Turgon I used the analogy of Pandora’s Box and Chaos Theory nine months ago so I hope I am allowed to reuse it. In Greek mythology, Pandora’s Box was a box which contained all the bad things in the world which escaped when opened. Now it is often used for a dangerous and unpredictable set of events. Chaos theory is, I believe, somewhat similar essentially this is about the unpredictability of complex systems and manifests itself in such a way that …
The Noble Lord Eames has kept a fairly low profile since the glitteringly successful launch of his personal credibility self destruction campaign (also known as the Consultative Group on the Past Report). One of the problems for Eames is that now that his brief period in the limelight (rather uncomfortable as it turned out) is over he has to go back to being a retired CoI prelate; one who is now rather unpopular with the overwhelming majority of his former …
The News letter has an article on an interview with Professor Henry Patterson conducted by the Church of Ireland Gazette. Professor Patterson has been researching the border Protestants of Co. Fermanagh; some extracts of his comments are below the fold. “One thing that strikes me, particularly in Fermanagh, is the lack of tit-for-tat retaliation. There’s very, very little of that. It was a very restrained response.” Prof Patterson said that he believed the Church as an institution, but also Christian …
The latest comments by Peter Robinson implying that the devolution of policing and justice might be moving closer are interesting. They need to be seen alongside the other comments coming from the DUP. The suggestion that people within republican areas have assisted the police in the investigation of the recent murders has been spun by the DUP (rightly or wrongly) as showing that the republican leadership are now fully backing the police and the rule of law. It looks, as …
Shaun Woodward has again pronounced about the continued progress made by the loyalists towards decommissioning. The BBC are reporting that loyalists could be moving towards decommissioning. I believe that Australia is also moving towards the equator: it is an interesting question which is occurring more quickly and which has more practical relevance. However, Mr. Woodward seems to be the sort of person who believes that the emperor’s new clothes are truly resplendent. I suppose it is just conceivable that loyalists …
The DUP have always claimed that devolution of policing and justice could only occur when there was adequate confidence within the community. The News Letter is reporting that Peter Robinson has said that unionist confidence was increasing. Is a date in the offing? TurgonThis author has not written a biography and will not be writing one.
The DUP and TUV are fighting over the Maze Shrine. Jim Allister accused the DUP of having done a deal over the Conflict Transformation (Shrine) at the Maze. This was angrily denied by the DUP with Simon Hamilton calling for Allister to make an apology. In reply Allister has repeated the claims and also the fact that he has called on both the current and previous DUP Environment ministers to de-list the Maze and have the remaining buildings demolished. TurgonThis …
The News Letter is reporting that the Presbyterian Mutual Society is being investigated by the Financial Services Authority to establish if it was operating as a bank without having having registered with the FSA. According to the News letter, if the FSA investigation decides the PMS was operating as a bank its former directors could face criminal proceedings. An FSA spokesman confirmed that an investigation was under way but said that it was not yet possible to say when it …
Although Harry Patch is possibly a more frequently mentioned individual, there are possibly two other surviving British servicemen from the Great War. Henry Allingham has now become the oldest ever recorded British man. He is also the only surviving veteran of the Battle of Jutland. TurgonThis author has not written a biography and will not be writing one.
During his globe trotting visits in anticipation of the G20 summit Gordon Brown has visited a number of countries. On the Argentina leg of his trip echoes re-emerged of a much older crisis than the current recession. The Argentine president Christina Fernandez called for discussions on the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands. A British official said Mr Brown had “set out the British government’s long-standing position on sovereignty in very clear terms. He emphasised the importance of self-determination. Both sides …
The recent discussions about possible changes to the act of settlement interested me. There has been some mention below about them and of course Jeffrey Donaldson was wheeled out to support the status quo this week though I see not everyone is convinced by his remarks. Rather than discuss the issue directly, I thought it might be an opportunity to think about the attitudes of unionists to the monarchy. The usual assumption is that practically all unionists have unswerving loyalty …
According to the BBC Catriona Ruane has suggested that any transfer tests the grammar schools set would also have to have an Irish translation so that pupils from Irish medium primary schools get an equal chance. Apparently failure to do this could lead to legal challenges from parents. Ballymena Academy, which intends to link up with Catholic schools to provide a verbal reasoning test, has approved an Irish language version but the Association for Quality Education has not made a …
Alex Kane’s piece which I mentioned below has already been suggested by one of our more sharp eyed commentators (take a bow It was Sammy McNally what done it) to be an example of the UUP moving to the right of the DUP. Alex Kane comments may or may not be part of a strategy to achieve this. However, the unionist politics of what happened last week are interesting and worth assessing. The first issue which must be very clearly …
As regular readers will know I have always been a fan of Alex Kane’s writing both in style and substance. His latest piece is as elegant as ever, though possibly angrier than usual. It is well worth reading though it will, no doubt, cause some controversy. TurgonThis author has not written a biography and will not be writing one.
Both Jim Allister and Arlene Foster have called for a reversal of the current policy whereby former members of the security forces personal protection weapons are removed unless a “specific threat” is known to the police. As Allister notes some of the latest terrorists “…were active and seasoned Provisionals. So, they have not only Provo training, the Provo mentality, Provo weapons, but also retain the intelligence gathered by the Provos. Thus, they know where ex-soldiers and policemen work and live. …
I have practically no doubt that one of my least favourite prelates condemns unreservedly the murders of last week. The major problem is that Eames Bradley could scarcely propose anything other than the rapid arrest of the terrorists involved in last week’s events, their prosecution and prolonged imprisonment. To do anything else now would reduce their battered credibility, already almost zero, into significant minus numbers.However, in their report Eames Bradley did not suggest the prosecution of the terrorists under the …
The second best playwright to come from Portora Royal School famously used the term “The Love that dare not speak its name.” There is a political fact from last week which also dares not speak its name. Many have tried to describe the dissident murder of two soldiers and a policeman as simply crime and such like. That is of course completely correct: they were and are shocking and deeply wicked. However, they are also deeply political evil acts and …
The BBC are reporting that three men aged 41, 32 and 21, have been arrested in the Lurgan and Bellaghy areas over the RIRA murders of Mark Quinsey and Patrick Azimkar in Antrim. They are being questioned in Antrim police station. TurgonThis author has not written a biography and will not be writing one.
The BBC are reporting that the 32 County Sovereignty Movement has warned that the conflict will not end unless Britain renounces its claim to sovereignty over Northern Ireland. The full text of the statement is here. Meanwhile Fr. Aidan Troy has suggested dialogue with dissidents should be considered. TurgonThis author has not written a biography and will not be writing one.
The reaction to the terrible murders of the last few days has been interesting. Some have seen it as a great coming together of our society and in that coming together have seen considerable cause for hope. Much as I welcome the clear fact that the majority of our citizens utterly reject this violence I am reminded that it takes very few people to sustain a campaign of murder. I am also reminded that as a small child I stood …
