SAOIRSE32

**You might have seen this the first two times I posted it, but it is back again. Why? Because the mainstream media outlets, except for a very few, refuse to carry it. Does this strike you as censorship? It does me, and that is wrong. If I were inviting people to a riot or an ambush, I could see it, but this is an historical celebration. Next time you pick up your newspaper or read your internet sources, ask yourself what they are holding back from you.

My friend Sharon from 1169 and Counting, located at both 11sixtynine.blogsome.com and 1169andcounting.blogspot.com, has asked me to share with you this important announcement. Please mark your calendars and plan to attend! If you visit this original link, you will find many more explanatory and educational resources:

‘TO THE NATIONS OF THE WORLD. GREETINGS…!’

90th Anniversary of An Céad Dáil Éireann (the First Dáil Éireann)

A Lecture on this subject will be held on Tuesday 20th January 2009, at 7.30pm, in Wynn’s Hotel, Lower Abbey Street, Dublin 1. The Clár (Programme of Events) is as follows:

7.45pm - Cathaoirleach (Chairperson), Des Dalton, will open proceedings.
8pm - Reading of the Declaration of Independence, as Gaeilge agus i mBéarla, by Tomás Ó Clérigh agus Richard Walsh.
8.15pm - Reading of An Scéal Ó Dháil Éireann Chum Saor-Náisiún an Domhain (the Address to the Free Nations of The World) in English and French (Appel aux Nations), by Róisin Hayden agus Séan Ó Bradaigh.
8.30pm - Reading of the Democratic Programme of Dáil Éireann by Séamus Ó Súilleabháin.
8.45pm - Lecture on the First Dáil Éireann by Ruairí Ó Brádaigh, Uachtarán (President), Sinn Féin Poblachtach.
10pm - Questions from the floor followed by a social hour.

An Clár for the 90th Anniversary Lecture.

On January 21st , 1919, the First Dáil Éireann met in the Mansion House, Dublin. The Declaration of Independence , the Address to the Free Nations of the World and the Democratic Programme of Dáil Éireann were read. On Tuesday, January 20, 2009, Republican Sinn Féin will host a lecture by Ruairí Ó Brádaigh to commemorate the anniversary. Republicanism is currently under threat from revisionist historians, politicians and the media so it is imperative we bring the truth to the people. It is through people like you that we can do this. We hope to see you on Tuesday night, January 20th 2009 at 7.30pm in Wynn’s Hotel in Dublin City Centre. All Welcome!

Thanks!
Sharon

By Mark Simpson
BBC
BBC Ireland correspondent

As Sir Ronnie Flanagan gives evidence at the public inquiry into the controversial killing of solicitor Rosemary Nelson, what is the background of the former Northern Ireland Chief Constable?

Three days have been set aside for Ronnie Flanagan’s evidence

Like all experienced police officers, Sir Ronnie Flanagan is more used to asking the questions than answering them.

He spent more than 30 years at the sharp end of policing in Northern Ireland, before moving to England to the prestigious job as head of Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary.

He went back to Belfast to answer a series of questions about the death of solicitor Rosemary Nelson.

His evidence was summed up in one sentence from his detailed statement: “My impressions at the time were that Rosemary Nelson was a lawyer doing her job.”

He insisted he did not regard her as a terrorist sympathiser, and rejected claims that the police deliberately failed to protect her from attack.

In charge

Rosemary Nelson was killed just before St Patrick’s Day in 1999, when an under-car booby-trap bomb exploded as she was driving her car. The loyalist terror group, the Red Hand Defenders, later said they were behind the attack.

Ms Nelson’s legal clients included a number of republicans, and her friends and family suspect that elements of the security forces colluded with loyalist paramilitaries in her death.

They also believe that police could have done more to ensure her personal security in the months before she was murdered.

At the time, Sir Ronnie was the man in charge of policing in Northern Ireland.

Rosemary Nelson died in a car bomb in March 1999

Although he was seen by some as a “hands on” chief constable, he told the inquiry he was not involved in day-to-day matters surrounding Ms Nelson.

He did not even know that Special Branch had a file on her.

He has already faced four hours of questioning about exactly what he knew - and what he didn’t know. Two more days have been set aside for his evidence.

Although he is being asked to remember events from 10 years ago in precise detail, and his every word is being scrutinised, Sir Ronnie has appeared calm and measured throughout.

