Belfast rioting over removal of Union Jack

[orangeman]

12 pints of cider and what else ?

[johnneycool]

12 pints of cider and what else ?

He'd just sat through the loose women show and that's enough to put any man over the edge.

[omagh_gael]

Sad day when a man who speaks some sense ends up disciplined. Taken from the bbc website:

McCrea Disciplined

The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) leader, Mike Nesbitt, has disciplined one of his MLAs for comments he made during the ongoing union flag dispute.Mr Nesbitt claimed Basil McCrea has done "enormous damage" to the party.The UUP leader said he had "no choice but to remove the party whip" from the Lagan Valley MLA.Mr McCrea had called for all-party talks to resolve the flags issue, following days of loyalist protests, some of which have been violent.He also criticised the decision by the two main unionist parties to take the flags issue to the Assembly Commission.The protests began on 3 December when Belfast councillors voted to restrict the flying of the union flag at the city hall.In a statement on Thursday, Mr Nesbitt said Mr McCrea's "inability to exercise self-discipline or demonstrate the basic characteristics of teamwork are doing enormous damage to the Ulster Unionist Party"."For the reasons of lack of self-discipline and teamwork, and for those reasons only, he has left me no choice but to remove the party whip with immediate effect," the UUP leader added.Following the Belfast City Council decision to restrict the flag at city hall, unionists wanted a consultation process to extend the number of days the union flag is flown at Stormont.A meeting of the Assembly Commission, the cross-party group that manages the Stormont estate, did not go ahead on Tuesday because there were not enough members present.Sinn Fein, the SDLP and Alliance boycotted the meeting.Mr McCrea said the past two weeks had been a "disaster for Northern Ireland, the business community in Belfast and the pro-union family"."The negative images conveyed throughout the world are destroying jobs, businesses and our prospects for peace and prosperity," he said.Mr McCrea said any decision regarding the flying of the union flag at Belfast City Hall was "bound to raise tensions" if not "handled with care"."Political parties in city hall seem determined to obtain maximum short term political advantage with reckless disregard for the future of Northern Ireland," he said.The Lagan Valley MLA said the situation could have been handled in a better way, and used the example of Lisburn City Council where a similar decision was taken in 2006 without large scale civil unrest.'Schism'He called for all-party talks to resolve the flag issue."This issue of flags represents a fundamental schism in our political thinking and it should be dealt with, not in some back room deal where things are pressurised or votes are brought to bear in a way that wasn't meant to happen but by full and frank discussion in a democratic matter," he said."The discussion on flags in their entirety across the whole of Northern Ireland should take place in all- party talks convened for that purpose."

[theskull1]

He does talk some sense OG but, if you're a senior member of a political party is this not what happens when you go out on your own (as refreshing as it is to hear for us) with your opinions

Being Party leader...surely Nesbitt had to discipline him

In a statement on Thursday, Mr Nesbitt said Mr McCrea's "inability to exercise self-discipline or demonstrate the basic characteristics of teamwork are doing enormous damage to the Ulster Unionist Party"."For the reasons of lack of self-discipline and teamwork, and for those reasons only, he has left me no choice but to remove the party whip with immediate effect," the UUP leader added.

It might be exposing the fact that Nesbitt hasn't taking good counsel before entering this debate and has sat safely in the pack rather than provide a different unionist perspective for fear they'd loose more ground on the DUP

[Rossfan]

That kind of common sense talk has no place in "British(sic) Ulster(sic)".
The action against this chap will prevent any other Unionist politician addressing the issue of the new demographics or the need to put forward their ideas of how Unionists/British people can be accomodated in a future All Ireland set up.

Nothing like keeping the heads buried in the sand and calling out the hooligan element.
Didn't they try that in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and the likes without much success in the 1960s?

[AQMP]

He does talk some sense OG but, if you're a senior member of a political party is this not what happens when you go out on your own (as refreshing as it is to hear for us) with your opinions

Being Party leader...surely Nesbitt had to discipline him

In a statement on Thursday, Mr Nesbitt said Mr McCrea's "inability to exercise self-discipline or demonstrate the basic characteristics of teamwork are doing enormous damage to the Ulster Unionist Party"."For the reasons of lack of self-discipline and teamwork, and for those reasons only, he has left me no choice but to remove the party whip with immediate effect," the UUP leader added.

It might be exposing the fact that Nesbitt hasn't taking good counsel before entering this debate and has sat safely in the pack rather than provide a different unionist perspective for fear they'd loose more ground on the DUP

Pretty spot on there skull.  Nesbitt appears a bit out of his depth (which, given he is involved in NI politics, is fairly damning).

