Tuesday, August 26, 2003
NANNY STATE MOVES ON FROM FEGS TO FATTIES…
After the fiasco of banning smoking, the Irish government are now taking on fatties!
Imagine a united Ireland where one can’t get an Ulster fry… Will overweight smokers up north be joining the Orange Order, just for a feed and a feg out the back of the hall? Oh wait… ;o)
So is this another way to tax the poor, or a genuine attempt to make us healthier? Maybe food producers will take note of this threat, and reduce some sugar and salt in certain foods. But if so, why not target food producers, rather than the public. It’s not as if groceries in the Republic are cheap, like.
FROM BELFAST TO BASRA AND OTHER CLICHES…
The Belfast Telegraph reports today (although it’s not on their website) that PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Stephen White is facing difficulties in Iraq, where he is developing “a functioning police force”.
Sounds much like his role before he left Norn Irn. As do the difficulties he faces: “There is a job to be done. What we do need is (sic) the resources… we need more police expertise here.”
Whether in Norn Irn or Basra, you can always depend on the British Government not to give the police the tools they need to do the job… I promise this will be the last time I compare Basra and Belfast. Probably.
TODAY’S PUBLIC INQUIRY…
Another story missing from the Tele website but in the hard copy is what would have been ‘Today’s Public Inquiry’.
Limavady Council are to debate a motion calling for a public inquiry into the Claudy bombing tomorrow night. While sympathetic to anyone who hasn’t seen justice due to state or paramilitary terrorism, I doubt if this one has much chance of success, particularly when you consider that the PSNI has re-opened the file on it and everyone knows the man behind it - the infamous Fr Chesney - is dead…
A CAPTIVE AUDIENCE…
Another BBC report dropped into my mailbox today: Iraqi Media Audit – Eight City Report. I haven’t had a chance to read it yet, but the following caught my eye while scanning through it. It concerns Umm Qasr, the port that was 'easily' captured and successfully recaptured several times during ‘major hostilities’ (kinda like the dead-now-resurrected Chemical Ali).
“The port town of Umm Qasr had a major TV and radio relay station and some studio facilities during the previous regime. It was not possible to undertake an assessment of the facilities as they are now being used as a Prisoner of War facility by the US military.”
It seems the BBC have found a captive audience that cannot escape, even if it wanted to watch Sky. Only slightly kidding; according to the report, “Iraqis who can afford to are buying satellite dishes”. Probably to watch those former BBC World Service types in Al Jazeera though.
The rest of the report may form the basis for another post, as it explores the infrastructural challenge to rebuilding a media that was a primary target for coalition forces, and the “tense” relationship between that coalition and the emerging broadcasters, such as the Iraqi Media Network.
After the fiasco of banning smoking, the Irish government are now taking on fatties!
Imagine a united Ireland where one can’t get an Ulster fry… Will overweight smokers up north be joining the Orange Order, just for a feed and a feg out the back of the hall? Oh wait… ;o)
So is this another way to tax the poor, or a genuine attempt to make us healthier? Maybe food producers will take note of this threat, and reduce some sugar and salt in certain foods. But if so, why not target food producers, rather than the public. It’s not as if groceries in the Republic are cheap, like.
FROM BELFAST TO BASRA AND OTHER CLICHES…
The Belfast Telegraph reports today (although it’s not on their website) that PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Stephen White is facing difficulties in Iraq, where he is developing “a functioning police force”.
Sounds much like his role before he left Norn Irn. As do the difficulties he faces: “There is a job to be done. What we do need is (sic) the resources… we need more police expertise here.”
Whether in Norn Irn or Basra, you can always depend on the British Government not to give the police the tools they need to do the job… I promise this will be the last time I compare Basra and Belfast. Probably.
TODAY’S PUBLIC INQUIRY…
Another story missing from the Tele website but in the hard copy is what would have been ‘Today’s Public Inquiry’.
Limavady Council are to debate a motion calling for a public inquiry into the Claudy bombing tomorrow night. While sympathetic to anyone who hasn’t seen justice due to state or paramilitary terrorism, I doubt if this one has much chance of success, particularly when you consider that the PSNI has re-opened the file on it and everyone knows the man behind it - the infamous Fr Chesney - is dead…
A CAPTIVE AUDIENCE…
Another BBC report dropped into my mailbox today: Iraqi Media Audit – Eight City Report. I haven’t had a chance to read it yet, but the following caught my eye while scanning through it. It concerns Umm Qasr, the port that was 'easily' captured and successfully recaptured several times during ‘major hostilities’ (kinda like the dead-now-resurrected Chemical Ali).
“The port town of Umm Qasr had a major TV and radio relay station and some studio facilities during the previous regime. It was not possible to undertake an assessment of the facilities as they are now being used as a Prisoner of War facility by the US military.”
It seems the BBC have found a captive audience that cannot escape, even if it wanted to watch Sky. Only slightly kidding; according to the report, “Iraqis who can afford to are buying satellite dishes”. Probably to watch those former BBC World Service types in Al Jazeera though.
The rest of the report may form the basis for another post, as it explores the infrastructural challenge to rebuilding a media that was a primary target for coalition forces, and the “tense” relationship between that coalition and the emerging broadcasters, such as the Iraqi Media Network.
Saturday, August 23, 2003
MEDIA UPDATES...
This article by Jude Collins is worth a read, as it touches on a couple of the themes I've been exploring here.
Liam Clarke of the Sunday Times highlights Sinn Fein's Orwellian attitudes and historical revisionism on the matter of erasing IRA criminal records. The Sunday Life reckons this might be the thin end of the wedge, with war pensions for IRA combatants now on the agenda. Allegedly.
Finally, Sunday Life's Lynda Gilby has strong feelings about Sinn Fein's vision for the Maze prison site.
This article by Jude Collins is worth a read, as it touches on a couple of the themes I've been exploring here.
Liam Clarke of the Sunday Times highlights Sinn Fein's Orwellian attitudes and historical revisionism on the matter of erasing IRA criminal records. The Sunday Life reckons this might be the thin end of the wedge, with war pensions for IRA combatants now on the agenda. Allegedly.
Finally, Sunday Life's Lynda Gilby has strong feelings about Sinn Fein's vision for the Maze prison site.
Friday, August 22, 2003
UP OUR OWN ARSES...
NORTHERN Ireland’s conflict is often compared to other situations – South Africa, Bosnia, the struggle for civil rights in America, Israel-Palestine and the Basque country to name a few.
But Paul Butler’s comparison of the Maze Prison with Auschwitz is hyperbolic nonsense. He argues that the HMP Maze/Long Kesh is of historical interest and should be made into a museum, instantly guaranteeing it greater protection than most listed buildings here.
OK, you might say. It was where the Hunger Strikes took place, where the light bulb finally flickered on over IRA prisoners’ heads about the pointlessness of violence and where LVF leader Billy ‘King Rat’ Wright was murdered.
All memories worth preserving, I am sure, but I wonder if Councillor Butler has heard of Godwin’s Law..? I guess not.
