The Workers’ Party have accused Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney of prioritising Donald Trump’s foreign policy ahead of Irish neutrality. Cllr. Éilis Ryan, the Workers’ Party candidate in May’s European Parliament elections, said:

“Simon Coveney has, for the first time in our history, given formal backing to United States overseas aggression. Successive governments under Fianna Fáil, Labour and the Green Party have facilitated US overseas aggression by allowing the use of Shannon Airport, but this move marks a new departure, leaving behind even the facade of neutrality.

“It flies in the face of the values of anti-colonialism and sovereignty which Irish people are so rightly proud of.”

Related Links: Can Venezuela and its neighbours survive the coming war? |
Former world bank employee Peter Koenig gives his perspective on Venezuela situation | Medialink analysis of biased Venezuela coverage by BBC, Guardian and others | the making of Guaido - Max Blumenthal interview | Why must Venezuela be destroyed? | What the Press Hides From You About Venezuela — A Case of News-Suppression | The Saker interviews Jorge Valero, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela | Trump’s Venezuela gamble is turning out to be a beaten docket by Finian Cunningham

Lets be clear the chemical attack last week was not done by Syria. It would make absolutely no sense. They have already more or less beaten the US/Uk/France (via Saudi proxies) backed ISIS terrorist group with the great help of Russia. Besides Syria destroyed all their chemical weapons a few years back under the watchful eyes of international agencies. So why on Earth would they bring the wrath of the world upon themselves. They are not that stupid. No this chemical attack like the other ones, is done via the terrorist cells (-trained, financed and armed by Western powers through local proxies) - against the "moderate terrorists" and ultimately arranged by their sponsors which is as US, UK & France, the very same states crying crocodile tears about human rights when they regularly bomb countries and people for "human rights". Even now as they screech in unison about this staged attack by them blaming it on the Syrians they have absolutely zero interests in the lives of the people in question. Even the most unobservable person can see it is used merely as a pretext to their agenda. That agenda however is not just to take action and drop bombs as always but something bigger and it is brilliantly outlined in the article written back before this latest fiasco where intelligence had already revealed that the US/UK were planning this latest attack. In short the agenda is to link the clumsy chemical poisoning of Skripal with the Syria chemical attack. The plan was simple. Russia is a monster for using chemical poisoning (except they didn't) and so is Syria too (except they didn't) and they are friends. Therefore Russia should be expelled from the 5 member UN security council and if that could be pulled off then the US/UK & France could safely ignore China and the "Western Free World" would have a free hand to bomb and intimidate who they like. You see the problem is the USA is in debt and technically should be insolvent but because the dollar is the global reserve currency backed by threat of US military, special forces and colour revolutions no-one dares challenge it except of course the Russia-China axis. Nevertheless USA had it's day in the sun and their power is declining. The UK think they can re-establish their colonial relationship and presumably they would be the dominant partner and need to hang on the coat tails of the USA to achieve their aims. Even though the USA is clearly the bigger of the two, the UK are much better at this game than the US could ever hope to be, hence the confidence they can successfully use them.

Related Links: Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov: Swiss lab says ‘BZ toxin’ used in Salisbury, NOT produced in Russia, was in US & UK service | A Curious Incident Part IX: Preliminary findings of OPCW Report on poisoning | Chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the Russian General Staff Colonel General Sergei Rudskoy holds briefing for mass media | War, lies and censorship | US massacre of Syrian troops threatens to unleash wider war | Turkey publishes the whereabouts of five secret military bases in Syria that belong to France | Double Life of White Helmets: Volunteers by Day, Terrorists by Night (Photos) | BBC Caught Staging FAKE News Chemical Attack (2016) To Drag Britain into Syrian War | Libya, seven years of misfortune Nato | US-backed Saudi war and blockade puts millions of lives at risk in Yemen | US massacring hundreds of Syrian civilians every week in Raqqa | The abandonment of the CIA’s Syrian “rebels” and the pseudo-left accomplices of US imperialism | ISIS leader a confirmed CIA puppet
Jeremy Corbyn Diplomacy, and not bombing, is the way to end Syria’s agony

