Belfast Gonzo NORTHERN Ireland football fans should keep an eye out for Season Ticket on BBC2 NI tonight (Wed). It’s a special programme devoted to NI’s magnificent victory over England last month. If you ever wanted to see that goal from no less than 10 different angles, you’ll be switched on at 10pm. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
IN the last issue of Fortnight (though this article isn’t online), there was an eye-witness report of the Ardoyne riots on July 12. The anonymous author wrote that a group of Italian Fascists turned up on the nationalist side for a while. Strange one. Anyone know anything about this – or is it just further evidence of Paisley’s global Catholic conspiracy?! ;o)The eye witness wrote: Among the crowd of residents, journalists and observers, a group of Italian Fascists wearing Northern …
FOR those with access to the Belfast Telegraph archive (…because I forgot to write this while it was still free – oops), David Gordon recently took an in depth look at the extent of spending within the Ulster Scots Agency. Wining, dining, taxis to Dublin – yet the good Lord Laird appears remarkably unperturbed about how he throws your money around. Let’s not forget, this was the same man who rather conveniently resigned as Chairman of the Agency last year, …
DAVID Gordon goes back to his old stomping ground to find out what sparked the recent loyalist rioting in Newtownabbey. Excuses or reasons..?Part one of this series is here. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
SO where do we go from here? Read on, for a compilation of rambling late night thoughts , mainly about unionism and loyalism but with a fair bit on republicanism. Bet that’s got you hooked…IT’S the wrong question, but since you asked – has the IRA completely disarmed? Well, no-one ever can really know, whether you’re John de Chastelain or Brian Keenan. The offensive materiel will have gone, with heavy weaponry no longer of any real practical military use now …
ANOTHER deliberate slip? :o) Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
IF certain news stories weren’t recorded on camera, would they be seen to be as important? I doubt it, but anyway, ITN is asking the public to vote for its ‘Shot that Shook the World’. A fair selection? Locally, the Omagh bomb figures in the ‘Global Conflict’ category. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
A Sunday Independent poll has found that support for a united Ireland in the Republic is not perhaps as overwhelming as first thought. “For 45 per cent of respondents a united Ireland held no interest. Many described the concept as out of date and that the Republic’s focus should be on a European rather than a narrow nationalistic level. Others said that pursuing a 32-county republic would be regressive not progressive” the paper reports.. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
THE performance of the Orange Order in the public eye over the past few days has been shambolic. There is no doubt that the reputation of the Order internationally and at home is in dire straits, even when the opportunity is handed to it on a plate. Former UUP MP David Burnside reckons even the Mafia have better PR (though fortunately he sidestepped such a position himself early in his career). The Order’s inability to provide leadership or accept any …
THE DUP’s Peter Weir has accused the TV sex industry of targeting the most vulnerable sections of society through subscriptions and text message services. Is he right, or has he just picked up Paul Berry’s mobile phone at a branch meeting? Going down, apparently, doesn’t go down well in North Down. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
TWO strange examples (one alleged) of cross-community activity – a Catholic boy has been charged in relation to his suspected involvement in a loyalist riot. Meanwhile in loyalist Tullycarnet, the infamous loyalist ‘Eddie’ mural has been painted over with a mural of a Catholic – Leading Seaman James Magennis, a war hero who was awarded the Victoria Cross. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
AN Elim church in Larne is to hear about the experiences of Fr Paul Symonds, a Catholic priest in Harryville. The Church of Our Lady has been the subject of a sustained loyalist protest and has been vandalised on countless occasions since. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
THE decision of the Guardian to switch to a more compact Berliner format has prompted some online soul searching about the future of the newspaper. With so many form of digital media providing news too, will newspapers become a niche market? Or will they adapt to survive, gradually integrating with their online counterparts? Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
A DAY later than expected, the Orange Order is to hold a Press conference. While Grand Master Robert Saulters may have condemned the violence, the most senior Orangeman in Belfast has refused to. The Order is unlikely to accept any blame, but with it’s reputation tarnished again, it will have some explaining to do. Just don’t let Dawson Bailie do it, who appears to have inherited the PR skills of Harold Gracey. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
FURTHER to Mick’s post about Robert McCartney’s friend Geoff Commander being badly beaten up by a gang (said to include a someone involved in McCartney’s murder) in the Short Strand, I understand that a group held a protest outside his widow’s home. They were reported to have said they will be back every day until she leaves.The beating was reported to have followed “an altercation between a member of the McCartney family and the gang”. The Irish News reported that …
FACTOTUM go to court later today, claiming that Belfast City Council has curtailed its right to free speech through The Vacuum, a free arts magazine that the council sponsors. Factotum believes the Council is in breach of the Human Rights Act, by trying to impose conditions on magazine content. Looks like someone will be saying Sorry at last!Good backgrounder here at mediawatchwatch and a more balanced one with the BBC here. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
EVERYONE in Northern Ireland has now been blamed for the weekend riots by someone, so why not the Kaiser Chiefs too? Their lyrics certainly suggest they have more of a handle on the situation than those in charge (supposedly). Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
WITH the events of 9/11 still in the public mind, some will hail the jailing of a British arms dealer sympathetic to Osama bin Laden in an FBI sting as a small victory in the war on terrorism. But there are casualties on both sides, as Delta airlines – the third largest in the US – looks destined for bankruptcy. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
THE school bells of east Belfast will be ringing shortly to signal home time, so expect a bunch of kids to be blocking off the Newtownards or Albertbridge road in about an hour. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
I KNOW it’s a bit sad to still be posting links about the historic (for once, when applied to Northern Ireland, a description that seems inadequate) Northern Ireland victory over England the other day, but this lovingly cheesy home made digital tribute is well worth watching if you’re a fan – and they come from Wales and Poland too these days! The BBC would be crazy not to release a DVD of the game, maybe packaged with a feature – …
