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Dixie Elliot ✊According to the Kenova Report Scappaticci sent word to his handlers that the net was closing in on the tout Joe Fenton.

What is more shocking is that 'some twenty separate sources warned the intelligence services that Fenton was highly likely to be shot.'

What this means is that there were twenty other touts in high enough positions to have knowledge that Fenton's days were numbered.

The Dark was right, Belfast was indeed rotten . . .

He was told to return by his handlers. Fenton returned to Belfast and was immediately executed by the IRA before I could get to interrogate him. I believe he was executed to protect someone bigger than him. I got actually very frightened that I discovered something here that was mirky, that was high-level, I was getting no help from anybody in Belfast. I didn't trust Belfast. Belfast was rotten . . .  - Brendan 'The Dark' Hughes.

When Brendan informed Gerry Adams of this he was told that he was being paranoid.

So Adams told the Director of GHQ Intelligence (Brendan), someone whose commitment to the IRA was beyond doubt, that he was being paranoid when he informed him that Belfast was rotten to the core. Adams didn't as much as have Brendan's claims investigated.

So Brendan walked away from the organisation he loved.

In the end Brendan was proven to have been totally correct in his assessment of the IRA in Belfast. Besides Scappaticci there were twenty other high-ranking touts in the city alone.

Thomas Dixie Elliot is a Derry artist and a former H Block Blanketman.
Follow Dixie Elliot on Twitter @IsMise_Dixie

Rotten To The Core

Raw Story ★ Written by Alexander Willis, Recommended by Christy Walsh. 

Comedian Jon Stewart flagged a bizarre detail Monday night in a video of President Donald Trump captured shortly after the FIFA World Cup final, one that prompted the late night talk show host to float an outlandish theory.

Recorded Sunday evening, the video shows Trump speaking with reporters after having landed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland after the FIFA World Cup final. The president told reporters he believed the match was "incredible" and "four-times greater than any FIFA ever held," before correcting himself to say it was "probably five times" greater.

While Trump was speaking, however, a man could be seen walking in the background who immediately caught Stewart’s attention.

“What's up with the guy behind Trump? Can we see that again?” Stewart asked on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show.”

As the clip played back, a man behind Trump could be seen wearing a suit the same color as the president's, with a strikingly similar stature and build.

“Who the ... is this guy? Who in the world is this? Oh my god, is that a back-up Trump?” Stewart said. Wai it a minute, hold on a second! Wait, what? Is that a back-up Trump, or is that Trump? 

Continue @ Raw Story.

Jon Stewart's Mind Blown As He Spots Bizarre Man Behind Trump 🪶 'Who In The World?'

Caoimhin O’Muraile  ☭ In recent times in the six and twenty-six counties of modern Ireland we have witnessed a level of racism not thought possible, certainly in the Twenty-Six-Counties, a few years ago. 

In the occupied Six-Counties among elements within loyalism the concept has been present for many years often manifested through sectarianism. 

Late last year, 2025, racist and fascist thugs using lumpenproletariat gangs attacked a hostel for International Protection Applicants at City West, Saggart, in South West Dublin. Scenes not dissimilar to the Nazi Kristallnacht in Germany, 1938, occurred and were organised it appeared by fascist and far right groups whose leaders kept out of the way, not wishing to get their hands dirty. Organisations taking part, one of which would have been vehemently opposed to such activities only a couple of years ago, ranged from concerned residents and parents who perhaps took least part in the rioting to organised thugs superintended by the far-right. 

