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Graphic portrayals: Northern Ireland, graphic novels and the peace process
Dr Gordon Gillespie, a researcher at the Institute of Irish Studies at Queen’s University Belfast, gave a presentation on “Graphic Portrayals: Northern Ireland, Graphic Novels and the Peace Process”, at the Linen Hall Library. Gordon started with a clarification that he was going to talk about graphic novels/comic books, not cartoons, and material that was [...] read our review »
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Ulsters Last Stand?: Can Unionism Move Beyond Insurance Policy Politics?
How has Ulster unionism arrived at where it is today – fractured and uncertain, yet dominated electorally by the DUP, a party that tells us it offers unionists sure footing in uncertain times? In his latest book, Ulster’s Last Stand? Reconstructing Unionism after the Peace Process (Irish Academic Press, 2010), Prof. James McAuley from the [...] read our review »
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A Political History of the Two Irelands competition…
It’s not often we get free things to give away to our readers, but courtesy of Palgrave Macmillan we have a nice paperback copy of Brian M Walker’s excellent history of partition of the island and how identities shifted in both the north east and the south and west: as most of the territory that [...] read our review »
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Comment on South Belfast Orange and Black call for agreement
on 12 April 2010 at 4:08 pm
Stalin,
Failing ? That’s not how it looks to me. The UUP have backed down in FST and now they’re about to back down in SB.
The trouble with Bradshaw issuing her statement is that she has now put the ball back in the DUP court to find an appropriate candidate – which the DUP duly will. The pressure returns to them to keep their word and back the unity candidate as they said they would.
I find it revealing that Ulster Unionist supporters are so lacking in confidence in their own message that they don’t believe they can win unless their principal competitor steps down.
It just shows how unionists don’t really understand democracy. Instead of having a fair fight with all the issues being discussed, they want to rig the election so that they are guaranteed to win. It’s shameful.
For once we agree! UCUNF are tettering on the brink of losing my vote with all this nasty nonsense.
(
But don’t worry Stalin, you’re not getting it!
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Comment on South Belfast Orange and Black call for agreement
on 12 April 2010 at 6:26 am
Explosion at Palace Barracks reported by BBC UTV Sky. Was on reported on Twitter about an hour previously.
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Comment on South Belfast Orange and Black call for agreement
on 12 April 2010 at 4:53 am
Looks like a continuation of the dirty tricks campaign by DUP, UCUNF will be fools to fall into it but then they have shown zero sign of media skills that I have noticed so far so I don’t hold much hope. FST has really shaken my trust in them, but they just about have my vote still. Any nonsense in SB and they’ll lose it.
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Comment on The Tories in Ulster and the social policy trap..
on 1 April 2010 at 9:02 pm
It is a bit ironic that members of both the UUP and Conservatives have declared themselves disgruntled on Slugger with how things turned out, with each accusing their own leadership of having “rolled over” for the other…
In any case politics is always messy, especially a risky-but-potentially-very-rewarding move like the CUs. It still offers what is important – equal citizenship for NI residents who can now have their vote counted in choosing who forms the next government, for the first time in decades! That alone is worth the fall-out.
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Comment on Norman Baxter calls for new investigation into Jean McConville’s murder
on 1 April 2010 at 7:37 am
Michaelhenry
Your comments on all threads in which I have seen them are bizarre – never any argument or logic, just endless parotting of a sycophantically pro SF line. You never engage anyone in debate you just repeat the line, like some sort of automaton. You also never ever admit that SF might ever make even one tiny little mistake, like for instance anybody reasonable would expect a bunch of humans to do. You support SF and that’s up to you but please try and engage with other commentators a little more and in an intelligent way – it makes slugger more interesting to read.
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Comment on ‘Up like a bird and over the city’
on 1 April 2010 at 7:13 am
Hahaha! What has happened to our “Marxist comrade” Mr Adams?!? Given that properly posh Conservative MPs from the south of England would get ridiculed for such a helicopter stunt what did the so-called socialist think he was up to?!? I thought that SF prided itself on the average working wage thing? Does that stretch to a ‘copter these days? Must get myself one…
Very funny! Any mobile clips yet?
