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The world will bid a final "goodbye and thank you, Ma'am" to Britain's Queen Elizabeth II at her state funeral on Monday, September 19 at London's Westminster Abbey.

While the service for Her Majesty, who passed away September 8, will be attended by 2,000 family, friends, dignitaries, and heads of state, the event is expected to draw a record 4.1 billion viewers from around the world.

In the United States, every major network, broadcast outlet, and streaming service will provide coverage. And in Austin, viewers will need to get up before the sun to tune in live. The funeral starts at 5 am local time, with many noteworthy events happening before and after it (see schedule, below).

Here is a complete guide to the network, cable, and streaming service coverage, per the L.A. Times and Hollywood Reporter. (All times are local to Austin.)

Networks (television and streaming):

Cable networks (television and streaming):

Other streaming options:

Schedule of events

The funeral service itself will begin at 11 am in London (BST), which is 5 am in Austin (CDT). The service is expected to last about an hour, but it's preceded and followed by other events that also will be broadcast. Here is a schedule of events for the day, according to this handy guide from BBC. All times below are CDT.

12:30 am: The Queen's lying-in-state at Westminster Hall will end. Hundreds of thousands (including soccer legend David Beckham) have been "queueing up" and waiting in line up to 14 hours to walk by her coffin and pay their respects. The BBC is live-streaming the lying-in-state here.

2 am: The doors of Westminster Abbey will open for guests to begin arriving for the state funeral. Heads of state including U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will attend, as will royal family members from across Europe (many of whom were blood relatives of the Queen). Find the guest list here.

4:44 am: About 15 minutes before the funeral, the Queen's coffin will be carried, via gun carriage, from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey. Senior members of the royal family (including King Charles and princes William and Harry) will follow the coffin in the procession.

5 am: The funeral at Westminster Abbey begins. It will be presided over by the Dean of Westminster David Hoyle and the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.

5:55 am: Near the end of the funeral, a bugle call called "Last Post" will be played, and two minutes of silence will be observed nationally across the UK. Then the "new" national anthem "God Save the King" will be sung and a lament will be played by the Queen's piper.

6:15 am: A walking procession including military bands and members of the armed services will draw the coffin from the Abbey to Wellington Arch.

7 am: The coffin will be transferred to a state hearse for its final journey to Windsor.

9 am: The state hearse will arrive in Windsor for a walking procession up Windsor Castle's Long Walk. Members of the armed forces will line the three-mile route, and members of the royal family will meet the cortege outside the castle.

10 am: The coffin will enter St. George's Chapel for a committal service attended by a congregation of 800. At the conclusion of the 45-minute service, the Queen's coffin will be lowered into the royal vault, and the royal family will leave the chapel. The service will include many traditions symbolizing the end of the Queen's reign, including the removal of the Imperial State Crown and the Sovereign's orb and scepter from the top of the coffin. (Read more about what to expect here.)

1:30 pm: The Queen will be buried together with her late husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, at the King George VI memorial chapel inside St. George's Chapel. The private ceremony is just for family, and it is unclear whether any part of it will be made public.

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The Rev. Al Sharpton delivered a fiery eulogy. - CultureMap Austin

Frederick Douglass once said there is no progress without struggle, but Philonise Floyd is tired of struggling.

Nobody should have to beg for justice, he said.

The brother of the late George Floyd, a man whose murder by police in Minnesota in 2020 ignited a burgeoning racial justice movement, shared the sentiment during a livestream Friday in commemoration of the sixth anniversary of Terence Crutchers fatal shooting by a Tulsa police officer.

Attorney Damario Solomon-Simmons said Floyds sentiment was spot on.

Yes, were resilient, he said of himself and other activists. But we are humans, and we are tired, and we deserve justice without having to expend so much energy.

The pair joined two other panelists calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to reopen the case into Crutchers death.

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The Crutcher Family is owed an unbiased and objective investigation by the Department of Justice, read a video compilation shown before the virtual talk.

The moment of silence and virtual lunch conversation was one of several events the Terence Crutcher Foundation planned for and by the community to commemorate the sixth anniversary of the unarmed fathers killing and build community power to affect true change within the city of Tulsa and across the nation.

The foundation aims to create just and liberated communities free from racial violence and harm, working to shift the narrative that Black men are bad dudes and that Black people more broadly are inherently bad.

