Slugger O’Toole…Absentee?

Posted on July 3, 2013 by fitzjameshorse

I was a bit surprised to see Conor Murphy MP referred to on Slugger O’Toole as an “absentee”. Although strictly correct, Mr Murphy does not take his seat at Westminster, it always strikes me that “absentee” is a tad judgemental, conjuring up images of “absentee landlord”.
I hve no idea whether the author meant it literally or judgementally but surely Slugger O’Toole is a message board, primarily but not exclusively dealing with Norn Iron.
And perhaps only fair that I point out that the editor of Slugger O’Toole is resident in Dorset, England.

Does this mean the editor of Slugger O’Toole is an “absentee editor”. And if so …is it relevant?
Clearly the author of the Slugger piece noting Conor Murphy is an absentee thought this was a relevant point to make.

Is the author of the piece related to the editor of Slugger O’Toole?
Are they perhaps the same person?

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Organ Donation?

Posted on July 3, 2013 by fitzjameshorse

I carry a donor card. Or to be more precise I have carried several and lost several. But well…its the thought that counts.
My views have changed over the years.
Like everyone I have had reason to be grateful to doctors, nurses…both for myself and for my family. And like everyone I have had reason to think that the care afforded to me and my family has not been good enough.
I have always had a healthy or perhaps I mean unhealthy skepticism of the medical “profession”. Liking or being grateful to individual doctors does not extend to me having any affection at all for their profession.
Doubly so when RESEARCH is involved.
I dont mind people having a vocation.
I dont mind people having a profession.
Confusing the two…thats something that I DO mind.
Thirty odd years ago I would not have carried a donor card. My aversion to the medical profession…wrongly…trumped all other consideations such as LIFE itself.
The medical profession has changed. It is more mercenary.
But I have changed over thirty years.
A wife and two children will do that to you.
And so will daughters-in-law. And grandchildren.
And real friends.
So that the faces that we see in news programmes underscoring the plight of people…children especially…who need urgent transplants…become the faces of people for whom I care deeply.
So I carry a donor card…in the sense that it and its predecessors are at the bottom of a drawer somewhere in this house.
So I mean well.

Yet I worry that the decision of the Welsh Assembly to pass a law where “consent” is implied, unless there is evidence to the contrary seems a step too far and mit even be counter productive.
For me the wishes of the bereaved…the living …takes precedence over the wishes of their deceased relative. And frankly takes precedence over the wishes of the family that NEEDS the heart, liver, kidney etc.
The scenario where a doctor is in confrontation with a relative over the implied consent of a recently deceased relative does not appeal to me.
And the seeming assurances of the medical profession to not assure me at all.

It is of course a Welsh decision.
It will not apply in Norn Iron. And unlikely ever to apply.
I admire those (Joe Brolly springs to mind) who very much alive donated a kidney to a friend.
In extreme cases I would probably do the same. So would you.

But the point is that ORGAN DONATION is a good thing. A very good thing.
Humanity at its highest.
But GRABBING an organ is entirely different.

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New Irish Postage Stamp

Posted on July 2, 2013 by fitzjameshorse

While the British have “honoured” me with a MBE, I am delighted to announce that this Blog will be featured on a new Irish stamp, due for issue later this year.
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Drugs…Nobody Knows Nothin’

Posted on July 2, 2013 by fitzjameshorse

Titanic Centre, Justin Bieber at MTV Awards, Derry “City of Culture”, Rory McIlroy, G8 Summit…amid all the relentless good news stories being churned out by the compliant journalists in Norn Iron, there are occasional reminders that it is all a sham…a big lie.
As I have said before, the Marching Season is REALITY. Justin Bieber is a distraction.

Take Drugs. Ecstasy and Pot. Every so often the PSNI find large amounts of illegal drugs out there. And the scale of the siezures indicate that there are plenty of criminal elements out there …many (mostly loyalist) paramilitary groups who control the drug trade and the misery it causes.
Just vtwo months ago, I was in Derry when Michael Copeland MLA (UUP) spoke movingly to the SDLP Youth Conference about the levels of drug abuse, alination and misery in East Belfast.

While post-mortems continue on EIGHT young people who have died this week, it appears that some if not all might have died as a result of taking a bad batch of contaminated drugs.
It is an open secret that the UVF controls the drugs trade in East Belfast.
Seemingly the only person who doesnt know this is John Kyle, the PUP councillor for the area. John Kyles party is “linked” to the UVF.
John Kyle wears another hat. He is a doctor…a MEDICAL DOCTOR…in East Belfast.
Fair play then to Pastor Paul Burns, who ministers in loyalist Sandy Row and a friend of one of the young people who died last week.
Pastor Burns bluntly states that the drug dealers have no loyalty to their country or community…they are”only loyal to their wallet”.

