Yassamine Mather writes on the latest rather odd elections in Iran: how would you like it if all candidates for the Dail had to be approved by the Catholic Church? In these elections which were confined to conservatives, Khamenis faction won 75% of the seats leaving Ahmadinejad isolated. What does this mean for the people of iran? Yassamine says: For now, the supreme leader has got his way. Craven ‘reformists’ will not stop him; and imperialist sanctions, sabotage and war will only make things worse. Only the Iranian masses can put an end to this blood-soaked regime. Full text at link. ... 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

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

Congratulations to Ian Bailey who eventually scored a victory in the Supreme Court yesterday, ultimately at a huge cost to the State. The questin is what will happen to the perpetrators of the frame up of Ian Bailey, particularly the Gardai. Surely this frame up can not become another cover up. Minister Alan Shatter you need to take focus of what is going on in the Justice and Legal System.

... read full story / add a comment