Tomás Ó Flatharta

Looking at Things from the Left

Posts Tagged ‘history

No Deals with War Criminals on Alaska Soil

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This outstanding post comes from the Native Movement of Alaska,

ENSU – No Deals with War Criminals on Alaska Soil – Native Movement of Alaska


which gives readers interested in the dirty history of capitalist genocide in many parts of our globe – Palestine, Ukraine, Ireland, Australia, the United States of America – tells us why all people who identify with the left must oppose today’s “Nauseating charade as Putin comes out of international purgatory on Trump’s red carpet” (Keith Duggan, Irish Times, August 16 2025).

No Deals with War Criminals on Alaska Soil

Aug 14

Anchorage, Alaska – As President Donald Trump prepares to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on August 15 to discuss the Ukrainian crisis, Native Movement stands with Alaskans and those across the country who condemn any attempt to legitimize Russia’s war crimes on Alaskan lands.

Alaska knows the cost of Russian imperialism. For over a century, Russian colonizers stole and exploited land, decimated Alaska Native populations through violence, disease, and enslavement, and erased cultures with religious supremacy. Today, we see the same imperial playbook in Ukraine: annexation of territory, targeting of civilians, and the forcible deportation of over 20,000 Ukrainian children—a war crime under international law.  

Alaska’s history with Russian rule doesn’t make us neutral — it makes us witnesses.

The decision to host Putin, a war criminal, on Alaskan soil is a betrayal of our history and the moral clarity demanded by the suffering of Ukraine and other occupied peoples.

Native Movement voices opposition to any deals that force Ukraine to cede territory, reward aggression, or silence the voices of those whose lives are at stake. We stand against the rise of fascism and violent occupation everywhere—whether in Ukraine, Palestine, or here in Alaska. None of us are free until all of us are free.

Alaska’s own experience with resource-driven governance shows how oil wealth erodes democracy and empowers authoritarianism, just as we see in Russia’s war on Ukraine. Hosting war criminals in Alaska is a betrayal of our communities and our future.

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Trump-Putin Anti-Ukraine Summit in Anchorage Alaska – Large People-Power Protests

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This report sets the scene :

Ukrainian refugees in Alaska have mixed feelings about US and Russian leaders’ meeting

Amy MacKinnon, Anchorage Alaska, Financial Times, August 15 2025


“On Thursday afternoon, hundreds of local residents rallied in support of Ukraine at an intersection of Anchorage’s East Northern Lights Boulevard, waving the country’s blue and yellow flag. A small brass band played Bella Ciao, the Italian folk song adopted by the anti-fascist resistance during the second world war. Passing cars honked their horns. “They are trying to make decisions, agreements, without Ukraine being involved,” said Anna Koraa, who moved to the US from Ukraine in 2019. Her mother, Olena Lazar, left Zaporizhzhia — one of the four Ukrainian regions Moscow claims, but does not fully occupy — and came to Alaska shortly after the war began. Lazar is deeply sceptical about Friday’s talks. “He won’t stop until he takes all of Ukraine,” she said of the Russian leader.”

A number of short reports are linked below :

Protesters Against Trump-Putin Ukraine Betrayal in Anchorage Alaska

⚡️Pro-Ukrainian protest held in Anchorage ahead of Trump-Putin summit.Pro-Ukrainian demonstrators took to the streets in Anchorage, Alaska, on Aug. 14 ahead of a planned summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin the next day.

The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) 2025-08-15T04:51:54.733Z

Largest Ukraine Flag in the world on the way to Anchorage Alaska

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Rod Stewart Sails Away from Our Values – Farage Support Betrays Celtic – Racist at Glastonbury

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The singer Rod Stewart has racist far-right form. 50 years ago he publicly supported the vile right-wing racist ideas of Conservative Westminster MP Enoch Powell. Everyone makes mistakes : this rocker has had plenty of time to reverse course. He has not changed. Stewart is a prominent supporter of the Glasgow soccer club Celtic, which has strong anti-racist, anti-imperialist, and inclusive values.

