It was announced last night SDLP leader Mark Durkan is to step down as leader of the party after the Westminster election. Part of the reasons given for his departure is the MP for Foyle's belief in the need to represent his constiuents at Westminster, especially in light of expected cuts to Northern Ireland's bloc grant should (as most pundits predict) a Tory government take power after June.
Mr Durkan's decision comes after much discussion about dual mandates during the expenses scandal earlier in the year and as former party collegue Brid Rodgers commented, shows Mr Durkan has 'put his money where his mouth is,' in regard to this issue of double jobbing.
Whilst I am sad to hear this nationalist leader is standing down from our regional parliament, I admire the decision to honour his opposition to the existence of multiple jobs for politicians.
It was and is one of many issues that the wider public, most of whom are not normally concerned about politics, are rightly incensed about.
It is obvious the expenses scandal has stoked an interest in the way we are governed to a greater degree than ever before and has brought local and national governance to the fore of the wider public's thinking.
I hope this engagement in political issues will continue. It was with this in mind that I was happy to hear of the 'East Belfast Speaks Out,' event to be staged on the Holywood Road on the 30th September.
Taking example from the highly successful 'West Belfast Talks Back,' events, it is one of the first community/panellist events I have heard of in the east of the city and in a predominantly unionist community.
As followers of this blog will know, I am very much a champion of community dialogue and am excited at the prospect of hearing the issues voiced at this event.
It seems to me the time is ripe for community activists to really start to have an effect on local politicians and not only in the vacuous way that so often appears to be the case in the run up to election time where polticians promise the world and when elected suffer from memory loss on promises made to constituents.
The prospect of a change of national government, changing of local council structure, prospective changes to government in Stormont (even if it is only on Peter Robinson's wish list at the minute), party link-ups of the UUP and the Conservative party and potentially SDLP and Fianna Fail, and the obvious party political shifts which will accompany an end to dual mandates (as Mark Durkan's resignation shows), prove it is very much a fluid time in politics in Northern Ireland.
With the economic climate sharpening our focus like never before, community dialogue like this event in East Belfast can only be a good thing.
For the cynics out there who would refer to this event as merely a 'talking shop,' I need not remind you of the importance of 'talking shops,' in the peace process that have got us this far.
With the dissident republican threat seemingly on the increase it is discussion of common grounds that is necessary for social cohesion and collective actions to address certian issues rather than the headlining making antics of some of our more ruthless local representatives.
It seems this message has filtered through to the folks on the hill with a Northern Ireland Assembly roadshow due to start tomorrow and continue to various locations throughout the province.
Billed as a chance to 'talk about the working of the Assembly and the issues that matter to you,' it is yet again a chance for the great and the good in Northern Ireland to put the politicians to the test or as is more likely the case - have a good rant.
Even if it is just giving your local councillor a ear-bashing, or even commending them on good work they have done in your area, it is the feedback that is essential and the creation of a climate of on-going and constructive dialogue the ultimate goal.
There is nothing that I hate more than people complaining about certain circumstances yet not having the guile to engage properly with the people who can change things. So be part of the heard.
Monday 21 September 2009
Monday 7 September 2009
Panel beating
It has been revealed that the BBC is to invite a member of the British National Party (BNP) to be a panel member in the upcoming edition of 'Question Time.'
According to various sources Labour politcians may stage a campaign of protest at the decision, based on their belief that having a BNP member on a show such as 'Question Time' may give the BNP's views an appearance of legitmacy and give the right wing nationalist party unnecessary and dangerous publicity.
The BBC must be congratulated for taking it's public service role seriously and taking the step of reflecting all strands of society. I have to say however, that if reports of this proposed protest are true it is both patronising and more than smacks of Labour control freakery.
The fact is that at last June's European election the BNP won 2 seats in England and 6% of the popular vote. Regardless of what the party's views are, such a result means they have a mandate - their views, while not to everyone's taste, have been shown to represent a section of British society and as such are legitimate.
Viewed in this light it seems absurd that some refuse to acknowledge this.
Unpalatable mandates are no strangers to Northern Ireland with the post Hunger-strike electoral success of Sinn Fein posing many difficult questions, both for Northern Irish politicians and media who had to deal with this new legitimate electoral force.
Section 31 in the Republic of Ireland which banned the broadcasting of republican's voices (but not their words) was one measure taken to deal with electoral republicanism. Although the meaure was dropped in 1993, to this day there are still members of some political party's who refuse to sit next to Sinn Fein representatives on certain discussion panel shows.
I am not for one minute suggesting that Sinn Fein policy is comparable to the rhetorical racist nonsense espoused by Nick Griffin and his fellow BNP'ers, but the principle has to be the same.
In a mature democracy where free and fair elections are the backbone of society, the choice of political representative made by the electorate must be respected, regardless of the difficulites this may create.
It was a problem faced in Northern Ireland many years ago, especially at a time when Sinn Fein where openly pursuing their policy of a ballot box in one hand and an armalite in the other. The tactical use of electoralism was irrelevant, it was the fact they had elected representatives that had to respected.
Such respect, however difficult, has to be afforded to the BNP as well even if the desired result in doing so is different.
No-one believes for one second that BNP policy should be allowed to expand more than it has. Their policies on immigration, employment and race are morally repugnant and dangerous to the intellectually vulnerable in our society. At a time of economic crisis, their base nationalism must not be allowed to penetrate the mainstream consciousness of the UK working classes anymore than it has, nor to pursuade a wider audience.
Banning them from prime time television is not the way to do this. We live in a world of 24/7 media and technology. If people want to read about the BNP, they'll find a way to, and not necessarily from responsible and objective sources.
The only way to tackle the BNP's growing popularity is to face them head on in a neutral environment and debate the issues.
If the government has any faith in the people it claims to the serve the interests of, it must trust them to make valued judgements on these issues. To do this, government ministers and opposition members must take the BNP members task in a televisual debate and expose their message for what it is.
Only in allowing the people to see the BNP's message being decisively dissected and beaten as part of the same panel can the growing tide of ring wing sentiment such as that of the BNP be stemmed and defeated.
According to various sources Labour politcians may stage a campaign of protest at the decision, based on their belief that having a BNP member on a show such as 'Question Time' may give the BNP's views an appearance of legitmacy and give the right wing nationalist party unnecessary and dangerous publicity.
The BBC must be congratulated for taking it's public service role seriously and taking the step of reflecting all strands of society. I have to say however, that if reports of this proposed protest are true it is both patronising and more than smacks of Labour control freakery.
The fact is that at last June's European election the BNP won 2 seats in England and 6% of the popular vote. Regardless of what the party's views are, such a result means they have a mandate - their views, while not to everyone's taste, have been shown to represent a section of British society and as such are legitimate.
Viewed in this light it seems absurd that some refuse to acknowledge this.
Unpalatable mandates are no strangers to Northern Ireland with the post Hunger-strike electoral success of Sinn Fein posing many difficult questions, both for Northern Irish politicians and media who had to deal with this new legitimate electoral force.
Section 31 in the Republic of Ireland which banned the broadcasting of republican's voices (but not their words) was one measure taken to deal with electoral republicanism. Although the meaure was dropped in 1993, to this day there are still members of some political party's who refuse to sit next to Sinn Fein representatives on certain discussion panel shows.
I am not for one minute suggesting that Sinn Fein policy is comparable to the rhetorical racist nonsense espoused by Nick Griffin and his fellow BNP'ers, but the principle has to be the same.
In a mature democracy where free and fair elections are the backbone of society, the choice of political representative made by the electorate must be respected, regardless of the difficulites this may create.
It was a problem faced in Northern Ireland many years ago, especially at a time when Sinn Fein where openly pursuing their policy of a ballot box in one hand and an armalite in the other. The tactical use of electoralism was irrelevant, it was the fact they had elected representatives that had to respected.
Such respect, however difficult, has to be afforded to the BNP as well even if the desired result in doing so is different.
No-one believes for one second that BNP policy should be allowed to expand more than it has. Their policies on immigration, employment and race are morally repugnant and dangerous to the intellectually vulnerable in our society. At a time of economic crisis, their base nationalism must not be allowed to penetrate the mainstream consciousness of the UK working classes anymore than it has, nor to pursuade a wider audience.
Banning them from prime time television is not the way to do this. We live in a world of 24/7 media and technology. If people want to read about the BNP, they'll find a way to, and not necessarily from responsible and objective sources.
The only way to tackle the BNP's growing popularity is to face them head on in a neutral environment and debate the issues.
If the government has any faith in the people it claims to the serve the interests of, it must trust them to make valued judgements on these issues. To do this, government ministers and opposition members must take the BNP members task in a televisual debate and expose their message for what it is.
Only in allowing the people to see the BNP's message being decisively dissected and beaten as part of the same panel can the growing tide of ring wing sentiment such as that of the BNP be stemmed and defeated.
Friday 4 September 2009
A freudian slip?
So after much wrangling and debate a new Victims' Forum has been established by the Commission for Victims and Survivors.
The new forum will be made up of 30 members, most of whom have been directly affected by the Troubles.
It has been said that the choice of an hotel in Scotland was because none in Northern Ireland had enough wheelchair access to accommodate the group - a reminder of the physical scars of our past - however it will be the deeper emotional scars that will prove to be the biggest hurdle.
I have to say I have mixed feelings about this new forum.
On the one hand I wholeheartedly support the idea of discussion and dialogue between people affected most by the Troubles but their terms of reference give me a sense of deja vu.
According to reports the new forum is to discuss, among other things, the thorny issue of defining a 'victim,' and the wider issue of how to deal with the legacy of the Troubles more generally.
It was only a few months ago that the much anticipated Eames Bradley report was delivered to a tense audience in the Europa hotel. After much speculation over what their report would contain (and an unfortunate leak of some of it's proposals, an issue I have blogged on previously ) the report's recommendations have been silenced by the often louder voices of recrimination emanating from the victims sector.
The criticism centred around their proposals for a payment to victims which was always going to be controversial. However, the fact the Eames Bradley report has floundered significantly under the weight of criticism over this now defunct proposal was surprising, with the unfair result of diverting attention away from other proposals such as their own attempt at defining a 'victim.'
Recent revelations that one of the Victims' Commissioners made private overtures of support of the victims' payments, only to distance themselves from the proposal when the sea of public opinion had been tested unfavourably, is disheartening.
The politicisation of this area, failure of political leadership and lack of support from certain sections as the example above demonstrates, has blighted the Eames Bradley report. In failing to navigate their way through the politics of the situation, it seems to me various poison chalices have simply been passed from Eames Bradley to this new Forum. Same game, different players.
According to Freud the definition of stupidity is repeating the same action and expecting a different result. The questions aren't changing but are simply being passed to someone else to find a miracle answer acceptable to all.
I'm not arguing that the establishment of the Forum is stupid, but this has to be the last roll of the dice. The issues have to be tackled head on, it is not a clean slate being aimed for but the attainment of a wider understanding.
But there are differences this time around. Establishing a Forum to discuss these issues rather than a small (albeit well informed and consultative grouping) is prima facie the better route to go down to obtain a wider understanding.
In somes ways it is even the natural progression, with Eames and Bradley broaching the area and now those with first hand knowledge and experience of the issues in question working through the detail.
However as always, the devil is in such detail. For a constructive dialogue to take place, those involved will need to remove any stereotypes in their mind and thoroughly challenge their own interpretation of certain events and the Troubles generally. It will be without question the hardest part of discussions. It can also be the most rewarding.
Eames and Bradley knew this and often made the case for a Victims' Forum. The fact it has come to fruition shows their courageous and substantial report has not been lost in it's entirety, a fact I take solace from, despite any sense of repitition I feel there may be in the remit set for Eames and Bradley and this new Victims' Forum.
And so it is hoped this group at a Scottish hotel in the near future can begin a long road with the hope of arriving at some reciprocity and, in doing so set frameworks for wider society.