our collective grief's symbol was fresh then

These are my initial published thoughts on the terrorist attack I and my partner survived and endured 17th August 2017.
Fadó Fadó, long time ago, when many more readers came to this corner of the internet, I published a series of articles in reaction to a terrorist attack on Madrid, the 11th of March 2004. I promoted a simple design back then, to my surprise the idea found traction and was accepted by countless people. i had thought my suggestion was easy to reproduce and helped people express collective mourning, to show publicly their fellowship with a community in shock. My design was a black ribbon, one which was easy to knock up variations upon and print out. I admit the ribbon idea was based on my much younger years when I had worn a green ribbon in support of a complex idea back then : the inclusion of political prisoners in a tentative British Irish peace process. Am I turning some off the provenance? OH talk to me about my youth why not? The idea of a black ribbon took off the weekend of March 11th, 2004, whilst the then government of Spain falsely attributed an attack by Salafists in the ambit of Al Qaeda on Madrid by blaming the Basque armed seperatist group ETA. IT was a few days before a general election. An estimated 80,000 people took to the streets of Spain and the Spanish state and camped out in front of government offices and the offices of the ruling party demanding the truth... I was one... the ribbon was a moment in my life... I never wanted to see it used again In the last hours the city of my home where I have lived almost 20 years has been victim of a long anticipated terrorist attack. Even google now puts a black ribbon. I return to indymedia ireland to indulge POV reflections.

Related Links: Barcelona Attack : Black Ribbons (again) | Black Ribbons. (March 12th 2004)

The People's Newsletter from the People's Movement in their bi-monthly newsletter carry an article on Brexit which is topical given that the British go to the polls on it this Thurs 23rd June. The various opinion polls show it to be relatively close.

The article here from the People's Movement puts forward good Left wing arguments why Britain should leave and they are good reasons for Ireland to leave too. The impression given is that the Brexit referendum was agreed to because of political pressure from the people. It is likely though that there are considerable powerful interests within the elite want to leave as they see their chances to be better off in the long run, yet those arguments not discussed here would be more issues within national capitalist faction.

The other article in this months newsletter is

Related Links: Latest PEOPLE’S NEWS covers TTIP and Brexit | 10 Reasons Irish People in the North of Ireland, & Britain, Should Vote "Leave" | People Before Profit Call for Left Exit from EU | WSM: Observations on Brexit and Lexit in the UK EU membership referendum | Socialist Party: Brexit: Reject this club of bosses & bankers

The three routes used by ISIS to transport stolen oil to Turkey

For the past year, there have been numerous reports that ISIS have been transporting the oil they have stolen from Iraq and Syria, to Turkey and this has been greatly facilitated by the Turkish state at the highest levels. It is widely known the oil was being sold and exported by BMZ Ltd owned by Bilal Erdogan, President Erodgan's son. It is extremely unlikely that they are doing this for nothing and tens of millions have probably been siphoned off by the Erdogan family and other key officials and the Turkish economy has no doubt benefitted from an injection of cheap stolen oil sold below world market rates. The Russian Defense Ministry on Dec 2nd revealed the vast scale of the oil smuggling operation which somehow was missed by the NATO/US in the past 2 years.

Related Indymedia Links: Syrian Refugees, ISIS / Al Nursa Butchers and Their Not So Secret Backing by Western Powers | The Paris Attacks -What's Going On ? | The French Republic taken hostage
Related External Links: Where will the Ukrainian bombs explode? (Hint: In Syria and blamed on Russians) | “The Art of War” The strategy of chaos | Why does France want to overthrow the Syrian Arab Republic ? | Why did Turkey shoot down the Russian Soukhoï 24 ? | More than 500 jihadists cared for at the Ziv Medical Centre | The method behind the madness in Syria | Turkish Special Services behind Terrorist smuggling, training: Whistleblower | Erdogan sends 'Grey Wolves' to Crimea - A History Lesson | What is the US cooking up for Turkey, Iraq, Syria, and Iran? "Divide and conquer" on a whole new level | Why’s The US Hanging Turkey Out To Dry? | The Race For Raqqa And America’s Geopolitical Revenge In “Syraq” (I) | The Race For Raqqa And America’s Geopolitical Revenge In “Syraq” (II) | ‘US seek to control the EU elites via refugee crisis’ | Turkey Made Plans to Shoot Down Russian Su-24 a Month in Advance - Assange | Erdogan Blackmails NATO Allies | Massacre Proves Turk, Washington Complicity in Syria Terror By Finian Cunningham | Oil Smuggling and Syria: Is NATO No Better Than Turkey? | dA321 Crash: The Qatari Trace | ISIS-Linked Autocrats to Host British Navy | What Stinks in Saudi Ain’t the Camel Dung | You Cannot Fight Terrorism While You Are Supporting The Terrorists - Full Interview with President Bashar al-Assad by Czech TV - 1/12/15 | The Radar Recordings of the Turkish Attack on the Russian Su-24 | The Shaping of American Character | How the US Helped ISIS | In Plain Sight: Coalition Forces Routinely Air-Drop Military Supplies to ISIS Fighters In Syria | 10th Dec - 100,000 foreign troops incl. Americans to be deployed in Iraq, MP claims | EXCLUSIVE: Israeli Colonel Leading ISIL Terrorists Captured in Iraq | Syria's Assad blames France as Arab world condemns Paris attacks