Soapbox – Page 28 – Slugger O'Toole

The case for Kilroot International Airport…

Soapbox on March 3, 2018, 1:44 pm

| Readers 4508

You might not realise it, but Northern Ireland’s air transportation links with the rest of the world are controlled by what amounts to a cartel. Cartels in the world of aviation are practically as old as flight itself. This cartel relies on regulation, restriction and operational inflexibility of aircraft type and the ability of airports to set uncompetitive rates. It is for example £28.99 per ton of aircraft and £20.30 per passenger plus security charges to leave from the City …

Paula Bradshaw: We need to talk about domestic violence

Soapbox on February 28, 2018, 11:48 am

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Alliance Party MLA, Paula Bradshaw writes for Slugger for the issue of domestic violence We need to talk about domestic violence. Specifically, we need to recognise that the failure to restore the Executive and Assembly is holding up efforts to protect women (and men) from domestic abuse, stalking, and coercive control. Judith Gillespie’s timely contribution to the debate reminds us that – regardless of the esteem in which our devolved institutions are held – they remain the forum to deliver …

If Sinn Féin weaponised the Irish language, the DUP had the power to change that…

Soapbox on February 27, 2018, 4:12 pm

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The DUP have accused Sinn Féin of weaponising the Irish language. They have used this ‘weaponising’ of the language as one excuse for their refusal to accept the terms of the proposed Irish Language Act and therefore also the reinstating of Northern Ireland’s devolved government. If Sinn Fein have weaponised the Irish language, the DUP had the power to change that. Instead, it remains a Trojan horse that will continue to destroy unionism. With the signing of the Good Friday …

Laura

Soapbox on February 26, 2018, 8:05 pm

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William Ennis, an east Belfast loyalist and PUP member, pays tribute to sex worker, rights campaigner and activist, Laura Lee. It was just before midnight when my phone rang. It was a dear friend. As soon as she spoke, I knew something was wrong. Her voice was broken, and she demanded to know if I was seated. I assured her I was. “Laura’s gone”, she wept. “Laura’s gone.” My voice simply failed me, and I could only listen to her sobs. When I finally could make a sound, I …

SOAPBOX: Decommissioned Stormont? Let Youth Lead!

Soapbox on February 26, 2018, 1:22 pm

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SOAPBOX: Michael McTasney and Curtis Evitt write about their experience in the Assembly Chamber last week as part of the NI Youth Congress. “Ultimately, if [elected politicians] don’t want to use the Assembly Chamber we certainly will!”

Has the model of the GFA itself resulted in the impasse?

Soapbox on February 21, 2018, 10:28 am

| Readers 1604

Paddy Wilson is a Postgraduate student at Queens University Belfast and a member of the Workers Party. On Monday, David McCann gave his assessment of the political impasse between the former parties of the Executive and made the pertinent point that; “when debating whether its’ a failure, let’s compare it to the alternatives, not the Almighty.” Outside the remits of any deity, the GFA is a creation of people. I don’t believe that any system or solution that we create …

Is it time for the churches to become more Christian?

Soapbox on February 21, 2018, 9:15 am

| Readers 1075

Cathal O’Hagan is a Monaghan native and law graduate, currently doing an MA in Conflict Transformation at QUB. Just like there isn’t momentum for a re-prohibition on contraception; or mood for re-implementing a ban on divorce, the penny will soon finally drop that debates over marriage equality and abortion are not the way for churches to regain influence in Ireland. Churches can either continue with the prominence they give to so-called “moral” issues, or they can refocus on the core …

Reform and Review of the Agreement is Possible – Let’s Have It

Soapbox on February 20, 2018, 7:35 pm

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Councillor Julie-Anne Corr-Johnston, from the Progressive Unionist Party, explains the thinking behind their ‘Review and Reform’ document, published yesterday. This week the Progressive Unionist Party has published and distributed, to the Secretary of State and Northern Ireland’s political leaders, its proposals for review and reform of the institutions set out within the Good Friday Agreement. The document, which can be read in full here: http://pupni.com/assets/images/articles/Review_and_Reform.pdf, sets out our rationale for enabling a review. It cites strand one, subsection thirty-six, which reads; …

Threats and opportunities: Unionism, and a strategic consideration of Gaelic language legislation…

Soapbox on February 19, 2018, 9:33 am

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Another contribution from long time commenter Willow on why unionism should develop a strategic view of its relationship with the Irish language.. Assuming that nationalists are not going to back down on their demand for an ‘Irish language act’, unionism appears to be at a crossroads whereby it has to decide which is strategically more important: restoring devolution or avoiding Gaelic legislation. The seriousness of this situation appears to have dawned neither on the unionist electorate nor (at least publicly) …

Wanted: NI artefacts and memorabilia from 1998 onwards

Soapbox on February 14, 2018, 10:00 am

| Readers 393

James Ashe is a final year Graphic Communication student at Norwich University of the Arts. He’s a freelance designer and photographer with an interest in brands, print and visual identity projects. This year is the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement which changed the landscape of Northern Ireland. As I approach the conclusion of my studies in Norwich, I am putting together a book that is a reflection of growing up in post-conflict Northern Ireland. It’s entitled You Can’t …

Our licensing laws need to be more flexible to allow smaller premises to compete…

Soapbox on February 13, 2018, 12:02 pm

| Readers 2611

Bar pub

Recently I stumbled across a liquor license for sale in the Coleraine area. It costs £80 000. Yes. £80 000. Good for the person selling it but what is the bigger picture and how does this affect our pub tradition? First of all, what size of premises would be required to have the turnover to pay off the £80k loan for such a licence? I’m sure many of us have entertained the notion of semi-retiring to a country pub someday …

Unionists remember, the Belfast Agreement IS an ‘agreed Ireland’?

