Mar 31 2008
DUP To Launch ‘Irish Language Unit’
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Archive for March, 2008
Mar 31 2008
Tony versus Denis: Some additonal facts
New York Times --
2 Irish Billionaires Clash Over Publisher’s Course
in which it is said of Tony O'Reilly--
He moved from rugby to dairy in the early 1960s when he became chief executive of the Irish Dairy Board, a co-operative of Irish farms, and then joined H.J. Heinz to become the first nonfamily member to run the business.
Well he did "join" H.J. Heinz in a package deal, as economic historian Cormac O'Grada politely explains --
Erin Foods ... specialise in lines such as packaged soup and processed vegetables ... [Mickey Joe] Costello resigned in 1966 and his successor, the youthful Tony O'Reilly set up a trading partnership with the H.J. Heinz Co. in 1967.
So Tony did a deal in which Heinz got access to Erin Foods' advanced food processing techniques, developed at taxpayer expense -- and then jumped over to Heinz himself.
Later on, the NYT explains the feud with Denis O'Brien --
The bad blood between the two began when Mr. O’Reilly, the former chief executive of Heinz, beat Mr. O’Brien in a battle for control of Irish telecommunications company Eircom Group in 2001. Mr. O’Brien did not take it lightly that someone who had joined the bidding contest after him and had less experience in telecommunications beat him to the punch.
No. The bad blood dates to when O'Reilly was in one of the losing consortia for the bid on Ireland's second mobile telephone licence, won by O'Brien. There is an O'Reilly grudge going back to that award and the non-Fianna Fail government which oversaw it -- a grudge that has had a major impact on Irish politics since then with his newspapers in effect campaigning against the 1994-97 coalition and doing major ball carrying duty for Taoiseach Bertie Ahern regarding his own much investigated but poorly understood financial dealings.
Incidentally, in that 2003 Eircom deal that O'Reilly won, the Irish public got fleeced.
The trouble with disputes between rich people is that you might have to pick one of them to cheer for. It's a clear choice in this case.
2 Irish Billionaires Clash Over Publisher’s Course
in which it is said of Tony O'Reilly--
He moved from rugby to dairy in the early 1960s when he became chief executive of the Irish Dairy Board, a co-operative of Irish farms, and then joined H.J. Heinz to become the first nonfamily member to run the business.
Well he did "join" H.J. Heinz in a package deal, as economic historian Cormac O'Grada politely explains --
Erin Foods ... specialise in lines such as packaged soup and processed vegetables ... [Mickey Joe] Costello resigned in 1966 and his successor, the youthful Tony O'Reilly set up a trading partnership with the H.J. Heinz Co. in 1967.
So Tony did a deal in which Heinz got access to Erin Foods' advanced food processing techniques, developed at taxpayer expense -- and then jumped over to Heinz himself.
Later on, the NYT explains the feud with Denis O'Brien --
The bad blood between the two began when Mr. O’Reilly, the former chief executive of Heinz, beat Mr. O’Brien in a battle for control of Irish telecommunications company Eircom Group in 2001. Mr. O’Brien did not take it lightly that someone who had joined the bidding contest after him and had less experience in telecommunications beat him to the punch.
No. The bad blood dates to when O'Reilly was in one of the losing consortia for the bid on Ireland's second mobile telephone licence, won by O'Brien. There is an O'Reilly grudge going back to that award and the non-Fianna Fail government which oversaw it -- a grudge that has had a major impact on Irish politics since then with his newspapers in effect campaigning against the 1994-97 coalition and doing major ball carrying duty for Taoiseach Bertie Ahern regarding his own much investigated but poorly understood financial dealings.
Incidentally, in that 2003 Eircom deal that O'Reilly won, the Irish public got fleeced.
The trouble with disputes between rich people is that you might have to pick one of them to cheer for. It's a clear choice in this case.
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Mar 31 2008
Ambassador for Hydrocarbons
White House announcement (done, like the "resignation" of Alphonso Jackson, en route to Ukraine) --
President George W. Bush today announced that Special Envoy to the European Union, C. Boyden Gray will also serve as Special Envoy for Eurasian Energy. Mr. Gray will engage directly with senior European, Central Asian, Russian and other political and business leaders to support the continued development and diversification of the energy sector.
