Anthony McIntyre's Blog, page 1216
May 8, 2017
The Pie Man Cometh
Sean Mallory
takes time out from blasting the DUP and casts his political eye to foreign shores.
The ‘orange one’, President Trump, high on his popular revival after his Tomahawk missile strike in Syria and his Mother Of All Bombs (MOAB) attack in Afghanistan has called on China to rein Kim in. Trump's advisors have mentioned that there is a more powerful conventional bomb: Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), which had been developed for American forces with North Korea’s underground facilities in mind.
Kim, just as he is with his hair, is extremely self-conscious of his weight problem especially in a country continually ravaged by famine, seemed somewhat unperturbed by such claims. Unrestrained by China and demonstrating his self-control of his anger management issues he continued to tell the Americans to go fuck themselves.
Across the English Channel and away from the beaches of Normandy another fascist - although not German this time - learned of her fate in the French Presidential elections. Much to her dismay, and just like Marshall Phillipe Pétain (The Lion of Verdun), Marine Le Pen had failed to win the support of the majority and succumbed to a resounding defeat.
Emmanuel Macron, like Charles de Gaulle, rallied the majority French public by resurrecting the spirit of the République to have himself returned victorious as the new French President. Unlike Pétain and his support of fascism, Le Pen remains at large while let us hope that Macron does not leave us a legacy similar in nature to that of de Gaulle and Algeria!
Back across the channel and in good auld Blighty and free from fascist twattle, another general election taking place was temporarily eclipsed by the resounding success at local government level by the Tories.
Theresa May enamouring herself to the great unwashed by rallying them to the spirit, no, not the spirit of Dunkirk as that is too close to Europe, but to the spirit of the Malvinas (Falklands) invasion 1982. A calling that she intimated, reflected her idea of strong and stable government by the Conservatives.
A view not somewhat shared by all of the British public as castigated by character reporter Jonathan Pie.
And so I’ll leave you with these words by Mr Robert Fisk and the effectiveness of Trumps MOAB and how effective his option of using the MOP in North Korea may turn out to be:
The ‘orange one’, President Trump, high on his popular revival after his Tomahawk missile strike in Syria and his Mother Of All Bombs (MOAB) attack in Afghanistan has called on China to rein Kim in. Trump's advisors have mentioned that there is a more powerful conventional bomb: Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), which had been developed for American forces with North Korea’s underground facilities in mind.
Kim, just as he is with his hair, is extremely self-conscious of his weight problem especially in a country continually ravaged by famine, seemed somewhat unperturbed by such claims. Unrestrained by China and demonstrating his self-control of his anger management issues he continued to tell the Americans to go fuck themselves.
Across the English Channel and away from the beaches of Normandy another fascist - although not German this time - learned of her fate in the French Presidential elections. Much to her dismay, and just like Marshall Phillipe Pétain (The Lion of Verdun), Marine Le Pen had failed to win the support of the majority and succumbed to a resounding defeat.
Emmanuel Macron, like Charles de Gaulle, rallied the majority French public by resurrecting the spirit of the République to have himself returned victorious as the new French President. Unlike Pétain and his support of fascism, Le Pen remains at large while let us hope that Macron does not leave us a legacy similar in nature to that of de Gaulle and Algeria!
Back across the channel and in good auld Blighty and free from fascist twattle, another general election taking place was temporarily eclipsed by the resounding success at local government level by the Tories.
Theresa May enamouring herself to the great unwashed by rallying them to the spirit, no, not the spirit of Dunkirk as that is too close to Europe, but to the spirit of the Malvinas (Falklands) invasion 1982. A calling that she intimated, reflected her idea of strong and stable government by the Conservatives.
A view not somewhat shared by all of the British public as castigated by character reporter Jonathan Pie.
And so I’ll leave you with these words by Mr Robert Fisk and the effectiveness of Trumps MOAB and how effective his option of using the MOP in North Korea may turn out to be:
We know that the US Special Forces raid on Yemen, in which Navy Seal William Owens died, killed more civilians than al-Qaeda members. We don’t know (or, I suspect, care) very much what the “mother of all bombs” did in the Nangahar province of Afghanistan. First it killed 60 Isis fighters. Then it killed 100 Isis fighters and not a single civilian – surely a first in US military history? But then, weirdly, nobody has been allowed to go to the site of this monster bomb’s explosion. Because civilians were indeed killed? Or because – and this is a fact – Isis survivors went on fighting American ground troops after the bombing?
Bernadette McAliskey: 80th Anniversary Of The Fascist Bombing Of Gernika.
Courtesy of
Organized Rage
:
Gernika 80 – Then & Now: the 80th anniversary of the Fascist bombing. On April 26, 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, the Basque town Gernika was razed to the ground by Fascist aircraft.
Gernika 80 – Then & Now: the 80th anniversary of the Fascist bombing. On April 26, 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, the Basque town Gernika was razed to the ground by Fascist aircraft.
A Potent Mix
In his latest
Ireland Eye column
in
Tribune
magazine, former
Blanket
columnist
Dr John Coulter
examines how official and unofficial Brexit and anti Brexit pacts could affect the outcome of the North's Westminster poll on 8th June.
Just when we thought the two main Northern parties – the Democratic Unionists and Sinn Fein – could reach a deal to restore the power-sharing Stormont Executive, up pops ‘Big T’, the British Prime Minister, and dumps a snap General Election – just weeks after Ulster voters had gone to the polls for a snap Assembly election.
As the parties gear up for the Westminster showdown – which many want as a mini referendum on Brexit as Northern Ireland voted Remain – the Stormont peace process has been dumped into the political fridge and the talk is more about election pacts, or lack of them!
Some of the nationalist and centre parties want an anti-Brexit coalition to oppose pro-Brexit MPs, but this move has been dogged by the perception it is the so-called Pan Nationalist Front under another name as most defending pro-Brexit MPs are Unionists.
Unionists are attempting to agree unity candidates in seats under threat from either Sinn Fein or Alliance, but as always, the bitter rivalry between the DUP and Ulster Unionists is never far from the surface.
On paper, unity candidates from both political camps makes common sense, but long gone are the days when IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands was the nationalist unity candidate winning Fermanagh South Tyrone, or the 1974 Unionist Coalition of parties which swept up 11 of the 12 Commons seats.
But the signs are ominous for Unionism – March’s Assembly poll saw Unionism lose its majority in a Chamber it took as the main grouping for generations.
Indeed, if Alliance, Greens, SDLP and Sinn Fein could agree anti-Brexit unity candidates, five Unionist seats would be in jeopardy, with Sinn Fein best placed to pick up four and Alliance winning back East Belfast.
Like the calls for a second ‘Indy’ referendum in Scotland, such a result in Northern Ireland would greatly enhance the chant for a border poll on Irish unity.
As it stands, 11 of the 18 Ulster seats are held by Unionists – eight DUP, two UUP and one Independent. Nationalists hold the other seven – three by the SDLP and four Sinn Fein.
Anti-Brexit unity candidates would see the Ulster political map change radically, with 12 seats held by nationalists and Alliance, with only half a dozen remaining in Unionist hands. The Anti-Brexiteers would sweep up Fermanagh/South Tyrone, East Londonderry, North Belfast, East Belfast, and Upper Bann.
In hard turf terms, it would leave Unionists effectively jammed into two of Northern Ireland’s six counties, forming the mini-state of ‘North East Ulster’. Ireland would unofficially be a 30-county republic!
But what about the impact of Unionist unity with agreed candidates in all 18 seats? Probably only South Belfast would return to the Unionist fold. However, the bitter political reality is that Unionist unity has become almost as big a myth as the tooth fairy and Easter bunny combined!
Unionism seems hell-bent on refusing to accept the common sense solution – accommodation on agreed candidates leading to a firm coalition, ending in a single Unionist Party.
As with the snap Stormont poll, Unionists may suddenly awaken from an election to find they are the minority voice in Northern Ireland and they may need to start making preparations for the inevitable outcome – some form of all-island partnership.
Brexit will not only see the redrawing of the European Union map, it could also see a realignment within the British Isles, with the Scots gaining independence and the Irish Republic wanting a closer formal tie with what remains of the UK.
The initial shock to the Irish system will not come in the aftermath of the implementation of Article 50, but if the Northern parties cannot agree a deal to restore Stormont by the Tories’ latest deadline of late June.
That will see the eventual mothballing of the Assembly, to be replaced with the cutting austerity of Direct Rule from Westminster. And the political buzzards from Dublin will be hovering to get a slice of the joint authority cake, too, as they did in 1985 following the signing of the Anglo-Irish Agreement.
Direct Rule has always left Unionism in a weaker position, but unlike the 1970s and 1980s, Dublin will not be in as strong a position economically to rebrand Direct Rule as joint authority.
Dublin has already witnessed the collapse of the once unassailable Celtic Tiger economy, requiring a multi-million euro bailout with most of the cash coming from the UK. Brexit will further isolate the Republic geographically and economically.
Even if the Scots go independent and rejoin the EU, a Celtic Alliance between the Republic and Scotland is economically very fragile and unstable politically. There’s nothing like a good dose of ‘independence from the Empire’ to bring a state to its senses! Just ask many of the African nations who have abandoned imperialism.
A unified Ireland back in the Commonwealth – now there’s a potent mix to get Unionist and nationalist tongues wagging!
‣ Follow John Coulter on Twitter @JohnAHCoulter
Just when we thought the two main Northern parties – the Democratic Unionists and Sinn Fein – could reach a deal to restore the power-sharing Stormont Executive, up pops ‘Big T’, the British Prime Minister, and dumps a snap General Election – just weeks after Ulster voters had gone to the polls for a snap Assembly election.
As the parties gear up for the Westminster showdown – which many want as a mini referendum on Brexit as Northern Ireland voted Remain – the Stormont peace process has been dumped into the political fridge and the talk is more about election pacts, or lack of them!
Some of the nationalist and centre parties want an anti-Brexit coalition to oppose pro-Brexit MPs, but this move has been dogged by the perception it is the so-called Pan Nationalist Front under another name as most defending pro-Brexit MPs are Unionists.
Unionists are attempting to agree unity candidates in seats under threat from either Sinn Fein or Alliance, but as always, the bitter rivalry between the DUP and Ulster Unionists is never far from the surface.
On paper, unity candidates from both political camps makes common sense, but long gone are the days when IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands was the nationalist unity candidate winning Fermanagh South Tyrone, or the 1974 Unionist Coalition of parties which swept up 11 of the 12 Commons seats.
But the signs are ominous for Unionism – March’s Assembly poll saw Unionism lose its majority in a Chamber it took as the main grouping for generations.
