Dublin Riots Review
This young man had forgotten to hide his face during the 'counter-protest'. Luckily, a local Footlocker had been looted and there were no shortage of Celtic tops.
It's taken a day or two for things to sink in and, unsurprisingly, Republican internet warriors have been out in force, equivocating, excusing and explaining away the disgraceful scenes witnessed in Dublin on Saturday.
Here's a few choice excerpts from the blogosphere over the last couple of days.
1. The damn prods deserved it
"We all know that the whole 'Love Ulster' enterprise is nothing but a cover for Unionist death squads and so-called 'innocent victims'". Balrog
I still can't take anyone seriously when they use the term "Unionist death squads." Sorry. That phrase itself betrays the agenda behind the rest of the statement.
"Were (or were not) Jeffrey Donaldson and Willie Frazer travelling on this jaunt in the company of Loyalist marching bands?" Right here at EU
Because that makes attacking and destroying people and things ok. It's ironic, Loyalist marching bands in Dublin, just walking about the place playing some tunes, while "Republicans" tear up their beloved nation's capital.
EU Mythbuster: No. 2 - Northern Irish Journalism
Finding a good journalist in Northern Ireland seems to be incredibly difficult, as illustrated by Jim Gracey's article in today's Sunday Life. It's been obvious for some time now that Gracey is pushing the Maze agenda, but today he gave a free platform to Jim Boyce (IFA President and supreme self-publicist) to paint any fans who dare disagree with the white elephant proposal as an enemy of Northern Ireland's football team.
Gracey betrayed his own agenda when he said "All 10,000 block-bookings from the last World Cup qualifying series have been renewed and a waiting list is dependent on how many more will be permitted under new Health and Safety regulations."
Anyone who has spoken to the IFA recently will know that due to the work-dodgers at Royal Mail, the association still hasn't received all the renewal forms that were sent out, and it's been reported that as of Friday they were still receiving forms posted on 2nd February. Therefore they're not making any comment about the number of block bookings sold at this point. The waiting list is dependent on how many people renew their block-bookings, not health and safety (another favourite scaremongering rumour put about to spread the lie that not agreeing to the Maze is tantamount to treaason). So why pretend it's sold out? Well Gracey has to resort to this kind of statement in order to make anyone believe that Northern Ireland will ever fill a 42,000 seater stadium.
That's just one reason why fans are saying no!
Hard bastards
On the same day I noted a sickening and grotesque incident involving an attack on a female prison warder, Slugger points to a report on the riots in Portadown last night which followed the day of rioting in Dublin.
As if hearing of a female warder having urine and excrement dumped on her wasn't sickening enough, the Press Association reports that a "group of men" kicked and punched a female police officer in Portadown as they dragged her to the ground. She was one of 6 officers injured in a night of rioting in the town which saw bottles and bricks thrown at police.
Sick bastard
A bin containing human urine and excrement was thrown over a female warder as she was walking with a colleague at Maghaberry Prison's Bush House, which houses loyalist paramilitary prisoners.
Both warders have since received medical attention and the prisoner, has been transferred to a "Special Supervision Unit" and has been put on Rule 32, which restricts freedom of association (I've looked for the specific text of the rule but can't find it). The police are now investigating the matter.
It's depressing to think that someone can be so sick in the head as to think that something like this is acceptable. Animals. I can't imagine how distressing that would be and how intimidated and uneasy it would make the warder in question feel about returning to work there.
What Matters To Students...
Apparently the major issues affecting students are a 90 year old mini-uprising with boys playing army (while the real men had gone off to fight a war) and the IMC report on the IRA, which A. was no surprise and B. everyone else seems to be ignoring anyway. Now, ask the majority of students at Queen's how much impact either has on their day to day life and the answer is likely to be not much, but this is how Queen's University's Student Council is wasting its time (or not).
So Much For Eire Nua
A march being held in Dublin today, calling for the Dublin government to hold an enquiry into state involvement in arming the IRA resulted in a clash between republican counter-demonstraters and Gardai. Bricks and other missiles thrown at Gardai in the clash and the demonstrators had to abandon the march and returned home.
