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Do Words Matter?: Book Review of Political Discourse and Conflict Resolution – Debating Peace in Northern Ireland
I share many of the concerns of Andy Pollak, whose recent post ‘My Response to the Slugger Begrudgers’ zeroed in on the ‘relentless flow of negativity’ of some Slugger commentators. Pollak’s post was largely concerned with the medium of the blog. Indeed, I think the anonymity of the online world encourages extreme discourse and allows [...] read our review »
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Of the Old North and other Vanished Kingdoms..
I’m currently trawling through Norman Davies’s fabulous new tome – “Vanished Kingdoms” – Five stars in the (London) Telegraph’s review from Ben Wilson: All the nations that have ever lived have left their footsteps in the sand,” writes Norman Davies. “The traces fade with every tide, the echoes grow faint, the images are fractured, the human [...] read our review » -
Talking to a brick wall: how to make politicians listen?
It took me a long time to warm to advertising agencies. The first time I worked with one I was working in sales management on Fairy Washing Up Liquid. I was due to attend a meeting at which I was to be told what consumers really thought of the brand. I remember my reluctance to [...] read our review »
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Comment on Sectarianism in Northern Ireland is common (and popular) across all classes…
on 22 May 2012 at 1:57 am
Alan N/Ards, what you term “political sectarianism” will only stop being an issue once our politics catches up with the reality that 90+% are fairly content with Northern Ireland and its place in the Union:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/NILT2010_FUTURE2_pie.png
This is gradually happening, but will be accelerated by unashamedly voting for Unionist parties.
ThomasMourne, Alliance is a dishonest party that does more harm than good – feigning agnosticism on our constitutional position, and droning on endlessly about “sectarianism” merely entrenches and builds up the potential for future instability. Peace and stability are only possible through the acceptance of the status quo.
Religious sectarianism is a different issue altogether. Though in general I find the word “sectarian” to be one that is meaningless and unhelpful, with it being used for two purposes:
1: for a few middle class Alliance-types to be able to shout to make themselves feel good about themselves
2. for one “side” being able to have a dig at the other by accusing them of “sectarianism”.
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Comment on Normality and rugby
on 19 May 2012 at 10:11 pm
Andrew Gallagher, what is that “old NI flag” you speak of? You must mean the yellow one which went out of date in 1922.
The source of any confusion is the IRFU and the institutions of rugby. If they are going to define teams on the basis of archaic internal divisions of the British Empire, then they need to be consistent.
For example, using IRFU logic it was demanded that the British Isles Lions team was renamed “British and Irish Lions”. Using IRFU-logic surely that must mean that then the “Ireland” team should be renamed “Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland” or more similarly “Ireland and Ulster”, and the “Ulster” team renamed “Northern Ireland and Irish border counties” or Ulster and Southern Elizabethan Ulster”! Of course consistency would not be in line with the Irish Nationalist agenda!
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Comment on A quick backward glance on European History…
on 17 May 2012 at 1:09 am
“This video is no longer available due to a Copyright Claim by Centennia Software (HistoricalAtlas.com)”
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Comment on Cardinal Brady should go – in charity
on 4 May 2012 at 3:02 pm
McGuinness and his whole party needs to take his own advice regarding matters of resigning over immorality in the 1970s, along with the party’s Dear Bearded One’s failure relating to similar knowledge of sexual abuse.
Regarding other Northern Irish parties and knock-on effects, could this be the catalyst towards more proper separation of church and state with a single funded education system where such a hierarchy has no influence on the state-funded education of our children?
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Comment on The citizenship test: Protestants as well as Catholics in favour of fee waiver?
on 2 May 2012 at 6:26 pm
The situation with student fees is as farcical is the situation where so-called “Irish Nationalists” pretend that a 26 county passport is the “Irish passport”.
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Comment on Peter takes charge while Martin appeals to the British for help
on 1 May 2012 at 12:23 pm
Andnowwhat, the party has a point on tourism and the leprechaun image – that is exactly how many of us feel. Tourism is being used to force through an all-Ireland agenda and image to tourists which many of us feel absolutely no connection to. The ignorance of tourists cannot come ahead of the interests of locals.
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Comment on Peter takes charge while Martin appeals to the British for help
on 1 May 2012 at 12:19 pm
Indeed Turgon, normally Peter would be deserving of heaps of praise for his tactics, but on this one I have to ask what the hell he is smoking?
There is absolutely nothing to learn from the ending of an undemocratic insurgency other than that it took 50 years too long (ignoring requests for help from the Stormont government) before the British defence and intelligence services arrived to support Northern Ireland and defeat the insurgency.
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Comment on Why are there not more Nationalist blogs?
on 29 April 2012 at 12:19 pm
Good point but folks can only be culturally both but politically must be either one or the other since the former is qualitative and the latter is quantitative. You can’t have two parliaments deciding the same policy when on only one decision can be acted upon, can you?
I don’t think that is true. Within British Nationalism it is accepted that the British Nation is a nation of nations and there are tiers of government within the British Nation (though this is indeed not consistent throughout all the UK yet). From Westminster to Stormont to the local council with differing levels of power to each. From an Ulster Nationalist point-of view one can be loyal to Ulster and Stormont primarily, with the larger United Kingdom being merely in the present best economic and defence interests of the small population of Ulster, and therefore not being contradictory allegiences.
How would you suggest they should go about it?
Actually, I would argue that they have already started going about it by taking seats and being integral to the operation in Stormont. The rhetoric from “Irish Nationalists”, however, has not caught up with such actions. They could bring the rhetoric in line with their actions and switch to explicitly voiced prime allegiance to Ulster, including acknowledging its parliament in Stormont.
“ayeYerMa” and “Alias” is Donegal in Ulster?
Not in modern democratic terms of nationalism. Historically and traditionally, yes (though the history is complex and not as simple as many “Irish Nationalists” make out). Is Alsace in Germany? Is South Tyrol in Austria?
I’m sure those in Donegal could campaign for representation in Belfast if they wish. I doubt many “Unionists” would object if they were convinced it were a genuine desire with our best local interests and commonality primarily at heart, as opposed to being primarily a cult-of-Pearse move to try and destabilise the place again and “get the Brits out”. What would happen in the long-term centuries into the future would then be anyone’s guess.
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Comment on Why are there not more Nationalist blogs?
on 27 April 2012 at 11:16 pm
Alias, British nationalism and Ulster nationalism aren’t mutually exclusive, with many having both forms (as you can be both Welsh and British etc.). I’d say many “Unionists” lie on a spectrum of 60% British, 40% Ulster to vice-versa (with many jn the latter 60+% Ulster category still referred to as “Unionists” by others).
Ulster Nationalism is actually “Unionists’” Achilles heel, and it is a sign of how completely and utterly deluded “Nationalists” are that they rarely choose to exploit it, instead unproductively obsessing over completely and utterly repellant and delusional “all Ireland” strategies.
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Comment on Official Languages Act falling into disuse in the Republic?
on 25 April 2012 at 1:06 pm
6. The digital age makes electronic use of Chinese characters less straightforward. Inputting Chinese characters on a computer is done either in a way akin to using predictive text on an old mobile phone, or by typing English phonetics. There are new methods which utilise the touch-screens of mobile phones to recognise strokes, but I remain sceptical.
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