Tomás Ó Flatharta

Looking at Things from the Left

Archive for the ‘Black Humour’ Category

Bad Man Dies in Utah, USA – Sniper Kills Charlie Kirk, President Donald Trump Inflames Right-Wing Hatred

leave a comment »

A close friend and comrade, Mark Findlay writes :

Seriously, nothing good will come out of this, save a bit of schadenfreude. It will only enrage the far right even more and replacements will be found. Just like the daft idea of shooting Trump. He survived and made the most of it propaganda-wise. I am completely opposed to any idea of assassination of our opponents.

Let’s wait to see the results of the police investigation. At the time of writing no definitive evidence is in the public domain about the identity of the assassin.

Read the rest of this entry »

Graham Linehan, an obsessive anti-trans comedy writer (Father Ted), has been arrested by British cops “I arrived back in London to discover the UK is still a police state run by trans activists”

leave a comment »

Graham Linehan, the obsessive anti-trans comedy writer (Father Ted), has been arrested by British cops in a London airport after a ten hour transatlantic flight. “I arrived back in London to discover the UK is still a police state run by trans activists”

Given that Graham Linehan blogged about it, when he arrived back in Heathrow last night he was arrested over this tweet and two others. He has to show up for another interview in October. He also ended up in hospital with high blood pressure and is banned from tweeting.

Aidan Comerford (@aidancomerford.bsky.social) 2025-09-02T09:07:48.310Z

https://grahamlinehan.substack.com/p/i-just-got-arrested-again.

The anti-trans “left” will go crazy.

John Meehan September 2 2025

Written by tomasoflatharta

Sep 2, 2025 at 1:10 pm

‘Do you like being shackled?’ Data shows ‘Trump slump’ of foreign tourists avoiding the US – Alternet.org

with one comment

P:olitical Poison is spreading – across the globe police state practices are mushrooming. The articles below paint a frightening picture of Donald Trump’s USA.

‘Do you like being shackled?’ Data shows ‘Trump slump’ of foreign tourists avoiding the US

Link :


Do You Like Being Shackled? Data shows ‘Trump slump’ of foreign tourists avoiding the US

A tourist takes a group selfie on the ?Big Bus? at Times Square in New York City, U.S., August 27, 2024. REUTERS/Kent J Edwards

According to preliminary government data released on Tuesday, visits to the United States from abroad declined by 11.6 percent in March compared to the same month last year, with international arrivals from China seeing a decrease of nearly 1 percent.

Wolfgang Georg Arlt, the CEO of the China Outbound Tourism Research Institute, told ABC that the number of leisure trips taken by Chinese citizens to destinations such as Disneyland, Hawaii and New York is significantly declining and is unlikely to rebound until after President Donald Trump has left office. He referred to this trend as the “Trump Slump.”

The U.S. tourism sector anticipated a strong year in 2025 for foreign visitors. After a significant increase in international arrivals in 2024, some predictions suggested that this year’s numbers could match those seen before the COVID pandemic.

However, just three months into the year, there has been a sharp decline in international arrivals. Amid reports of tourists being detained at the border, many travelers from other countries are opting to avoid the U.S. in favor of other destinations. Reacting to the administration’s harsh immigration policies, several nations have updated their travel recommendations regarding the U.S. Recently, Germany amended its advisory to stress that having a visa or entry waiver does not ensure admission into the country. The UK Foreign Office also updated its guidance to highlight the importance of adhering to all regulations, noting that U.S. authorities strictly enforce entry rules and violations may lead to arrest or detention.

Read the rest of this entry »

USA President of Vice JD Vance flounders in Greenland Snow – Sniffer Dogs on Trail of 2nd Lady Usha Vance

leave a comment »

Great mocking description : dogsled diplomacy – USA President of Vice JD Vance and his wealthy wife Usha flounder in Greenland snow. 

From Tony Tassell of  the Financial Times :

Trump’s dogsled diplomacy has spooked and angered Greenland – @richardmilne.ft.com column. Nobody in Greenland or Denmark is accepting the cited reason for the US national security adviser, vice-president’s wife & secretary of energy to the island – a dogsledding contest http://www.ft.com/content/079a…

Trump’s dogsled diplomacy has spooked and angered Greenland – @richardmilne.ft.com column. Nobody in Greenland or Denmark is accepting the cited reason for the US national security adviser, vice-president’s wife & secretary of energy to the island – a dogsledding contest http://www.ft.com/content/079a…

Tony Tassell (@tonytassell.bsky.social) 2025-03-25T08:16:10.228Z

JD and Usha Vance Snowed Out : Greenland and Vermont

Denmark Sends Extra Sniffer Dogs 🐕 to Greenland

USA “Second Lady” Usha Vance has created a stink  in Greenland – Diplomacy?

