Parties – Page 81 – Slugger O'Toole

“…a sense of nation which means little to the vast majority of Irish people”

Mick Fealty on March 8, 2010, 6:44 am

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Far be it from me to encourage man playing (Seriously!!)… But I thought Conall’s blog response to Gerry was interesting for its shift in tone: It’s hard to take Gerry Adams seriously these days. The whiff of sulphur has gone and the air of infalbility has been blown away on the winds of child abuse, policy illiteracy and a sense of nation which means little to the vast majority of Irish people. Last nights speech was high on rebel rhetoric …

“the current Executive must be capable of exercising its existing powers…”

Pete Baker on March 8, 2010, 5:37 am

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In Scotland and in Wales the people are to be asked directly before any more power is gifted to local politicians. Here, the two main parties in the mandatory four party coalition go into a huddle behind closed doors and produce a less than transparent “agreement”. Then those same two parties engage in a campaign against anyone expressing doubts based on the actual performance of the dysfunctional Northern Ireland Executive to date. Then there’s the reported interest of unnamed US …

“There is no doubt in my mind that the DUP and Sinn Fein have the numbers to pass this resolution”

Pete Baker on March 7, 2010, 5:20 am

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According to the BBC’s report, and the UTV one, Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness has said that the UUP have “three days to sort themselves out” over the issue of policing and justice [and OFMDFM’s less than transparent approach on other issues? – Ed]. An “ultimatum”, no less. Or else what, Martin? Who, exactly, is “threatening the political institutions” over this issue? And what would your collapsing of your best only evidence of Sinn Fein’s “ability to deliver” tell the electorate …

“Any electoral damage that might ensue would affect only southerners.”

Pete Baker on March 6, 2010, 7:33 pm

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Having just voted against a motion rejecting a possible coalition with either Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael, it’s a bit odd for Martin McGuinness to be ruling out a coalition with one of those parties. Probably wiser to wait until you’re asked… and in a numerical position to join a coalition. And isn’t it up to “the membership of Sinn Féin”, “alone”, to decide? Still, it matches the contradictory statements made ahead of the vote. Interestingly, those speaking in favour …

Sinn Féin to sell water (this weekend)?

Mick Fealty on March 5, 2010, 6:18 pm

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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 …

“and there’s not a parliament to publish the report…”

Pete Baker on March 5, 2010, 5:44 pm

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According to a BBC report, Northern Ireland Secretary of State, Shaun Woodward, speaking in Londonderry, said that he hopes to be in a position to publish Lord Saville’s [pointless] report into Bloody Sunday “within days of receiving it.” Except that, as the BBC previously reported, he told the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee at Westminster on Wednesday that “he would only take about two weeks to consider the mammoth document but added that nobody knew when Prime Minister Gordon Brown would …

“with as much transparency as is possible to achieve without compromising our operations”

Pete Baker on March 5, 2010, 4:06 am

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The BBC reports that the SDLP’s Alex Attwood is complaining that proposed security protocols mean that MI5 will remain accountable only to senior UK Ministers, Parliament and the judiciary, however limited that may be, and not to a local Northern Ireland Justice Minister – just as it is in the rest of the UK. From the BBC report The DUP’s Ian Paisley Jnr said the SDLP needed to accept the fact that issues concerning national security would not be devolved. …

“Yes, I read about them in the papers”.

Pete Baker on March 5, 2010, 1:26 am

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As an iol report noted this morning, the European Arrest Warrant for Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams’ brother Liam was endorsed by Dublin’s High Court yesterday. RTÉ reports that at 2.10 this afternoon Liam Adams arrived at Bridewell Garda Station by appointment with his solicitor. He was arrested and escorted to the High Court where he “told the court that he did not want to go back to Northern Ireland because he believed he would not get a fair trial …

“Venezuelan government’s co-operation in the illicit collaboration” between Eta and Farc”

Pete Baker on March 4, 2010, 5:59 am

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With a number of convicted, and suspected, former ETA terrorists washing up on these shores there’s a notable report of interest from the Irish Times. Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez denied the allegations. Typically, he blamed an “international Yankee plot”, describing it as “a sad remnant of Spain’s colonial past”. It is not the first time Mr Chavez has had strong words for Spain. His repeated interruptions of Mr Zapatero at the Ibero-American summit in Chile two years ago caused King …

“Saville is pointless (so is any question on it)”

Pete Baker on March 4, 2010, 3:44 am

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Someone has mischievously leaked an email from the putative Northern Ireland Justice Minister David Ford to the Liberal Democrats dating from last November. The BBC report highlights the relevant line In the email leaked to the BBC, entitled ‘Northern Ireland Questions’, Mr Ford states “Saville is pointless”, adding in brackets and “so is any question on it”. Adds In the comments zone, [Alliance Party member] “Sammy Morse” points to an earlier reference to the email by Mark Devenport – although …

