Remember, remember the 3rd of December

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Christmas in Belfast 2012 will be remembered for all the wrong reasons.



Roads were blocked, businesses destroyed, lives ruined and  family life disrupted due to the 'peaceful protests' resulting from the democratic decision to fly the Union Flag on Belfast City Hall on designated days only; a policy in keeping with UK government recommendations and followed by all other major cities in the UK.

The wording of the proposal was:

Flying of the Union Flag at the Belfast City Hall
That the decision of the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee of 23rdNovember under the heading “Flying of the Union Flag at the Belfast City Hall” be amended to provide that this Council should adopt the practice of flying the Union Flag on designated days, as applied at Parliament Buildings. This reflects the agreed sovereignty of Northern Ireland confirmed in the Good Friday Agreement and accepted by all its signatories.  By doing it regularly and with dignity, we recognise that we live in a society and City made up of people who are British, Irish and both.  The designated days’ solution does justice to these principles; the agreement by all on British sovereignty; the fact of a shared society; and the need for respect and avoiding all triumphalism and the arrangements currently operating at Stormont.It also reflects the preferred determination of the Equality Commission.
(emphasis: LAD)

The vote was democratically carried by a majority of 29 to 21.

It would appear that some cunts can't read.

Meet Ian McCrory



McCrory is a leader of a shadowy group called Ulster Protestant Voice (UPV) who called loyalists unto the streets to protest last December. A family member Sam is the chairman of the Protestant Coalition.


This week he put online his justification for protests:

"Why loyalists decided to protest

In December 3rd 2012 a vote was taken at a council meeting in a capital city this vote was in reference to the flag policy which has stood unbroken for over 100 years.

The policy was challenged four years previous by Sinn Fein but failed because they wouldn't accept an alliance proposal to support designated days, Sinn Fein and republicanism wanted the flag removed permanently. 

Fast forward four years and the matter was again raised, republican councillors cited equality and shared space as reasons for its proposed removal despite the fact the equality commission only found 7 registered complaints in the previous 10 years in regards to city halls symbols which included the union flag. This time around Sinn Fein backed by the SDLP once again tried to have the union flag removed permanently but quickly realised that without the support of the alliance party their proposal was again doomed to fail.

So nationalist councillors took the decision to accept the amendment by the party with the swinging vote (Alliance) which opted for designated flag days. This proposal was brought before the equality commission who decided to ignore the signed petitions of over 40,000 Belfast citizens and it was decided the matter would be put before council for voting. 

December 3rd 2012 seen thousands of Protestants gather at Belfast's city hall in protest at the impending vote to remove the union flag from the capital city of Northern Ireland Belfast's city hall. As thousands gathered speeches were read and messages relayed from inside the council chamber as to what was going on. The mood was defiant yet completely peaceful even after the vote had been taken, up until a Sinn Fein councillor uttered the words "This must be seen as a victory for republicanism and it's just another step in our ultimate aims of removing all symbols relating to Britishness from this chamber and this city".

(This is total and utter bollocks: here is the video from the entire Council meeting. We have watched the entire meeting and at no point is the line "This must be seen as a victory for republicanism and it's just another step in our ultimate aims of removing all symbols relating to Britishness from this chamber and this city" used.)


"After that the protest quickly turned violent and sparked street protests that spanned the length of our country and further afield. 

Since 1906 the union flag has flown from Belfast city hall, through all the bombing shooting and trauma of the troubles, that little symbol of Britishness reminded people that despite the bloodshed the pain the horrors of war, our nationality remained unbroken and untouched by terrorists fingers. The protests soon made world news with media outlets focussing on the trouble that accompanied a small number of street protests, none mentioned that these scenes of trouble flared at interfaces with nationalist who celebrated, goaded and taunted people that they "had won" 

None focused on the overzealous way the security forces treated the peaceful protests often disregarding their own rules to conduct a "political operation at all costs" Men Women and kids beaten, photographed and later arrested for attending protests that had never seen any public disorder. People kept on remand in jail for crimes including "waving a flag provocatively" and "obstructively sitting". It is the view held by many that the police service acted with a blank canvass to do what they could to quell the protests. 

Violence cannot be justified nor condoned but the right of peaceful protest and lawful assembly is the basic fabric of a democratic society, yet in Northern Ireland 2012/13 this right was denied. With the threat of injury or arrest numbers dropped protests ceased to be a countrywide occurrence yet pockets remain defiant. The protests transformed from road blocks to white line to cultural marches in an attempt to counteract the robust way the police treated the protests. 

Despite the fact protests, be they white line or cultural marches, were totally peaceful the police remained determined to demonise, demoralise and criminalise anyone who partook in open objection to the removal of the national flag. Working alongside the police operation to dispel the protests were the mainstream media who printed story after story detailing the few violent events on a near daily occurrence they printed or published images of innocent protesters wanted by police, the term "flegger" soon emerged to humiliate protesters. They run stories of business's who lost trade who had to close or lay off staff as a result of protests, city center traders soon called for rate relief from council because get were adversely affected. Despite the fact only one instance of public order was recorded in or around the city center connected to protests (the night of December 3rd). Business's who were situated far from any protest point were calling for council rate relief again blaming protesters and again media used this as a means to demonise protesters. 

Despite all of this the protest has continued albeit on a smaller scale every week at Belfast city hall, politicians, police and media outlets all claim we are wasting our time and that protests will not get our flag back up, The protesters know this they know that the only way to overturn that decision is by a re-vote by council and for that, unionists need to regain the majority in Belfast city council. That is why these protests have remained a weekly occurrence for now on approaching a year. The protesters have engaged in a campaign to raise awareness around the voting apathy within our communities we've actively sought to convince unionists to register to vote and to use that vote This has proved somewhat successful given the fact that the electoral commission released figures showing a rise in registration returns from the unionist community against the fall in nationalists communities.

The protest at city hall remain's as a reminder to people what can happen when you waste your vote. And through actively encouraging people to vote we believe we can achieve a satisfactory end to the protests which will see the flag be reinstated to our capital city hall. In December 2012 republicans proposed removal as part of their political objective, the alliance party amended it as part of their objective to create a better more inclusive society, in short both have brought about the total opposite. Community Relations in Belfast in 2013 are at depleted levels not seen since the peace process began. Cross community activities have suffered. Sectarian attacks have increased. Interface peace walls are being added to. The process be it republicans political aims or the alliance party's equality aims have failed and failed miserably for all the citizens of Belfast".

Tonight we asked a member of the PUP why they are supporting the protest.