Indeed, if Alliance, Greens, SDLP and Sinn Fein could agree anti-Brexit unity candidates, five Unionist seats would be in jeopardy, with Sinn Fein best placed to pick up four and Alliance winning back East Belfast.
Like the calls for a second ‘Indy’ referendum in Scotland, such a result in Northern Ireland would greatly enhance the chant for a border poll on Irish unity.
As it stands, 11 of the 18 Ulster seats are held by Unionists – eight DUP, two UUP and one Independent. Nationalists hold the other seven – three by the SDLP and four Sinn Fein.
Anti-Brexit unity candidates would see the Ulster political map change radically, with 12 seats held by nationalists and Alliance, with only half a dozen remaining in Unionist hands. The Anti-Brexiteers would sweep up Fermanagh/South Tyrone, East Londonderry, North Belfast, East Belfast, and Upper Bann.
In hard turf terms, it would leave Unionists effectively jammed into two of Northern Ireland’s six counties, forming the mini-state of ‘North East Ulster’. Ireland would unofficially be a 30-county republic!
But what about the impact of Unionist unity with agreed candidates in all 18 seats? Probably only South Belfast would return to the Unionist fold. However, the bitter political reality is that Unionist unity has become almost as big a myth as the tooth fairy and Easter bunny combined!
Unionism seems hell-bent on refusing to accept the common sense solution – accommodation on agreed candidates leading to a firm coalition, ending in a single Unionist Party.
As with the snap Stormont poll, Unionists may suddenly awaken from an election to find they are the minority voice in Northern Ireland and they may need to start making preparations for the inevitable outcome – some form of all-island partnership.
Brexit will not only see the redrawing of the European Union map, it could also see a realignment within the British Isles, with the Scots gaining independence and the Irish Republic wanting a closer formal tie with what remains of the UK.
The initial shock to the Irish system will not come in the aftermath of the implementation of Article 50, but if the Northern parties cannot agree a deal to restore Stormont by the Tories’ latest deadline of late June.
That will see the eventual mothballing of the Assembly, to be replaced with the cutting austerity of Direct Rule from Westminster. And the political buzzards from Dublin will be hovering to get a slice of the joint authority cake, too, as they did in 1985 following the signing of the Anglo-Irish Agreement.
Direct Rule has always left Unionism in a weaker position, but unlike the 1970s and 1980s, Dublin will not be in as strong a position economically to rebrand Direct Rule as joint authority.
Dublin has already witnessed the collapse of the once unassailable Celtic Tiger economy, requiring a multi-million euro bailout with most of the cash coming from the UK. Brexit will further isolate the Republic geographically and economically.
Even if the Scots go independent and rejoin the EU, a Celtic Alliance between the Republic and Scotland is economically very fragile and unstable politically. There’s nothing like a good dose of ‘independence from the Empire’ to bring a state to its senses! Just ask many of the African nations who have abandoned imperialism.
A unified Ireland back in the Commonwealth – now there’s a potent mix to get Unionist and nationalist tongues wagging!
‣ Follow John Coulter on Twitter @JohnAHCoulter
May 7, 2017
Ich Bin Ein Blasphemer
Anthony McIntyre
blasphemes in support of
Stephen Fry.
The biblical God is a genocidal old tyrant who should be mocked, ridiculed, cursed, scorned, treated with contempt and whose baleful influence should be banned from all humane societies.
There was something of the madness associated with Flann O’Brien’s The Third Policeman : a this can’t be really happening sort of thing. Déjà vu as well because in terms of what actually is happening, we have been here before, but believed we had escaped it.
The advance towards greater freedom in Ireland had been sauntering along nicely, and then over the course of a few weeks we find ourselves seemingly upended by collars bearing croziers. We now appear as a society that is trying to come off the secular rails, hit reverse gear and journey back in time to the era of John Charles McQuaid.
Hopefully the virus of religiosity has not been so pervasive that as a society we only managed to get by courtesy of a daily dose of secular meds; that the thwarting of the supply has heralded the descent into a societal state of Tourette’s, where despite prolonged spells of stability, the state suddenly starts barking religious nonsense.
One-off events happen everywhere but when happenings cease to be that and occur with such frequency as to form a pattern, eyebrows get raised, and we are reminded that our secular comfort must not assume complacency.
The government assented to the new National Maternity Hospital coming under the ownership of a religious order. Although it refuses to tell the people what way it acted in their name, it seems highly likely that it voted to have the religious misogynists of Saudi Arabia voted onto the UN's Women’s Rights Commission from where it will participate in “shaping global standards on gender equality and the empowerment of women”. Like putting Jimmy Saville on the UN Children's Rights Commission.
Then there is the matter of how our schools are operated and the discrimination on religious grounds against those not of the Catholic faith, with parents reporting:
Just to make sure that we actually had noticed, and that the reversion to religious whackery was not a figment of the imagination, the parliament, supposedly representative of all its citizens, decided to enforce the daily prayer rule and make it compulsory for all TDs to stand during its recital.
As if that was not enough, we have now learned that the Morality Tribunal is to sit in judgement of Stephen Fry. A warning to us all: An Garda Siochanas’s ecclesiastical branch will seek to enforce “Gardia Law” and prosecute us if we object too much to the attempts to put the brakes on secularism. This is something they are able to do under the state’s blasphemy laws. In this day and age, the use of a blasphemy law is on a par with using leeches to treat illness.
Stephen Fry in his discussion with Gay Byrne offered, with an economy of words, the most incisive and discerning critique of the god myth. It is his right to express his opinion no matter how critical it is of religious opinion. Pavan Dhaliwal of the British Humanist Association observed shortly after the "blasphemy" was broadcast:
It can only be hoped that the person who made the complaint against Fry is trying to force the issue and have the state’s ridiculous Blasphemy law exposed in all its majestic stupidity. The complainant stated that they took no offence from Fry's comments. This allows for the possibility that this is a test case.
Whatever the route or reason, it is important that the Blasphemy law be excised wholesale from the constitution, even if it requires a referendum: not because there is any real threat to people in Ireland from it, but because other countries who religiously persecute their citizens actually cite the Irish blasphemy law.
Stephen Fry is right to say that the biblical god is:
One that blasphemes against humanity.
The biblical God is a genocidal old tyrant who should be mocked, ridiculed, cursed, scorned, treated with contempt and whose baleful influence should be banned from all humane societies.
There was something of the madness associated with Flann O’Brien’s The Third Policeman : a this can’t be really happening sort of thing. Déjà vu as well because in terms of what actually is happening, we have been here before, but believed we had escaped it.
The advance towards greater freedom in Ireland had been sauntering along nicely, and then over the course of a few weeks we find ourselves seemingly upended by collars bearing croziers. We now appear as a society that is trying to come off the secular rails, hit reverse gear and journey back in time to the era of John Charles McQuaid.
Hopefully the virus of religiosity has not been so pervasive that as a society we only managed to get by courtesy of a daily dose of secular meds; that the thwarting of the supply has heralded the descent into a societal state of Tourette’s, where despite prolonged spells of stability, the state suddenly starts barking religious nonsense.
One-off events happen everywhere but when happenings cease to be that and occur with such frequency as to form a pattern, eyebrows get raised, and we are reminded that our secular comfort must not assume complacency.
The government assented to the new National Maternity Hospital coming under the ownership of a religious order. Although it refuses to tell the people what way it acted in their name, it seems highly likely that it voted to have the religious misogynists of Saudi Arabia voted onto the UN's Women’s Rights Commission from where it will participate in “shaping global standards on gender equality and the empowerment of women”. Like putting Jimmy Saville on the UN Children's Rights Commission.
Then there is the matter of how our schools are operated and the discrimination on religious grounds against those not of the Catholic faith, with parents reporting:
of how their non-Catholic children are forced to attend church services and how they often come home talking of Jesus or with ashes on their forehead on Ash Wednesday.
Just to make sure that we actually had noticed, and that the reversion to religious whackery was not a figment of the imagination, the parliament, supposedly representative of all its citizens, decided to enforce the daily prayer rule and make it compulsory for all TDs to stand during its recital.
As if that was not enough, we have now learned that the Morality Tribunal is to sit in judgement of Stephen Fry. A warning to us all: An Garda Siochanas’s ecclesiastical branch will seek to enforce “Gardia Law” and prosecute us if we object too much to the attempts to put the brakes on secularism. This is something they are able to do under the state’s blasphemy laws. In this day and age, the use of a blasphemy law is on a par with using leeches to treat illness.
Stephen Fry in his discussion with Gay Byrne offered, with an economy of words, the most incisive and discerning critique of the god myth. It is his right to express his opinion no matter how critical it is of religious opinion. Pavan Dhaliwal of the British Humanist Association observed shortly after the "blasphemy" was broadcast:
The freedom Fry was exercising – his freedom to challenge religious beliefs and express his non-belief – is an indispensable part of democratic society, enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The reality, however, is that not everyone is allowed to exercise this freedom. Blasphemy is illegal in 49 countries. In many countries, these laws are used to stifle free expression and promote a climate of fear and punishment for people of minority religious and non-religious groups.
It can only be hoped that the person who made the complaint against Fry is trying to force the issue and have the state’s ridiculous Blasphemy law exposed in all its majestic stupidity. The complainant stated that they took no offence from Fry's comments. This allows for the possibility that this is a test case.
Whatever the route or reason, it is important that the Blasphemy law be excised wholesale from the constitution, even if it requires a referendum: not because there is any real threat to people in Ireland from it, but because other countries who religiously persecute their citizens actually cite the Irish blasphemy law.
Stephen Fry is right to say that the biblical god is:
quite clearly a maniac, an utter maniac, totally selfish ... Why should I respect a capricious, mean-minded, stupid god who creates a world which is so full of injustice and pain ... We have to spend our lives on our knees thanking him. What kind of god would do that?
One that blasphemes against humanity.
While The People Starved
Chris Fogarty
with more on his claims about a mass grave in Dungannon, Co Tyrone.
When a courageous Dungannonite recently informed me of the finding of multiple human remains alongside Carland Road, Dungannon, between Drumglass High School and South Tyrone Hospital I contacted Tyrone and other northern newspapers urging the obvious first step; a publicly-visible layout of the perimeters of the two or three known mass graves of the old Dungannon workhouse to ensure that these, at least, were not affected. Community leaders could then proceed with an investigation of the source of the remains.
So I thought. The local councilor and reporters who wrote and phoned did not publish my letter but did act mystified; all but The Pensive Quill which did publish. Now it is clear why the perimeters of the known mass graves were not visibly-marked to protect them; the desecrated remains were Within those historically-significant mass graves.