The Sinn Fein member gushed: "Long Kesh is on a standing with Robben Island, Auschwitz and the Berlin Wall and we cannot afford to lose that history.”
Unfortunately, this is typical of how politicians view the ‘Troubles’. Yes, it was bad, but it was never THAT bad. No really. I was there. But we must maintain the neceesary fiction that we are still MOPEs – the Most Oppressed People Ever.
When Plastic Paddy terror tourists visit Belfast, they are often disappointed that there isn’t more devastation. One blogger from outside NI recently noted - almost disappointedly: "Walking around central Belfast today, I was struck at how few signs of conflict I saw (some of the gutted buildings may have been bombed but you see similar architectural wrecks in the States). In fact the whole dispute seems to have receded to a remarkable degree."
(His last comment also amused me - "I asked one West Belfast cabbie if he thought the peace would last. He said resignedly: "Yeah, people are gettin' too used to it."")
Internet Commentator laments Northern Ireland here in his entry for August 15, as well as making other valuable points. He argues:
"I wonder whether Northern Ireland loomed in the imagination of Americans as a kind of ruined province riven by civil war, equivalent to, say, the Lebanon. One particularly tenacious fallacy was that violence could not be prevented in the absence of a "political solution". This assumed a greater level of support for terrorism among the general public than existed. Would US governments have been so interested in Northern Ireland if there had been a better understanding of the nature of the conflict? This was more of a menacing, slow-burning conflict carried out by small groups of agent provocateurs than a civil war and though disastrous for those affected and for the NI economy couldn't compare with, say, trouble spots in Africa."
Just because something shouldn't be compared, doesn't mean we won't blunder on regardless. When Alasdair McDonnell of the SDLP compared the Short Strand with the Warsaw ghettoes, his comments were ridiculed. When Brendan McAllister of Mediation Network compared NI to Bosnia just before the conflict, it risked making a bad Drumcree worse. Many people alerady have a distorted view of the conflict, so let’s keep a sense of perspective folks.
Butler’s inaccurate analogy is sadly not isolated to republicans (as David Vance’s exaggerations prove), and verges on the offensive to some. It also devalues argument. Around 3,600 people died in the 30-years of violence here. While high in percentage terms of the population, other wars around the world have seen more people die in a day.
With typically black Ulster humour, older and wiser people used to tell me that the reason the violence took so long to end was "because we hadn't suffered enough"... a damning indictment of how thran and stubborn Northern Ireland people can be.
Today’s Belfast Telegraph also quoted Professor Adrian Guelke, a South Africa-born historian who has written extensively on Northern Ireland. He said the comparisons were "over the top".
"Auschwitz was the most appalling crime and there is complete consensus among the German people and its government as to what it represents," he said.
"There is no such consensus in Northern Ireland about the past and no consensus on what the Maze represents.
"It is not a symbol which will unite people in agreement for the future like Auschwitz and Robben Island have done. Using a comparison like this which simply doesn't stand up is over the top."
...
In political terms, elevating Northern Ireland’s problems to international status was seen as a useful way of getting our politicians to behave and act like democrats when the global spotlight was on them. Everyone else wanted our leader to shake hands, to make a deal, to be statesmen on a world stage. Globalising the problem is almost the opposite of the British containment policy of ‘Ulsterisation’ in the 1970s.
Yet our leaders are still politically parochial and intellectually insular. They are full of their own false sense of self-importance. They are, to put it bluntly, up their own arses.
You could see the ploy to put international pressure on our politicians in full effect during the ‘war and peace’ summit between Blair and Bush at Hillsborough in April. They tried to hold Northern Ireland up as an example to the world – particularly Israel, Palestine and Iraq – of how the most intractable problems could be resolved. Only this time, the premiers were left with egg on their faces, as our local politicians stubbornly ignored the international pressure.
Blair even said: "To those who can sometimes say the process in the Middle East is hopeless, I say we can look at Northern Ireland and take some hope from that.”
Once you pick yourself up of the floor, you can see how our little local difficulty should possibly be the last example of how to end a conflict. Sensibly, the Iraqis have taken the right approach to learning lessons from Northern Ireland – doing the opposite. In April, Iraqi representatives issued a joint statement of governing principles. The second point was: ‘The future government of Iraq should not be based on communal identity’.
A smart move, as politics in Norn Irn is almost completely based on communal identity, and has resulted in the reinforcement of division. Maybe it’s us who should be learning from the Iraqis. After all, knowing what to avoid is as important as knowing what to do…
NORTHERN Ireland’s conflict is often compared to other situations – South Africa, Bosnia, the struggle for civil rights in America, Israel-Palestine and the Basque country to name a few.
But Paul Butler’s comparison of the Maze Prison with Auschwitz is hyperbolic nonsense. He argues that the HMP Maze/Long Kesh is of historical interest and should be made into a museum, instantly guaranteeing it greater protection than most listed buildings here.
OK, you might say. It was where the Hunger Strikes took place, where the light bulb finally flickered on over IRA prisoners’ heads about the pointlessness of violence and where LVF leader Billy ‘King Rat’ Wright was murdered.
All memories worth preserving, I am sure, but I wonder if Councillor Butler has heard of Godwin’s Law..? I guess not.
The Sinn Fein member gushed: "Long Kesh is on a standing with Robben Island, Auschwitz and the Berlin Wall and we cannot afford to lose that history.”
Unfortunately, this is typical of how politicians view the ‘Troubles’. Yes, it was bad, but it was never THAT bad. No really. I was there. But we must maintain the neceesary fiction that we are still MOPEs – the Most Oppressed People Ever.
When Plastic Paddy terror tourists visit Belfast, they are often disappointed that there isn’t more devastation. One blogger from outside NI recently noted - almost disappointedly: "Walking around central Belfast today, I was struck at how few signs of conflict I saw (some of the gutted buildings may have been bombed but you see similar architectural wrecks in the States). In fact the whole dispute seems to have receded to a remarkable degree."
(His last comment also amused me - "I asked one West Belfast cabbie if he thought the peace would last. He said resignedly: "Yeah, people are gettin' too used to it."")
Internet Commentator laments Northern Ireland here in his entry for August 15, as well as making other valuable points. He argues:
"I wonder whether Northern Ireland loomed in the imagination of Americans as a kind of ruined province riven by civil war, equivalent to, say, the Lebanon. One particularly tenacious fallacy was that violence could not be prevented in the absence of a "political solution". This assumed a greater level of support for terrorism among the general public than existed. Would US governments have been so interested in Northern Ireland if there had been a better understanding of the nature of the conflict? This was more of a menacing, slow-burning conflict carried out by small groups of agent provocateurs than a civil war and though disastrous for those affected and for the NI economy couldn't compare with, say, trouble spots in Africa."
Just because something shouldn't be compared, doesn't mean we won't blunder on regardless. When Alasdair McDonnell of the SDLP compared the Short Strand with the Warsaw ghettoes, his comments were ridiculed. When Brendan McAllister of Mediation Network compared NI to Bosnia just before the conflict, it risked making a bad Drumcree worse. Many people alerady have a distorted view of the conflict, so let’s keep a sense of perspective folks.
