Muslim C Lobby Ireland لوبي الجالية الاسلامية في ايرلندا

People Before Profit Alliance Councillor Brid Smith in support of Egyptian people Struggle

2011-02-08T10:57:00.000-08:00

Emergency Motion passed at Dublin City Council 8th February, 2011

This Council declares its total solidarity with the heroic democracy protesters of Egypt, and especially with those currently occupying Tahrir (Liberation) Square. It strongly supports their demands: for the immediate removal of the dictator, Hosni Mubarak, from his office as President; for the repeal of the anti-democratic Emergency Law (which since 1981 has given the notorious State Security Forces the right to detain people without charge or trial); for the dismantling of the whole Mubarak regime of murder torture and corruption; for full freedom of the press and genuine democratic elections. This Council resolves to refuse all collaboration with the illegitimate Mubarak Government or its agents .
This Council also calls upon the Irish Government to; a) end all diplomatic relations with the Mubarak/Suleiman regime until such time as a new democratically elected government is established; b) to make a public statement of its support for the democracy movement; c)to vote accordingly at the United Nations and in the EU Council of Ministers and European Parliament; d) to call publicly for Mubarak to be put on trial at the International Court of Human Rights at the Hague.

- Councillor Brid Smith
People Before Profit Alliance

Political Parties in Ireland

2011-02-07T11:25:00.000-08:00

People Before Profit Alliance
The People Before Profit Alliance was formally established in October 2005 by workers from a variety of local campaigns. Its aim is to reverse neo-liberal policies which place wealth creation....

Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil is the largest political party in Ireland. Their influence dominated Irish government and Irish political life from the 1930's onwards

Socialist Workers Party
The SWP was originally founded in 1971 as the Socialist Workers Movement but changed its name to the Socialist Workers Party at its conference in 1995.

Socialist Party
The Socialist Party is currently Ireland's only Marxist and socialist organisation with electoral representation in Dáil Éireann. It is affiliated to the Trotskyist Committee for a Workers'..

Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin's aims are based on building a true democracy, where both political and economic power is distributed as widely as possible an Ireland based on equality, justice, rights and empowerment

Labour Party
The Labour Party is a social democratic political party in the Republic of Ireland. Founded by James Connolly in 1912, the Labour Party claims to be the country's oldest political party

Independents
The Dáil has 13 deputies who do not represent any particular party. As one would expect, they are a diverse group of politicians. The Independents from rural areas are generally conservative

Fine Gael
Fine Gael are strongly pro-EU integration and opposed to radical and violent Irish republicanism, advocating a more pluralist, tolerant brand of Irish nationalism

Green Party
The Green Party believe that all political, social & economic decisions should be taken at the lowest effective level and that society should be guided by self-reliance and co-operation at all levels.

Our party's aim is to win the support of the Irish people for ending the capitalist system and for building socialism. It is actively opposed to the European Constitution and privatisation

Garda Consultation Process Thursday March 24th 2011

2011-02-07T11:19:00.000-08:00

We would like to take this opportunity to inform you that the Garda Racial Intercultural and Diversity Office will be holding the postponed annual consultation process this year on Thursday March 24th 2011 in Farmleigh House and Estate, Phoenix Park.

This years event will be opened by the Garda Commissioner, Martin Callinan. You and your organisation have been identified as being of great value and support within the modern diversity spectrum in Ireland. With this notification, we hope you can make a note in your diary and hopefully meet with both An Garda Síochána and other important stakeholders.

A formal invitation and further details for the event, will be emailed to you by the end of February.

Yours sincerely
John O' Hara

Study of Religions Department History of Islam in Ireland Seminar Series

2011-02-07T11:15:00.000-08:00

The Establishment of Muslim
Schools in the West:
Religion, Identity and the Role of
Education
Prof Marie Parker-Jenkins
University of Limerick
Why have Muslim schools been established in the West during the last two decades? What
does the growth of Muslim schools suggest about the existing provision of government
schools, and more controversially, should educational institutions based on an Islamic ethos
be funded from the public purse? Drawing on my research on Muslim schools in the UK and
elsewhere in non-Islamic states, I explore key discourses surrounding the expansion of the
educational landscape to include Muslim schools. In the Republic of Ireland, where the
Muslim population is just over 32,000, there are currently two Muslim schools with plans for
a further five to accommodate the educational needs of Muslim children. This raises
overlapping issues about personal choice, religious identity and the role of education in an
increasingly multi-faith, multi-ethnic Ireland.
Marie Parker-Jenkins is Professor of Education at the University of Limerick.
3 February 2011, 1pm
ORB 1.01
Fáilte roimh chách / All welcome
For further information: Dr Oliver Scharbrodt, 021-490 2895, o.scharbrodt@ucc.ie

Micheál Martin TD.

2011-02-07T11:14:00.000-08:00

Last night, the Fianna Fáil Árd Chomhairle did me the honour of electing me Úachtarán Fhianna Fáil.

This Party has a unique and positive role to play in our country's future. Under my leadership, Fianna Fáil will be clear in its approach to the urgent issues of today and in the path it proposes for the future. With the right policies Ireland can and will come through this crisis.

At these difficult times, our country needs an election which is as serious as the issues we must tackle. This can only happen if the leaders of the parties show a real commitment to moving away from political business as usual.

I will be initiating a full national tour in order to take our message to every part of the country. To you, our supporters, I ask you to work to ensure that Fianna Fáil candidates are elected in this, one of the most important election campaigns in our nation's history.

I know the task ahead will not be easy.

But I have never shrunk from difficult decisions before, and I promise you that we will meet this challenge with a campaign as vigorous and full of ideas as any Fianna Fáil has ever waged.

Ar aghaidh le Fianna Fáil.

Micheál.

Micheál Martin TD.
Úachtarán Fhianna Fáil

NOTICE BOARD إعلانات: تصويت منع الحجاب في نيوزيلند

2011-01-27T03:57:00.001-08:00

NOTICE BOARD إعلانات: تصويت منع الحجاب في نيوزيلند: "السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته هناك تصويت يقوم به موقع الياهو لمنع الحجاب على أخواتنا المسلمات في نيوزلندا ونسبة التصويت بالموافقة عالية ..."

NOTICE BOARD إعلانات: تصويت منع الحجاب في نيوزيلند

2011-01-27T03:57:00.000-08:00

Muslim C Lobby Ireland لوبي الجالية الاسلامية في ايرلندا: U.S. Ambassador and Imam Share Views at Muslim Ent...

2011-01-27T03:53:00.000-08:00

Muslim C Lobby Ireland لوبي الجالية الاسلامية في ايرلندا: U.S. Ambassador and Imam Share Views at Muslim Ent...: "Professor Brian Norton, President of DIT, welcomes US Ambassador, Daniel M. Rooney and Sk Hussein Halawa, Imam of the Islamic Cultural Ce..."

U.S. Ambassador and Imam Share Views at Muslim Entrepreneurship Conference

2011-01-25T07:32:00.000-08:00

Professor Brian Norton, President of DIT, welcomes US Ambassador, Daniel M. Rooney and Sk Hussein Halawa, Imam of the Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland to DIT for the first Muslim Entrepreneurship conference in Ireland

On October 6th 2010, a major conference on Muslim entrepreneurship in Ireland was held at the DIT Institute for Minority Entrepreneurship (IME). Sponsored by the US Embassy in Dublin, the event was part of the wider President Obama 'Muslim entrepreneurship initiative' to build ties with Muslim communities around the world, and featured speakers from the United States of America, England and Ireland.

In his speech to the conference, Ambassador Daniel M. Rooney spoke of the Department of State’s strong support for the Embassy’s sponsorship and, as a gesture of goodwill, offered a gift of President Obama’s autobiographies to Sk. Hussain Halawa, Imam of the Irish Islamic Cultural Centre. The Imam highlighted that the primary objective of Islam is to avoid all transactions that lead to disharmony and that morality was an important component of Islamic trading.

The focus of the conference was to identify ways in which greater entrepreneurial activity can be generated within the Muslim community in Ireland. According to Dr. Thomas Cooney, Academic Director of IME, one of the key findings from a recent survey of Muslim entrepreneurs was their lack of willingness to use mainstream business support agencies, often relying instead on self-help and informal sources of assistance, including financial assistance. Another key finding of the research was that the needs of ethnic businesses are frequently found to be quite distinctive as compared with those of other Irish firms.

"Although many of the needs of Muslim businesses are shared with their majority counterparts in Ireland, there are also specific issues they must contend with. These include language, religious practice, age, and gender aspects, and an understanding of these is necessary if business support is to be delivered and to be effective. There are also issues relating to the availability of Muslim banking products in Ireland. The Muslim community has a broad network of international contacts and we should tap into this substantial community if we wish to build Ireland’s export activity."

Attended by over 130 participants, including entrepreneurs, non-entrepreneurs, support agency personnel and policy makers, as well as high-level Embassy officials from Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Morocco, among others. The event will be followed by a series of workshops across the island of Ireland in the coming months. Dr. Cooney feels the conference will help both entrepreneurs and the support agencies to better understand one another's roles.

http://dublin.usembassy.gov/news/events-outreach/muslim-entrepreneurship-conference.html

A word of thanks

2011-01-24T15:29:00.001-08:00

A chara,

It has been my honour to have served as Úachtarán Fhianna Fáil. In my last act as leader, I wanted to send a clear message to you, our members and supporters: Thank you.

Thank you for your loyalty, for your hard work, and for your complete commitment to this movement.

I love this country and this party. In my remaining time as Taoiseach, I will continue to work on government business and to implement the plan for recovery. I pledge my support to my successor as leader of Fianna Fáil in the task that he or she will undertake in the coming weeks and into the future.

I know that you and I, along with all members of Fianna Fáil, will unite to work as hard as we can to support our leader and spread our message in the coming campaign. I know what we are capable of.

This party and its members can rise to any challenge that faces us, when we muster the collective determination to do so. We have done so in the past and we can do so again.

Once again, it has been an honour to lead Fianna Fáil. While times are difficult now, there are better days ahead, both for our party and our great nation.

Thank you once again.

Brian Cowen TD

Leadership vote of confidence

2011-01-24T15:20:00.000-08:00

A chara,

Following last night’s vote, I am deeply grateful to my colleagues for their vote of confidence in my continued leadership of Fianna Fáil. Both the Parliamentary Party and I now have a renewed focus and determination to bring our message to the people. We want to fight for this country, and set out our plan for its future.

We are confident that there is a better future for our people if we implement a credible, honest plan. And we look forward to taking that case to the public over the coming weeks and months.

However, we face an opposition which is determined to engage in deeply cynical electioneering, and which offers no solutions to our current difficulties.

Today, I challenged the negative "politics as usual" of the Labour Party and its leader. You can watch a short video of this by clicking here.

I do not know how Labour intends to instil confidence in the country when they keep calling it "an economic corpse", "banjaxed", and "stuck in the mire". Their entire strategy seems to be based on writing off our country.

However, I believe people are starting to see through their rhetoric. Labour's credibility on real policy is beginning to be put to the test.

In the coming weeks and months, we will be looking for your help to spread the word that Ireland is not “banjaxed” and that we have a real, credible plan to secure recovery.

You can help me today by watching this video, and sharing it with your friends: www.fiannafail.ie/LabourNegativity.

Thank you.

Brian Cowen TD
Taoiseach, Úachtarán Fhianna Fáil

Clonskeagh Mosque imam 'grateful ' proposed Koran burning called off

2011-01-24T03:45:00.000-08:00

Dublin has said he is “very grateful to Allah” that the proposed burning of the Koran by an American preacher will not now take place.

Imam Hussein Halawa said if the burning had happened, it would have been considered an act of terror by Muslims and would have led to violence.

Terry Jones, the pastor of the Dove World Outreach Centre church in Florida, withdrew plans to burn copies of the Koran on the anniversary of the September 11th attacks.

His threat attracted worldwide condemnation and a phone call from US defence secretary Robert Gates who said the burning would put the lives of American forces in Afghanistan and Iraq at risk.

Pastor Jones had objected to the plan to build a mosque in New York on the site of the September 11th attack.

Speaking through a translator yesterday afternoon, Imam Halawa said he was “very grateful to Allah” that the burning was called off. “Otherwise it would create violence with Muslims everywhere,” he said.

“That’s because the holy Koran is the most sacred masterpiece for Muslims. We do not accept insult to any religion and so we do not accept any insult to our own religion.”

He said such an act, if it had happened, would be considered an act of terror and would lead to a counter-reaction of terror and violence.

“I am sorry such an act was to be done by a holy man or a priest,” he added.

Hundreds of Muslims had gathered at Clonskeagh Mosque yesterday to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr, the end of the fasting season of Ramadan. A barbecue and games for children in the grounds of the mosque and community centre followed a morning of prayer. Families and friends greeted each other with a hug and “may Allah accept your fasting and my fasting”.

Over 40 nationalities were represented at the celebrations, each enjoying what was a mild and showery day in the capital. People expressed their relief that Ramadan, which requires them to fast from sunrise to sunset, was complete.

Safi Eddine, from Gorey, Co Wexford, said the observance was particularly tough in Ireland because we have such long days. “I am from Tunisia and the day used to be shorter even in the summer time, but in Ireland it is so long, but it is great that it is finished,” he said.

vote of confidence

2011-01-19T16:24:00.000-08:00

A chara, Following last night’s vote, I am deeply grateful to my colleagues for their vote of confidence in my continued leadership of Fianna Fáil. Both the Parliamentary Party and I now have a renewed focus and determination to bring our message to the people. We want to fight for this country, and set out our plan for its future.
We are confident that there is a better future for our people if we implement a credible, honest plan. And we look forward to taking that case to the public over the coming weeks and months.
However, we face an opposition which is determined to engage in deeply cynical electioneering, and which offers no solutions to our current difficulties.
Today, I challenged the negative "politics as usual" of the Labour Party and its leader. You can watch a short video of this by clicking here.
I do not know how Labour intends to instil confidence in the country when they keep calling it "an economic corpse", "banjaxed", and "stuck in the mire". Their entire strategy seems to be based on writing off our country.
However, I believe people are starting to see through their rhetoric. Labour's credibility on real policy is beginning to be put to the test.
In the coming weeks and months, we will be looking for your help to spread the word that Ireland is not “banjaxed” and that we have a real, credible plan to secure recovery.
You can help me today by watching this video, and sharing it with your friends: http://www.fiannafail.ie/page/m/1363c70/33741a9e/244763b0/585bcd13/138101685/VEsE/.
Thank you.

Brian Cowen TDTaoiseach, Úachtarán Fhianna Fáil

Murder of Adil Essalhi

2011-01-19T16:01:00.000-08:00

A man has appeared in court in Dublin charged with the murder of a man whose body was found in a ditch in a field in Tyrellstown earlier this week.
Wayne Kinsell, aged 39, of The Plaza, Tyrellstown, was charged with the murder of Adil Essalhi, who was from Drumcondra.
The body of Mr Essalhi, who had an address in Drumcondra, was discovered in a ditch in a field close to Belgree Avenue in Tyrrelstown in the west of the city on Thursday.
A 21-year-old woman was also arrested yesterday.
She has been released without charge.

RTE

Immigrant interns in local and regional newspapers

2011-01-11T18:04:00.000-08:00

1. The purpose of this scheme is to give non-Irish nationals an opportunity to get involved in this area of the media and to increase content in the paper giving the perspective of immigrants. In this way, the wider readership would be exposed to the experience of this new group in Irish society and integration would be enhanced.

2. There will be funding for 2 internships of 6 months (subject to the review referred to at point 7 below) at separate local or regional newspapers.

3. Interns must be persons born outside Ireland (32 Counties) who are legally resident in the State and who can legally take up the position of intern.

4. Selection will be on the basis of applications submitted jointly by the newspaper and the proposed intern. It is for the paper to source the prospective intern or for that person to make contact with a paper with a view to submitting a joint application.

5. Selection will be by this Office on the basis of the ability of the proposed intern to discharge the role as described in point 6 below and the capacity of the newspaper to support the intern so that they can benefit from the arrangement. There will be a preference for persons who have been in Ireland for 5 years or less though persons who have been here for longer than this are not excluded from applying. Persons, who have (i) resided in Ireland for a considerable number of years such that they would be reasonably regarded as well integrated into Irish society or (ii) already worked in the field of journalism in a professional capacity or to a significant extent, are unlikely to be selected.

6. The internship will be a full time position. The intern will, following appropriate induction, regularly write by-lined articles or reports for publication in the newspaper. These articles or reports may deal with issues relevant to immigrants and integration of immigrants as well as general issues.

7. This Office will bear in full the salary cost of the internship at a rate of €11,440 and associated employer’s PRSI for the six month period. Half of this will be paid to the newspaper at the commencement of the internship. Prior to the conclusion of the third month, this Office will review experience with the internship on the basis of separate written reports from the editor of the newspaper and the intern and material authored by the intern and published in the newspaper. If this Office considers that the arrangement is operating satisfactorily, the remainder of the cost will be paid to the newspaper and the internship will continue for the remainder of the six month period.

8. The intern will be the employee of the newspaper proprietor and not of this Office and the proprietor will be subject to the legal obligations that arise from the employment relationship.

9. The newspaper will acknowledge appropriately adjacent to published articles and reports by the intern the fact that funding was provided by this Office

10. The joint application by the prospective intern and the newspaper should set out how the factors referred to in point 5 above are met. Applications must be received in this Office before 1600 hrs on 12 January 2011 in hard copy. To facilitate processing, they should also be sent by e-mail to jhurley@pobail.ie. Enquiries should also be sent to this e-mail address.

Office of the Minister for Integration
Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs
43/49 Mespil Road
Dublin 4

Illnesses linked to BP oil disaster

2011-01-05T13:27:00.000-08:00

Doctor attributes widespread sickness to toxic chemicals from the Gulf of Mexico catastrophe.

Independent scientists have confirmed that Gulf marine life is heavily contaminated by the dispersed oil and oil sheen in the water. Despite BP having capped its well in the Gulf of Mexico in July, the health-related after-effects of the disaster subsist.

Gulf Coast residents and BP cleanup workers have linked the source of certain illnesses to chemicals present in BP's oil and the toxic dispersants used to sink it - illnesses that appear to be both spreading and worsening.

Dr. Rodney Soto, a medical doctor in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, has been testing and treating patients with high levels of oil-related chemicals in their blood stream. These are commonly referred to as Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC's). Anthropogenic VOC's from BP's oil disaster are toxic and have negative chronic health effects.

Dr. Soto is finding disconcertingly consistent and high levels of toxic chemicals in every one of the patients he is testing.

"I'm regularly finding between five and seven VOCs in my patients," Dr. Soto told Al Jazeera. "These patients include people not directly involved in the oil clean-up, as well as residents that do not live right on the coast. These are clearly related to the oil disaster."

Chronic health effects

Lloyd Pearcey, from Bonsecour, Alabama, worked on a BP clean-up team as a foreman for four months.

During that time, he collected oil-soaked boom and drove a bulldozer "filled with the tar balls and tar mats we collected. Other times we stood in the water in Tyvek suits putting out shore boom with oil all over us. The fumes got to you."

"I just got my results from the blood tests," Pearcey told Al Jazeera, "I have the chemicals of the oil and dispersants in my blood."

Pearcey had experienced many of the now common symptoms of acute exposure to BP's chemicals.

Dr. Soto is testing his patients, and said he has ample documentation attesting to the levels of toxins people are being exposed to.

Dr. Soto classifies two types of symptom groups: acute exposure that includes skin and respiratory problems; and a second, larger group of people with no symptoms, but who still have toxicity. He believes the pathways of exposure occur through air, skin, and contaminated seafood.

One of the more extreme cases he treated was a woman who developed acute respiratory problems after a visit to the beach.

"This is a young woman in good health, with good nutritional intake, no health issues, hates to take any medication, and ate only organic foods," he explained, "But shortly after going to the beach, where she was likely exposed to toxins, she developed respiratory illness and developed cancer within weeks. I think this was due to direct exposure to chemicals in the dispersants and VOCs."

According to the US Government, BP's oil disaster released at least 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. BP has used at least 1.9 million gallons of toxic dispersants, that are banned in at least 19 countries, to sink the oil.

Many of the chemicals present in the oil and dispersants are known to cause headaches, nausea, vomiting, kidney damage, altered renal functions, irritation of the digestive tract, lung damage, burning pain in the nose and throat, coughing, pulmonary edema, cancer, lack of muscle coordination, dizziness, confusion, irritation of the skin, eyes, nose, and throat, difficulty breathing, delayed reaction time, memory difficulties, stomach discomfort, liver and kidney damage, unconsciousness, tiredness/lethargy, irritation of the upper respiratory tract, and hematological disorders.

While there are many examples of acute exposures like Pearcey and Dr. Soto's patient who developed cancer, his concern is that most residents who are being exposed will only show symptoms later.

"This latter group develops symptoms over years," he told Al Jazeera. "I'm concerned with the illnesses like cancer and brain degeneration for the future. This is very important because a lot of the population down here may not have symptoms. But people are unaware they are ingesting chemicals that are certainly toxic to humans and have significant effect on the brain and hormonal systems."

