Are celebrities the new fall guys for our powerless society?

I am not an apologist for the words of Andy Gray and Richard Keys, but it seems that Gray’s dismissal was unusually swift. I wonder how much of this was down to the public “outcry” over what was said, or down to the Sky Empire’s desire to be seen to have a softer side as the proposed buyout from Murdoch gathers pace.

Recently we have seen a number of unpopular policy decisions suggested and then acted upon by our politicians:
-the bailout of the banks
- the cuts agenda
-the rise in tuition fees
..as well as other actions which have been out of the hands of the public such as the award of sky-high bankers bonuses this month. All of these measures have seen massive public demonstrations and protests, but they’ve led to no changes in policy so far. It’s all been allowed to just happen.

Because of this failure by the public to influence and change Government policy…are we now switching our attention to everything said and done by public figures as a way of venting this frustration and anger? I don’t think it’s too much of a leap to make. Major names in the BBC, figures in the world of sport, Daily Mail columnists, women who put cats in bins, and politicians’ private lives have all been the subject of media campaigns of some sort…usually ending with a resignation or apology. And you could say this triviality then distracts our attention from more serious news.

how to vote…??

While reading virtual methodist’s thoughts on politics and democracy this evening the first piece of election literature dropped through the letterbox from the Ulster Unionists/Conservatives. I watched the Labour manifesto video yesterday and no doubt the rest of the South Belfast candidates (even though I believe we live in East…) will follow suit on the doors over the next couple of weeks.

My own party is not fielding any candidates, as we prepare to focus on local government and Assembly elections…so I find it hard to decide who to place the X beside on 6 May. None of the main parties seem to be able to combine distinctive policies with strong leadership. While the sectarian carve-ups and hypocritical double-jobbings seem to continue across the board. First past the post doesn’t make it any easier either!

A good friend (standing for Westminster in my home constituency of Strangford) highlighted this great clip which sums up the bland  rhetoric battle being waged between the big players:

Cape Town 15-22 Feb – updates on the way

Finally a decent reason to update the blog! Tomorrow I travel to Cape Town with a group of 18 participants from across Northern Ireland for a study visit as part of the Journeys Out programme – a course arranged with INCORE at the University of Ulster.

We’ve been facilitating workshops in each of our communities on the issue of dealing with the past, documenting the learning process on the way. Part of the closing stages of the programme is a trip to South Africa to explore approaches to dealing with the legacy of the conflict in Northern Ireland. I hope to update the blog here with some photos and reports etc during the course of the trip if and when I get the chance.

PUP annual conference – still moving forward

In a previous job I ended up having to attend a range of party conferences, but I can confidently say this one is definitely the best. As a member I am of course, hugely biased!

Alaninbelfast has provided brilliant coverage of the day. I’m glad the party had the guts to open up the abortion debate. As was mentioned during the debate the PUP has always refused to shy away from difficult issues, especially those which are often not vote-winners.

It’s been a tradition over the past few years to invite an unexpected guest along to deliver the Billy McCaughey Memorial lecture, and this year it was Denis Bradley, from the Consultative Group on the Past. He had strong words for traditional unionists that saw themselves as blameless during the conflict, bad theology from the churches, and concern that a Tory government would bin the proposals for dealing with the past.

There’s opportunity for a good bit of banter at the conference too, and I’m proud to be associated with the party. I hope the visiting delegates and exhibitors were impressed.

11th, 12th…13th!

Squeezing past shopping trolleys in Connswater on Friday you’d think there was an impending nuclear disaster, so keen were people to get everything in before the 12th holidays. Yet given the decisions by many Belfast traders to remain open this holiday, Tesco’s will only be shut for one day (Monday)!

The 11th July bonfires and 12 July parades have each been bumped forward a day for religious(!) reasons and as I write this some palettes are being transported along our road as final preparations are made for Sunday night. (Xetera – your photos of Belfast life will be sorely missed)

Since moving back over to East Belfast  five years ago I’ve looked forward to attending the big bonfire on the N’ards Road and the expectation that goes with it. I’m no apologist for the anti-social behaviour (I hate that term) and naked sectarianism that too often accompanies the 11th night, but despite its flaws this must surely be one of the few remaining examples of grass-roots community expression in Western Europe.