Butler’s inaccurate analogy is sadly not isolated to republicans (as David Vance’s exaggerations prove), and verges on the offensive to some. It also devalues argument. Around 3,600 people died in the 30-years of violence here. While high in percentage terms of the population, other wars around the world have seen more people die in a day.
With typically black Ulster humour, older and wiser people used to tell me that the reason the violence took so long to end was "because we hadn't suffered enough"... a damning indictment of how thran and stubborn Northern Ireland people can be.
Today’s Belfast Telegraph also quoted Professor Adrian Guelke, a South Africa-born historian who has written extensively on Northern Ireland. He said the comparisons were "over the top".
"Auschwitz was the most appalling crime and there is complete consensus among the German people and its government as to what it represents," he said.
"There is no such consensus in Northern Ireland about the past and no consensus on what the Maze represents.
"It is not a symbol which will unite people in agreement for the future like Auschwitz and Robben Island have done. Using a comparison like this which simply doesn't stand up is over the top."
...
In political terms, elevating Northern Ireland’s problems to international status was seen as a useful way of getting our politicians to behave and act like democrats when the global spotlight was on them. Everyone else wanted our leader to shake hands, to make a deal, to be statesmen on a world stage. Globalising the problem is almost the opposite of the British containment policy of ‘Ulsterisation’ in the 1970s.
Yet our leaders are still politically parochial and intellectually insular. They are full of their own false sense of self-importance. They are, to put it bluntly, up their own arses.
You could see the ploy to put international pressure on our politicians in full effect during the ‘war and peace’ summit between Blair and Bush at Hillsborough in April. They tried to hold Northern Ireland up as an example to the world – particularly Israel, Palestine and Iraq – of how the most intractable problems could be resolved. Only this time, the premiers were left with egg on their faces, as our local politicians stubbornly ignored the international pressure.
Blair even said: "To those who can sometimes say the process in the Middle East is hopeless, I say we can look at Northern Ireland and take some hope from that.”
Once you pick yourself up of the floor, you can see how our little local difficulty should possibly be the last example of how to end a conflict. Sensibly, the Iraqis have taken the right approach to learning lessons from Northern Ireland – doing the opposite. In April, Iraqi representatives issued a joint statement of governing principles. The second point was: ‘The future government of Iraq should not be based on communal identity’.
A smart move, as politics in Norn Irn is almost completely based on communal identity, and has resulted in the reinforcement of division. Maybe it’s us who should be learning from the Iraqis. After all, knowing what to avoid is as important as knowing what to do…
SMOKED OUT...
I'm incensed... Political correctness gone mad... Not content with banning smoking in pubs, now the Irish health minister wants to ban incense during Mass. He says it's a threat to altar boys. I won't make the obvious joke.
I'm incensed... Political correctness gone mad... Not content with banning smoking in pubs, now the Irish health minister wants to ban incense during Mass. He says it's a threat to altar boys. I won't make the obvious joke.
Thursday, August 21, 2003
FIRST GONZO EXCLUSIVE... MONITORING THE MONITORS...
WORD reaches Gonzo that the Government is hoping to secure a swift passage for the Northern Ireland (Monitoring Commission) Bill in September.
The Monitoring Commission was supposed to have been named by now, but (I think) the Americans are having problems picking their nominee.
But more interestingly, and I'm pretty sure this is new, the Commission will be "constituted by means of an international agreement with the Irish Government" - permitting it to survey paramilitary activity in the Irish Republic as well as the UK.
This is interesting. Are we moving beyond a Strand One body? What legislation will be required in the South?
Either way, it's maybe not a bad thing, with so much of the Real IRA's campaign originating in the Republic.
Another question yet to be explored is how this will affect the Commission's other role - ensuring parties to the Agreement abide by the rules of office set out in the Agreement. If the Republic is to be included in the paramilitary monitoring aspect of things, surely logic dictates that it can be watched to ensure it's keeping it's end of the deal up politically?
In a strange reversal, could the Commission end up as a tool for unionists to highlight the Irish government's failure to comply with its obligations? For example, the Irish Human Rights Commission hasn't made much progress. The Commission could highlight this and - could this really happen? - maybe even embarrass the Irish. Lord Laird could maybe even use it whinge about the lack of support for Ulster Scots in the Republic.
I think I may be going a speculation too far - but the ability of the Commission to investigate terrorism in the Republic seems certain. Maybe the power should be extended to the US as well, given that so many weapons in Ireland originate there...
But back to reality. The British Secretary of State has high hopes that the Commission will break the political deadlock and lead us to an election, but public apathy - as noted by the Tele today - is at an all time high.
While a paranoid Sinn Fein is dead set against the Monitoring Commission, seeing it as a mechanism to throw them out of government, perhaps it is knee jerking too soon. The Commission will have a range of sanctions available to it, which means we won't face the 'nuclear option' each time the IRA decides to go on a jaunt to Columbia or import guns. That's good for Sinn Fein, if I'm not mistaken.
Likewise, one of the complaints of the Shinners was that the PUP were not capable of being sanctioned for UVF activity, as they had no ministers to exclude. Now that will change too, as the options for punishment will be much greater.
WORD reaches Gonzo that the Government is hoping to secure a swift passage for the Northern Ireland (Monitoring Commission) Bill in September.
The Monitoring Commission was supposed to have been named by now, but (I think) the Americans are having problems picking their nominee.
But more interestingly, and I'm pretty sure this is new, the Commission will be "constituted by means of an international agreement with the Irish Government" - permitting it to survey paramilitary activity in the Irish Republic as well as the UK.
This is interesting. Are we moving beyond a Strand One body? What legislation will be required in the South?
Either way, it's maybe not a bad thing, with so much of the Real IRA's campaign originating in the Republic.
Another question yet to be explored is how this will affect the Commission's other role - ensuring parties to the Agreement abide by the rules of office set out in the Agreement. If the Republic is to be included in the paramilitary monitoring aspect of things, surely logic dictates that it can be watched to ensure it's keeping it's end of the deal up politically?
In a strange reversal, could the Commission end up as a tool for unionists to highlight the Irish government's failure to comply with its obligations? For example, the Irish Human Rights Commission hasn't made much progress. The Commission could highlight this and - could this really happen? - maybe even embarrass the Irish. Lord Laird could maybe even use it whinge about the lack of support for Ulster Scots in the Republic.
I think I may be going a speculation too far - but the ability of the Commission to investigate terrorism in the Republic seems certain. Maybe the power should be extended to the US as well, given that so many weapons in Ireland originate there...
But back to reality. The British Secretary of State has high hopes that the Commission will break the political deadlock and lead us to an election, but public apathy - as noted by the Tele today - is at an all time high.
While a paranoid Sinn Fein is dead set against the Monitoring Commission, seeing it as a mechanism to throw them out of government, perhaps it is knee jerking too soon. The Commission will have a range of sanctions available to it, which means we won't face the 'nuclear option' each time the IRA decides to go on a jaunt to Columbia or import guns. That's good for Sinn Fein, if I'm not mistaken.
