Category Archives: Nonviolent News

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News, October 2024

Lex Innocentium 21st Century launched in Birr and Lorrha

There was a successful launch on International Day of Peace of this new people’s or popular law on war, based on the original 697 CE law enacted in Birr at a synod instigated by Adomnán, abbot of Iona. The website is at https://lexinnocentium21.ie/ with full information on the project, background and history – the new law includes protection for the earth. A message of support and greetings from Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire given at the launch can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2-Nwc6ZL3g and a video of the launch will be available in due course. Photos of the event can be seen at https://www.flickr.com/photos/innateireland/albums/72177720320507627 A handout used in his talk by Rob Fairmichael on ‘Resources on Irish peace history’ is available at https://innatenonviolence.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Lex-Peace-history-Resource-list-24.09.pdf and included with paper and email editions of this issue of Nonviolent News. Anyone, anywhere, will be able to sign up to support the law very soon on the website.

MII conference for Belfast, 18th – 19th October

The annual conference of the Mediators’ Institute of Ireland (MII) takes place in Belfast from 18th – 19th October, the first time north of the border, with the title ‘Broadening our perspective on mediation’. It includes a session on ‘The role of mediators in conflict zones’ with input from Cathy Ashton, Nita Yawanarajah, and Pat Hynes. There is a varied programme, details of which are at https://www.themii.ie/mii-annual-conference-2024-broadening-our-perspective-on-mediation-2/ This item appeared in the email and web editions of NN 322

l Sue Cogan has been appointed as CEO of MII as of the start of September, see https://www.themii.ie/appointment-of-new-ceo-of-the-mediators-institute-of-ireland-sue-cogan/

Resources on racism from SCI and others

It can be difficult to know where to start work in opposing racist violence and extremism and striving for an inclusive society. But there are many useful resources available to help understanding and action in dealing with these issues. See the website of the Social Change Initiative/SCI in the North at https://www.socialchangeinitiative.com/extremism Hope not Hate in the UK is at https://hopenothate.org.uk/ and the Hope and Courage Collective in the Republic at https://hopeandcourage.ie/ The Irish Network Against racism (INAR) is at https://inar.ie/

White poppies to remember all victims of war

In the season of remembrance there is the opportunity to wear a white poppy to remember all victims of war, including both civilians and soldiers, but also challenge war and militarism. The PPU/Peace Pledge Union in Britain sells white poppies as well as posters, postcards, stickers and educational resources. You can get 5 poppies for £5, postage extra, and a discount for larger numbers. Go to www.ppu.org.uk and click on ‘Shop’ and there is more information about white poppies and their origin on the website.

StoP Triple Lock betrayal video

A short (under 2 minutes) video enactment about the Triple Lock on deployment of Irish soldiers overseas can be seen at https://youtu.be/HohfeP6VnnI?si=ZJ3rSIqgnyg84loW

and https://www.facebook.com/share/v/otYiMVLdvsj4S2HY/?mibextid=WC7FNe The StoP/Swords to Ploughshares website is at https://swordstoploughsharesireland.org/

George Mitchell Institute events at QUB, Belfast

There are a number of open events coming up with topics including armed groups, transition and dealing with the past; inside the world of armed conflict mediation; Irish neutrality; resistance to ecoviolence in the Amazon; authoritarianism’s challenge to democracy as the norm, etc. Go to https://www.qub.ac.uk/Research/GRI/mitchell-institute/ for further info and to register.

Strategy on violence against women for North

Mid-September saw the launch of a new strategy for through to 2031, broadly welcomed in the sector, for Ending Violence Against Women and Girls with a focus on the areas of prevention, protection and provision, the justice system, and working together on the issue. The statistics are horrifying including 33,000 recorded (so-called) ‘domestic’ abuse incidents in Northern Ireland in 2023. See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn878054dxqo and for the full strategy go to https://www.executiveoffice-ni.gov.uk/topics/ending-violence-against-women-and-girls which includes some other research materials. A week later a Domestic and Sexual Abuse strategy for Northern Ireland was launched which is not solely focused on women and will also attempt to tackle violence against men, children and young people, and intimate partner violence within the LGBTQ+ community. See https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/publications/domestic-and-sexual-abuse-strategy-and-performance-framework-2024-2031

Catholic Institute for Nonviolence launched

Pax Christi International’s Catholic Nonviolence Initiative has launched a Catholic Institute for Nonviolence with the aim of making nonviolence research, resources and experience, more accessible to Catholic Church leaders, communities and institutions to deepen Catholic understanding of and commitment to the practice of Gospel nonviolence. To this end it will operate mainly as a virtual institute but with a small presence in Rome. Areas it will concentrate on are Gospel nonviolence, nonviolent practices and strategic power, and contextual experiences of nonviolence. More information at https://paxchristi.net/catholic-institute-for-nonviolence/

QCEA on EU Parliament after elections

Around Europe, the journal of the Quaker Council on European Affairs, has a useful one page (!) summary of where things stand with balance and policies in the EU Parliament, along with other material including on climate, at https://www.qcea.org/around-europe-398-out-now/

Friends of the Earth report card on Irish government commitments

Friends of the Earth has issued its annual report card on Irish government environmental and climate commitments; this is based on independent expert assessments. The conclusion was that The commitments in the Programme for Government were not enough to achieve a truly sustainable society or meet our national and international climate targets and “While we are relieved that Ireland has turned a corner away from our “climate laggard” origins, this is just the start of a long and important journey for Irish society, and momentum will have to accelerate over successive governments to make Ireland a genuinely sustainable economy”. For the fascinating detail see https://friendsoftheearth.cmail20.com/t/t-l-sxblt-jrktjjkhkl-m/ and it includes recommendations for the next Programme for Government (with an election imminent).

Human rights in Northern Ireland after Windsor Framework

Article 2 of the Windsor framework stated that the UK government would ensure that “no diminution of rights, safeguards or equality of opportunity” would come about for Northern Ireland due to Brexit. But, as always, the devil is in the detail and SCI/Social Change Initiative, Human Rights Centre at Queen’s University and the Donia Human Rights Centre at the University of Michigan have issued another report on current issues in relation to the matter; “Human Rights and Equality in Northern Ireland: Article 2 of the Windsor Framework Reaches the Courts: What’s at Stake?”, specifically looking at the Dillon judgement in the NI Court of Appeal (which was made, subsequent to this report, on 20th September, word search for details). The report is available at https://www.socialchangeinitiative.com/articles Meanwhile The Irish Centre for European Law, the Social Change Initiative and the Human Rights Centre at Queen’s are also organising a ticketed seminar to discuss the judgment on 24th October; https://www.icel.ie/event/windsor-framework-article-2-where-are-we-now-after-the-court-of-appeals-decision-in-the-dillon-legacy-act-case/

NonViolent Communication courses at Cloughjordan

There is an introductory course on (Marshall Rosenberg) NonViolent Communication (NVC) at Cloughjordan Ecovillage (Co Tipperary) on 9th – 10th November, and a “Deepening and Integrating NVC” course on 12th – 13th October. Programme run by Mel White and Aaron Bailey. Details at https://www.facebook.com/events/742242571316147 and https://www.facebook.com/events/8189655397765406

Speech by Olga Karach of Our House, Belarus

A moving and informative speech by Belarusian human rights defender and nonviolent activist Olga Karach, given in Berlin in September, can be found on the Our House website at https://news.house/63025 (with lots more info on the same website, mostly in English).

Primer on militarism and the climate crisis

A new publication from WRI/War Resisters’ International is ‘A short primer on militarism and the climate crisis’, 54 pages, A5, available at https://wri-irg.org/en/story/2024/new-resource-short-primer-militarism-and-climate-crisis “…..ours is a time of global war and global warming. Most often, however, we do not consider these processes connected. The truth is, they very much are. But how so?” – this short publication tries to look at the links, give some stories of impact, resistance and alternatives, and make suggestions for possible actions.

World Beyond War conference video

Video of their conference “Resisting the USA’s military empire” is at https://worldbeyondwar.org/nowar2024/

Amnesty backs call for investigation into 2001 journalist murder

Amnesty International has backed calls for a new investigation into the 2001 murder of journalist Martin O’Hagan who was shot dead by paramilitaries in Lurgan. No one has been convicted of his murder. Northern Ireland Amnesty International director Patrick Corrigan has said “This failure has created an environment of impunity for those who continue to threaten journalists in Northern Ireland today. It is notable that, in 2024, threats of serious violence continue to be directed at journalists from the very same sort of armed groups which killed Martin O’Hagan. We support calls from the National Union of Journalists for a fresh investigation into the killing. Press freedom must be resolutely defended.” https://www.amnesty.org.uk/issues/Northern-Ireland

l Meanwhile an Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) will examine a complaint by the two journalists Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey who asked it to find out whether police from Northern Ireland and Durham used intrusive surveillance powers against them. It is scheduled to take place from 1st to 4th October at the Royal Courts of Justice (RCJ) in London. Patrick Corrigan of Amnesty stated “This is a crucial case for press freedom in the UK” since it will test legal safeguards for all UK journalists against unwarranted surveillance and right to protect sources.

Editorial: The logic of war, the logic of peace

War is generally an attempt by states and semi-state entities to beat their opponent into submission using violent means. There are exceptions to this such as where engaging in warfare is undertaken without expectation of victory but to raise a flag and make a point – think 1916 Rising or the Hamas attack from Gaza on Israel in October 2024. Those violent means can vary greatly along with the extent to which the so-called ‘laws of war’ are adhered to. There can be great suffering for both civilians and soldiers on all sides not just through injury, pain and death but through the dislocation caused by war including starvation, lack of shelter, fear, disruption of education and life chances for young people and children, and so on. War and preparation for war is also a major contributor to global heating and pollution.