That position as "Special Envoy" to the EU is in fact an extended recess appointment for Gray i.e. one done without Senate approval. It's not clear what the backstory is here i.e. whether there was nothing for Gray to do in Brussels given that he's not actually the US Ambassador to the EU or if there's some new wheeze involving oil or gas deals at work. But the US Senate needs to find some way to rein in this parallel diplomatic system, especially given how closely it seems to conform to the obsessions of George Bush and Dick Cheney with energy supplies. It's all too clear where that obsession has already led.
President George W. Bush today announced that Special Envoy to the European Union, C. Boyden Gray will also serve as Special Envoy for Eurasian Energy. Mr. Gray will engage directly with senior European, Central Asian, Russian and other political and business leaders to support the continued development and diversification of the energy sector.
That position as "Special Envoy" to the EU is in fact an extended recess appointment for Gray i.e. one done without Senate approval. It's not clear what the backstory is here i.e. whether there was nothing for Gray to do in Brussels given that he's not actually the US Ambassador to the EU or if there's some new wheeze involving oil or gas deals at work. But the US Senate needs to find some way to rein in this parallel diplomatic system, especially given how closely it seems to conform to the obsessions of George Bush and Dick Cheney with energy supplies. It's all too clear where that obsession has already led.
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Mar 31 2008
Fighting the other guy’s war…
There is a problem with the nature of the internet, particularly the unpleasantly named Web 2.0. For those who have use or have access to sites there is the opportunity to use them as and when the mood strikes. Which is unbelievably dangerous because it engenders a sense of importance, which can be illusory, and immediacy, which is very poison.
I’d echo entirely Conor’s words on Dublin Opinion about the recent problems over at Politics.ie, not because I’m a wimpish blogger, or middle-class bottling it in the face of power, but simply because they are right.
P.ie has become a bear pit in regard to all things Ahern and Tribunal. Words were allegedly put in the public domain that have now impelled a legal company into action with charges of defamation.
The possibility of such words being written was obvious, the response inevitable. And that David Cochrane has been, to some extent, caught in the crossfire is unfortunate.
But this is the real world where chances are a legal firm will be first to up the ante - particularly if they think that it is themselves who have been impugned.
To read this then as some sort of attack on Politics.ie with the motive of ‘chilling’ conversation on the topic of the Tribunals or Ahern is nonsense. To see that then as the rationale for a broader campaign to defend ‘free speech’ is near-risible. To then, as some (assiduously hunting with the hounds and running with the hare) suggest conspiracy - or rather air the idea that some are saying it is only to dismiss it while simultaneously spreading it yet further is … well, it is what it is.
In a situation like this there is one solution. The problem is dealt with as it by separate legal teams, because that’s the only way it can be dealt with. No public campaign on the internet is going to change this issue. No appeal to a gallery that will melt away at the first hint that this will incur either financial or other penalties. No dubious relocations whose efficacy has yet to be proven in Irish law.
It requires first and foremost cool heads, restraint, and the sort of compromise that is one aspect of the nature of the legal system. Particularly when what we’re talking about are commercial entities.
But restraint is not the nature of the internet, of boards, or whatever. In an echo of the supposedly ‘legacy’ media, immediacy is all. What is written takes on a life of its own. The ‘campaign’ becomes all, in a perfect simplification. We’re all ‘meant’ to rally to Politics.ie (best of all someone started a P.ie ‘pledge’)…
Nevermind that Politics.ie closed down discussion of the Tribunal and Ahern. Nevermind that they weren’t asked to in the original letter, and were questioned as to why they did so in the second letter. Nevermind that apparently they are going to reopen it as soon as it suits. Not the solicitors. I think the actions were understandable, but developed into the wrong response. So why on earthy would I or any thinking human being pledge ’support’? Or as a poster on P.ie put it;
I support Dave Cochrane. I don’t support those who persist in putting his site and personal finances in jeopardy especially those mouthing off when service of legal action may be imminent.
My thoughts entirely.
Addendum: I note that Adam Maguire got some unkind words directed at him for daring to express his (entirely moderate) opinion about the matter on Newstalk today. That’s pretty unfair to, as anyone who has met Adam will confirm he’s a good observer of all things internet. Slightly entertaining was the confusion of him with Damien Mulley who is also guilty of thoughtcrimes… albeit ones that date back some time now…
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Mar 31 2008
Shhhh … wait until nearly midnight
Today has been a little quiet for blogging - I have been working on this, which turns into a public beta test at 11.00pm.
There are a couple of glitches, but comments are welcome.
