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With the information provided by Libertas I do not see them as shadowy. They are new and unestablished but basically they are like any other NGO participating in the debate about the constitution and follow the same rules on campaign donations. Right?

Sweden's finest (and perhaps only) collaborative, leftist e-newspaper Synapze.se
by A swedish kind of death on Wed Feb 20th, 2008 at 10:27:24 AM EST
My shadowy comment related to their claims to be a think tank with widespread political and popular support.  Even after all my correspondence I still do not know how many signed up members they have 10, 100, 1000?  Who knows?  And it is unclear what "membership" constitutes and signs you up for if it is not explicitly linked to opposition t the Lisbon Treaty.

I had a letter published in the Irish Times today which sums up part of my problem:ireland.com - The Irish Times - Letters

Madam - Ita McCormack (February 14th) is under the quaint delusion that letters in The Irish Times are published on merit, regardless of the title or prestige of the signatory. From experience, I can share with her the real guidelines which must be followed:

1. Never criticise The Irish Times itself. 2. Do not depart too far from the "dominant narrative" as contained in Irish Times Editorials. 3. Never antagonise the Letters Page editor by demanding a right of reply when you are criticised by name on the Letters page. 4. Sarcastic or silly one-liners have priority. 5. If writing a longer letter on a more serious and necessarily complex subject, always lend your letter some spurious authority by signing it as President of the Lesser Spotted Bumpkins Society or some such worthy organisation, or by claiming to be a "think tank" such as "Libertas", which is anything but a think tank as a simple perusal of its website will confirm.

Failing the above, write instead on some serious online forum which is not limited to contacts of the small-minded coterie which now runs The Irish Times and seeks to pass itself off as a serious forum for open debate. Most of us have long realised that it is anything but and have moved on the bigger and better things elsewhere. - Yours, etc,

FRANK SCHNITTGER, Red Lane, Blessington, Co Wicklow.

The Irish Times edited out my reference to the European Tribune in the last paragraph.  Presumably they don't want to give any publicity to the competition!

"It's a mystery to me - the game commences, For the usual fee - plus expenses, Confidential information - it's in my diary..."

by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot male dotty communists) on Wed Feb 20th, 2008 at 11:06:07 AM EST
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The Irish Times edited out my reference to the European Tribune in the last paragraph.

I'm shocked.
by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Wed Feb 20th, 2008 at 11:07:36 AM EST
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I'm shocked they published at all.  I have had occasion to write to them several times in the past year on serious issues including Irish Times misrepresentations of organisations I do voluntary work for and none were published.  I also think I pissed off the Letters page editor when I complained he didn't publish my response to a letter criticizing me by name.  The old fashioned "right of reply" no longer seems to apply.

Unfortunately they can now feel all self-congratulatory for publishing a critical letter - whilst leaving the more serious stuff on the editing floor.

"It's a mystery to me - the game commences, For the usual fee - plus expenses, Confidential information - it's in my diary..."

by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot male dotty communists) on Wed Feb 20th, 2008 at 11:20:05 AM EST
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