Posted by Jim on December 9, 2015
People in Wales have called on the governments in Dublin and Cardiff to
provide a permanent commemorative centre in Frongoch, where 1,800
Irishmen were interned after the 1916 Rising.
The PoW camp, on the site of an old whisky distillery outside the town
of Bala, held rebels such as Michael Collins, Terence MacSweeney and
Richard Mulcahy.
It became known as ‘The University of Revolution’, as it was here that
plans were discussed for future attacks on British rule in Ireland.
“During the summer, we sent an invitation to President Higgins to come
here on the centenary of 2016,” said Councillor Alwyn Jones, who lives
nearby.
“This place is so important, both to Irish and Welsh history, and if
nothing is done to permanently mark it in 2016, we fear that nothing
will ever be done and it will be totally lost to history.”
Without Frongoch, the IRA could not have attained the efficiency and
professionalism it was able to demonstrate in 1919.
Personal bonds of friendship were established amongst prisoners
from opposite ends of the country. Command structures and intelligence
networks were established or prepared with strategic planning ready to
be implemented as opportunity arose.
The GPO may have been the birthplace of the war for independence but
Frongoch was its creche.
A small plaque was placed here by the Liverpool branch of Conradh Na
Gaeilge in 2002. A school has been built on the Southcamp site, with the
Northcamp’s location now farmland.
“It was here that young rebels like Michael Collins learned from fellow
older rebels – and, remember, it brought together rebels from all over
Ireland and placed them on one site. It was a huge mistake by the
British government,” said local Welsh natonalist councillor Elwyn
Edwards.
The camp housed German POWs prior to Irish republicans being brought in.
It was chosen because escape was all but impossible, with the nearest
large town 20 miles away. Prisoners quickly established Irish classes
and sports events. One field is still known locally as ‘Croke Park’
because Gaelic games were played there.
Chris Ruane, a former Labour MP in this constituency, believes the time
is now right for appropriate commemorations at Frongoch. His grandfather
Tommy Ruane, from Galway, was interned here in 1916 for republican
activities in Carnmore.
He said: “Think of the thousands of people who get the ferry from
Ireland to Holyhead and drive by without knowing that this place is
here.”
Posted by Jim on December 7, 2015
The Anti-Internment League has described court hearings in which
seven-year-old charges were resurrected against republicans Davy Jordan
and Gavin Coyle as “political show trials”.
Gavin Coyle, who has already endured five years of a punitive solitary
confinement regime at Maghaberry high-security prison, was arrested
inside the jail earlier this week, and it is feared that the new charges
could prolong his nightmare for several years.
In a Crown court in Strabane on Thursday, the Omagh man refused to stand
or speak. But his lawyer, Niall Murphy, demanded to know why the charge
had only materialised five years after an alleged recording was obtained
of a conversation about an IRA attack. He also questioned why it was not
used against his client in his previous prosecution.
A PSNI officer present responded only by claiming that expert voice
recording analysis had taken “a long time to progress”.
Mr Murphy also pointed out that no specific details about the attack
were mentioned in the alleged conversation. Upon further questioning,
the PSNI detective admitted that the case against Coyle did not include
fingerprint, DNA, fibre or vehicle tracking evidence.
Mr Murphy accused the police of an abuse of process and said a bid to
stay the prosecution would be made at a later court hearing.
However, the judge cancelled a period of temporary release Mr Coyle was
due to receive over the Christmas period. Nevertheless, the defiant
republican gave the thumbs-up to supporters in the public gallery as he
was led from the dock.
On Friday, another Tyrone Republican, Davy Jordan, appeared in a court
in Dungannon in connection with the same incident. Jordan also did not
speak or stand during the hearing.
A detective sergeant said Mr Jordan refused to answer questions during
interrogations and when the charges were finally put to him on Thursday
night he replied to each: “I am totally innocent of this fabricated
charge.” She said the accused then added: “This is yet another case of
internment by remand.”
The PSNI detective then attempted to connect Mr Jordan to the charges as
a result of car identification near to the scene, but was forced to make
a number of embarrassing admissions.
It ultimately transpired that there was no new evidence against Mr
Jordan that wasn’t available when he was arrested and interviewed about
the same incident seven years ago, when he was released without charge.
Despite this, the Magistrate remanded him to Maghaberry jail in what the
Anti-Internment League described as “one of the clearest incidents of
internment by remand seen in Ireland in recent years”.
“Despite the counter claims of collaborators and quislings, internment
by remand is continuing to be used against Irish Republicans by the
MI5-directed PSNI and State Judiciary, supported by the Stormont SF/DUP
Coalition,” they said.
