Sinn Fein? They have gone away, you know.

[Leo]

Adams under pressure over knowledge of abuse by his brother - The Irish Times

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/adams-under-pressure-over-knowlege-of-abuse-by-his-brother-1.1560761

Over his long career Gerry Adams, with his paramilitary (which he denies) and political past, has ended up in corners without any discernible escape route. Yet he has always managed to dodge his enemies and emerge with his political position secure.
But the terrible experience of Áine Adams seems different; this case is about a woman, his niece, now aged 40 who was raped between the ages of four and nine by his brother, Liam Adams.
How this story unfolds will keep returning to Adams's day in court on April 22nd this year and the evidence he gave under cross-examination to Liam Adams's lawyer Eilis McDermott, QC.
In the first trial in April McDermott accused the Sinn Féin president of acting to save his "political skin" rather than in the interests of his niece.

This, crucially, is in relation to when and why he went to the police in 2009 to tell the PSNI of an admission he said his brother Liam made to him nine years earlier in Dundalk of sexually abusing Áine Adams.
"This is above politics. Saving my political skin is no consideration in these matters," replied the Sinn Féin leader. It is an issue now.

Earlier this month the jury in the second trial convicted Liam Adams of raping and sexually abusing Áine Adams from when she was aged four until she was nine, beginning in 1977.
Now other juries are deliberating on what this will or should mean for the political future of Gerry Adams: there's the public jury; the Sinn Féin membership and leadership jury; what Adams believes in some cases is a media "witch-hunt" jury; there are the juries comprised of his political opponents North and South; there are the separate inquiries currently taking place by the North's Attorney General and Police Ombudsman.

It emerged during both the collapsed and completed trials that as far back as 1987 Adams was aware of the abuse allegation against his brother – an allegation Liam Adams denied that same year when confronted by the Sinn Féin leader. That case never proceeded because Áine Adams retracted her evidence to the RUC.
But most particularly, as Adams said in the first trial (he wasn't called to give evidence in the second trial), it was in 2000 during a long walk in the rain in Dundalk that his brother admitted the abuse to him, saying it only happened on one occasion.

When in 2006 Áine Adams reactivated her 1987 allegation Gerry Adams went to the police in 2007 to give a statement - but did not tell them about the 2000 admission by his brother. As McDermott said it took another "two years and four months" before he did tell the PSNI about that admission.
McDermott put it to him that the reason he gave the 2009 statement was because he already knew that UTV's Insight programme was about to run a programme about the abuse. "You needed to make the statement at that stage because you wanted to do your best to avoid allegations that you had withheld information about child sexual abuse?"

It was this evidence that prompted her "saving [your] political skin" charge.
In earlier evidence she also accused him of lying when in 2009 he said that after 1987 Liam Adams was "out of my life more or less for the next 15 years".

She then showed Adams photographs of him and Liam Adams together at family and political events in 1991, 1996, 1997, 1998 and 2003. She also raised with him how Liam Adams was able to work in youth clubs in west Belfast and Dundalk in Co Louth – the former and current constituencies of Mr Adams – even in the period after the 2000 admission.

It was also stated during the trials that in 1986 when Sally Adams was raising her family as a single mother that Gerry Adams referred the family to social services, complaining of hygiene problems and lice in the children's hair.

All of this has led to claims that Adams acted in a calculated self-interested fashion to avoid charges of withholding information about child sexual abuse and to save his "political skin"

I read in the motoring press that Opel have launched a new mini car to rival the Fiat 500 in Europe. It's called the  - wait for it - Opel Adam. Now if it was the Opel Adams it would have a silencer installed with a nine year guarantee.

[Nally Stand]

Hard to stomach a Sinn Fein TD in the Dail today accusing the government of condeming young Irish people to exile (because of the reduced rate of dole money for school leavers). The only group I know actively engaaged in exileing young people from their homes and communities in recent years were - ehm - the Provos. Double speak hasn't gone away you know ( as Gerry, with very personal experience, might say)

Go away and read a book.

[grounded]

I read in the motoring press that Opel have launched a new mini car to rival the Fiat 500 in Europe. It's called the  - wait for it - Opel Adam. Now if it was the Opel Adams it would have a silencer installed with a nine year guarantee.
[/quote]

That should be in the ' corny one for Friday ' section. However, on reading it again leave it in the ' crap one of a Wednesday '.

[lawnseed]

I read in the motoring press that Opel have launched a new mini car to rival the Fiat 500 in Europe. It's called the  - wait for it - Opel Adam. Now if it was the Opel Adams it would have a silencer installed with a nine year guarantee.

That should be in the ' corny one for Friday ' section. However, on reading it again leave it in the ' crap one of a Wednesday '.
[/quote]
you mean Vauxhall? Vauxhall adam? I don think I'll be driving one any time soon

[lawnseed]

Not while you've got your T-Rex.....

fresh out of t-rexes at the moment he got impaled when he tried to sneak up on me and Raquel welsh

[Applesisapples]

Glad to see they have their priorities right, running after dissidents while the executive crumbles and the DUP expose them as fools.

So they should ignore internment without trial? Oh wait, you don't see it as internment without trial, you call it...what was it again...."illegal detention"?

call it what you like it may be , and I say may be an illegal detention but internment it ain't.

Still waiting on you to explain the difference there.