War is an evil, mechanical dinosaur which should have been decommissioned by humanity long ago. Instead we have states and non-state parties engaging in, or preparing for war. This is the 21st century. We must wonder what humanity has learnt given that there are so many different alternatives to war available through mediation, conciliation, nonviolent action of many kinds, and other actions by citizens and states. But both power (e.g. USA) and powerlessness (e.g. Hamas in Gaza) can convince people that violence is the way to go to achieve their goals.

The launch of Lex Innocentium 21st Century is a very welcome initiative in relation to war (see https://lexinnocentium21.ie/ and item with other links in the news section of this issue). Cáin Adomnáin (Adomnán’s Law) of 697 CE was arguably the first attempt in western Europe to protect civilians in war – there are numerous other examples from other cultures in antiquity around the world. We have to question and undermine the very basis of war. The new Lex Innocentium 21st Century project does indeed take Cáin Adomnáin forward into the 21st century.

The basis of war is varied and multi-faceted. The military-industrial complex is complex with its tentacles everywhere. The Irish government has been promoting military production, incredibly for a country which suffered a small, guerrilla war only a few decades back. Northern Ireland has already had significant military production. There are big profits to be made, and no industry is more corrupt. Many politicians want to look big and strong and one way they think they can do that is by bolstering their country’s armed forces both because they may believe in such strength but also because it will reflect strength back on them.

But putting your faith in the military and war is a sword of Damocles. Large scale investment in the military tends to lead to the feeling they should be used, not just to threaten but for actual war. And once you start a war you are likely to escalate it, cf Israel, Gaza and Lebanon. And every penny or cent spent on the military is a penny or cent not available for positive purposes in society. Meanwhile potential or actual ‘enemies’ see your military investment and seek to match it, through feelings of insecurity and threat. And then you respond to their military spending and an arms race is begun. Belief in military ‘strength’ can lead to economic, democratic and social weakness with the extolling of militarism having many problems including machismo and its corollary of male violence.

Clem McCartney in his piece in the last issue of Nonviolent News analysed the hole the world is currently in regarding conflict. https://innatenonviolence.org/wp/2024/09/02/rreadings-in-nonviolence-when-will-we-ever-learn-reflections-on-a-debate/ This suggests some ways forward on the international stage. And the usual advice about being in a hole is to stop digging. Unfortunately the world shows no sign at the moment of emerging from that hole or even wanting to do so.

The situation for the people of Sudan is extremely bleak with no thought given by the respective vying war lords to the suffering and starvation of citizens. The Russia-Ukraine war is an unfortunate classical case of relative stalemate with lives and money being thrown into not just a hole but a bottomless pit. Israel thinks it can achieve peace through all out war on its opponents when all it is doing is perpetuating the conflict; you achieve a permanent end to a conflict by turning enemies into friends, not by trying to obliterate them. Meanwhile other states and people back who they want to support, exacerbating the conflicts.

A groundswell of popular opinion is usually needed to stop a state or states engaging in warmaking. Lex Innocentium 21st Century is one such initiative. The original Cáin Adomnáin did not actually seek to stop war as opposed to limiting warfare and protecting ‘innocent’ people. Hopefully thirteen centuries later we are realising that no one deserves to die in war and that, in an era of high tech and nuclear weapons, the stakes are too high to be engaging in war at all; the choice is between disarmament or destruction. The vast majority of those dying in modern warfare are civilians.

There are alternatives. World economic justice and resource sharing needs to be part of it. Reform of the United Nations is another part. The world – and the Irish government in particular – could pay attention to the thinking involved in Article 29 of Bunreacht na hÉireann which states that “Ireland affirms its adherence to the principle of the pacific settlement of international disputes by international arbitration or judicial determination.” This was written in 1937 and could be considerably extrapolated form in relation to the possibilities of dealing with conflict which have developed since then.

And Irish politicians paying attention to their own constitution would be a start; while they sometimes make positive noises their actions and inactions are generally negative. The recent information about flights carrying military equipment to Israel through Irish airspace is a case in point, and the government steadfastly refuses to search US military or military-contracted planes using Shannon airport. The approach seems to be to ignore western militarist links and to stall taking any action, all of which is incompatible with neutrality.

Escalation has been taking place regarding violence and poor relationships worldwide. But détente, disaramament and de-escalation can take place; it did take place very considerably following the end of the Russian Communist system and control in Eastern Europe but this was not followed up with new forms of cooperation internationally to cement that breakthrough. States fund war and preparation for war; they do not seem keen on funding or putting their thinking into peace. But the building of trust and justice can lead to an escalation in peace actions and disarmament,

The world has global heating to deal with; it cannot afford in any way – ecologically, financially, socially – to be distracted by wars and high level military confrontations. The pursuit of military solutions and ‘security’ (which is really a form of insecurity) is a chimera which distracts from the very urgent needs of the world for an end of global heating and for global justice. Yet the world, including ‘the West’, fiddles about while the world burns.

Eco-Awareness: Valuing our waterways

Larry Speight brings us his monthly column –

When I was a boy of about five or six I would sometimes tilt my head back and open my mouth to catch the rain believing that it was as drinkable as the water that came out of the kitchen tap. This I later learnt was not true as the rain contained contaminates from factories, vehicle exhaust pipes and home fires.

All of these, and a host of other contaminates, have to be removed from the water piped into our homes, schools, hospitals, libraries, offices and factories. This means that although water is free at the point of use, collecting, storing, processing, transporting and then cleaning the water after use costs a great deal of money.

Given that clean water is vital to life and to the smooth functioning of society one might think that we place an exceedingly high value on it but we don’t.

If we did then the waterways on this island, which are oblivious to political borders, would be in excellent health from which hill walkers could draw water to make a hot brew and swimmers stretch their limbs. This, as scientific reports and personal experience tell us, is not the case. Everyone who pays attention to the local and national media would know that not only are the bodies of fresh water across these islands a danger to human and other life but the lack of water infrastructure prevents the building of new homes and other amenities.

The Fermanagh based Impartial Reporter highlighted this in a recent special report on the pollution of Lough Erne and the negative social and economic consequences. Lough Neagh suffers from similar but much worse pollution. In regards to Lough Neagh members of the public in mid-Ulster informed the BBC’s The Nolan Show, 13 September, that the water coming out of their taps tasted so foul they could not drink it. NI Water assured the public that it was safe to drink.

Fergal Sharkey, a clean water activist and one-time lead singer of the Northern Ireland punk-rock group the Undertones, is quoted in The Belfast Telegraph as saying of the N.I. Water Authority that: “It does not need plans. It does not need strategies. It simply needs the current law enforced.” This deduction means that the responsibility for the deplorable condition of water in Northern Ireland, and other jurisdictions, lies with the government minister in charge. In Northern Ireland this is Andrew Muir. As the pollution of Northern Ireland’s waterways is a result of neglect over a long number of years previous ministers in charge of water are also responsible for its deplorable state.

Why do ministers, and bodies with statutory responsibility for our water, turn a blind eye to the scientific evidence and the experiences of those who have suffered illness or loss of income because of the pollution? I would venture that the reason is that they see their job as primarily to facilitate profit making regardless of the cost to ecosystems and human health. This is the case not only on our island but in countries around the world whose bodies of water are also polluted,

This was vividly illustrated by the N.I. Executive’s 2013 Going for Growth strategy which prioritised the expansion and profit-making of the agri-food industry at the expense of the protection of waterways, biodiversity and human health. Evidence that supports this contention is that slurry, which is a mixture of livestock manure and water, and is spread on grassland, is mentioned only once in the 85-page Going for Growth document.

Slurry, which is heavy in nitrogen and phosphorus and is likely to contain the residue of antibiotics, finds its way into our streams, rivers and lake, and is a major contributor, along with untreated sewage, to the growth of blue-green algae which afflicts Lough Erne and Lough Neagh as well as other bodies of water. In 2023 blue-green algae found its way by means of the River Bann onto the north coast. This year it was confirmed in Portrush harbour.

The Going for Growth strategy is a classic example of compartmentalised thinking and reflects the prevailing view, which is contrary to the evidence, that our species exists a part from nonhuman nature, or what is often called the natural world. This sense of disconnection is in large part the result of us living in an increasingly complex technological world.

In regards to our acquisition of water we in high-income countries pull a cord, push a button, turn a tap or push down on a handle without having a clue about where the water comes from, where it goes, its real financial cost or its ecological value. This is the case in regards to almost everything we consume underscoring the case that most of us, including those with doctorates or are highly skilled in a particular field, live in a knowledge vacuum.

The sphere of our ignorance about the things that underpin our way of life is cosmic. It is a vast black hole of not knowing about the materials that common appliances such as smart phones, laptops, motor vehicles, medications and foot ware are made of. Most of us don’t know where the raw materials were mined, processed and manufactured into finished products. We know nothing about the nature of the working conditions and wages paid to all the people along this chain including the inventors, financiers, advertisers, accountants, lawyers, the people who place shop orders, track their delivery across multiple countries and process the relevant forms.

In regards to our polluted waterways we have the expectation of having drinkable water at the turn of a tap no matter what building we are in, the time of day and regardless of whether there is a prolonged drought or a deep flood. We want water whatever the circumstance, or restriction on the quantity, without being prepared, in the broadest sense, to pay for its actual cost which is a disposition predicated on us not appreciating its real value.

Readings in Nonviolence: Review of “Constructive resistance – Resisting injustice by creating solutions”

Building the uncompromised alternative

A review of “Constructive resistance – Resisting injustice by creating solutions” by Majken Jul Sørensen, Stellan Vinthagen and Jørgen Johansen, Rowman and Littlefield, 2023, 219 pages.

