In any country with a half way critical media, the last few months would have been disastrous for Shell. In a crucial period in Shell’s imposition of an experimental gas pipeline on the people of Erris it emerges that Michael Dwyer, one of the security guards on this project, was part of an attempt to trigger a civil war in Bolivia. Soon after that it became clear that at least three others who had worked as security guards at the Shell compound had travelled to Bolivia with Dwyer and were wanted there for questioning. Some, it emerged, had links to fascist organizations in Eastern Europe.

At least 156 private security personnel work on what Shell calls the 'Corrib Project' accompanied, according to the Irish Times, by up to “Several hundred Gardaí and the Naval Service .. with the Naval Service deploying one and “possibly” two patrol ships”. (1) The level of force being deployed to impose the Shell pipeline project on the local population is a testimony to the long running resistance of the people of Erris, a resistance that so far has not been broken by dozens of arrests, violence and the most vitriolic of attacks from paid hacks in the mainstream media.

At the time of writing everyone is preparing for the return of the pipe laying ship, the Soltaire. In advance of its return strange events have occurred in the dead of night. One Shell to Sea protester, Willie Corduff, required hospitalization after an encounter with masked men at the Shell compound at 4am on Thursday April 23rd. The fishing boat of another key Shell to Sea activist, Pat O’Donnell, was boarded at 2am on Thursday 11th June by four masked and armed men who proceed to sink the boat, leaving the two men on board to fend for themselves. What is striking is the almost complete failure of the Irish media to investigate any of these stories in a serious way or to explore the elements that link events in Bolivia and Erris.

EU politicians cannot change the treaties, or their effects, just by signing a new agreement: the Court of Justice will always say that the provisions of a fully ratified European Treaty trump any attempt to modify the operation of the Treaty through an unratified agreement.

Other Anti-Lisbon Groups:
Say NO | Vote NO | Lisbon Vote | No 2 Lisbon | Vote No to Lisbon | People.ie | National Platform | Peace and Neutrality Alliance - pana | People before Profit | Republica Sinn Féin - RSF | Communist Party of Ireland | Socialist Workers' Party - SWP | Workers' Party Ireland | 32 County Sovereignty Committee - 32CSM | Ógra Shinn Féin - OSF | Éirígi | Le Chéile Saor |

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Letting the Politicians know how YOU feel - closing the democratic deficit
Contact.ie - Contact ALLTDs, Senators, and MEPs and let them know YOUR feelings about being asked to vote for a second time on the Lisbon Treaty.

Joe Higgins MEP on why he'll be campaigning against the rerun of the Lisbon Treaty and how this provides a real challenge and opportunity for the left.

Less than two weeks after the Euro Election campaign a Euro related charade is about to be visited on the Irish people. We are now being told that the FiannaFail/Green Party Coalition Government will present us with the Lisbon Treaty for a vote in late September or early October as soon as the EU Heads of State agree ‘legal guarantees’ apparently clarifying what the Treaty really means.

Lest anybody forgot, we voted on this Treaty in June of last year and by a convincing majority the Irish electorate rejected it. However, that did not please the Euro elite which was shocked at our insolence in daring to take a view different to what it has determined in our interests.

The Iranian government’s campaign to mold ‘model’ Islamic citizens has not only fashioned a profound crisis of loyalty to the religious ‘ideals of the revolution’, it has nurtured action that many have silently prayed for - as the public sphere, the last bastion of the religious elite's grip on power, was shot open by their own guns Sunday.

Related Links: Secret Police Open Fire At Opposition Demo In Tehran | Support the Mass Stuggles in Iran | Iran: Leader Remains Supreme | Hands off the People of Iran -www.hopoi.org

Legacy of martyred flowers committed me to life,
Legacy of martyred flowers,
Don’t you see?
--Forough Farokhzad, Only the Sound Will Last

Since the close of polling late Friday, and the hasty confirmation of Mahmoud Ahmedinejad’s second term in office, protests have broken out across Iran. Many Iranians, who consider the landslide victory for Ahmadinejad a symbol of their country’s deeply corrupt political system, have endeavoured to force the government to nullify the results and hold another election.

In what can only be considered a classic case of state-repression, police and Revolutionary Guards have soaked the streets in blood; shooting into crowds of peaceful protestors, arresting scores of demonstrators, and targeting constituencies known for their criticism of the government. Just yesterday, the Guardian conservatively reported that as many as twelve students from universities throughout the country lost their lives as they courageously and openly opposed state forces.

We wish to announce the formation of IFPAL, Irish Friends of Palestine Against Lisbon. We are a group of concerned citizens from all over Ireland who support the political and human rights of the Palestinian people, and believe that the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) of the European Union is inherently inimical to those rights.

Related Links
Irish Friends of Palestine Against Lisbon - www.ifpal.ie

In order to free up frontpage space, we have moved the "Related Links" for this story to THIS RELATED STORY as the same links are being used.

- One of IMC Ireland.