Celtic fan Andy Muirhead declares :

his recent endorsement of Nigel Farage and Reform UK isn’t just a wrong turn; it’s a direct slap in the face to everything Celtic stands for

Rod Stewart has sailed away from our values – Farage support betrays Celtic

Link :

Andy Muirhead

Every time Rod Stewart opens his mouth about politics, it makes me sick that this ageing rocker has anything to do with our club. For years, he’s cultivated this image as a true Celtic fan, draped in the green and white, belting out club anthems, soaking up the adulation. Certain fans in our support love it, the club’s hierarchy definitely love it, and the media just can’t help themselves when they catch him on camera.

But his recent endorsement of Nigel Farage and Reform UK isn’t just a wrong turn; it’s a direct slap in the face to everything Celtic stands for. It’s proof that this ageing rocker doesn’t get our club, and that his supposed love for Celtic is nothing more than a convenient, money-making facade.

Let’s be clear: Celtic Football Club was founded by Brother Walfrid to alleviate poverty among Glasgow’s Irish immigrant community. Its very soul is rooted in charity, social justice, and an unwavering commitment to inclusivity. We are a club open to all, regardless of race, religion, or background. Our history is one of solidarity with the oppressed, a beacon of hope in challenging times. This ethos, this fundamental decency, is what makes Celtic “A Club Like No Other.”

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European Law might overrule bigoted British Supreme Court Anti-Transgender ruling in 6 County bit of Ireland – since Brexit, the north is different from Great Britain

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Voters in the 6 County bit of Ireland rejected Brexit in the 2016 British State referendum by a large margin : 55 to 45 per cent. This was a unique political event – opposition to Brexit broke down the normal sectarian divide on an important constitutional development in the north of Ireland : Almost all nationalists voted against Brexit, and they were joined by a significant number of Unionist (perhaps ex-Unionist) voters.

Afterwards a decision was needed : would a new European Union (EU) – Britain border divide the 6 and 26 county bits of Ireland – or would a new border emerge, dividing the island of Great Britain from all of Ireland?

Everybody knew a new Brexit border could not be imposed on Ireland. The British government needed window-dressing for its Unionist allies : the “Windsor Framework” was unveiled with a walk-on part for the reluctant British monarch King Charles.

This rickety constitutional construction kicked a sleeping dog. The 1998 Good Friday Agreement. copperfastened an imperialist crime – the 1922  partition of Ireland.  A promise that partition could be ended through an internal 6 county referendum is part of the GFA – but this was never meant to happen. The architects of the GFA reasoned, correctly in 1998, that an anti-partition majority in the north of Ireland was extremely unlikely. The Unionist Veto was safe. After Brexit, not any more.

The former Fine Gael leader and taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, is saying out loud what many people know is true but do not want to hear :

A Nigel Farage-led UK goverment could herald a united Ireland – Varadkar

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Stalinists, former IRA Volunteers and former Sinn Féin Members in Irish Libel Courts – Past and Present – Proinsias De Rossa’s 1997 Victory Against the Sunday Independent – Gerry Adams Defeats the BBC in a 2025 Dublin Court Case – Next on the List : Eoghan Harris Versus many female journalists

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In the 1990’s Proinsias De Rossa TD (ex Workers’ Party President) took a libel action against a right wing Irish newspaper, the Sunday Independent and a star columnist, Éamon Dunphy. Dunphy needed evidence to back up an opinion piece. A colleague, Liam Collins, went to the Moscow Archives in November 1996, searching for an original document. The newspaper’s barrister, Patrick McEntee, told his clients that reports, gossip, and beliefs were not enough : hard evidence was needed.

Claims were made that De Rossa and his then colleague Seán Garland had written a secret 1986 letter to the Russian Communist Party, rulers of the Soviet Union, seeking much-need funds.

The final score? De Rossa won the court case.

The right wing newspaper produced the alleged secret letter – one expert said it was signed by De Rossa and Garland, another expert disagreed. One expert’s word against another.