Reviewed by Rob Fairmichael

This is an important book in exploring, in some detail, the concept and practice of ‘building the alternative’ without being compromised and/or bought out by the state or capitalism. Emphasis is put on both being ‘constructive’ and ‘resistance’ and in integrating the two; it was Gandhi who coined the term constructive resistance and it was an important construct to him (think weaving khadi cloth). However the authors do analyse different movements in different parts of the world and the extent to which they meet these values (e.g. charts on page 41) with some fascinating detail. The evolution of women’s shelters, the first arguably in London in 1972, transformed the debate about gender-based interpersonal violence and put the focus on men as perpetrators, and therefore patriarchy as a problem, in giving women an out from being trapped in so-called ‘domestic’ violence.

The authors are themselves well known, in some circles, activists and theoreticians. INNATE was a co-organiser of a webinar with Majken Jul Sørensen earlier in 2024 on nonviolent alternatives to the war in Ukraine.

An initial definition of constructive resistance in the book (page 1) is “initiatives where people start to build elements of the society they desire independently and in opposition to the dominant structures already in place.” The examples they give immediately following are of squatted, previously empty, houses being used for people to live in or for self-organised community centres, and Wikipedia as an example of challenging experts’ ‘truth’ and ‘knowledge’.

Moving to a ‘new society’ of any kind is difficult when the old elites, or perhaps new but equally repressive ones, are so good at regaining power; “When constructive elements are left out, old elites can use the uncertain situation to their advantage to regain power, as we have witnessed in many of the recent unarmed political revolutions” (page 101) – think the ‘Arab Spring’ of 2011. I might add that while the Irish Free State did undergo a civil war at the start of its existence, the new regime became even more reactionary on many social matters than the old, and something like the Sinn Féin/Arbitration courts, imperfect as they were, disappeared into the woodwork and ‘the law’ reasserted itself in conservative form.

Of course the action by councils and MPs of republican persuasion transferring their allegiance from Westminster to the first Dáil in 1919 could also be considered as constructive resistance in creating the new entity they wanted, unshackling from the British state. However on a social and economic level it would be difficult to think of examples in Ireland which fitted both ‘construction’ and ‘resistance’. Important as credit unions are in Ireland they are hardly trying to overthrow the existing financial system, and agricultural coops, essential in rural development in years past, are now large scale economic units within the existing system (and, it can be argued, essentially part of the problem of methane production by cattle).

One example given in the book is the development of nonviolent accompaniment and monitoring, partly developing from Witness for Peace (the US organisation, not the Northern Irish one) noticing that the Contras in Nicaragua did not attack while US citizens were around (in the period around 1983). We can learn and develop new methodologies as we do things.

An ongoing issue in the book is about compromise and being compromised: “A recurring dilemma for those involved in constructive resistance is how much to compromise radical ideals in order to become “mainstream” and make the alternative interesting and available to broader audiences…” (page 183). They cover Thomas Mathiesen’s concept of being ‘in defined’ or ‘out defined’ by the existing powers; ‘in defined’ is to be judged as no threat and therefore ‘one of us’ in essence whereas to be ‘out defined’ it to be depicted as a beyond the pale rebel, past redemption. Successful movements need to avoid either definition so as not to be either co-opted or cast out and rejected as crazy hippies or crackpots.

In dealing with the example of the Transition Movement (on a non-carbon future) the authors place this relatively high on the constructive scale but low on resistance to existing dominant structures. The Fairtrade movement is similarly placed.

The book has detailed studies of Polish resistance to the state and state (Soviet style Communist) control in the 1980s, the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, the peasant-based MST movement in Brazil, and the Zapatistas in Chiapas, Mexico. Partial success – before temporary failure – came for KOR and then Solidarity in Poland by being factory-based rather than street-based (where the state security could easily get people) and in having support from the Catholic church and farmers. “When the factory occupations became widespread in 1980, Polish workers had found a way to build small communities, minimizing the interference from the state. Solidarity set up a democratic structure with transparent decision-making, mutual aid, and solidarity alliances, and continued the development of independent free media. These were elements of the kind of society they wanted to see in Poland in the future….” (page 113).

The authors pinpoint the Freedom Charter process of 1955 as a key element of democratic involvement in the South African struggle. MST in Brazil and the Zapatistas in Chiapas are the current examples given of large scale constructive resistance. However nothing is simple and the authors analyse difficulties and possible pitfalls (e.g. the involvement and participation of women) as well as successes, though the distribution of land to 350,000 landless farmers in Brazil by MST is a success by any progressive definition – and some of the details of the organising involved is astounding.

300,000 people are involved in the Zapatista movement, in 1,000 communities, and it is based among Maya people. While they did have a short violent phase, and still have an army for defensive purposes, if they had continued with war against the state then, as the book states, they would have been wiped out by that state. Instead they have built self-governing and self-sustaining structures with the goal of changing relations between rulers and ruled without taking (state) power. Both MST and the Zapatistas have impressive grassroots decision making structures and processes. A European example in the book is analysis of an anti-dam campaign in Innerdalen in Norway 1978–82 which faced many of the questions that activists reading this may be familiar with.

Without vision the people may not perish but they certainly won’t get very far. The conclusions in the book include that “If movements were more focused on putting their visions into practice through direct actions, creating some of the necessary solutions, people might be more able to envision future societies free of at least some of the major systemic dominations, violences, and injustices. But in order for that to happen, people also need to nurture visions of a different society.” (page 202)

There are other examples of possible positivities from social movements which may or may not fit the category of constructive resistance. One generally problematic area I would certainly identify would be decision making within social and political movements; do we model inclusion, and how do we a) hold together with differences of opinion, b) allow different routes to be taken internally, or c) split amicably? Any large scale social movement is likely to get disagreements which risk the integrity of the movement or may necessitate different people going in different directions. Do we look on the ‘dissidents’ as traitors to the cause or do we celebrate different flocks flying in roughly the same direction but by different routes? Do we encourage involvement and grassroots input? Clearly this latter happens with the likes of the Zapatista movement in Chiapas.

One example of what could have been constructive resistance from the peace movement is Ireland is the “People’s Campaign” associated with Ciaran McKeown in the Peace People in the period around 1994. https://www.flickr.com/photos/innateireland/21987821321/in/album-72157613614963634/ This sought to develop an alternative assembly model for Northern Ireland based on the experience of the basic democratic model of the Åland Islands in the Baltic; each of the 570 electoral wards in Northern Ireland would have discussions locally and two representatives elected. However this plan was decided on by using traditional majoritarian decision making internally and the task – of persuading people in general that it was a good idea let alone operationalising it – was massive and it disappeared without trace after a few years. Whether such a system would have been any more or less positive or workable than what came to pass is open to debate which I won’t go into here. It could also be said that many community groups in the North during the Troubles provided a space for trying to build a non-sectarian or less sectarian future.

Mediation is another area in Ireland where there has been construction but extremely low resistance. In four decades mediation has gone from the far margins to the mainstream, with mediation looked on favourably by the legal system (in both jurisdictions in Ireland). It relieves a bit of pressure on the legal system, and is obviously preferable from the disputing parties’ point of view both in potentially avoiding legal divisiveness and cost. And lawyers have not lost out since they joined the mediation bandwagon as well in training up as mediators. Outside of that, at a community level, mediation has largely been professionalised which raises questions about accessibility for all (in terms of cost). But we are still in a better place to have what we have though community-based mediation systems are very limited.

In the political process, especially later on, in the Troubles in Northern Ireland, conciliation, communication and mediation efforts by individuals and groups helped in an enormous way to bring about the Good Friday Agreement, imperfect as that was and is. This mirrored the inclusiveness which those involved sought to foster. At the time some of this was considered traitorous by the state and by right-wingers who wanted to ‘root out the men of violence’ – even though the state itself secretly engaged in such contact when it felt it appropriate throughout the Troubles.

As stated at the start, this is an important book; it asks peace, social and political activists fundamental questions about how we go about trying to reach our goals. The problem for us is that we may feel so far from the possibilities of building a challenging alternative that we feel it cannot be done or at least that we cannot do it. ‘Living the revolution’ is always a big challenge but our work and witness can add to positive possibilities for the future. This book can be of considerable assistance in thinking about such possibilities.

Bill King: Rites Again, 323

Billy King shares his monthly thoughts

Not so Lucky Dube hitting nails on the head

South African reggae singer Lucky Dube (pronounced ‘du-bay’) ended up not so lucky as he was shot dead in a carjacking in 2007. However he had been a prominent voice against apartheid and for racial harmony including before the end of apartheid. I returned to listening to a compilation album of his when racist riots took place in Dublin and Belfast. Some is culturally specific but change a word or two and some of the songs were made for such a time. Another song I admire not on the same album is ‘Respect’ which is certainly the best sung definition that I know of – “respect for who I am, not what I am”.

It’s not his own song but he has a great version of “Peace perfect peace” – “We cry for peace, perfect peace / Lord we cry for love in this neighbourhood / ……We cry for peace in South Africa” (and in Ireland I might add). “Together as one” is a great cry for racial harmony, singing from a black South African standpoint: “…Hey you rasta man / Hey European, Indian man / We’ve got to come together as one…” The alternative, of course, is some form of apartheid, formal or informal, and we know the dead end and violence that leads to.

Dalriada abu: We demand the return of western Scotland to Ireland

We must demand the return of western Scotland to Irish control and ownership. It was culturally Irish and part of the kingdom of Dalriada/Dál Riata on both sides of the Irish Sea only 1200 years ago. Why, if you arrive at the port of Cairnryan all the names around are Irish – and ‘Scot’land is named after the Irish. Western Scotland should immediately be returned to Irish ownership and control.

