Poppy burning- haters charged; bonfire-burning haters to follow?
The PSNI have arrested and charged three youths with incitement to hatred after a photograph posted on a social networking site allegedly showed the individuals burning a poppy. The move is consistent with the pro-active PSNI approach to individuals who have used Facebook to post threatening messages to political figures in recent months. But, given the [...] more »
#FreedomWaves now en route to #Gaza.
Two ships are currently in international waters on their way from Fethiye in Turkey to try and deliver medical aid to Gaza. The Palestine Chronicle reports that, on the Freedom Waves flotilla, there are twenty-seven activists from nine countries, including the US, Canada, Denmark, Belgium, Germany and Australia alongside Palestinians from Bethlehem and Haifa. One of the two ships in the flotilla is [...] more »
Irish Government to close Vatican Embassy
As the BBC reports The Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Eamon Gilmore made the announcement with “greatest regret” on Thursday. He said that the closure was part of government cost cutting plans. Mr Gilmore added that although the embassy to the Holy See was one of the Republic’s oldest missions, it yielded no “economic return”. [...] more »
Of Greece Germany and Porsches
I am no economist but I thought I would try this: The interlocking woes of the Eurozone seem endlessly complex. The wasteful Greeks, Italians etc. are all denounced as compared to the hard working Germans living within their means and now being forced to bail out the profligate southern Europeans. A classic example is presented [...] more »
Waiting for the Americans: Slow journalism from Iraq in 2003…
The news business may be obsessed with breaking news, but perhaps the richer stuff takes a little longer… Take this (unbroadcast) radio report from a gun/weapons bazaar in Chamchamal in Kurdistan by Phillip Boucher Hayes… combined with some great photographs by Ramin Tallaie long after they were deemed commercial viable. (RPG 7 on sale for [...] more »
Euro Crisis: “Nice little country you got here. Shame if anything should happen to it.”
Whilst we’re waiting for Turgon’s Greek Tragedy to break, here’s a precise little comment from the Economist: …the effect of Greek departure from the euro would be disastrous for the country in the short term. Its revenues would be in devalued drachma; its debts in euro. Not just the government but the banks and part [...] more »
Greek PM to resign Update: Not going to resign
The BBC are reporting that the Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou is to offer his resignation to be replaced by a coalition government, led by former Greek central banker Lucas Papademos. It is unclear but seems likely that this will prevent the referendum on Greece accepting the latest deal on its debts. Fortunate that: Nicolas [...] more »
The SDLP leadership candidates, ranked on internet use and internal organisation
The SDLP elects its fifth leader this coming weekend, with four male candidates in the running (the deputy leadership has been filled, without contest, by a woman). Since 1998, when the party topped the first preference tallies for the first Assembly election, the SDLP has lost votes and seats at almost every election cycle (the [...] more »
Kevin Myers’ ‘Watching the Door’: Book Review
This reads as if a mad picaresque tale. Myers as first a reporter for RTÉ and then as a freelance journalist with no real experience, finds himself wandering into savagery as he hastens north as the Troubles explode. A soldier dies next to him; he witnesses an IRA ambush; he sees children shot to death [...] more »
I share the Irish public’s dismay at the cost and unfairness of this policy
In this morning’s Irish Times, the Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, offered everyone the wisdom of his thoughts on the payment of a €700m unsecured unguaranteed Anglo-Irish Bank bond. The whole piece is worth a read. He states that: Part of the existing agreement with our external partners is not to allow any Irish bank, including Anglo [...] more »
NI Water: Another Chief Executive resignation?
The BBC’s Jim Fitzpatrick reports that NI Water Chief Executive, Trevor Haslett, has “signalled that he wants to leave and return to private consultancy”. Haslett has been in the post for almost 10 months, after stepping into the vacancy caused by the defenestration of former Chief Executive Lawrence MacKenzie. From the BBC report NI Water was created as [...] more »
Twitter RTs: Or how lies can still travel faster than truth?