Dr. Soto is most concerned about the long-term effect of the toxins, because they have "tremendous implications in the human immune system, hormonal function, and brain function."

The toxic compounds in the oil and dispersants are "liposoluble," meaning they have a "high affinity for fat," according to Dr. Soto.

"The human brain is 70 percent fat," Dr. Soto added, "And these will similarly effect the immune cells, intestinal tract, breast, thyroid, prostate, glands, organs, and systems. This is also why this is so significant for children."

His particular concern for children involves toxins which cause "development of the depressed immune system and a resurgence of cancer."

Dr. Soto believes that for residents along the area of the Gulf Coast affected by BP's toxic chemicals, the solution is either to relocate or to engage in an intensive, long-term detoxification regime that includes intravenous detoxification programs.

All clear?

State health departments in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama had issued swimming advisories while BP's well continued to gush oil into the Gulf of Mexico last summer. Since then, however, all three states have declared their beaches, waters, and seafood safe from oil disaster related toxins.

Florida never issued any advisories, despite many residents reporting illnesses they attribute to the oil disaster.

US federal government agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency, Food and Drug Administration, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, along with President Barack Obama himself, have declared the Gulf of Mexico, its waters, beaches, and seafood, safe and open to the public.

In addition, most doctors in the effected coastal areas are not treating people as though they are suffering acute exposure to toxic chemicals.

While Al Jazeera has heard of incidences where doctors having received threats, and while many fear litigation for talking openly about patient illnesses being attributed to BP's oil disaster, most doctors are simply not trained to deal appropriately with acute chemical toxicity on a mass scale.

Dr. Mary Jo Ghory a general and pediatric surgeon, and a member of the American College of Surgeons, told Al Jazeera she believes most doctors along the Gulf Coast are unlikely to connect the illnesses they treat to BP’s chemicals, because of a lack of adequate training.

"Toxicology is not usually a course, and there is not much discussion of the toxic effects of chemical exposure," Dr. Ghory said. "When confronted with an array of confusing and widely varying symptoms related to chemical exposure, it is difficult for each individual physician to sort things out, especially without a definite profile of what to expect."

Dr. Soto says he is in a very unique - but isolated - position, as he is one of the only medical doctors he knows in the region who is treating people accordingly.

Like Dr. Ghory, Dr. Soto believes this is largely due to lack of training.

The Exxon Valdez legacy

Merle Savage was a cleanup worker for the Exxon Valdez oil disaster in Alaska in 1989, and she is still suffering health effects from chemicals in the oil and dispersants.

"The first few weeks I was on the beach spraying hot water onto the oil covered rocks," Savage explained to Al Jazeera. She was soon promoted to a foreman working on the support barges where workers returned each evening.

"So when they started spraying the dispersant, the crews that came back in from spraying it returned with it all over their suits and boats. They were sprayed off with water, and the steam that came off them was dispersant chemicals and we all breathed this in."

"The symptoms mimicked the flu, and everyone was coughing," Savage added, "Then it came on and stayed. I went to the doctor during some time off the cleanup, and at that time I was congested with bronchial problems. Then it became a stomach disorder. My whole system since then has been jeopardized."

After finishing her work on the oil disaster clean up, she returned to her home in Anchorage, where her problems worsened.

Savage moved out of Alaska, thinking that would improve her health. Yet after moving, a liver biopsy showed cirrhosis of the liver.

"I have always been physically active and very healthy," she explained, "I don't drink or smoke, and I eat health food."

Savage, now 72-years-old, completed a chemical detoxification program three years ago, and is now feeling better.

"There was 21 years of watching my body break down like that, and nothing I could do helped, until I learned I was chemically toxified, and could treat that appropriately," she said.

Reacting accordingly

Independent scientists and activist groups have been carrying out their own blood testing of Gulf Coast residents.

Recent results released in a report involve a 46-year-old male who lives 100 miles from the coast. The man, who asked to remain anonymous, was not a BP cleanup worker, yet tested as having higher levels of chemicals from BP's oil in his blood than the actual cleanup workers.

Dr. Wilma Subra, a chemist and Mcarthur Fellow, analysed his blood and found the highest levels of ethylbenzene than anyone tested to date. Ethylbenzene is a form of benzene present in the body when it begins to break down; it is also present in BP's crude oil.

Styrene, a chemical produced in industrial quantities from ethylbenzene was also found, along with Hexane. M,p-Xylene, a clear, colorless, flammable liquid that is refined from crude oil and is used as a solvent, was also present in the man's blood.

"I've never even seen a tar ball," the man, from Louisiana, told Al Jazeera, "I tried to stay away from all of it. So for me to have the high levels I have, tells me that everyone must have it."

Gregg Hall lived in Pensacola, Florida, and also had his blood tested by Dr. Subra.

"I have a cough that won't go away, my feet have been numb for months, I have headaches and nausea all the time," Hall said.

Hall recently moved to Idaho, and is among a growing number of Gulf Coast residents who feel that they are victims of an environmental catastrophe that has received inadequate response from the federal government.

Dr. Soto, whose list of patients related to the BP oil disaster continues to grow, feels similarly.

"It's criminal for the government to tell people to eat the contaminated seafood, and that it's alright for people go to our toxic beaches and swim in the contaminated water," Dr. Soto concluded, "This crisis has to be taken seriously by the government and health care community."

Dahr Jamail

Barroso good measures put in place for Ireland

2011-01-03T00:07:00.000-08:00

Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has warned against a "beauty contest" of national leaders at the forthcoming summit of the European Council, during a debate with MEPs on 15 December 2010.

Julian Assange interviewed by David Frost

2010-12-23T06:42:00.000-08:00

Season's Greetings

2010-12-23T00:29:00.000-08:00

Season's Greetings from CSID

2010-12-22T15:39:00.000-08:00

Dear Bashir,

We wish you a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year.

We hope and pray that 2011 will bring you and your family health, happiness, peace, and prosperity.

In this holiday season, let us renew our commitment to make this world a better place for all of us and for our posterity. Let us work together to help bring peace, stability, freedom, and dignity to all of God's creations on earth.

Remember that through your support for CSID, you are making a difference, bridging the divide, and building a better future for all of us.

We look forward to working with you in 2011, and beyond.

Sincerely,

Radwan A. Masmoudi
Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy

CIA forms WikiLeaks Task Force to gauge leaks impact

2010-12-22T01:47:00.000-08:00

By JPOST.COM STAFF

US intelligence agency scarcely mentioned in cables, but wishes to check if ability to recruit informants hurt by whistleblower.
The CIA has decided to launch a panel, entitled the WikiLeaks Task Force, in order to gauge the effect of the leaking of thousands of US diplomatic cables by the whistleblower website, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday.

The US intelligence agency is launching the task force despite the fact that the CIA has been relatively untouched by the leaks.

RELATED:
WikiLeaks' Assange complains he's victim of leaks
2008 WikiLeaks cable shows US envoy’s astute insight

A major issue the panel plans to address is whether the CIA's ability to recruit informants was damaged by the belief that the US government is unable to guard its secrets.

"The director asked the task force to examine whether the latest release of WikiLeaks documents might affect the agency's foreign relationships or operations," the paper quoted CIA spokesman George Little as saying.

The release of the US diplomatic cables has caused Washington and several of its allies embarrassment.

Shortly after the initial release of the cables last month, US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said the US is taking "aggressive steps" to find those responsible for the release of documents by WikiLeaks.

She explained that every country must be able to hold private conversations on concerning issues. She added that confidential communication is fundamental in the ability to serve public interest.

Clinton expressed confidence that the partnerships and relationships built by the Obama administration will withstand the challenge posed by the WikiLeaks exposure.

Irish government near breaking point as allies quit

2010-12-22T00:30:00.000-08:00

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland (Berlin: IIK.BE - news) 's government neared breaking point on Monday as supporters defected and opposition parties called for an immediate election that could force a crucial 2011 budget -- and IMF (Berlin: MXG1.BE - news) /EU support -- to be postponed.

The political turmoil accelerated a day after Ireland requested a bailout from the European Union and IMF, likely to be worth around 80 billion euros, to shore up its banks and budget against the effects of the global credit crunch.

"What is needed now is an immediate general election so that a new government, with a clear parliamentary majority, can prepare the four-year economic plan, complete negotiations with the EU and IMF and frame a budget for 2011," Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said in an emailed statement.

His comments came after two independent members of parliament on whom Prime Minister Brian Cowen's government relies for support said they may withhold support from the 2011 budget due to be unveiled on December 7, effectively depriving the government of a working majority.

The challenge by Jackie Healy-Rae and Michael Lowry left Cowen's package of 6 billion euros of spending cuts and tax rises, a pillar of a four-year austerity programme that will be key to the EU and IMF bailout, in jeopardy.

Lowry said he would support the 2011 budget only if the main opposition parties, Fine Gael and Labour, had a role in devising it. Healy-Rae also said he might withhold support. This would leave the budget needing the support of opposition parties.

But public anger towards the government over its handling of the crisis has reached boiling point, and the opposition parties certain to benefit from an early election showed no sign of being ready to help.

The government is expected to announce on Wednesday that it will cut the minimum wage, slash social welfare spending, reduce the number of public employees and add a new property tax and higher income taxes.

Labour also called for parliament to be dissolved immediately. The minimum period needed to organise an election is three weeks.

"It is essential that we have a new government elected as soon as possible," Labour leader Eamon Gilmore said in a statement published on the party's website.

"My preference would be for a dissolution of the Dail (parliament) today and the holding of a general election at the earliest possible date provided for under law. This would allow the election of a new government by the middle of December."

Cowen's own coalition partner, the Green Party, said earlier on Monday it would support the government until the budget had been passed and the EU/IMF bailout was in place, but then quit the coalition. It called for an election in January.

"We have now reached a point where the Irish people need political certainty to take them beyond the coming two months. So, we believe it is time to fix a date for a general election in the second half of January," the Greens said in a statement.

"I regret very much that the country is in the hands of the IMF and I and my colleagues are deeply upset by what has happened, but we believe that we had to stay in government at all times to act in the national interest," Green Party leader John Gormley told a news conference. His party is expected to be all but wiped out at the next election.

Cowen said the government's four-year economic plan, to be announced on Wednesday, would involve 10 billion euros in public spending cuts and 5 billion euros in tax rises, on top of two years of harsh austerity and recession already endured.

Unions have warned this could spark civil unrest: a student demonstration over planned fee increases turned violent earlier this month, and unions have organised a march to protest at the planned austerity measures on November (Stuttgart: A0Z24E - news) 27 in Dublin.

The Socialist party Sinn Fein organised a demonstration outside parliament on Monday. About 50 people shouted "Cowen, Cowen, Cowen. Out, out, out!"

(Editing by Kevin Liffey)

Refusing abortion can threaten life

2010-12-16T02:59:00.000-08:00

CARL O'BRIEN in Strasbourg

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Ireland has failed to properly implement the Constitutional right to abortion where a woman is entitled to one where her life is at risk.

The ruling will put issue of abortion back on the political agenda and is likely to force the Government to introduce legislation or official guidelines on access to abortion for women whose lives are at risk.

The Court unanimously ruled this morning that the rights of one of three women who took a case challenging Ireland abortion laws were breached because she had no “effective or accessible procedure” to establish her right to a lawful abortion.

The woman – known only as “C” – had a rare form of cancer and feared it would relapse when she became unintentionally pregnant.

However, the woman was unable to find a doctor willing to make a determination as to whether her life would be at risk if she continued to term.

This morning the court concluded that neither the “medical consultation nor litigation options” relied on by the Government constituted an effective or accessible procedures.

“Moreover, there was no explanation why the existing constitution right had no been implemented to date,” the court ruled.

“Consequently, the court concluded that Ireland had breached the third applicant’s – C – right to respect for her private life given the failure to implement the existing Constitutional right to a lawful abortion in Ireland.”

The court ruled that there had been no violation of the rights of the two other women involved in the case – A and B.

The Strasbourg-based court, which is separate from the EU, adjudicates on human rights issues among all 47 member states of the Council of Europe

The identities of the women who took the case - known are confidential.

Two of them are Irish and one is a Lithuanian national who was residing in Ireland. All of them travelled to the UK to have an abortion after becoming pregnant unintentionally.

They include a woman who ran the risk of an ectopic pregnancy, where the foetus develops outside the womb; a woman who received chemotherapy for cancer and was unable to get clear advice on the dangers posed by an unplanned pregnancy; and a former alcoholic and drug abuser who feared her unplanned pregnancy would jeopardise her attempts to be reunited with her other children in the care system.

The women - supported by the Irish Family Planning Association - argued before the court last December that they were subject to indignity, stigma and ill-health as a result of being forced to travel abroad for their abortions.

The Government, however, robustly defended the laws and said Ireland's abortion laws were based on “profound moral values deeply embedded in Irish society”.

It argued that European Court on Human Rights has consistently recognised the traditions of different countries regarding the rights of unborn children. However, it maintained that the women’s challenge
sought to undermine these principles and align Ireland with countries with more liberal abortion laws.

The case was lodged before the court in 2005 and was heard last year at an oral hearing before the European Court of Human Rights's grand chamber.

This 17-judge court is reserved to hear cases that raise serious questions affecting the interpretation of the European Convention of Human Rights.

As a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights – now incorporated into Irish law – the Government is obliged to remedy any breaches of the convention.

An Taoiseach Brian Cowen video

2010-12-11T14:43:00.000-08:00

This week, An Taoiseach Brian Cowen spoke with passion about the actions he has taken as leader of this country, and what he is doing to get us back on track.

His interview on RTÉ's Prime Time speaks for itself. Click on the image below to watch it, and spread the word.

Assertions have been dressed up as facts over the past 2 years. We need to have a debate based on facts, and not the false claims of the opposition and their cheerleaders.

Please watch the interview, and help spread the word using facebook, twitter, or by forwarding this link to your friends: www.fiannafail.ie/primetimeinterview.

Thank you.

Noel.

Noel Dempsey TD
Minister for Transport

Snow and freezing temperatures

2010-11-30T23:49:00.000-08:00

Snow and freezing temperatures severely disrupted airports in Germany and Britain and caused chaos and deaths on roads across Europe on Tuesday.
People drive slowly along a snow covered motorway near the city of Saint-Poncy, central …More
Enlarge photo People drive slowly along a snow covered motorway near the city of Saint-Poncy, central …More Enlarge photo A man using an umbrella crosses a snowy street in Essen, western Germany Enlarge photo A snowplough clears a local snowy road near Charbonnier-les-Mines, central France Enlarge photo A dog plays in the heavy snow in Linlithgow, in Scotland Enlarge photo A parhelion (sundog) combined with a halo is seen over Lake Malaren in central Stockholm Enlarge photo .More than 200 flights were cancelled at Frankfurt airport in Germany, the continent's third busiest, while southern German states were blanketed by snow.

Large parts of Poland were covered in thick snow, causing hundreds of accidents on the roads and at least four people were killed on snowbound roads in the Czech Republic.

It was so cold in France that electricity network RTE warned of cuts in the supply as the country looked set to top record demand levels while 20 percent of high-speed train services to the hard hit southeast were cancelled.

Switzerland suffered its coldest November night for 45 years as temperatures plunged below minus 30 degrees Celsius (minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit), according to national weather service Meteosuisse.

Even Spain and Portugal were shivering after snow fell in the northern half of the Iberian peninsula.

Britain has been taken by surprise by its earliest widespread snowfall since 1993, forcing hundreds of schools in Scotland and rural parts of England to close and causing treacherous conditions on roads and at smaller airports.

Scotland and northeast England had fresh snowfall and the freezing weather has started moving down England's east coast while London had its first sprinkling of snow this winter.

London City Airport, a popular departure point for business travellers, was forced at one point to suspend all flights because of snow and ice before resuming with a heavily interrupted service.

Edinburgh, Scotland's busiest airport, was disrupted for a second day, but London's Heathrow, one of the world's busiest airports, said all its flights were operating normally.

Britain's Met Office issued severe weather warnings for most regions of the country and warned snow was heading south.

A 53-year-old man was crushed to death when a recovery truck rolled into two other vehicles in snowy conditions on a motorway near Doncaster in northern England, police said.

Scotland, on St Andrew's Day, its national day, recorded the coldest temperature in Britain overnight Monday with the mercury plunging to minus 15 degrees Celsius (five degrees Fahrenheit).

Thousands of schoolchildren had to stay at home in Scotland for a second day while 42 schools were closed in picturesque Cornwall in southwest England because of snow.

But the bitter cold in London failed to deter several thousand students from taking part in the latest demonstration against the government's plans to raise university tuition fees.

In Germany, heavy snowfall blanketed the southern states of Bavaria, Baden-Wuerttemberg and Saxony and even colder weather is forecast across the country later this week.

At Frankfurt airport, even when the runways were cleared of snow, aircraft had to be de-iced, causing further delays.

By mid-morning local time, a total of 128 arrivals and 80 departures had been cancelled, with many other flights experiencing significant delays, an airport spokeswoman said.

In the eastern German city of Leipzig, a playful snowball fight descended into a violent melee involving more than 500 people.

"The black-clad mob threw not only snow but also firecrackers, bottles and rocks," a police spokesman said.

Police had to intervene to break up the mob and two officers were wounded in the fray late Monday, while the driver of a passing car also fell victim as the mob smashed his windscreen with a beer bottle and injured his arm.

On a lighter note, players from German Bundesliga football team Bayer Leverkusen said they would wear ski masks for their Europa League game in Rosenberg, Norway, as they battle sub-zero conditions.

The Czech Republic experienced up to 25 centimetres (10 inches) of fresh snow in some cities, causing power cuts and travel disruption. Four people were killed and 80 were injured on the country's roads.

The Polish capital Warsaw was snarled up by huge traffic jams after 30 centimetres of snow fell since Monday.

Lorry drivers were stranded in their vehicles for 20 hours near Warsaw after a truck skidded and blocked the road.

Response of Minister for Finance - Brian Lenihan, T.D.

2010-11-24T05:33:00.000-08:00

2nd Stage Debate - Finance Bill 2010: 10th February 2010

Introductory Remarks

I would like begin by thanking the many Deputies who have made considered and useful contributions to this debate on the Finance Bill 2010. I look forward to a constructive and informed discussion at Committee Stage.

In my reply, I will, as far as possible in the time available to me, address the points raised by the Deputies yesterday and today. There will, of course, be a further opportunity at Committee Stage to deal in greater detail with issues covered by the Bill.

The overall thrust of the Bill

Before moving on to address some of the points specifically relating to the provisions of the Bill itself, I would like to deal with some of the more general issues raised, particularly by Deputies Bruton and Burton. It was argued that the Bill did not contain a vision. Indeed Deputy O’Higgins felt that the Bill is unimaginative while Deputy Enright suggested that it is unambitious. I disagree.

This Bill contains significant measures which will enable Ireland to build on our existing strengths as an economy. These measures when taken together with our budgetary strategy, will protect existing jobs and create additional ones. They will support export-led growth in services and goods. This is the best, and the only, way of maintaining and enhancing our international competitiveness which I highlighted on 9th December as a key focus of Budget 2010. Unless we sharpen our competitive edge, we will be unable to return to the tried and tested strategy of export-led growth.

Some opposition Deputies described the Bill as a housekeeping exercise devoid of ideas to deal with the challenges facing us at present. I have to say that such a view contrasts sharply with the commentary from the industries and enterprises on which we will be relying to create well-paid jobs in this economy as we return to growth. It was suggested that the Bill lacks focus and places an unfair burden on taxpayers. This, after a budget that contained no personal tax increases and some reductions in consumption taxes! Let me say, it is the opposition which lacks focus or, more correctly, the ability to see or understand the ‘big’ picture.

Budget 2010 and this Finance Bill build on the work started in Budget 2009. Over the past 20 months, the Government has made significant progress in stabilising the public finances. The adjustments involved very hard decisions and I am well aware of their impact on citizens. But they were necessary to ensure the very financial survival of this country. Those decisive actions have enabled us to stabilise the deficit and have led to a reduction in the cost of borrowing by the State.

In the run up to the Budget, I made it clear that we could not tax our way out of our difficulties. I know the main opposition party agrees with me on this. Accordingly, the Budget focussed on expenditure and did not increase the burden of income tax. This approach also informed the development of the Finance Bill. Deputies will be aware that there are no tax increases in its provisions, apart from a number of measures aimed to ensure that high earners pay their fair share and I make no apology for including these measures.

In her contribution to the debate, Deputy Burton moved quite a distance from the subject to indulge in her usual rant about the banks and the builders. Loath though I am to follow her departure from the subject of this debate, I would like to deal with her accusations that I misled the House about the attitude of the IMF to NAMA. Deputy Burton was relying on a newspaper report of last Monday. I should point out that the note on which that report was based contains a ringing endorsement of NAMA by the IMF. In fact, let me quote: “the IMF would have been encouraging the adoption of a NAMA-type initiative even if the Minister for Finance had not already announced it”. It is quite clear from the note, which is now on my Department’s website that the IMF fully backed the Government’s policy on the banks and the establishment of NAMA.