Eh, there are a few problems with this proposition. Things have changed somewhat over 1200 years. The people living in western Scotland don’t identify as Irish and it has been part of ‘Great Britain’ for centuries – and if it wasn’t then the next likely alternative is not joining Ireland but being part of an independent Scottish state.

However this preposterous demand is no different to the right-wing Israeli one to control ‘Judea and Samaria’ and all the lands Jews occupied or lived in a couple of millennia ago (even longer ago than when western Scotland was culturally and politically Irish). Yet this claim to others’ land largely goes unchallenged in the west. And Jews were not the only peoples around in those lands at that time and the Philistines and others get a bad write up in the Jewish and Christian Bibles and these versions are taken as ‘gospel’ by some Christians and Jews.

There are different definitions of Zionism but the denial of a viable Palestinian state means that Israel itself cannot live in peace. Justice is a major theme in the Hebrew (and indeed Christian) Bible and justice is being denied to Palestinians. The claim to land by the Israeli state and settlers because their distant ancestors lived on it – not necessarily without other people being around simultaneously – has to be called out for what it is, an imperialist land grab based on theocratic and archaic thinking; it is politically and ethically inexcusable. And it is very sad for various reasons, not least, as stated above, in denying a peaceful existence to the people of Israel.

Crews in

I watched the 2022 film ‘Triangle of sadness’ on a well-known streaming platform. It is a game of three halves which don’t necessarily fit too well together but it has some brilliant moments. A young couple (both models and she a supermodel and social influencer) and an older English couple (with the first names of a British prime minister and wife) are at the captain’s banquet on board a luxury cruise ship – the banquet is a disaster but that is another story. The young couple ask what business the older couple are in. “Producing product in precision engineering” comes the reply. And the older man further elucidates that their products have been deployed in upholding democracy all over the world.

Of course the younger couple ask what product it is. “Basically our best selling product in the hand grenade.” The older woman repeats the nature of the product, as if it was sprockets or tin cans, as it hasn’t sunk in with the younger couple. The older couple go on to say that their profits took a 25% hit because the UN banned landmines but “we pulled though” and they still have each other and loved each other….. I don’t think it requires a spoiler alert to say their product makes a brief cameo appearance later in the film.

The film is a satire on the rich to some extent but a drunken ‘dialogue’ between the alcoholic ‘Marxist’ captain and Russian capitalist oligarch passenger seems a bit weird (word of the moment after Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz used it about Trump) and doesn’t ring true; it would seem inserted (and perhaps the captain’s general behaviour) to say the makers of the film are not just critiquing capitalism but Marxism/Communism too. The tables do get turned in the film but maybe they keep on turning.

And I will add a final comment. As you may know, cruising (as in taking a luxury cruise) is about the most polluting R&R you can engage in; as Friends of the Earth say, “Cruise ships are a catastrophe for the environment — and that’s not an overstatement. They dump toxic waste into our waters, fill the planet with carbon dioxide, and kill marine wildlife.“ I am not suggesting you fly to your favourite resort however it is likely to be far less dangerous for our little planet than taking a cruise. But how do you persuade people that taking a cruise is anti-social and collectively suicidal? Are you going to tell your friends, neighbours or workmates that when they have proudly announced their latest trip on a ship? Doing so may ‘trip up’ your relationship, and they could flip out, but the learning has to happen somehow. Perhaps you could say, ship up or ship out.

Media not in the middle

Most of the Irish media, contrary to the the views of most people in the Republic but in accord with the establishment, takes a pro-NATO line. This is not usually actually advocating NATO membership, since that is a step too far and risking fully alienating citizens, but portraying NATO and cooperation with it as a Good Thing. In doing so their critical faculties go out the window.

The Phoenix magazine is an exception, consistently raising problems with NATO and often covering moves, sometimes covert, by the Irish establishment to be fully in accord with NATO thinking and practice, and detailing deviations from ostensible neutrality. Take the issue of 6/9/24 under the heading ‘NATO cods Ireland’. They rightly point out the bombing of the Nord Stream gas pipeline in the Baltic sea in 2022 has been used by NATO and Irish figures to warn of the dangers to undersea infrastructure (energy and communications) and, directly or indirectly, to refer to the ‘Russian threat’.

There is only one problem with this. It wasn’t Russia that blew up the Nord Stream pipeline. It was seemingly done by Ukraine. The appropriate conclusion to make is that it is war itself which is the real danger and that Ireland should be fearlessly exercising its neutrality to work for peace and avoid armed conflict. Wake me up when the Irish establishment realises that.

And what is it with Irish media? They are afraid to report on protests about Irish neutrality and NATO and rock the establishment boat. The issue of Shannon Airport as a warport is of course currently combined with opposition to the Israeli onslaught on the people of Gaza. 400 or 500 people attended the national demonstration at Shannon on 8th September. Al Jazeera and The Guardian reported the protest. In Ireland it would appear the only pick up was two local radio stations. There is only one word to describe this and that is – pathetic.

P Snooze

Apologies for a humorous heading to something which is more a crying matter. The British peace publication Peace News, founded 1936, is no longer going strong. In fact it has ceased publication for the moment anyway over a major conflict between the staff and the board and holding company, and the resignation of the staff. I am certainly not going into the details which have in any case been aired in public and in the publication.

Peace News was important to me when I first became a peace activist as the nearest (geographical) peace publication which reflected something of what I was feeling and believing – there was nothing in Ireland at the time. Peace News has gone through a number of transmogrifications since then and while a lot of the news and some of the features didn’t reflect situations I was dealing with, its coverage of issues and kind of approach was something I could often identify with and learn from.

You expect cut-throat conflict in some aspects of business and politics – not that it should be like that – but peace and community groups and churches are arenas where, because there is an expectation of people being ‘nice’ to each other, conflict can develop, go horribly wrong, and not be dealt with because ‘that sort of thing doesn’t happen with us’. Unfortunately nothing can be further from the truth. Those familiar with mediation and conflict resolution of any kind will know how anyone can end up in deep conflict, how easy it is to fall into, and how, when you listen to one side, the right of the matter seems to lie with them…..until you listen to the other side and the pattern is reversed. Getting each side to listen to the other is at the core of mediation.

Mediation has, rightly, taken its place as a mainstream option regarding conflict in both jurisdictions in Ireland. But there are so many situations where mediation and conciliation processes are not considered, and it also takes two to tango, and one party in a conflict can reject a mediative process for a whole variety of reasons – being convinced they are right and/or feelings of superiority, unfamiliarity with mediation and what it does or does not entail, or anger and heightened emotion.

I am not trying to make any judgements on the Peace News situation here in saying we have a long way to go in making mediation and mediative processes part of what and who we are. In that regard the work of the late Jerry Tyrrell in developing peer mediation in schools pinpoints one area where dealing with conflict in a positive way should be introduced – though he was keen to point out it had to be a ‘whole school’ approach and not a tokenistic attempt to appear progressive or help keep order in the school. Get them young – introduce the basic methodology of mediation in school as a basic part of education and preparing young people for dealing positively with conflict. Being familiar with such processes is important so it becomes as natural as breathing – not just for those who engage as mediators but also for the parties in conflict so they know that there is another side and another story involved, and are prepared to engage.

Well, that is me for another while as winter arrives. Time goes by regardless, I hope the next month is a productive one for you in whatever positive doings you are involved in, see you soon, Billy.

News, September 2024

Triple Lock: Government locked in negative thinking

The Irish government is making its move in September to abolish the Triple Lock (Government, Dáil, and UN) on the deployment of Irish soldiers overseas. Tánaiste Micheál Martin has said that the draft legislation will be ready by “the first week of September”, when it will be considered by the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence. This is a critical move in further watering down Irish neutrality and preparing the Republic to participate in EU and NATO led military actions.

Peace groups, in a statement coordinated by Afri, have expressed alarm https://www.afri.ie/category/triplelock/it concludes “We call on the government to respect voter wishes and to prevent any erosion of neutrality through the dismantling of the Triple Lock, and to ensure that these widely held concerns are made present in the Joint Committee’s and further deliberations.” The above link has a list of TDs and their emails for making representations to them – which Afri has urged people to do. A further piece there describes a bit of the background – “The Seville Declaration on the Nice Treaty in 2002 spelt out the ‘Triple Lock’, requiring UN authorisation along with Government and Dáil approval if our troops are deployed overseas. This assurance was repeated in 2009 to get the Lisbon Treaty approved, but the promised ‘Lisbon Protocol’ of 2013 merely redescribed that Treaty, without even mentioning the Triple Lock. The present Government’s Programme reaffirmed the Triple Lock, its key resting in the People’s hands; now they propose to unpick the UN lever without reference back to us.”

An excellent recent detailed article on the Triple Lock by Niamh Ní Bhriain is available at https://www.tni.org/en/publication/saving-the-triple-lock and this carefully demolishes government arguments for abandoning it.

A logo produced for Afri which can be freely used in defence of the Triple Lock is available via https://www.flickr.com/photos/innateireland/53941857477/in/dateposted/

The PANA/Peace And Neutrality Alliance’s pamphlet on the Triple Lock is available at their website www.pana.ie

The government-run Consultative Forum on International Security Policy of June 2023 is generally seen as attempting to provide a fig leaf for the change but it is disputed that it even did that. See https://www.flickr.com/photos/innateireland/albums/72177720309217408/with/53008092883 and for a report by StoP on it see https://innatenonviolence.org/wp/2023/10/18/stop-report-on-consultative-forum-on-international-security/

Lex Innocentium 21st Century: Launch in Birr and Lorrha

21st September, International Day of Peace, sees the launch of Lex Innocentium 21st Century, a modern take on the 697 CE ‘Law of the Innocents’ adopted by a church synod in Birr, Co Offaly. The new Law of the Innocents includes protection for the earth as well as human beings and is written in secular mode. The conference part of the programme will take place in Birr on the morning of 21st September and the actual signing takes place in the afternoon in Redwood Castle, Lorrha, Co Tipperary, where in the early 17th century Micheál Ó Cléirigh, co-writer of the Annals of the Four Masters, travelled to find out more about Adomnán and the Law of the Innocents.