The pretext for the activities at City West was an alleged sexual assault of a 10-year- old girl near the City West Hotel used to house International Protection Applicants, and a 26-year-old man, an asylum seeker, was charged with the assault. Within 24 hours the ‘incident outrage online’ had escalated into unrest and violent clashes with gardai occurred outside the hotel. This led to an arson attack on accommodation housing 2,400 International Protection Applicants and immigrants. Other attacks on migrant centres across the Twenty-Six-Counties have happened with one group travelling to the Six-Counties to show support with racist Belfast loyalists! More recently in Belfast scenes reminiscent to the pogroms carried out by loyalist groups against Catholics (when in 1969 Bombay Street was completely burned-out leaving hundreds of Catholic families homeless and bereft of all furniture) took place after a stabbing attack allegedly committed by a Sudanese man. Anti-immigrant pogroms took place across the Six-Counties chiefly, though not exclusively, in Belfast. A few weeks later another knifing incident took place in Belfast yet not a murmur of protest! Could this have been because the latter incident did not involve a migrant? Far-right groups and individuals from the UK are reportedly involved in fuelling these pogroms, the same groups incidentally who, in many cases, see the whole of Ireland as coming back under the British yolk!

Anti-immigrant feeling is certainly on the rise in the Twenty-Six-Counties but as of yet still a minority, thankfully. People once linked to the left wing of republicanism like Malachy Steenson, formerly associated with Official Sinn Fein the Workers Party, have changed their clothing, joining in with the turmoil spread by the far-right who in turn, though perhaps not realising it, are taking their lead from the British fascists. Serious political activists do not change their position every time an opportunity knocks, this is known as ‘political opportunism’. Many parliamentarians are not serious about their political positions and are unprincipled when it comes to fudging their stance on issues as the Twenty-Six-County government are bowing to far-right pressure, changing their position on Ukrainian refugees who were once made welcome, when it was fashionable! 

One reasonable sounding argument put forward by these far-right groups and individuals against asylum seekers and immigration in general, coloured immigration that is, not white migrants it appears, is that ‘Ireland is overcrowded’. The housing shortage and our health service being stretched to the limit are cited by these dangerous neo-fascist and far-right individuals and groups to “send them back”, claiming ‘Ireland is overpopulated’. The outcome of such propaganda can, and unfortunately did, result in such events as those at City West and other places resulting in an Irish Kristallnacht. Are the Twenty-Six-Counties overpopulated? Do the far-right have a point? Here are some figures showing the population density per square mile of some EU and non-EU countries.

The population density of the Twenty-Six-Counties is 201-207 people per square mile. The United Kingdom is 700 people per square mile, Monaco, one of Europe’s smallest states, 47,000 people per square mile while Malta, the EUs smallest country with the highest population density in the bloc, 4,704 people per square mile. Holland comes in at 1,402 with Belgium 1,007 people per square mile. Luxembourg has 696, with Italy at 513 people per square mile, while Poland accommodates 320 people per square mile. France comes in at 303 per square mile, Liechtenstein wades in at 663, with Germany standing at 612. Romania is at 212 with neighbouring Bulgaria at 151. Austria at 287 people per square mile, Hungary 268, Spain 253, Portugal 294. Within the EU the Twenty-Six-Counties lay 20th of the 27 member states regarding population density with seven countries only having lower figures in this regard. They are; Croatia with 176 people per square mile, Bulgaria at 151, Lithuania 114, Estonia 80, Latvia 75, Sweden 67 and Finland 49 people per square mile. As can be seen the figure for population density for Ireland (twenty-six counties) is very low and does not stack up with the far-right argument about being “overpopulated”. As for land mass, the area size of countries, Ireland as a whole is 32,595 square miles, 32 counties, with the Twenty-Six-Counties holding 27,133 square miles under its jurisdiction. Holland has a land mass of 16,040 square miles, Belgium 11,849, Luxembourg 998 square miles, Malta 122 square miles, Monaco 0.78 (about 500 acres). Monaco with the highest population by a distance also has the smallest land mass, do these figures square with the far-right argument? (EBSCO database)

With a higher land mass and lower population density the Twenty-Six-Counties should have no problem with housing, and yet it has! This is due solely to government policies since the formation of the state in 1922 and various administrations continue to promote policy not conducive to solving our housing problem. One thing for sure is the housing shortage has nothing to do with immigration or, more precisely, International Protection Applicants. Immigrants are being scapegoated by the far right because this diverts attention away from the inherent economic contradictions within capitalism. The far-right are pro-free market capitalist parties who pose no threat to the ruling-class or their economy (which is why the Gardai take an easier line with them compared to left-wing demonstrations) and use any considered viable and visible excuse to blame other than the real cause, government policy and wealth inequality. In other words the people who have been sucked into this racist avenue of blame are attacking the wrong enemy! 

