Archive for April 2016 | Monthly archive page
Tomorrow (5 April) the German Federal Administrative Court will consider whether the US is waging an unconstitutional war via its military base in Ramstein. According to the German peace movement, US military drones are being operated in real-time from the US via Ramstein. The case is interesting from an Irish point of view in that the crux of it is that the use by the US military of a site on German territory for the killing of civilians elsewhere is in contravention of German and international law. Given Shannon airport’s longstanding position as a de facto US military base, the arguments and outcome of this case should be of interest to anyone concerned by Ireland’s facilitating and supporting US wars and invasions around the world.
Below, an interview with Peter Becker, the lawyer for the plaintiff in the case, which was originally published in the German daily Junge Welt. Translation by Niall Farrell.
‘We call for the monitoring of the Ramstein airbase’
On April 5th the Federal Administrative Court will consider whether the USA is waging an unconstitutional war via its military base in Ramstein. An interview with Peter Becker, the lawyer representing the plaintiffs in a case against the German government
Interview: Susan Bonath
Read More
Extract From My Inaugural Speech to The Senate
after Juvenal
I will stand up for the fleas
just trying to make an honest living
in the toupees of white men
who like to surprise their mistresses
by leaping out of wardrobes.
We need to start thinking outside
the small parallelogram; realise
large parts of this country are a vast
hair-transplant waiting to happen
the moment the necessary funds become available,
or not available, as the case may be.
We are cycling our high nellies
into uncharted territory right now;
wherever we’re going,
we’re not there yet.
At times like this we think
in particular of those who haven’t
been forgotten but should be;
those who’ve sacrificed
nothing, and when the hour comes
will do so again. Speaking
as the mother of an elderly child,
what we’re all crying out for
right now are more
underwater hospitals.
While these are being built, I promise
to introduce legislation to put
mustard on all your sandwiches,
whether you want it there or not.
The party opposite have used
my longstanding support for the right
of limousine drivers to knock old ladies
down at roundabouts, to accuse me
of being in favour of everything.
Let the record show, I’m against
type two diabetes in most circumstances
and think every sexual relationship,
right down to the humble sweaty handshake,
should be equality proofed by a government inspector
before being allowed to proceed.
These are the issues I’ll be both talking about
and not talking about. Who at the end,
and perhaps also the beginning
of the day, will make your children’s future
that bit more catastrophic?
Posterity, mark my every syllable,
will hold festivals
where members of the public will gather
at their own considerable expense
to aggressively forget what I said here today.
And what I didn’t say.
KEVIN HIGGINS