Tomás Ó Flatharta

Looking at Things from the Left

Archive for the ‘World War 2’ Category

Government Decision “Heartless and Cruel” and must be opposed says Irish Left With Ukraine

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Press Statement – Government decision ‘heartless and cruel’ and must be opposed says Irish Left With Ukraine

Irish Left With Ukraine (ILWU) has condemned as “heartless and cruel” the government decision to withdraw accommodation supports for Ukrainian refugees, and has called on the trade union movement and all progressive forces to immediately launch a campaign to “reject firmly the government’s pandering to anti-immigrant sentiment.”

“In the midst of a housing crisis, the threat to throw 16,000 Ukrainians out of state-provided accommodation will mean evicting many of these people into homelessness,” said ILWU in a statement. “It will mean people being uprooted from their communities, children having to leave schools in which they are settled and have made classmates and friends, and people having to quit their jobs.

Alongside this, the decision to cut and eventually end altogether the Accommodation Recognition Payment will impact directly on a further 42,000 people who are currently accommodated in people’s homes across the country.

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May 7 2026 Elections in Wales Scotland and England – Promising Predictions from the Celtic Nations – and a Horror Story from England.

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Wales :

1 way or another, if these numbers are right, Wales is headed for a left-wing majority at the May 7 Senedd elections. A Plaid Cymru/Labour/Green coalition would have 56 seats, a healthy majority of 16 against the vile racist right Reform-Cons. it’s a proportional representation election.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿Senedd | Plaid lead by 5pts🟩Plaid: 30% (+9)➡️Ref: 25% (+24)🔴Lab: 15% (-21)🔵Con: 12% (-13)🟢Grn: 10% (+6)🟠Lib: 6% (+2)– Seats –🟩Plaid: 39 (+17)➡️Ref: 27 (+27)🔴Lab: 13 (-31)🔵Con: 12 (-18)🟢Grn: 4 (+4)🟠Lib: 1 (+1)Poll: @Ipsos, 2-8 April (+/- vs 2021) x.com/LeftieStats/…

Stats for Lefties 🍉🏳️‍⚧️ (@leftiestats.bsky.social) 2026-04-23T14:22:30.013767Z

Scotland :

If these numbers are right, the Scottish National party will win the May 7 Scottish parliament election, either with a majority over all other parties, or in coalition with the Greens. The vile racist far-right coalition Reform-Cons will only get 23 seats out of 129.

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“Venezuela – Ordinary Imperialism” – A Ukrainian Comrade Denys Pilash warns : “Fears about a global deal between two imperialisms: “you leave us the Western Hemisphere, we leave you Ukraine.” And China gets in on the act

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The Dublin government is doing normal campist hypocrisy : Currently the Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin is visiting China. Expect no mention of the Beijing régime’s well-documented human rights abuses in the Xinjiang province and persecution of the Uyghur minority – China’s boss Xi Jinping will not tolerate that kind of talk :

Link :
China Syria and the Uyghurs

“Another piece of information related to the Xinjiang issue concerns the dissemination of confidential documents that would prove Xi Jinping’s direct involvement in the repression of the Uyghurs. These are three internal speeches given in 2014 during a visit to the region immediately after the attack on Kunming railway station in which Xi called for a campaign of “heavy and rapid strikes” and demanded the creation of a climate of constant pressure. These instructions already hinted at the elements that would subsequently shape the system of internment camps, forced labour and linguistic assimilation programmes, with the aim of eliminating religious practices and cultural identities considered threats to national security.”

The head of the Dublin government is saying nothing about ongoing repression of trade union activists in Hong Kong. Not a dicky-bird from Micheál about the Chinese régimes’s threatening build-up of its military forces in the South China Sea.

Here is a flavour of the Leinster House “Official Version” : Business Before Principles :

“In Shanghai, the Taoiseach will meet the city’s mayor Gong Zheng and visit Irish and Chinese companies in the country’s commercial capital. He has planned meetings with representatives from the financial services, tourism and food and beverage sectors, among others.

“In Beijing, there will be a particular focus on further and higher education – an important area with a lot of potential for both partners, and where co-operation will yield longer-term dividends in terms of research and innovation, and people-to-people links,” he said.

The Taoiseach will meet representatives from 12 Irish third-level colleges that offer full-time degree and diploma courses with Chinese higher education partners. Typically, these offer qualifications that are recognised in both Ireland and China, with courses based on those in Irish colleges.

Last month, the Sunday Times Ireland edition reported that the Irish Military Intelligence Service was concerned about security risks associated with academic links to China. But the Taoiseach later suggested that a more sophisticated approach to China’s strategic ambitions was required.

