On December 13th, the Isles of Man, Jersey and Guernsey signed an intergovernmental agreement with the United States to improve international tax compliance and implement the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), a US federal law designed to combat offshore tax evasion. The Isles signed a similar agreement with the United Kingdom in October. read full story / add a comment

The competitiveness dogma will not solve the present euro-zone crisis, as it is downward pressure on wages (and therefore consumer demand) and on government spending that has locked European economies into spirals of decline.
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More than a month after Typhoon Haiyan devastated the Philippines, the country has paid approximately $900 million in debt repayments—more than twice as much as it’s received in pledged aid from countries around the world to support the recovery effort. read full story / add a comment

"The Assassination of Michael Collins: What Happened At Béal na mBláth?" by S M Sigerson (Kindle / Create Space 2013) is a controversial new study about the revolutionary leader's death.
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New Afri Vid (10 mins) - Family of imprisoned Pvt. Manning find solidarity & voice in Ireland
http://tinyurl.com/pjunes9 read full story / add a comment

Latest Connemara fish farm could lead to EU daily fines. Government reported to EU

An environmental group has reported the resumption of fish farming in Kilkiernan Bay on the north shore of Galway Bay to the European Commission.

Friends of the Irish Environment, whose submission in June 2013 is being considered by the Commission as part of the reopening of the investigation into sea lice and salmon, have published the REQUEST FOR IMMEDIATE MEASURES AGAINST IRELAND FOR RENEWED AND UNASSESSED SALMON FARMING IN IRELAND IN KILKIERAN/CILL CHIARÁIN BAY NATURA 2000 SITE on their website.

According to a statement from the group ‘The reopening of these sites in Kilkieran Bay using expired licences is in direct contradiction of the European Court Judgment against Ireland in 2007 and, if sustained, could lead to daily fines against Ireland.’

A 2007 court judgment found that Ireland has not properly assessed aquaculture operations that might impact on protected bird life as this is required even for renewals. The site at Ardmore Point, Kilkieran Bay, was licensed in 2002 without any assessment and abandoned in 2009 because of high sea lice levels and pancreatic disease. The licences expired in 2012.

FIE’s Report alleges that the Government is deeply involved in the renewed operations. ‘The company involved, Bradon Beo Teo., was established with Údarás na Gaelteachta, the State Regional Authority, direct funding of €750,000 in 2012.’ The group has provided an accountant’s report which shows that through direct shareholding and part ownership of other shareholders, the State through Údarás is the effective controller of the Company read full story / add a comment

The Arctic 30 who have been under threat of serving long sentences in Russia for their actions to prevent Arctic oil drilling, have been granted an amnesty by the Russian Parliament. read full story / add a comment

Bullfighting is a savage blood sport, an archaic barbarism which injures innocent bulls, horses, bullfighters and spectators. It is time for the Spanish, Mexican, Venezuelan, Argentinan, Chilean and all governments to outlaw it read full story / add a comment

We are delighted to learn that today two fake press releases were diffused in the news wire, spreading the rumour about a large accounting scandal
, negatively impacting the course of the Deutsche Bank's share.

1) Deutsche Bank finances in upheaval; CFO fired
2) Deutsche Bank restates its financial statements read full story / add a comment

As with many cosmogonies Thor: The Dark World depicts not only the origin of its world but also within the context of perceptions and judgments of good and evil (or good guys against the bad guys). Within this good and evil paradigm of comic book drama we also find our “human” reality of the reality of war, such as various cultures attacking and killing each other from different worlds. Herein the Frost Giants of Jotunheim are attacking Deities of Asgard. Whereas in the Judeo-Christian Bible you could find Archangels creating a civil war, The Battle of Heaven, in which some angels, supposedly created by God, became turncoats against the almighty one. The important point for us to recognize is that even within so-called Realms-of-the-Divine, according the Judeo-Christian narrative and Norse mythology, there is again the common theme of “human” capacity for rebellion, civil disobedience and civil disturbance.
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Argentina is expected to appeal to the US Supreme Court by mid-February in response to a US 2nd Circuit Court ruling ordering the country to pay $1.33 billion to predatory hedge funds. The precedent the case sets will hurt poor countries in financial distress and could allow a small group of hedge funds to target assets that benefit vulnerable populations. read full story / add a comment