It is all part of the legacy of the Troubles for the former chief constable, even though he has moved on to other duties outside the UK.

Communication skills

He recently landed a major policing post in the Middle East, as strategic adviser to the Minister of Interior of the United Arab Emirates.

His name was initially mentioned as a possible candidate for the top job at the Metropolitan Police after Sir Ian Blair announced his intention to step down, but it all came too late for Sir Ronnie, 59.

Although he is held in the highest esteem in Downing Street and beyond, his time in Northern Ireland was not without controversy, most notably over his handling of the Omagh bomb investigation.

He was severely criticised in an independent report into the matter.

He rejected the criticism by saying that if he believed it was true: “I would not only resign - I would go and publicly commit suicide.”

It was an uncharacteristically extreme outburst by a man whose communication skills are usually second to none.

Having spent so much time in the media spotlight, his appearance at the Rosemary Nelson inquiry has attracted a large amount of interest.

The police have always denied any wrongdoing in the Nelson case, and this has been repeated in person by Sir Ronnie.

Nonetheless, exactly what he says is significant, especially as it is all being said in public.

Numerous allegations and accusations have been made against the police about what they did before and after the murder in 1999.

Now the man who was in charge of the force is having his say.

Henry McDonald, Ireland editor
The Observer
Sunday 18 January 2009

There should be no more “Bloody Sunday”-style inquiries into past controversies from the Troubles, a major report into how to deal with 35 years of conflict will recommend.

The Observer has learnt that the report’s authors, led by former Church of Ireland Primate Robin Eames and former police board vice-chairman Denis Bradley, will also come out against establishing a “hierarchy of victims”. In addition the report it will impose a time-limit of three to four years on all police investigations into unsolved crimes from the Troubles.

The group’s report will be published at a press conference in Belfast on 28 January. However sources at Stormont told the Observer this weekend that the report will seek to draw a line under the past and move Northern Ireland away from what they described as an “inquiry culture”.

The Bloody Sunday inquiry is the longest and most expensive inquiry in British legal history. It is investigating events surrounding the fatal shooting of 13 civilians at a civil rights demonstration in Derry in February 1972 by the Parachute Regiment. The tribunal has cost more than £181m.

The report was due to be completed by the end of autumn 2007. However, the law lord in charge of the inquiry, Lord Saville, has announced it will not be completed until the end of this year.

Neither Eames nor Bradley will comment in advance of their report. But senior sources at Stormont said yesterday that one of the most contentious aspects of the report will be the imposition of a time-frame on the criminal investigations into unsolved crimes.

“Unionists will be unhappy that after three or four years investigations will be wound up into these crimes,” said the source. “It means many unsolved murders will remain unsolved. They will be less concerned about the end of the ‘inquiry culture’ that has expanded massively since the peace process.”

On the recommendation that there be no hierarchy of victims, one source at Stormont said this was designed more to end the impression created during the public inquiries that some of those killed in the Troubles were more important than others.

The imposition of a time-frame on police investigations will have a major impact on the historical enquiries team, a separate police unit that is currently investigating unsolved murders. The team has several hundred officers working on unsolved cases. One of its first major operations was the investigation into the October 2000 murder of Ulster Defence Association member Tommy English during a feud with the rival Ulster Volunteer Force. Two men are currently in custody in connection with the killing, including UVF north Belfast commander and former RUC Special Branch agent Mark Haddock.

All paramilitary organisations, both loyalist and republican, have been opposed to any expansion of the team’s role in exploring past Troubles crimes. It is estimated that more than two thirds of all deaths connected to the conflict between 1969 and 1997 remain unsolved.

By Barry McCaffrey
Irish News
17/01/2009

A victims’ campaigner has said he will sue Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde after his personal details were passed on to loyalist paramilitaries by a computer operator who was working for the PSNI.

Relatives For Justice director Mark Thompson, pictured, was among 117 nationalists in the mid-Ulster area whose details were leaked. On Wednesday, former Wrightbus manager Darren Richardson pleaded guilty to possession of information likely to be useful to terrorists and possession of 30 bullets found in his Ballymena office in April 2007.

Aaron Hill (24), from Neillsbrook Park in Randalstown, Co Antrim, had earlier pleaded guilty to using his job as a PSNI computer operator to collect details on nationalists in the mid-Ulster area.