How exactly has a bunch of street thugs in East Belfast been allowed to become crime lords. Well…its a pay-off. They are completely unelectable and in return for not actually killing anybody and spoiling the whole Titanic-Justin Bieber narrative, they have effectively a free hand to peddle E-tabs to kids.

Everyones a winner. Except of course the kids and their parents and their friends.
Meanwhile Edwin Poots the DUP Minister for Health wonders if the police are turning a blind eye to all this. That they let small time dealers operate so that they can get information on bigger crimes. Thats right …Poots is Minister for HEALTH, administering a Department whose budget includes the cost of treating addiction and the violence it produces.

The PSNI denies this. But that seems to contradict every police procedural TV Show that I have ever watched.

The Truth is that Society itself…politicians, police and journalists have turned a blind eye for years. Nothing must ever be said or written which exposes just how much of a sham that Norn Iron is.

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DUP….Bigots?

Posted on July 1, 2013 by fitzjameshorse

Alasdair McDonnell got some flak last week for calling the DUP “bigots”. One of the Deputy Speakers in the House of Commons (I think it was Lindsay Hoyle) thought it was inappropriate but I dont think Alasdair was censured for it.
It was after all a charge about a political party rather than an individual.

While Nigel Dodds was all bluster about how offensive Alasdair was….reasonable people might think the SDLP Leader had a point and that as far as the DUP os concerned, it is long past the time when nationalists/republicans/socialists started “calling a spade a shovel”.
There is of course a letsgetalongerist website that chooses to believe that Peter Robinson is genuine in reaching out to Caholic voters. It suits their anti-naionalist agenda after all.

But unfortunately for the DUP, Nigel Dodds and Robbos admirers, the evidence of last week is that Alasdair got it absolutely right.
The DUP on Lisburn Council are refusing to dole out any power-sharing to the godawful Alliance Party who are now whinging about not getting their fair share. Oddly the Alliance Party is not whinging about having eight Assembly seats which “earns” them two Executive seats and SDLP (for example) has fourteen Assembly seats and one Executive seat.
I think we can take Alliances concern with “fairness” with a pinch of salt.

And we had a DUP MLA say that he had no trouble with the National Flag of Ireland being burned on Orange bonfires. It is he says part of CULTURE.
There we have it…back in December 2012, the DUP were involved in protests because the Bitish Flag was not going to be flying all year round at Belfast City Hall. Their CULTURE was under threat.
Hypocrisy?
Bigotry?
The thing about the Lisburn Council decision was “political”.
But the thing about burning Irish flags is that it is “personal”. It IS OFFENSIVE.

Lets not kid ourselves. Whether it is MTV Awards, City of Culture, Titanic or President Obama addressing over-enthusiastic teenagers! Norn Iron has NOT changed or even changing. Ten months of the year are presented as a norm and the mad Marching Season presented as something from a long-gone age.
In fact…its the exact opposite. Burning the national flag of Ireland IS the norm and Derry as a City of Culture is an unrepresentative piece of nonsense.

And what are we to make of the latest DUP statement on Integrated Education, to which they are now seemingly committed?
Why the conversion?
I suspect that the DUP care more about the future of unionism than they do for the education of wee Sinead in Coalisland and wee Niall in Poleglass.
There just isnt enough salt in the world to season the DUPs call for CatholiC Bishops to join the 21st Century.
The hypocrisy is shocking. The DUP and its Orange allies will be spending an entire month celebrating a 17th Century battle.

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Gettysburg 1863-2013

Posted on June 30, 2013 by fitzjameshorse

So one hundred and fifty years ago, the Union and Confederate Armies lined up agianst each other in the battle that would effectively decide the American Civil War/War Between the States/The War of Northern Aggression (delete as applicable…I have friends on both sides).
Gettysburg1
Gettysburg2
Gettysburg3

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Random Thoughts From SDLP Economic Forum

Posted on June 29, 2013 by fitzjameshorse

Just a colection of thoughts.

