Happy Days for the hares of the Six Counties!

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Besides this pot of gold the farmers may receive other moneys from European revenue. Many of the farmers officially retire and receive a pension for this while their sons continue to farm. But many of these older farmers only officially retire. Many of them unofficially continue to work while picking up their regular pension. And as far as I know their pensions were not cut as were those of the public service.

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Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton, in a press release published in the Irish Independent on the 29th of July 2011, hinted that she was going to review the system of Child Benefit along the lines of the CCT method of payments in Mexico and Brazil.

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The police killing of Mark Duggan resulted in four nights of rioting across England. The immediate trigger was the killing itself, and the disrespect shown by the police to Mark’s family and friends. But the riots rapidly broadened to expressions of a more general anger and alienation; an anger that was all too often unfocused and striking out at the nearest target of opportunity. This resulted in widespread destruction of resources in already deprived neighborhoods and some anti-social attacks on bystanders. Despite this, the roots of the riots lie in the economic and political conditions of these districts, and not in ‘poor parenting’ or ‘mindless criminality’. These conditions were created by the very politicians and business elite who now call for a return to normality and repression.

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Throwing more debt, in the short or long run, at the problem will not solve the problem. At most it merely alleviates or postpones the problem. This is precisely because the source of the problem does not lie within the process of circulation (i.e. money and credit spheres). It is contained within the production process­­­.

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“The member states whose currency is the euro may establish a stability mechanism to be activated if indispensable to safeguard the stability of the euro area as a whole. The granting of any required financial assistance under the mechanism will be made subject to strict conditionality.”

- Amendment to Article 136 of the EU Treaties (TFEU) which was decided on by the 27 EU Member States at the March European Council summit and which licensed the 17 Eurozone States to sign the European Stability Mechanism Treaty on yesterday week, 11 July.

This ESM Treaty would establish a permanent EU bailout fund from 2013. The ESM Treaty and the Art.136 EU Treaty amendment which authorises it now go around for ratification by the Member States. The Government has decided not to put it to referendum here even though it means more power to the EU. The ESM Treaty can be downloaded from the internet.

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Two previous articles, 'Of Cups, Rings and Cultural Heritage' & 'Cultural Heritage and the Economy'  (Indymedia, August 1, 2011) dealt with recent research on the Hill of Tara and Bend in the Boyne that could open a new chapter in their history, as well as that of hundreds of additional archaeological sites throughout Ireland, the UK and other Atlantic/Mediterranean European countries.  More importantly, they discussed the apathy on the part of the politicians, government agencies and archaeologists in Ireland towards that research, and its potential cultural and economic benefits.  In all fairness though to the aforementioned, what of the European Union and UNESCO World Heritage Centre, who are just as responsible for protecting the cultural heritage and economies of countries within the Euro Zone.

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Considering the dismal economic state of a growing number of EU nations, it is more important than ever for them to protect their cultural heritage, as it is firmly linked to their economies in the form of tourism.  Though one tends to think of cultural heritage as something taught in schools and preserved in museums, it goes well beyond that, as evidenced by the attraction of archaeological and cultural World Heritage Sites to millions around the world. Though sites such as the Bend in the Boyne and Stonehenge play a significant role in our understanding of who we are and where we came from, every site, however small, is just as important, and they deserve to be indentified, excavated, restored and preserved for future generations.

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The following is the first of three articles regarding cultural heritage and its potential benefits to the economies of Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and other Atlantic/Mediterranean European countries, which given the ever growing number of EU nations seeking bailouts, canʼt be ignored any longer. There are those whoʼve questioned why the cultural heritage of Ireland for example, is of such importance to someone who is a 4th generation Irish-American. The bigger question is why those whoʼve been ʻchargedʼ with protecting the cultural heritage of a nation; the archaeologists, politicians, government agencies, EU and UNESCO, have turned a blind eye to the issue.

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With the government set on continues the destruction of the Irish Economy.

I just thought a list of some of those lovely Bondholders who are milking us dry should be published.

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With the Fine Gael / Labour government now annoucing that Carbon Tax will probably be increased in December 2011 budget is it not now time to revisted the whole "Humans are heating planet" nonsense in greater detail?

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Somehow as the sounds around us get stronger our voices get weaker and no-one wants to listen.  If we speak out people around us feel uncomfortable and threatened.

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A leading vet exposes cruelty at major coursing event

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Following the surrender of the Labour Party in Cabinet on JLCs, SIPTU has described the proposals as “relatively positive” on RTE Television News, July 28 and has given the government plan “a cautious welcome” (Martin Wall, Irish Times July 29).

This is a dark day for Irelands biggest union which was built by Larkin and Connolly

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Labour's Shame on Low Pay-Labour Party has capitulated to Fine Gael by agreeing to cut low pay

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Forget so-called conspiracy theories. Instead look at reality. Dare ask yourselves who actually seems to have benefited from the 9-11 calamity. In light of the debt ceiling debates and continuous politics as usual of Washington D.C., it is time for the American people and individual states of this federation to look at a troubling set of facts. There seems to have been “several” beneficiaries of 9-11 that don’t exactly fit the story line we were constantly fed by the propaganda machine and mainstream media as to how to connect the dots (which we were rhetorically asked to do). ... read full story / add a comment

Anarchist Organisation Workers Solidarity Movement has issued a statement supporting the demands of the Maghaberry prisoners for their Rights and Dignity to be respected ... read full story / add a comment

The Irish foreign minister Eamon Gilmore has given his support to US-EU policy on Colombia - even though that policy is based on complicity with gross human rights violations by the Colombian state and its paramilitary allies ... read full story / add a comment

“Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as the rest of men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week; I give tithes of all that I get. But the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote his breast, saying, God, be thou merciful to me a sinner. I say unto you, This man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled; but he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”

Luke Chapter 18

You probably know that a publican means a tax-collector. Such a person was generally hated reviled despised in biblical times. A publican was definitely not “politically correct.”
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I remember a few years ago seeing, as eveyone else did, the signs on the road sides around Ireland stating that a particular road project was 'Funded by the EU' which everyone, including myself though was great. ... read full story / add a comment