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http://seosamhsonar.blogspot.com/2009/10/massacre-in-glasgow-north-east.html

Massacre in Glasgow North East?

As we enter this Halloween season, and British Members of Parliament continue to struggle to redeem public confidence in the institutions of government brought about by the 'MPs Expenses Scandal', the ghoulish scepter of the former Speaker of the House of Commons, Michael Martin, will once again haunt the political landscape and cause nightmares at Labour Party Headquarters.

Speaker Martin, who handled the initial stages of the scandal so badly that he was forced to resign on June 21, also resigned as a Member of Parliament the following day.

The by-election for his vacant seat of Glasgow North East, will take place two weeks from today, on November 12.  In the 2005 election, Martin won the seat for Labour in the newly created constituency, with a majority of 10,134 plus votes.

The nightmare for the Labour Party however is more likely to come from the Scottish National Party than the Conservatives. In all 59 Scottish constituencies, the Conservative Party hold only one seat, Dumfreisshire, Clydesdale & Tweeddale, where   David Mundell has a 1,738 majority. The swing change required in this seat is 2%

In the last by-election in Scotland on July 25 of this year, Labour suffered a humiliating defeat to the SNP in Glasgow East, losing the seat which they held in the 2005 election with a 13,507 majority. After a recount, the SNP candidate, John Mason, was elected with a majority of 365 votes, a 22.54% swing.

Running for the Labour Party in Glasgow North East will be William Bain, a law lecturer and Constituency Labour Party secretary.

His SNP opponent will be David Kerr, (35) a television journalist and active member of the Nationalist Union of Journalists. In a by-election in 2000 Kerr contested the Falkirk West seat where the Labour majority was reduced to 700, a 16% swing from Labour to the SNP.

It is tradition that a sitting speaker is unchallenged, so the Conservative Party did not run a candidate against Martin in the 2005 election. Their candidate in this by-election is a 30 year-old local, Ruth Davidson, a journalist and former member of the Territorial Army.

Od Bodkins AKA Cartoonist Dan ONeill. Musings on the banking crisis

http://seosamhsonar.blogspot.com/2009/10/introducing-dan-oneill-aka-odd-bodkins_24.html

http://seosamhsonar.blogspot.com/2009/10/elizabeth-windsor-favours-dhl-over.html

Elizabeth Windsor favours DHL over Royal Mail
Postal Workers at Belfast's main sorting office maned picket lines this morning, in the second day of a two day work stoppage, aimed at bringing pressure on their employer Royal Mail, to enter negotiations to resolve workplace grievances.
The Northern Ireland Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions have supported the stoppages. Irish Congress of Trade Unions Assistant General Secretary, Peter Bunting, stated: "Given the seriousness of the situation, Congress urges Northern Ireland's elected representatives and all of the businesses affected by this dispute to call on Royal Mail management to engage in meaningful talks with the Communications Workers' Union . A just and speedy resolution of this dispute is essential for all concerned. "
"NIC-ICTU has consistently opposed bullying and harassment in all workplaces, and the stories which we have heard about conditions affecting Royal Mail workers are truly shocking."
The Communication Workers Union have called for independent arbitration on the dispute but Royal Mail management have refused to enter negotiations until the union call off industrial action.
Joining the picket line this morning were the General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation, John Monks, Jack O'Connor, General President of SIPTU and President of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, and Peter Bunting.
Many mail order businesses and companies with Internet based sales, have made alternative and contingency arrangements for their mailing requirements in the run up to the Christmas season. One household that will have no problem with switching to an alternative carrier however will be Buckingham Palace. It appears that the Palace already contracts with DHL carriers for it's requirements.
DHL, founded in San Francisco is listed in the official Buckingham Palace site in the section under Royal Warrants as:
DHL Express (UK) Limited
Express Parcels Carrier
HM The Queen – Privy Purse

DHL is the world's leading express and logistics company offering customers innovative and customised solutions from single source. With global expertise in solutions, express, air and ocean, global mail, freight & overland transport, DHL combines worldwide coverage with an in depth understanding of local markets.

This little tit-bit I am sure would come as a surprise to many postal workers, who as taxpayers, help to contribute some £7.9 million per annum to what is called the Civil List, which covers the expenses of the Royal family. It would appear the Buckingham Palace does not take the 'Royal' in Royal Mail all that seriously.