“I do accept the intelligence that’s across Europe and UK recently but on the other hand, China has never initiated, in modern times, a war. I had a very interesting, pretty careful discussion with the Singaporean Prime Minister on that. We should do more to understand the Chinese psyche and approach, and the more longer term sort of scenario, strategic thinking,” he told The Journal.” – Irish Times January 5 2026.



Venezuela – Ordinary Imperialism

Denys Pilash, from Ukraine, offers us a very useful article based on principles which need to be universal across the left :
Ukraine – Venezuela – Palestine – Occupation Is A Crime.


Washington’s scarecrow, catching up with its Kremlin counterpart, has conducted its own special military aberration [1]. Moreover, whilst boasting about this latest step towards what it calls the “noble peace prize” [2] and asserting its “Donroe Doctrine” [3], it makes no attempt to conceal that this is all for the sake of tasty oil and that it could not care less about the consequences of regional destabilisation. [4]

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Catherine Connolly Irish Presidential Campaign and Climate Change which threatens humanity

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In a Facebook  discussion, the Swiss eco-socialist activist Chris Zeller points out that the British “Your Party” makes no statement about climate change which threatens humanity – I wonder has the Catherine Connolly presidential campaign in Ireland made a climate change declaration?

Chris’s statement, which I endorse ” I have the impression that “Your Party” is no exception. In several European countries, we see that the traditional left and the trade unions are more or less consciously putting the ecological challenge on the back burner. I would go so far as to argue that the fossil fuel backlash we are seeing in all key sectors of capital has eaten deep into the traditional left and the trade unions.

We are currently less far along than we were possibly in 2019. However, the Earth system is changing abruptly. The effects will pose a concrete threat to the physical survival of a significant portion of humanity in just a few decades. Yet the imperialist countries – including trade unions and the left – assume that the suffering will spread far away from our societies in Europe and North America.

This, of course, raises important strategic questions. My working hypothesis is that we urgently need to build a transnational revolutionary eco-socialist vanguard.
We need collectives and organisations that vigorously oppose the fossil fuel backlash and the power of fossil fuel capital in general.” 

Paul Murphy TD Advocates an Ecosocialist Revolution

Possibly Catherine Connolly makes a good start here :

https://www.thejournal.ie/catherine-connolly-says-there-is-no-recognition-of-climate-emergency-in-budget-2026-6838080-Oct2025/

John Meehan October 13 2025

Dark Comedy Show : Will Maria Steen be a Far-Right Frankenstein Candidate on the Irish Presidential ballot? – It is odds-on, a racing certainty

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Let’s have a little fun regarding the nomination campaign of the conservative far-right, anti-choice and racist candidate Maria Steen; Steen is a veteran or Ireland’s anti-choice movement; readers can stay up-to-date here :

“Independent Ireland is expected to make a decision tomorrow or Wednesday morning.

Their decision could influence whether other TDs or senators – rumoured to include a small number on the conservative wing of Fianna Fáil – would lend her their vote before the presidential nomination deadline of noon on Wednesday.” (RTÉ News Report).

The entire Fianna Fáil organisation is conservative – although occasionally it makes gestures towards the left. Between 2011 and 2018 the party leadership realised it had to dump a too close association with Catholic Church anti-feminism and the vile crime of institutional child abuse. It is continuing this tactic by nominating the high-profile Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) figure Jim Gavin to be President of Ireland. Gavin states he is pro-choice, pro same-sex marriage, and voted to lift the constitutional ban on abortion in 2018. These statements make him totally unacceptable to the Irish far-right, which includes Maria Steen and the Aontú party led by ex Sinn Féin TD Peader Tóibín, who is in charge of the Maria Steen bingo card. It is a racing certainty Steen will be on the presidential ballot – she has the nominations of 13 or 14 Oireachtas members plus 4 from the Irish Independent party.

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“Charlie Kirk Was An Anti-Ukraine, Pro-Putin Apologist” – Terrell Jermaine Starr

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Many thanks to the European Network for Solidarity With Ukraine (ENSU), which advertised a new article by Terrell Jermaine Starr, who is an interesting writer and activist.

Link :
Charlie Kirk was an Anti-Ukraine Pro-Putin Apologist

Charlie Kirk wasn’t only a racist, he was a reliable pro-Putin talking head who repeatedly spread disinformation about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.In my latest Substack piece, I explain why his white nationalism was so useful for Russian propaganda. #ukrainianview

Terrell Jermaine Starr (@terrelljstarr.bsky.social) 2025-09-15T21:05:08.004Z

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s military has raped hundreds of women (that are documented but like its many more), kidnapped tens of thousands of Ukrainian children, killed thousands of civilians in cities far from the frontlines, internally displaced millions, and forced millions more to flee their homeland into Europe and other countries during his invasion of Ukraine, which is now approaching its fourth year.

