The Day That I joined The SDLP…They Stopped Listening To Me

Posted on February 16, 2012 by fitzjameshorse

I like Dawn Purvis. I have met her twice now and found her extremely pleasant.

Some might regard her previous membership of the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) as baggage…because of its perceived links to the UVF. The real point is that Dawn Purvis has made a journey. I have made a journey. I like politicians who have made a journey and do not have much time for bloggers/blaggers who do not acknowledge the fact that many politicians have made a journey.

Dawn succeeded the late David Ervine as the PUPs only Stormont MLA in 2007. She split from the party in the summer of 2010 over its UVF connexion. She lost her East Belfast seat in the Assembly Election of 2011. I think that is a great pity.

Part of my own journey has been to re-evaluate Dawn Purvis. In the later stages of the Peace Process, she was a figure….”the woman” standing behind Ervine and Billy Hutchinson. Ervine is much celebrated as a major contributor to the Peace Process….an articulate……even verbose man, who was a marked contrast to the rather sinister men around him.

On his death, Dawn succeeded him…….and at that stage of my own journey, I would have tended to dismiss Dawn Purvis as a politician out of her depth. Dawn (who is from the loyalist lower Ormeau area of the city) is not unlike many women from republican Falls Road. Already an adult, she took a degree in Politics and Womens Studies at Queens University Belfast…itself my old stomping ground.

For those of us of a working class background, QUB can be …a problem. Our social ring of no confidence can hold us back. Many of the professors are decent enough people who probably neither know or care about our backgrounds………and yes some despise us………….but theres a few who adopt us as a project. I think this happens to women. A bit like Professor Higgins adopted Elisa Doolittle as his project.

My impression circa 2007 …..and I am probably totally wrong …is that Dawn Purvis would be such an educated Rita. My revised opinion (2010-2011) is that Dawn is not for adoption or patronising by Belfasts academic or journalistic (or blogging?) elite. She is very much her own woman and blossomed in Stormont and blossomed further after leaving the PUP.

Her own research into the way young working class Protestants are left behind by the education system is her legacy.

But I was a little taken aback that Dawn was a guest of the SDLP in South Belfast last night. I should not have been surprised. It is not about her baggage or even mine. And Dawn is certainly left of centre. I cant imagine a bigger asset to the SDLP than Dawn Purvis.

But of course the SDLPs position as the only local party affiliated to mainstream European Socialist Parties such as the British Labour Party and the Irish Labour Party is not ……enough. The SDLP believes in Irish unity and many “Protestants” who lean leftward are uncomfortable with that and they have no real political home. The biggest losers are the Protestant working class. All unionist parties are conservative. All nationalist parties (SDLP and Sinn Féin) are socialist.

Some call for “normal” politics…..but frankly thats not likely or desirable. By “normal”, people mea “normal British politics” where people vote Conservative, Labour or Liberal Democrat. A homogenous Norn Iron. But a homogenous Norn Iron is a Bristish Norn Iron. Of no interest to me.

It follows that leftward leaning “Protestants” cant be seen to endorse the SDLP even though SDLP might be natural allies in terms of health care, workers rights, public sector, welfare etc. The “Protestant” or “unionist” socialists keep their distance.

The SDLP (Social Democratic and Labour Party) is of course itself a coalition……nationalists, republicans, human rights and socialists. While all sign up to the party, it is natural that some lean more in one direction than the other. The cliché is that the SDLP “socialists” are in Belfast and the “nationalists” are west of the River Bann.

While the “Protestant left” and “non-nationalist left” cant actually bring itself to join SDLP and make it stronger, I wonder if the SDLP facilitates the luxury of their semi-detachment too much. Does the SDLP make it too easy for them.

Thus at the 2010 SDLP Conference, speakers in platform discussions included community relations activist Duncan Morrow and Patrick Corrigan from human rights organisation “Amnesty International”.

I wrote then that the SDLP listens to every voice but its own. And I think one of the reasons for the SDLPs poor performance in the 2011 Assembly Election was that it had as much interest in listening to other people than actually representing its own members and voters.

