Power corrupts

I've written before on the Shell to the sea campaign and the possible use of terrorist tactics by Shell to control the protesters in Westport. How can a government turn against its people like this, in a democratic country? Watch this



Eamon Ryan used to campaign for Shell to the sea. Now he is overseeing the process. It didn't take him long to sell out his principles when power beckoned.

It's really no wonder that the green parliamentary party manipulated its members into voting their continuing in government. Considering the string of broken promises, expenses revelations, green betrayal and putting their self-interest above the interest of the country, they will never get elected again. Although maybe Ryan will, when he joins the maFFia. Short term gains all. Foolish strategy. Seriously, read The Altruist in Politics or Politics: A Treatise on Government or even a first year text book or buy a clue.

Greens don't care about life outside the capital

Gormless is a City Green and clearly has no interest in Ireland's biodiversity or the preservation of living off the land.

Gormley's spokesman said: "This research was on political attitudes in Dublin South East to assist the minister in policy formulation. This expenditure is permissible under the expenditure guidelines and fully receipted."

When forming his policy, Gormless asked his constituents. Apparently, the custodians of the land - the farmers - do not have anything to contribute, nor indeed anybody outside Dublin. Pretty much ensures skewed research that the taxpayer funds.

In the PFG, the Greens got to destroy an industry that employs people living in the country. Not a single Green went to a fur farm to see the conditions. Not a single Green talked to the farmers. No, they just assumed that they knew best and certainly better than some muck savage from outside Dublin.

There are no alternative livelihoods put in place or a plan to deal with the hundreds of thousands of mink currently on the farms. Is there any plan at all, for that matter. Do the Greens want to get rid of mink farms because mink are cute? Are they going to ban all animal farming next? Are cows too ugly to save? After all, leather comes from cows as well as delicious beef.

The Irish Green party is a city party after all. Wouldn't want country folk to start making a fuss. "Farmers don't vote green", is the justification for this attitude. But farmers are some of the greenest people in Ireland. I wouldn't support the greens if I was a farmer. They didn't fight for REPS - the single biggest contribution to biodiversity and care of land in Ireland and the "green" party shot it down. It's just as well that they claim to be an education party because green they ain't.

Amazing the changes of heart the Greens have had since going into coalition with Fianna Fáil! No more opposition to the motorway through Tara and no more support for Shell to Sea.

We're not going to be treated like factory workers

Fianna Fáil disdains workers. Fianna Fáil thinks they are too good for accountability, unlike the people who pay their salaries.

The TDs also resented the idea of a swipe card that would keep track of their comings and goings at Leinster House and prevent claims for expenses from absent members.

One TD told party chairman Mr Lenihan: "We're not going to be treated like factory workers clocking in and clocking out."

It's not a surprising opinion but to admit it outside the silver circle is unusual. As, I've said before, taking attendance might be just the ticket to get the TDs to participate in government. A swipe card system is as good as any.

Pity the poor FFers. After all, they only have three months summer holidays. To suggest that they might be accountable to their constituents in a concrete manner is beyond the pale.

Pity the FFers for their outrageous expenses.

Pity the FFers for bailing out the developers.

Pity the FFers for disregarding planning law innumerable times during the boom.

Pity the FFers, that the people demand accountability.

Pity the FFers, who refuse to govern and hand responsibility over to IBEC and the unions and ignore those industries without representation.

Pity the FFers, who give away our natural resources.

Pity the FFers, who do not take the necessary decisions to get our country back.

Pity the FFers who might be "treated like factory workers". It's ok for you and me but not for an FFer.

h/t Irish Election

Is Shell using terrorist tactics in Ireland?

Anyone who has read Naomi Klein’s “No Logo” or studied the effects of transnational corporations knows that many pollute, murder trade unionists and violate human rights on a regular basis. Last week, it was revealed the Royal Dutch Shell oil company is to pay $15.5 million to settle a lawsuit regarding human rights violations in Nigeria. Shell admitted no liability for the hanging of six environmental activists in 1995 but are settling nonetheless.

In a move announced yesterday, the company acknowledged no wrongdoing in the 1995 hangings of six people opposed to oil exploration in the west African country, including playwright and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa.

Shell said it agreed to settle the action in the hope of aiding the “process of reconciliation” and also recognised that the victims’ families had suffered. (h/t mediabite via Twitter)

Numerous claims regarding human rights violations have been made against companies like Shell. Mostly such companies ignore the allegations but occasionally outside contractors settle the matter discretely, and sometimes the government of the target country is so cozy with the company that laws are changed.

For the past number of years, Shell, Statoil and other companies have been involved in the Corrib Gas Controversy. Despite the rhetoric for their mission statements,

Shell E&P Ireland Limited (SEPIL) is committed to the principles of sustainable development. The Corrib development will bring long-term economic benefits to the local community in Mayo and to the rest of Ireland.

and the collusion at the highest level of Irish government, the people in Mayo have been fighting to keep their health and homes.

In a shocking move, private land rights have been modified by the Government to please their corporate masters.

... the [ Compulsory Acquisition Orders] made by the minister [for the Marine and Natural Resources Frank Fahey] permitted a private company to occupy land and construct a pipeline even if the owners of the land objected. Within weeks, landowners along the route of the proposed pipeline were informed that they would be served with CAOs unless they accepted compensation and allowed EEI to lay the pipeline. (Source)

People protested. They were ignored. James Philbin, Philip McGrath, Vincent McGrath, Willie Corduff and Micheál Ó Seighin, spent 94 days in Cloverhill Prison for contempt of court. The imprisonment of these men caused a national boycott of Shell and Statoil.

Until recently, the responsibility for the dispossession and jailing of Irish citizens has been the democratically elected government of Ireland. Now that has changed. Masked and armed men, who may or may not have been hired by Shell boarded and sunk a vessel belonging to one of the anti-gas protestors.

The Mayo anti-gas pipe protester who claimed his trawler was sunk by "mercenaries" working for Shell in the early hours of Thursday was picked up by another boat owned and worked by him and his son, it has emerged.

At around the same time as Pat O'Donnell's ageing trawler Iona Isle was sunk in deep water off Erris Head, a mile out from the landfall for the Corrib Gas pipeline, 20 eco warriors tried to invade the construction site from sea in kayaks.

The Shell to Sea group said on Friday that Mr O'Donnell's boat was boarded by four "masked men" who, they say, "assaulted and held down" Mr O'Donnell and then sunk the boat.

The insurance will not pay out because the sinking was not accidental.

The vessel’s owner, Pat O’Donnell, has been told insurers will not cover the loss as it is defined as an “act of terrorism”. The 12-metre Iona Isle was insured for €60,000.

No one can say for certain who these masked men were. O’Donnell accused Shell and Shell denied involvement. However, O’Donnell had requested protection from the Minister of Defence and the President of Ireland on previous occasions. On 30 April of this year, he spoke of the fear of retaliation to Government Ministers. He spoke about Shell contractors filming his boat and the attacks on Rossport Five member Willie Corduff.



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Using fear and intimidation is a terrorist tactic. Holding people at gunpoint is a terrorist tactic. While further investigation needs to be carried out, it is clear that there are people operating outside the law to minimise protests to the pipeline. Whether Shell is responsible for these acts, is for a court to decide. However, these are tactics that Shell has used in other parts of the world.