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Books
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Is Fianna Fail the new Woolworths of Irish politics?
Tweet It’s not published until 3rd March, but one book I recommend you place an advance order for from Slugger’s Bookstore is James Harkin’s Niche. Belfast émigré Harkin examines a number of stories from business, culture and politics and comes to a single insight: everywhere the broad middle is collapsing. He offers Woolworths as an iconic [...] read our review »
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Total Politics: Top 20 NI Blogs…
Tweet Fair play to Iain, he managed to get over 2,200 people voting in his poll for the top Northern Irish blogs this year… We (just, I imagine) retained our top spot, with Splintered coming straight in at number 2, no doubt his pet subject du jour will have garnered him a lot of fans… [...] read our review »
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The Media Relations Department of Hizbollah Wishes You a Happy Birthday (Neil MacFarquhar)
Tweet With perhaps the longest title of any book I’ve read this year, The Media Relations Department of Hizbollah Wishes You a Happy Birthday: Unexpected Encounters in the Changing Middle East gives an insight into the lives of people living in Middle East through the eyes of journalist Neil MacFarquhar. MacFarquhar’s father was a chemical [...] read our review »
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Comment on “the current system is inefficient and we need to examine the case for reform of teacher education provision”
on 23 May 2013 at 1:56 pm
“NI society is ” subvented” to allow standard unavailable without the contribution of the (other) UK taxpayers so your “irishness” along with a whole raft of other services is by the grace of the AFM tax payer”
My “irishness” as you put it, is funded by myself, I make a net contribution to the exchequer, thanks to a well paid job, which I have thanks to a good education at a CCMS grammar. If you have issues with how much you pay in and get out, that’s your problem.
But yeah, lets get the taxpayers in the rest of the UK involved, give them the full picture as to what they are subventing, and how much better off they would be in terms of civil service job and the odd 8 or so billion a year. Let them know we here in Norn Irn don’t appreciate their choice to have 10% of their schools run as voluntary funded Catholic Schools, we should let them know it is too many based on only 8.6% of people there being Catholic, or abortion, or their stupid libel laws, or their support for gay marriage.
How do you think that would work out?
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Comment on Shatter gets away with it, but at what price?
on 22 May 2013 at 11:07 pm
“When he entered her, he knew it was her first time. He moved slowly and she dug her fingers into his back, moaning and gasping for breath. When she loosened her grip and her body relaxed, he knew he was going to erupt.
She gasped again and as he pulled himself free of her and overflowed on her slender body.”
From Alan’s novel which has been thrust back into the spotlight this week.
Listening to the radio these last few days, between the morning shows and the last word, it’s hard to tell if Shatter is now to be characterised as a nasty piece of work who should be hauled over the coals by the data protection people, or a grubby old man who writes sub-porn about powerful TDs riding their young virgin office workers. Or both.
I suppose what is clear is that he was the last TD voted through in his constituency under STV, just barely ahead of a FF candidate. I don’t think he’ll be so lucky next time.
What is saving him for now, I suspect, was the target of his attack being considered a bit of a joke by many people in the southern press. Sadly, it was only the Mail that really took the fight to him in any meaningful way over this.
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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 9:24 pm
“Is there Roman Catholic maths???
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”
CCMS do not teach creationism in science, they adhere with the curriculum. The only schools in NI that teach creationism as ‘fact’ are a small number of Independent Christian Schools, run, I believe, by the Free P Church.
Those Free P schools also don’t teach sex education I’m told, in a CCMS school you get regular sex ed lessons in Biology, and the Church’s view on sex in RE classes.
” 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.”
What would be neutral? No poppies on Remembrance day/week/month? Can the army come recruiting like they do in Catholic Schools in England? Celebrations to mark various royal family related days? Would they wave flags when Charles undergoes his coronation?
It’s a non starter.
If the issue at hand is that the majority of teaching positions are now in Catholic Schools and the CCMS regulations are blocking teachers without the necessary additional certificates in applying for jobs then that needs to be resolved.
The thing is, we like our schools, we pay our taxes, we’re hanging onto them. Like we hung onto them when they didn’t receive proper state funding.
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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 5:33 pm
A very raw interview, clearly Mrs Travers is continuing to suffer quite badly from what happened to her family. My heart goes out to her.
Listened to/heard, yeah, a big distinction, particularly in an interview where she is introduced as a frequent contributor.
What were the SDLP’s amendments? Why were they rejected?