So since the PUP don't know what they are supporting, lets see what one of the organisers has to say:


Perhaps we should refer back to a comment McCrory himself posted on Facebook back in February for the real reason for the protest:

 


This year Ian and his cohorts in Loyalist Peaceful Protesters (LPP) are at it again. 

Ian - fuck away off. 

Belfast doesn't want your protests.

#BelfastSaysNO


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Guest post: Stop Appeasing Fanaticism

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GUEST POST

This post has been written by regular contributor Brian John Spencer



The creed-crazed fanatic has made Northern Ireland a byword for backwardness. Mad-men and the violent crowd have been long-nurtured, indulged and never checked in their ways of hate. And that is where Jamie Bryson has been very, very wrong - it is he, and the barking-mad like him, who have been "appeased."

Northern Ireland is simultaneously exceptionally progressive and incredibly regressive. The real scandal is that regressive fanatics have for so long got away with their summer temper tantrums and their sectarian babbling, at the cost of ruining the economy and stability of the country for everyone else.

Where in England, Scotland and Wales, authorities have managed to isolate and contain the sweatiest fanatics, our politicians have acted as aiders, abettors, enablers and apologists for barbaric vandals. And this is the comparison that's never made: that Jamie Bryson, loyalist "civil rights" protesters and their surreptitious republican counterparts practice the same strain of marooned, racist politics as the BNP, White Pride the EDL, the Golden shower in Greece and every other xenophobic populist party in Europe.

The Bryson babble that masks for political philosophy is a cheap plagiarism of 1980s Paisley. A clean lift from BNP and EDL press releases. The Bryson babble is a re-run of Enoch Powell and his 'Rivers of Blood' nonsense as he divines a day where "the [republican] man will have the whip over the [loyalist] man." The Bryson babble is the same hysterical wing-nuttery of the 1970's - "taking our jobs", "taking our women" and "eroding our culture" - National Front vomit that caused race riots in England.

Bryson and his type are making tremendous claims. This is the recrudescence of something very sinister, very hostile and very nasty. This needs challenged don't you think? We can look at his two most dangerous and sinister articles.

The first on the QUB blog (here) by the title, 'The way I see it...... [sic]'. In this instance Bryson outlines his opposition to the current power-sharing settlement under the Good Friday Agreement.

Bryson employs the most hyper-inflated, conspiracist and alarmist language to paint a picture of the rise of republicanism to the demise of unionism and loyalism. Using words like "culture war" and offering the solution as "unarmed resistance", loyalistspeak for despicable thuggery.

Bryson is living in an age of amnesia. He has resurrected, reheated and regurgitated the hideous mob-inciting political gruel that not long ago was handed out by the most destructive British-Irish politician in living memory and his minions. Now Bryson is purveying the politics of clinical intransigence that destroyed power-sharing in the 1970s and oversaw three decades of death. The politics that ran this country into beggary, bankruptcy and misery.

Sinn Fein is not in government by some dreadful accident. They were put there by the public. The elementary rule of the democratic model is compromise and of being governed by those you don't like. The all-party Stormont coalition is not perfect but it gives us the platform to drive home real change. Its downfall would be all of our downfall.

It's OK to be against Sinn Fein. By all means take take them on and challenge their views through good process and reasoned argument. Present an alternative vision to the electorate and let them decide. But don't call for the dissolution of the agreement which was endorsed by the people of Northern Ireland. Unfortunately this isn't possible. You can't have a sensible debate when Bryson and his type cannot even accept the good faith of their opponents.

The irony is that Bryson is the vice-versa of the republican freaks who oppose the Good Friday Agreement and who hate Sinn Fein for their "appeasement" and for being "administrators of the "occupying British state". The babble on both sides is breathtaking.

This is the recrudescence of something very sinister. This needs challenged don't you think?

On the second back-of-the-envelope-stuff article (here), Bryson sets out his vision for loyalism: the rebirth of a religiously Protestant British nationalism. In these days of enlightenment it stands as hideous degeneration of a terrific order.

With a little retrospective awareness you would think that people would understand that the fusion of religion with politics and nationalism is the perfect recipe for death. The perfect recipe for stripping minorities of their civil rights. The perfect recipe for taking Northern Ireland to hell in a handcart.

The whole world is opening and Bryson wants to slam the door. Bryson is a hardline Christianist with a single world view, and he cannot rest until his fundamental Christianist view of the world is adopted by society. We know by now that when you run society out of a holy book society grinds to a halt. His type have done us an tremendous harm by this type of demagogy. Incubating more mad-men and encouraging them not to give an inch of what they have because they have a god-given, messianic license and warrant to do so.

We know by now that we cannot give any religion a privileged position in society. We know by now that we need to protect and defend religious freedom, but as a private matter of faith, not a matter of public policy. I have every compassion for loyalism. Loyalists need help. But we cannot allow a fanatical bombastic preacher of hate, division and nonsense to lead loyalism astray.

Bryson and his type are making wild claims. This is the recrudescence of something very sinister. This needs challenged don't you think?

To conclude. On both points, opposition to power-sharing and religiously-inspired-nationalist-politics, the experiment has been tried before. Are you going to let them repeat it on you? It's quite clear that Jamie Bryson and similar loyalists and republicans suffer from a very horrible disease, a type of paranoia known better as sectarianism. It's impossible to mentally and morally well if you suffer from this disorder.

These men are is just the latest in the long line of religious frauds and rip-off artists who share a great tradition of intolerance. Now they're trying to build a career as sponsors and purveyors of bigotry, hysteria, suspicion, superstition and flat out non-sense. They should be shouting from the side of the street, calling the end of the earth and selling pencils from a cup, not standing in front of TV cameras and making headline news.

The whole charade is fraudulent and it has to stop right now. It has to be repudiated. It has to be vanquished. It has to be put to an end with good argument and good sense. We are witnessing loyalism's descent into madness at the hand of religious-political nut-cases. You cannot afford to be a spectator of stupidity. You have to stand up and speak up. You cannot afford to be ignorant or indifferent when there's a clash between fundamentalism and civil society.

The ravings are incompatible with modern Northern Ireland. The ideas must be heard but they must not be left unopposed. They must be challenged and countered with better ideas. Like the Quilliam Foundation on mainland Britain, we need to listen to the young people (including Bryson) who hold radical, reactionary views and debate with them calmly, show them that the current arrangement is actually an incredible achievement and that they can participate in this new society and that they can protect their culture but in a open, shared and inclusive way.

These radical views cannot go unchallenged. On this line we will take a stand and fight.
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LAD's Christmas Charity Song

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***** UPDATE ******

 Thanks to everyone who got in touch, we've had an overwhelming response. We're not looking for any extra contributors, but if you think you can make something REALLY special for the video and do it REALLY quickly then send a PM to our Facebook page.

