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Books
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A poem for the day – Launching the Whaler Juan Peron
A Belfast epic, and one of my oldest poems, the opener of my first collection, Grub. The gist of the story was found in Moss & Hume’s Shipbuilders to the World: 125 Years of Harland and Wolff, Belfast, 1861-1986, which tells how Eva Peron was due to launch a huge whaling vessel in Belfast, built [...] read our review » -
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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“You can see Newton’s mind at work…”
To add to the open access treasure trove at the Royal Society, Cambridge University Library is putting online some of its collection of books, maps, manuscripts and journals. We have called the first phase of our work on the Cambridge Digital Library the Foundations Project, which runs from mid-2010 to mid-2013 and has been made possible [...] read our review »
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Comment on The DUP and General Von Manstein
on 23 January 2010 at 4:45 am
Too many ifs.
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Comment on The Adulterous Female
on 9 January 2010 at 2:57 am
It’s not just about £50k. It’s about 2 cheques written from business accounts to a private individual. How was that represented in public accounts.
No tax was paid on the money received by the recipient. Did he declare it?
Mrs R received £5k in cash: did she declare it to Inland revenue?
She then initially claimed that £25k was hers by right. The recipient had died and she was sulking with the young man.
Other questions remain: one interesting one is how a 19 year old with no previous experience managed to be the only applicant to meet the criteria set for the lease of the property from Castlereagh Council?
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Comment on The Adulterous Female
on 8 January 2010 at 11:24 pm
The term “Adultery” echoes through the ages: agreed, it smacks of Patriarchy and there is some delight in hearing the term “her young lover” in the same sentence as “Iris Robinson”.
There is such a lot to be unpeeled here. Such a rich archaeological resource. It’s Old Testament: the public abasement of Iris by her husband. He dragged her into the marketplace, stripped her and just as the stoning was about to begin, forgave and reclaimed her. Previously, he has left her in a state of self-reduction while he went off to work. It’s Homeric: the journey of a young man: succoured, fucked then rejected. He is given money freely but it is demanded back with menaces. Betwixt times, there are the great solemn moments: the moral proclamations and the adrenalin of righteousness; the illicit sex and the intense privacy of acts whereby one can regain control of one’s destiny if only for an moment. All risk-taking; all orgiastic.
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