Ancestral Homeland Prepares to Welcome Obama

OK, all those so-called "birthers" out there can finally relax. We've finally figured out where Obama's really from: Ireland.

The forthcoming visit to Ireland by American President Barack Obama has transformed the appearance of a small Irish village.

Moneygall in County Offaly is awash with paint, as the rural village prepares to welcome the most powerful man in the world in May.

President Obama's great, great, great grandfather came from Moneygall and the president plans to set foot in his ancestral home during his two-day visit to Ireland.

To ensure the presidential feet are made as comfortable as possible, the pavements are being dug up, re-laid and smoothed over. It is just one of many improvements being made.

Houses on the main street are being cleaned with power-hoses. Gardens are being tidied, new flowers are being planted.

The air in Moneygall is filled with the smell of paint. It seems like every spare brush in County Offaly is being used.

Every house is being made to look its best, in preparation for the visit, which is likely to take place on Monday 23 May.

I guess between now and then that means a solid month of fundraising before he goes on vacation. Naturally, there will be golf involved.

Slovaks May Be Even More Incompetent Than the TSA

It's bad enough we're pulling old comediennes of flights, confiscating Play-Doh from little boys at airports, and shutting down airports due to gross negligence, but check out what happened to this poor bastard.

SLOVAKIAN police have apologised today for a botched security test which led to explosives they planted in the luggage of an unsuspecting air traveller to be smuggled into Ireland.

"It was the mistake of a single policeman who forgot to remove the explosives after a dog found them during a security test at Poprad airport on Saturday," border police chief Tibor Mako told journalists.

"The explosives were attached by accident to the backpack of a Slovakian electrician, who unknowingly brought them to his flat in Dublin.

"We are very sorry that a good effort to test the security of civilian air transport turned out so badly," he said.

Sections of inner city Dublin were sealed off and homes and businesses evacuated as anti-terrorist police and Irish army bomb disposal experts raided the man's apartment.

A quantity of explosives, thought to be 90 grams of research development explosive, was seized in the raid, which Irish authorities said was launched after the Slovak side contacted police at Dublin airport.

The explosives' unwitting smuggler, who has worked in Ireland for three years and was returning from a Christmas holiday in Slovakia, was arrested under anti-terrorist laws and later released without charge.

He'll probably now be on a permanent no-fly list due to this idiocy.

Craziness in Ireland: 'Long Live the Taliban'

Some madness in Dublin this past weekend as they held an Al-Aqsa Festival in Dublin.

Seriously. A shame so many on the old sod are sympathetic to this bilge. Sad to say enough Americans are as well. Those folks are typically known as progressives, code word for Democrats.

PRO-HAMAS SPEAKERS at a fundraising event held at the RDS in Dublin at the weekend argued that the recent violence in Gaza, in which more than 1,300 Palestinians were killed, was a “victory” because it put the Middle East conflict back on the international agenda and galvanised Muslims worldwide.

The Al-Aqsa Festival, which was headlined “Gaza Victory: The Road to Al-Quds”, drew hundreds of people to the RDS Concert Hall on Saturday.

The event, organised by the Palestinian Rights Institute – a body established several years ago by Palestinians living in Ireland, was covered by a TV crew from Al Jazeera’s Arabic-language channel.

Speakers included Azzam Tamimi, the Palestinian director of the London-based Institute of Islamic Political Thought, and Sheikh Yousef al Baz, a Muslim cleric from the West Bank.

Speaking in Arabic, Sheikh al Baz said the January conflict between Israel and Hamas had “revived the issue of Palestine throughout the world after it was almost dead”, and it had “restored to every Muslim his honour and dignity”. He argued that the war had proved that “resistance is the only way, and not negotiation”.

Um, are you listening, Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama?

Sheikh al Baz’s speech prompted shouts of “Allahu Akbar” from the audience, drawn mostly from the Muslim community. “We supported the jihad and we will do so until Allah grants us victory,” the cleric said. “And that day is not far.”

Pro-Hamas paraphernalia, including DVDs featuring armed Hamas fighters and Sheikh Yassin, the group’s spiritual leader who was assassinated by Israel in 2004, were on sale at the event.

Mr Tamimi, who has written a number of books on Hamas, railed against the US and Europe for insisting that the organisation must meet certain conditions, including recognising Israel’s right to exist, before any engagement occurs.

