Today marks the 30th anniversary of Marvin Gaye’s murder in California. Ronan Burtenshaw gives us a run down of his best tracks.
Behind Martin Luther King’s Dream
In the first of a three-part series Ronan Burtenshaw interviews Guardian journalist Gary Younge about his new book ‘The Speech’ and the legacy of ‘I Have a Dream’.
Boycott Actions On Rise In Ireland.
On Thursday Ireland saw one of its busiest days of action yet for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, Ronan Burtenshaw reports. As the death toll in Gaza rose above 1,600, actions took place in six locations across the country in shops that stock Israeli goods. In Cork, Galway, Castlebar, Westport and Limerick activists went to Marks and Spencer, Tesco, and SuperValu. They filled trollies with Israeli products, brought … Read More
Help For Gaza Begins At The Till.
Activists carried out some actions in solidarity with the Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions (BDS) movement which targets Israeli apartheid. Ronan Burtenshaw sent us this report from those involved. As Israel’s massacre in Gaza intensifies, activists carried out BDS actions after yesterday’s Dublin demo. Here they explain their motivations and encourage others to join the boycott campaign against Israel: This morning, after massive demonstrations of solidarity around the world with the … Read More
Following In Madiba’s Footsteps Seriously.
On Nelson Mandela Day Ronan Burtenshaw examines the anti-apartheid hero’s connections with Palestine and asks what his legacy would demand of us as Israel steps up its assault on Gaza. The sight of world leaders whose governments had enthusiastically supported apartheid South Africa at December’s funeral services should caution us to prepare for a day evacuated of any real meaning. In death Mandela was recuperated by the powerful – stripped … Read More
Chile Cuts Tie With Israel.
This week the Chilean government suspended free trade agreement negotiations with Israel over its continuing massacres in Gaza. Ronan Burtenshaw has a look behind the headline and finds historic and ethnic ties between Chile and Palestine. It isn’t the first Latin American state to take a strong stance on the issue. In 2009, Venezuela severed diplomatic ties with Israel altogether and Bolivia limited them in the wake of Operation … Read More
Martin Luther King and the Obama Presidency
In the second of a three-part series Ronan Burtenshaw asks Gary Younge, Guardian journalist and author of ‘The Speech‘, about what the legacy of Martin Luther King means for the Obama presidency. What do you think Martin Luther King, had he survived, would think of the first African-American President? Younge: I can’t answer that question without first saying that it would be invidious to pretend that I can channel Martin … Read More
The Price We Pay
Ronan Burtenshaw examines the State of the Nation for Ireland’s youth. From internships to precarious employment, what is the reality behind the figures? Young people in the West increasingly find themselves with worse standards of living and career prospects than their parents. But is there really a crisis of young people here and abroad? And, if so, why? Unite economist Michael Taft puts it strongly, “don’t be under any illusions. … Read More
A Magdalene Story
Ronan Burtenshaw interviews Martina Keogh – a survivor of the Gloucester (now Seán McDermott) Street Laundry – about her experiences of incarceration and forced labour at the hands of the Church and state. Martina Keogh was sixteen when she was arrested for fighting in 1966. Originally from Whitefriar Street in the south inner-city she spent much of her childhood in institutions or struggling with a sexually-abusive step-father. At her court … Read More
A Summer Holiday
Tear gas. Sirens. Stinging, streaming eyes see paramilitary police with automatic weapons chase gas-masked protesters on wet streets. Burning skin. Makeshift medical centres, injured and bloodied bodies. I hadn’t intended it to be like that. I travelled to Istanbul on May 29th for a holiday. The first day panned out as expected – kebaps, sun in Gulhane Park, a visit to Dolmabahçe Palace. But on the morning of the second … Read More
- Page 1 of 2
- 1
- 2