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Topics - give her dixie

#1
GAA Discussion / Concerned Gaels
June 20, 2018, 02:24:51 AM
High-profile GAA members sign Palestine petition amid controversy over flags

Around 1,200 Ulster GAA members have signed a petition in support of the people of Palestine amid controversy over attempts to stop flags being flown at grounds.

All-Ireland winners Peter Canavan and Oisin McConville are among dozens of current and former county players to have added their names to the initiative by a group called 'Concerned Gaels'.

It is expected that a copy of the petition, which calls for support for the Palestinian people and their demands for human rights, will be handed to the Ulster Council in Armagh today.

Organisers say county players to have signed it include Armagh's Brendan Donaghy and Gavin McParland and Tyrone's Padraig McNulty, with former players including Tyrone's Paudge Quinn.

It is understood it has also received the backing of Tyrone manager Mickey Harte.

The petition comes after Ulster Council officials ordered the removal of two Palestinian flags during a championship game at Healy Park in Omagh last month, although it is believed an attempt to remove them was unsuccessful.

The council has said the only flags allowed in grounds are the official GAA flag, national flag and team colours.

Earlier this month, a match between Tyrone and Meath in Navan - not under the auspices of Ulster GAA - saw a Tyrone fan holding a Palestinian flag arrested by gardaí following an exchange with officers. The Dungannon man was later given an adult caution and released.

A prominent Palestinian campaigner, John Hurson, also revealed that he was told he would no longer needed as Tyrone's match day social media officer on the morning of the Meath game.

An honorary Palestinian citizen, he had voiced his criticism of the attempt to remove flags at Healy Park and believes the decision to drop him was linked to his comments.

Mr Hurson is known throughout Ireland for his work with the 'Tyrone to Gaza' group and managed the official Tyrone social media feeds voluntarily since 2011.

The petition states: "We, the undersigned members of Cumann Lúthchleas Gael, abhor the ongoing genocide in Palestine and call on all right thinking people to continue to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people and support their demands for basic human rights.

"We also call on Comhairle Uladh CLG to guarantee that the appalling scenes in Páirc Tailteann, Navan, are never repeated at any GAA ground in the province of Ulster."

Organisers say the petition received more than 1,200 signatures in a week after every club in Ulster was contacted by email.

It is understood copies have also been distributed at both club and county training sessions across the province.

A spokeswoman for Concerned Gaels said the incident in Navan was "the final straw".

"It seems to be Ulster who are driving this," she said.

"Officials from the Ulster Council need to fully explain the thinking behind this."

The Ulster Council did not respond to requests for comment yesterday.

The petition organisers have set up a Facebook page and website for anyone who wants to add their names.

https://www.irishnews.com/news/northernirelandnews/2018/06/20/news/high-profile-gaa-members-sign-palestine-petition-amid-controversy-over-flags-1360241/
#2
This was the front page in Mondays Irish News



I don't know what anyone else thinks, but to me, the front page in Mondays Irish News was one of the most disgusting
pieces I have ever seen from them in all the years I have been buying their daily paper.

It's a headline I would have expected from a red top tabloid in the UK.

A young lad was killed in a motorbike accident thousands of miles away in Australia and they chose this headline.

Needless to say they have been facing a well deserved backlash on social media, and the comments on their facebook post
says it all.

https://www.facebook.com/IrishNewsLtd/photos/a.174084502618345.50223.115467001813429/2046687075358069/?type=3&comment_id=2047159871977456&notif_id=1519063936053063&notif_t=feedback_reaction_generic&ref=notif

They overstepped the mark and given the tragic circumstances, they should not only hang their heads in shame, but issue an apology.

I remember very well a young lad from Co Down who was killed in similar motorbike accident in LA in '91 when I lived there,
and together as a community we rallied together to raise funds to get his body home for burial. Not one single person who
knew him or contributed to the fund cared for who his parents were or what they stood for.

We stood together for someone we knew and loved, much like Tiernans friends in Australia and the Kevin Bell Repatriation charity who will do all they can to bring his body home to his parents, family and friends for burial.

The Irish News raised the price of their paper a couple of weeks ago telling us that they were going to bring us more quality.

If this is what they call quality, then they can stick their extra 10p up their ass.