Soñar: George Washington and the 'Special Relationship'
Source: seosamhsonar.blogspot.com

Facing odds that must have seemed insurmountable, with starvation, military and political defeat staring him in the face at Valley Forge, General George Washington learned a thing or two about how to hold a nation and an army together.

On the completion of two terms as President of the new Republic, Washington delivered a Farewell Address to his fellow citizens.

He outlined his motives for the address such:
'But a solicitude for your welfare which cannot end but with my life, and the apprehension of danger, natural to that solicitude, urge me, on an occasion like the present, to offer to your solemn contemplation, and to recommend to your frequent review, some sentiments which are the result of much reflection, of no inconsiderable observation, and which appear to me all-important to the permanency of your felicity as a people. These will be offered to you with the more freedom, as you can only see in them the disinterested warnings of a parting friend, who can possibly have no personal motive to bias his counsel. Nor can I forget, as an encouragement to it, your indulgent reception of my sentiments on a former and not dissimilar occasion.'

Included in the address was an interesting comment on what is now referred to as the 'Special Relationship.'

George Washington on the 'Special Relationship'

'So likewise, a passionate attachment of one Nation for another produces a variety of evils. Sympathy for the favorite Nation, facilitating the illusion of an imaginary common interest, in cases where no real common interest exists, and infusing into one the enmities of the other, betrays the former into a participation in the quarrels and wars of the latter, without adequate inducement or justification. It leads also to concessions to the favorite Nation of privileges denied to others, which is apt doubly to injure the Nation making the concessions; by unnecessarily parting with what ought to have been retained; and by exciting jealousy, ill-will, and a disposition to retaliate, in the parties from whom equal privileges are withheld. And it gives to ambitious, corrupted, or deluded citizens, (who devote themselves to the favorite nation,) facility to betray or sacrifice the interests of their own country, without odium, sometimes even with popularity; gilding, with the appearances of a virtuous sense of obligation, a commendable deference for public opinion, or a laudable zeal for public good, the base or foolish compliances of ambition, corruption, or infatuation.'

As quotes of American Presidents go, this has replaced my former favorite quote by another President who also learned a thing or two about adversity:

'Show me a good loser, and I'll show you a loser.'

Jimmy Carter.

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Celtic FC, Strikers, Scabs, and the SAS
http://seosamhsonar.blogspot.com/2009/10/celtic-fc-strikers-scabs-and-sas.html

A full house of Irish football fans packed Solitude Park, the home of Cliftonville Football Club, to witness a 3 – 0 victory of the north Belfast team over the powerful Glasgow Celtic yesterday evening. The friendly game between the two teams was organized in conjunction with the occasion of Cliftonville's 130 birthday celebrations.

As is normal in these friendly matches, Celtic did not select their first string line-up, but the result was still viewed as impressive by Irish fans.

Strikers of a different variety, than those associated with the game of soccer, called on Celtic fans to red card a director of the club, Tom Allison, and to protest his actions as a Chairman of Peel Ports, which is involved in a labour dispute with Dublin port workers.

More ...
http://seosamhsonar.blogspot.com/2009/10/celtic-fc-strikers-scabs-and-sas.html

The Changing Face of Belfast.

http://seosamhsonar.blogspot.com/2009/10/changing-face-of-belfast.html

http://seosamhsonar.blogspot.com/2009/10/irish-american-hardball-or-california.html

On July 21, and August 8, I posted two articles,

July 21, 'California dreamin' http://seosamhsonar.blogspot.com/2009/07/california-dreamin.html

August 8, 'Irish American Voters'
http://seosamhsonar.blogspot.com/2009/08/irish-american-voters.html

The first, dealt with a resolution adopted by the Irish American Democratic Club of San Francisco, stating in part that, 'the California Democratic Party strongly supports Irish Reunification and urges both the State Legislature and the California Democratic Congressional delegation to support all peaceful actions that support the final reunification of the island of Ireland [Eire] by all electoral and diplomatic means necessary.' On July 19, the full resolution of the San Francisco Club, was adopted by the Executive of the California State Democratic Party.

The second post, carried a reprint of an excellent article by Stella OLeary, Founder and Chair of Irish-American Democrats, which challenged the assertion by Irish Times correspondent Niall Strange, that the influence of Irish-American voters was on the wane.

OLeary very astutely wrote then,

"No politicians have received more from Irish America than the Clintons. At one St. Patrick's Day breakfast Irish American Democrats raised $200,000 for the election of Hillary Clinton to the Senate."

