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Latest posts from George (see all)
George has posted 228 times (0 in the last month).
Northern Ireland to miss out on another 2012 Olympics opportunity?
Not satisfied with ensuring that Northern Ireland doesn’t have a stadium in place to host football matches or any other sporting discipline during the 2012 Olympics, it seems Belfast is now also out of the running as a potential venue for training camps ahead of the world’s largest sporting event after the city’s bid arrived [...] more »
Darling needs to be less out of whack in Budget 2009
When Alistair Darling presented his first budget as Chancellor of the Exchequer in March 2008, the US mortgage markets were in meltdown and the credit markets barely functioning. But Darling remained confident that the United Kingdom was well-placed to “maintain stability” through the world economic slowdown. He bullishly predicted that the British economy would “continue [...] more »
150 years of Irish Times available
For those interested in doing a spot of research or simply some historical browsing, the entire 150-year archive of the Irish Times is freely available at the moment. The offer ends April 6th, so enjoy it while you can. Feel free to post any gems you find. more »
Lisbon or Nice – the choice facing Irish voters
One point in José Manuel Barroso’s interview with RTÉ that has so far failed to receive much coverage is the EU Commission president’s admission that, even if there is a second no vote to the Lisbon Treaty, the world won’t fall in and the European Union will continue pretty much as before. If the Lisbon [...] more »
Sterling in crisis – will it end in tears?
While some northerners see opportunity in the form of southern shoppers from sterling’s precipitous fall in recent months, others in Great Britain are less sanguine about the benefits accruing from the weakness of the British currency, not least because of Gordon Brown’s budget profligacy to try and encourage consumer spending in the UK as a [...] more »
Mixed messages over success of British Army Irish recruitment drive
Last month, the Times reported how 16 per cent of the new recruits to the British Army in Northern Ireland since April were from south of the border, more than double the figure for 2006. Slugger dealt with it here. However, today the Irish Independent reported that an “expensive” recruitment drive by the British Army [...] more »
Robinson and Adams continue blame game
It seems DUP leader Peter Robinson is now fully aware of the chill economic winds blowing through Northern Ireland and like any decent politician worth his salt, has embarked on a policy of blaming someone else for the upcoming woes. While others blame, for example, the banks, Robinson preferred instead to focus on Sinn Féin [...] more »
Last chance saloon or flogging a dead horse?
The Sunday Times has published Platinum One’s report on how to transform the fortunes of domestic football on this island and, not surprisingly, it involves the creation of an All-Ireland Premier League. The plan would see the league run along the lines of the English and Scottish Premier Leagues which would have a prize money [...] more »
Could Northern Ireland’s public sector pension liability really be this bad?
The recently released Varney Review discussed here once again highlighted how hugely bloated Northern Ireland’s public sector is, pointing out that an incredible 28% of Northern Ireland’s workforce are in the public sector as opposed to 20% in the UK and that public spending accounts for 67% of GVA, the highest in the developed world. [...] more »
Give a dog a bad name?
A picture is worth a thousand words in the media, especially if it’s one that can reinforce a popular stereotype. In this case, it’s Linfield fans as a horde of troublemakers. The incident in Dublin involving Linfield fans at the Setanta Cup clash against St Patrick’s Athletic comes hot on the heels of media reports [...] more »
Latest comments from George (see all)
George has commented 274 times (6 in the last month).
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Books
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Debating the Churches’ Role in the Peace in Northern Ireland
This morning’s Sunday Sequence featured a substantial debate (about 35 minutes into the recorded programme) on a new book,Religion, Civil Society and Peace in Northern Ireland (Oxford University Press 2011), written by sociologists John Brewer, Gareth Higgins and Francis Teeney. The debate was framed in an opening vignette by presenter William Crawley in uncompromising terms, [...] read our review » -
Stay out of Libya: counterinsurgency doesn’t work
A moment of some significance in journalism perhaps, as the New York Times reviews the current talked about book, The Wrong War: Grit, Strategy, and the Way Out of Afghanistan by Bing West. The author is no bleeding heart but a former assistant Defense Secretary from the Reagan era who stomped his way round the Afghan [...] read our review »
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Spare us a phoney row about racism, we’ve got enough on
A silly media row about racism just had to figure in the riots’ post mortem. Was the Tudor history expert David Starkey racist on Newsnight when he said: The whites have become black. A particular sort of violent, destructive, nihilistic, gangster culture has become the fashion. And black and white, boy and girl, operate in [...] read our review »
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Comment on Football eligibility row illustrates unionism’s inability to respect ‘The Other’ tradition
on 10 February 2012 at 12:41 am
Ian even.