#3
General discussion / Stormont Assembly Elections 2017
January 13, 2017, 11:42:52 AM
Since it's looking like an election in early March, I think a seperate thread on the upcoming election is worth starting.
#4
GAA Discussion / Conor Gormley retires
January 01, 2015, 01:20:14 PM
Conor Gormley has become the latest Tyrone legend to bow out of inter-county football having confirmed his retirement to manager Mickey Harte.

Gormley was part of Tyrone's first All-Ireland winning side of 2003 and won further titles in '05 and '08.

He follows Stephen and O'Neill and Martin Penrose in bowing out after the attacking duo made their intentions known to quit in November.

Gormley, 34, carved out a career as a no-nonsense defender and was regularly Harte's go-to guy in terms of man-marking jobs on the opposition's blue chip forwards.

He will probably be best remembered for what was effectively a match-winning block on Armagh's Stephen McDonnell in the 2003 All-Ireland final.

http://www.irishmirror.ie/sport/gaa/gaelic-football/gaelic-football-news/conor-gormley-retires-tyrone-inter-county-4902771
#5
The ambulance service declared a 'major incident' at Belfast's Odyssey Arena with a large number of casualties suffering from the ill-effects of alcohol and drugs.

It's understood crews are dealing with a large number of casualties suffering from the effects of alcohol and drugs.

According to a spokesman for the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service, it is now being treated as a 'major incident'.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/major-incident-at-belfast-odyssey-arena-amid-reports-of-drink-and-drug-casualties-29987146.html

Or follow updates via twitter:

https://twitter.com/search?q=odyssey%20belfast&src=typd
#6
General discussion / Ariel "The Butcher" Sharon dies
January 11, 2014, 12:45:26 PM
The former Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon has died.

If there is a hell, he will be sitting at the top table.

One of the most evil monsters ever to hold power.

I wonder how many media reports will mention his role in the Sabra and Shatila massacres, and many many others.....
#7
General discussion / Tokyo Olympics 2020
September 08, 2013, 02:03:26 AM
Might as well get the thread started........
#8
So, based on another "Weapons of mass destruction lie", the USA are going to arm the rebels in Syria, just like their lapdogs the UK have agreed to do. How many people died "fighting Al Qaeda" over the past decade? And now the same Governments are backing them?

This arming of the rebels will result in one thing. Further loss of life. Nothing more, as Assad will still cling to power, and he has the backing of Russia and Iran to name but 2. Very messy times ahead.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/13/syria-chemical-weapons-us-confirm

#9
General discussion / I spy with my little eye......
January 27, 2013, 02:41:55 PM
#10
General discussion / The Palestine thread
October 17, 2012, 01:29:42 PM
From the "only democracy in the middle east", or "God's chosen people" as they like to call themselves.......

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/2-279-calories-per-person-how-israel-made-sure-gaza-didn-t-starve.premium-1.470419

After a three-and-a-half-year legal battle waged by the Gisha human rights organization, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories has finally released a 2008 document that detailed its "red lines" for "food consumption in the Gaza Strip."

The document calculates the minimum number of calories necessary, in COGAT's view, to keep Gaza residents from malnutrition at a time when Israel was tightening its restrictions on the movement of people and goods in and out of the Strip, including food products and raw materials. The document states that Health Ministry officials were involved in drafting it, and the calculations were based on "a model formulated by the Ministry of Health ... according to average Israeli consumption," though the figures were then "adjusted to culture and experience" in Gaza.


COGAT, appealing a District Court ruling to release the document, stated that it was merely a rough draft, that it was never actually implemented, and that it did not guide Israeli policy in practice. In its objection to the document's publication, COGAT argued that there was no reason to disclose what was essentially internal staff work, a mere proposal that was never actually put into effect. In fact, COGAT told Haaretz on Tuesday, after the document was drafted, the agency never even held a single discussion of it.

But the court disagreed, and on its orders, the document (in two different versions, both from January 2008) was given to Gisha two weeks ago. It is now being published here for the first time. Its very existence was also first reported in Haaretz, in a June 2009 article by Uri Blau and Yotam Feldman.

In September 2007, the cabinet, then headed by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, decided to tighten restrictions on the movement of people and goods to and from the Gaza Strip. The "red lines" document was written about four months afterward.

The cabinet decision stated that "the movement of goods into the Gaza Strip will be restricted; the supply of gas and electricity will be reduced; and restrictions will be imposed on the movement of people from the Strip and to it." In addition, exports from Gaza would be forbidden entirely. However, the resolution added, the restrictions should be tailored to avoid a "humanitarian crisis."