 ********************

WANT TO BE PART OF SOMETHING BIG?

LAD exists because of you. You are LAD and you have helped it grow into something that we never dreamt possible. We’re soon to celebrate our first birthday and with your continued support have massive things planned for our second year.

As you may know we’re releasing a charity single soon and LAD want you to be a part of it. We already have the track recorded but we need some footage for use in the video. If you want to be a part of LAD’s bid for the UK charts then here’s a rough idea of what we’re after:

  • We need people aged 18+ only
  • You need to have the facility to record HD footage (can be mobile phone, webcam, video camera or whatever, so long as footage is at least 720p HD quality)
  • You have to be able to send the footage to us digitally (by email, Dropbox, Yousendit, or by whatever means you can)
  • You don’t need to be able to sing, we’ll not be using the audio from submitted videos
  • We will only require a few seconds of footage from you

Please share this post to help LAD out!

We Are The People Now
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Bryson's Folly

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Wee Jamie Bryson has thrown his hat in the ring for the 2014 European elections - so the failed hunger striker tells Alex Kane.


All at the LAD bunker wish him every success, we really do.  If he does get elected, he may learn how the real world works and also how insignificant Are Wee Country is in the grand scheme of Europe.  Unfortunately, it probably won't bestow upon him some grown up views.

It would seem Bryson thinks the European parliament is a bit like a council chamber and that he can bring about wholesale change for the Pravince of Ulster's Pradisdent Unionist Loyalist People (PULP), that well known ethnic minority which is denied access to basic human rights such as free health care, free speech, free education and clean drinking water. The list goes on and on but the most basic of those human rights, the right to march anywhere and anytime, is being denied Mr Bryson and the PULP, just as it is being to denied millions across the world.  LAD has discovered the UN itself is looking into the matter (meanwhile, North Korea publicly executes 80 people for allegedly watching TV).


Jamie's BFF (that's the kids speak these days) Wullie Frazer will be assisting in Bryson's Euro campaign while standing for election himself in Newtownards.  Frazer and Bryson will be drawing on considerable collective experience in seeking a mandate which has failed to bring anything close to success thus far. Residents of Newtownards will be thrilled to learn that Markethill man Frazer, wants to represent them.

Bryson-Frazer Campaign Bus
LAD wonders if Bryson will be funding his own £5000 deposit for the election?  We're not sure what the going rate is for a PULP mouthpiece these days or the type of funding an independent candidate can accumulate.  Given that previous turnouts in Euro elections in Are Wee Country fall between five and six hundred thousand, if that is repeated in 2014 Bryson will need to poll over 13,000 votes to avoid losing his deposit.  Are Bryson's academic friends helping out as part of some bizarre experiment in validity?  One website offering advice to would be independent EU candidates, states that the cost of running a campaign are huge, spending limits ranging from £270,000 - £360,000.

Maybe with Are Glorious Loyal Pravince operating outwith the boundaries of rational politics, this figure can be ignored.  One thing that can't be though, is that an independent candidate has never been directly elected to the European parliament from the UK.  So it may be more worthwhile sticking a tenner on an accumulator picked by Willie Frazer's nasal hair.

All at LAD, as do many others across Are Pravince, look forward to seeing Jamie's manifesto.  It will undoubtedly cover the Common Agricultural Policy fairly comprehensively, given how pivotal farming is to the local economy. Other highlights we'd expect to see must surely be Horizon 2020, UK government opt out of EU justice and home affairs decisions, and PEACE funding.  Won't it?

LAD are also interested to know which of the seven political groupings within the European parliament Mr Bryson plans on affiliating with, or would he do the righteous thing and become a (Non-Inscrit) NI, literally?

Who exactly does Bryson expect to vote  for him?

No doubt he can draw support from his friends in "legal circles" having acted as 'legal adviser' to disgraced former BNP fund raiser and ousted Protestant Coalition chief  Jim (Dodgy) Dowson back in July.

Bryson's legal speciality is of course in dealing with civil rights abuses and surely he can count on support from Northern Ireland's Jewish community thanks to his in depth knowledge of 1930's Nazi persecution.

Perhaps Bryson is hoping for support from members and former members of the UVF having claimed on Twitter that the outlawed organisation were not terrorists.

 As Alex Kane rightly commented "Try telling that to their victims and the families of their victims."

So what is Bryson's raison d'être; He doesn't seriously expect to get elected so is this just another  shameless self-publicity stunt? 

What do you think?

Jamie Bryson flanked by members of the Protestant Coalition (l-r: Sam (So It Is) McCrory, baldy bloke1, baldy bloke 2, Wee Willie Frazer, Bill (Umbrellas) Hill, Bryson and Jim (Dodgy) Dowson (retired)



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New Belfast, Old Attitudes

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A little bit of history was made on Monday when Máirtín Ó Muilleoir became the first Sinn Féin Lord Mayor of Belfast to attend an Armistice Day commemoration.


Ó Muilleoir stood alongside the DUP Deputy Mayor, Christopher Stalford, during the two-minute silence for the war dead at Belfast City Hall and described his decision to attend as "difficult for Belfast’s republicans ... because of the experiences we have had with the British army over the last three decades, and more, to accept that a mayor who comes from a Sinn Fein tradition would be at the cenotaph."
However Ó Muilleoir said he was fulfilling a pledge he made on taking office to be a mayor "for all the people of Belfast".
"Part of that means reaching out to unionism and today really was about peacemaking towards unionism,"
"I think it's the most difficult decision I have made in 30 years in politics and community activism. It is a challenge and I think that it had to be done. I think building the peace and building a better Belfast demands that we have to move ourselves into places where we are uncomfortable, which challenge us and which move us into new positions of peacemaking." 
The Deputy Lord Mayor welcomed Ó Muilleoir's attendance and Ulster Unionist Leader Mike Nesbitt commented: 
 "I consider these gestures important at a time when a generosity of spirit will be required from all political leaders, if we are to succeed in our current efforts to reach agreement on the difficult issues under consideration in the Haass talks process."
On the same day an exhibition covering the period from 1912-1914 'Home Rule Crisis... the unionist response', opened in Dublin. It brings together the largest collection of UVF memorabilia ever gathered together in one place. The Ulster Volunteer Force was formed to resist plans to make Ireland self-governing, but many members went on to fight in the First World War. It was officially opened by the Irish Minister for Arts and Heritage Jimmy Deenihan. A priest read prayers before people in UVF costumes laid wreaths at the War Graves Commission memorial to those from the Republic who died fighting for the allies in the two world wars.
Jonny Harvey, who this time last year was chairman of Ulster Protestant Voice (one of the main organisers of last year's flag protests) and now a member of the PUP tweeted:

