IRISH Northern Aid is circulating an email suggesting that Rita O’Hare may have been denied a Visa by the US State Department. O’Hare has visited the US on many occasions in the past and is a lynchpin in Sinn Fein’s relationship to America in her capacity as the official SF representative. Is US pressure mounting on Sinn Fein?From: Gerry Coleman Re: Rita’s Visa Denial ACTION ALERT I got a heads up from Rita that her visa was just denied as …
Lots of coverage out there of George Galloway’s appearance in front of the US Senate subcommittee hearing on the Oil-for-Food program yesterday.. instant reaction at the Guardian, and elsewhere, was sympathetic to Galloway. Instapundit Glenn Reynolds pointed to a live-blogging of events as they unfolded. And has more links today. Galloway certainly adopted his usual “attack is the best form of defence” defence.. but was challenged himself on several points. John Fay at Irish Eagle called it within minutes. Today …
The Irish Independent Features section takes a look at Playing Gaelic In The USA. Games are organised and played in over 30 cities. However in another article Big trouble in the Big Apple … for the GAA Georgina Brennon reports that problems have arisen.Not only has the changing attitude towards illegal immigrants from Ireland made life more difficult, but the improvements in the Irish economy have drawn people to return to Ireland, leaving many clubs struggling to field teams. “ …
A COLOMBIAN general has said recent attacks by Marxist guerrillas displayed IRA training and technology.The BBC reported that Gen Carlos Ospina said Farc guerrillas were employing new technology in the home-made mortars they had recently used to bomb towns in the south-western province of Cauca. Security forces had seized rebel grenades that were copies of those manufactured by the Provisional IRA, Gen Ospina added. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
SO the white smoke has finally billowed and the bells of St Peter’s have pealed to proclaim papal favourite Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as the new Pontiff. Further reaction here.The BBC reported: Archbishop Sean Brady said Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who will be known as Pope Benedict XVI, was a man of ability with “great simplicity of life”. “He will also be very keen on dialogue with people of other faiths and other churches,” he said. PA reported: Irish President Mary McAleese …
Still no decision from the Vatican.. but here’s a post on it anyway. John at Irish Eagle has an interesting, as always, round-up of reactions to Cardinal Ratzinger’s campaign speech yesterday.. while everyone’s waiting. If you want to watch as well, then there are several options. Vatican TV has a live camera on St Peter’s Square (the live-feed is in a variety of formats) or, by way of the Guardian NewsBlog, the Washington Post provides a close-up view of any …
Spotted on the overly-optimistic Guardian NewsBlog. Are you looking for suggestions to make your popular blog financially viable? *ahem* Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, founder of the behemoth, and partisan, US political blog DailyKos has branched out into blogging on baseball, or, specifically, separate blogs for each Major League Baseball team.. for now. Worth remembering, perhaps, that DailyKos was, I believe, the first blog to issue its own press releases. *shakes head*.. ANYway.. The New York Times has a short article[free reg. …
Despite the apparent reluctance of RTÉ and the Irish Times to say so, there is only one way to describe these comments by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in Rome.. and that is.. a campaign speech.The RTE report has been somewhat diluted from the initial report I noted, so here are the relevant details from the Irish Times breaking news report – Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger has told fellow prelates today they must choose a new pontiff who would defend traditional teachings and …
A short break from the meaningless grafitti Not connected to the elections.. or indeed the remit.. *ahem* Via Mr Summers – some welcome humour Pete Baker
From time to time we get contributions from our readership on topics that are important to them. This comes from a US reader who comments under the name Napper. He has this to say on the relationship of the late Pope and Irish America:By Napper: History will show that this man was no friend of the Irish people either in their own country or in the Diaspora. He went to Ireland as a guest of the Irish faithful and championed …
Fascinating interveiw with the last leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev as he recalls the role of the late Pope in the breaking up of the former Eastern Bloc. 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
Fintan O’Toole, in the Irish Times, picks up on the often contradictory imperial and spiritual roles of the papacy and quotes the 17th Century philosopher, Thomas Hobbes – “The Papacy is nothing other than the ghost of the deceased Roman Empire, sitting crowned upon the grave thereof.” – He argues that it is the remnants of that imperial past that informs the current “temporarily bewitching media attraction, but [that] it is in fact a spectre that the church has to …
Slightly off topic but worth repeating because of the nature of the source, Peggy Noonan reckons that Hillary Clinton will really test the resources of the US Republican party to come up with an opponent serious enough to beat her. Is this the Democrat’s 2008 swing to Bush’s 2004 roundabout? 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 …
The death of John Paul II has elicited an amazing amount of copy on both sides of the Irish Sea and in many other places. Christopher Caldwell in the weekend’s FT had an incisive analysis of his papacy, and what made him distinctive. He describes his reign as that of the first post Constatinian. Which makes him hard to put into any contemporary or classical political boxes: John Paul II defies classification as a political conservative or liberal. Most Americans …
Pope John Paul II, born Karol Wojtyla in 1920, in a small town near Krakow, Poland, has died. The announcement came from papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls and was distributed to journalists via e-mail. RTE has an obituary online… while the Guardian has, what some may say is, a more critical view of the man and his papacy. Pete Baker
Supplanting democracy in place of dictatorship appears to be one of the cornerstones of current US/UK foreign policy. But, argues Geoffrey Wheatcroft, if you do that you must be ready for a few nasty surprises. He cites the collapse of the ‘moderate middle’ in Northern Ireland, and the victory of the extremes. 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 …
Interesting timeline demonstrating how Sinn Fein has gradually moved offside from the Bush White House, and in the process from the mainstream Democrats who lauded Gerry Adams as NI’s principle peacemaker ten years ago. He doesn’t believe the process is irreversible. But that turning the tide may come when the IRA finally becomes history. 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 …
After a week in which relations became somewhat strained between Sinn Fein and some of its erstwhile friends in the US, how timely it is that Daily Ireland offers the party’s most prominent non-member an opportunity to let the healing begin. Jimmy Sands
THEY say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery (whoever ‘they’ are!), so I was amused to find that A Fistful of Euros’ anonymous guest blogger is ‘Brussels Gonzo’. Hmmm..! Slugger recently won ‘Best Political Blog’ on Fistful’s European Blog Awards. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
Ed Moloney, writing in the Sunday Herald, contributes an astute appraisal of ‘why America has turned its back on Sinn Fein and the IRA’ – The Death of the IRAI won’t excerpt too much from the article, it’s well worth reading in full. But I will note the statement that Ed Moloney quotes, by “Sinn Fein’s most dependable and loyal supporter in America”, Rep. Peter King – His St Patrick’s Day statement was, this year, distinctly off-message. The IRA, he …