I do not intend to replay the NAMA debate here this evening, but Deputies are aware that there was a very intensive debate about NAMA that culminated in the passage of legislation which allows guidelines to be issued by the Minister to the participating institutions to facilitate the flow of credit to SMEs. I would remind Deputy Burton that time and again during that debate, I said that we need to be clear that it is not in the interests of the banks or of this economy that the banks return to the excessive and imprudent lending of the past. That is the last thing we need. And it was in the context of a discussion about that very point that Mr. Seelig made his remarks about the impact of NAMA on the availability of credit.

We are all concerned about the availability of credit. That is why the credit guidelines were included in the NAMA legislation. But Deputies must also realise that it is not the intention of the guidelines to return to the over-heated, excessive, lending which occurred in recent years. What we want to ensure is that viable, sustainable, businesses and households can access lending. And, yes, that means we are going to have less bank lending than we have had in recent years.

The best way to ensure that credit starts flowing in the economy is through the creation of a healthy banking system. This is why NAMA was set-up to cleanse the banks’ balance sheets of toxic loans. It is the Government’s view that NAMA is the best way to restore stability in our financial sector which will enable banks make credit available in the economy. The IMF delegation agreed with this view and Deputy Kennedy made this point well yesterday.

Measures contained in the Bill

Mortgage Interest Relief

Moving on to measures contained in the Bill, I welcome the support given by Deputy Bruton, Deputy Kennedy and Minister of State Roche in relation to the extension of mortgage interest relief for those who bought at the peak of the housing market. The extension of mortgage interest relief will help those who purchased in 2004 or later, and the transitional measures may, as Deputy Kennedy highlighted, act as a stimulus to those who wish to enter the housing market at this stage. However, I would emphasise my commitment to remove this relief altogether by 2018 which will provide significant savings to the Exchequer.

I would like to take this opportunity to refer to comments made by both Deputy Crawford and Deputy Enright in relation to mortgage interest relief. Both Deputies seemed to suggest that mortgage interest relief is not available for individuals on low incomes. I must clarify for the Deputies that mortgage interest relief is a tax relief of up to 25% on interest. It is applied at source, thereby reducing the total mortgage payment. This relief is available to all qualifying loans regardless of the income of the mortgage holders.

Restriction of Reliefs

Deputy Burton referred to my Budget speech, where I indicated that high earners must pay their fair share. The amendments, announced in the Budget and set out in this Bill, to the restriction of reliefs measure, will severely curtail the amount of tax reliefs that can be used to reduce the income tax liability of those on high incomes. It will ensure that, in addition to PRSI and levies, those with high incomes and using reliefs will have an effective income tax rate of about 30%. This measure applies to a list of specified reliefs, including property based reliefs, the use of all of which has been curtailed as a result of this change. I thank Deputy Moynihan for his support on this and other taxation issues in his contribution.

Start ups and SMEs

Deputies Bruton, Burton and O’Donnell have all referred to the need for tax incentives for start-up companies.

Deputy Burton referred in particular to the need to help indigenous start-ups and I am providing in this Bill for an extension of the tax exemption for new start-up companies introduced in Budget 2009 to companies who commence to trade this year. I am aware of the recommendations of the Commission on Taxation in relation to this exemption. The Commission proposed that the exemption be extended to non-corporates, but that it should terminate in 2011. The current scheme, while still only available to corporates, continues to be available for three years. Therefore, new start-ups that commence trading in 2010 can continue to avail of the exemption up to and including 2012.

Deputy O’Donnell made reference also to the R&D tax credit scheme and proposed that the credit should be allowed to be offset against PRSI. This proposal is not new and I am aware of other proposals to allow companies set off the tax credit against their payroll tax liabilities. There are difficulties in acceding to these requests, not least the implications for the Social Insurance Fund into which PRSI contributions are paid and the fact that payroll taxes are paid by companies on behalf of their employees on a fiduciary basis.

The R&D tax credit scheme has been improved in most Budgets and Finance Acts since its introduction in 2004. I made very significant enhancements to the scheme in Budget 2009 and Finance (No 2) Act 2008, including an increase in the rate of the credit from 20% to 25% and, most notably, the introduction of a payable credit in circumstances, for example, where there is no Corporation Tax liability against which to offset the tax credit. These and other changes made to the scheme in recent years have made it one of the most competitive schemes of its kind around – something I would also point to in response to Deputy Burton’s assertion that Ireland’s only competitive advantage is its 12.5% tax rate. However, I would accept Deputy Kelly’s point that perhaps not all companies are as aware as they should be of its provisions.

I am conscious, of course, that there are reasons other than cash-flow reasons why certain companies and advisors wish to allow the tax credit to be set off against payroll costs. I believe, however, that it should be possible to devise an accounting solution which will deal with that the issues in this area.

The Financial Services Sector

I would agree with Deputy Burton that Ireland’s reputation, both from a financial regulatory perspective and from a tax policy perspective is the key to our future success. This Government has announced significant reform of the financial regulatory structures. Further significant progress will be made in 2010. For example, the legislation necessary to underpin the structural reform in the Central Bank is expected to be published in the first quarter of 2010. Ireland also fully supports the work of the OECD on transparency and effective exchange of information on tax matters. Recently, Ireland has signed 14 Tax Information Exchange Agreements with non-OECD jurisdictions and is playing a leading part in the OECD’s new Global Forum initiative on tax openness.

In relation to Islamic Finance, one of the measures in the Finance Bill designed to boost our offering in relation to international financial services, I would point out that Shari'a compliant finance is not only the fastest growing segment of international financial services but it is also perhaps the most 'ethical' form of international finance as it sets out strict rules regarding the nature and type of investments that may be made. I note also Minister of State Calleary’s support for this new growth area.

Capital loss issues

Deputy Burton mentioned also a front page article in The Sunday Business Post which alleged that a “Tax loophole cost exchequer €400 million in lost revenue”. Deputy Ardagh asked whether the figures quoted in the story were correct. The tax loss figure quoted in the story was, unfortunately, highly inaccurate. The amount of artificial capital losses claimed was €409 million – the amount of capital gains tax potentially under threat was in the region of €85 million. Furthermore, contrary to that newspaper report, I should point out that artificial losses are already being challenged by Revenue under the general anti-avoidance provisions contained in the section 811 of the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997. But, given the aggressive nature of these avoidance schemes, it was felt necessary to specifically legislate against these schemes in order to protect Exchequer revenues.

Deputy Burton asked why I didn’t do something before now about this matter. But Deputy, I have. While the UK introduced a “broad based” approach to tackling such aggressive avoidance in their Finance Act 2007, we already had the general anti-avoidance section in the Taxes Consolidation Act. We then took measures in Finance (No. 2) Act 2008 to counter aggressive avoidance schemes which had come to light at that stage, involving the creation of artificial capital losses. I will continue to keep such schemes under review with a view to developing further measures to address them. Let me just say: I am surprised that a finance spokesperson of Deputy Burton’s competence did not go the trouble of checking the facts on this matter for herself rather than relying on a highly inaccurate newspaper report.

Carbon Tax

A number of Deputies referred to the carbon tax. The purpose of the carbon tax is to send a price signal which recognises the environmental cost associated with the consumption of fossil fuels. This price signal will stimulate innovation and increase awareness of energy efficiency. As I have previously indicated the only exemption from the carbon tax will be in relation to those companies within the EU Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) where a carbon pricing mechanism is already in place. I do not intend to offer exemptions for sectors outside the ETS. Once we start down that path, all sectors will make their own ‘special’ case and potentially we are left with a carbon tax that falls only on households. That would be unfair.

The impact of the carbon tax on agriculture has been mentioned by a number of Deputies, including Deputies Crawford, Breen, O’Mahony, Sherlock and Naughten. I appreciate the position many farmers currently find themselves in. However, I should point out that the excise on agricultural diesel is only around one-tenth of that applying to auto-diesel. That’s a significant concession. The new carbon charge has to be based on the emissions that arise from the fuel used. So to ignore such emissions would simply undermine the rationale for the tax in the first place. The current excise tax arrangements ensure agricultural diesel remains significantly cheaper than auto diesel.

Deputy Bruton pointed out that the application of carbon tax to coal and peat creates difficulties because of the potential for products with lower environmental standards to be sourced from the North. I agree with him and I can assure Deputy Bruton that I will not be introducing the tax on coal and peat until I am satisfied that this issue is addressed appropriately – that is why I have not signalled a specific date yet. I can inform the Deputy that work has already commenced on this matter within the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government.

Value-Added Tax on Local Authority Services

Deputy Bruton and Deputy Burton referred to local authority services being made subject to VAT. I understand the concerns arising here, but I would like to remind the deputies that this is a requirement arising out a ruling against Ireland by the European Court of Justice in July 2009. In order to comply with the Court’s ruling, it is necessary to amend the VAT Act to provide that public bodies, including local authorities, are made subject to VAT in general where they engage in activities that lead to a distortion of competition with private operators.

It should be noted that the services that will become subject to VAT (for example, waste collection, landfill, and recycling services) are already subject to VAT where provided by a private operator. The standard or the reduced VAT rates will apply as appropriate and the changes will apply from 1 July 2010. Education, health, water and passenger transport services will not become subject to VAT arising from the Judgment as they are otherwise exempted from VAT.

I should point out that business customers will not be affected by these changes as they can claim deduction for any VAT charged by a public body. The impact on private individuals, VAT exempt entities and other non-registered bodies, will depend on the degree to which the VAT is passed on by the public bodies, which in any event should be limited somewhat since public bodies providing the service will also have entitlement to deduct the VAT they incur on their inputs.

On a related issue, I would like to reassure Deputy O’Mahony that the abolition of tax relief on service charges, a measure recommended by the Commission on Taxation, is not happening this year, or even next, but will apply from 2012.

Domicile Levy

In relation to the Domicile Levy, Deputy Burton asked how many of the almost 6,000 ‘tax exiles’ will be affected by the Levy. She also suggests that the measure provides wide scope for the use of professional advisory services to mitigate its likely impact. As I have stated on previous occasions, I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners there is no register or list of so called ‘tax exiles’ and there is nothing in Irish tax law that makes reference to ‘tax exile’ status.

The taxation of individuals in the State is in line with that prevailing in most other OECD jurisdictions. Individuals who are not resident here for tax purposes pay tax here only on income arising in the State and on income derived from working here. For the 2007 tax year (the latest year for which figures are available), 7,228 non-resident individuals filed Irish tax returns in respect of their Irish-source income or income derived from working here. The total amount of tax paid by these persons was c. €43 million.

Many of the individuals that show on their tax return that they are non-resident in the State do not have an Irish address. Many of these non-residents are foreign nationals or have a foreign domicile; and many of the non-resident Irish citizens or Irish domiciliaries included in this figure may have become non-resident for reasons unrelated to taxation, but who may have retained Irish investments (such as rental property). Individuals leaving the State are not required to give reasons for leaving. In other words, it is not true to say that 6,000 individuals are tax exiles. Some non-residents have an Irish tax liability but it is simply not true to say that all or most of them are Irish domiciled individuals who have moved out of Ireland for tax reasons.

As set out in the Finance Bill, the domicile levy of €200,000 will be charged on an individual who is Irish-domiciled and an Irish citizen whose world-wide income exceeds €1m, whose Irish-located property is greater than €5m, and whose liability to Irish income tax is less than €200,000. As it is difficult to estimate the number of individuals who satisfy these criteria, it is not possible to predict the number of individuals who will be subject to the levy. It is not expected that there will be widespread avoidance of the levy as suggested by Deputy Burton and the measure will contain anti-avoidance provisions.

Conclusion

It will be clear to Deputies that difficult decisions in all areas of policy must continue to be taken. However, such decisions are necessary to as we continue to restore sustainability to our public finances and enhance international confidence in Ireland as a place to do business.

Finance Bill 2010, giving effect as it does to a range of progressive and targeted measures, is a vital part of this process.

I look forward to Committee Stage where we will have the opportunity for a more detailed discussion on the measures contained in the Bill.

Wish you the blessings of Eid Aladha 2010

2010-11-21T00:45:00.000-08:00

Hurricane Thomas head for the Irish coastline

2010-11-05T02:43:00.000-07:00

MOTORISTS and homeowners have been warned of a risk of flooding this weekend as the remnants of Hurricane Thomas head for the Irish coastline.

Forecasters are predicting high tides and winds of up to 100kmh, which could lead to flooding in Dublin, Galway and coastal areas.

Dublin City Council yesterday said that car parks at Clontarf and Sandymount would be closed on Sunday and Monday as a precaution.

Roads may also be closed over the weekend and the council has started deploying temporary flood defences across the city.

Concerns

"There are concerns these high winds coupled with high tides could lead to flooding," said a Met Eireann spokesman. "Although the hurricane will be significantly weaker by the time it hits us, we are predicting winds of up to 100kmh and very high waves which always set alarm bells ringing."

Meanwhile, fallen leaves caused delays for commuters in Dublin yesterday as trains were forced to travel at lower speeds to reduce the risk of wheel slip.

Iarnrod Eireann said that poor rail conditions were a feature of this time a year, and over the last couple of weeks they had been putting a type of abrasive grit called Sandite on rails throughout the country to reduce danger. Most delays had been around 10 minutes.

- Edel O'Connell and Paul Melia

Irish Independent

Student union warning over fee hike fear

2010-11-03T11:43:00.000-07:00

Registration fee hike for third level expected
Student leaders have condemned the action of protestors who clashed with gardaí after a protest against plans to increase registration fees for third level students.

There was disruption in the city centre this afternoon after protests outside the Department of Finance on Merrion Street and the Dáil on Kildare Street.

Some people were injured during scuffles with gardaí on Merrion Row, while three gardaí received medical attention after being injured by objects thrown by protestors.

One garda has been admitted to hospital with a broken nose, the other two gardaí were treated at the scene.

Gardaí say that three people have been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage.

The three are being held at Pearse Street Garda Station.

Union of Students of Ireland President Gary Redmond said he is saddened by the actions of a minority of protestors in Dublin city centre today.

Mr Redmond said the occupation of the Department of Finance by a number of protestors was not representative of the USI.

He said that many of the clashes with gardaí occurred during the USI address to protestors on Merrion Square.

Gary Redmond said the actions of protestors engaged in a sit-down protest outside Leinster House were also not condoned by the USI.

A garda spokesperson said 50 people entered the lobby of the Department of Finance on Merrion Row but were removed a short time later by gardaí.

Meanwhile, the Socialist Workers Party has accused gardaí of assaulting some of their members and other protestors.

Spokesperson Karl Gill, a student at University College Dublin, said gardaí had aggravated a peaceful sit-in at the Department of Finance this afternoon.

Mr Gill said a small number of protestors who had occupied the Department were forcibly removed by gardaí.

He also alleged that one protestor had his head stamped on by a garda member and he says another female protestor was 'attacked' by a garda dog.

Mr Gill says six arrests have been made which the Socialist Workers Party is claiming were unlawful.

USI march

The violent scenes followed a peaceful USI protest against plans to increase registration fees.

An estimated 40,000 people marched to Merrion Square, where they were addressed by student leaders.

The union said any attempt to impose cuts on students will meet with strong opposition.

USI says thousands of students will be forced to drop-out of college if the registration fee rises again.

The latest speculation is that the charge will rise from its current level of €1,500 to €2,500.

The last big student march was in 2008 when 15,000 people took to the streets.

Protestors have now dispersed and streets in the city centre have re-opened.

'All areas considered for reductions'

The Taoiseach refused to be drawn in the Dáil this morning on whether third-level fees would be introduced or capitation fees increased in the forthcoming Budget.

He also rounded on the Labour Party decision to abolish third-level fees, branding it 'not very socially progressive'.

Brian Cowen said it was imperative that all areas would be considered for reductions and no area could be ring fenced or immune to cuts.

The Taoiseach said he could not divulge what was being discussed at Cabinet but no decisions had yet been taken. A good discussion was ongoing in relation to such matters, he added.

The Taoiseach was responding to Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore who said the revised Programme for Government had committed not to increase student contributions.

Mr Gilmore said the revised programme was produced in an economic environment that was not radically different from now.

He said it did not make sense to put more obstacles in the way of young people continuing education.

Mr Cowen accused the Labour Party of abolishing third-level fees for all in an attempt to hold onto its middle-class vote.

The Cabinet is considering other education cuts too, among them, Department of Education sources say class size at primary and second-level is likely to be increased.

RTE News

End of the road for Bertie's €150k Merc?

2010-11-01T16:07:00.000-07:00

THE Cabinet is expected to discuss the controversy surrounding the provision of State cars to ministers.

Green ministers are believed to be preparing to raise the issue, after it was highlighted last week by the Herald.

There was also public outrage at the sight of members of the Government rolling up to Farmleigh House last Monday in their chauffeur-driven cars.

The 27 State cars being funded by taxpayers cost the exchequer about €11m a year.

Green Party leader John Gormley has indicated he is in favour of a car pool system.

At the moment, 19 Government members and five former taoisigh have a dedicated car and driver, while the perk is also enjoyed by the President, the Chief Justice and the DPP.

Paul Gogarty, the Greens education spokesman, told the Dail the Government needs to "scrap the ministerial Mercs as soon as possible".

He said the garda drivers need to be reallocated "back into working on the ground" and "a pool of junior ministerial drivers" has to be created.

Mr Gogarty said he accepted ministers "need to work while travelling and they cannot be driving".

favour

"It appalled me to see ministers driving into Farmleigh in their Mercs, as it sent out the wrong message," he said.

Labour leader Eamon Gilmore is also in favour of a pooling system and he believes less expensive cars should be purchased.

The Herald revealed last week that former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern will not give up his luxury Mercedes, even though he accepts the country is broke. He insisted he needs the plush S Class model for "security reasons".

A survey of each Department by this paper found that ministers are not willing to lose their Mercs.

comurphy@herald.ie

- Cormac Murphy

Arrest after Harney paint protest

2010-11-01T09:36:00.000-07:00

A Dublin councillor has been arrested after Health Minister Mary Harney was pelted with red paint as work began on a new mental health unit. Skip related content
Related photos / videos
Arrest after Harney paint protest
Enlarge photo .The TD was splattered across her neck, hands and clothes as protesters angry at health budget cuts gathered at the planned facility in west Dublin.

Despite the paint attack, Ms Harney continued with the turning-of-the-sod ceremony at the new Ballyfermot Primary Care and Mental Health Centre. The attack took place in the grounds of the unit as up to 20 protesters mounted a demonstration at the gates.

A Garda spokesman said city councillor Louise Minihan was released without charge about an hour later. A garda spokesman said a file would be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Ms Minihan said she poured diluted red paint over the minister to symbolise the blood Government had on its hands: "In one month's time the government will introduce what can only be described as a blood budget."

"The cutbacks in healthcare that will be contained in that budget will result in the unnecessary and avoidable deaths of hundreds, if not thousands, of people over the coming years.

"Today Mary Harney had the cheek to organise a publicity stunt at Cherry Orchard Hospital, where she was turning the sod for a long overdue mental health unit.

"This is the same hospital which has been starved of funding for years, where an entire ward for Alzheimer's and dementia sufferers was closed down during the summer."

Local councillor Brid Smith, who organised the protest on behalf of the Save Cherry Orchard Hospital Campaign, said she was surprised at the incident but could not condemn it.

"Louise was telling her she was attacking the most vulnerable in healthcare. It was a very dramatic moment."

McCreevy resigns from bank board after ruling

2010-10-07T23:10:00.000-07:00

FORMER EUROPEAN commissioner Charlie McCreevy has resigned from the board of a new banking firm after an EU ethics committee found a conflict of interest with his work as commissioner in charge of financial regulation.

Mr McCreevy stepped down from the board of NBNK Investments on Wednesday night on foot of a negative opinion from the committee, which was established by the commission to assess his employment by the firm.

This is first time that a former member of the EU executive has had to resign a directorship since it introduced the current system for overseeing the work of retired commissioners in 2003.

NBNK Investments was set up during the summer by former Lloyds chairman Lord Levine to pursue acquisition opportunities in the British banking sector. As institutions seek to recover from the financial crash, some large players are selling assets to comply with EU competition rulings.

ARTHUR BEESLEY European Correspondent

According to its website, NBNK’s proposition is to build primarily through acquisition “a new and substantial UK bank”. As internal markets commissioner, Mr McCreevy was the originator of new legislation to set up a new pan-European system of financial regulation.

NBNK took a £50 million (€57.86 million) stock market listing on the Alternative Investment Market in London in August with funding from investors including Aviva, FC Management, Invesco and Och-Ziff Capital Management.

Amid criticism of Mr McCreevy’s directorship earlier this week, the company said the former internal markets commissioner would have a “less substantial” board role until the first anniversary of his retirement from the Commission in February. It also said he would not receive directors’ fees in that period.

A spokesman for NBNK Investments acknowledged Mr McCreevy’s departure and said he was not in a position to ask the former commissioner whether he had any comment on the committee’s ruling.

In a statement, the company said Mr McCreevy resigned from the board with immediate effect to fully comply with his obligations as a former member of the commission.