“Once you recognise Israel, you say to the world that the rape of my country and my people is acceptable,” Mr Tamimi said. “It is a crime against humanity to recognise Israel’s right to exist because that would legitimise the crimes against humanity Israel has committed.”

Had Hamas agreed to meet the conditions laid down by the international community, he said, “they would no longer have my support”.

Hamas, Mr Tamimi argued, was “an alternative to those who sold out” and it “represents our dream” as the “true representative of the Palestinian voice”.

“When the world opposes Hamas, it opposes Palestinian self-determination,” he said, adding that the international community must recognise the “legitimacy Hamas has gained through resistance and elections”.

Branding the EU as “cowards” for not engaging with Hamas, Mr Tamimi added: “Hamas is who the world should be talking to if it is serious about solving the Palestinian issue.”

Later, Mr Tamimi drew applause when he praised insurgents in Iraq and the Taliban in Afghanistan. He said he disagreed with the Taliban’s views on certain matters, but added: “With regard to their attitudes to liberation I say ‘Long live the Taliban’.”

H/T Wilcox.

Apparently Hamas has quite a few friends in high places in Ireland.

The leader of Irish Republican Army-linked Sinn Fein party met with the head of the internationally shunned Hamas government during a two-day visit to Gaza and said he plans to brief President Obama's special Mideast envoy about his contacts.

Gerry Adams, a key player in Northern Ireland's peace process, met with Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh late Wednesday and planned more talks with officials of the Islamic militant group Thursday.

Haniyeh's meeting with Adams, at an undisclosed location in Gaza City, was not announced ahead of time. TV footage from a local news outlet showed Adams sitting in an armchair next to Haniyeh

"We want to help. We support the Palestinian people," Adams said.

Adams told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday he said he met Obama's special Mideast envoy George Mitchell in Washington last month and told him of his plan to visit Gaza. He said he plans to "brief the Irish government, friends in the U.S., others I deal with internationally, and that would include Sen. Mitchell."

Sickening.

Euroweenies In Panic Mode

Sarkozy warning on EU expansion
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said the European Union will not be able to expand further without ratification of the Lisbon Treaty.

An EU summit in Brussels has exposed divisions over how to proceed with the reform treaty - which was rejected by Irish voters in a referendum last week.

A decision on what to do next is expected to be postponed until October.

The leaders are now expected to discuss Zimbabwe. A draft statement threatens increasing EU sanctions on the country.

Wrong signal

Mr Sarkozy's comments about EU expansion came after clear divisions emerged over the future of the treaty and the meeting decided that the Irish should report back in October on possible ways out of the impasse.

"Without the Treaty of Lisbon there won't be any enlargement," he said.

"You can't say no to reforms and yes to enlargement."

The BBC's Jonny Dymond says one diplomat described Mr Sarkozy's comments as a threat - and the wrong signal to send to the Irish people - and those of Croatia and Turkey, who hope to join the 27-member bloc.

Mr Sarkozy did add that he would travel to Ireland when France takes over the rotating EU presidency in July to help find a solution.

The treaty must be ratified by all member states to take effect. Nineteen have approved it so far, the latest of which was the UK, where it passed through parliament on Wednesday.

Czech brakes

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso urged respect for the Irish "No" vote but said he was confident all the countries would complete the ratification process. He ruled out renegotiating the reform treaty.

"When a treaty is signed by 27 governments it's not just for fun," he said. "It's inconceivable that a government signs a treaty without the intention of ratifying it. It's a principle of international law."

And it's a principle of Euroean Union conventions that all member states must ratify a constitution treaty. Big difference, asshat. In a free, fair and transparent election, the people of Ireland said NO to the European Constitution Treaty of Lisbon. Get it?

Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa, whose country is the current holder of the EU presidency, said enlargement should not be a victim of the delay in ratifying the treaty.

"I believe we'll find a way out of the situation before any candidate country is ready for a decision on accession to be taken in the EU," he said. "I don't think the commission wants to slow down the process."

In effect telling Sarkozy to go . . . himself.

Germany rejected the idea of moving ahead on Lisbon without Ireland, which won strong Czech backing at the summit.

Our correspondent says concern is swirling around the intentions of the Czech government.

