Bangor Dub & FitzjamesHorse: Exclusive Pics

Posted on March 22, 2013 by fitzjameshorse

Unmasked: Legendary Bloggers, BangorDub and FitzjamesHorse at SDLP Youth Quiz Fundraiser.022

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SDLP Youth Quiz: A Moral Victory

Posted on March 21, 2013 by fitzjameshorse

SDLP Youth Quiz. South Belfast last night.

I am happy to report that a team of international bloggers (a new American friend, Mr BangorDub and my good self) finished second.

Unhappily I must report that nobody on our team knew the names of the five members of One Direction….one point for each…we could only come up with two. And we lost by two points. The winners, a much younger team knew all five.

I should also report that the winning team had FIVE members and we had THREE.

Is there a system anywhere in the world where five counts the same as three?……….it sounds like the format of this Quiz was dreamed up by the Alliance Party.

Just to add that Mr BangorDub has discovered that Keoghs Roast Beef flavoured crisps. And he had a good night, going home to North Down with a bottle of whiskey.

And thank you to Slugger O’Toole, Stratagem, Rowntree and the Alliance Party for sposoring us.

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Angela Merkel Ate My Hamster

Posted on March 20, 2013 by fitzjameshorse

Back in the 1970s I voted NO in the Referendum on the Common Market as it was called then. The rhetoric at the time was that the Common Market was a “rich mans club”. I have seen nothing in the past four decades to change my mind.

Garret FitzGerald…generally regarded as Garret the Good let the cat out of the bag a few years ago. European integration was always the plan and Garret and his fellow Europhiles knew that European electorates would never agree to it….European integration has been achieved incrementally (certainly) and by stealth (as I would have it).

Now of course, that might be for the General Good. Maybe Europe has benefitted. Certainly the Republic of Ireland has benefitted. But the downside has been A Big Lie.

We were constantly told that there was no effect on Sovreignty…until we were told well it was far  too late do stop the process.

Europe is not ruled thru Brussels..it is ruled from Berlin and Frankfurt. Emotive as it sounds…and it’s hyperbole but “come to the Cabaret old chum”….Wilkommen. Bienvenue. Welcome….to the Fourth Reich.

I don’t know if the Germans have a word for Schadenfreude…but they certainly need a word to demonstrate that feeling that many of his had in 2004 when there was all that hoopla under the Presidency of Ireland…about the expansion of Europe…bringing in Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Malta.

Romania and Bulgaria are admitted as semi detached. But surely a lot of people saw that it was too much to bring in the former Communist bloc and too much to bring in nations with a completely different economic pedigree.

If Nobody saw the banking crisis of 2008, it is compounded by the fact that nobody saw every financial institution from Liechtenstein to the Cayman Islands due made rich by a lot of money with dubious provenance…from Afganistan or Colombia or Saudi Arabia or….Russia.

Seemingly the Russians have a fondness for banking in …Cyprus.

Now Cyprus is the latest country to be bailed out by the kindly souls in Europe. At a price of course. The wheeze to simply raid the bank accounts in Cyprus and impose a tax on saving…won’t work….not because it would inconvenience Cypriot families….but because it would seriously inconvenience Russians and lead to a flight of capital from Cyprus. The Russians might use the money to buy a football club.

Frankly I preferred the Russians when they were threatening to drop nuclear weapons on Western Europe. The fall of Communism has allowed the Russians to destroy Europe and the bankers in Frankfurt and London have been complicit.

Eurocrats have valued shareholders in banks more than they value their own so-called citizens. It turned out that it was a “rich mans club after all”.I hate to say I told ya so….but……well I did.

Is Europe really at peace tonight? What started as some noble experiment at ending war between Germany and France is now in chaos. The biggest ever experiment in Conflict Resolution is in tatters.

Cyprus has little option but to withdraw from the Euro and re-issue it’s own currency. It has to move to protect it’s own citizens. Spain and Italy will probably end up doing the same. A Europe of Equals???

