Profile for thedissenter
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thedissenter has commented 614 times (6 in the last month).
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Books
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Titanic: was it all right when it left here?
Tweet Not according to metallurgists Tim Foecke and Jennifer Hooper McCarty whose research has suggested that dodgy Harland and Wolff rivets were at fault for allowing the Titanic’s hull to be ripped apart by the pressure of the iceberg impact. With six of the hull’s chambers exposed to the Atlantic waters, the “unsinkable” ship lasted [...] read our review »
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A poem for the day – Launching the Whaler Juan Peron
Tweet 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, [...] read our review » -
Propaganda of Peace: Media and culture during the peace process
Tweet Extract from Greg McLaughlin and Stephen Baker: The Propaganda of Peace: The Role of Media and Culture in the Northern Ireland Peace Process. Bristol: Intellect Books. 2010. Political opponents Ian Paisley and Martin McGuiness were confirmed as First Minister and Deputy First Minister of a new executive in May 2007, closing yet another chapter [...] read our review »
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Comment on According to Question Time, SF=IRA, DUP=Goodies
on 24 May 2013 at 1:48 pm
Not clear what the fuss is about.
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Comment on Bad news for Sweden as the social model slowly unravels…
on 23 May 2013 at 9:34 pm
Total nonsense. The Swedish model is adapting: this analysis is a mere projective observation.
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Comment on “culture wars and shared futures make very uneasy bedfellows”
on 22 May 2013 at 12:53 pm
This series reflected a tired old lefty analysis and soul searching that ends up yet another cul de sac.
The biggest caricature being the ‘working class’ and ‘loyalist’ are the same. Because that is an ideological ghetto that to many middle class commentators find comfortable, because it is safe. It puts distance between a ‘concensus’ and something they simply don’t understand, or want to forget. That is why nothing changes.
Better a wee seminar now and then to purge the angst than actually identify issues an actually do something.
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Comment on “Republicans should remember that the third colour in the Irish flag is Orange…”
on 20 May 2013 at 3:02 pm
Ashdown’s ‘consultation’ report was a non-starter. It relied on a perfect world. Asked to explain step by step, it collapsed. Academically or theoretically possible, but completely lacking in practicality.
Think GARC was invited to go to Cardiff, but chose not to accept invite – though list seems to have been a bit of a PSNI pick and mix so that could be wrong.
How you consider another’s culture is often a projection of how you view your own. If that is the case, Republican’s have a good deal more to think about than a flag.
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Comment on British & Irish flags at new Korean War Memorial for Ulster troops
on 2 May 2013 at 9:05 pm
Reader, Korea was not a peace-keeping mission.
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Comment on British & Irish flags at new Korean War Memorial for Ulster troops
on 2 May 2013 at 11:19 am
Has the Irish government or nation been to war since it fought itself at the foundation of the State.
Seems that some strange notion of vicarious credit, or perhaps vicarious war, is being adopted by the Irish Government.
It was soldiers who were Irish, not Irish soldiers fighting. In fact, they were British soldiers who were from Ireland. That seems hard for some to accept. Indeed this at war by association seems an extension of that denial.
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Comment on Help us with drafting a FOI request on the MLA’s indemnity insurance claim…
on 21 April 2013 at 3:45 pm
Why not just ask for a copy of the insurance policy – surely that of itself is a matter of public record and interest. Then ask the questions. Simples.
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Comment on Gerry Adams says loyalists have much in common with republican neighbours and calls for dialogue
on 15 April 2013 at 1:00 am
What happened Gerry’s (Gerrys’) dialogue in North Belfast? Sinn Fein still to get back with date of next meeting… been a while.
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Comment on FM and dFM troubles: “a lot more work to be done before there’s true unity…”
on 25 March 2013 at 4:31 pm
Was away at the weekend and saw a few tweet references to the IN boycott call. Really? Not from this interview. Only if you are paranoid or desparate to make more of your own importance than is ever merited. Behind the paywall the IN doesn’t get much mention anymore. If it had three pages on the basis of what was said here, don’t think a boycott would be greatest of its worries.
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Comment on 70% of parents want some form of integrated education> what’s the problem John?
on 1 March 2013 at 3:06 pm
Need to address the Q to the Catholic Church also. While there is Church (though little parental) support for an end to selection, I haven’t heard any Church rep saying it is ready to give up its control of its share of education.
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