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.

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.

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.

RNU activists in Ireland, Scotland and America, have over the last few days been very proud to participate in the campaign and 4 day fast to call for the immediate release of Brendan Lillis.