“The case of Gavin Coyle and Davy Jordan should be highlighted by all as
a disgraceful abuse of process, especially in the context of the
continuing targeted isolation of Gavin.”
Posted by Jim on December 4, 2015
by Shannon Argueta
If there is one issue that everyone in this country should be able to agree upon, it is that the first responders to the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks deserve proper medical care. There is absolutely no conceivable reason why a deal that aimed to reauthorize the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Reauthorization Act should fail to pass the Senate, but this week it did. Not only was an agreement not reached, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) blocked it for the most self-serving, despicable reason imaginable. Now, former Daily Show host Jon Stewart is back on Capitol Hill and angrily demanding answers.
Stewart returned to Washington on Thursday, and blasted McConnell for his failure to protect the more than 33,000 who are receiving medical care through the 9/11 Health Act:
“This is insane. We have a bunch of first responders outside freezing their asses off,” he said. “Our country’s last responders, our country’s worst responders, are inside nice and comfy and cozy, and probably having soup…The man has literally sponsored and touted the exact same bill for energy workers. I honestly just wish I could understand the rationale. That bill cost twice as much what they’re asking for these guys. How in good conscience can you deny them the very thing that you have proudly brought to the people of your state? Please, personally ask him that.”
The $11 billion energy bill that Stewart referred to was one that McConnell was so proud of he touted it in re-election campaign ads in 2014. The bill provided cancer screenings and set up a compensation fund for workers who were injured while working at nuclear plants — many of whom were from his home state of Kentucky. Former governor Bill Richardson (D-NM), who was Energy Secretary at the time the bill passed, said that without McConnell’s help the bill never would have passed. So, why would the same man, who helped all of those victims, block a deal to help the 9/11 first responders?
Why, for money from the fossil fuel industry.
According to reports, McConnell was using the reauthorization of the act as leverage to ease restrictions on oil exports. McConnell’s office has, of course, denied that he had anything to do with the failure to reach an agreement. In addition to Stewart, the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) President Richard Trumka also ripped McConnell for his selfish attempts to profit from political maneuvering:
“Sen. McConnell recently said,’In Congress we have a responsibility to advocate for our service members and veterans and to ensure that they get the treatment they deserve during and after their service.’ Yet in an opportunity to act on those words, Sen. McConnell didn’t. He is utterly failing the first responders of September 11—the first veterans of America’s current wars. It is despicable and negligent for Sen. McConnell to play politics with the lives and health of some of America’s bravest men and women. Sen. McConnell should not stand in the way of a permanent and fully funded James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Reauthorization Act.”
The Republican Party talks a good game about supporting our troops, police officers, and first responders, but when it comes time to actually put their money where their mouth is, they fail every single time. This is not a bill that should even be up for debate. The act should have been permanently reauthorized as part of the highway bill that is expected to pass with bipartisan support, but the GOP has prevented that from happening. The Republican Party has proven that they are completely ineffective leaders who spend more time catering to corporations than they do the people who elected them into office. This is just one more, of the many reasons to vote these people out of office and put progressives, who care about this country, in their seats.
Posted by Jim on December 3, 2015
Aer Lingus Chief Commercial Officer Keith Butler said: “We are delighted to add extra capacity to serve the strong demand for travel to Chicago and Washington.
“We continue to monitor and adjust our schedule to meet our guests’ needs. Washington has proven to be a very popular route and we’re delighted to resume the service early in time for St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.
“The launch of three new routes to Hartford, Connecticut, Newark and Los Angeles highlights the demand for travel to North America and we will continue to develop this network within the business.”
Breaking News.ie reports that the “airline will expand Dublin to Washington service for summer 2016 from four flights per week to daily flights adding an extra 10,000 seats. Meanwhile Chicago will also benefit with an extra flight per week making it 12 flights a week from Dublin.”
The Dublin to Washington service has proven very popular since it was first re-introduced in May 2015 and due to the demand, the service has been extended to January 4.
Flights will now begin from March 14 2016 allowing the airline to cash in on the lucrative St. Patrick’s Day travel, with four services per week on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.
The announcement comes after the three new transatlantic routes from Dublin – Hartford, Connecticut, Los Angeles and Newark, New Jersey bringing the number of direct flights daily to 28. Aer Lingus’ total long haul seat capacity will grow by more than 17% in 2016.
Posted by Jim on December 2, 2015
This year marks the 800th anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta at Runnymede. Most Americans recall the Magna Carta or “Great Charter” from their grammar school days. With his signature, we were told, King John, a tyrant of blessed memory, was prohibited from the arrest of free men without cause, taking property without due process and denying justice to those arrested. The US tour of the document will end in Boston in 2016. Down through the ages Kings, Queens and Prime Ministers have ignored the Magna Carta principles whenever it suited them and never more so than in Ireland. The document and its intent may be steeped in myth but its propaganda value is immense.
