• ORGANISERS CONDEMN BANNING OF MAYDAY PROTEST
• 'THIN GLOSS OF UNITY': DEBATE
• DUBLIN GRASSROOTS NETWORK – GOVERNMENT ARE INCITING A RIOT’
• THREE JAILED: FIRST ARREST DETAILS
• DGN INVITATION TO DUBLINERS
• BOMBSCARE A ’CYNICAL EXERCISE’
• NO-ONE IS ASKING WHY WE ARE PROTESTING?
• ANOTHER EUROPE IS POSSIBLE – MARCH AND CARNIVAL
• DGN NO BORDERS WEEKEND DETAILS

GOVERNMENTS EAST AND WEST OF EUROPE 'UNITE' IN REPRESSION OF DISSENT:
Where are we? Are we in Europe, the UK or Ireland? Are we in Poland because it seems that what has just gone on there in the runup to the EEF Summit is now being replicated here? The Poles stood up to active and ongoing villification and harrassment and made themselves heard despite blanket repression redolent of the Soviet era in Eastern Europe.

MIASMA OF FEAR: UNQUESTIONING MEDIA
An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Minister for Justice Michael McDowell have succeeded – with the help of an overwhelmingly unquestioning media happy to print Garda press statements verbatim and relay Garda corporate videos over the airwaves - in spreading a miasma of fear and violence and militarism over dear old dirty Dublin.

NOISY PROTESTERS ARE THE TERROR THAT THE ‘WAR’ IS ON? IS IT ABOUT THE OVERTIME? THE BLUE FLU? BIN-LADEN? WAR IS PEACE? A FAVOUR FOR GW?
The Gardai and Irish Government seem determined to conflate International Terrorism with the Anti–Authoritarian Wing of the Global Justice Movement. Repeatedly tonight – Primetime – Ireland’s main TV current affairs programme – hinted at the threat of a Terrorist Spectacular without ever plainly saying the words ‘Al Qaeda’. They also Broadcast what can only be described as a Security Services Public Announcement laying out where and how protesters would be stopped if they attempted to move closer than a distance of approximately four miles from Farmleigh House where the EU Summit is taking place. Basically Protesters are being mixed up with and portrayed as a terrorist threat by the Gardai, State and Compliant Media. The word ‘Agitators’ is substituted for ‘Protesters’ in Primetime lingo. How convenient for this agenda that a ‘suspect device’ was found yesterday in the environs of Mountjoy Square where Indymedia and Community Media Network are welcoming protesters from Ireland and abroad (and others) to an Independent Media Festival. An Indymedia Videographer who was at the scene at the time describes the bomb squad ‘operation’ that ensued as ‘a cynical attempt to justify the militarisation of Dublin’. The pictures and video are worth a thousand words. Sudden Northern Irish style Militarisation of Dublin because of what exactly? Sounds like some surreal upside-down rerun of Derry in the runup to the Troubles to me. ‘Young Hooligans’ (repeatedly and bizarrely scapegoated by the mainstream press as a species of ‘British Invaders’) are once again painted as a threat sufficient to require and justify an open ended anti-democratic pseudo – military response. Wtf? Have the Gardai got a good taste of the ‘Overtime’ from Policing at Shannon? Payoff to prevent a repeat of the Blue Flu’? Or a carefully planned favour (and practice run) to go along with the Shamrock for George Bush and his increasingly unpopular Friends in the EU. Big Bold Demonstrations in Dublin or Shannon when the EU comes back to meet Bush again in Clare might prove to be an embarrasment to ‘Boston’ so why not create a full on climate of fear well in advance of his arrival. It might conveniently keep the natives at home later in the summer. How far the state is willing to go in this pre-emptive campaign of villification and hysterical fearmongering is as yet unclear. We'll know by the end of the summer and the (various) elections.

THE DUBLIN GRASSROOTS NETWORK MEETING POINT IS BEHIND POLICE LINES / BUTCH GARDA PANIC BROADCAST / WHY IS THIS HAPPENING? / WILL THE ENGLISH TURN US INTO ZOMBIES (AGAIN)? Continues . . . . .