A leading factor towards our housing crisis is the concentration of dwellings around Dublin neglecting other areas. Anybody would think the state began and ended with the boundaries of County Dublin! It is now time for those who have, understandably to a certain extent, followed this right-wing rubbish to turn their attention away from the straw men of immigration and start attacking government policies regarding housing and the housing crisis. Opportunistic politicians jumping on right wing populism will lead only to perdition (not in its Biblical sense). If every immigrant was shipped out of the Twenty-Six-Counties tomorrow it would unlikely improve the housing situation and leave our health service decimated.

As for our health service it is no more stretched, again down to government policies, than it would be with very little or no immigration. In fact without migrant workers we would have no health service. On this myself and the government can find common ground. Many of our nurses are of migrant origin as are some of our doctors and consultants. And a fantastic job they do along with those indigenous employees in the same jobs. 

Stop blaming migration for societies problems, they are not the root cause, start addressing the real and fundamental problems. The fascists and far-right are lying through their teeth and are using the well-meaning but mistaken people of the Twenty-Six-Counties for their own ends. I suggest those who are following these morons read the fate in Germany of some of those who did the same. Hitler had them executed once they became surplus to requirements in an incident often referred to as the Night of the Long Knives. Think about it very long and hard the next time an anti-immigration rally is advertised, you are being used and will then in all probability be abused!!     

Caoimhin O’Muraile is Independent Socialist Republican and Marxist.

Fascist Propaganda And Lies In Ireland

Ten links to a diverse range of opinion that might be of interest to TPQ readers. They are selected not to invite agreement but curiosity. Readers can submit links to pieces they find thought provoking.


Lynx By Ten To The Power Of Two Thousand And Forty One

 


Hate Theology @ 8

 

A Morning Thought @ 3214

Jim Duffy ✍ I am glad to see that the police are taking the vile hate-filled comment by the University of Aberdeen staff member, and that she has been arrested. I have read the comments and they made he feel sick.
 
I did meet Ann Widdecombe once. Most of her views where diametrically opposed to mine. Yet like many gay people that came to know her I found her personally impossible to dislike even while fundamentally disagreeing with her on so many things. 

I could never imagine making the comments that staffer made following the death of someone, no matter what I thought about the dead person's views. She deserved to be arrested and deserves to be prosecuted for pure hate. It is likely that the university will sack her, while the Greens are reviewing her membership of their party and may expel her. She deserves it for what she posted, especially when she refused to take them down despite universal appeals to - especially when it was revealed that Ann had been murdered following a brutal assault.
 
I won't post the comments here because they are too vile to. She should be ashamed of herself.
Update: it appears Ms Herbert, who has now been charged, has a history of extreme language and vicious posts. She also appeared in a video where the man beside her said "if people don't show love [to trans people], show bullets", a comment Ms Herbert did not disown or react to. 

Horrific.

⏩ Jim Duffy is a writer-historian.

Too Vile To Post

Common Dreams ★ Written by Brett Wilkins.

“All states and people who care for freedom must rise up in defense of the ICC and international justice now, before it’s too late,” the UN Palestine expert implored.

More defenders of human rights and the rule of law weighed on Tuesday after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s announcement of a “campaign to dismantle” the International Criminal Court, many of whose judges and prosecutors have already been sanctioned by the administration of President Donald Trump.

Rubio raised eyebrows around the world by accusing the International Criminal Court—which is based in The Hague, Netherlands—of “waging a war against our country—not with bullets or missiles, but with statutes, compacts, and the force of so-called international law,” and cryptically vowing that the Trump administration “will teach the ICC the full meaning of American resolve.”