The law includes the statement that it is a “people’s law, a moral law, a law of principle, that can be used by individuals and groups to highlight failures of governments around the world to save humanity from the scourge of war; to call governments and international leaders to account for those failures; and to challenge all those who have a vested interest in the instigation, justification and normalization of war.

Speakers in Birr in the morning include; James Houlihan on the history of Adomnán; Rob Fairmichael on Irish peace history; Ed Horgan on the human cost of war; Eamon Rafter on the financial cost of the military-industrial complex; Sylvia Thompson (Tralee) on the cost to the environment and the future. At Lorrha, the new law will be read by John Maquire. Participation is free, donations welcome, and full details of the new 21st century law, the launch, the background, and booking for the day, can be found at https://lexinnocentium21.ie/ Following the launch, people everywhere, anywhere in the world, will be invited to sign the new law – visit the website to do so later.

Aldergrove: Part of the Western war machine

Belfast International Airport at Aldergrove is very much part of the western military infrastructure. Ed Horgan reports that on 29th August there were at least 7 US military aircraft landing at Aldergrove airport outside Belfast, including 6 Hercules C130’s, all coming from Dyes air force base near Abilene in Texas and flying on to Ramstein US air base in Germany and at least four of these heading on from there to the Middle East. There was also a C 17 Globemaster coming from Norfolk naval air station Virginia which later flew on to Rzeszow airport in south East Poland near the border with Ukraine which is the main NATO supply airport for weapons and munitions to Ukraine. Ed Horgan vocalised peace movement concern that Aldergrove Airport is being used increasingly by the US military in support of unjustified wars and genocide. See e.g. https://www.facebook.com/veteransforpeace.org.ie

Shannon: A summer of vigils, continued resistance

Every weekend in July and August saw all-day anti-war vigils at Shannon Airport, https://www.flickr.com/photos/innateireland/53854341990/in/dateposted/ and it is hoped to continue this on Sundays in September – including at 2pm on Sunday 8th September when there is a national demo there with the theme ‘Stop Arming Israel – No weapons or military flights to Israel through Shannon!’ https://www.shannonwatch.org/content/stop-arming-israel-national-mobilisation-shannon-airport

Action Against War, Cork

A new campaign group has been established in Cork, initially under the auspices of the Cork Neutrality League. Action Against War (AAW) will campaign against Ireland’s and the EU’s increasing militarism and in defence of neutrality. AAW aims to to build a united front against militarism and war involving campaign groups (including Palestine-solidarity groups, anti-racism groups, tenants’ groups), trade unions, left political parties, student groups and other progressive associations and individuals. Along with Cork Palestine Solidarity Campaign they organised a protest on 8th August at Collins Aerospace (a Cork subsidiary of RTX Corporation – formerly Raytheon). https://www.flickr.com/photos/innateireland/53919710025/in/dateposted/ Contact: Dominic Carroll corkneutralityleague@gmail.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/action.against.war_/ This is a shorter version of an item in the August news supplement.

l It has since been revealed that Collins Aerospace has a role in the development of a new NATO helicopter. https://www.irishtimes.com/business/2024/08/15/irish-company-involved-in-concept-study-for-new-nato-helicopter/

MII conference for Belfast, 18th – 19th October

The annual conference of the Mediators’ Institute of Ireland (MII) takes place in Belfast from 18th – 19th October, the first time north of the border, with the title ‘Broadening our perspective on mediation’. It includes a session on ‘The role of mediators in conflict zones’ with input from Cathy Ashton, Nita Yawanarajah, and Pat Hynes. There is a varied programme, details of which are at https://www.themii.ie/mii-annual-conference-2024-broadening-our-perspective-on-mediation-2/

World Beyond War: Award to TCD SU, Resisting US military empire

World Beyond War (WBW) has given the 2024 Youth War Abolisher Award to Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union. In May, 2024, Trinity College agreed to fully divest from Israeli companies over a period; this followed a tent encampment protest on campus that was part of a movement at campuses in several countries. For this and news of the other awards see https://worldbeyondwar.org/war-abolisher-awards-of-2024-announced-presentation-scheduled/ The WBW annual international conference takes place, including remotely, from 20th – 22nd September on the theme “Resisting the USA’s military empire”, see https://worldbeyondwar.org/nowar2024/

Jeremy Corbyn at Galway commemoration of Hiroshima

Video of Jeremy Corbyn speaking on 3rd August at the GAAW/Galway Alliance Against War commemoration of the Hiroshima bombing can be found at https://www.facebook.com/100003639263343/videos/900703115224421/

Good Relations Week in the North, 16th – 22nd September

Good Relations Week in Northern Ireland is used as a showcase for the work done by may different projects. The theme this year is “OpportUNITY” and for full info see https://goodrelationsweek.com/

Nuclear ‘Russian roulette’ in Ukraine

Chernobyl Children International (CCI) has again warned of the enormous dangers posed by threats to nuclear plants in Ukraine following a drone strike and fire at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant on 12th August. Adi Roche of CCI has repeatedly spoken of the danger of Zaporizhzhia becoming another Chernobyl and that “The inferno at Zaporizhzhia reflects a worrying trend emanating from this war, where nuclear facilities have been weaponised and brought into the increasingly volatile and unpredictable combat zones, signifying to the world that the nature of modern warfare has changed forever, and brings with it a sense of foreboding for wars of the future.” Since the beginning of the war and the invasion of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in February 2022, CCI have been advocating for all nuclear facilities be deemed a ‘No War Zone’ and for world leaders to invoke the Hague Convention which defines any attack on a nuclear facility to be a ‘war crime’. https://www.chernobyl-international.com/

Feasta ‘Rethinking Growth’ videos

Videos of the sessions at the ‘Rethinking Growth – Towards a wellbeing economy for Ireland’ conference in late June are available at https://rethinking-growth.ie/ and the main Feasta website is at https://www.feasta.org/

Season of Creation – Worldwide….including Kerry

This is the worldwide Christian ‘Season of Creation’ which runs from 1st September to 4th October; lots of resources can be found in and via Eco Congregation Ireland at https://www.ecocongregationireland.com/2024/07/31/resources-for-season-of-creation-2024/ One example event, organised by the Diocese of Kerry, is a webinar at 7.30pm on 12th September with Dr. Niamh Brennan sharing on ‘To hope and act with Creation’, see https://www.dioceseofkerry.ie/2024/08/season-of-creation-webinar-to-hope-and-act-with-creation/ for info and booking.

Action for Peace and Climate Justice

The first global Week of Action for Peace and Climate Justice, coordinated by the Arms, Militarism and Climate Justice Working Group, will take place from 21 -28 September, 2024. This initiative aims to connect peace and climate justice movements, raise awareness of the links between militarism and climate breakdown, and foster collective action for a sustainable world. This year’s theme, “Divest from War – Invest in Climate Justice,” promotes redirecting military spending to climate action. See https://climatemilitarism.org/weekofaction/ Source: QCEA https://www.qcea.org/

Editorials: The race against racism, Not being neutral on neutrality

The race against racism

The ugliness of racism has been all too evident in Ireland over the summer with slightly different manifestations in the two jurisdictions on the island. In the Republic the now established norm, requiring only a small number of perpetrators, is to burn and destroy buildings which are perceived to be, or actually are, for refugees and international protection migrants. In the North, because of the legacy and presence of sectarian violence and paramilitarism, there are more physical attacks directly on people because of their skin colour or perceived religion (not necessarily correct in relation to the latter as when a restaurant owner of Nepalese Hindu origin, employing ten people, was burnt out and ‘Muslims out’ daubed on the walls). We are lucky there were no racist killings recently.

The tie up between racist attacks and far right activists is all too plain to see through social media and ‘facts on the ground’. In the North there is also the connection to some loyalist paramilitaries; racism is present in Catholic/Nationalist communities in the North but nationalism has the advantage, in relation to racism, of being at least theoretically inclusive – ‘everyone’ is, or is invited to be, part of the Irish nation (the reality can, of course, be rather different). Loyalism has the disadvantage in relation to racism of being more exclusive, ‘what we have we hold’. Racism and sectarianism are perhaps not evil twins but certainly evil cousins or even step-siblings.

Ireland, the Republic, has undergone perhaps the fastest transition in Europe from a very high level of people born in the country to a situation of around a fifth of people being born outside the state. It has been good for the country in a variety of ways and the Irish experience of emigration has, until relatively recently, meant that most people appreciated that people had excellent reasons, in some cases survival, for coming and would make a positive contribution to society.

What racists and the far right have sought to do is to exploit two things: unfair distribution of resources (housing and facilities) and incidents where migrants have been involved in violence. In the case of the latter, it does not matter whether mental illness or other mitigating factors are involved, it is a coat on which to hang their right wing and violent ideology. Inequality and poverty are exploited by racists and the far right to scapegoat migrants when the issue is both long term and shorter term deficiencies in governmental planning and action.

Of course governmental policies are not the cause or source of racism but they can exacerbate it. The Irish government has learnt, hopefully, that depriving a local community of its only hotel to use to accommodate migrants is not a good move as it deprives local people of needed facilities. Of course there is a major housing crisis in the Republic, especially Dublin, but it is due primarily to economic success. And who will do the jobs Irish people may no longer wish to do or fill in the gaps in health and social care systems? Migrants of course.