Hill also pleaded guilty to misconduct in a public office. Both men are due to be sentenced next month for what is understood to have been a UVF ‘intelligence-gathering’ operation.

A Wrightbus spokeswoman said Richardson had resigned from the company.

However, Mr Thompson last night called for an independent inquiry into how loyalist paramilitaries accessed police computer information.

“I have instructed my solicitor to initiate legal proceedings against the PSNI for failing to prevent my details from being passed on to loyalist paramilitaries,” he said.

“The PSNI repeatedly refused to provide me with any information about this case, while the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) even refused to allow me to make a witness statement.

“There are a number of serious issues surrounding this case which need to be addressed, including the fact that the Police Ombudsman is not allowed to question PSNI civilian employees.”

It is understood that the majority of the nationalists who were targeted had taken part in a policing debate at a hotel in Co Antrim in December 2006.

Solicitor Kevin Winters confirmed that five other nationalists would also be taking civil actions against the chief constable as well as against Richardson and Hill.

Sinn Fein’s Alex Maskey said he would now be asking for a Policing Board investigation into the security breach.

“There are serious questions as to how a well-known loyalist was given unfettered access to a police computer and allowed to hand over the personal details of more than 100 nationalists to the UVF,” he said.

“This is a very serious matter which can not be brushed under the carpet.”

SDLP assembly member Alban Maginness described the case as “alarming”.

“It is unacceptable that information from the PSNI computer system was being passed on to loyalist paramilitaries for two years without being detected,” he said.

“There should have been some system in place to detect what was going on.

“I will be asking the PSNI what mechanisms have been put in place to ensure such an appalling lapse in security never happens again.”

Have you been reading about the worm that is infecting everyone? It is called Conficker, Downadup, or Kido and allows someone else to completely take over your computer. They say Microsoft has a patch for it, but if you dun have the patch, you can go into your services in the Control Panel admin part and disable Computer Browser service and Server Service, so that is what I did because I do not download all the shite MS asks me to.

I wrote to a couple friends this information, and then I decided to just post it. The services you can disable or set to manual start are explained here.

By Stephen Breen
Belfast Telegraph
Sunday, 18 January 2009

A top solicitor has hit out at the decision not to prosecute ex-Police Ombudsman Nuala O’Loan over her failed probe into the brutal IRA murder of a judge’s daughter.

Belfast-based lawyer Joe Rice criticised the Public Prosecution Service after they told retired judge Tom Travers there was enough evidence to charge Mrs O’Loan over her office’s investigation into his daughter Mary’s murder in 1984.

But the PPS then decided not to pursue the case against Mrs O’Loan on the grounds of ‘public interest’.

A file was sent to the PPS after the former magistrate claimed his right to confidentiality had been breached after he was publicly identified in the report.

He had argued that Mrs O’Loan had breached part three of section 63, of the 1998 Police Northern Ireland Act.

Sunday Life obtained a letter sent to the former judge — who suffered serious injuries in the gun attack — from PPS Assistant Director Pamela Atchison who apologised for not proceeding with the case against Mrs O’Loan.

It stated: “I recognise that the decision of no prosecution will be very disappointing for you and I apologise for any additional distress caused by the period of time which it has formally taken to notify you.”

Mr Travers, who is suffering from cancer, has also received an apology from current Police Ombudsman Al Hutchinson. Mrs O’Loan yesterday refused to comment on Mr Rice’s plans.

Mr Rice urged the PPS to explain its decision.

He said: “It really is up to the PPS to explain why the public interest argument was used for a prosecution not to take place.

“It is also significant that evidence was met in respect against Mrs O’Loan.

“It may well be that we will be seeking a review of the decision not to prosecute Nuala O’Loan.”

The retired judge — who was also seriously injured in the gun attack — claimed in 2004 the RUC failed to investigate the killing because they were protecting a top Provo informer.

The young woman died after she was gunned down in hail of bullets as she walked home with her father from St Brigids Church in south Belfast.

West Belfast woman Mary McArdle was convicted of the murder after being arrested shortly afterwards and found to be in possession of the two handguns used in the killing. Sunday Life knows the name of the alleged gunman, but cannot publish it for legal reasons.

Mr Travers withdrew his complaint in 2006 after raising concerns about Mrs O’Loan’s investigation into the murder.

But she continued with the inquiry and only told Mr Travers of the report on the day of its publication.