Likewise, one of the complaints of the Shinners was that the PUP were not capable of being sanctioned for UVF activity, as they had no ministers to exclude. Now that will change too, as the options for punishment will be much greater.
Wednesday, August 20, 2003
SILLY SEASON IS OPEN SEASON...
THE silly season is almost over, but not quite yet. The SDLP’s rather unedifying attempt to ‘out-green’ Sinn Fein was sent up in fine tabloid form by the South Belfast News last Friday, when it featured a dinosaur pointing a finger at the Hulk.
Not literally. Rather, Rev Martin Smyth MP (formerly of Orange Grand Wizard fame) was accusing ex-South Belfast Assembly member Alasdair McDonnell of being ‘greener than the Incredible Hulk’. A topical insult for someone who spends most of his time in the past, and even though McDonnell’s a big man, it was only the beginning of the salvo - Smyth went on to suggest that there were “rumoured rivalries over who is going to be the top dog for the SDLP in South Belfast” in the next election. Assuming there is one, of course.
McDonnell’s unfunny comeback was to accuse Smyth of being one of the ‘three incredible sulkers’ a reference to Smyth, David Burnside and Jeffrey Donaldson’s refusal to accept the UUP whip at Westminster in protest at their party’s policy on the Joint Declaration. He then faithfully trotted out the line about anti-Agreement unionists being unable to accept the verdict of the people on the GFA.
No wonder Smyth is speculating on the big bluffer’s future. Ex-Lord Mayor Alex Maskey (SF) must be champing at the bit to stand in South Belfast. But Maskey’s smarter - instead of shifting to a harder republican line, he’s going in the opposite direction and taking a more, errrrmm, SDLP soft-nat line, in the hope of sweeping up the Malone Road vote.
A yarn with absolutely no substance whatsoever. Bit like the politics then...
...
You can spot the SDLP’s jealousy of SF cropping up elsewhere, here, for example, when John Dallat pathetically suggests that Gerry Adams should hand over fees from lecture tours to charity. Hardly what you might call a heavyweight political blow, especially when SF can easily refute it so easily. It’s almost as embarrassing as Alex Attwood claiming every legislative change on policing was down to him.
Pfft!
Wise up SDLP!
The party seems to be panicking at the growth of Sinn Fein. As votes leak from the centre to the extremes, the SDLP, UUP and Alliance face an uphill struggle for the next elections. As Democratic Dialogue's Robin Wilson has warned, public apathy could be the killer for the centre ground...
You know things are bad when Sinn Fein's protests against the postponement of the election brought "not only incomprehension from seasoned observers but a wider yawn", according to Wilson.
THE silly season is almost over, but not quite yet. The SDLP’s rather unedifying attempt to ‘out-green’ Sinn Fein was sent up in fine tabloid form by the South Belfast News last Friday, when it featured a dinosaur pointing a finger at the Hulk.
Not literally. Rather, Rev Martin Smyth MP (formerly of Orange Grand Wizard fame) was accusing ex-South Belfast Assembly member Alasdair McDonnell of being ‘greener than the Incredible Hulk’. A topical insult for someone who spends most of his time in the past, and even though McDonnell’s a big man, it was only the beginning of the salvo - Smyth went on to suggest that there were “rumoured rivalries over who is going to be the top dog for the SDLP in South Belfast” in the next election. Assuming there is one, of course.
McDonnell’s unfunny comeback was to accuse Smyth of being one of the ‘three incredible sulkers’ a reference to Smyth, David Burnside and Jeffrey Donaldson’s refusal to accept the UUP whip at Westminster in protest at their party’s policy on the Joint Declaration. He then faithfully trotted out the line about anti-Agreement unionists being unable to accept the verdict of the people on the GFA.
No wonder Smyth is speculating on the big bluffer’s future. Ex-Lord Mayor Alex Maskey (SF) must be champing at the bit to stand in South Belfast. But Maskey’s smarter - instead of shifting to a harder republican line, he’s going in the opposite direction and taking a more, errrrmm, SDLP soft-nat line, in the hope of sweeping up the Malone Road vote.
A yarn with absolutely no substance whatsoever. Bit like the politics then...
...
You can spot the SDLP’s jealousy of SF cropping up elsewhere, here, for example, when John Dallat pathetically suggests that Gerry Adams should hand over fees from lecture tours to charity. Hardly what you might call a heavyweight political blow, especially when SF can easily refute it so easily. It’s almost as embarrassing as Alex Attwood claiming every legislative change on policing was down to him.
Pfft!
Wise up SDLP!
The party seems to be panicking at the growth of Sinn Fein. As votes leak from the centre to the extremes, the SDLP, UUP and Alliance face an uphill struggle for the next elections. As Democratic Dialogue's Robin Wilson has warned, public apathy could be the killer for the centre ground...
You know things are bad when Sinn Fein's protests against the postponement of the election brought "not only incomprehension from seasoned observers but a wider yawn", according to Wilson.
Monday, August 18, 2003
QUICKIE UPDATES... SHAMELESS SELF-ADVERTISING...
Just spotted this little gem while surfing...
It seems to confirm that the army's unwillingness to countenance anything that may equate State violence and paramilitarism extends to the grass roots.
...
And this description from Samizdata of Guardian readers made me smirk, albeit in a haughty way.
"Guardianistas are trouble-makers first and only socialist centralists second and because this makes trouble for smug establishmentarians."
...
And according to the Shamrockshire Eagle, this is one of those blogs that "aren't shit". Thanks. Yours isn't shit either. ;o)
Slugger O'Toole - now back from his holidays - thought Gonzo's analysis was worth a mention. Judging from the lack of response, other posters on the site thought otherwise!
Such resounding praise prompted me to advertise Gonzo on iloggers alongside the other Irish blogs. It should appear there 'in a few days'...
...
This is a great story. A Portrush councillor stood in front of Seymour Sweeney's diggers to protect the gardens of residents. Seems Christine Alexander has more balls than the men on the council!
Just spotted this little gem while surfing...
It seems to confirm that the army's unwillingness to countenance anything that may equate State violence and paramilitarism extends to the grass roots.
...
And this description from Samizdata of Guardian readers made me smirk, albeit in a haughty way.
"Guardianistas are trouble-makers first and only socialist centralists second and because this makes trouble for smug establishmentarians."
...
And according to the Shamrockshire Eagle, this is one of those blogs that "aren't shit". Thanks. Yours isn't shit either. ;o)
Slugger O'Toole - now back from his holidays - thought Gonzo's analysis was worth a mention. Judging from the lack of response, other posters on the site thought otherwise!
Such resounding praise prompted me to advertise Gonzo on iloggers alongside the other Irish blogs. It should appear there 'in a few days'...
...
This is a great story. A Portrush councillor stood in front of Seymour Sweeney's diggers to protect the gardens of residents. Seems Christine Alexander has more balls than the men on the council!
Thursday, August 14, 2003
THE THIN END OF THE WEDGE #231... WANDERING NOTES ON THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF TRUTH & JUSTICE...
WHEN I saw Jim Cusack reporting that "SINN Fein is asking the Government to erase the prison records of almost 4,000 prisoners who served time in the Republic's jails for IRA offences, including murder, over the past three decades" the twitchers went.
