Paul Williams - Shell to Sea TV3 Docu. - Pre-Election Special ?

[FamilyGuy]

OK so.

Oh so you think they did mention "nationalisation" when they unilaterally seized those fishermen's boats?

[Geckko]

Oh so you think they did mention "nationalisation" when they unilaterally seized those fishermen's boats?

No.

I am just not interested in wasting a minute of my life debating someone who wants to insist that these two fishing trawlers have been nationalised.

[FamilyGuy]

No.

I am just not interested in wasting a minute of my life debating someone who wants to insist that these two fishing trawlers have been nationalised.

I ddint say they were nationalised. These men had their boats unilaterally seized as they went about their work. It was you that described the "unilaterally seizing of peoples property" as nationalisation. Not me.

[dunk]

Rossport, Shell and Bolivia-The full story + latest audio report of Rossport goings on today

Extremelly comprehensive article just posted today about goings on in Shell, Mister Williams part in the jigsaw, linkages to Bolivian attempts at civil war, general mis-reporting from irish state and corporate media and far more:


The Shadow over Erris: Shell, IRMS and Bolivia

Including the following sections relevant to this thread:

Shell’s PR buys results

Shell spends huge amount of money on PR, in 1998 “Shell spent US$30 million on contracts with PR company Fishburn & Hedges alone.”(32) The article “Irish Times Shell PR” in the May 22 issue of the Phoenix looks at how in Ireland Shell have successfully changed the line of the Irish Times over the last two years to the point where now the Irish Times now frequently send their crime correspondent to cover protests in Erris. The Irish Times is not unique in this respect, media outlet after media outlet considers it suitable to send crime correspondents to cover the protests despite not only the bias this reveals but also the fact that crime correspondents depend on developing and maintaining positive relations with the Gardaí to continue to get news stories. If they want to continue to get the scoops their jobs depend on they are not in a position to bite the hand that feeds them such stories.

The Great Gas Giveaway

Something I have observed in my involvement in the campaign is how people on getting involved and making their first ‘fact finding’ trip to the area return full of suggestions about how the campaign needs to get the media to cover the story. The reasonable assumption they make is that the campaign has been failing to issue press releases etc such is the yawning gap between what the have read in the newspaper and seen on TV and the reality on the ground.

Why is the media, even outside of the Independent group titles so silent? Perhaps it is fear of a libel action backed by the deep pockets of Shell? Or simply that many of these journalists have been wined and dined by Shell. For instance according to the Phoenix, Paul Williams whose ‘documentary’ on the project was a single minded attack on the protesters was the guest of Shell at the 2007 England Rugby match at Croke Park, part of what Shell told the Phoenix was their “stakeholder engagement list.” And the state media is controlled by the same state that is deploying hundreds of Gardai and the Irish Navy to force the corporate project through against the resistance of Irish citizens.

The Politics ie thread was invaluable in researching this article, great thanks is due to the people who spent a lot of time ferreting out much of the information I use.

Audio:
audio Interview with Fin at Rossport Solidarity Camp June 25 2009 3.94 Mb

from Pat & Jonathan O'Donnell Arrested and Boats Commandeered by Gardai As Solitaire's Arrival Imminent

[wombat]

For those who are interested in what the Oil industry believe Corrib is worth Offshore Oil & Gas News: Vermilion buys Marathon's stake in Corrib development
Marathon have sold their 18.5% stake for $100m + $135 to $300m deferred payment. Remember, these people expect to turn a profit so it gives a more realistic value of our vast offshore resources.

[dunk]

- Maura Harrington + Niall Harnett sent to jail
- Village article- Rossport: does the truth matter?

Two Shell to Sea Campaigners Imprisoned for Civil Disobedience

In Bellmullet court on Thursday, five Shell to Sea protesters were up for hearings on charges ranging from last August 2008 to this June 2009. Judge Anderson dismissed several charges on technical points but was very harsh in serving two of the campaigners with four and eight month prison sentences.

Maura Harrington, a well known Shell to Sea campaigner and spokesperson who has already spent time in Mountjoy prison twice this year for acts of civil disobedience against Shell, was given a four month prison sentence for Section 8 public order charges (failure to obey the directions of a garda). The judge took quite an interest in the fact that Maura had spent much of her life as a public servant. She was a school teacher for 36 years in Inver, and would have taught several generations of local people in Erris. The judge asked Maura if all of her ex-pupils are 'potential anarchists'. The court offered a suspended sentence if Maura agreed to enter into a good behaviour bond to keep the peace. As an objector to the Shell gas project and an active citizen committed to civil disobedience exposing the injustice of the Corrib Gas Project, Maura told the court that she could not agree to such bond conditions, and was given four months imprisonment for it. Referring to Maura's refusal to enter into the peace bond the judge accused Maura of wanting “to be free to assault members of An Garda Síochána.”