I will be writing an explanation of what is what and how it all fits together during the day tomorrow.
Tags: wardman wire, politics [...]
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Mar 31 2008
“separate continents..”
A reminder that BBC NI’s natural history series Blueprint starts tonight, BBC 1 9pm, and it’ll be available on iPlayer too [Has anyone told Edwin? - Ed]. And, perhaps as a result of the pressure from the young-Earthers, TalkBack today discussed their opposition to a scientific approach to natural history [the audio file is available for now, RealPlayer file]. Blueprint presenter, Will Crawley, posts a reminder too, and on his Sunday Sequence programme this week held a round-table discussion of his own which, as recommended by Mick, deals admirably with the history of the debate on the age of the Earth. [RealPlayer file] Familiar references in that discussion to re-entwining reason and faith.. and a lot of evidence of an absence of rational thinking.. Meanwhile, series producer Natalie Maynes reveals where the initial idea came from
The initial idea was sparked by an article I read which claimed that Ireland was once split in two and that both halves of the island were on separate continents.
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Mar 31 2008
Beware strange animals.. again..
Just in case you didn’t know, tomorrow is the first of April [it is? - Ed] aka April Fool’s Day. So, by way of a public information announcement, and in particular if you were fooled by Panorama’s Swiss spaghetti harvest [ahem - Ed] or the more recent Google Lunar Base, Slate have helpfully produced an updated “Defense Kit” with numerous links to keep you busy informed. Don’t say you haven’t been warned.. again.
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Mar 31 2008
“What has been produced does not even come close to representing that..”
The Northern Ireland Bill of Rights Forum completed its weekend deliberations and delivered its final report [pdf file] today - there’s a correction to the report too [pdf file]. The BBC report points to both the DUP and the Catholic Church’s boycott of the launch of the report [pdf file] at the Hilton Hotel, linking that boycott to an issue which the Assembly has already debated.. but the UTV report indicates that the DUP’s criticism of the report is based on much wider grounds. Adds Full DUP statement here
DUP Forum delegate Peter Weir said: “We want to see a Bill of Rights which can command that support across the population of Northern Ireland. What has been produced does not even come close to representing that.”
He continued: “The main recommendations are contained in Chapter Four of the report. That chapter contains 41 substantive proposals. None of these proposals were passed unanimously and none of them have cross community support. “There are 216 secondary recommendations. None of them was passed unanimously and a mere seven have cross-community support,” he added.
Over to you, Monica..
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Mar 31 2008
Speaking truth unto power gets awkward…
A free press is not exactly a prerequisite for a free society, but it’s absence is (or should be) extremely worrying. In all of the comment in the MSN last week, this aspect of the climbdown of the Andersonstown News after pressure was applied over an article the paper published from its erstwhile columnist/humourist, Squinter seemed largely to be missed. It’s all the more puzzling since Gerry Adams is sitting on the fourth safest majority in the House of Commons with a whopping 68.6 per cent of the popular vote. On Thursday Alex Maskey expressed the hope that the paper’s response to his party’s concerns should be an end to the matter. Over at the Guardian, I’ve argued that there that both reflects badly on his paper and raises questions about just how ready Sinn Fein is to live with the vigorous scrutiny of a courageous and free press.
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Mar 31 2008
Britblog Roundup 163: Philobiblon
This week's Britblog Roundup is at Philobiblon.
Come back on Wednesday morning for the podcast, which is a short interview about the roundup on Radio 5's "Pods and Blogs" programme.
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Mar 31 2008
The chairman blows the Centre’s trumpet (a little)
[This is taken from A Note from the Next Door Neighbours, the monthly e-bulletin of Andy Pollak, Director of the Centre for Cross Border Studies in Armagh and Dublin]
Some 35 years ago I went to work in Dublin for a large British company and over the next two decades witnessed the remarkable changes which the Republic of Ireland underwent during that period. Returning to work in Northern Ireland for an Irish company in 1993, I have been privileged once again to participate in and witness the remarkable changes of a society learning to live with itself and in the changing world around it. The past year has seen a great leap forward in that ongoing change. Even 12 short months ago, who would have believed that in that period Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness would sit down in government together and within a few months would be getting on so famously that they would be dubbed the ‘chuckle brothers’? Or that First Minister Ian Paisley would greet Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in Dublin, and then at the Battle of the Boyne site, with a warm handshake? Or that the North/South Ministerial Council would have resumed with 11 out of the 12 sectoral meetings planned since last July having taken place in an atmosphere of cordiality and pragmatism?
