Profile for Belfast Gonzo
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Latest posts from Belfast Gonzo (see all)
Belfast Gonzo has posted 1,404 times (2 in the last month).
Adams damning McGuinness with faint praise..?
IT would have been easy for Gerry Adams to be fulsome in his praise of Martin McGuinness’ presidential campaign. Instead, the intro to Gerry Adams’ latest blog entry seems both ambiguous and odd – although the former may be politically ingrained and the latter blamed on his a faux folksy writing style. And – for [...] more »
Every little helps…
I DOUBT if our Sammy has been down at Writer’s Square lately, or whether he’s been flicking through the pages of Tescopoly - but there’s little doubt he has managed to piss off one multi-national more than our tent-dwelling comrades have. And after reading Tesco director David North’s threats the other day about cutting job [...] more »
Fees gap to be paid by GB students…?
THE decision to freeze student fees here seems to be going down well, but it won’t come without cost. And that cost – half of it – will be borne by the Department of Employment and Learning. It would be difficult to argue that learning should come at the expense of employment services in the [...] more »
Last supergrass trial was, um, actually just four years ago…
JUST watching the BBC and it’s constantly reporting that today marks the start of the “first ‘supergrass’ trial in Belfast for 25 years”. It’s not. No-one seems to remember that just four years ago, this happened – and it wasn’t exactly a roaring success. more »
A Bonefire In An Empty Space…?
IF you’re stuck at the desk over lunch and need a laugh, check out PSNI West Belfast’s Facebook page. There are some gems of posts, such this possible attempt at haiku below. Profound. But fair play to the poor sod that gets lumbered with replying! Stroaking The Wood From The Bru In Andytonw. Wat Harm [...] more »
The Men Who Won’t Stop Marching…
THE (restricted) Tour of the North parade gets under way in a few minutes. But if you don’t fancy getting wet, and still want to sample loyalist culture – in the safety of your own home no less – you could do worse than watch The Men Who Won’t Stop Marching. It’s one of the [...] more »
A Dubliner’s Diary: The Visit…
“When The Visit was first announced, I guess most Irish people were a bit surprised that such a high-profile guest would be coming to Dublin. It’s not that they aren’t welcome, but there was a lot of animosity about stuff that happened in the past. Some people will never get past the association with the [...] more »
Dissidents win small political battle…
IF one of the aims of dissident republicanism is to disrupt normal politics here, they won a small victory on Monday. NIO minister Hugo Swire was quite explicit that the reason the identities of donors to political parties would remain secret was the threat of intimidation. It is possible he, and the unionists who called [...] more »
Leak lists Irish companies vital to US security…
WIKILEAKS’ latest instalment contains a list of facilities around the world the US believes is vital to its national security. There are just two Irish entries. The first is the Hibernia Atlantic undersea cable landing – one of a number of fast transatlantic communications links listed – while the other is Genzyme Ireland Ltd. (filling), [...] more »
DUP were first to lower Olympic expectations…
IF this contrite statement is anything to go by, DUP Sports Minster Nelson McCausland must have hauled Sport NI chief executive Eamonn McCartan over the coals for listing off on TV reasons why we weren’t attracting Olympic interest. McCartan told the BBC that no Olympic teams had committed to train here for the 2012 Games [...] more »
Latest comments from Belfast Gonzo (see all)
Belfast Gonzo has commented 1,294 times (3 in the last month).
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The Earl Bishop
Interesting BBC article on an upcoming presentation and talk [Roe Valley Arts and Cultural Centre, 17 August] by lecturer and broadcaster Stephen Price on the subject of his new book – The Earl Bishop. The 18th Century ”Earl Bishop” was Frederick Augustus Hervey, fourth Earl of Bristol and Church of Ireland Bishop of Derry. Hervey was also elected [...] read our review »
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The ANC, the IRA and the rise of influence of the left within Sinn Fein…
World by Storm has a nice piece up on the IRA’s role in helping MK, the armed wing of the ANC, in the 1980s. In particular he sees a strange alchemy at work there: …if one can think of a clearly legitimate contemporary struggle it was that against apartheid and it is to the credit [...] read our review »
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Lessons in Cute Hoorism: “Graft was accepted, for you were taking from the British…”
I’ve been catching up on some reading, recently. Most pleasantly surprised by John Drennan’s latest opus from Gill and Macmillan, Cute Hoors and Pious Protestors… It’s early days yet, but I was struck by this paragraph, part of a dissection of Fianna Fail near the beginning: One of the more fatal consequences of our colonial [...] read our review »
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Comment on Adams damning McGuinness with faint praise..?
on 2 November 2011 at 11:57 am
I think Ulick makes an excellent point – it could be a subtle reminder to the Irish left that one good turn deserves another.
