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The world watched in horror as videos emerged of the carnage wreaked by a missile on the Al Ahil Baptist Hospital. With reports of over 500 dead, the fog of war quickly descended in what are attempts to shift the blame. Some of the media have decided, rather than investigate, to both-sides it. We have not. So if you're looking for 'he said that he said' this is not the podcast for you.

Joining me from Gaza is University Lecturer in Gaza, Dr Refaat Alareer, who outlines why he is no doubt that this was an IDF missile and why it is yet another war crime carried out on his people. Refaat talks about the hunger he and his family are experiencing and the lack of political support the people of Gaza are receiving.

Two notes:

1. The IDF lied before several times and I do not give them the benefit of the doubt.

2. Refaat's line dropped for a couple of minutes in the middle, so the audio is clumsily stitched together. But it is a very important podcast, so please listen.

The Grace Blakeley Podcast is out now here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-91199255

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This is a very special episode of our Sunday show. We are joined by Mr Irish Election Projections, Harry McEvansoneya, to discuss the latest polls, the HSE recruitment freeze, RTE back at the PAC, Tommy Bowe as Ireland's top Pol Corr and then..

..we discuss a few things that happened this week that I felt we needed to mention, but cannot not say on the main feed...

(Note: The discussion from 30-42mins is for Patrons only. Members please listen and you'll understand)

..before we discuss more generally Israel-Palestine in a section where Harry talks about the issues in ways that you must listen to. Thank you, Harry. Proud to call you a friend.

The full podcast is available now here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-91024275

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In this podcast you'll hear from an emotional Mahmoud Mushtaha about the incredible cruelty of the Israeli military's bombardment and orders to evacuate. We discuss in a very broad and (probably) clumsy way some of the events that led to this catastrophic conflagration, the maddening reporting by much of international media, the insular reporting of Irish media and then we update you on the lived experiences of some familiar voices from the area. This is not a pleasant podcast and there's a lot of strong language used.

Follow Yara or Twitter: @arayirl

The Lefty Budget Analysis is out now here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-90846308

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Joining me for the first time on the podcast from Gaza, Palestine, is 21 year old English Literature Student and volunteer with wearenotnumbers.org, Afaf Al Najjar. She outlines the situation inside Gaza right now, the crumbling infrastucture, the shortagrs of electricity, wifi and now water and the need for the fighting to stop.

This is a must listen first person testimony to live under the blockade (we are even interrupted at one point by the noise from Israeli gunships) and Afaf's appeal for the application of international law and the right to live a life in peace and with dignity is powerful appeal for sanity in this time of madness. Please listen and find Afaf on twitter @afafpal_

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It has been another bloody and brutal 36hrs in Israel and Palestine, with the destruction of schools, homes and hospitals and air strikes leaving hundreds of people dead and thousands more injured. Joining us to discuss the this, the events that led to Operation Al-Aqsa Storm and the reaction of the international community is journalist Hannah McCarthy, who has only recently returned from a visit to the area.

Warning: We discuss topics that some listeners may find disturbing.

The Healthcare not Handcuffs podcast is out now:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-90627401

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TW: Contains subjects that people may find upsetting. But please listen.

It was a great to be rejoined on the podcast by co-founder of secondtree.org Giovanni Fontana, to get an update on the campaign to get justice for Fatmata, who was shot and killed in April by a border police officer. There is, thanks to the work of Giovanni and others, some good news and a trial now looks likely. But the path to here has been exceptionally difficult, including the morgue asking for a bribe of €8,500 just to release Fatmata's body. Giovanni speaks passionately and cogently about Fortress Europe, Frontex and the lethal barriers we, as voters, place in front of people seeking a better life. There is good in the world and second tree are a force for it. Thanks, Gio.

Support their work at secondtree.org

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It was a pleasure to be rejoined in the tortoise shack by academic, author and activist, Naomi Klein for what is a deep-dive into the worlds she discusses in her new book, Doppelganger. We talk about the doppleganger phenomenon in the era of people building personal brands, the wellbeing to far right pipeline, following the white rabbit, liberalism versus leftism, the nonsense that is horseshoe theory and the need for soft borders (in ideology and in community) in order to counter the far right and move towards a rights-based society.

Doppleganger by Naomi Klein is published by Allen Lane and is available in shops and online from 12th November and we have 2 signed copies of the book to give away. To enter simply share and recommend this podcast on your social media feed (twitter or instagram) and tag @TortoiseShack.

The Aoife Moore and Emmet Kirwan podcast is out now here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-90027745

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For the last few years we've done a member-only wrap of the week Sunday Show for our members. This week we've decided to lift the paywall and share the madness with you all. Joining us is Shrapnel cohost and future leader of lefty Irish twitter, Sam Mcilwaine. We talk libraries unable to buy books, the Stormont stalemate that's driving the case for reform, the gallows outside the Dáil and the main enablers within the status quo, the neoliberal "we need more unemployment" argument that's become a newspaper column, the 3 leaders at a pointless UN meeting and Trump worrying about the potential for World War II, (no really). Embrace the chaos.

Tickets:https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/tortoise-shack-live-tickets-698299581847?aff=oddtdtcreator

Latest Shrapnel- Music, Conflict and Culture - is out now here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-89512183

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Lough Neagh is one of the largest lakes in Europe and provides 43% of the drinking water for Northern Ireland. Yet it is in such a terrible state ecologically that wildlife are dying from drinking from it. So what gives?

We spoke to journalist Tommy Greene, who covered this slowly unfolding disaster before it became BIG news. He tells us about the strange ownership structure of the lough, the reasons it's inhospitable to life and the need for joined up thinking to fix it. There are, as we discover, two types of chicken shit; one that infects the water and one that infects our politics.

Tickets for the Sugar Club:https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/tortoise-shack-live-tickets-698299581847?aff=erelexpmlt

RTE is Bankrupt podcast:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-89356544

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Grab a beverage of your choice and settle in for a long but very, very good one with Irish-Russian Denver Colorado-based Prof of Economics, Constantin Gurdgiev, who returns for a chat about Housing and the Banks. But because it's Constantin and us it goes a lot broader than that. We talk about the climate change playing out in front of our eyes, NAMA 2.0, Bidenomics and the Presidential 2nd place nominee competition, his local Trumpometer and the media revisionist history commentary following Putin's killing of Yevgeni Prigozhin. A belter.

Tickets for the Live Show:https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/tortoise-shack-live-tickets-698299581847?aff=erelexpmlt

Brand New Shrapnel Exclusive out now:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-89257659