They often go when I read Jim's stories, but do the Shinners actually imagine the Government could give in to this? (I say 'could', because Blair certainly 'would', if everyone else didn't rein him in when he's in full 'appeasement' mode.) I imagine republican bottom line will be more realistic.
The first inevitability is that loyalists will demand the same. You have to maintain the sectarian 'balance' somehow, after all. But that still doesn't mean the demand, even if it was 'cross-community', would succeed. Law-loving unionists would never support it. Right?
The republican demand is a pardon in all but name. No criminal record, no crime. I get the feeling that there could be further, similar demands in the future, particularly if the idea of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission continues to hang around.
Calls from immunity from prosecution in such a context will be natural. But how, for example, would victims see justice sacrificed for the sake of political expediency yet again? And while we can expect loyalists to take advantage of immunity (assuming they would participate in a T&RC), would the British establishment do the same for soldiers?
...
Sinn Fein's failure to secure safe passage home for 'On the Runs' answers that. Although Blair convinced republicans at Weston Park he could deliver their fugitives, he ran into trouble back home. The Conservatives and LibDems wouldn't allow it through the Lords, but the oft-mentioned 'securocrats' immediately spotted the thin end of the wedge.
If compelled to give evidence in a T&RC, the Army could not allow the actions of terrorists to be equated with illegal State actions. Bad enough that collusion comes out, but that those who were complicit in breaking the law should have it excused? Pshaw!
As well as exposing State terrorism, having it equated to paramilitary terrorism would only add to the perceived legitimacy of armed struggle.
A new formula has now been drawn up for getting the IRA's fugitives home, and it heavily involves a quasi-judicial process. Perhaps a compromise has been fudged. The idea is still live but frozen until there's full decommissioning. Whatever that means.
For some in the British establishment, I would guess they want Sinn Fein to be able to keep republicanism's worst secrets quiet, so they don't have to reveal theirs. After all, they are the two groups with most to gain from the past remaining buried.
WHEN I saw Jim Cusack reporting that "SINN Fein is asking the Government to erase the prison records of almost 4,000 prisoners who served time in the Republic's jails for IRA offences, including murder, over the past three decades" the twitchers went.
They often go when I read Jim's stories, but do the Shinners actually imagine the Government could give in to this? (I say 'could', because Blair certainly 'would', if everyone else didn't rein him in when he's in full 'appeasement' mode.) I imagine republican bottom line will be more realistic.
The first inevitability is that loyalists will demand the same. You have to maintain the sectarian 'balance' somehow, after all. But that still doesn't mean the demand, even if it was 'cross-community', would succeed. Law-loving unionists would never support it. Right?
The republican demand is a pardon in all but name. No criminal record, no crime. I get the feeling that there could be further, similar demands in the future, particularly if the idea of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission continues to hang around.
Calls from immunity from prosecution in such a context will be natural. But how, for example, would victims see justice sacrificed for the sake of political expediency yet again? And while we can expect loyalists to take advantage of immunity (assuming they would participate in a T&RC), would the British establishment do the same for soldiers?
...
Sinn Fein's failure to secure safe passage home for 'On the Runs' answers that. Although Blair convinced republicans at Weston Park he could deliver their fugitives, he ran into trouble back home. The Conservatives and LibDems wouldn't allow it through the Lords, but the oft-mentioned 'securocrats' immediately spotted the thin end of the wedge.
If compelled to give evidence in a T&RC, the Army could not allow the actions of terrorists to be equated with illegal State actions. Bad enough that collusion comes out, but that those who were complicit in breaking the law should have it excused? Pshaw!
As well as exposing State terrorism, having it equated to paramilitary terrorism would only add to the perceived legitimacy of armed struggle.
A new formula has now been drawn up for getting the IRA's fugitives home, and it heavily involves a quasi-judicial process. Perhaps a compromise has been fudged. The idea is still live but frozen until there's full decommissioning. Whatever that means.
For some in the British establishment, I would guess they want Sinn Fein to be able to keep republicanism's worst secrets quiet, so they don't have to reveal theirs. After all, they are the two groups with most to gain from the past remaining buried.
Seymour Sweeney is at it again.
Not content with destroying Portballantrae and making it impossible for locals to buy their own homes there, he’s now destroying my old stomping ground, Portrush’s West Strand.
Has this man no heart or respect for the environment? He fought to take Runkerry House out of public use (read about it here) and turned it into some of the most expensive real estate in Norn Irn. When a group of University of Ulster students protested at the sale, he went down with a camera to take photos of them. What a lovely man.
He’s the man behind Seaport Investments, which wanted to turn a world heritage site known as the Giant’s Causeway into some kind of theme pub.
For some reason, the DUP always seem to row in behind him when he seeks planning approval from various councils. Perhaps the party should let us know if he is a financial donor too…
Sweeney is a money-grabbing rodent, who will stop at nothing in his quest to kill off the natural beauty of north Antrim in order to line his own pockets. Pah!
Not content with destroying Portballantrae and making it impossible for locals to buy their own homes there, he’s now destroying my old stomping ground, Portrush’s West Strand.
Has this man no heart or respect for the environment? He fought to take Runkerry House out of public use (read about it here) and turned it into some of the most expensive real estate in Norn Irn. When a group of University of Ulster students protested at the sale, he went down with a camera to take photos of them. What a lovely man.
He’s the man behind Seaport Investments, which wanted to turn a world heritage site known as the Giant’s Causeway into some kind of theme pub.
For some reason, the DUP always seem to row in behind him when he seeks planning approval from various councils. Perhaps the party should let us know if he is a financial donor too…
Sweeney is a money-grabbing rodent, who will stop at nothing in his quest to kill off the natural beauty of north Antrim in order to line his own pockets. Pah!
Chris Thornton happened upon a couple of interesting points made in the Tele in the ongoing battle within unionism.
According to Dermott Nesbitt (UUP), “Mr Robinson has said he would negotiate through the Prime Minister or a third party”. The UUP also constantly have a go at the DUP about playing ‘catch-up’ with regards to things like sharing a TV studio with Sinn Fein.
The problem for Nesbitt and the UUP is that while the DUP appears as though it is gearing up to do a deal, admittedly some way off yet, the UUP looks as though it couldn't deliver the morning papers. Equally worrying for the UUP is that while they look more and more disunited, the DUP are making noises that the Government and some in nationalism might be wanting to hear.
The DUP has always said it won’t ‘negotiate’ with SF, but in the past they have ‘confronted’ them face to face, as Gregory Campbell did at the West Belfast Festival last week. If they can conflate a ‘review’ with ‘renegotiation’, the DUP’s hot air might just turn out to be semantic huffing and puffing.
Dodds’s latest letter to Sean Farren (SDLP) is revealing: “Is it his view that everything is on the table at the ‘review’ he speaks of subject to the ability of the parties to agree? If so, is the distinction between a review and new negotiations simply a matter of description given that a majority of unionists can ‘veto’ the status quo and a majority of nationalists can ‘veto’ particular changes?”
