Belfast Gonzo

STORMONT’S “special advisers were created to assist Ministers with their political duties, as temporary civil servants. In any other part of the UK, when the Minister loses office, the adviser goes too,” says Alliance leader David Ford. But not in Northern Ireland, where the four largest parties have spent more than £1 million of your money to pay for ministerial advisers while there were err, no ministers. £45k a year for each might turn out to be money well spent, …

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BALLYMENA schools and police met representatives of young people’s social networking website Bebo today to discuss how the company should deal with online sectarianism. This was prompted by the spate of threats message board users made to other children on the site in the wake of Michael McIlveen’s murder. Some of those kids were later charged with the murder, and I have a feeling some of the organisers might be as worried about legalities of the accusations as they are …

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DID freelance journalist and blogger Andy Darley get the most understated scoop of the year or was it just plain fluke when he posted his entry for a caption competition on Guido Fawkes’ scurrilous website in June? Under a photo of the LibDem’s Bromley candidate, Ben Abbotts, with his arms around the Cheeky Girls, Darley suggested the caption: ‘I’m just looking after them for Lembit.’ I suppose it must have been mere coincidence that someone described on his blog as …

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MORE than 3,670 locals in Kilkenny have set an Irish and European record for assembling the most Christmas carol singers in one spot, the local GAA ground. But did anyone notice that the world record of 7,514 carol singers was set by the Bob Jones University in South Carolina in December 2004 – where Ian Paisley received his ‘doctorate’? I’m sure he won’t be gloating… after all, it’s a time for gaadwill to all men. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com

GERRY Adams will be leading a Sinn Fein delegation to meet Chief Constable Hugh Orde tomorrow morning, which I think is the first ever official face-to-face meeting between the republican leader and a PSNI leader. Baby steps. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com

IN tonight’s debate on the Water and Sewerage Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006, Lord Trimble’s attempt to delay the introduction of water charges failed after Labour packed its peers into the House of Lords and the Conservatives caved in and allowed the Government to steamroller ahead – despite having offered to back Trimble’s amendment previously. Lord Glentoran’s argument was that the poor Tories had been put in the invidious position of having to back an Order in its entirety, or …

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DUP critics have accused the party of trying to suppress debate over their opposition to a power-sharing deal. PA reports that the group said it had stressed in recent communications to the DUP there must be a fundamental shift away from the present policy adopted by the party and back to the DUP’s 2005 election manifesto. The group stated: “The Voice for Democracy Umbrella Group has also been disappointed with the aggressively public manner by which the DUP has attempted …

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VIDEO didn’t kill the radio star, and I doubt that the internet will kill the newspaper, but the BBC has taken a look at the perceived threat to newspapers from online news. David Reid writes that “there is not much point, for example, putting exactly the same stuff on the website as they put in the paper”. He continues: “A fully functioning media needs more than fast reacting rolling news, it also needs newspapers which spend more time chewing over …

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INDEPENDENCE is part of the future agenda for serious debate, argues Eric Waugh. With the West Lothian question in mind, Waugh looks to the non-UK crown dependency of the Isle of Man for inspiration, particularly its low tax rates which, he maintains, has grown its economy steadily. Waugh writes: The Isle of Man has never been part of the UK – nor of the EU. It is not bound by EU law; nor does it pay anything to – or …

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WHILE Peter Hain has been getting a hard time for acting like a dictator in Northern Ireland, Liam Clarke thinks the Secretary of State is right to push through regulations prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, no matter what tomorrow’s quasi-Assembly debate on the matter leads to, as it would result in a political quagmire if a devolved administration got its hands on the legislation. Clarke writes: “It is precisely to prevent a return to that sort of …

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“THE skeletons rattling in the Irish cupboard are a reminder of what can happen when security services are not held accountable”, argued Matthew Carr in the wake of a blunt Dail committee report into British security force collusion with loyalist terrorists. But with the war on terror in full swing, the First Post reporter believes that lessons have not been learned. With MI5 refusing to answer to a House of Commons committee about rendition flights or speak to the relatives …

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THE Sunday Life reports that that female enforcement officers are posing as late night revellers outside pubs and clubs in Belfast to flag down private hire taxis, thus catching them breaking the law. Although on-street hiring is a widespread practice, only public hire (ie black, London-style hackney) taxis can be legally obtained on the street, while public hire cabs must be pre-booked. However, it’s likely this law will be done away with in the near future. On Saturday night, I …

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THERE has always been a strong link between the media and Northern Irish terrorism – a kind of propaganda of the deed, if you will. But when the terror campaign ends, just what does the egotistical loyalist who loved to bask in the public spotlight do? In last night’s MacIntyre’s Underworld: Mad Dog, convicted loyalist terrorist Johnny Adair seemed to cut a lonely, rather pathetic, abandoned figure in a much-hyped show in which the reporter claimed to avoid making any …

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AFTER the PR disaster of the £50 billion ‘peace dividend’ announced by the Chancellor and so badly spun by his chief bottom kisser the Northern Ireland Secretary, the Irish government was going to look good even if it only offered to dual the no-longer-rocky A1/N1 road to Dublin all the way to Newry… which it might, as the southern peace package will form part of the next Irish National Development Plan. Bertie’s now in talks with the Treasury and the …

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IT was discretely linked to elsewhere, but I think the Shankill Moaner’s irreverent take on recent political events deserves its own thread. So there. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com

TONY Blair leapt to the defence of the Union in the Scotsman recently, as support for the SNP grows (whether it’s due to pro-independence or anti-Labour sentiment is another matter). Blair’s argument to win the hearts of the canny Scots wisely steers clear of sentimentalism and focuses on how independence will hit them in their pockets. Nevertheless, the growth of the SNP has fuelled furious debate on the future relationship between Scotland and England, and the implications that has on …

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…in Dublin. The Irish Times reports that “city councillor Larry O’Toole, a candidate in the forthcoming general election, said he took up the position in the city’s embryonic policing partnership to ensure accountability”. O’Toole added: “But policing in the six counties is an entirely different matter. There may be issues about policing in the south but they are issues that can be dealt with.” It is the first time in the history of the state that a relationship between the …

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AFTER the problems caused by students to residents of the Holy Land area of Belfast, and the lack of meaningful action by the two universities to deal with the issue, it seems some locals are taking matters into their own hands. The South Belfast News reports that “a number of student properties have been marked with red-painted crosses which carry the sinister warning that their properties will be damaged or burgled”. Which is apparently just what has already happened to …

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ON Let’s Talk tonight, Free Presbyterian minister Rev David McIlveen suggested (during a debate on British Airways banning staff openly wearing religious symbols) that Christians did not have to wear a crucifix to profess their Christianity. Rev McIlveen disagreed with the BA decision, but to I wonder how his congregation would react if his argument was applied to politics. Is it essential for unionists to openly display symbols to ‘prove’ they are British? It’s not a one-sided argument either, as …

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THE Government’s so-called ‘£50 billion’ economic peace package was described by Peter Hain at the time as “extraordinary” and he condescendingly told (rightly) sceptical punters after its dissection that even “If it were only £2.5bn, people ought to be grabbing it before the chancellor has a chance to close his red box”. The package might even be worth that, but because no-one believed Hain’s spin (and everyone knew he was only hyping the package to impress the Chancellor before he …

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