There are many things which civil society can do in relation to countering racism, and most are being done though there is always the need for more people to be involved. One is get to know and support migrants in integrating with local society while allowing them to retain what they wish of their own identity. A second is educating, in a broad sense, people about why migrants have come and what they bring. Racists sometimes use facile slogans such as “Ireland is full” – yes, there are issues in relation to housing, which are fixable, but ‘full’? There were still more people on the island before the Great Famine and there are many countries far more densely populated than Ireland.

A related matter, in terms of education, is to help people be aware of the history and cultures of the places where migrants come from. ‘We’ can have a very insular view of culture and development – do we know, for example, about the role of India in the development of mathematics https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/sep/01/hidden-story-ancient-india-west-maths-astronomy-historians or the role of China in innovating so much over the millennia? Our Western-centric view of civilisation is not only false but dangerous in giving ‘us’ western Europeans an inflated view of our own importance.

Criticism has been voiced of the police/PSNI failure to take a more pro-active stand in relation to racist attacks. Regarding violence in Belfast at the start of August, Patrick Corrigan of Amnesty International said “An unlawful procession, including masked men clearly intent on violence, marauded across the most ethnically diverse part of Belfast, attacking communities and businesses as they went – and the PSNI did not stop them. There are serious questions for the police, who publicly declared they were prepared, but then failed to protect already vulnerable communities.” While such situations are not easy for the police to deal with both imagination and firmness are needed and many people from ethnic minorities in Belfast and other parts of the North, especially Antrim, have been left in fear (and may leave in fear).

In times of racist violence there are also actions which civil society can, and does, take. Expressing solidarity with neighbours and giving our presence at anti-racist and inclusivist demonstrations are two such things. Actively standing out in the street, and intervening to help stop racist violence when tensions are high and things are actually happening in places or people being targetted, is more risky but necessary (and took place in Belfast recently). Monitoring and accompaniment may be appropriate tools but so can active intervention to form protective lines or challenge violent behaviour. The problem is also that anti-racists cannot be everywhere and racists can target anywhere, or anyone, in the middle of the night or at least when no one else is around. Nonviolent training and tools are potentially vital in these kinds of situations particularly when some anti-racists can also engage in antagonising behaviour such as shouting abuse at racists – this merely ups the tension and potential for violence.

Local and European elections in the Republic did not show the far right and racists to be a significant force but they are there, and through violence then can exert a felt presence they could not through more peaceful and democratic means. We cannot ‘root out’ racists since they are part of the community. What we can do is educate people in the realities of the world and the contribution migrants make but also point out the relatively small number of refugee seekers coming to Ireland – which also needs workers.

The race against racism is not a sprint but a marathon. There always has been racism in Ireland and Irish people themselves have been both subject to, and perpetrators of, it. We need strategies and tactics for a long haul which will show the humanity of migrants and allow Irish people to enjoy and benefit from what they bring.

Not being neutral on neutrality

The lead news item in this issue reveals just how close Irish neutrality in any meaningful form is to being binned. Micheál Martin in particular has been gunning (sic) to fully join Ireland with EU and NATO militarism – and regarding NATO, Ireland is definitely a ‘fellow traveller’ – full NATO membership may not be on the cards but participation at a high level is possible without that. It is remarkable how far Ireland has travelled from the principles held by former leaders, including Eamon de Valera and Frank Aiken – ironically both of the same political party as Micheál Martin.

The homogenisation of EU military and foreign policy leaves limited scope for manoeuvre but there is considerable scope for action. Ireland has been more outspoken on the massacres happening in Gaza while it has been tardy in actually taking action, and has refused, despite some soundings, to inspect US military flights stopping over at Shannon Airport. Of course as a neutral country there should be no military flights there but the craven subservience to the USA in refusing to inspect military planes is an insult not just to peace but to any idea of Irish sovereignty.

The Irish government has consistently refused – including at the (so called) Forum on International Security Policy in 2023 – to look at possibilities of developing and extending Irish neutrality. The sky is the limit to the role Ireland could play for peace in the world, and as a relatively rich country it has the wherewithal to engage meaningfully on many different issues and situations while avoiding an imperialist “we have the answers” approach. The opportunity is there and the history of Irish contributions to peace sets a great precedent. It is the lack of imagination which is particularly galling along with the willingness to back the former imperialist powers in NATO and the EU. It is a very sad situation.

Eco-Awareness with Larry Speight: Anti-Immigrant violence and our destruction of the biosphere

If you think the recent anti-immigrant violence across these islands and the declining health of the biosphere have nothing in common you would be wrong. They are both underpinned by dysfunctional ideas that have become as familiar as the wallpaper in our living room that we have ceased to notice them. That is until a calamity occurs such as the August riots, the blue-green algae on Lough Erne and Lough Neagh as well as last year’s climate-related flooding of Downpatrick and Newry. When such disturbing and preventable events occur we are initially taken by surprise and then realise that metaphorically we had fallen asleep at the wheel and were not paying attention to the social and environmental signals.

The anti-immigrant violence appears to have arisen out of mis- and disinformation spread by individuals with ill-intent and taken to be true by people who feel that it confirms their biases and who are disposed to express their affronted feelings through violence. The narrative they appear to have ingested is that they, the economically disadvantaged, are being further economically discriminated against in favour of recent arrivals who are identifiable by their skin colour, religion, name, accent or form of dress.

In regard to the declining health of the biosphere mis- and disinformation is propagated by the fossil fuel industries, transnational corporations and public influencers about the reasons for this as well as proffering insubstantial solutions. The cause is overwhelmingly attributed to individual choices rather that corporate strategies, and the solutions offered are mostly cosmetic, calibrated to resonate with the basic human bias against change, most especially our reluctance to undertake the life-style changes needed in order to avoid the expiration of civilisation along with many other species.

Another commonality between the anti-immigrant violence and our abuse of the Earth is a sense of disconnection and consequent lack of empathy. Judging from the dehumanising language used it seems the anti-immigrant violence is based on the view that the new arrivals are a category of human fundamentally different from them. This is not only categorically incorrect but wilful self-deception, which supported by incorrect information about the allocation of public resources, underpinned by simmering resentments, provided the basis for people, mostly males, to vent their aggression on those they labelled as different / alien / foreign.

As with the failure of some to connect and feel empathy for the new arrivals much of society is bereft of the ability to feel connected with the biosphere and feel compassion for the sorry plight of many of its persecuted species who, like us, have needs and interests. Feeling connected with the natural world is not a matter of taste but an imperative for without its diversity and renewing abilities we will cease to exist.

The case that our collective sense of disconnection from the natural world reduces our chances of survival in the both the immediate and long term is verified by the annual premature death of millions through living lives of extreme hardship due to loss of land, livelihood and home brought about by extreme weather conditions arising from our warming of the planet. A study published in the August edition of Nature Medicine illustrates this, calculating that 47,690 people in Europe died prematurely in 2023 due to hot weather, while the World Health Organisation estimates that by 2030, 250,000 people worldwide will die due to climate breakdown.

The inhospitable living conditions caused by climate breakdown are further exasperated by air pollution, the decrease in supplies of fresh water, fertile soil and people having to work in health destroying environments for the equivalent of a few pounds a day.

Arresting those who intimidate immigrants and putting them on trial, as should happen, is dealing with the symptoms rather than the cause of the problem which in large part can be attributed to the widespread lack of critical thinking involving the ability to disassemble and test the information we are exposed to whatever its source. The practice includes fact checking, contextualising, identifying bias, analysing cognitive dissonance and platitudes and asking what information and discourse is not in the public domain that should be. Changing our minds is one of the positive outcomes of critical thinking and contrary to what many believe it does not suggest feebleness but rather the opposite.

Critical thinking should be regarded as essential to wellbeing and active citizenship as knowing the Green Cross Code and putting litter in the bin. It is imperative that it is an integral part of the school curriculum beginning in Primary One and continuing into third level education.

There should be no sacred cows, as unfortunately there are in schools as well as the print and broadcasting media. Making an exception for even one body of belief or cultural tradition gives licence to all who adhere to ascribed beliefs to plead exemption on any number of grounds. These can be economic efficiency as embodied in the orthodoxy that there is no alternative to economic growth. Or beliefs thought to be sacred as contained in the Bible, the Quran and the Vedas, or a cultural myth of which there are many.

As we live in an interdependent world the teaching of critical thinking should be universal based perhaps on a UNESCO charter – one that references a nonviolent approach to resolving conflict and the necessity of living in a way that allows our nonhuman neighbours to live according to their nature free from persecution.

The anti-immigrant violence and the degradation of our living planet can at root be attributed to our failure to recognize that every living thing is of ourselves and that we are all immersed in the organic and human instigated churnings of life.

We are passengers on the same ship and we have to hone our critical faculties in order to avoid becoming ensnared in a web of false assumptions and deliberate untruths that undermine our ability to live fulfilling lives in a way that does not prevent others, including future generations, from doing likewise.

Readings in Nonviolence: “When will we ever learn?” – Reflections on a debate

by Clem McCartney

I have been involved in a group that is concerned about the disregard for the multilateral system which guides international relations. I am thinking of structures like the United Nations; the rules and norms, such as the Geneva Conventions; and diplomatic conventions. People and states of all political persuasion distrust those systems, claiming they are biased and co-opted by their opponents, or are impatient to get their own way. They act unilaterally, using force or the threat of force, and the UN seems powerless to intervene.

