Ireland

(A message initiating discussion with fellow Green Party activist Dr Rupert Read:)

What do you think should/will happen after the Irish ‘no’ vote?

After the French and Dutch ‘no’ on the constitutional treaty, I thought they (the political élite) should drop ex-Part III (the neoliberal part) and demote the corresponding parts of the treaties into the acquis (which we can then work on/fight against with non-constitutional means, say in the European Parliament).

I suppose the corresponding thing now is to demote what would have become the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union into the acquis, and pass the Treaty on European Union (ex-Parts I and IV) plus the Charter of Fundamental Rights (ex-Part II).

I know that Daniel Cohn-Bendit wants a European Union-wide referendum: he said so at a speech in Oxford.

a batch of haiku
catalogues our journey – here
with some photographs

Irish health warning:
perspective limits paper
(necessarily)

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Northern Ireland: BBC Radio 4 Sunday Worship (2007-05-20): Celebrating Northern Ireland power-sharing: “From Fitzroy Presbyterian Church, Belfast, where Presbyterians and Catholics from the Clonard–Fitzroy Fellowship mark the return of a devolved power-sharing government to Northern Ireland. Led by the Very Rev Dr Kenneth Newell.” I met the Very Revd Newell on my trip to Northern Ireland in 2003.

Russia and abroad: The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia is formally reunited with the Russian Orthodox Church.

Yesterday there was a discussion on a motion on Darfur at the Transitional Assembly in Belfast. There was a remarkable and encouraging consensus on this issue in the chamber.

Here are the Commons (Westminster Hall) debate and the Dáil debate on a similar topic late last November, and the debate in the European Parliament last September.

Wow! The Pitstop Ploughshares were acquitted!

Back in 2003, these Irish activists damaged a US military plane. (P&C post #2 was about them. I’ve been told the AP has a story about this, but the only other reportage I find online is from Counterpunch.)