The Journal.ie reports :

AN UPCOMING VISIT to Greenland by US Vice President JD Vance’s wife Usha Vance, along with National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, has been denounced by the country’s Prime Minister Mute Egere.

The Office of the Second Lady of the US issued a statement today announcing Thursday’s trip, saying the delegation would be visiting historical sites, learning about Greenland’s culture and attending its national dog sled race.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright will also be joining the delegation.

“It should be said clearly that our integrity and democracy must be respected without foreign interference,” Egede said, adding that this week’s visit “cannot be seen as just a private visit”.

Negotiations over the formation of a new government are ongoing in Greenland following elections held earlier this month that saw the centre-right Democrats come out on top.

Source :

https://x.com/SLOTUS/status/1903832168054337840?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1903832168054337840%7Ctwgr%5E2e8d9bbf807fd365961481c577f11aaafcc690d5%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thejournal.ie%2Fgreenlands-pm-describes-upcoming-visit-by-us-vice-president-jd-vances-wife-as-aggressive-6657521-Mar2025%2F

Denmark’s crack sniffer- dogs team retaliates :

Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory seeking to emancipate itself from Denmark, holds massive untapped mineral and oil reserves, although oil and uranium exploration are banned.

Greenland is also strategically significant in geopolitical terms due to its location in the Arctic. Geographically, it is closer to North America than to Europe and is also home to a US military base.

The country has its own flag, language and institutions. However, Greenland’s judiciary, monetary policy, defence and foreign affairs all remain under Danish control.

The Greenland government also relies on Denmark for more than half of its budget and the subsidies it receives from Copenhagen amount to a fifth of its GDP.

According to polls, most Greenlanders support independence from Denmark but not annexation by Washington.

Denmark has responded to Usha Vance’s planned visit by sending extra personnel and sniffer dogs to Greenland, in order to beef up security, the chief spokesman for Denmark’s national police said today.

Rene Gyldensten said that the extra officers, deployed the day before, were part of regular steps taken during visits by dignitaries to Greenland, a self-governing, mineral-rich territory of American ally Denmark.

Citing office procedure, they declined to specify the number of extra police flown on the chartered flight.

Anti-Fascists or Conspiracy Theorists? The Truth Behind Pro-Putin Protests in Britain

with 2 comments

Far-rightists all over Europe (including Ireland) regularly back Putin’s Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Some on the left identify with these awful politics. Here is a case study from Britain.

We thank our friends in the Ukraine Solidarity for their article
Anti-Fascists or Conspiracy Theorists? The Truth Behind UK Protests


Nearly three years into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and a decade after the war began, a small band of so-called anti-fascists took to the streets of London and Glasgow to demand “no more British arms to Ukraine.”

We say “so-called”, because the “International Ukraine Anti-Fascist Solidarity” demo shared more in common with far-right disinformation merchants and conspiracy theorists than the left-wing workers’ movements that stand with Ukraine against Russian aggression.

The demo was advertised in the Morning Star newspaper, in an advert which demanded “Zelensky must go!”. The optics of a movement that declares itself to be anti-imperialist but calling for regime change in a sovereign state did not seem to matter. This is a group that is happy to parrot Russian disinformation while ignoring Ukrainian voices and lives.

Read the rest of this entry »

The USA hurtles toward political crisis – Assassination attempt emboldens Trump, further immobilizes Democrats

leave a comment »

We start with an old joke on the Irish left : Which is the Evil of Two Lessers?

Ashley Smith reviews a political crisis in the USA :

Article sources :


USA hurtles towards political crisis – Assassination attempt emboldens Trump, further immobilizes Democrats – ESSF


The U.S. hurtles toward political crisis – Assassination attempt emboldens Trump, further immobilizes Democrats – Tempest

Double Evil : Donald Trump and Joe Biden

Ashley Smith analyzes the impact of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump on the deepening political crisis in the U.S. and the ever growing weakness of the Joe Biden campaign.

The United States was already headed for one of the most acute political crises in recent memory. Then former president and convicted felon Donald Trump was nearly assassinated at a rally in Pennsylvania. Having survived, Trump has consolidated his base and cornered the Democrats by blaming them for the attack.

Trump will now position himself as a strong man and survivor over a debilitated Biden campaign. He has an inside track to victory in the election with a clear advantage despite being widely despised.

Even before the attempted assassination of Trump, President Joe Biden’s catastrophic debate performance had thrown his candidacy into doubt with the bourgeois press, the Democrat’s capitalist donors, and centrist politicians, all calling for him to pass the baton to another nominee.

 GOP Capitalizes on Assassination Attempt

The attempt against Trump has drowned out all other issues. The image of him bloodied, defiant with fist raised, and chanting “fight, fight, fight” has been plastered across the media and will no doubt end up on t-shirts at this week’s GOP Convention in Milwaukee.