At a High Court hearing on Gisha's petition against this policy, government attorneys Gilad Sherman and Dana Briskman, backed by an affidavit from Col. Shlomi Mukhtar of COGAT, explained that "it is the state's right to decide that it doesn't intend to have economic ties with, or provide economic assistance to, the other party in the conflict, and to adopt a policy of 'economic warfare.'"

The "red lines" document calculates the minimum number of calories needed by every age and gender group in Gaza, then uses this to determine the quantity of staple foods that must be allowed into the Strip every day, as well as the number of trucks needed to carry this quantity. On average, the minimum worked out to 2,279 calories per person per day, which could be supplied by 1,836 grams of food, or 2,575.5 tons of food for the entire population of Gaza.

Bringing this quantity into the Strip would require 170.4 truckloads per day, five days a week.

From this quantity, the document's authors then deducted 68.6 truckloads to account for the food produced locally in Gaza ­ mainly vegetables, fruit, milk and meat. The documents note that the Health Ministry's data about various products includes the weight of the package (about 1 to 5 percent of the total weight) and that "The total amount of food takes into consideration 'sampling' by toddlers under the age of 2 (adds 34 tons per day to the general population)."

From this total, 13 truckloads were deducted to adjust for the "culture and experience" of food consumption in Gaza, though the document does not explain how this deduction was calculated.

While this adjustment actually led to a higher figure for sugar (five truckloads, compared to only 2.6 under the Health Ministry's original model),
it reduced the quantity of fruits and vegetables (18 truckloads, compared to 28.5), milk (12 truckloads instead of 21.1), and meat and poultry (14 instead of 17.2).

Altogether, therefore, COGAT concluded that Israel needed to allow 131 truckloads of food and other essential products into Gaza every day (via the "back to back" system, in which goods are transferred from an Israeli truck to a Palestinian one at the border). Of these, 106 would go through the Kerem Shalom crossing and the rest via the Karni crossing (which was closed a few years later).

The document states that then-Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai had approved the entry of 106 trucks per day even before the "red lines" were calculated, along with additional truckloads of wheat seed and animal feed.

The point of the "red lines" document was to see if this number of trucks in fact met Gaza's needs. But according to Gisha, UN data shows that the number of trucks allowed into Gaza each day often fell below this level.

COGAT, then headed by Maj. Gen. Amos Gilad, translated the government's policy of restrictions into two lists. The long one detailed the forbidden goods that couldn't be brought into the Strip (including, for example, building materials, needles, cloth and other raw materials, cleaning and bathing supplies, books, musical instruments and processed hummus). The short one listed those that could be brought in. The guiding principle was that instead of the supply of goods being dictated by demand, it would be dictated by the quantities and varieties deemed necessary by COGAT.

From time to time, COGAT officers revised the lists. Thus in late 2008, for instance, COGAT began allowing the import of shampoo ­ though conditioner was still banned. In 2009, plain processed hummus was taken off the banned list, but hummus with pine nuts was still off-limits.

To obey the cabinet's order to avoid a "humanitarian crisis," COGAT officers devised what they called "sensors" to warn them if there was a risk of impending malnutrition or an impending shortage of the permitted goods. Thus in addition to the "red lines," they produced two other documents: a model for estimating inventories of essential staples in Gaza, and a procedure for allowing the entry of goods into the Strip.

In practice, COGAT says, policy was guided by the inventory estimation model and the procedure for the entry of goods, not by the "red lines" document.

Following another petition to the High Court by Gisha, these two documents were published by Haaretz in October 2010.

"The quantification wasn't done in order to arrive at a minimum threshold or restrict the quantities, but the opposite ­ to ensure that there was no shortage," a COGAT official maintained Tuesday.

Gisha, however, doubts the claim that the "red lines" document was never actually used. For instance, it said, the prosecution evidently relied on the minimum threshold the document sets for meat (300 calves imported each week) when it argued in court against Gisha's request that the quota be increased during the Eid al-Fitr holiday, at the end of Ramadan. COGAT responded that this particular figure was part of the inventory estimation model, and therefore that it was in use.

International humanitarian organizations use a model called the Sphere standards to gauge a population's needs and determine the aid that should be sent to it in an emergency (whether war or natural disaster). This model is far more complex and less mathematical than the "red lines." But the most significant difference is that the "red lines" and the inventory estimation model were both devised by the very party that deliberately created the emergency situation, and that effectively controls both the territory and the population.

