Luke Flanagan hosted a talk on PESCO in NUI Galway on 08/11/2018. Speakers at the event, titled "Are we heading towards an EU Army”, included Luke Flanagan, Clare Daly, Mick Wallace, Thomas Pringle, Catherine Connolly, Karen Devine, Roger Cole, & Claudia Haydt.

Luke introduces the discussion by quoting Commissioner Frederica Mogherini selling PESCO as “Using weapons in the European Way”

“No need to worry”, Luke quips, “Cuddly bullets and the like”.

In his own words Luke describes PESCO with an analogy, “People say this is not an army, but that’s a bit like me saying I’m not married to my wife, I’m in a permanent structured co-operation agreement with her”.

Luke puts it in plain terms when he suggests that “We need to use the right language, to describe PESCO as anything other than a European army is denying reality.”

Of course most of the time we’re not that interested about what goes on in Europe, it seems arduous to spend time on European politics when we’re such a small fish in a big pond, but I think credit is due to Luke Flanagan for giving us a voice in Europe and reintroducing European politics to the people of Ireland, and letting us know that we can make a difference.

What might have been considered a low key event, as it didn’t get a lot of attention in the media, but I guarantee you this talk is worth a watch, as it’s more worthwhile than listening to Claire Byrne Live, The Tonight Show, or The Cutting Edge, or whatever else passes for public information/debate these days.

The knowledge of the various speakers, and the opportunity to hear them speak on this topic is unrivaled, meaning this is the one video you should watch if you want to educate yourself on PESCO and Ireland’s involvement in a European army.
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Enjoy :)

Dave Murphy is the press officer for the Solidarity party, principal writer for the party’s newsletter, and described by Phoenix Magazine as the most dangerous man in Ireland. He’s recently written about the Pope’s visit to Ireland, growing inequality, abortion legislation, and mass evictions by Landlords.

Even if you’re not a fan of the party or its politics the newsletter is a good place to view real issues facing real people in your community. A recent entry called “Rainy Day Fund? More Like A New Bank Bailout Fund!” is one of the only articles you’ll find criticising the government’s budget in plain language. Whenever I hear someone propose the government spends more money on social services someone always goes; “Where are we going to get the money for that, who’s going to pay for it?”  I wonder how closely people actually look at the budget or if people know what our country's finances are like. 

The fact is we’re a very wealthy country, we’ve sold off and leased some of our best assets, and on top of this rainy day fund there have been massive budget cuts two years in a row by a government desperate to maintain support. Murphy’s article takes a jab at the Rainy Day Fund and questions its real purpose.

Solidarity TD Paul Murphy responded to reports that Minister Paschal Donohoe intends to take €1.5 Billion from the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund to establish the fund, alongside a portion of corporation tax income, to establish the 'rainy day fund'.

Paul Murphy TD, member of the Finance Committee, said:
“The establishment of a so-called ‘rainy day fund’ by Fine Gael and agreed by Fianna Fail is another example of how out of touch they are with reality. For the hundreds of thousands of people affected by the many crises in society – be it housing or health – every day is a rainy day, it's monsoon season.

“People will remember what happened the National Pension Reserve Fund, which was raided to pay for the bank bailouts. That is in reality what this fund is being established for again – it will be a new bank bailout fund. The 'expenditure benchmark' fiscal rule will effectively prevent it being used for necessary public investment. It will only be allowed to be spent in cases of ‘external shocks’, which in reality means when banks inevitably fail again.

“Solidarity has called for the funds in the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund and NAMA to be brought together and used to tackle the housing crisis. Instead, the government plans to siphon off cash to create a safety net for bankers.

“A radically different approach is needed – one which breaks with the neo-liberal orthodoxy and treats the budget as an opportunity to address the housing and public services crises. That means an end to the reliance on the free market to resolve these crises and the implementation of socialist policies based on public investment and democratic public ownership of the key sectors of the economy, including banking, instead. In that way, the wealth in society could deliver a decent life for all and economically and environmentally sustainable growth could be planned for.”
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(Picture from McGoughart)

​RTÉ  shocked audiences with a recent report that gay and transgender people in Tanzania have gone into hiding after Paul Makonda (a senior government official) called on the public to report suspected homosexuals so that they could be arrested from early next week.
 
Makonda was anticipating backlash from people who lived outside Tanzania, but said that he would “prefer to anger those countries than to anger God.”
 
Makonda said the goal is to eradicate prostitution and homosexuality. He said in a press conference Wednesday that the public sent police the names of more than 200 people and he announced the names of some who were frequently named. He said some people had been accused of being homosexual because their walking style was deemed "gay."
 
Tanzania has had a reputation for being more tolerant than its neighbour Uganda but since President John Magufuli came to power three years ago campaigners say the little protection, representation and freedom LGBT people have is being slowly eroded. In June last year Magufuli said that "even cows" disapprove of homosexuality.

A government taskforce will now begin hunting down and arresting people who are, or are perceived to be lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender and inter-sex (LGBTI), detainee’s face a prison sentence of 30 years. Under British colonial-era laws homosexuality is illegal in Tanzania, with same-sex acts between men punishable by a maximum life sentence. Tanzania is one of 37 previously colonized Commonwealth nations that still uphold colonial sodomy laws.
 
Tanzania has a poor record of respecting and protecting the rights of LGBTI people. The government has in the past raided organizations working on health issues for men who have sex with men, threatening to close them down.
 
In October 2016, a Ministry of Health directive suspended provision of HIV/AIDS services and ordered the closure of AIDS clinics for providing services to LGBTI people. In that clamp-down, the authorities arrested and prosecuted people for same-sex relations, subjecting them to forced anal examinations, a form of cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment that can amount to torture.
 
In October 2017, 13 health and human rights activists, including two South Africans and one Ugandan, were arrested and detained by Tanzanian authorities for ‘promoting homosexuality’ in Tanzania.
 
The news highlights the prevalence of anti-gay laws in Africa, where 34 countries ban gay sexual relations.