Catholic Church and Archbishop Dolan
lose out badly in New York gay
marriage defeat

Irish Central – 24 June 2011

The vote for gay marriage is a major setback for Archbishop Timothy Dolan and the Catholic Church in New York which fought the legislation tooth and nail.

However, it is clear that the church power has waned in the aftermath of the pedophile sex scandals which have plagued the church in recent years.

Until quite recently a 'belt of the crozier' from the Catholic church would have stopped any such gay marriage bill in its tracks, especially one actively promoted by a Catholic governor.

Not any more and the church now looks exposed because of its opposition and its failure to turn the tide,

Dolan and another leading Irish American, Michael Long of the Conservative Party, made last ditch efforts to overturn the legislation which passed 33-29 with four Republican votes.It was signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Afterwards the church issued a statement which read;

"We strongly uphold the Catholic Church's clear teaching that we always treat our homosexual brothers and sisters with respect, dignity and love. But we just as strongly affirm that marriage is the joining of one man and one woman in a lifelong, loving union that is open to children, ordered for the good of those children and the spouses themselves.

This definition cannot change, though we realize that our beliefs about the nature of marriage will continue to be ridiculed, and that some will even now attempt to enact government sanctions against churches and religious organizations that preach these timeless truths."

Regardless of the statement the church has been comprehensively defeated on one of their signature issues. The four Republican senators, two of them Catholic, who voted for the bill and the Senate leader Senator Dean Skelos who allowed the vote have made clear that it was a personal decision and they refused to be swayed by the Church lobbying.

Sinn Féin - Proud to support PRIDE

An Phoblacht – 24 June 2011

Sinn Féin will be supporting the Dublin Pride Festival Parade on Saturday June 25th. Republican activists are encouraged to join the Party's contingent on the Parade. Please register with the organisers at the Garden of Remembrance before 12.30 to be able to march behind the Sinn Féin banner.

What is Dublin Pride

The Dublin Pride Festival, organised this year by Dublin L.G.B.T.Q. Pride Ltd, starts this June the 17th, and culminates in the Dublin Pride Parade on the 25th of June 2011,

Dublin Pride has three core values which it aims to promote through the festival:

Celebrating Diversity

Not only to tolerate, but to accept and celebrate diversity with the understanding that it is our differences which make us extraordinary.

Inclusiveness

To seek out those who are on the fringes and to take practical, concrete steps to ensure their inclusion in society.

Increased Visibility & Mutual Respect

To increase the visibility of the Dublin LGBTQ community within the wider Dublin, Irish and global community while communicating the message of mutual respect; to appreciate others for what they are, for how they are different and to respect them for such.

Parade Times and Route

The Pride Parade will start at the Garden Of Remebrance at 2pm Saturday the 25th Of June. To join the Sinn Féin contingent on the parade you have to register before 12.30 at the Garden of Remembrance. Failure to register will mean that you will have to join the end of the Parade.

The route will be the same as last year. From the Garden Of Remembrance down O’Connell Street, over O’Connell Bridge, on to Dolier Street and Dame Street, passing City hall and finishing at the Civic Offices.

Last year over 20,000 March.

Comment:

It is very clear from the content of these articles that our Catholic faith as well as our AOH National Constitution which requires us, as Hibernians, to be practicing Catholics and to work in harmony with the teachings of the Church, is in imminent danger from many outside forces. Unfortunately, politics often plays a prominent role in the danger to our faith and to the principles that we espouse as members of our noble Order. It is not always easy to make a principled choice and to stand up and be counted among those whose Catholic faith and devotion to our noble Order mean much more than political correctness whether here in the United States of America or in Ireland. Brothers, the time is now to show the world that we are proud to profess our Catholic faith and also proud to practice the principles enshrined in the National Constitution of the Ancient Order of Hibernians in America.

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

Knights of Columbus – 4^th Degree

Secure Communities

Secure Communities

Through the Secure Communities strategy, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) improves public safety every day by transforming the way criminal aliens are identified and removed from the United States. This strategy leverages an existing information sharing capability between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to quickly and accurately identify aliens who are arrested for a crime and booked into local law enforcement custody. With this capability, the fingerprints of everyone arrested and booked are not only checked against FBI criminal history records, but they are also checked against DHS immigration records. If fingerprints match DHS records, ICE determines if immigration enforcement action is required, considering the immigration status of the alien, the severity of the crime and the alien's criminal history. Secure Communities also helps ICE maximize and prioritize its resources to ensure that the right people, processes and infrastructure are in place to accommodate the increased number of criminal aliens being identified and removed.

Secure Communities modernizes the identification and removal processes by:

Using fingerprint-based biometric identification technology, Prioritizing resources toward the greatest threats, and Sharing information between law enforcement partners.

287g Bill

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the largest investigative agency in the Department of Homeland Security, enforces federal immigration laws as part of its homeland security mission. ICE works closely with federal, state and local law enforcement partners in this mission.

The 287(g) program, one of ICE’s top partnership initiatives, allows a state and local law enforcement entity to enter into a partnership with ICE, under a joint Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). The state or local entity receives delegated authority for immigration enforcement within their jurisdictions.

Work site enforcement:

Effective worksite enforcement plays an important role in the fight against illegal immigration. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has developed a comprehensive worksite enforcement strategy that promotes national security, protects critical infrastructure and targets employers who violate employment laws or engage in abuse or exploitation of workers.

An effective worksite enforcement strategy must address both employers who knowingly hire illegal workers, as well as the workers themselves. In worksite cases, ICE investigators adhere to high investigative standards, including the following:

ICE will look for evidence of the mistreatment of workers, along with evidence of trafficking, smuggling, harboring, visa fraud, identification document fraud, money laundering and other such criminal conduct. ICE will obtain indictments, criminal arrests or search warrants, or a commitment from a U.S. Attorney's Office to prosecute the targeted employer before arresting employees for civil immigration violations at a worksite.

The Law Enforcement Support Center

(LESC) is a national enforcement operations facility administered by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the largest investigative agency in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The LESC is a single national point of contact that provides timely customs information and immigration status and identity information and real-time assistance to local, state and federal law enforcement agencies on aliens suspected, arrested or convicted of criminal activity.

Located in Williston, Vt., the LESC operates around the clock – 365 days a year. State and local law enforcement officers seeking information about aliens are the primary users of the LESC.

The LESC also receives queries from federal, state and local correctional and court systems seeking information about individuals in custody or encountered elsewhere in the criminal justice system. Law enforcement officers have immediate access to alien records entered with the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and immigration information from every alien file maintained by DHS— approximately 100 million records—by using the formatted Immigration Alien Query (IAQ) screen incorporated within each state's law enforcement communications system. LESC Services In addition to providing immigration and identity information on suspected criminal aliens, the LESC offers other vital services, including:

National Crime Information Center

(NCIC)—The LESC administers and controls all ICE criminal and administrative records in this nationwide law enforcement consortium and criminal database. There are now over 277,000 ICE records in NCIC. Communications Center—The LESC operates a communications center that provides NCIC Hit Confirmations (within 10 minutes) to law enforcement agencies 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In addition, the command center agents and officers place immigration detainers on aliens wanted by ICE. The command center also provides assistance on immigration alien queries, instant immigration status checks for ICE Officers, and answers the dedicated law enforcement phone lines. Other services provided by the command center include contacting ICE duty agents for ICE field responses, and handles ICEPIC/LEISS requests for information. A public affairs unit is also available to handle media calls during normal business hours. Special Response Tasks—The LESC is the central point of contact for a number of special information requests. For example, The LESC conducts “Brady checks” for the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), screening the immigration status of foreign-born, non-citizen firearm permit applicants before authorizing purchase or possession of a weapon. Since March 2003, the LESC has performed 498,741 Brady checks for the FBI. The LESC also provides daily assistance to the U.S. Secret Service by assisting in the screening of persons seeking to visit or work on the White House grounds. The LESC has helped USSS screen 377,944 individuals over the last seven fiscal years. Law Enforcement Training—To help the law enforcement community make better use of information the LESC provides, the center offers an on-site training and outreach program that provides instruction on how to access the LESC information and instruction on ICE's role and responsibilities. ICE 287(g) training includes an LESC training module presented by an LESC officer. Significant Accomplishments for FY 2010 The number of requests for information sent to the LESC increased from 4,000 in FY 1996 to 807,106 in FY 2008, to 1,133,130 in FY 2010 setting a new record for assistance to other law enforcement agencies. During FY 2008, special agents at the LESC placed 16,423 detainers on foreign nationals wanted by ICE for criminal and immigration violations. This number increased in FY 2010 to 20,446. The records of more than 270,000 previously deported aggravated felons, immigration fugitives and wanted criminals are now in the NCIC system. Special agents at the LESC confirmed 6,150 NCIC hits during FY 2010. Some LESC accomplishments since DHS and ICE were created in March 2003 include:

Over the past seven fiscal years, the LESC has responded to a combined total of 5,737,803 electronic queries. In FY 2010, the LESC received queries from more than 13,000 distinct ORIs (electronic addresses) representing law enforcement agencies in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, two U.S. territories, and Canada. Since November 2004, the LESC has received more than 946,907 telephone calls on its dedicated law enforcement lines from law enforcement officers around the country seeking ICE information or assistance. The ICE special agents assigned to the LESC have lodged more than 121,734 ICE immigration detainers against criminal and wanted aliens over the last seven fiscal years. Of those, at least 51,837 detainers were placed on criminals or fugitives who were NCIC hits. Viable leads are sent electronically to ICE field offices for action or investigation within 24 to 48 hours of the call.

Comment:

If you know any undocumented Irish, do them a really big favor and share this with them. Make no mistake about it, it is not only persons who are arrested for serious crimes that can feel the wrath of ICE. Young undocumented Irish nationals who might have a "few beers" with their friends and are foolish enough to get behind the wheel of a car and get stopped,, or maybe get into a bit of an argument that winds up in fisticuffs where the police get involved, could very well be apprehended, detained, and eventually deported. And it is getting worse, the immigration authorities mean business. Remember, forewarned is forearmed!