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Comment on Nationalists approach to Hung Parliament
on 1 April 2010 at 6:50 am
Dewi,
That is easy – it is paid for by tax revenue generated in London and the south east, by those who employ those using aforementioned public transport.
But what about the money Wales gets? How much of that comes from Wales and how much from those lovely tube-subsidising&using; Londoners? Same for Scotland, NI and parts of the North of England. You think we’d be grateful, eh? But nothing like a bit of narrow nationalism to help with the selective reading of the facts
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Comment on Nationalists approach to Hung Parliament
on 31 March 2010 at 8:19 pm
Or in other words:
“Big Issue! Spare change please? Spare change please?”
Not content with their already generous subsidies from the good taxpayers of the South-East of England the nationalists want even more!
Lets see who does that remind me of in NI… Oh yea its the Ulster Nationalist Party, a.k.a. the DUP.
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Comment on McFarland leaves UUP
on 31 March 2010 at 6:40 am
Amused by DUP trolls on here.
Is Orange-loving, DUP-loving, pro- so-called “unionist unity”, McNarry the best you can muster? A man who represents nothing but himself. Oh sorry I forgot about the “anonymous” letter from DUP press office in the telegraph, but that was fairly silly too.
Anyway who was this guy McFarland – I’m not from North Down so I only recognise the name… Comments suggest he was beaten by Reg to be leader. In any case he hardly has great affection for his ex-colleagues if he thinks resigning at the start of an election campaign is an okay thing to do.
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Comment on Unionist unity: “Think about it Peter!”
on 31 March 2010 at 1:09 am
as if somehow this cancels out the fact that the UUP leadership are a party pursuing a nakedly sectarian, anti-agreement agenda, and that this is something those candidates will have had to take into account prior to agreeing to stand.
Sorry what nakedly sectarian agenda? There are no pacts, so-called “unionist unity” has been rejected by UCUNF repeatedly yet you, as a political opponent of UCUNF, keep making that allegation against them. Your repetition will not make it any truer.
What anti-agreement agenda? Just because the UUP decided that a non-functional executive was not a great place to bring P&J to? They remain supportive of devolution of P&J in principle they merely disagreed with timing. Again you repeating the lie that the UUP are anti-agreement will not make it true, it just shows you up.
The one thing the candidates had to sign up to was to take the Conservative whip at Westminster, nothing else.
by encouraging a legal form of rigging of the ballot
Lies again Stalin – 18 UCUNF candidates for 18 NI seats has ALWAYS been the only game in town, and it remains the case now, however much you, the DUP or McNarry want it to be otherwise.
Alliance is offering honesty and non sectarian politics. FWIW, Alliance would probably vote consistently with the Lib Dems but may not necessarily take the whip (all depends on what’s in it ..). The Conservatives are pretending that their candidates here are true-blue Tories, as with Branson’s dodgy cola, “just like the real thing”. It’s already becoming clear that they’re not.
Well its a vote for Westminster so what I want is a Conservative MP and UCUNF gives me that. Please substantiate your allegation that UCUNF candidates in winnable seats are not “true-blue” as you put it? I don’t dispute about past UUP MPs but tell me about the ones in winnables in this election, the ones who HAD to agree to take the Conservative whip to be allowed to put themselves forward for selection?
Talk all you like about integration – unionists don’t think that way
Again fine re the past but in THIS election these candidates in winnables are explicitly standing as Conservatives, promising to take the whip, and having been vetted accordingly.
If you think that being allowed in the tent with the big boys is more important than a serious consideration of the actual policies that the Tories have planned for this country, that is your prerogative. I think voting for a candidate for that reason alone is blind stupidity.
I will be voting for one of these candidates precisely because I want Conservative policies and a Conservative government, not as you put it just because they are in a big party.
Stupid, stupid, stupid
I agree it was a stupid selection process but c’est la vie! ‘Tis (almost) done so now on to the bit which matters – the election! I hoping for a Conservative government, and hoping a few of its MPs are from NI seats.
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