Fairytale of Belfast – Merry Christmas Northern Ireland Style

Fairytale of Belfast - Ireland's Second City


Citizens of Belfast enjoy the Christmas festivities in Belfast City Hall Grounds. Meanwhile at the rear of City Hall, loyalists protest the City Council debate to changing the policy of flying the Union flag 365, 24/7. Belfast City Council tonight voted to fly the flag only on designated days, on a similar schedule to government buildings at the Northern Ireland Assembly, at Stormont Castle.

© Joe ÓNéill

Loyalists protest Belfast City Hall

© Joe ÓNéill

Continental Market Belfast City Hall

Northern Ireland Abortion Laws – Reform Calls

Protest at Belfast City Hall last night, calling for legislation to provide for safe and legal Abortion laws in Northern Ireland. 

In 2012, the Universal Periodic Review of UK’s human rights record, requested that it “ensure by legislative and other measures that women in Northern Ireland are entitled to safe and legal abortion on equal basis with women living in other parts of the United Kingdom.” (Para 110.77)

© Joe ÓNéill

Anna Lo MLA, Northern Ireland Assembly

@ Pro- choice rally at Belfast City Hall.

© Joe ÓNéill

Regional secretary of the trade union UNISON, Patricia McKeown

@ Pro- choice rally at Belfast City Hall.

“Big Ship” visitor to Belfast, the “Bounty” sinks in Hurricane Sandy

© Copyright Joe ÓNéill
The Bounty, in Belfast Harbour with the Titanic launch site and the Harland and Wolff crane Goliath, in the background. 

HMS Bounty, the replica ship built in 1962 for the movie "Mutiny on the Bounty", staring Marlon Brando, has sunk off the North Carolina Coast this morning. It also featured in the movie, “Pirates of the Caribbean” staring Johnny Depp. The ship, on route from Canada to Florida got into difficulties while trying to skirt around Hurricane Sandy which has caused major disruption on the East Coast of the United States. It is reported that two crew members are missing.

The Bounty was part of the flotilla of “Big Ships” which visited Belfast in 2009.

Ask Not What ...

The World of Odd Bodkins.

AKA Dan ÓNéill. 

ODD BODKINS ON Soñar. Vol. 3 No.4 

Ask Not What ...


























  
Select image for larger viewing.

 





 



© Copyright Dan ÓNéill 

Hugh Daniel O'Neill

Thirty years ago Hugh Daniel O’Neill was described as, “an innovator, a creator and a professional troublemaker” in a Forward to a collection of Odd Bodkins.

For seven years his Odd Bodkins cartoons ran daily in The San Francisco Chronicle and in 350 other newspapers throughout the world. At its peak, the strip had a readership of fifty million.

When he was hired at age 21 —the youngest cartoonist ever hired by a national syndicate— he was given three simple rules: no religion, no politics and no sex in the strip. He did his best to comply — he kept sex out of Odd Bodkins.
http://www.danoneillcomics.com
http://origsix.com/index.asp

Ireland’s Banking Collapse – A Watergate Moment?

 

 

Published today on thejournal.ie

 

After requests by the Journal, and other interested parties, through the Freedom of Information Act, for the release of correspondence by former Irish Minister for Finance, the late Brian Lenihan, leading up to Ireland's request for assistance from the EU and the IMF.

The first letter is to:

Olli Rehn
Commissioner on Economic and Monetary Affairs
European Commission

Domonic Strauss-Kahn
Managing Director
IMF

Jean-Claude Trichet
President
European Central Bank

the first letter begins:

"On behalf of the Irish authorities, I am writing to formally apply for financial assistance in the context of a joint EU-IMF programme." ...

Also, a letter to Jean-Claude Trichet, by the Minister, outlining some of the reasons why Ireland would require that assistance.

Abortion debate Intensifies in Ireland.

A major British charity, Marie Stopes International, which offers advice and counselling on sexual and reproductive health, including abortion, opened a centre in Belfast today. The charity, based in over 40 countries with some 400 clinics worldwide is the only organisation in Ireland north or south which offers abortion services.

As part of the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland is not covered by the 1967 Abortion Act of the Westminster Parliament. Abortion in Northern Ireland is permitted, if the health of the mother is endangered, or if her mental health would suffer by continuing the pregnancy to full term.

Abortion in the south of Ireland remains illegal. Thousands of women from Ireland, north and south, travel to England every year to avail of abortion services.

Several hundred people gathered outside the Marie Stopes Clinic in downtown Belfast today to protest the opening of the centre.

The Marie Stopes organisation has requested pro choice supporters not to hold any counter demonstrations at the centre.

 © Copyright Joe ÓNéill
Marie Stopes Protest

I thought I would add this for balance.
This was not taken at this morning's protest.

The Ministerial Code for Dummies

The Ministerial Code for Dummies 

 

The Business Committee of the Northern Ireland Assembly yesterday debated a motion to exclude the Minister for Social Development, Nelson McCausland, from holding office for a period of three months.