Last week during the 1 July parade an English friend was amazed at the turn-out along the road, saying that there was nothing like this back in her home town. To me it feels at times like a sad, self-loathing celebration, of a culture and system for which these communities have been despised for following, and yet have failed to benefit from themselves.

It’s a very different atmosphere to the celebrations in Newtownards, where the bonfires were isolated in each of the housing estates so comings and goings were more noticeable, although there have been major strides there with Council-sponsored bonfire management programmes. Community activists deserve huge credit for their attempts to make these celebrations more family-orientated and less damaging to the environment.

I guess there’s a fair bit of cultural tourism to the East Belfast bonfire too, as I always hear a few unusual accents there, and the traffic suggests that some still make an annual trip in from the leafier suburbs. Anyway, here’s hoping that Sunday night is a safe one for all involved as critical eyes will again be focussed on Protestant working-class areas.

NI hatred addicts anonymous

There’s been a lot of sanctimonious guff spoken this week about the racist attacks in Belfast.

The most sensible commentary I’ve read so far has come from the Alliance Party’s Ian Parsley, on his blog.

Here are his concluding comments, which I spotted on slugger:

The fact is that too many communities in Northern Ireland are totally ignored – by the media, by our political leaders, by our “influential” classes – until they do something which impacts upon those who do not have to live in them. It is no surprise, therefore, that sectarianism and racism continue to be so poisonous – and it is those shouting loudest about them who need to remember they have the toughest choices to make to stop the contamination.

The joke is on us

Translink and the Larne line

I blogged way back last year about the Larne railway line getting new trains and the fact it couldn’t come quickly enough. According to the Regional Development Minister in a written answer to an Assembly question last month,

the average age of trains on the Larne line is 24 years. The average age of trains on the Bangor, Portadown/Newry and Londonderry lines is 3.5 years.

One of the trains on the line is actually 31 years old.

I wonder if the further increase in rail fares announced today will bring those new trains into action any sooner? I doubt it. As well as shedding 75 jobs, Translink’s pledge that customers will benefit from falling fuel prices seems to have gone off the rails.

NI job cuts – where’s the vision?

Local leaders have been responding to today’s devastating announcement of almost 1000 jobs going at Bombardier. The First Minister’s reaction is disappointing and less than inspiring considering the majority of jobs will be lost within his constituency:

“All we as an executive can do is prepare those who have lost their jobs for new employment, to get out there and encourage investment in Northern Ireland.

We have to recognise the limitations that exist for a devolved administration. Unfortunately Bombardier will feel just as powerless as we do.”

Where is the vision for the future from the Executive? It seems they’ve just been holding their hands up and admitting their powerlessness in the midst of all this. Obama’s Presidential campaign showed the power of positive rhetoric at least, here in NI it couldn’t be more different.

Employment Minister Reg Empey, also an MLA for East Belfast, has tried to be a bit more positive in his response “There are things we can do, we can’t just sit back and do nothing. One thing we can do is try and prepare our workforce for the uptake when it comes.”After manufacturing, the public sector will be hit next once the Barnett formula cuts NI’s funding even further in a year or so, with a knock-on effect on the community and voluntary sector. It’s up the 108 collectively on this one.

Northern Ireland take on Poland and Slovenia

Two big matches coming up over the next few days for Northern Ireland: Poland on Saturday and Slovenia on Wednesday – both at home. Given our chronic away form, six points from these two matches is crucial if we’re to have any chance of qualifying for South Africa.

I’m looking forward to the atmosphere at Saturday’s game. The Polish FA took their full ticket allocation unsurprisingly, so Windsor should be rocking, and hats off to the IFA for arranging some pre-match activities for both sets of fans at Seaview.

Community representatives in Sandy Row also deserve praise for acting quickly to remove the disgusting sectarian graffiti in the area about the provocative Polish Goalkeeper Artur Boruc, who also happens to play for Celtic. At a time when recent events have refocussed media attention on NI for all the wrong reasons, the actions of mindless idiots like this will be blown out of all proportion.

Hopefully the Grand Slam success last weekend will inspire Norn Iron (and the Republic) to victory tomorrow and Wednesday!