Thus, their obliteration of a mass grave that was filled during a genocide serves to conceal the genocide itself. Has their desecration of Dungannon’s main mass grave of An t-Ár Mór completed the job, at least in Dungannon, of erasing it from history?
The intelligent comments of a Ms. Kilgallen on The Pensive Quill enabled me to acquire the 1910 Ordnance Survey Map showing the footprint of the Dungannon workhouse within its grounds (totaling 6-acres). After printing it, I accessed present-day Dungannon on google maps; both the streets map and the satellite map. Both are clear. The desecration was reported to be beside Carland Road between Drumglass High School and the South Tyrone Hospital.
So I asked google maps for the route between that school and hospital. It mapped two possible routes, one of 443 feet, the other of 475 feet; both walks of two minutes, and both are Through The Old Workhouse Grounds Where, As Workhouse Policy Islandwide, Deep Pits Were Dug, Into Which The Bodies Were Piled; with only a thin layer of soil over the topmost bodies.
A grave moral crime is underway; and it is abetted by the institutions of Dungannon town and Tyrone and other northern counties. Please take your own stands along with others against genocide and its cover-up.
Exercise whatever shred of power you have; demonstrate some respect for justice and for your own tragic history. Install (or get official permission for Mary and me to install) a reverent, truthful monument over the yet-undesecrated remnant of the Dungannon workhouse mass grave.
Perhaps concealment of genocide was to be expected, seeing that the same entities had similarly winked at the murderers of twenty-nine in Omagh much more recently. MI5/FBI Agent Patrick “Ed” Buckley had spent years in Ireland until demobilized the evening of 15 August 98. He had previously gotten the news media to falsely report IRA involvement in the Langert family murders in a Chicago suburb. Agent Buckley had assumed investigatory authority of that atrocity and had prohibited the police from pursuing their sole suspect, the murderer David Biro (whose 357 Magnum murder weapon belonged to FBI Agent Lewis who suffered no repercussions). There is no official nor new media interest in my offer of documented evidence of Agent Buckley’s earlier crimes that were repeated in Omagh; and I know why.
The same pattern of cover-up has transformed An t-Ár Mór (Holocaust) of 1845-1850 into a false “famine/gorta mor” slander of those murdered. Here-below is further proof that it was genocide; not famine. The people of Tyrone had produced an abundance of non-potato food crops in those years. There was no shortage of food; no famine.
Also, between 1900 and 1910 the British government bought out its landlords of Ireland (at above-market prices) and those not already domiciled in England, repatriated. Until the 1960s my father and all of his neighbors in Co. Roscommon (and the rest of Ireland?) were forced annually to amortize the landlords’ pay-offs.
Digitized copies of The (London) Times reported increased English landings of Irish food during the Holocaust; thus Christine Kinealy and other "famine" writers have ceased denying them. What is now kept concealed is the food removal and the evidence available within Ireland of that non-potato foodstuff. Below you will learn of Tyrone’s abundant foods while its people starved.
This is also a test to learn how adamantly the Tyrone and other news media conceal a genocide of their people. By Their Fruits Ye Shall Know Them.
1) Below are the names of 344 Tyrone townlands that contained processors of non-potato foods.
2) The first line of armed food removers were the constabulary totaling 12,900 island-wide. Their arms consisted of a short carbine with a spring-bayonet. The mounted constabulary also carried a brace of pistols in front of their saddles.
3) When the constabulary met significant resistance from the people, the local militia was summoned to enforce the removal. "Tyrone: During the 1st quarter of 1847 the 755-strong (650 pvts.) Royal Tyrone militia was headquartered in Caledon. Its Commander, The Earl of Caledon, signed "Caledon," residing in Caledon, near the post town of Caledon, Co. Tyrone. Its Adjutant, William Lundie." (WO Records, National Archives, Kew, Surrey).
4) When combined constabulary/militia forces met significant resistance the nearest army regiment was summoned. During those years (in approximate sequence) the 44th of Foot was available from Newry, the 92nd from Belfast and Enniskillen, 39th from Belfast and Enniskillen, 1st from Newry, 9th from Newry, 13th from Belfast, 35th from Enniskillen, and 39th from Belfast and Newry. (WO Records, National Archives, Kew, Surrey).
They removed livestock and meats; and other Tyrone crops grown and harvested by its people. Proof of Tyrone's abundant foods are listed here-under.
Exhibit D2: Details of Exhibit D. (From my book))
These Ordnance Survey map data show the extent of non-potato foods in Ireland prior to the Holocaust. Each survey sheet covered 4 miles North/South by 6 miles East/West. See Exhibit D1 to learn that each county’s survey starts at the western side of its northernmost point and works eastward in 4-mile “thick” belts to the eastern boundary of the county upon completion of which it resumes at the western boundary, repeating the process until completion at the east side of its southernmost point. Bolded sheet nos. below indicate the start of a new West-to-East line of sheets. Before starting below see how the map of Co. Donegal (Exhibit D1) relates to Co. Donegal below. The reader can ascertain the location of each place-name below by its relative position between the survey’s start and end. In all cases “corn” means grain. “Shambles” were then market stalls for meat and other foods and goods. The following abbreviations are used: c = corn mill, k = corn kiln, f = flour mill, t = tuck mill, m = mill, b = brewery, d = distillery, wnd = windmill, c.store is where some grain was stored prior to shipment, store = storehouse, p = pound (impoundment of livestock), m = malt kiln (where grain that was wetted to induce germination is redried for use in brewing or distilling. Pounds and woolen mills are significant in that they indicate the local existence of livestock as a rich source of food. Map sheets show “0” if no such facilities exist on it. Map sheets are separated by the divider “|”.
TYRONE: 68 Sheets. Data as of 1833,34.
Sheet 1: old m in Magheramason|2:c in Milltown, and in Tullyard, k in Loughneas, old m in Coolermoney|3: c in Bunowen, old m in Binnelly|4: 0|5: 2c in Leckpatrick, c, 2k Knockabrack, b in Strabane, p in Woodend|6: 2c in Rousky, c in Aghafad, m in Ballynamallaght|7: c & k, t, p in Stranagalwilly|8: old still house (2) each isolated and high on mountain side|9: c in Clady, and in Donnygowen, k in Cladyhood|10: k in Edymore, in ligfordrum, in Knockiniller, and in Sessagh or Gallan|11: c in Glencoppogagh, and in Eden, 3k in Castledamph, 2k in Lower Drumnaspar, k in Meenagorp, in Meenagarragh, in Aghalane, and in Lisnacreaght|12: c & k in Cranagh, 4k, p in Glenroan, 4k in Lower Barnes, 2k in Glenchiel, k in Meenacrane, in Upper Barnes, in Quiggy, and in Garvagh|13: c, p in Sperrin, k in Carrowoaghtra|14: k in Croagh|15: malt k in Laughtfoggy, t in Mournbeg|16: c & k in Castlesessagh, 2c, p in Magheracreggan, c in Crew Upper, k in Killeen, p in Castlederg, and in Ballyfolliard|17: c, 2k in Ballyrenan, c in Killymore, k, p in Newtownstewart, k in Urbalreagh, and in Ballykeel, t in Birnaghs|18: c & k in Glenmacoffer, c, d in Gorteen, 2k in Dunbunrower, and in Meenadoo, k, p in Beltrim, k in Droit, in Liscabble, in Learden Lower, and in Lenamore|19: c, 3k in Teebane, c & k in Aghnamirigan, 4k in Gorticashel, 2k in Carnanransy, t in Attagh, k in Garvagh, in Drumlea, in Fallagh Lower, in Gorticashel Upper, in Altacamcosy, in Liggins, in Oaghmnicroy, and in Aghascrebagh|20: malt k in Broughderg|21: 0|22: k in Meenanoran, in Meenafergus, in Tullynashane, in Crighshane, and in Crighdenis|23: k in Gortnagross, and in Binnawooda, old malt k in Shanaghy, p in Killeter|24: c & k in Drumleggagh, c in Binnawooda, 2k in Meencargagh, k in Ardbarren Upper, in Aghasessy, and in Archill, m in Coolnacrunaght|25: c in Lisnacreaght, 2k in Envagh, k in Byturn, in Legland, in Cashty, in Beragh, and in Castletown|26: c, 3k in Dunbreen, c in Golan, and in Killins, 2k in Eskeradooey, k in Castleroddy Glebe, in Tirmurty, and in Glenawna|27: 2k in Formil, k, old k in Creggan, k in Crockanboy, old k in Aghalane|28: c in Corvanaghan|29: c, p in Gortin, c in Corchoney, in Knockaleery, and in Kildress, m in Tamlaght, p in Drumnacross Lower, and in Cookstown|30: w in Mullaghwotragh|31: c in Ballinderry|32: old k in Scraghy|33: c in Drumown, 2k, m in Coolavannagh, k in Drumnamalra, in Carrick, in Drumscragh, in Drummenagh, Legphressy, and in Carony, m in Drumquin|34: 2c, k in Gillygooly, c & k in Dunwish, c in Cloghog, 2k in Dressoge, k in Claraghmore, in Corlea, and in Cavanacaw Upper|35: b in Omagh, c & k in Ballynamullan, k in Killybrack, in Boheragh, in Crosh, in Lisboy, in Recarson, in Deroran, and in Faccary, p in Campsie (E of Omagh)|36: c & k in Faccary, and in Tiroony, c, 4k in Bracky, c, 2k in Loughmacrory, 3k, t in Drumnakilly, k in Mullanbeg, in Sulton, and in Granagh, p in Merchantstown Glebe|37: c in Killey, t in part of Gortindarragh, old c, old k in Tremoge|38: c in Mullynure, in Desertcreat, and in Tullywittan, m in Coolnahavil, p in The Sand Holes/Killyneedan, and in Tullyhog|39: c & k in Templereagh, c in Leck, and in Carnan, 2m in Edernagh|40: 0|41: c & k in Knocknahorn, k in Lettery, in Corbally, in Curraghamulkin, in Derrynaseeer, in Oughterard, in Aghadarragh, and in Dressoge|42: c in Tattysallagh, and in Shannaragh, 4k in Cornavarrow, and in Aghadulla/Harper, 2k in Tattymulmona, k in Drumlish, in Corrasheskin, in Knockaraven, in Mullenboy, in Aghadarragh, in Garvagh, in