De Rossa said the letter discovered in the Moscow archives was bogus.

The only person who might have convincingly tested De Rossa’s credibility was his former close comrade – transformed into bitter enemy – Seán Garland. Garland and De Rossa were on opposite sides when the Workers’ Party split in two after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. The USSR system collapsed in the early 1990’s. Garland did not take the witness stand in this case.

Former Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams took a libel action against the BBC. Adams, like De Rossa, secured a victory against the media organisation because it could not prove its damaging claims.

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Keir Starmer’s crazy comment about pro Palestine Kneecap playing at Glastonbury – ex taoiseach Leo Varadkar raps British PM’s loony statement

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Irish Rap performers Kneecap are booked to play at a huge music festival in Glastonbury, but British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer thinks that’s not “appropriate”. Starmer’s crazy comment is so off-the-wall that ex Irish taoiseach (prime minister) the ultra-conservative Leo Varadkar (Fine Gael), thought it was a gag.

Irish Times news report :

“Kneecap’s official Instagram page shared a screenshot of the article containing Mr Starmer’s comments, stating that “arming a fu*king genocide” was what’s “not appropriate”.

In a comment underneath the post, Mr Varadkar said he had thought the comment from Mr Starmer was a “gag”.

“[I] no longer hold office nor have any mandate so my views don’t count for so much anymore. I get that. But I really thought this was some sort of gag. It’s the role of artists to be avant garde, inappropriate, challenging, disruptive – from James Joyce to Sex Pistols and Playboy,” he said.”

See also at this link :


Starmer claims Kneecap Glastonbury set “not appropriate”

The Issue is Genocide in Palestine

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USA : Immigration Cops (ICE) arrest prominent California trade union leader David Huerta – Tidal Wave of Solidarity Spreads – The workers’ movement across the globe should act

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The arrest of California union leader David Huerta is galvanizing a new element—solidarity:


David Huerta Arrest – SEIU Update

SEIU California :

UPDATE: David Huerta has been released from the hospital but remains in custody.

His words: “We all collectively have to object to this madness because this is not justice. This is injustice.”

Free David Huerta. Free them ALL.

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Gerry Adams Wins Libel Case Versus the BBC concerning the 2006 killing of IRA informer Denis Donaldson – Dublin Jury Awards €100,000

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This is a result which does not surprise close observers of the proceedings.

A very strong argument was advanced by Tom Hogan, counsel for Gerry Adams.

A BBC journalist has rejected a suggestion that she engaged in "a box-ticking exercise" when finding sources to corroborate an allegation against Gerry Adams which is at the centre of a defamation case

RTÉ News (@news.rte.ie) 2025-05-15T11:37:57.106Z


Source :

Tom Hogan, Counsel for Gerry Adams in BBC/Denis Donaldson libel case, puts forward extremely strong argument

The BBC Spotlight reporter Jennifer O’Leary failed to convince the jury about the quality of her 6 anonymous sources.
Any reasonable juror was bound to say to themselves : “It is irrelevant that Adams was, or was not, in the IRA. This claim is not proven – we are asked to take one person’s word for it, and that is not good enough”.

In short, the BBC case was extremely flimsy as it relied on anonymous British intelligence sources.



In this respect, see Anton McCabe’s incisive article below –

Adamned if he does, adamned if he doesn’t

Gerry Adams didn’t order spy’s murder, and ‘Spotlight’’s agent didn’t even say he did

British intelligence sources are serial liars – and the background news is :
The British Northern Ireland Secretary of State Hilary Benn is scrambling to prevent a public enquiry into
the Sean Brown 1997 murder involving 25 – yes 25! – people connected to British intelligence.

Former Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams with British King Charles – ex Fianna Fáil TD Seán Haughey looks on

Tánaiste Simon Harris has come out firmly with the Brown family, the GAA, thousands of Derry demonstrators, the Irish News etc – against the British state’s cover-up protecting MI5 murderers.

