Slugger O'Toole As Nigel Dodds was welcomed to the home of Gerard Lawlor, Denis Bradley called for greater protection of Catholic areas. Suzanne Breen asks if anyone cares about the fate of any of the working class of North Belfast – Catholic or Protestant. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Phillip Murphy has a new definition of political opposites. According to his post on 13th July, we are either shaken or stirred! Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
David Trimble leads the comment on the Government state with his own article in the Daily Telegraph this morning. He suggests that Reid’s words are a hint of positive action, but that it falls short of specific action to be taken against breaches of the various ceasefires. Towards the end he questions Sinn Fein’s commitment to the Belfast Agreement: “Sinn Fein has committed itself only to an abstract version of the agreement. It refuses to address the responsibilities of making …
Thanks to fellow blogger Brendan O’Neill for featuring the Letter at the top of his short piece on Irish weblogs. Our stats software has packed up for the rest of the week apparently, so I have no idea how many are reading it just now. If you have any comments, please send them in. Terry McMenamin tries to get to grips with what is really driving the DUP‘s political agenda. In truth it is hard to get to the bottom …
There is some cautious optimism that today’s statement by Tony Blair will have the desired effect, though Jeffrey Donaldson holds on to the hard bottom line: “Anything that falls short of an effective exclusion mechanism is not worth the paper it’s written on,” he insisted. “Equally, the idea that we can draw a line under Colombia, Castlereagh and the violence on the streets of Belfast is a non starter. Republicans must be held to account for what they have done, …
Today’s expected statement from the British Prime Minister is not expected to end the on-going crisis in the political process. It looks like Blair will offer a tightening of the criteria of what constitutes a breach of the ceasefire. It is not clear whether he will commit himself to specific sanctions. Brian Walker is decidedly upbeat! Though he adds as a coda: “But what if the parties don’t play? If the UUP, with or without Trimble, and the DUP reject …
If both sides are to be believed then no one is to blame for the ongoing nightmare in North Belfast. Still there is something quite chilling in the latest statement from Loyalists with regard to recent violence. It is forthwrite, simple and completely unapologetic: The senior loyalist said that Mr Lawlor had been killed in retaliation for a gun attack on Sunday evening in which a Protestant teenager was seriously injured. He said: “We’re one bullet, one fatality away from …
There is an inevitable gloom gathering once again over North Belfast, in the wake of the killing of Gerard Lawlor early yesterday morning. Loyalists claim the killing, but insist that it was in response to “…the onslaught against the Protestant community by the republican gunmen”. Further action is threatened if there is no abatement. That gloom will not be helped as we approach Trimble’s deadline of tomorrow night. For what seems like the umpteenth time in the four years since …
There are some great old articles to be found on the Atlantic Monthly site. In 1954, John V Kelleher in discussing partition suggested that: “The history of the problem is nearly irrelevant to its solution. Three present factors count: religious differences, the failure of either state to create within its own borders a vigorously healthy society, and the bald fact that the division between North and South aggravates with every passing year.” “Anti-Partitionist propaganda never admits any of these factors. …
Trimble puts the responsibility for keeping law and order on Blair. And there are signs that Blair may go some way to back-up Trimble’s call for a tougher and more transparent approach to breaches of the ceasefires. Though it is clear a majority Unionist population at large holds Sinn Fein responsible for the current destablising violence in Belfast’s streets, there is a corresponding puzzlement amongst Nationalists. The Sunday Business Post ponders the possibility of joint authority. Slugger O'TooleA general account …
The street violence of the last week or so claimed it’s first death yesterday; he was one of several others injured. It’s difficult to gauge exactly what triggered it off this time, but the Newsletter reports that Loyalist patience is growing thin in some interface areas. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Finally, for the first time in many years, the coverage in the media seems to be looking at Ulster Unionist problems with some degree of sympathy. Henry McDonald leads the way with a short but pithy analysis of where the epicentre of the current crisis may actually lie. “Arguably the greatest paradox of the peace process is that the crisis in unionism exists only because most of its leaders and spokesmen are so blinded by bigotry that they can’t spot …
And a last word of the week to Jack Holland, who is fed up with the endless rounds of ‘whatboutery’ that we are all inclined to locked into – and nowhere moreso than in cyberspace. For a great choice of NI news links throughout the working week Newshound is the best single source. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
With little left in the game for pro-agreement Unionists except electoral humiliation next May, they will likely collapse all institutions, bin the Good Friday Agreement and throw the peace process back a stage. “Assembly elections are due to be held in May next year, but unionists have warned the body could have been dissolved and direct rule re-imposed long before them unless Mr Blair acts.” PA The rejection of the IRA apology has not gone down well with some. There …
Here’s an in-depth article giving good background to the Catholic-Protestant change in fortunes. It’s almost worth registering with the New York Times for!! Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
As you might imagine the big story of the day is the latest statement from the IRA. Most punters are predictably split on what (if any significance) it has for the ‘ailing’ peace process. The Taoiseach Bertie Ahern welcomed the statement, whilst David Trimble immediately countered it with the suggestion that “the apology from the IRA tonight may have been prompted by the investigative pieces on which some journalists have been working for the anniversary of bloody Friday in a …
Simon Heffer believes Trimble has no choice but to move rightwards. Conor Cruise O’Brien pops his head above the parapet for the first time in a while and gives more immediate counsell: “What Trimble and all other unionists should be doing right now is keeping the spotlight on Colombia and the IRA’s links with FARC. In this way he will embarrass both Sinn Fein and the British and Irish Governments.” Meantime, in yesterday’s debate in Westminster the Lib Dem’s Northern …
For those that still aren’t sure what it’s about. Here’s an article on weblogging. Check out Blogger to get started. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
D’fhág an BBC agus BSkyB agus TG4 as an áireamh i bpacáiste úr digiteach a bheidh á thairiscint acu sa Tuaisceart agus sa Bhreatáin ón fhómhar ar aghaidh. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
The trouble in and around the Short Strand comes in for some attention. Anthony McIntyre asks for the hyperbole to be taken down a notch or two, suggesting, “replacing the need to state what is with a penchant for the ridiculous only invites ridiculing of the needs of people going about their daily lives in a climate of adversity.” There are signs that Unionists of all shades are taking up the idea of Civil Rights to boost their own political …