March 17 2006 / It's Time to Search The Planes
There really is something deeply disturbing in hearing reports that aircraft used in the practice of ‘extraordinary rendition’ have probably used Irish airports at some point during the a ‘rendition’.
The Government’s indifference to recent reports about the possible transport of prisoners through Shannon leaves Ireland exposed to the possibility of breaching international law. Ireland is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on Human Rights and also the Convention against Torture. Therefore Ireland is legally obliged to co-operate to bring to an end any serious breach of Human Rights and to stop torture. They must also refrain from aiding or assisting those carrying out such breaches. The fact that we don't know for certain about what is or what is not going on before, during or after any US military flights landing in Shannon is simply not acceptable. It means that Ireland is willingly ignorant of what is going on. If there are suspicions of any kind, the Government simply must do all in it's power to ascertain that there is nothing going on - and that means that all US military flights landing at Shannon must be searched.
Last December, when a special committee of the Seanad was to be set up investigate US military flights through Shannon and the motion to proceed with the establishment of this committee was defeated by Fianna Fáil senators we see just how little the Government cares about its obligations. The committee was well on its way to being formed. A reasonable set of terms had been agreed, on an all-party basis, for the committee to inquire about the flights and their nature. And yet the entire proceedings were put on ice.
Why? Was it because the Government were afraid if the committee was allowed to do its work it might find that none of these aircraft had been inspected? Was it because the Government was afraid that something unpleasant might come to light and cause a scandal? I think the people of this country should be told.
Finally, it is time to stop referring to cases of people being taken from streets around the world and spirited away as ‘extraordinary renditions’. It is time to them what they truly are - kidnapping and detention without warrant, without charge, without any semblance of a fair trial. Such activities are profoundly undemocratic, to be associated with governments of the worst possible kind.
On a related note - this Saturday, March 18th, a national day of protest against the continuing illegal occupation of Iraq and the continuing use of Shannon airport by US troops. There will be a protest march in Dublin city centre. If you're in Dublin, and feel as strongly against the war as I do, I hope to see you there. The assembly point for the march is at Garden of Remembrance, Parnell Square, Dublin 1 at 2pm.
March 18th is the third anniversary of the US led invasion of Iraq. All over the world people in their millions have condemned the invasion of Iraq, the use of torture, degradation and inhuman treatment of prisoners. Irish people have also demonstrated their opposition to the use of Shannon by US troops, and I count myself proud to have been one.
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March 15 2006 / An Open Letter to Richard Waghorne
Dear Richard,
I must admit to being more than a bit curious about the Freedom Institute, your political world view, and your weblogging activities.
You are, it has to be said, very outspoken when it comes to your politics. What got you interested in politics, and what influences led you towards the conservative world view? Did you ever lean less to the right and more to center, or even the left? It would also be fair to say that, on the web at least, you frequently find yourself in a minority when it comes to debating the politics views that you hold. What's it like to be in such a minority?
You have a double first from UCD in philosophy and politics, have studied elsewhere, and also have some political experience. It's fair to say that you're not lacking in intellect. Would you ever seriously consider a career in electoral politics and running for office?
What does the Freedom Institute and its members do on a day-to-day basis, apart from writing and commentating on issues? I notice that various members write regularly for Magill Magazine - how did that come about? Is there any truth to the rumours that the Atlas Foundation has funded the Freedom Institute?
You did work with the Cato Institute in 2005, working on social security reform. José Piñera, the co-chair of Cato's Project on Social Security Choice was a cabinet minister in the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, which came to power by overthrowing the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende, and went on to commit serious abuses of human rights during its time in power. Regardless of what you think of the Allende government, which you would no doubt have profound disagreements with, I'd be interested in reading your thoughts on working with someone who had a role in a dictatorship.
The Haloscan commenting system seem to be rather unreliable when it comes to comments. Ever thought about switching to a different system for your comments? Also, why do posts linked to by the FiFieFoeFum weblog seem to end up breaking? Perhaps it's just bad technical luck, but it is also seen as being sensitive to criticism. Is it the former, or the latter?
I hope you don't mind my writing to you in an open fashion, but I genuinely am curious. I suspect that others are as well, so I've decided to openly put some questions to you, in the hope you'll post a reply on your own weblog. Hopefully, you'll humour me with a reply! Finally, I'd be happy to answer any questions you want to put to me via your weblog, if you have any.
Cheers,
Tom
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March 12 2006 / Congratulations All Round
The Irish Blog Awards were a great success, and congratulations to all the winners. Also to be congratulated is Damien Mulley, who organised the whole thing.
Weblogging has come a long way since I started in 1999 and I'm thrilled to see it expand and grow towards the scale that I always hoped it would.
March 11 2006 / The Irish Blog Awards are Tonight!
The best of luck to all of the shortlisted weblogs in the Irish Blog Awards, which takes place this evening. I will be there myself, and so I hope to see you all there.