Confident. Ambitious. Prosperous. Distinctive. Launch of Successful Belfast. by Allan LEONARD for Northern Ireland Foundation 27 October 2016 Walking past the students at their tabletops, working on their assignments with mock constructions at the School of Architecture at the Ulster University Belfast campus, there was no mistaking that I found the venue for the launch more…
We’re coming to the time of year now when we hear a lot about the issue of remembering. 11th November just past was Armistice Day, the date in 1918 when the First World War came to an end. Many will have observed a minute of silence at 11 a.m. in honour of this anniversary. This, more…
Digitising the peace process by Allan LEONARD for Northern Ireland Foundation 1 September 2016 “You have to go to the archives!” an academic supervisor once advised me. At the time, this meant physically traveling to where the precious documents were stored, with your official letter requesting access permission, and spending hours transcribing (sometimes with only more…
The Presbyterian Moderator, Rt Rev Dr Frank Sellar, delivered the 2016 Ulster University Chaplaincy lecture last night. Speaking under the title of “A City of Hope, Leadership and Compassion”, his comments on bonfires attracted a lot of attention this morning.
Democratic politics often produces surprises and while most would agree 2016 so far has produced a few of note, what usually marks the strength of any system is the ability to adapt and change as a result. Therefore I can see the value in looking for positives and trying to make successes as a result more…
Fortune, good night. Smile once more. Turn thy wheel. Lear, Act 2, Scene 2 So what to make of the victory of Donald Trump. Or was it the defeat of Hillary Clinton? Well, despite the collapse of the so-called ‘blue wall’ and the now customary villification of pollsters, another 1% on Democratic voter turnout and things more…
Here’s something for Taoiseach Enda Kenny, and any one else, to keep in mind when they hear that US President-elect Donald Trump “understands Ireland very well. He was complimentary about the decisions made about the economy here.” The Belfast Telegraph reports comments by Stephen Moore, a “senior economic advisor to Mr Trump”, on BBC Radio 4’s more…
Newton Emerson has two good columns out today. I’ll start with the one in the Irish Times in which he takes Danny Kennedy to task for the old PUP nostrum of middle-class bigotry being harder to tackle than that of the working class. Importantly, he notes: From adolescent rioting through to active paramilitary membership, everything more…
Sure enough, the columnists are having a field day. If tweets are narrow- focus and the medium of choice for Trump and the alt-right, ( I don’t mean you dear), those prophetic souls who are favoured with space are laying it on thick with the broadest of brushes. Right now this is preferable to the more…
This statement was released yesterday by the SDLP Leader, Colum Eastwood on the election of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States. Both Martin McGuinness and Arlene Foster have pledged to continue on engagement with the Trump administration. He says; “As things fall apart, the centre ground is struggling to know what more…
A more federal UK is needed to create a more economically equal state and buttress the Union’s survival, says the former prime minister Gordon Brown. New research starkly exposes the wealth gap between London and the regions more clearly than ever. The Northern Powerhouse plan for the north of England only scratches the surface and more…
The Slugger Salon is our new series of live talks and debates. The first one will be the US election results. What does it mean for America? Globalisation? What challenges and opportunities are there for Northern Ireland? Join the Slugger team and a panel of experts to discuss The Donald’s Victory.
You’re going to read lots of highfalutin talk about how Trump’s victory is a howl from the dispossessed, and so on. While it’s true that he benefited from a surge from rural voters, if Trump represents some sort of ventriloquist for the socially excluded, then explain this: Let’s slam the breaks for moment and ask a much more ‘boring’ question about more…
At the Guardian, Thomas Frank offers some home truths to a self-styled liberal media [including bloggers! – Ed] in the aftermath of Donald Trump’s victory. From the Guardian Comment is Free article How did the journalists’ crusade fail? The fourth estate came together in an unprecedented professional consensus. They chose insulting the other side over more…
I went to bed confident of victory. I came to in shock. That was on 24 June. Last night it happened all over again. Trump was right about something. The establishment keep getting it wrong. With the election of a defiant anarchic outsider, it surely marks the end of dynastic politics in America. And yet more…
So we’re LIVE to bring you a Slugger-eyed view of the best bits of the US election and sharing it with you. If you also register with 24liveblog.com you can also comment internally, and to share bits on Twitter or in the usual way below the fold. We’ll blog right through the night and into the more…
PEACE MONITORING REPORT – The almanac of progress and regress in Northern Ireland is back with its fourth edition, this time authored by Robin Wilson, and surveying security and safety, equality, cohesion and politics, with the independence to call out a few naked emperors.
Well, it’s nearly upon us. I’ve tried to stay away from too much direct comment on the US election, but tonight there will be plenty when we fire up our customary US LIVE blog at 11pm. We’ve a fair sized team working tonight, and some have already started prepping stories in the background. We’ll try more…
David Davis’ complete statement on the High Court judgement, pointing out that the government’s belief that the referendum (advisory) given that the initial decision was only to trigger the Article and not to leave the EU per se, it was entitled to use prerogative. To that end, he plans to appeal the judgement, which he more…
I doubt if I’m alone in feeling as dissatisfied with the coverage of the US election as I am on tenterhooks about the outcome. One problem has been the requirement of the media I respect to preserve some sense of balance amid the horrors the campaign. It is not true that each candidate is as more…
