Belfast Gonzo

Sinn Fein really needs to tell its armed critics that the struggle for a united Ireland was abandoned because there was no strategy either armed or otherwise to secure it. Moreover, that the activities the party is now involved in are designed to gain a better deal for Northern Irish Catholics under British rule. So wrote dissenting republican Anthony McIntyre on Friday. The day beforehand, Newton Emerson, from the other side of the political fence agreed. And, while both are …

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REPUBLICAN Sinn Fein recently issued a press release warning that the “British Colonial police have hijacked the website of the Thomas Harte Cumann in Lurgan” who are “using it to gather information on visitors to the site who leave contact details etc.” Judging by the amount of recent activity on their guestbook, I don’t think they’ve too much to worry about. And another RSF statement detailed how spokesman Des Dalton addressed a conference in Italy hosted by a “local group …

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REMEMBER those warnings from a few years ago that holding a mobile phone against your ear for too long could cause cancer in your brain? Well it turned out mobiles were safe enough to use on Ryanair – and now it turns out that they could, in fact, be the ultimate student oven. Queen’s University academic Professor Barra Ceide has managed to harnass the power of mobile phone batteries into a tool that could revolutionise how we eat convenience food …

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TODAY is the last time in many years that Inside Politics will be broadcast on Radio Ulster on a Saturday, writes presenter Mark Devenport (pictured). His guests at 12.45pm are two Euro-candidate barristers; TUV leader Jim Allister and the SDLP’s Alban Maginness. From April 5, it’s on Sundays after the 1pm news, and 10 mins longer. Instead, ex-UTV chat show king Gerry Kelly is going to be broadcasting on a Saturday from April 4 on Radio Ulster. Popular fellow, but …

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AFTER dissident republicans shot two soldiers dead, it created political difficulties for Sinn Fein. However, after the murder of a policeman, the party weighed in against the dissidents. Its hesitation to comment over the soldiers’ murders was drowned out by its strong condemnation of dissidents in the wake of the PSNI officer’s shooting. So I wonder what SF thinks of this recent blog by its youth wing. Admittedly, it’s pretty routine for Ogra Shinn Fein to call for British Army …

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TOM Elliott has been unanimously endorsed by the UUP in Fermanagh-South Tyrone as its candidate for the next general election. The local paper noted that the Tory spokesman on NI was present. The seat has often been discussed in terms of a UUP-DUP pact, in which one party would stand aside in F-ST while the other would do the same in South Belfast, in order to get two more unionists in Westminster. But there has also been a suggestion that …

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THERE are some similar themes about the unlikelihood of Irish reunification in the near future running through Malachi O’Doherty’s article in the Tele yesterday (not online, but you never know…) and Henry McDonald in the Guardian. O’Doherty argues that Sinn Fein’s alternative route to a united Ireland must convince republicans that the party’s political project is making progress (ironically, a myth unionism is heavily reliant upon too). The SF case must remain plausible to republicans, yet, argues O’Doherty, the evidence …

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COLIN Duffy has been charged with the Massereene murders. He’s due in Larne courthouse tomorrow. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com

IF you’re one of the 30,000 BT broadband customers in the Balmoral exchange area, it looks like you’re in for a real treat – super-fast broadband of between 40 and 60 megabits from early next year. Lucky sods – I’m on the Belfast City exchange next door but one, where it would be nice to get eight. Yous probably won’t even use it. If you want to know if you’ll get the service, type your postcode in here. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com

THE Chairman of the Billy Wright Inquiry, Lord MacLean, has issued an order prohibiting any reporting of the evidence of Witness ZBS given yesterday at Banbridge Courthouse. According to another police witness, ZBS is a former acting head of Special Branch (who retired on November 11, 1997). The order was made under Section 19 of the 2005 Inquiries Act, which implies the reason for the prohibition may be ‘national security’. I’m not sure if this is a first for NI …

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MPs have given their support to Government plans to hold inquests in secret. It means the secretary of state can ‘certify’ an inquest to be held in private, if it affects national security, the relationship between the UK and another country or the prevention or detection of crime. While a high court judge would have to approve the certificate, it would mean that, for example, inquests into some deaths in jails or police custody could he held in secret, or …

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FAMILIES in the US who have hosted foreign exchange students in the past are on the decrease, according to this report on Fox9 News. Since 1973, more than 5,000 children have spent a summer in Minnesota, but this year, instead of bringing 60 kids over, the Children’s Program of Northern Ireland – which aims to foster greater understanding between young people from the two main communities – has been pared down to 20. It costs about $1,200 per child, and …

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THE annual St Patrick’s Day riot in the Holy Land area of Belfast’s student quarter seems to be even worse than usual. The Beeb has some video here, and there have been 12 arrests. It’s being reported that police were called to the area after a car was vandalised and a number of students threw cans and bottles at them. Here’s an interesting extract from Shane Boylan’s flyer when he ran for Student Union VP at Queen’s. Hmmmmmmmm…..! Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com

THE Beeb and PA are reporting that Colin Duffy is one of the three people being questioned about the shootings of two soldiers last weekend. The Lurgan Mail reports that his house is also being searched. Duffy, a hate figure within unionism, was jailed but later acquitted of the murder of a UDR member in 1995. Duffy had also been charged with the June 1997 IRA murders of community police officers John Graham and David Johnston in Lurgan – the …

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A new document lodged with the High Court has emerged suggested the Omagh bomb car was bugged. The source of the allegation, Panorama reporter John Ware, says the claim wasn’t included in his TV investigation as he “was not satisfied that the source who told me this was in a position to actually know that information”. Too inconclusive, but not implausible.The relevant passage reads: [4] In a further affidavit on behalf of the plaintiffs it is contended that the Security …

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BLOGGING on the shooting of the two soldiers in Antrim, Gerry Adams writes: In my view the vast majority of people are opposed to what happened. In the days when there was no peaceful or democratic way forward for those who wanted basic rights – civil rights – or for those who wanted national rights as well – Sinn Féin spokespersons, including myself, defended the IRA’s armed struggle. We didn’t accept everything that was done and in most instances the …

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DESPITE going to Press before last night’s shooting, John Mooney’s article seems remarkably prescient, and on another day might have been decried as scaremongering. His story detailed security force fears that dissidents were “planning opportunistic gun attacks on individual police officers”. “The RIRA and CIRA are no longer obsessed with the notion of mounting a ‘spectacular’ bomb attack on a high profile target,” said a security source. “It is just as likely that, sooner or later, a PSNI officer on …

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THE R8 Your Politicians website is currently seeking votes on Sammy Wilson’s views on climate change, Caitriona Ruane’s handling of the transfer test abolition, Gregory Campbell axing the Maze stadium project and whether the Belfast City Airport runway extension should go ahead. UPDATE: The questionnaire above now includes a question on support of the devolution of policing and justice powers. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com

I SUSPECT this would drive me crazy, but an innovative Queen’s University student from Donegal has put together a radio that ‘reads’ messages posted on Twitter in a computerised voice. Hope it eventually gets on the shelves, as I’m sure it would sell, and it shouldn’t be too hard to adapt to broadcast other blogs and websites. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com

THE Irish mainstream media doesn’t seem to have covered (as far as I can tell after a quick Google) the story about how illegal file-sharers south of the border face being cut off the internet. Eircom is the first ISP in Europe to cave into the music industry, by agreeing to shut off any user’s Internet connection after it gets a third accusation of copyright infringement. A campaign against the move has already started. The move comes as the case …

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