Sadly on a day of progress, some in the 'Unionist Family' could not find it in themselves to suppress petty begrudgery, led as ever by everyone's favourite shit stirrer, unelectable wannabe European M.P. Wee Jamie Bryson (a former colleague of Harvey in the UPV)
 Bryson's lack of equanimity was echoed elsewhere on Twitter:

Perhaps 'The Purple Standard' is unaware that Máirtín Ó Muilleoir's great-grandfather was a British Army soldier who died in 1916 while training troops at the Somme and his funeral was one of the last British military funerals to take place on the Falls Road in 1916.
As one might expect views on Facebook were even more scathing:


Written attacks on social media are a reminder of events in August when the Lord Mayor was attacked by loyalist 'peaceful' protesters on a visit to open a park in Woodvale, near the now infamous Twaddell 'civil rights camp' and dogging site.

These people speak for a tiny minority of Unionists (the fictitious "PUL" community) as evidenced by their pitiful electoral showing in the past. The protests at City Hall and Twaddell are dying a slow lingering death and only the threat of further 'peaceful' protests, and the potential for further street violence as we approach the anniversary of the democratic decision to fly the Union Flag at Belfast City Hall on designated days only, can give these trouble makers any sort of voice.

Whilst recent statements by Nesbitt et al in calling for the cancellation of the loyalist protest on November 30th are to be welcomed, isn't it time the entire mainstream 'Unionist Family' spoke out as one against the likes of Bryson, Frazer and their apologists in the so-called Protestant Coalition?
The leaders of Unionism must now show genuine leadership and condemn the sort of rampant sectarian bigotry displayed by Bryson & Co. and tell them "enough is enough," or perhaps more appropriately say...

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Invasion of the Teafleggers

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There is a tendency amongst some in Northern Ireland, and certainly on its fringes, to view the happenings in our wee pravince as utterly central to the existence of the universe.

First it’s dissident ‘republicans’ attempting to strike a blow against the twin evils of free-flowing traffic and gainful employment by screwing with decent people’s morning commutes and firebombing shops. Then it’s the ever embarrassing ‘civil rights’ camp currently eroding Protestant property prices in north Belfast and attracting trouble to an otherwise respectable area. Either way the participants quite clearly believe themselves to be at the forefront of planet Earth’s affairs.

This is untrue of course. Political extremists the world over suffer from the kind of delusions that would otherwise lead to a robust mental health intervention: jihadist dickheads in the Middle East; Ugandan sodomy obsessives; those Golden Shower tits in Greece. Each exhibits an unrivalled level of narcissistic belief in the righteousness of their fucked-up cause.

Yet, for all their biblical twittery, they persist with the mewling refrain that they - rather than the people whose lives they’re trying to destroy - are the true victims. They’re only standing up for themselves and what they believe in.

Whatever.
It’s a theme that was all too evident in the past month as America’s know-nothing, far-right obstructionist fringe attempted to strangle the American economy and with it the economic well-being of the rest of the Western world.

The Teabaggers represent a hugely annoying, gleefully destructive barrier to the march of civilisation. Given the centrality of US fiscal health to global economics, these morons signify a very real threat to financial progress.

Aaron Sorkin’s takedown of the Tea Party might be to liberals what a Chinese buffet is to a fat chap, but he’s fairly on point - and mercifully concise - when he describes them as the ‘American Taliban’. While on the subject of Sorkin, his classic riposte to those who hide their preoccupation with homosexuality behind scripture (topical, perhaps, in light of Edwin Poots’s recent profligacy with the public purse) has yet to grow old.

But let’s be honest, all this talk of international finance and stuff is a bit highfalutin considering the below normal intelli attention span of your generic Tea Partier.


In coming, finally, to the point, one dedicating even a moderate level of attention to the madness stateside could not have failed to notice the striking similarities between the angry, slavering crowds proudly endorsing the dismantlement of a country they claim to love and Ulster’s own besieged patriot, the humble Flegger.
Yes indeed, the Teabaggers are amongst us here in Norn Iron. Like most things in this part of the world of course they are a milder, watered-down version of a higher grade equivalent. Like a Opel cars. Or a United shirt purchased at a Thai market stall.

You may work with a Flegger. You might play football with another. Perhaps one services your car or cuts your hair. You may even have a crowd of them camping in your back garden, staging a protest against the nefariously green hue of your grass.

Whatever guise they make take, paranoid, recalcitrant, disruptive dumbasses are something of a national product here in the 6/9ths. Think Yellowman. Only worse.

Admittedly, Tea Partier and Flegger are not entirely analogous. In spite of the Ulster-Scots origins of the American hillbilly (one of Teabaggerism’s constituent parts) there is little common social or cultural ground. Geographically there is nothing to bind them and some of their core outlooks diverge wildly. Teabaggers hate socialism even while relying almost entirely on the fruits of such a system: Medicare/Medicaid, Social Security, free education… (well, maybe not). Fleggers don’t like socialist principles either apart from the ones they do like, those that give them (and everyone else) stuff for nothing.

Tea Partiers love the shit out of guns. The bigger the better, the more the merrier. Fleggers on the other hand, in spite of their apparent eagerness to ‘kill all taigs’, have yet to resort to that strain of balls-to-the-wall lunacy.

On the other hand, while the Tea Party is “vaguely threatening but incoherent” [Rachel Maddow] Fleggers have proved quick to anger and are prone to outbursts of genuine violence. They whinge constantly about the victimisation suffered at the hands of the police yet commit blatant public order offences in full view of the authorities, later bragging about them on social media. It’s almost as if they believe the rules don’t apply to them…
There remains, however, commonality between the two groups - and, by extension, extremist fools everywhere.

Bill Maher has often spoken of ‘the bubble' in which the American hard-right exists with impunity. In this echo chamber their toxic brew of misinformation, ignorance and fevered bigotry bounces around with wild abandon. Rumour becomes fact, obvious fiction is immovable reality.
One only needs to scan the virtual open sewer that is the Flegosphere to discern just how divorced from reality and sense the Fleggers truly are. And it is in this hothouse that the seeds of their misbehaviour in the real world take root.

That much of what is pumped out in this particular version of ‘the bubble’ is repellent should be taken as read. It is, however, fairly exhausting and beyond the motivation of this writer to look at it in detail. Other entities, most notably the champions of normality over at LAD, have done a superior job in subverting the poison many seem to regard as their birthright.

