Tomás Ó Flatharta

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Labour Members’ Forum

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An egg from Maman Poulet 14th February 2012

Labour members meet to talk about policy alternatives

As they approach their first year in Government the Labour Party have held carefully choreographed meetings of party members before their equally carefully choreographed conference in Galway next month.

 

Last night about 200 members met in Stillorgan to question Eamon Gilmore on the party’s actions in government on subjects including the Vatican Embassy, tax breaks for investors and the like.

Independently of the head office verbal dances, a grass roots members meeting is being held in Dublin this Saturday.  Entitled the Labour Members Forum, the organisers have sent out word far and wide.

A group of grassroots Labour members from a broad range of constituencies have come together to start a discussion about how we as members believe our party can deliver on the values of the Labour Party. We are organising a Labour Party Members’ Forum, “What can Labour do in government?” on Saturday 18th February in Wynn’s Hotel in Dublin. The Forum is aimed at grassroots members of the Labour party, to hear and debate alternative policy solutions to Ireland’s social and economic challenges.

Speakers confirmed  include Dr. Mary Murphy (NUI, Maynooth), Michael Taft (UNITE), Mags O’Brien (SIPTU), John Douglas (ICTU), Orla O’Connor (National Women’s Council of Ireland) and Tom Healy (ICTU).

Labour Party Head Office seem to have themselves in a quandry as they try to find who has organised the meeting with a very interesting line up.  A little birdie tells me it kicks off at 10.30am and runs all day in Wynnes Hotel.  Maybe head office will send along someone to take notes.  More information from Labourmembersforum(@)gmail.com

Written by tomasoflatharta

Feb 16, 2012 at 6:53 pm

An open email to Eamon Gilmore – Film to Follow The Ghost Writer?

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http://cedarlounge.wordpress.com/2012/02/10/an-open-email-to-eamon-gilmore/

A great idea – how about a few more such letters?

The author of this open letter says that the Labour Deputy Gilmore – second in line to Fine Gael Taoiseach Kenny – employs a well-paid adviser Mark Garrett who worked for an American firm – McKinsey and Company – connected to a failed coup attempting to depose Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in 2002.

Incidentally, do you ever ask Mark Garret about his period working as…. External Relations Manager for McKinsey and Co, the international firm of management consultants.
Does he know anything about the influential people Venezuela? Remember when the McKinsey office in Caracas, Venezuela, was used in the 2002 coup against President Chavez.

A wikileaked cable told us of a Gilmore conversation with a USA Embassy representative in which the Labour Party leader disclosed his public opposition to a second Lisbon Treaty Referendum, was a pose.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/did-he-or-did-he-not-gilmore-dispute-enters-twilight-zone-2817724.html

The labour leader is looking like a fabulous Yankee asset – interesting ghosts these days in Leinster House!

The intriguing story of the Irish Labour Party leader makes you wonder if Roman Polanski might be tempted to make a film, using a story akin to his recent thriller The Ghost Writer, where the Tony Blair-like character is played by Pierce Brosnan.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/william-bradley/the-ghosts-of-tony-blair_b_509269.html

Life is often much stranger than fiction.

John Meehan

Written by tomasoflatharta

Feb 11, 2012 at 8:22 am

Time to legislate for life-saving abortion – 20th Anniversary of the Infamous X Case, February 1992

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Time to legislate for life-saving abortion

By Therese Caherty
Today – February 6 2012 –  marks the date in 1992 when the parents of a pregnant 14-year-old took their daughter to England for an abortion. She had been raped by a friend of the family. That same day in the High Court, Mr Justice Declan Costello issued a temporary injunction to prevent the abortion. Only hours after they had left, the family returned to Ireland. This became known as the X Case.
Now finally, in 2012, a group of TDs including Joan Collins, Clare Daly and Mick Wallace are preparing to force the Coalition Government to introduce legislation on life-saving abortions. This move is to be welcomed and supported.

Irish State Tries to Intern a 14 Year Old Raped Suicidal Girl Seeking An Abortion

Read the rest of this entry »

Was Liam Cosgrave’s 1973-77 Fine Gael-Labour Coalition the worst-ever Dublin Government?

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On many occasions Gene Kerrigan has argued that the Bertie Ahern coalition elected in 2002 was the worst-ever Dublin Government.

Back in January 2006, this column argued in some detail that the then government, headed by Bertie Ahern, was the worst in the history of the State

http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/gene-kerrigan/gene-kerrigan-they-just-never-tire-of-getting-it-wrong-2660584.html

Surely the Liam Cosgrave-led 1973-77 Coalition deserves this honour

https://cedarlounge.wordpress.com/2011/02/07/left-archive-the-bottom-dog-the-working-class-paper-of-north-munster-august-6th-1976/

Liam Cosgrave Shoots to Kill

The record speaks for itself : Read the rest of this entry »

Written by tomasoflatharta

Dec 28, 2011 at 6:17 pm

Gene Kerrigan: Austerity doesn’t work? No problem… – A superb article

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Joe Higgins Warns Enda Kenny – Mass Boycott of New Household Tax in 2012

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKdjUMB1JGA&feature=player_embedded

Enda Kenny, the Mayo Deputy, the New Captain Boycott?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Boycott

A flavour of Irish Resistance in Mayo during the Nineteenth Century : Read the rest of this entry »

A Nest of Fine Gael Labour Highly Paid Neo Liberals

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Pay and Conditions Slashed for Little People – Government Handlers on Big Money

News : http://feeds.examiner.ie/~r/ietopstories/~3/GgYih_Sxfgo/

A little more detail from a Cedar Lounge Discussion :

Must admit I had never heard of Mark Garrett before following these comments – he gets a significant mention here :

https://namawinelake.wordpress.com/2011/11/15/time-for-a-technocratic-government-in-ireland/ Read the rest of this entry »

Written by tomasoflatharta

Dec 10, 2011 at 10:48 am

Budget 2012 – Round-Up of the Real Left Response – “Death By a Thousand Cuts”

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Joe Higgins Speaking in the Dáil :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Ggu-mbY-xxI

The Spectacle of Defiance Inspires on the Streets of Dublin -“Arise Ye Risen People” :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58wZmRadHwk&feature=share

Death By a Thousand Cuts – Joan Collins Speaks :

http://joan-collins.org/2011/12/06/budget-2012-death-by-a-thousand-cuts/

The Dublin West Labour TD, Patrick Nulty, winner of the October 27 by-election, voted against the budget, managing to stay within his organisation’s parliamentary party a mere 6 weeks – prompting me to observe on the Cedar Lounge Blog : Read the rest of this entry »

Remember in December “When Labour Wrestles With Its Conscience, Labour Always Wins”

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An interesting article from the Irish Examiner : http://feeds.examiner.ie/~r/ietopstories/~3/Zg1NinWii-8/

The author of that cruel jibe was ex Fianna Fail taoiseach Sean Lemass – history repeats itself first as tragedy..

Watch “Joe Higgins TD questions the Tanaiste on the illegal detention of Flotilla activists” on YouTube

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Written by tomasoflatharta

Nov 10, 2011 at 4:18 pm