When Mr McCreevy was approached initially to join the board of NBNK Investments, he notified the commission’s authorities “as required”, the statement said.

“Following a dialogue with the European Commission, it has not been possible to find a way in which Mr McCreevy can continue with his directorship of NBNK in a manner compatible with his standard responsibilities as a former European commissioner.”

The statement went on to say that the board respected and understood his position.

Mr McCreevy’s appointment to the company prompted criticism in the European Parliament, where generous “transition” allowances that he and many of his former commission colleagues receive have met with a frosty reception.

Criticising Mr McCreevy’s board role, Labour MEP Nessa Childers had complained that NBNK was “feeding off the financial crisis” fanned by Mr McCreevy’s “light-touch” approach to financial regulation. This “bitter irony”, she said, would not be lost on people who lost their jobs due the financial crisis.

The ethics committee, which reported in recent days, was the second to examine Mr McCreevy’s work since he left the commission.

Last May, another committee cleared his membership of the Ryanair board, but said he could not advise the airline on any case involving its business which came before the EU executive’s internal markets division when he was commissioner.

Mr McCreevy’s remuneration from Ryanair would be deducted from his €11,150 per month “transition allowance”. He also receives an annual ministerial pension of €74,746 and a €52,213 pension for having served as a TD.

Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy

2010-09-24T03:51:00.001-07:00

Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy
September 22, 2010

A DEFENSE OF FREE SPEECH BY AMERICAN AND CANADIAN MUSLIMS

We, the undersigned, unconditionally condemn any intimidation or threats of violence directed against any individual or group exercising the rights of freedom of religion and speech; even when that speech may be perceived as hurtful or reprehensible.

We are concerned and saddened by the recent wave of vitriolic anti-Muslim and anti-Islamic sentiment that is being expressed across our nation.

We are even more concerned and saddened by threats that have been made against individual writers, cartoonists, and others by a minority of Muslims. We see these as a greater offense against Islam than any cartoon, Qur'an burning, or other speech could ever be deemed.

We affirm the right of free speech for Molly Norris, Matt Stone, Trey Parker, and all others including ourselves.

As Muslims, we must set an example of justice, patience, tolerance, respect, and forgiveness.

The Qur'an enjoins Muslims to:
•bear witness to Islam through our good example (2:143);
•restrain anger and pardon people (3:133-134 and 24:22);
•remain patient in adversity (3186);
•stand firmly for justice (4:135);
•not let the hatred of others swerve us from justice (5:8);
•respect the sanctity of life (5:32);
•turn away from those who mock Islam (6:68 and 28:55);
•hold to forgiveness, command what is right, and turn away from the ignorant (7:199);
•restrain ourselves from rash responses (16:125-128);
•pass by worthless talk with dignity (25:72); and
•repel evil with what is better (41:34).

Islam calls for vigorous condemnation of both hateful speech and hateful acts, but always within the boundaries of the law. It is of the utmost importance that we react, not out of reflexive emotion, but with dignity and intelligence, in accordance with both our religious precepts and the laws of our country.

We uphold the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Both protect freedom of religion and speech, because both protections are fundamental to defending minorities from the whims of the majority.

We therefore call on all Muslims in the United States, Canada and abroad to refrain from violence. We should see the challenges we face today as an opportunity to sideline the voices of hate-not reward them with further attention-by engaging our communities in constructive dialogue about the true principles of Islam, and the true principles of democracy, both of which stress the importance of freedom of religion and tolerance.

SIGNATORIES:
1.Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad, PhD, Director, Minaret of Freedom Foundation
2.Prof. Akbar S. Ahmed, PhD, Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies, American University
3.Prof. Parvez Ahmed, PhD, Fulbright Scholar & Assoc. Prof. University of North Florida
4.Wajahat Ali, playwright, journalist, and producer of "Domestic Crusaders"
5.Sumbul Ali-Karamali, JD, LLM (Islamic Law), author of "The Muslim Next Door"
6.Salam al-Marayati, Pres., Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC)
7.Shahed Amanullah, Editor-in-Chief, Altmuslim
8.Shahid Athar, M.D., Editor, Islam-USA
9.Hazami Barmada, Pres, American Muslim Interactive Network (AMIN)
10.M. Ali Chaudry, PhD, President, Center for Understanding Islam (CUII)
11.Robert D. Crane, JD
12.Mohamed Elsanousi, Director of Communications and Community Outreach for the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA)
13.Mona Eltahawy, journalist
14.Prof. Mohammad Fadel, PhD
15.Hesham Hassaballa, M.D., author, journalist, blogger - "God, faith, and a pen"
16.Arsalan Iftikhar, author, human rights lawyer, blogger - "The Muslim Guy"
17.Jeffrey Imm, Director, Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.)
18.Prof. Muqtedar Khan, PhD, author of several books, Blogger - "Globalog"
19.M. Junaid Levesque-Alam, writer, blogger - "Crossing the Crescent"
20.David Liepert, M.D., blogger and author of "Muslim, Christian AND Jew"
21.Radwan A. Masmoudi, PhD, President, Center for the Study of Islam & Democracy (CSID)
22.Melody Moezzi, JD, MPH, writer and attorney
23.Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore, author of many books of poetry
24.Sheila Musaji, Editor, The American Muslim (TAM)
25.Aziz H. Poonawalla, PhD, scientist and blogger - "City of Brass" on Beliefnet.com
26.Hasan Zillur Rahim, PhD, journalist
27.Prof. Hussein Rashid, PhD, blogger - "Religion Dispatches"
28.Robert Salaam, blogger - "The American Muslim"
29.Tayyibah Taylor, Editor, Azizah Magazine
30.Amina Wadud, PhD, consultant on Islam and gender, visiting scholar Starr King School for the Ministry
31.G. Willow Wilson, author of "Butterfly Mosque" and "Air" graphic novel series

***************

NOTE: If you would like to add your signature, please send an email with your name, title, and organizational affiliation (if any) to:
tameditor@aol.com

Read Full Statement

Budget fury man jailed after Fianna Fail office attacked

2010-09-18T03:10:00.001-07:00

A UNEMPLOYED man suffering from 'Budget blues' is behind bars following an alleged attack on a Fianna Fail office.
Garda body can use state funds for action
By Anne-Marie Walsh Industry Correspondent
A garda body which is threatening to take strike action over pay cuts is getting more than €235,000 a year from the Department of Justice.
Accounts to be scanned in welfare fraud crackdown
By Fionnan Sheahan and Michael Brennan
SUSPECTED social-welfare cheats will have their bank accounts scanned under new anti-fraud powers.
Unions want private sector on board for national protest
By Anne-Marie Walsh Industry Correspondent
UNION leaders plan to get private sector workers on board for a disruptive campaign of industrial action after public servants suffered a €1bn pay cut.
Doctor accuses Lenihan of fuelling alcohol problems
By Anita Guidera
A LEADING accident and emergency consultant has described the Budget's reduction in the price of alcohol as a retrograde step for public health.
Our sea is still choppy but the ship is being steered at last
By Maeve Dineen
Fishermen will tell you that when weather, wind and currents are on the turn, a curious, choppy and deceptive water (it's called "an uncertain sea") is the result. Such a sight is worrying not only to a captain trying to chart his course, but also to his spirit.
Think this Budget was bad? It'll get worse
THE €1bn pay cut hurled at public-sector workers in last Wednesday's Budget could be the least of their worries.
Now is our era of truth and consequences
By Alan Ruddock
BRIAN Lenihan put an end to the dithering and indecisiveness of this Government last week and opted instead for consequences. All the messing and prevaricating of the previous week was put to one side as he read his Budget speech to the Dail and announced that, at long last, this Government had found the strength to lead.
Forget the myths, cutbacks spared us a Greek tragedy
By Marc Coleman
'Those bastards, they're taunting us," said Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead. "No, no. You couldn't be more wrong. They're saluting you, they're saluting fellow braves," said Lieutenant Adendorff. If, like me, you're stocking up on classic Sixties movies for Christmas, I can highly recommend the 1963 movie Zulu. Richard Burton's majestic intro and epilogue aside, the two final lines by actors Michael Caine and Gert van den Burgh will bring a lump to your throat.

Fionnan Sheahan: Cowen clears hurdles but he must get off the fence
By Fionnan Sheahan
After a flurry of high-profile PR outings, the Taoiseach has lapsed back into his old habits, worse than ever before

Wish you the best of Eid ul fitr نهنئكم بالعيد السعيد

2010-09-09T18:25:00.000-07:00

May the Eid fill your life with happiness and properity
May all your family be with you on the day of Eid
May Allah grant you success in this life and the hereafter

Poem:
Come with your Happiness
Come with your Joy
Eid day Eid day Eid day happy day
Come to wipe tears off refugees
come to give orphans to families
Come to make old people feel wanted
Eid day Eid day Eid day happy day

What is Eid ul- Fitr

2010-09-09T17:52:00.000-07:00

During the month of Ramadan, Muslims observe a strict fast and participate in pious activities such as charitable giving and peace-making. It is a time of intense spiritual renewal for those who observe it. At the end of Ramadan, Muslims throughout the world observe a joyous three-day celebration called Eid al-Fitr (the Festival of Fast-Breaking).
Answer: Eid al-Fitr falls on the first day of Shawwal, the month which follows Ramadan in the Islamic calendar. It is a time to give in charity to those in need, and celebrate with family and friends the completion of a month of blessings and joy.
Before the day of Eid, during the last few days of Ramadan, each Muslim family gives a determined amount as a donation to the poor. This donation is of actual food -- rice, barley, dates, rice, etc. -- to ensure that the needy can have a holiday meal and participate in the celebration. This donation is known as sadaqah al-fitr (charity of fast-breaking).
On the day of Eid, Muslims gather early in the morning in outdoor locations or mosques to perform the Eid prayer. This consists of a sermon followed by a short congregational prayer.
After the Eid prayer, Muslims usually scatter to visit various family and friends, give gifts (especially to children), and make phone calls to distant relatives to give well-wishes for the holiday. These activities traditionally continue for three days. In most Muslim countries, the entire 3-day period is an official government/school holiday.

Racist Crime and Racial Discrimination

2010-09-09T17:22:00.001-07:00

Racist Crime and Racial Discrimination - Responsible bodies

Racist crime

Racist crime (which is dealt with under the criminal law) is a matter for the Minister for Justice and Law Reform and An Garda Síochána. OMI monitors trends only.

Racial discrimination

Racial discrimination in the provision of goods and services (dealt with under the civil law Equal Status Acts) or in employment (dealt with under the civil law Employment Equality Acts) falls within the remit of the Minister of State for Equality, Integration and Human Rights, as do anti racism measures (funding the annual Holocaust Memorial Event, developing diversity/intercultural strategies are examples). Discrimination and harassment in relation to and within employment on nine grounds, including race, religion and membership of the Traveller community, are outlawed by the Employment Equality Acts 1998 to 2008. Discrimination and harassment on the same grounds in the supply of goods or services, education or accommodation are prohibited under the Equal Status Acts 2000 to 2008.

The Statutory Equality Agencies

Two agencies are established under the equality legislation - the Equality Authority and the Equality Tribunal.

The Equality Authority's functions are to combat discrimination and promote equality of opportunity in the areas covered by the Acts, to monitor and keep the Acts under review and to make recommendations to the Minister for change. The Equality Authority's powers include those of conducting equality reviews of action plans, preparing codes of practice, conducting inquiries, providing legal assistance to and taking cases on behalf of claimants under the Acts and conducting research on equality related issues.

The Equality Authority operates a Public Information Centre providing information on the Acts to members of the public. The Authority may also take cases in its own name in certain circumstances.

The Authority also supports public and private sector organisations to develop their organisational systems to promote equality and to combat discrimination. The Equality Authority is currently operating a Workplace Diversity Initiative, funded by OMI , to support IBEC, Congress and 3 local Chambers to promote diversity in the workplace.

The Authority has also published a number of reports assessing levels of discrimination in Ireland, including on the race ground. Its most recent report on discrimination on the race ground is Discrimination in Recruitment: Evidence from a Field Experiment (ESRI, 2009) which found that job applicants with Irish names were over twice as likely to be invited to interview for jobs as candidates with identifiably non-Irish names.

The Equality Tribunal is an accessible and impartial forum to remedy unlawful discrimination. It is an independent statutory office which investigates or mediates complaints of unlawful discrimination. It operates in accordance with the principles of natural justice and its core values are impartiality, professionalism, accessibility and timeliness. The Tribunal has jurisdiction in all the areas covered by the Equality legislation, with the exception of service in licensed premises where claims of discrimination can be brought before the District Court under the intoxicating Liquor Act 2003.

The equality legislation also permits complaints to be referred in respect of discrimination on any combination of the nine discriminatory grounds. Multiple grounds are specified in approximately one fifth to one quarter of complaints referred annually to the Equality Tribunal.

Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission

The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission is an independent police complaints authority established by the Garda Síochána Act 2005. It became operational in May 2007. It is responsible for receiving and dealing with all complaints made by members of the public concerning the conduct of members of An Garda Síochána. According to its Annual Report 2009, the number of complaints in which discrimination was suggested as a motive was 82 (up from 61 in 2008 and 11 in 2007). Unfortunately, the Commission's statistics do not currently distinguish between the different types of discrimination. We are in discussions with them about this.

Racist material on the internet

Racist material on the internet is a matter for the Minister for Justice and Law Reform, An Garda Síochána and the Internet Service Providers Hotline (www.hotline.ie) which was launched in 1999 to provide an anonymous reporting service to members of the public who uncover illegal content on the internet. The hotline was established primarily to report incidences of Child Pornography but later became the responsible body for receiving reports of financial scams and racist material. There is an Office for Internet Safety in the Department of Justice and Law Reform but their remit is currently limited to reports re child pornography - the office was originally set up to deal with child pornorgraphy on the internet. The primary work of the Irish Hotline service is to remove illegal material on websites hosted in Ireland. If hotline.ie assesses the material to be probably illegal under Irish Law the location of the illegal material is then traced. If found to be hosted or distributed from Ireland, An Garda Síochána and the relevant ISPAI member are notified, so the material can be removed from public internet access and an investigation may be initiated. However, some material that is reported is contained on sites hosted in other jurisdictions. If reported material is found to be hosted outside Ireland, details of the illegal content are forwarded via the "INHOPE" hotline. INHOPE, the International Association of Internet Hotlines, exchanges reports of illegal on-line content to expedite the investigation of such material by the competent law enforcement body in the countries in which the material associated with each report is hosted. Where the source country does not have an INHOPE member Hotline, the report is sent to An Garda Síochána for transmission through police channels. In some countries, for example the United States, the INHOPE hotlines deal solely with reports of child pornography.

Material contained on many of the large social networking sites are hosted in the United States including content uploaded onto "Facebook". We understand that a large portion of the material contained on these US sites which are reported because they are considered offensive may not be considered illegal under Amendment 1 of the US Constitution which covers freedom of expression. In these cases, it is not possible to have the material removed

Press Council and the Broadcasting Commission

Complaints can also be made to the Press Council and the Broadcasting Commission in appropriate cases.

Legislation

Legislation (criminal law) regarding racist crime is the responsibility of the Minister for Justice and Law Reform. Legislation (civil law) in relation to racial discrimination is a matter for the Minister for Equality, Integration and Human Rights.

A range of domestic legislation is relevant to the issue of racism, as follows:

A - Civil Law

· Equality Acts (see above)

B - Criminal Law

· Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act 1989
· Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994
· Non- Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997
· Criminal Damage Act 1991

The use of words, behaviour or the publication or distribution of material which is threatening, abusive or insulting and are intended, or are likely, to stir up hatred are prohibited under the Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act 1989. Broadcasts likely to stir up hatred along with preparation and possession of material likely to stir up hatred are also prohibited under the Act. The Act offers comprehensive protection to persons having hatred incited against them on account of their race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins, membership of the travelling community or sexual orientation.

The provisions of other Acts such as the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994 the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997 and the Criminal Damage Act 1991 can also be used to protect persons and their property against attack, including racist attack.

WikiLeaks to seek Pentagon help on war logs August 5, 2010

2010-08-04T12:25:00.000-07:00

WiKILEAKS, the website that released thousands of classified documents on the Afghan war, has said it is seeking help from the Pentagon in reviewing 15,000 sensitive documents before releasing them.

The news came as a US congressman called for the alleged whistleblower, Private Bradley Manning, to be executed if found guilty of releasing the documents.

A WikiLeaks spokesman in Germany, Daniel Schmitt, told the Daily Beast news site that WikiLeaks wanted help in removing the names of Afghan civilians and others who might be endangered when more reports were made public.

Advertisement: Story continues belowThe Pentagon said it had not been contacted by WikiLeaks. A spokesman refused to speculate on what its response would be should assistance be requested.

Last week WikiLeaks released 75,000 classified documents on the Afghan war.

The US Defence Secretary, Robert Gates, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, said that the release of the documents was potentially life-threatening.

Admiral Mullen said the founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, and his colleagues ''might already have on their hands the blood of some young soldier or that of an Afghan family''.

Mr Assange, while rejecting the claim, said he would ''deeply regret'' any harm caused by the disclosures. The Taliban said they would go through the documents to identify traitors.

A Republican congressman, Mike Rogers, said the alleged source of the war logs should be charged with treason and tried by a military tribunal.

Asked if treason during wartime was an offence punishable by death, he said: ''Yes, and I would support it 100 per cent.

''The death penalty clearly should be considered here … [Private Manning] clearly aided the enemy to what may result in the death of US soldiers or those co-operating. If that is not a capital offence, I don't know what is.''

Military officials said Private Manning, 22, was a ''person of interest'' in the WikiLeaks investigation. He was already being detained by the US military in Kuwait on suspicion of having leaked other sensitive information, including a video of a US helicopter attack in Baghdad that killed Iraqi civilians.

Democratic senators who have been working on legislation to provide greater protection to reporters who refuse to identify confidential sources are backpedalling from including organisations such as WikiLeaks in their legislation.

Two senators, Charles Schumer and Dianne Feinstein, are drafting an amendment to make it clear that the bill's protections extend only to traditional news-gathering activities and not to websites that serve as a conduit for the mass dissemination of secret documents. The so-called ''media shield'' bill is awaiting a vote in the Senate.

US public support for the Afghan war and Barack Obama's handing of the conflict has hit an all-time low since the WikiLeaks revelations, a new poll shows. The President's overall ratings also declined to a new low, with only 41 per cent of Americans saying they approved of his performance, the USA Today/Gallup poll found.

The proportion of people who say the US made a mistake in sending troops to Afghanistan rose to 43 per cent, compared with 38 per cent before the release of the documents.

Confidence in Mr Obama's war policy is now at 36 per cent.

Agencies

The Rise of Political Islam in the West

2010-06-29T10:38:00.003-07:00

This spring, Tariq Ramadan arrived in the United States nearly six years after being denied a visa by the Bush administration. The U.S. government had previously refused Ramadan entry on the grounds that he had donated to a French charity with ties to Hamas. Then, last January, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced that Ramadan was welcome. His appearance in the United States seemed to manifest the White House's changing rhetoric about the Muslim world. In June 2009, President Barack Obama spoke in Cairo of reaching out to Muslims with "mutual interest and mutual respect." Figures such as Ramadan -- symbols of a nonviolent Islamism long shunned as enablers of extremism -- may now represent a bridge across previously intractable divides.

Paul Berman will have none of this. His book The Flight of the Intellectuals, based on a 28,000-word essay published three years ago in The New Republic, mounts a furious counterattack from the bygone days of the Bush administration. Too many in the United States and Europe, Berman argues, are confronting the wrong enemy. Violent Islamists do not pose the greatest danger; instead, it is their so-called moderate cousins, who are able to draw well-meaning liberals into a poisonous embrace. Their rejection of violence is both partial -- not extending to Israel or to U.S. troops in Iraq -- and misleading. In Berman's telling, the Islamist project of societal transformation from below does profound violence to the individual Muslims who are forced to live in an increasingly constricted milieu. The only defensible response is to repel the stealth Islamism of putative moderates with a morally pure vision of liberalism.

But such a polemic, in fact, poorly serves those concerned about the rise of political Islam in the West. Berman does flag important debates about Islam's impact on Europe and the world, but he is an exceedingly poor guide to navigating them. His reading of Islamism, based on a narrow selection of sources read in translation and only a sliver of the vast scholarship on the subject, fails to grasp its political and intellectual context. He is blind to the dramatic variation and competition across and within groups -- above all, to the fierce war between the Salafi purists who call for a literalistic Islam insulated from modernity and the modernizing pragmatists who seek to adapt Islam to the modern world. This blindness feeds the worst instincts of those hard-liners who are fomenting an avoidable clash between Islam and the West. His obsession with Nazism is distracting, and his dissection of Ramadan approaches the pathological. His caustic rhetoric toward writers such as Ian Buruma and Timothy Garton Ash does not suggest the liberal or tolerant ethos to which he claims allegiance.