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Comment on Football eligibility row illustrates unionism’s inability to respect ‘The Other’ tradition
on 10 February 2012 at 12:30 am
“It’s absolutely none of his business. He should keep his nose out of it and concentrate on affairs within his own jurisdiction. And he should know better than to try and involve politics with sport.”
That was the position of the DUP and its then leader Iain Paisley in 2006 when then Irish Justice Minister Dermot Ahern got involved in the issue of players from Northern Ireland being forced by FIFA to carry British passports rather than being able to use Irish passports.
Why the change? Why is it now alright to involve politics with sport?
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Comment on Is Northern Ireland less innovative than the Republic?
on 7 February 2012 at 10:14 pm
I assume being globalised is considered innovative and Ireland (Republic of) has now moved ahead of Singapore to be the second-most globalised economy in the world behind Hong Kong, according to Ernst and Young.
So this means it must be a world leader in the areas of trade, capital movements, technology exchange, labour and openness towards economic migrants. Is that innovative or just a capitalist lackey?
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Comment on Yes Taoiseach, but if we’re going to have a Referendum why not have a meaningful one?
on 30 January 2012 at 10:03 pm
Sounds to me that Martin wants one referendum that hands over all the power to the EU now rather than some voting on some piecemeal one in 2012 full in the knowledge that the bitterer pill to swallow will come in a couple of years.
We only need a referendum whenever more sovereignty is handed over so why the big hurry to hand it over in advance Michéal?
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Comment on Irish emigration – most to go Britain
on 17 January 2012 at 8:59 pm
sliabhluachra
“Barnshee: James Connolly said if the Dutch ruled Ireland, they would feed Europe and if the irish ruled Holland, they would all drown.”
I believe that was Bismarck not Connolly.
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Comment on Newt hears echoes of Lawrence in PSNI probe of sectarian attack; UUP mixed messages exposed
on 15 January 2012 at 3:03 am
Truth be told Decimus does have a point, he does look remarkably well. After all he is alive unlike so many others before him.
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Comment on Quote of the Day…
on 8 September 2011 at 8:32 pm
I’m certainly not going ot get a gold-plated pension
If you’re a civil servant your pension payment is guaranteed regardless of circumstance, the rest of us live with the vagaries of the market, meaning it could be worth a fraction of what was contributed. In that sense all civil service pensions are gold plated.
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Comment on Northern Ireland’s sport neuralgia continues…
on 13 August 2011 at 6:12 pm
PeterBrown,
Hardly even handed as you are not comparing like with like. There weren’t any Rangers players on show so it would be rather odd for people to don Rangers tops. There weren’t any Celtic tops in Croke Park either for the same reason.
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Comment on GAA lacks sincerity…
on 12 August 2011 at 9:29 am
Blood Thunder,
Lest we forget Darren Graham. The young Protestant who was not only forced out of his GAA club in Fermanagh but had to flee the country after attacks on his home by local GAA enthusiasts.
Darren Graham said that he would not play again unless he received an apology and was convinced that the Gaelic Athletic Association was serious about stamping out sectarianism.
As you don’t want to forget him and seem truly concerned, you probably should know that Graham received his apology and is back in the GAA.
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Comment on GAA lacks sincerity…
on 11 August 2011 at 9:10 pm
I hope the purpose of this post is positive criticism so what would make the GAA acceptable to you Quincey Dougan?
Please list clearly what has to go.
I assume it’s the removal of the Irish language requirements, taking down of the Irish tricolour over the grounds, cessation of the playing of the Irish national anthem before matches, the renaming of all clubs, stadiums, competitions, trophies etc to your satisfaction.
When all that is done, you’ll be down to your local club with your Azzurri jersey and shorts on, or will the rule on Irish made products also have to go?
Have I missed something?
What do you want the Gaelic Athletic Association to mean to you in your life?
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