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Give us unity – but not just yet – politicalbetting.com
Give us unity – but not just yet – politicalbetting.com
The 2021 census data reported that for the first time the catholic population was the largest religious group in Northern Ireland. Unsurprisingly Sinn Fein immediately began the push for a border poll. There was lots of noise and then towards the end of 2021 it all went quiet.
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as we approach 25 years of the GFA I am not holding my breath of a breakthrough..more fudge and dollops of public money
Leaving aside the dodgy linguistic map and conclusion, his basic points are sound. The Republic must compromise, embrace and forgive. (Ditto the Unionists, but the focus is rightly on the adults here, not the bairns.)
Ditch the tricolour and adopt a genuinely Irish symbol (I dislike nearly all tricolours - and there are lots of them - except the French one).
Most nations’ anthems are absolute shite, and Amhrán na bhFiann is typically dreadful. Irish music is tremendously full of vitality. It ought to be easy to find something attractive and jaunty.
On “rejoining” the Commonwealth, hard to see how a country can “rejoin” an organisation it has never been a member of. When Ireland de jure left in 1936 it was still the British Empire. De facto it had left over a decade prior to that. The British Empire was many (repulsive) things, but it was never a body which had “members”. However, the basic point is sound: there is no harm whatsoever in the reunited Ireland being a member of the modern Commonwealth. (There is bugger all use in it either, but throw the antediluvian bairns a bone and let them enjoy their chew.)
The above points are all symbolic, and thus essentially trivial and childish. But such things are the bread and butter of Unionist “thinking” (ahem). As far as the more substantive points are concerned:
1. Of course parties elected to the reunified legislature by northern voters must be allowed to fully participate in the work of the house, including in coalition governments. See Finland for a good example of this in practice, where it is hard to conceive of a Finnish government which does not include the Swedish People's Party of Finland (Svenska folkpartiet i Finland).
2. Reunification is going to need a budget. It should be viewed as a wise, long-term investment, not a cost.
Conservatism has served the Irish very poorly. All of the Irish. The nation is far more attractive and successful when she shows her more liberal attributes. The gist of Alan’s article is correct: both sides need to ditch entrenched attitudes and embrace change and with it progress. The effort is worth it.
SLab 39%
SNP 32%
SCon 16%
SLD 6%
Grn 4%
oth 3%
(R&W; subsample size 130; fieldwork 18 February)
As a bonus, I’ll even Baxter that for you, just for old time’s sake (new boundaries):
SLab 36 seats (+35)
SNP 11 seats (-37)
SCon 7 seats (+1)
SLD 3 seats (+1)
Alex Salmond and chums will be ecstatic.
Made me realise how ignorant I am of Irish opinion; I'd no idea how ungenerous the attitude of the South is in respect of reunification.
Do those in the north seeking reunification share Stuart's blithe assumptions about how those attitudes might change ?
https://mobile.twitter.com/MichaelSteele/status/1627679035999281158
https://mobile.twitter.com/nickschifrin/status/1627775591356289025
https://mobile.twitter.com/EuromaidanPress/status/1627888845785276418
Seems credible, as it's quite easily integrated with most airframes, and can be launched from fairly low altitude.
F1: Stroll injured, slightly, in cycling accident. Will miss the test and maybe the first race.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/64709945
https://www.thinkdefence.co.uk/2022/11/storm-shadow/
The Good Friday agreement was essential in its time but has rather fossilised structures and parties in attitudes that need to change over time to bring real peace.
On flags, I do rather like the Irish tricolour, symbolising the white of peace between the orange of Unionism and green of Nationalism.
I remember an Irish friend astonishing a small group of Americans by informing them, correctly, that 'you couldn't make a present of the six counties - to anybody'. Ireland wouldn't want them, and the North wouldn't want to go, despite anything that might be said publicly.
Biden’s visit to Kyiv is intended to offer a bracing contrast, and a different message: If the U.S. president is willing to take this personal risk, if the U.S. government is willing to invest this effort, then time is not on Russia’s side after all. He is putting everyone on notice, including the defense ministries and the defense industries, that the paradigm has shifted and the story has changed. The old “normal” is not coming back.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/02/biden-trip-ukraine-kyiv/673134/
Edit: Sorry about the duplication. Not sure what happened there. It is early.
jibes aside NI is essentially a fight between the scots and the irish with both agreeing to blame the english and make them pay for it. The linguisitic map illustrates the cultural difference of Uster from the south. The north has a primarily scottish culture whether catholic or protestant and thats one of the reasons Uster people are seen as confrontational, stubborn and all round in your face. On the other hand when youve gained acceptance ( not easy ) theyre seen as warm hearted and generous. Sound familiar ?
Others saying similar privately.
Feels like her campaign is in serious trouble already.
https://twitter.com/nickeardleybbc/status/1627930807095394304?s=20
We must be full throated in our support of equal marriage. No if or buts. I won’t be supporting Kate’s campaign on that basis. I wish her well- she’s extremely talented. But I have red lines. And this is one.
https://twitter.com/GillianMSP/status/1627918004523507713?s=20
As for the negative comments you make about PB, if you hate it that much, why are you still here? After all, your comments are almost all (like that one) complete nonsense based on prejudice and have never added anything to our debates except some unintentional humour.
https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/david-warner-ruled-out-of-final-two-tests-due-to-elbow-fracture-1360133
They can now play somebody who might score some actual runs...