Aghadulla, in Blacksessagh, and in Fallaghearn|43: c & k in Ranelly, c in Moylagh, 2k in Dervaghroy, k in Tullyrush, in Donaghanie, in Raw, in Tattykeeran, and in Bancran, m in Blackfort, and in Edenderry|44: c & k in Cloghfin, c, p in Beragh, c in Foremass Lower, k, p in Sixmilecross, k in Ballintrain, and in Drumlester, old k in Derroge, p in Radergan|45: c in Dernaseer, k in Galbally|46: c & k in Lisnagowan, c in Crossdermot, b, m in Donaghmore, 2m in Drumreagh Otra, m in Dungorora, and in Kilmore|47: f in Gortnaskea, and in Gortin, m, p in Clintycracken, m in Meenagh, old m in Back Upper|48: 0|49: c, 2k in Tummery, c & k in Scallen, and in Shanmullagh East, 3k in Feglish, and in Esker, 2k in Moorfield, k in Drum, in Shanmullagh West, Brackagh, in Doocrock, in Lettergash, in Lisdoo, in Gargadis, in Moorfield, in Aghalarragh, in Aghee, in Cornamuck, in Newpark, in Dergany, in Crossan, in Keenoge, in Drumskinny, and in Glasmullagh North|50: c, 2k in Drumconnis, and in Rakeeranbeg, 3k in Rahony, 2k in Drumskinny, in Aghnamoe, in Lissaneden, in Meenagar, and in Cornamucklagh, k in Gardrum, in Ballyard, in Curly, in Glengeen, in Drumderg Glebe, in Tattycor, in Tullyclunagh, and in Stranisk, m in Tannagh More, p in Aghadarragh, and in Dromore|51: c & k in Seskinore, c in Lackagh, k in Letfern, and in Tatnadaveny, 2m in Kilnaheery, m in Belnagarnan, in Garvallagh, and Raveagh, p in Tamlaght|52: c & k in Artcloghfin, c in Garvaghy, k in Roscavey, and in Fallaghearn, p in Ballygawley|53: c in Farriter, m in Ballyreagh|54: d, p in Dungannon, c SE of Dungannon, wnd SW of Dungannon|55: old m in Tempanroe|56: 2c, k, p south of Trillick, c, 2k in Corlea, and in Golan Glebe, c & k in Drumsonnus, in Cordromedy, c, p in Corkragh, c in Derry, 2k in Cabragh, k, p in Cloncandra Glebe, k in Relaghguinness, in Carran, in Dreigh, and in Effernan Glebe|57: c & k in Tattymoyle Upper, 4k in Lifford, 3k in Moneygar, k, sheep fold in Killyblunick Glebe, k in Greenan, in Derrylea, in Carryglass, and in Stranisk|58: m in Carntallbeg, p in Aghintain, in Killaney Lower, and in Clogher Tenements|59: c, p in Augher, c in Cleanally, in Roughill, in Lisdoart, and in Ballygawley, m in Annagarvey, t in Culnaha, p in Durless White|60: c, p in Aughnacloy, c in Lisconduff, and in Mullyroddan|61: c in Kilnacart, in Brossley, in Syerla, and in Drummond, m in Benburb, p in Derrylappen|62: c in Moy, m in Tullydowey|63: m in Corcreevy demesne|64: c, m in Fivemiletown, m in Nurchossy Scotch|65: 0|66: 0|67: c in Dyan, f, p in Caledon|68: 0| End (Mary and I used magnifying glasses in perusing the Ordnance Survey Maps but are bound to have missed some mills, etc.)
When a courageous Dungannonite recently informed me of the finding of multiple human remains alongside Carland Road, Dungannon, between Drumglass High School and South Tyrone Hospital I contacted Tyrone and other northern newspapers urging the obvious first step; a publicly-visible layout of the perimeters of the two or three known mass graves of the old Dungannon workhouse to ensure that these, at least, were not affected. Community leaders could then proceed with an investigation of the source of the remains.
So I thought. The local councilor and reporters who wrote and phoned did not publish my letter but did act mystified; all but The Pensive Quill which did publish. Now it is clear why the perimeters of the known mass graves were not visibly-marked to protect them; the desecrated remains were Within those historically-significant mass graves.
Thus, their obliteration of a mass grave that was filled during a genocide serves to conceal the genocide itself. Has their desecration of Dungannon’s main mass grave of An t-Ár Mór completed the job, at least in Dungannon, of erasing it from history?
The intelligent comments of a Ms. Kilgallen on The Pensive Quill enabled me to acquire the 1910 Ordnance Survey Map showing the footprint of the Dungannon workhouse within its grounds (totaling 6-acres). After printing it, I accessed present-day Dungannon on google maps; both the streets map and the satellite map. Both are clear. The desecration was reported to be beside Carland Road between Drumglass High School and the South Tyrone Hospital.
So I asked google maps for the route between that school and hospital. It mapped two possible routes, one of 443 feet, the other of 475 feet; both walks of two minutes, and both are Through The Old Workhouse Grounds Where, As Workhouse Policy Islandwide, Deep Pits Were Dug, Into Which The Bodies Were Piled; with only a thin layer of soil over the topmost bodies.
A grave moral crime is underway; and it is abetted by the institutions of Dungannon town and Tyrone and other northern counties. Please take your own stands along with others against genocide and its cover-up.
Exercise whatever shred of power you have; demonstrate some respect for justice and for your own tragic history. Install (or get official permission for Mary and me to install) a reverent, truthful monument over the yet-undesecrated remnant of the Dungannon workhouse mass grave.
Perhaps concealment of genocide was to be expected, seeing that the same entities had similarly winked at the murderers of twenty-nine in Omagh much more recently. MI5/FBI Agent Patrick “Ed” Buckley had spent years in Ireland until demobilized the evening of 15 August 98. He had previously gotten the news media to falsely report IRA involvement in the Langert family murders in a Chicago suburb. Agent Buckley had assumed investigatory authority of that atrocity and had prohibited the police from pursuing their sole suspect, the murderer David Biro (whose 357 Magnum murder weapon belonged to FBI Agent Lewis who suffered no repercussions). There is no official nor new media interest in my offer of documented evidence of Agent Buckley’s earlier crimes that were repeated in Omagh; and I know why.
The same pattern of cover-up has transformed An t-Ár Mór (Holocaust) of 1845-1850 into a false “famine/gorta mor” slander of those murdered. Here-below is further proof that it was genocide; not famine. The people of Tyrone had produced an abundance of non-potato food crops in those years. There was no shortage of food; no famine.
Also, between 1900 and 1910 the British government bought out its landlords of Ireland (at above-market prices) and those not already domiciled in England, repatriated. Until the 1960s my father and all of his neighbors in Co. Roscommon (and the rest of Ireland?) were forced annually to amortize the landlords’ pay-offs.
Digitized copies of The (London) Times reported increased English landings of Irish food during the Holocaust; thus Christine Kinealy and other "famine" writers have ceased denying them. What is now kept concealed is the food removal and the evidence available within Ireland of that non-potato foodstuff. Below you will learn of Tyrone’s abundant foods while its people starved.
This is also a test to learn how adamantly the Tyrone and other news media conceal a genocide of their people. By Their Fruits Ye Shall Know Them.
1) Below are the names of 344 Tyrone townlands that contained processors of non-potato foods.
2) The first line of armed food removers were the constabulary totaling 12,900 island-wide. Their arms consisted of a short carbine with a spring-bayonet. The mounted constabulary also carried a brace of pistols in front of their saddles.
3) When the constabulary met significant resistance from the people, the local militia was summoned to enforce the removal. "Tyrone: During the 1st quarter of 1847 the 755-strong (650 pvts.) Royal Tyrone militia was headquartered in Caledon. Its Commander, The Earl of Caledon, signed "Caledon," residing in Caledon, near the post town of Caledon, Co. Tyrone. Its Adjutant, William Lundie." (WO Records, National Archives, Kew, Surrey).
4) When combined constabulary/militia forces met significant resistance the nearest army regiment was summoned. During those years (in approximate sequence) the 44th of Foot was available from Newry, the 92nd from Belfast and Enniskillen, 39th from Belfast and Enniskillen, 1st from Newry, 9th from Newry, 13th from Belfast, 35th from Enniskillen, and 39th from Belfast and Newry. (WO Records, National Archives, Kew, Surrey).
They removed livestock and meats; and other Tyrone crops grown and harvested by its people. Proof of Tyrone's abundant foods are listed here-under.
Exhibit D2: Details of Exhibit D. (From my book))
These Ordnance Survey map data show the extent of non-potato foods in Ireland prior to the Holocaust. Each survey sheet covered 4 miles North/South by 6 miles East/West. See Exhibit D1 to learn that each county’s survey starts at the western side of its northernmost point and works eastward in 4-mile “thick” belts to the eastern boundary of the county upon completion of which it resumes at the western boundary, repeating the process until completion at the east side of its southernmost point. Bolded sheet nos. below indicate the start of a new West-to-East line of sheets. Before starting below see how the map of Co. Donegal (Exhibit D1) relates to Co. Donegal below. The reader can ascertain the location of each place-name below by its relative position between the survey’s start and end. In all cases “corn” means grain. “Shambles” were then market stalls for meat and other foods and goods. The following abbreviations are used: c = corn mill, k = corn kiln, f = flour mill, t = tuck mill, m = mill, b = brewery, d = distillery, wnd = windmill, c.store is where some grain was stored prior to shipment, store = storehouse, p = pound (impoundment of livestock), m = malt kiln (where grain that was wetted to induce germination is redried for use in brewing or distilling. Pounds and woolen mills are significant in that they indicate the local existence of livestock as a rich source of food. Map sheets show “0” if no such facilities exist on it. Map sheets are separated by the divider “|”.
TYRONE: 68 Sheets. Data as of 1833,34.