This is a pity, for Berman does raise several powerful and troubling questions. Islamists, even nonviolent ones, do often challenge Western liberals by advocating social norms and political agendas that run against the historical tenets of liberalism. What accommodations can be made for religious conviction without betraying core Enlightenment principles? What to make of the popularity and electoral prowess of Islamist movements across the Muslim world? It is impossible to support democracy without being prepared to defend the rights of Islamist movements to participate in and win elections. Yet the religious and cultural agendas of many of these groups should trouble Western liberals, even if these movements support the peaceful democratic aspirations of Muslims across the world. If a culture war against Islam is not the answer, then how should Western liberals respond to genuinely popular and nonviolent Islamist movements that are committed to working within democratic institutions but that promote values at odds with progressive standards of freedom, equality, and tolerance?

FATHERS AND SONS

Berman's lodestar for addressing these questions is Ramadan, a Muslim public intellectual born in Switzerland in 1962. Ramadan descends from vaunted Islamic stock: his maternal grandfather was Hasan al-Banna, who founded the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt in 1928, and his father was Said Ramadan, a high-profile figure in the Muslim Brotherhood who fled repression in Egypt. Berman searches for the true Ramadan in his biography (researching Banna and Said Ramadan), in his intellectual influences (looking into the Doha-based Islamist Yusuf al-Qaradawi), in his (unpublished) dissertation, in his books, in his public exchanges, and in the growing library of critical books about him -- but not, apparently, by speaking to him directly. Nonetheless, after years of effort and a couple hundred pages of inspection, Berman finds Ramadan to be an elusive figure. Berman is sure that Ramadan is hiding his true agenda, although he can never quite produce a smoking gun. He allows that Ramadan is not "engaged in some kind of elaborate conspiracy or . . . acting on a secret plan" and that his ambition, "so far as [he] can judge, is what he says it is." But it is precisely that ambition -- the nonviolent project of Islamic revival in Europe -- which troubles Berman.

Berman's unease lies in the very different notions found in the democratic societies of the West and the often authoritarian systems of Muslim-majority countries of how Muslims should understand their identities, practice their faith, and engage in politics. Ramadan is a pragmatist, seeking a way for European Muslims to be both fully European and fully Muslim. His 2003 book, Western Muslims and the Future of Islam, which Berman reads as concealing the truth beneath "a veil of euphemism," in fact lays out a sophisticated argument for how Muslims can be full citizens of their countries while retaining their religious identity. In What I Believe, Ramadan is even more clear: "I state firmly that we have multiple, moving identities and that there is no reason -- religious, legal, or cultural -- a woman or a man cannot be both American or European and Muslim." This is a positive obligation, he argues: "It is up to Muslim individuals to be and become committed citizens, aware of their responsibilities and rights."

But this is an option from which Berman recoils. He prefers Muslims to be secular and does not want to see the kind of bridge Ramadan is constructing. His truncated understanding of the diversity of Islamic politics causes him to miss the significance of Ramadan's exhortations to European Muslims to participate in politics as full, engaged, and equal citizens. Berman similarly underplays Ramadan's doctrinal rejection not only of terrorism but also of narrow, Salafi jurisprudence. Ramadan has little use for the puritanical versions of Islam that have taken root in many Muslim communities and crowded out other forms of piousness -- a process that Khaled Abou El Fadl, a professor of Islamic law at UCLA, has called "the great theft."

Berman gets Ramadan's struggle backward. Ramadan's primary adversaries are not liberals in the West but rather literalistic Salafists whose ideas are ascendant in Muslim communities from Egypt and the Persian Gulf to western Europe. For Salafists, a movement such as the Muslim Brotherhood is too political, too accepting of civil institutions, and insufficiently attentive to the formalistic and public rituals of Islam. They urge Muslims to separate from Western societies in favor of their own allegedly pure Islamic enclaves. The Muslim Brotherhood has encouraged women to wear the veil, but only so that they can demonstrate virtue while in universities and the workplace. The Salafists, meanwhile, want women at home and strictly segregated from men. True liberals should prefer Ramadan because he offers a model for Muslims of integration as full citizens at a time when powerful forces are instead pushing for isolation and literalism.

Ramadan has not couched his challenge to the Salafists in abstract language or kept it from public view. For example, when Salafi opponents have confronted him with Koranic verses dictating that women receive only half the inheritance of men, Ramadan has argued that these passages should be reinterpreted given the modern changes in family structure and the fact that many women today raise children alone. Therefore, Ramadan argues, Muslims should "try to keep the justice instead of literally implementing verses, pretending faithfulness to the Koran but in fact creating injustices on the ground." This is a sharp challenge to the Salafists, the significance of which Berman does not recognize. Similarly, Ramadan's call in 2005 for a moratorium on the implementation of hudud penalties -- including the stoning of adulterers -- is mocked relentlessly by Berman as too little, but in fact it posed an intensely controversial challenge to the heart of Salafi political agendas and jurisprudence.

Ultimately, Ramadan disappoints his liberal interlocutors because they are not his most important point of reference. He has made a strategic calculation that embracing the political passions of the Muslim mainstream is the only way for his reformist agenda to gain any sort of credibility or traction with the Muslim audiences that really matter. And although his vision may not be a classically liberal one, it is a fully legitimate guide for how Muslims -- or any persons of faith -- can participate in a liberal and democratic system. As Andrew March, a political theorist and professor at Yale University, has argued, the cultures of political liberalism in the West should be able to accommodate peaceful, law-abiding citizens who are motivated by explicit religious faith. The United States, which boasts its own powerful religious communities and fundamentalist political forces, should of all places be able to understand how this works.

This does not mean that liberals should not have misgivings about Ramadan's project. He defines sharia -- the system of Muslim jurisprudence -- not as the law of the land but as a personal moral code, sustained by the faith of the believer. Why should such a belief be alarming? After all, this is how many people of faith have reconciled themselves to civic states. But in practice, this evangelical project of societal transformation through personal transformation -- changing the world "one soul at a time" -- is more deeply radical than what violent extremists envision. Anyone can seize state power through violence and then impose his will by force. True power lies in the ability to mobilize consent so that people willingly embrace ideas without coercion -- so that they want what you want, not simply do what you want. Nonviolent Islamists excel at this level of soft power and, in doing so, have succeeded in transforming public culture across the Muslim world. Walking the streets of Cairo today, for example, it is hard to believe that only a couple decades ago, few women covered their hair.

LUMPERS AND SPLITTERS

In trying to understand Islamism, two approaches are possible. The first sees Islamism as essentially a single project with multiple variants, in which the similarities are more important than the differences. In this view, the Muslim Brotherhood and al Qaeda represent two points on a common spectrum, divided by tactics rather than by goals. Such an understanding makes it possible -- if not unavoidable -- to see Osama bin Laden lurking in the figure of Ramadan.

The second approach sees consequential distinctions in the ideology and behavior of various Islamist strands. In the years since 9/11, the United States has moved from the former camp to the latter. The United States' experience of cooperating with nationalist Iraqi insurgents against al Qaeda in Iraq has led many U.S. policymakers to favor a strategy that identifies differences among Islamists and uses them to accelerate al Qaeda's marginalization. Many observers in the United States and elsewhere adopted a similar tack after watching the Muslim Brotherhood contest elections and defend democracy in countries such as Egypt, even as the Brotherhood opposed U.S. foreign policy objectives.

Berman proudly takes the first approach, of lumping Islamist groups together. For him, the faces of Islamism range from the wild-eyed assassin of the Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh to the anonymous bearded radicals who terrorize their communities, and from the "monstrous" Qaradawi to the smooth Ramadan. Yes, Ramadan has criticized bin Laden and condemned terrorism -- but Berman is unmoved, since he sees violence only as a manifestation of the deeper intellectual problem of the Islamist project. Liberals, Berman argues, should not be fooled by the mild rhetoric or democratic inclinations of nonviolent Islamists or think that engaging with them does Muslims any favors. "Muslim liberals take umbrage . . . at well-meaning observers from outside the world of Islam who, in a misplaced effort to sympathize with the oppressed and stigmatized Muslims, agree to regard the heritage of Hassan al-Banna as the authentic and respectable voice of Islam," he writes. He is right about the suspicion of Islamists among many Muslim liberals and secularists. But these groups -- however much Berman and I both might wish otherwise -- represent only a small slice of Muslim societies. By focusing on them, Berman disregards the more important battles that occupy the Muslim mainstream.

The evolution of these struggles can be seen in the experience of Qaradawi, who plays a decisive role in Berman's book. Ramadan's "reverence" for Qaradawi, a preacher and television host linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, serves as Berman's coup de grâce. Qaradawi has achieved infamy for his fatwas in support of Palestinian attacks against Israeli civilians. If Ramadan reveres such a "monstrous" figure -- and does not understand him to be monstrous -- then surely Ramadan's worldview must be fundamentally flawed. But Berman renders Qaradawi so crudely that few Muslims would recognize him in the caricature.

In fact, Qaradawi is a pivotal figure who straddles the divides within today's Islamist world. He is a fierce advocate of democratic participation and a critic of al Qaeda, which makes him an icon to mainstream nonviolent Islamists and an object of outrage among Salafi jihadists. He is best known for his doctrine of wasatiyya, or "centrism," which lays out a middle ground between secularism and fundamentalism. He rejects the doctrinal extremism of the Salafists and the violent extremism of al Qaeda -- in a recent book, he dismissed al Qaeda's efforts as a "mad declaration of war upon the world." At the same time, he often takes issue with U.S. foreign policy and is certainly hostile toward Israel, not to mention being a highly successful proselytizer of the Islamist worldview. This potent mixture may be troubling, but it largely defines the mainstream Muslim position. Indeed, one of the keys to Qaradawi's popularity is his ability to anticipate Arab and Muslim views; like Ramadan, Qaradawi is a barometer of Muslim opinion as much as a cause of it.

Berman argues that Ramadan's respect for Qaradawi prevents him from making the breaks with Islamist orthodoxy necessary to becoming a truly reformist figure. But Berman fails to notice that Ramadan has already made such breaks, at some personal cost to himself. Ramadan and Qaradawi have clashed several times in recent years. Ramadan has rejected Qaradawi's suggestion that Muslims in Europe should relocate to Muslim-majority lands; he has also criticized Qaradawi's defense of Palestinian violence against Israel, insisting that Palestinian opposition should take the form of nonviolent civil disobedience.

These arguments demonstrate not only that Ramadan is flexible but also how Qaradawi has changed. Over the last few years, his rulings have become more conservative, literalistic, and orthodox. Arguably, this is because the winds of Islamism have been changing. Salafists are gaining in influence everywhere, driven largely by the failure of the Muslim Brotherhood's model of political participation and the continued flow of Gulf oil money to literalistic institutions and individuals. The purity of Salafism offers simple answers to Muslims in Europe, many of whom are facing profound crises of identity and alienation. Qaradawi senses these changes but has struggled to adapt. This spring, he lost control over his own creation, the popular Islamist Web site Islam Online, when Salafists took over editorial control and forced out a number of staff members sympathetic to the Muslim Brotherhood. When Qaradawi tried to intervene, he was dismissed from the editorial leadership by the site's owners in Qatar -- a startling fall for one of the pillars of Islamist activism over the last three decades.

Those, such as Berman, who see Islamism as flat and uniform claim that Islamists of all varieties -- despite differences over the use of violence or the value of democratic participation -- ultimately share a commitment to achieving an Islamic state. But this is misleading. There is a vast and important gap between the Salafi vision of enforced social uniformity and the moderate Islamist vision of a democratic state, with civil institutions and the rule of law, populated by devout Muslims. The gap is so great as to render meaningless the notion that all Islamists share a common strategic objective. Ramadan stands on the correct side of this gap, and by extension, he stands on the right side of the most important battle within Islamism today: he is a defender of pragmatism and flexibility, of participation in society, and of Muslims' becoming full citizens within liberal societies.

Ramadan's defense of participation places him opposite the literalists and radicals with whom Berman attempts to link him. The hard core of the Salafi jihadists view all existing Muslim societies as fundamentally, hopelessly corrupt -- part of a jahiliyya, which means "age of ignorance," from which true Muslims must retreat and isolate themselves. Ramadan, by contrast, calls for change from within. Groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood offer clinics, charities, schools, and other services, while pursuing the dawa, or "spiritual outreach." Their approach would be familiar to anyone who has engaged with American evangelicals -- the polite conversation, the pamphlets and other literature, the self-presentation as honest and incorruptible. There is an obvious difference between a woman who is forced to wear a veil for fear of acid being thrown in her face and one who does so to show respect for God. But there are other forms of coercion -- peer pressure, societal norms, and economic need -- that can be difficult to detect from the outside. These are topics for serious study.

But Berman does not even try. He sees only a radical mob of fanatics, not individuals who find meaning in their lives given particular contexts and specific challenges. As Berman sees it, blank-faced cyphers impose a grim conformity on passive communities that are unable to resist (presumably because their will has been weakened by an Ian Buruma essay). It does not occur to him that Islamism might offer meaning to those who are confined to gloomy urban ghettos or that Islamist groups might be the only ones working on the ground to improve certain people's lives. For many Muslims around the world, Islamism may offer a better life in the here and now -- and not just in the hereafter -- than do many of the alternatives.

This point should not be misunderstood. Although the Muslim Brotherhood is clearly distinct from al Qaeda, it is not the uniformly "moderate" organization that its supporters often say it is. The organization's character and goals often vary from community to community, and its rhetoric sometimes betrays a number of worrisome "gray zones," in the words of a 2006 study by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Its members generally avoid making clear statements on contentious issues, such as the place of non-Muslims in the Islamic state, the toleration of secular Muslims, or where the authority to interpret Islamic law should reside. And the Muslim Brotherhood's rejection of violence at home does not extend to areas where Muslims live under occupation, such as the Palestinian territories or Iraq. Such positions may not please many Americans, but they do -- like it or not -- represent the mainstream of much of the Muslim world.

DESERT FOXES

Many of the valuable debates that The Flight of the Intellectuals could have sparked are drowned out by Berman's ludicrous efforts to construct an intellectual and organizational genealogy linking Nazi Germany and contemporary Islamism. His insistence on the usefulness of the concept of "Islamic fascism" -- despite the fact that virtually all Muslims consider it a profound insult to their faith and identity -- is one of the surest clues to his indifference to Muslim reality in favor of intellectual gamesmanship.

In a lengthy chapter drawn almost entirely from the recent book Nazi Propaganda for the Arab World, by the like-minded historian Jeffrey Herf, Berman highlights what he calls the mutual admiration among Banna; Haj Amin al-Husseini, the grand mufti of Jerusalem; and Nazi leaders such as Adolf Hitler and Joseph Goebbels. Arabs had virtually nothing to do with the Holocaust, of course, but Berman attempts to create a trail of implication by devoting long passages to Husseini's connections to the Nazis and Banna's support for Husseini. In the 1930s, Husseini saw Nazi Germany as the most convenient ally in a war against the British mandate and the surging Zionist immigrant community; he then couched this alliance in Islamic terms in an effort to win over mass support. But such history is less titillating to Berman than is the idea that "the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem might have been onto something, and the mufti's case for an Islamic-Nazi alliance stood on reasonably solid theological ground." Berman goes on to cite Mark Cohen, a professor at Princeton University and historian of Jews in the Muslim world, who posits (but ultimately rejects) the idea that "the mufti was engaged in a fundamentally perverse and unnatural effort to twist Islam in a new direction." Berman dances to the brink and then backs away, leaving readers confident of where he hopes they will end up without actually saying where that is.

Berman's cartoonish tale misses far more significant historical developments that shaped today's Islamism. In the 1950s, the repression of the Muslim Brotherhood by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, combined with the rise of Sayyid Qutb, the radical Islamic intellectual imprisoned and later executed by the Nasser regime, created a schism that was pivotal to the evolution of modern Islamism. Whereas Banna contested seats in the legislature and maintained an organized armed wing, much as did other political parties at the time, Qutb's generation had to choose between fleeing Egypt or suffering the torture of its prisons. Banna hoped to work within the architecture of the state -- he was a proto-Ramadan, truly, in this sense -- but doing so was impossible for Qutb. To Qutb, contemporary society was populated by hypocrites and apostates who had substituted the rule of man for the rule of God. The Muslim Brotherhood eventually rejected Qutb's views, and by the 1970s, it had turned to enthusiastic participation in the public realm across the Arab world. Qutb's acolytes, meanwhile, retreated toward violence. Yet Berman simply dismisses this split. In response to the fact that Banna and Qutb never even knew each other, Berman concludes that they "knew" each other in the metaphysical sense. This is indefensible and cause enough to dismiss the entire enterprise.

Berman's invocation of the Nazis is, of course, meant to validate the controversial concept of Islamic fascism. He demands that Ramadan denounce the roles played in World War II by people such as his grandfather and the grand mufti, and he takes Ramadan's dismissal of such demands as evidence of something darker. But Ramadan's exasperation with this line of questioning is easy to understand: the role Husseini played in World War II may be of burning concern to Berman, but it holds little relevance for Ramadan's own thinking or beliefs. It is a pity that the truly important questions posed by nonviolent Islamist movements in liberal societies are lost amid the heat and noise of the polemics.

ACCEPTED AND DISCOVERED TRUTHS

Still, Berman highlights a very real dilemma. Put bluntly, Islamists have shaped the world around them in ways that many liberals in the United States and Europe find distasteful. Even moderate Islamists prioritize religion over all other identities and promote its application in law, society, culture, and politics. Their prosyletizing, social work, party politics, and organization of parallel civil societies have all helped transform societies from below. This frightens and angers secularists, liberals, feminists, non-Muslims, and others who take no comfort in the argument that the political success of the Islamists simply reflects the changing views of the majority. The strongest argument against accepting nonviolent Islamists as part of the legitimate spectrum of debate is that they offer only a short-term solution while making the long-term problem worse. These Islamists may be democrats, but they are not liberals. Their success will increase the prevalence and impact of illiberal views and help shape a world that will be less amenable to U.S. policies and culture.

But this is precisely why Berman's lumping together of different strands of Islamism is so harmful. Ramadan may not be a liberal, but he offers a realistic vision of full participation in public life that counters the rejectionist one posed by the ascendant corps of Salafi extremists. Pragmatists who hope to confront the disturbing trends within the Muslim world do not have the luxury of moral purity.

There are other reasons not to simply shun all Islamists. First, there is the question of democracy and political freedom. In many Arab and Muslim-majority countries, the Muslim Brotherhood and similar Islamist movements represent the largest and best-organized political opposition. When there are free and fair elections, they tend to win. Their opponents are generally not liberals but authoritarians. The arsenal of repression that these regimes deploy against their Islamist challengers strikes against the democratic and political freedoms that liberals proudly defend. The Muslim Brotherhood may be a force for illiberal values, but its members are found in the prisons of repressive regimes. Defenders of human rights and democratic freedoms cannot overlook those depredations if they wish to remain credible and effective.

Second, nonviolent Islamists are among the most effective rivals of al Qaeda and similar organizations. This is one of the lessons of Iraq, where the rejection by nationalist jihadist factions of the more extreme, globalist cadre of al Qaeda's Iraqi franchise helped turn the tide in favor of the United States. In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood has helped keep al Qaeda from gaining a foothold in the country. In Gaza, meanwhile, Hamas protects its rule from radical Salafi opponents who do not consider the group religiously conservative enough. Disciplined and politically organized groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood are well positioned to keep Salafi jihadists from moving into mosques. In this sense, moderate Islamic political movements can serve as a firewall against radicalization, capturing the pious with a disciplined and nonviolent organization and fighting off more extremist challengers.

Third, there is hope that these movements will become more progressive. Within groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood there are real struggles going on between reformists and traditionalists. The struggle within the Muslim Brotherhood burst into view a few years ago when, inspired by a political opening, a group of young Brotherhood bloggers pushed for more transparency, more sustained political engagement, increased cooperation with other protest movements across ideological lines, and a less austere approach to cultural issues. The mere fact that these movements can be influenced in positive directions offers a powerful reason to try and do so. To be sure, these currents move in both directions, which suggests the risks of disengagement: in places such as Egypt and Jordan, hard-liners have moved back into the leadership of Islamist movements after sustained campaigns of government repression against them. Political conditions clearly affect ideology: when such groups are allowed to participate, they generally become more moderate, and when they are excluded, they become more radical.

Fourth, there is the matter of the bruising battle within the Muslim world. Secular Muslims, such as Ayaan Hirsi Ali -- the Somali-born writer and former Dutch politician -- are a sideshow to the real struggles taking place between reformers and traditionalists, Muslim Brothers and Salafists, rulers and oppositionists. The real challenge to the integration of Muslims in the West comes from Salafists who deny the legitimacy of democracy itself, who view the society around them as mired in jahiliyya, and who seek only to enforce a rigid, literalistic version of Islam inside whatever insulated enclaves they are able to carve out. The liberals to whom Berman is drawn represent a vanishingly small portion of Muslim-majority societies. They are generally drawn from well-off urban elites that have become ever more detached from their surrounding environments and would not fare well in the democratic elections that the United States claims to want. Meanwhile, granting such prominence to ex-Muslims who support Israel and denounce Islam discredits other reformists in the real terrain where figures such as Ramadan must operate. Supporting them may offer the warm glow of moral purity -- and they may be more fun at parties -- but this should not be confused with having an impact where it counts.

At the end, Berman offers an impassioned defense of Hirsi Ali, whom he portrays as a classic dissident who has been betrayed by the leading lights of the liberal West. He feigns bewilderment at why these liberal authors, to whom he devotes so many pages, might find her problematic. Berman appears unbothered by the frightening march toward a clash of civilizations promoted by al Qaeda and fueled by anti-Islamic culture warriors in the West. Nor is he concerned that expressing extreme anti-Islamic views and embracing only those Muslims who reject Islam might help al Qaeda by antagonizing those hewing to the Muslim mainstream and perhaps convincing them that bin Laden is right after all. Berman portrays himself, Hirsi Ali, and a select group of others as the defenders of moral courage in a world where too many have fallen short. But real moral courage does not come from penning angry polemics without regard for real-world consequences.

The most helpful strategic victory in the struggle against Islamist radicalism would be to undermine the narrative that the West is at war with Islam. There should be no tolerance for Islamist extremists who threaten writers, intimidate women, or support al Qaeda's terrorism. But defending Hirsi Ali from death threats should not necessarily mean embracing her diagnosis of Islam. Berman's culture war would marginalize the pragmatists and empower the extremists. Muslim communities are more likely to reject such extremists when they do not feel that their faith is being attacked as fascist or that they can only be accepted if they embrace Israel and the policy preferences of American conservatives.

The Muslims in the West are not going away. It is therefore imperative to find a way for these communities to become full partners in the security and prosperity offered by Western societies. If democracy has any meaning, it must be able to allow Muslims to peacefully pursue their interests and advance their ideas -- even as the liberals who defend the right of Muslims to do so are also free to oppose them. Ramadan may not present the only path to such an end -- but he does present one. And that is why his liberal proponents in the West, who so infuriate Berman for promoting Ramadan, emerge as more compelling guides to a productive future.

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By Marc Lynch

Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs and Director of the Institute for Middle East Studies at George Washington University.

The Rise of Political Islam in the West

2010-06-29T10:38:00.001-07:00

By Marc Lynch

Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs and Director of the Institute for Middle East Studies at George Washington University.

The Rise of Political Islam in the West

2010-06-29T10:38:00.000-07:00

By Marc Lynch

Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs and Director of the Institute for Middle East Studies at George Washington University.

Please sign petition نرجو توقيع الاعتراض

2010-06-01T16:11:00.000-07:00

انقر هاهنا ووقع نحتاج الى تواقيع ابعث لاصحابك وشكرا http://www.fiannafail.ie/gaza

With the situation still unfolding, I wanted to email you about yesterday's Israeli raid on the Gaza-bound humanitarian aid flotilla and the detention of Irish citizens aboard the ships.I can't express strongly enough my outrage at this action and have set up a petition to deliver to the Israeli Ambassador in Dublin.
Please sign the petition:http://www.fiannafail.ie/gaza
Attacking aid ships and killing and detaining citizens of other nationalities in neutral waters are horrific acts and I condemn them absolutely.Please take a moment to sign the petition and join me in condemning Israel's unilateral action, then forward this email to friends and colleagues. I'm determined that Israel understands the strength of feeling about this matter in Ireland.Yours sincerely,

Chris Andrews TD

Letter of anger and condemnation

2010-05-31T05:01:00.000-07:00

Muslim Community Lobby Ireland
Themuslimlobby@yahoo.ie

Dear Minister
It is not a surprise to hear the sad news about the Israeli military attack on the Freedom Flotilla project in aid of Gaza, in the international water of the Mediterranean Sea, in its journey to Gaza Strip carrying some humanitarian aids to the people under siege.
This attack that has killed and injured more than 70 people can only be described as an act of terrorism, piracy and intended cold blood murder.
The ships of the Freedom Flotilla carry people from different regions of the world including Irish activists.
This Israeli piracy could not have manifested openly without the hypocrisy and double standard and preferential treatment of the implanted state of Israel in the land Palestine.
We had enough hypocrisy and now it is time for Ireland to lead a just and unbiased role to deal with this obnoxious and unprecedented Israeli atrocious madness.
We request the Minister of foreign affairs to call the Israeli Ambassador to express anger and condemnation of the Israeli outrageous behavior and to take effective measures to put an end to this state organized terrorism.
Administration

DE ROSSA DEMANDS EU INVESTIGATION INTO KILLINGS BY ISRAELI DEFENCE FORCES

2010-05-31T03:51:00.001-07:00

STATEMENT BY PROINSIAS DE ROSSA
Labour MEP for Dublin
Monday, 31 May 2010
DE ROSSA DEMANDS EU INVESTIGATION INTO KILLINGS BY ISRAELI DEFENCE FORCES
President of the European Parliament's Delegation for relations with Palestine, Proinsias De Rossa MEP, has today condemned 'the killing and wounding of those seeking bring humanitarian aid to the Palestinians in the Gaza strip. Mr de Rossa said: “I call on Micheál Martin, Minister for Foreign Affairs to propose an immediate EU inquiry into the matter. All development of relations and transfers of EU funds to Israel must be put on hold pending the outcome. “This appalling attack by heavily armed soldiers on a humanitarian mission is a direct result of the international impunity enjoyed by Israel for earlier crimes. “The murderous attack on Gaza last year resulting in the death of 1400 people, mostly civilians and including over 300 children has not led to any sanctions on Israel. “Even the use of stolen European identities in the unlawful killing in Dubai has been virtually ignored by Europe. “Just last week EU member states welcomed Israel into the OECD which Israel has used to bolster its democratic credentials. “It is time to shout stop in the name of humanity.” ENDS

Denouncement of Israeli assault

2010-05-31T01:38:00.000-07:00

Turkey denounces Israeli assault in international waters as ‘unacceptable’ and warns there would be ‘consequences’

At least 10 activists killed

2010-05-31T01:33:00.001-07:00

At least 10 activists have reportedly been killed after Israeli forces opened fire on a Gaza aid flotilla.
Over 60 pro-Palestinian activists have also been wounded after the storming by Israeli armed forces of at least one of the six ships loaded with humanitarian aid headed for Gaza, say reports.At least two Malaysian activists are believed to be on the aid flotilla, though this has yet to be confirmed.

Ask me your questions

2010-05-26T14:37:00.000-07:00

In March, an Taoiseach Brian Cowen T.D. gave me the honour of joining his Cabinet team. As your Minister for Community, Equality & Gaeltacht Affairs, I represent your local and community interests as well as those of our national language.Since then, I have been working on the issues that matter most to you, including collaborating with my Cabinet colleagues to tackle the threat posed by head shops. Recently, an Taoiseach started a dialogue with you by asking for your views on his speech about the mistakes we have made and our policy responses to the banking crisis. Hundreds of you responded to his request, and some will soon be featured on the Fianna Fáil website.I want to continue that dialogue. That's why I'm inviting you to send me your questions and concerns about the issues that my department covers.I'll post some of the answers on the website and on YouTube. Submit your question now:

Your questions - which may cover any topic in my portfolio, from community, equality and rural affairs, to the National Drugs Strategy, to the future of the Irish language - will be the first step in what I hope will be a fruitful dialogue.You can submit your question via Twitter by including the hashtag #askpatcarey, or through our website by using the link below:http://www.fiannafail.ie/patcareyThank you,Pat Carey T.D.Minister for Community, Equality & Gaeltacht Affairs
A Chara,Ba mhór an onóir domsa é nuair a cheap an Taoiseach Brian Cowen T.D. mé mar chuid dá fhoireann Rialtais i mí na Márta. Mar Aire Gnóthaí Pobail, Comhionnanais agus Gaeltachta, táimse ann chun freastal a dhéanamh oraibhse agus chun dul i ngleic le na rudaí is mó go gcuireann sibhse spéis iontu go háitiúil agus ag leibhéal an phobail. Ar ndóigh, táim freagrach chomh maith as ár dteanga náisiúnta. Ó cheapadh mar Aire mé táim ag obair ar na cúrsaí is mó a bhíonn ag dó na geirbe agaibhse. Mar shampla táim ag obair i dteannta mo chomhghleacaithe Rialtais chun leigheas a fháil ar scéal na Headshops.Sin an fáth go bhfuilim ag tabhairt cuireadh daoibhse bhur gceisteanna a chur chugam faoi aon réimse a thagann faoi chúram mo Roinne. Cuirfidh mé na freagraí ar na ceisteanna seo ar line agus ar Youtube. Seol chugam bhur gceisteanna anois:http://www.fiannafail.ie/patcareyIs féidir ceist a chur faoi ábhar ar bith a bhaineann le mo Roinnse - cúrsaí pobail nó comhionnanais, cúsaí tuaithe, an Stráitéis Náisiúnta Drugaí nó todhcaí na Gaeilge. Tá súil agam gurb í seo an chéad cheím again i gcomhrá a bheidh fiúntach.Is féidir ceisteanna a sheoladh tríd Twitter leis an hashtag #askpatcarey, nó ar ár suíomh idirlín ag an nasc thíos:http://www.fiannafail.ie/patcarey

Míle buíochas, Pádraig Ó Ciardha, T.D.

An tAire Gnóthaí Pobail Comhionnanais agus Gaeltachta

Q&A: Freedom Flotilla project in aid of Gaza

2010-05-24T04:07:00.001-07:00

Nine vessels carrying passengers and cargo have set sail from Ireland, Greece and Turkey and are headed for the beleaguered Gaza Strip to break Israel's naval blockade on the territory. Below are some frequently asked questions about the voyage.

What is the “Freedom Flotilla” and why is it going to Gaza?
The Freedom Flotilla is a coalition of aid organizations that aim to deliver aid to the Gaza strip, which has been blockaded by Israel and Egypt since June 2007, when Palestinian Islamic resistance group Hamas took control of it. Israel controls the crossings into Gaza from its own territory, as well as its air space and territorial waters, and Egypt controls the sole crossing into its territory at Rafah.
This has prevented many essential items required by the 1.5 million people that live in Gaza from getting in, such as medical equipment, stationary, food items, and even toys. A number of aid organizations have referred to the blockade as “collective punishment” for the people of Gaza. The Freedom Flotilla will attempt to breach the sea blockade of Gaza and deliver such items.
What exactly will the flotilla be delivering to Gaza?
It is taking construction materials such as cement and iron, generators, ultrasound machines, dentist chairs and equipment, blood testing devices, electric wheelchairs and toys.
The cargo will be scanned at every port it calls at before reaching Gaza to ensure that it does not constitute a threat to Israel.
How many passengers and how much cargo will the flotilla include?
Nine vessels: four for cargo and five for passengers. There will be at least 10,000 tons in cargo, and up to 800 people from more than 40 countries on the flotilla.
Aid groups from Sweden, Ireland, Greece, Turkey and Malaysia have been involved. Among the passengers are journalists, lawmakers, activists and civilian volunteers.
Has the flotilla been endorsed by any position of authority?
The Turkish government and prime minister have expressed support for the flotilla, and the Director of Operations of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Gaza, John Ging, has called for the international community to “break” the siege on Gaza by sending ships.
The Irish ambassador in Israel has also expressed support, asking Israel to ensure that all the aid arrives in its destination and Irish citizens not be harmed.
The Free Gaza Movement, one of the organizing groups which attempted such trips eight times before, has endorsements from Arshbishop Desmond Tutu and Noam Chomsky among many others.
Has such a campaign been attempted before?
The Free Gaza Movement, one of the coalition partners, started the campaign in August 2008, sending two boats in August 2008. These were the first international boats to land in the port in 41 years.
It has since attempted to break the blockade seven times but the last three times have been blocked by Israel.
The latest attempt, with the Freedom Flotilla, differs in that it is significantly larger and has many more passengers.
Will Israel allow the vessels to enter?
Israel controls Gaza’s territorial waters, and has warned campaigners not to attempt to break the blockade, saying it will use “any means necessary” to stop the flotilla. Israel has, in the past, stopped the flotilla by ramming it with gunboats, towing it to its own ports as well as taking in passengers from international waters and detaining them.
The Israeli navy has reportedly been conducting practice exercises in order to block the Freedom Flotilla.
Organisers have said they are undeterred and are determined to continue.
The presence of high profile personalities on the ships gives the campaigners leverage over Israel, but the state has not hesitated to imprison prominent people in the past, including former congresswoman and US presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney.
Some of the vessels will be flying the Turkish flag. If such a vessel is attacked in international waters, a major diplomatic incident could follow.
Why does Israel not allow the vessels to enter?
Israel claims that some of the aid material that is being carried by the vessels could pose a threat to its security, and strengthen Hamas, which controls the Gaza strip. The cement, for example, could be used to build bunkers for Hamas’ leadership, it has argued.
The United Nations Development Program has said that up to 75% of the damage caused by Israel’s 2008-2009 war there remains unrepaired.
Does Israel have a legal argument in blockading the Gaza Strip?
Following Israel's unilateral disengagement from Gaza in August 2005, where the military and settlers left the strip, the Israeli supreme court ruled that the territory was no longer occupied, however the international community has not accepted that status.
In September 2007, Israel declared Hamas-ruled Gaza a "hostile entity", reserving the right to blockade the strip and conduct military activities there under the pretext of security.
After the December 2008-January 2009 Israeli war on Gaza, the Israeli Defence Forces began enforcing a naval blockade of Gaza for 20 nautical miles, thus blocking all routes of access into Gaza. Since then, no aid ships have been allowed to enter Gaza's waters.
In justifying its actions in Gaza's territorial waters, Israel is also likely to cite the Gaza-Jericho agreement of May, 1994. Under the agreement between the Palestinian National Authority and Israel, part of the Oslo Accords, Israel reserved the right to patrol 20 nautical miles of those waters "without limitations" and take "any measures necessary against vessels suspected of being used for terrorist activities... or for any other illegal activity".
Palestinian Canadian lawyer Diana Buttu however says that Israel declared the Oslo Accords dead in 2001, and has already breached the agreements, thus diminishing the plausibility of that argument.

Abbas Al Lawati

Irish ship to run Gaza blockade, bring food to Palestinians

2010-05-23T15:54:00.001-07:00

A 1200-ton cargo ship that was abandoned in July 2009 off the coast of Ireland will be used by the Irish Free Gaza movement to try and run a Gaza blockade to deliver food and supplies to Palestinians.
The boat has been repainted and refitted and is called the 'Rachel Corrie' after an American activist crushed to death in 2003 by an Israeli military bulldozer as she attempted to prevent the demolition of a Palestinian home in Gaza.
Derek Graham one of the organizers of the flotilla, "We are doing this to show the people of Gaza that they are not alone. There's nothing going into Gaza, no aid. We are prepared to run the blockade to try and get aid in. We have done it before. Out of eight previous attempts, five were successful.”
The Free Gaza Movement along with the Turkish humanitarian organization, IHH, the European Campaign to End the Siege of Gaza and the Greek and Swedish Boat to Gaza organizations will sail 8 boats led by the Rachel Corrie loaded with building supplies as well as taking 600 passengers and journalists at the end of May to run the Gaza blockade.
The Rachel Corrie was abandoned in the town of Dundalk, near the Irish border by its owners after it was discovered they had not paid the crew, all from Lithuania. Free Gaza activists bought the ship for $100,000.
Organizers say that on May Day weekend, a mini convoy of vans loaded with medical supplies from eight different cities in Ireland and England will be delivering and loading these supplies on the ship.
People in Norway have donated more than 6 tons of paper and school supplies with a goal of 25 tons to be loaded as cargo.
Israel refuses to allow paper and supplies in for the children.
One of Free Gaza’s organizers, Caoimhe Butterly, stated "The public response to the cargo ship has been immense, and we hope that in the remaining three weeks before we set sail, communities across Ireland will continue to mobilize and gather supplies. The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is a symptom of Israel’s siege and Occupation, and this flotilla will spotlight the devastating collective punishment that is being imposed on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip."

P Cooper

Banking crisis and the economic recession

2010-05-20T04:31:00.000-07:00

Last night, I spoke about the severe impact that the banking crisis and the economic recession have had on this country and its people.

Watch a video of my speech from last night here, and share your comments.
This crisis has damaged the livelihoods of our citizens. It has tarnished our international reputation. It has required the Irish taxpayer to give unprecedented financial support to the banking sector. This has caused much anger which I share. The actions we are taking to sort out the banks and the public finances are crucial to ensure our return to prosperity and jobs growth. And we are recognised internationally as a country that has faced up to these problems and is dealing with them effectively. We now have in place a solid platform to rebuild our banking sector, so I think this is a good time to answer the key questions concerning the near collapse in the Irish banking system.
Watch this video, and join our discussion here:http://fiannafail.ie/BankingNextStepsLe gach dea guí,Brian Cowen TDTaoiseach

Evening seminar on war consequences and Life in Gaza

2010-05-11T04:51:00.000-07:00

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Dear Friends

The Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland (ICCI) would like to invite you to

an Evening Seminar with a talk on 'The War Consequences and Life in Gaza'

Presented by Mr. Nasim Ahmed from Palestinian Return Centre, London.

This open forum will be chaired by MEP Proinsias De Rossa.

The seminar will take place on Thursday 13th May from 6.30pm to 8.30pm at ICCI, Clonskeagh, Dublin 14

for further information contact at 01-208 0000 or email to ahmed@islamireland.ie

All welcome

We are looking forward to seeing you there

يتشرف المركز الثقافي الإسلامي بدعوتكم لحضور ندوة مسائية

تحت عنوان

"إكتشف الحقيقة، الحياة في غزة و الدمار الذي خلفته الحرب"

يعرض المأساة الأستاذ نسيم أحمد من مركز العودة الفلسطيني بلندن

يرأس الجلسة السيد برونشس ديروسا عضو البرلمان الأوربي من إيرلندا

الزمان: الخميس 13 مايو 2010 على تمام الساعة 6:30 إلى الساعة 8:30 مساءً

المكان: صالة الرياضة بالمركز القلفي الإسلامي بإيرلندا

ahmed@islamireland.ie لمزيد من المعلومات الرجاء الإتصال بالمركز على 012080000 او البريد الألكتروني

و الدعوة عامة

Rally to remember Tyrrelstown

2010-04-21T13:53:00.001-07:00

Rally to remember Tyrrelstown stabbing victim Monday, 5 April 2010
Friends and neighbours of the 15-year-old boy who was stabbed to death in west Dublin held a rally at his school in Hartstown this afternoon in his memory.
Toyosi Shittabey and four of his friends were on their way back home from the National Aquatic Centre on Good Friday at about 8pm when the stabbing happened.
Today friends of Toyosi came to pay tribute to the boy at his school.
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Each lit a candle under his official school photograph, which had been taken just a few weeks ago, and they left their own private messages of condolence to his family.
A candlelit vigil will be held at 7pm tonight in Tyrrelstown.
Friends and neighbours have paid tribute to the dead youth - describing him as 'a very quiet boy'.
The principal of Hartstown Community School said the students of the school are deeply saddened and very shocked by what has happened to Toyosi.
John Bean described Toyosi as a much-loved member of the school community.
He described Toyosi as a 'great guy' and full of life, who just wanted to be busy and active all the time.
He said Toyosi brought great honour to himself and to the school through his achievements in football and athletics.
His class teacher, Julie Reilly, said that Toyosi was a loved and popular student both with his peers and teachers and that he always had a big smile on his face. She said he was a great athlete and a super footballer and he will be sadly missed by all his classmates and throughout Hartstown Community School.
Both spoke at the rally held in honour of Toyosi in his school today.
Also speaking at today's event Shaykh Umar Al-Qadri, Imaam of Al Mustafa Islamic Centre in west Dublin, said his message to the community and especially to the Muslim community is to remain calm at this moment and remain peaceful, he said that is the message of Islam.
The 15-year-old was studying to do his Junior Cert at Hartstown Community School and was a keen footballer.
Tributes have also been paid to Toyosi from Shelbourne Football Club.
The youngster was involved with the team and also played for Insaka-Ireland Football, the football club for African children in Ireland.
Last night, two men were charged in connection with his death.
23-year-old Michael Barry of Pigeon House Road, Dublin, was charged with possession of a weapon, believed to be a hockey stick.
38-year-old Paul Barry, from Pearse Street, Dublin was charged with the manslaughter of the teenager. He is due to before Cloverhill District Court tomorrow morning.

Meet the new Cabinet team and learn about their responsibilities:

2010-03-24T14:17:00.000-07:00

Today, I announced my new Cabinet to the Dáil. I wanted to tell you, as a Fianna Fáil supporter, why I have made these changes.Over the last two years, the entire Government has been focused on meeting the urgent challenge of stabilising the public finances and restoring international confidence in Ireland. Now we have to move on to the next stage of building a lasting recovery, and the changes I have announced are central to this.I am determined to help people back into employment through targeted support for individuals and the companies which will drive job creation. I also want to reform the way Government as a whole works by restructuring responsibilities in key departments.