I have an Irish American friend who is convinced that when the moment arrives America will cover the cost of reunification.
Yes, if you stop money flowing to politicians who don’t take their seats, they’ll eventually need to go back to work - if only to keep themselves and their staff paying their mortgages!
Eire want, sentimentally, to annex Northern Ireland at no cost to themselves.
That isn't on the table. So it won't happen.
Can you suggest a messy WWI Western Front battle that isn’t The Battle of Somme.
Her campaign in serious peril this morning following equal marriage comments to
@Channel4News and @TheScotsman yesterday.
https://twitter.com/C4Ciaran/status/1627937528392065025?s=20
One already noted upthread.
The UK government recorded a surprise surplus in its finances in January despite "substantial spending" to help households with energy bills and one-off payments to the EU.
The government spent less than it received in tax in the month, resulting in a surplus of £5.4bn.
Economists had forecast borrowing of £7.9bn, but record self-assessed income tax receipts led to the surplus.
The figures come as the government is set to deliver its Budget next month.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64705051
On the topic of ash, what do you make of Regan?
You must be loyal to the faith, to the bone.
Now the media will be doing everything they can to trip Yousaf up on GRR.
The story in the Republic is pretty simple. As far as they're concerned the North was stolen by the British, and the flag is already a unifying symbol between Unionism and Nationalism, so there's nothing they need to do to compromise. The centenary reflections haven't seen any challenge to this narrative as far as I've noticed.
The poll was interesting. Despite what you sometimes hear about Brexit accelerating the timetable for reunification, it seems pretty clear that it's still at least a generation away (a proper generation of 20-30 years).
I’m trying to write a work report with a WWI reference for a bloody battle that isn’t one of the bleeding obvious.
EDIT I see we’re looking for more obscure.
The current Ukraine war has thrown up some pretty messy battles that will doubtless be remembered for a long time.
Or just Arras more generally.
Your second sentence is true whoever wins. The MSM is rabidly BritNat and that is not going to change pre-independence.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64705051
Im on for the US roundly fking Ireland. Biden will be the last of the US Irish caucus presidents.
The US will be a minority white nation in about 20 years and that will change the nature of politics. Parties will chase the growing categories of latinos and asian swing voters and the Irish vote just wont have the same importance. Add in that Ireland is a parasite on US tax income and I can see a bust up at some point. My biggest surprise on Trump was that he didnt force the Tech Cos to pay their taxes at home. It will probably be some cash strapped Democrat who does the deed thus wiping out about 25% of Irish GDP.
https://twitter.com/GrahamGGrant/status/1627611789616611329?s=20
Police Scotland is understood to be the first high-profile Scottish public body to have quit the scheme, which has attracted the support of the Scottish Government - currently 89th on Stonewall’s top 100 employers index.
In 2021, the BBC announced that it was withdrawing from Stonewall’s diversity champions scheme amid concerns about impartiality.
Other organisations which have left include the House of Commons, the Equalities and Human Rights Commission, the House of Lords and Ofcom.
More proof, if any were needed, that Tolkien should be cancelled ASAFP.
Sturgeon - quitting
Forbes - bed-shitting
Robertson - hiding
Yousaf - useless
The other one - image problem
Salmond - ineligible unless things get desperate
So we need Westminster refugees to run. Cherry, Black, Flynn. "I'm leading from Westminster to put our case to the English" said the winner. "While I'm doon the road, here is my leader in Holyrood, a rising young star, Nicola Sturgeon."
Edit - ah, it's Orodruin. Ruins the metaphor. Nobody's going to think her brain is full of hot stuff.
So people voting for a party commited to paramilitary violence to achieve an end - rejected that goal.
Whole of Europe is going to be seeing capital outflow back to the US over the next few years.
"They show that public borrowing in the financial year to date is £30.6bn less than predicted by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the government's official forecaster. "
In alls seriousness, given his appalling track record I can't see how Yousaf would be anything other than a disaster for both Scotland and the SNP. He makes Liz Truss look competent.
Won’t help the Chancellor with his party though, who want to see coming tax rises deferred.
Plus I don't think anyone will look back on his time as Health Minister with especial fondness given the state of the Scottish NHS. He claimed that Covid cases were soaring among children, when they were not, for example.
He's untrustworthy, arrogant and not very bright. He's also totally incompetent.
This doesn't disbar him from high office, of course - look at Johnson and Cummings - but it would make it to put it mildly difficult for him to be successful in it.
About the only thing he's got going for him is he's not as useless as Swinney.
Wikipedia quote: “The British achieved the longest advance since trench warfare had begun, surpassing the record set by the French Sixth Army on 1 July 1916. The British advance slowed in the next few days and the German defence recovered. The battle became a costly stalemate for both sides”
My wife’s great uncle died on Vimy Ridge, so there’s a family conection. They went out to his grave a few years ago.
Also wondering if Manchester United for the EPL title might be worth a look, around 11 on Ladbrokes.
Currently, backed Arsenal, Napoli (Serie A, currently a 15 point lead), and Dortmund. Oh, and Lens/Marseille but I think Lens is gone forever, and Marseille *might* be still in with a shot.
The Bible also has a great deal to say about the control of women by men. Is it a pity that believing in those teachings is unacceptable today ?