News

Kurdish "Terrorists" Rescue Yezidis

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PKK fighter in Makhmur, Erbil after retaking it from ISISThe US special forces finally sent to Mount Sinjar in Northern Iraq to assess a mission to rescue the threatened Yezidis this morning, reported that most of the displaced population had already been rescued in the previous days. What is not being widely reported is the identity of the Kurdish forces who secured the northern side of the mountain and opened a safe passage for the threatened Yezidi civilians, through the Syrian territory they control to Dohuk in the north of the Kurdish Autonomous region in Iraq. 
 
Embarrassingly for the US, arriving on its white charger to save the day, only to discover they are far too late, the saviours of the Yezidis are the Turkish Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and their Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) allies. The PKK are officially on the US and EU “terrorist” lists and the autonomous Syrian region defended by the YPG is subject to blockade by ISIS to the South and West, Turkey to the North and the corrupt Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) regime in Kurdish Northern Iraq to the East. The PKK’s pariah status dates from the war which it fought in the 1980s and 90s against the Turkish state, first under the the dictatorship, then the civilian government, for independence for the mainly Kurdish region of South East Turkey. Since late 2012 peace talks began with the Turkish government and a ceasefire was declared in March 2013.

Siberian craters - Yet another reason that we need action to stop Climate Change

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Rather worrying news about those mysterious sink holes that have appeared in Siberia. It now appears they were giant methane releases - long forecast by climate change scientists as a likely positive feedback occurrence as permafrost in Siberia melted and released trapped methane. Worrying because methane is a 20 times more potent climate change gas than CO2 because it is more efficient at trapping radiation.

Demonstrations of solidarity with Gaza in Kildare

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In response to the Israeli Defense Force’s (IDF) latest assault on the people of Gaza, well over 150 people came out for a Gaza solidarity demo in Newbridge on Monday evening. This follows on from a previous well attended demo that took place in Naas on July 21st. Supporters and friends of Palestine rallied in front of Newbridge town hall and many Palestinian flags and banners expressing solidarity with Gaza were on display. The demo was well attended by political activists including members of Sinn Fein, Community Solidarity, Workers Solidarity Movement and many more campaigners and councillors.

 

Greyhound scab trucks blockaded in Stoneybatter & Cabra

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Residents in two neighbouring areas of Dublin took action this morning against the continued activity of scab strike breaking refuse collections in their areas.

A network of people who knew each other from other struggles in the area organised online to leaflet much of Stoneybatter last night with details about the lockout of the Greyhound workers before blockading two trucks in the area this morning.



The workers have been locked out for over a month after refusing to accept 30%+ pay cuts.

The Garth Brooks panic in Dublin - same politicians ignored X-case for 20 years

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Extraordinary stuff. The Party that failed to act for 20 years on the X-case legislation wanted emergency legislation rushed through the Dail in 24 hours to facilitate a Garth Brooks concert. The concerts now appear to be all cancelled following an announcement from the promoters but the entire episode shows how politicians found great urgency to act when it came to a populist money making cause that they could not locate anywhere when women's lives were under threat.

If Gaza was in Ireland how much of Dublin would Israel be bombing?

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When we hear of '400 Israeli airstrikes' against Gaza we don't necessarily understand just what a tiny area this constant bombing is happening in. A lot of people are probably thinking its the size of a smallish country like Ireland when in fact as the map below shows its more similar in size to the greater Dublin area.

Gaza Under Attack: Emergency actions for Palestine this Saturday 12 July!

Dublin – 2pm @ The Spire, O’Connell Street
Derry – 2pm @ Guildhall Square
Limerick – 2pm @ Thomas Street
Cork – 2pm @ Daunt Square

 

(map comparison concept from Mark M, @soundmigration on Twitter, make you own for local use at  http://mapfrappe.com/?show=20150 )

Garda aggression in Erris as Shell remove Tunnel Boring Machine

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Almost two years after Shell smuggled their Tunnel Boring Machine out of Dublin port in the middle of the night, and then spent 3 days meeting resistance across the country before getting stuck in the bog, they removed it from Erris Monday night.

Paris Bakery workers declare partial victory as revenue steps in

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Paris Bakery workers ended their sit-in on its 19th day following official confirmation from Revenue that the company will be wound up. This means that the workers can be paid through accessing the Insolvency Fund. The law must be changed to ensure no other group of workers have to go through this to get paid the money they are owed. It's up to all of us through our unions to keep the pressure on for legislative change.

English language teachers - Standing together and delivering a victory

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"In the space of 2 weeks a group of EL (English language) teachers joined a trade union, won our pay dispute with the multi-national we work for, and started planning to unionise the EL sector and campaign against zero hours contracts." - We are delighted to bring you this account from Aideen Elliott of her and her colleagues' recent victory against proposed wage cuts at EF Language School in Dublin.

Tuam babies story finally getting coverage in Irish media

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Newstalk is finally leading on the story of the 796 children buried in a sceptic tank in a religious home in Tuam - it has yet to appear in the RTE website. It's over a week and RTE has yet to 'realise' this is a major story. A clear indication that we are not dealing simply with uncovering a grim story from the distant past but with the way power continues to be exercised between Church, State & Media in our collective present.

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