TDs urge public to boycott household charge A number of TDs are refusing to pay the controversial new household charge of €100, which comes into force in January. The Socialist Party’s Joe Higgins and Clare Daly and independent TD Thomas Pringle have all said they will not pay the charge and have urged the public to boycott it also. Deputy Daly, who was jailed in 2003 over the anti bin tax campaign, was the first to oppose the charge, while speaking in the Dáil on Tuesday night. Despite being warned by Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan that those who did not pay would be pursed with charges of up to €2,500, but Ms Daly still described the new charge as “reprehensible”. She said the government’s game was to “open up a new tier of local taxation which will see ordinary people facing bills in the next two to three years of more than €1,000 plus per household.” Regarding the penalties, she said they were “really punitive” and warned that the government “can’t bring everyone to court,” citing that of the 1.4 million householders eligible for the charge, at best 5% could be brought to court. She added that the idea of judges “imposing heavy sanctions on ordinary people while not a single banker has ended up in jail will not be tolerated”. Read more...   Bartering - The Alternative Way To Trade With the economy and people suffering globally, it's no wonder that people will always find a way to survive. We have mentioned Time Banking on the website (see recent articles) which is another name for bartering. Greece is currently suffering from a massive debt which, like Ireland, has to be paid back to the IMF.  As the banks have withdrawn the money supply from the system (the same thing happened in the great depression in 1929), the people in Greece, and in particular, small communities, have come together and started a bartering service between themselves. This takes the need for money out of the equation. Bartering is older than the monetary system and is gaining more and more interest across the globe. In this Youtube video, you will see how a small community benefit from a bartering system. Maybe in Crossakiel, along with other small villages and communities, we could do the same.  If you are interested, please contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   Walter Graham - The Dangers Of Fluoride Walter Graham, (a native of Canada but 20 years now living in Co. Down) successfully campaigned to have this toxic chemical removed from the water supply in Northern Ireland. Now Walter is travelling throughout the south of the country, informing people about the dangers of water fluoridation (Part 1 of 2). Read more...   Can Baking Soda Cure Cancer? Cancer is now the leading cause of death in the world. This video featuring Doug Kaufman interviewing Italian Oncologist Dr. Tullio Simoncini, details a new theory of cancer that carries the promise of a safe, speedy, and effective cancer cure. Cancer, which surpassed heart disease as the number one killer is still considered “a mystery” in conventional medicine. In fact, the term “cancer” is just a generic term that in no way describes its cause. In this video, Doug Kaufman – a longtime proponent of the influence of fungi in human disease -- interviews the Italian oncologist Dr. Tullio Simoncini -- author of Cancer is a Fungus -- who shares fascinating new information about what he believes is the root of all cancers: fungi, and discusses a radically different path for curing cancer; sometimes in as little as a few days. Read more...     We want your stories! Do you have any interesting stories or experiences that you would like to share with our users? This could be anything from local knowledge/history to day to day things that are happening in the area. Do you have a business that you would like to promote? email us on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .