Paula Walters of SIPTU takes some enquiries on the HSE

Brendan Drum of the HSE had earmarked the St Mary’s Orthopaedic Hospital in Cork as next in line for his cuts. But workers at the hospital are intent on fighting back and not accepting this. Kevin Doyle interviewed Paula Walters, SIPTU member, and a hospital attendant with over 30 years experience at the hospital.

Q:To begin with Paula, for those not familiar with Cork and its hospitals, what sort of place is the Orthopaedic?

A: The hospital’s main business is with bones and it specialises in hips and knee replacements, and broken legs. Mostly people who come up to us have something like that the matter with them. That’s what it specialises in. There are others area too like Plastics and Physio too. The Orthopaedic was one of the first of its kind in the south of Ireland. It opened 53 years ago. It’s on the North side of Cork, in Gurranbraher, the last hospital of any size in what is a huge area of Cork city. It has big grounds. It’s a homely hospital – it’s small and a lovely place to work in. A lot of people’s families worked there over generations. It’s a very calm hospital in a way.

Q: How many are working there now?

A: Roughly between staff and kitchen staff and so on, you would have about 200 people.

Q: People will be familiar with the cutback in the Mercy Hosptial and the ongoing refusal by the HSE to fund the opening of the new A & E there. What’s been happening at the Orthopaedic?

The interview continues after the jump...

Troublemakers Inc.

More than two years have passed since these two cases began. On Thursday last, Conor was at a special sitting of Ennis District Court for the finale.

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Remember this?

The Remembrance season is approaching. We will be called upon yet again to show maturity, to support reconciliation, to advance peace --- by participating in ceremonies which celebrate aggression, violence and war crimes!.

Mayo "Peace" Memorial

Four years ago a participant in one of the greatest war crimes in history was honoured in Mayo by a minister of the Irish government. Sergeant Major Cornelius Coughlan (Victoria Cross) of the Gordon Highlanders was praised by Defence Minister Michael Smith for his role in putting down the so-called Indian Mutiny of 1857, which Indians call their First War of Independence. Minister Smith praised Coughlan, along with sixty other brave Irishmen, as he put it, who were awarded the Victoria Cross during the military campaign that followed the Indian Mutiny.

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Hidden History or hidden agenda

Shell Plunder

This video represents the many people not given a voice in the mainstream media. They have been denied a voice mainly because of their dissenting views about the Corrib gas project in its current form. There are interviews with many people who have suffered both personally and financially for daring to oppose the oil and gas industry. This industry has been supported by the various intimidatory and violent methods used by the Garda. The mainstream media has consistently misrepresented the facts, and has failed to report human rights abuses taking place in Mayo. It has instead tried to demonise anybody who goes against their neo-liberal view-point on how Ireland should be organized and structured.

Most of the interviews were filmed over the last month. Thanks to all of the people who generously gave up their time and energy to make this no budget documentary.

This is the first part of an ongoing documentary about the Corrib Gas Project.

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War of Wealth (CC image from Flickr)

Kieran Allen has just written an extensive article on the current global financial crisis. Here is his opening sentences on it.

Most people are amazed to witness a new Wall St crash, when the spectacle of the 1929 crash was supposed to have vanished forever.

For the past thirty years mainstream economists claimed that the market worked perfectly provided there was no state interference or strong trade unions. ‘You cannot buck the market’ was repeated like a mantra against anyone who dared to ask for higher wages, better environmental controls or a more developed welfare state. ‘Market forces’ were seen as wise spirits who knew best about how to run an economy. No one knew who or what they were but they appeared to work anonymously behind the scenes to make everything right. In almost every country, people were told to leave matters to these ‘market forces’ and not to seek too much regulation. In reality, these ‘market forces’ were gigantic financial houses which could move money around the globe at will.

Today this mythology has been shattered.

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