SIPTU activists were out on the streets of Derry on Saturday (27th August) supporting the second annual Foyle Pride parade. They joined with thousands of people including trade union and community activists, all united in celebrating diversity and demanding equality for the LGBT community.
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This afternoon, RNU held a march from the New Lodge/Antrim Road Junction to Clifton Street Cemetary in North Belfast. Where a commmemoration was held for United Irishmen; Henry-Joy McCracken & William Drennan both of who are interred in the Graveyard.

A couple of hundred participants attended and listened to local Historian and Author; Joe Graham and RNU Chairperson; Carl Reilly. A number of wreaths were also laid from Political Prisoners in Maghaberry & Portlaoise and from RNU. read full story / add a comment

As part of their ‘communities uniting’ campaign in the north, SIPTU are giving voice to community workers through an online series of interviews, ‘We are SIPTU.’

The series of interviews will be continually updated to YouTube, allowing people to easily access and get an insight into the everyday work of community activists, the services they provide, and the cuts facing projects. To access the interviews click on the following link;

http://www.youtube.com/user/siptunorth#grid/user/169914...66C8E
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On Friday 26th and Saturday 27th of August, Seomra Spraoi will be host to the first gathering of the No Borders network to take place in Ireland.

No Borders campaigns struggle alongside those effected for freedom of movement, for the freedom for all to stay in the place which they have chosen, against repression and the many controls which multiply the borders everywhere in all countries. This gathering is working towards establishing a network of individuals and grassroots organisations within Ireland and abroad who are working on the questions of migrants and asylum seekers.

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AFTER 40 years, internment without charge or trial has returned to the occupied North of Ireland. read full story / add a comment

 

AFAR would like to  strongly condemn the killing of four horses at Tramore Racetrack on Sunday . APPARENTLY …a combination of fast ground and tight bends contributed to an incident-filled four-day festival at Tramore last week but there was an unfortunate heavy toll on Sunday.

AFAR does not accept the weak excuses for these animals losing their lives and suffering needlessy in the name of profit and gambling.

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REPUBLICAN NETWORK FOR UNITY (RNU) Spokesperson MARTIN ÓG MEEHAN has welcomed the release of political Internee, Brendan Lillis. read full story / add a comment

Palestinian Centre for Human Rights

1. Asserts that these crimes are part of a series of war crimes committed by IOF with total disregard for the lives of Palestinian civilians.2. Calls upon the international community to take immediate actionagainst IOF and IDF in order to put an end to such war crimes.

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We welcome today’s news for the sake of gentle coursed hares in the North of Ireland.

 A six county BAN ON HARE COURSING IN EFFECT FROM TODAY!

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The SIPTU Community Campaign will be holding a series of regional forums entitled “Building a Strong Union Voice & Defending the Community Sector”. The forums will discuss the current and imminent threats facing the community sector and how community workers can best unite to protect projects, jobs and communities.

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Padraig Mannion, EU spokesperson of the Workers' Party, has slated the Merkel-Sarkozy plan for the Euro as economically incompetent and politically disastrous, and said it must be rejected out of hand by the government

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28 acts take to the stage in Sweeney’s for Love Music Hate Racism’sElectric Picnic Fundraiser this Friday 19th August. The event is splitinto two parts with the early show being Love Music Hate Racism’sfirst underage show featuring 7 teenage bands, kicking off at 2pmupstairs on the 1st floor.The underage gig was organised by JordenBukspan , a young student at Stratford college who approached LMHRwanting to get involved.

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A second solidarity vigil/protest will take place this Wednesday 17th Aug at 5pm for Brendan Lillis at Daunt Sq in Cork City, all anti imperialists socialists humanitarians etc welcome

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REPUBLICAN NETWORK FOR UNITY (RNU) Cogus Spokesperson, CIARAN CUNNINGHAM has demanded the full implementation of last August’s Maghaberry Agreement.

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On 6th April last, the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign appealed to Riverdance to cancel its tour of Israel scheduled for 1-13 September next.

In response, Riverdance posted the following on its website: “Riverdance supports the policy of the Irish Government and indeed the policy of every other EU state that cultural interaction is preferable to isolation.” Significantly, all feedback comments were disabled for this posting.

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REPUBLICAN NETWORK for UNITY Chairperson, CARL REILLY has called on the Catholic Primate of Ireland, Sean Brady to resign his position.

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Sinn Féin was out in strength on Saturday 30th July proudly supporting Belfast Pride 2011. Ógra Shinn Féin activists and the Sinn Féin LGBT group were joined by Belfast Mayor Niall O’Donnghaile, DCAL Minister Caral Ni Chuilin, Gerry Kelly MLA and a host of Sinn Féin councillors to celebrate the biggest pride parade in Ireland.

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Your article in the summer 2011 edition of ‘Emma’ entitled ‘A Black Spring’ expresses concern about the possibility of a Muslim Brotherhood dominated government in Egypt in the future after the transition period. You conclude that the easiest aspect of the fight is with the violent jihadists; and whilst Bin laden is dead, the doctrine of jihad lives on. In another article*   you say: “...the gradualist approach is far more likely to win the prize of state power. All that Khomeini did before he came to power in Iran was to preach the merits of a society based on Islamic law. He did not engage in terrorism. Yet he and his followers took over Iran – a feat far greater than bin Laden ever achieved. In Iran the violence came later.” 

In reality, however, ‘doctrine’ alone was not the reason behind the brutal Islamic movement’s rise to political power. In Iran, for example, the rise of Islamism was aided by the US-led foreign policy of creating a green or Islamic belt around the then Soviet Union during the Cold War. At a conference in Guadeloupe, Western powers decided to back Islamism at the expense of a left-leaning revolution that was crushed in order for the Islamic Republic of Iran to establish itself. In fact, to secure power, the regime slaughtered an entire generation. As a result, we have witnessed the rise of the political Islamic movement for several decades.

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A fuller report from today’s Irish Independent on the Labour capitulation on Low Pay is carried below.

Not alone has the Labour Party agreed to the scrapping of the Sunday premium for low paid workers, it has also agreed to allow employers to claim inability to pay and ,if successful, to pay a lesser rate for normal working days. In circumstances in which demand is being continuously removed from the economy by government, this can only lead to continuous reduction in the direction of the minimum wage and the effective collapse of the system. Compliant employers will be progressively undermined by those paying a lower rate.

The scrapping of the Sunday premium will simply add to the profits of highly successful multi-national retail chains at the expense of their employees.

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This morning, Wednesday 27th July, at 7am, campaigners placed an enormous cement filled barrel or 'lock-on' in the middle of the road between Shell's Ballinaboy refinery and tunnelling compound at Aughoose. Two people are locked on to the barrel and it is expected that it will take the best part of a day before it can be moved. It is now stopping all truck deliveries between the two sites, seriously delaying Shell's work for the third day this week.

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