The phrase was what a Tulsa police officer in a helicopter could be heard uttering while watching over the soon-to-be fatal traffic stop on Sept. 16, 2016: Looks like a bad dude, too. Could be on something.

Then-Tulsa Police Officer Betty Shelby had stopped to investigate Crutchers vehicle, which was abandoned in the street on 36th Street North near Lewis Avenue, while on her way to another call that evening. She shot him after he walked toward his vehicle, not heeding her instructions to stop, and appeared to be attempting to reach inside, she has said.

Shelby was charged with first-degree manslaughter less than a week after the shooting, and eight months later, in May 2017, a Tulsa County jury deliberated nine hours before finding her not guilty. She later left the Tulsa Police Department.

In addition to Floyd and Solomon-Simmons, founder and executive director of Justice for Greenwood, the livestream, which began at noon on the Black Wall Street Times Facebook page, featured Tiffany Crutcher, Terence Crutchers twin sister and executive director of the Terence Crutcher Foundation; and national civil rights attorney Ben Crump.

After a 30-second moment of silence, the two attorneys thanked both family members for their perseverance in giving a voice to their loved ones after their respective deaths, encouraging them not to let hope fail.

I am expecting a miracle of justice for Terence Crutcher, Crump said. I know God is in control.

Tiffany Crutcher noted the somber anniversary, saying that even though its been six years, it doesnt get any better.

Just seeing Terences children and my father have to still stand and speak out six years later, I get a little bit emotional, she said.

Terence Crutcher Jr., Terence Crutchers son, along with several of his family members, spoke to the Tulsa City Council on Wednesday to advocate for police accountability.

A civil case filed in the matter has been ongoing for three years, Tiffany Crutcher said, and she chalked up the matter to a white supremacist tactic.

To those people who are trying to wait us out, we will not rest, she said. We will continue to stand.

Viewers were encouraged to share the organizers message on social media with the hashtags #Terencecrutcher and #Justice4Terence as well as email kristin.clarke@usdoj.gov, urging the Department of Justice to reopen the case.

The commemoration weeks final event is a Day of Service from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the 36th Street North Event Center, 1125 E. 36th St. North.

The event will have family-friendly activities, free food trucks, a DJ, a resource fair, voter registration tables and a water bottle drive for the Tulsa Day Center as well as water relief efforts in Jackson, Mississippi.

Terence Crutcher, 40, dies after he was shot by a Tulsa officer near36th Street North, just west of Lewis Avenue. Crutcher leaves behind four children.

Tulsa police release the names of the two officers involved in the shooting. Officer Betty Shelby, 42, discharged her duty weapon and Officer Tyler Turnbough deployed his Taser, police said. Shelby is placed on routine administrative leave with pay.

Video and audio of the shooting is released to the public. Among the chatter heard from the police helicopter flying above the Crutcher scene: Looks like a bad dude, too. Could be on something.

The Crutcher family demands immediate charges against Shelby. During an afternoon news conference, Tulsa Police Chief Chuck Jordan said officers found no gun on Crutcher or in his SUV.

The story is gaining statewide and nationwide attention. Everyone from Donald Trump to Hillary Clinton to Mary Fallin to Colin Kaepernick comments on the Crutcher shooting.

Police announce that they found PCP in the vehicle used by Crutcher the night he was fatally shot.

Attorneys for the Crutcher family hold a news conference to address what they call misinformation reported by Tulsa police.

Attorney Benjamin Crump says he wants to draw the publics attention to the notion initially suggested by police that Crutcher was reaching into his vehicle when he was shot.

Attorneys show reporters poster-size images from police video footage, saying they show Crutchers hands raised above his head where he lies on the ground in a blood-soaked shirt next to his vehicle. They also point out what they believe is a blood streak on the vehicles drivers side window, which they say indicates that it was closed when Crutcher was shot.

The Tulsa County District Attorneys Office files a first-degree manslaughter charge against Betty Shelby.

Before marching almost a mile through downtown Tulsa with about 400 people, the Rev. Al Sharpton and other civic leaders urge the crowd to remain peaceful as they seek justice for Crutcher's death.

Sharpton, other religious leaders, members of the Crutcher family and several attorneys speak at a National Prayer Call for Justice March before leading the crowd from the Greenwood Cultural Center, 322 N. Greenwood Ave., to City Hall, 175 E. Second St.

