Belfast Gonzo YESTERDAY it was announced that there will be a “national identity” tick-box in the 2011 census, indicating which part of the UK people identify with. It appears at the moment to only apply to England and Wales *yawn*, but the Scots might implement it too. There’s fat chance of them introducing it to Northern Ireland though, for all the usual reasons. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
CHRIS Thornton seems to find the recent attempt to explain why MI5 withheld information from the police about the Omagh bombing unpersuasive. As the Security Service settles into its new Palace Barracks offices, will it find the Omagh victims lobby group too powerful to ignore? While trying to put out the fire before it spread, the Chief Constable instead illustrated how his senior officers viewed the new information in a very different light from himself. UPDATE: In an act of …
QUESTIONS were raised yesterday morning about how senior north Belfast loyalist Ihab Shoukri – once described in a court appearance by a PSNI officer as “a high ranking member of the UDA” – was freed on bail, despite being arrested in the police raid on a suspected UDA show of strength rehearsal. Police said he was released while files were prepared for the Public Prosecution Service. Late yesterday, the PSNI Chief Constable said he will try and send him back …
FORMER British spy handler ‘Martin Ingram’ is now publishing his allegations of collusion between Sinn Fein, the IRA and British agencies on his own blog. His conspiracy theory is examined by an Indymedia contributor here, who comes to a rather depressing conclusion.Anyway, welcome to the blogosphere Martin – although I you’re not put off by the fact you’ve already notched up one thinly veiled threat in your ‘Comments’. Some people… Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
THE BBC reports that the Stormont Executive “agreed planning permission for housing, ignoring advice that this would breach European law and cause pollution”. The Executive “favoured the worst possible environmental option when faced with a possible planning clampdown”, and Northern Ireland taxpayers now face paying a massive fine for this breach of European law. Useful background info here and here by FoTE, who brought the case. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
HENRY McDonald thinks Saturday’s riot in Dublin will mean the postponement of the British monarch’s first visit to the Irish capital since partition, which could have happened this summer. Meanwhile, RTE reports that the Irish Justice Minister has just briefed Ministers that “gardaí had no reason to expect the violence that erupted in protest at Saturday’s Love Ulster march in Dublin”. Michael McDowell will lead a special debate in the Irish parliament later this afternoon. Interestingly, when pointing the finger, …
IT’S a year since the murder of Lisa Dorrian, whose body has never been found. Her family have a website dedicated to trying to find Lisa’s body, and anyone with information can leave it confidentially there. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
THE BBC reports that a man has been found guilty of assaulting the DUP East Antrim MP Sammy Wilson in Belfast. The magistrate said because of aggravating factors – including the “element of hatred involved”” – there was a possibility that O’Kane, who has no criminal record, could go to prison. I bet no-one thought that when Hate Crime legislation was introduced in 2004 that the DUP would be the first party to benefit! Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
WHOEVER buys this north Down house recently put on the market will probably want to sweep the place thoroughly before moving in – and I don’t mean the floors! Laneside, a 5-bedroom cottage in Craigavad will set you back a cool £895,000… and used to be the MI6 headquarters in Northern Ireland. Hopefully the new owners won’t encounter any spooks in the attic… or under the floorboards!It was also home to two secretaries of state, and was also the location …
JUSTICE Peter Cory tells Chris Thornton why he’s upset with the handling of Pat Finucane’s murder inquiry – and how a secret agent’s drugs hunting past ended up delaying the probe into Rosemary Nelson’s deatBut it’s not just republicans who should be concerned about the powers of official cover-up invested in the recent Inquiries Act – the legislation is to be used in the Billy Wright case (thus actually implying that the State has something to hide). It is also …
WHEN the Belfast Telegraph reported recently (not online) that Tardree Forest near Antrim was being promoted on the internet as *ahem* “a prime location for open-air sex and voyeurism”, local councillor and moral guardian of the people Adrian Watson was eager to explain how the Council had placed hidden cameras in the area to catch the “perverts”. However, Watson might have let something slip when he added that “if someone is up to something at Tardree on Saturday night, we’ll …
BACK again after a break in Cyprus. Lovely, since you asked. Had a laugh at the Nicosia excursion being advertised as a trip to “the last divided capital in Europe”, where crossing the UN ‘dead zone’ of abandoned streets and homes into the Turkish-occupied area led to a strong sense of deja vu for the Northern Irish contingent on our bus… Talking of crossing borders, I have a hunch that there are a few other Northerners about to cross a …
LOYALIST thinker Davy Adams takes Irish President Mary McAleese to task for her recent eulogy to the rebels of the 1916 Rising. Adams writes: “I agree with President McAleese that today’s Republic of Ireland is a modern, prosperous, democracy with, as she put it, a widely shared political philosophy of equality, social inclusion, human rights and anti-confessionalism. I disagree profoundly, however, with her on how it arrived at that point.” Adams continues: The President would have us believe that the …
THE latest report from paramilitary watchdog, the Independent Monitoring Commission, is due out later today. The review, which sets the tone for the political talks, should be available later today right here. Since we have a fair idea of what it will say, how it is interpreted will ensure a lot of spin this afternoon. On a related note, nationalists have been attacking the Commission in the courts, a tactic that seems to be evolving with parallel campaigns against the …
PRESIDENT Bush has just given the State of the Union address. What did you think? Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
DEBATE over the DUP’s latest proposals (full pdf here) has already begun, with nationalist rejection. However, beyond the kneejerk reaction, there is a document here that is worth reading – it is a statement of exactly where the DUP is right now. But it is not a closed book, and cleverly presents plenty of options to consider and work into negotiations and flesh out. Naturally, the proposals for discussion in the governments’ ‘big push’ leave wriggle room for the DUP …
PEACE Laureate John Hume recently gave a speech at Boston University in honour of Martin Luther King. Yesterday, Hume paid tribute to his widow, Coretta Scott King.As an aside, while I wouldn’t deny Hume claiming the ‘civil rights’ part of the MLK legacy, King promoted integration, something the SDLP does not seem to prioritise. Fair? Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
AFTER a flying visit to Northern Ireland, Congressman Jim Walsh invited DUP leader Ian Paisley over to hear President Bush’s key State of the Union address, which is about to start on TV. It’s a far cry from the day Tony Blair prevented the DUP from meeting Bush at Hillsborough, and comes at a time when relations between Sinn Fein and the current administration just aren’t what they used to be. This is unlikely to be the last of the …
NEWS in from Scotland, and Jack McConnell’s plans to ‘twin’ schools in Scotland to help combat sectarianism there has met with a mixed reception, though the kids and parents in one pair of schools seem to be coming round to the idea. In other efforts at reconciliation, the International Fund for Ireland has recently switched its funding focus in Northern Ireland towards greater support for cross-community schemes, bringing the IFI cash flow to an end in about five years. With …
THE weekend saw the last Bloody Sunday march before the Saville Inquiry reports, but the first Bloody Sunday Memorial Lecture to be given by someone from a unionist background. Alan McBride challenged both nationalists and unionists, while those on the march demanded the truth behind the massacre, and called for justice. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