The drafters of the "red lines" document noted that the quantity of fruit and vegetables Gaza could produce for itself was expected to decline from 1,000 tons a day to 500 within a few months, due to the Israeli ban on bringing in seeds and other raw materials needed for agriculture, as well as the ban on exporting produce from the Strip. They predicted a similar fate for the poultry industry. But they didn't propose any solution for this decline.

Robert Turner, UNRWA's director of operations in the Gaza Strip, told Haaretz that he "read the draft with concern. If this reflects an authentic policy intended to cap food imports, this 'red lines' approach is contrary to humanitarian principles. If it is intended to prevent a humanitarian crisis by setting a minimum threshold, it has failed."

UNRWA, as the UN agency responsible for aiding Palestinian refugees, is closely involved in the daily lives of some 1 million residents of the Gaza Strip. Based on this knowledge, Turner asserted that "The facts on the ground in Gaza demonstrate that food imports consistently fell below the red lines.

Had official crossings been the only channel of food imports in the Gaza Strip and UN agencies not ensured that a minimal share of food reached the poorest, the recorded level of imports would have resulted in a substantial aggravation of nutritional deficiencies in the Gaza Strip."

Moreover, he said, the model failed to take into account the food lost due to the "back to back" trucking system: Sacks of food routinely break open and spill as they are being transferred from one truck to the other. This loss alone, Turner said, cost UNRWA about $5 million a year.

Asked whether the situation in Gaza is better today, now that the ban on the entry of food and most other goods has been lifted, Turner said that as long as the ban on exports remains in force, the "unprecedented levels of 'man made' aid dependency" will remain in force as well.

Attorney Sari Bashi of Gisha said Israel's claim that it isn't responsible for Gaza's population is clearly in contradiction with the fact that "it can determine the amount and types of food that will be found in the markets. This control obligates it to refrain from restrictions on movement that don't answer a concrete security need ­ an obligation that isn't being met by the current policy."

The Health Ministry did not respond to Haaretz's questions about its involvement in writing the document.
#11
Going by the article below, I think it's fair to say that it is a good move, and going by the rise in the internet, they should re coup the costs over a couple of years.

Although the holders of a @ireland.com e mail address are shafted in the deal.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/1015/breaking44.html

Tourism Ireland has acquired the domain name ireland.com from The Irish Times Ltd as part of plans to unveil a new website for the tourism industry later this year.

Tourism Ireland chief executive Niall Gibbons said the domain name was "a natural fit" for the work the all-island State body does to promote Ireland overseas.

The ease of recognition for the domain name will make the site stand out as a destination for potential visitors when they perform online searches relating to Ireland, he added.

Tourism Ireland has paid a fee of €495,000 to The Irish Times under a digital co-operation agreement.

"We are very pleased that the organisation responsible for promoting the island of Ireland overseas will have the opportunity to leverage the brand and URL that is ireland.com," said Irish Times managing director Liam Kavanagh.

"From an Irish Times perspective, we will now focus on the continued development of irishtimes.com and to position it at home and internationally as Ireland's leading quality news and information website," Mr Kavanagh added.

As a result of the agreement, @ireland.com email addresses will no longer be available - a move that will affect some 15,000 active users.

A notice has been sent to users informing them that the service will be discontinued from November 7th. From this date, users will no longer be able to send or receive messages from their accounts, while from December 7th, they will no longer have access to their inboxes.

Continuing to run the email service would have required significant investment on the part of the company, Mr Kavanagh said.

The Irish Times Ltd acquired the ireland.com domain name in 1997 and for a decade the URL hosted content from the newspaper as well as a breaking news service.

In 2008, irishtimes.com became the URL for all the company's editorial content.

Tourism Ireland's new website will support 11 different languages and over 30 individual markets.

"Our new site and new URL will help us to harness more effectively the phenomenal growth in social media and to project an even stronger online presence to attract more visitors here," Mr Gibbons said.

In 2011, Tourism Ireland sites attracted almost 12 million unique visitors from overseas, while its Facebook audience is the third largest in the world for tourism bodies after Australia and Spain.

A visitor attitude survey conducted by Tourism Ireland last year found that 73 per cent of overseas holidaymakers said the internet was an important information source when planning their holiday here.
#12
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2012 is to be awarded to the European Union (EU). The union and its forerunners have for over six decades contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe.

