Hi, 

We're launching a new campaign to ensure that a ban on fur farming is included in the upcoming Animal Health & Welfare Bill.  

Part of this campaign will include touring the counties that have fur farms - to host awareness days, do leaflet drops, organise meetings with local councillors and TD's, as well as having protests at the actual farms too. 

To start things off, we'll be having a simple 'Awareness Day' in Laois, home of Ireland's largest fur farm, Vasa Ltd.

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With the Fine Gael / Labour government now annoucing that Carbon Tax will probably be increased in December 2011 budget is it not now time to revisted the whole "Humans are heating planet" nonsense in greater detail?

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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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Somehow as the sounds around us get stronger our voices get weaker and no-one wants to listen.  If we speak out people around us feel uncomfortable and threatened.

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Following the surrender of the Labour Party in Cabinet on JLCs, SIPTU has described the proposals as “relatively positive” on RTE Television News, July 28 and has given the government plan “a cautious welcome” (Martin Wall, Irish Times July 29).

This is a dark day for Irelands biggest union which was built by Larkin and Connolly

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The Shell to Sea national day of action is now in progress in Erris with a WSM member at the scene reporting that all work has been stopped, several fences have been pulled down and up to 30 people are now occupying Shell's compound. This despite the deployment of large number of private security who along with Garda have assaulted campaigners in a failed attempt to stop them gaining access to the site.

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Labour's Shame on Low Pay-Labour Party has capitulated to Fine Gael by agreeing to cut low pay

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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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Maghaberry jail is where Irish Republican prisoners in the Six Counties who did not agree with the Good Friday Agreement remained while the Provisions walked out under the terms of the Agreement. Subsequently their numbers have been swelled by others also opposed to the GFA. Although the British and the Northern Ireland Executive's Justice Minister deny they are political prisoners, they call them "Separate" because they are separated from non-political prisoners within the jail. After broken agreements, ongoing harassment and violent and physically intrusive body searches, the prisoners now escalate their protest campaign.

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The software that runs the Indymedia Ireland website known as Oscailt has been updated with two new features that will be of interest to our users. The software itself will be officially released in the next few weeks so that other sites using the software can include these updates too.

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Every Tuesday evening at 20:30 LASC will be showing a film or documentary in La Dolce Vita Winebar, 5 Cow's Lane, Temple Bar. read full story / add a comment