Turgon – Page 7 – Slugger O'Toole

Republican Castlederg parade: the insensitivity of the impotent

Turgon on July 31, 2013, 7:26 pm

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West Tyrone Sinn Fein’s strategy over the 11th August parade in Castlederg has been progressing according to a fairly well worn formula. Initially the annual event was announced at the spot where the volunteers Seamus Harvey and Gerard McGlynn were killed 40 years ago on active service. (translation IRA terrorists blew themselves up with their own bomb). Then following the predictable outcry which Sinn Fein apparently without irony have blamed on unionist politicians the parade has been rerouted to avoid …

2013 elections: the alienation of Freelander man

Turgon on May 4, 2013, 4:20 pm

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The local election results in England and Wales (mainly rural England in actual fact) are now in. They are somewhere between a protest vote with little relevance to the next Westminster elections and a complete sea change in British politics. As ever the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. It does, however, illustrate an interesting disconnect between the main parties and significant portions of the electorate. The first thing to remember is that these elections are not national elections. …

The abandonment of conservatism in British politics

Turgon on March 4, 2013, 10:43 pm

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The vast majority of the analysis of the Eastleigh byelection has centred round the failure of the Conservative Party and the success of UKIP. Essentially the analysis seems to be that the Conservative Party has not been right wing enough and most of the prescriptions for it have been to move to the right on social and probably economic issues. The other which is repeatedly raised along with this issue is the disconnect between the political class elite and the …

The inequalities of same sex marriage

Turgon on February 24, 2013, 2:59 pm

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Gerry Lynch has had a couple of contributions recently on the subject of extending marriage to homosexual couples. The coalition’s legislation has often been called “Equal Marriage”. Historically the marriage of a man and a woman has been heavily discriminated in favour of by legislation. This has been justified by moral and religious positions, discussion of the benefits of marriage between a man and a woman as a building block for society, a platform for the bringing up of children …

Thoughts on the Flag protests

Turgon on January 9, 2013, 1:55 pm

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The flag protests have now been going on for a month. During that time we have heard assorted apportioning of blame, descriptions of the events as marking a disintegration in loyalism (and by extension then unionism), calls on various people to display “leadership” and much merriment and contempt directed at the flag protest leadership: often vitriolic here on slugger. The protests are at core a political issue. The riots are clearly criminality and some of those attacking the police may …

Anders Behring Breivik: murderer, fascist; and object of derision?

Turgon on August 27, 2012, 6:46 pm

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Norwegian mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik was found guilty (and sane) last week. There is an excellent article on Breivik and his ultra right ideology by Matthew Feldman on the BBC website. Feldman (a Reader in History at Teeside University) is an expert on fascist ideology and the far right. Feldman notes the “Lone Wolf” nature of Breivik’s murders: First dubbed “leaderless resistance” by a radical right ideologue in 1982, the “lone wolf” tactic has remained a signature of far-right …

Independent review into children’s congenital heart services

Turgon on August 12, 2012, 2:25 pm

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At the start of this month the Health and Social care Board released a report into paediatric congenital cardiac services in Belfast. The report was by a team of highly respected experts in the field chaired by Professor Sir Ian Kenny. The panel made a number of important conclusions: 3 ii: It is the surgical element of the service that provokes concern. iii: The panel has not identified any immediate safety concerns presented by the current arrangements v: However, the …

Thoughts on the Monarchy

Turgon on June 5, 2012, 4:24 pm

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For a unionist to admit to being less than a wholehearted monarchist is often difficult, especially so during the 60th jubilee. Alex Kane, a unionist and open republican, has a very good analysis during which he almost becomes a pragmatic monarchist. It is worth reading in totality but his main argument centres around the stability the monarchy under the present Queen has helped provide. I have mentioned before that not all unionists are wholly supportive of the monarchy. Personally I …

Health reforms slowly being revealed

Turgon on June 2, 2012, 7:39 pm

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Slowly, almost painfully so, the health reforms are beginning to be revealed. The Compton Review stated that each of the Health and Social Care Trusts was to bring forward proposals for hospital services by June 2012. It is slightly unclear if that was to be the start or the end of this month: however, rumours of proposals have been circulating for some time with Marie Louise Connolly of the BBC providing most of the information: The Royal Victoria Hospital is …

The Coalition’s woes: mid term blues or the times they are a changing?