"As was commonly reported, Irish Americans raised millions for the election bid of Senator Clinton for the Presidency. One of our own, Declan Kelly, was at the very top of Senator Clinton's list of fundraisers."

(Kelly, aged 41, born in Portroe, County Tipperary, has since been appointed by Secretary Clinton as Economic Envoy to Northern Ireland.)

On hearing the news of the position of the California Democrats, Northern Ireland First Minister, Peter Robinson, wrote to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stating that the campaign by California Democrats was 'unhelpful.'

If that news wasn't bad enough, the San Francisco Labor Council have got into the act. On September 28, they passed the following resolution;

Resolution in Support of a United Ireland

WHEREAS, the logic of history, international law, human rights and peace
dictate the reunification of the island of Ireland [Eire]; and

Whereas, the reality of the moment—the Good Friday Agreement and the
development of the All-Ireland institutions of governance—attest to this
momentum; and

WHEREAS, in the past the San Francisco Labor Council has historically
supported not only equal rights and justice for all Irish people, but also the
reunification of Ireland as the path to that end; and

WHEREAS, the contributions of the Irish-born, and Irish Americans to this
state, this nation, and to labor unions are legion,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the San Francisco Labor Council
supports Irish reunification and supports all peaceful actions that support the
final reunification of the island of Ireland by all electoral and diplomatic
means necessary; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to
Bay Area Central Labor Councils, the California Federation of Labor, the
American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations
(AFL-CIO), and to President Obama, Vice President Biden, Secretary of State
Clinton, US Senators Boxer and Feinstein, House Speaker Pelosi, and
Congresswoman Speier.

Submitted by Denis Mosgofian, GCC-IBT 4N and Mike Casey, Unite Here 2
and adopted unanimously by the San Francisco Labor Council on September 28, 2009.

Respectfully,

Tim Paulson
Executive Director
OPEIU 3 AFL-CIO 11

When the First Minister hears this news, I have no doubt he will put pen to paper once again to inform the San Francisco Labor Council that this move would be 'unhelpful.' I would however give him one little bit of advice, don't C C it to San Francisco's Irish-American Mayor, Gavin Newsom. He will be a little busy running for the Democratic Party nomination for Governor of California.

Around this time I also came across an article in which former California State Senator, Tom Hayden, (First to draft MacBride fair employment legislation for the California legislature regarding use of state pension funds invested in Northern Ireland) mused that he was unsure if the current group of Irish-American activists were as committed or as active in pursuit of an Irish-American agenda as those who were around in the 1980's.

He may well get his answer sooner than expected.

California Dreamin'

"California, once described by Patrick Doherty as, the 'Jewel in the Crown' of the Mac Bride Principles campaign for fair employment practices by American companies doing business in Northern Ireland, has again shown that Irish-Americans continue to be pro-active in the quest for Irish reunification."

"Doherty was, and is at this time, Director of Corporate Responsibility for the City of New York pension funds, and a leading proponent of the Mac Bride Principles campaign."

http://seosamhsonar.blogspot.com/2009/10/time-to-efficiency-save-ulster-scots.html

Time to "efficiency save" Ulster Scots
29th September, 2009

A recent submission by the Ulster-Scots Language Society to the European Committee of Experts concerning regional and minority languages claimed there is a "lack of action to facilitate Ulster Scots in education" and "lack of opportunities for non-speakers to learn Ulster Scots". Ein as ane at bes aa for takkan tent o the braid tongue, could I suggest that may be because there is a "lack of interest among the (taxpaying) population"?

If there were ever a time to put an end to this nonsense, it is now. The Government did not include "Ulster Scots" in its three-year report to the Committee because it knows fine rightly no such language exists – the main reason no one is interested in it!

What does exist is the Scots language – not used in every aspect of daily life, but still widespread, including in Ulster. It has a rich literary heritage (Burns et al), a rich cultural influence (as the language of pipe bands, golf and Scots law), and a rich academic following (as a useful comparator in Germanic linguistics). All of this incorporates the variants spoken (and written auld lang syne) in Northern Ireland and Donegal. Its promotion is best left to the grass roots, on the baith sides o the Sheuch, linking speakers, enthusiasts and academics.

However, little of this requires significant government (taxpayer) subvention, and none at all is required for the blatant attempt to separate "Ulster Scots" from Scots on purely funding grounds. The "Ulster-Scots movement" had its chance – and the fact its submission was in English shows you how spectacularly it blew it.