The Centre for Cross Border Studies has and is continuing to play its part in these moves towards good neighbourliness and cooperation for mutual benefit. Whether it is training civil servants in cross-border cooperation; creating a website with information for cross-border commuters for the North/South Ministerial Council (http://www.crossbordermobility.info); teaching schoolchildren in the border region how to live harmoniously with the immigrant ‘newcomers’ who have enriched both our societies; joining with the IBEC-CBI Joint Business Council to provide cross-border postgraduate scholarships, or bringing the universities on the island together to work on development cooperation in Africa, the Centre is at the forefront of new ideas and innovative ways of doing things on a North-South basis. The plaudits for its work have continued to flow from the British and Irish Governments, and from Ministers of the new Executive. Its appropriately-named Note from the Next Door Neighbours monthly e-bulletin is now received by over 6,000 subscribers.
For in many ways the neighbourly and businesslike ethos of the past year had been anticipated by the Centre. In the words emblazoned across its http://www.crossborder.ie website (one of three major websites it now runs), it is about ‘generating real benefits through practical cross-border cooperation in Ireland.’ In his introduction to a recent book of essays from the North/South Public Sector Training Programme – which the Centre organises along with Cooperation Ireland and the Chartered Institute for Public Finance and Accountancy – the Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dermot Ahern, said: ‘Practical North-South cooperation for mutual benefit is one of the cornerstones of both the Belfast and St Andrews Agreements. In this context, what these young public servants are doing is truly pioneering. Here is the pith and substance of what good government is meant to be about. These essays all outline fresh new ideas, clearly laid out, about how practical cross-border and all-island cooperation can make a real difference to improving the lives of the people of Ireland and Northern Ireland.’
Over the past year members of the Centre’s staff have been commissioned to do research in areas as different as cross-border GP out of hours services, trade unions’ involvement in North-South cooperation, the cross-border exchange of student teachers and cross-border postgraduate flows. In February the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, launched a book on cross border cooperation in the past decade – Crossing the Border: New Relationships between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland – three of whose 13 chapters had been contributed by CCBS or former CCBS staff members.
In addition, the Centre has started to develop a wider, European dimension. Relationships are being built with two of the most important cross-border organisations in the EU, the French government’s cross-border co-operation agency Mission Opérationelle Transfrontalière (MOT) and the continent’s longest-established and exemplary cross-border regional network, the Dutch-German EUREGIO. Last November director Andy Pollak spoke alongside former French Prime Minister Pierre Mauroy (now chairman of MOT) at an 850-delegate conference in Lille to launch EUROMOT, an ambitious network of pan-European local authorities stretching from Portugal to Russia.
A leading official from EUREGIO (along with the Spanish Secretary-General of the Association of European Border Regions) will speak at a conference being organised by the Centre (along with Cooperation Ireland) in Dundalk on 12-13 June on lessons other European border regions can learn from the North-South ‘Strand Two’ of the Northern Irish peace process.
There is a new Scottish dimension as well. On 15 May the Centre will join with the University of Stirling to organise a conference in Belfast (to be opened by Minister for Finance and Personnel, Peter Robinson) for senior politicians, bankers, investment specialists, economists and others on financial services in the ‘Celtic Rim’ countries: Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland. Truly it can be said that the Centre for Cross Border Studies has never been busier.
Chris Gibson
This is an edited version of the introduction by Dr Chris Gibson, Chairman of the Centre for Cross Border Studies, to the 2008 edition of ‘The Journal of Cross Border Studies in Ireland’ (available price £10/€14, including postage and packing, from the Centre in Armagh).
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Mar 31 2008
The Left Archive: “The United Irishman” from Sinn Féin, March 1969
Cast your mind back to March 1969. The Troubles had yet to manifest themselves. Sinn Féin was a single organisation, as was the IRA. Almost unbelievably [and I’d like confirmation of this] Eamon Mallie and Patrick Bishop in their work on PIRA suggest that the first Civil Rights Association branch was organised in Belfast. And April was to see the first serious clashes there between CRA members and the RUC.