In the wake of that extraordinary piece of Television last week in Dublin, Stephen Waddington, a PR specialising in Digital Comms in London has this nice piece on the problem of RTing on Twitter, often without looking at the original content… I particularly like this from @domburch: Adds This is also relevant from a couple [...] more »
Changes to civil partnership legislation retain discrimination
The News Letter is reporting the latest change to the UK’s marriage / civil partnership laws. Civil partnerships are to be allowed in churches and other places of worship: this had been forbidden under the original Civil Partnership arrangements. From the News Letter: Equalities minister Lynne Featherstone said: “The Government is committed to advancing equality [...] more »
Companies arm twisting Westminster on ‘growth fund’?
How many times have we heard big private sector companies threaten to pull out if they don’t get Government goodies. Aviva, after throwing shapes at making itself in Ireland is now in the throws of moving back to the UK (with cost many jobs). But Jim Pickard highlights some digging Sunny Hundal’s been doing over [...] more »
Your questions for the SDLP leadership candidates?
As Alan notes, Paddy Power (the people who brought you Martin McGuinness at 3/1 for the Aras) now has Alex Attwood as favourite to win. To be fair that probably reflects a good campaign for Alex, and would considerably turn the table on our crowd sourced predictions from a few weeks ago. Indeed the Irish [...] more »
SDLP go to the polls this weekend – a look at the voting process as Attwood becomes the bookies’ favourite #sdlp11
SDLP delegates go to the poll this weekend to select a new leader to succeed Margaret Ritchie. Party HQ will be busy selecting suitable triumphant music for the winner to enter the hall to on Saturday evening around 5pm. This morning, Paddy Power lists the odds 11/8 Alex Attwood 7/4 Patsy McGlone 3/1 Conal McDevitt [...] more »
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 »
McGuinness and the unintended messages of #Aras11
One SF member I spoke to when trying to ascertain whether Martin McGuinness was going to run for the Irish Presidency, dismissed it honestly by suggesting it would ‘send the wrong message’. I’m not sure if the message picked up by Malachi O’Doherty was the one he had in mind, but for once it concerns [...] more »
The Act of Settlement and the unravelling of the UK Constitution?
The News Letter has a fascinating quote from Wallace Thompson: “We are in danger of moving towards that full-blown repeal of the Act of Settlement and the overthrowing of the Protestant basis of the monarchy. I think it would be a very serious development for the United Kingdom. My loyalty to the throne is based [...] more »
Euro crisis: “The Greek government has become adept at playing Europe’s leaders…”
The Guardian’s Business blog team are live-blogging events following the ‘bolt from the blue’ that was the Greek Prime Minister, George Papandreou calling for a referendum on the ‘rescue package’. And there’s an emergency Greek government cabinet meeting at 4pm [GMT]. BBC business editor, and still everyone’s hero, Robert Peston, looks at “the price of Greek democracy”. Opinion [...] more »
Sinn Fein’s increase was “an average of a mere 37 votes a constituency”
I’ve just been talking to Ian Parsley, who sounded a somewhat sceptical note on the effective crippling of Sean Gallagher on Frontline last Monday. It remains a great moment of television without a doubt, but Ian wonders if it was more like the Sheffield rally was for Neil Kinnock, whose stock was already on the [...] more »
The underlying difference between Catholics and Protestants is economic…
Given nothing much is happening up at Stormont, its hard to define real political difference between the DUP and Sinn Fein… But here, the European Central Bank (PDF here) can fill in the void with a reading from two Swiss Cantons, Vaud a French speaking Protestant state in the east and Freibourg, the French speaking [...] more »
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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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Children of the Revolution (Bill Rolston)
What was life like for children of political activists during the Troubles? A new book by Bill Rolston and published by Guildhall Press during the summer has collected together the stories of twenty Children of the Revolution whose parents’ activities – and in many cases, imprisonment – had a significant affect on childhoods and life [...] read our review »
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What Ireland did right (and what it needs to do)…
It is difficult to believe now that one country recently sent 19 delegations to Ireland to study how well our economy was managed. The revelation that our model of economic management featured positively in political and economic discussion in countries including Estonia, Greece and Scotland may also come as a surprise. As we survey the [...] read our review »
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