Saturday, November 04, 2006

.....but they have moved with the times - Fianna Fail no longer publicly carry a placard like that featured in our picture . But the intention of that organisation remains the same .


Less than one mile from where we type this post , the Fianna Fail party are holding their '70th Ard Fheis ' in the salubrious surroundings of City West Hotel in Saggart , County Dublin . It is expected (!) that , before this weekend is out , the party delegates will rise up and challenge Bertie Ahern and the other millionaire suits on why the aims and objectives of those that founded the party in 1926 are no longer a priority for the party :
1) IRISH UNITY .
2) THE IRISH LANGUAGE .
3) IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DEMOCRATIC PROGRAMME .
4) TO MAKE THE RESOURCES OF THE COUNTRY SUBSERVIENT TO THE PEOPLE .
5) DECENTRALISATION OF INDUSTRY .
6) SELF-SUFFICIENCY .
7) TO KEEP THE IRISH PEOPLE ON IRISH LAND .

None of the above have been achieved . And , actually , five of them have been either quietly dropped or reversed , while two (language revival and unity) exist only as pieties , for raising cheers at party meetings.
The Fianna Fail party helped itself to €87,500 a week , every week , from the State taxpayer , in 2003 (Source - 'The Sunday Business Post' newspaper , 3rd April 2005) : it would be fair to suggest that its 'take' from the State taxpayer now would be at least €100,000 per week . The political parties in Leinster House deemed it necessary to award themselves taxpayers money in order that they remove the temptation for funding from other institutions . And we all know what happened then (see above picture) .
However , it has to be said that , in our opinion, Fianna Fail are no better or worse than any of the other worthless political leeches in Leinster House . A plague on all their houses .






Friday, November 03, 2006

THE SEEDS OF A POLICE STATE .......
There is substantial evidence that a major crime was perpetrated within the Garda Siochana five years ago .
The evidence for this crime has certainly been available to senior Gardai ever since then , but no enquiry whatsoever has taken place , let alone any Garda being disciplined in connection with that crime .
By Vincent Browne and Derek Dunne .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , September 1983 .

The purpose of this article is not to examine the conduct of the judicial system in relation to this case , it is to examine the conduct of the Gardai . This examination requires an exhaustive presentation of the background and evidence in the case and we start with the stories of the three accused persons - Osgur Breathnach , Brian McNally and Nicky Kelly .

THE STORY OF THE ARRESTS
On the 5th , 6th and 7th days of April , 1976, there were in excess of twenty persons arrested under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act , 1939 , in connection with the robbery of the Sallins mail train which had taken place on the 31st of March , 1976 : the arrests were made in Dublin , Cork , Wicklow , Limerick and Carlow .

Among those subsequently charged with conspiracy to commit armed robbery and with actual robbery of the mail from the Cork-Dublin train on the morning of the 31st of March , 1976, were Osgur Breathnach , Brian McNally , Michael Plunkett , John Fitzpatrick , Michael Barrett and Nicky Kelly . Four of the accused signed statements whilst in Garda custody , incriminating themselves in the robbery : Breathnach , McNally , Fitzpatrick and Kelly .

They alleged that the statements , amounting to confessions , were signed in order to stop beatings they were receiving at the hands of the Gardai . All six charged were discharged by State Justice O hUadhaigh the following December, because of the failure of the prosecution to produce a book of evidence against the accused . But the State wasn't finished yet.......
(MORE LATER).



(Martin McGuinness , left , with Henry Kissinger , as usual , on the right ...)

DISARMING MARTIN .......
All (P)Sinn Fein leaders have a series of mantras and mini-speeches which they seek to get into every interview , regardless of the question .
The task of the journalist is to avoid setting off these reflex responses : the problem with Martin McGuinness is that he does it so pleasantly that it seems impolite to interrupt him .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , March 1999 .
By John Waters .

The most likely scenario is that (P) Sinn Fein will 'use its influence' to ask the (P) IRA to decommission ; the (P) IRA will refuse * - end of obligation under the agreement . The guns will then remain in the dumps , and the issue unresolved . ('1169...' Comment * - that did not happen : instead , on August 8 , 2001 , the PIRA stated that it had agreed [with the British decommissioning body] " ...to put its arms completely and verifiably beyond use.." , then , on October 23 , 2001 , the PIRA implemented the scheme agreed with that British body to put its arms beyond use ! The PSF membership were told by their own people that the Adams leadership would "use its influence" with PIRA , which would then refuse , allowing Adams and company to 'play both sides of the fence' . The PSF membership were 'sucker-punched' by their own leadership , but most of them stayed , unwilling to admit even to themselves that they had been lied to .)

