Slugger O'Toole

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Neil has commented 1,687 times (29 in the last month).

1. Comment on Zero sum game over parades continues between OFMdFM parties…
   on 24 May 2013 at 1:11 am

   They asked bands how many hours voluntary work they did. they multiplied the reponse by minimum wage and tacked that onto their figure. It’s almost funny. A minimum of 15 million quid added onto ‘the economy’ based on the number of hours of charity work those altruistic orangemen self assessed they committed over the year and hey presto, millions. And without a penny for the revenue. Convenient, wha? Bit of a joke.

   Oh and UPC was it not you who produced the same ‘not a hotel room in the city’ argument at the height of the twelfth last year only to be confronted with a hotel search from hotels.com yielding a veritable plethora of available rooms? It’s a lie. Hotel rooms are easy to get during the twelfth. Tourists aren’t as dumb as you think. they know to stay away during the madness, see shop footfall. Bad for business, bad for empty hotels and bad for relations. But then to a self admitted UVF fan who cares, misinformation is the way to go, then maybe you can amuse us some more by forgetting to switch accounts while you agree with yourself. lol.

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2. Comment on Sinn Féin: Hyde Park bomb charges “vindictive, unnecessary and unhelpful”
   on 22 May 2013 at 11:52 pm

   OK my mistake, exactly the same then.

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3. Comment on Sinn Féin: Hyde Park bomb charges “vindictive, unnecessary and unhelpful”
   on 22 May 2013 at 11:50 pm

   That was a revocation of license no? So completely different. If convicted it’s two years under the GFA. Not indefinitely at the whim of a Tory SoS.

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4. Comment on “the current system is inefficient and we need to examine the case for reform of teacher education provision”
   on 22 May 2013 at 8:53 pm

   Fine. I support you in that – but do it at home and let them be educated with their British counterparts in a neutral environment that doesn’t demean or belittle their Irishness but isnt the be all and end all of it.

   With the right gaurantees I would support that. There’s a natural lack of trust in the state system from my point of view, having spent a couple of years there, so I’d be very keen to ensure they weren’t getting sneaky citizenship classes or something. And integrated needs to be 50:50 o pretty close.

   And a question no one seems to be asking – just why do you want to subcontract teaching that to the Catholic Church?

   Why is the Catholic Church seen as the home of Irishness? Its supposed to be a religious body not a political one. IS it just that it doesn’t teach Proddies ?

   No it’s just the way the chips fell and it’s the current system that delivers what I want. I don’t really want priests overly involved in the kids education and they’re not, apart from certain rituals like Communion etc. I’m just deeply suspicious that the drive behind some integrationists is the replacement of Catholic schools with Protestant/British/state schools.

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5. Comment on “the current system is inefficient and we need to examine the case for reform of teacher education provision”
   on 22 May 2013 at 8:47 pm

   No but there is Roman CAtholic creationism. And a denial of fundamental facts about the true nature and life of the universe. And an opposition to the use of emerging science in areas like genetics

   Never came across any Catholic creationists, least of all amongst science teachers. The old Creationist nutters always seemed to be firmly on your side of the fence. That said I suppose we’ll have to console ourselves with our schools consistently and significantly outperforming non Catholic schools. I guess those nutty creationists aren’t dragging our grades down which is the main thing after all.

   http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6075453

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6. Comment on “Republicans should remember that the third colour in the Irish flag is Orange…”
   on 22 May 2013 at 6:16 pm

   The problem occurs when people insist in going into hostile areas obviously. The GAA should be fairly easy to ignore for Unionists. I don’t know many who are inconvenienced or abused when there’s a match in Casement. If the GAA were to insist on having their matches in Windsor you might have a point, assuming of course the locals didn’t go ape shit which they would.

   The OO would be no problem at all but for maybe half a dozen parades out of nearly 3,000. I personally don’t give a monkeys about a parade in Broughshane or Cullybackey. Go nuts. Have a twelfth every day for a year. Ardoyne’s a very different beast though.

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7. Comment on “the current system is inefficient and we need to examine the case for reform of teacher education provision”
   on 22 May 2013 at 5:57 pm

   The purpose of the separate schooling is to promote Irishness

   The very thought! While over at ‘Prod schools’ referred to by Unionists above a strong sense of Britishness is instilled in the students. And we all know Irishness is just wrong.

   As the last bastion of discrimination the Roman Catholic education sector and all those from that tradition who send their children to the Roman Catholic education sector are perpetuating sectarianism discrimination.

   Sectarianism discrimination? Eh? What is it that Prods do when they send their kids to Prod schools (again, as referred to above by Unionist commentors)? Catholic bad, Protestant good? Sounds like it. If you ‘bemoan’ Catholics for sending their kids to Catholic schools I’m sure you have much ire for Prods who send their kids to Prod schools.

   Or is it more the case as I suspect, more about the Roman Catholic Church’s paranoia at losing more control over the young and impressionable.

   No I’d say Barnshee’s spot on. I personally want my children brought up in an Irish setting, with Irish culture and Irish symbolism and identity around them. Having been to one of those integrate Prod schools (Inst) I would certainly never consider sending my children into such a place for fear they would be coerced into joining the cadets, taught about the evil Palestinians and the noble decent Israelis and forced to sing ‘our’ national anthem (or take a digging later).

   As usual we mention integrated education and people start fantasising about the dismantling of Catholic schools and the assimilation of our kids into good British schools. Incidentally has anyone figured out how we can get round the fact that Catholic schools are located on property owned by the church which would cost tens of millions in rent without bankrupting the department yet? Thought not.

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8. Comment on Ann Travers: “If had joined the IRA or a loyalist paramilitary and killed someone, I would be being listened to…”
   on 21 May 2013 at 8:59 pm

   I suppose it may be considered easier to ‘move on’ if one gets some kind of justice. The Finucanes clearly were denied that, whereas the Travers family did get their day in court with both the driver and the suspected British agent who shot Mary Travers charged. If the Finucanes get their day in court then I suspect they may be able to ‘move on’.

   Ann doesn’t seek justice, she seeks to determine the employment prospects of time served ex prisoners. I understand this 100%, she’s more than entitled, but that doesn’t make her right. It just makes her a victim.

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9. Comment on Scotland – will the Orange Order save the Union?
   on 19 May 2013 at 9:54 pm

   Another example of how events in England may affect the outcome of the independence referendum:

   While 36% of Scots polled said they supported independence from the UK under present circumstances (with 44% opposed), the yes vote soared to 44% (with 44% still opposed) when voters were asked how they would vote if it looked as though Britain was going to leave the EU.

   http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/may/19/scotland-tough-call-uk-eu-referendums

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10. Comment on Has the Protestant Working Class lost out in the Peace Process?
    on 19 May 2013 at 11:02 am

    If they’ve lost out it’s only because they were on the pig’s back as far as certain jobs and housing were concerned. But the facts do speak for themselves:

    CATHOLICS in Northern Ireland are in poorer health, are more likely to be un-employed and live in larger households compared with Protestants, latest census figures show.

    http://www.irishnews.com/news/census-also-details-national-identity-1256690

    Is it some people’s view that the inequality in society is not unequal enough? That Unionism’s inherent advantage should be enhanced further so they don’t feel bad about losing their prior dominance?

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