Certainly there appear to be subtle shifts, and different emphases between what Paisley says and the Robbos and Dodds of the party hint at…
According to Dermott Nesbitt (UUP), “Mr Robinson has said he would negotiate through the Prime Minister or a third party”. The UUP also constantly have a go at the DUP about playing ‘catch-up’ with regards to things like sharing a TV studio with Sinn Fein.
The problem for Nesbitt and the UUP is that while the DUP appears as though it is gearing up to do a deal, admittedly some way off yet, the UUP looks as though it couldn't deliver the morning papers. Equally worrying for the UUP is that while they look more and more disunited, the DUP are making noises that the Government and some in nationalism might be wanting to hear.
The DUP has always said it won’t ‘negotiate’ with SF, but in the past they have ‘confronted’ them face to face, as Gregory Campbell did at the West Belfast Festival last week. If they can conflate a ‘review’ with ‘renegotiation’, the DUP’s hot air might just turn out to be semantic huffing and puffing.
Dodds’s latest letter to Sean Farren (SDLP) is revealing: “Is it his view that everything is on the table at the ‘review’ he speaks of subject to the ability of the parties to agree? If so, is the distinction between a review and new negotiations simply a matter of description given that a majority of unionists can ‘veto’ the status quo and a majority of nationalists can ‘veto’ particular changes?”
Certainly there appear to be subtle shifts, and different emphases between what Paisley says and the Robbos and Dodds of the party hint at…
Tuesday, August 12, 2003
I'm having DUP coincidences now. Got a strange link there to a message board on National Review Online. Here's a post that I spotted by a namesake of the DUP Leader. I mean Deputy:
"STOP PRESS: AMERICAN BISHOP STICKS UP FOR THE POPE [Peter Robinson]
Since I'm incessantly wailing about the pusillanimity of America's Catholic bishops, when a bishop actually demonstrates real courage I feel the need to point it out--and in his homily last Sunday, Francis Cardinal George, archbishop of Chicago, uncorked a zinger. Attacking the Chicago Sun-Times for its headline, "Pope Launches Global Campaign Against Gays," Cardinal George asserted that far from launching a campaign of any kind the Pope was merely restating the constant teaching of the Church."
Ha!
"STOP PRESS: AMERICAN BISHOP STICKS UP FOR THE POPE [Peter Robinson]
Since I'm incessantly wailing about the pusillanimity of America's Catholic bishops, when a bishop actually demonstrates real courage I feel the need to point it out--and in his homily last Sunday, Francis Cardinal George, archbishop of Chicago, uncorked a zinger. Attacking the Chicago Sun-Times for its headline, "Pope Launches Global Campaign Against Gays," Cardinal George asserted that far from launching a campaign of any kind the Pope was merely restating the constant teaching of the Church."
Ha!
UPS AND DOWNS FOR TOURISM...
Northern Ireland's tourist industry has been in a slump for a few years. Drumcree and, more recently, the global downturn following in the wake of 9/11 has seen visitor number slump.
But on the same day that the bad news about the past two years came, there was also some good news for the tourism industry.
So who knows what the real story is? Are we nearing pre-Drumcree figures again this year? Has Belfast got its buzz back?
Maybe, maybe not. But you definitely notice more visitors than usual when you're dandering about the city.
Hope no-one goes home too disappointed at our lack of attractions. Particularly if you were in Donegall Pass at the weekend... nice to see there's always a 'friendly' welcome here.
And, if you're from 'the Continent', I hope you don't mind that last orders are a bit earlier than you might be used to.
So tell me... why were some people surprised when we didn't get the 'European City of Culture Award'? Pfft!
Methinks we depend on international sympathy rather than having much to actually offer, in Norn Irn...
Northern Ireland's tourist industry has been in a slump for a few years. Drumcree and, more recently, the global downturn following in the wake of 9/11 has seen visitor number slump.
But on the same day that the bad news about the past two years came, there was also some good news for the tourism industry.
So who knows what the real story is? Are we nearing pre-Drumcree figures again this year? Has Belfast got its buzz back?
Maybe, maybe not. But you definitely notice more visitors than usual when you're dandering about the city.
Hope no-one goes home too disappointed at our lack of attractions. Particularly if you were in Donegall Pass at the weekend... nice to see there's always a 'friendly' welcome here.
And, if you're from 'the Continent', I hope you don't mind that last orders are a bit earlier than you might be used to.
So tell me... why were some people surprised when we didn't get the 'European City of Culture Award'? Pfft!
Methinks we depend on international sympathy rather than having much to actually offer, in Norn Irn...
DUP PREPARING TO DEAL..? HOPEFUL SIGNS HIDDEN IN THE HARDLINERS...
Peter Robinson and Sinn Fein are united on one thing – they want an election and they want it now.
Today in the Irish News, Robbo said: “It is time for the government to face up to realities and move ahead on a basis that can deliver progress. Negotiations before an Assembly election designed to save the Belfast agreement and the UUP will ultimately end in failure and will only delay progress in Northern Ireland.”
It’s a powerful argument. After all, what has changed since the election was postponed? Nothing. When we do have an election, and we still can't form an Executive, the only choice will be to use the electoral performance of parties' to decide on their strength of representation in new talks.
His colleague Nigel Dodds's argument is also a good un, and it's a relief to actually see some crucial issues for the DUP being debated at last.
With subtle differences emerging between what Ian Paisley says (“Disband Sinn Fein before we negotiate”) and teh coyness which Robinson and others exhibit when asked what they think of this, perhaps The Doc is finally losing his grip on policy. His grip on reality was always less tenuous.
Now that we finally know what the DUP would 're-negotiate' (a fair whack of which could be accommodated by the can of worms that is a Paragraph 8 comprehensive review), maybe the party will put forward more position-type think pieces.
Much preparation will be needed if others wish to refute a lot of what Dodds says, in his legalistic prose. In a reply to another former Assembly minister‘s letter, Dodds’s dry, unrelenting and utterly serious argument calmly demolishes Sean Farren’s earlier mocking piece.
There's a lot of Dodds’s ideas about the power of Assembly ministers that resonates with the public and other parties.
When you consider that a minister could be sanctioned, brought to book, or forced to resign after a vote of no confidence, it does start to raise questions about the quality of the checks and balances in the Assembly. They seem to have ended up in the wrong places, with only the Public Accounts Committee capturing the public imagination while doing a decent job.
The Agreement was never a perfect document. But are nationalists too scared to change it, in case 'themmuns' regained some ground.
…
Everyone is getting tired of 'conflict management', the kind of cold war and low-level paramilitary activity that reminds us of how they haven’t gone away. We know. We just can’t be arsed with the tedious pettiness of it all now that the toe has been dipped in the devolutionary water and found it tepidly bearable. The GFA demonstrated its worth at keeping the body count down, but it simultaneously fuelled sectarian competition. Were there many debates where votes didn't break down along sectarian lines while the Assembly was still breathing? No.
Competition between the two traditions is as great as ever, simply redirected. These are the spaces for inter-community conflict: sites for new hospitals; which is the more important - the right to parade or to protest; Ulster Scots and Gaelic struggling for cultural supremacy; what type of exams children should do.