This trend has been going on for a long time but it is now brought into sharp relief by the attitudes and behaviour of parties in numerous conflicts. At the same time we are approaching the Summit of the Futures at the United Nations in September which aims “to forge a new international consensus on how to deliver a better present and safeguard the future. Our group were trying to craft a statement in light of the Summit, trying to think what would make a difference and ensure that any consensus was not just empty rhetoric but that the state parties really meant to make it work. We had some differences of opinion, but did come up with a statement.

At that point I took a break, mostly walking. Walking provides a great opportunity to do some thinking and I was thinking a lot about what were they back provides a good opportunity to put down those thoughts in writing. So now I take the liberty to share the result.

I think our first point of agreement was that states are very preoccupied with preserving and asserting their national sovereignty, and not pooling any of it in order to support a system to manage inter-state relations, in contrast to the way that in society most of us are willing to limit our assertion of our individual liberty and accept the system of law and order, even if it does not always work in our favour. Our second point of agreement was that the assertion of national sovereignty is not always necessary or advisable, especially if it relies on coercion and threats based on military or economic power. We can list many negative consequences that can result:

  • More powerful countries can dominate others and get their own way

  • Getting what we want is not necessarily what we need or what the world needs, but we avoid pressure to consider alternatives.

  • Threats, coercion and unilateral action provoke anger and resentment which makes future relations difficult

  • They also invite counter threats and preemptive or retaliatory action in what ever form is available

  • The result is escalation and polarisation

  • It requires unsustainable investment of human, financial and environmental resources, which could be directed to human development.

  • Rather than increasing security it creates greater insecurity.

We all know this. Political leaders know this. And recent history, never mind examples throughout history, are salutary reminders, if needed. The creation of the United Nations is only the latest example of how, often after catastrophic events, states have realised they have to work together, but as time passes they began to subvert the systems they created to do that, and fell back on unilateralism to get short term gains. So why does the dominant discourse continue to be controlling our own destiny and prioritising security through power? Why does the human species focus on defending absolute national sovereignty, when it is a zero sum game? The assertion of national sovereignty requires limitations on the sovereignty of others. But no person “is an island, entire of itself ” as John Donne said, and, in international relations, no nation is “entire of itself”. All states need the co-operation of others. So why does humanity not learn the lessons?

Those of us trying to promote an alternative form of international relations, based on diplomacy, dialogue and co-operation, have every reason to be discouraged. The next thing we agreed on is that, at the present time we see no appetite for change in the world at large, or that the Summit of the Future will make much difference to the current adversarial approach to international relations. Our group have been debating two possible ways forward: national self restraint on the one hand and on the other, strengthening or revising the peace and security architecture to ensure compliance with it.

On the one hand some of us are very aware that we will be seen as naive and possibly damage our credibility if we support the idea of stronger regulatory systems as this will be a challenge to national sovereignty. In any case, we are aware that all states use legal casuistry to redefine rules and arrangements to suit their own purposes thereby undermining the system’s future efficacy.

On the other hand we are also aware that it is not easy for states, or any other body or person, to exercise restraint, voluntarily, in the use of their powers and privileges. Once given up on one occasion it will be harder to reassert it in the future.

Both strategies rely on personal and political will that is not there. If history and experience tell us that the existing system does not work, history and experience also tell us that states are unlikely to adopt either approach if they can act unilaterally to get what they want.

Our solution is to propose a two stage approach. First rely on self restraint and propose “a thorough review should be conducted over the coming 3 years by an international expert group to assess how existing articles [of the UN Charter] can be more effectively applied by member states to resolve political and military conflicts peacefully.” This might encourage member states to think about the failure of their current practices. But to encourage genuine re-thinking we also propose introducing the “threat” that if this does not happen it will trigger “a General Conference of all member states according to Article 109 of the Charter” in order “to discuss and agree among member states how the UN can be equipped for the challenges of today.”

This is quite an ingenious proposal but it still may not overcome the deep resistance to even discuss the dominant discourse of security through power and control, even though in reality control is slipping away from all of us. To be willing to talk about the nature of this resistance might be the beginning of finding a better solution. And so we come back to my question: why do we not learn from experience and past experience?

For me this is the most important question. We know some of the reasons but nevertheless they are often ignored. We are all aware of the US President Dwight Eisenhower warning in 1961 of the danger “of the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial-military complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of mis-placed power exists and will persist.” There are clear and present dangers and challenges to worry about, but as noted earlier, the preferred responses create more insecurity, and there are other dangers such as climate change that are not treated as priorities.

Political leaders, including autocratic leaders, face challenges from within if they appear weak in the face of external threats, but ironically they have often drawn attention to those threats in order to gain power. A form of group think develops in which the leaders incite their followers and the wider public, who in turn demand aggressive rhetoric and action from their leaders. In the face of uncertainty and insecurity there is a strong desire to keep control of one’s destiny in one’s own hands, even if that is illusory in a complex world. And there are corrupt and Machiavellian characters and psychopaths who cynically manipulate these dynamics to gain power, but they can only do that in a context where the wider society is willing to allow them.

These elements are all certainly part of the conflict dynamic, but they do not really explain why the vast majority can not or will not step back and reflect dispassionately on the different options and assess which will lead to a solution which satisfies the needs of all parties and therefore is sustainable. Then on that basis they act as a restraint on aggressive assertion of national sovereignty. The Elders have taken up the idea of “long-view leaders” who do not take decisions on the basis of short term interest, and who do not ignore the negative unintended consequences in the future.

Peeling another layer from the onion, we come to the underlying mental processes that navigate all of us through everyday life whatever our situation and whatever our status. During my break I found this illustrated in a most unexpected way. Please bear with me for a moment if I seem to digress.

As well as walking and sitting in planes, trains and airports I also went to the cinema. In the small town where I was staying there was a very unique and cute independent cinema. From the outside it looked like a typical clapboard house, with a touch of Gothic about it. But when you went inside it had everything you would find in a multiplex, multiple screens, pop corn and all the latest films. It really invited one to watch a film, but with the choice of current blockbusters like “Deadpool v Wolverine”, the best on offer was the animated film “Inside Out 2”. The basic conceit of the film is that our emotions are little people controlling us and motivating us from a command console that looks like the bridge of an ocean liner or a space ship. They call on memories which are stored away to motivate us, manage our instinctive impulsive reactions, and guide the decisions that have to be made. Some, unpleasant memories are sent to the back of the mind and suppressed, but they do not go away. The film makers say they have worked with psychologists in order to be as close as possible to the real processes in our brains as signals are passed between neurons across synapses.

In the first film in the series a little girl is moved by her parents to a new town away from everything familiar, including her friends, and it shows how the emotions of Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust and Anger guide her through the experience. In the present film she is just entering puberty and new emotions arrive – Anxiety, Embarrassment or Shame, Envy and Ennui – just as she enters a competitive situation. She wants to win; she wants recognition; she fears rejection; she fears losing control. In this situation Anxiety and Joy tussle to guide the girl and look after her, and for much of the film, Anxiety is dominant. Anxiety may be a helpful emotion as it focuses on the dangers, but in the face of the dangers it tries to control all possibilities and encourages us to be single-minded and aggressive and push others to one side, reinforcing the original anxiety. Joy, and the possibility of Joy, are more powerful motivators, and, if anxieties are kept to reasonable levels, we are open to respect, engagement and co-operation.

I think Kamala Harris and Tim Walz must have watched the film, as at present in their election strategy they seem to be channelling joy rather than warning of doom and gloom. The film is a vivid depiction of how we are contested beings as we decide what to do. There is a nice scene in the film where Anxiety is calling on part of our brain full of little people to produce scenarios of what could happen, an acknowledgement of the use of futures thinking/strategic foresight. But Anxiety only recognises negative scenarios and when Joy encourages them to generate positive futures, Anxiety immediately dismisses them as dangerous because they encourage the person to relax and lower their defences.

Here is a little article about the psychology underlying the film:

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20240730-the-key-message-that-made-inside-out-2-bigger-than-barbie

I recommend the article, but I am not recommending everyone should watch the film. It is loud, garish and kitsch. And of course it is facile to assume a child’s psyche is exactly the same as the psyche of political leaders, a society’s psyche or a nation’s psyche. The more people involved, the more the dynamics are amplified. And over time more and more assumptions, motivations and emotions get locked into fixed patterns: group think. But it does point us to the need for people, societies and nations (and ourselves) to go back to the emotions, memories, impulses and instincts that are drivers of attitudes and behaviours, surface them and test them.

And we need to also consider other possibilities that have been discarded and suppressed as counter to the dominant narrative of the day. I am reminded that during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, the US Administration invited outside experts to challenge their thinking and work together on how to be firm in the face of the threat as they saw it, but at the same time defuse the situation. This can best be done through diplomatic engagement, dialogue, critical thinking and joint analysis with opponents, because we have to take into account their interests and they have to take into account our interest, and once that is established, often solutions can be found that satisfy the interests of all concerned. It helps too if those involved, individuals, communities and states are secure in themselves, not secure on the basis of military power, and have the confidence to take the risk of engaging with opponents.

Where does that come from? If their dignity is respected; if they are treated fairly and equitably; if they have access to opportunities; if they are listened to; if their rights are protected; if they feel that what they do matters: these are among the approaches for which the Shared Societies Concept advocates, not only because they are fair, but because when this happens then people and nations want to act responsibly and have that self assurance to be self critical and challenge their own assumptions and to reach out and engage with their opponents in joint problem solving and developing mutually respectful relationships.

