Tomás Ó Flatharta

Looking at Things from the Left

Pat Finucane – A De Silva British State Whitewash?

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Read this – and see that the British State is very unlikely to hold a Public Inquiry into the killing of Pat Finucane

The Broken Elbow's avatarThe Broken Elbow

Corrected 14.40 EST

Correction – December 27th 2012 – The Force Research Unit member we identified as Peter Charles Jones from the two photos taken of the unit was in fact a soldier called Kevin Dodds. He was/is a friend of another well known special forces soldier, Charles Pettifer, a former member of the SAS who married Tiggy Legge Bourke, friend of the late Lady Diana Spencer and nanny to her two sons. Dodds and Pettifer, according to our sources, went into business together after military service and set up a risk assessment company (business-speak for private detectives). However as you can see here, Pettifer has since moved up in the world, literally.

Meanwhile the former SAS soldier turned thriller writer known as Andy McNab was obviously indulging in some sly humour at the expense of the former FRU member when he wrote the novel described below (cue tipsy laughter…

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Coalition to fix repossession loophole – The Irish Times – Wed, Dec 12, 2012

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http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/1212/breaking3.html Labour the Bankers’ Party – With Apologies to the late Sinn Fein the Workers Party – No apologies to Deputy Gilmore, LPBP Leader, ex SFWP member.

Written by tomasoflatharta

Dec 12, 2012 at 9:49 am

Baseline Benefits are under attack: ULA statement | United Left Alliance

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Rabbitte Runs From Big Bankers

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A Rabbite Poacher Turned Gamekeeper Runs For Cover

namawinelake's avatarNAMA Wine Lake

There was a frisson of hope and defiance yesterday afternoon when RTE produced the report below on its website.

JackRabbit

Was the Government or at least the Labour Party component, without which the Coalition will fall, changing tack in its dealings with the ECB, would unilateral action be on the table after all unless there was some movement on the part of the ECB, has the Government received tacit approval for a plan which it was sure it could deliver?

Sadly for those who waited up until 11pm last night to see The Week In Politics and the full interview and its context – available on RTE’s player here from 24:40 –  it seems that nothing has changed. The Labour Minister for Communications Energy and Natural Resources, Pat Rabbitte said that the €3.1bn payment that fell due in 2012 had not been paid. And he indeed did say that the payment…

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Childers Says Vote No to Burton’s Social Welfare Cuts Bill

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Labour Leinster Member of the European Parliament, Nessa Childers, said today on RTE Radio’s Morning Ireland she favoured voting NO to the Budget Social Welfare Bill. How many, if any, of Childers’ colleagues in the Labour Parliamentary Party will follow her advice?

WorldbyStorm's avatarThe Cedar Lounge Revolution

You can read it here (also PFPM put the text in comments earlier, for which many thanks).

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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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DCTU: Budget Day Demonstration

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Dublin Council of Trade Unions,

Mandela House,

44, Lower Gardiner Street, Dublin, 1

 

Dublin Council of Trade Unions

 

‘Budget Day Demonstration’

 

 

As a first follow up to the marvellous show of unity and determination on Saturday 24th November the Dublin Council of Trade Unions is asking all those who came out to reconvene on Budget Day, Wednesday 5th December, at the Dáil at 4 pm.

 

Come along with your banners.

 

Mick O’Reilly

President

Tom Simpson

Vice President

Sam Nolan

Secretary

 

Contact: 087 2101370 or dctuforum@gmail.com or the above address.

“Greek Democracy is in Tatters” – Tariq Ali on the Future of Greece and the Left’s Role Today

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“Greek Democracy is in Tatters”

Tariq Ali on the Future of Greece

Good stuff here :

What must be the Left’s role today?

To unite against the enemy. To refrain from fighting each other. To build the broadest possible united front against the collaborators who put the interests of bankers before those of their own people. That is the first and most important task. Sectarianism is always useless but in these times is a crime and not just in Greece, though sectarianism with Greek characteristics is never a pleasant sight.

http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/11/15/tariq-ali-on-the-future-of-greece/

 

 

Written by tomasoflatharta

Dec 5, 2012 at 12:07 am

Blue News for Fine Gael – 85% Want X Case Legislation

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The latest credible Sunday Business Post Opinion Poll shows the Fine Gael-Labour Coalition would lose office if a General Election was held soon. In addition 85% of people polled favour abortion legislation on the X Case Supreme Court Judgment. As usual Adrian Kavanagh has published an excellent analysis – Paddy Healy and this writer have submitted comments.

Adrian Kavanagh's avatarIrish Politics Forum

Adrian Kavanagh, 1st December 2012 

Tomorrow’s Sunday Business Post-Red C poll offers grim reading for Fine Gael, with the party support levels down six percentage points on the previous such poll.  This poll puts national support levels for the main political parties and groupings, and relative to the most recent Sunday Business Post-Red C poll on 28th October 2012, as follows: Fine Gael 28% (down 6%), Labour 14% (up 1%), Fianna Fail 20% (up 1%), Sinn Fein 17% (NC), Green Party 3% (up 1%), Independents, United Left Alliance and Others 18% (up 3%). My constituency-level analysis of these poll figures estimates that party seat levels, should such national support trends be replicated in an actual general election, would be as follows: Fine Gael 53, Labour 21, Fianna Fail 36, Sinn Fein 25, Green Party 1, United Left Alliance 4, Independents and Others 19. 

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Written by tomasoflatharta

Dec 3, 2012 at 12:28 am