Read the rest of this entry »

April 1 2024 – News Alerts

with one comment

Incredible Stories :

Ultra-loyalist blogger Jamie Bryson live-tweeting “secret” DUP meeting

leave a comment »

Ultra-loyalist blogger Jamie Bryson is live-tweeting the “secret” DUP
meeting where Sir Jeffrey Donaldson is trying to persuade his party to return to
Stormont.

Could you make it up?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-northern-ireland-politics-68031910

Our friends at the Cedar Lounge Revolution are also enjoying the DUP carnage :

Perhaps this is the best highlight :

Suggested now in meeting turn of electronics; someone mutters “but JD needs it for his power point”. Chaos

Doctor Matt Barrett saves a little of Ireland’s honour at the absurd coronation of a British King called Charles III

leave a comment »

The French socialist Jean-Luc Melenchon spoke for many when he branded the coronation of the new English king Charles III “nauseating”.

A Dublin cardiologist, Matt Barrett, is the partner of an Irish politician Leo Varadkar (currently the Fine Gael Taoiseach, Prime Minister). Matt had to attend the recent coronation of an English king called Charles. While Varadkar and other attending Irish forelock-tuggers (such as President Michael D Higgins and the Sinn Féin leaders Mary Lou McDonald and Michelle O’Neill) dutifully swallowed the nauseating royal guff, Matt broke ranks.

Ten out of Ten to Matt Barrett! :

“Varadkar’s partner, Matt Barrett, however, did not get the memo. In the VIP motorcade and in Westminster Abbey, he posted a series of irreverent comments on Instagram to his private group of more than 350 followers.

“Holy shit I think I’m accidentally crowned king of England,” he posted from the taoiseach’s car as they approached the abbey on 6 May.

The posts, reported in the Irish Times on Saturday, have embarrassed the government and landed Varadkar in a fresh diplomatic blunder.

Once inside the abbey, Barrett, a consultant cardiologist, ignored an injunction in the order-of-service booklet to switch off his phone and posted jokes and observations on the ceremony.

A paragraph from page 38 in the booklet caught his eye. “The queen’s sceptre and rod are brought from the altar by the Right Rev and Right Hon the Lord Chartres GCVO and the Right Rev Rose Hudson Wilkin CD MBE, Bishop of Dover. The queen touches them in turn,” it said.

Barrett posted a photo of it with a green line around the last sentence. “Sounds like the script to a good night out, tbh,” he said.

In the list of participants, he noted the Right Rev James Newcome, who has the title Clerk of the Closet. Barrett highlighted this, saying: “Had this job until my early 20s.”

Later he posted a photograph of Charles wearing his crown and compared it to the sorting hat in the Harry Potter books. “Was genuinely half expecting it to shout ‘GRYFFINDOR,’” he wrote.”

The source is the Guardian, a British newspaper.

In Ireland, beside the famous “You Are Now Entering Free Derry Wall”, the English king is not welcome :

The Strange Rebirth of Stalinism – Colm Breathnach (Independent Left)

leave a comment »

THE STRANGE REBIRTH OF STALINISM

THE STRANGE REBIRTH OF STALINISM

The editors of this blog offer recommended reading – an article By of the Irish Left-Wing organization Independent Left.

Source : https://independentleft.ie/rebirth-of-stalinism/

A more colourful literary description of this phenomenon was offered by Yuliya Yurchenko at a November 2022 Dublin public meeting organised by Irish Left With Ukraine. The Ukrainian Marxist and Feminist offered us the idea that the USSR is dead – it is not coming back. The worst features of the dead ☠️ USSR have been imported into a new capitalist-imperialist-genocidal monster headed by Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin. The good bits have been discarded and killed off permanently. Think of Stephen King’s horror story Pet Sematary :

A well-tended path leads to a pet cemetery(misspelled “sematary” on the sign) where the children of the town bury their deceased animals.

A cat called Church dies, then :

after Church is run over outside his home around Thanksgiving. Rachel and the kids are visiting Rachel’s parents in Chicago, but Louis frets over breaking the bad news to Ellie. Sympathizing with Louis, Jud takes him to the “sematary”, supposedly to bury Church. But instead of stopping there, Jud leads Louis farther on to “the real cemetery”: an ancient burial ground that was once used by the Miꞌkmaq Tribe. There, Louis buries the cat on Jud’s instruction. The next afternoon, Church returns home; the usually vibrant and lively cat now acts ornery and, in Louis’s words, “a little dead”. Church hunts for mice and birds, ripping them apart without eating them. He also smells so bad that Ellie no longer wants him in her room at night. Jud confirms that Church has been resurrected and that Jud himself once buried his dog there when he was younger. Louis, deeply disturbed, begins to wish that he had not buried Church there.

WHAT IS STALINISM?

Read the rest of this entry »