US action alerts

The following action alert on behalf of the Rossport Five was issued this weekend by the irish Northern Aid Committtee.

Thousands of you sent emails protesting the abuses of the "Rossport Five" and their families by Shell Oil and the Irish government. The San Francisco Unit of Irish Northern Aid helped raise the awareness of people in the U.S. on this issue by electing the Rossport Five as Honorary Grand Marshals of the 2006 San Francisco St. Patrick's Day Parade.

The Rossport Five are the five residents of County Mayo, Ireland who were jailed for 94 days for blocking Shell Oil and their Irish government partner's plans to pipe raw gas through their communities and dangerously close to their family homes.

Your efforts have paid off tremendously.

To take further action, click here:

https://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/ irishnorthernaidcommittee/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=3603

On May 4th, 2006 in a landmark gesture, the multi-billion dollar company, Shell Oil made a public apology to the members of the Rossport Five, their families and communities. Shell Oil's Managing Director, Andy Pyle said that mistakes had been made in the handling of the affair and apologized for any hurt that the imprisonment of the men had caused the local community. He also said that the company was prepared to meet with the local people to discuss alternatives to the future construction of the pipeline.

This historic breakthrough was made because together we voiced our disapproval to Shell Oil and the Irish goverment by means of emails, faxes, phone calls and letters.

Now that we have come this far, let's make sure that this is more than a PR exercise.

Let's tell Shell Oil and the Irish government we will not back down until our demand for justice is met.

Please take action by clicking here:

https://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/ irishnorthernaidcommittee/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=3603

Let's join Rossport Five member, Willie Corduff in his resolve to put the safety of his family, the community and the environment ahead of Oil Company profits.

The Irish Independent reported:

THE Rossport Five's Willie Corduff is willing to die rather than allow the Corrib gas pipeline pass by his doorway.

And according to his wife, Mary, she'll go to jail too, along with hundreds of supporters, locally, nationally and internationally. ''We're a great country for acknowledging our martyrs, so maybe the Government will be raising a plaque to me in another 50 years, because that's what I'm prepared to do - die,'' said a defiant Mr Corduff from his home in Rossport last night.

''That pipe, no matter what the pressure, 245 bar or 144 bar, runs just a metre from my house.

''My 15-year-old daughter, Marie, would be crossing it on her way to school ever day,'' Mr Corduff said.

He cited a gas leak near Clareabbey, Co Clare, on Tuesday as an example of the serious dangers of even a low-pressure gas leak.

''The gas in that pipe was only 4 bar and they still had to evacuate people from within a 200m radius,'' said Mr Corduff. He also observed that, if the protest had not happened, the Government would have been quite happy to allow Shell pump gas onshore at the rate now deemed by Advatica to be unsafe.

Please take action by clicking here:

https://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/ irishnorthernaidcommittee/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=3603

Many thanks for your continued effort!

The following action alert was issued recently by the McAllister Family Justice Campaign.

Time for the McAllister family is running out! [See https://www.mcallistercampaign.com for details]

1.) Call government officials and ask them to send individual letters IMMEDIATELY in support of the McAllister family to Michael Chertoff of Homeland Security asking for "Deferred Action Status". If offices have any questions or need a case update refer them to Deanna Turner at Tel. #347-448-6160.

Find your congressman/woman by zip code https://www.house.gov/htbin/zipfind

Find your Member of Congress Phone numbers: https://clerk.house.gov/members/mcapdir.html

Find your senator and their phone number: https://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

2.) Contact the original signers of the McAllister joint letter in Congress (at bottom of email), thank them for their support and ask them to send an individual letter to Chertoff ASAP. The sample letter and Chertoff's address can be found at: https://www.mcallistercampaign.com/statements_of_support.htm

3.) Contact Deanna Turner with any results that you receive from your efforts. We will keep a list of who has been contacted and individual letters sent so that we don't duplicate our efforts.

Email: editor@iauc.org Phone: 347-448-6160

Thank you for your continued support! It is greatly needed at this crucial time. Please don't delay!! Make those phone calls - it can make a world of difference for the McAllister's!

April 10, 2006: The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit decided against the McAllister family's appeal against deportation, finding, as expected, that the draconian strictures of post - "9/11" legislation were insurmountable by the court.

In a remarkably sympathetic and hard hitting "concurring" opinion, Judge Maryanne Barry cites basic American principals to complain that the court was placed in a straightjacket in deciding the matter and makes a touching plea to the Attorney General* to "exercise his discretion and permit this deserving family to stay".

It appears that this discretion now lies with Michael Chertoff, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

Judge Barry's unprecedented request reflects frustration that the court's hands are tied despite the fact that "anti-terrorist " legislation governing this matter must never have been intended for people like the McAllister's who have lived as model Americans for over a decade, deserve asylum here and never have or will pose any threat to their adopted country.

UPDATE April 12, 2006: Representative Peter T. King, Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, issued a personal request to Michael Chertoff, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, urging him to exercise his discretion to allow the McAllister Family to remain in the U.S. In his letter, Rep. King quoted extensively from the opinion issued by Judge Maryanne Trump Barry of the U.S. Court of Appeals in which she strongly stated that we would not be the country we should be if the family were deported because of a technical and "knee-jerk" application of post - "9-11" rules which do not justly apply to the McAllister's situation.

In his letter to Secretary Chertoff, Rep. King states: "I am making this request to you because of my personal knowledge of Mr. McAllister who has lived in this country for more than ten years and has proven himself to be absolutely no threat whatever to this country."

Click here to read Rep. Peter King's April 12, 2006 request to Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security requesting that he use his discretion to permit the McAllister's to stay in the U.S.: https://www.mcallistercampaign.com/King%20to%20Chertoff%20McAllister %20letter%20April122006letter.pdf

Click here to read Judge Barry's opinion: https://www.mcallistercampaign.com/third_circuit_decision.htm#Barry% 20Opinion

Click here to read the court's entire decision: https://www.mcallistercampaign.com/McAllister%20Decision%2010April06.pdf

To view McAllister Campaign website visit: https://www.mcallistercampaign.com/home.htm

Urgent Appeal