Belfast Gonzo IF anyone’s wondering which blog to nominate for the Slugger Awards, you can check out most Northern Irish talent here. I’ve updated the list, but if there’s anyone missing, leave a note in the comments. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
THE new editor of the Belfast Telegraph has yet to be announced, but there’s reason to believe it could well be former Scotsman editor Mike Gilson, who quit his previous position in February. The struggling Scotsman, like most UK regional papers, has been in steady decline, although Roy Greenslade recently noted that Gilson has been a “champion of online journalism”. If so, I’m not surprised he quit a Johnston Press paper, as its commitment to online media is but a …
WHEN shadow home secretary Chris Grayling compared lawless parts of Britain to the violent, drug-soaked Baltimore of hit TV show The Wire, it drew an outraged response from the Mayor of Baltimore (see pic). But perhaps alarm bells should have started ringing when the Mayor stated that the comparison was “as pointless as boasting that Baltimore has a per capita homicide rate a fraction of that in popular UK television show Midsomer Murders.” Her juicy soundbites ended up in the …
COMEDIAN David Mitchell pontificates upon Scots Gaelic and taxpayer funding, although the argument could perhaps be applied to Northern Ireland… but to Irish or Ulster-Scots? Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
NORTHERN Ireland’s Human Rights Commission once again faces ridicule as it issues guidelines to staff on politically-correct language. Instead of “black day”, staff are asked to say “miserable day” to avoid giving possible offence. As if anyone has ever taken this as an insult. The Commission is not saying too much – and refused to hand over its style guide, although I can guarantee it will be in the public domain soon – but a spokesman/woman/person said: Staff have been …
I think Lembit’s picking the wrong fight this week and completely misjudged the public mood; appearing on the front pages with a lingerie model in a desperate bid for attention, then calling for a privacy law for MPs a few days later? I can’t imagine he’ll get much sympathy with this pompous tirade at a time when most MPs are happy to be eating humble pie. Maybe it is annoying for an MP to be photographed by a member of …
CUSTOM House Square in Belfast city centre was the venue for this rather surreal pillow fight on Saturday afternoon. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
YOU might have thought ‘attempted possession’ would mean trying to buy an illegal drug, but apparently it can also mean sniffing baking soda or some other white powder believing it’s the real thing. Isn’t that a thought crime? Still, this guy’s’ one-month sentence will probably run concurrent with his two assault convictions, so I’ll not get too worked up about this latest bizarre episode from the NI legal system. Hope he appeals the conviction anyway; that could be some crack …
JOHN Manley notes how our MLAs and ministers are keen to appear as though they are fighting our corner against the banks during the recession. The key word is ‘appear’, as the engagements between bankers and politicians are just for the optics, Manley argues. The semi-desperate and aspirational tone of this recent OFMDFM press release is revealing about how much control politicians here have over financial matters that really matter – close to zero. And Ian Paisley Jr’s tough-talking press …
THIS is my footage of the beginning of the Ardoyne riots on July 13, filmed entirely – by chance rather than planning – from the republican side. In this respect, it gives some insight into the atmosphere behind the republican lines, the dynamics of the crowd, the tactics employed by both sides and the vicious intensity of the hatred towards the PSNI and loyalists. But best of all, it shows me getting splatted by a water cannon near the end. …
THIS wasn’t my first Twelfth, but it was my first attempt to make a video, and its the quality is probably on a par with the family holiday movie your dad once made with that camcorder he got given for Christmas. Anyway, once you’ve finished laughing at it, I?ve stuck some thoughts on the Twelfth below the fold.The day began outside the BBC’s HQ in Belfast, where the cameras were set up for the traditionally convenient view of the bands …
THE weather is a bit calmer now than it was earlier tonight, when I expect the Eleventh Night bonfires were lit. If you survived the driving rain and wind at any of the bonfires – or new beacons – how did the event go? Was there anything new this year of note? More or less overt sectarianism? Meanwhile, Orange Grand Master Robert Saulters has told the BBC he has no problem with Portadown Orangemen talking to Garvaghy Road residents about …
AS loyalists take down nationalist flags in Derry, so they’re putting more of their own up in Bangor. As can be seen in their video, the shit-stirring Brandywell Flag Bandits are tearing up lampposts and tearing down Irish tricolours for their bonfires and Bebo photo taunts. Normally I’d have no problem with flags being removed from public property – something the authorities never do – but this action is clearly designed to escalate the situation. Meanwhile in north Down, loyalists …
THE Orange Order reckons this year’s Twelfth parades will attract more people into Belfast than ever before, according to the Beeb. Of course, they could be going shopping, now that retailers can open on ‘Orangefest’ and public transport is running. Ironically, the larger crowds could be watching the smallest number of Orangemen on parade in decades. Grand Secretary Drew Nelson blames the increasing secularisation of society for the dwindling numbers. However, fundamentalist uber-Prod Rev Stephen Dickinson reckons the opposite is …
JUST about to shoot off to Sligo, but before I head, here’s a compelling interview Malachi O’Doherty conducted with controversial Irish language poet Cathal O Searcaigh. The film Fairytale of Kathmandu presented O Searcaigh as a predatory sex tourist who abused teenage boys in Nepal. O’Doherty asks some searching questions, the answers to which may not satisfy everyone, but this is an extensive first English language broadcast. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
IT’S been agreed that all details of MLAs? expenses from April 2003 onwards will be available online by the end of November 2009. That goes well beyond the previous thinking on the matter, that only claims from April 2009 would be published. It seems that the clamour for transparency has had some effect, although I’d expect any publication here to be even more heavily redacted than the official Westminster expenses (for ‘security reasons’, natch; stuff like bulletproof curtains and the …
THE website of local public affairs and NI’s first lobbying firm Strategem has had a makeover, with a useful constituency map and a Twitter feed recently added. Stratagem partnered Slugger for our awards, in case you’ve forgotten, and supported the recent PICamp initiative, which both went exceptionally well IMHO. So here’s your free plug! Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
LATER today, Judge Tom Burgess will deliver a verdict in Belfast that will either have a chilling effect on the nature of investigative journalism across the UK, or will justify Suzanne Breen’s decision not to betray a confidential source to the police. Not that all police agree with the PSNI prosecution – Alan McQuillan, the former senior Special Branch officer and deputy chief constable of the force, who went on to head the Assets Recovery Agency here, has backed Breen’s …
TRADE union members across Ireland have a new online ezine, published in association with ICTU. Union Post is jam-packed with news and features on employment and workplace issues, comment and analysis on how the governments north and south are dealing with the recession and economic recovery, as well as coverage of justice, rights and equality issues. Issue one splashes with Congress’ billion euro plan for jobs. You can receive free pdfs of Union Post by clicking {encode=”[email protected]” title=”here”} or emailing …
POSSIBLY the dumbest, most improbable, inaccurate, embarrassingly bad and testosterone-fuelled American video-game treatment of terrorism yet. IRA or Taliban? Laugh or cry? Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