While I wait on the difference to be explained to me, and we go by your makey-uppy term of "illegal detention", could you tell me what is the problem with an elected representative coming out against a citizen being detailed illegally? Is it that you condone the state acting illegally or is it that you don't believe elected representatives should be allowed to challenge illegal behaviour by the state?

Not really my fault if you don't understand or agree with my position. I disagree with yours as is my right. It will also be my right as a voter to ignore elections until the Shinners and the Stoops get their act together. When push comes to shove all shades of unionism/loyalism pull together...what do we do? as the saying goes the first item on every nationalist agenda is the split.
[/quot
[/email] How ironic from the man who crys continually about the two parties differences and then says he will not vote.Every post you either complain about the Shinners or the Stoops,ffs away and join the Alliance party and give all our heads peace.

might just do that, oh wait I'm not unionist...but I am a voter and need political parties to represent my view.

[glens abu]

Glad to see they have their priorities right, running after dissidents while the executive crumbles and the DUP expose them as fools.

So they should ignore internment without trial? Oh wait, you don't see it as internment without trial, you call it...what was it again...."illegal detention"?

call it what you like it may be , and I say may be an illegal detention but internment it ain't.

Still waiting on you to explain the difference there.

While I wait on the difference to be explained to me, and we go by your makey-uppy term of "illegal detention", could you tell me what is the problem with an elected representative coming out against a citizen being detailed illegally? Is it that you condone the state acting illegally or is it that you don't believe elected representatives should be allowed to challenge illegal behaviour by the state?

Not really my fault if you don't understand or agree with my position. I disagree with yours as is my right. It will also be my right as a voter to ignore elections until the Shinners and the Stoops get their act together. When push comes to shove all shades of unionism/loyalism pull together...what do we do? as the saying goes the first item on every nationalist agenda is the split.
[/quot
[/email] How ironic from the man who crys continually about the two parties differences and then says he will not vote.Every post you either complain about the Shinners or the Stoops,ffs away and join the Alliance party and give all our heads peace.

might just do that, oh wait I'm not unionist...but I am a voter and need political parties to represent my view.

Then form one or join one and try and change what you say is wrong.

[stibhan]

Sorry, where does it say that political parties need to represent any inidivdual's view? So they should all bend their manifestos and policies to suit your own personal aims?

[Applesisapples]

Sorry, where does it say that political parties need to represent any inidivdual's view? So they should all bend their manifestos and policies to suit your own personal aims?

oh here's me thinking we vote for party's that represent our views, shit that's where I've been going wrong, must vote DUP.

[stibhan]

Sorry, where does it say that political parties need to represent any inidivdual's view? So they should all bend their manifestos and policies to suit your own personal aims?

oh here's me thinking we vote for party's that represent our views, shit that's where I've been going wrong, must vote DUP.

No, a party needs to represent the views of their constituents broadly rather than pander to one individual. If you are so disenchanted with what these political parties have to offer, feel free to vote for someone else.

[Applesisapples]

Sorry, where does it say that political parties need to represent any inidivdual's view? So they should all bend their manifestos and policies to suit your own personal aims?

oh here's me thinking we vote for party's that represent our views, shit that's where I've been going wrong, must vote DUP.

No, a party needs to represent the views of their constituents broadly rather than pander to one individual. If you are so disenchanted with what these political parties have to offer, feel free to vote for someone else.

Have you not read what I wrote. I can't vote for either at the moment.

[Maguire01]

So, Mark H Durkan sinks the SF/DUP attempted power-grab on planning. The SDLP are fairly toothless on the Executive with one seat, but from time to time, they might still be able to pull the rug out from under the 'big two'.

Telling that the SF benches were almost empty in the chamber for this. Not really sold on the amendments they turned out in force to support? It was left to the DUP to be up in arms over the pulling of this legislation that (quoting from Slugger):
"would have handed absolute power to the DUP and Sinn Fein to:
set Enterprise Zones exactly where they wanted them (and reap the maximum political advantage);
wave through almost any economic project that took their (or their political backer's) fancy;
and defy the courts and by extension ordinary citizens any legal redress against OFMdFM decisions in this regard."
http://sluggerotoole.com/2013/10/23/planning-bill-or-how-ofmdfm-dropped-the-ball-on-their-end-of-the-downing-street-economic-pact/

So that indicates that as well as the Girdwood situation regarding North Belfast's social housing, SF's support for the amendments to the planning bill was also to support the DUP. Yet SF's prize for this support, presumably the MLK Peace Centre has been pulled by Robinson...

And then there's the so-called 'slush fund' - the Social Investment Fund. £80m for OFMdFM to dish out  to address 'social need' - presumably to whatever groups the DUP and SF deem fit. Yet they can't agree on how to dish it out (the blame here seems to lie with the DUP, as the official figures don't suit them - a bit like the North Belfast waiting list for housing). But not to worry, they've managed to spend £400k of it. On consultants.
http://www.thedetail.tv/issues/282/stormont-poverty-fund-deadlocked-over-cash-going-to-catholics-or-protestants/social-investment-fund-no-cash-for-the-poor-but-nearly-400000-to-consultants

[Feckitt]

With Gerry Adams now in the Dail, and Martin McGuinness off doing the cross community joint minister gig with Peter Robinson, is Gerry Kelly now effectively the leader of Sinn Fein in the North?

[orangeman]

Another one bites the dust.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-24913802

[lawnseed]

Another one bites the dust.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-24913802

30 years is enough. New brush sweeps clean..