I would like to welcome Ministers Pat Carey T.D., John Curran T.D. and Tony Killeen T.D. to the Cabinet table. They have this evening been presented with their Seals of Office.The actions we have taken over the past 2 years are restoring international confidence in the Irish economy, and improving our competitiveness. With this foundation in place, I want all areas of Government to focus on job creation and ensuring Ireland is positioned to benefit from the global economic upturn when it comes. These reforms are designed with exactly that in mind.With my new team in place, I'm looking ahead to tackling the challenges we face - promoting job creation, investing in people, and ensuring the creation of opportunities for everyone.

Le gach dea guí,

Taoiseach Brian Cowen, T.D.

No to Irish Defence Forces Purchase of Israeli Bullets

2010-03-16T06:03:00.000-07:00

salams

I wanted to draw your attention to this important petition that I recently signed:"No to Irish Defence Forces Purchase of Israeli Bullets"http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/israrms/I really think this is an important cause, and I'd like to encourage you to add your signature, too. It's free and takes just a few seconds of your time.

Thanks!
wassalam

Brian Lenihan said "our plan is working"

2010-03-10T09:13:00.001-08:00

Over the last twenty months, we have taken decisive and bold action to bring this country back from the brink of economic and financial ruin. The latest of these measures were contained in last December's budget. We made savings of €4 billion through cuts in public sector pay, an average 4% reduction in welfare payments, and through controlling expenditure in all areas of Government. These measures have stabilised our public finances and greatly increased international investor confidence in our ability to work our way out of this most difficult of economic crises. The benefits are there for all to see. Take a look at this:

http://www.fiannafail.ie/page/m/1363c3e/33741a9e/244857af/585bcc6a/1284676890/VEsE/
This graph shows the cost of borrowing for Ireland and Greece. The cost of repaying our debt has fallen because the government has made the difficult but correct choices. If Ireland had gone the way of Greece, we could have expected to pay €3.6 billion more in interest over the next 10 years on the money we have had to borrow this year: dead money that we can now divert to much needed public services.
Internationally, we are now held up as an example of a country that is facing up to its economic difficulties and taking the necessary action. Now that we have begun to stabilise our public finances, we can take the necessary measures to return to economic growth and to create and protect jobs.
Please share this email with your friends, family and colleagues:
http://www.fiannafail.ie/page/m/1363c3e/33741a9e/244857af/585bcc6a/1284676890/VEsF/
In their measured reaction to a very difficult and painful budget, the citizens of this country have shown they are willing to make sacrifices in the short term for the long term good of all. This maturity and understanding of the economic difficulties we face is the envy of other countries in Europe. Our flexibility and our foresight will be of enormous value to us as we continue to enact our plan for economic recovery.
Thank you for supporting us,

Brian Lenihan T.D. Minister for Finance

STATEMENT BY PROINSIAS DE ROSSA Labour MEP for Dublin Chair

2010-03-03T14:46:00.000-08:00

STATEMENT BY PROINSIAS DE ROSSA Labour MEP for Dublin Chair, EP Delegation for relations with the Palestinian Legislative Council Tuesday, March 02, 2010 FOLLOWING DUBAI MURDER AND THEFT OF IDENTITIES, EU MUST STOP UPGRADE OF RELATIONS WITH ISRAEL
In a priority European Parliament question tabled to the European Commission, Proinsias De Rossa MEP said the almost-certain abuse by Mossad of Irish and other European passports in the murder of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai on 20th January necessitated a halt to the upgrading of relations with Israel and a full review of the 2004 EU legislation aimed at preventing the forgery and abuse of Member States' passports.* Mr De Rossa said: "The misuse of Irish and other EU Member States' passports in this crime should not divert attention from Israel's murder of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, its brutal assault on Gaza last year, causing the deaths of hundreds of civilians including over 300 children, and its continuing blockade of 1.5 million people in Gaza - all of which are clear demonstrations of Israel's continuing disregard for international law. "The murder of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a leading Hamas militant, raises 'profoundly disturbing' issues for Europe as the EU Foreign Ministers acknowledged in their 22nd February statement. "The European Union is committed under the Lisbon Treaty to providing its citizens with 'an area of freedom, security and justice'. However the use of forged European passports in the Dubai crime undermines that commitment and casts doubt on the security of all European passports and on the ability of all Europeans to travel in safety worldwide. Indeed, while the theft was a direct attack on the sovereignty of the four Member States concerned and of Australia, the sovereignty of all Member States is at risk unless Israel is obliged to comply with International law. "Europe has to urgently review all aspects of its relations with Israel and put on hold any further upgrading of EU-Israeli relations until Israel complies in all respects with its obligations under international law and its commitments under EU-Israel agreements. "In their 22nd February statement, the 27 EU Foreign Ministers sought to reassure all Europeans that their passports remain among the most secure in the world and included a 'range of physical security measure to prevent forgery and abuse'. "The simple fact is that the protections offered by this legislation seem to have failed in this case. The European Commission must therefore undertake an immediate and full review of all the provisions and the implementation at national level of this legislation and present proposals to MEPs and Ministers to re-establish the integrity of European passports." ENDS Contact Proinsias De Rossa MEP at 087.2544644 www.labour.ie/press * Regulation 2252/2004 on 'security features and biometrics in passports and travel documents issued by Member States'. Written question by Proinsias De Rossa MEP to the Commission Subject - Theft of EU citizens' identities by those involved in the extra-judicial killing of Mr. Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai on 20 January 2010 Article 3 (2) of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) states that the Union shall offer its citizens 'an area of freedom, security and justice without internal frontiers'. Article 3 (5) provides that 'In its relations with the wider world, the Union shall uphold and promote its values and interests and contribute to the protection of its citizens'. Article 4 (2) commits the Union to respecting Member States' fundamental political and constitutional structures and their essential state functions, including maintaining law and order and safeguarding national security. On 22 February 2010, the Council acknowledged that the killing of Mahmoud al-Madhouh in Dubai, 20 January 2010, was not conducive to peace and stability in the Middle East and raised 'profoundly disturbing' issues for Europe. It strongly condemned the fact that those involved had used fraudulent passports and credit cards acquired through the theft of EU citizens' identities and it sought to reassure EU citizens and the international community about the integrity of EU Member States' passports. Does the Commission condemn this killing? Does it accept that these actions displays a lack of respect by the organizers for Member States, and that the stealing of EU citizens' identities is an infringement of the sovereignty of the Member States' concerned? What steps is it taking to ensure that all countries, including Israel, the main suspect, cooperate with the investigation by the Dubai authorities into these criminal acts and in the investigations being carried out by the Member States concerned into the theft of their citizens' identity? Does it foresee taking the same actions it recently took in relation to Guinea and Sri Lanka if it is established that a state with which we have close relations is responsible for these criminal acts? Will it undertake a full review of the provisions and implementation of EC Regulation 2252/2004 on standards for security features and biometrics in passports and travel documents issued by Member States, and other relevant EU legal instruments? What additional action is it taking or considering in this matter?

The Muslim Lobby Letter to Mr. Micheal Martin TDMinister of State, Mr. Dick Roche Minister for European Affairs

2010-02-22T03:29:00.000-08:00

The Muslim Lobby Ireland
Themuslimlobby@yahoo.ie

To:
The Irish Government
Mr. Micheal Martin TD Dept for Foreign Affairs Minister of State
Mr. Dick Roche Minister for European Affairs

Re: Dubai assassination

We are delighted with the step of the Irish government to call the Israeli Ambassador over Dubai assassination and the participation in the related Foreign Ministers Summit in Brussels.

We are the Muslim community in Ireland see the killing in Dubai as an organized state terrorism and we don’t like Ireland nor Europe to be implicated in this terrorism.
What happened in Dubai requires proper investigation and serious actions to pinpoint the actual terrorist and to reveal the way EU identities were forged and used for this purpose.

We hop to hear more done about this matter.
Look forward to hearing from you.
God bless
You have our full support.
Administration

Six more hunted in Dubai assassination

2010-02-18T09:56:00.000-08:00

The number of operatives involved in the alleged assassination squad is now thought to total at least 17.
Photographs of 11 of the suspects - from the fake British, Irish, French and German passports they used to carry out the killing - have already been released.

The identities of the new six have not yet been made public, but among the group there is thought to be at least one more female in addition to the woman originally identified as "Gail Folliard from Ireland", until the Irish authorities said that no such person existed.
The second, as yet unnamed woman, was caught on CCTV camera following al-Mabhouh to his hotel room and identifying him at close quarters, before other members of the team moved in for the kill.
She had arrived at the hotel dressed as a tourist and wearing a large summer hat and was accompanied by a large man in a Panama hat and beard.
Dubai police were last night also questioning two Palestinians, extradited from Jordan, amid allegations they met up with a member of the assassination team before the hit took place on January 20.
Jordanian government spokesman Nabil Sharif said the two had been handed over to the United Arab Emirates several days ago.
Their suspected involvement has led to bitter recriminations between Hamas and the rival Fatah movement, who have been accused of colluding with the Israelis in the attack.
But according to sources in the emirate, the two have a background in the police service in Gaza, suggesting they are more likely to be members of Hamas, which controls the region.
Among the 11 suspects already identified, six were carrying fake UK passports, with details matching those of British citizens living in Israel.
James Clarke, 47, Paul Keeley, 42, Melvyn Mildiner, 31, Stephen Hodes, 37, Jonathan Graham, 31, and Michael Barney, 55, have all expressed their shock after their names appeared on an international wanted list.
Speaking on Wednesday Mr Hodes' wife Gabriella said: "It started like a story that made us laugh, but now we don't know how to take it."
Michael Barney, who lives on a Kibbutz in the western Galilee, added: "This is a mistake or a case of identity theft. I know only that my passport is at home. I don't know who decided to use my name. I'm angry and very surprised."
Mr Clarke, who lives at a Kibbutz called Givat Hashlosha northeast of Tel Aviv, declined to comment except to insist it was not him in the picture.
Mr Graham, Mr Keeley and Mr Mildiner have also insisted they are the innocent victims of an elaborate sting operation.
Irish, German and French passports carried by the other suspects have also been exposed as fakes.
It is believed al-Mabhouh, who is now based in Damascus, Syria, had been travelling through Dubai on his way to Iran to buy weapons for the armed wing of Hamas, of which he was a founding member.
The group has carried out hundreds of attacks and suicide bombings targeting Israelis, and now rules the Gaza Strip.
He was also thought to be involved in the 1989 kidnap and murder of two Israeli soldiers.
According to his brother Hussein, al-Mabhouh had been the target of an assassination attempt on three previous occasions.
Top Hamas figures have denied claims that he was on his way to Iran but have refused to explain why he was in Dubai.

Allegations of ‘Irish’ involvement in assassination of Hamas commander

2010-02-18T09:53:00.000-08:00

Could strain this country’s relationship with Israel WHAT do you think of this: seven people, including four Irish passport holders, burst into a hotel room in Dubai at around 9pm earlier this month, pushed the occupant to the floor, tortured him with an electric weapon that they held to his head, and then suffocated him with a pillow? The slaughtered gentleman was a Mr Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a high ranking Hamas military commander, accused by Israel of having been involved in the abduction of two of its soldiers in 1989. A Dubai police chief said they identified the Irish passport holders as suspects and that the arrest of Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, would be sought if evidence was found to link the Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad, to the killing. His comments reflected widespread belief in the Muslim world that Israel assassinated Mr Mabhouh. Hamas certainly pinned the blame on Israel, as did Iran. The Israeli government did not comment on the claims but over the years a number of Hamas leaders have died in operations that Israel calls "targeted killings". Some would argue that the proper description is "terrorism". In 2004 Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin was killed in an Israeli helicopter gunship attack in Gaza. One month later, another Hamas leader in Gaza, Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi, was killed when two missiles hit his car. NO MEDIA INTEREST HERE Dubai police said that Mr al-Mabhouh's assassins fled to a ‘European country’ and they did not rule out the possibility that some of the killers went to Ireland. Strangely, the Irish media did not report the slaying - although information that the terrorists held Irish documentation was splashed across Middle East TV and newspapers. The Belfast Telegraph, however, which always had an interest in gruesome acts of terrorism, picked up the tale. The Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and Mickey Martin also knew about the murder. They said: “We are aware of the media reports and we are in contact with authorities locally to try and determine the truth of the reports.” So far, Mickey has not released any information on the progress of his investigation into the terrorists’ use of Irish passports. Yet, it should not be an impossible task for his officials to trace the provenance of the passports. Apparently, UAE security personnel know who the killers are and are in the process of asking Interpol to identify the strategically placed accomplices who supplied the Irish documentation. LAW OF THE JUNGLE? However, it remains to be seen if a Mossad hit squad was responsible for the terrible incident. If such is the case, Martin's response will be interesting. The Minister has been a critic of Israeli barbarity in Gaza and, last year, he objected to the attempt to humiliate him by refusing him entry to the devastated territory. Indeed, should it turn out that the hit squad had origins in Mossad, the fractious relationship of this country with Israel will come under further strain. To have used Irish documentation to get into Dubai in order to carry out a heinous crime will raise the question of whether a deliberate violation of Ireland’s security and of its nationals who travel to the Middle East has been committed. The intriguing question will be to establish who is responsible for the skullduggery: the Israelis for using Irish passports or elements of the Irish government who permitted the passports to fall into criminal hands? As matters stand, Israel has scant regard for international law or international standards, but if it is established that its intelligence agency deliberately injected an Irish tinge into an appalling killing, the conclusion has to be that its government is truly living by the law of the jungle. Let’s not forget either that Mossad has had an unhealthy interest in this country. In 1983, it supplied a consignment of Uzi sub machine guns to Loyalist paramilitaries and, in 1987, Loyalists also secured a large amount of weapons in South Africa via Mossad. That organisation had captured the arms from the PLO. PASSPORTS FOR SALE Of course, this is not the first time that Irish passports were used in the pursuit of criminal activities. In 1986, US official Oliver North, who was involved in the Iran-Contra scandal, used an Irish passport to travel to Iran. Indeed, passport scandals have a long history in this little banana republic, beginning with the rogue Taoiseach, the late Charles Haughey. He sold them to the highest bidder. For twenty million pounds in 1991, Haughey disposed of eleven Irish passports to an Arab sheikh, to seven other Saudi Arabians and to three Pakistanis. Known as the passports-for-investment scheme, some of the cash went into a company called Leisure Holdings. Passport money also went into the development of Kerry Airport and a Portarlington steel firm. The sale of the 11 passports was later described by Justice Minister Michael McDowell as ‘irregular and unusual’ and, according to McDowell, raised serious questions into the role Haughey played in the scheme. Ray Burke was Justice Minister at the time the passports were issued and his involvement was one of the matters that triggered his resignation. The Moriarty Tribunal investigated the entire affair. The Saudi sheikh at the centre of the passport scandal was married to a sister of Osama bin Laden and went on to spend time under house arrest in a military hospital in the Saudi city of Taif, as punishment for alleged involvement in channeling millions of dollars to bin Laden. PASSPORT CLIENTISM In fact, our politicos love dabbling in passports, particularly those processed by a special unit at the passport office that speeds up applications. It’s a service available only to Oireachtas members. Brian Cowen, Willie O'Dea, Martin Cullen, Eamon Ryan, Mary Harney, Noel Dempsey, John Gormley are some of the politicos who fast-tracked 4,283 applications in 2008. In the same year, Mary Coughlan used her special privileges to speed up 499 passport applications in just 483 days. The anti-corruption organisation, Transparency International, criticised the practice as undue interference in the work of civil servants. Under the fast-track system, TDs and senators can leave passport applications given to them by members of the public in a drop box in Leinster House – all of which illustrates the fact tht terrorists (including Israeli terrorists) would encounter few problems in getting their paws on Irish passports. In the meantime, we await with interest the outcome of Mickey’s investigation.

By Archon Saturday February 20th, 2010

Holocaust Survivor Hajo Meyer Speaks Out on Gazza

2010-01-31T01:05:00.001-08:00

Friday Demo at British Embassy, Saturday Holocaust Survivor Speaks Out on Gazza, and Haiti
Contents
Friday 29th Demo At British Embassy as Blair Gives Evidence On Iraq