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Comment on Adams damning McGuinness with faint praise..?
on 2 November 2011 at 10:51 am
A few years ago, I said that Sinn Fein was the biggest obstacle to Irish unity, I actually think they figured it out too, given the massive changes they’ve made.
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Comment on “Republicans don’t accept that…”
on 9 October 2011 at 3:04 pm
Also interesting in the same Inside Politics interview was O’Dowd’s verbal gymnastics over the Executive’s position on a 3% increase in public pension contributions. After lambasting the leaker of the story and the media, O’Dowd then couldn’t deny that the Exec would have to buckle to Westminster’s threat that it would keep back £5m a month unless they did as they were told.
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Comment on “Come back John Wilkes. Your work is about to be undone. Politicians are losing the plot.”
on 28 September 2011 at 2:08 pm
Munsterview – with respect the whole thrust of your understanding of a D-Notice is wrong !
“How free is a press when a Minister can slap a ‘D’ Notice on any article banning it”
First off, it’s not a Minister, specific D-Notices (known as DA-Notices since 1993) are not slapped on individual stories, and articles are not banned. Apart from that, everything in the above statement is correct.
According to their website: “DA-Notices are issued by the Defence, Press and Broadcasting Advisory Committee (DPBAC), an advisory body composed of senior civil servants and editors from national and regional newspapers, periodicals, news agencies, television and radio.”
In specific situations, the DA-Notice Secretary can issue advice to the media asking for certain details not to be revealed. There is no such thing as a D-Notice ban, and the secretary has no powers to enforce his request, apart from persuasion. He can be ignored, and the likeliest outcome is nothing.
You said: “… and where to add insult to injury, it is a further offense to even notify the media readership directly or indirectly that a ‘D’ notice was slapped on a publication concerned to begin with ?”
This statement reveals several misunderstandings. It may be an offence under the Official Secrets Act or in breach of an injunction to reveal certain things, but to ignore a DA-Notice is not an offence.
There are really only five general DA-Notices anyway, which are public knowledge; what you probably mean is when the DA-Notice Secretary draws the media’s attention to how a specific action may be damaging to national security, or place a life in danger, as laid out in the five standing DA-Notices.
There is certainly an argument to be had about self-censorship, since the system is voluntary, but DA-Notces are not legally binding, thus undermining virtually everything you wrote about them.
Now back to my sick bed.
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Comment on Elliot and Kennedy facing Loyal Orders disciplinary proceedings
on 15 September 2011 at 2:37 pm
Can’t see the two UUP men being disciplined. Trimble’s attendance at the funeral of an Omagh bomb victim in Buncrana offers precedent. Elliott and Kennedy can only come out of this with their position vindicated, but the anonymous bigots who complained sadly have nothing to lose.
I take it Peter Robinson, who was also at Kerr’s funeral, isn’t in any of the loyal orders?
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Comment on Protestant and Dissenter: the nonsense of Sinn Fein’s outreach
on 15 September 2011 at 1:12 pm
…and for the economy in the south to prove itself.
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Comment on Protestant and Dissenter: the nonsense of Sinn Fein’s outreach
on 15 September 2011 at 12:36 pm
The key to a united Ireland is the same as the one which continues the Union – self interest. Historically, Prods have shown their loyalty to the Crown is conditional, and perhaps could be bought off if the price is right and conditions good.
But this isn’t on the horizon. It really isn’t. And there is no amount of unionist outreach SF can do to change that situation in the near future. In fact, the most effective way to get more Prods to support a UI would simply be to disband Sinn Fein…
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Comment on Elliot and Kennedy facing Loyal Orders disciplinary proceedings
on 15 September 2011 at 3:24 am
Could this be a secret UUP plot to make Elliott appear relevant?
Nah, they wouldn’t be that smart.
I had to laugh yesterday. It was the second day back at the Assembly, and every MLA had something to say in a press release. Parking charges, student fees, casualty wards closing, railway funding, cuts, funding gaps, boundary change – real issues dominating the news for once.
So Tom’s contribution to the political fray was – Elliott urges public to visit Seaplane Festival in Fermanagh. No, really.
God give me strength.
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Comment on Protestant and Dissenter: the nonsense of Sinn Fein’s outreach
on 15 September 2011 at 3:07 am
Sinn Fein is barking up the wrong tree, and Turgon seems to think that religion is somehow relevant.
It’s the economy, stupid.
I know the UK is in dire straits, but seriously – what idiot of any religion or political persasion would want to join that basket case economy of the Republic?
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Comment on “A considerable element of this will be financed by charging higher fees to students from England, Scotland and Wales.”
on 13 September 2011 at 11:52 am
The problem for unionists is that while it might stick in their ideological craw to charge GB students more, would they really risk forcing local NI students – ie, their potential voters – to pay much larger fees?
Since the DUP back Alliance’s position, the UUP may indeed do this. But if any legal challenge to Farry’s proposal fails, such a move could backfire spectacularly on the UUP. Basil beware!
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