Comments on The Pensive Quill: Room

Room Seán Mór, one of the problems that have long...

2010-06-21T19:34:40.203+01:00

Room

Seán Mór, one of the problems that have long dogged republicanism is that clarity of thought was something to be shunned in favour of fudge.

Ryan, ‘ Two men at the head of a party for 30 yea...

2010-06-14T22:10:24.710+01:00

Ryan,

‘ Two men at the head of a party for 30 years is a big part of
why Irish republicanism is where it is right now.’

It can’t be a healthy situation in any polity.

Ryan, ‘if there was ever one thing we could teac...

2010-06-14T19:30:00.846+01:00

Ryan,

‘if there was ever one thing we could teach republicans it's toss the bums out every now and
Then’

So essential if any political movement is to avoid suffocation from above.

Saint?MaryHedgehog

Glad you enjoyed it.

Marty,

I wasn’t trying to sell books for Jonathan Powell!! It is a book well worth having.

Consent is a necessary feature of any democratic polity. The area of contention is the unit of consent. The British view completely trounced the republican one in the negotiations dealt with by Powell.

Tain Bo

'In essence the British would accept Sinn Fein under the one condition
that being Sinn Fein pacifies the Provisionals?'

This seemed pretty obvious to me from early on in the peace process but the leadership were having none of that type of view.

I think the book is well worth reading. How many British officials ever devote anything more than a chapter to the North in their memoirs?

I agree hon but its nice to be miserable in comfor...

2010-06-13T16:25:21.165+01:00

I agree hon but its nice to be miserable in comfort,and anyway the compensation claims havent went in for the plantation theft yet, so anything those fuckers give is just a downpayement

Marty, do not beieve that all Irish people view Br...

2010-06-13T14:41:57.585+01:00

Marty, do not beieve that all Irish people view British money as a panacea or indeed some type of retribution for past ills.
Not moralising just giving my opinion.

To echo many others - great review. I've enjoy...

2010-06-13T01:03:55.667+01:00

To echo many others - great review. I've enjoyed each part. Now want to read it for myself.

where did all the militants go mick hall,did they ...

2010-06-12T14:53:16.354+01:00

where did all the militants go mick hall,did they fight on from there arm chairs or the bar stools, a militant fights for what is right,nobody can push a militant around whith out a fight back,a huff is not a militant,thats maybe where you are getting mixed up with,the huff and the militant.

Again Mick is the man we should rename you Mick th...

2010-06-12T14:00:11.297+01:00

Again Mick is the man we should rename you Mick the Oracle , we used to sing when we were younger to the tune of the red flag"the working class can kiss my ass I,ve got the foremans job at last"

Marty You put your finger on my thoughts in your ...

2010-06-12T13:21:00.575+01:00

Marty

You put your finger on my thoughts in your last post, myself I have nothing against comrades plundering the British exchequer, some of the moralising from anti SF republicans on this has been as bad as that of SF on other issues.

If when Betsy come's waving a wad, it is worth considering whether it is viable to play her at her own game. Not easy for sure, as doubly dealing comes natural to these folks, but if it can be done, I see no reason why republicans should not play betsy at her own game.

Instead the shinners have used much of this cash to featherbed they're middling ranks with jobs, etc. Which is exactly what Betsy wanted.

Not surprisingly such a system was first trialed by the Thatcher government in England in the early 1980s. It was first designed to head off the trade unions who through the trades council movement had set up at a local level unemployed workers centres across the country to help organise the unemployed to campaign against mass unemployment. At first these were staffed by TU activists working as volunteers.

Of course once they took government money, political activity was banned and these centres became little more than advice centres.(remind you of any thing?)

Those activist who refused to bend the knee were gradually filtered out by fair means of foul. Not incidentally by the government, but by the trade union leaders and their local gofers, who successfully argued if they were not removed they would jeopardise the very existence of the centres, and the jobs of those who worked in them, etc.

As soon as the militants were removed and the high point of opposing unemployment had passed, Gov. funding was stopped.

Mick

One of the lads from Thatcher house was telling ev...

2010-06-12T13:19:14.521+01:00

One of the lads from Thatcher house was telling everyone in the club the other evening,that he and Bob doh Brains were away on an intelligence officers meeting, Bob doh Brains was booking into the guest house, and looking around he noticed a sign on the wall,He said to the owner"Doh an what time do YOU get in by?" the confused owner replied"Well I am the owner I live here why do you ask ?" Bob doh Brains said"Doh that sign on the wall says guests have to be in before you" the owner replied "you thick git! it says Guests must be in before 1 am!!

Stupid f##kers I.d have taken the £5 million and t...

2010-06-11T20:09:03.788+01:00

Stupid f##kers I.d have taken the £5 million and then told the others to go f##k themselves

Marty, it was just a figure of speech. Just like s...

2010-06-11T19:46:19.218+01:00

Marty, it was just a figure of speech. Just like saying, we all thought michaelhenry had gone away you know.
I think you are judging the shinners very harshly, must be some fete keeping a track of all that money!
Five million was the price for Garvaghy Road and the people told them to sling it.

Not a religious person myself hon the opposite wou...

2010-06-11T19:22:32.356+01:00

Not a religious person myself hon the opposite would be true,but Kelly with a soul is like Adams with a conscience not a mission!!

so the saville inquiry into bloody sunday is to be...

