by Frank Schnittger
Thu Mar 21st, 2024 at 10:59:26 PM EST
by Frank Schnittger
Thu Mar 14th, 2024 at 01:46:23 PM EST
Terry Wright asks the quite reasonable question: "What will a united Ireland look like?" and unionists often feel frustrated when they get what appears to them to be an unclear answer. But there is also a problem with the question because no one can foretell the future with absolute confidence and certainty. So perhaps it is more helpful (and accurate) to explain how the process of change is managed in Ireland, and how this might apply to Northern Ireland in a post re-unification scenario. There are a number of important points which should be noted in this regard:
by Frank Schnittger
Wed Feb 21st, 2024 at 10:21:58 PM EST
Former leader, Gerry Adams; Northern Ireland First Minister, Michelle O'Neill: and Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald.
There have been quite a few posts on Slugger O'Toole by able writers such as Michael Palmer, Ian Clarke, and Brian Walker about the prospects for political unionism and particularly the DUP now that the Assembly and Executive have been restored. Mick Fealty has also written a perceptive piece on the opportunity that being the official opposition provides for the SDLP. But no one seems to be writing about the prospects for Sinn Féin.
Not being a member or supporter, and not having many contacts within the party, I am not in a good position to fill that void. But it seems to me that even from an outsider's perspective the changed situation provides some opportunities and threats for the party, to which they bring particular strengths and weaknesses. Let us look at each of these in turn:
by Frank Schnittger
Mon Feb 19th, 2024 at 12:50:36 PM EST
Saving Strand 1 of the Good Friday Agreement by thrashing Strand 2 (and the Northern Ireland economy).
Writing in the Irish Times, Newton Emerson is fairly scathing about the DUP/UK government deal.
(Excerpt below)
by Frank Schnittger
Wed Jan 31st, 2024 at 11:32:10 PM EST
Paragraphs 114 to 116 of the UK Government Command Paper "Safeguarding the Union" (The DUP deal with the UK Government) contains provision for ending all British Government commitment to protecting the all-Island economy in Ireland as previously agreed with the EU in 2017, and provided for in the UK European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018.
On the face of it this constitutes a unilateral resiling on agreements previously reached with the EU, and a slap in the face for the Irish government and its commitment to provide funding for cross-border projects and projects within Northern Ireland under the Shared Island Initiative.
by Frank Schnittger
Wed Jan 31st, 2024 at 07:10:34 PM EST
The events of the DUP meeting on Monday night have been variously described as a farce and a very important crossing of the Rubican. The remarkable thing is that both interpretations may be true.
On the one hand you have the harsh reality that not a letter of the Protocol or the Windsor framework have been changed, the operation of which was always going to be subject to operational and political review, depending on any practical difficulties with contraband goods appearing within the Single Market, and the political will of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Seen from this perspective, the DUP decision and the assurances given to them by the UK government are an enormous climbdown from the hard Brexit pursued by successive Tory governments and particularly by the DUP and their ERG allies.
by Frank Schnittger
Sat Jan 27th, 2024 at 02:10:37 PM EST
On August 1st. 2023, The Daily Mail reported that Sunak had decided to retain the CE mark for British produce. In a piece entitled: "Rishi Sunak performs another Brexit climbdown as PM allows British firms to continue using EU's 'CE' safety mark on products 'indefinitely' rather than new UKCA alternative" Greg Heffer, Political Correspondent For Mailonline wrote:
by Frank Schnittger
Thu Jan 25th, 2024 at 01:29:21 AM EST
Jeffrey Donaldson, leader of the DUP, has been getting a bad press for what seems like his eternal dithering over devolution and failure to move the process forward. It is said that the party officers are split and that he can't carry his Executive with him. Even if he does succeed in persuading a narrow majority to support his deal there is a risk of a hugely damaging party split with the anti-Protocol or Windsor Framework faction defecting to the TUV or some other new party.
by Oui
Mon Jan 22nd, 2024 at 09:25:27 AM EST
The 11th myth of the "democratic" Jewish State of Israel:
Hamas started the hostilities on 7th of Oct. and we are defending ourselves.
by Frank Schnittger
Thu Jan 11th, 2024 at 12:56:13 PM EST
A response to Andy Pollak's book review of The Long Game: Inside Sinn Fein...
I have now drafted two responses to Andy Pollak's book review: The Long Game: Inside Sinn Fein... - Once, a couple of days ago on his own blog Two Irelands Together, and once on Slugger O'Toole. The first disappeared into the ether, never to be seen again, and I hadn't the heart to try and re-write it. The second fell on deaf ears as the column had been closed for comments by the time I pressed publish. So much for allowing commentators more time for more considered comments!
So, I decided to follow Brian's advice and submit it as an OP instead. I do so with some trepidation because it makes no attempt at "balance" or "moderation." It is a "top of the head" response rather than a substantial piece in its own right. I have no doubt it could elicit a robust response, but sometimes it may be best just to say it as you see it. There is little point in beating about the bush. So here goes:
by Frank Schnittger
Fri Jan 5th, 2024 at 07:48:09 PM EST
Commentators on Slugger O'Toole and elsewhere have been keen to emphasize all the things Ireland must do to make a united Ireland an attractive proposition for unionists. The presumption seems to be that if you want something badly enough, you have to be prepared to pay for it. Some exhibit an impatience that no one - not Sinn Féin nor the Irish government - has started the bidding.
