Saturday’s Respect National Council - Alan Thornett

Ironically within 24 hours of last Saturday’s Respect NC democracy had been finally snuffed out in the Labour Party without resistance and by an overwhelming majority. For the first time for nearly 100 years Labour Party conference can no longer make policy for the Labour Party. The need for a party like Respect could [...]

RESPECT Belfast style. Bloody grim.

It’s the small differences you notice in Belfast. In the swimming pool changing room a man was talking about his brother’s illness. “He’s in a really bad way. We’ve tried everything. He’s had prayers said for him at Lourdes. We did the Clonard novena and lit candles to the Archangels.” He didn’t mention going to [...]

Towards the twilight zone- The grotesque world of the Irish Left

I asked a friend in Belfast to write frankly about the Irish far left for the guest posting below. We’ll call him “River Dale” until he comes up with a better alias. The Irish far left makes the British far left look pretty good. That’s how bad it is. There are elections next week to [...]

Perhaps God exists

I don’t normally gloat over the deaths of political enemies but I’ll make an exception in this case. I also intend to put £100 behind the bar of the Approach the day Thatcher dies.
David Ervine was the most prominent spokesperson for the UVF. He died from a heart attack, a stroke and [...]

Neither fornicators, effeminate nor abusers of themselves

ProtestingOriginally uploaded by Slugger O’Toole.
Ulster’s great! This is wonderful photo gives you a feel for the place. It’s a picture of a Paisleyite demonstration at the first civil partnership ceremony in the north of Ireland outside Belfast city hall. It puts me in mind of a counter demonstration I took part in ages ago at [...]

Belfast Rape Crisis Centre faces closure. Government to give UDA £70 million

The Belfast Rape Crisis Centre may be closed because the British government is withholding its £60 000 grant citing the volunteer run centre’s failure to comply with accounting procedures. On the other hand it is throwing money at UDA gangsters as part of the Good Friday Agreement. Just how transparent are the UDA’s financial records [...]

Wee dafties -the Ulster Scots industry

Belfast at the moment looks like a tawdry, post-revolutionary theme park.Someone must have thought that the piece of iron work pictured here was a really good idea. Still it’s much more tasteful than the dinner plates commemorating the hunger strikers that an American group commissioned at Sinn Fein’s behest.
Sinn Fein has erected hoardings all over [...]