Sheet 1: old m in Magheramason|2:c in Milltown, and in Tullyard, k in Loughneas, old m in Coolermoney|3: c in Bunowen, old m in Binnelly|4: 0|5: 2c in Leckpatrick, c, 2k Knockabrack, b in Strabane, p in Woodend|6: 2c in Rousky, c in Aghafad, m in Ballynamallaght|7: c & k, t, p in Stranagalwilly|8: old still house (2) each isolated and high on mountain side|9: c in Clady, and in Donnygowen, k in Cladyhood|10: k in Edymore, in ligfordrum, in Knockiniller, and in Sessagh or Gallan|11: c in Glencoppogagh, and in Eden, 3k in Castledamph, 2k in Lower Drumnaspar, k in Meenagorp, in Meenagarragh, in Aghalane, and in Lisnacreaght|12: c & k in Cranagh, 4k, p in Glenroan, 4k in Lower Barnes, 2k in Glenchiel, k in Meenacrane, in Upper Barnes, in Quiggy, and in Garvagh|13: c, p in Sperrin, k in Carrowoaghtra|14: k in Croagh|15: malt k in Laughtfoggy, t in Mournbeg|16: c & k in Castlesessagh, 2c, p in Magheracreggan, c in Crew Upper, k in Killeen, p in Castlederg, and in Ballyfolliard|17: c, 2k in Ballyrenan, c in Killymore, k, p in Newtownstewart, k in Urbalreagh, and in Ballykeel, t in Birnaghs|18: c & k in Glenmacoffer, c, d in Gorteen, 2k in Dunbunrower, and in Meenadoo, k, p in Beltrim, k in Droit, in Liscabble, in Learden Lower, and in Lenamore|19: c, 3k in Teebane, c & k in Aghnamirigan, 4k in Gorticashel, 2k in Carnanransy, t in Attagh, k in Garvagh, in Drumlea, in Fallagh Lower, in Gorticashel Upper, in Altacamcosy, in Liggins, in Oaghmnicroy, and in Aghascrebagh|20: malt k in Broughderg|21: 0|22: k in Meenanoran, in Meenafergus, in Tullynashane, in Crighshane, and in Crighdenis|23: k in Gortnagross, and in Binnawooda, old malt k in Shanaghy, p in Killeter|24: c & k in Drumleggagh, c in Binnawooda, 2k in Meencargagh, k in Ardbarren Upper, in Aghasessy, and in Archill, m in Coolnacrunaght|25: c in Lisnacreaght, 2k in Envagh, k in Byturn, in Legland, in Cashty, in Beragh, and in Castletown|26: c, 3k in Dunbreen, c in Golan, and in Killins, 2k in Eskeradooey, k in Castleroddy Glebe, in Tirmurty, and in Glenawna|27: 2k in Formil, k, old k in Creggan, k in Crockanboy, old k in Aghalane|28: c in Corvanaghan|29: c, p in Gortin, c in Corchoney, in Knockaleery, and in Kildress, m in Tamlaght, p in Drumnacross Lower, and in Cookstown|30: w in Mullaghwotragh|31: c in Ballinderry|32: old k in Scraghy|33: c in Drumown, 2k, m in Coolavannagh, k in Drumnamalra, in Carrick, in Drumscragh, in Drummenagh, Legphressy, and in Carony, m in Drumquin|34: 2c, k in Gillygooly, c & k in Dunwish, c in Cloghog, 2k in Dressoge, k in Claraghmore, in Corlea, and in Cavanacaw Upper|35: b in Omagh, c & k in Ballynamullan, k in Killybrack, in Boheragh, in Crosh, in Lisboy, in Recarson, in Deroran, and in Faccary, p in Campsie (E of Omagh)|36: c & k in Faccary, and in Tiroony, c, 4k in Bracky, c, 2k in Loughmacrory, 3k, t in Drumnakilly, k in Mullanbeg, in Sulton, and in Granagh, p in Merchantstown Glebe|37: c in Killey, t in part of Gortindarragh, old c, old k in Tremoge|38: c in Mullynure, in Desertcreat, and in Tullywittan, m in Coolnahavil, p in The Sand Holes/Killyneedan, and in Tullyhog|39: c & k in Templereagh, c in Leck, and in Carnan, 2m in Edernagh|40: 0|41: c & k in Knocknahorn, k in Lettery, in Corbally, in Curraghamulkin, in Derrynaseeer, in Oughterard, in Aghadarragh, and in Dressoge|42: c in Tattysallagh, and in Shannaragh, 4k in Cornavarrow, and in Aghadulla/Harper, 2k in Tattymulmona, k in Drumlish, in Corrasheskin, in Knockaraven, in Mullenboy, in Aghadarragh, in Garvagh, in Aghadulla, in Blacksessagh, and in Fallaghearn|43: c & k in Ranelly, c in Moylagh, 2k in Dervaghroy, k in Tullyrush, in Donaghanie, in Raw, in Tattykeeran, and in Bancran, m in Blackfort, and in Edenderry|44: c & k in Cloghfin, c, p in Beragh, c in Foremass Lower, k, p in Sixmilecross, k in Ballintrain, and in Drumlester, old k in Derroge, p in Radergan|45: c in Dernaseer, k in Galbally|46: c & k in Lisnagowan, c in Crossdermot, b, m in Donaghmore, 2m in Drumreagh Otra, m in Dungorora, and in Kilmore|47: f in Gortnaskea, and in Gortin, m, p in Clintycracken, m in Meenagh, old m in Back Upper|48: 0|49: c, 2k in Tummery, c & k in Scallen, and in Shanmullagh East, 3k in Feglish, and in Esker, 2k in Moorfield, k in Drum, in Shanmullagh West, Brackagh, in Doocrock, in Lettergash, in Lisdoo, in Gargadis, in Moorfield, in Aghalarragh, in Aghee, in Cornamuck, in Newpark, in Dergany, in Crossan, in Keenoge, in Drumskinny, and in Glasmullagh North|50: c, 2k in Drumconnis, and in Rakeeranbeg, 3k in Rahony, 2k in Drumskinny, in Aghnamoe, in Lissaneden, in Meenagar, and in Cornamucklagh, k in Gardrum, in Ballyard, in Curly, in Glengeen, in Drumderg Glebe, in Tattycor, in Tullyclunagh, and in Stranisk, m in Tannagh More, p in Aghadarragh, and in Dromore|51: c & k in Seskinore, c in Lackagh, k in Letfern, and in Tatnadaveny, 2m in Kilnaheery, m in Belnagarnan, in Garvallagh, and Raveagh, p in Tamlaght|52: c & k in Artcloghfin, c in Garvaghy, k in Roscavey, and in Fallaghearn, p in Ballygawley|53: c in Farriter, m in Ballyreagh|54: d, p in Dungannon, c SE of Dungannon, wnd SW of Dungannon|55: old m in Tempanroe|56: 2c, k, p south of Trillick, c, 2k in Corlea, and in Golan Glebe, c & k in Drumsonnus, in Cordromedy, c, p in Corkragh, c in Derry, 2k in Cabragh, k, p in Cloncandra Glebe, k in Relaghguinness, in Carran, in Dreigh, and in Effernan Glebe|57: c & k in Tattymoyle Upper, 4k in Lifford, 3k in Moneygar, k, sheep fold in Killyblunick Glebe, k in Greenan, in Derrylea, in Carryglass, and in Stranisk|58: m in Carntallbeg, p in Aghintain, in Killaney Lower, and in Clogher Tenements|59: c, p in Augher, c in Cleanally, in Roughill, in Lisdoart, and in Ballygawley, m in Annagarvey, t in Culnaha, p in Durless White|60: c, p in Aughnacloy, c in Lisconduff, and in Mullyroddan|61: c in Kilnacart, in Brossley, in Syerla, and in Drummond, m in Benburb, p in Derrylappen|62: c in Moy, m in Tullydowey|63: m in Corcreevy demesne|64: c, m in Fivemiletown, m in Nurchossy Scotch|65: 0|66: 0|67: c in Dyan, f, p in Caledon|68: 0| End (Mary and I used magnifying glasses in perusing the Ordnance Survey Maps but are bound to have missed some mills, etc.)
Atheist Republic In Saudi Arabia
From
Atheist Republic
a demonstration of courage form a young atheist. 
The picture above was sent to us from a very brave atheist girl in Saudi Arabia. The photo was taken in front of Kaaba at the Great Mosque the most sacred mosque in Islam, in Mecca. It would not be overstating the situation to say that she risked her life to take this photo.
Fundamentalist extremism is the official and only accepted position in Saudi Arabia which is a fundamentalist Islamic dictatorship. The country was created in the 1930s by jihad and has been run by the same “royal family” since then. The first leader was Abdulaziz al-Saud and he gained power by cozying up to a conservative group of Islamist fundamentalists called the Wahhabis. The relationship and subsequent conflicts with the Wahhabis, along with Saudi Arabia’s oil wealth continues to shape and define this small (about the size of Texas), but globally influential country.
This picture is a reminder of something that is important to remember: while the Wahhabists are indeed a powerful force in Saudi Arabia, they do not represent everyone. There are many people in this country seeking an open-minded, rational life of freedom.
When we shared this image on Facebook, we of course received many of the usual “damn your soul” comments as well as calling this girl a “whore” and a “bitch” and cursing her and her family. Some people thought it was fine that she’s an atheist but “disrespectful” to take and share this image. However, most of the reactions were of admiration and respect and she received several shout-outs from fellow atheists in other oppressive regimes.
David Smith: From little acorns grow giant oaks. This picture has heartened me today. Thank you who ever you are.
Mostafa Elsayed: Hugs from Alexandria Egypt. [by Ex Muslim who is monitored]
Austa Hansen: Pictures like this really speak to me! Everyone says that religion is not oppressive, and that it is a personal choice, especially when they defend Islam's practices, and yet they neglect to mention the fact that the people posting these pictures are at risk of being put to death if they're caught! If that's not an oppressive religion, I don't know what is!
The picture above was sent to us from a very brave atheist girl in Saudi Arabia. The photo was taken in front of Kaaba at the Great Mosque the most sacred mosque in Islam, in Mecca. It would not be overstating the situation to say that she risked her life to take this photo.
Fundamentalist extremism is the official and only accepted position in Saudi Arabia which is a fundamentalist Islamic dictatorship. The country was created in the 1930s by jihad and has been run by the same “royal family” since then. The first leader was Abdulaziz al-Saud and he gained power by cozying up to a conservative group of Islamist fundamentalists called the Wahhabis. The relationship and subsequent conflicts with the Wahhabis, along with Saudi Arabia’s oil wealth continues to shape and define this small (about the size of Texas), but globally influential country.
This picture is a reminder of something that is important to remember: while the Wahhabists are indeed a powerful force in Saudi Arabia, they do not represent everyone. There are many people in this country seeking an open-minded, rational life of freedom.
When we shared this image on Facebook, we of course received many of the usual “damn your soul” comments as well as calling this girl a “whore” and a “bitch” and cursing her and her family. Some people thought it was fine that she’s an atheist but “disrespectful” to take and share this image. However, most of the reactions were of admiration and respect and she received several shout-outs from fellow atheists in other oppressive regimes.
David Smith: From little acorns grow giant oaks. This picture has heartened me today. Thank you who ever you are.
Mostafa Elsayed: Hugs from Alexandria Egypt. [by Ex Muslim who is monitored]
Austa Hansen: Pictures like this really speak to me! Everyone says that religion is not oppressive, and that it is a personal choice, especially when they defend Islam's practices, and yet they neglect to mention the fact that the people posting these pictures are at risk of being put to death if they're caught! If that's not an oppressive religion, I don't know what is!