Conversely, opinion polls in the south, while supportive of Irish re-unification, generally show an unwillingness to make concessions that might make Ireland more "British," and particularly any concessions that might cost real money. The assumption seems to be that unionists are welcome to join "us," but they will be joining Ireland, not some pale imitation of a bygone Britain.
by Colman
Thu Jan 4th, 2024 at 05:40:55 PM EST
It looks like Google's Chrome (which you probably shouldn't use if you can help it anyway) is enforcing new restrictions on which SSL protocols it accepts and may refuse to connect to ET. I'll sort it out next week - I'll have to update a couple of things, and the system is sort of old.
by Oui
Thu Nov 16th, 2023 at 10:09:54 AM EST
Frontpaged with minor edit - Frank Schnittger - a key issue for the modern world
by Frank Schnittger
Sun Oct 29th, 2023 at 11:39:15 AM EST
Once again, the pundits are ascribing huge significance to the Springboks world cup victory when it could just as easily be described as a random event occasioned by small margins. The Boks won three matches by one point (and lost to Ireland by five) and had the rub of the green last night.
The All Blacks were denied a brilliant try by an almost imperceptible knock on (itself occasioned by an illegal playing of their man in the air) and also had a penalty wrongly awarded against Savea when it should have been the other way around. They had a man sent off early on for shoulder on head, but the ref missed a clear elbow to the head of Cane by Etzebeth.
by Oui
Mon Oct 23rd, 2023 at 06:13:43 AM EST
Yep. I did follow the debate closely as the setting was very special, on a College campus with the young generation of students. Quite impressive, the winners were clearly the students who were outstanding and the voters who got a clear picture of the candidates on content and ability in debate and knowledge of dossiers. The applause from the students gave a direct response with which answers they agreed, or they considered inferior and not up to par. Quite satisfactory for moderator Twan Huys, a former correspondent in Washington DC.
Follow-up diary …
NeXiT the Trump Era of Dutch PM Wilders
[https://www.eurotrib.com/story/2023/11/28/84040/983]
Frontpaged with minor edit - Frank Schnittger - an important beginning to the Dutch election campaign.
by Luis de Sousa
Sun Oct 15th, 2023 at 03:48:39 PM EST
Foreword: This article was submitted a few weeks ago to EurActiv but was not published. Still, I believe it deserves to be read by a wider audience. You may replace the references to EurActiv for the company or institution your work for.
Image from Flickr.com
Software is everywhere, in the appliances and gadgets we use, running the services we rely on, in all the conveniences making modern life comfortable and straightforward. But that software is not perfect, it is vulnerable in places and on occasion fails, exposing sensitive data or allowing unauthorised access to critical systems. These failures result in costs, financial and other, that now the European Parliament, Commission and Council attempt to tackle with the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA). Whereas widely welcomed in its premises, the proposed legislation is about to set in motion a regressive process of unpredictable consequences.
Frontpaged - Frank Schnittger - an important contribution to a live current debate
by Frank Schnittger
Sun Oct 8th, 2023 at 05:00:36 PM EST
The first hour of this match was the best I have ever seen Ireland play. Not only were they absolutely clinical in taking nearly all their chances, but they defended as if their lives depended on it. 36-0 and 6 tries to nil after an hour against a very good side like Scotland is the stuff that dreams are made of.
by Frank Schnittger
Sun Sep 24th, 2023 at 08:55:43 AM EST
Rugby World Cup: Ireland 13 South Africa 8
There is an old rugby aphorism that it is the forwards who decide who wins a match, and the backs decide by how much. The Irish backs decided they weren't having any of that, dealing with the Springboks kicking game and providing an almost impregnatable wall in defence. Faf De Klerk and Mannie Libbok are a wonderful pair of half backs, but their place kicking can be iffy, and on the night, it was their lack of place kicking accuracy that decided the scoreboard in Ireland's favour.
by Frank Schnittger
Sat Sep 2nd, 2023 at 08:36:48 AM EST
My first book (and venture into fictional writing) is about to be self-published with Amazon/Kindle. It may not be available to order for a couple of days but will become available in Kindle, paperback and hardback formats. Your support and reference to any of your contacts or friends who may be interested would be much appreciated.
The book is a future history written from the perspective of 2040, 15 years after Irish re-unification. It is written in the form of a memoir by a young English journalist who ends up falling in love with an Irishwoman, Ireland, its people, and its politics. It gives a personal account of how a Border Poll was called, why it was carried, and what happened afterwards. It traces the development of a unified Irish state over a 15 year transition period and looks at how it all turned out, from a variety of points of view in Ireland and Britain.
The Good Friday Agreement is silent on what happens after a Border Poll is carried out and returns a majority for re-unification. My book is an attempt to flesh out, in a hopefully informative, entertaining, and amusing way, what could and should happen!
Table of contents below...
by gmoke
Wed Aug 30th, 2023 at 05:57:51 PM EST
These kinds of events below are happening all over the world every day and most of them, now, are webcast and archived, sometimes even with accurate transcripts. Would be good to have a place that helped people access them.
This is a more global version of the local listings I did for about a decade (what I did and why I did it at http://hubeventsnotes.blogspot.com/2013/11/what-i-do-and-why-i-do-it.html) until September 2020 and earlier for a few years in the 1990s (https:/theworld.com~gmoke/AList.index.html).
A more comprehensive global listing service could be developed if there were enough people interested in doing it, if it hasn't already been done.
If anyone knows of such a global listing of open energy, climate, and other events is available, please put me in contact.
Thanks for reading,
Solar IS Civil Defense,
George Mokray
gmoke@world.std.com
http://hubeventsnotes.blogspot.com - notes on lectures and books
http://solarray.blogspot.com - renewable energy and efficiency - zero net energy links list
city agriculture links list
- geometry links list
http://hubevents.blogspot.com - Energy (and Other) Events