That European expansion of 2004….it DOES have a precedent. Lebensraum….the Germans have done this before in the 1930s. That didnt end well either.

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Congratulations To St Patricks And Our Ladys College

Posted on March 19, 2013 by fitzjameshorse

Congratulations to St Patricks and Our Ladys College from East Belfast who beat St Malachys in the “IFA” Norn Iron Schools Cup Final at Solitude yesterday.

Back in 1968, my old school St Marys CBS moved from Barrack Street in Belfast to its new home on the Glen Road in Belfast. We were of course disappointed that there was no facilities for Football (Soccer) at the school. Brother McGreevy (aka Bisto or The Boot) would not tolerate a foreign game.

So…while disappointed that my old school did not contest the Final yesterday, I am of course happy to see that the ethos of St Malachys has changed…as has the upstart Catholic school from East Belfast/North Down.

It will of course delight the IFA and those who support them if the young men from these schools play at international level…although if I was the IFA , I wouldnt hold my breath that they would choose Norn Iron…although ya never know with Holywood.

But back in the old days these school finals were inevitably contested by “state” schools and it would be interesting to compare the performance of state schools against Catholic schools in recent years. From a standing start, forty years ago…how has “Catholic” performance improved?

Looking back to “take me out to the ball game era”of Baseball….Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb and Joe Di Maggio were white. Likewise Johnny Unitas in Football. And of course Basketball was segregated with the Harlem Globetrotters were peripheral to the Sport of Basketball.

The growing numbers of black superstars…….latinos in baseball and people like Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan in basketball and yer man whose name I dont know in Football has alienated the racist element in the American sports fan.

Of course……they still have Ice Hockey.

And the growing numbers of Catholics high achieving in Sport….James McClean, Darron Gibson, Paddy Barnes and Michael Conlan in Football alienates the traditional sectarian element in Norn Iron.

Of course…still have Ice Hockey. And Rowing.

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Orange Order Has Cunning Plan

Posted on March 19, 2013 by fitzjameshorse

The Orange Order has a cunning plan…not quite sure if it is “cunning” in the Baldrick sense of the word….or in the Blackadder sense of a fox who is Professor of Cunning at Oxford University.

Portadown

Most towns have town parks. Indeed Belfast City has several. And Portadown has a town park…bounded by the nationalist Garvaghy Road and Park Road. It is in the nationalist part of the town and used mostly by nationalists/Catholics.

As “Europe” will give shed loads of money to any aul nonsense that has the words “cross community” attached to it, they (foolishly in my view) gave £6 million to Craigavon Council to upgrade th park, on the basis that it is “shared space”. “Shared Space” is one of those buzz words beloved of Conflict Resolutionists.

And yet “shared space” has little resonance in most towns which are predominantly nationalist or unionist. Is there a sense in which the Falls Park in West Belfast is “shared”? Or Raymond McCreesh Park in Newry? Or Wallace Park in Lisburn? Or Ward Park in Bangor?

So with the emphasis on “shared” …the Orange Order have applied to the Council to hold a prayer service in the Park….for a thousand people. On the night of the mini-Twelfth in Portadown, when kick-the-Pope bands will be making their regular appearance in the “shared” space that is Portadown Town Centre…..yea right?

Of course there will be no kick-the-Pope bands in Portadown Park. Just a thousand people at a prayer service. “Everyone” is welcome to attend. Nobody will be wearing collarettes and sashes…..and there will be no march or parade to the Park via the Garvaghy Road or Park Road. Just one thousand people walking in their private way to the Park…on the night of the mini-Twelfth.

What could possibly be more innocent?

There is of course an Orange angle to this. A public park, should be “shared” space…especially if funded by our European Master Race to be “shared” but the stark reality of Norn Iron is that a lot of public space is not shared at all. The Conflict Resolutionists might say that we should be sophisticated enough to be tolerant about a prayer service in a public park. How Conflict Resolutionists feel about a Catholic Mass in Woodvale Park or Victoria Park in Belfast is not known.