To the literal eye , unless David Trimble and Co. back off , this suggests an irreconcilable dilemma which can be met only by some form of fudge . But it's not that simple , according to Martin McGuinness - " The decommissioning section of the agreement dealt with the reality of the situation , which is that we were working against a background of the non-acceptance of all of the armed groups of the decommissioning issue . Now , against that background, an agreement was made that all of the participants would try and use whatever influence they had to try and make that happen within a two-year period . And we are absolutely committed to trying to do that . In fact , I have met John De Chastelain more often than all the other parties put together * . " ( '1169...' Comment * - ...winner of 'The Puppy Most Likely To Please Its New Master' Award !)

So , what do they talk about after the initial "no way!" and "right , so... " have been dispensed with , we asked Martin ? - " What I say is what I say to you in this interview . A conflict resolution situation in my mind is about taking away the reasons why people feel they have to fight * ....... " ('1169 ...' Comment * - those "reasons" do not include the 'objective' of obtaining 'better' civil rights and financial crumbs from a 'bad master' .)
(MORE LATER).



GUNS TO BREAD AND BUTTER .......
EDDIE ROONEY looks at the transformation of the Official Republican movement from a revolutionary organisation run by its military wing to a social democratic electoral party .
From 'Fortnight' magazine , 1983 .

The Alliance Party appreciates the healthy trasfer of votes received from Workers' Party candidates : in 1974 , the Officials (WP/OIRA) described The Alliance Party as a "...bunch of political vagabonds....based on middle-class venality and cowardice.." . More recently , the Officials have complimented The Alliance Party on their "...progressive.." stand and their commitment to "...democracy.." !

The quest for 'political respectabilty' and the obsessive hatred for the Provisionals have led the Workers' Party into embarrassing situations . ('1169....' Comment - ....and that same quest has had that effect on the Provisionals - not only are they taking salaries and expenses from the State 'establishment' and from Westminster , but they see it as a badge of honour to be photographed on stage with the likes of Henry Kissinger !) Although they had been at the forefront of the original campaign for the introduction of special category status , they opposed the H-Block campaign for its re-introduction . ('1169...' Comment - ....much the same with the Provisionals - campaigned long and hard for political status for Irish republican prisoners , then signed that status away in 1998 in part-payment for their 'foot-in-the-door' part-admittance to 'respectable' politics.) Their own prisoners (OIRA) , however , retained their special category status .

Seamus Lynch's response to this was to publicly deny the existence of his own prisoners (....the Provisionals have done much the same - see #8 here) , a move which did little to promote his own credibility or that of his party in nationalist working-class circles . The electoral success of (P) Sinn Fein , which has adopted a rhetoric reminiscent of the Officials in their more radical days , has placed a major constraint on the Workers' Party - although their numerical vote has so far not dropped dramatically , it is clear that the already difficult task of translating votes into seats is going to cause even more problems for it in the future.......
(MORE LATER).







Thursday, November 02, 2006

1905 - 2006 .

Congratulations to the Republican Movement on its 102nd Ard Fheis , which will be held in a Dublin venue on Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th November next . It is a long , hard road that members and supporters of this Movement are on - its Offices are under constant surveillance by those that wish to drive it out of 'business', its people are continually harassed by those same groupings and attempts have been made to financially cripple the organisation . But still it persists , and long may it do so : the many injustices on this island need to be addressed by morally uncorrupted , and uncorruptible , people , such as those in that Movement . Congratulations again !




Confirmation received in relation to the group of Irish republicans who have been under water for the past 29 years : soon to be 30 years !
The event , which will surface (!) on Christmas day next , in Inchicore , Dublin , will feature before then on this blog . Stay tuned....






Wednesday, November 01, 2006

THE SEEDS OF A POLICE STATE .......
There is substantial evidence that a major crime was perpetrated within the Garda Siochana five years ago .
The evidence for this crime has certainly been available to senior Gardai ever since then , but no enquiry whatsoever has taken place , let alone any Garda being disciplined in connection with that crime .
By Vincent Browne and Derek Dunne .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , September 1983 .

In this article we are attempting to show that there is substantial evidence of a great deal of collusion between individual Gardai in the presentation of their evidence , notably in their statements in the Book of Evidence and that this suggests strongly that there was in fact a conspiracy among some Gardai to commit perjury ie to subvert the course of justice .

We further seek to show that at no stage did the Gardai or any other authority attempt to investigate these matters , in spite of the persuasive nature of the evidence involved . And we seek to show that those recommendations to ensure that these abuses could not happen again have been entirely ignored by successive Dublin governments . The case raises the most serious questions about the character of the Garda Siochana , especially the failure to hold any investigation into the affair.

Of course there are serious inferences in respect of the courts - the (State) Special Criminal Court , the (State) Court of Criminal Appeal and even the (State) Supreme Court - as well . All these courts failed to come to grips with essential evidence in the case , notably the extraordinary circumstances whereby the accused persons were remanded into Garda custody having been charged in the (State) District Court on the evening of April 7 , 1976 : it was that remand which created the sceanario whereby the Gardai could claim that the injuries suffered by the accused were mutually inflicted.......
(MORE LATER).



(Martin McGuinness , left , with Henry Kissinger , as usual , on the right ...)

DISARMING MARTIN .......
All (P)Sinn Fein leaders have a series of mantras and mini-speeches which they seek to get into every interview , regardless of the question .
The task of the journalist is to avoid setting off these reflex responses : the problem with Martin McGuinness is that he does it so pleasantly that it seems impolite to interrupt him .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , March 1999 .
By John Waters .

Martin McGuinness stated - " Quentin Thomas and Stephen Leach , from British Intelligence , were , in my view , always the two people who had invented decommissioning , and effectively gave the weapon to John Major as a plausible reason why he shouldn't involve himself in negotiations with (P) Sinn Fein . And the agenda , obviously , was to stop negotiations and to prevent (P) Sinn Fein's participation , and to effectively rebuff the juggernaut of the Irish government , (sic) the SDLP , (P) Sinn Fein , Irish-America , supported by the international community ie - the peace process (sic) . "

" But there is also another military dimension to it , which is absolutely about people injecting an issue into the process that they knew hadn't a snowball's chance in hell of ever succeeding *. Because the very people who invented the decommissioning issue knew the mindset of the (P) IRA better than anyone else in the equation . And while it had both a military and a political objective in preventing negotiations taking place , it was always my view that this was an issue about dividing republicans (sic - McGuinness was referring to fellow constitutional nationalists , as he lost the right to speak on behalf of republicans in 1986 : * .....but succeed it did , with the same Martin McGuinness leading the charge for the PIRA to decommission !) and causing confusion . "

While there is no doubt that no precondition exists in the agreement* (*the 1998 Stormont Treaty) requiring (P) Sinn Fein to achieve (P)IRA decommissioning in advance of being admitted to the Stormont Executive , there is , however , a difficulty in that some process of decommissioning is envisaged . The (P) IRA has said , unambiguously , there will be no decommissioning - ever ! ('1169...' Comment - the PIRA has , since then , not only decommissioned its arms and munitions, but also its mindset of active opposition to British interference in Irish affairs . They now implement British policy on this isle as Michael Collins , amongst others , did , before them . It remains to be seen if they will get the same 'reward' as Collins did ).......
(MORE LATER).



GUNS TO BREAD AND BUTTER .......
EDDIE ROONEY looks at the transformation of the Official Republican movement from a revolutionary organisation run by its military wing to a social democratic electoral party .
From 'Fortnight' magazine , 1983 .

Immediately after the 1975 feud between the Officials and the Provisionals , sweeping changes were brought in to bring the Official organisation in the North of Ireland fully into line with their more 'moderate' comrades in the South of the country . 'Militants' within the ranks were condemned at the Ard Fheis (the annual conference) in January 1976 , and a decision was taken to set up the 'Irish Democratic Youth Movement' (IDYM) as a replacement for Na Fianna Eireann , considered to be the IRA's youth movement . Billy McMillen had taken a great personal interest in the development of the Fianna , and they had remained committed to his brand of socialist thinking .

The 'IDYM' was carefully vetted by the leadership of the Officials and never really got off the ground : in one move, the Officials in effect wiped out their own youth wing in the name of ideological conformity . In the North , the members were told to prepare themselves for "... a period in the wilderness.. " while attention was focussed on building up the political wing in the South .

The new mood was embodied in the name changes and the publication of 'The Irish Industrial Revolution' , a thoroughly confused document which reflected the end of the Officials' anti-imperialism and their emergence into the arena of social democratic reformism . Seamus Lynch portrays the new image of the Workers' Party - more 'working-class-kid-made-good' than explicity middle-class : he had earned the respect of those once considered his main enemies . Gerry Fitt has recently listed seeing Seamus Lynch's future political success among his remaining ambitions....... !
(MORE LATER).







Monday, October 30, 2006

Correction/Clarification/Update.......

.......we received the following today , Monday 30 October 2006 :
" Hey dude could you please remove the bit of news about my dad as he wasn't a loyalist and he was apparently murdered cos the UVF wanted his mates legally held gun : " ' 19th April : Francis Galbraith (29) was shot by loyalists near the Sydenham by-pass , close to his parents home in east Belfast . A nephew of loyalist supergrass Joseph Bennett , Mr. Galbraith was apparently killed in an internal loyalist dispute over weapons . He leaves four children .' " Thanks."
The above is in reference to a piece we published here on March 8 , 2005 , which we came across in 'MAGILL' magazine , July 1989 .
That killing is also covered here and here .
We hope this post goes some way to clearing up the matter .
Sharon .






