“À la Bastille!”
One more time, then… with continued apologies to Pierre Ranger… [It’s a tradition, we know… – Ed] Indeed! And with Alaphilippe in yellow again! Play La Marseillaise! Pete Baker
Video
Brexit, Borders and Beyond: Marxism as a Guide in Turbulent Times (watch back)
Last night, the very room in The MAC which hosted the launch of NI21 six years ago to the day, was the venue for a panel discussion on Brexit, Borders and Beyond: Marxism as a Guide in Turbulent Times. Mary Davis, John Barry and Costas Lapavitsas contributed to the well-attended event that was organised by Ulster University’s School of Applied Social and Policy Sciences in association with Reclaim the Agenda and Slugger O’Toole.
George Hamilton: it will be the failure of our generation if we do not reinvigorate our efforts
With only seven and a half weeks left of his five year term as PSNI Chief Constable, George Hamilton delivered a lecture at Queen’s University this evening to “help signpost the next steps for policing with the community”. He called out those “across the political spectrum … [who] have too often defaulted to the blame game … finding it easier to blame the police without taking any responsibility for the context in which police are being asked to operate”. Hamilton …
Reporting the Troubles: 2 Prime Ministers, 5 P O’Neills, the last death knock, and addressing legacy issues
Recalling working on Prime Ministerial visits, receiving IRA briefings from five different P O’Neills, collating tens of thousands of pages of notes, deciding to no longer knock the doors of bereaved relatives, and thinking out loud about how to address legacy issues, when Brian Rowan and Deric Henderson sat down on Thursday evening to discuss their contributions to the book ‘Reporting the Troubles’, they had no idea of the tragic events that would happen just a few hours later in Creggan.
A legacy process should be about why the Troubles should never happen again
On Thursday evening, hours before Lyra McKee was fatally shot in Creggan, Brian Rowan was speaking about Reporting the Troubles in Holywood. Throughout the event, he often pivoted away from pure reminiscence and returned to the subject of legacy, arguing for an inclusive and society-wide process that asked less about what had happened but instead focussed on why it happened and crucially why it should never happen again.
Does Political Violence Work? #imaginebelfast
QUB pro-vice-chancellor Professor Richard English delivered a 40-minute talk on the topic of Does Political Violence Work? during the recent Imagine! Belfast festival, looking at terrorism by non-state and potentially state actors as well as drawing some conclusions about the disjunction between why campaigns start, why people join up, what is achieved and how we post hoc rationalise what happens.
Police Ombudsman Dr Michael Maguire: “independence is a fragile thing … you take it for granted at your peril” #ImagineBelfast
In his last public lecture as his seven-year term as Police Ombudsman draws to a close, Dr Michael Maguire reflected on what independence means for his office, and lessons that can be learned. “You cannot take independence for granted. It can be undermined in a number of different ways. Whoever holds the post of police ombudsman must keep this in mind. Be aware some entirely innocent initiatives can have unintended consequences.”
Can NI ever adopt forgiveness as a permanent attitude rather than a transaction?
Read or watch back as Canon David Porter and Dr Nicola Brady tease out how forgiveness might fit into the cut and thrust of political point-scoring, binary positions and contested history in their closing addresses at this year’s 4 Corners Festival in Belfast.
Stuck in the Past – difficult choices to be made #feile18
Three years ago, the same hall was venue to a conversation between the then deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness and the PSNI Chief Constable, again chaired by Brian Rowan. That night, the atmosphere was electric. This afternoon, the conversation seemed less extraordinary, certainly less unexpected. Unfortunately, the political stalemate has become as normal yet unacceptable as the stretched patience of victims and survivors who seek truth and information about incidents during the Troubles.
Ged Killen: “This is personal. Your rights are my rights. An injury to one, is an injury all.”
Watch back or read Ged Killen MP’s lecture for Amnesty NI as part of Belfast Pride, delivered on Thursday evening at Queen’s University. Speaking on ‘Marriage Equality – Winning at Westminster’ the Scottish Labour MP’s address was followed by a Q&A with William Crawley which included an update on the local legal cases surrounding marriage equality as well as discussion about efforts at Westminster and the stalled NI Assembly.
“À la Bastille!” Again!
Once again, with apologies to Pierre Ranger… [It’s a tradition, we know… – Ed] Indeed! Play La Marseillaise! [Any chance of a French winner on Stage 8? – Ed] Probably not… Pete Baker
In true Bloomsday style, “Samuel Beckett got outrageously drunk…”
If you don’t know by now, it’s tradition! [We know… – Ed]. Those of a sensitive disposition are duly warned, once again, that James Joyce enjoys the language in all its fecund nuttiness. And another reminder of a brief history of the day, from the Guardian, which includes this great 1924 quote from Joyce on Ulysses – “I have to convince myself that I wrote that book. I used to be able to talk intelligently about it.” Joyce’s last Bloomsday would take place on 16 June 1940, when the author was …
Forgotten ‘rights’ in the Good Friday Agreement? #Agreement20
Gender based violence, impediments to women’s participation in peace-building, a study on whether abortion was a workplace issue, FGM in NI and the LGBT community’s journey to equality in the wake of the Good Friday Agreement were all discussed in a panel at Saturday’s #Agreement20 conference in Manchester.
Negotiation theory, conflict humour and understanding the resolution of Crumlin Road parades #Agreement20
DEALING WITH PAST through understanding negotiation techniques, how comedy is used in conflict, and how the long-running Crumlin Road parading dispute was eventually resolved – three papers from a panel at Saturday’s #Agreement20 conference in Manchester.
Máire Braniff: “the spirit & promise of 1998 Agreement has been firmly cast aside” #Agreement20
Ulster University’s Dr Máire Braniff delivered Saturday’s keynote address at the #Agreement20 conference in Manchester, with her session titled “Progress in Paralysis: Change and Continuity in post-Agreement Northern Ireland”.
“The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena…”
Here’s a, much needed, short instructive video on perspective from Science at Nasa. Pete Baker
An EPIC View of the 2017 Solar Eclipse
Wondrous images, from a million miles out in space, from NASA’s Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) of the shadow of the moon crossing over North America on Aug. 21, 2017. EPIC is aboard NOAA’s Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR), photographing the full sunlit side of Earth every day. [Image credit: NASA EPIC Team. Video credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Katy Mersmann] Pete Baker
The DUP heartland: who are the supporters? – Video from The Guardian…
Very slick video from The Guardian, well worth a watch. From The Guardian post: East Belfast is the heartland of Protestant, unionist politics and therefore, one would believe, the natural support for Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist party. The Guardian travelled to East Belfast to meet the core support for the party – which has just completed £1bn deal to prop up Theresa May’s government – and ask what they truly believe and what they want from the DUP whose main …
“À la Bastille!”
Once again, with apologies to Pierre Ranger… [It’s a tradition, we know… – Ed] Indeed! Play La Marseillaise! Adds And a French winner on Le Tour on Bastille Day! Pete Baker
Happy Bloomsday, intolerable Joyceans everywhere!
If you don’t know by now, it’s tradition! [We know… – Ed]. Those of a sensitive disposition are duly warned, once again, that James Joyce enjoys the language in all its fecund nuttiness. And a reminder of a brief history of the day, from the Guardian last year, which includes this great 1924 quote from Joyce on Ulysses – “I have to convince myself that I wrote that book. I used to be able to talk intelligently about it.” In June of …