I hold a third viewpoint…I couldnt care less. As I have said before…the narrative about Norn Iron we are sold…Titanic, MTV Awards, Rory McIlroy, Derry City of Culture is a Big Lie.

Welcome to Portadown…where at least its honest.

 

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The British Press. Victims Of Their Own Malice

Posted on March 18, 2013 by fitzjameshorse

Hyperbole….it can be defined as The Sun reporting that the “crisis” over Press Regulation as “D Day”. There is something particuarly hilarious about Journalists talking about their favourite subject…themselves.

Hyperbole…yes but also Hypocrisy.

Legislation is about the balance of  Rights. And it is all very well that journos getting emotional about Freedom of the Press. If there is any re-calibration of the relationship between Press and Legislation, lets not forget that this was caused by the disgusting behaviour of journalists…and the equally disgusting inability and unwillingness of their fellow journalists to go anything beyond the “rogue reporter” narrative.

It is all very well saying that the Press is the watchdog we need to keep an eye on Government and the Courts and ….the Dowler family. But at the end of the day, Courts tend to be more trustworthy.

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Sycophancy…It Gets You Barred.

Posted on March 16, 2013 by fitzjameshorse

I have unapproved many recent comments.

On some blogs, playing the man gets you yellow cards ans red cards. I am not of course justifying such behaviour. But one thing that really pisses me off is FLATTERY bordering on SYCOPHANCY.

I am all for robust commentary and even  giving credit when credit is due but not mindless flattery. It devalues real praise.

I will NOT have the tone of this Blog raised…by niceness.

I have of course no problem with anyone saying anything nice about most political parties. …..Sinn Fein, SDLP, Green, TUV, UUP, DUP. I do of course draw the line at saying anything nice about the Alliance Party.

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Local News Values?

Posted on March 15, 2013 by fitzjameshorse

I actually bought The Guardian yesterday. The first newspaper I have bought since the Leveson Report was published prior to Christmas. Actually it was far too soon to get any kind of real “behind the headlines” analysis of the Papal Election. Late last night, I was in our local village shop and bought our two “Belfast” morning dailies.

Francis Pic

This is how The Irish News and News Letter chose to report a major international story. The Irish News led with a colour photograph of Pope Francis, while the News Letter relegated the story to Page 5.

Of course The Irish News is read by Catholics/nationalists and The News Letter is read by Protestants/unionists. Of course editors make decisions…occasionally if not always influenced by the target audience.

But it seems that these newspapers are useful props to have next time I go to Texas or wherever to explain our version of Conflict Resolution. Clearly we live in parallel universes. Seperate but Equal?

Next time some letsgetalongerist discussion board pontificates (no pun intended) on bringing down the walls at Bombay Street or Cluan Place, they should be reminded of these invisible and more potent barriers.

The only question is whether it is a good thing or a bad thing. Certainly I would be disappointed to see a British “Royal” Wedding or Funeral on the front page of the Irish News.

It is how we are. Local Journalism is….peerless.

About three weeks ago, I was in Belfast and as I was going into a newsagent, I was offered a copy of The News Letter…usual price but seemingly the money would go to a local childrens charity. I declined. I will not be morally blackmailed into buying a sectarian rag.

A certain irony of course that I bought it last night to showcase its…..news values.

I wonder if any of the News Letter journalists are respected in the wider freemasonry of Journalism and how many would merit a glowing obituary on Slugger O’Toole.

Dont fall for fancy new narratives about a “new” Norn Iron. Its all fantasy. These newspapers represent reality.

 

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Three Tribes

Posted on March 15, 2013 by fitzjameshorse

Three years ago I started using a term on a well know political discussion board. The term was (all together now) ….LETSGETALONGERISM.

I ventured to suggest that there are three communities in Norn Ireland. Irish/Republican/Catholic and British/Unionist/Protestand….and a third community LetsGetAlongerists….which included a golden halo of folks in the over-blown cross community field and politicians such as the Alliance Party who have no actual policy other than their personal advancement.