Realpolitik has blighted the Eames Bradley report and the many attempts to deal with incidents in the Troubles. In learning the still raw lessons from Eames Bradley and altering the handling of the wider issue by both the media and politicans, one can only hope different conditions will be created to allow a fluid discussion of ideals, experiences, and ongoing problems. This the only way the knots of our past can be untangled.
We need to take on board Freud's belief and alter the way we deal with the issue in order to at last obtain a successful result.
The new forum will be made up of 30 members, most of whom have been directly affected by the Troubles.
It has been said that the choice of an hotel in Scotland was because none in Northern Ireland had enough wheelchair access to accommodate the group - a reminder of the physical scars of our past - however it will be the deeper emotional scars that will prove to be the biggest hurdle.
I have to say I have mixed feelings about this new forum.
On the one hand I wholeheartedly support the idea of discussion and dialogue between people affected most by the Troubles but their terms of reference give me a sense of deja vu.
According to reports the new forum is to discuss, among other things, the thorny issue of defining a 'victim,' and the wider issue of how to deal with the legacy of the Troubles more generally.
It was only a few months ago that the much anticipated Eames Bradley report was delivered to a tense audience in the Europa hotel. After much speculation over what their report would contain (and an unfortunate leak of some of it's proposals, an issue I have blogged on previously ) the report's recommendations have been silenced by the often louder voices of recrimination emanating from the victims sector.
The criticism centred around their proposals for a payment to victims which was always going to be controversial. However, the fact the Eames Bradley report has floundered significantly under the weight of criticism over this now defunct proposal was surprising, with the unfair result of diverting attention away from other proposals such as their own attempt at defining a 'victim.'
Recent revelations that one of the Victims' Commissioners made private overtures of support of the victims' payments, only to distance themselves from the proposal when the sea of public opinion had been tested unfavourably, is disheartening.
The politicisation of this area, failure of political leadership and lack of support from certain sections as the example above demonstrates, has blighted the Eames Bradley report. In failing to navigate their way through the politics of the situation, it seems to me various poison chalices have simply been passed from Eames Bradley to this new Forum. Same game, different players.
According to Freud the definition of stupidity is repeating the same action and expecting a different result. The questions aren't changing but are simply being passed to someone else to find a miracle answer acceptable to all.
I'm not arguing that the establishment of the Forum is stupid, but this has to be the last roll of the dice. The issues have to be tackled head on, it is not a clean slate being aimed for but the attainment of a wider understanding.
But there are differences this time around. Establishing a Forum to discuss these issues rather than a small (albeit well informed and consultative grouping) is prima facie the better route to go down to obtain a wider understanding.
In somes ways it is even the natural progression, with Eames and Bradley broaching the area and now those with first hand knowledge and experience of the issues in question working through the detail.
However as always, the devil is in such detail. For a constructive dialogue to take place, those involved will need to remove any stereotypes in their mind and thoroughly challenge their own interpretation of certain events and the Troubles generally. It will be without question the hardest part of discussions. It can also be the most rewarding.
Eames and Bradley knew this and often made the case for a Victims' Forum. The fact it has come to fruition shows their courageous and substantial report has not been lost in it's entirety, a fact I take solace from, despite any sense of repitition I feel there may be in the remit set for Eames and Bradley and this new Victims' Forum.
And so it is hoped this group at a Scottish hotel in the near future can begin a long road with the hope of arriving at some reciprocity and, in doing so set frameworks for wider society.
Realpolitik has blighted the Eames Bradley report and the many attempts to deal with incidents in the Troubles. In learning the still raw lessons from Eames Bradley and altering the handling of the wider issue by both the media and politicans, one can only hope different conditions will be created to allow a fluid discussion of ideals, experiences, and ongoing problems. This the only way the knots of our past can be untangled.
We need to take on board Freud's belief and alter the way we deal with the issue in order to at last obtain a successful result.
Friday 21 August 2009
The price of repetition
Various media is today carrying a story about two buskers in Birmingham who have been given ASBO's. Their crime? Only knowing two songs, and playing nothing but George Michael's 'Faith,' and Oasis' 'Wonderwall,' to an increasingly bored and frustrated towns folk.
Perhaps this could be deemed as some sort of precedent being set for continual spouting of the same song or message being deemed anti-social by the courts.
I wonder if that could apply to our politicians?
Imagine Sammy being banned from calling climate change 'hysteria,' or accusing everything he doesn't agree with of being an 'industry.'
Or Gerry prevented from using the word 'transitory,' to appease his supporters.
It's a pity this precedent has only been set now, imagine where we'd be if Big Ian hadn't been allowed to keep saying 'Never, never. never.'
Perhaps this could be deemed as some sort of precedent being set for continual spouting of the same song or message being deemed anti-social by the courts.
I wonder if that could apply to our politicians?
Imagine Sammy being banned from calling climate change 'hysteria,' or accusing everything he doesn't agree with of being an 'industry.'
Or Gerry prevented from using the word 'transitory,' to appease his supporters.
It's a pity this precedent has only been set now, imagine where we'd be if Big Ian hadn't been allowed to keep saying 'Never, never. never.'
The trouble with 'justice.'
The last chapter in the saga of the release of Megrahi was played out last night to a mixed bag of opinion and judgement. The only man to be convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing was freed on compassionate grounds to live out the last months of his life at home and the terminally ill former Libyan intelligence officer was received home to Tripoli to a hero's welcome.
The sequence of events leading up to his release has seen outraged families of American victims threaten to boycott Scottish products and anger from the Obama administration at what they see as an insult to the 270 victims who were killed in the flight as the bomb detonated flying over the Scottish town.
The reaction in the UK has been slightly more muted with question marks over Megrahi's original conviction leaving families of the British victims slightly more philosphical about his release, querying, as many of them are, whether the right man was in prison in the first place. There has been an audible silence from Brown's goverment over what they are portraying as simply a Scottish justice decision.
According to Kenny MacAskill, Scotland's justice minister, the decision to release Megrahi befits the 'humanity,' of the Scottish people, and is a decision which duly reflects the beliefs and character of the people over which his party, the SNP, govern.
However, there is clearly more at play here than a wish by MacAskill to portray a soft and bonnie Scotland. The continued protestations of innocence by Megrahi and his supporters since his conviction eight years ago as well as his appeals for the sentence to be over-turned, has fed into a growing belief in some quarters that he was nothing more than a pawn in the bigger field of American-British-Libyan relations.
The recent Scottish-Libyan prison transfer deal aside, Megrahi was freed on compassionate grounds, it was not a prisoner transfer. Therefore the requirement for all running criminal cases, appeals or otherwise, to be dropped, did not exist. Put simply, he could still be appealing his conviction now even after his release. The fact his present appeal was formally dropped a matter of days before his release last night shows political game playing is still in full flow (not to mention the fact that the ending of his appeal has stopped any chance of new and helpful information coming to light to help the victims' families learn more about the event. )
MacAskill has made a very astute decision in this instance and clearly the negotiating that has been done in the run-up to Megrahi's release has been successful. As all major broadsheets have pointed out in their coverage of this issue, the Scottish government have secured the dropping of his appeal (and therefore saved face if it had been successful), and also flexed some muscle on the world stage, showing Scotland's independence from Westminster and no doubt oiling the wheels of the SNP's bid for total independence from England and Wales.
The existence of such an undercurrent points to side-deals and vested interests being catered to. Here in Northern Ireland that's par for the course especially in such a sensitive area as this. A key tenet in the Good Friday Agreement, after much negotiating, was the early release of prisoners, from both sides of the community and many of whom killed indiscriminately for years during the Troubles.
Also a product of side deals and catering to vested interests, the GFA's early release scheme received a mixed welcome as well. Indeed, the repurcussions of this agreement are still being felt today with UK extradition proceedings for various former IRA men on the run being dropped in light of the fact this early release scheme will likely see them serve minimal amounts of time at Her Majesty's pleasure.
The jury is still out as to the whether this scheme has been a success. Whilst many believe it was an essential ingredient for the peace process the opprobrium it has created is now, in the outworkings of the GFA, proving troublesome.
The feeling of justice not being done over the death of a loved one is harrowing, and is a position which many families in Northern Ireland are in. However, as opponents of the early release scheme in the GFA know only too well and as Megrahi's release has highlighted, the feeling that justice has been reneged upon by the very people in charge of upholding it, is a betrayal that runs deep and one which lasts. The fact that it is done in the name of political expediency compounds such feeling still further.
This sense of betrayal is a severe obstacle to present day Northern Ireland, and one which our future justice minister will have to wrestle with on a daily basis. Will Westminster remain as tight lipped as they did over Megrahi in face of difficult justice issues our administration has to deal with? A cutting of the apron strings and the evident pressure on MacAskill in recent days will hardly have the Alliance party salivating at the prospect of heading this future devolved ministry.
Concepts of justice in post conflict societies and after major acts of terror such as Lockerbie and the Omagh bombing, are not as clear cut as our future justice minister would like. They involve notions of right and wrong, forgiveness and closure. These notions cannot be neatly box ticked in a charged society like the north of Ireland steeped as it is in political acts of violence and all the blurring of moral concepts that accompanies this.
The trouble with 'justice,' is that by it's very nature it can have many guises and a fluid definition but it is also clear cut in the eye of the beholder. Thus American families are outraged by Megrahi's freedom just as British families are in the main, at peace with it. Thus some agreed with the early release of prisoners under the GFA, and some to this day, pursue criminal convictions of former paramilitaries.
Creative ambiguity is often used as a description of the fudging in parts of the peace process here. If the lesson from Lockerbie is anything to go by, we can look forward to some more of this when it comes to Norhern Ireland's new 'Justice' Minister.
UPDATE: So Brown's government has saw fit to strongly condemn the hero's welcome Megrahi received through a statement from Foreign minister David Miliband...but still silence on his actual release. Good timing Gordon, political manouevering if ever I saw it.
The sequence of events leading up to his release has seen outraged families of American victims threaten to boycott Scottish products and anger from the Obama administration at what they see as an insult to the 270 victims who were killed in the flight as the bomb detonated flying over the Scottish town.
The reaction in the UK has been slightly more muted with question marks over Megrahi's original conviction leaving families of the British victims slightly more philosphical about his release, querying, as many of them are, whether the right man was in prison in the first place. There has been an audible silence from Brown's goverment over what they are portraying as simply a Scottish justice decision.
According to Kenny MacAskill, Scotland's justice minister, the decision to release Megrahi befits the 'humanity,' of the Scottish people, and is a decision which duly reflects the beliefs and character of the people over which his party, the SNP, govern.
However, there is clearly more at play here than a wish by MacAskill to portray a soft and bonnie Scotland. The continued protestations of innocence by Megrahi and his supporters since his conviction eight years ago as well as his appeals for the sentence to be over-turned, has fed into a growing belief in some quarters that he was nothing more than a pawn in the bigger field of American-British-Libyan relations.
The recent Scottish-Libyan prison transfer deal aside, Megrahi was freed on compassionate grounds, it was not a prisoner transfer. Therefore the requirement for all running criminal cases, appeals or otherwise, to be dropped, did not exist. Put simply, he could still be appealing his conviction now even after his release. The fact his present appeal was formally dropped a matter of days before his release last night shows political game playing is still in full flow (not to mention the fact that the ending of his appeal has stopped any chance of new and helpful information coming to light to help the victims' families learn more about the event. )
MacAskill has made a very astute decision in this instance and clearly the negotiating that has been done in the run-up to Megrahi's release has been successful. As all major broadsheets have pointed out in their coverage of this issue, the Scottish government have secured the dropping of his appeal (and therefore saved face if it had been successful), and also flexed some muscle on the world stage, showing Scotland's independence from Westminster and no doubt oiling the wheels of the SNP's bid for total independence from England and Wales.