Of course listening to other viewpoints is good. John Hume memorably spoke to Gerry adams and the Hume-Adams talks in the 1990s were the first steps in the Peace Process.Arguably then and now the SDLP places its own interest second to the broader “national” interest. The SDLP is in decline and I would argue that it will not see an upward swing until it at leasts balances listening to outside voices with listening to its own.

Of course Alasdair McDonnell has been leading the SDLP since November 2011. His manifesto was to stop the decline and listen and re-organise. The runnerup in that contest was Conall McDevitt who is a leading SDLP voice in the Platform for Change pressure group……a “lets get alongerist” fantasy devoted to changing the nature of politics here. Conall is a leading member of the Balmoral branch at which Dawn Purvis spoke. Last night Conall tweeted that “Dawn Purvis was an inspirational guest speaker on the future of progressive politics here”.

What exactly does that mean? What is going on?

Well the next elections we face is the European Elections and three Members of the European Parliament will be elected. Currently Norn Iron is represented by Diane Dodds (DUP) Bairbre de Brun (Sinn Féin) and Jim Nicholson (UUP). It could be that Nicholson is vulnerable, as the UUP is in disarray.

I suspect Conall will be the SDLP candidate. But it would be almost impossible to take a seat without massive help (transfers) from the “left”. Can Conall persuade enough Protestant, unionist or broadly left people in the electorate to vote for him?

The problem with this analysis is that SDLP would need to soften its “nationalism” to attract such votes which of course leaves its “nationalist” wing vullnerable to Sinn Féin. Getting it right would mean that the SDLP stops its decline. Getting it wrong means further decline.

So did I make a mistake in joining the SDLP. Well I will know better when the 2012 Conference takes place in November. The point is that in 2010 and early 2011, SDLP people were encouraging me to join the Party. Of course I warned as many as I could that the SDLP needed to treat the Alliance Party as an enemy. I called that right.  And that Margaret Ritchie was  aliability. I called that right too.

When it became obvious that she would be ousted, I joined the SDLP. And what can I say……….thats the point where SDLP people stopped listening to me. They never listen to their supporters.

 

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“We Won The War …And The HP Sauce!”

Posted on February 13, 2012 by fitzjameshorse

West Belfast circa 1962.

When we played football against the boys from the other end of our street……..and we played for hours on end…….when one team reached ten goals it was half-time. And the first team to reach twenty goals won the game………we had a curious victory song as we marched back to our end of the street. “We won the War………and the HP Sauce!”. I have never heard that phrase any where else or at any other time.

Fify years on……..well we dont sing it. Maybe I am the only person in the world who actually remembers it……..but all football fans still have that same feeling of victory and defeat…especially on a Monday morning. Singing (even figuratively) a victory song is sweet. Having to listen to one is a bitter experience.

Leaving aside the tribal and ethnic connexion that we have to Celtic (Catholic) and Rangers (Protestant) men of my generation are supporters of Manchester United, Liverpool, Leeds United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur. Back in the early 1960s those were the big teams. With the exception of Leeds, they still are the big teams. Necessarily in Belfast we do ot have any real geographic connexion to an English football team…but we see a team on TV and adopt them. And we are even less likely to change our football allegiance than our football team.

It is now 8.14am on a Monday morning. Men are checking into work in offices, factories, schools and colleges in Belfast.

Lets see……the Manchester United guys had a good weekend. So did the Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur people. It was a bad weekend for Liverpool, Chelsea and Leeds United. Let the banter (teasing) begin……figurative chorus of “we won the war and the HP sauce”. But by 11am, it will be business as usual. There will be more football on Wednesday……some Thursday morning chat…………..and then it is the weekend again.

That is how it works.

And this is why the whole Luis Saurez (Liverpool)-Patrice Evra (Manchester United) Affair has been so toxic. The banter….and the occasional anger………….and in this case vitriol is not supposed to last for four months.

Yesterday (Sunday) Luis Saurez issued an apology for not shaking Patrice Evra’s hand. So did Liverpool FC. So did Kenny Dalglish, the manager-coach…………..and Manchester United have accepted it all and moved on. Obviously it was all choreographed but………welcome.

