United Left Alliance “A Work in Progress” – Steps Towards a New Party
The Irish election returned five TDs for the United Left Alliance, with 2.8 per cent of the first preference votes. But this victory for the Left is only part of a bigger picture of political change, writes Brendan Young, in an article commissioned by Scottish Left Review. Republished here with kind permission of the author and SLR.
This article is also published on the Irish Left Review Site :
United Left Alliance A Work In Progress – Steps Towards a New Party
Joe Higgins TD - Socialist Party and the United Left Alliance
Described as a sea change by commentators, the biggest shock of Ireland’s recent general election was the collapse of the vote of Fianna Fáil (FF), the State’s largest party; from 41.5 per cent in 2007 to just 17.4 per cent this time. FF has governed in Ireland for 61 out of the 79 years since it was formed in 1932 and has won 14 out of the 19 general elections. Yet it now has only one TD (member of parliament) in Dublin – down from 13. Its first preference vote in Dublin was only 12.5 per cent, whereas the United Left Alliance, on its first outing, got 7.1 per cent. What stands out is the loss of support for FF among working class voters – confirming what has already been happening in local elections. Read the rest of this entry »
Garret FitzGerald – “a Politician Often Judged on his Intentions Rather than his Actions”
The former Taoiseach and Fine Gael leader Garret FitzGerald has died aged 85 years of age – a very sad event for people who were close to him. Many credible testimonies are recorded showing he was a kind and courteous man in his personal relations. His public political career stretched from 1965, when he was elected to the Seanad (Senate) on the Fine Gael ticket up to a couple of weeks ago – he wrote a regular Saturday column in the Irish Times which was often interesting.
Many media professionals liked FitzGerald (no harm in that), but very few were willing to face him down on key issues of public policy (dangerously harmful).
Most of today’s broadcasters fall into that trap, with one small telling exception : Vincent Browne, presenter of TV3’s late night week day current affairs programme :
Tonight With Vincent Browne – TV3 Read the rest of this entry »
“Dispatches from the Dark Side – On Torture and the Death of Justice” – Gareth Peirce Talk at the Law Society of Ireland
Gareth Peirce is a dedicated lawyer who, for the last 30 years, has defended “suspect communities” against state attacks. In the 1970’s successive British governments targeted Irish people living in Britain and many individuals were framed, tortured, and forced to spend several years in jail for IRA bombings they did not commit.
Peirce came to public attention for tirelessly defending individuals in cases such as the Birmingham Six, the Guildford Four, Judith Ward and Danny McNamee. She delivered the Law Society of Ireland 2011 Human Rights Lecture on May 10 in Dublin.
http://www.humanrights.ie/index.php/tag/law-society/
John Meehan reports.
On March 14 1991 the free man Paddy Hill grabbed a microphone outside the London Old Bailey Court where the Birmingham Six were finally released, and told the world that the Judges inside the building behind him “did not even understand” the word Justice.
Gareth Pierce marked the 20th anniversary of the release with a Guardian article pointing out lessons from that era had been ignored, and today the British state is trying to create another “suspect community” : Muslims.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2011/mar/12/gareth-peirce-birmingham-six
The Law Society Meeting Room was packed – Scattered among the large crowd were many activists from the Miscarriage of Justice Campaign in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. One was Michael Farrell, who texted me and many other people about the meeting.
Some are no longer with us – notably Thom McGinty (the Diceman) who starred as “British Justice” in a huge Dublin “Parade of Innocence” protest march against the Birmingham Six frame-up in 1989 :
http://www.culturenorthernireland.org/article/1375/troubled-images-posters-1-10 Read the rest of this entry »
Stormont Assembly Results – McCann has a chance in Foyle
John Meehan offers preliminary views on the Stormont Assembly first count results
The spin and chat is about Sinn Féin and Democratic Unionist Party gains in the 2011 Stormont Assembly Elections –
hold the horses!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/election2011/constituency/html/36717.stm
http://www.u.tv/Election2011/results.aspx
The first preference totals above show very small changes in the first preference vote shares gained by the main parties. It follows, as night comes after day, we are very unlikely to see a lot of movement in final party totals, once all 108 seats are filled. Read the rest of this entry »
Barack Obama Boasts of One Death – Ignores Countless Others
The bare facts seem clear : USA military forces executed Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan on May Day 2011 –
Will this protect Barack from far-right opponents? – only time will tell, but do not count your chickens :
http://thebrokenelbow.com/2011/04/28/the-american-right-a-case-study-in-lunacy/
I tend to agree with Patrick Scott :
“This attack had nothing to do with justice or retribution. It was all about helping get Barack Obama re-elected President in 2012.
Osama Bin Laden had the blood of many innocents on his hands. But that was nothing compared to the blood of millions of innocents on the hands of US imperialism.” Read the rest of this entry »
Tomás Ó Flatharta 