The crowd spans about a block as people march behind a banner that features a photo of 40-year-old Terence Crutcher and reads #Justice4Crutch and hands up, dont shoot.

Click here to view photos from the event

Tulsa police officer Betty Shelby, pleaded not guilty to first-degree manslaughter in the fatal shooting of Terence Crutcher.

Shelby remained silent in the courtroom other than answering yes to acknowledge her presence.

Attorneys representing Terence Crutchers sister and parents argued Frenchel Renee Johnson was legally disqualified from being administrator due to past felony convictions and because Crutchers parents have temporary custody of the couples children.

Terence Crutcher had acute phencyclidine intoxication when Tulsa Police Officer Betty Shelby fatally shot him once in the upper right chest, the Oklahoma State Medical Examiners Office ruled.

Crutcher family attorney Damario Solomon-Simmons issued a statement saying that "today's toxicology report does not change the most pertinent facts of this tragedy: Officer Betty Shelby shot and killed Terence Crutcher who was, unarmed and had his hands up, without provocation or justification and she should be held accountable for her unlawful actions."

Tulsa County District Judge Kurt Glassco ordered that all the funds raised in a GoFundMe campaign, $150,000, initiated after Terence Crutchers death.

The judge also said he wont announce his decision on whether Terence Crutcher and Frenchel Johnson, the mother of Crutcher's three children, had a common-law marriage.

At a preliminary hearing, Tulsa Police Department homicide detective Sgt. Dave Walker testifies that Shelby and another officer saw Crutcher reach with his left hand through the half-open window of his vehicle, prompting them to deploy their weapons.

The daughter of Tulsa Police Officer Betty Shelby decried the media coverage of Terence Crutchers fatal shooting and told reporters her mother already has been tried in the court of public opinion.

District Judge Kurt Glassco wrote that Frenchel Johnsons relationship with Terence Crutcher, despite its length, does not meet the statutory burden for a common-law marriage in Oklahoma.

Glassco instead said Johnson and Crutchers three minor children are the heirs to the estate, as well as another child Crutcher had from a previous relationship.

The GoFundMe account received around $168,000 in contributions, which family attorneys said GoFundMe collected a percentage from before disbursing it.

Tulsa County District Judge Doug Drummond overruled two Jan. 11 motions from Betty Shelbys defense that sought to place her case again before a preliminary hearing judge or dismiss the charge due to insufficient evidence.

In making his ruling, Drummond said Special Judge Martha Rupp Carter did not abuse her discretion when she decided not to allow Shelby to call witnesses during her Nov. 29 preliminary hearing.

Shelby's trial is set for May 8, and she remains on Tulsa Police administrative leave without pay as of Sept. 22.

The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals unanimously ruled that District Judge Doug Drummond did not abuse his discretion when he affirmed a decision by Special Judge Martha Rupp Carter not to allow Betty Shelby to present witness testimony on her behalf at her Nov. 29 preliminary hearing.

Shelby remains on track for a May 8 jury trial.

Defense attorneys for Tulsa Police Officer Betty Shelby asked a judge to prohibit jurors from listening to irrelevant audio about Terence Crutchers appearance from officers in a police helicopter the day Shelby fatally shot Crutcher.

Attorney Shannon McMurray has also requested that jurors be allowed to hear information about Crutchers past, including a history of drug use and state incarceration.

The requests were denied in April.

Betty Shelby is featured on 60 Minutes and breaks down in tears while describing the circumstances that led to her decision to shoot Crutcher.

As a result, the judge presiding over Shelby's trial admonishes her in a written order after he had cautioned the state and defense on speaking publicly about the case.

"Former Tulsa Police Officer Betty Shelby has been given extraordinary privileges that the average person is not afforded at the courthouse," writes Tulsa World photo editor John Clanton. "She parks in a private lot on the west side of the courthouse. She enters the building through the Sheriffs Office and is led into the courtroom through judges chambers. She is not seen in the hallways at the courthouse. Shes led out the same way. Kept out of sight from everyone and protected by sheriffs deputies.

"All this from a Sheriffs Office that promised transparency.

"There also is black paper on the windows of the judges chambers and the courtroom. They are the only windows blacked out on the fourth floor. "

A national nonprofit organization that is raising funds to help embattled Tulsa Police Officer Betty Shelby issued a statement in her defense, describing her as on trial for her life and livelihood.

