SAINT PADDY WAS A BRIT

The homeless executive - part of Dublin City Council, spend in the region of €100 million euros every year on 'homeless services'. Yet tonight, children and adults will be handed a sleeping bag and told to sleep in the parks. The emergency number for beds is turning people away saying there are no beds and there is great uncertainty. Meantime 600 dwellings belonging to Dublin City Council lie empty as well as hundreds of council houses and flats that are boarded up waiting to be demolished for 'rejuvenation' that may never take place.

These residences need to be opened up immediately and refurbished so as people can be afforded their very basic human rights. So what happens the €100 million? How much is spent on fat cat salaries? How many of these so called non government organisations that receive the grants actually spend it on the homeless and ending homelessness?? These charity organisations are simply carrying out Government remits and they employ hundreds of individuals with the money that needs to be spent directly on the homeless. The 'economy of the poor', the 'economy of the homeless' is solely for the benefit and upkeep of the many agencies that are now falling foul of their original intention and their christian duty. They are in effect 'poverty pimps' and an arm of Government and have simply agency captured a lucrative market for their own pseudo sentimentalized, spiritualized culture. The housing of people is not a charity and never can be, it is a fundamental human and civil right. Open up the boarded up houses in our country, cities and towns and give the people a home.Greece's PM Tsipras Accelerates Russia Meetup
Mannix Flynn

US lawmakers told of ‘dishonourable silence’ over acts of collusion in Troubles

Author Anne Cadwallader testifies before congressional panel on ‘Glennane’ killings
Simon Carswell

Congressman Brendan Boyle, a member of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe on Capitol Hill, described Anne Cadwallader’s evidence of collusion as “overwhelming”.

There has been “dishonourable silence” from the British government on evidence of deep collusion between the Northern Ireland security forces and Loyalist paramilitaries during the Troubles revealed in an investigative book, its author has told a US congressional panel.

Anne Cadwallader, a former journalist and researcher with human rights group, the Pat Finucane Centre, testified before the Commission on Security and Cooperation inEurope on Capitol Hill, discussing the findings in her 2013 book, Lethal Allies: British Collusion in Ireland.

The book covers the murders of more than 120 people from 1972 to 1978 in counties Tyrone, Armagh and Monaghan, providing evidence that Loyalists killers were helped by members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and the Ulster Defence Regiment.

The murders were linked to the Glennane Gang in Tyrone and Mid-Ulster, a region that became known as the “Murder Triangle” during the 1970s because of the number of murders carried out on Catholics.

Ms Cadwallader testified before the committee, also known as the Helsinki Commission, about a bomb attack on the Step Inn bar in Keady, Co Armagh in August 1976 that killed two Catholics, mother of three Elizabeth McDonald (38) and Gerard McGleenan (22).

She told the committee that a paper trail has been found showing that the bomb was made, transported and detonated with the active involvement of members of the RUC, the police and the British Army.

“To this day, no one in authority has ever gone to any of the bereaved families or the injured to acknowledge the state’s involvement in these horrific crimes,” she told the committee. “The papers establishing the state’s guilt lay for over 30 years in locked police archives. Those who knew at the highest levels, and I mean the highest levels, must have hoped they would never be discovered.”

There has been “deafening silence” from the London government since her book was published, she said.

“It is, in my view, a most shabby, unworthy and dishonourable silence. The guilty silence of a disgraced establishment that hasn’t the courage to face the truth,” she said.

Ms Cadwallader appeared with Geraldine Finucane, widow of solicitor Pat Finucane who was murdered by Loyalists in 1989, and Kieran McEvoy, a law professor at Queen’s University Belfast.

The Pat Finucane Centre wants the British government to release all records showing collusion between the security forces and Loyalists and a public inquiry to be held into Mr Finucane’s killing.

The committee’s chairman, Congressman Chris Smith, remarked that the British government’s reputation had been tarnished by the refusal to hold a public inquiry into Mr Finucane’s murder and his committee was “not gonna let up” until all the information about the killing is “laid bare” and the people responsible are held to account.