Suffice to say that hypocrisy and a startling level of inconsistency are elements neither Teabagger nor Flegger appear to be uncomfortable with.

While he was attempting to wreck the full faith and credit of the United States, Tea Partier-in-chief Senator Ted Cruz (Republican, obv. Of Texas, natch) attended the Value Voters Summit, one of American conservatism’s biggest dates, to promote his ongoing campaign. While not strictly a Teabagger event, it is undoubtedly coming from the evangelical, pray-away-the-gay corner of the same cesspool and is comprised of more than enough batshit crazy, paranoid babbling to put it on a par with your average Tea Party cookout.
In taking his victory lap Cruz, who appears to believe that providing poor people with affordable healthcare will induce the Apocalypse, received 42% of the votes in the presidential straw poll.

Fair enough. Cruz may be dick but he’s just as entitled for consideration as anyone else right?

What’s that you say? He was born in Canada? To an American mother? This must be a lie, a clever fabrication by the 'lamestream media' to discredit a doyen of the right.

Sure, if Cruz was born in Canada then that means he’d be ineligible for a presidential run - going by the same standard every Tea Partier, ‘values voter’ and sundry other racist crackpots have been applying to Barack Obama. If, as they claim, Obama was born in Kenya to an American mother, how then does Cruz qualify given that his real story is exactly the same as Obama’s fictional one? On a single note of fairness to the distinguished gentleman from Texas, he has been fairly silent on the non-issue of Obama’s heritage, considering the obvious similarities of that particular fairytale to his own background.

It is a quandary alright. Plus, you know what Canada has don’t you? Socialised medicine. And snow. Fucking Soviets.
The Fleggers too have their own issues with saying one thing while doing the other.

They rightly jump up and down about republicans glorifying their dead and trampling on the memories of those they murdered. Yet, before you know it, rank and file loyalism is proudly parading in honour of some other dead murderer, most recently on the Shankill in memory of Brian Robinson. Robinson’s bravery peaked the moment he killed the first Catholic he came across. Minutes later he’d be gunned down himself by agents of a state to which he was, presumably, ‘loyal’ up to that point.

Fleggers react to every occurrence of dissident activity like it’s a newly discovered solar system, stunning new proof that ‘themuns’ have no interest in a shared future that they don’t want either. The fact that dissident republicanism has never been on a ceasefire, has never subscribed to the majority desire for a quiet life and is responsible for bombing Omagh 15 years ago, appears to matter little.

In this alternate universe you have to have balls to get ahead and nobody can accuse the Tea Party of lacking cojones. Invoking and then co-opting the legacy of the civil rights movement - while at the same time being fuelled in their anger by the freedoms and privileges it facilitated - reveals a mendacious cynicism, quite stunning to behold.

There was a chord of familiarity, however, when one of the Tea Party’s many ‘founders’ rocked up at the World War II memorial in Washington D.C. to protest about the fact that the site had been closed in a government shutdown caused by Cruz (smugly in attendance) and supported by, amongst others, the queen of knows-nothing-about-nothing obstructionism Sarah Palin (also there).
Larry Klayman’s call to practice 'civil disobedience' in the face of a progressive government plan was laughable. It reeked of the melodrama and complete lack of perspective exhibited so consistently by NI's own Teabaggers; Teafleggers if you will.

These magic words echoed those of faceless Orangeman William Mawhinney as he addressed the ‘civil rights’ squat at Twaddell and Woodvale. That’s right, a section of the community once vehemently opposed to the goals of an actual civil rights movement is now resurrecting the tactics - if not the spirit - of that era because it is no longer allowed to parade and offend to its heart’s content.

And then they start comparing themselves to Jews during the Holocaust… Irony, at least, is not a burden these poor people have to bear.
It would be funny if it wasn’t so pathetic. 

Perhaps most insidious is the tone-deaf insistence of each group that they represent something other than simple extremism. The Tea Party ignores the hefty electoral mandates twice handed to their anti-Christ Obama and claims to speak for an American populace that neither polls nor elections can ever properly locate. They wax lyrical about ‘America’ and ‘real Americans’; code for gullible, frightened white people living outside of California, the east coast and big cities. In short, the only people who truly count.

Equally, Fleggers never tire of the refrain that ‘We Are The People’ (whatever that means). By ‘people’ they really refer to likeminded loyalists, inhabitants of estates, towns and villages throughout the country where flegs, bonfires and parades are the only thing worthy of respect and deference. Everything else is foreign, dangerous and unwanted.

Yeah, they’ll put on a show every now and again, rolling out the ‘P’ and the ‘U’ to go with the ‘L’, presuming to speak on behalf of a community as varied as it is large. Yet they know, deep down, that most unionists, most Protestants and, maddeningly, their fellow Britons on ‘the mainland’ despise them and want nothing to do with their bizarre adherence to violence, hatred and victimhood.
To be honest all extremists are capable of functioning in the face of opposition, of keeping their shit together, if it is only they who form part of the equation, if they exist in a vacuum. What makes them cut loose from this dimension entirely, however, is the perceived advancement of those they hate, those whose existence defines their own: blacks, liberals, gays, foreigners, socialists, Catholics. It is here that they let their slips show.

The Tea Party claims to have been present in American politics prior to the Obama presidency though nobody seems to remember them, funnily enough. Considering the composition of the average Teabagger convention it isn’t difficult to discern the reasons for the increased noise since January 2009. On more than one occasion, Maher has mused, with no little sarcasm: “What is it about Obama that makes them so crazy? I don’t know. I just can’t put put my finger on it…”
As Chris Matthews so lucidly suggests the efforts of the Tea Party right, from birtherism to the near biblical opposition to Obama’s agenda, represent a determined crusade to relegate this guy’s tenure to an asterisk.

Most recently one prick turned up at the White House, following the World War II memorial event, bearing a confederate flag. A redneck waving the Stars and Bars outside an African-American family’s house. Nice.
In assuming that a zero-sum game is afoot (‘Usuns: naffin. Themuns: every hing’ in Northern Irish) the extremist will find justification for increased hostility towards those perceived as the enemy. Witness, for instance, the scattergun approach of Fleggerism’s leading brain in a jar Jamie Bryson whose only response to encountering Catholics in positions of authority - inconceivable up to that point apparently - was to label them republicans and imply all sorts of underhandedness. Naturally.

To people like Bryson and others like him - in a Northern Ireland context at least - Catholics, for the most part, live in Ardoyne, the Falls, Short Strand or the Bogside. They are invariably republican (or nationalist depending on how fond you are of conflating the two), terrorist-loving wastrels intent on tearing down everything British and Pradesant. Their elevation to powerful posts can be explained only by wild-eyed theories and grubby innuendo. It most certainly has nothing to do with that community’s long-standing attitude to education and self-improvement.