So, if not quite the calm before the storm, it was certainly only in the first stages of the storm. But, as Richard English has noted, in 1966 the IRA’s strength was about a thousand, and in that year a plan had been drawn up to restart a campaign in the North. Indeed English writes that ‘in Belfast the IRA had grown significantly between 1962 and 1969. All of this should caution against too simplistic assumption that the organisation was militarily dead in the 1960s… in part however such martial noises as the IRA made during the decade were required precisely because Goulding did indeed want his army to embark on a new departure into radical politics’.
In this context what then was the message coming from the Republican movement?
Well, a mixed one which clearly tilted towards civil activism but hasn’t forgotten the past, as evidenced by an article on the 1939 campaign. One can but applaud the series on the counties of Ireland (Gaillimh in this edition) and the sidebar on estates of more than 400 acres, or indeed the tips on ‘defence tactics for demonstrators’. Roy Johnstone has an article on the Irish Labour Party. We read a piece on the Independent Orange Order.
The editorial criticises Peoples Democracy (not least for its stance on partition) and interestingly argues that ‘confrontation in the Six Counties must not be pushed beyond its real use’. An indication of future directions perhaps in the following sentence ‘In its extreme form as in Newry it polarises religious attitudes, as each side springs to defend “its own”.
The design of this newspaper is good with a strong visual approach that would put some commercial publications of the time to shame.
I hope this will be the first of a regular posting (but trust me, not every week) of successive UI’s through 1969 and on through to 1972 which will be an interesting means of charting the changes that occurred as Republicanism ruptured and very different approaches established themselves in those crucial years.
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Mar 30 2008
The status struggle in microcosm
The Wall Street Journal (subs. req'd) explains the deal in which U2 has agreed to have Live Nation manage its concerts and fan club and sell its merchandise for the next 10 years -- those concert ticket sales taking place through Live Nation's badly needed competitor to Ticketmaster:
Formed in Dublin in 1976, U2 remains one of the most potent live draws in the world. Its most recent tour was the second-highest-grossing concert tour in history, earning $389.4 million at the box office, according to data from Billboard magazine ... The deal may also offer ways for U2 to address problems that arose on its last tour. The band offered members of its online fan club, who paid $40 apiece to join, early access to tickets. But during the so-called fan-club presales, many would-be buyers encountered frustrating waits and a limited, expensive inventory comprising some of the worst seats in the house.
Ticketmaster had a hand in the presale fiascoes, inasmuch as its infrastructure couldn't handle the surge of ticket requests that flooded its computers. But people involved say the bigger problem was that there were simply too many members in the club to provide them all premium seats.
"We feel we've got a great Web site," U2 lead singer Bono said in a statement. "But we want to make it a lot better."
No wonder Bono likes African development projects so much. You really can promise masses of people that they will be free from malaria. You just can't promise them that they'll all have premium seats at the next concert.
Formed in Dublin in 1976, U2 remains one of the most potent live draws in the world. Its most recent tour was the second-highest-grossing concert tour in history, earning $389.4 million at the box office, according to data from Billboard magazine ... The deal may also offer ways for U2 to address problems that arose on its last tour. The band offered members of its online fan club, who paid $40 apiece to join, early access to tickets. But during the so-called fan-club presales, many would-be buyers encountered frustrating waits and a limited, expensive inventory comprising some of the worst seats in the house.
Ticketmaster had a hand in the presale fiascoes, inasmuch as its infrastructure couldn't handle the surge of ticket requests that flooded its computers. But people involved say the bigger problem was that there were simply too many members in the club to provide them all premium seats.
"We feel we've got a great Web site," U2 lead singer Bono said in a statement. "But we want to make it a lot better."
No wonder Bono likes African development projects so much. You really can promise masses of people that they will be free from malaria. You just can't promise them that they'll all have premium seats at the next concert.
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Mar 30 2008
The status struggle in microcosm
The Wall Street Journal (subs. req'd) explains the deal in which U2 has agreed to have Live Nation manage its concerts and fan club and sell its merchandise for the next 10 years -- those concert ticket sales taking place through Live Nation's badly needed competitor to Ticketmaster:
Formed in Dublin in 1976, U2 remains one of the most potent live draws in the world. Its most recent tour was the second-highest-grossing concert tour in history, earning $389.4 million at the box office, according to data from Billboard magazine ... The deal may also offer ways for U2 to address problems that arose on its last tour. The band offered members of its online fan club, who paid $40 apiece to join, early access to tickets. But during the so-called fan-club presales, many would-be buyers encountered frustrating waits and a limited, expensive inventory comprising some of the worst seats in the house.