For some peculiar reason my analysis did not/does not go down well with tthe Golden Halo, Conflict Resolutionists, the Alliance Party and their apologists in the media, discussion boards and lobbying firms.

The great achievement of Satan (Lucifer, the Devil, Old Nick) has been to convince the worlds that he and Evil do not actually exist. The great achievement of LetsGetAlongerists has been to convince Norn Iron that they don’t actually exist. Rather like thebDevil, they prefer to work in the shadows. I don’t think I am being judgemental….am I?

So I confess to being a little surprised to read the blog of Ian Parsley, small business man and politician (per Wikipedia) that he believes the year 2015 could be the year of the “three tribes” (nationalists, unionists and…..”progressives”. Alas I cannot comment on Mr Parsleys blog. This dates back a couple of years when he wrote a blog noting the importance of party loyalty and I made a comment supporting him and acknowledging his expertise….having been loyal to more than one political party. I understand he is now back with the Alliance Party. Anyway Mr Parsley interpreted my comment as not being supportive and suggested that I was “playing the man”. A bit over-sensitive.Anyway “progressives” sounds a very positive  third tribe. I dunno….does LetsGetAlongerist seem a bit…negative? Either way, the progressive Mr Bullick of the Alliance Party….last week he got 1.3% of the votes in Mid Ulster….iws doesn’t seem to be a particuarly good year for him.

But who are these progressive voices? Clearly Mr Parsley has his own current party (Alliance) in mind. But a tip of the hat surely to the McUnionists (McCrea and McCallister).

There seems to me to be a lack of energy with Basil and John. They took years to leave the UUP and seem to be taking as long to actually launch a new party.

All of a sudden LetsGetAlongerism seems a crowded field. Alliance apologists openly regret that Basil and John did not sign up to Alliance….as there is so little difference between them….which seems to come close to suggesting Alliance  is a liberal unionist party….but surely not cos Alliance is ya know “agnostic”.

Curiously Ian Parsley (currently in the Alliance Party….it’s hard to keep up isn’t it.?) ridicules the Conservative Party (never a member apparently) for their inability to attract Basil and John intotheir Party even though it already has a Party structure. Surely Alliance also failed to attract them.

What are we to make off all this? A crowded middle ground is not good news for the Alliance Party and their apologists. The experience competing against the Women’s Coalition haunts Alliance and the spectre of Greens, Conservatives and McUnionists looms large. Naomi Long will lose East Belfast to an agreed unionist. The Greens already hold a key middle ground seat in North Down and at least one Alliance Assembly seat will go in East Belfast.

Happy Days!

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“One Rogue Reporter”

Posted on March 15, 2013 by fitzjameshorse

Remember when we were fed the line that there was no Phone Hacking Scandal. There was just one rogue reporter.

It strikes me that for a profession which is about observing and reporting, Journalists are at least remarkably incompetent as they did not seem to know what was going on in their own newsrooms. An awful and totally unworthy thought occurs….maybe they did know and just didn’t care. Shame on me for thinking unworthy thoughts about a noble and fearless profession. After all we should be more sympathetic.

As the evidence at Leveson revealed …a parade of journalists entered the witness box, suffering from crippling memory loss. “I can’t recall” they said. Perhaps memory loss is contagious.

Yet we should salute Journalists. A person unfamiliar with Journalism might have believed that a journalist with a poor memory might not be able to hold a job….yet against all odds journalists are working away in newsrooms all over London. They are indeed peerless.

Yet did I hear correctly? A total of sixty nine journalists have now been arrested and that seems to undermine the whole “rogue reporter” line fed to us by….er…journalists.

Apparently journalists are a bit pissed off. The Police response is ….disproportionate. Journalists are being arrested in early morning raids. Journalists…we are told….by…er journalists are being treated like….like….like….like ….Terrorists.

Seemingly one of four journos dragged off to a police station today was Tina Weaver. She is….seven months pregnant. All right-thinking people (ie journalists) are shocked.

But …a thought occurs. Perhaps someone…like the Government…should do something about all this. David Cameron?

No. Hardly.

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