NAMA, Youth Unemployment, Public Sector jobs and pay, Taxation, the Peace Dividend, Foreign Investment are all big issues (Stephen Kingon).
Only the Ulster Bank will benefit from money from Bank of England to ease lending.The other local clearing banks wont. (Stephen Kingon).
Despite recent problems, the Norn Iron Housing Executive is a vital asset. (Paul McFlynn).
Youth Unemployment costs Norn Iron £300 million a year.(Paul McFlynn).
Low Skills Drive Low Wages. (Paul McFlynn).
Talking about full employment is worthless without having training structures in place. Having the training structures in place is worthless without having relevant jobs. (Paul McFlynn).
The Norn Iron Government is by far the biggest procurer of goods and services. But local business cant always benefit because contracts are too big. They need re-packaged. (Paul McFlynn).
Norn Irons economy might well be adversely affected by the result of any referendum on Europe. (Paul McFlynn)
The SDLP is the most pro-European of the local parties and should use that fact next year (John O’Farrell ICTU)
Governments North and South have different attitides to Europe (John Bradley)
Economic Researchers dont understand regionalism and are not encouraged to look at Norn Iron (John Bradley)
The Norn Iron Civil Service is too conservative (John Bradley)
Scotland and Wales are more dynamic. They are not supplicants (John Bradley)
The Norn Iron Development Agency are awful people to deal with (John Bradley)
I am the only person from Norn Iron in a management position in European Commission (Ronnie Hall)
SDLP is most pro European Party (Ronnie Hall)
We do not market ourselves well (Wesley Aston)
There are only 1,600 active exporters in Norn Iron (Ann McGregor)
In five years the Titanic Centre will be the biggest tourist attraction in Ireland (David Gavaghan)
We should have self confidence based on Humility (David Gavaghan)
Centre Left Politics is outdated (David Gavaghan)

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“Be Relentlessly Positive”: Alex Attwood

Posted on June 29, 2013 by fitzjameshorse

Alex Attwood delivered the keynote address at the Economic Forum. Ironically as some of the “Planning” powers of his Department of the Environment have been taken from him by Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness.
The theme of his speech was Joined Up Government.
The best resource available to the people of Irland is the islan of Ireland. Speaking of the hitory and culture, he predicted that the archaeology going on at the buried medeival town of Dunluce …”our very own Pompeii” would bring in as many tourists as he Giants Causeway. We have waves and wind that will produce energy and an agri-food industry on our land.
Europe…there is nothing joined up. The Irish Government uses the European system better to get every cent out of Brussels. Norn Iron should be using Dublins expertise.
Calling John Swiney the Scottish Nationalist politician the best politician in these islands and Alex Salmond the best Leader of a political party in these islands, Alex noted how the SNP managed to be in GOVERNMENT and in POWER.
Ridiculing Peter Robinson for accusing him of not being a team player and of having a political agenda…Alex aid that all politicians SHOULD have a political agenda. If they did not have one, what are they doing in politics.
For once avoiding any quotation from Robert Kennedy, Minister Attwood stated that the SDLP should be looking towards the SNP.
A few weeks ago, he had asked a veteran SNP politician….”a real-life Braveheart” what was the lesson for SDLP.
The answer is to RELENTLESSLY POSITIVE.

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The Common People And The Comma People

Posted on June 28, 2013 by fitzjameshorse

My compliments to “Alan in Belfast” the token nice guy on Slugger O’Toole, who has used the phrase “letsgetalongerists” twice in the past three days.
Having introduced you all to LetsGetAlongerists…let me introduce you to THE COMMA PEOPLE.

We are all aware of the Common People. I am one. I am very common.
Paddy Murphy, John Smith and Elizabeth Johnston are Common People.
We are complete Nobodies. No-Marks.
The COMMA PEOPLE are Somebodies.
Their names are always followed by a COMMA and a few words to explain just how much of a Somebody they are.

If you are involved in Networking….the system where Somebody feels the need to engage with another Somebody…that COMMA is vital.
Someday I want to have a COMMA attached to my name.

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SDLP Economic Forum

Posted on June 28, 2013 by fitzjameshorse

image

The photograph shows Alasdair McDonnell winding up the Forum.
Fearghal McKinney made a short introduction
Alasdair made a short low key speech
Alex Attwood made probably the best speech I have heard him make.
And three sessions of panel discussions:

Rebalancing the Economy …chaired by Dominic Bradley MLA
Speakers
Stephen Kingon…Past Chair of Invest NI
Paul McFlynn, NERI
Lisa McElherron, NICVA
Nigel Smyth, CBI

Growing Jobs Exporting Product…chaired by Patsy McGlone MLA
Speakers
John Bradley, EMDS
Ronnie Hall, European Commission
Declan Gormley, IOD
Ann McGregor, Chamber of Commerce
Wesley Aston, UFU

Addressing the Skills Deficit…chaired by Alban Magennis MLA
Speakers
Joanne Stuart, Attrus
David Gavaghan, Titanic Quarter Ltd
Sean Rogers MLA

Economics is the serious end of Politics and I dont actually understand a word of it.
Economists are “scientists” precise and academic. Although they CAN have agendas, even the “straight down the middle” presentation of economists is often uncomfortable for socialists like SDLP.
My notes are a collection of quotes and I will start another Blog which will reflect that. They were some interesting statistics and some very quotable quotes.
The Attwood speech deserves a thread on its own.
As always the success of a session depends on the balance between Speeches and Questions from the Floor.
This is SERIOUS POLITICS.
Worthy and a bit dull at times…but it is what Politics should be about.

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