The story ……spin……coming out of Liverpool is that Saurez had misled the club. It had been assumed that he would shake the hand of Evra and so begin the healing process. Further, Dalglish apologises for his conduct in post-match interviews….he maintains that he did not know that Saurez had refused to shake Evra’s hand.

Leaving aside that there is no direct apology from Saurez to Evra, this is a welcome development. There is the suggestion floated in most newspapers today that Saurez will leave Liverpool when this season ends. He is “damaged goods”.

Questions remain. Liverpool’s public relations for four months have been a disaster. They maintained against all the evidence that Saurez had not racially abused Evra. They were openly hostile to the verdict against Saurez and as recently as last week, Dalglish was publicly stating that Saurez was the real victim “he should not have been banned”.

Football is tribal. Liverpool fans rallied to “their” man. All football tribes would have done the same but the tribalism was stoked by bad handling by Liverpool, who should have acted earlier to limit the damage. Significantly on Saturday post match………..Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United manager-coach said that Saurez was a “disgrace” and spoke……..for most football fans when he mentioned the (proud) history of Liverpool.

It is an old cliché. It takes years to build a reputation and seconds to destroy a reputation. And Liverpool have spent four months dismantling their own proud history.

And that is the annoying bit. I am a Manchester United fan. I do not “hate” Liverpool. I hate losing the war. I hate losing the HP sauce. But Liverpool were the first club to offer Manchester United help after the Munich Air Crash in 1958. We should not forget.

And beating Liverpool is of course a joy. Not because they are a lousy club with a lousy history. Beating Liverpool is a joy BECAUSE they are an honourable club with an honourable history.

We are invited to draw  a line under this. We should. Saurez will leave Liverpool. If it helps the reconciliation that Liverpool whisper that they and Dalglish were “betrayed” by Luis Saurez and they are now obviously casting him adrift, then so be it. If we need to gloss over why Liverpool were too supportive for too long and it took the intervention of the American owners to sort it out because issues of race are taken more seriously in the United States……..then that is ok too.

Is this my last word on the Saurez-Evra Affair? I doubt it.

 

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Journalism And Kerb-Crawling

Posted on February 12, 2012 by fitzjameshorse

With several journalists from The Sun now under investigation for making payments to police officers and other public servants………there has been outrage expressed…by er journalists.

Apparently making payments to pubic servants…ie corrupting public servants is ok. To arrest public servants and journalists is an infringement of Press Freedom. Oh come on……pull the other one.

Corruption is a two way street. People need to be willing to corrupt and willing to be corrupted. Both are offences. Journalists and indeed the public servants might claim a public interest defence. There have after all been cases where juries have found for defendants…but surely thats a matter for the courts…..not a matter for the media.

Yet the media need whistle-blowers and it would appear that the good folks at News International have gone whistle-blowing to the Police……and have blown the whistle on their employees. Why would a journalist find this is wrong?

The notion that it is wrong for a public servant to sell information but ok for a journalist to buy information ……is hypocritical nonsense.

That would be like saying it is wrong to sell sex……but ok to buy it.

Thankfully Society thinks kerb crawlers and journalists are the lowest forms of animal life.

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This Football Season Just Got Worse………Evra & Saurez (continued)

Posted on February 11, 2012 by fitzjameshorse

There are two responses to the Patrice Evra-Luis Saurez incident today.

The first response is to over-state it. And the second response is to under-state it.

Earlier today…Manchester United played Liverpool at Old Trafford (Manchester). United won 2-1 but my joy at beating our oldest enemy….oops rival……is tempered by what happenedd before, during and after the game. Precious little had anything to do with Football.

Luis Saurez (Liverpool) was heavily fined and banned for eight games for racially abusing Patrice Evra (Manchester United) in the corresponding fixture at Liverpool in October 2011. Saurez, backed by his club vigourously denied the allegation but the Football Association have found against Saurez…….and the Liverpool club, staff, players and fans have refused to accept the judgement. They believe that their player was treated unfairly……….and that the verbal abuse…..is accepted in Saurez’ native Uruguay.

