Sorry, but I did see this from the GUBUwire before Pete pounced with the ‘what have the Romans ever done for us” YouTube… Too good to miss though… Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty
Rather than the Sinn Féin president, Gerry Adams, using “this blog” to call on “the media” to allow “a cross cutting debate on the [bread and butter] issues that are important to citizens” in this election, perhaps he should have a quiet word in the shell-like of his former comrade-in-arms associate in North Belfast, Gerry “the only candidate in the field who can win the Westminster seat for nationalism” Kelly. But does Gerry Adams really want his record on those …
Overheard this morning: “They [the company] only tried to get me to take a hire car once. That was when I was travelling from Belfast to the Isle of Man. I said to them, ‘Are you sure? Will I not need to get the ferry? You know, its an island in the middle of the sea.’ The girl said, “Hold on, I’ll go and check.” She came back a few minutes later and said, ‘It’s okay, you can take a …
Brian noted the death of respected journalist Trevor Hanna in February. But Roy Greenslade, who was away at the time, spotted an “unbeatable anecdote” in the belated Irish Times’ obit this weekend. TREVOR HANNA: ONE EVENING in 1971, the newspaper reporter strolled into a dockside bar in Belfast with a large wad of News of the World petty cash intended as a buy-up for some exclusive piece of tittle-tattle. The first Bushmills had just reached his lips when the door …
Not at all connected to anything any other blogger might have posted recently… Pete Baker
I get the impression that Miriam Lord was less than impressed by Taoiseach Brian Cowen’s reshuffle “nervous nudging of chairs around the Cabinet table”. From the Irish Times sketch The upshot? Three middle-aged men in navy suits replacing three middle-aged men in navy suits and an extra half car for the Greens. Nobody axed and just three hopefuls plucked from the back benches and given a start in the junior ranks. Biffo’s night of the rubber knives won’t go down …
According to an Irish Times report, the Irish Minister for Justice, Dermot Ahern, “will propose to the Cabinet a constitutional amendment deleting the constitutional prohibition on blasphemy when the children’s rights amendment comes up”. Game over, then? [Hopefully… – Ed] Although there’s still the other jurisdiction to worry about… ANYhoo… Atheist Ireland welcomes the commitment and notes an earlier Sunday Times report. Ahern, who was criticised for increasing the fine for blasphemy to €25,000 last year, said he never regarded …
To celebrate the week we’re in, I think, the Irish Times have commissioned those delightful Duckworth Lewis chaps to compose a new national anthem… You can listen to it here [mp3 file] Walsh doesn’t yet know whether Ireland, Ireland! will be embraced as an alternative anthem, but he’s hopeful. “We’re completely at the whim of The Irish Times and the nation. We’re not getting ahead of ourselves, but we’d like them to sing it before the Scottish game this weekend.” …
Erm, at their Ard Fheis this weekend that is. The water is from Ulster, but on the Co Monaghan side of the border. Celticpure.ie do customisable bottles, and Sinn Fein have developed their own ‘brand’ for the weekend. Níor bhíodh sé chreidte agam dá nach raibh sé leite agam… Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events …
Notorious gambler, and former Taoiseach, Bertie ‘Lucky’ Ahern, has apparently scooped the rollover jackpot of €10,000 in a draw for a soccer club at the Beaumont House pub in his northside constituency – the scene of two of his previous “whip-rounds”. Over to the Irish Times’ Miriam Lord All those millions of raffle tickets he purchased down through the bubble years are worthless now. If it wasn’t for his pension and TD’s salary and various other bits and bobs rolling …
At the Telegraph’s sports blog, Kiwi Eric Janssen has a question about the weekend Six Nations rugby Will Greenwood wrote on Saturday that he believed Brian O’Driscoll was Ireland’s defensive weak link. Did Paul O’Connell agree and therefore kick his captain in the head? We demand to know! Heh.And from the always consistent Eddie Butler at the Guardian England and Wales need some therapy, but Scotland must be on the verge of being sectioned. Andy Robinson, their coach, is obsessive …
I’d been looking for an excuse to link to Dara O’Briain’s Guardian Sports Blog. And this is as good an excuse as any. This week he’s cheering the Irish bobsleigh team’s kicking Antipodean arse at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver after the Australians’ bid for inclusion threatened the Irish duo’s place in the competition. Over to you, Dara. This isn’t the big story of these Games – Shaun White, Lindsey Vonn and what may be an incredible men’s hockey final …
I mostly managed to avoid last year’s Eurovision, when Graham Norton took over Sir Terry Wogan’s duties with the mic and Ireland’s RTÉ’s entry failed to progress to the finals. Not that the BBC entry did much better. Still, at least they weren’t actual turkeys. Or even stuffed ones. But since it’s a quiet news day, so far… RTÉ have announced the five Eurosong 2010 finalists, as selected by the RTÉ panel. From the list the official Eurovision site leads …
In the Irish Times Newton Emerson identifies the “six-point structured negotiating framework” of The Process™ available at “the new Conflict Transformation Initiative from the University of Portadown (Lurgan Campus).” 4. Identify Solutions Once you have identified the leaders, the problem and the opportunities, you have already identified the solution. However, you might still need to remind the leaders to take this opportunity to solve the problem. This is where the media can be useful, because everyone enjoys stories about goats …
As Mark Devenport says Tomorrow looks like it will involve yet more talks , and as a number of people have pointed out to me February 2nd really is Groundhog Day. Although, I think a different link might be more appropriate. Pete Baker
From a friend in the Ulster Unionists (whose party line, incidentally, is that The Plough IS a better eatery than The Hillside): Inside sources indicate that the only delivery at Hillsborough Castle today will be a Dominos Pizza… The same source further suggests we start a sweepstake on what hour Sinn Fein will walk out… Hmmm, I couldn’t possible comment on any of those weighty matters… but you might like to… Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has …
What follows here was triggered by a flashback to my schoolboy recollection of ‘ A School for Scandal‘ by Richard Brinsley Sheridan who was writing in the second half of the eighteenth century. I am in no sense true or faithful to the original text in my portrayal of the main character at play ‘Confidence.’ In other words this is about ‘farce.’ Here we go: “Will someone go upstairs and tell ‘Confidence’ to come down?”If ‘Confidence’ has slipped out of …
The Professor has some fun with the discovery of a mystery 10m-wide Near Earth Object, 2010 AL30, which flew past today missing the Earth by about 80,000 miles – about 1/3 distance to the Moon. DUH — IT’S OBVIOUSLY AN ALIEN PROBE. Friendly and sending back pictures? Or hostile and dropping lethal nanobots? We’ll know soon! And I, for one, welcome our new alien nanobot overlords.From Space Weather Discovered barely three days ago, 2010 AL30 is catalogued as a 10m-class …
From a great thread on Malachi O’Doherty’s Facebook page in which I expressed concern about the likelihood of the Slugger Awards running next Autumn… to which this reply: “Perhaps you could introduce a “Scandal of the Year” award.” Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty
If you thought the last honk for Pluto was to be heard in the Illinois Senate, you’d be wrong. From the Professor comes news of the perfect Christmas gift for your inner space geek. MSNBC’s Cosmic Log’s Alan Boyle’s The Case for Pluto: How a Little Planet Made a Big Difference. Available at all good book stores. Samizdata’s Dale Amon was at the launch. Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell sent her apologies.. Just don’t mention plutoids.. Pete Baker