Yep, sounds legit alright.

While these idiots have their political representatives bent over the table, feet apart, there is little chance that they’ll piss off any time soon. Congressional Republicans will continue to act like morons while the threat of a primary challenge from some Tea Party-backed lunatic exists. They hate their government but not the generous government salary their elected position affords them. Obama has another three years on his term and his plan to remain black during that time is unchanged.

Closer to home, the sectarian-based, consociationalist hive mind up at ‘Stormount’ ensures that both sides - unionists most conspicuously - will continue to appeal to their core voting block, or at least those who can be bothered to turn up at the polling station.

Jim Allister might be the Fleggers’ favourite currently but a whiff of compromise, a hint of impurity and they’ll be casting about for another blowhard to lead them further into the abyss.
With the first anniversary of Belfast’s transition to the status of ‘most other UK cities’ only a few weeks away, the civilised people will no doubt be exposed once more to the epic levels of stupidity lurking beneath the surface of our society. If the Fleggers have their way, Christmas will once again be hassle for shoppers and ruined for traders. The drain on public expenditure will continue unabated.

The cost of policing this 12 month loyalist tantrum is jaw-dropping. The perpetrators are, for some reason, quick to equate their own behaviour with dissident violence, something which requires an entirely different security response. The silliness of this argument aside, one wonders why they are so keen to add to the waste of time and treasure.

This naive attitude to the taxpayer’s money has a distinct smell of tea about it.

With the sinister and increased meddling of dissident ‘republicans’ disrupting daily life in Northern Ireland, the threat to normality and decency appears grave.

Fortunately, we are well used to tolerating and ignoring the fuckwits. 

 originally posted here and used with permission















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TAXI... for the Protestant Coalition

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DARK DEEDS AT BELFAST CITY AIRPORT 
Protestant Coalition Airport Protest Planned
Several months ago a cab driver contacted LAD to give us a heads up about an ongoing situation involving the contract to run taxis from Belfast City Airport. He told us that Catholic cab drivers were being subjected to intimidation from fellow Protestant taxi drivers, and that as a result most of those Catholic drivers had already left the airport taxi company. We didn't realise that this was just the tip of the iceberg.

Thanks to the continual shut-downs of our Facebook page, LAD lost contact with the taxi driver, but he contacted us again this week following the so-called Protestant Coalition’s announcement of a protest at City Airport tomorrow (25/10/2013) to complain about a perceived anti-Protestant agenda behind the recent transfer of the airport taxi contract from the current firm to Value Cabs. Many of the Catholic drivers who were forced out of their airport taxi jobs have since found alternative work and want to put the whole episode behind them. Our source was of the same opinion until the so-called Protestant Coalition started sabre-rattling.
Protestant Coalition - more sectarian bullshit
 We do not profess to know the absolute truth on this issue but given the Protestant Coalition's history of sectarian shit stirring we thought it only fair to provide the other 'side' of the story as told by one of those involved.

We've been told that until April 2012, the Belfast City Airport taxi rank was run as a not-for-profit co-operative into which every driver paid £3000 to join, a further £500 (which was then returned) to help get the co-operative started, and then between £70 and £90 a week membership. The co-operative worked well at the start, having one Protestant and one catholic driver serving as chief operators. Then the Catholic operator became ill and left his position, leaving a vacancy which was filled, not by a Catholic, but by five Protestant drivers.

When the Catholic drivers complained and asked for representation they were told "This is East Belfast, just count yourself lucky you're allowed to work here at all".

In April 2012 two men, Michael Irvine and John Busby applied to Companies House to become directors of the enterprise, and convert it from a co-operative into a company. The first many of the drivers heard of this was almost a year later, in February 2013, and when questions were asked several explanations were given for the sudden change. One explanation was that this move was to protect the co-operative from litigation, another was to prevent cliques forming in the rank, while a third was to avoid liability in the event of a VAT shortfall.

According to our source since then life on the taxi rank at George Best Belfast City Airport has been rife with loyalist initiated sectarian intimidation.

There were Protestant drivers who stood up to the bigots but in many cases the Catholic drivers had to endure vandalism, late night phone calls, and sectarian graffiti. 6 Catholic drivers left, a further 3 were sacked (but reinstated after successful wrongful dismissal hearings).

Understandably fed up management at Belfast City Airport gave all drivers one months notice (as per the terms of the contract) on 24/9/13, Michael Irvine and Busby removed ten catholic drivers from their list of taxi operators. These ten went to different taxi companies in the Short Strand and the Ormeau Road and were put on those company's licences. The airport let the drivers work under these licences, but Irvine said it was a breach of contract and informed his solicitor. At 7pm on Friday 4/10/13 these drivers were told that their airport passes would be revoked at midnight.

On Friday 11th October 2013, the Catholic drivers were put out of the airport taxi service prompting "high fives because they got all the taigs out". 

Value Cabs is a Protestant-owned business and whilst this is incidental it does make a mockery of the so-called Protestant Coalition's wild assertions that this move has been motivated by anti-Protestant sectarianism and is an attempt at 'ethnic cleansing'(!!!).
Protestant Coalition - their 'side' of the story
A gathering of loyalist 'peaceful protesters' has been herded together for a protest at Belfast City Airport tomorrow (Friday October 24th 2013) to protest at this alleged mistreatment of the Belfast City Airport Taxi Company.

If LAD were a more cynical bunch of individuals, we'd think that perhaps the Cab bosses and the Prod Co were in cahoots, and were using their own people as a "flying column of protesters" available to the highest bidder to turn up and pressurise already hard-hit companies into business deals beneficial to leading fleggers.


It seems that racketeering hasn't gone away, it's just subtly changed. The threat of violence has been replaced with the threat of 20 morons dragging down your business

NOTE: The driver who contacted us has supplied us with detailed diaries, photographs and recordings of meetings that took place and intimidation endured. If any legitimate journalists would like to follow up on this story please contact us and we will put you in touch with the driver in question.

UPDATE:

The following exchange and use of avatars when we posted this story on our Facebook page perfectly explains why the management of Belfast City Airport were smart to ditch this whole sectarian shower of shite.