Soapbox on February 10, 2018, 7:25 am

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When will a unionist stand up for the Good Friday Agreement in response to what appears to be a creeping rejection of it by nationalists north and south? The refusal of Sinn Fein, spurred on by the nationalist electorate, to form an Executive and thus allow the Assembly to function, is a rejection of the Agreement. And the reasons given for the refusal are matters beyond the Good Friday Agreement, There is no provision in the Agreement for an Irish …

Professor Paul Arthur on Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the NI Civil Rights Campaign…

Soapbox on February 9, 2018, 1:20 pm

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Commemorations should carry their own health warning. Fintan O’Toole supplies one relevant to the current context. Writing in the Irish Times in January 2005 on the extremist tradition in Ireland he warned that ‘what matters is not what happened but how it is remembered. And that precisely is what the IRA is now fighting for. Its struggle is for the control of the memory of the Northern Ireland conflict’. I was reminded of this reading Declan Kearney’s piece of 29 …

Colum Eastwood: The real choice is whether we want to take up power in this corner of Ireland.

Soapbox on February 6, 2018, 9:02 pm

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The SDLP Leader, Colum Eastwood writes for Slugger about the current round of talks that are ongoing at Stormont I’ve always thought that one of the great attractions of politics is found in its ever evolving nature. Many of those who are active or take an interest in political life are drawn to the fact that each day brings with it a different story, a different opportunity and a different challenge. That constant change is driven by a combination of …

Memories of the October 5th 1968 Civil Rights March. The day The Troubles began…

Soapbox on February 4, 2018, 8:00 am

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I’ve never spoke on a public platform before, but feel moved to break my silence and contribute to the 50th anniversary civil rights Program. I always remind my twin brother, Fionnbarra, that I am his senior, being born one hour before him at 134 Bogside, which was then known as a single street which ran from the Slaughter House to the junction of Lecky Road & Rossville Street. My mother Mary Ellen, born 1908. hailed from Ballee, Ballymagory near …

The Arts needs leaders as much as money. Now we have neither.

Soapbox on February 3, 2018, 12:35 pm

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By Adam Turkington, Seedhead Arts and #ArtsMatterNI Last week Bombardier won their case to overturn the huge 292% tariffs on imports of its C-Series planes with the decision being seen as securing 1,000 jobs in Belfast. Politicians, businessmen, union leaders community representative alike had lined up to fight the corner for the factory in it’s time of need and all rejoiced as this threat was lifted. Imagine if in the midst of this crisis the chair of the board made a …

Dr John Kyle – Personal Independence Payments, it would give someone the pip…

Soapbox on January 30, 2018, 11:39 am

| Readers 2099

The decision by the Conservative Government to review all Personal Independence Payments (PIPs) comes when our own Department for Communities is conducting a review of the PIP Assessment in Northern Ireland. This may sound like something only political anoraks would be interested in but, believe me, it is having a huge impact on many people’s lives. The introduction of Personal Independence Payments, intended to help disabled people cope with the extra costs of living with ill health or a disability …

A Year Without Government Series: Part III of III

Soapbox on January 27, 2018, 11:50 am

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Parliament_Buildings_Stormont.jpg

This article makes up the third part of a series that takes a satirical look back on the last year and a bit of Northern Irish Politics. The following was written entirely tongue in cheek and none of it should be taken very seriously. Find Parts I and II here: A Year Without Government Series: Part I of III A Year Without Government Series: Part II Talk About Talks About Talks Election over, democracy enacted, job done, time to get …

Outdoor Education Centre Closures and the death knell of outdoor education in Northern Ireland

Soapbox on January 25, 2018, 2:37 pm

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Soapbox: Craig McCullough, Managing Director of Outdoor Concepts (NI) So why is someone who manages a private outdoor adventure business writing an article AGAINST the decision of the Education Authority to close a number of outdoor centres in Northern Ireland? The answer is threefold… Greater participation in outdoor adventure will benefit both the public and private adventure sectors. A symbiotic relationship between public and private sectors works in everyone’s best interests. Clear and accurate information will empower and increase participation, …

A Year Without Government Series: Part II

Soapbox on January 24, 2018, 2:28 pm

| Readers 480

This article makes up the second part of a series that takes a satirical look back on the last year and a bit of Northern Irish Politics. The following was written entirely tongue in cheek and none of it should be taken very seriously. Find Part I here. The Assembly Election Debate It is a time honoured tradition of the Assembly election cycle that the BBC and UTV bring representatives from the five largest parties into a room together to shout …