Quote of the week..

Rep. Jim Walsh, Chair of Friends of Ireland, after a meeting with Mitchel Reiss: “Every promise that Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness has made to us they’ve kept.” Hat tip to Richard! Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty

What a.. erm.. lovely bowl

The eagled-eyed John Fay, at Irish Eagle, spotted this article in the New York Times, by Matthew Scully(free reg required) – “a former deputy director of speechwriting for President Bush” – that may help add some perspective to the ongoing debate about who will attend the annual St. Patrick’s Day shindig at the Whitehouse this year.Although the article is, primarily, about the task of drafting the US President’s State of the Union address, he does mention some of the more …

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Scoop ?

The Belfast Telegraph seems to have a scoop – in it’s story SF MLA Ruane fined over road tax they have the missing men in, of all places, Cambodia. Ambrose Uprichard

Ireland’s vicarious relationship to Holocaust

Last night, I came across this from Paul Arthur’s erudite examination of the multiple relationships within these islands. It may have some bearing on the various domestic controversies that have kicked around in Ireland on Holocaust Memorial Day:”Her neutral stance during World War II may have damaged her international interests; at the very least it damaged her pyschologically. When Harold Laski argued in 1951 that ‘the real alternative to the House of Commons is the concentration camp’ it is conceivable …

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Ireland semi detached from the Holocaust?

As some cynics might remark, surely only the Irish could turn the focus of the Holocaust commemorations yesterday away from Nazi death camp to draw attention to our own, comparatively insignificant, local difficulties. In London, by contrast, the quiet and dignified commemorations were led by the Cheif Rabbi, Jonathan Sachs in Westminster Hall: Dr Sacks said a “murdered generation” of six million Jews, together with tens of thousands of Roma, disabled, homosexuals and others, had been gassed and burnt for …

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America snubbing republicans..?

THE New York Sun launches a stinging attack on Sinn Fein, saying the party should not be in Washington on St Patrick’s Day and urging punitive action to be taken by the US Envoy Mitchell Reiss. The Irish Echo reports continuing uncertainty about the involvement of local parties in the White House event on St Paddy’s Day, and tells us that despite giving him a visa, a meeting between SF’s Gerry Kelly and a displeased Reiss was passed to a …

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Congratulations…

Congratulations to my colleague David Steven’s World Bank President blog, for making the Guardian’s blog pick of the day! Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty

Palestinians should learn from IRA

Despite backing Tony Blair’s robust approach to dealing with Sinn Fein, The Jerusalem Post compares the IRA somewhat favourably with the Palestinian militants for, by and large, sticking to its ceasefire agreements. Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty

‘naive’ and ‘not credible’

The Sunday Independent carried a story yesterday, Bogota court slams Colombia Three’s evidence as ‘naive’ and ‘not credible’ , in which it claims to have seen the 144 page appeal court Judgement.THE Colombia Three’s explanations for holidaying in an area controlled by Farc guerrillas have been dismissed as “naive” and “not credible” in a scathing judgement by appeal judges in Bogota. The entire 144-page appeal judgement, obtained by the Sunday Independent, ripped apart the evidence put forward by James Monaghan, …

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Who’s in and who’s out..?

FATHER Sean McManus has asked US Envoy Mitchel Reiss to ensure that Mark Thatcher cannot stay the United States, after he pleaded guilty to involvement in a coup attempt in Equatorial Guinea. Meanwhile, Jim Cusack reckons Gerry Adams won’t face any such problems when he applies to visit America for the St Patrick’s Day celebrations. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com

Slap in the Face

The ultimate slap in the face. To add insult to injury, the American company Teleflex Medical expect 250 workers being laid off in Lurgan to train the people taking their jobs.As SF MLA John O’Dowd points out : “The 250 workers in RUSCHE are not being paid off because there is no market for the product but because the plant owners are moving these jobs to Mexico and Malaysia, where they can use low wages. “The loyalty of RUCHES workers …

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How torture passed under democratic radar…

Andrew Sullivan was in favour of the invasion of Iraq – mostly for civil rights reasons, and in the belief that replacing Sadam and replacing his regime with a democratic state would do more good in the long run than continuing not to act. However, in a review of two books which document acts of torture (reg needed), as well as the incidents of humiliation that have become associated with Abu Ghraib, he believes Bush’s administration is giving many hostages …

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Spanish PM asked to do a Tony Blair and bring ETA in from the cold

Criminalising the political wing of ETA certainly doesn’t seem to have put the stoppers on moves by the region to distance itself from Spain with the result that Batasuna are now being called in from the cold.Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, speaking in San Sebastian Saturday, has indicated that he is willing to open talks with Batasuna, the political wing of the Basque separatist group ETA as moves to create a Basque Free State gain momentum. In a …

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World Bank blog gets world scoop

The World Bank President had a scoop on another candidate for the new job, and quickly picked up some positive coverage from Reuters. Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty

Overseas aid – cutting out the middlemen

My colleague Mark Weston had a letter in last Friday’s FT, which suggests an innovative approach to giving overseas aid – that might reduce the draining effect of most of the middlemen, and eluding the problem of sending large sums into some of the most governmentally corrupt areas of the world. Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and …

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Who’s the next for president?

The World Bank President blog is launched today. Given the focus of news agendas on development stories, it’s a fascinating and timely site. Its aim is to widen the debate on who gets to be the next president (in the gift of the incumbent of the US Presidency).David Steven writes on how the current man got his post, whilst Alex Wilks explains how the World Trade Organisation looks like an open picnic for the Third World, by comparison. The plan …

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First aid, then trade?

Mary Kenny looks at the huge amount of aid being given by the Irish people – now moving swiftly past the €10 million mark – and notes that per head of population this puts the the Republic just behind the Norwegians in terms of generousity. But, she warns, whilst pumping money in can be effective in the early stages of recovery, trade is more likely to drive aid in the longer term.Hamish McRae reiterates her argument in the same paper: …

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The Rise of the Blog

Some extrapolated numbers to crunch relating to the growth of blogging in the US, and possibly elsewhere, as reported on the BBC website, and courtesy of surveys by Pew Internet & American Life Project – of 120 million online US adults, [7% or] 8 million say they have created blogs; blog readership jumped 58% in 2004 and now stands at 27% of [US] internet users [up from 17% in Feb 2004], that’s 32 million readers, and 12% of the 120 …

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Asia: the loss of one…

I heard from my colleague David Steven yesterday of the sad loss of his friend Phil Nicholas in the South Asian tsunami. Phil was one of several European social entrepreneurs who’d migrated to Sri Lanka to bring their expertise to bear on reflating a local economy in the wake of the ceasefire between the government and separatists. His obituary by another friend, John Pollock, briefly records his story. Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on …

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Long term obectives with short term aid?

The Uk has raised £45 million in three days. The Republic’s government is facing criticism over the low levels of aid proffered. But as the FT points out it its leader today, the first responses are not the important ones, it’s the long term that matters.In fact the problem of bringing relief lies in the fact that most of the victims lie on the edge of a globalised economy (not unlike the majority of the victims of the Irish famine): …

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