Between the 20th and 24th of February 2012, 19 campaigners were tried at a 'special sitting' of Belmullet District Court, for alleged offences arising from protest against the Corrib gas project. Most of those tried were for Section 8 and 9 of the Public Order Act. Section 9 is obstructing 'the free passage of a person/vehicle’ in a public place and section 8 is failure to obey the directions of a Garda.

Overall the judge came down very heavily on the defendants. The hearings began only one week after public criticism from the minister for Justice Alan Shatter against what he called “protest tourism”. One campaigner received a prison sentence and three others received suspended sentences. Fines for all cases totalled €8350. read full story / add a comment

Responding to the Palestinian call for organisations to announce International Women’s Day to be a day of solidarity with the administrative detainee Hana Al-Shalabi and all female prisoners and women in the families of Palestinian prisoners, the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign is holding a solidarity vigil at the Spire on O’Connell Street, Dublin 1 from 4.30 to 6.30pm on Thursday 8th March.
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RNU delegates from across the country met at the Balmoral hotel Belfast on
Sunday March 4th to convene their yearly Ard Fheis.

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This a free public event, however, spaces are limited, and booking is strongly recommended. Please send an email to [email protected] to reserve your place. read full story / add a comment

Well known blogger and economic and social anaylyst Michael Taft is due to give a talk on the alternatives to this governments policies of Austerity and cut backs.

What is the alternative to resource withdrawals, service reduction, privitisation and general belt tightening? And how do we get from here to there? read full story / add a comment

One week before the government deadline come to the

National Rally against the Household Tax

There is a National Rally of the Campaign on March 24th, in the National Stadium on the South Circular Rd, Dublin. It is open to all, and there will be buses coming from right across the country. This Assembly will bring together the campaign right across the country, and launch the final push before the registration deadline. Make sure to be there! read full story / add a comment

There is an eerie sense of deja vu as the rhetoric used by the Imperialist leaders echoes that used in 2003 prior to the invasion of Iraq. Ben Lewis reports on debates in Westminster , international developments and the ever present danger of an Israeli attack on Iran. Full text at link.

The debate was initiated by Conservative MP John Baron, perhaps the only Tory MP who opposes an attack on Iran. His motion was simple and straightforward: “This house believes that the use of force against Iran would be wholly counterproductive and would serve only to encourage any development of nuclear weapons; and calls upon the government to rule out the use of force against Iran and reduce tensions by redoubling diplomatic efforts.” Malcolm Rifkind, Tory chairman of the intelligence and security committee, moved an amendment that completely changed its content. The amendment deleted everything except “This house” and replaced the rest of Baron’s motion with: “… supports the government’s efforts to reach a peaceful, negotiated solution to the Iranian nuclear issue through a combination of pressure in the form of robust sanctions, and engagement led by the E3+3 comprising the UK, US, France, Germany, China and Russia; and recognises the value of making clear to Iran that all options for addressing the issue remain on the table”.

The Rifkind amendment, which was passed by an overwhelming majority of 285 to 6. Those who voted against the amendment were Labour MPs John McDonnell, Paul Flynn and Dennis Skinner; Jonathan Edwards of Plaid Cymru; Mark Durkan of the Social Democratic and Labour Party; and Baron himself. read full story / add a comment

Today (4/3/12) the CDC in cooperation with residents in Charlemont Street continued to work on a communal garden for the area.

Spokesperson for the CDC and Charlemont Street resident Tony N commented: read full story / add a comment

YOU ARE INVITED to The Galway Launch of 'Mentioning the War - essays and reviews (1999 -2011)' by Kevin Higgins published by Salmon Publishing
http://www.salmonpoetry.com

The book be launched by Darrell Kavanagh @ Galway Arts Centre, 47 Dominick Street, Galway on Saturday, April 7th
LAUNCH STARTS: 3pm ALL WELCOME read full story / add a comment

The rate of Unemployment is 23.3% in Spain, almost 21% in Greece, 15% in Portugal, also 15% in Ireland and almost 7.5% in Germany. It means close to 17 million people were out of work in the first month of 2012, and that's on paper. read full story / add a comment