All split along traditional lines.
Even Sean Farren sometimes steps outside the usual SDLP thinking about the GFA being set in stone. In his initial letter to Dodds (on the Slugger O’Toole site) he said that: “The DUP goes on to argue that any agreement must be final and not a process. Applying that argument is a recipe for no change whatever the circumstances. Times and circumstances do change, and political institutions as well as constitutions must change or atrophy. The possibility of change is an inherent feature of all vibrant democratic institutions. Otherwise how could we have the Westminster, Dublin or Washington institutions of today?”
So Sean can accept change, even if the GFA is still the only show in town. Nationalists should remember that the SDLP’s constitutional demand for a United Ireland means that the Agreement cannot be set in stone. If there is the possibility of changing it to facilitate a more united Ireland, the SDLP may well take it. Would it not be, therefore, logical to expect them to accept changes that were more integrationist, if that’s the direction people chose? After all, in its insistence on a ‘two communities’ approach to everything, the SDLP is entrenching adversarial politics in Northern Ireland and encouraging zero-sum games.
Someone wins, someone loses. It’s the way it has to be, or seen to be. Peace is on ‘our’ terms. Creating win-win situations is still a distant memory from a ‘Justice in Times of Transition’ conference.
Not everything Dodds, who is clearly pro-devolution, wants is unreasonable, and others will eventually have to confront that fact. Who will argue that they don’t want greater local responsibility? Canny taxpayers mourned the Public Accounts Committee. People liked the knowledge that stagnant government was being given a kick up the accountability ass.
Some of Dodds’s suggestions have the potential to change the Agreement for the better. Maybe we’ll spread a little of that creative ambiguity to the next round of talks, with the pro-GFA camp claiming it’s a ‘review’ while the antis get to call it a ‘renegotiation’. If Sinn Fein can accept partition and call it victory, then there’s no reason why the DUP shouldn’t accept developing north-south links and say they’ve safeguarded the union this time round.
All this creates a space for public debate, one which has been sadly stifled while the media’s eye is on Trimble’s woes. The crunch will always come with who has the final say on what. Witness the current paranoia over the International Monitoring Body. Sinn Fein says it’s a whip to beat them with and anti-Agreement unionists worry about Dublin’s involvement on it. Again, the signs are there that the extremes will have to be placated. But what happens if the DUP keeps putting forward the capable Dodds and he continues to tease out the arguments?
Is the DUP being any more unreasonable for saying it won’t allow an Executive to be formed, than Alliance, whose position is not to redesignate again, even if it spelled the end of the Agreement? God help us all the day that the DUP sounded reasonable, but the GFA didn't end the conflict. It just changed the nature of it.
The ultimate irony could be that the DUP ends up making it more democratic.
…
Right. That’s enough DUPe-defending for now. Think I need a shower... ;o)
Peter Robinson and Sinn Fein are united on one thing – they want an election and they want it now.
Today in the Irish News, Robbo said: “It is time for the government to face up to realities and move ahead on a basis that can deliver progress. Negotiations before an Assembly election designed to save the Belfast agreement and the UUP will ultimately end in failure and will only delay progress in Northern Ireland.”
It’s a powerful argument. After all, what has changed since the election was postponed? Nothing. When we do have an election, and we still can't form an Executive, the only choice will be to use the electoral performance of parties' to decide on their strength of representation in new talks.
His colleague Nigel Dodds's argument is also a good un, and it's a relief to actually see some crucial issues for the DUP being debated at last.
With subtle differences emerging between what Ian Paisley says (“Disband Sinn Fein before we negotiate”) and teh coyness which Robinson and others exhibit when asked what they think of this, perhaps The Doc is finally losing his grip on policy. His grip on reality was always less tenuous.
Now that we finally know what the DUP would 're-negotiate' (a fair whack of which could be accommodated by the can of worms that is a Paragraph 8 comprehensive review), maybe the party will put forward more position-type think pieces.
Much preparation will be needed if others wish to refute a lot of what Dodds says, in his legalistic prose. In a reply to another former Assembly minister‘s letter, Dodds’s dry, unrelenting and utterly serious argument calmly demolishes Sean Farren’s earlier mocking piece.
There's a lot of Dodds’s ideas about the power of Assembly ministers that resonates with the public and other parties.
When you consider that a minister could be sanctioned, brought to book, or forced to resign after a vote of no confidence, it does start to raise questions about the quality of the checks and balances in the Assembly. They seem to have ended up in the wrong places, with only the Public Accounts Committee capturing the public imagination while doing a decent job.
The Agreement was never a perfect document. But are nationalists too scared to change it, in case 'themmuns' regained some ground.
…
Everyone is getting tired of 'conflict management', the kind of cold war and low-level paramilitary activity that reminds us of how they haven’t gone away. We know. We just can’t be arsed with the tedious pettiness of it all now that the toe has been dipped in the devolutionary water and found it tepidly bearable. The GFA demonstrated its worth at keeping the body count down, but it simultaneously fuelled sectarian competition. Were there many debates where votes didn't break down along sectarian lines while the Assembly was still breathing? No.
Competition between the two traditions is as great as ever, simply redirected. These are the spaces for inter-community conflict: sites for new hospitals; which is the more important - the right to parade or to protest; Ulster Scots and Gaelic struggling for cultural supremacy; what type of exams children should do.
All split along traditional lines.
Even Sean Farren sometimes steps outside the usual SDLP thinking about the GFA being set in stone. In his initial letter to Dodds (on the Slugger O’Toole site) he said that: “The DUP goes on to argue that any agreement must be final and not a process. Applying that argument is a recipe for no change whatever the circumstances. Times and circumstances do change, and political institutions as well as constitutions must change or atrophy. The possibility of change is an inherent feature of all vibrant democratic institutions. Otherwise how could we have the Westminster, Dublin or Washington institutions of today?”
So Sean can accept change, even if the GFA is still the only show in town. Nationalists should remember that the SDLP’s constitutional demand for a United Ireland means that the Agreement cannot be set in stone. If there is the possibility of changing it to facilitate a more united Ireland, the SDLP may well take it. Would it not be, therefore, logical to expect them to accept changes that were more integrationist, if that’s the direction people chose? After all, in its insistence on a ‘two communities’ approach to everything, the SDLP is entrenching adversarial politics in Northern Ireland and encouraging zero-sum games.
Someone wins, someone loses. It’s the way it has to be, or seen to be. Peace is on ‘our’ terms. Creating win-win situations is still a distant memory from a ‘Justice in Times of Transition’ conference.
Not everything Dodds, who is clearly pro-devolution, wants is unreasonable, and others will eventually have to confront that fact. Who will argue that they don’t want greater local responsibility? Canny taxpayers mourned the Public Accounts Committee. People liked the knowledge that stagnant government was being given a kick up the accountability ass.