In the inter-war years, the Norwegian Nobel Committee made several awards to persons who were seeking reconciliation between Germany and France. Since 1945, that reconciliation has become a reality. The dreadful suffering in World War II demonstrated the need for a new Europe. Over a seventy-year period, Germany and France had fought three wars. Today war between Germany and France is unthinkable. This shows how, through well-aimed efforts and by building up mutual confidence, historical enemies can become close partners.

In the 1980s, Greece, Spain and Portugal joined the EU. The introduction of democracy was a condition for their membership. The fall of the Berlin Wall made EU membership possible for several Central and Eastern European countries, thereby opening a new era in European history. The division between East and West has to a large extent been brought to an end; democracy has been strengthened; many ethnically-based national conflicts have been settled.

The admission of Croatia as a member next year, the opening of membership negotiations with Montenegro, and the granting of candidate status to Serbia all strengthen the process of reconciliation in the Balkans. In the past decade, the possibility of EU membership for Turkey has also advanced democracy and human rights in that country.

The EU is currently undergoing grave economic difficulties and considerable social unrest. The Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes to focus on what it sees as the EU's most important result: the successful struggle for peace and reconciliation and for democracy and human rights. The stabilizing part played by the EU has helped to transform most of Europe from a continent of war to a continent of peace.

The work of the EU represents "fraternity between nations", and amounts to a form of the "peace congresses" to which Alfred Nobel refers as criteria for the Peace Prize in his 1895 will.

Oslo, 12 October 2012

http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2012/press.html
#13
GAA Discussion / Donegal v Tyrone Ulster Championship
October 04, 2012, 08:24:18 PM
Might as well get a thread started on this game, seeing as it's only 'round the corner.....

Big game ahead for Tyrone, and sure we owe them a beating at this stage !!

Tyrone by 4....
#14
Hard to believe that it's now 30 years since the massacres at Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Lebanon. One of the 1st people to arrive on the scene was the journalist Robert Fisk, and this is a good article where he describes the scenes upon arrival in the camp.

http://www.countercurrents.org/pa-fisk180903.htm

What we found inside the Palestinian camp at ten o'clock on the morning of September 1982 did not quite beggar description, although it would have been easier to re-tell in the cold prose of a medical examination. There had been medical examinations before in Lebanon, but rarely on this scale and never overlooked by a regular, supposedly disciplined army. In the panic and hatred of battle, tens of thousands had been killed in this country. But these people, hundreds of them had been shot down unarmed. This was a mass killing, an incident - how easily we used the word "incident" in Lebanon - that was also an atrocity. It went beyond even what the Israelis would have in other circumstances called a terrorist activity. It was a war crime.

Jenkins and Tveit were so overwhelmed by what we found in Chatila that at first we were unable to register our own shock. Bill Foley of AP had come with us. All he could say as he walked round was "Jesus Christ" over and over again. We might have accepted evidence of a few murders; even dozens of bodies, killed in the heat of combat. Bur there were women lying in houses with their skirts torn torn up to their waists and their legs wide apart, children with their throats cut, rows of young men shot in the back after being lined up at an execution wall. There were babies - blackened babies babies because they had been slaughtered more than 24-hours earlier and their small bodies were already in a state of decomposition - tossed into rubbish heaps alongside discarded US army ration tins, Israeli army equipment and empty bottles of whiskey.

Where were the murderers? Or to use the Israelis' vocabulary, where were the "terrorists"? When we drove down to Chatila, we had seen the Israelis on the top of the apartments in the Avenue Camille Chamoun but they made no attempt to stop us. In fact, we had first been driven to the Bourj al-Barajneh camp because someone told us that there was a massacre there. All we saw was a Lebanese soldier chasing a car theif down a street. It was only when we were driving back past the entrance to Chatila that Jenkins decided to stop the car. "I don't like this", he said. "Where is everyone? What the f**k is that smell?"

Just inside the the southern entrance to the camp, there used to be a number of single-story, concrete walled houses. I had conducted many interviews in these hovels in the late 1970's. When we walked across the muddy entrance to Chatila, we found that these buildings had been dynamited to the ground. There were cartridge cases across the main road. I saw several Israeli flare canisters, still attached to their tiny parachutes. Clouds of flies moved across the rubble, raiding parties with a nose for victory.

Down a laneway to our right, no more than 50 yards from the entrance, there lay a pile of corpses. There were more than a dozen of them, young men whose arms and legs had been wrapped around each other in the agony of death. All had been shot point-blank range through the cheek, the bullet tearing away a line of flesh up to the ear and entering the brain. Some had vivid crimson or black scars down the left side of their throats. One had been castrated, his trousers torn open and a settlement of flies throbbing over his torn intestines.

The eyes of these young men were all open. The youngest was only 12 or 13 years old. They were dressed in jeans and coloured shirts, the material absurdly tight over their flesh now that their bodies had begun to bloat in the heat. They had not been robbed. On one blackened wrist a Swiss watch recorded the correct time, the second hand still ticking round uselessly, expending the last energies of its dead owner.


On the other side of the main road, up a track through the debris, we found the bodies of five women and several children. The women were middle-aged and their corpses lay draped over a pile of rubble. One lay on her back, her dress torn open and the head of a little girl emerging from behind her. The girl had short dark curly hair, her eyes were staring at us and there was a frown on her face. She was dead.

Another child lay on the roadway like a discarded doll, her white dress stained with mud and dust. She could have been no more than three years old. The back of her head had been blown away by a bullet fired into her brain. One of the women also held a tiny baby to her body. The bullet that had passed into her breast had killed the baby too. Someone had slit open the woman's stomach, cutting sideways and then upwards, perhaps trying to kill her unborn child. Her eyes were wide open, her dark face frozen in horror.

"...As we stood there, we heard a shout in Arabic from across the ruins. "They are coming back," a man was screaming, So we ran in fear towards the road. I think, in retrospect, that it was probably anger that stopped us from leaving, for we now waited near the entrance to the camp to glimpse the faces of the men who were responsible for all of this. They must have been sent in here with Israeli permission. They must have been armed by the Israelis. Their handiwork had clearly been watched - closely observed - by the Israelis who were still watching us through their field-glasses.

When does a killing become an outrage? When does an atrocity become a massacre? Or, put another way, how many killings make a massacre? Thirty? A hundred? Three hundred? When is a massacre not a massacre? When the figures are too low? Or when the massacre is carried out by Israel's friends rather than Israel's enemies?

That, I suspected, was what this argument was about. If Syrian troops had crossed into Israel, surrounded a Kibbutz and allowed their Palestinian allies to slaughter the Jewish inhabitants, no Western news agency would waste its time afterwards arguing about whether or not it should be called a massacre.

But in Beirut, the victims were Palestinians. The guilty were certainly Christian militiamen - from which particular unit we were still unsure - but the Israelis were also guilty. If the Israelis had not taken part in the killings, they had certainly sent militia into the camp. They had trained them, given them uniforms, handed them US army rations and Israeli medical equipment. Then they had watched the murderers in the camps, they had given them military assistance - the Israeli airforce had dropped all those flares to help the men who were murdering the inhabitants of Sabra and Chatila - and they had established military liason with the murderers in the camps
#15
Another sad day in the US as 7 people are murdered at a temple in Wisconsin.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/05/us-usa-wisconsin-shooting-idUSBRE8740FP20120805

(Reuters) - A shooting during Sunday services at a Sikh temple left at least seven people dead, including a gunman, and at least three critically wounded, and police said they were still searching for other assailants.

The mass killing began when a white gunman or gunmen walked into the kitchen of the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin about 10:30 CDT (11.30 a.m. EDT) and started shooting, according to congregation members in touch with people inside the building.

"It was a very coordinated thing. It wasn't haphazard," temple member Amardeep Kaleka told CNN. He said his father was wounded in the attack at the temple in a suburb south of Milwaukee.

Greenfield Police Chief Bradley Wentlandt, speaking for all law enforcement at the temple, told reporters four people were killed inside the temple. Three were shot dead outside, including a gunman killed by a police officer.

He declined to say whether there was more than one shooter, but hours after the attack heavily armed officers were still searching the sprawling temple complex for other suspects.

Milwaukee's Froedtert Hospital said three men had been brought in wounded and were in critical condition. One was in the operating room, the hospital said in a statement.

The 20-year veteran officer who exchanged fire with the gunman was hit several times, Wentlandt said. He was taken to a hospital and is expected to survive.

Witnesses said hostages were being held inside the temple but police did not confirm this.