Ticketmaster had a hand in the presale fiascoes, inasmuch as its infrastructure couldn't handle the surge of ticket requests that flooded its computers. But people involved say the bigger problem was that there were simply too many members in the club to provide them all premium seats.
"We feel we've got a great Web site," U2 lead singer Bono said in a statement. "But we want to make it a lot better."
No wonder Bono likes African development projects so much. You really can promise masses of people that they will be free from malaria. You just can't promise them that they'll all have premium seats at the next concert.
Formed in Dublin in 1976, U2 remains one of the most potent live draws in the world. Its most recent tour was the second-highest-grossing concert tour in history, earning $389.4 million at the box office, according to data from Billboard magazine ... The deal may also offer ways for U2 to address problems that arose on its last tour. The band offered members of its online fan club, who paid $40 apiece to join, early access to tickets. But during the so-called fan-club presales, many would-be buyers encountered frustrating waits and a limited, expensive inventory comprising some of the worst seats in the house.
Ticketmaster had a hand in the presale fiascoes, inasmuch as its infrastructure couldn't handle the surge of ticket requests that flooded its computers. But people involved say the bigger problem was that there were simply too many members in the club to provide them all premium seats.
"We feel we've got a great Web site," U2 lead singer Bono said in a statement. "But we want to make it a lot better."
No wonder Bono likes African development projects so much. You really can promise masses of people that they will be free from malaria. You just can't promise them that they'll all have premium seats at the next concert.
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Mar 30 2008
Sport in wartime
The oddest moment at this evening's opening of the Washington Nationals new stadium was not the ceremonial first pitch by George Bush, but an earlier sequence in which military personnel in uniform carried out two huge stars and stripes flags.
The folded up flags being carried looked like body bags.
The folded up flags being carried looked like body bags.
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Mar 30 2008
Politics.ie (pro Libertas?) site in alleged indirect government censorship attempt
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Mar 30 2008
“designed to operate independent of human control..”
Some science news [as we don’t get enough.. - Ed]. With the Space Shuttle Endeavour safely on the ground at Kennedy Space Centre - video here - the European Space Agency’s Jules Verne ATV is finally approaching the International Space Station - the dot below the edge of the Earth in the image is the Jules Verne viewed from the ISS. And it’s not that the residents of the Space Station don’t trust HAL 9000 the automated docking system on-board Jules Verne, but they’ve made sure there’s been a live test of the Collision Avoidance Manoeuvre and there will be two days of demonstration drills before the real attempt on Thursday. SpaceWeather has more views. Adds Where Jules Verne is now.
Endeavour’s night landing at Kennedy Space Centre.
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Mar 30 2008
Zimbabwe waits
The general elections have now been held in Zimbabwe. I have previously predicted Mr. Mugabe’s re election, though I hoped to be wrong. Now maybe just maybe I will be (and I will be delighted). The MDC are claiming victory but the results have still not been released and there is concern regarding electoral fraud.
To be honest Morgan Tsvangirai is also a relatively divisive figure. In addition leading figures in the army have previously said they would not accept him as President, which raises further disturbing possibilities. No matter who ends up being elected Zimbabwe is in a truly parlous state. We will all wait and see regarding the outcome. Maybe there is light at the end of this tunnel of despair for Zimbabwe, a tunnel it has been in essentially since Ian Smith declared UDI if not before.
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Mar 30 2008
Growing Pains: What happens when your blog becomes a little bigger?
There’s an excellent short interview with a “Blog Producer” from Weblogs Inc. by Darren Rowse over at Problogger. It points up a few of the issues that arise and skills that are needed to take a blog from being the “voice of one person” to being a slightly larger enterprise - with a range of [...]
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Mar 30 2008
“about to embark on what amounts to a lap of honour..”
Interesting to note that, according to this RTÉ report, Northern Ireland First Minister, the DUP’s Ian Paisley, will be otherwise engaged when some, but not all, of those involved at the time memorialise the 1998 Agreement. The report doesn’t mention whether any other NI Executive ministers will be accompanying the “businessman of God..” From the RTÉ report
Dr Paisley is about to embark on what amounts to a lap of honour before he steps down as First Minister and DUP leader at the end of May. He will be overseas, attending functions in New York and Washington, on the actual date of the 10th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, 10 April.
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Mar 30 2008
Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni: Why no heels?