The existence of such an undercurrent points to side-deals and vested interests being catered to. Here in Northern Ireland that's par for the course especially in such a sensitive area as this. A key tenet in the Good Friday Agreement, after much negotiating, was the early release of prisoners, from both sides of the community and many of whom killed indiscriminately for years during the Troubles.
Also a product of side deals and catering to vested interests, the GFA's early release scheme received a mixed welcome as well. Indeed, the repurcussions of this agreement are still being felt today with UK extradition proceedings for various former IRA men on the run being dropped in light of the fact this early release scheme will likely see them serve minimal amounts of time at Her Majesty's pleasure.
The jury is still out as to the whether this scheme has been a success. Whilst many believe it was an essential ingredient for the peace process the opprobrium it has created is now, in the outworkings of the GFA, proving troublesome.
The feeling of justice not being done over the death of a loved one is harrowing, and is a position which many families in Northern Ireland are in. However, as opponents of the early release scheme in the GFA know only too well and as Megrahi's release has highlighted, the feeling that justice has been reneged upon by the very people in charge of upholding it, is a betrayal that runs deep and one which lasts. The fact that it is done in the name of political expediency compounds such feeling still further.
This sense of betrayal is a severe obstacle to present day Northern Ireland, and one which our future justice minister will have to wrestle with on a daily basis. Will Westminster remain as tight lipped as they did over Megrahi in face of difficult justice issues our administration has to deal with? A cutting of the apron strings and the evident pressure on MacAskill in recent days will hardly have the Alliance party salivating at the prospect of heading this future devolved ministry.
Concepts of justice in post conflict societies and after major acts of terror such as Lockerbie and the Omagh bombing, are not as clear cut as our future justice minister would like. They involve notions of right and wrong, forgiveness and closure. These notions cannot be neatly box ticked in a charged society like the north of Ireland steeped as it is in political acts of violence and all the blurring of moral concepts that accompanies this.
The trouble with 'justice,' is that by it's very nature it can have many guises and a fluid definition but it is also clear cut in the eye of the beholder. Thus American families are outraged by Megrahi's freedom just as British families are in the main, at peace with it. Thus some agreed with the early release of prisoners under the GFA, and some to this day, pursue criminal convictions of former paramilitaries.
Creative ambiguity is often used as a description of the fudging in parts of the peace process here. If the lesson from Lockerbie is anything to go by, we can look forward to some more of this when it comes to Norhern Ireland's new 'Justice' Minister.
UPDATE: So Brown's government has saw fit to strongly condemn the hero's welcome Megrahi received through a statement from Foreign minister David Miliband...but still silence on his actual release. Good timing Gordon, political manouevering if ever I saw it.
Friday 14 August 2009
A long pause
After weeks off from the blogging I'm back in the saddle. After exams and portfolio building stress I've been spending much of the summer (and most of my money) on catching up with friends north and south of the border.
I can't help but feel my sabbatical from the political blogging couldn't have been at a worse time. After deciding to switch off and watch and read nothing but chewing gum for the brain the past few weeks, suddenly politics is in vogue. MP'S expenses, the European election debate and result, leadership challenges and ofcourse the ongoing recession debates - all when I take my foot off the gas. At least it's got people talking about more important things than Jordan and Peter (although I must admit I thought they would last.)
Maybe it's a good thing I decided to step away from the ring of opinion for the last while and take a long pause for breath. It seems there was enough pontification to go around.
nichart.com has some recent reviews that may be of interest but expect more posts to follow on hopefully thought provoking and relevant issues.
Any comments and suggestions are welcome as always, and any contributors looking to vent some informed and libel free opinion can email louisequinn888@googlemail.com
I can't help but feel my sabbatical from the political blogging couldn't have been at a worse time. After deciding to switch off and watch and read nothing but chewing gum for the brain the past few weeks, suddenly politics is in vogue. MP'S expenses, the European election debate and result, leadership challenges and ofcourse the ongoing recession debates - all when I take my foot off the gas. At least it's got people talking about more important things than Jordan and Peter (although I must admit I thought they would last.)
Maybe it's a good thing I decided to step away from the ring of opinion for the last while and take a long pause for breath. It seems there was enough pontification to go around.
nichart.com has some recent reviews that may be of interest but expect more posts to follow on hopefully thought provoking and relevant issues.
Any comments and suggestions are welcome as always, and any contributors looking to vent some informed and libel free opinion can email louisequinn888@googlemail.com
Tuesday 12 May 2009
Exam Recess
Apologies for the lack of blogging the past weeks. Unfortunately it's that time of year again when the weather starts to improve, beer gardens start to fill up, and I (being the eternal student that I am) am beginning the slog of impending coursework deadlines and exam revision, chained behind a desk in a darkened room cursing all the care free people who have nothing to do but sit in the sunshine..... anyway enough about my personal grievances.
Another future Join the Q blogger has written a great review on nichart.com (see Claire McCallions piece on the gig review section) which hopefully should whet your appetite for her fashion pieces currently in the pipeline.
For now I'll be taking a back seat from the blogging, at least until I get the majority of my exams over with. The only thing I can get irked enough by to eloquently blog on at this time of year is said exam stress so I'll spare you all the details and just vent in private for the time being.
Another future Join the Q blogger has written a great review on nichart.com (see Claire McCallions piece on the gig review section) which hopefully should whet your appetite for her fashion pieces currently in the pipeline.
For now I'll be taking a back seat from the blogging, at least until I get the majority of my exams over with. The only thing I can get irked enough by to eloquently blog on at this time of year is said exam stress so I'll spare you all the details and just vent in private for the time being.
Thursday 16 April 2009
Artistic license or Artistic distortion
For someone who considers watching films on Irish history a regular past-time, the news that a new film is to be made about the Easter 1916 rebellion brought a smile to my face.
It will join the ranks of other films made depicting Ireland's turbulent history, the majority of which I have watched at some stage.
Ofcourse, there are some interpretations of our history better than others. Compare Ken Loach's 'The Wind that Shakes the Barley,' to the terrible 'Michael Collins,' starring our own Liam Neeson (and Julia Roberts with what appeared to be an accent from the little known Irish county of Pakistan.)
Scripted and directed by Neil Jordan, the latter was lauded in some circles and even won a clutch of awards. It was also criticised for inaccuracies such as showing the use of a car bomb, a weapon not actually used by physical force republicans until the 1970's.
Although these two films depicted early 20th century Ireland, such a divide between fact and dramatic fiction is always present when one looks at the film industry that has grown out of Irish history and the movies that have been produced.
A former professor of mine, Paul Bew, has recently been quoted in the Guardian criticising the new 'Easter Sixteen' film currently in production.
He quite rightly points out that historical inaccuracies in a film like this are unhelpful. If not dealt with properly, the storyline of the rebellion at the GPO in Dublin may send out a message that a minority can succeed using armed insurrection - hardly responsible at a time when a minority of dissident republicans are waging a new campaign.
But Paul Bew is a professor of Irish history. As such, facts are his priority and not necessarily a good story - his tolerance of artistic license, as the producers in Hollywood would call it, is very low.
One would also like to think that those dissident republicans Bew fears will exploit the plot line of 'Easter Sixteen' are also well versed on Irish history (or at least their version of it), I mean they bleet on about it often enough.
If a Hollywood movie on the subject strays off the facts of history and does depict a simplistic version of the Easter Rising as being no more than a successful armed struggle against the British, it should invite derision from these dissident circles, not support.
Ofcourse Bew does have a point though. Although I enjoy these films, I watch them with a pinch (and sometimes a bucket load) of salt. They don't claim to be documentaries and therefore should not be treated as such.
The conveyor belt of films on Irish history has undoubtedly been at times unhelpful in the current transitory stage of Ireland's evolution, especially in the six counties - a stage that began at the signing of the Good Friday Agreement and heavily involves issues to do with the legacy of our past.
To have a constant stream of versions of our history poured over, interpreted and some would say distorted, by directors and script writers often from places other than Ireland, is arguably a dangerous factor during this transition.
Bew is right to highlight the subtle potency of these productions.
The ripples caused by the inaccuracies in these types of films - made under the guise of artistic license should not be underestimated.
Oliver Hirschbiegel's 'Five Minutes of Heaven,' shown last week on BBC saw a true murder in Lurgan in the 70's have a completely fictional story written around it and could easily be misinterpreted as the true story of a meeting and reconciliation between killer and victim.
How ironic it is that the feature should have scenes of the pair being set-up to meet by a tv production company - the same ilk of producers who would no doubt defend Hirschbiegel's artisitic license to distort the facts of Jim Griffin's murder (all the while hamming up 'based on a true story' and playing down the fictional element in the advertising) in the name of artistic catharthis.
But it's not the films themselves that are the problem, it's what people do with them.
I find it hard to believe the C.I.R.A and R.I.R.A would, or will, use a film to base their current struggle upon. Some of the more intellectually vulnerable in society however, may by unduly influenced by what are essentially show pieces on sections of our history, and under this influence subscribe to the political dissent as espoused by hard-line republicans currently.
Those who contend it is healthy to have directors from all over the world look at our past, especially if we are not prepared to do so comprehensively ourselves, would argue these films provide a different perspective and at the very least tell a good story.
In a very immediate way these films provide a form of story-telling and story-sharing that is easily accessible to people.
I used to work in a local bookies with people from all over Belfast, and from every background. Although politics was not usually discussed, unless you count discussion of the odds on the horse 'Reds under the Bed', after lending one of my managers a copy of 'Hunger' by Steve McQueen , we spent the afternoon talking about the film and his memories of that time.
He told me it was the first time he had properly sat down and watched something about the hunger strikes, fact or fiction. He was from the Woodstock Road.
It is obvious that if we keep an open, yet educated mind when watching these films, they need not be dangerous or inflammatory.
If they stay true to the events they are portraying, such films can even teach us something we didn't know - like who knew Kitty Kiernan was from Pakistan?
It will join the ranks of other films made depicting Ireland's turbulent history, the majority of which I have watched at some stage.
Ofcourse, there are some interpretations of our history better than others. Compare Ken Loach's 'The Wind that Shakes the Barley,' to the terrible 'Michael Collins,' starring our own Liam Neeson (and Julia Roberts with what appeared to be an accent from the little known Irish county of Pakistan.)
Scripted and directed by Neil Jordan, the latter was lauded in some circles and even won a clutch of awards. It was also criticised for inaccuracies such as showing the use of a car bomb, a weapon not actually used by physical force republicans until the 1970's.
Although these two films depicted early 20th century Ireland, such a divide between fact and dramatic fiction is always present when one looks at the film industry that has grown out of Irish history and the movies that have been produced.
A former professor of mine, Paul Bew, has recently been quoted in the Guardian criticising the new 'Easter Sixteen' film currently in production.
He quite rightly points out that historical inaccuracies in a film like this are unhelpful. If not dealt with properly, the storyline of the rebellion at the GPO in Dublin may send out a message that a minority can succeed using armed insurrection - hardly responsible at a time when a minority of dissident republicans are waging a new campaign.
But Paul Bew is a professor of Irish history. As such, facts are his priority and not necessarily a good story - his tolerance of artistic license, as the producers in Hollywood would call it, is very low.
One would also like to think that those dissident republicans Bew fears will exploit the plot line of 'Easter Sixteen' are also well versed on Irish history (or at least their version of it), I mean they bleet on about it often enough.
If a Hollywood movie on the subject strays off the facts of history and does depict a simplistic version of the Easter Rising as being no more than a successful armed struggle against the British, it should invite derision from these dissident circles, not support.
Ofcourse Bew does have a point though. Although I enjoy these films, I watch them with a pinch (and sometimes a bucket load) of salt. They don't claim to be documentaries and therefore should not be treated as such.
The conveyor belt of films on Irish history has undoubtedly been at times unhelpful in the current transitory stage of Ireland's evolution, especially in the six counties - a stage that began at the signing of the Good Friday Agreement and heavily involves issues to do with the legacy of our past.