Jack Meehan,

Past National President Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

No limit to this nauseating Provo hypocrisy

Kevin Myers - June 02 2011

I WAS against the peace process: I was and am and will always remain against it, which is why I do not spell it with capital letters.

I am in favour of peace, but not in favour of conciliating murderers and I believe it is the first duty of any state to impose its lawful monopoly on the use of armed might upon dissident armies within its realm -- by its own armed might, if necessary. One law: one army; one police.

But the Irish Republic chose to ignore these fundamental principles of any democracy and instead tried to deal with an insurgent terrorist force of the Provisional IRA by using various weak-willed adaptations of common law. The consequence was a conflict that lasted longer than both Boer Wars, the Anglo-Irish War and the two world wars combined.

So I bade a fond farewell to Garret FitzGerald last week for his contributions as a thinker: but I was silent about his role as Taoiseach, for which I feel much disdain, not least because although he wrung the Anglo-Irish Agreement from the British (Sunningdale II), he did not in exchange crush the living daylights out of the IRA. Nor did his predecessor, Liam Cosgrave, after Sunningdale I. And by the time of Sunningdale III, namely the Good Friday Agreement, Sinn Fein-IRA were in the political driving seat and able to do largely as they pleased.

Throughout the peace process and the gruesome minuet beforehand, no one ever told the Shinners, firmly and unequivocally: "This is how we do things. We do not murder our purely political opponents. We do not break legs. And by the Grace of a Limitlessly Forgiving God and some astoundingly supine terrestrial politicians, if you are ever lucky enough to be admitted into the sunlight of an open and accountable democracy, you will not insult the dead by foisting convicted killers on the institutions of state."

But this didn't happen, with the outcome that someone like Mary McArdle has now been made special adviser to Northern Arts Minister Caral ni Chuilin, or, as Eilis O'Hanlon pointed out in the 'Sunday Independent', just plain old Carol Cullen in her schooldays. That was before she came over all patriotic, and started dabbling in high explosives, when the Xmas Carol became the SemtX Caral. But her current chum, Mary McArdle, went one better, with her involvement with the gang which carried out the cold-blooded murder of 22-year-old Mary Travers during a gun attack on the Travers family as they left Sunday Mass in 1985.

This is how magistrate Tom Travers described his daughter's last moments: "At that time, Mary lay lying on her mum's breast, her gentle heart pouring its pure blood on to a dusty street in Belfast. The murderer's gun, which was pointed at my wife's head, misfired twice. Another gunman shot me six times. As he prepared to fire the first shot, I saw the look of hatred on his face, a face I will never forget."

Judge Travers told of how he and his family had heard the Pope in the Phoenix Park say: "Murder is murder and never let it be called by another name." Referring to the later and quite scandalous Irish Supreme Court objections to the extradition of IRA killers from this Republic, he added: "These people. . . (the judges of Ireland) must in reality have believed that murder could be called by another name."

Quite so.

Mary McArdle -- who was the operationally vital gun courier for the killers and who heard her victim's father repeatedly break down while giving evidence -- was imprisoned for life for her part in this disgusting murder. She smiled and waved at her family at the sentence: clearly, a lovely girl. Her co-accused was acquitted on the grounds that Tom Travers' evidence of identification might have been flawed. So much for the lie that nationalists could not get justice in Northern Irish courts. (For the record, as a mere civil magistrate, Tom Travers was not involved in terrorist trials -- and nor should this make any difference to any but the most demented of Sinn Fein cultists).

AFTER poor Mary Travers' sister Ann spoke on 'Liveline' last week about her distress at hearing that the co-murderer of Mary had been rewarded with a prize appointment in the Stormont Executive, there were the usual sanctimonious cries from Sinn Fein that though the killing was "regrettable", Mary's family should "move on". Better still, there came the accusation that for victims' families to complain now was to put the perpetrators at risk of retaliatory violence.

I know, I know: in SF/IRA martyrology, the victims ALWAYS become the culprits. Why can't patriots be allowed to kill as much as they want and then live in peace and prosperity, just as in the good old 1920s?

So the Shinners still luxuriate in their own selective amnesia, still furiously demanding enquiries into the Monaghan and Dublin bombings and into the murders of Seamus Ludlow and Eddie Fullerton.

And why wouldn't they? Because no one in government, North, South, East or West, ever takes them by the scruff of their self-pitying necks, waves a mailed fist under their nose and tells them to shuck the fut up, or else.

Comment:

Please read this article carefully and then try to explain rationally what the difference is between this act of cold blooded murder allegedly committed by an IRA death squad and the cold blooded murder of civil rights attorney Pat Finucane allegedly committed by a loyalist death squad. Murder is murder, is murder, and in these two cases, there is only one significant difference and that is the political and/or paramilitary affiliation of the perpetrators. Do those affiliations provide any rationalization or justification for committing such heinous crimes? They certainly do not and those who authorize them as well as those who commit them deserve nothing less than to be punished to the full extent of the law.

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America