The British Library promoted its display of the Charter under the humble title “How British Documents Shaped Today’s World ” with handouts asserting that the Charter “…is widely considered a cornerstone of constitutional government in England and the U. S.” Professor Justin Fisher, Director of the Magna Carta Institute of Brunel University in London claims the Magna Carta is still relevant today” … shows that nobody is above the law …and establishes the rule of law as paramount.” The American Bar Association is hosting exhibits of the Magna Carta in America under banners claiming “Magna Carta: 800 Years of Democracy” and Magna Carta: The Enduring Legacy.” ABA President, William Hubbard, was no less laudatory claiming the Charter “made possible precepts like the U. S. Constitution, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the framework of justice.” U. S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch described the Magna Carta as “…the first draft of codes that now stand at the heart of our system of justice.” England’s lawlessness in Ireland has demonstrated how ludicrous and absurd this hype has become. Why the necessity for the propaganda accompanying this tour? Feeding gullible Americans this tripe about British democracy, justice and the rule of law discourages U. S. politicians from inquiring into their 30 year murder and bombing campaigns in the North of Ireland.
As a historical artifact the document is hard to beat. The original is an 800 year old sheepskin with Latin text and the signatures of King John, Stephen Langton, the Catholic Archbishop of Canterbury, and those of English warlords the British euphemistically like to call Barons. Even this novelty is unimpressive if you consider that the Irish governed themselves by the Brehon Laws formalized in writing in 700 A. D. some 500 years before the Runnymede rendezvous in 1215. They were remarkably progressive and included gender equality, divorce, criminal punishments which favored restitution and did not provide for capital punishment. Up until Britain’s Penal Laws of the 17th century Brehon Laws were observed for much of Ireland beyond the Province of Leinster or the Pale. The British rulers at the time determined that the Brehon Laws were not “compatible with crown sovereignty.” As author Dan Jones put it in his book Magna Carta: The Birth of Liberty, the claims of the Magna Carta’s contributions are “…either myths or half truths.”
Such is the regard the British have for the Charter’s principles, that Prime Ministers have always used arrest without charge, trial without jury, internment, imprisonment without due process and murder or extra-legal execution in Ireland.
Other ‘Magna Carta Moments’ include:
- Early in the 1970’s England’s hirelings set off bombs to get the Irish Government to passing a law that pretty much shredded the Magna Carta. In 1974 they delivered bombs to loyalists for an act of slaughter unequalled in the history of Ireland: the no-warning bombing of Dublin and Monaghan shopping centers which killed 34 and injured and maimed 300.
- The admission that British soldiers had no reason to kill 14 people on Bloody Sunday but no prosecution of the soldiers. Similarly, British security services conspired to murder lawyers (aka officers of the court) Patrick Finucane and Rosemary Nelson
- But no one was to be held accountable to the rule of law.
- Authors Paul Larkin (A Very British Jihad), Anne Cadwallader (Lethal Allies) and Sir John Stevens (Stevens Inquiry) have all extensively documented the lawlessness and collusion in murder of innocents by British security services but there is obstruction of justice by the government and no effort to uphold the rule of law. The precise language of the Charter is “nor shall he [the King] proceed with force or send others to do so except by the lawful judgement of his peers or by the rule of law.” Prime Minister Cameron is doing his part by spelling out UK objections to the European Human, Civil & Political Rights provisions and is amending the accountability provisions of the British Ministerial Code for government Ministers. His first draft ELIMINATES references to abiding by international law, Treaty obligations and the administration of justice. Indeed the Committee on Administration of Justice in Ireland depicts Britain as creating an elaborate “apparatus of impunity” to shield its cruel malevolence from the rule of law. Americans hardly noticed Britain’s corrupt use of the US-UK Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty and disregard for the Belfast Agreement by requiring archive records of Boston College in an attempt to interfere in Ireland’s election. The purpose of the Treaty was to expedite the certain prosecution of international human trafficking, narcotics smuggling and terrorist activities. Britain had a more useful purpose and didn’t care if the request was lawful. So convincing was the hype over the Magna Carta mystique that its display in China was moved from a University setting to the more limited access of the diplomatic mission so as not to give too many people ideas about democracy and the rule of law. The Xi government needn’t have worried. The Chinese people are somewhat familiar with Britain’s disregard for law, treaties and human rights. In a speech last year commemorating the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall Chancellor Angela Merkel stated: “It is important citizens can believe the power of the law and not the law of the powerful. Laws must function as guardian of principles.” Let others believe all the hyperbole about Magna Carta. American’s should know better!
