Tomás Ó Flatharta

Looking at Things from the Left

Welcome Galway News : Oughterard Community Calls on Government Minister Norma Foley TD to Stop the Eviction of Ukrainian Families

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Oughterard Welcomes All Link :


Oughterard, Galway Welcomes All – Stop Eviction of Ukrainian Families

PRESS RELEASE:

Oughterard Community Calls on Norma Foley – TD to Stop the Eviction of Ukrainian Families

A number of Ukrainian residents from Oughterard Manor, local TDs, and a group of residents known as Oughterard Welcomes All are urging Norma Foley to intervene and prevent the pending eviction of their neighbours.

A representative of the Oughterard Manor residents said:

“We have thirteen children under 18 years old. Six attend Scoil Chuimín agus Caitríona in Oughterard, three go to St. Paul’s Secondary School, one attends Muire Doireglinne, and three are in a community college in Galway.

We were sure we would stay in Oughterard as long as possible. The kids have friends, they love their schools and teachers. We already feel like part of the community. We’re attending GRETB classes, joining local interest groups, taking part in events, and working. Many local people support us and stay in touch — they are our friends. We feel safe and comfortable here. It has been our home for more than two years.”

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US base commander removed for refusing to lower Greenland and Danish flags at Pituffik Space Base – Small countries can humiliate imperialist bullies

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The latest news from the Greenland capital Nuuk tells us Yankee bullies have lost the plot.

Very few people live in Greenland; the population is only 56,000. The large island has attracted the attention of the United States of America (USA) super-power, which is blundering around in the Arctic wilderness.

The U.S. military announced Thursday it had removed Col. Susannah Meyers, commander of its Pituffik base in Greenland, stating it would not tolerate any pushback against President Donald Trump’s agenda.

Meyers sent an email to base personnel on March 31 distancing herself from U.S. Vice President JD Vance’s visit three days prior, according to the independent news organization Military.com.

President Trump’s threats are disintegrating in many parts of the globe; we should remember that small countries are not powerless. They can stand up to imperial mad dogs and inspire others. Danish Red-Green Alliance member of parliament Søren Søndergaard observes :

Finally, as you may know, Trump has announced that he is going to annex Greenland to the United States! Perhaps to gain free access to all of Greenland’s minerals. Perhaps to prevent other countries from using the new shipping routes that are appearing after the polar ice caps melt. Or maybe simply because if you add the territory of Canada and Greenland to that of the United States, the American territory will be larger than that of Russia and will constitute the largest country in the world. This gives a new meaning to the slogan ‘Make America Great Again’: ‘Make America “Great” Again’.
But the small and proud Greenlandic people have a saying: ‘Nothing about Greenland without Greenland’.

On Easter 1916 “the world did gaze with deep amaze” after small Ireland struck a deadly blow against the world’s then biggest imperial monster, the British Empire. This defiant message of resistance is immortalized here by Sinéad O’Connor and the Chieftains :

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On the Warpath Against Immigrants – Sinn Féin’s Wicklow-Wexford Teachta Dála Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin

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Here is pictorial evidence justifying a stark headline :

We republish one comment which sums up the appalling news :

You should be ashamed of yourself. Bet you’re going to mass on Sunday praising a white washed Middle Eastern man who told you of all things you should help a stranger. Is that Sinn Féins new policy? No wonder the younger members leave in droves.Mary Lou McDonald – Sinn Féin that’s the reason right here

We have a policy on this site of refusing to publish links with sites full of racist poison. The facebook site of Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin TD (Sinn Féin, Wicklow-Wexford) easily qualifies for this prohibition.

Is the racist policy of Fionntán Ó Súilleabhán TD an isolated Sinn Sinn Féin example?

The answer to this question is a resounding No.

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USA : “Ten National Unions Call for Anti-Trump Resistance” – Labor Notes, Natascha Elena Uhlmann, April 8, 2025

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Mass resistance to the far-right USA Donald Trump régime is growing. This Labor Notes article highlights a number of disturbing cases : people are being illegally detained by racist state forces and deported. Similar authoritarian anti-democratic developments are occurring in other countries, including Ireland.

The situation is far more grim in Putin’s Russia – that is where we are headed unless resistance grows.


Members of various unions rallied in protest March 27 outside the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington, where farmworker organizer Lelo Juarez and SEIU member Lewelyn Davis are being held. Credit: The Stand

Link :
USA : Ten National Unions Call Anti-Trump Resistance

Ten national unions and dozens of locals representing more than 3 million members have issued a joint statement demanding the release of immigrant workers recently snatched by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The statement names farmworker union leader Alfredo “Lelo” Juarez, who was picked up in what appears to be blatant retaliation for his organizing; SEIU Local 925 member Lewelyn Dixon, a University of Washington lab technician detained on her way home from visiting family; SEIU Local 509 member Rumeysa Ozturk, a graduate student whose detention by federal agents was captured in chilling footage; sheet metal worker Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a SMART Local 100 apprentice who was sent to El Salvador’s notorious prison complex; and United Auto Workers Local 2710 member Mahmoud Khalil, abducted by federal agents in front of his eight-months-pregnant wife.

