Belfast Gonzo NORTHERN Ireland marks International Day Against Racism with the hammering of an Eastern European man in a loyalist area of south Belfast. Maybe they should have been at the Linfield match last night. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
THE best reason in the world to play the ball, and not the man. I hope our more ‘passionate’ contributors will click the link…! Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
THE integrated education sector finally bared some teeth in disgust at the Government’s lack of support for funding mixed schools. It certainly appears to fly in the face of the NIO’s much-trumpeted ‘Shared Future’ policy for Northern Ireland. The Integrated Education Fund has stepped in with funding instead. The Government’s commitment to its policy has yet to be proven. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
AFTER a meeting with the IMC, the DUP says it’s close to the point where it will talk (officially) to loyalist paramilitaries about ending violence and criminality. Of course, by talking to loyalists – who have demonstrated a greater propensity for violence in recent times – it makes it harder to justify not talking to Sinn Fein. What verbal gymnastics will the party come up with I wonder… Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
THE Sunday World has found Denis Donaldson living “the life of a recluse in the hills of Donegal”. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
PERHAPS not the best St Patrick’s week for Sinn Fein in America. Just to recap… There was Adams and Co’s extended security screening at an airport (leading to missed flights and lost luggage); there was something of a split in the Irish-American lobby; and there was the threat of legal action in America by the Rafferty family. That’s not to mention the private meeting with President Bush that didn’t happen and the continuing ban on Sinn Fein fundraising in the …
THIS one slipped under the radar at Slugger HQ yesterday – almost literally! According to the BBC and Press Association, UK Transport Minister Alistair Darling has revealed that aircraft allegedly operated by the CIA to take prisoners out of the USA landed at airports in Northern Ireland.Darling said that “the government had no evidence to support allegations that the flights were involved in the transfer of terrorist suspects”. He added: “None of the information held by my Department provides evidence …
THIS is an odd one, but sure… The woman suspected of financing the assassination of ex-Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri had a British passport – issued by the consular office in Beirut (you can see part of it here, though a Brazilian police source claimed it was fake) – with an address in Northern Ireland. Rana Koleilat was reported to have attempted suicide in her Brazilian jail cell earlier this week, although the name on her passport was Rana Klailat. …
DUP and UUP representatives have complained that yesterday’s Council-funded St Patrick’s Day event in Belfast wasn’t welcoming for unionists. The punters interviewed here feel differently, and the Council hailed it as a success – although the freezing wind probably kept the numbers down in chilly Custom House Square. I’d be particularly interested in hearing from any Protestants or unionists who attended the Belfast event, maybe for the first time…Highlights: Seeing an impromptu Irish dancing session by some 10-year-olds to the …
UUP officer Johnny Andrews takes a swipe at the Tele for not covering ‘bread and butter’ issues and argues that the Ulster Unionists are up to the challenge of delivering a “united, peaceful and tolerant society”. He was responding to an article by Lindy McDowell, in which she wondered where the UUP has been since Sir Reg took over the party.Andrews argues the UUP must sell the benefits of the Union to a more diverse Northern Ireland: It is no …
FORMER BBC security correspondent Brian Rowan reports a senior loyalist source calling for the DUP to meet openly with loyalist paramilitaries, in order to help them move towards a more political path – a difficult task, to say the least. The DUP says it’s “looking at a number of ways as to how best we could use our influence to encourage those within the loyalist paramilitaries to commit to an exclusively peaceful and democratic route.” The problem is, if the …
AFTER all the hoo-haa over the BBC’s ill-informed report about what Ted Kennedy said on the Sinn Fein fundraising ban in America, it emerged that there is still a little controversy in the pot. The Boston Globe reports that Massachusetts lawmakers “were divided yesterday over a demand for Irish Republican Army cooperation in the police investigation of Robert McCartney’s slaying. The split produced competing ”Friends of Ireland” letters that members of Congress typically sign each year during St. Patrick’s Day”. …
IRISH rugby supporters will be hoping for a minor miracle (c’mon St Paddy, now’s the time) in the next 80 minutes, as a brave Welsh side have just been beaten by the French. It means Ireland needs to win by 34 points at Twickenham to win the Six Nations, a tall order… and the English have just scored a try to boot! Disaster alert! Meanwhile, Linfield has won the Irish Premier League title. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
IF you have £40 million to spare, the Chief Constable will name the new police college after you! Well that’s what he said when he got the begging bowl out in America yesterday. My guess is that eventually the facilities will be hired out to other police forces, UK, Irish and foreign, to help pay for it. But £40m and a year’s delay is a bit of an oversight… although the Oversight Commissioner is keen that the Government “adheres to …
DUP councillor Robin Stirling – possibly the loudest expression of the party’s “spiritual wing” – could never be described as a man who minces his words. But has the hardline unionist expositor had a change of heart about all things Irish? According to the Sunday Times, Stirling particularly enjoys Dublin’s bookshops and libraries. “To me, it’s a different country,” he said. “And this difference is refreshing.” Ah, but then in the Council debate on the Dublin riots, Cllr Stirling went …
THE Blanket started its serialisation of the cartoons of Mohammad a few hours ago with a profile of Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Ali also has an article on the site, defending the right to offend. Slugger contributor Mick Hall and Barbara Muldoon of the Anti-Racism Network disagree with the decision to publish. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
FORMER British spy in the IRA Kevin Fulton has given an extensive interview in Atlantic magazine, in which he details how he set up a republican in New York for deportation while on a mission to buy infrared triggers for IRA bombs. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
THE Ulster-Scots Agency is advertising for a development officer, one of whose duties will be to promote the “language”. Not a moment too soon, from the looks of it – the ad only appeared in English. The controversy and ridicule attracted by previous ads seems to have finally gotten the better of the agency. Or is it just that there’s no-one left at the agency who knows how to write in their “ain leid”..? Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
WHO would have thought that only 51.7% of the unionist Newsletter’s readership supported a ban on sex shops in Northern Ireland? The readers’ previous poll (right-hand side, scroll down) suggests that the paper may be appealing to a wider audience than we thought! Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
WHILE it has been three decades since Lieutenant Cliff Burrage served in Belfast, his latest trip is likely to be as memorable as the first visit, when he shot dead Ardoyne man Michael McLarnon. Burrage now recognises he made a mistake, and met with the dead man’s sister to try to acknowledge what she always believed – that he shot a civilian. Now facing the truth, Burrage has gone one further, and met the man he might have meant to …
