Video of Dublin Lisbon Treaty Debate

Usually it takes some years for a new government to develop a haughty arrogance toward the people who put it in power. With the current Fine Gael/ Labour Coalition this time span has been shortened to less than one year, something to do no doubt, with its huge majority of sixty in the Dáil.

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, a Russian political activist and member of the punk group Pussy Riot, was jailed in August 2012 for hooliganism and blasphemy. Her crime was to stage an anti-Putin protest, along with two other performers, inside Moscow's Orthodox Cathedral. Despite claims that Russia has made steps towards becoming a more open society, those in power took immediate steps to silence the band’s radical feminist message.

World records will not be the only things broken at this year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games. Promises for a lasting legacy – affordable housing, decent jobs, increased sports participation, etc – are being broken, too. The greatest sporting show on earth has been dragged down by crass commercialisation, and become a test-bed for increased state repression. socialistparty.net reports on the neo-liberal Games.

Should a government Minister be allowed to make a far reaching statement that sharply contradicts the thrust of government policy and not be immediately challenged as to the practical implications? If the media afforded acres of coverage to such a statement, should it not then demand that the Minister spell out what concrete action she/he proposed to take if the statement was to mean anything more than empty posturing?