The unions are also calling on employers, university administrators, and local governments to refuse to cooperate—and demanding that elected officials “find their spines.”

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“Our task is to do everything in our power to give Ukraine the best possible starting point for securing the fairest possible peace. This means putting pressure on our governments to give more aid to Ukraine. That is our main task.” – Søren Søndergaard MP, Red-Green Alliance, Denmark

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Søren Søndergaard, a Red-Green Alliance member of the Danish parliament, delivered the following speech to a March 26 and 27 Brussels Solidarity With Ukraine Conference

Søren Søndergaard MP, Red-Green Alliance, Denmark

1) Prerequisite for a just peace – more support for Ukraine

The latest developments, with Trump’s blatant betrayal, are putting enormous pressure on Ukraine. It will be forced to make very difficult choices with enormous consequences. But as friends of Ukraine, we must continue to insist that neither Trump, nor the EU leaders, nor indeed we, should decide the path forward for Ukraine.

This choice can only be made by Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. Because they are the ones who are under attack, who are losing lives and suffering every day in the war.

Our task is to do everything in our power to give Ukraine the best possible starting point for securing the fairest possible peace. This means putting pressure on our governments to give more aid to Ukraine. That is our main task.

2) We are not giving enough = ‘rearmament of the EU’?

I have just returned from a security conference in Warsaw for representatives of the EU national parliaments and the European Parliament. Some speakers asked the following question: how is it that 500 [million] Europeans are begging 350 million Americans to stop 150 million Russians who are unable to win a war against 40 million Ukrainians?

I understand that some people are asking this question to argue in favour of a general militarisation of Europe. But the question itself contains an important point. If Putin’s Russia wins the war, it is not because Europe lacks the necessary resources. It is because of a lack of political will to support Ukraine.

Western countries have supported Ukraine sufficiently to enable it to continue the war, but not sufficiently to drive the invaders out of the occupied territories.

Instead, the war in Ukraine is now being used as an argument in favour of general rearmament throughout the EU. The European Commission’s grand plan – Rearm Europe – envisages spending 800 billion euros on strengthening military capabilities.

To sell it, the myth is being spread that the reason we have not been able to help Ukraine with the necessary military supplies is that the European arms industry is small and too weak.

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Brussels conference lifts Ukraine solidarity to higher plane – Report by Dick Nichols, Green Left Weekly Australia

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The March 26-27 Brussels Solidarity with Ukraine conference drew together about 200 activists from a score of countries, in support of the Ukrainian people’s national and social rights.

A main organizer was Dick Nichols, who wrote the comprehensive report below;

Link :
Brussels Conference Lifts Ukraine Solidarity to a Higher Plane – Dick Nichols, Green Left Weekly

Former Finnish education minister Li Andersson (left) and Ukrainian women’s rights activist Ivanna Vynna addressing the March 26-27 Ukraine Solidarity Conference in the Belgian capital Brussels. Photos: Julie Ward

The gathering was organised by the European Network for Solidarity with Ukraine (ENSU) and the Ukraine Solidarity Campaigns (USC) of England and Wales and Scotland. It was devoted to strengthening people-to-people solidarity, as the menace of Ukraine being partitioned and pillaged by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s and United States President Donald Trump’s governments looms ever larger.

The conference also took place in the context of ongoing conflict between Ukraine’s trade union, feminist, environmental, civil rights and progressive political movements and the neoliberal domestic policies of Volodymyr Zelensky’s government.

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“I recently got a cancer diagnosis” – Richard Boyd Barrett, People Before Profit TD | Today with Claire Byrne – RTÉ Radio 1

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Very best wishes to Richard Boyd-Barrett TD (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit) who has publicly broadcast information about his serious cancer diagnosis. He has throat cancer and is dropping out of public life for a few months. Doctors have removed Richard’s tonsils, and he will shortly begin intensive treatment, including radio and chemo therapy. The medical verdict is that Richard has an 8 out of 10 chance of recovery. All the details are in an RTÉ Radio 1 interview broadcast on April 7 2025 – a link is below). An Irish Times newspaper report follows.

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“Being a socialist you oppose imperialism – Russia has no right to a single square metre of Ukrainian Soil” – Jonas Sjöstedt, European Parliament Member of the Vänsterpartiet (Left Party, Sweden)

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News reports, reactions and analysis : Solidarity With Ukraine Conference, Brussels, March 26 and 27 2025.

Jonas Sjöstedt, European Parliament Member of the Vänsterpartiet (Left Party, Sweden) spoke at the opening session of the international conference “Solidarity with Ukraine”, March 26 and 27 2025, Brussels.