May 6, 2017
The Irish Republic And Nothing Less
Sean Bresnahan
Speaking at a function in Scotstown to mark the 30th Anniversary of the
Loughgall Martyrs
, Sean Bresnahan – Chair of the
Thomas Ashe Society
in Omagh – called for national sovereignty to be the watchword as Brexit and demographic change brings Irish Unity into focus.
Image taken from an Irish Bodhrán handcrafted by Kevin Walsh and raffled on the night,
paying tribute to local IRA Volunteers Jim Lynagh and Seamus McElwain.
First-off, a word of thanks to the organisers, the local James Connolly Society, for inviting me to speak here this evening. It is an honour to do so as we gather to reflect on the Loughgall Martyrs. We remember also another Irish Patriot, cast in their mold and whose anniversary we marked during the week: their comrade ‘the Bold McElwain’ – likewise shot dead by paid assassins of British rule not far from where we sit tonight. We pay tribute to them all, remembering with them civilian Anthony Hughes, murdered by the British Forces at Loughgall that 8th of May in 1987.
When the story of Ireland is written – when at last she stands free before the nations of the world – writ large into the history books, alongside Tone and Emmet, Connolly and Pearse, with Barry and Mellows and South and O’Hanlon – and the many more who played their part, who lit up the pathway for Irish Freedom – will be the names of Lynagh, McKearney, Gormley and Arthurs, of Donnelly and Kelly, of Kelly again and O’Callaghan.
It is not an exaggeration to speak of these men as having been to the forefront of the resistance in Ireland. A fearless and committed group of Volunteers, on countless occasion they took the war to the British. In difficult times they stood up to be counted and for that to them we are grateful. For that they will be remembered. Their legend will echo down through the ages, long after we are gone; their sacrifice for our people carved into the hearts of generations to come, who will speak with pride of ‘the Loughgall Martyrs’. These men have earned that honour and that honour is theirs for all time.
Recent days have bore witness to the most intense campaign of vilification from those who insist the men of Loughgall were terrorists, emboldened in their hypocrisy by years of pandering and ‘sorry initiatives’ and with them the stripping down of republicanism in pursuit of a pat on the head from their betters – this by those who would claim the mantle of Loughgall for ‘themselves alone’. Suffice to say, no matter of that, the Loughgall Martyrs were no terrorists. The only terrorists that evening were the foreign, faceless mercenaries of the Crown and none will tell us different.
The men of Loughgall set out that night with the All-Ireland Republic in their hearts – not a pseudo imitation where the limits of freedom would be bound by the terms of an Agreed Ireland. Emerging talk of ‘continued devolution to Belfast’ with ‘constitutional expression for the British Monarchy’ in a so-called United Ireland is an anathema to the cause for which they took up arms and for which they fell on the streets of that Armagh village.
That such is now peddled as ‘necessary’ to the ‘New Ireland’ reveals how those advancing this nonsense have abandoned the rightful Irish Republic. An Ireland as that they are set toward, as recently spoken of by John Crawley – who is with us here tonight – is one where ‘the British get to stay while the Irish agree to it’. We have waited too long for that. Too many have gone before.
This so-called ‘Agreed Ireland’ is in reality a means not for the Irish to determine a new future but for Britain to restructure her relationship with this country – once ‘Good Friday’ no longer holds. Its intent is to ensure as far as practical, given new considerations born of Brexit and demographic change, that her position be maximised and her interests retained in whatever half-baked ‘republic’ it imposes in league with its subordinates. Republicans can have no truck with this.
The only ‘Agreed Ireland’ of interest to us is one where the British agree to a declaration of intent, from where we can build, as a nation, a future as that we deserve; a future as promised by The 1916 Proclamation – where equal rights and equal opportunity are the preserve of all, without regard to contrived divisions born of colonial rule. This is the Ireland the Loughgall Martyrs were set upon. Were it good enough for them then it remains as much for ourselves.There is nothing to fear from such a Republic and no good reason we should settle for less.
To advance that Republic we must harness the dynamism of the people, building and applying real pressure on Britain that she cannot refashion Ireland as she pleases, aided by the usual suspects. This involves setting forward the Irish Republic as the only acceptable alternative to the dying status quo – as the only Ireland that can proceed in its stead – regardless of border polls or any other vote or mechanism on the substantive of Irish Unity.
We cannot afford to waver and certainly not now, not as Brexit brings prospects for change into sight. All of this demands that we organise and this is the task now before us. There are no shortcuts and there is no panacea, only the ‘long hard grind to the Republic’ spoken of by Ruairí Ó Brádaigh in the wake of the Long Kesh Hungerstrikes.
Thirty years after Loughgall, the issue in Ireland – then as now – remains the denial of our national sovereignty. The nationalist people of the north have for too long endured the consequence. As Liam Ryan – a true Irish Patriot and comrade of the Loughgall Martyrs – once remarked, they have ‘suffered the most, waited the longest and worked the hardest’. They deserve no less and we will accept no less than the full restoration of Irish sovereignty. No ifs, no buts, no maybes. We are out for the Irish Republic and nothing less will do. As the General Liam Lynch rightly asserted, ‘we will live under no other law’.
The great American President John Kennedy once said, ‘men are not afraid to die for a life worth living’ – words that fit well with the men of Loughgall, who were not afraid to die and who laid down their lives that others might know such a life. Their sacrifice has shown us the way; their contribution to the cause of freedom helping lift the nationalist people off of their knees – their deaths on the battlefield just one more reason, if reason were needed, as to why we must finish the long struggle to end British rule in our country, to win that better life for all. Be assured, a chairde, that we will finish that struggle.
The Irish Republic, for which they died, is the only fitting tribute to the men of Loughgall. It is for us, who remain, to organise the final push, to fulfill at last our nation’s destiny and establish that Republic. That is the challenge Loughgall presents us thirty years on and counting. To those who fell on that horrific May evening, when Britain sent her terrorist killers to do murder on the street of Loughgall, we owe no less. Onwards to the Republic – together we will get there; it’s still ‘our day will come’.
Go raibh mile maith agaibh a chairde – An Phoblacht Abú.
Image taken from an Irish Bodhrán handcrafted by Kevin Walsh and raffled on the night,paying tribute to local IRA Volunteers Jim Lynagh and Seamus McElwain.
First-off, a word of thanks to the organisers, the local James Connolly Society, for inviting me to speak here this evening. It is an honour to do so as we gather to reflect on the Loughgall Martyrs. We remember also another Irish Patriot, cast in their mold and whose anniversary we marked during the week: their comrade ‘the Bold McElwain’ – likewise shot dead by paid assassins of British rule not far from where we sit tonight. We pay tribute to them all, remembering with them civilian Anthony Hughes, murdered by the British Forces at Loughgall that 8th of May in 1987.
When the story of Ireland is written – when at last she stands free before the nations of the world – writ large into the history books, alongside Tone and Emmet, Connolly and Pearse, with Barry and Mellows and South and O’Hanlon – and the many more who played their part, who lit up the pathway for Irish Freedom – will be the names of Lynagh, McKearney, Gormley and Arthurs, of Donnelly and Kelly, of Kelly again and O’Callaghan.
It is not an exaggeration to speak of these men as having been to the forefront of the resistance in Ireland. A fearless and committed group of Volunteers, on countless occasion they took the war to the British. In difficult times they stood up to be counted and for that to them we are grateful. For that they will be remembered. Their legend will echo down through the ages, long after we are gone; their sacrifice for our people carved into the hearts of generations to come, who will speak with pride of ‘the Loughgall Martyrs’. These men have earned that honour and that honour is theirs for all time.
Recent days have bore witness to the most intense campaign of vilification from those who insist the men of Loughgall were terrorists, emboldened in their hypocrisy by years of pandering and ‘sorry initiatives’ and with them the stripping down of republicanism in pursuit of a pat on the head from their betters – this by those who would claim the mantle of Loughgall for ‘themselves alone’. Suffice to say, no matter of that, the Loughgall Martyrs were no terrorists. The only terrorists that evening were the foreign, faceless mercenaries of the Crown and none will tell us different.
The men of Loughgall set out that night with the All-Ireland Republic in their hearts – not a pseudo imitation where the limits of freedom would be bound by the terms of an Agreed Ireland. Emerging talk of ‘continued devolution to Belfast’ with ‘constitutional expression for the British Monarchy’ in a so-called United Ireland is an anathema to the cause for which they took up arms and for which they fell on the streets of that Armagh village.
That such is now peddled as ‘necessary’ to the ‘New Ireland’ reveals how those advancing this nonsense have abandoned the rightful Irish Republic. An Ireland as that they are set toward, as recently spoken of by John Crawley – who is with us here tonight – is one where ‘the British get to stay while the Irish agree to it’. We have waited too long for that. Too many have gone before.
This so-called ‘Agreed Ireland’ is in reality a means not for the Irish to determine a new future but for Britain to restructure her relationship with this country – once ‘Good Friday’ no longer holds. Its intent is to ensure as far as practical, given new considerations born of Brexit and demographic change, that her position be maximised and her interests retained in whatever half-baked ‘republic’ it imposes in league with its subordinates. Republicans can have no truck with this.
The only ‘Agreed Ireland’ of interest to us is one where the British agree to a declaration of intent, from where we can build, as a nation, a future as that we deserve; a future as promised by The 1916 Proclamation – where equal rights and equal opportunity are the preserve of all, without regard to contrived divisions born of colonial rule. This is the Ireland the Loughgall Martyrs were set upon. Were it good enough for them then it remains as much for ourselves.There is nothing to fear from such a Republic and no good reason we should settle for less.
To advance that Republic we must harness the dynamism of the people, building and applying real pressure on Britain that she cannot refashion Ireland as she pleases, aided by the usual suspects. This involves setting forward the Irish Republic as the only acceptable alternative to the dying status quo – as the only Ireland that can proceed in its stead – regardless of border polls or any other vote or mechanism on the substantive of Irish Unity.
We cannot afford to waver and certainly not now, not as Brexit brings prospects for change into sight. All of this demands that we organise and this is the task now before us. There are no shortcuts and there is no panacea, only the ‘long hard grind to the Republic’ spoken of by Ruairí Ó Brádaigh in the wake of the Long Kesh Hungerstrikes.