Haitian tragedy compounded by long, ugly history of exploitation
Haiti’s never-ending tragedy has American roots
Donating to the Irish Anti-War Movement
1. Friday 29th Demo At British Embassy as Blair Gives Evidence On Iraq
The Irish Anti-War Movement (IAWM) will hold a demonstration this Friday January 29th at 5pm outside the British Embassy in Ballsbridge, Dublin. The protest has been organised to coincide with the appearance of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair before the Chilcott inquiry, where he will answer questions about his role in launching the war on Iraq in 2003.
The protest will coincide with a series of protests taking place in Britain at the Chilcott inquiry and on the previous day (Thursday 28th) at the international conference on Afghanistan, hosted by current British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown.
The IAWM, like its British counter-part, the Stop the War Coalition, believe any serious inquiry into Mr Blair's role in the Iraq war could only conclude that he told multiple and deliberate lies to justify an aggressive and illegal war.
Similarly, the British and Irish anti-war movements believe that the international conference on Afghanistan being hosted by Gordon Brown, the day before Mr Blair's appearance at the inquiry, is a cynical attempt to re-brand the hugely unpopular war in Afghanistan as the "good war," when it is one equally as immoral as that fought in Iraq.
2. Holocaust Survivor Hajo Meyer Speaks Out on Gazza
The Misuse of the Holocaust for Political Purposes: Auschwitz survivor Hajo Meyer speaks out - Also, Dr. Haidar Eid on the Siege of Gaza
Sat 30th January 6.00pm, Central Hotel, South Great George’s Street, Dublin.
On Saturday 30th January 2009, holocaust survivor, author and activist Hajo Meyer will speak in the Central Hotel at 6.00pm about Zionism's misuse of the Holocaust for its own political purposes. Dr Meyer, an outspoken critic of Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians, will also be arguing that a campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel is both necessary and justified. Another member of the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network will also speak.
Dr. Haider Eid (PACBI and lecturer in the Islamic Univeristy in Gaza) will also speak via video about the ongoing siege of Gaza.
More details: http://cosmos.ucc.ie/cs1064/jabowen/IPSC/ipsc/displayEvent.php?eventID=7...
3. Haitian tragedy compounded by long, ugly history of exploitation
PETER HALLWARD
Peter Hallward is professor of modern European philosophy at Middlesex University in England and author o f Damming the Flood: Haiti, Aristide, and the Politics of Containment
Irish Times - Fri, Jan 15, 2010
OPINION: The international community is as much to blame for the misery as the act of nature that caused the earthquake
ANY LARGE city in the world would have suffered extensive damage from an earthquake on the scale of the one that ravaged Haiti’s capital city on Tuesday afternoon, but it’s no accident that so much of Port-au-Prince now looks like a war zone. Much of the devastation wreaked by this latest and most calamitous disaster to befall Haiti is best understood as another thoroughly man-made outcome of a long and ugly historical sequence.
The country has faced more than its fair share of catastrophes. Hundreds died in Port-au-Prince in an earthquake in June 1770, and the huge earthquake of May 7th, 1842, may have killed 10,000 in the northern city of Cap Haitien alone. Hurricanes batter the island on a regular basis, most recently in 2004 and 2008; the storms of September 2008 killed more than a thousand people and destroyed thousands of homes.
The full scale of the destruction resulting from this latest earthquake may not become clear for several weeks. Even minimal repairs will take years to complete, and the long-term impact is incalculable. What is already all too clear, however, is the fact that this impact will be the result of an even longer-term history of deliberate impoverishment and disempowerment.
Haiti is routinely described as the “poorest country in the western hemisphere”. This poverty is the direct legacy of perhaps the most brutal system of colonial exploitation in history, compounded by decades of systematic postcolonial oppression. The noble “international community” which is currently scrambling to send its “humanitarian aid” to Haiti is largely responsible for the extent of the suffering it now aims to reduce.
Ever since the US invaded and occupied the country in 1915, every serious political attempt to allow Haiti’s people to move (in former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide’s phrase) “from absolute misery to a dignified poverty” has been violently and deliberately blocked by the US government and some of its allies.
Aristide’s own government (elected by some 75 per cent of the electorate) was the latest victim of such interference, when it was overthrown by an internationally sponsored coup in 2004 that killed several thousand people and left much of the population smouldering with resentment. The UN has subsequently maintained a large and enormously expensive stabilisation and pacification force in the country.
Haiti is now a country where, according to the best available study, about 75 per cent of the population “lives on less than $2 per day, and 56 per cent – four and a half million people – live on less than $1 per day”.
Decades of neoliberal “adjustment” and neo-imperial intervention have robbed its government of any significant capacity to invest in its people or to regulate its economy. Punitive international trade and financial arrangements ensure that such destitution and impotence will remain a structural fact of Haitian life for the foreseeable future. It is this poverty and powerlessness that account for the full scale of the horror in Port-au-Prince today.
Since the late 1970s, relentless neoliberal assault on Haiti’s agrarian economy has forced tens of thousands of small farmers into overcrowded urban slums.
Although there are no reliable statistics, hundreds of thousands of Port-au-Prince residents now live in desperately substandard informal housing, often perched precariously on the side of deforested ravines. The selection of the people living in such places is itself no more “natural” or accidental than the extent of the injuries they have suffered.
As Brian Concannon, the director of the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti, points out: “Those people got there because they or their parents were intentionally pushed out of the countryside by aid and trade policies specifically designed to create a large captive and therefore exploitable labour force in the cities; by definition they are people who would not be able to afford to build earthquake-resistant houses.”
If we are serious about helping, we need to stop trying to control Haiti’s government, to pacify its citizens, and to exploit its economy. And then we need to start paying for at least some of the damage we’ve already done. – (Guardian service)
© 2010 The Irish Times
4. Haiti’s never-ending tragedy has American roots
Haiti’s never-ending tragedy has American roots Sunday, January 17, 2010 By Vincent Browne
Late last week, the White House website carried details of a 30-minute phone conversation last Friday morning between President Barack Obama and René Préval, the president of Haiti.
It reported: ‘‘President Obama said that the world had been devastated by the loss and suffering in Haiti, and pledged the full support of the American people for the government and people of Haiti as it relates to both the immediate recovery effort and the long-term rebuilding effort.
‘‘President Préval said that he has been touched by the friendship of the American people, and expressed his condolences for the loss of American citizens in Haiti.”
The report continued: ‘‘President Préval closed by passing a message to the American people - ‘From the bottom of my heart and on behalf of the Haitian people, thank you, thank you, thank you’.”
It would be churlish to criticise the president of a country devastated by tragedy, when he was pleading with the world for support at a time of such crisis for his people. But he could have been forgiven for being less wholehearted, for the story of Haiti is maybe the most vivid representation of imperialist murderous oppression in world history. That oppression added hugely to the tragedy that the earthquake brought last Tuesday to the people of Haiti.
Right from the beginning of the reports on the earthquake last Tuesday night, Haiti was repeatedly referred to as the poorest country in the western hemisphere. Rarely was it explained why this was so.
The island on which Haiti and the Dominican Republic are situated was inhabited thousands of years ago by the Taino people, a branch of the Arawak, who populated the Caribbean and the eastern coast of South America down to Brazil. These were the people encountered by Christopher Columbus in 1492. He called the island Hispaniola.
The native population was quickly decimated and eventually extinguished when the civilising Europeans ‘‘discovered’’ it.
The Spaniards began importing African slaves into Hispaniola in the early 16th century.
In 1697, the Treaty of Ryswick divided the island between the Spanish and the French, with France receiving the western third, Haiti. It became the richest French colony in the New World, earning for its colonisers huge profits from sugar and coffee and the labour of the African slaves.
The French enacted the Code Noir, which sanctioned the most brutal treatment of slaves .A memoir from the time described how slaves were hung up with heads downward, drowned in sacks, crucified on planks, buried alive, thrown into boiling cauldrons, or consigned to man-eating dogs.
The French Revolution in 1789 prompted a revolution by the slaves in Haiti, and the French National Assembly abolished slavery. Following an unsuccessful intervention by Napoleon in the early 19th century, Haiti won independence and proclaimed itself a republic on January 1,1804.
In 1825,Charles X of France attempted to reconquer Haiti.
The then president, Jean-Pierre Boyer, agreed to pay the equivalent of €20 billion in today’s money as compensation for the profits lost by the French colonists by the abolition of slavery. Not surprisingly, many Haitians still demand that France repay this ransom.
A succession of coups followed into the 19th century. In 1888,US Marines supported a revolt against the government. The Germans did the same in 1892 and, in 1915, the US invaded and occupied the island until 1934.
The instigation for this occupation arose from a consortium of American investors, assembled by the National City Bank of New York, taking control of Banque Nationale d’Haiti, the country’s only commercial bank.
It and other US banks which had lent money to the Haitian government urged the then US president, Woodrow Wilson, to invade Haiti and take control.
A new constitution was imposed and approved in a plebiscite in which only 5 per cent of the people of Haiti voted.
Forced labour was imposed.
The Haitian economy was opened to American imports.
The law forbidding foreigners from taking control of Haitian companies was repealed. Another regime of gross human rights abuses followed. Franklin Roosevelt ended the occupation in 1934, but the US retained control of Haiti’s external finances until 1947.
A decade later, the Americans engineered the imposition of the Duvalier tyranny on Haiti, as a bulwark against the spread of communism from Cuba. This family dictatorship lasted until 1986.
In December 1990, JeanBertrand Aristide was elected president with 67 per cent of the vote. The Americans covertly supported a coup against him in 1991. In 1994,US President Bill Clinton engineered the return of Aristide on terms that forced him to adopt the neoliberal programme promulgated by the candidate he defeated in 1990, and which the country had rejected.
Aristide was disbarred from standing in the presidential election in 1996, but he won the presidency back in 2000. In 2004, the Americans again engineered his removal, this time arranging for him to be kidnapped and deported to the Central African Republic.
Meanwhile, Haiti was ravaged by corruption and the imposition of economic policies that drove people out of agriculture into the slums of cities where they died in their tens of thousands last Monday, unprotected by the ramshackle hovels in which they were forced to live.
Tens of thousands have gone illegally to the US over the past few decades, to escape the misery of Haitian life. Most formed families and had children; then, in 2008, a move was made to deport some 20,000 of them. The Bush administration deferred deportations following the hurricanes in Haiti that year but, almost as soon Barack Obama came to office a year ago, the deportations were ordered to commence.
The pity of this latest tragedy is that the president of Haiti says thank you, thank you, thank you, to America for all it has done.
5. Donating to the Irish Anti-War Movement
To set-up a standing order with the Irish-Anti War Movement please go to the following link http://www.irishantiwar.org/files/standing-order-form.doc fill in the form and post to the Irish Anti-War Movement P.O. Box 9260 Dublin 1.
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STATEMENT BY PROINSIAS DE ROSSA Labour MEP for Dublin

2010-01-15T12:56:00.001-08:00

Monday, January 11, 2010 ‘DEFENDING HOPE IN GAZA’ DE ROSSA
Speaking today at the launch of Frontline's Photographic Exhibition 'Defending Hope in Gaza', a pictorial record of Israel's January 2009 war on Gaza in which more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians including 300 children, were killed, Labour MEP Proinsias De Rossa called for an immediate and unconditional end to the two-and-half year Israeli siege of Gaza. He said: "Israel's siege of Gaza, now in its third year, continues to cause death and appalling suffering. The denial of the most basic of human rights, not only the right to a life of dignity but to life itself, is contrary to international law and to the UN Charter. The siege also has the perverse effect of ensuring impunity for breaches of human rights by the Hamas-controlled junta in Gaza. "Ending of the siege of Gaza would transform the living conditions of the 1.5 million men, women and children who are prisoners in their own land, and create the potential for political progress at a time when hope is fast fading for a negotiated two-state solution. "Last December I led an official cross-party delegation of MEPs on a fact-finding visit to Ramallah, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Hebron and Gaza; at the last minute we had been denied access to Gaza by the Israeli authorities. In the course of our visit it was clear that Israel’s colonisation of Palestinian territory by settlers in the West bank and Jerusalem, coupled with its siege of Gaza, is breeding despair particularly amongst the young. The moderate leaders we met appealed to us to impress on European Union Member State governments the urgent need to act firmly in support of human rights and the right of Palestinians to their own independent, homeland, alongside Israel. They welcomed the strong 8 December statement by European Union Foreign Ministers (which coincided with out visit) outlining Europe’s support for a Palestinian state and for a halt to the colonisation of the West bank and East Jerusalem, but warned that this statement had to be followed up without delay with actions. "The humanitarian situation in Gaza has not improved over the past twelve months. Only a trickle of the goods necessary for a normal life is being allowed in by Israel, a fact confirmed by Israel’s own monthly statistics. Despite their best efforts, the UN and the other humanitarian and human rights NGOs in Gaza cannot overcome the devastation caused by the War and the destruction of the economy. Only an end to the siege can effectively address that. We cannot continue to do business with Israel as if it was fully in compliance with international law. If Israel were a member of the EU it would be expelled because of its persistent breach of the legal norms, the basic requirements for EU membership. "I would now urge the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Michael Martin T.D. to follow up his excellent initiative in seeking to access Gaza to see things for himself, which was also blocked by Israel, by unilaterally initiating a series of political and commercial steps in Ireland to exert pressure on Israel to end the siege. "This could include measures that ensure that all imports from Israel are clearly identified as such, and that no goods or food produced in the illegal settlements are allowed into Ireland. "He could also insist that companies tendering for public procurement contracts in Ireland establish that they are not engaged in any way in supporting illegal activity by Israel such as building the notorious and illegal 'Separation Wall', and that they do not have subsidiaries operating in the illegal settlements. "The Minister could also use Ireland’s well-known influence with the White House to encourage the Obama administration to re-engage alongside Europe, in pushing for the restarting of negotiations. He could follow-up these initiatives by encouraging other EU states to do likewise. ENDS Contact Proinsias De Rossa 087-254-4644
www.labour.ie/press EDITORS’ NOTE: The photographic exhibition 'Defending Hope in Gaza' is being launched today (6.30pm) at 'Filmbase', Curved St., Temple Bar, Dublin 2 by Mary Lalor of Frontline, Khalil Shaneen of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights and Proinsias De Rossa MEP, Chair of the European Parliament's Delegation for Relations with the Palestinian Legislative Council. www.derossa.com www.frontlinedefenders.org

The Lisbon Treaty is now in full force, from January 1.

2010-01-11T16:04:00.000-08:00

But Free Europe Constitution does not give in. We will continue to be a part of the atmosphere of freedom in Europe. We believe that the Lisbon treaty is a grand mistake. However, history will judge.
But you can express your view already now - welcome to referendline at http://www.freeeurope.info/
Make history.
Read Free Europe Constitution - and vote Yes.
http://www.freeeurope.info/ is a private, positive initiative. It is a contribution to a widening public agenda in Europe. It is independent from parties and organizations. It is the first possibility for all Europeans and their friends worldwide to have a common say about the future path of European affairs. Astonishing, fascinating, and promising.

Prospect for Peace in Middle East - Invitation from De Rossa

2010-01-09T18:56:00.001-08:00

Prospect for Peace in Middle East - Invitation from De Rossa

As the prospects of an independent, contiguous and viable Palestinian State appear to fade, I would like to invite you to a public meeting on the Potential for Peace in the Middle East I am hosting on Friday, 15 January at 6.30pm in Europe House, Dawson St., Dublin 2.
The principal speaker will be Colin Irwin of the Institute of Irish Studies at the University of Liverpool, who has studied other peace processes throughout the world, including in Northern Ireland and the Balkans and who will give his insights and assessments of the Middle Eastern situation at the start of 2010. There will also be time for questions and answers
To register for this meeting, please contact my Dublin Office, 01.8746109 or proinsias.derossa@europarl.europa.eu.
With best wishes,
Proinsias De Rossa MEP
President, European Parliament Delegation for relations with the Palestinian Legislative Council (DPLC)
Leader, Labour Party MEPs, European Parliament.
Prospects for Peace in the Middle East
Friday, January 15th from 6.30pmEurope House, Dawson Street, Dublin

STATEMENT BY PROINSIAS DE ROSSA MEP

Labour MEP for Dublin Wednesday, 6th January 2010 ISRAELI SIEGE OF GAZA MUST END
Taking part in a demonstration at the Israeli Embassy in Dublin this afternoon to commemorate the Israeli invasion of Gaza, Proinsias De Rossa MEP, Chair of the European Parliament's Delegation for Relations with the Palestinian Legislative Council, called for an end to Israel's continuing, brutal siege of Gaza. Mr De Rossa said: “One year ago on a visit to Gaza following the Israeli War on the people there, I met people whose families had been almost completely wiped out, such as the surviving members of the Samouni family, 47 of whose members had been killed by Israeli bombs, including eight children and eight women. "Israel's siege of Gaza, which has now been underway for more than two years, is destroying all hope. Gaza, which is half the size of County Louth, has been turned into a prison for the population of 1.5m people, half of whom are under 18 years of age. "The Irish Government must renew its demand for an end to the siege and unilaterally initiate political and commercial steps to demonstrate to Israel that its actions in Gaza, and its settlement and apartheid activity in the West bank and East Jerusalem, are simply not acceptable.” ENDS.

For further information, contact Proinsias

De Rossa at 087 254 4644. http://www.derossa.com/

seek a new way forward" with the Muslim world.

2009-12-28T18:52:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

In his inaugural address on January 20, 2009, President Barack Obama declared his intention to "seek a new way forward" with the Muslim world. The president then went to Cairo to give a remarkable speech to the people of the Middle East and Muslim communities everywhere. Many of us were pleased to see that in that speech, the president focused not only on issues of state security -- countering radicalism, solving the Israeli-Palestinian crisis, stopping nuclear proliferation -- but also on issues of individual human dignity: democracy, religious freedom, the rights of women, and development. The president articulated what many of us have come to believe: that the U.S. has a vital interest in encouraging human development in the Middle East; that, in President Obama's words, "we have a stake in one another."
However, while Obama's election and his words garnered surprising praise in key Middle Eastern countries, his administration has failed to follow up the inspiring words of the Cairo Address with substantive actions. This has contributed to rising disappointment among individuals who hoped that Obama's election would signal a more enlightened approach to U.S. policy in the region, including youth, a crucially important demographic. In October and November, POMED hosted dialogue conferences in Jordan, Lebanon, and Egypt, together with our partners at USIP and Georgetown University, to gather feedback and recommendations for the Obama administration. Over the weekend, I published a piece on Foreign Policy's website based on some of what we heard from participants in those conferences. It's pasted below.
Let me know what you think of this piece -- and tell us what ideas you have for the Obama Administration as it seeks to follow up on the inspiring words of the Cairo speech. And please watch for our final conference report, which we will release the week of January 18th in a pair of events with representatives from each of the conferences.
Best,
Andrew
Losing Cairo?
Since Barack Obama's speech six months ago, the Muslim world has begun to lose hope in the United States. But it's not too late ... yet.
BY ANDREW ALBERTSON DECEMBER 24, 2009
Six months after U.S. President Barack Obama's widely heralded speech in Cairo, young people in the Middle East are beginning to lose patience with his administration. That's bad news for the hope that the United States might mark a new beginning with Muslim communities. From Marrakesh to Tehran, two out of every three people in the Middle East are under the age of 30. To a very large degree, the future of U.S. relations with the Muslim world rests in their hands.
Last month, I traveled to Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt to speak with some of the region's top young civic leaders about U.S. policies and their recommendations for the Obama administration. I arrived well aware of how important their opinions are; wherever young people's hopes are overwhelmed by frustrations -- whether the inability to land a job or the visceral sense that theirs is a world of repression and injustice -- the United States and its allies will be less secure. And here's what I heard: While the president's election and speech in Cairo were surprisingly well-received, the administration's glaring lack of follow-up has led to mounting disappointment.
Across the Middle East, Obama elicited surprisingly positive responses in public opinion surveys early in his administration, and Middle Eastern youth were particularly receptive. They saw in his identity as much as in his words the hope of change.
By now, however, disappointment is beginning to set in. The president's inability to rein in Israeli settlements in the months since the Cairo speech is one chief complaint. But there's more. In that message, pointedly directed at the region's people and not just their governments, Obama also raised four key "human dignity" issues: democracy, religious freedom, women's rights, and development. Since then, the administration has done almost nothing to back those words up with actions, a fact that has not gone unnoticed.
To be fair, the United States faces an uphill battle. Authoritarian leaders from Morocco to Tunisia to Jordan, each bent on staying in power indefinitely, have worked diligently to close down rallies, civic organizations, and any hint of political space in recent years. The situation worsened after Washington downgraded its diplomatic support for democratization in the region in mid-2006 after Hamas narrowly won elections in the Palestinian territories. Three years later, Washington finds itself with fewer civil society partners than it might have otherwise had.
Unfortunately, rather than standing up to such authoritarians to try to reverse the tides, Obama seems to be caving to pressure. Strongman leaders such as Egypt's Hosni Mubarak and Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad bet that, because of their importance to U.S. diplomatic goals in the region, they could pressure the White House to reduce its support for civil society groups in their respective countries.
The administration complied. In its budget proposal for fiscal year 2010, passed Dec. 13 by Congress, the administration requested significant cuts in democracy and governance aid for civic groups working for change in both countries. And in Egypt, the administration appears now to have agreed that aid programs will fund only groups the Egyptian government has officially approved. Those moves come in stark contrast to the Cairo speech, which paired concern for human dignity with a rejection of the idea that democracy can be promoted by force. Unfortunately, in all but words, the administration is coming up woefully short.
Consider the follow-up speech U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made last month at a regional summit in Morocco. Clinton explained to her audience that though the Cairo speech was intended to launch a comprehensive new beginning between the United States and Muslim communities, the administration had decided, upon further reflection, that it would focus on only three areas of development: entrepreneurship, science and technology, and education. Democracy, religious freedom, and women's rights did not appear as part of the Cairo follow-up plans.
If one takes the charitable view, we might commend the administration for finding "shovel-ready" projects. By focusing on entrepreneurship, science, science and technology, and education, the administration found initiatives that got Arab government support. But there's a problem here that the region's young people quickly point out: The easy targets aren't necessarily the important ones. While Clinton correctly highlights jobs as a key issue in the Middle East -- particularly jobs for unemployed youth -- Washington does the region no favors by offering an entrepreneurship summit, one of its new initiatives, while avoiding the root problems hindering business such as political decay and corruption. The United States will need to do far more if it hopes to demonstrate a sincere commitment to encouraging broad-based development of the sort that actually affects people's lives.
My conversations with young activists in the region continue to give me hope that the Obama administration has a unique opportunity to shift perceptions of the United States among youth in the Middle East. But doing so will require effective new initiatives on the goals the president raised in his Cairo speech, including democracy, religious freedom, women's rights, and development. And it will require sustained efforts to listen and respond to the region's people -- not just their governments.

Andrew Albertson is executive director of the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED). In October and November, POMED and its partners convened dialogues in Jordan, Lebanon, and Egypt, which generated 56 recommendations for Barack Obama's administration.

Brian Cowen, T.D.Taoiseach

2009-12-20T08:25:00.000-08:00

This week's Budget is a crucial step on Ireland's road to recovery. We have to show the international markets that we are capable of getting our economy back on track. Confidence is the gold standard in today's global economy. Our actions are already improving international perceptions of Ireland, and will help us to continue to attract the investment on which we depend. Read some international reactions to the Budget here:http://www.fiannafail.ie/reactionsHowever, the Budget involves decisions which will, for obvious reasons, be unwelcome to many people around the country. Reducing our deficit, curtailing expenditure, and restoring balance to the public finances will not be easy. This Budget is difficult for everyone. These steps must be taken, and taken now. It would certainly not be fair to saddle future generations - our children - with more debt.I'm acutely aware of the difficulty and the pain these cuts will cause people. We had to take these difficult decisions so we can move forward again. We do this, not because we want to, but because we must for the good of the country.It is a priority for this Party to protect existing jobs and create new ones. The introduction of a new employer PRSI exemption for new employees, which will reduce the cost of creating new jobs, will help to get the economy moving again.We are also prioritising projects with the most immediate positive impact on jobs and growth. This Budget is the start of a new phase - where we begin to create sustainable jobs as the global economy begins to pick up.You can find out more about how the Budget will affect you and your family and the steps we are taking to get Ireland back on the road to economic recovery here:http://www.fiannafail.ie/budget2010Ireland can come through these testing times. We will be strengthened for the future, having learned the lessons of the unexpected full-scale crisis, both domestic and global, that we have had to face. Realism and solidarity will help us through the difficult times, and renew our confidence for the future.
Yours sincerely,Brian Cowen, T.D.Taoiseach

Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan, TD and the budget

2009-12-05T16:12:00.000-08:00

Next week, I will deliver Budget 2010 to the Dáil. The Government has to make some very difficult choices. Some of the measures we will have to introduce will be unpopular. I am mailing you to tell you why these measures are necessary.

The economic future of this country is on the line. As a small open economy, we are highly dependent on trade and on foreign investment. We need to show the world that we are capable of getting our economy back on track. Our tax revenues are now back at 2003 levels. But since then, our spending on day-to-day services has risen by 70%.

This is unsustainable.

The experience of the 1980s shows us that if we delay in tackling this problem, we will quickly get into a spiral of mounting debt and ever-increasing interest costs. If we live in denial and continue to borrow to try to sustain boom-era lifestyles, we will surely condemn our children to a life less prosperous than ours.

We must not allow this to happen.

We must restore confidence in order to begin the process of economic recovery. The best way to inspire confidence in consumers, in investors, and in the international markets who lend us money, is to show that we can take the necessary steps to get ourselves in order. That is why the Government has committed to reducing the deficit by €4 billion next year.

Next week's Budget will be difficult for everyone. It will be a test of our ability to rise above our current difficulties, to get beyond sectional interests, and to return to the road of economic recovery.

For our party, it will be a test of our ability to put aside short term political considerations and to act, as we have done many times in our history, in the interests of the common good.

I hope you will support us in the difficult decisions we must take to get Ireland back on the road to economic prosperity.

Yours sincerely,

Brian Lenihan, TD
Minister for Finance

Wish you Eid Mubarak معايدات عيد الاضحى المبارك

2009-11-28T14:46:00.000-08:00