2010-06-11T19:05:39.783+01:00

so the saville inquiry into bloody sunday is to be published next tuesday,we can expect more leaks before that,this will be a testing time for the familys,with the world cup in full swing and the worlds gaze elsewhere,the brits think that this is a good time to bury bad news,the only positive that i can see is that the brits are treating this like it is bad news for them, a long wait over a big bad lie.

Marty, I stand corrected Kelly is living off the M...

2010-06-11T18:10:03.688+01:00

Marty, I stand corrected Kelly is living off the Malone.
Last year they attacked a property and it was one he rented out.
I suppose if you are going to sell your soul you are entitled to ask for the going rate!

Now just a wee update Nuala the latest report is t...

2010-06-11T16:59:34.136+01:00

Now just a wee update Nuala the latest report is that the junior minister Mr Kelly no long longer resides with the riff raff up in provo heights, he has relocated to a much more respectable area ie, Old golf course Dunmurry, and one wee step away from the Malone rd,where one does find a much better class of gangster altogether

Marty the problem with attacking one of their home...

2010-06-11T16:12:20.168+01:00

Marty the problem with attacking one of their homes is actually pining down which one.
Gerry Kelly's house was attacked in North Belfast, proved a futile though considering he now lives with the rich and dare I say infamous in 'Provo Valley'

If the early leaked reports from the Saville inqu...

2010-06-11T14:00:55.517+01:00

If the early leaked reports from the Saville inquiry are true I hope the people of Derry and futher afield remember Mc Guinness,s statement in Powells book i.e. an apology re Bloody Sunday would have been enough,and act accordinly, if a S.D.L.P spokesperson had issued such a statememt you can bet your ass the psf,ers would have had rent a mob outside the house,wouldnt it be nice if he were to recieve a taste of their own medicine

The build up to the Report from the Saville Inquir...

2010-06-11T12:16:00.707+01:00

The build up to the Report from the Saville Inquiry on Tuesday has begun. According to today's Guardian it will give a verdict of unlawfull killing which will realy put the cat among the para pigeons. Also Radio 4 are broadcasting dramatised testimony from the Inquiry at 9 pm tonight (Thursday). Here is the link:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b008vbc0

Touche Ryan I understand your point I was just bei...

2010-06-11T07:02:07.448+01:00

Touche Ryan
I understand your point I was just being fair in my comment that it’s not exclusive to Sinn Fein. It would create an interesting debate as you point out the absolute power they have over the party.
On one hand it may be viewed as cohesive and for public appearance this would indicate strength and a clear objective of where they want the party to go.
Behind closed doors this may indicate the severe lack of direction and a weakness as sooner or later the leadership will have to change.
I don’t believe Mc Guinness and Adams have the same vision for the future of the party which maybe one reason they hold on. This is a risk and a gamble changing the leadership could well fracture the party as within the ranks there are those loyal to Mc Guinness and those loyal to Adams.
I have no idea who would be in the running to lead the party and considering the leadership has held the reins for so long I would think they are not confident in the subject either.

Dixie, I don’t think Sinn Féin held an ard fheis ...

2010-06-11T03:26:58.859+01:00

Dixie,

I don’t think Sinn Féin held an ard fheis in 2002. Powell’s words appear in a speech that Adams gave on 26 October 2002 to the inaugural conference of Sinn Féin elected representatives. Some of the words reappear in Adams’s presidential address to the 2003 ard fheis.

Tain Bo- Hume stepped down. Paisley finally steppe...

2010-06-11T03:06:29.492+01:00

Tain Bo- Hume stepped down. Paisley finally stepped down. Trimble gets booted. Robinson loses seat and will step down presumably. Other parties seem to have some degree of change. SF =Adams and McGuinness for life. New regime might bring fresh ideas, new strategies, creative thinking. Two men at the head of a party for 30 years is a big part of why Irish republicanism is where it is right now.

Ryan It is Irish Republican democracy at work havi...

2010-06-11T00:10:54.179+01:00

Ryan
It is Irish Republican democracy at work having the same leadership is not confined to Sinn Fein.
Unfortunately it is a trademark of Northern Irish politics.
Simply it is the same old soup adding any new ingredients would definitely upset the mix.
Though it is interesting to speculate what a change in the regime would bring.

Below is a list of Ard Fheis speeches given by Ada...

2010-06-10T20:46:43.631+01:00

Below is a list of Ard Fheis speeches given by Adams since 1994 until 2009...
http://www.sinnfein.ie/ard-fheis-presidential-speeches

Guess which one is missing...

Yes the 2002 speech which was partly drafted by Powell.

Powell's draft is in page 213 of his book.

This part is interesting and don't forget Powell wrote it...

"The IRA is never going to disband in response to ultimatums from the British Government or David Trimble. But I do believe the logic of the peace process puts us all in a different place. So if you ask me do I envisage a future without an IRA? The answer is obvious. The answer is yes."

Powell said in the book that he, "was absolutely amazed when he [Adams] delivered the speech on 26 October with the draft passage contained within it pretty much unchanged, saying the IRA would disappear."

He said he that he was then terrified someone other than Tony Blair would find out he had written it.

Shortly afterwards McGuinness declared, "My war is over."

Powell is not the only person to describe Adams as...

2010-06-10T13:51:23.672+01:00

Powell is not the only person to describe Adams as a bully, anyone who ever fell foul of him within the jurisdiction of the movement would bear testimony to that.

Wonder is the picture of Gerry and Ginger in the Brian Mor cartoon taken at Powell's stag do?