On Tuesday, Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, called Rubio’s announcement “utterly shocking but not a surprise.”

“All states and people who care for freedom must rise up in defense of the ICC and international justice now, before it’s too late,” added Albanese . . . 

Continue @ Common Dreams.

‘It’s Rule Of Law Or Barbarism,’ Says Francesca Albanese After Rubio Attack On ICC

Micheál Choilm Mac Giolla Easbuig ★ To All of the “united Irelanders” . . . 


. . .  it will be the British, the Yanks, the EU, the powerful and wealthy minority, along with the ruling class i mBaile Atha Cliath, who will 'grant'....yes, grant you.... a "United Ireland" ; that is, if and when, They decide to do so. Just as they granted their version of a 26 counties Statelet, in 1922.

On the subject of 'having or not having, an alternative'. First, a 30 year war was fought by men and women who were killed and went to jails. That war was fought for an end to British occupation and equally, a 32 County Socialist Republic. Article 3.2 of the Army Constitution is clear on this. That is what the majority, the poor and working poor, in Ireland, will benefit from.

Secondly, we have 850 odd years of colonialism, 300 hundred years of that, has been under capitalist and bourgeois parliaments. As Connolly said '..parliaments are but the committees of the rich, to manage their affairs… '. And we know, that capitalism and their parliaments, have failed the majority, working class. Pursuing a failed, now 300 year-old tactic, of trying to make capitalism do our biding, is illogical?

You can advance all the legislation you want in their parliaments. They will just change the rules or ignore the outcomes. However, as Lenin carried it out; and, as Engels and Connolly pointed out, people incorrectly, perceive power to be in their parliaments, so, we must use the platform of being in them…and/or the local Councils, to tactically prosecute our struggle, in a strictly Revolutionary way. We are not there to promote bourgeois parliaments or capitalism, we are there to end and replace it all.
 
A Socialist Republican, alternative starts from the position of a 32 County Socialist Republic. Sinn Fein’s “strategy” does not.

Want to build for a Socialist/workers Republic. A Socialist Republic that has to be built from the 'bottom up' Not from the 'top down'. A democracy, Not to be derailed or co-opted by capitalism, imperialism or their parliaments.

A 'people powered decentralised democracy' built in every region in Éireann. Local, people's community councils. An alternative and parallel, people's power base. Not politicians 'acting out Democracy' within the rules of the capitalist parliaments.

A brilliant opportunity to do just that was squandered, when we had the 'H-Block/Armagh' Committees network. But someone, somewhere, decided to abolish them. Why I wonder?

What has Sinn Fein done to promote, amongst the working class, the concept of a 'people powered participatory democracy'? If Sinn Fein had championed this, even as late as 1998, we would be a long way down the road to having a Revolutionary, people powered, political force.

It is dangerously delusional to think that a 32 County Socialist Republic can be achieved, via the charade of politicking in bourgeois parliaments. And l think Sinn Fein know that as well as l do.

Micheál Choilm Mac Giolla Easbuig 
is an independent councillor on Donegal County Council.

Whose “United Ireland” Are We Talking About?

Ten links to a diverse range of opinion that might be of interest to TPQ readers. They are selected not to invite agreement but curiosity. Readers can submit links to pieces they find thought provoking.


Lynx By Ten To The Power Of Two Thousand And Forty

 

A Morning Thought @ 3213

Gary Robertson ⚽ Of all the weird stuff I’ve been interested in throughout life public humiliation wasn’t one of them.
 
Yet here I am admitting I’m a Celtic fan and we’ve just been rodgered roughly by Sporting Lisbon,

First half, the home side should have been out of sight so when new bhoy Duran bundled the ball into the net hope rose in the hearts of the hoopites only for it to be extinguished mere seconds later as Lisbon went up the other end past the NPCs that were the Celtic defence and restored their lead. From then on it was all downhill. A final four one victory for Sporting is really kind on Celtic who on any other day could have been looking at a 7, 8 or more score line. I thank the Lisbon players for taking it easy.
 