Jim Fotis, president of the National Center for Police Defense, told the Tulsa World his group has raised nearly $100,000 for Shelby since becoming involved in her case about a month after she fatally shot Terence Crutcher in September.

The Tulsa police union lodged an ethics complaint against District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler, alleging he unfairly charged Officer Betty Shelby without probable cause because he rushed to a decision before all evidence had been submitted to his office.

The ethics complaint, filed with the Oklahoma Bar Association, alleges Kunzweiler didnt have probable cause to charge Shelby merely based on watching a video of her fatal encounter with Terence Crutcher.

A jury has been chosen, with 14 individuals set to hear the evidence against Tulsa Police Officer Betty Shelby.

The jury panel of 12 includes two black women, and a black man is among the two alternates.

Sharpton said he came to Tulsa because the Crutcher family asked him to come.

We didnt come to start trouble; we came to stop trouble.

He said the shooting of a man with his hands up has been the only violence committed in this entire ordeal.

Not one window was broken. Not one brick was thrown.

The defense motion cited perceived implications by prosecutors that Tulsa officer Betty Shelby took time to "get her story straight" before giving an official police interview about the fatal shooting of Terence Crutcher.

The jurors in Betty Shelbys trial believed she acted according to her training when she fatally shot Terence Crutcher, but several believed she didnt do all she could to mitigate the situation, which left the group unable to get comfortable with the concept of Betty Shelby being blameless.

The jury deliberated for just more than nine hours before reaching its decision. Several jurors were in tears as the judge read the not-guilty verdicts for the two theories of manslaughter heat of passion and resisting criminal attempt for which Shelby was charged.

Downtown Tulsa's Mayfest was the site of protestors laying in the intersection of Main and Third streets in holding a "die in," demanding justice for Terence Crutcher.

Organizer Tykebrean McClain said the demonstrations other aim was to show people what it is like to be bombarded with images and videos on social media of the people, mainly of color, killed by police.

Tulsa Police Chief Chuck Jordan in a statement said that Betty Shelby, pursuant to the jury verdict will return to work but not in a patrol capacity.

City spokeswoman Michelle Brooks said Shelby will receive back pay for the whole time she was on unpaid administrative leave, or almost $36,000 worth of salary.

Betty Shelby, who had returned to work in a different role a few days after her acquittal, resigns from the Tulsa Police Department.

Shelby is signed on by the Rogers County Sheriffs Office. Sheriff Scott Walton had been one of Shelby's biggest vocal supporters during her trial. She is sworn in a few days later. She joins as an active reserve deputy.

The petition states that Shelby has no criminal convictions, as well as no felony or misdemeanor charges pending. It asserts that Shelby faces dangers of unwarranted adverse consequences unless the case records are sealed.

(Shelby)s privacy interests outweigh the interests of the public in maintaining this arrest record as a public document, the petition contends.

Three of Terences children, ages 5, 12 and 16, live with his parents the Rev. Joey and Leanna Crutcher.

They have given us life after their fathers death, said Leanna Crutcher.

Theyve always been part of our daily lives. But since their dad is gone, theyre really part of it now, said Joey Crutcher. Their mother is trying to get her life together. Were the ones left to take care of them, and we love doing it. It makes us young again. Young Terence makes it so we have to run after him.

A judge grants Shelby's request to expunge the record of her manslaughter case, making her able to legally say she was never arrested or prosecuted for the shooting death of Terence Crutcher.

However, a federal wrongful death civil case is ongoing.

The form asks questions about excessive force, racial profiling and whether the person reporting is willing to testify in court. The reports can be dropped off at most north Tulsa churches and will be used by the foundation to create change, said Terence Crutcher's sister, Tiffany Crutcher.

The Tulsa Police Department has a culture, a practice and a pattern of racially profiling people in our community, discriminating against the people in our community, and we can no longer say its just a few bad apples, she said.

Tiffany Crutcher, twin sister of Terence Crutcher, is pleased that the Tulsa Police Department will begin implicit-bias training next month to help combat officers potential subconscious biases, including those involving race, but she believes reformation is far from complete.

Its one small step in the right direction, but we have a lot of work to do, Tiffany Crutcher told the Tulsa World. Its one thing to say that were going to implement implicit-bias training and another thing not to apply it.