Thirty years after Loughgall, the issue in Ireland – then as now – remains the denial of our national sovereignty. The nationalist people of the north have for too long endured the consequence. As Liam Ryan – a true Irish Patriot and comrade of the Loughgall Martyrs – once remarked, they have ‘suffered the most, waited the longest and worked the hardest’. They deserve no less and we will accept no less than the full restoration of Irish sovereignty. No ifs, no buts, no maybes. We are out for the Irish Republic and nothing less will do. As the General Liam Lynch rightly asserted, ‘we will live under no other law’.
The great American President John Kennedy once said, ‘men are not afraid to die for a life worth living’ – words that fit well with the men of Loughgall, who were not afraid to die and who laid down their lives that others might know such a life. Their sacrifice has shown us the way; their contribution to the cause of freedom helping lift the nationalist people off of their knees – their deaths on the battlefield just one more reason, if reason were needed, as to why we must finish the long struggle to end British rule in our country, to win that better life for all. Be assured, a chairde, that we will finish that struggle.
The Irish Republic, for which they died, is the only fitting tribute to the men of Loughgall. It is for us, who remain, to organise the final push, to fulfill at last our nation’s destiny and establish that Republic. That is the challenge Loughgall presents us thirty years on and counting. To those who fell on that horrific May evening, when Britain sent her terrorist killers to do murder on the street of Loughgall, we owe no less. Onwards to the Republic – together we will get there; it’s still ‘our day will come’.
Go raibh mile maith agaibh a chairde – An Phoblacht Abú.
Radio Free Eireann Broadcasting 6 May 2017
Martin Galvin
with news of this weekend's broadcast from
Radio Free Eireann.
Malachy McCourt 's will give his unique commentary and his new book Death Need Not Be Fatal will be available for donors.
Kate Nash of the Bloody Sunday Justice March will discuss moves to block prosecutions of British troopers or Constabulary with a Statute of Limitations just as the long campaign for prosecutions of Bloody Sunday troopers nears a decision.
Award winning journalist, author and historian Ed Moloney will discuss recently obtained FBI files on how Washington tried to help Britain by opposing Irish Northern Aid during the crucial period of 1980-81 Hunger Strikes.
Your support and contributions during pledge programs keep Radio Free Eireann.on the air!!!
Go to Radio Free Eireann's web site, rfe123.org,where you can read written transcripts of recent headline making interviews and get the latest programming information.
John McDonagh and Martin Galvin co- host.
Radio Free Eireann is heard Saturdays at 12 Noon New York time on wbai 99.5 FM and wbai.org.
It can be heard at wbai.org in Ireland from 5pm to 6pm or anytime after the program concludes on wbai.org/archives.
Check our website rfe123.org.
Malachy McCourt 's will give his unique commentary and his new book Death Need Not Be Fatal will be available for donors.
Kate Nash of the Bloody Sunday Justice March will discuss moves to block prosecutions of British troopers or Constabulary with a Statute of Limitations just as the long campaign for prosecutions of Bloody Sunday troopers nears a decision.
Award winning journalist, author and historian Ed Moloney will discuss recently obtained FBI files on how Washington tried to help Britain by opposing Irish Northern Aid during the crucial period of 1980-81 Hunger Strikes.
Your support and contributions during pledge programs keep Radio Free Eireann.on the air!!!
Go to Radio Free Eireann's web site, rfe123.org,where you can read written transcripts of recent headline making interviews and get the latest programming information.
John McDonagh and Martin Galvin co- host.
Radio Free Eireann is heard Saturdays at 12 Noon New York time on wbai 99.5 FM and wbai.org.
It can be heard at wbai.org in Ireland from 5pm to 6pm or anytime after the program concludes on wbai.org/archives.
Check our website rfe123.org.
May 5, 2017
Neither Stand Nor Kneel
Anthony McIntyre
is disappointed but not surprised that Dail Eireann abandoned secular republican values in favour of clerical ones.
It all sort of makes a nonsense of the regular ceremonies that are held in Dublin's Convention Centre bestowing Irish citizenship on people from other climes. Irish citizenship is not necessarily equal citizenship. The ostensible national parliament values your religious preference or perspective on faith only to the extent that it chimes with its own.
It seems on this matter at any rate The Dublin government would rather identify with Britain than Europe despites its anti-Brexit stance. Ireland and the UK are the only parliaments in Europe that begin the day with morning prayer.
The motion approved yesterday will require TDs to stand for the prayer.
While "stand" is the official word employed, TDs are in fact being asked to figuratively kneel and bow down before old Mother Church. Deputies Joan Collins and Ruth Coppinger have both indicated that they will refuse to stand for the prayer. Adding her voice to this, Brid Smith of People before Profit said: “I’m not standing, no matter what I’m told to do, because my religion is my business and is not up for public scrutiny.”
Forget about the thirty second reflection at the end of the prayer as signalling any autonomy from religion: that is just a relic thrown to salve the second class status of other denominations and none. The silence is more symbolic of a muzzle that truly quietens dissent on this issue.
Heartening is that three Independent ministers voted against the government of Mayotollah Kenny. They were joined by Solidarity People Before Profit, the Social Democrats, the Green Party, and Independents Tommy Broughan, Joan Collins, Catherine Connolly, Clare Daly, Séamus Healy and Mick Wallace.
The Sinn Fein motion to have a sixty second reflection period at the start of the day was defeated. A Solidarity/People Before Profit motion to scrap the prayer altogether was also defeated as was a further proposal from the group to replace it with a thirty second period of reflection. Yet, despite an auspicious start, Sinn Fein's brand of secular republicanism came up short in the final vote, from which the party TDs abstained.
Labour voted for the proposal. Considering everything else Labour has abandoned throughout its existence that it should jettison secularism is hardly a shock. While it was busy vacating the economic landscape that the Left traditionally defend, it used the fig leaf of liberalism to conceal its blushes, disguise its retreat while feigning some radical cosmetic front. Unashamedly, even that has been thrown aside.
Fianna Fáil TD Mary Butler, in genuflecting to the recommendation of the cross party business committee that recommended maintaining the prayer, said her party had faith in what it decided: a blend of prayer and reflection encompassed both modernity and the traditions of the past. Much like the sentiment behind passing the ownership of the National Maternity Hospital over to nun creatures. Oh ye of little Faith.
Perhaps the first prayer when the motion kicks in on Tuesday next should be one in which the praying mantises beseech their god to value all his creation equally: that he should put right the situation in Saudi Arabia where women are the property of men with few autonomous rights of their own. God has to sort one that out because the government certainly has no intention of doing so. It stands accused - and refuses to deny - of having voted in favour of the Saudis getting a place on the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. Had they done it on the 1st of April we could have laughed it off. At least it gave Charlie Flanagan, the Foreign Affairs Minister, an excuse to commence his thirty seconds silence early. .
After the vote TDs gathered at the Dail bar to quaff down pints of holy water. What a waste when our hospitals could be using it instead of that stupid thing called medicine.
It all sort of makes a nonsense of the regular ceremonies that are held in Dublin's Convention Centre bestowing Irish citizenship on people from other climes. Irish citizenship is not necessarily equal citizenship. The ostensible national parliament values your religious preference or perspective on faith only to the extent that it chimes with its own.
It seems on this matter at any rate The Dublin government would rather identify with Britain than Europe despites its anti-Brexit stance. Ireland and the UK are the only parliaments in Europe that begin the day with morning prayer.
The motion approved yesterday will require TDs to stand for the prayer.
All members present shall stand while the prayer is being read, and when it is concluded, members shall remain standing for 30 seconds of silent reflection.
While "stand" is the official word employed, TDs are in fact being asked to figuratively kneel and bow down before old Mother Church. Deputies Joan Collins and Ruth Coppinger have both indicated that they will refuse to stand for the prayer. Adding her voice to this, Brid Smith of People before Profit said: “I’m not standing, no matter what I’m told to do, because my religion is my business and is not up for public scrutiny.”
Forget about the thirty second reflection at the end of the prayer as signalling any autonomy from religion: that is just a relic thrown to salve the second class status of other denominations and none. The silence is more symbolic of a muzzle that truly quietens dissent on this issue.
Heartening is that three Independent ministers voted against the government of Mayotollah Kenny. They were joined by Solidarity People Before Profit, the Social Democrats, the Green Party, and Independents Tommy Broughan, Joan Collins, Catherine Connolly, Clare Daly, Séamus Healy and Mick Wallace.
The Sinn Fein motion to have a sixty second reflection period at the start of the day was defeated. A Solidarity/People Before Profit motion to scrap the prayer altogether was also defeated as was a further proposal from the group to replace it with a thirty second period of reflection. Yet, despite an auspicious start, Sinn Fein's brand of secular republicanism came up short in the final vote, from which the party TDs abstained.
Labour voted for the proposal. Considering everything else Labour has abandoned throughout its existence that it should jettison secularism is hardly a shock. While it was busy vacating the economic landscape that the Left traditionally defend, it used the fig leaf of liberalism to conceal its blushes, disguise its retreat while feigning some radical cosmetic front. Unashamedly, even that has been thrown aside.
Fianna Fáil TD Mary Butler, in genuflecting to the recommendation of the cross party business committee that recommended maintaining the prayer, said her party had faith in what it decided: a blend of prayer and reflection encompassed both modernity and the traditions of the past. Much like the sentiment behind passing the ownership of the National Maternity Hospital over to nun creatures. Oh ye of little Faith.
Perhaps the first prayer when the motion kicks in on Tuesday next should be one in which the praying mantises beseech their god to value all his creation equally: that he should put right the situation in Saudi Arabia where women are the property of men with few autonomous rights of their own. God has to sort one that out because the government certainly has no intention of doing so. It stands accused - and refuses to deny - of having voted in favour of the Saudis getting a place on the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. Had they done it on the 1st of April we could have laughed it off. At least it gave Charlie Flanagan, the Foreign Affairs Minister, an excuse to commence his thirty seconds silence early. .
After the vote TDs gathered at the Dail bar to quaff down pints of holy water. What a waste when our hospitals could be using it instead of that stupid thing called medicine.
The Israeli Macron
The
Uri Avnery Column
considers what lessons Israel might learn from the French political ascent of
Emmanuel Macron.
When I was 10 years old, my family fled from Nazi Germany. We were fearful that the Gestapo was after us. When we approached the French border, our fear was acute. Then our train crossed the bridge that separated Germany from France, and we heaved a deep sigh of relief.
It was almost the same sigh. France has again sent a message of freedom.
Emmanuel Macron (Emmanuel is a Hebrew name, meaning "God is with us") has won the first round, and there is a strong possibility that he will win the second round, too.
This is not just a French affair. It concerns all mankind.
First Of all, it has broken a spell.
