Aldous Duke

West Tyrone may keep its’ independents #ae11

Aldous Duke on March 10, 2011, 6:52 pm

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West Tyrone’s independent MLA Dr Kieran Deeny may have decided to step down from the Assembly, but I can reveal that there will be at least one independent candidate standing in the constituency. Speaking to Omagh District Councillor McGowan on Wednesday afternoon for a story that ran in today’s Ulster Herald, he confirmed that he will “definitely” run for the Assembly. A well known public figure in the Omagh District, McGowan has sat on Omagh District Council since 1985 and …

Churnalism revisited

Aldous Duke on February 24, 2011, 11:10 pm

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I believe I’ll live to regret this, but to return to a topic touched on at the last picamp in Belfast. The Guardian reports on the new venture by the Media Standards Trust. Churnalism.com bills itself as a press release detector, allowing the user to paste an online sourced news story into a text box for cross reference against articles from the UK national press and the BBC. For those unfamiliar with the term, Wikipedia actually provides the best definition of churnalism: “A …

RTE cuts live coverage of bailout

Aldous Duke on November 22, 2010, 8:45 am

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Last night, during one of the most significant press conferences in the history of the Irish State, while Brian Cowen and Brian Lenihan officially announced the detail of the bailout, predictably enough the Irish twitter stream erupted like nothing I’ve seen before. The near homogeneous fury was of course channelled in the direction of Brian Cowen et al. However, between the hours of approx 7.45pm and 9.30pm RTE appeared to do its best to somehow join Fianna Fail on the stage of pantomime …

Parsley quits… again.

Aldous Duke on November 20, 2010, 9:12 pm

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North Down Conservative Ian Parsley has announced his second resignation from a political party inside 14 months. Using his blog this evening to deliver this lengthy resignation letter, Parsley states: I notified the North Down Conservative Association of my intention to resign as a member Saturday week ago, effective from midnight the following Thursday. I have long sought the most effective vehicle to pursue and deliver effective mainstream, non-sectarian and responsible politics in Northern Ireland. Despite best intentions, the Conservatives lack the …

Declaration of independents?

Aldous Duke on November 18, 2010, 1:37 pm

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In a conversation with independent West Tyrone MLA Kieran Deeny this week, he revealed that he has been approached by a number of people from various constituencies considering running for next year’s Assembly elections under the independent banner. First approached six months ago, he confirmed that he has already held talks with a number of these people in previous weeks and was set to meet two more this week. None are sitting MLAs, but from what I could gather most …

Guido casts a cold eye on Anglo

Aldous Duke on October 15, 2010, 8:39 pm

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Political blogger extraordinaire, Guido Fawkes has set the cat among the Dáil pigeons this evening with fascinating results. Guido has obtained and published a list of foreign Anglo-Irish bondholders as of the close of business tonight. The blogger states: Every child in Ireland is being bequeathed a huge debt at birth to protect the interests of foreign, mainly German, bondholders – why? Guido was once a bond trader, it was always understood that sometimes the bond issuer defaults. That is the …

Date and venue set for round 2

Aldous Duke on July 22, 2010, 11:28 pm

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Greater Ardoyne Resident’s Collective (GARC) spokesman Mairtin Og Meehan has confirmed the group’s intention to stage a protest at the Apprentice Boy’s parade past Ardoyne on August 14, reports the newsletter. ABOD Ligoniel Walker Club have sought permission for a parade with one band and up to 90 participants, with August 4 the date set for the Parades Commission’s consideration of the application. Meehan said if the “socially detached and discredited Parades Commission” allow the Apprentice Boys to march past …

Turkey set to escalate Gaza fallout

Aldous Duke on June 5, 2010, 1:01 pm

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A number of news websites have picked up on Lebanese newspaper al-Mustaqbal’s claim that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants to travel to Gaza himself to break Israel’s blockade the Palestinian territory. Ynet news translates the story which states; “As part of the open conflict between Turkey and Israel following the massacre against the ‘freedom sail’ to Gaza and the protest sparked in the world, Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan is considering going to Gaza himself in order to break …

Irish inquiry calls for expulsion of Israeli officer

Aldous Duke on June 2, 2010, 8:16 pm

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The Irish Times reports that Israeli Ambassador to Ireland, Dr Zion Evrony postponed a planned appearance at an Oireachtas committee today to answer questions about the aid flotilla controversy, citing “unforeseen circumstances”. However it also reports today that a leaked report from an inter-agency group including the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Justice, the Department of the Taoiseach and the Garda has recommended the expulsion of an Israeli embassy security officer. It made the recommendation after concluding that …

Sale of First Trust “underlines permanence of the border”

Aldous Duke on June 1, 2010, 12:12 pm

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Unionist peer, Baron Laird of Artigarvan used the House of Lord’s debate of the Queen’s speech to address AIB’s sale of First Trust bank, its northern subsidiary last Thursday. The life peer told the House of Lords that the sale was a lesson to unionists that not only underlined the permanence of the border, but proved that “when times are tough, how quickly the Irish are willing to abandon anything in Northern Ireland”; “To many, the Dublin-based AIB was regarded …

R.A.A.D. all about it!

Aldous Duke on May 31, 2010, 10:51 pm

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Republican Action Against Drugs have been engaging in something of a PR drive in Strabane of late. The group, which claims to target drug dealers in republican areas has been mainly active in the north-west (i.e. Derry and Strabane) since last year, but have also claimed responsibility for a recent shooting in Newry. During election week at the start of May, the group released this photo to Strabane Chronicle journalist Conor Sharkey. It shows gunmen saluting dead RAAD member Roger …

Israeli-Turkish relations irrevocably damaged

Aldous Duke on May 31, 2010, 6:09 pm

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The actions of the Israeli military against the civilian flotilla of aid into Gaza has provoked widespread international reaction. Israel is bracing itself for a wave of diplomatic repercussions in the aftermath of the interception of the small crafts where at least nine people have been killed. Perhaps the gravest consequences from the killings will be the effect on Israeli-Turkish relations, which have taken a disastrous hit. Al Jazerra reports the claims of a Turkish charity that the majority of …