Some of Dodds’s suggestions have the potential to change the Agreement for the better. Maybe we’ll spread a little of that creative ambiguity to the next round of talks, with the pro-GFA camp claiming it’s a ‘review’ while the antis get to call it a ‘renegotiation’. If Sinn Fein can accept partition and call it victory, then there’s no reason why the DUP shouldn’t accept developing north-south links and say they’ve safeguarded the union this time round.
All this creates a space for public debate, one which has been sadly stifled while the media’s eye is on Trimble’s woes. The crunch will always come with who has the final say on what. Witness the current paranoia over the International Monitoring Body. Sinn Fein says it’s a whip to beat them with and anti-Agreement unionists worry about Dublin’s involvement on it. Again, the signs are there that the extremes will have to be placated. But what happens if the DUP keeps putting forward the capable Dodds and he continues to tease out the arguments?
Is the DUP being any more unreasonable for saying it won’t allow an Executive to be formed, than Alliance, whose position is not to redesignate again, even if it spelled the end of the Agreement? God help us all the day that the DUP sounded reasonable, but the GFA didn't end the conflict. It just changed the nature of it.
The ultimate irony could be that the DUP ends up making it more democratic.
…
Right. That’s enough DUPe-defending for now. Think I need a shower... ;o)
Thursday, August 07, 2003
THE attempted abduction of the PUP’s Billy Hutchinson was one of those strange summer stories that pops up and makes you blink rapidly for a few seconds. What the hell was that all about? Billy blames republicans from Ardoyne, but this has provoked incredulity amongst some.
Others will remember how, during the UDA/UVF feud, Jackie Mahood blamed republicans for at attempt on his life. Later, it was revealed that it was, in fact, other loyalists.
Now why on earth would anyone want to have the finger pointed at the UDA for an abduction the day before they called on the British Government to recognise their ceasefire? Who indeed.
Speaking of calling on the Brits, has anyone else spotted the sweet irony of republicans and nationalists calling on the Government to intervene in the affairs of an independent body set up under the auspices of the Agreement? Brice Dickson seems to have created a unity amongst opponents rarely seen in Northern Irish politics...
...
In other news, the conviction of Michael McKevitt today for directing terrorism has been widely welcomed, and star witness David Rupert has been paid a glowing tribute in the Tele.
But, there are some with doubts about the safety of his conviction and the quality of the witness. McKevitt is appealing, of course, and while it will be a long process, the fact that there may be even the slightest chance for success is concerning.
...
Finally, could this be the first sighting of Anthony McIntyre defending someone from the Andytown News group?
Others will remember how, during the UDA/UVF feud, Jackie Mahood blamed republicans for at attempt on his life. Later, it was revealed that it was, in fact, other loyalists.
Now why on earth would anyone want to have the finger pointed at the UDA for an abduction the day before they called on the British Government to recognise their ceasefire? Who indeed.
Speaking of calling on the Brits, has anyone else spotted the sweet irony of republicans and nationalists calling on the Government to intervene in the affairs of an independent body set up under the auspices of the Agreement? Brice Dickson seems to have created a unity amongst opponents rarely seen in Northern Irish politics...
...
In other news, the conviction of Michael McKevitt today for directing terrorism has been widely welcomed, and star witness David Rupert has been paid a glowing tribute in the Tele.
But, there are some with doubts about the safety of his conviction and the quality of the witness. McKevitt is appealing, of course, and while it will be a long process, the fact that there may be even the slightest chance for success is concerning.
...
Finally, could this be the first sighting of Anthony McIntyre defending someone from the Andytown News group?
Wednesday, August 06, 2003
And today's public inquiry is...
Welcome to a new feature called 'Today's Public Inquiry'.
Call me cynical, but I reckon there must be calls for a public inquiry into something in Norn Irn about every other day. Some are justified, some aren't.
A lot of the time, it's just another point-scoring exercise for a politician. And I always wondered why republican politicians were so keen on them when they don't trust the NI justice system. More cynicism? You can make your own mind up.
The first TPI includes over 200 murders of RUC officers. Read about it here
With any luck, once the PSNI has cleared these murders up, they'll be able to start busting drug dealers and catching burglars sometime around 2165. Until then, when you dial 999 you will be on hold for the rest of your lifetime.
Welcome to a new feature called 'Today's Public Inquiry'.
Call me cynical, but I reckon there must be calls for a public inquiry into something in Norn Irn about every other day. Some are justified, some aren't.
A lot of the time, it's just another point-scoring exercise for a politician. And I always wondered why republican politicians were so keen on them when they don't trust the NI justice system. More cynicism? You can make your own mind up.
The first TPI includes over 200 murders of RUC officers. Read about it here
With any luck, once the PSNI has cleared these murders up, they'll be able to start busting drug dealers and catching burglars sometime around 2165. Until then, when you dial 999 you will be on hold for the rest of your lifetime.
Tuesday, August 05, 2003
NORTHERN Ireland isn’t just the most sectarian place in the UK, it now has the dubious honour of being the most homophobic and racist.
The media dutifully reported last week about how the gay community in NI is on the receiving end of more harassment here than elsewhere in the UK.
Last week was Gay Pride week in Belfast, and one of the issues raised by activists was hate crimes legislation, which is expected to be passed for NI in the next Parliamentary session. So time is precious short.
But cast your mind back to Paragraph 12 of the annex of the statement released by the British and Irish governments after their July tête-à-tête under the auspices of the BIIGC - you remember, the one about the bits of the Joint Declaration they were going ahead with, even if the IRA didn’t want to play ball?
In that statement, the British committed themselves to responding to consultation on hate crimes in September. Gay rights groups have asked the government to include what may be bluntly called gay bashing in the legislation - but it wasn’t mentioned in the joint statement of intent.
The Minister is said to be seriously considering including homophobic harassment or assault in the legislation, but the fact that only crimes motivated by racism or sectarianism were mentioned must surely be a concern for some of those who were parading through Belfast on Saturday.
If the government is serious about dealing with sectarianism and racism, then why can it not be equally serious and vocal about homophobic attacks and murder in Northern Ireland? Does John Spellar think he can take gays for a ride?
The media dutifully reported last week about how the gay community in NI is on the receiving end of more harassment here than elsewhere in the UK.
Last week was Gay Pride week in Belfast, and one of the issues raised by activists was hate crimes legislation, which is expected to be passed for NI in the next Parliamentary session. So time is precious short.
But cast your mind back to Paragraph 12 of the annex of the statement released by the British and Irish governments after their July tête-à-tête under the auspices of the BIIGC - you remember, the one about the bits of the Joint Declaration they were going ahead with, even if the IRA didn’t want to play ball?
In that statement, the British committed themselves to responding to consultation on hate crimes in September. Gay rights groups have asked the government to include what may be bluntly called gay bashing in the legislation - but it wasn’t mentioned in the joint statement of intent.
The Minister is said to be seriously considering including homophobic harassment or assault in the legislation, but the fact that only crimes motivated by racism or sectarianism were mentioned must surely be a concern for some of those who were parading through Belfast on Saturday.
If the government is serious about dealing with sectarianism and racism, then why can it not be equally serious and vocal about homophobic attacks and murder in Northern Ireland? Does John Spellar think he can take gays for a ride?