THE SEEDS OF A POLICE STATE .......
There is substantial evidence that a major crime was perpetrated within the Garda Siochana five years ago .
The evidence for this crime has certainly been available to senior Gardai ever since then , but no enquiry whatsoever has taken place , let alone any Garda being disciplined in connection with that crime .
By Vincent Browne and Derek Dunne .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , September 1983 .

This was all in relation to the by now notorious Sallins mail train robbery , which occured on March 31 , 1976 and the subsequent trial of three people , Osgur Breathnach , Brian McNally and Nicky Kelly in connection with that robbery .

While the case inevitably relates to allegations of Garda brutality against persons held in Garda custody , it is not the kernal of the case presented here . We do go into some detail to show that the Gardai did ill-treat Osgur Breathnach , Brian McNally and Nicky Kelly but our point is not to prove that the Gardai were guilty of ill-treatment , it is not even to show that the convictions of all three by the Special Criminal Court was mistaken or even that the subsequent failure of Nicky Kelly's appeals to the State Court of Criminal Appeal and the State Supreme Court were mistaken .

The purpose of this present article is to show that as there was overwhelming evidence that the Gardai did in fact ill-treat the three accused , of the 82 Gardai who gave evidence in the trial a significant number of these perjured themselves , as they must have known what was going on.......
(MORE LATER).



(Martin McGuinness , left , with Henry Kissinger , as usual , on the right ...)

DISARMING MARTIN .......
All (P)Sinn Fein leaders have a series of mantras and mini-speeches which they seek to get into every interview , regardless of the question .
The task of the journalist is to avoid setting off these reflex responses : the problem with Martin McGuinness is that he does it so pleasantly that it seems impolite to interrupt him .
From 'MAGILL' magazine , March 1999 .
By John Waters .

The (P) Sinn Fein position is already well documented , but Martin McGuinness has a certain fascination with the manner in which the idea was introduced to and maintained within the 'peace process' for almost five years : " I think it's absolutely vital that people contexualise why all of this is happening . I remember before the (P) IRA ceasefire ever took place , in the summer of 1994 , decommissioning was a word none of us ever heard of . I had been given responsibility within theleadership of (P) Sinn Fein to open up a channel of communication with the British government * , which I did in October of 1990 ." ('1169...' Comment * - ...much the same , in all probability , as Denis Donaldson was .)

" And right through from then until the (P) IRA ceasefire of1994 , I could have contacted the British government , 10 Downing Street * , within seconds , and they could have contacted me , any day of the week , any hour of the day , night-time , whatever . " ('1169...' Comment * - Notice how well got Martin considered himself to be with Westminster . And how comfortable he felt in being able to speak openly about his ability to contact Westminster "within seconds" , should he need assistance . Sickening .) " And never once during that whole period was the word decommissioning ever mentioned . And when it was mentioned eventually , I had to get a dictionary and look it up . " ('1169...' Comment - It was obviously a faulty dictionary as it informed Martin that decommissioning had nothing to do with handing over arms and munitions.)

" And the very first meetings of the delegation that I led , with the British government civil service , was to this very building . ('1169...' Comment- Most men would speak like that in such fond terms of their first date with their then girl-friend ; but Martin , with tears in his eyes , no doubt , fondly remembers one of his first encounters with his future employers !) And the first people we met , it was clear , that the architects of the decommissioning issue were across the table from us , people like Quentin Thomas and Stephen Leach , from British Intelligence....... "
(MORE LATER).



GUNS TO BREAD AND BUTTER .......
EDDIE ROONEY looks at the transformation of the Official Republican movement from a revolutionary organisation run by its military wing to a social democratic electoral party .
From 'Fortnight' magazine , 1983 .

Billy McMillen was committed simultaneously to electoral participation and the construction of an army , and he attempted to build an organisation of politically active , socially conscious volunteers .

Until his death in April 1975 - shot by the INLA after negotiating an end to a feud - he remained a militant , advocating that the armed wing should retain control of the movement , although also maintaining that military activity should complement political goals . Despite the evident contradictions in the practical application of his approach , Billy McMillen was sufficiently strong to retain a degree of autonomy for the movement in the North of Ireland in the face of an increasingly visible gap with the more constitutionally-minded leadership in the South . The Officials never recovered from his death .

Following the death of Billy McMillen , the character of the Officials began to change - the military structure was gradually run down , and increasingly a clear distinction was made between 'politicians' and 'militants' . This trend was temporarily reversed at the end of 1975 following an attack on the Officials by the Provisionals.......
(MORE LATER).