To have a constant stream of versions of our history poured over, interpreted and some would say distorted, by directors and script writers often from places other than Ireland, is arguably a dangerous factor during this transition.
Bew is right to highlight the subtle potency of these productions.
The ripples caused by the inaccuracies in these types of films - made under the guise of artistic license should not be underestimated.
Oliver Hirschbiegel's 'Five Minutes of Heaven,' shown last week on BBC saw a true murder in Lurgan in the 70's have a completely fictional story written around it and could easily be misinterpreted as the true story of a meeting and reconciliation between killer and victim.
How ironic it is that the feature should have scenes of the pair being set-up to meet by a tv production company - the same ilk of producers who would no doubt defend Hirschbiegel's artisitic license to distort the facts of Jim Griffin's murder (all the while hamming up 'based on a true story' and playing down the fictional element in the advertising) in the name of artistic catharthis.
But it's not the films themselves that are the problem, it's what people do with them.
I find it hard to believe the C.I.R.A and R.I.R.A would, or will, use a film to base their current struggle upon. Some of the more intellectually vulnerable in society however, may by unduly influenced by what are essentially show pieces on sections of our history, and under this influence subscribe to the political dissent as espoused by hard-line republicans currently.
Those who contend it is healthy to have directors from all over the world look at our past, especially if we are not prepared to do so comprehensively ourselves, would argue these films provide a different perspective and at the very least tell a good story.
In a very immediate way these films provide a form of story-telling and story-sharing that is easily accessible to people.
I used to work in a local bookies with people from all over Belfast, and from every background. Although politics was not usually discussed, unless you count discussion of the odds on the horse 'Reds under the Bed', after lending one of my managers a copy of 'Hunger' by Steve McQueen , we spent the afternoon talking about the film and his memories of that time.
He told me it was the first time he had properly sat down and watched something about the hunger strikes, fact or fiction. He was from the Woodstock Road.
It is obvious that if we keep an open, yet educated mind when watching these films, they need not be dangerous or inflammatory.
If they stay true to the events they are portraying, such films can even teach us something we didn't know - like who knew Kitty Kiernan was from Pakistan?
Wednesday 15 April 2009
Telepathy
I was pleased to see the BBC news website covering a story today on the criticism some sections of the Northern Irish media have received regarding their coverage of Stormonts economic policy and operation more generally. See: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7999934.stm
I'll be honest though - it's not because I think the criticism levelled at the Belfast Telegraph is vindicated (in fact I disagree with the majority of OFMDFM'S letter) - it's more to do with the ego scratch of knowing I wrote on this issue last week (I always knew the Beeb was reading Join the Q ;))
It seems the Brothers Grim up on the hill have taken exception to the Belfast Telegraph's 'Get the Executive Back to Work,' campaign and various other supposedly negative coverage of the goings on at the heart of the province's government.
As covered in my last blog on the issue (see Bad News is Good news?) I do think there is a tendency for media generally to reflect an entirely more negative view of socety - including the current state of our economy - than is necessary.
However, this is tempered by my enduring belief in the role of the modern media as watchdog for society as a whole. As acknowledged in Article 10 of the European Convention, the role of the freedom of the press is vital for a free and democratic society.
The importance of freedom of expression and a free media is obviously not exclusive to Europe however. The latest moves in South Africa to further censor political satire in the country after banning the political puppet show by Jonathan Shapiro is a sad move by the ANC, and is dangerous for the increasingly fragile post-apartheid country.
Like South Africa, Northern Ireland has in the past, had a media which was communally partisan and restrained in their scrutiny of government. Although the former charge may still be true, the recent criticism of the Belfast Telegraph is an unfair assault on an essential asset in modern Northern Ireland.
It is a national paper holding our elected representatives to account and should be allowed to carry out this important role accordingly.
If anything this latest incident shows that the Belfast Telegraph is doing just that.
I'll be honest though - it's not because I think the criticism levelled at the Belfast Telegraph is vindicated (in fact I disagree with the majority of OFMDFM'S letter) - it's more to do with the ego scratch of knowing I wrote on this issue last week (I always knew the Beeb was reading Join the Q ;))
It seems the Brothers Grim up on the hill have taken exception to the Belfast Telegraph's 'Get the Executive Back to Work,' campaign and various other supposedly negative coverage of the goings on at the heart of the province's government.
As covered in my last blog on the issue (see Bad News is Good news?) I do think there is a tendency for media generally to reflect an entirely more negative view of socety - including the current state of our economy - than is necessary.
However, this is tempered by my enduring belief in the role of the modern media as watchdog for society as a whole. As acknowledged in Article 10 of the European Convention, the role of the freedom of the press is vital for a free and democratic society.
The importance of freedom of expression and a free media is obviously not exclusive to Europe however. The latest moves in South Africa to further censor political satire in the country after banning the political puppet show by Jonathan Shapiro is a sad move by the ANC, and is dangerous for the increasingly fragile post-apartheid country.
Like South Africa, Northern Ireland has in the past, had a media which was communally partisan and restrained in their scrutiny of government. Although the former charge may still be true, the recent criticism of the Belfast Telegraph is an unfair assault on an essential asset in modern Northern Ireland.
It is a national paper holding our elected representatives to account and should be allowed to carry out this important role accordingly.
If anything this latest incident shows that the Belfast Telegraph is doing just that.
Friday 10 April 2009
Recent reviews
Anyone who is interested in the local music scene, check out www.nichart.com. Theres plenty of news and information on Northern Ireland bands plus the odd review from yours truly (its all about self promotion these days!!)
Thursday 9 April 2009
Bad news is good news?
Reading the news headlines and watching news programmes for the last while it is impossible not to feel that the world is suffering from some sort of spiritual malaise.
Whether it be a morbid fascination with all things doom and gloom or a societal dumbing down more generally, all news at the minute seems to be bad news or gossip, or both.
Anyone familiar with media knows the old saying 'bad news is good news.' It sells papers and gets viewers. I mean lets be honest, how many of us love reading about the latest politician (or their spouse - Jacqui Smith anyone?) getting up to no good, or the most recent celeb break-up? The majority of Heat readers for a start.
This sort of bad news media fodder seems harmless in light of the recent torrent of misery that has been splashed across the red-tops and even the broadsheets.
Job losses, strikes, tax increases, inflation rates, property prices falling, unemployment soaring....and Jade Goody.
Now don't get me wrong, these are clearly the issues of the day and as such the media industry has a duty to report them, indeed I am the first to want to know the ins and outs of Brian Lenihan's austere new budget in the Republic.
But I'm beginning to think that this negative media is part and parcel of a bigger and entirely more disturbing reality and is even destructive.
A perfect example of this is coverage of the untimely death of Jade Goody. Michael Parkinson has come in for some criticism after he gave an interview with the Radio Times and dared voice an opinion that the 27-year-old reality star's death, while undoubtedly a tragedy, did not perhaps warrant the media coverage that saw her sell her wedding photos for £700,000 and be on the front pages nearly every day for the last weeks of her life.
Personally I thought it was like a perverse countdown to the end, and was and am profoundly uncomfortable with it. Reading Parky's comments I couldn't have agreed more.
The whole issue is like the chicken and the egg. Do the newspaper men write the news or does the public dictate what is written based on their tastes?
I think the balance has most definitely shifted in favour of the latter with editors increasingly preoccupied with what they think will please us, the baying mob, and sell the paper and are less worried about responsible and tasteful journalism. But would it really hurt newspaper editors to push a good news story to the front pages?
Look at the fact the Emerald Project has £150m to spend in Northern Ireland on everything from green energy to waste disposal - a gift from New York state. Although none has been spent as yet, it's still £150m to be spent in the province. Or the SDLP publishing proposals for budgetary amendments which could save £400m unnecessary expenditure by Stormont.
Today the Irish government announced that people from Co. Derry/Londonderry will now, for the first time, be able to use the name of Londonderry when applying for an Irish passport. With all the focus on dissident republican activity and punishment shootings, such a story should be given the weight it is due - it is a significant step forward in the shaping of new identities on this island and a small step in the reconciliation of traditions, very much in the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement.
A N Wilson also wrote an opinion column on the coverage of Jade Goody's death in the Daily Mail. I hasten to add that I am not a regular reader of this paper, afraid as I am that I may be labelled 'disgruntled from Kent,' but the points he raised about the way her death was covered and the character of modern media was both informed and persuasive.
He argued we have become a nation of voyeurs, content to live our lives through the religious following of others', these so-called 'reality stars.' The comparisons he made between the rise and fall of Jade Goody in the way her public persona was manipulated by newspaper editors' and a baying crowd watching gladiators fight to the death in ancient Rome was completely appropriate.
The death of anyone is a sad occasion, it is also a solemn one. Jade's death was a tragedy as she was young girl and had two children, but things like this happen every single day.
Quiet sadness and personal reflection is carried in the damaged hearts of most people throughout their days - no-one is immune to tragedy in their lives. Communal grieving is all well and good, indeed it is even healthy. Veneration of Jade Goody is not.
It is however, a manifestiation of all that is ill in today's society.
The 'career' and coverage of Jade is in tune with what seems to be our generations insatiable thirst for instant gratification, a quick buck, and bad news. It as if people need to hear about the unfortunate lives of others to make themselves feel better. It's all instant, disposable, with the predictable drama and tinge of sadness - gossip for the morning tea break and then onto the next victim.
Such a desire for instant gratification is the heart of the credit crunch!! All ambition and no competence, all want and no give.
The buck has to stop somewhere and clear lines drawn. The current state of the economy and people's finances will hopefully herald in a new belief system, one which is aided by responsible media coverage reflecting it. One where hard-work, competence and a belief in the good of society rather than personal gratification is the new hymn sheet from which we sing...or maybe I'm wrong, maybe worshipping at the altar of a woman who thought Rio De Janeiro was a footballer is ok.
Whether it be a morbid fascination with all things doom and gloom or a societal dumbing down more generally, all news at the minute seems to be bad news or gossip, or both.
Anyone familiar with media knows the old saying 'bad news is good news.' It sells papers and gets viewers. I mean lets be honest, how many of us love reading about the latest politician (or their spouse - Jacqui Smith anyone?) getting up to no good, or the most recent celeb break-up? The majority of Heat readers for a start.
This sort of bad news media fodder seems harmless in light of the recent torrent of misery that has been splashed across the red-tops and even the broadsheets.
Job losses, strikes, tax increases, inflation rates, property prices falling, unemployment soaring....and Jade Goody.
Now don't get me wrong, these are clearly the issues of the day and as such the media industry has a duty to report them, indeed I am the first to want to know the ins and outs of Brian Lenihan's austere new budget in the Republic.
But I'm beginning to think that this negative media is part and parcel of a bigger and entirely more disturbing reality and is even destructive.
A perfect example of this is coverage of the untimely death of Jade Goody. Michael Parkinson has come in for some criticism after he gave an interview with the Radio Times and dared voice an opinion that the 27-year-old reality star's death, while undoubtedly a tragedy, did not perhaps warrant the media coverage that saw her sell her wedding photos for £700,000 and be on the front pages nearly every day for the last weeks of her life.
Personally I thought it was like a perverse countdown to the end, and was and am profoundly uncomfortable with it. Reading Parky's comments I couldn't have agreed more.
The whole issue is like the chicken and the egg. Do the newspaper men write the news or does the public dictate what is written based on their tastes?
I think the balance has most definitely shifted in favour of the latter with editors increasingly preoccupied with what they think will please us, the baying mob, and sell the paper and are less worried about responsible and tasteful journalism. But would it really hurt newspaper editors to push a good news story to the front pages?
Look at the fact the Emerald Project has £150m to spend in Northern Ireland on everything from green energy to waste disposal - a gift from New York state. Although none has been spent as yet, it's still £150m to be spent in the province. Or the SDLP publishing proposals for budgetary amendments which could save £400m unnecessary expenditure by Stormont.