Family attorneys said that Crutchers parents, according to state law, are not legally entitled to make a damage claim in the previously filed federal case against former Tulsa officer Betty Shelby, the city of Tulsa and Chief Chuck Jordan that alleges civil rights violations occurred at the time of Crutchers death in September 2016.

However, Oklahomas civil procedure statute on wrongful death claims indicates a family can file suit to recover damages for grief and loss of companionship for the children and parents of a decedent.

The lawsuit against the city was dismissed in May.

She transitioned to full-time patrol duty Dec. 1, 2017.

Because of Shelbys time in the spotlight, Rogers County Sheriff Scott Walton discussed safety concerns with her before sending her to the streets. He said she expressed no hesitation about returning to patrol.

In 1974, he said, he lost a son to crib death. In 2008, his first grandson was shot dead in a case of mistaken identity. In 2014, his first-born son died at age 44 of colon cancer.

In each instance, the Rev. Joey Crutcher told councilors, the deaths were something that I could not control.

Continue reading here:
'Reopen the case': Six years since Crutcher's death in Tulsa police shooting, activists 'tired of struggling' - Tulsa World

Upon returning home from the reunion with the alcoholics, John went straight into the bathroom to take a nice cold bath to cool down his heated body from walking under the sun. He quickly finished and went to his bedroom to put on some clothes; thereafter, he went to the kitchen to gather something to eat. After satisfying his stomach, he lay in his hammock on the veranda, where he recalled that a work companion by the name of Charles had given him a December 22, 2014 edition of the countrys most widely read newspaper of Belize, the Amandala, so he got up and obtained it. He lay back down and began to read page by page until he stumbled upon an article which was recommended to him by Charles, entitled The Satanic Philosophy of Neo-Liberalism. John was intrigued by such a title and decided to continue reading. It stated:

After two hundred years of the introduction of Christianity in Belize, it is to be assumed that the majority of its inhabitants would have embraced the socialist spirit, since the basis of the teachings of Jesus Christ is a form of socialism. For this reason, the behavior of those who have taken the reins to direct the destiny of this nation is inexplicable. The name social member (social partner) has been given to each organization that participates in favor of the interests of those who manage the finances of the governments in turn, since each one has its own enrichment interests. As for the public treasury, benefits or gifts from other countries for the eradication of extreme poverty in which the weakest live, this sector of the population has remained in the same historical conditions. This practice by some who believe they are Christians have fallen into the satanic philosophy of neo-liberalism, a system that has benefited a few and not the majority of society, which still lacks the most essential: Social Justice.

But unfortunately, it seems that the two political parties with the greatest presence in Belize have not yet realized their mistakes, which have caused the continuation of discrimination, repression for not belonging to the same organization, oppression by not allowing an environment to live in harmony. The leaders have implemented the corrupt policy to follow with those recommendations that they think will be used to eradicate bullying in the educational sector and other bureaucratic dependencies. It does nothing to benefit a society that lacks justice against political parties that share the same neo-liberal philosophy. Saying that one is going to be better than the other is a fallacy and an insult to intelligent minds. For the leaders of the UDP and PUP, they believe that the neo-liberal system is perfect, and this also includes the small political parties, who cannot or do not want to see the injustice that the majority of society goes through.

At the moment the one in power is the United Democratic Party (UDP), which has nothing of Socialism, but with a blind belief that everyone has achieved social welfare. Unfortunately, the executive politicians of the Peoples United Party (PUP), who are responsible for the political leadership of that organization, are of the same philosophical belief as the one in power. For this reason, the people have become skeptical, and the culture of buying votes has become unimportant, because the citizens have already learned that after the government is formed, be it from either of the two political parties, they will not be seen again, proselytizing face until after five years. It is necessary for the Peoples United Party (PUP) to change their strategy and political philosophy from neo-liberal to Democratic Socialism, which is a humanist system, since we have the right. Otherwise, they will have to wait until 2022, moreover, to see if the majority of citizens are encouraged. We can see how the propagandist political machinery works, trying to make believe that everything is going great, when in reality a real transformation is needed in national life in favor of the majority classes and social sectors of the country For a better future.

[emailprotected]September 11, 2022Finca SolanaCorozal Town

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John has big dreams! (Part 13) - Amandala

The Irish coalition government made up of Fianna Fil, Fine Gael, and the Green Party has seized on the humanitarian crisis generated by the Russia-Ukraine war to intensify efforts to abandon Irelands formal neutrality and lead the country into the imperialist war fighting alliance, NATO and related European Union (EU) military structures.