December 18, 2013
Third Global Day of Action
for the Rights of Migrants, Refugees and Displaced People
MORE THAN EVER UNITED TO AFFIRM AND DEFEND THE RIGHTS
OF IMMIGRANTS, REFUGEES AND DISPLACED PEOPLE!

Para ver lo que el mundo organiza cliquee en Activities 2013
To see what the world organizes click on Activities 2013
Per vedere ciò che il mondo organizza cliccare su Activities 2013
Pour voir ce que le monde organise cliquez sur Activities 2013
Um zu sehen, wie die Welt organisiert klicken Sie auf Activities 2013
لنرى ما ينظم العالم انقر على Activities 2013
看到什么样的世界组织点击 Activities 2013 read full story / add a comment

• Number of people employed: Down by 13 per cent since January 2008.

• Number of people unemployed: Up from 107,000 in January 2008 to 296,300 today.

• Annualised domestic growth rate: –1.2 per cent.

• Net emigration: The number of people leaving the country is higher than the number coming in by 35,000. Gross emigration was more than 80,000 last year alone. In six years it went from the highest net immigration level in Europe to the highest emigration, overtaking the Baltic states and Kosovo. Meanwhile a group of students and other young people in Dublin has launched a campaign called “We’re not leaving” after the Government sent out letters encouraging young people to seek jobs abroad.

• Government deficit as a proportion of GDP: 7.3 per cent.

• Public debt: 121 per cent of GDP in 2013, up from 91 per cent in 2010 and 105 per cent in 2011.

• Household debt: 200 per cent of GDP. There are people living on €50 per week or less after paying their bills. We have had eight austerity budgets since 2008; in the community sector there have been cuts of 35 to 40 per cent.

• Value of assets underpinning household debt: –56 per cent since the crisis began.

•Mortgages in arrears for more than six months: 17 per cent of all mortgages. read full story / add a comment

Issue 54 of Red Banner is out now,
available from bookshops or from the address above
€2 / £1.50 read full story / add a comment

We write to bring our concerns to you personally, resulting from media coverage on the 2nd December in the Irish Daily Mail Newspaper of the content of a working meeting dinner menu shared by yourself and President Shinzo Abe of Japan which seriously abused fisheries conservation measures.
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Medium Geoff Keating is fighting to get his horses returned to him after Urlingford Pound entered private property in North Dublin and removed 15 horses.

Spots looks malnourished after 6 days in the pound. Is this down to stress? Lack of food? Mistreatment? Or all of the above? You can see Spots is tied up and the rope is taut. This means Spots is unable to eat, drink, move around or even lie down. read full story / add a comment

The revised wind guidelines published today by the Minister for Environment do not address most of the key issues concerning windfarms and fail to provide any detail on the single issue of noise and flicker they do address

The document is described as a ‘work in progress’, with the details of noise yet to be settled.

These ‘details’ include special locations, the impact of cumulative noise, the noise prediction methods to be used, the inspection and monitoring regime on foot of complaints under EU regulations and any remedial actions. In fact, it is the type of insidious noise that is the issue for residents more than the level, which is all these Guidelines address. read full story / add a comment

By mistakenly focusing on the drug fluoride, since 1945, dentists missed the opportunity to reduce tooth decay by promoting tooth-required nutrients such as calcium, Vitamins A, C and D. Could the current tooth decay epidemic in the US be attributed to that blunder? read full story / add a comment

Yesterday the French Senat passed article 13 of the 2014-2019 French Defense Bill , an attack on freedom and fundamental rights.
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Happy Christmas!

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