Football is tribal. We see offsides, handballs, bad tackles in accord with the over-priced replica football shirt we wear. This should have been different. Sadly it is no different.

Part of the pre-match ritual is a handshake among the players. Evra (after all the innocent party) offered his hand to Saurez (the guilty party). And Saurez ignored the outstretched hand. And frankly Saurez seemed rather pleased about doing so.

Seemingly at half time…… away from TV cameras in the relative privacy of the narrow corridor leading to the dressing rooms, there was an angry confrontation between several players from both teams. Police and Stewards had to intervene.

At the end of the match……..which of course United won……it is clear that Patrice Evra was extreme in his celebrations. In a similar match a few years ago Gary Neville (Manchester United) over-celebrated in front of Liverpool fans. This was judged to be provocative. He was fined.

Clearly Evra did not directly provoke Liverpool fans. But clearly as he was in the vicinity of his racist tormentor Luis Saurez, several Liverpool players felt provoked……….it is almost inevitable action will be taken against Patrice Evra. I have sympathy for him. When Saurez ignored Evra’s outstretched hand at the beginning of the game…….in “blanking” Evra…….Saurez made a bad situation worse. He must take the bigger share of the blame. He was stating that Evra did not exist. After the match, it is understandable that Evra respond and let the world know that he does indeed “exist”.

Seemingly there was further ill-feeling in the dressing room area after the match.

There will of course be consequences.

Yet again, Liverpool seem incapable of understanding the dilemna in which they find themselves. Manager (Head Coach) Kenny Dalglish who has already stated that Saurez should not have been banned in the first place……….claims not to have seen the “non handshake” incident. Perhaps that is so. But it beggars belief that in his post-match interviews he claims not to have known about it.

Alex Ferguson, Manchester United’s manager states that Saurez is a “disgrace” (few would disagree) and that he should not play for Liverpool again. While Ferguson cites that Saurez is undermining Liverpool’s honourable history, he probably has no right to say who plays for Liverpool.

The Dalglish response is manifestly “tribal”. The Ferguson response runs the risk of being seen as “tribal”.

 

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John Adams (HBO Series)

Posted on February 9, 2012 by fitzjameshorse

Last night I watched the second episode of the seve part mini-series on John Adams, one of the “founding fathers” of the United States. My wife observed that this was just about the first historical series hat I had not pressed the “pause” button to demonstrate an historical innaccuracy. Welll….thats not entirely true.

I do not ALWAYS push the “pause” button. Maybe on occasions I have pointed out that the saddles on horses in westerns, American Civil War and other movies are too 20th or 21st century for the period……but it is understandable. Old saddles just dont exist in quantity and 20th and 21st century buttocks are just too delicate to be comfortable on old saddles.

That is of course “nitpicking”. Memorable Mel Gibson’s Braveheart has loads of nitpicking delight. But Historical innaccuracy is a bigger issue. To some movies like Braveheart, Michael Collins, Schindlers List are too riddled with historical errors to be taken seriously. I disagree.

The constraints of a two hour movie or a TV mini-series means that some events are over-played, under-played for dramatic effect or to create a narrative for the casual viewer. The key thing is that the overall “history” cannot be compromised.

Which brings me back to John Adams. The reason that I did not press the “pause” button was simply that I do not know this period of American history well enough to make informed comment. Rather than saying out loud “that did not happen”, I was at best left with the silent thought “did that really happen?”.

In episode two, the action alternated between the Adams farm near Boston and the Congress at Philadelphia 1775-76. One scene involving John & Abigail Adams has Mrs Admas wonder aloud that there should be more women in politics…….that every time she opened an empty cupboard, she was involved in politics. Of course even allowing for the fact that Abigail Adams was a woman ahead of her time, this was actuallya  very 20th or  21st century comment. Likewise Abigail points out that her husband for all his perceived liberalism wont make a stand against slavery for fear of offending his friends in the South.