President Barack Obama, alerted of the shooting at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland, said he was "deeply saddened" by the attack, according to a White House statement. He said his administration would give whatever aid was needed to respond to and investigate it.

The Indian embassy in Washington said it was in touch with the White House's National Security Council about the shooting and an Indian diplomat had been sent to the Sikh temple in Wisconsin.

"TARGETED AN ENTIRE COMMUNITY"

The mass killing in Oak Creek is yet another in a recent rampage by gunmen in suburban America.

In July, 12 people were killed and 58 wounded when a shooter opened fire at a screening of the latest Batman movie in the Denver suburb of Aurora, Colorado. In January 2011, then-congresswomen Gabrielle Giffords was the target of an assassination attempt in which six people were killed and 13 were wounded.

"The gunman is worse than the one at the theater a couple of weeks ago because he targeted an entire community," said temple member Jagatjit Sidhu. He was among dozens of temple members and onlookers who gathered in a parking lot near the temple after police sealed the building off.

The Sikh faith includes belief in only one God and that the goal of life is to lead an exemplary existence. It is the fifth-largest organized religion in the world with more than 30 million followers.

The temple in Oak Creek was founded in October 1997 and has a congregation of 350 to 400 people. There are an estimated 500,000 or more Sikhs in the United States.

In the United States, especially since the attacks of September 11, 2001, Sikhs have sometimes been confused publicly with Muslims because of their turban headdress and beards. In September 2001, a Sikh gas station owner in Mesa, Arizona, was shot dead by a man who was said to be seeking revenge on Muslims for the hijacked plane attacks on the United States.

Members of the Milwaukee Sikh community complained to police and a state representative last year about an upturn in robberies and vandalism at Sikh-owned gas stations and stores.

New York police said they were increasing security at Sikh temples as a precaution. There are no known threats against temples in the city, they said in a statement.
#16
Imagine the outcry if Shay Given was on Hunger Strike for 89 days?

Would there be an outcry from the football world as the Euro championship starts this week?

You bet there would.

However, a member of the Palestinian national football team has today started his 78th day on Hunger Strike in protest at been held under "Administrative Detention" (Internment without trial)

Mahmoud Sarsak, a member of the Palestine national team, was on his way from his home in Gaza to a match in the West Bank when he was arrested in 2009. Despite travelling with the correct paperwork, he was arrested and to this day, has been held without trial or charge by Israel.

In protest at his illegal detention, he embarked on a Hunger Strike.

So, as the Euro's begin, imagine the outcry if Shay Given was arrested at the border en route from his home in Donegal to a match in Dublin and held for 3 years without any charge or trial?

Would there be an international outcry?

#17
In an accident at today's Cavan Rally, 2 spectators were killed when a car crashed into a crowd of spectators.

5 others are injured.

RTE have confirmed the news

http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0527/two-spectators-killed-at-cavan-stages-car-rally.html

Tragic news for their families to receive today.
#18
The Irish News have been breaking a story on how a 77 year old man was left on a hospital trolley for 22 hours and who sadly passed away without anyone noticing. The man had Motor Neurone Disease, and was totally neglected following his admission to the Royal Victoria Hospital.

Reading and listening to the story all day has been heartbreaking, and to read that his partner wasn't even called because staff lost her telephone number is unforgivable. The police had to call at her home to break the news. Speaking to the Irish News, she broke down when describing how he had died without anyone holding his hand.

My father died 13 years ago following a brave battle with Motor Neurone Disease, and when he passed away, he was surrounded by a loving family. The very least this man deserved was to have been afforded a hospital bed, and his loved ones beside him right to the end.

As an MND patient, he most likely would not have had the ability to speak, or move a muscle to indicate that he needed help. Plus, he would not have been able to go to the toilet or feed himself. Just thinking about it has had my blood boiling all day.


What sort of society have we got when we have a health service that is been cut to ribbons and cases like the one above become a regular occurrence?  I genuinely feel very sorry for the thousands of health care workers who are trying to do their best, but are restricted by these cuts.

Whoever is in charge needs to take responsibility for this mans neglect, and stand down. Plus, the staff who neglected him and lost his contact details also need to face disciplinary proceedings, and suspended.

#19
http://gazatvnews.com/2012/03/irish-council-officially-twins-with-gaza-city-municiaplity/

Tonight, in the monthly meeting of Moyle District Council in Ireland, they officially confirmed a twinning with the Gaza City Municipality. This is the 1st official twinning with a municipality in Gaza and any council in Europe.