 

SOURCES:
http://www.companiesintheuk.co.uk/ltd/george-best-belfast-city-airport-taxis
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.companydirectorcheck.com%2Fmichael-irvine-2&h=QAQGnrX3U&s=1
https://www.duedil.com//director/916813228/john-busby
http://www.ccdni.com/director-john-busby-3
http://www.belfastcityairporttaxis.co.uk/
http://opencorporates.com/officers/48247430



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We're not gonna take it

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LAD is an equal opportunities satirist. LAD doesn't discriminate on the grounds of religion or politics. LAD's only mission is to shine a light on sectarianism, bigotry and hatred - whether it be from a loyalist, republican or a scientologist. It's just unfortunate that loyalists have so very much missed the point of being British - of being open, plural, tolerant, transformative, non-sectarian - and of creating a nice country to live in, that LAD can't help appear one-sided. 

 

LAD doesn't oppose sectarianism for the fun of it, though it may seem so on the surface. Look deeper, LAD opposes sectarianism - from the executive to the street - because sectarianism is what is retarding and stultifying Northern Ireland. LAD sees non-violent parody as a powerful means of giving civic opposition. And it just so happens that loyalism is at present easier to parody. But let it be clear: LAD always has and will continue to parody sectarianism, whether the source is loyalist, republican or politician.

LAD is a cross-community group that wants to speak for the silent majority which has moved beyond the disease of sectarianism and hard-line nationalism (or either hue). LAD opposes sectarianism and wants a Northern Ireland that is shared. LAD wants a Northern Ireland where the executive functions and where ministers care about jobs, education, the economy and healthcare; a Northern Ireland where the economic policy is not about weaseling ever more money out of Whitehall; a Northern Ireland where young people have opportunities and a future. Above all, LAD wants a Northern Ireland that has a first-person plural - a "we", not a "themmuns”. Because a non-sectarian identity is a precondition to a shared cause and unity of purpose - sectarian politics doesn't create smart economies or a stable society.

LAD wants a non-sectarian Northern Ireland, where politicians provide post-conflict leadership and where people get beyond the mental categories of the Troubles. However, nothing is being done. Politicians are happy to maintain a sectarian stalemate, entertain the most extreme and ignore those who have moved on. 

Some Stormont politicians, a small minority of very loud loyalists and sinister republicans are working to impose a way of life that is both offensive and incongruent to a huge number of people in Northern Ireland. 

LAD is not amused. Nor is much of Northern Ireland. LAD wants positive and transformative leadership, not managed sectarianism or the pandering, indulgence and entertainment of the most sectarian fringe elements of loyalism and republicanism. You cannot be indifferent about fanaticism. It must be opposed and vanquished. 


We do not claim to be agents of change. LAD will continue to give a cathartic voice of opposition for those who have had enough of being menaced and terrified by street-fighting radicals and of being governed by the most ineffectual, know-nothing politicians. 

No surrender to sectarianism 

WE are the people
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Stormont is Shit.

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Unbelievably, the staffers at LAD stopped drinking for long enough to suffer an alarming moment of collective clarity.  The most disturbing result of this was an unwelcome sense of awareness which suggested sobriety was not to be embraced and after much heated debate, the Skol was flowing once again.

Quality peeve as endorsed by LAD
During this time of abstinence however, some things were written down which could almost be deemed to have origins in coherent thought.  The general theme of this material had a tone of discontent.  Mostly along the lines of what is wrong with Narnarn politics?

We constantly hear Arnold Foster harping on about what a great place Narnarn is to invest in and how golf courses and the Titanic legacy will drive our economy from strength to strength.  Okay, perhaps that's a bit flippant but beyond being photographed holding things, you could be forgiven for thinking that is at times, Arnold's economic strategy.  Similarly, the First Minister (FM) and deputy First Minister (dFM) fly around the world telling everyone how great things are in this little place of ours and that Narnarn is the place to be; we have the skills, the infrastructure, the technology.  Yes, we have it all,  except a working government and politicians who are genuinely interested in moving forward.


Golf will save us all!
Our politicians are charged with dragging us into the future but we are all suffering at the hands of an Executive that is inept and barely, if at all, fit for purpose.  Even the FM and dFM can't agree if the Executive is working or not, but the proof is surely there for all to see, with a near total lack of Executive business being debated (a generous term) within the Assembly.  The majority of the electorate seem more keen to move on than those we have elected.
Whatabouterye big mawn?
For any political novices out there, our devolved government is the Executive, the work of which is scrutinised by the legislature, in our case the Assembly (you may be forgiven for being unaware of such, given that the media generally treat the two as a single entity called Stormont).  That is what should happen but at present the Executive is suffering a case of legislative constipation which leaves the Assembly struggling to create business and on watching recent debate, you could be forgiven for thinking you have mistakenly tuned into a town council meeting.

There is much comment regarding voter apathy and perhaps some of this could be explained by looking at the demographic of our MLAs.  Over 80% of members are male, with an average age of 53.  The female contingent of just 21 MLAs has an average age of 44, which brings the overall average down to a respectable 51.  The oldest MLA is 73, the youngest just 22, which is perhaps too young in terms of life experience but nonetheless, is a positive step in attempting to gain interest of younger voters.  That's a simplistic view but as moderate voters see the majority parties pander to a small minority to the detriment of the majority, is it actually worth voting?
The Young Parlimentarians Club
Notably, the two parties with the highest average age, SDLP and UUP are the parties which have endured the biggest losses since devolution.  Perhaps that suggests the more moderate parties are suffering due to a lack of younger representatives or simply arrogance and relying on past victories?  The grey vote has been mentioned in relation to both and this is something the parties need to address if they aren't to fade into obscurity in the very near future.  They hold sway with the middle and upper classes who it seems, are giving up their democratic right.  Given the state of Narnarn politics, is it any wonder?

We're left with extremes, the hard line DUP on one hand and the socialist (far more socialist than the SDLP) Sinn Féin on the other.  Both these parties appeal to polar opposites of the electorate and probably mop up the more moderate voters who feel an 'X' for the UUP or SDLP is wasted vote, yet can still be bothered to vote.  Together, they're meant to be working in a power-sharing partnership and working towards a brighter future for all but that isn't happening.

Despite small glimmers of progress, both parties are generally backward looking, choosing to argue again and again about the past, who is to blame, who is the biggest victim, who was right, who was wrong.  It's the biggest stumbling block to progress but it is also something that cannot be ignored.  A question could be asked about how much emphasis is being placed on the past at the cost of the future, shared or otherwise?
Would the captain go down with this ship?

