Sunday, August 18, 2002

At Times, It's Better Not To Be Nice Terry McMenamin A recent article in Counterpunch examined Ireland[base ']s upcoming referendum on the Nice Treaty. The article is well-written and insightful, but the most surprising thing about it is that it appeared in an American publication. Here are some choice excerpts: Most people assume that this treaty, negotiated by the member governments of the European Union in 2000, simply providers for the admission of new member[s] to the EU -- up to 13 -- from Eastern Europe. Propagandists for the new order like to stress that this enlargement is what Nice is all about. It is not. Nice is essentially about a sinister overhaul of the system by which the people of the EU are governed. The most important provisions of the agreement changed the system for governing the Union, which currently gives small and big countries a roughly equal voice, to one in which the big countries -- particularly France, Germany, Italy and Britain -- have the decisive say. Comments: Google It! 4:16:47 PM

A Community Fights Back Danny Morrison On this day, August 9th, thirty one years ago, the British government introduced internment without trial in the North, locking up in prison camps civil rights and students organisers, republicans who had been last active in the 1950s and a handful of IRA activists. Most IRA people escaped the swoops. Initially used exclusively against nationalists, nationalist areas immediately erupted. In the week which followed over twenty five people were killed and scores seriously wounded. (Later, in Derry, the thirteen people shot dead were killed while they were on an anti-internment march.) Every year, the week around August 9th with its demonstrations and street clashes was perhaps the most dangerous time of the year to live in or visit West Belfast. Comments: Google It! 4:13:19 PM

What Trimble fears John Nixon When David Trimble and Ian Paisley backed by thousands of armed unionist RUC men and British Army marched triumphantly down the nationalist Garvaghy Road the most abiding memory of the event was not the TV pictures of dour faced Orange bigots that hit TV screens around the world, it was that little triumphalist jig outside Carlton Street Orange Hall. The fact that it costs the Northern Ireland tourist industry £250 million a year mattered little to them. It was not the image of the Nobel Peace prizewinner, not the populist crusader for peace on stage with Bono and U2 that will forever epitomise the essence of the man in the nationalist mind. It was that little Irish (or Ulster-Scots?) jig . That event provided a real but not rare insight to the complex personal and political nature of David Trimble. Comments: Google It! 4:10:11 PM

Corruption is Rife! Politicians & Bosses Across The World Evade Prision! It's been said that the gap between rich and poor the world over is becoming much more apparent. In one survey released recently it clearly mentioned that Ireland is one of the most economically divided countries in what's known as the 'developed world', well after North America that is. Comments: Google It! 4:07:58 PM

Death threat report Members of the Republican Sinn Féin organisation throughout the country are being advised to be on the alert after a failed abduction in Limerick. Comments: Google It! 4:01:34 PM

Put Spotlight on Republican Aims Eamonn McCann The demonstrations against the killings of Gerard Lawlor in Belfast and David Caldwell in Derry raised important political questions. It seemed natural to depict the killings as two sides of a sectarian coin. Comments: Google It! 3:58:42 PM

Unidentified Mob Rule Aine Fox 20 year old Eamon Scanlon had returned to his native streets of West Belfast after spending the last few months earning his living in the notoriously dangerous city of Philadelphia, USA. Comments: Google It! 3:55:45 PM

Ardoyne endures more bomb and gun attacks As nationalist communities throughout Belfast are enjoying the fun and frolics of their community festivals, those unfortunate enough to be living on the interfaces have had to endure a further series of attacks by the UDA in North Belfast this week. Comments: Google It! 3:54:16 PM

British and unionists must tackle sectarianism - Adams After a series of UDA attacks on Alliance Avenue in North Belfast over the weekend, Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams visited the area on Wednesday 7 August to talk with the residents who have been affected. He was accompanied by local Assembly member Gerry Kelly and Dublin TD Aengus ó Snodaigh. Comments: Google It! 3:53:09 PM

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