Mr Justice Gillen had told the court that he would provide a verdict “in the not too distant future.” The BBC report that he has found Terence Davison not guilty of the murder of Robert McCartney. No word yet on the other charges or the others charged.. nor on how the Provisional IRA investigation affected the trial. Update The Belfast Telegraph reports that all the accused were found not guilty on all charges. The judge said he realised the McCartney …
I had asked, again, whatever happened to community restorative justice? In particular in the North West? And now we have an answer – the Criminal Justice Inspectorate (CJI) has issued a new report [pdf file]. “Fieldwork for this inspection was done in the week beginning 31 March 2008.” The report warned that schemes must be monitored closely and an independent complaints mechanism put in place. “Subject to those points, the balance between risks and opportunities has moved in favour of …
Next up, the Haltemprice byelection on July 10 where nominations have just closed. Former shadow Home Secretary David Davis faces not much more of a challenge to get elected than Mugabe does today, having failed to get the main parties to oppose his civil liberties campaign by standing. Poring down the list of the 25 fringe candidates, I see lurking there the name of that fine old crooner Ronnie Carroll, now 73, a famous Cregagh boy long before that Man …
In the Henley by-election the Conservatives retained Boris Johnson’s seat comfortably but the big news story is that the Labour Party lost its deposit and was beaten into fifth by the Green Party and the British National Party.The result at the last general election in Henley was: Conservative (Boris Johnson): 24,894 (54%) Liberal Democrat (David Turner): 12,101 (26%) Labour (Kaleem Saeed): 6,862 (15%) Green (Mark Stevenson): 1,518 (3%) UKIP (Delphine Gray-Fisk): 1,162 (3%) Turnout: 68% Lee Reynolds
The Roman Catholic Bishops in Northern Ireland have criticised the Education Minister, Catriona Ruane, over her handling of school selection procedures. They say the minister has created an atmosphere of: “fear, uncertainty and instability” They also want all parties to work together to resolve the matter. Lee Reynolds
The official NASA Phoenix site hasn’t revealed the results of the analysis of Martian soil by the wet chemistry laboratory yet but, according to an RTE report, the very preliminary findings are good flabbergasting. And, given that we know there is, specifically, water ice there.. Oops Meant to add, why the dichotomy on Mars? Adds MarsPhoenix twitter confirms “friendly” dirt. “We basically have found what appears to be the requirements, the nutrients, to support life whether past present or future,” …
Two of the four Victims Commissioners might have been chatting online today but the accelerated passage, which wasn’t, of the retrospective legislation required to appoint them in the first place has failed to halt the legal challenge to their appointments. From the BBC report Mr Justice Gillen rejected arguments from counsel acting for former First Minister, Ian Paisley and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness. [The lawyer for Mr Paisley and Mr McGuinness had argued the case be dismissed, as legislation …
The Anglican communion looks like surviving after all the putative break-away conference convened Jerusalem this week, according to the consensus of the British media present. None of the 300 divines attending has actually broken away. In time-honoured Christian fashion, they started to fight among themselves. It seems the African bishops went just a little too far for some in failing to condemn the torture of gays in their own country.. What was really going on was a power play led …
The trend was well established but what a shock to read the blunt admission from the ERSI quarterly bulletin:
As the UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown goes green, and conveniently for those proposed windfarms new legislation on planning applications for such projects got through parliament despite a minor Labour rebellion, Northern Ireland’s Energy Minister, the DUP’s Arlene Foster, launches a consultation on renewable energy. Commenting on the consultation, the minister continued: “This consultation covers the full range of issues surrounding renewable energy. “I am keen to hear new and different ideas that can positively impact on our renewable energy …
The trial of prominent Provisional IRA member Brendan McFarlane had only just got underway after a lengthy failed legal battle to prevent it taking place, and there had been testimony from kidnap victim Don Tidey and other details heard. But today, following a ruling that an alleged admission by McFarlane should not be admitted as evidence the trial collapsed. The Special Criminal Court ruled this morning that admissions allegedly made to gardaí by Mr McFarlane following his arrest in 1998 …
The darkest “wow” analysis of the impact of the Irish “No” vote comes today from Anatole Kaletsky of the Times. Bullying won’t work and the vote robs the future development of the EU of ” all democratic legitimacy” he claims. Kaletsky is a leading moderate, intellectual Euro-sceptic, much respected in the wider commentariat. By contrast, here is a delicious example of the sort of Euro arrogance from the former Constitution’s principle begetter, Valery Giscard d’Estaing that will drive even fanatical …
You might just catch that webchat over at the Newsletter, if you hurry! 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
There he is, slaving away over a hot computer at dead of night, full of ideas, brimming over with drive and commitment, one of the cleverest and best informed politicians ever to have held the top office – and yet so few appreciate him. As Gordon Brown commemorates – or shrinks from – his first anniversary as Prime Minister, he is confronted with an avalanche of comment which is more varied than you might think. I’ve assembled a small digest …
It’s not the first time the Northern Irish Catholic bishops have called for greater clarity from the Education Minister, Sinn Féin’s Caitriona Ruane, about her vision for the future.. The BBC picks up on an Irish News report about a statement from the Catholic bishops. [subs req for now] Catholic bishops have accused education minister Caitriona Ruane of creating “fear, uncertainty and instability” by a lack of clarity on proposals for school selection. The northern bishops say they are disappointed …
Mick’s post set me thinking about the mix of fear and excitement created by internet penetration that’s sweeping my own small neck of the woods, journalism and politics. You may agree with media guru Roy Greenslade that it’s good that blogging has dethroned the top-down columnist. But here is David Leigh, an old friend and top investigative journalist, fearing that the web could kill off serious journalism .Can the web really change our ways of thinking and transform the sort …
There’s a great article in the Atlantic magazine this month by Nicholas Carr, which asks if the huge connective power of Google is ‘tinkering with our brains, rewiring our neural circuitry’. He explains: As the media theorist Marshall McLuhan pointed out in the 1960s, media are not just passive channels of information. They supply the stuff of thought, but they also shape the process of thought. And what the Net seems to be doing is chipping away my capacity for …
Last Friday evening, another catholic family were forced to flee the village of Stoneyford following an attack on their home in which the elderly couple’s windows were smashed. The family concerned had been targeted by loyalists before, with one leading local loyalist subject to a restraining order following threats made to the female resident. Sinn Fein has condemned the attack and has noted how the incident came just days before the DUP in Lisburn decided to go against the earlier …
No, not mine. But ignited has decided the only way to explain his affiliation to the Orange Order is to blog his summer and talk about what it means to him as he goes along. He lays out his intial thoughts here. Well worth reading! 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 …
Yesterday Peter Robinson announced a new three pronged strategy for the DUP commencing in the autumn. It intends to establish a British Unionist Academy with the tasks to: “promote the unionist culture and the advantages of the Union; encourage unionist learning in the community and provide a forum for unionist strategising and policy-making” The Academy will have a particular focus on young people. It will also establish a British Cultural and Equality Unit to provide legal advice to organisations and …