Documentation of war crimes were clearly established in the first few months of the war. But you wont’ know these details is you listened to Charlie Kirk’s statements about Putin and Ukraine.

In February 2023, Kirk said that Putin “has shown and demonstrated some extraordinary restraint” through all of this. Really? Living in Ukraine through nightly air strikes on civilians, I don’t see the restraint.

Few MAGA voices carried Putin’s water more effectively than Kirk. In the same broadcast on his show, he called Putin a “thug” the U.S. should oppose, but also described him as a “soft ally within the broader global picture.”

Long before the full-scale invasion, Kirk spread Russian talking points about Ukraine. In 2019, he tweeted, “Barack Obama asked Ukraine to investigate his political rival’s campaign manager, 3 Democrat senators asked Ukraine to investigate Trump, and the DNC solicited Ukraine’s help to dig up dirt on Trump, and the media was silent about all of it.”

Of course, this was a lie.

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“Approximately 100,000 on a far right march in London. A grim new milestone in post-war political history” – Great Article by A Very Public Sociologist

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The writer angrily says “This is the culmination of Keir Starmer’s rancid approach to immigration” – and he is spot on. We have problems confronting a growing racist right in Ireland also, and can learn a very important lesson : Dog-Whistling and Pandering to racists creates a catastrophe.

Link :
Grim Political Milestone in London 13.11.2025 – A Very Public Sociologist

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

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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.

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Once Upon A Time in the White House – Civilised People Wondered : Would timid European powers back the nauseating Trump-Putin “peace in our time” war crime plan and assist the carve-up of Ukraine?

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Two fascist gun-slingers : convicted rapist President Donald Trump (USA) and indicted international war criminal Vladimir Putin (Russia), embraced in Alaska. The USA grabbed Alaska in the 19th Century through a deal with Russia, its imperialist partner-in-crime. Uncle Sam took over the vast icy territory through the ugly and brutal method of ethnic cleansing. Civilised people hoped this ugly feature of international capitalism was a thing of the past. Wishful thinking : it is returning with ominous force in the 21st Century – especially in Ukraine and Palestine.

Volodymyr Zelensky was a target of the Alaska fascist-fascist war-crime plan. The President of Ukraine was summoned to the White House (Washington DC). A charade was staged.

Leaders of the main imperialist powers in Western Europe saw a car-crash coming : On the one hand they were opposed to witnessing Zelensky crushed by the fascist-fascist Trump-Putin steamroller, and they did not want to be accomplices to an infamous surrender. Haunting memories : the pathetic 1938 British Imperialist leader Neville Chamberlain came back from a Munich summit with the Nazi warlord Adolf Hitler – “peace in our time” said Neville, as the people of Czechoslovakia and its leader Edvard Benes were sacrificed. One year later – “peaceful” Herr Hitler invaded Poland, World War Two began.

On the other hand Macron of France, Merz of Germany – and company – wanted to avoid a direct and open clash with the White House gangster, Putin’s ally Trump. Therefore, observers were offered a charade : One after another Zelensky, Macron, Merz, Von der Leyen, Meloni, Starmer, and Rutte smeared the vain gangster Trump with praise.

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Denys Pilash – A socialist in Ukraine – Versus Trump-Putin “realist” commentator Prof John Mearsheimer – concerning the Alaska fascist-fascist plan to carve up Ukraine

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In weeks months and years to come, people all over the globe will look back at the Russian imperialist invasion of Ukraine and wonder why more people of the left failed to agree with Denys Pilash. Denys is a Ukrainian political scientist, historian, a member of the Ukrainian democratic socialist organization Sotsialnyi Rukh, and an editor at Commons: Journal of Social Criticism. Mearsheimer is a right-wing Professor who works in Chicago.

Denys Pilash (Sotsialnyi Rukh V John Mearsheimer on Democracy Now

Professor Mearsheimer (Chicago); Trump-Putin, fascist-fascist twins; Denys Pilash, Sotsialnyi Rukh Social Movement) Ukraine

President Trump says he is working on a “deal” to end the Russia-Ukraine war by hosting a series of meetings between the U.S., European Union, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky. Putin is insisting Russia keep areas of Ukraine that it has seized, including the long-contested Donbas region, while Zelensky is asking the U.S. for security guarantees to prevent future invasion by its powerful neighbor. We host a conversation with two political scientists, University of Chicago professor John Mearsheimer and Ukrainian democratic socialist Denys Pilash, about the likely outcome of the talks and the roots of the conflict. Mearsheimer says “the sides remain so far apart” when it comes to the possibility of a ceasefire during peace negotiations that “the best outcome would be to settle this war now.” Pilash, on the other hand, says there are still measures that can be taken to pressure Russia to agree to a ceasefire and to secure more favorable postwar terms for Ukraine.

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