Tuesday also saw the continuation of the League cup group stages with six Premiership clubs playing and a plethora of clubs from the lower leagues. There’s always the chance of at least one shock result so when I laughingly said to a friend on Bluesky (PJ-1965 Dundee Utd Fan) that Montrose would beat Dundee Utd, I didn’t think for one minute it would actually happen. I then said to Pat (ticgran45) I’ll be even more annoyed because I don’t have a penny on it when the results came through and Montrose had won by a solitary goal, Well, let’s just say that summed up my day perfectly. Sickener.
 
I mean, I like a wee flutter but I’m also a tight bastard so I wasn’t prepared to throw a fiver away. You live and learn apparently (I’m 56 this year so I’d better hurry the fuck up).

Thing is though I was thinking this the other day, are there too many leagues in Scotland? I mean can we really justify four leagues where clubs in the bottom division have only slightly more fans than Jeff the Christian? Crowds in the hundreds aren’t uncommon. I mean, economically these clubs can be barely breaking even, most must be running at a loss. So here’s my solution
 
Two leagues, Premier and Championship as one and League One and Two as another. A 22 team top league, a 42 game season. Drop the split idea and have three automatic relegation and one play off spot. It seems much more sensible to me. More competition for the Second Division: you could have teams like Spartans or Brechin fighting for a place for the chance to face Celtic & Rangers in the top flight. Of course this would mean stadium upgrades and cost but I could see it working. The SFA aren’t short of a few quid so they could help clubs out with long term loans (interest free of course). Other investment could come from local companies, businesses looking to promote to a bigger audience. TV deals could be struck and more money coming into the game and actually getting to the smaller clubs. Not the Tory version of the drip down economy but an actual system where money reaches these clubs.
I’ll give you an example - Livingston knew they’d never fill their stadium so instead of hundreds of empty seats they open three sides of their stadium to fans of Celtic & Rangers (possibly others) ensuring a full stadium and cashing in.
 
You’d fill stadiums. There would be financial rewards the higher you finish in the league. It’s a no brainer in my opinion. Promotion, relegation and play off spots, more competition.
 
It’s something I believe the SFA should look into.
 
They won’t though because rather like the FAI they’re too busy justifying playing matches against the murder machine of the Middle East, Israel.
 
Points deductions and financial penalties are, in my opinion, a small price to pay to remain on the right side of history.
 
So there you have it thoughts and ramblings on the world that is Scottish football. Hold onto your toories lads it’s almost kick off time so things are about to get a little mad.

Anyway that’s that. Whatever you’re doing do it well and do it safely, have fun.

Til next time ……

🐼 Gary Robertson is the TPQ Scottish football correspondent.

Prayers fFor PJ1965

The Empire Untold  ★ Recommended by Tommy McKearney.

One Indian soldier stepped from the ranks, raised his musket, and fired at his sergeant. Within months, half the British Army in India would be fighting for its life.

The parade ground at Barrackpore, just outside Calcutta. March 1857. A hot afternoon. The 34th Bengal Native Infantry stood in formation — sepoys who had served the East India Company for years, drilled to European standards, armed with British muskets. Among them: Mangal Pandey, a soldier like thousands of others. Until he wasn't.
He stepped forward. He raised his weapon. He fired.

The shot missed. But it struck something far larger than the British sergeant he aimed at. It struck the fragile compact that held British India together — the understanding that Indian soldiers would fight for the Company, take its pay, and keep its empire running. Pandey's defiance shattered that understanding in front of his entire regiment.

What happened next unfolded fast. British officers scrambled to regain control. Pandey stood his ground, reloading, shouting for his fellow sepoys to join him. None did — not that day. He was wrestled down, arrested, and court-martialled within the week. The sentence was death. He hanged before the month was out.

A Soldier Steps Out

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