During the Annual and Spring Meetings of the World Bank/IMF in 2011/12, the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Club de Madrid and Center of Concern brought together representatives from global institutions to consider the global economic policy framework needed to support and nurture equitable development, building on the Shared Society Concept, which resulted in the Global Shared Society Agenda. Likewise, the Institute of Economics and Peace has identified similar characteristic of more peaceful societies which it called the Pillars of Peace. So as well as suggesting what should be done to make the systems function better or to reform the systems, we need to begin to raise awareness of the underlying dynamics at work and the need to address them, and we can then propose, through quiet diplomacy, ways in which that can be done. By creating awareness of a problem, those concerned have taken the first step in analysing how to address it.

The title of this piece is a reference to the refrain from the Pete Seeger Song “Where have all the flowers gone?”

Regarding the film referred to, Inside Out 2, see also https://opinion.inquirer.net/174839/developing-our-emotional-intelligence

Billy King: Rites Again, 322

Billy King shares his monthly thoughts

Well, it was one of those years when you might feel, as I did, that summer forgot to come and autumn came first. With climate change that may be increasingly our lot, not that Ireland was ever renowned for tropical summers. The rain in Spain Ireland stays mainly on and on. Oh well, I hope you got your head showered somewhere and you are fit and ready for autumn and winter. Of course it wasn’t a good summer for racism either but that is another, and unpleasant, story.

Marching orders

For imaginative audacity and brass neck over the summer though you have to admire Portadown Orangemen, still smarting after all these years on not being able to march down the Garvaghy Road and through a Catholic area where they are not welcome. They argued the toss with the Parades Commission that they should march through when Armagh (the county Portadown is in) were playing in – and in the event winning by a point – the All-Ireland Gaelic football final. The premise was that all the taigs* would be either in Croke Park or watching the match so it wouldn’t matter to them. Nice try lads [I thought a try was in rugby – Ed]. But you’ll have to do better than that next time, like actually talking to residents. *’Obviously not the term used by them in seeking permission, but Taig’ is used in a highly derogatory way by some Northern Prods about Catholics; as its origin is in the personal name ‘Tadhg’, coming from ‘poet’, I use it as a positive term but being careful to explain why.

Genius

It was a bit of a coincidence. Edna O’Brien’s impressionistic and excellent 1999 biography of James Joyce had sat on a bookshelf of ours for a long time but it caught my eye and, it being short, I thought I could read it in a couple of days and I had, it being summer, time to do so. That I did and finished it on the day that Edna O’Brien’s death was announced, before I heard she was dead or even at death’s door. illy King

Without going into details of the book, my chief thought following the reading was how Nora Barnacle stuck to her man through thick and thin (mainly thin), it is absolutely amazing. Lesser people would have headed for the hills, or in her case close to the sea, very early on. But it got me thinking. JJ is usually thought of as a bit of a genius, and he certainly proclaimed it himself, but are all ‘geniuses’ impossible (or at least improbable) to live with? O’Brien however talks about writers in the context of James Joyce (and I am not equating ‘writers’ with ‘geniuses’) – “Do writers have to be such monsters in order to create? I believe that they do. It is a paradox that while wrestling with language to capture the human condition they become more callous, and cut off from the very human traits which they so glisteningly depict” (in the “Fame” chapter of her book). I don’t necessarily agree.

Edna O’Brien herself chose to stay single most of her life though that did not preclude relationships. She was a determined and dedicated writer but I don’t think she would have been impossible to live with. Certainly some writers or geniuses would require a genius at putting up with them to sustain a relationship, and probably a certain amount goes with the territory. But so too in relation to political activists, peace or otherwise, given the commitment made to The Cause and how this relates to, or can tower over, family relationships and commitments.

Isn’t it a strange world.

Struth

The old adage that the first casualty of war is truth is one that isn’t much bandied about in relation to the war in Ukraine. The fact is that we usually in our neck of the woods only get one version of what is happening and that is taken as gospel truth; Russians bad, NATO good, Ukraine saintly. No, I am certainly not going to say the Russians are good, it was a brutal and opportunistic invasion that went badly wrong for Putin but he has used it for his own purposes (cf perpetual war in Orwell’s ‘1984’). But NATO had a part in setting up the scenario for the war by its expansionist aims and actions (cf perpetual war in Orwell’s ‘1984’, NATO was set up to counter the Russian communist bloc and should have got moth-balled when it fell, instead it came up with new enemies).

Occasionally we get a glimpse at greater truths. Take https://www.irishtimes.com/world/europe/2024/08/13/we-killed-many-of-them-on-the-first-day-they-didnt-expect-us-how-ukraine-pulled-off-its-invasion-of-russia/ about the Ukrainian invasion of Russian territory in August 2024. A Ukrainian soldier says of this incursion into Russia that “We killed many of them on the first day……..Because they were unarmed and didn’t expect us.” Ahem, I know this is a war, but this sounds like the Ukrainians killing many unarmed soldiers, contrary to the ‘laws of war’ as I understand them as they were no threat to the Ukrainian army. He does say many surrendered too.

Reading

between the lines

is a necessary skill and never needed more than at the moment.

Picture it

INNATE’s photo and documentation site at https://www.flickr.com/photos/innateireland/ has plenty to choose from and in the last year has averaged over a thousand photos a week opened (you can look at photos in the photostream without opening them but then you can’t read any detailed descriptions etc). But I must admit I am often surprised about what gets hits and what doesn’t. You can browse from the latest entries but if you are looking for something in particular then using the albums tab makes things much easier; word searching can work well but not always.

One of the surprising ‘top hits’ is a photo of dumped rubbish on the seashore at Carnsore Point in a photo essay on the wind farm there – if you click on https://www.flickr.com/photos/innateireland/2835010165/ you will see a fairly basic and unexciting picture of rubbish, rocks and sand; it is a commentary on Irish attitudes to getting ‘rid’ of ‘rubbish’ – one person’s ‘rid’ is another’s ‘rud’ (multilingual pun) [Or multilingual punishment? – Ed] – but it doesn’t feel earth shattering. Yet it is second in the photos having the most hits. Of course tastes and interests vary but often what I expect to be popular is not.

And other photos that do feel special get relatively little attention. I feel https://www.flickr.com/photos/innateireland/53703463429/in/dateposted/ is an absolutely brilliant photo (by Larry Speight), coincidentally concerning rubbish, where the shape of human and animal at a landfill site in Kampala seem to mimic each other. And for me the most powerful photo of all on the site comes from Palestine (taken by Mairead Collins) of a young boy running with bottles of water to try to put out a fire in an olive grove started by Israeli settlers in the West Bank – the triumph of hope and dedication over the reality of what can be achieved.

If a photo or album is linked in someone’s blog, email or article it can suddenly receive lots of hits. Others get occasional visits but the point in documentation is something is there when someone really wants to find it. And if you find your group or field of endeavour in the peace and social change fields is missing, well, put yourself in the picture by sending in some pics. That is an invitation.

The growing year

If you have green fingers I hope it has been a good year (if you have orange fingers it is because you have likely been handling orange lily stamens). Overall it wasn’t a great growing season, not that it is over yet, and I recently sowed rocket and land cress which I hope will over-winter. In general it has been a very undistinguished gardening year (and I pity farmers); germination of the purple sprouting broccoli was very poor, I think I did three sowings under a tunnel cloche to get at least some seedlings and the plants are small. The Russian kale grew well however but caterpillars did a lot of mischief I didn’t notice partly because with the shape of the leaves it wasn’t seen. We have a now well-established fig tree but the figs have been quite small, not enough sun, and unfortunately our blackbirds have taken a liking to them so we need to pick them early and ripen indoors if they are not to be pecked and eaten to bits.

My new success of the year was undoubtedly delicious akito outdoor cucumbers which grow vertically though they need a bit of a hand with canes of some kind, and some string or twine to help secure them. Seeds bought in Lidl, they were started indoors and I put them in tubs and they have been well fed, and are currently performing excellently; we have had cucumber salads three days in a row…..day one was a recipe with a dressing and chilli flakes, day two a dressing with mint, and day three was tzatziki (store that one up for Scrabble though the game for some racists this year was Rabble……). Of course how long they will keep going into autumn I don’t know and when the cucumbers will take cucumberage at colder weather. Organically grown veg has a higher dry matter level than those using artificial fertilisers and I think this makes a big difference especially with a veg which has a high water content like cucumbers. With them performing well, though a bit slow to get into gear, maybe I can feel as cool as a cucumber. [I hope that is the end of cucumbersome puns – Ed] [Given that cue I think I’ll head off to Comber – Billy]

I nearly danced for joy outside a week ago – I did cry out aloud – when I saw a living creature hop away from me….it was a frog in our suburban garden. We have had one, or a succession of them (the Irish Common Frog can live for 5 – 10 years) for some considerable time but then I hadn’t come across any evidence for the last few years until one hopped very briefly into view away from me and the sage bush and into a clump of montbretia where it was well covered. Speaking of hopping, for a period a bit more than a decade ago Donegal town had a ‘Donegal hopping centre’ when a letter fell off a sign there….is that the triumph of hop over experience? Hop until you drop may leave you hopping mad tired but does not pander to consumerism so has that in its favour.

As the Triple Lock policy faces obliteration by the Irish government in furtherance of its unimaginative and little-minded pro-militarist agenda, I am reminded of a joke written on a lock securing a park gate in Belfast. Someone had taken the trouble to write on what was a reasonable sized lock, it looked like Tippex was used, “So is your Mammy”. Spoiler alert: ‘Locked’ is a euphemism for being drunk. The government has of course ruled out, without any exploration, positive and peaceful alternatives to its pro-NATO and pro-EU militarism policies. In fact I think they are triple faced or talking trip(l)e.

Finally, as regular readers [Plural? – Ed] will know, this is my least favourite time of year, not because I dislike autumn weather and nature – I like it – but because I dislike autumn schedules and busyness. But the wheel of the year keeps on turning (Happy Christmas anyone?). See you soon, Billy.