At the moment, the past is like a chain around our collective neck, it pervades and impedes.  As things stand, we are in no danger of progressing far until agreement is reached on the past.  While MLAs accuse the Victims' Commissioner of failing to define a victim, they seem to forget that they have been unable to agree a definition of victim for years!  Is there a different way to address the needs and legacy of victims without having what must often appear to those looking in, as a victims industry?  It sometimes seems strange that other countries look to us for help on conflict resolution when it could be said we are yet to deal with it properly ourselves.  Is the victims issue holding progress back as a whole and if it is, how could victims be better served?  Another impass at the Executive doesn't help.
Perhaps things will really start to move for Narnarn when the current crop of aging career politicians move on, hopefully to be replaced with younger ones, more closely matching the local demographic, who grew up free of the direct influence of the Troubles and, touch wood, free of the influence of those who seek to retain the status quo; young politicians who want a brighter future for their peers and for future generations and can rise above the whataboutery politics that is hobbling the current political establishment.  Would it be better if the moderate parties rose to prominence once again or is it time for something entirely new?  What is certain is something at the Executive table needs to change soon before the Stormont institutions fail us again.


IF ANY MLAs WOULD LIKE TO RESPOND TO THIS PLEASE CONTACT US
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They're All "Nutters"

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When political Unionism was in-fighting and contesting the Maze peace centre, parades and flags the rest of Northern Ireland stood back in a state of non-comprehension. Yes the past is gruesome but the young people are looking forward. The in-fighters called themselves "nutters" when the reality all along is that it's political Unionism and loyalism who 'reall "nutters". Here's why.

The young people of Northern Ireland are among the ablest, brightest and best in the world. Their kind is what has made Northern Ireland what it really is, an ambitious, tolerant, cosmopolitan country.

Look at the 2013 A-level results, Northern Ireland students performed the best of the home nations. The same can be said of the GCSE students.

In Northern Ireland this summer – while jackboots and fanatics were spilling their sectarian bile on the streets and “chipping away” at our good name for the world to see – just short of 33,000 young people sat A-Level exams. That represents 59% of young adults of A-Level age in the north of Ireland, all of whom have made a conscientious, considered and calculated decision to further and better themselves.

Of these 33,000 young people over 10,000 achieved an A or A* grade. The total pass rate was 98.2%. 176,000 pupils sat GCSE exams. Of that age-group, 28% attained an A grade, 77% an A to C grade.

Class of 2013 secured a performance that is historically-typical of Northern Ireland’s young people. If we look back over the last decade, we can see that we have a huge demographic in the hundreds of thousands who are incredibly ambitious and well-educated. This is saying the obvious. But this needs to be said, and said very, very clearly.

For this is the silent, majority demographic who have elevated themselves above the maddening, tear-your-eyes-from-your-sockets tribal politics. An internationalist demographic that is indicative of the normal Northern Ireland.

With that said, we now need to ask: What are the Class of 2013 working towards?

These Young adults have invested time and effort into their future with a very clear purpose in mind. They want to cash-out on their investment. They want an end result. They want a secure and successful future.

But here’s the problem: To build a secure and stable future you need to have strong foundations. A stable, functioning government, a forward looking legislature, effective checks and balances, a strong, outward looking economy, a civil and open society, participatory democracy and a sound social contract.

Northern Ireland doesn’t have any of this. The Class of 2013 faces this inheritance of dysfunction and sectarianism, both political and economic. What we have is a lumbering Stormont legislature, a sectarian satanic mill full of “nutters”, and indulged fringe communities, outwardly racist, rogue and nationally chauvinist.

The link between the two is explicit. Political parties have exported practice and policy to power-play thugs, fanatics and dysfunctionals. Sacrificing good government and by effect, sacrificing the functional and most capable in society.

And because of this misery much of the recent A-Level optimism is misplaced. The hard reality of Stormont and community dysfunction means that, long-term, the Class of 2013 has little opportunity to cash out on their investment and make a future in Northern Ireland.

And this is the tragedy and tyranny of Northern Ireland’s barbaric, sectarian politics. Many of our 33,000 A-Levels students will now be leaving the country for mainland Britain, Europe, Australia or America, never to return – just as thousands before them have done so. Others will opt to study locally but will be forced to leave as economic migrants. Others tired from the tedium if sectarian politics will leave.

Just consider this comment left on a Guardian editorial on the Maze, made by a student of Queen’s University Belfast. This is the story despair and desperation we hear and see time, after time, after time – our best brightest leaving en masse.
“I’m a student at Queen’s [University Belfast]. When I’m finished with my degree I’m probably going to get the hell out of Northern Ireland. I’m sick of the same old sectarian bullshit arguments peddled over and over again.”


Slugger blogger David McCann spelt it out here:
"Northern Ireland greatest challenge is the loss of the best of our next generation…"
And as Stephen Nolan asked:
"Are the life opportunities of a young Catholic or Protestant not more important than whether a parade gets up a road?"
Yes it's all about economic opportunities. To save our young people it's not the flegs or the parades or the Maze - it's the economy, stupid!

As Theresa Villiers said:
"It's hard to see how Northern Ireland can reach it's full economic potential while sectarian division continues to spill out on to the streets with disgraceful scenes of rioting and violence." 
To end this haemorrhaging and cleansing of talent, young people need to face down Northern Ireland’s satanic legislative mill of managed sectarianism and the shower of conspiratorial fanatics that smash up our good name.

Who serves or speaks for the internationalist Hannah Nelson generation? We need something different. We need real economic opportunity. A system that will give an economic end-result to Northern Ireland’s best and brightest. For that to happen we must demand change to the status quo of “Newtonian” politics. As Liam Clarke said, we need a statesman or woman who can bring about a massive shift.

We need new thinking, away from the “idée fixe” of sectional politics and separatist identities. As Brian Rowan said, “we need thinkers to set us free and to save the next generation from our bitterness.” A “going to moon” idea as Eamonn Mallie put it.

But I pose it that we do have the ideas: The young people have shown how to do it. They are truly internationalist, non-contentious, non-aligned people confident in their layered, shared and overlapping identities. They’re the inheritors of the Rosa Luxemburg philosophy that looks beyond strict, set and septic nationalistic notions of identity. And this internationalism is the province-wide consensus, shared by the ambitious and outward-looking Catholic and Protestant young people.

Madness is trying the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Our politicians are “nutters” if they think that their same old ideas can give a solution to our problem. The time has come to say that those who created this problem cannot fix it.

Alex Kane and Justine McCarthy have said it too. Only the young people can deliver a functional society because “their (Adams, Robinson et al.) personal baggage is becoming the biggest obstacle on the path to peace.”

Young people need to fight for real economic opportunity, for a shared society and for functioning government. But what happened on the streets this summer is more than just about jobs and economic opportunity, this has become a civilisation question – ‘Northern Ireland is in big trouble.’

And when civilisation meets barbarism either could win; but as Brian Rowan said, “To that question, there [can only be] one answer.”


[Written by Brian John Spencer and originally published on Eamonnmallie.com]
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