The poor woman’s grief is a political football, ultimately, SF will always show more loyalty to it’s own people, and Jim Allister probably wouldn’t give her the time of day if her family had been killed by loyalists or the army.
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Comment on Micheál Martin “there is a grave danger that policing in the North will be compromised because of this activity”
on 18 May 2013 at 2:27 am
To be honest Mick. My issue with Micheal and FF ‘weighing in’ to point out dysfunction is their case in point. We all know that parades will show up fault lines in the executive and indeed within some of the executive parties. A 12 year old interviewed on a Vice adventure holiday travelogue would tell you that.
I admit I may have missed it, but where were the statements on Girdwood from Micheal and co?
Girdwood was to me the most poignant example of the dysfunction, for the simple fact that it crystallised the effect it has on ordinary people’s lives 24/7 , those who in any other modern western society could rely on their politicians to do the right thing.
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Comment on Micheál Martin “there is a grave danger that policing in the North will be compromised because of this activity”
on 18 May 2013 at 1:25 am
The election results do put it ‘in perspective’ yes, my own perspective is that SF’s increasing vote in the constituency have denied FF a single seat where they once had 2 of the 3 available seats, back when their candidates topped the polls on the first count. Especially important now, given that the vote for the party that topped the poll in the last election has catastrophically collapsed.
In general yes, the FF analysis ‘fits’, the executive is dysfunctional, then again, as we all know, politics in the north is dysfunctional. Some of us even have come to the conclusion that it will remain so until a UI happens and are happy enough with that.
Smith was on message, the same general message we’ve heard since SF’s vote threatened the tradition of ‘my go or yours?’ that characterises southern politics, SF are not fit to govern, Micheal is a great lad, very hands on in his previous role, the man he was working under at the time is once again noticeable by his absence in any discussion.
So how do you think the idea of accusing others of ‘running a handy racket’ fits in, on a week where we’ve been brought back to the knowledge of guards disappearing penalty points for the ruling class, not that we are allowed to know just who they disappeared points for?
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Comment on Micheál Martin “there is a grave danger that policing in the North will be compromised because of this activity”
on 17 May 2013 at 11:10 pm
“I think he’s saying you are both running a bit of a handy racket that suits one another…”
Really? In the Penalty points and redactions week?
I don’t know why you chose this exchange, one where quite frankly, Micheal comes off worse than usual, as an example in your continuing struggle to convince us (and maybe even yourself) that Micheal’s sojuorns are anything other than Micheal electioneering for a southern audience.
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Comment on Irish Justice Minister: “a tribute to how far we have come as a society”
on 8 May 2013 at 11:18 pm
“Those of you familiar with the economy of the Republic know that that was in effect an order to leave the country.”
No it isn’t, it placed them in the same category as married women of the time. It would be an order to leave the country if the state was the sole (and not just the largest) employer.
They had state jobs, a very special kind of state job and they walked on it, why should the state consider them for employment again when others were crying out for jobs?
The apology should have been better worded.
We’re sorry for calling you deserters for deserting.
We’re sorry for not reemploying you after you walked out on the first job we gave you and instead gave preference to others who hadn’t proven themselves to be untrustworthy.
We’re sorry for not giving you a second pension to top up the one you had from the British Army.
We’re sorry we ever asked the English to leave.
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Comment on Irish Justice Minister: “a tribute to how far we have come as a society”
on 8 May 2013 at 9:59 pm
“I’ve not heard one person suggest all day that any of these men did not desert nor that it was anything other than serious offence.”
Based on newspapers and web sites, it would seem you can desert from other armies, but only ‘desert’ when it comes to Ireland. That’s when they bother to use the word of course, a lot like Pete here prefer the word left.
Apologising for what was the possibly the laxest punishment in Europe at the time for desertion doesn’t really suggest it was anything other than a serious offence?
Weidm7 calls it right.
It’s uncle tom-ery.
And if you might want to look beyond slugger for opinions of people who are very much not republicans to see if the prevailing opinion here is out of step or not.
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Comment on Irish Justice Minister: “a tribute to how far we have come as a society”
on 8 May 2013 at 12:13 am
Direct away.
It’s a simple question, did they receive pensions for their service in the British army after deserting?
I’m pretty sure the British Army did give out pensions to it’s soldiers, otherwise my grandfather mistakenly burned his credit union book in the Diamond in Derry with a load of other old soldiers after Bloody Sunday.
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