Ellee remarks:
The outfits were elegant and demure imageand deliberately understated to accommodate the renowned British reserve. But one thing stood out and disappointed me about Carla Sarkozys carefully planned wardrobe during her visit to the UK last week -where were the heels?
I’m the biggest fashion ignoramus in the world, but it must be the height, [...]
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Mar 30 2008
“a small price to pay..”
Via Newshound. Interesting view-point from Kevin Myers on The Process™ and the ‘price of peace’. Room too for some archival links - on Gerry Adams, “armed struggle” was “necessary”, MI5 and the back-channel, and the US government’s role in the latter part of that Process™. Read the whole thing.
For the peace process was solely about ensuring the IRA never bombed London again; and as far as MI5 - the prime movers of the peace process - was concerned, the corruption of Northern Irish political life was a small price to pay.
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Mar 30 2008
Meanwhile… Politics.ie stops talking about the Taoiseach.
Interesting times at Politics.ie just got… well… more interesting as noted by Starkadder. For, on foot of a discussion of the Tribunal dealings the week before last David Cochrane was sent a letter from Frank Ward and Company which called on him to remove ‘comments ‘ from P.ie and to identify the names and addresses of six contributors to the debate.
On foot of the letter David has said:
Until further notice, the Tribunal section of the forum is out-of-bounds, and no Tribunal discussion is allowed. Furthermore there can be no discussion with respect to the Tribunals or anything concerning Bertie Ahern.
It is a problematic - and no doubt for David worrying - issue. On the one hand - and I only loosely followed the original discussion - it is clear that there was considerable heat on the matter. On the other isn’t this an issue of moderation? Why not just have a limited number of discussions on the Tribunal and Ahern which are tightly moderated? The letter doesn’t require P.ie to do anything other than two very specific things one of which has been done, the removal of the offending comments, one of which David (entirely) rightly says he won’t:
Under no circumstances can I be in a position to disclose the identity of any user on this website, and I will not be doing so.
So why the guillotine on all discussion of the Tribunal and Ahern?
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Mar 30 2008
Senedd Circular: Easter Recess Catch-Up
This week, Pippa Wagstaff writes her first column for the Wardman Wire about events at the National Assembly for Wales (the Senedd) in Cardiff.
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Mar 30 2008
Three Score Years and Ten: A Blog to Enjoy
Via Bob Piper's post "Never Mind the Width" I (memo to self: spend an hour a week "wasting time" surfing new blog), I found a new and interesting blog from my area (Dronfield), Three Score Years and Ten - with the excellent tag-line:
"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards" - Søren Kierkegaard
Harry Barnes was Labour MP for North-East Derbyshire for the years 1987-2005. He writes about local life (especially Sheffield Football Club - the world's oldest club founded in 1857), Iraqi and Iranian events. Here are some posts that I enjoyed reading from the last couple of months. You have to navigate the blog via the archives or search facility, as Harry does not use labels or categories.
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Mar 29 2008
Just a note…
Sunday Sequence should have an interview I did with them recently on the effects of new media on politics in the context of the US election. That’s an hour earlier than you may have thought since the clocks go forward tonight - so it is really a quarter to one, and not a quarter to midnight as I type this post. Adds: it obviously didn’t make the cut!
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Mar 29 2008
Can’t disagree with that…
It’s funny. There is a point where it’s time to move on:
There have been too many explanatory statements from the Taoiseach since this newspaper first published Colm Keena’s story 18 months ago revealing that the Mahon tribunal was investigating payments of between €50,000-€100,000 by businessmen to Mr Ahern while he was minister for finance in the early 1990s. Some have been short; others have been long. Some have been in written affidavits; others verbally on oath. Some have been sound bites; others have been long articles.
Eventually the moment arrives when numerous tortured explanations which avoid dealing directly with the matter at hand won’t do:
The seminal statement was made on the Bryan Dobson interview on RTÉ when the payments were presented as a dig-out from friends at a sad time in his personal life. There have been three or four other versions of that story ever since.
Where sympathy, however residual, finally ebbs away:
The time has come for Mr Ahern to name a date for his departure.
Where respect for past achievements cannot outweigh the slow but steady attrition of a reputation:
He should be allowed the dignity of a valedictory address to the Joint Houses of Congress in the United States. He should lay claim to the historic part he played in the peace process in Northern Ireland. There is a danger that he could become the focal point for voters in the Lisbon Treaty referendum. Mr Ahern should name a date, sooner rather than later.
Enough really is enough… isn’t it?
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