From The Newswire:
Armed Garda and Army patrol the streets of Dublin, looking for Wombles.
Is Ireland under martial law?
In a blatant attempt to silence the press I was pushed off the street, told to stop filming as my camera was interfering with their equipment. I left when they threatened to take my video camera. The guy with the gun gave me a slap for my troubles.
- Full Video will follow -

Full account at the 'FEATURE CONTINUES' link below . . . . .

A conversation with Aengus Ó Snodaigh TD (Sinn Feín) about the history of Temple Bar and the Irish tradition of public speaking... Click below for more photos and comments...

On Sunday 25 April 2004, the beginning of a revival of street speaking happened at Dublin's Temple Bar Square.... Click on the MP3 icons to download and listen to the street speakers... Richard Boyd-Barrett, of the Irish Anti-War Movement speaks about street power and the need to speak out against Ireland's complicity in the Iraq War.... Ciaron O'Reilly, of the Dublin Catholic Worker / Pitstop Ploughshares, explains Direct Action from a biblical perspective.... The Shannon Colleens, introduced by Donal O'Kelly, sing about a different kind of Direct Action that could play out at Shannon Airport.... Smith recites his poem about something (you decide).... Green Party candidate: 'Safer, Cleaner and Happier'... more info:FreeSpeech.Community.ie

It is critical to show, during such a display of media power and control as we have seen in the past few weeks in Ireland in the run-up to the EU Summit, that independent groups and people have the ability to create and share their own media, self publish, build networks and communicate freely and autonomously. We have been taking our information autonomy for a while now around here, using the limited means and technologies at our disposal.

In that spirit - here is a (free) guide to what is missing from all centralised and commercialised media in Ireland at present , a clear exposition of the issues that concern those who are preparing to celebrate EuroMayday and to protest the Dublin EU Summit. Don’t get MAD with those thousand foreign journalists and their Irish compatriots when you see these urgent and legitimate concerns glossed over and ignored by the mainstream – get EVEN. Don’t Hate the Media – Become the Media.

Guide to Issues is Here

Five Peace People - Mairead Maguire, Ann Patterson, Barbara Faibish, Kevin Cassidy and Justin Morahan - were outside Ashkelon prison in southern Israel when Mordechai Vanunu walked to freedom on Wednesday 21st April. Here is a vivid account from Justin of his trip. And yes - he was the person spotted on SKY News with the Irish language banner .

"On Wednesday, we started in the early hours, again by coach, to Ashkelon. Now the media presence was immense. During our vigil, hundreds of Vanunu objectors crowded into the space between us and the prison gates, many of them walked in front of our lines with Israeli flags shouting angrily at us in Hebrew, some tearing posters or throwing liquid. A few made their displeasure known to us through the medium of English. Some of these engaged in friendly dialogue. One of them told me I would be welcome at any time into his home. A young girl suddenly appeared beside me and asked where I came from. She held a poster in Hebrew. It read "Betrayed", she said. We exchanged ideas quietly.

Meanwhile, car drivers made rude gestures, there were two anti-Vanunu dances on the open road. In all cases where anyone interfered with any of us the police intervened, sometimes, we felt, too much. The angry shouts around the prison gates increased as Israeli banners multiplied by the minute. The largest was a yellow one saying "SUSANNAH YORK IS A HYPOCRITE". All the while, Ben the trumpet player drowned out the angry invective with his uplifting music. Then eighteen doves floated into the air. When the gates opened - (you may have seen the prisoner emerge. We didn't) - we saw the angry mob and a few placards of a bodyguard that had been chosen to accompany him. Our chant arose "VANUNU IS FREE". He was driven away. Our chants drowned out the angry ones. Then several dozens of eggs were thrown at us from behind by supermarket workers still in their red SPAR-like uniforms. Several hit their targets. We saw crates of eggs being carried from the supermarket. After ten minutes of this we got directions to return to our coach where we closed all windows and drove home."