Slugger O'Toole Fairly shocking news from the Republic. Despite a three per cent drop in serious crimes overall, crimes against the person have risen exponentially. According to Carol Coulter, Michael McDowell puts the blame squarely on organised crime. There is little doubt in his mind as to the originating cause of the increase in murder rates: “If you peddle death by dealing in drugs, killing people who don’t pay you or who get in your way is a minor moral problem,” he …
DAVID Gordon continues to expose the lack of accountability in Northern Ireland’s quangocracy and government agencies. Today, it was revealed how the Water Service hasn’t recovered a single penny of £100,000 in a dispute about overpayments to a pipelaying contractor – eight years after the event. Naturally, the whistleblower was treated shabbily, rather than the alleged fraudsters, and it seems clear to me that the Water Service is tip-toeing warily around the issue – rather than actually dealing with it …
The announcement of the new Chief Commissioner of the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland has been welcomed criticised by both the DUP and the UUP. The new Chief Commissioner, Bob Collins [a former director general of RTE], who joins the other commissioners, has responded – “Do not make any assumptions about me on the basis of where I come from.”.. Bob, the problem isn’t where you come from.. it’s where they come from that’s the problem. Here endeth the lesson. …
The appointment of former RTE DG Bob Collins as NI’s Equality Commissioner has caused something of a political storm, coming as it does on the heels of a decision to appoint another non-Unionist Professor Monica McWilliams as Human Rights Commissioner. Dan McGinn was one of the first to interview Collins, who is keen that people should not judge him by his general background alone. By Dan McGinn, PA Ireland Political Editor The incoming head of Northern Ireland’s Equality Commission tonight …
More good mentions in the media. This time we make it in at Number 48 in Esquire magazine’s Fifty Best things in the media, no less! It’s courtesy of John Lloyd who names Slugger as one of his two most favourite websites. He notes: “Good journalism means asking the right questions and getting together the right answers. And he does that”. Hey, last year the New Statesman; this year Esquire. How on earth am I going to support the lifestyle …
CONGRATULATIONS to Slugger contributor Rebecca Black, who has been appointed by Sir Red Empey to be an assistant to the UUP’s new education spokesman, David McNarry, who had previously contended for the party leadership. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
The excellent Galway Arts Festival is under way [nearly over – Ed.] and, as I noted previously, the plays of John Millington Synge form a significant part of the theatrical activities. And there’s still time to see them.. the full cycle is being performed again on Saturday. Of course, certain people have already been there.. in the Irish Times Fintan O’Toole has a glowing review of the Druid Theatre Company’s Synge-cycle.. as does Michael Billington in the Guardian. Fintan O’Toole, …
A bit late, but it would be wrong to let the passing of Ted Heath on Sunday go without marking it. Reputedly a lonely man at the end of his life, he retained little interest in politics after leaving the Commons after 51 years as an MP. His refusal to move up to the Lords alone marked him out as a unusual figure on the Tory benches. In NI he pleased few having, in the space of less than a …
While Tory MP David Liddington passes on the PR message, that he was told, to the media, there has been another attempted murder linked to the UVF in Belfast. I’ve noted this point before.. but what will it take for NI Secretary of State, Peter Hain, to take the necessary decision? Or.. perhaps.. he also prefers mediation between the individuals concerned? Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
EAMONN McCann isn’t convinced that the two governments really want the IRA to go away completely, and cites recent statements by NIO ministers as evidence. He suggests that a modern-day version of the Broy Harriers could be on the cards. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Invest NI has come under fire from Sinn Fein and the SDLP, who say Invest NI’s figures show that they intend to site nearly 30% of all its planned investment for this cycle in south Belfast, more than three times the combined investment for the seven more impoverished constituencies west of the Bann. They have been joined by the Federation of Small Businesses who have called for a meeting to discuss the “serious imbalances”. Invest NI have responded by saying …
Sean O’Hagan recalls the time the troubles first impacted his life with a shooting and bombing of a pub in English Street, in Armagh City on the night of 22nd August 1975, and how it generated stories of fate and good luck that got people by in the short term, and gradualy gave out onto a larger scale fatalism that helped people endure the unpredictable violence of the following 20 years. He also recalls the night he was asked “to …
I noted the introduction of the new BBC editorial guidelines previously.. Now, in the aftermath of the terrorist attack on London, one guideline in particular has caused controversy. The Guardian Newsblog noted some of the issues raised about the BBC re-editing reports, while Harry’s Place had an excellent piece on the accusations of bias. In yesterday’s Observer, Nick Cohen argues persuasively, also referencing Norman Geras on the topic, that the BBC guidelines will result in “castrated language which has been …
According to Bernie Goldbach, Slugger’s recent absence from the net was noted and pleasantly lamented by the Sunday Tribune blog correspondent, who refered to us as “one of the Irish blogoshere’s genuine stars”. It’s bit a wee bit like reading a glowing obit, before actually shuffling off this virtual coil. We were offline for several days last week when the limit of our tenure on sluggerotoole.com slipped by without me noticing. I was galavanting in rural Dorset and Wiltshire at …
Talk of the UUP’s rightful place, and Reg Empey’s description of his party as a ‘broad church’ have the ring “an epitaph masquerading as a birth certificate“, according to Newton Emerson. He goes on quote Lurgan DUP MLA Stephen Moutray: “The UUP does not have any rightful place. It is the people who dictate who will speak for them.” Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
If you haven’t seen it yet, do go and watch it now. As part of the launch of a set of essays discussing the cultural relations between Britian and Ireland, the British Council in Dublin commissioned the Langerland site to produce a cartoon short called What have the Brits ever done for us? which has won Galway Film Fleadh’s Best First Irish Short Animation. Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
Despite the early criticism of Reg Empey, the boundaries of where the party is taking its fight have begun to change already. Michael McGimpsey has a think piece in the Andersonstown News. In it he argues that voting for the DUP and Sinn Fein people are choosing a communial carve up rather than voting to work together across the divide. He will surely need to provide some evidence that his party (and presumably the SDLP) can provide that alternative, if …
Norm Geras on how the new political significances of the colour orange is influencing some in their choice of what not to wear! A fashion meme that’s been around in Glasgow and Belfast for several generations has finally gone international! Thanks to Leslie for the heads up! Slugger O'TooleA general account used for the daily threads and other things.
When it’s “part of a dispute between individuals”.. obviously. Sinn Féin MLA Willie Clarke appears to have definite information on what could accurately be described as a drive-by shooting in Burrendale estate in Newcastle, Co Down. Is he calling for the police to take action?.. That’s a rhetorical question by the way. The police, on the other hand, have appealed for anyone who may have information concerning the incident to contact them. Update Edited heading. Slugger O'TooleA general account used …
Here’s an interesting comparison from the US Army between the British handling of the Northern Ireland crisis between 1970 and 1999, and the French in Algeria 1957 to 1958. One of its conclusions, although it seems to ignore a lot of other factors is that the French gave their army a free hand to do whatever it had to win the struggle with the FLN (the Algerian Front de la Libération Nationale). It resulted in a near complete military victory, …