Today the Irish government announced that people from Co. Derry/Londonderry will now, for the first time, be able to use the name of Londonderry when applying for an Irish passport. With all the focus on dissident republican activity and punishment shootings, such a story should be given the weight it is due - it is a significant step forward in the shaping of new identities on this island and a small step in the reconciliation of traditions, very much in the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement.
A N Wilson also wrote an opinion column on the coverage of Jade Goody's death in the Daily Mail. I hasten to add that I am not a regular reader of this paper, afraid as I am that I may be labelled 'disgruntled from Kent,' but the points he raised about the way her death was covered and the character of modern media was both informed and persuasive.
He argued we have become a nation of voyeurs, content to live our lives through the religious following of others', these so-called 'reality stars.' The comparisons he made between the rise and fall of Jade Goody in the way her public persona was manipulated by newspaper editors' and a baying crowd watching gladiators fight to the death in ancient Rome was completely appropriate.
The death of anyone is a sad occasion, it is also a solemn one. Jade's death was a tragedy as she was young girl and had two children, but things like this happen every single day.
Quiet sadness and personal reflection is carried in the damaged hearts of most people throughout their days - no-one is immune to tragedy in their lives. Communal grieving is all well and good, indeed it is even healthy. Veneration of Jade Goody is not.
It is however, a manifestiation of all that is ill in today's society.
The 'career' and coverage of Jade is in tune with what seems to be our generations insatiable thirst for instant gratification, a quick buck, and bad news. It as if people need to hear about the unfortunate lives of others to make themselves feel better. It's all instant, disposable, with the predictable drama and tinge of sadness - gossip for the morning tea break and then onto the next victim.
Such a desire for instant gratification is the heart of the credit crunch!! All ambition and no competence, all want and no give.
The buck has to stop somewhere and clear lines drawn. The current state of the economy and people's finances will hopefully herald in a new belief system, one which is aided by responsible media coverage reflecting it. One where hard-work, competence and a belief in the good of society rather than personal gratification is the new hymn sheet from which we sing...or maybe I'm wrong, maybe worshipping at the altar of a woman who thought Rio De Janeiro was a footballer is ok.
Wednesday 1 April 2009
Yesssssss!
With the Manic Street Preachers announcing their gig in the newly refurbished Ulster Hall on June 6th; Claire McLoughlin writes (exclusively for Join the Q ;)) on the band and their latest offering:
Sample titles from the Manic Street Preachers’ new record: ‘She Bathed Herself In a Bath of Bleach’, ‘Jackie Collins Existential Question Time,’ ‘This Joke Sport Severed,’ and ‘Virginia State Epileptic Colony.’
Any other band would look idiotic. Only the Manics’ could get away with such ridiculous –or indeed brilliant- titles (see Freedom of Speech Won’t Feed my Children, Natwest-Midlands-Barclays-Lloyds, The Intense Humming of Evil, The Love of Richard Nixon et al), without sounding like pretentious 6th formers.
Cheerily titled ‘Journal For Plague Lovers,’ the new record, released May 18 , has been building up hysteria among fan on Manics’ fansite forums, as the Manics’ are touted to blow off their middle-aged 40 year olds tag, and show all the young bucks how it’s done.
Hardcore Manic fans (whose uniform consists of leopard print, pink feather boas and ‘4 Real’ scrawled across their arms), were ecstatic to find out that the album would consist entirely of lyrics left to them by AWOL lyricist and rhythm guitarist Richey Edwards, missing-in-action since February 1995.
Richey Edwards was (or is, depending what you believe) a troubled young man who suffered from alcoholism, anorexia nervosa and crippling depression. The now iconic shot of him staring at the camera with the phrase ‘4 Real’ carved into his forearm, dripping with blood remains one of rock’s most enduring images. Following an interview with Steve Lamacq, in which the journalist questioned Edwards over whether the band were to be taken seriously, Edwards took out a razor blade, etching 4 Real into his forearm to make his point achingly clear to the hack. The publicity this created launched the Manics’ into the media with a bang in 1991.
With his disappearance in 1995, abandoning his car near the Severn Bridge, he created a myth around himself, whilst seemingly wanting people to think he committed suicide, a body has never been found and many fans believe he is still alive and well.
In a final show of camaraderie, not seen in the money- grabbing egotistical nature of the business these days (yes Johnny Borrell I’m thinking of you) the remaining Preachers have kept putting royalties into his bank account following his disappearance in hope the complex character would return.
This of course remains highly unlikely but finally the lyrics left to the band by Richey are seeing the light of day, as the band announced last year they would record an album consisting solely of material Richey had left.
Whispers quickly began surfacing of a Holy Bible Mark II, a return to the Manics’ finest hour in 1994 with what was arguably one of the ugliest and most intelligent records of all time.
The Holy Bible contained lyrics about topics such as anorexia, the Holocaust, American foreign policy and political correctness, and judging by the titles off JFPL, the new record is just as bleak.
The first new track, played on Zane Lowes’ radio show, the fantastic ‘Peeled Apples,’ certainly sounded like a return to 1994 and made listening through the over-excitable Kiwi’s show just about bearable for once. Name checking Noam Chomsky and with lyrics such as “the Levi jean will always be stronger than the Uzi,” it is unmistakably Manics’, and is utterly brilliant.
Musically, it is the polar opposite to the lilting harmonising of ‘Your Love Alone is Not Enough’ and its angry chomping at the bit is miles away from “If You Tolerate This…”
Judging by the new track, it seems the Manics’ are back to form, complete with indecipherable lyrics, grinding guitars and lyrics straight out of tortured mind and genius of Richey.
Since 1998’s This Is My Truth, Tell Me Yours, the Manics’ had been struggling to find a niche. While successful commercially, TIMTTMY was criticised for being too middle-aged and not as complete as previous album Everything Must Go, which had proved their commercial breakthrough, bringing Brit Awards and sell out arena tours.
2001’s Know Your Enemy, referred to lazily by every music critic as the band’s ‘misguided punk album’ (despite the fact that only ‘Found That Soul’ sounds even remotely punkish) saw critics turn against them, and 2004’s quite frankly dreary Lifeblood simply confused fans, with Nicky Wire even admitting that the band were on the verge of splitting up after the ensuing tour.
With 2007’s return to form, Send Away the Tigers, bringing them critical and commercial success yet again with its pop melodies, it seemed the Manics’ were back. Even the notoriously fickle NME loved them, giving the album 8 out of 10 and crowning them Godlike Geniuses in 2008.
SATT however still alienated the Manics’ hardcore, who while always remaining loyal, dreamt of the day Manics’ mark I would return.
It is typically Manics’ for the band to decide to take a huge risk after the acclaim of SATT and once again shun commercial success by finally going back to their finest hour, washing the past 15 years under the carpet.
With no singles planned from the album and with the dark disturbing titles, is seems they are finally making music they want again, rather than pleasing the record company.
The album could be a disaster commercially, but hopefully like the Holy Bible it will stand up as much more than a record, representing a work of art, indeed Jenny Saville - last seen on the revolting but enthralling Holy Bible cover art - is back on board with one of her paintings on the cover of the new record.
JFPL is an event, and will form a sonic memorial to an articulate but troubled talent.
Keep your 80s throwbacks NME darlings La Roux and Friendly Fires, cast off the skinny jeans and scarf look all you young pretenders, and watch and learn Kings of Leon- the ghost of Mr Richey James Edwards has returned.
And by fuck we’ve missed him.
(And who knows maybe Richey give the tabloids a field-day by finally surfacing to assess his new material, if only to tell James Dean Bradfield that the guitar solo on track 5 is rubbish.)
*DISCLAIMER -However word of warning, no matter how amazing I anticipate this record to be, Nicky Wire does sing on ‘William’s Last Words’-just listen to ‘Wattsville Blues’ on 2001’s KYE to know that The Wire should never be allowed near a microphone….
Sample titles from the Manic Street Preachers’ new record: ‘She Bathed Herself In a Bath of Bleach’, ‘Jackie Collins Existential Question Time,’ ‘This Joke Sport Severed,’ and ‘Virginia State Epileptic Colony.’
Any other band would look idiotic. Only the Manics’ could get away with such ridiculous –or indeed brilliant- titles (see Freedom of Speech Won’t Feed my Children, Natwest-Midlands-Barclays-Lloyds, The Intense Humming of Evil, The Love of Richard Nixon et al), without sounding like pretentious 6th formers.
Cheerily titled ‘Journal For Plague Lovers,’ the new record, released May 18 , has been building up hysteria among fan on Manics’ fansite forums, as the Manics’ are touted to blow off their middle-aged 40 year olds tag, and show all the young bucks how it’s done.
Hardcore Manic fans (whose uniform consists of leopard print, pink feather boas and ‘4 Real’ scrawled across their arms), were ecstatic to find out that the album would consist entirely of lyrics left to them by AWOL lyricist and rhythm guitarist Richey Edwards, missing-in-action since February 1995.
Richey Edwards was (or is, depending what you believe) a troubled young man who suffered from alcoholism, anorexia nervosa and crippling depression. The now iconic shot of him staring at the camera with the phrase ‘4 Real’ carved into his forearm, dripping with blood remains one of rock’s most enduring images. Following an interview with Steve Lamacq, in which the journalist questioned Edwards over whether the band were to be taken seriously, Edwards took out a razor blade, etching 4 Real into his forearm to make his point achingly clear to the hack. The publicity this created launched the Manics’ into the media with a bang in 1991.
With his disappearance in 1995, abandoning his car near the Severn Bridge, he created a myth around himself, whilst seemingly wanting people to think he committed suicide, a body has never been found and many fans believe he is still alive and well.
In a final show of camaraderie, not seen in the money- grabbing egotistical nature of the business these days (yes Johnny Borrell I’m thinking of you) the remaining Preachers have kept putting royalties into his bank account following his disappearance in hope the complex character would return.
This of course remains highly unlikely but finally the lyrics left to the band by Richey are seeing the light of day, as the band announced last year they would record an album consisting solely of material Richey had left.
Whispers quickly began surfacing of a Holy Bible Mark II, a return to the Manics’ finest hour in 1994 with what was arguably one of the ugliest and most intelligent records of all time.
The Holy Bible contained lyrics about topics such as anorexia, the Holocaust, American foreign policy and political correctness, and judging by the titles off JFPL, the new record is just as bleak.
The first new track, played on Zane Lowes’ radio show, the fantastic ‘Peeled Apples,’ certainly sounded like a return to 1994 and made listening through the over-excitable Kiwi’s show just about bearable for once. Name checking Noam Chomsky and with lyrics such as “the Levi jean will always be stronger than the Uzi,” it is unmistakably Manics’, and is utterly brilliant.
Musically, it is the polar opposite to the lilting harmonising of ‘Your Love Alone is Not Enough’ and its angry chomping at the bit is miles away from “If You Tolerate This…”
Judging by the new track, it seems the Manics’ are back to form, complete with indecipherable lyrics, grinding guitars and lyrics straight out of tortured mind and genius of Richey.
Since 1998’s This Is My Truth, Tell Me Yours, the Manics’ had been struggling to find a niche. While successful commercially, TIMTTMY was criticised for being too middle-aged and not as complete as previous album Everything Must Go, which had proved their commercial breakthrough, bringing Brit Awards and sell out arena tours.
2001’s Know Your Enemy, referred to lazily by every music critic as the band’s ‘misguided punk album’ (despite the fact that only ‘Found That Soul’ sounds even remotely punkish) saw critics turn against them, and 2004’s quite frankly dreary Lifeblood simply confused fans, with Nicky Wire even admitting that the band were on the verge of splitting up after the ensuing tour.
With 2007’s return to form, Send Away the Tigers, bringing them critical and commercial success yet again with its pop melodies, it seemed the Manics’ were back. Even the notoriously fickle NME loved them, giving the album 8 out of 10 and crowning them Godlike Geniuses in 2008.
SATT however still alienated the Manics’ hardcore, who while always remaining loyal, dreamt of the day Manics’ mark I would return.
