It was for real
The bombs used in the attack upon Stormont were genuine. UPDATE The gun was an imitation (hat tip to observer). From the photographs of the incident at Stormont it looks like a version of the Colt Military Model 1911. Lee Reynolds
Lee Reynolds
A problem with public appointments?
The case of Interim Victims Commissioner and objections to three of the Parades Commission has raised the issue of public appointments. However, the NIHRC and EC may have a few questions to answer too. NIWC members seem to be doing rather well and have a very disproportionate presence on both bodies. Is the statutory duty to that such bodies “as a group are representative of the community in Northern Ireland” being fulfilled? To overcome such problems is it time to …
NIHRC: Has it delivered? Can it deliver?
The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission was formally established in 1999 under the terms of the Belfast Agreement. Since then it has recieved over £6m of public funding. However, with over six years of work and millions of investment what do Sluggerites think it has achieved? The balance of both Commissions has been criticised and the first became disfunctional over the Ardoyne Road/Holy Cross dispute. They took advise to mean “write” the Bill of Rights but its work ran completely …
Mainstream republicans, under threat or issuing them?
Anthony McIntyre questions the notion that dissidents are threatening the Sinn Fein leadership but he also claims: “In fact the only person visited by the PSNI in the past week, seemingly, was a relative of the McCartney family. He was told by the police he was under threat from the Provisional IRA.” Lee Reynolds
Quote of the Day
Mark Durkan’s alter ego on Folks on the Hill may never shut up but occassionally the real-life version does provide an amusing soundbite. Today’s offering is: “Giving vetoes to the DUP is like asking Attila the Hun to mind your horse.” Lee Reynolds
£1m of assets frozen
A court has frozen a Manchester property portfolio worth over £1m owned by Francis and Judy Murphy, the brother and sister-in-law of Thomas ‘Slab’ Murphy, as the Assets Recovery Agency believe it was the proceeds of money-laundering and fuel smuggling. Previously, the Criminal Assets Bureau froze 1m euros in cash, cheques and drafts belonging to the three Murphy brothers and their fuel company (subs reqd). Lee Reynolds
Round up the usual suspects, it’s NIHRC Conference time
I have just received the blurb from the NIHRC about their annual conference (pdf file). Yet again it inspires the usual lack of confidence. The list of speakers are the usual suspects as the NIHRC continues with its policy of “create a human rights culture by continually talking amongst ourselves”. Is anyone expecting to hear anything different from a former British-Irish Rights Watch worker, Amnesty International, the standard local academics e.g. Neil Jarman, Declan O’Hare etc etc?In the first session …
The illiberalism of the liberal?
Forget extremist Islamic groups, four student unions have found a greater threat from within. To tackle this danger they have frozen accounts, denied facilities and even banned the groups. Complacency is not an option as these tightly knit groups operate in nearly every University in the UK. Will the other British universities follow the lead of Edinburgh, Exeter, Heriot-Watt and Birminghan and tackle the menace that is, Christian Unions? Lee Reynolds
Hello, back and thanks
Just back from my week-end. Thanks to all those who offered their good wishes to my new wife and I. My thanks to those who persevered through all six parts of the article that appeared in my absence. I have made responses where I thought appropriate in each of the relevant threads. Lee Reynolds
My qualified no: the explanation Part 6
On a thread about the DUP St. Andrew’s consultation I mentioned I had submitted a qualified No and was asked why. Here is the final part of an article explaining why.Conclusion The omission of key issues, ignoring lessons from the era of UUP hegemony, cultural issues, poor results on confidence building measures all represent political landmines for the DUP. They could get lucky but it is likely at least one will go off. (My gues is it will be the …
My qualified no: the explanation Part 5
On a thread about the DUP St. Andrew’s consultation I mentioned I had submitted a qualified No and was asked why. Here is the fifth of six parts of an article explaining why.Beyond the document There were also a number of inactions/actions by the DUP that meant I was less willing to take things on faith in the DUP. These include: The internal consultation – During the consultation it became clear that the party had not engaged in sufficient preparation …
My qualified no: the explanation Part 4
On a thread about the DUP St. Andrew’s consultation I mentioned I had submitted a qualified No and was asked why. Here is the fourth of six parts of an article explaining why. What are my problems with the St Andrews deal? (continued) Confidence building and equality Second, the specific proposal for Irish and lack of reciprocal proposals highlights the broader failure to deliver on the “confidence building measures and equality agenda for the Unionist community”. From the community and …
My qualified no: the explanation Part 3
On a thread about the DUP St. Andrew’s consultation I mentioned I had submitted a qualified No and was asked why. Here is the third of six parts of an article explaining why.What are my problems with the St Andrews deal? (continued) Default mechanisms The complete absence of a mechanism to deal with default is a deep concern. There is nothing in the document about the future of the PIRA or a mechanism to deal if it messes up again. …
My qualified no: the explanation Part 2
On a thread about the DUP St. Andrew’s consultation I mentioned I had submitted a qualified No and was asked why. Here is the second of six parts of an article explaining why.What are my problems with the St Andrews deal? Constitutive v Instrumental First, there is the nature of the agreement itself. It is another instrumental agreement. As I have often outlined on slugger there are two types of peace deal, instrumental and constitutive. With an instrumental deal a …
My qualified no: the explanation Part 1
On a thread about the DUP St. Andrew’s consultation I mentioned I had submitted a qualified No and was asked why. Here is the first of six parts of an article explaining why.How did I arrive at my decision? I did not arrive at my negative position from a knee jerk response. My initial impressions were effected by the media emphasis on what the DUP had gained and the body language of the press conference than my quick scanning of …
Two disaffected MLA’s and 40% opposition to a shift on policing
That’s ths state of play inside Sinn Fein according to Suzanne Breen. Throughout the process Breen has often over-egged the levels of oppostion to leadership moves. However, she was the first to reveal the split among republicans in south Londonderry. A split the leadership tried to deny but the resignation of two councillors confirmed. Lee Reynolds
The nation remembers
Across the United Kingdom memorial services to the dead of the World War and subsequent conflicts are taking place. There are similar nationwide ceremonies in a number of countries across the world. In Dublin, Mary McAleese attended a Remembrance Day Service at St Patrick’s Cathedral. “They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old. Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember …
St Andrew’s and Public Attitudes
The Hearts and Minds poll results are in, with 61.8% support, 19.5% opposition and 18.8% don’t knows for the St Andrews Agreement but strong scepticism the timetable will be met. In the Unionist community, of those who have made up their mind, it is almost 2 to 1 in favour (48.5% to 26.1%). However there is a big caveat that a quarter of Unionists are still to make up their mind. Also explicit support is weakest among DUP voters with …
Last chance to vote and comment
Today is the final day to respond to the DUP’s consultation on the St Andrew’s Agreement. You can respond online at the DUP’s website here. Personally, after much soul searching, debate with friends and family and re-reading of the St Andrews Agreement I have submitted a qualified No to the consultation. Lee Reynolds
Harrassment and support
The largest survey of its kind in the Republic of Ireland into the experiences of immigrant communities has highlighted issues of racism, with over a third experiencing public racial harrassment and similar levels of harrassment at work. Black Africans were the most targetted group. The report also indicates significant under-reporting of harrassement and crime experienced by immigrants. Full report here. In Northern Ireland, a trade union has established a team to recruit and support Eastern European workers and plans to …