Hearts & Minds is available to UK users watch here. Listen carefully to the DFM’s answers on the question of a United Ireland. Carefully worded aren’t they?
Malachi O’Doherty’s ‘If you ask me‘ was, as usual, thoughtful and thought provoking.
With perhaps the longest title of any book I’ve read this year, The Media Relations Department of Hizbollah Wishes You a Happy Birthday: Unexpected Encounters in the Changing Middle East gives an insight into the lives of people living in Middle East through the eyes of journalist Neil MacFarquhar. MacFarquhar’s father was a chemical engineer [...] read our review »
Which reminds me…. Platform for Change’s driving force Robin Wilson has produced a corrective to the notion that the lessons of the NI conflict are easily exportable. Like myself, Robin is associated with the Constitution Unit. He introduced his new book in a CU blog which I here reproduce. The water crisis in Northern Ireland [...] read our review »
More as a trailer than a review – as it’s out on Thursday– I draw attention to Fintan O’Toole’s latest polemic “Enough is Enough – how to build a new Republic“. Fintan has been promoting the book vigorously on this side of the water, on Radio 4’s Start the Week and here at greater length [...] read our review »
Carefully worded maybe Michael but also true.
And Malachi’s pieces are hardly always ‘thoughtful’. His ‘insights’ into the Irish language community are always ill-informed and biased.
Michael, since the iplayer can only be seen by UK licence payers, I was in contact with mick,this morning, and uploaded the show on to you tube, so that it is available for all viewers of slugger. I think he also wants to comment on McGuinness himself, I’m not sure now what is the situation.
Anyhow, the show can be seen on you tube for those who did not see it or cannot see it on the iplayer.
part 1.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pYVexyjIlw
part 2.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CmWawcYHSA
Michael you may want to take this link down if mick wants to comment himself.
regards.
ps hearts and minds was also discussed on slugger here.
http://sluggerotoole.com/index.php/weblog/comments/hearts-and-minds-on-dromore-and-interview-with-the-dfm/
Mick put this up last night, two entries of the same issue are a bit confusing.
We can no longer get H&M;outside N.I.
Mick said he would try to get a Utube copy.
Thanks so much typhoone.
It was good to see McGuinness – for once – asked some cogent questions about his united Ireland strategy. As Noel Thompson pointed out, if you make the North work better, where is the desire for unity going to come from? McGuinness failed to answer the question, rowed back from the united by 2016 claim, waffled about his Irishness (which he wasn’t being asked about) having previously claimed cross-border bodies were strong! Personally I’d have liked to have heard Thompson ask about the irony of Bobby Sands starving himself to death for a an all-Ireland body on Food Safety. McGuinness’s Food Safety Board to Unity stuff is more risible than his claim that the cutting edge of the IRA would be the vehicle to achieve unity – at least he was still hoping to get sufficient weapons smuggled in to give that option an outside chance…
Bobby Sands starved himeself to death in order to gain political status for IRA prisoners, not in an attempt to obtain a United Ireland.
Ideally, Ireland would be united by a series of small measures such as the Food Safety Board which no-one will detect the beginning of and will allow Unionists to continue thinking they are in the U.K. when to all intents and purposes they have left.
RG: re Malachi being ‘biased and ill-informed’
Sometime when you have a few minutes could you give an example of what you mean?
Should be easy to find one or two – much of his writing is online – so you could just copy and paste what you feel is a particularly egregious example, and explain what is biased or ill-informed about it.
Not taking the piss here, BTW – would genuinely like to know.
Spanish room scrumpy. Wow! that brings back a 40 year old memory. Can you still get it?
wouldn’t that be grand!
Is there any commentary here Michael? While I enjoyed McGuinness’ crucifixion and witnessing the latest in the Marty v Noel relationship, are you sure that you do not wish to make any comment at all over what transpired on H&M;rather than just a bland post with a link?
I loved the way Thompson started with the old Stormont/PfG/Budget etc then wham with the ‘failed political entity’/UI etc. Comedy genius. Marty etc look so uncomfortable with their constructed rhetorical narratives now.
I would have if Queen’s would let me install the flash plugin required to watch it again. Computer problems with my own laptop.
Typhoone,
Thank you so much for the YouTube link. I used to watch H&M;al the time, now it’s restricted