Photo taken from IVAW.org

As many as 100 veterans of the recent U.S. army involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan will give public accounts of their experiences on the ground, at an event organised by Iraqi Veterans Against the War from the 13th to the 16th of March, in the U.S. federal capital Washington D.C. The hearing will coincide with the 5th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq and will precede a series of actions and protests taking place accross the U.S. on March 19th [1].

Liam Madden, a sergeant in the Marine Corps from January 2003 to January 2007 who was deployed to Iraq, Kuwait, Thailand, Japan, and Korea and during his last year co-founded the Appeal for Redress [2], a campaign of service members demanding that congress halt the war in Iraq, said that veterans and civilian survivors of both conflicts will give public testimony and share eyewitness stories that have been censored from the American public about the true cost of these wars.

The hearing is called Winter Soldier and is the second such event to take place in the U.S., the first having been in Detroit in 1971 where Vietnam veterans publicly recounted their own negative experiences. Many Vietnam and WW2 veterans who are involved in the Veterans for Peace Campaign are endorsing and actively supporting Winter Soldier 2.

Related Links: Review of the Winter Soldier Movie | Winter Soldier Site

View from the edge of Rath Lugh

From the Newswire - Posted Monday 25th February:
There are fences across the proposed route each side of the Rath Lugh woods. At around 8am this morning a member of the Rath Lugh camp heard machinery passing by the rath. 6 of us went out and saw 2 dump trucks and 2 diggers outside the fence, coming from the Baronstown direction. Each digger was 40 tonnes, and wanted to drive though at the same time! A large crowd of SIAC, Ferrovial and Wills Bros workers were present, 2 members of the Garda Siochana were also present, both in incomplete uniforms; they didn't wear hats, one of them wasn't displaying his ID number on his shoulder. We explained no machinery would be passing by Rath Lugh, that the area is preserved and it is a criminal offence to interfere with or damage a national monument. The weight and vibrations of the machinery will affect the monument on the esker, and so endanger all of Rath Lugh. The workers took absolutely no heed of anything we told them.

Related Links: Tara Pixie website Lissmullin Demonstration ; Thursday at Soldiers Hill Today at Rath Lugh Save Tara demo at Bertie's US Congress speech SDLP Save Tara Private Members Motion

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Over 40 people flew out to Madrid last weekend to participate in a number of events centered around a commemoration of Tyrone poet, Charlie Donnelly, who was killed in February 1937 in the latter stages of the Battle of Jarama.

Indymedia mingled and took some photographs.

Related Links: Connolly Column 70th Anniversary — Wikipedia Article on Charlie Donnelly — Wikipedia Article on the Battle of Jarama

Townsend's interpretation of the famous Battle in Seattle, where the World Trade Organisation was shut down due to the emergence of what the media labelled the anti-globalisation movement has finally hit the big screen, and it doesn't get much bigger (in Dublin) than the prestigous Savoy Screen Number 1!

The whirlwind fictional interpretation of the event which launched the global phenomenon of Anti-capitalism has finally hit the big screen Stuart Townsend a famous actor from Howth (I don't think i've seen anything he's in!) has given what has been a fundamental part of our collective experience a fictionalised treatment and presented it to us in the cinema. This is important as he has given the whole issue a very sympathetic treatment even though he wasn't part of the protests back in 1999 in Seattle. The film gives a rapid history of who what where when and why of the WTO and the 5 W's of the movement which emerged to tackle it.

An anarchist dismisses religious belief as a means of understanding the world that has been "superceded by science", sparking a lively debate. Is this argument simply showing disrespect to believers, talking down to the proles, or is it really the case that religion is "a dangerous drug" which means "handing over your brain to a priest, rabbi, or imam"? Read the arguments and make your own mind up.