Turgon on May 7, 2012, 7:51 pm

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The backlash to the Labour gains in the council elections seems to be continuing. Some such as William Hague have tired to write the election results off as a typical mid term result (and to be fair although good for Labour they were not a Tory melt down) but others are more concerned. The results have fed into the narrative of the omnishambles and the fear appears to be amongst Tory MPs that a vicious circle of increasing disaster, increasing …

Last week at Smithwick: nothing to see here

Turgon on April 29, 2012, 2:59 pm

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The revelations last week from the Smithwick Enquiry that Martin McGuinness allegedly authorised the murders of Chief Supt Harry Breen and Supt Bob Buchanan as well as the use of human proxy bombs have made few enough political waves. In most western democratic societies the claim in a judicial setting that the Deputy First Minister was involved in such heinous crimes would be a scandal: here it was little more than a ripple. There are a number of possible reasons …

The omni shambles and Labour’s difficulty capatilising

Turgon on April 28, 2012, 3:52 pm

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The omni shambles which is the current government seems to continue. I mentioned the disaster which was the budget and the spin surrounding it recently. Jeremy Hunt and his special advisor have yet again shone a spotlight on the relationship between Rupert Murdock’s media empire and politicians (though of course the Tories were far from the only political party with close links to News International – take a bow Alex Salmond). It has been suggested that Hunt is being kept …

Coalition trials and tribulations over budget

Turgon on April 18, 2012, 9:59 pm

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The coalition have been having a few weeks of pretty bad media storms. There was the fuel crisis that never was when the government in trying to make people prepare for a possible crisis managed to create one. The government may have thought they were preparing themselves like a mini version of the Thatcher governments preparations for taking on the miners. In reality the government actually did the tanker drivers propaganda for them demonstrating how bad a strike might be: …

The solution to the A+E problems lies outside A+E

Turgon on March 22, 2012, 8:20 pm

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The travails of the NI NHS are back in the news and specifically the problem of A+E: except it is not actually all an A+E problem. The main problem is the long waits in A+E of 12 hours or more. It must be understood that these people are not a waiting initial assessment and treatment but rather are awaiting admission to a ward: their A+E stay and treatment should have already finished. These people are entirely inappropriately being treated in …

RUC Athletics Association: it hasn’t gone away you know

Turgon on March 22, 2012, 6:17 pm

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Following on from Mick’s piece about the Royal Ulster Constabulary Athletics Association. The BBC are reporting that the motion to change the name of the association has been dropped. From the BBC: The move has been welcomed by unionist politicians. DUP MLA Jimmy Spratt called on ACC Kerr to resign as chairman of the association. The TUV leader Jim Allister said the move had provoked anger among the members who met on Thursday morning to discuss the issue. Mr Allister …

David Latimer backs Sinn Fein position (again)

Turgon on March 22, 2012, 2:15 pm

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David Latimer is back in the news again. The minister of First Derry Presbyterian Church who previously went to the Sinn Fein Ard Fheis and told us that Martin McGuinness was “one of the true great leaders of modern times” and that we were all guilty for the Troubles is back again. This time he was responding to Declan Kearney’s comments about republicans thinking about reconciliation. When Kearney first made the comments unionists comprehensively rejected Kearney’s comments as partial and …

A few thoughts on St. Patrick’s Day

Turgon on March 17, 2012, 12:41 am

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Today is then St. Patrick’s Day. There will be a variety of events, by far the most prominent will be cultural and sporting. I had intended writing a blog on what I view as the way in which the sanitisation of the entirely legitimate nationalist culture of St. Patrick’s Day has actually become a cause of further division. When I discussed it with Mick, however, he challenged me to do something about the religious angle. The reality is that St. …

Other reasons for McArdle’s resignation?

Turgon on March 14, 2012, 8:45 pm

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Mick has some thoughts on Mary McArdle standing down as a special advisor below. It may have been that Sinn Fein or Ms. McArdle felt the need for her to move on and as Mick says Ann Travers may on UTV have been determined to see it as an act of reconciliation. A slightly different analysis of the situation is presented by the News Letter. Ms Travers said she thought the reason for the timing of the resignation may have …

Mary McArdle to leave post

Turgon on March 13, 2012, 10:44 pm

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The BBC are reporting that the special advisor to Culture Minister Caral Ni Chuilin, the convicted murderer, Mary McArdle, is to leave her post “soon.” This is apparently as part of normal party policy to rotate staff. Ann Travers the sister of Mary Travers (McArdle’s victim who was murdered whilst leaving church in 1984) has apparently said on Twitter: “Just heard, Mary McArdle has stepped aside and moved to another job for SF, Thrilled, wish she had done it in …

Tom Elliott hands the poisoned chalice on

Turgon on March 12, 2012, 4:56 pm

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As referred to extensively below Tom Elliott has announced his decision to step down as UUP leader and Danny Kennedy has now announced his decision to stand. There has been much analysis both in the press and in blogs about the decision: as ever the best to my mind is Alex Kane’s in the News Letter. Tom Elliott was elected by a considerable margin over Basil McCrea even if one leaves out the votes from Fermanagh. At the time I …