I don't need government money to support my genuine interest in the Scots tongue. In times where a DUP Minister faces a £400 million black hole of his own predecessor's making, it is time the DUP called time on this wee cultural experiment funded to excess by the taxpayer. To do otherwise would be both weird and daft.

When I ran the reprint of this story which I covered over 9 years ago,

[http://seosamhsonar.blogspot.com/2009/09/eyewitness-bloody-sunday.html]

I had intended to create a link on my Blog to the taped evidence of John Barry Liddy. However, due to technical problems I was unable to do so.

To the rescue, my good friend JFC, who has posted it on his site, available for download.

Be warned! For me, this is one of the most harrowing tales of brutality I have ever heard. Stephen King would be hard pressed to create from his imagination such a tale of horror and brutality, as was perpetrated on the victims of Bloody Sunday, and brought to life in Mr. Barry's eyewitness account.

LINK: JOHN BARRY LIDDY'S EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT

http://jfc3.com/liddy.mp3

If this 13 some minute tape does not cause a lump in your throat, or make you want to scream to the heavens for justice for the victims of Bloody Sunday, then I am afraid that you are clinically dead.

Belfast Bohemian Productions, formed in 2008, by Director James Rea and Writer Joe Curran, have released a new DVD, “Belfast, Birth of a Cty.”

"As far as we know, there has never been anything produced like this before," said local historian Joe Curran. "Belfast people have a real love of history so we were surprised when we began this project to discover that no one had done this before us."

A year in the making, the DVD uses a combination of dramatized scenes, old photos and contemporary footage. Narrator Joe Curran, takes the viewer through an interwoven narrative of the prehistoric origins of the    original settlement, the Gaelic village of Béal Feirste, (settled at the old ford across the river Lagan) through to the beginning of the 19th century, and Act of the Union.

The production is an excellent tool for those wishing to learn about the history of the city, and details how the early townspeople established the industries of shipbuilding and linen, for which the city was famous throughout the world.

The development of the town during periods of great political upheavals: the Plantation of Ulster; the French revolution; the rising of the United Irishmen in 1798; are woven into the narrative.

Belfast Bohemian Productions plan to produce a second DVD continuing the history of Belfast from 1801 through the Victorian period up to 1888 when it finally became a city.

Curran said, “We really want to encourage people to delve into the history of the city. The DVD isn’t meant to be an academic thesis but more an entertaining, informative insight into the early development of Belfast,” he added.

The DVD is available now; For more information go to www.belfastbohemians.com

or contact:
James Rea;
Mob.   07734406125.

http://seosamhsonar.blogspot.com/2009/09/eyewitness-bloody-sunday.html

Ardoyne – 'The Aftermath'
Limited Edition Booklet containing over 50 original photographs from the exhibition.
http://seosamhsonar.blogspot.com/2009/09/ardoyne-aftermath-update.html

ARDOYNE - THE AFTERMATH at The Red Barn Gallery
"Their most significant effect, perhaps, has been to bring to light the photographic collection of the late Hugh McKeown, who, while helping evacuate his family, captured the impact of the burning of Ardoyne on its people and its streets."
http://seosamhsonar.blogspot.com/2009/09/ardoyne-aftermath-at-red-barn-gallery.html

John Cassidy is a voluntary steward in Croke Park and as such, he has witnessed spectacular victories, defeats and draws in football, hurling and camogie.
He is a Donegal man who won’t let you forget that his county won the all-Ireland final in 1992. His day job is as a supervisor with Dublin Bus, one of the CIE groups of companies. In October 2008, he was responsible for bringing CIE Transport Gaels to Gaelic Park, New York, to play teams from the NYPD and FDNY; the first time any CIE team played in America. In his memoir, he has written of how his childhood interest in Gaelic games was honed, “In McGettigan’s field in Clogher” and how, “two older boys would select the opposing teams: every one present was included which meant we often played twenty a side. As our pitch consisted of the entire field, this was no problem. With the goalposts (four jackets) in place, the game would begin. It would end for one of the following reasons: Hunger, darkness or a pitch invasion by Mc Gettigan’s cattle.”

I searched the site for a reference to Buses, Trains and Gaelic Games with no result. Being a new member I am not sure if anyone covered this before, if not, here is an excellent review of this book.

http://seosamhsonar.blogspot.com/2009/09/mattie-lennon-has-written-articles.html