The Echo Chamber from Tortoise Shack

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack In what is being called an "opportunity to regularise employment misclassification" the Revenue Commissioners are to grant a two year amnesty to employers who engaged in bogus self employment. The repercussions this will have for the workers (across many industries) who have been denied benefits, entitlements and pay for the years outside of this 'opportunity' seem not to matter a jot. To add insult to injury it turns out that Arthur Cox, the legal firm representing RTE against bogus self employed workers, is using this “opportunity” as a marketing tool for their business. Arthur Cox Sales Pitch This tangled web involves media, the govt, the legal profession and even current Fine Gale presidential candidate, Hearther Humphreys. We unpick it all here. Eoin Ó Broin on Catherine Connolly, Housing and Left Unity podcast is out now here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-140192205 Donate to Dignity for Palestine:https://www.patreon.com/posts/some-good-news-140335712

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Ruba Khalid Al-Faleet is a Palestinian writer, artist, and poet based in Gaza. Her work explores the intersection of identity, resistance, and the poetics of survival under siege. As an active member of the Gaza Poets Society and a contributor to the Resilient Voices digital storytelling project by the British Council, Ruba uses her voice to document lived realities, reclaim narrative agency, and build bridges through creative expression. Her art and poetry are deeply intertwined—each piece a visual and verbal testament to what endures when language is all that remains. She joins us from Gaza to share her story. The When Tony met Simon Podcast is out now here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-140180209 Support Dignity for Palestine here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/some-good-news-140335712

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Here's everything we know about the huge success - and it is a huge success - of the Sumud Flotilla and what is still happening at sea to break the siege of Gaza. I'm joined also by Independent TD Barry Heneghan, who is onboard the Thousand Madleens Flotilla, which is a few days behind the Sumud and is determined to sail on for Gaza no matter what the next few days bring. The Video Version of this podcast is available here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-140257804 Donate to Dignity for Palestine here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/dignity-for-in-139268758

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack In his long overdue return, journalist with El Pais in Latin America, Nicholas Dale Leal, talks Argentina's chainsaw libertarian nightmare, Brazil not bending the knee to Trump, Venezuela vs the US regime change bollixology and the grim rise of fascism in the US. This is belter of a podcast. The Arthur Cox Sales Pitch Podcast is out now here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-140027928 Nicholas' recent piece here: https://english.elpais.com/usa/2025-09-22/more-deportations-but-far-from-the-largest-in-history-nine-months-of-trumps-immigration-crusade-in-charts.html?sma=elpaisenglishedition_2025.09.25&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=elpaisenglishedition_2025.09.25 Donate to Dignity for Palestine here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/dignity-for-in-139268758

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack In this podcast I am joined from Nuseirat, Gaza by a very tired Dr Musallam Abukhalil, to discuss the latest developments on the ground, his day job in the barely functioning Nasser Hospital and the work of the amazing volunteer team he helped to setup, Dignity for Palestine. The Doc explains the strain the latest displacement is putting on the services they provide and outlines the help they need. You can help from as little as $3. So please click the link below and give what you can. Donate now:https://www.patreon.com/posts/dignity-for-in-139268758 Video version of this podcast is available here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-139814952

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Chris Andrews is a Sinn Féin Senator and he's taking part in his fifth Gaza Flotilla. His ship was struck four times last night by Israeli drones. Despite this he and his fellow Sumud Flotilla shipmates, including over 20 Irish people, remain undeterred and committed to delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza. He joins us from his ship to talk all about it. Yousef also covers the latest news from Gaza City, where the relentless destruction and bombing drives thousands out in what many fear is a permanent exodus. There's also an update from Ty Gickey ;) The Argentina Bailout podcast with El Pais's Nicholas Leal is out now here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-139738780 Support Dignity for Palestine here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/dignity-for-in-139268758

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Paddy Maguire is the (mad?) man behind the viral RareWitch-PetalReaction videos that excoriate the media, politics, racist movements and liberal doggies of Northern Ireland. In a rare interview with a Free-Stater he talks to me about his process, his inspiration/frustration and the artistic dysfunction of trying to shoehorn messages of solidarity into 90 second animations about the Belfast Live House. The Catherine Connolly Hamas "controversy" podcast:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-139542482 The Flotilla Attack Podcast is out now here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-139635747 Support Dignity for Palestine: https://www.patreon.com/posts/dignity-for-in-139268758

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Belfast Green Party Cllr and Community Worker, Brian Smyth has never been shy about calling a spade a spade. Unfortunately the rise in racist attacks (including an attempted lynching!) has meant that he has had to be even more vocal than he’d like. He joins me to talk about the failure of politics, the grimness of inequality, the fraying of societal norms and the things that can be done to reverse the decline. The RareWithch Podcast is out now here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-139267100 Donate to Dignity for Palestine here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/dignity-for-in-139268758

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Senator Patricia Stephenson has just returned from the West Bank, Palestine and she joined me to discuss the apartheid regime she witnessed, the sanitising of settler violence and how any declarations about a two state solution falls apart in the face of the reality on the ground. And yes, we also discuss the latest Eoin Hayes controversy. Donate to Dignity for Palestine:https://www.patreon.com/posts/dignity-for-in-139268758

Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack Ahmad Abushawish is a 19-year-old writer and activist from Gaza. He has successfully conveyed his voice and the stories of his people through several prestigious platforms, including Al Jazeera, Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, Electronic Intifada, Prism Reports, and We Are Not Numbers. He is also an alumnus of the Access 16 program. Ahmad aspires to pursue higher education abroad and earn a scholarship at a prestigious university, where he hopes to further develop his skills and amplify the voices of his community. He joins us from Nuseirat, Gaza, hours after he completed his final high school (Leaving Cert equivalent) exams. What a fabulous young man. May he live to fulfill his dreams. Support Dignity for Palestine here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/dignity-for-two-134250846