Moyle District Council is in the North East of Ireland, and within its district are the stunning Glens of Antrim, Bushmills which is world famous for its whiskey, and the Giants Causeway, which is a UNESCO world heritage site.
#20
Khader Adnan is set to begin his 58th day on hunger strike, and is determined to fast until death. Speaking yesterday from his prison cell, where he is shackled to his bed, Khader delivered the following statement:

"I started my battle offering my soul to God almighty and adamant to go ahead until righteousness triumphs over falsehood. I am defending my dignity and my people's dignity and not doing this in vain."

"The Israeli occupation has gone to extremes against our people, especially prisoners. I have been humiliated, beaten, and harassed by interrogators for no reason, and thus I swore to God I would fight the policy of administrative detention to which I and hundreds of my fellow prisoners fell prey," Adnan wrote.


His letter, delivered by Jalal Abu Wasil, a lawyer from the Palestinian ministry of prisoners affairs who visited him in hospital, also highlighted that Adnan refused to be examined by doctors.

"Here I am in a hospital bed surrounded with prison wardens, handcuffed, and my foot tied to the bed. The only thing I can do is offer my soul to God as I believe righteousness and justice will eventually triumph over tyranny and oppression."

"I hereby assert that I am confronting the occupiers not for my own sake as an individual, but for the sake of thousands of prisoners who are being deprived of their simplest human rights while the world and international community look on,"

"It is time the international community and the UN support prisoners and force the State of Israel to respect international human rights and stop treating prisoners as if they were not humans."


Human Rights Watch (HRW)  issued a statement today where they called on Israel to either release Khader or charge him with an offence.

"Israel should immediately end its unlawful administrative detention of Adnan and charge or release him,"

"He may be approaching death from his hunger strike, and yet Israel is chaining him to his hospital bed without bothering to even charge him with any wrongdoing,"

.

Support for Khader has come from across the world, with demonstrations been held in many towns and cities.  In Gaza and the West Bank, dozens of Palestinians have embarked on a hunger strike in solidarity with Khader.

A video  message of support and solidarity has come from a former Irish Hunger Striker. Tommy McKearney went 53 days without food in 1980, and was close to death before ending his fast. He knows only too well the difficulties facing Khadner, and has appealed for the international community to put pressure on the authorities to release him.

Click on the following link and watch Tommy's plea:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1iwWZJPl_k

In 1981 Bobby Sands died after 66 days on hunger strike. A trust set up in Bobby's name has now highlighted Khader's case:
http://www.bobbysandstrust.com/archives/2527

Yesterday, hundreds gathered at the entrance to the Ofer prison and military court, where Palestinians are tried and imprisoned by Israel. 16 people were injured by rubber-coated bullets shot by Israeli forces, and four were arrested during protests.

Today, hundreds of Palestinians in prison joined Khader in solidarity, and have begun a hunger strike. Al Jazeera Report:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVdZdX_RM3E&feature=g-all-u&context=G208a333FAAAAAAAAAAA

An on line petition has been set up, and people from all over the world have signed to show their support and to call for his release:
http://signon.org/sign/khader-adnans-life-at-1?source=s.tw&r_by=2470434

Khader has now entered a critical stage in his hunger strike, where his death could come in a matter of hours.  According to a 2006 study by the British Medical Association, during the 1980 and 1981 hunger strikes in Northern Ireland, death generally occurred between 55 and 75 days. In general, the final stage of a hunger strike occurs between 45 to 75 days due to cardiovascular collapse or severe arrhythmias.

Please do what you can to save Khader Adnan's life. Contact the following people and demand that they intervene and save his life:

Please FAX to EU Court of Human Rights (which does not accept emails):+ 33 (0)3 88 41 27 30Please EMAIL to the below:
Secretary General Ban Ki-moonUnited NationsNew York, NY 10017 USAtel: 212-963-5012
fax: 212-963-7055 FAX !!!Email: ecu@un.org

Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations Office and Specialized Institutions in GenevaAvenue de la Paix 1-31202 GenevaFax: +41 22 716 05 55,Email: mission-israel@geneva.mfa.gov.il
Write to Israeli Embassies and Consulates in your own country. A directory of Israeli embassies can be found on the website of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the following link:http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Sherut/IsraeliAbroad