Non-jury trials “an essential option to ensure fair trials”

Pete Baker on March 3, 2010, 10:12 pm

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According to the current Criminal Justice Minister Paul Goggins, MP, the provision for non-jury trials, which was renewed in June 2009, will be subject to “a comprehensive review [], including a full public consultation, before it next falls to be renewed in July 2011.” By which time it may fall to the NI Assembly to decide whether to renew that [or similar] legislation. Do the parties here have an agreed position? Pete Baker

McFarlane takes Ireland to European Court of Human Rights

Pete Baker on March 3, 2010, 6:41 pm

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The Irish Times informs us that “Ireland makes a rare appearance before the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg today to face allegations of violating the rights of Maze escapee Brendan McFarlane.” The complaint followed the collapse of the trial of the prominent Provisional IRA member on charges relating to the kidnapping of businessman Don Tidey in 1983. From the Irish Times report In this case, Mr McFarlane is asking the court for a ruling …

“Sure, he’d always be buying tickets to draws and stuff like that…”

Pete Baker on March 3, 2010, 5:52 pm

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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 …

Education, education, education…

Pete Baker on March 3, 2010, 1:58 am

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The Catholic Church has announced it is to unilaterally review the provision of the post-primary Catholic Maintained Schools sector and, in the process, appears to be extending their previously identified ‘deadline’ of 2012 for ending [Catholic] academic selection. Recently Cardinal Sean Brady also defended “the right of children in our schools to be led and formed in authentic worship of God in the Catholic tradition”. DUP leader Peter Robinson is more exercised about the former than the latter. Meanwhile, those …

“My understanding at the time was that they wanted him out of circulation”

Pete Baker on March 2, 2010, 10:10 pm

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Via Newshound, in the Sunday Times Ed Moloney added more detail to Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams’ less than transparent accounting of his brother Liam’s movements. This time pre-1987. From the transcribed article. In the tangled and disconcerting story of Liam Adams, one feature provides an uncomfortable parallel between his alleged paedophilia and the scandal of Catholic clerical abuse, as highlighted in last November’s Murphy report. That was the practice of moving alleged abusers around Ireland to avoid the demands …

“While we are a city of culture there has to be a recognition that we’re not part of the UK.”

Pete Baker on March 2, 2010, 4:24 pm

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Londonderry may have been shortlisted to become the UK’s first City of Culture in 2013, but the Sinn Féin party leader on the council, Maeve McLaughlin, is not happy. Ms McLaughlin said she believed the bid was “very heavily weighted in terms of cementing our relationship with London”. “While we are a city of culture there has to be a recognition that we’re not part of the UK. “We are not opposing the bid, but we are putting down a …

Iris Robinson’s anti-gay adviser was, um, quite possibly homosexual…

Belfast Gonzo on March 2, 2010, 1:59 pm

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IT has been already been noted that a former adviser to rhetorical gay-basher Iris Robinson has been reported to the General Medical Council for his unconventional practices. But – if we utilise the same logic former DUP adviser Dr Paul Miller applies to gay men to himself – we might wonder why a man who inadvertently appears to out himself as a repressed homosexual is trying to ‘turn’ them straight. Consider this: in the course of trying to ‘convert’ a …

“I am not clear as to whether that means that a replacement will be appointed.”

Pete Baker on March 2, 2010, 5:22 am

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With the continuing legal challenge to the appointment of four Victims Commissioners – and do the Alliance Party still view that as “a damaging fudge”? – Mike Nesbitt’s resignation from the Commission poses a potential problem. As the Belfast Telegraph reports, the Northern Ireland deputy First Minister, Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness, told the Assembly today that they “will not be appointing a new commissioner at this time” and they “will give the matter of the number of commissioners careful consideration”. …

“because clearly their capability is growing.”

Pete Baker on March 1, 2010, 9:20 pm

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The Irish Minister for Justice, Dermot Ahern, has been speaking to RTÉ about the threat from still-violent republican groups. The Irish Times has some of the quotes. “There seems to be an effort in recent months to bring them closer together,” Mr Ahern said yesterday of the Real IRA and Continuity IRA. “There seems to be cross-fertilisation; it may be more to do with acquaintances or family membership than ideology. But nonetheless it is a more worrying trend because clearly …

“the thoughtfulness became glibness; the intelligence, duplicity.”

Pete Baker on February 28, 2010, 10:26 pm

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A late entry in the occasional TV review of the week competition comes via Will Crawley. Here’s AA Gill in today’s Sunday Times Stepping through the story of the crucifixion, Adams plainly saw the IRA and his activism cast in the figure of Christ — a freedom fighter sentenced by a cynical occupying power — when, in truth, he was far more obviously and damningly suited to the role of Caiaphas, the expedient political operator willing to sacrifice his own …