Barricades were set on fire as bottles, stones and fireworks were thrown at the police trying to protect the protest from the republican counter-protest and remove republicans staging a sit-down protest in an attempt to block the road. Several (BBC), 2 (UTV) or 4 (according to RTE) gardai received head injuries and it's believed a reporter is being treated in hospital. All the shops in the area, one of Dublin's busiest shopping districts, have shut their doors. At least 3 vehicles were set on fire around Merrion Square/Nassau Street.
The violent counter-protest is believed to have been organised by Republican Sinn Fein, seemingly offended by their 'fellow Irish citizens' participating in a peaceful protest march. Is this how modern-day republicans interpret "cherishing the nation's children equally"?
New Flag for Northern Ireland
This debate has probably been done almost as much as any other (except possibly "but they started it") and indeed may still be flowing at Slugger, but I feel like giving it another airing in the wake of Sinn Fein's call for "neutrality or equality" on the flags issue. It's probably not what they had in mind, but in response I will present my argument for a new flag for Northern Ireland (pdf) . If you don't want to download the full document, what follows can be considered extended highlights. Please note that this is a draft (or 'beta version' if you like) and not the final product, so feedback (or at least constructive criticism) is welcome.
Northern Ireland may not be a nation state, but that does not preclude it from requiring its own flag. Firstly, Northern Ireland is legally a region that is distinct from the rest of the United Kingdom, in the same way that England, Scotland or Wales are. Even counties like Devon and Cornwall have their own flags and Northern Ireland should be no exception.
Secondly, Northern Ireland is often represented in international sport, be it international football, golf, or the commonwealth games. Using a flag that could be accepted and supported by both communities would aid the organisations involved in such events in attracting support from a wider range of individuals.
The arguments against a new flag can be summed up thusly: many Unionists and Loyalists do not wish to see Northern Ireland's links with Britain (and the Crown) undermined. Similarly, many nationalists and republicans do not recognise Northern Ireland at all, and therefore, see no reason for it to have any symbols.
Work-Shy Much?
They can't be serious can they? The Communication Workers' Union representing the Royal Mail staff is to hold a ballot to see if its members want to strike again - because Royal Mail is "victimising" those who took part in the last strike and "treating them differently" to their colleagues who didn't strike. I think they'll find that's called rewarding loyalty.
Mr Tayto Furthers World Domination Plan
Every time we visit Canada to visit my mum's relatives we have to bring over as many packets of Tayto Cheese and Onion as we can fit in our suitcases. Why? Because over there a pack of Tayto Cheese and Onion (often from a multipack) goes for anything from $2.50 (£1) upwards.
Northern Ireland's very own best crisp-maker in the world ever, today announced their purchase of UK crisp manufacturer Golden Wonder. Surely this must be good news for Ulster ex-pats all over the mainland - will they finally be able to get hold of their favourite Tayto Cheese and Onion in GB shops? Hopefully Tayto will also be able to get Golden Wonder's most underrated product "Golden Skins" more widely available in Northern Ireland. Man they're nice crisps - Mexican Chilli and Cheese - YUM!!!
Tayto had already taken over Goldon Wonder's corby plant which manufactures Pringles Minis for Proctor & Gamble, taking the contract with them and saving 195 jobs. This new deal safeguards (according to Reuters) another 356 in the process and Tayto now own:
:: Tayto NI - crisp perfection
:: Golden Wonder - including McCoys, Quavers and more
:: Contract to supply Tesco own brand crisps (UK-wide I think)
:: Contract for supply of Pringles Minis
Now if they could only buy out those pesky Mexican wannabes we'd be sorted.
Time Sinn Fein Embraced Agreement
For the past couple of years now, it seems Sinn Fein have been urging other parties to live up to their obligations under the Good Friday Agreement, including the DUP who never accepted it in the first place. However it seems slightly disingenuous on their part, given that they don't really live up to their own responsibilities, namely the acceptance of the consent principle and Northern Ireland's right to self-determination.
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