Over 47,000 Ukrainian refugees have now arrived in Ireland. This has emboldened mainstream media efforts to echo the remarks of Irelands former Taoiseach and deputy premier Leo Varadkar, who branded Russian premier Vladimir Putin the Hitler of the 21st century'. A wave of anti-Russian hysteria has been whipped up, sanctioned by the government and encouraged and egged on by the state broadcasting service RTE.

In April, US puppet and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Irelands Dil (parliament), Although you are a neutral country, you have not remained neutral to the disaster and to the mishaps that Russia has brought to Ukraine.

There has been a backlash from right-wing pro-NATO members of the Dil and media over remarks made by Sabina Higgins, the wife of President Michael D. Higgins, who wrote a letter to the Irish Times at the beginning of August calling for peace talks between Ukraine and Russia. Higgins letter enraged those leading the pro-NATO campaign, particularly as her proposal for talks had avoided the requisite anti-Russian rhetoric.

The move to formally abandon neutrality coincides with decisions by Sweden and Finland to join NATO. The Irish shift is part of the massive escalation in efforts by the US and European imperialist powers to encircle Russia and accelerate the drive to all-out war. The Irish ruling elite want to show just how loyal they are to their imperialist allies.

This is in defiance of overwhelming opposition from working people. A recent Irish Times/lpsos poll showed that 66 percent of Irish people do not want any change in Irelands current position. Only 24 percent supported change, while 11 percent did not know. Irelands currently policy precludes the country from joining any military alliance and requires a United Nations Security Council resolution for Irish troops to be committed abroad.

Popular support for military neutrality is bound up with hostility among Irish workers to the horrors of imperialism. By contrast, the Irish ruling class has for decades employed neutrality as a tactic to advance its own class interests by attempting to use one or other imperialist power as a counterweight to Britain.

The Irish Free State (later the Republic of Ireland) was founded one hundred years ago in 1922 based on crushing all working class demands that went beyond the interests of the Irish bourgeois nationalists. These later founded Fianna Fil and Fine Gael, still the two main bourgeois parties.

The intention of those who took control of the 26-county state in the South of Ireland, after bloody partition by Britain, and having suppressed the working class, was to keep the South of Ireland subordinate to imperialist interests. The Irish Free State came into existence as a mechanism by which the British ruling class could rely on the weak Irish bourgeoisie to prevent opposition to British domination of the island spilling over into a struggle for socialism in Ireland and Britain itself.

The 1922 Constitution of the Irish Free State stated that Save in the case of actual invasion, the Irish Free State shall not be committed to active participation in any war without the assent of parliament.

The Free State remained a dominion of the British Commonwealth with the UK remaining in control of marine defence as well as three naval bases known as the Treaty Portsat Berehaven, Loch Swilly and Spike Island.

The Treaty Ports were handed back to the Irish government as part of a 1938 settlement. This followed five years of the Anglo-Irish Economic War in which Eamonn de Valeras new Fianna Fil government implemented, at great social cost, protectionist measures against Britain designed to foster Irish capitalism. In consequence, the Irish government remained at least nominally neutral during World War Two, although neutrality in practice had a pro-British bias.

British wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill was urged by Northern Ireland Prime Minister Lord Craigavon to invade the South. Churchill in the end relied on agreed military overflights of Donegal to Northern Ireland during the Emergency of world war. Close co-operation with Britain against a possible German invasion was also prepared.

There were limits, however. In 1940 a British delegation floated the possibility of ending partition if the Irish government would fully support the British war effort. De Valera refused, seeking to advance Irish capitalism by balancing between the imperialist combatants. Relations were maintained with Japan and Nazi Germany, while close relations with the US also served as a growing counterweight to British influence.

Ireland eventually joined the United Nations in 1955, having been blocked by the Soviet Union in 1945, although Ireland refused to join NATO due to British membership of the anti-Soviet alliance. The Irish government sought an alliance with the US outside the confines of NATO, but this was refused by Washington. Cooperation was nevertheless continually deepened with the US on security matters.

Irelands formal neutrality, and history of brutal national and class oppression, was used by the US and other powers to obscure the barbaric aims of imperialism, particularly in Africa. Between 1960 and 1964, for example, over 6,000 Irish soldiers served in the Congo, in a brutal war following Congolese independence from Belgian colonialism. Subsequent UN deployments saw Irish troops dispatched to many of the worlds poorest countries, including Haiti and Angola, seeking to secure imperialist interests.