Pressed on whether he intended to ratify the treaty, Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek said that he was not going to put the brakes on to halt ratification.

But he added he would not bet 100 crowns (£3; $6) on a "Yes" from parliament.

[....]

Read the rest at The BBC

A Crisis In The Making

True “crisis” would be EU bullying Ireland into ratifying Lisbon

Leaders of the European Union are sitting down in Brussels on Thursday to try to find a way out of the crisis created by Ireland’s rejection of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty in Friday’s referendum. Following Britain’s ratification, all eyes are on the Czech Republic, where the Senate has sent the document to the Constitutional Court before they’ll go any further. So with Czech ratification on hold, what happens next? Rob Cameron spoke to Petr Mach, director of the Eurosceptic think tank the Centre for Economics and Politics, and began by asking him whether this really was a crisis.

PM: “I would call it a crisis if the European Union continues to bully Ireland for how they decided, but if the European elites, the bureaucracy, the remaining nations will accept this result, it’s no crisis.”

RP: Does that mean you believe the Czech Republic should not continue with the ratification process?

PM: “I think it would be absurd. What is the purpose of voting in parliament? The purpose of voting in parliament is to pass bills or treaties and not to bully someone. And now the Irish people have rejected the treaty, it’s clear it cannot come into force. So I don’t want the Czech Republic and the Czech parliament to become a tool of the EU bureaucracy or some nations to bully Ireland.”

RP: In your view then, is the treaty dead?

PM: “It is, because it was rejected in one of the 27 nations so it cannot come into force. So it’s finished.”

RP: Nonetheless, I think even you would agree we need something else. There are 27 members now in the EU. It started as six. The system we have is not designed to cope with so many, and the EU is simply inefficient and needs to be streamlined, made more effective. What do we do now?

PM: “I think the European elitists and big nations told Ireland before enlargement a new treaty was needed. Then it was the Nice Treaty. So the Irish were told that they must ratify the Nice Treaty just because the EU needs a new treaty as it is enlarged. Now they’re being told the same thing about the Lisbon Treaty, and everybody could clearly see since enlargement in 2004 that the EU can work, can function with the current treaties.”

RP: What then in your view should the politicians of this country do?

PM: “You know that currently the treaty is standing in the Czech Constitutional Court, so until it decides whether it is in line, or not, with the Czech Constitution, everybody must wait. But I think the best thing would be for the Czech government to withdraw the treaty from the parliament entirely, because now it’s irrelevant. Any decision by the Czech parliament would be irrelevant.”

Javier Solana was unavailable for comment.

Via Radio Prague

A Constitution By Any Other Name

Czech president says Lisbon Treaty project is over

The Czechs have hammered another nail into the coffin of the Lisbon treaty by declaring that ratification must stop.

Czech president Vaclav Klaus, who is supported by the country's largest political party, called the Irish referendum vote a "victory of freedom and reason" and said "ratification cannot continue".

His view was echoed in the Czech senate.

"Politicians have allowed the citizens to express their opinion only in a single EU country," Mr Klaus said.

"The Lisbon treaty project ended with the Irish voters' decision and its ratification cannot continue," he wrote on his own website, according to Czech news agency ČTK.

The resounding Irish no was a "victory of freedom and reason over artificial elitist projects and European bureaucracy," he said.

Přemysl Sobotka, Czech senate chairman, also said there was "no sense" continuing with ratification, according to the agency.

The Czech Republic, traditionally one of the more Euro-skeptic of the EU's 27 member states, is one of nine countries which have not yet ratified the treaty.

While little opposition to continued ratification has been seen yet among leaders of the other eight, efforts to keep the Lisbon Treaty alive in any form would be near impossible if another country joined Ireland in rejection.

Near impossible? In accordance with European Union rules, the EU Constitution Treaty of Lisbon is dead. Muerte. Mort. Tot. Mrtvý. Kaput.

A summit of EU leaders will look for possible solutions to the institutional crisis next week.

You betcha they will.

Busy throwing Israel under the bus and appeasing the Palis, shameless, disgraceful Condoleezza Rice was unavailable for comment.


Via The Telegraph

Ireland Not Ready To Knuckle Under to EU

The EU was thrown for a loss last week with the "no" vote by the Irish on the "Lisbon Treaty," as it was called in Ireland. There is no easy way out of this mess for the EU.

Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin has said it is "far too early" to seek a solution to the Irish rejection of a European Union reform treaty.

He was speaking as EU foreign ministers met to discuss how to respond to the Irish No vote on the Lisbon Treaty.

The treaty cannot be implemented unless approved by all 27 EU states. Only the Irish Republic has held a referendum.

Ireland represents only about 1% of the EU population and slightly more than 1% of the economic power, but at this time has had a lot of impact on the future progress of the EU treaty. Having just spent about a month in Ireland myself, I was not completely surprised that the Lisbon Treaty was voted down. From my observations, the proposed treaty was seen on the street as a transfer of power from the Irish government/people to the EU. The treaty was seen as taking representation away from the Irish government/people and obligating them to taking orders from Europe.

In addition, Ireland is already in the middle of an economic downturn. As a result, the Irish citizens I talked to are looking for more leadership from their government, not less. And some of the blame for their economic troubles are laid a the feet of the EU. Many people have immigrated to Ireland in recent years for work and this is now seen as taking jobs away from the Irish residents. Plus, housing prices have soared as well as food and other costs of living. In addition, the EU is seen as causing the closing of some plants in Ireland due to various trade restrictions mandated by the EU. I will always remember the anger in one Irish man's voice as he pointed to a shuttered plant near Cork and that used to employ 2000 as he stated to me that the plant was closed by the EU treaty.

Rightly or wrongly, I found that the attitude on the street about the EU was one of profound suspicion.

I anticipate that the other EU countries will react by moving forward with the approval process in other EU countries in the effort to get a mandate. Then they will go back to Ireland and any other countries that may vote it down and give them an ultimatum to reconsider or else leave the EU.

Time will tell as to how effective that approach may be, but I would not bet on the Irish people I met being intimidated by the EU any time real soon.

Jihadis in Ireland?

Mysterious men believed to be from Afghanistan.

Hmmm.

Three men have been arrested following the discovery of a number of devices at an apartment block in Tralee this evening.

It is believed the devices may be components for explosives.

This has not been confirmed and they have not as yet been examined.

It is understood that gardaí were acting on intelligence when they went to search the Atlas House complex at McCowen's Lane in Tralee this evening.

Atlas House is used as a hostel for asylum seekers and foreign nationals. Gardaí sealed off one of the apartments after a number of devices were found.

The three men, who are believed to be from Afghanistan, were arrested.

They are being detained under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act and can be held for up to three days.

All three are aged in their 30s and 40s and it is believed that at least one of them has come to garda attention since his arrival in this country.

H/T threecoloursblue.

More here.

Gardaí would not confirm if the men were part of any terrorist cell acting in the country or linked to well-known fundamentalist groups in Afghanistan such as al-Qaida.

Update: A few more outlets now reporting the story include the Belfast Telegraph, the BBC and the Irish Times.

Indymedia Ireland suggests there was a planned Al Qaeda attack for St. Patrick's Day.

Al-Qaeda have been planning a co-ordinated terrorist attack against Ireland. It is believed that an Afghan terrorist cell is operating in Ireland in preparation for an attack on March 17th during the St. Patrick's day parade. Sources have revealed that suicide bombers were to launch their attacks by mingling with crowds in Dublin city centre, at Heuston station and aboard the Luas.

A planned attack on Shannon airport is also feared.

Update: Ed Morrissey has more.

A jihadi mission against Ireland would destroy the self-blaming explanations that many in Europe and the US offer regarding the nature of Islamist terrorism. It would show that the terrorists don’t target the West because of American foreign policy, or because of Western support for Israel. They target the West because of its secular governments and Christian cultures. In that context, Ireland makes a perfect target, especially since they might have been caught napping if they actually bought the we-brought-it-on-ourselves meme.

Update: The Indymedia link has been taken down and replaced with the following statement:

Sorry. This story has been hidden due to a possible breach of the editorial guidelines and is under review by the editorial group. If you think that this story should be allowed to remain on the newswire, please check our editorial guidelines and if you think that your article does not breach any of these guidelines, you can contact the editorial collective to make your case.

They're probably afraid of offending anyone...

Update: The three have been released.