It is typically Manics’ for the band to decide to take a huge risk after the acclaim of SATT and once again shun commercial success by finally going back to their finest hour, washing the past 15 years under the carpet.
With no singles planned from the album and with the dark disturbing titles, is seems they are finally making music they want again, rather than pleasing the record company.
The album could be a disaster commercially, but hopefully like the Holy Bible it will stand up as much more than a record, representing a work of art, indeed Jenny Saville - last seen on the revolting but enthralling Holy Bible cover art - is back on board with one of her paintings on the cover of the new record.
JFPL is an event, and will form a sonic memorial to an articulate but troubled talent.
Keep your 80s throwbacks NME darlings La Roux and Friendly Fires, cast off the skinny jeans and scarf look all you young pretenders, and watch and learn Kings of Leon- the ghost of Mr Richey James Edwards has returned.
And by fuck we’ve missed him.
(And who knows maybe Richey give the tabloids a field-day by finally surfacing to assess his new material, if only to tell James Dean Bradfield that the guitar solo on track 5 is rubbish.)
*DISCLAIMER -However word of warning, no matter how amazing I anticipate this record to be, Nicky Wire does sing on ‘William’s Last Words’-just listen to ‘Wattsville Blues’ on 2001’s KYE to know that The Wire should never be allowed near a microphone….
Sunday 29 March 2009
Standing on the shoulders of....Mickey-Bo
Do you remember the ad that appeared on television about 10 years ago with the two wee boys frolicking through the 'beautiful Northern Ireland landscape' and asking 'Wouldn't it be great if it was like this all the time?' It was a kind of forerunner for the film 'Mickey-Bo and me.' Cheesy as this ad was I fear this entry may lean toward such schmaltz....
Last night, on the recommendation of two good friends of mine, I went to a Belfast Giants Ice hockey game at the Odyssey.
As soon as we sat down a large group of 7-year-olds came in to be seated. All with inflatable hockey sticks and the giddyness that comes from a large Fanta with their fries...as soon as I saw them I groaned thinking it would be tantrums and toilet runs all night disturbing my view of the game.
But as the kids settled and the game began I realised there was something more significant about this group sat in front of me. Thats when the ad with the two wee boys popped into my head.
Waking up today many of you, like myself, will be reading about the rioting and violence at Windsor Park and Tate's Avenue last night. Although it is still unclear exactly what happened, it is understood a hardcore element of Polish hooligans -without tickets- came to NI with the intention of causing trouble.
That they did, causing serious damage to Wetherspoons in Bedford Street, injuries to NI and Polish fans, and chaos for traffic in Belfast city centre last night (we were stuck in the Odyssey car park in traffic for 30 mins after the game.)
This image of violent soccer fans is nothing new, indeed riot police are now a common sight at some games.
Yesterday a young man in Ballymena had his ear bitten off in a violent street attack. The reason for the assault? He was wearing a Rangers shirt. The attack had all the hall-marks of the sectarian attack on Michael McIlveen (known as Mickey-Bo) in the same town in 2006.
Unfortunately, like most other things in NI, sport has been held to ransom by people's inability to divorce political tribalism from other areas of life.
Such tribalism, and the sectariansim associated with it, is ingrained in soccer, as with many other sports.
There is, and was, none of this at the Giants game.
The allegiance to one team and desire to see that team beat others, as well as having a particular nemesis within a league, is part and parcel of the fun of following a sport. But here in Northern Ireland, as we have long learned, adherance to a particluar position or unwavering support for one side does not always bode well for intercommunity relations.
There is no d'Hondt system in sport however, and the scenes in Belfast last night, as well as the attack in Ballymena will have to be addressed by the relevant authorities to try and curb in the future.
The youngsters sitting in front of me last night hopefully won't be familiar with such scenes and could have been from any background or religion - they all just loved the Belfast Giants.
There was no sectarian or even antagonsitic chants against the visiting team - the Cardiff devils - and there was more fighting on the ice than in the crowd - the way a sports match should be.
There was something very refreshing about hearing people shout in support of a Belfast team and not having any obvious political allegiance attached to it.
Although soccer and GAA teams in Northern Ireland have done a lot over the past few years in terms of reaching out to the 'other side,' the fact that each sport has roots with one community cannot be erased.
The Belfast Giants team has no such historic baggage and offers an alternative to young people than simply following a team of past generations, support which may well carry political connotation.
Before people start thinking this blog is sponsored by the team, I have to say there was the odd brat kicking off because Daddy wouldn't buy them a foam finger so I didn't totally feel like I had stepped into the Waltons, but the atmosphere before, during and after the game was happy, healthy and lighthearted.
Although the giant Subway machine gun that fires out Subway sandwiches into the crowd and the various team mascots running around in the crowd, made the experience somewhat surreal (you really have to see Gordy the Gorilla rubbing his not insignificant backside on the head of a mortified middle aged woman to see what I mean) overall it was great night.
The formation of the Belfast Giants was billed as a deliberate attempt to normalise sport in post Good Friday Agreement Northern Ireland. The group in front of me will hopefully benefit from the existence of such a team.
Last night, on the recommendation of two good friends of mine, I went to a Belfast Giants Ice hockey game at the Odyssey.
As soon as we sat down a large group of 7-year-olds came in to be seated. All with inflatable hockey sticks and the giddyness that comes from a large Fanta with their fries...as soon as I saw them I groaned thinking it would be tantrums and toilet runs all night disturbing my view of the game.
But as the kids settled and the game began I realised there was something more significant about this group sat in front of me. Thats when the ad with the two wee boys popped into my head.
Waking up today many of you, like myself, will be reading about the rioting and violence at Windsor Park and Tate's Avenue last night. Although it is still unclear exactly what happened, it is understood a hardcore element of Polish hooligans -without tickets- came to NI with the intention of causing trouble.
That they did, causing serious damage to Wetherspoons in Bedford Street, injuries to NI and Polish fans, and chaos for traffic in Belfast city centre last night (we were stuck in the Odyssey car park in traffic for 30 mins after the game.)
This image of violent soccer fans is nothing new, indeed riot police are now a common sight at some games.
Yesterday a young man in Ballymena had his ear bitten off in a violent street attack. The reason for the assault? He was wearing a Rangers shirt. The attack had all the hall-marks of the sectarian attack on Michael McIlveen (known as Mickey-Bo) in the same town in 2006.
Unfortunately, like most other things in NI, sport has been held to ransom by people's inability to divorce political tribalism from other areas of life.
Such tribalism, and the sectariansim associated with it, is ingrained in soccer, as with many other sports.
There is, and was, none of this at the Giants game.
The allegiance to one team and desire to see that team beat others, as well as having a particular nemesis within a league, is part and parcel of the fun of following a sport. But here in Northern Ireland, as we have long learned, adherance to a particluar position or unwavering support for one side does not always bode well for intercommunity relations.
There is no d'Hondt system in sport however, and the scenes in Belfast last night, as well as the attack in Ballymena will have to be addressed by the relevant authorities to try and curb in the future.
The youngsters sitting in front of me last night hopefully won't be familiar with such scenes and could have been from any background or religion - they all just loved the Belfast Giants.
There was no sectarian or even antagonsitic chants against the visiting team - the Cardiff devils - and there was more fighting on the ice than in the crowd - the way a sports match should be.
There was something very refreshing about hearing people shout in support of a Belfast team and not having any obvious political allegiance attached to it.
Although soccer and GAA teams in Northern Ireland have done a lot over the past few years in terms of reaching out to the 'other side,' the fact that each sport has roots with one community cannot be erased.
The Belfast Giants team has no such historic baggage and offers an alternative to young people than simply following a team of past generations, support which may well carry political connotation.
Before people start thinking this blog is sponsored by the team, I have to say there was the odd brat kicking off because Daddy wouldn't buy them a foam finger so I didn't totally feel like I had stepped into the Waltons, but the atmosphere before, during and after the game was happy, healthy and lighthearted.
Although the giant Subway machine gun that fires out Subway sandwiches into the crowd and the various team mascots running around in the crowd, made the experience somewhat surreal (you really have to see Gordy the Gorilla rubbing his not insignificant backside on the head of a mortified middle aged woman to see what I mean) overall it was great night.
The formation of the Belfast Giants was billed as a deliberate attempt to normalise sport in post Good Friday Agreement Northern Ireland. The group in front of me will hopefully benefit from the existence of such a team.
Thursday 26 March 2009
A voice worth having
Last night I was doing my usual parousal of songs on You Tube when I found a rare (and incidentally very good) collaboration between two of my favourite singers, Mama Cass Elliot and John Denver, doing a version of his song 'Leaving on a jet plane.'
I love finding wee gems like this on You Tube but it was one of those clips with lots of talking before the song actually begins. Usually I ignore these interludes but when I heard the subject on which the two were speaking I was immediately drawn in.
It was from 1972 and the two were appearing on 'Burt Sugarman's The Midnight Special.' I must admit I don't have extensive knowledge on American popular culture in the 1970's and so hadn't heard of the show. A quick glance on Wikipedia at the guests who appeared on the music showcase, indicates its popularity and searching You Tube for the artists who performed is worth a look for music lovers.
But back to the talking. As I said, the episode was aired in 1972 and both John and Mama Cass before beginning their duet, made appeals to the American public to register to vote. It was the usual spiel about having a voice and being heard etc. As I'm sure you'll know the election in 1972 they were referring to was the same election that Nixon's team snuck into Watergate - changing the face, and operation of elections in the U.S and the world over forever.
Although neither John nor Mama Cass said anything particularly new or interesting about the importance of registering to vote (and voting itself), it struck me that the message need not be original all the time. The sentiment is so important its gravity should be delivered through simplicity, i.e get your finger out and vote and if your not registered, do so!
The European election is on June 4th this year. Although the newspaper coverage thus far has centred on the divisions within unionism and the likelihood of Sinn Fein topping the poll, not much attention has been paid to voter apathy in Northern Ireland.
I'm not suggesting there is voter apathy here on the scale of mainland Britain - as mentioned before on this blog, the north, and indeed island of Ireland, is a highly politicised society, a fact borne out by our relatively high voter turnout.
My annoyance is specifically with young people in Northern Ireland who either don't vote or simply vote along tribal lines without much thought or inclination to know the manifesto pledges upon which a candidate forms his campaign.
It seems to me this is a subject that only comes to the fore near election time when its a slow news day. The fact it is not always highlighted in the mainstream media does not mean it is not an ongoing problem.
How many times have you heard a young person moan about paying so much tax, not being able to get a job or the obvious bug bear - student fees, and in the same breath saying they don't vote!
I was at a press conference at Stormont not so long ago. It was for young broadcast and newspaper journalism students to practice questioning and interviewing in such an environment in front of real-life MLAs (I resisted the temptation to get out my autograph book.)
Slowly but surely it descended into role reversal with the politicians asking the young people what they wanted to see happen in future and why they didn't vote. It was quite embarassing when someone in the audience said 'Theres just no-one exciting to vote for, politics is boring.' If this is what broadcasters and journalists of the future are saying, god knows who'll be out First Minister in a few years....
The European election is probably not the best election to try and persuade young voters that informed voting is not only easy but important. The fact that Europe has a huge bearing on every aspect of modern life in Ireland north and south is not easily translated when one looks at the bureaucracy and red tape that permeates operations in Brussels and Strasbourg. But it does have a bearing.
From the Common Agricultural Policy to the most basic health and safety legislation (exciting stuff I know) Europe calls the shots. Human Rights? That too. I'm sure Colin Duffy and his solicitor are glad to hear that.
With the current antagonism between member states on a global fiscal initiative to deal with the greedy bankers, its safe to assume the wrangling will produce ripples effecting our pockets in the near future too. For good or bad.
Northern Ireland is a tiny entity in the grand scheme that is the EU. We should count ourselves lucky to have three elected representatives - we're half the size of London. We should take advantage of this and get the best elected representatives we can voicing Northern Ireland's concerns at the heart of Europe.
