. Chirac
Letter from Paris
Two False Statements on EU Constitution in Irish Times
Irish Times Letters Section Debate on Constitution

The 2005 Labour Party National Conference has today voted overwhelmingly in favour of the motion brought by the UCD Pat Upton Branch expressing solidarity with the Coca-Cola workers of both Colombia and of the Naas Rd, Dublin. The motion also asserted the Labour Party’s support for the international campaign called by SINALTRAINAL in 2003 in defence of the right to join a trade union.

The motion was passed by at least 80% of delegates and was an emergency addition to the agenda following the initial rejection by Standing Orders Committee of the UCD motion on Coke. The UCD Labour delegation met with the SOC on Friday evening and negotiated an acceptable motion, ensuring that this issue received the debate and support that it deserves. Despite an effort from some SIPTU delegates to have the motion referred back to the National Executive and not voted upon at Conference, rousing speeches from both UCD Labour Chair Enda Duffy and outgoing Secretary Paul Dillon ensured that the motion was resoundingly supported.

A letter supporting the motion from SINALTRAINAL was also circulated by members of the UCD delegation this morning outlining the reasons why it should be passed. The level of recognition which already existed among conference delegates with regard to the boycott campaign was notable, and is testament to the work done by Coke boycott activists nationwide.

Given SIPTU’s influence in the party and the size of their delegation, the approval of this motion is a great victory for the campaign and another step forward in ensuring that awareness about the human rights abuses in Colombia is raised at both a national and international level.

RELATED INDYMEDIA IRELAND STORIES
Coke Refused Licence in India
Coke Workers Repaid For Loyalty To Company
Coke A Killer In Colombia?

Today (24th May) the ‘Quantified Risk Assessment’ (Q.R.A.) of Shell’s Rossport pipeline has finally been released. This was sought by campaigners through Dail Questions (from Deputies Ferris, Higgins, and Cowley) and Freedom of Information Act requests (including one by local T.D. Michael Ring). However this is only a new version of the Q.R.A. Versions A,B,C,D and E will not be released, nor will the research documentation which forms the basis of the Q.R.A.

Earlier, in Shell’s case to bring injunctions against Rossport residents and owners of the land upon which their pipeline will go, the President of the High Court described it as “inconceivable” that the Q.R.A.s would not be before the court. This was in reference to the earlier versions.

Meanwhile a review into the safety of the project, commissioned by Minister Noel Dempsey in the middle of March this year, has been revealed to have been carried out by a company, British Pipeline Agency LTD, established in 1969 as a joint venture between British Petroleum and Shell. So effectively Dempsey’s “review” was another tax payer subsidy to Shell!

In related news the Irish Times of Friday May 20th reports that the High Court judge Fidelma Macken has been nominated to the Supreme Court. Macken’s decision on the application for a judicial review of Shell’s development made by Martin Harrington will be made and announced by the middle of June.

While on the ground Shell have re-started, they say, transiting removed peat from the refinery site at Ballinaboy to the bog storage place at Srahmore. This process had been halted due to accidents, the trucks started to roll again on Tuesday the 17th.