Three men from Afghanistan arrested on suspicion of terrorist activity were released without charge. Gardai raided a hostel at Atlas House on McCowen's Lane, Tralee, Co Kerry, where the men were staying and seized a number of items including electronic components and radio parts.

Initially the electronic parts were believed to be components for an explosive device but after questioning the men for several hours gardai do not believe the items are suspicious.

FROM GALWAY TO GAZA...

Delighted to read that Egypt is not prepared to take any nonsense from an Irishwoman who was found sneaking into Hamas controlled Gaza. Treasa Ni Cheannabhain, her daughter and an Egyptian niece were allowed back into Egypt on Thursday but she was immediately taken in for questioning.

On Saturday, she said she was given a choice by the Egyptian authorities - to come before a military court, or to return to Gaza indefinitely. She has chosen to face the court (!) rather than spend more time with her dear Hamas buddies. She crossed over into Gaza illegally from Egypt last Saturday after being refused legal entry by Egyptian authorities. On Sunday, Egyptian forces resealed the Gaza border, nearly two weeks after its Israeli-built barriers had been blown apart by (sic) militants. Egyptian border officials refused them re-entry, even though Ms Ni Cheannabhain is married to an Egyptian citizen. They had been distributing money to Palestinians collected by the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

Just a few questions. Hamas openly seek the destruction of Israel and engage in continual acts of terror. Yet the BBC report merely indicates that Ms Cheannabhain wanted to dispense "charity aid" amongst the Hamas supporting population of Gaza. To my mind, it is clear to any sensible person what Hamas are, and therefore when we read about this Irishwoman breaking the law in order to get money from Galway to Gaza, is it not reasonable to ask if she is not merely one more fool who seeks to give financial support to the anti-Semites that occupy Gaza? The Irish Government should disown her as her actions bring shame all the way from Gaza back to Galway.

Cross posted on A TANGLED WEB.

EU Summit: View From The Czech Lands

Although he's an avowed Eurosceptic, President Vaclav Klaus of the Czech Republic, the most trusted political leader, is often 'misunderestimated' by international media and the renowned foreign leaders Jean-Pierre had hallucinatory delusional conversations with.

Such misunderestimations continue to be made because Klaus will sometimes be rather forceful with his opinions; and at other times will somewhat understate his position.

Czech president welcomes summit brake on EU super state
(PRAGUE) - Czech President Vaclav Klaus cautiously welcomed the outcome of the EU's summit on Sunday, saying that a brake had been put on moves towards creating a European super state.

"This train that was before heading ever faster in one direction has to some extent braked and slowed down and we can try to get it moving somewhere else. This is a great victory for which we can all be thankful," Klaus said in an interview on the Czech commercial broadcaster Prima.

Klaus added that it was "a victory for reason" that moves towards the creation of a European super state enshrined in the former constitution had been blocked.

But he cautioned that some basic formulations from that treaty, derailed by French and Dutch referendum rebuffs in 2005, had still found their way into the text of the new agreement about the future functioning of the EU hammered out by European leaders on Saturday.

"Of course, I still have some fears that some of the (summit) changes might be more cosmetic than fundamental," he said, adding that German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier had reportedly declared the summit a victory because the basis of the constitution had been saved.

Klaus, a former right-wing prime minister, founder of the Civic Democratic Party and admirer of former British premier Margaret Thatcher, said he had only had a chance to read the 66-page preliminary conclusions of the summit in English.

Because Klaus is a firm believer in the free-market economic model, he is branded a right-winger, [Nazi, wink, wink]. Someday, but obviously not today, the MSM will exercise some intellectual and journalistic integrity and admit that the Austrian corporal and his minions were avowed Socialists.

Klaus sidestepped a question of whether Czechs should vote in a referendum on the new agreement, cautioning that it would be difficult to boil down the summit's conclusion into one question to put to voters.

"I hope, however, that there will be a serious public discussion about this," he added.

Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek said on Saturday that he did not think a referendum should be held on the new EU agreement, adding though that parliament would have to decide.

The new EU constitution treaty must be ratified by all 27 member states. Given the statement by Irish Premier Bertie Ahern that Ireland would hold a referendum and the outrage in Britain over Tony Blair's transition to French Poodle, methinks ye olde pig will first take flight.