As George Bush was being greeted by hundreds of thousands of protestors in London, his little brother Jeb, governor of Florida, was demonstrating how to deal with dissent, Bush-style. The occasion was the FTAA summit in Miami. Tens of thousands of trade unionists and anti-capitalists came from all over the Americas to protest against this inequitable attempt to establish a 'free' trade area of the Americas. They were met with an unprecedented level of repression. Indymedia established a dedicated FTAA server and infoshop.org also created a special site to cover the protests. They provide a huge number of personal accounts of the violent assault on the right to protest that they encountered in Miami.

Several excellent reports are available elsewhere on the net, including DemocracyNow!'s Jeremy Scahill report on the "embedding" of journalists and assaults on independent journalists and Naomi Klein's description of the new "Miami model" of reportage as the war comes home.

The severity of the repression, including allegations of torture and sexual assaults in prisons, has provoked a backlash from organised labour. The one positive note is the increased solidarity between the more radical unions and the black bloc.

Speaking shortly before his arrest, Fintan Lane said: “The mass trespass in which I was involved was an act of protest and resistance against the integration of an Irish civilian airport into the US war machine. What we did was an act of conscience and I have no regrets. I couldn’t pay this fine because that would be to plead guilty retrospectively and I will not do that. I feel no guilt over my actions.”

He continued: “Innocent people are being killed in Iraq and Afghanistan by the war machine that is being facilitated at Shannon airport. What is happening is an outrage, and it is no exaggeration to say that Fianna Fail and the PDs have blood on their hands.”

“I don’t want to be in jail, but as an Irish citizen I refuse to be implicated in the immoral actions of this government. It is important that people stand up and say no to the refuelling of US warplanes at Shannon.”

Concluding, Fintan Lane called on all those opposed to Irish complicity with the US occupation of Iraq to attend the demonstration at Shannon airport on December 6th: “It is important that there is a large turnout to demonstrate to Fianna Fail and the PDs that we will not put up with the refuelling of US warplanes at Shannon. Enough is enough.”

UPDATE: Indymedia.ie interviews Fintan Lane before going to Limerick Prison ( Interview )

OPEN, the national network of lone parent groups has expressed its anger and dismay at the latest reported changes to the Community Employment (CE) programme. "During its first incarnation, the FF/PD coalition altered the CE programme so that lone parents under 25 years of age were excluded from participation" said Frances Byrne, spokesperson for the group. "The latest leaked report proposes increasing CE hours from 19.5 to 30 hours per week. This change would discriminate against lone parents with school-going children, who will simply not be available to work the extended hours. To add insult to injury, CE participants would not be paid for the additional hours. Every report, including those commissioned by the government, has shown that lone parents rely on this scheme to overcome poverty and welfare dependency", continued Ms. Byrne, "How then can this government justify punishing some of the most excluded families in the state?"

OPEN has already surveyed their groups in Dublin in order to monitor the local effects of ongoing government cutbacks in CE and other programmes. The results show widespread reductions in staff and services in communities such as Finglas and Tallaght. A group in N.E. Dublin reported that its already relying exclusively on donations in order to continue to provide education and training programmes to lone parents and others in their community. Lone parent groups in Tipperary, Limerick and Mayo have also had to drastically curtail their activities. This means that in many rural areas lone parents and their children are losing vital services.

''What is planned for Saturday, December 6th, is designed to bring protest at Shannon to a new level. Before deciding whether you intend to participate, take some time to examine the context. Shannon airport is effectively a US airbase, with 100,000 troops shuttled through in 2003 alone. In September, 141 US military flights landed at the airport bringing through 10,000 armed soldiers. Moreover, documents revealed in Edward Horgan�s court challenge indicate that Patriot missiles have been transported through the airport. Bluntly put, an Irish civilian airport has been integrated into the US war machine and is helping to kill innocent people in Iraq and Afghanistan.

We cannot allow this to continue and, with resistance to the US occupation rising in both Iraq and the United States, we need to take what we�ve been saying seriously. If Shannon airport is helping to kill people, and with the government continuing to ignore the sound of marching feet, then it is entirely justified to disrupt normal business until the US military presence is removed. Enough is enough. Civil disobedience is completely justifiable as a tactic when human lives are at stake. Think of Shannon as a US airbase, and then consider whether you find that acceptable on Irish soil.''
- Fintan Lane, PRO of the Irish Anti-War Movement

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Getting Involved... · Grassroots Gathering Bus Info · Irish Anti-War Movement Bus Info Training Manuals: ACT-UP, NY USA / Rukus Society / Non-Violence Help / 'Database of Successful Strategies and Tactics' / The Irish Network for Nonviolent Action Training and Education	History, Strategy & Tactics... · 198 Methods of Nonviolent Action · Some World-Wide Examples · Why Non-violence · Quebec City: Beyond Violence and Nonviolence, by Starhawk Links Updated · Movement Action Plan (.pdf) & The Practical Strategist (.pdf) by Bill Moyer (from NVCD Help)

Aron Baker, an Irish Volunteer working with the International Solidarity Movement in Palestine has, since September, been publishing a remarkable series of snapshots of life and protest in the West Bank on IMC Ireland. Collected together his vivid first-hand reports present a unique ground level view of the harshness of everyday life for the Palestinians under Israeli Occupation. The reports are compiled below in the order in which they were published. The most recent report is first in the list below.

Curfew in Asira Army Attack Peaceful Demo to Fence Army Wound Dozens in Nablus Ongoing Balata Refugee Camp Invasion IOF in Balata Camp, West Bank IOF Shoot and Kill 9 Year Old in Nablus Olive Harvest Report, West Bank Internationals Shot by IOF in Nablus House Demolitions in the West Bank Shooting and Checkpoints in the West Bank Nablus Week 2 Life in the West Bank

EXCERPT FROM THE MOST RECENT REPORT:

"5 out of the last 6 days soldiers and border police, more feared than soldiers by Palestinians for their ruthlessness and brutality, have imposed curfew in the town of Asira, north of Nablus. The soldiers and border police drive around in jeeps terrorising the 12,000 people who live there, occasionaly leaving their jeeps to do a foot patrol through narrower streets. People hide in their homes wondering how long the army will remain, and when a silence descends and people think the jeeps are no longer there they begin to venture out, many to buy bread and food, some to disobey and break the curfew. Yesterday the soldiers weren't here in the morning so people attempted to continue their lives, children went to school and people attempted to leave the village for work, etc, only to find the last remaining road leaving the village, which has recently been blocked with an earth and rock mound, manned by soldiers who will not allow people out of the village."