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. [...]

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 [...]

Revolution is just a t-shirt away

Over the years I’ve accumulated a fair number of appalling football shirts. Northern Ireland’s home and away shirts by Olympic Sports being particularly bad. You know, the baggy type from the mid-nineties. I’d love to post some photos but even google is keen to forget. Nowadays a George Best or 1982/1986 shirt is the best [...]

My sister’s inauguration video diary

Judith is in Washington for a year on a volunteer programme. She was asked by the BBC to submit a video diary on her experience of President Obama’s inauguration. It looks cold.
Here’s another contribution from the BBC site: 
JUDE CURRIE, 22, COMMUNITY VOLUNTEER, COUNTY DOWN

Jude Currie is working in DC for a year

I am going to the inauguration because [...]

Gaza Peace Demonstration Belfast

Attended the protest march from the Art College to City Hall earlier today. Around 1500 people turned out for the event. Predictably, it was a wide and varied group of people. Thankfully the smaller protests planned by the likes of the Ireland-Palestine solidarity movement were cancelled and subsumed into this larger event arranged by the [...]

Billy Bragg at the Empire

The first time I heard Billy Bragg I was pretty young. Just before our house moved to compact discs my dad bought a pile of cheap LPs, one of which was a compilation called New Traditions. It was a fairly random selection of songs by late 80s artists, and Billy’s contribution was a deadpan delivery [...]

White poppies on Sunday

Spurred on by challenging posts from other bloggers, the Belfast homecoming parade of last week, and probably by the giddy hopefulness of events in the US, I decided to purchase a pack of ten white poppies. Thankfully by the end of the week all ten had been taken by people. Sunday night in church felt [...]

Obama’s alternative acceptance speech

Funny re-write of Obama’s acceptance speech, from Adam Buxton of Adam and Joe fame.

Obama – Change I wish we could believe in

Like many others I’m ecstatic(!) about Obama’s presidential victory and am hopeful that he has at least created a platform for change in US politics. TV pictures of voters queuing for hours at the polls was thrilling but also got me thinking how many (if any) of our politicians in Northern Ireland could stir such a reaction [...]

Poppies and parades

While the NI Executive grinds to a halt, our two biggest political parties are slugging it out on one of the issues they were too insecure to address in the first place. Our shared future exists in name only on an outdated strategy document in Castle Buildings while attention turns to this Sunday’s two parades: [...]