After the Brexit vote and the election of Donald Trump, there arose the myth that a dark, ultra right-wing, fascist or near-fascist wave is bound to submerge the democratic world. It's a decree of fate. Force majeure.
First Marine Le Pen. Then that obnoxious Dutchman. Then Eastern European rightists. They will crush democracy everywhere. Nothing to be done about it.
And here comes somebody that nobody has ever heard of, and breaks the spell. He has shown that decent people can come together and change the course of history.
That is a message significant not just for France, but for everybody. Even for us in Israel.
It Is not yet finished. The second round is still before us.
Looking at the map of the first round, the picture is disturbing enough. Le Pen has conquered a large part of France, the north and almost all the east. The disaster may still be looming.
Facing this possibility, almost all the other candidates have thrown their weight behind Macron. It is the decent thing to do. Especially noble for competing candidates, who cannot be expected to like him.
The one exception is the far-left candidate, Jean-Luc Melenchon, who was supported by the Communists. For him, Le Pen and Macron are the same. For people with a memory for history, this sounds ominous.
In 1933, the German Communists attacked the Socialists more than they attacked Hitler. In some large strikes, the communist "Red Front" even cooperated with Hitler's storm-troopers. Their theory was that both Hitler and the Socialists were capitalist stooges. Also, they were sure that the ridiculous Hitler would disappear after some months in power, freeing the way for the World Revolution.
They had ample time to repent their folly, when they sat together with the socialists in the Nazi concentration camps.
The French communists of that time learned the lesson. Three years later they formed a united front with the French socialists, and the Jewish socialist Leon Blum was elected Prime Minister.
By now, this lesson seems to have been forgotten.
However, at this moment, the victory of Macron seems fairly assured. Inshallah, as our Arab friends say.
The Most interesting aspect of the French election, like the American one and even the British referendum, is the end of the parties.
For centuries, political parties have dominated the public arena. The political party was the essential component of political life. Likeminded people set up a political association, published a program, elected a leader and took part in elections.
Alas, no more.
Television has changed all this.
TV is a very powerful, but also very limited, medium. It shows people. Actually, it shows mostly heads. It is most effective when it shows a head talking to the viewer.
TV does not show parties. It can talk about parties, but not really show them.
It is even worse at presenting party programs. Somebody can read them out on television, but that is boring. Few viewers really listen to them.
The practical upshot is that in modern politics, the leader becomes more and more important, and the party and its program less and less. I am not saying anything new, all this has been said many times before. But this year the process dominated the results.
The brexit result crossed party lines. The Labor party, a powerful presence for generations, seems to be breaking up.
Donald Trump officially represented the Republican Party, but did he? Seems the party loathes him, his hold on it is in practice a hostile takeover. It was Trump that was elected, not the party or a non-existent program.
These were extraordinary events. But the French elections took place in an ordinary, traditional framework. The result was that all traditional parties were destroyed, that all programs were blown away by the wind. What emerged was a person, practically without a party and without a program, with almost no political experience. He looks good on TV, he sounds good on TV, he was a good receptacle for votes that were primarily cast to stop the fascists.
That is a lesson not only for France, but for all democratic countries.
It Is a lesson for Israel, too. A very important one.
We have already seen the beginning of this process. We now have a number of non-parties, with non-programs, which have gained a firm foothold in the Knesset.
For example, the party of the present Minister of Defense, Avigdor Lieberman. An immigrant from Moldova, he set up a "party" which appealed to immigrants from the Soviet Union. A party without internal elections, where all candidates are chosen by the leader and changed at (his) whim, without a real program, only a strong fascistic whiff. He is his sole spokesman on TV. He started with a strong anti-religious message, aimed at "Russian" voters, but is slowly turning around. No one among his people dares to raise questions.
Much the same situation prevails in the "party" of Ya'ir Lapid. The son of a TV personality with near-fascist views, he is a good-looking, smooth-talking fellow, totally devoid of ideas, who is now beating Netanyahu in the polls. No program, just a party that is his personal instrument. He alone appoints all candidates. He alone appears on TV. He, too, started as anti-religious and is turning around. (You cannot attain power in Israel without the religious parties, unless you are ready – God forbid – to cooperate with the Arab parties.)
Moshe Kahlon, a former Likudnik of North African descent, has lately set up a personal outfit, no real party, no real program. He, too, appoints all candidates on his list. He is now Minister of Finance.
The Labor party, which was once an all-powerful force that dominated the political scene for 44 consecutive years - before the state was born and after – is now a pitiful ruin, much like its French counterpart. Its leader, Yitzhak Herzog, is interchangeable with Francois Hollande.
And then there is the supreme master of TV, Binyamin Netanyahu, intellectually hollow, with ever changing hair-color, for and against the two-state solution, for and against everything else.
What Can we learn from the French?
Not to despair, when it looks as though we are on the way to disaster. To escape from fatalism and into optimism. Optimism and action.
Out of nowhere a new person can appear. On the ruins of the established parties, a new political force can arise, discarding the old language of left and right, speaking a new language of peace and social justice.
Hey you, out there! What are you waiting for? The country is waiting for you!
When I was 10 years old, my family fled from Nazi Germany. We were fearful that the Gestapo was after us. When we approached the French border, our fear was acute. Then our train crossed the bridge that separated Germany from France, and we heaved a deep sigh of relief.
It was almost the same sigh. France has again sent a message of freedom.
Emmanuel Macron (Emmanuel is a Hebrew name, meaning "God is with us") has won the first round, and there is a strong possibility that he will win the second round, too.
This is not just a French affair. It concerns all mankind.
First Of all, it has broken a spell.
After the Brexit vote and the election of Donald Trump, there arose the myth that a dark, ultra right-wing, fascist or near-fascist wave is bound to submerge the democratic world. It's a decree of fate. Force majeure.
First Marine Le Pen. Then that obnoxious Dutchman. Then Eastern European rightists. They will crush democracy everywhere. Nothing to be done about it.
And here comes somebody that nobody has ever heard of, and breaks the spell. He has shown that decent people can come together and change the course of history.
That is a message significant not just for France, but for everybody. Even for us in Israel.
It Is not yet finished. The second round is still before us.
Looking at the map of the first round, the picture is disturbing enough. Le Pen has conquered a large part of France, the north and almost all the east. The disaster may still be looming.
Facing this possibility, almost all the other candidates have thrown their weight behind Macron. It is the decent thing to do. Especially noble for competing candidates, who cannot be expected to like him.
The one exception is the far-left candidate, Jean-Luc Melenchon, who was supported by the Communists. For him, Le Pen and Macron are the same. For people with a memory for history, this sounds ominous.
In 1933, the German Communists attacked the Socialists more than they attacked Hitler. In some large strikes, the communist "Red Front" even cooperated with Hitler's storm-troopers. Their theory was that both Hitler and the Socialists were capitalist stooges. Also, they were sure that the ridiculous Hitler would disappear after some months in power, freeing the way for the World Revolution.
They had ample time to repent their folly, when they sat together with the socialists in the Nazi concentration camps.
The French communists of that time learned the lesson. Three years later they formed a united front with the French socialists, and the Jewish socialist Leon Blum was elected Prime Minister.
By now, this lesson seems to have been forgotten.
However, at this moment, the victory of Macron seems fairly assured. Inshallah, as our Arab friends say.
The Most interesting aspect of the French election, like the American one and even the British referendum, is the end of the parties.
For centuries, political parties have dominated the public arena. The political party was the essential component of political life. Likeminded people set up a political association, published a program, elected a leader and took part in elections.
Alas, no more.
Television has changed all this.
TV is a very powerful, but also very limited, medium. It shows people. Actually, it shows mostly heads. It is most effective when it shows a head talking to the viewer.
TV does not show parties. It can talk about parties, but not really show them.
It is even worse at presenting party programs. Somebody can read them out on television, but that is boring. Few viewers really listen to them.
The practical upshot is that in modern politics, the leader becomes more and more important, and the party and its program less and less. I am not saying anything new, all this has been said many times before. But this year the process dominated the results.
The brexit result crossed party lines. The Labor party, a powerful presence for generations, seems to be breaking up.
Donald Trump officially represented the Republican Party, but did he? Seems the party loathes him, his hold on it is in practice a hostile takeover. It was Trump that was elected, not the party or a non-existent program.
These were extraordinary events. But the French elections took place in an ordinary, traditional framework. The result was that all traditional parties were destroyed, that all programs were blown away by the wind. What emerged was a person, practically without a party and without a program, with almost no political experience. He looks good on TV, he sounds good on TV, he was a good receptacle for votes that were primarily cast to stop the fascists.
That is a lesson not only for France, but for all democratic countries.
It Is a lesson for Israel, too. A very important one.
We have already seen the beginning of this process. We now have a number of non-parties, with non-programs, which have gained a firm foothold in the Knesset.
For example, the party of the present Minister of Defense, Avigdor Lieberman. An immigrant from Moldova, he set up a "party" which appealed to immigrants from the Soviet Union. A party without internal elections, where all candidates are chosen by the leader and changed at (his) whim, without a real program, only a strong fascistic whiff. He is his sole spokesman on TV. He started with a strong anti-religious message, aimed at "Russian" voters, but is slowly turning around. No one among his people dares to raise questions.
Much the same situation prevails in the "party" of Ya'ir Lapid. The son of a TV personality with near-fascist views, he is a good-looking, smooth-talking fellow, totally devoid of ideas, who is now beating Netanyahu in the polls. No program, just a party that is his personal instrument. He alone appoints all candidates. He alone appears on TV. He, too, started as anti-religious and is turning around. (You cannot attain power in Israel without the religious parties, unless you are ready – God forbid – to cooperate with the Arab parties.)
Moshe Kahlon, a former Likudnik of North African descent, has lately set up a personal outfit, no real party, no real program. He, too, appoints all candidates on his list. He is now Minister of Finance.
The Labor party, which was once an all-powerful force that dominated the political scene for 44 consecutive years - before the state was born and after – is now a pitiful ruin, much like its French counterpart. Its leader, Yitzhak Herzog, is interchangeable with Francois Hollande.
And then there is the supreme master of TV, Binyamin Netanyahu, intellectually hollow, with ever changing hair-color, for and against the two-state solution, for and against everything else.
What Can we learn from the French?
Not to despair, when it looks as though we are on the way to disaster. To escape from fatalism and into optimism. Optimism and action.
Out of nowhere a new person can appear. On the ruins of the established parties, a new political force can arise, discarding the old language of left and right, speaking a new language of peace and social justice.
Hey you, out there! What are you waiting for? The country is waiting for you!
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