Saturday, December 12, 2009

THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY.......
Twenty-six men were convicted on the word of Harry Kirkpatrick. On their appeal against those convictions could well rest the future of the 'Anglo-Irish Agreement'
('The Hillsborough Treaty')
. Based on a full transcript of the Kirkpatrick trials , the story of how these convictions were obtained shows why the 'Supergrass System' is a pale shadow of justice.
By Derek Dunne. From 'MAGILL' magazine, February 1986.

One strange aspect of the Kirkpatrick case is what happened between the end of the trial and the judgement. There was a gap of five weeks and in the interim , two other people were arrested.

Liz Le Guria is currently on bail awaiting trial on the 'word' of Harry Kirkpatrick - lawyers involved are puzzled as to why the RUC waited so long to pick her up . She was living openly in Belfast , paying rent to the local authority and collecting some social welfare payments , and her address and whereabouts would have been known.

She was also 'P-checked' (stopped on the street , questioned, searched and patted down) , and told her details will be entered into a computer and held on file : this was done once to her whilst she was in the company of an American lawyer . Now she has been charged with "conspiring to murder".......
(MORE LATER).





WHERE DO THE DRUGS GO ?
The official line is that the evidence is finally taken under guard to a certain multinational chemical-processing company that is under contract to the State Department of Justice to dispose of the substances and the packaging.......
From 'MAGILL' magazine , March 1988. By Marguerite Barry.

The State gardaí are becoming quite successful not only at making drug seizures * but also at publicising them , giving journalists and television crews unprecedented and punctual access to the details of their investigations and the results.

Freshly seized contraband is displayed with freak-show glory , and we are treated to graphic and not always entirely accurate descriptions of size , weight , 'street' value and the potential havoc to society that has been so narrowly averted etc. Then the audience claps and the show is over. But where do those drugs go ?

Who takes them away ? How many more hands do they go through ? And where is the final resting place ? The concerned citizen may ask if there is a guarantee that the capture so proudly displayed will never re-enter the market. Others may say - "Who cares...."

(* '1169...' Comment : as happens world-wide, the 'cops' will turn a blind eye to drug pushers who have been bullied into operating as their 'eyes and ears' in the community , to the mutual benefit of both: the pusher informs on his 'competition' , thus enlarging his/her own 'market' , and the 'cops' make propaganda out of 'doing such a good job'.)
(MORE LATER).




THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HEROIN IN DUBLIN....... The drugs crisis is one of the major problems facing young people in Dublin today. In large areas of the city it has now reached massive proportions , while in the inner city there is estimated to be a higher percentage of drug addicts and drug abusers than in Harlem in New York . But it has been only recently - 5 years after this epidemic began in earnest - that any notice has been paid to the problem. And even now the Free State government has failed to confront the crisis in a meaningful way . Tony Barry of Na Fianna Eireann has been looking at the issues for 'IRIS' magazine.
From 'IRIS' magazine, December 1984.

Tony Barry : " And was there any violence from the drug pushers against the people on the committee and the other locals ? "

Noel Sillery : " Yes , well at the start , as I was saying, there was a formal committee set up. The drug pushers and their fellow-travellers tried to threaten each of the members of that committee individually . So what happened was that, at our next meeting. we decided that there wouldn't be a committee as such , but that every single person in the flats who was anti-drugs would be a member of a community 'committee' ."
(MORE LATER).







Wednesday, December 09, 2009

RSF at the CDP / JI / CE protest in Clondalkin , Monday 7th December 2009.

At 4pm , on Monday 7th December 2009 , a core group of about thirty protestors took up their by-now usual positions outside the Clondalkin constituency office of Fianna Fail State Minister John Curran , to object to the proposed/intended savaging of Community Sector workers by the current Fianna Fail / Green Party Leinster House administration.

A young protestor from Ronanstown , Clondalkin.