Link :
Jonas Sjösted MEP (Left Party, Sweden), European Left – Being a socialist you oppose imperialism – Russia has no right to a single square metre of Ukrainian Soil

Li Andersson MEP (Left Alliance, Finland) reports :

Ukraine needs support to fight back against Russia’s aggression, but we must also address the problems facing Ukrainian civil society.

Last week we in The Left group organised a conference in Brussels to which we invited Ukrainian leftists and trade unionists to talk about supporting Ukrainian civil society in the midst of Russia’s illegal war of aggression launched by Putin.

Their message was very clear: in addition to arms support, there are many problems in Ukrainian civil society that urgently need solutions. In particular, they highlighted the serious lack of affordable housing, the lack of care services and the proposed reforms which will weaken workers’ rights and trade unions.

When I was in Kiev last autumn, we also talked a lot about the housing shortage with the Ukrainians.

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“Never Seen Anything Like This in New York City” – Enormous Protests Against the USA’s Far-Right Trump Régime – the World Awakes April 5 2025

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Global Anti-Trump Protests Erupt, April 5 2025, Link :
Global Anti-Trump Protests Erupt – April 5 2025

Ukraine, Palestine : Occupation is a Crime

Some on-the-spot activist commentaries :

I have never seen anything like this in New York City. 5th Ave covered from 42nd St well to the 20s. Nobody prepared for this volume. Volunteers are holding the traffic on all the side streets. No police in sight. #handsoff

I have never seen anything like this in NYC. 5th Ave covered from 42nd St well to the 20s. Nobody prepared for this volume. Volunteers are holding the traffic on all the side streets. No police in sight. #handsoff

Mor Naaman (@informor.bsky.social) 2025-04-05T18:33:30.536Z

I have never seen anything like this in NYC. 5th Ave covered from 42nd St well to the 20s. Nobody prepared for this volume. Volunteers are holding the traffic on all the side streets. No police in sight. #handsoff

Mor Naaman (@informor.bsky.social) 2025-04-05T18:33:30.536Z

I promise you that not all Americans have given up on our Ukrainian brothers and sisters! Or democracy. Slava Ukraini!

American media doesn't seem to be adequately covering what's really happening in the US. Anti Trump/Musk and Pro-Ukraine ProtestsA story in pictures.

Lexxi 🦋 🦋 🇺🇲 / 🇨🇦 💙 (@lexximagic.bsky.social) 2025-03-04T00:43:05.467Z

London Calling :

London, UK#HandsOff anti-Trump/Putin protests.For us it's Hands-off Ukraine.

Tim White (@twmcltd.bsky.social) 2025-04-05T20:42:33.909Z

Tanya Vyhovsky, A Vermont State Senator reports :

From inside the statehouse in Montpelier (The Capitol of Vermont) – it was good to see people waking up, now this has to be sustained, organized and intentional.

Information, Tanya Vyhovsky :
Tanya Vyhovsky, State Senator, Vermont

Tim White :

The nationwide anti-Trump protests in the USA are well underway.

Here are photos from just a small selection of varying cities. Minnesota, New York, Orlando (love the Ukraine flags) and Montpelier, a town in Vermont with only 7000 inhabitants!

The nationwide anti-Trump protests in the USA are well underway.Here photos from just a small selection of varying cities. Minnesota, New York, Orlando (love the Ukraine flags) and Montpelier, a town in Vermont with only 7000 inhabitants!

Tim White (@twmcltd.bsky.social) 2025-04-05T19:11:09.968Z

French Far-Right Leader Marine Le Pen Sentenced to 5 Years jail (2 suspended) – banned from running for president for 4 years – a familiar story with many parallels

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Currently a right wing Irish coalition government has a parliamentary majority because of a pact with a proven corrupt racist politician from Tipperary Michael Lowry (a former Fine Gael government minister). A number of high-profile Irish politicians have corruption black marks against their names besides Mr Lowry : Former Fianna Fáil heads of government (taoisigh) Charles Haughey and Bertie Ahern; former deputy leader of the right-wing Progressive Democrats Michael Keating; and so on.

The USA White House is run by a convicted rapist, Donald Trump, who promotes the political ambitions of a convicted Irish rapist, the kick-boxer Conor McGregor.

Readers may have noticed that wealthy powerful criminals like Lowry, Trump, McGregor and Marine Le Pen from France do not give up trying to get convictions overturned :

Here is an extract from a routine Irish Times report, May 8 2023 :

This is the factual position :

“Mr Lowry, a former Fine Gael minister, was previously found by a tribunal to have behaved in a manner that was “profoundly corrupt”. (Irish Examiner, April 2).

Donald Trump is actively trying to get his rapist conviction overturned on very dodgy grounds :

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