Tomás Ó Flatharta

Looking at Things from the Left

Archive for the ‘International Political Analysis’ Category

Red Rants : Behind the Iron Curtain (crisis and the SWP)

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Written by tomasoflatharta

Jan 22, 2013 at 12:52 pm

Bad News from Denmark : The 2013 budget: austerity without significant changes

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A crisis looms for the Danish Red-Green Alliance :

Concerning the vote on the 2013 budget, the Red Green Alliance – Enhedslisten has signed an agreement with the government. We have chosen this commentary to present a critical review of this agreement. We conclude that the Finance Law does not meet the prerequisites for voting for it, as adopted by Enhedslisten at its 2010 Congress. An assessment of the political effects of this agreement and the tasks arising from it will be made next week – our national conference next weekend will decide on it. In the immediate future we call for people to transform anger and disappointment into an increased effort in the ongoing struggle against the degradation of unemployment benefits.

Read More Here :

Declaration of the SAP (Denmark)

Which State Has Invaded Nine out of Ten Countries on Earth?

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Or what quality does this select band of states share?

Andorra, Belarus, Bolivia, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of Congo, Guatemala, Ivory Coast, Kyrgyzstan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Mali, Marshall Islands, Monaco, Mongolia, Paraguay, Sao Tome and Principe, Sweden, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Vatican City?

Here is a link to the unsurprising answer :

British have invaded nine out of ten countries so look out Luxembourg

And Union Jack wavers wonder why they provoke ridicule :

Germans Laugh at British Absurdity

Not seen much on British TV because this

piece was deemed a potentially anti-monarchy satire and so was not promoted too much in the UK.

Update :

The Journal.ie writer did not mention regarding  the brilliant sketch “Dinner  For One”: Freddy Frinton was an anti-fascist who blocked the screening  of his sketch in Germany for 30 years.

Dinner For One

And finally, Hitler comments on the Union Jack fluttering in Belfast :

Hitler reacts to the flag coming down from Belfast City Hall and gives the orders for a full scale riot!

The Force Research Unit – How it Began

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Great work again – hats off to Ed Moloney and Bob Mitchell

The Broken Elbow's avatarThe Broken Elbow

By Ed Moloney and Bob Mitchell

In the wake of the de Silva report on the Pat Finucane assassination there has been a renewed interest, at least on the part of obsessives like ourselves, in the origins of British military intelligence operations in Northern Ireland. By coincidence BBC Panorama also has a documentary in the pipeline, postponed recently for some unexplained reason, on the Military Reaction Force (MRF), the prototype intelligence group established by the British Army’s counter insurgency guru, General Sir Frank Kitson. This fascinating period in the Troubles is being revisited on several fronts and deservedly so.

Some interesting light was shed on this early period in the development of military intelligence units and operations by a document released under the 30 year rule back in 2005. It is a Northern Ireland Office briefing paper prepared for a meeting in April 1974 between British prime minister Harold Wilson…

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Violence in the USA

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image

Meanwhile USA Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in Belfast, commenting on Union Jack Loyalist Riots ……. Please add your own sweet words!

Written by tomasoflatharta

Dec 18, 2012 at 9:50 am

A major mistake by the Red Green Alliance – International Viewpoint – online socialist magazine

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http://www.internationalviewpoint.org/spip.php?article2820 Lessons here for all forces favourable to building new anti-capitalist parties – some issues are non-negotiable principles.

De Silva’s Gaping Hole

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A gaping hole in the De Silva Pat Finucane Review

The Broken Elbow's avatarThe Broken Elbow

UPDATED 14.05 EST

STATEMENT BY ED MOLONEY ON THE DE SILVA REPORT – Dec 12th 2012

In his report on the murder of Pat Finucane, Sir Desmond de Silva has this to say in relation to the RUC’s role in encouraging the UDA to target the solicitor (Par 73):

“The critical issue, in my view, was to determine whether RUC officers had been involved in inciting loyalists in custody to attack Patrick Finucane. Allegations that RUC officers had incited loyalists in this manner were first expressed privately by the Ambassador of the Government of Ireland to the Cabinet Secretary on 13 February 1989, the day after Patrick Finucane’s murder.”
In December 1998 I was the Northern Editor of the Sunday Tribune newspaper. During that month I had lunch with the late Tommy Lyttle, then the West Belfast Commander of the UDA. During the lunch he told me that RUC…

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British State Helped UDA to kill Pat Finucane – but Prevented this Loyalist Killing Machine from Bumping Off Gerry Adams

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The British State facilitated the murder of Pat Finucane – and prevented the UDA from killing Gerry Adams – all done to help the Six County Peace Process.

The Broken Elbow's avatarThe Broken Elbow

UPDATED DECEMBER 7th

It remains to be seen just which UDA plot to kill the Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams it was that leading UK barrister Sir Desmond de Silva was referring to when he sent a message to the Louth TD this week warning him that details of the plot would be revealed in his 500-page report into the UDA’s killing of Belfast solicitor, Pat Finucane which is due to be published in the coming days.

De Silva’s private, and remarkably speedy inquiry into the Finucane murder was the response of British prime minister David Cameron to nearly two decades of calls for a full, sworn public inquiry into a scandal that nearly everyone knows, especially the British government, enmeshes MI5, British military intelligence and the RUC Special Branch in a series of murders carried out mostly in Belfast in the 1980’s by Loyalists, acting as a classic counter…

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Dublin Government Climbs Up International Corruption Table

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Corruption – Dublin Government – International Achievers!

namawinelake's avatarNAMA Wine Lake

“Ireland’s ranking shows how little faith investors have in our ability to prevent the abuse of power. Our failure to hold people to account for wrongdoing is also having a negative impact on international perceptions of Ireland. There appears to have been very little action taken on foot of the publication of the final Moriarty Tribunal report, while The Taoiseach’s decision to make public appearances with Denis O’Brien after the publication of the report will have done our international reputation no favours” Transparency International, 5th December 2012

The man who owns 29.9% of Independent News and Media, the country’s biggest private media group and who is widely seen as controlling the group with a long-term associate installed as chairman and two nominated directors on the board, is also the man who controls the country’s largest private radio group, Communicorp and indeed his so-called “right hand man” Paul Connolly owns 50%…

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Ireland’s abortion standoff – Al Jazeera Coverage

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Ireland’s abortion standoff

A link to Al Jazeera’s coverage is here :

http://stream.aljazeera.com/story/irelands-abortion-standoff-0022407

Written by tomasoflatharta

Nov 21, 2012 at 12:13 am