Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005
RTEs Sarah McInerney ? Fianna Fail?supporter? Anthony
Joe Duffy is dishonest and untrustworthy Anthony
Robert Watt complaint: Time for decision by SIPO Anthony
RTE in breach of its own editorial principles Anthony
Waiting for SIPO Anthony
Public Inquiry >>
Promoting Human Rights in IrelandHuman Rights in Ireland >>
The Green Blob Won?t Take This Lying Down Tue May 06, 2025 07:00 | Ben Pile
The Green Blob hasn't spent countless billions of dollars only to abandon the mission when the going gets tough. Expect the pushback after Reform's sweeping victories last week to be strong and venomous, says Ben Pile.
The post The Green Blob Won’t Take This Lying Down appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
News Round-Up Tue May 06, 2025 00:40 | Richard Eldred
A summary of the most interesting stories in the past 24 hours that challenge the prevailing orthodoxy about the ?climate emergency?, public health ?crises? and the supposed moral defects of Western civilisation.
The post News Round-Up appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Reform to Ban Councils From Flying ?Woke? Flags Mon May 05, 2025 19:30 | Will Jones
Reform has announced a ban on 'woke' flags being flown by councils under its control, with party Chairman Zia Yusuf saying its 10 councils will only be allowed to fly the Union Flag and the St George's Cross.
The post Reform to Ban Councils From Flying ‘Woke’ Flags appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Now Will Politicians Admit They Should Never Have Introduced the Chaos of Gender Recognition Certifi... Mon May 05, 2025 17:24 | Mark Ellse
In the wake of the Supreme Court's landmark trans ruling, is a Gender Recognition Certificate worth anything at all? Not really, says Mark Ellse ? but our muddled politicians won't be in a rush to admit they messed up.
The post Now Will Politicians Admit They Should Never Have Introduced the Chaos of Gender Recognition Certificates? appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Australia Elects Weak Tea Bag to Lead the Country Mon May 05, 2025 15:15 | Rebekah Barnett
Given the choice between two weak tea bags, Australia elected a weak tea bag, says Rebekah Barnett. Liberal leader Peter Dutton even lost his seat, a reflection of his hopeless deficit in personality and policies.
The post Australia Elects Weak Tea Bag to Lead the Country appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Lockdown Skeptics >>
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Voltaire Network >>
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Jump To Comment: 1 2"The real problem is not Guantanamo Bay. The problem is that, to a large extent, we are in unexplored territory with this unconventional and complex struggle against extremism. Traditional doctrines covering criminals and military prisoners do not apply well enough."
OK folks, where we have to start is with recognizing that there ARE "traditional doctrines" but that neither Rumsfeld (along with the rest of the US administration) NOR we wish these applied. According to the "traditional" rules "soldiers" of a non state entity are neither criminals (not to be held according to rules for criminals) nor are they soldiers subject to the protections of the Geneva convention because they are not serving some STATE.
Imprising them in "Gitmo" is wrong by the tradiitonal doctrine -- but standing them up against the wall and shooting them not. THAT is the prescribed traditional treatment of captured soldiers of "free companies". And that is the problem with the "tradition" which arose whe the only non-state soldiery were pirates on the sea and freebooters on land.
These are something else. A religious organization is not a state. On the other hand, organizations such as Al Qaeda or Hezballah are not freebooters. We actually DO need some sort of revision of the traditional "rules of war" to specify the correct treatment of prisoners who are soldiers of some sort of non-state entity of this sort.
independance movements are rarely, if ever states. Their raison d'etre may be to found a state but inevitably the reason they exist is to end an existing colonial state and to replace it with a 'free' version.
Therefore mike, your argument that the 'war on terror' is some kind of new paradigm is just not true. Nevertheless, most of those in Gitmo were lifted in Afghanistan, or so we are led to believe. These guys were fighting with the Taliban who had formed the govt of that country for several years and were recognised as such by the international community. To claim that these fighters were part of some sort of 'free companies' is just not true and rumsfeld knows it. Guantanamo exists to create new jursprudential facts on the ground. This is not about the ambiguous nature of a cunnning vicious enemy but about the desire of the US state to escape the net of its own, and the international, justice systems.