Everyone knows the issues. It is now more important than ever to make sure our voice is heard in the democratic process and to inform ourselves on the people who are standing on a ticket proposing to help us within such a process.
Read their websites, watch their 5 minute political broadcasts when they start and make sure your making the right choice. They might not change the world but at the very least they are representing our interests.
And seriously do check out John and Mama Cass on You Tube - what voices...almost as powerful as ours.
I love finding wee gems like this on You Tube but it was one of those clips with lots of talking before the song actually begins. Usually I ignore these interludes but when I heard the subject on which the two were speaking I was immediately drawn in.
It was from 1972 and the two were appearing on 'Burt Sugarman's The Midnight Special.' I must admit I don't have extensive knowledge on American popular culture in the 1970's and so hadn't heard of the show. A quick glance on Wikipedia at the guests who appeared on the music showcase, indicates its popularity and searching You Tube for the artists who performed is worth a look for music lovers.
But back to the talking. As I said, the episode was aired in 1972 and both John and Mama Cass before beginning their duet, made appeals to the American public to register to vote. It was the usual spiel about having a voice and being heard etc. As I'm sure you'll know the election in 1972 they were referring to was the same election that Nixon's team snuck into Watergate - changing the face, and operation of elections in the U.S and the world over forever.
Although neither John nor Mama Cass said anything particularly new or interesting about the importance of registering to vote (and voting itself), it struck me that the message need not be original all the time. The sentiment is so important its gravity should be delivered through simplicity, i.e get your finger out and vote and if your not registered, do so!
The European election is on June 4th this year. Although the newspaper coverage thus far has centred on the divisions within unionism and the likelihood of Sinn Fein topping the poll, not much attention has been paid to voter apathy in Northern Ireland.
I'm not suggesting there is voter apathy here on the scale of mainland Britain - as mentioned before on this blog, the north, and indeed island of Ireland, is a highly politicised society, a fact borne out by our relatively high voter turnout.
My annoyance is specifically with young people in Northern Ireland who either don't vote or simply vote along tribal lines without much thought or inclination to know the manifesto pledges upon which a candidate forms his campaign.
It seems to me this is a subject that only comes to the fore near election time when its a slow news day. The fact it is not always highlighted in the mainstream media does not mean it is not an ongoing problem.
How many times have you heard a young person moan about paying so much tax, not being able to get a job or the obvious bug bear - student fees, and in the same breath saying they don't vote!
I was at a press conference at Stormont not so long ago. It was for young broadcast and newspaper journalism students to practice questioning and interviewing in such an environment in front of real-life MLAs (I resisted the temptation to get out my autograph book.)
Slowly but surely it descended into role reversal with the politicians asking the young people what they wanted to see happen in future and why they didn't vote. It was quite embarassing when someone in the audience said 'Theres just no-one exciting to vote for, politics is boring.' If this is what broadcasters and journalists of the future are saying, god knows who'll be out First Minister in a few years....
The European election is probably not the best election to try and persuade young voters that informed voting is not only easy but important. The fact that Europe has a huge bearing on every aspect of modern life in Ireland north and south is not easily translated when one looks at the bureaucracy and red tape that permeates operations in Brussels and Strasbourg. But it does have a bearing.
From the Common Agricultural Policy to the most basic health and safety legislation (exciting stuff I know) Europe calls the shots. Human Rights? That too. I'm sure Colin Duffy and his solicitor are glad to hear that.
With the current antagonism between member states on a global fiscal initiative to deal with the greedy bankers, its safe to assume the wrangling will produce ripples effecting our pockets in the near future too. For good or bad.
Northern Ireland is a tiny entity in the grand scheme that is the EU. We should count ourselves lucky to have three elected representatives - we're half the size of London. We should take advantage of this and get the best elected representatives we can voicing Northern Ireland's concerns at the heart of Europe.
Everyone knows the issues. It is now more important than ever to make sure our voice is heard in the democratic process and to inform ourselves on the people who are standing on a ticket proposing to help us within such a process.
Read their websites, watch their 5 minute political broadcasts when they start and make sure your making the right choice. They might not change the world but at the very least they are representing our interests.
And seriously do check out John and Mama Cass on You Tube - what voices...almost as powerful as ours.
Tuesday 24 March 2009
Manic Street Preaching
This blog will probably encompass a lot of issues today so bear with me on this if it is a bit manic.
While reading Mark Devenport's entries on the BBC website (see 'interesting sites') he made some comments that struck a chord with me, more so than usual. Covering the usual political paddy-whackery that is the St. Patrick's day celebrations at the White house he found time to visit the 'Newseum' at the National Mall in Washington (commemorating American journalism) and also St. Paul's Chapel in New York - set-up as a place of reflection and remembrance near Ground Zero.
Although he was more impressed with the latter, the experience of the two, he contends, confirmed his belief that some form of museum or place of commemoration should be established in Northern Ireland. But this desire for recognition and remembrance of the Troubles, voiced by Devenport and many others, is not without problems.
Anyone who follows the news will know of the arguments regarding a conflict resolution centre proposed in the now defunct redevelopment plans for the Maze site or the more recent controversy surrounding the £12,000 recognition payments proposed in the Eames Bradley report. Both issues clearly stirred deep feelings in the community and are testimony to the fact our past is still having a considerable bearing on our present.
I was at the press launch for Eames Bradley in the Europa hotel. For someone from the post-troubles era (in the sense that I cannot remember in any great detail the last throws of the conflict that existed during my younger years) it was quite disturbing.
To sit in a room with people I knew had suffered greatly during the conflict and watch them argue openly and at times aggressively over the proposed payments, exchanging recriminations and getting visibly upset, was shocking. Its one thing watching it on TV, quite another sitting right next to it.
The controversy played out in the media for a week or two, was subject to the same analysis and ' the intractable Irish problem' diagnosis and then left the front pages. For the families involved however, the struggle to come to terms with the trauma and grief of years of violence here continues.
Mark's visits to these museums and his musings on the need for some form of commemoration stood out for me - after months spent on a thesis covering the whole area, my summations on the issue were the same. Everyone knows issues relating to our past need to be dealt with, it was refreshing to hear a formiddable and astute political journalist get to the how he believes we should do so in earnest.
How poignant it is that I write a blog on this topic on the same day a 17-year-old boy is charged in relation to the recent death of the PSNI officer gunned down by so-called 'dissident republicans.'
This boy may have read about the Easter Rising, Wolfe Tone and various other venerated physical force republican dates in history but no amount of reading, or even understanding of the issues, could possibly justify the actions carried out by him (if he is guilty) and his ilk. They are tailcoat republicans - just as there are tailcoat loyalists - who justify sectarianism and violent acts on the back of a by-gone era where, in the midst of civil strife, taking up arms to defend a belief could arguably be justified.
Nowadays it is not, and thanks to the politcal agreements reached in Nothern Ireland, will it ever be again.
The feet dragging on dealing with our past comprehensively is why such coat-tailing exists.
Ofcourse I'm not saying there is a complete solution to these issues and that once dealt with, they can all be put away in a box labelled 'do not touch,' - but simply ignoring the problems and calling them a poisoned chalice allows our society to become poisoned - as three dead security force members and the existence of yet more peace lines attests to.
During my research I spoke to victims groups and victims. The two obvious commonalities between all of them in their search for reciprocity was that a form of 'story-telling' and remembering our experiences of the conflict was a way forward, there was also a recogniton on their part that there couldn't be a one size fits all approach.
The Saville Inquiry, the work of the H.E.T and other modes of reinvestigation into past events have all encountered well documented problems. The clear positive experiences of those who took part in them however, was the inherent catharsis in telling one's story and the realisation that there was someone willing to listen to it.
For this reason I think Mr Devenport is on the money when he talks of a commemorative museum such as St. Paul's in New York. It would be there for people to visit, tell their story, and hear others'. It can also be ignored by those who don't want to use it.
Aneurin Bevan (and the Manic Street Preachers) said: 'This is my truth tell me yours.' This seems to hold a lot of hope for those who lament the seeming unending capacity for people in the north to cannibilise our troubled history for their own ends.
It seems to me an implementation of these sentiments, in the form of a commemorative museum, is the only way our society can disentagle itself from the legacy of our past and in doing so neuter these 'dissidents,' and begin the long road to healing old, but still weeping, wounds.
While reading Mark Devenport's entries on the BBC website (see 'interesting sites') he made some comments that struck a chord with me, more so than usual. Covering the usual political paddy-whackery that is the St. Patrick's day celebrations at the White house he found time to visit the 'Newseum' at the National Mall in Washington (commemorating American journalism) and also St. Paul's Chapel in New York - set-up as a place of reflection and remembrance near Ground Zero.
Although he was more impressed with the latter, the experience of the two, he contends, confirmed his belief that some form of museum or place of commemoration should be established in Northern Ireland. But this desire for recognition and remembrance of the Troubles, voiced by Devenport and many others, is not without problems.
Anyone who follows the news will know of the arguments regarding a conflict resolution centre proposed in the now defunct redevelopment plans for the Maze site or the more recent controversy surrounding the £12,000 recognition payments proposed in the Eames Bradley report. Both issues clearly stirred deep feelings in the community and are testimony to the fact our past is still having a considerable bearing on our present.
I was at the press launch for Eames Bradley in the Europa hotel. For someone from the post-troubles era (in the sense that I cannot remember in any great detail the last throws of the conflict that existed during my younger years) it was quite disturbing.
To sit in a room with people I knew had suffered greatly during the conflict and watch them argue openly and at times aggressively over the proposed payments, exchanging recriminations and getting visibly upset, was shocking. Its one thing watching it on TV, quite another sitting right next to it.
The controversy played out in the media for a week or two, was subject to the same analysis and ' the intractable Irish problem' diagnosis and then left the front pages. For the families involved however, the struggle to come to terms with the trauma and grief of years of violence here continues.
Mark's visits to these museums and his musings on the need for some form of commemoration stood out for me - after months spent on a thesis covering the whole area, my summations on the issue were the same. Everyone knows issues relating to our past need to be dealt with, it was refreshing to hear a formiddable and astute political journalist get to the how he believes we should do so in earnest.
How poignant it is that I write a blog on this topic on the same day a 17-year-old boy is charged in relation to the recent death of the PSNI officer gunned down by so-called 'dissident republicans.'
This boy may have read about the Easter Rising, Wolfe Tone and various other venerated physical force republican dates in history but no amount of reading, or even understanding of the issues, could possibly justify the actions carried out by him (if he is guilty) and his ilk. They are tailcoat republicans - just as there are tailcoat loyalists - who justify sectarianism and violent acts on the back of a by-gone era where, in the midst of civil strife, taking up arms to defend a belief could arguably be justified.
Nowadays it is not, and thanks to the politcal agreements reached in Nothern Ireland, will it ever be again.
The feet dragging on dealing with our past comprehensively is why such coat-tailing exists.
Ofcourse I'm not saying there is a complete solution to these issues and that once dealt with, they can all be put away in a box labelled 'do not touch,' - but simply ignoring the problems and calling them a poisoned chalice allows our society to become poisoned - as three dead security force members and the existence of yet more peace lines attests to.
During my research I spoke to victims groups and victims. The two obvious commonalities between all of them in their search for reciprocity was that a form of 'story-telling' and remembering our experiences of the conflict was a way forward, there was also a recogniton on their part that there couldn't be a one size fits all approach.
The Saville Inquiry, the work of the H.E.T and other modes of reinvestigation into past events have all encountered well documented problems. The clear positive experiences of those who took part in them however, was the inherent catharsis in telling one's story and the realisation that there was someone willing to listen to it.
For this reason I think Mr Devenport is on the money when he talks of a commemorative museum such as St. Paul's in New York. It would be there for people to visit, tell their story, and hear others'. It can also be ignored by those who don't want to use it.