Incidently, Id tend to wonder about the Battle of Bunker Hill (sic). My own recollection is that it was not known as such until many years after. But like I say this is something I just dont know.

The action around the Congress was really about the Declaration of Independence. And necessarily for dramatic effect it all comes together in a few short scenes. I thought the main players were a bit one dimensional and while it concentrated on undiplomatic Adams (Massachusetts), smooth operator Franklin (Pennsylvania) and silent but effective Jefferson (Virginia)…they all voice anti-slavery sentiments to each other……military man Washington (Virginia) is peripheral……….three other characters are depicted Dickinson (the Quaker pacifist from Pennsylvania), Dwayne (the New York “loyalist”) and Rutledge (South Carolina) who seems to exist only as the voice of the South.

Necessarily for a concise dramatic narrative, the other members of Congress are relegated to saying things like “Hear Hear” and waving their fists.

Certianly the whole Continental Congress is a subject which deserves some kind of better analysis.

While Drama is a good entrée into History…….it is NOT History. I have seen good Historical Drama and I have seen bad Historical Drama. Unfortunately I dont know enough about the precise period to judge John Adams.

It would appear that I need to read some books.

 

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Football Is Becoming Toxic

Posted on February 7, 2012 by fitzjameshorse

I watched the Liverpool-Tottenham Hotspur match last night. It was the first appearance of Luiz Saurez in eight games. He has now served his ban for racially abusing Patrice Evra of Manchester United.

Saurez is due to play against Manchester United in Manchester on Saturday. He may expect a hostile reception from 71,000 of the 76,000 crowd. Of course he is not a victim.

Patrice Evra was the victim and he got a hostile reception at Liverpool ten days ago. Shamefully Kenny Dalglish, the Liverpool head coach chose not to condemn the excessive booing. The fans pay to attend a match. Dalglish was booed during his own career. It is “normal”.

Likewise on Sunday Manchester United played Chelsea in London. John Terry the Chelsea player who faces criminal charges in a London court in July for allegedly abusing Anton Ferdinand (Queens Park Rangers) did not play thru injury but Rio Ferdinand played for Manchester United and was subject to booing every time he touched the ball. Rio Ferdinand is the brother of Anton.

In fairness Rio Ferdinand is very well followed on Twitter, the social networking site. And is on occasions controversial. It must be emphasised that he has not said anything prejudicial to John Terry’s upcoming trial. But the whole issue of Twitter and social networking sites is making the situation worse.

Simply put, people……..football fans….are taking sides and not just along lines of  “football tribalism”. The issue of Race and racism is not far from the surface.

It is potentially toxic. The Liverpool-Tottenham Hotspur match was I thought ill-tempered. Tackles were harsh and there was occasional “afters” where players seemed slightly too happy at an opponent being injured.

There is no doubt that John Terry was genuinely injured when he missed the Chelsea-Manchester United match. But he was the elephant in the room…or pitch. Indeed the TV cameras often showed shots of him in the Chelsea crowd.

There had been some speculation that many or indeed all the Manchester United players would have a problem shaking John Terry’s hand in the pre-match ritual. Certainly it is unlikely that Rio Ferdinand would have done so.

John Terry is becoming increasingly isolated and even toxic…it is still five months until he appears in court …and there is a lot of stuff that can happen between now and then. England are also scheduled to be involved in “friendly” matches as they prepare for the European Championships in June.

Although stripped of the English captaincy, it is almost certain that John Terry will be selected for the European Championships. Rio Ferdinand has had some injuries this season and coming to the end of his career but he has played over eighty times for England and it remains possible that he will be a member of the England squad. And of course, Terry’s presence will be a challenge to his team mates….black and white…..who have been critical of him.

Race has never been far below the surface in the English game. And for at least a decade English Football has been congratualting itself on campaigns such as “Kick Racism Out”. It looks very premature now.

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Mitt Romney: “I am not interested in the very poor”

Posted on February 7, 2012 by fitzjameshorse

We should be grateful that the mask has slipped. Mitt Romney has bluntly staed that he is “not interested in the very poor”. He qualifies this by saying that the “very poor” have a safety net and he will ensure that the saftey net remains and will repair it as necessary.

