Soapbox

Scotland Essay: Why the No side should be looking up in Scotland…

Soapbox on April 16, 2014, 5:07 pm | Readers 530

By John McTernan The most important three words in any campaign are not ‘Vote For Me’, but ‘Hold Your Nerve’. The independence campaign has reached what Sir Alex Ferguson used to call ‘squeaky-bum time’. The polls are closing – we are told. The No campaign needs to be positive – opine commentators. Scotland is so different, so progressive – pant assorted lefties breathlessly. Wrong, wrong and wrong. Now is the time for the campaign against separation to hold its nerve. …

Victim-Centred Justice: Beyond the Rhetoric

Soapbox on February 12, 2014, 9:23 am | Readers 294

By Luke Moffett and Kieran McEvoy INTRODUCTION There has been much said about victims in recent months in Northern Ireland, particularly in relation to the Haass negotiations on flags, parades, and dealing with the past. Perhaps the phrase most used is that any process to deal with the past in Northern Ireland has to be ‘victim-centred’. Although the view that the process should be ‘victim-centred’ is laudable, there has been little said as to what this will mean in practice. …

Soapbox: A conflict of interest in CCEA’s dual role in education?

Soapbox on October 31, 2013, 12:08 pm | Readers 183

By Niall Boyd and Chris Colvin Intentionally or by accident of history, England’s secondary-level education examination system operates as a quasi-market. Ofqual, the government’s regulator, sets down a national curriculum. A host of competing examination boards then set tests that examine this curriculum in subtly different ways. While universities do not tend to differentiate between school-leavers with different boards’ examinations behind them, some boards are nevertheless perceived by teachers to be easier for certain subjects than others, or at least more appropriate for the type of student they teach. Schools choose …

[Soapbox] Shinners, please don’t blame the messenger!

Soapbox on October 15, 2013, 8:10 am | Readers 100

Gerry Adams is a liar. There. I’ve said it. Cue the wolf circling the sheep and herding them all in. He’s never been in the IRA. (yeah, right) He was in jail when ‘Always look on the Bright Side Of Life’ was written (not true). He is reported to have told the family of Jean Mc Conville that he was also in jail at that time (he wasn’t). Lies have a habit of tripping you up. Not so, if you’re …