Maura Harrington

Niall Harnett was also up for a Section 8 public order charges from an incident that had happened last 30 August 2008. The timing of these cases is highly political, as many of these case were only introduced in the Spring so that hearings and convictions would coincide with the Solitaire and Shell works this summer, making it more difficult for people to protest against the project. Niall had already had a suspended sentence of three months which he was supposed to have served if he'd committed another offense within 12 months. This 30 August incident was within the 12 months, but a judge in Clare chose not to activate the suspended sentence last month. In the Belmullet court Judge Anderson asserted that he had no authority to activate the suspended sentence since the Clare judge had chosen not to, and so that he would treat the Section 8 charges as an isolated incident. However it was still dealt with harshly because as the judge explained, in terms of the 'range of penalties' a person can receive, a custodial sentence comes next after suspended sentence. Niall received four months in prison for the Section 8 charge. Judge Anderson ruled that Niall's bail pending appeal would have stringent conditions, meaning the appeal conditions would be such that if Niall appeals the conviction and is released from prison, he must stay away from all Shell work sites in Erris, including the compound on the beach at Glengad, the refinery in Bellanboy, and the Shell offices in Belmullet (as well as the surrounding waters of Erris). However as an objector to the Shell gas pipeline 'committed to civil disobedience to Shell's law' Niall refused to sign these bail bond conditions, essentially giving up the opportunity to be released from prison pending an appeal. He could have had his liberty by Friday, but he did not feel that he could rightfully agree to such extreme bail bond conditions which would essentially surrender his right to protest....

Village magazine- Rossport: does the truth matter?

[Schuhart]

- Maura Harrington + Niall Harnett sent to jail
- Village article- Rossport: does the truth matter?

Two Shell to Sea Campaigners Imprisoned for Civil Disobedience

Village magazine- Rossport: does the truth matter?

Is there a point to your post?

Its just that, in another thread I've been trying, without success, to get any Shell to Sea supporter to validate if Bishop Tutu actually made the comments attributed to him by the Mayo News (calling for an international inquiry into the alleged assault on Willie Corduff) and amplified by Miriam Cotton (who claimed this call was not only for an inquiry into the alleged assault, but into the whole project). As I have linked above, the full statement by Tutu published on the internet contains no such call.

Does this article in the Village illuminate this matter at all? Or does it simply repeat the claim, without any corroboration?

[dunk]

Is there a point to your post?

Ehhm yes, both of these people arrested and jailed have played a big part in the Rossport struggle, both talk in the Williams documentary, and post was just a keeping people up to date thing

Regarding the Tutu stuff, not sure, but imagine its true and not something made up by lots of different groups, if its really getting to you, why not email him, or his press office group, and simply ask directly?

Havent read the Village article, as I live in Barcelona, perhaps someone their site might have digital version of 10 page article online soon, or perhaps, you might visit the library or buy it yourself schuhart and fill us in.

Good luck in hunting...

Dunk

[soubresauts]

Those prison sentences, four and eight months, are truly amazing.

Has the Minister for Energy said anything about this business recently?

[Schuhart]

Regarding the Tutu stuff, not sure, but imagine its true and not something made up by lots of different groups, if its really getting to you, why not email him, or his press office group, and simply ask directly?

To be clear, as I've set out above, it is not being claimed by lots of different groups that Tutu called for an inquiry. Its being claimed by Mayo News, with Miriam Cotton seeming to pick up and add to that claim. Tutu#s full statement (which is reproduced by lots of different groups) doesn't actually contain the words attributed by Mayo News.

The significance of this is that Miriam Cotton uses the fact that this claim of a call for an enquiry has not been repeated in other papers is evidence of media bias. Yet, this claim does not have a clear source.

I may try emailing Tutu's office, and hopefully I'll get more of a response than I did when I contacted the Goldman Foundation about the inaccurate information about Rossport on their website.

Havent read the Village article, as I live in Barcelona, perhaps someone their site might have digital version of 10 page article online soon, or perhaps, you might visit the library or buy it yourself schuhart and fill us in.

I've invested €3.95, and I'm underwhelmed. There's an interview with the guy who's boat sank, a story about the planning inquiry and a slightly confused piece by Miriam Cotton calling for the media to concentrate on reporting the facts. Physician heal thyself.

To pick one non-sequitor (bearing in mind I know nothing about this issue apart from the threads I've imbroiled myself in here) she says, on the one hand, that Shell were afraid that the Rossport fisherman who's boat sank would win some court case about his right to fish, and this would put the kibbosh on their pipelaying. She then tries to run this into why they sank his boat - as if sinking his boat would end the court action.

I swear, if you think about the Shell to Sea propaganda for more than two minutes it starts to fall apart. The survival of this campaign is a tribute to the inability of Irish public debate to embrace reality.