Yet this is a perfect illustration of how meaningless the concept of “compassionate conservatism” actually is. There is no such thing. Millionaire Romney is interested in the “middle” because he allows for the fact that they can be aspirational. Romney does not believe that the very poor are entitled to any aspiration….other than being fed at a soup kitchen.

That seems not very extraordinary when speaking of the relationship between the “Western World” donating aid to Africa but it is an extraordinary statement when a Presidential candidate speaks of his own fellow citizens. The fact is that in United States being very poor is actually an unAmerican activity.

Being “in the middle”..actually being hard pressed is a patriotic act….as the conervatives would have us believe. The test of American patriotism is to at least try and overcome being hard-pressed. The “middle” interests Romney not just because of conservative philosophy but they are a key demographic. I suggest thats the “interest”.

Yet the “middle” are perhaps closer to the “very poor” than a millionaire conservative. And perhaps Romney underestimates their essential decency….clearly a person does not have to be rich to be a conservative……but a person does have to be a greedy bastard. Wealth is not the marker of a fiscal conservatism….Greed is the true marker.

The key thing is that Mitt Romney may not be interested in the very poor. Perhaps in Election Year, the very poor should take an interest in Mitt Romney and his aspirations for the White House.

 

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Chris Huhne…The John Terry Of Politics?

Posted on February 3, 2012 by fitzjameshorse

Earlier this morning, news broke that footballer John Terry has been stripped of the England captaincy. Terry stands trial accused of racially insulting an opponent during a match. Terry stands trial on 9th July, shortly after England takes part in the European Championships.

Chris Huhne, Liberal Democrat Minister for Climate Change in the Conservative-led British Coalition Government has also stood down today. He faces criminal charges…perverting the course of justice.

The charge relates to a traffic (speeding) offence in 2003. Huhne’s car was identified as speeding by a “speed cam”. His wife was then given points on her licence as seemingly she was driving. No big deal. However in June 2010, Mr Huhne admitted to an extra-marital affair and Ms Pryce sued for divorce. It is as they say……acrimonious…….and Ms Pryce alleged last year that Mr Huhne was the actual driver of the car in 2003.

Today…BOTH ….have been charged with perverting the course of justice……and are due to appear in court later this month.

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The Football Racism Row Gets Worse

Posted on February 3, 2012 by fitzjameshorse

I have written before about the Racism Row engulfing English Football.

It centres on John Terry, captain of the England national team and major club Chelsea. It is difficult to like John Terry. Two years ago, he was stripped of the England captaincy because he had an affair with a team mates (Wayne Bridge) girlfriend. Highly paid professional footballers are tabloid regulars. At least the minority who live their lives ostentatiously enjoying the fruits of their success……..money (Terry earns over £100,000 per week), houses, cars…….women.

John Terry faces criminal charges. He is accused of racist abuse of Anton Ferdinand (Queens Park Rangers) in a match earlier in the season. The trial will take place in July and the delay is not doing football……and more importantly…race relations ….any good.

At the height of the John Terry-Wayne Bridge tabloid story, Bridge then transferred to another team refused to shake hands with Terry in a pre-match ritual.

In my view, the pre-match ritual where the players of two teams shake hands is nonsense. It is ……….an invented tradition. Many young people will grow up thinking that this is a long standing tradition but in fact it is no more than five years old. Of course shaking hands before a game is actually a symbol of good sportsmanship……..and often theres real affection as players recognise an old friend on the other team. But the other side of this “tradition” is that it is a prelude to cheating.

The crisis has escalated over the past few days. Chelsea (John Terrys team) was drawn against Queen Park Rangers (Anton Ferdinands team) in a FA Cup match last Saturday. Obviously in the days prior to the match, the fans of Chelsea and Queens Park Rangers became increasingly partizan. There was some newspaper speculation that in the pre-match ritual, Ferdinand would not shake Terry’s hand. And further speculation that Ferdinands team mates might do the same. The Football authorities headed off a crisis by abandoning the pre-match ritual. Sensible.