Aneurin Bevan (and the Manic Street Preachers) said: 'This is my truth tell me yours.' This seems to hold a lot of hope for those who lament the seeming unending capacity for people in the north to cannibilise our troubled history for their own ends.
It seems to me an implementation of these sentiments, in the form of a commemorative museum, is the only way our society can disentagle itself from the legacy of our past and in doing so neuter these 'dissidents,' and begin the long road to healing old, but still weeping, wounds.
Friday 20 March 2009
PC World
Although Jade Goody is now more famous for the Shakespearean tragedy her life has become, there was a time when the Bermonsdsey blonde was splashed across the papers for an equally dramatic, if less fateful, story. 'Poppadom -gate', and her ignorant treatment of Shilpa Shetty in the Big Brother house made national and global headlines and re-opened the debate on political correctness, cultural ignorance and ofcourse racism in modern Britain.
It seems such discussion has not reached the far reachs of the Republic of Ireland (a country which openly refers to their Taoiseach as BIFFO - you can google the acronym for yourself.)
As if such disregard for the sensititvites of their political leader was not enough (that is if he has any), this was pointed out to me yesterday http://www.hotelium.com/SearchedHotel.aspx?fileName=Court_Hotel_Letterkenny&languageCode=EN¤cyCode=GBP&tabId=Overview&checkin=2009-04-04&checkout=2009-04-05&Adults=3&Rooms=1&pageFrom=SearchResults.
Click on the first hotel that appears, scroll down the page and look at how they describe the first 'amenity.'
With things like this out in the public domain is it any wonder tourists still think we live in cottages and are all called either Mary or John-Joe?
We are a highly politicised society both north and south with many a generation well versed and rehearsed on their feelings of the geographical boundary seperating the two countries. Im not a fan of a nanny state but somewhere along the line people need to be taught boundaries of a different sort - social boundaries.
It seems such discussion has not reached the far reachs of the Republic of Ireland (a country which openly refers to their Taoiseach as BIFFO - you can google the acronym for yourself.)
As if such disregard for the sensititvites of their political leader was not enough (that is if he has any), this was pointed out to me yesterday http://www.hotelium.com/SearchedHotel.aspx?fileName=Court_Hotel_Letterkenny&languageCode=EN¤cyCode=GBP&tabId=Overview&checkin=2009-04-04&checkout=2009-04-05&Adults=3&Rooms=1&pageFrom=SearchResults.
Click on the first hotel that appears, scroll down the page and look at how they describe the first 'amenity.'
With things like this out in the public domain is it any wonder tourists still think we live in cottages and are all called either Mary or John-Joe?
We are a highly politicised society both north and south with many a generation well versed and rehearsed on their feelings of the geographical boundary seperating the two countries. Im not a fan of a nanny state but somewhere along the line people need to be taught boundaries of a different sort - social boundaries.
Thursday 19 March 2009
Why Eurovision?
We have all heard the oft quoted model of Northern Ireland's successful peace deal being used as a shining example to all other divided societies. For those of us who upon hearing this choke on our Twinnings and find it hard to swallow (in more ways than one), the disgraceful acts of dissident republicans in recent weeks have vindicated what we have long been thinking - the peace here is fragile. It is a peace without reconciliation but I'll save spouting on that issue for another day.
Undoubtedly the north has learned valuable lessons on the long road to this fragile peace - lessons which can, and have been shared with other countries. Power-sharing and a commitment to negotiating with all political parties (even those deemed to be the 'political' wing of a paramilitary group which back in the 1990's was a major precedent to set) are among the lofty ideals formulated by the main players in the 'peace process.' (Should this be trademarked I wonder?)
We all know these main players,, but who'd have thought the Eurovision song contest and Irish celebrity Linda Martin would be keeping company with George Mitchell, Bill Clinton et al as forward thinking sources of inspiration and reconciliation?
Recent controversy surrounding Israel's 2009 Eurovision entry (http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/world/7948494.stm) is proof positive of the depth of feeling over identity that has always been a central issue in the Middle East conflict.
These identity problems, which have existed since the formation of the NI state in 1921, and still exist today in Northern Ireland are a major issue in the existence of this peace without reconciliation referred to earlier.
It seems however, such difficulties were dealt with easily in the 1990's when Linda Martin, a Protestant from Belfast via Omagh, took to the stage under the green white and gold singing 'Why me?' and winning the Eurovision for Ireland.
I assume the title of the song was not a lament at being chosen to represent a country which at the time still laid claim to the north in their constitution.
The year she won was 1992. It was the same year a PIRA land mine killed eight Protestant civilians at Teebane Crossroads near Cookstown and British agent Brian Nelson revealed the extent of security force collusion in his undercover activities within the UDA. Yet the sight of a northern Protestant singing for the Republic didn't attract the controversy the Mira Awad has.
Of course to compare the two as if identical would be wrong (don't get me started on my problems with comparative politics.) But if people insist on holding Northern Ireland up as a bastion of all thing peaceful and wholesome as an example to others, Linda Martin must be applauded for her brave steps towards reconciliation, ahem. Just a pity about the hair.
Sorry to begin this blog with two back to back entries on Palestinian(ish) related stories - there'll be more diversity in the future...maybe.
Undoubtedly the north has learned valuable lessons on the long road to this fragile peace - lessons which can, and have been shared with other countries. Power-sharing and a commitment to negotiating with all political parties (even those deemed to be the 'political' wing of a paramilitary group which back in the 1990's was a major precedent to set) are among the lofty ideals formulated by the main players in the 'peace process.' (Should this be trademarked I wonder?)
We all know these main players,, but who'd have thought the Eurovision song contest and Irish celebrity Linda Martin would be keeping company with George Mitchell, Bill Clinton et al as forward thinking sources of inspiration and reconciliation?
Recent controversy surrounding Israel's 2009 Eurovision entry (http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/world/7948494.stm) is proof positive of the depth of feeling over identity that has always been a central issue in the Middle East conflict.
These identity problems, which have existed since the formation of the NI state in 1921, and still exist today in Northern Ireland are a major issue in the existence of this peace without reconciliation referred to earlier.
It seems however, such difficulties were dealt with easily in the 1990's when Linda Martin, a Protestant from Belfast via Omagh, took to the stage under the green white and gold singing 'Why me?' and winning the Eurovision for Ireland.
I assume the title of the song was not a lament at being chosen to represent a country which at the time still laid claim to the north in their constitution.
The year she won was 1992. It was the same year a PIRA land mine killed eight Protestant civilians at Teebane Crossroads near Cookstown and British agent Brian Nelson revealed the extent of security force collusion in his undercover activities within the UDA. Yet the sight of a northern Protestant singing for the Republic didn't attract the controversy the Mira Awad has.
Of course to compare the two as if identical would be wrong (don't get me started on my problems with comparative politics.) But if people insist on holding Northern Ireland up as a bastion of all thing peaceful and wholesome as an example to others, Linda Martin must be applauded for her brave steps towards reconciliation, ahem. Just a pity about the hair.
Sorry to begin this blog with two back to back entries on Palestinian(ish) related stories - there'll be more diversity in the future...maybe.
Wednesday 18 March 2009
Violence in Palestine...Street
It is believed St Patrick returned to Ireland from Wales even after years of slavery here due to a vision. As written in his self-penned Confessio, he read a letter given to him by ‘Ireland’ and came back to ‘the Voice of the Irish.’
If yesterdays scenes in the Holylands are anything to go by, it might have been better if he stayed away.
12 arrested and 5 charged with various misdemeanours including riotous behaviour, the sight of riot vans in Carmel Street and drunken young people in leprechaun hats cavorting senselessly in front of PSNI officers was simply an ‘Unholy Mess,’ as the Belfast Telegraph punned this morning. It was also an embarrassment, and about as far away from a celebration of our patron saint as you can get.
The usual righteous indignation has appeared from political representatives and calls for the universities and colleges to take severe action – the same calls as the last time things got out of hand in this student area. This year was clearly different however, and saw the worst student trouble in Belfast ever seen on St. Patrick’s Day.
I say student trouble because none of the 5 charged are from Belfast – leading credence to the opinion that most of the trouble was caused by students.
After years of increasing trouble on March 17th it seemed last year had seen a solution to the problem, and a balance had been struck, with wardens on the streets and a highly publicised universities campaign about acting responsibly.
The scenes on Tuesday rightly aroused anger in residents and politicians but also from students from Belfast who are associated with the behaviour. After last year there was a sense that students from far and wide who came to live in the Holylands had finally wised up and stopped treating the place where they spent term time as a dumping ground.
It seems these students are far away from home in Belfast where no-one knows them, or their families, and are simply treating the novelty of anonymity as a licence to wreck the place that some of us call our home.
However, I’m not hear to ‘bate’ culchie students - there were clearly people involved in the incidents who were not students and didn’t even live in the Holyland area.
You know you’ve a good riot on your hands when the peculiar Norn Iron species of ‘recreational rioter’ pulls himself away from Jeremy Kyle or his knock-off Playstation to see what the craic is with the cops.
Maybe it was the non-student element this year which tipped the revelry into something decidedly more sinister…or maybe it was the good weather bringing more people out onto the street. Whatever the reason, one thing is for sure, March 17th will never be the same again in these student areas.
Long gone will be the freedom to sit out on the street and enjoy one of the highlights of the year, or the freedom to have music or mix freely on the street.
One of the unique features of Belfast universities and colleges is the sense of community that exists within this famous student area – the events on Tuesday have permanently tarnished such an image and sense of community and have set back carefully fostered student-resident relations tenfold.
I hate to sound like a pissed-off parent but you have no-one to blame but yourselves.
If yesterdays scenes in the Holylands are anything to go by, it might have been better if he stayed away.
12 arrested and 5 charged with various misdemeanours including riotous behaviour, the sight of riot vans in Carmel Street and drunken young people in leprechaun hats cavorting senselessly in front of PSNI officers was simply an ‘Unholy Mess,’ as the Belfast Telegraph punned this morning. It was also an embarrassment, and about as far away from a celebration of our patron saint as you can get.
The usual righteous indignation has appeared from political representatives and calls for the universities and colleges to take severe action – the same calls as the last time things got out of hand in this student area. This year was clearly different however, and saw the worst student trouble in Belfast ever seen on St. Patrick’s Day.
I say student trouble because none of the 5 charged are from Belfast – leading credence to the opinion that most of the trouble was caused by students.
After years of increasing trouble on March 17th it seemed last year had seen a solution to the problem, and a balance had been struck, with wardens on the streets and a highly publicised universities campaign about acting responsibly.
The scenes on Tuesday rightly aroused anger in residents and politicians but also from students from Belfast who are associated with the behaviour. After last year there was a sense that students from far and wide who came to live in the Holylands had finally wised up and stopped treating the place where they spent term time as a dumping ground.
It seems these students are far away from home in Belfast where no-one knows them, or their families, and are simply treating the novelty of anonymity as a licence to wreck the place that some of us call our home.
However, I’m not hear to ‘bate’ culchie students - there were clearly people involved in the incidents who were not students and didn’t even live in the Holyland area.
You know you’ve a good riot on your hands when the peculiar Norn Iron species of ‘recreational rioter’ pulls himself away from Jeremy Kyle or his knock-off Playstation to see what the craic is with the cops.
Maybe it was the non-student element this year which tipped the revelry into something decidedly more sinister…or maybe it was the good weather bringing more people out onto the street. Whatever the reason, one thing is for sure, March 17th will never be the same again in these student areas.
Long gone will be the freedom to sit out on the street and enjoy one of the highlights of the year, or the freedom to have music or mix freely on the street.
One of the unique features of Belfast universities and colleges is the sense of community that exists within this famous student area – the events on Tuesday have permanently tarnished such an image and sense of community and have set back carefully fostered student-resident relations tenfold.
I hate to sound like a pissed-off parent but you have no-one to blame but yourselves.
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