By the 1960s, Ireland had abandoned its protectionist experiments, reducing tariff barriers on trade and opening up the economy to US capital and investment. The South became a hub for multinational companies attracted by low taxes and compliant unions. The integration of the ruling elite as junior partners of the imperialists was accelerated by accession to the European Community in 1973. Today more than a thousand large global American companies have operations in Ireland, paying one of the lowest corporation tax rates in Europe at 12.5 percent, and enjoying access to the EUs huge single market.

Irish integration into Europe also drew Ireland into European and NATO mechanisms. In 1999 Ireland was accepted into NATOs Partnership for Peace programme (PfP), which serves as a waiting room for NATO membership. Candidate countries are set targets in terms of military organisation, spending and equipment. As of July 2022, Ireland was deemed to have 15 of 27 set goals outstanding.

In 2003, to stress its loyalty to the US, the Fianna Fil government supported the invasion and occupation of Iraq, assisting US shock and awe bombing by offering Shannon Airport in the west of Ireland as a hub and refuelling depot. The invasion resulted in the death of more than a million people and the destruction of an entire society.

By 2006 the airport became one of the main locations for rendition flights carrying prisoners held by the CIA to countries where they were subsequently tortured. Shannon is currently used to refuel daily arms flights to Ukraine.

By June this year, the Irish government was also considering joining the joint NATO/EU hybrid and cyber warfare thinktank based in Helsinki, Finland, and has already joined the NATO Co-operative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in Tallinn, Estonia.

Taoiseach Martin has been floating plans to avoid a referendum on NATO membership, which would stand a high chance of losing. In June, Martin declared, We need to reflect on military non-alignment in Ireland and our military neutrality. We are not politically neutral. He continued, We dont need a referendum to join NATO. Thats a policy decision of government.

Ireland is also integrating its forces into the EUs own military apparatus. In 2006, Willie ODea, then the Minister of Defence, announced that Ireland would seek to join European Union battle groups. It has subsequently participated in a succession of battle groups involving up to 1,500 troops.

In 2017, the Dil voted to join the European Unions Permanent Structured Co-operation (PESCO) Agreement, made up of 25 of the EUs 27 member states. Thus far, the country has only participated in one of PESCOs 60 projects. In June, however, the Dil voted to participate in four more, including work against cyber threats, medical training, disaster reliefboth within and outside EU territoryand sea mine clearance.

Also driving the ruling elite in Ireland towards NATO militarism is the very real threat from the working class, which has seen living standards plummet and poverty increase.

More than 781,794 people are experiencing deprivation in Ireland, with 660,000 people now living in poverty, of which 210,000 are children. Over 133,000 people living in poverty are in employment. According to the latest data produced by Eurostat, energy prices have risen by 39.1 percent in the past twelve months, driving overall yearly price inflation to 7.3 percent.

The housing and rental crisis has extended its shadow over the whole country, particularly in larger towns and cities. The latest figures released by the Department of Housing show that the number of homeless people increased in June to 10,492, up more than a quarter on the same period last year. The number of homeless families has now increased to 1,385 and there are over 3,000 children homeless. The NATO-Russian war crisis serves to divert class tensions against an external foe.

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Irish government moves nearer NATO and war with Russia - WSWS

If the main purpose of a political party is to run candidates for office, former Libertarian Party of Virginia Chairwoman Holly Ward says it felt like a violation to keep taking peoples money.

Its clear that we cant function, Ward said in an interview as she explained why the party is dissolving as a corporation and giving back the nearly $30,000 it had in the bank.

Ward provided documents showing the party had dissolved its corporate entity registered in Virginia, but other Libertarians have been questioning the legitimacy of the move and insisting the party will live on.

In an emailed statement, Angela McArdle, the chair of the National Libertarian Committee, said that, as of Tuesday evening, the national body does not acknowledge that a disaffiliation has taken place and we are waiting on the members of the Libertarian Party of Virginia to issue a statement on the matter.

As far as I can tell, the alleged disaffiliation and resolution of the Libertarian Party of Virginia are the actions of a small group of rogue individuals who exploited their positions of power and moved to disaffiliate with no regard for the other members of the party or the bylaws of their organization, McArdle said.