“It is bewildering how a mature democracy like the United Kingdom could be so obstinate in not letting this information out,” said Mr Smith, who was chairing his 15th hearing since 1997 on human rights in Northern Ireland, nine of which involved members of the Finucane family providing testimony.

Congressman Brendan Boyle, a member of the commission, described Ms Cadwallader’s evidence of collusion as “overwhelming”.

“It’s time for Britain to finally deal openly and honestly with this issue and release all of the evidence,” he said.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras reschedules meeting visit with Russian President Vladimir Putin for 8 April. Does this mean the indebted eurozone state could be the next Eurasian Economic Union member soon?

Greece Sailing Toward Eurasian Economic Union



Desperate for cash, and playing all the cards in his hands, Greece's newly elected PM is in a pinch. Having vowed to end austerity in his country, Tsipras is "all in" in a forieign policy game of high stakes poker between Greece, the EU, and unlikely table partner Russia. With a final installment of a €240 billion euro bailout in the offing, Greece must have a four month extension for the broke government to carry on.

News today that Tsipras bumped up his visit to meet with Russia's president by a month seems a sure sign the EU and Greece's biggest creditor Germany are not going to budge. The hasty revamp of the PM's schedule also foretells of just how sour negotions have turned since Greece's guru of finance Yanis Varoufakis began hammering out viable debt repayment options going forward. A stoic German position, and Greece's desire to breath some fresh air outside crippling austerity has led to the current situation. The rushed Russia meetings are actually the next logical progression of economic relations gone bad. First Germany said "no", then Greece said "please", and after more "no's" the Spartans demanded their gold back from the days of Nazi Germany. Tsipras has framed the hurried meetings as necessary to relieve "stifling economic conditions" set by Europe's creditors.

Beyond the war of words between Athens and Berlin though, the Great Game is still afoot in between world powers trying to soidify and extend inluence. Russia's worst critic in the region, US diplomat Victoria Nuland flew in for hastended talks with Greece’s foreign minister, Nikos Kotzias on the hurry up the other day. In the wake of that guarded discussion, Tsipras hopes tp meet with key partners in the European Commuission and with the European Central Bank tomorrow.


Alexis Tsipras - via FrangiscoDer and Creative Commons

This news, the latest up card in Greece's hand, will play out in front of German Chancellor Merkel in a meeting in Berlin on Monday next. With Nikos Kotzias having openly questioned EU sanctions agains Russia because of its annexation of Crimea, it's a safe bet Merkel, US President Barack Obama, and Vladimir Putin understand Greece and Tsipras (above) are no strangers to high stakes.

As for Greece dropping out of the EU and the eurozone, many experts say this is inevitable. Whether or not Alexis Tsipras and his ministers are prepared to give NATO heart palpatations by joining Putin's Eurasian Union, only time will tell. With ground breaking on the new Russia-Turkey pipeline project, and several eastern European players leaning heavily toward Russia these days, Greece going over to join Russia and the BRICs would be a foreign relations catastrophe for the western powers. If Greece does go, Bulagia, Serbia, and several others may well follow suit. On the "currency" side of things, many experts debate about the possible drachma's reintroduction if Greece dumps the euro and not the EU altogether. One big plus for Russia and rouble futures for this move would be, bargain basement export prices from Greece if their currency is devalued. The stimulus there, may just be enough to push Moscow into bailing out Athens.

This Speigel Online report frames the sitution fairly well if Russia and Greece do come to some agreement in April. Zero Hedge was spot on early in the new Greek adminitration's strategy in framing the Greek attitude at least. The point there being, with nothing much left to lose and no love lost between Greece and the EU, Russia could play out as the white knight for a country that was dealt a deadly economic blow. In the end however, all the experts are speculating today. What matters now is the last up card in this back and forth portrait of wheeling and dealing. On Russia's side? Well, this Pew Research Poll says the Greek people favor Russia over the EU 2 to 1. Looking at this report, it's also clear Russia's reputation is not as bad as the American perspective suggests. Even after a massive negative media onslaught these last 14 months the world tone on Russia is as equally postive as it is negative. This is actually fabulous if you're Putin and being assailed.

In the end it all comes down to Greece's leaer though. As a politician, Tsipras could do a lot worse than giving his people what they ask for.