[omagh_gael]

Fair point theskull. McCrea and McAllister must be near breaking point at this stage with their party.  It appears that the majority of their common sense ideas are bulldozed and they get dogs abuse and disciplined. Is the Alliance party a step too far for them? Is there an appetite for a proper middle ground Unionist party out there?

[theskull1]

I really hope the silent majority remember these days and give the Alliance their full support in the years ahead. Pandering to the lowest common denominator takes us to no town. This whole notion of needing a flag flying over a building to feel some sense of belonging to where you live is so strange. I would hope that there's a very large group of protestant people living up here who think its just as strange. FFS get out there, fight for your community and make it a better place to live regardless.

Unionist fear of the pro irish institution that is the GAA is to the detriment of a lot of towns and villages across the province. It makes for a great distraction and that sense of belonging.

[imtommygunn]

The union jack flag flying has always struck me as either being insecure or "triumphalist". It always annoys me a wee bit too seeing tricolours out - why does anyone feel the need to fly a flag to make them feel the nationality they are really?

I think it is the lowest common denominator here and doesn't reflect the majority. Several unionist politicians have shown themslves up really badly in the whole thing and shown themselves to either be in the lowest common denominator or to want votes from the lowest common denominator.

[screenexile]

The union jack flag flying has always struck me as either being insecure or "triumphalist". It always annoys me a wee bit too seeing tricolours out - why does anyone feel the need to fly a flag to make them feel the nationality they are really?

I think it is the lowest common denominator here and doesn't reflect the majority. Several unionist politicians have shown themslves up really badly in the whole thing and shown themselves to either be in the lowest common denominator or to want votes from the lowest common denominator.

It's not just here though. Go to any country in the world and you will see flegs flying about. I've been to Canada, the US the Catalan flag in Barcelona. They place far too much emphasis on it on this Island though I think.

[Wildweasel74]

personally i have no time for the tricolour on a lamppost either, nothing abuses a flag more than the misuse of one

[michaelg]

I really hope the silent majority remember these days and give the Alliance their full support in the years ahead. Pandering to the lowest common denominator takes us to no town. This whole notion of needing a flag flying over a building to feel some sense of belonging to where you live is so strange. I would hope that there's a very large group of protestant people living up here who think its just as strange. FFS get out there, fight for your community and make it a better place to live regardless.

Unionist fear of the pro irish institution that is the GAA is to the detriment of a lot of towns and villages across the province. It makes for a great distraction and that sense of belonging.

Does the same not apply for nationalist / catholic voters too?  i.e. Is it okay for the majority of nationalist / catholic voters to continue to vote for the more extremist Sinn Fein?  By the same rational, should they too not switch votes to the SDLP

[Jeepers Creepers]

At the end of the day the loyalist communities have been left behind not because of sinn fein, nationalists or Catholics but because of the DUP. The DUP who are quite happy to make the snowballs...as the saying goes. Unless you have a bulging wallet (of legitimate money?) the DUP are happy to leave these communities as they are, like hungry dogs. They know that most of these people do not vote DUP yet they can whip up a frenzy and throw them to the 'front line'. The front line is getting thinner and thinner.....

[theskull1]

Michaelg......what were loyalist prisoners in long kesh doing when republicans were studying for their degrees? I'm no lover of all things shinner but I appreciate and acknowledge that they put the work in on the ground and do  show leadership in communities. I believe that working class nationalist areas have faired better over the last 30 years and sinn fein were explicitly encouraging these communities to get the most out of the education system over that time. SDLP are drifting unfortunately. So I don't believe that sinn fein are pandering to a lowest common denominator...no

[give her dixie]

Loyalist lantern protest could cause chaos to flights

Loyalist protesters planning to light up the skies over Northern Ireland with Union flag lanterns this weekend could cause disruption to a number of flights.

Street protests have already caused traffic chaos over the past week-and-a-half and now it is feared aviation could be affected by Saturday's event.

An online campaign is calling on those opposed to the reduction in days the flag is flown at City Hall to release red, white and blue Chinese lanterns into the sky across the country simultaneously.

But there are concerns if thousands take part it could disrupt flights in and out of our airports, particularly if large numbers of lanterns are lit in Belfast.

A spokesperson for the George Best Belfast City Airport said: "The mass release of Chinese lanterns in the vicinity of the airport has the potential to cause short delays to some flights."

Several hundred people have pledged to join in the Facebook-driven campaign 'Light up our sky for the red, white and blue'.

The site reads: "Light lanterns in your own areas, parks or open spaces (on) 15 December at exactly 7.12pm. This must be peaceful.

"This is a peaceful way of getting our point across."

People from across Northern Ireland posted of lantern protests they are planning, including in Belfast, Ballymena, Lisburn.



Read more: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/loyalist-lantern-protest-could-cause-chaos-to-flights-16250478.html#ixzz2F0eYXyWI