Ward, a 36-year-old Northern Virginia resident who works in tech, said the disarray over the Libertarians status in Virginia is part of a bigger battle over the national partys tone and focus. The resolution to dissolve the state party, which Ward says was approved Sunday in a 7-6-1 vote by the partys central committee, said the national party has become functionally indistinct from other alt-right parties and movements.

Those destructive ideas, the resolution said, include endorsing thinly-veiled antisemitism, explicitly welcoming bigotry into the party, reversing the LPs 50-year legacy of support for LGBTQ+ rights, and openly denouncing womens suffrage, the civil rights act, and democracy itself.

Ward attributed those trends to a Libertarian faction called the Mises Caucus, which she said is taking over the party apparatus and discouraging Libertarian candidates from running in swing states where they could hurt Republican votes and tilt the outcome toward Democrats.

Ward pointed to several social media posts as examples of the types of messages she opposed, including posts from the national party saying Social justice is a Marxist lie created to bully and divide the American people, defining democracy as mob rule that endangers individual rights and replying to the AP Stylebook suggesting the pronoun she could no longer be used since we dont know what a woman is anymore. She also pointed to a deleted Martin Luther King Jr. Day Twitter post by the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire, an account the national party amplifies, that said America isnt in debt to black people, if anything its the other way around. Another post from the New Hampshire account said 6 million dollar minimum wage or youre antisemitic, which many interpreted as a reference to the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust.

Obviously I dont support any of these messages, Ward said. Its bigoted. Its absolutely repugnant.

Asked about the criticisms of the national party, McArdle said those sentiments came from the same group of rogue actors and may not reflect the views of all Virginia Libertarians.

Libertarians dont have a major presence in Virginias elected offices, but they used to have at least some heft in state politics.

In 2013, Libertarian Robert Sarvis earned more than 145,000 votes while running to be Virginias governor, more than the difference between the winner, former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe, and the loser, former Republican Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. Around that time, the party was involved in a handful of lawsuits challenging Virginias strict ballot access laws, which many Libertarians feel are designed to make it difficult for any alternative movement to break through and compete with the two dominant parties.

The party has faded in relevance since, running no candidates in recent statewide elections and having little discernible impact on state policy debates. A similar entity could re-emerge in some other form, but the new troubles raise serious questions about the viability of what was once Virginias highest-profile third party.

The Libertarians didnt have a candidate in last years gubernatorial race, but the party defended its right to use L on state ballots to avoid confusion with the Liberation Party, a third-party effort spearheaded by anti-police brutality activist Princess Blanding.

Online records from Virginias State Corporation Commission show the state Libertarian Partys nonstock corporation is in the process of dissolving, and the partys website has already been taken down. But there appears to be a power struggle underway over whether the party is or isnt calling it quits.

Daniel John, the state partys treasurer, emailed the Virginia Department of Elections Sunday night saying a few members of the organization acted inappropriately by attempting to dissolve the party against the wishes of the body and its bylaws.

Due to their choices, they have constructively resigned, John wrote. The rest of our board members and I will continue on with business as normal.

John didnt immediately respond to a request for comment.

A new Twitter account ostensibly representing Virginia Libertarians appeared Sunday and also cast doubt on the validity of the dissolution vote. And local Libertarian chapters around the state have been chiming in to say the partys staying put.

The Libertarian Party of Virginia attempted to dissolve through a childish coup that violated multiple procedures, wrote the Libertarian Party of Northern Virginia.

A spokesman for the Department of Elections said that, as of Monday, the Libertarian Party of Virginias PAC was still considered active and there had been no formal communication apart from Johns email. According to its most recent campaign finance report, the PAC took in a little more than $6,100 between January and March and had $26,984 on hand as of March 31.

Ward, the partys former chair, said she didnt think any notification to state election officials was necessary, because Virginia only treats Democrats and Republicans as officially recognized political parties. A party must have received at least 10% of the vote in one of the last two statewide elections to be recognized to qualify as a political party.

If a different group wants to try to reincorporate a new Libertarian Party of Virginia, Ward said, theyre welcome to do so. But she questioned what the point would be since the party doesnt have candidates to support.

We couldnt run anybody, Ward said. No ones even willing to put their names behind this.

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Libertarian Party of Virginia dissolving after national party's 'bigoted' turn, ex-chair says - Virginia Mercury