“I still believe that if your aim is to change the world, journalism is a more immediate short-term weapon.” – Tom Stoppard “Better a good journalist than a poor assassin.” – Jean Paul-Sartre “I associate the power generation industry with wilful incompetence, illegal removal of worker rights and cover ups.” – Steven Magee “The only […]
November, 2020
That Brian Stanley tweet
I wonder if, in recent days, Mrs Stanley has said sharply to her husband Brian “In the name of God, would you quit that damned tweeting – here’s another fine mess you’ve got us in!” Or words to that effect. For indeed, Sinn Féin’s Brian Stanley has provoked outrage in the breast of Arlene Foster and presumably others with his […]
PAT + JUDE TALK ABOUT JOURNALISTS + POLICE, J P MxMANUS + GENEROSITY, AND PEOPLE WHO MISS SHOPPING
We’re having our Zoom chat on Sunday rather than Monday this week, as Mr McArt is otherwise occupied tomorrow. So… We consider the journalists who have been warned that their lives are at risk from, I assume, dissident republicans. At the same time, we have journalists like Trevor Birney and Barry McCafferty being paid six-figure […]
THE TIMES OF LONDON REPORTS 28 NOVEMBER 1920 ON ” THE IRISH CRISIS” by Donal Kennedy
The year 1920 began badly for Ireland’s British rulers. Municipal, County Council and other local elections established beyond doubt that Sinn Fein’s landslide victory some fourteen months earlier was no flash in the pan. Most local authorities gave their allegiance to the Republic, The British intensified the repression. Arresting elected councillors, sometimes carrying them as […]
‘Lessons for today from our history in London of combating racism’ by David Rosenberg
This talk by David Rosenberg comes to you courtesy of Donal Kennedy My talk as a panellist on 25th November at the AGM of Barnet Stand Up To Racism Thank you for inviting me. I was asked to discuss what lessons anti-racist campaigners today can draw from our history in London of combating racism. It’s a huge subject. I will focus on the area I know […]
PAT + JUDE TALK ABOUT DIEGO MARADONA, JUSTICE MINISTER HELEN McENTEE AND OXFORD VACCINE DOUBTS
This Friday, we look at some item making the headlines. There’s Diego Maradona’s death, of course, and English reaction to it. Will they ever. forgive the great man for that famous ‘Hand of God’ goal? On the. political front, Justice Minister Helen McEntee has been grilled in the Dáil over her appointment of Seamus Woulfe to the Supreme Court. She says it was all her own decision, although her boss Leo Varadkar did remark that Woulfe would make a very good judge. Go figger. And finally, there are questions being raised about the Oxford-Astrazeneka vaccine – was there sufficient testing done, especially tests that included over 55s? Or is Big Pharma cheesed off that Oxford-Astrzeneka plan to make their vaccine available at cost price? All the news that’s fit to be talked about, and maybe even some that isn’t. Click and experience the pleasure of seeing mighty minds at work…
Diego Maradona and Peter Shilton
I know this probably makes me a bad person, but I found myself slapping my thigh and laughing uproariously when Peter Shilton was interviewed on t’telly last night. He was a tremendous goal-keeper but he has put on some serious weight with the years. But I wasn’t laughing at his stomach – no, Virginia, I […]
Redmond and Pearse – By Their Fruits One Should Know Them? by Donal Kennedy
John Redmond was responsible for the death of scores of thousands of Irishmen and the incapacitation of as many more between 1914 and 1918 . He was responsible for uncounted deaths and incapacitation of Germans, Austrians, Turks and others who had never injured or insulted Ireland nor contemplated doing so. Without consulting his party’s MPs […]
Pardoning turkeys and parsing Joe
Two days ago Donald Trump was on TV, sharing the top spot with a turkey. The bird was a fine big creature, and as is customary, Trump granted it a Thanksgiving pardon. Maybe he perfomed before cameras because he just loves seeing his mug on telly, or maybe because he wanted to prefigure the next […]
Jam today, sticky wicket tomorrow?
It’s good to be ruled by people who can think logically, isn’t it? Boris Johnson probably learned to do that when he was attending Balliol College, Oxford. That is, when he wasn’t on one of his big nights out at the Bullingdon Club, where with David Cameron he periodically thrashed the restaurant. “The virus doesn’t […]