Once again , John Curran refused to come out to explain himself , both to his local constituents and to those whom he is supposed to be answerable to in his postion as State Minister - also, he didn't see the need to dispatch a flunky to have a few words with us ; but worse than that , he was approached in his constituency office during the past week by local Community Sector workers and asked to sign a SIPTU-inspired 'Pledge',which he refused to do , having read same after it was passed across the desk to him.

"Beep If You Hate Fianna Fail" - one of the many placards on view in Clondalkin Village on Monday 7th December 2009.

The 'Pledge' which offended Curran so much read as follows - "Jobs Initiatives support a wide range of community based services including childcare, elder care, drug rehabilitation , youth projects and recycling to name but a few. Real and vital services are provided at a low cost to the state.
The McCarthy Report proposes that the Jobs Initiative scheme be abolished.
If implemented , this cut will have a major impact on workers , projects and communities . Many workers on these projects carry out extremely valuable work within their communities. Without the existence of J.I. many communities would not have the help and support they need. As an elected representative, if you wish to support J.I. workers in their campaign to save their jobs , please pledge your support below.
Your stance on this issue will be communicated to all our members in the Community Sector.
I ________________________ support SIPTU's campaign to defend the Jobs Initiative scheme and the workers currently on the scheme. "


Curran therefore refused to put it in writing that he believes that the J.I. scheme is worth defending and has already told us that he doesn't believe that the McCarthy cutbacks will affect local communities in the manner we conveyed to him : in short , regardless of how his constituents feel , he will do the bidding of his Masters in this Fianna Fail and Green Party administration. His complicity in the destruction of these Community Sector programmes will be highlighted by Republican Sinn Féin the next time he sends his lackeys knocking on doors for him at the next election.

Some of the Ladies from Ronanstown at the picket on 7th December 2009.

"Hang 'Em High!" - the message to John Curran at the picket on his Clondalkin office on Monday 7th December 2009.

Well done to all who kept the pressure on John Curran over this issue, which is not yet settled : this blog would like to send its congratulations to all those who took part and , week after week , made the effort to attend - the CDP/ JI/ CE workers , RSF , and the dozens upon dozens of members of the public who joined in and/or otherwise supported us in our on-going campaign. We ask that you not stray too far away : we will most likely be needing your support again in the near future.....
Thanks!
Sharon.






Sunday, December 06, 2009

PROTEST MARCH TO BE HELD IN CLONDALKIN BY CDP/JI/CE WORKERS ON MONDAY 7th DECEMBER 2009.
CDP/JI/CE 'savings' needed to pay for the financial bonus to the political 'elite'.

RSF members and supporters were involved in the last protest (Monday, November 30th last) in Clondalkin , Dublin, and will be present again on this protest, which will be held on Monday 7th December 2009 in Clondalkin Village at the constituency office of local Fianna Fail elected representative John Curran , beginning at 4pm.
The protest has been organised by Community Development Project groups and will be supported by , amongst others, CDP's, JI and CE workers from Clondalkin and other parts of Dublin. The groups are meeting up at 4pm outside Curran's office at 2a Main Street , Clondalkin (telephone: 01 459 2803 / 01 457 9913 / mobile :087 250 1980 / fax: 01 457 9805) .
It will be loud and colourful -
and serious ; serious, because hundreds of local people , and thousands State-wide, will be affected by the intended closure of the CDP/JI/CE etc programmes , not to mention the 'ripple effect' that losing those community workers will have for local organisations; at the time of writing, more than 50 JI employees are placed in more than 30 community organisations in the Clondalkin area alone. The types of projects supported range from football clubs, community centres, educational services, and caring organisations, all of which will be severely affected, to the point of closure in some cases, should they lose the JI /CE workers that are placed there.
THOSE TAKING PART WILL BE MEETING UP AT 4PM OUTSIDE THE CLONDALKIN OFFICE OF JOHN CURRAN ON MONDAY 7TH DECEMBER 2009 : SUPPORT YOUR COMMUNITY - JOIN US ON THE PICKET !
Thanks!
Sharon.