Earlier this week, John Terry’s legal team entered a formal plea of “not guilty” to the charges and a trial date has been set for 9th July. This not only means that the rest of the English football season will be played about before the court case is heard and a definitive verdict is reached.

In June……England (current captain John Terry) will be involved in the European Football Championships. The England team consists of black and white players.

Clearly, nothing must be done which would prejudge a trial and John Terry is innocent until a Judge (no jury will be involved) decides otherwise. Nevertheless there is a genuine dilemna. One scenario is that England take part in a major football tournament and the captain of the team is subsequently found guilty of racist behaviour. Alternatively England might strip Terry of the captaincy or even not select him at all (a diplomatic “injury” perhaps) thus weakening the team…….and Terry might be found entirely innocent.

There is much speculation today that John Terry will indeed be stripped of the England captaincy. People suggest that this is unfair…that it pre-judges a trial. They suggest that John Terry should be allowed to live his life as normal.

I think this attitude is naive. When people are charged with a serious offence and in the context of football and broader society, racial abuse is a serious offence, they might expect their lives to be disrupted. For example a person charged with an offence might expect to be remanded in custody or have bail conditions which are stringent.

For example, a schoolteacher accused of making a racist or sexist comment to a fellow teacher might reasonably be expected to be suspended from duty until the matter is clarified by a “Hearing”. This does not imply guilt or innocence.

Therefore I strongly feel that John Terry cannot reasonably play in the European Championships. And certainly cannot captain the team.

EDITS: I posted the above at 8.50am. I can now confirm (11.25am) that John Terry has been stripped of the England captaincy.

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Ping Pong Diplomacy…Norn Iron Style

Posted on February 2, 2012 by fitzjameshorse

The object of Unionism is to destroy Nationalism. The object of Nationalism is to destroy Unionism.

Things are really that simple. The Good Friday Agreement provides a basis to put this on hold………providing as it does a set of obstacles to the unity of Ireland………and/or the stepping stones to a united Ireland. The Good Friday Agreement……with its creative ambiguity was sold to both sides of the war on a different basis.

The outworking of the Good Friday Agreement has not gone according to the script. The power sharing administration is effectively in the hands of the DUP and Sinn Féin rather than their more moderate unionists and nationalists (UUP and SDLP). This has surprised commentators and the seemingly cosy relationship between First Ministers Peter Robinson (DU) and Martin McGuinness (SF) shocks many.

Last weekend Peter Robinson attended his first ever Gaelic Football match (Derry versus Tyrone)….at the invitation of McGuinness and the Ulster Council of the GAA. Post-match he was happily signing autographs for supporters….nationalists to a man and woman.

McGuinness himself has hinted that he would attend a Norn Iron football match at Windsor Park and would support “any team with a green shirt”.

In a sense DUP and Sinn Féin have outflanked their rivals within unionism and nationalism. Tom Elliott leader of the UUP has already publicly stated that he could not attend a GAA match……..and from my own perspective, I would never travel to Windsor Park to watch Norn Iron and if the match was televised, I would happily support the Satanic Host from Hell against Norn Iron.

The surprise here should be that Robinson and McGuinness have the full confidence of the DUP and Sinn Féin. Not because the DUP and SF agree with the basic premise of “lets get alongerism” but rather they know that there is no real sincerity. This is gesture politics.

It would be near impossible for a UUP Leader to attend a GAA match without being branded a traitor to Unionism. And near impossible for a SDLP Leader to cheer on Norn Iron team at Windsor Park without Sinn Féin demonising him/her.

Two things. It was Richard Nixon who visited China in the early 1970s. It was Richard Nixon who negotiated with the Viet Cong.

This is the same kind of Ping Pong Diplomacy. Later this year, as part of the sixtieth anniversary of her coronation, Elizabeth Windsor (aka The Queen) will be visiting all parts of her “kingdom”. The money shot is her being welcomed by Robinson…… AND McGuinness.

But all the choreography in the world does not change the fact that Unionism wants to destroy Nationalism. And vice versa.

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