We are well used to British government cover-ups in Ireland. We are even more used to Dublin governments bowing, scraping, and capitulating to Westminster diktats.

So, it is notable that the Dublin government has grasped the Sean Brown cover-up must end.

John Meehan May 30 2025


After the libel trial result was made public, Gerry Adams called on the Dublin government to meet the family of Denis Donaldson. Jane Donaldson, the daughter of the killed IRA informer, issued a public statement which has the ring of truth.

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The British State and the 6 County Bit of Ireland – Hilary Benn’s Three Cover-Ups Are Protecting State Killers

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Hilary Benn is the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. He is very busy, scrambling to protect state killers.

Appalling vistas have come to the surface.

Hilary Benn, British boss (Six County bit of Ireland) flanked by Stormont 1st and Deputy 1st Ministers Emma Little-Pengelly and Michelle O’Neill

Three major scandals will not go away, public pressure is building up.

Number 1, The murder of Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) Chairperson Sean Brown in 1997

The Sean Brown case is extraordinary – Hillary Benn is covering up the involvement of 25 people connected to British intelligence in a case that dates back to 1997. Let that sink in.

Campaigners for Sean Brown are very clear on what they want. We are well used to British government cover-ups in Ireland, and are even more used to Dublin governments bowing, scraping, and capitulating to Westminster diktats.

So, it is notable that Simon Harris – Dublin government Tánaiste (deputy prime minister) has grasped this cover-up must end. This news report is very telling :

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Belfast Child Abuse Scandal : KINCORA MONSTER DENIED ALL WHEN CONFRONTED BY AUTHOR IN THIS EXTRACT FROM HIS NEW BOOK, KINCORA: BRITAIN’S SHAME

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Child Abuse remains a major crime problem in Ireland, on both sides of the border. Veteran reporter Chris Moore has worked tirelessly researching the issue, and fighting state censorship.

Governments running the two bits of Ireland must stop pocketing knowledge of abuse, and then using the information for political intelligence purposes, and protecting powerful wealthy criminals.

The building at the centre of the scandal was demolished three years ago, but the cover up of the crimes committed behind its walls continues.
It is long past the time that the full truth was told about what happened in the house of horrors.

Suzanne Breen, Journalist, Belfast

McGrath denied his sins to the end – one of his last interviews

Chris Moore, Sunday Life, May 18th, 2025

Source : “McGrath Denied His Sins to the End” Kincora Monster Denied All

KINCORA MONSTER DENIED ALL WHEN CONFRONTED BY AUTHOR IN THIS EXTRACT FROM HIS NEW BOOK, KINCORA: BRITAIN’S SHAME

The UK government has locked up files on Kincora until 2065 & 2085.Veteran investigative journalist Chris Moore’s new book, ‘Kincora: Britain’s Shame’, launched last night in a packed Duke of York bar, means we don’t have to wait until then. #mustread

Patrick Corrigan (@patrick-corrigan.bsky.social) 2025-05-16T09:13:34.658Z

I parked in the forecourt of a neighbourhood shop with the intention of asking if anyone could direct me to McGrath’s home.

I presented a few items for payment, casually asking the shopkeeper if she could point me in the direction of his house.

Politely, but firmly, she declined, saying that as far as she and others in the village were concerned, ‘Billy’ McGrath was a friendly man who said he had been badly wronged in the courts and pestered by reporters.

“I suppose you are one of them,” she said bluntly. I owned up and then respectfully suggested that the evidence that convicted him indicated that, far from being wronged, McGrath had actually got off very lightly.

Collecting my change, I headed out to the car to consider my next move. I could do the door-to-door routine, but the attitude of the shopkeeper suggested I would receive little cooperation. Then, an elderly man approached, wearing a cardigan, dark trousers and slippers, so obviously he had not travelled too far.

I got out of the car and watched as he moved towards the shop. There is a God, I thought. Gingerly I edged around the car, proffering my hand as he reached me.

He accepted, we shook and I announced myself as “Chris Moore from the BBC”. McGrath smiled wryly and told me he had nothing to say.

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