The motion was proposed by the Social Democratic and Labour Party and supported by Sinn Féin.

The short motion stated: 

That this Assembly, in accordance with section 30 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, resolves that the Minister for Social Development no longer enjoys the confidence of the Assembly and that he be excluded from holding office as a Minister or junior Minister for a period of three months because he failed to observe the terms of paragraphs (cd) and (g) of the Pledge of Office and the sixth paragraph of the ministerial code of conduct, in that he failed to promote good community relations and did not condemn actions which were contrary to the rule of law in his public response on 25 August 2012 to the sectarian behaviour of the Young Conway Volunteers flute band on 12 July 2012 and their illegal violations of a Parades Commission determination. 

The fundamental weakness in this resolution is; that the Ministerial Code which is provided for under the Northern Ireland Act 1998 ; has no accompanying clauses attached; which provide for sanctions against violations of the code.

It is not very often that I find myself in agreement with Jim Allister about anything, but his contribution to the debate is worth noting.

 Mr Allister:” Even if there were merit in the motion and it were carried by a majority in this House, the reality is that it has no effect.  That, therefore, points up a greater issue than the subject of the debate.  It points up the fact that this House effectively has no control over some Ministers, whatever they do.  That is because, although there is a ministerial code and mechanisms for dealing with complaints of alleged breaches under that code, no mechanism exists that is foolproof and effective to deliver penalty for any breach of the ministerial code by a Minister from either of the two largest parties.  Under the arrangements of the 1998 Act, the two largest parties have a veto on any motion of censure even if it carries majority support in the House.  That is why this is a pointless exercise and why it points up a greater problem that needs to be addressed.

If anything positive and worthwhile comes out of this debate, it should be that that difficulty in the 1998 legislation is addressed.  Of course, the SDLP was the craftsman of that legislation, and it honed, drafted and helped to prepare it and very much has ownership of it.  However, in today's terms, a veto was written in for the DUP and Sinn Féin where any censure of their Ministers was concerned.  Yes, an SDLP Minister could be censured.  Yes, an Ulster Unionist Minister could be censured and removed from office by the House, because they do not have a political voting payroll that is sufficient to block such a motion or a veto in a cross-community vote.  However, the reality is that a Sinn Féin or DUP Minister is secure from that.  That is wrong, just as the motion, in its focus, is wrong.” 

Question put.

The Assembly divided:

Ayes 47; Noes 49.

AYES

NATIONALIST:
Mr Attwood, Mr Boylan, Mr D Bradley, Mr Brady, Mr Byrne, Mr Dallat, Mr Durkan, Mr Eastwood, Ms Fearon, Mr Flanagan, Mr Hazzard, Mrs D Kelly, Mr G Kelly, Mr Lynch, Mr McAleer, Mr F McCann, Mr McCartney, Ms McCorley, Mr McDevitt, Dr McDonnell, Mr McElduff, Ms McGahan, Mr McGlone, Mr McKay, Mrs McKevitt, Ms Maeve McLaughlin, Mr Mitchel McLaughlin, Mr McMullan, Mr A Maginness, Mr Maskey, Mr Molloy, Mr Ó hOisín, Mr P Ramsey, Ms S Ramsey, Mr Rogers, Ms Ruane, Mr Sheehan.

UNIONIST:
Mr McClarty.

OTHER:
Mr Agnew, Mrs Cochrane, Mr Dickson, Dr Farry, Mr Ford, Ms Lo, Mr Lunn, Mr Lyttle, Mr McCarthy.

Tellers for the Ayes: Mr Lynch and Mrs McKevitt.

NOES

UNIONIST:
Mr Allister, Mr Anderson, Mr Beggs, Mr Bell, Ms P Bradley, Ms Brown, Mr Buchanan, Mr Campbell, Mr Clarke, Mr Copeland, Mr Craig, Mr Cree, Mrs Dobson, Mr Douglas, Mr Dunne, Mr Easton, Mr Elliott, Mr Frew, Mr Gardiner, Mr Girvan, Mr Givan, Mrs Hale, Mr Hamilton, Mr Hilditch, Mr Humphrey, Mr Hussey, Mr Irwin, Mr Kennedy, Mr Kinahan, Mr McCausland, Mr I McCrea, Mr McGimpsey, Mr D McIlveen, Miss M McIlveen, Mr McNarry, Mr McQuillan, Lord Morrow, Mr Moutray, Mr Nesbitt, Mr Newton, Mrs Overend, Mr Poots, Mr G Robinson, Mr P Robinson, Mr Storey, Mr Swann, Mr Weir, Mr Wells, Mr Wilson.

Tellers for the Noes: Ms P Bradley and Mr Humphrey.

Total Votes         96     Total Ayes          47     [49.0%]

Nationalist Votes         37     Nationalist Ayes 37     [100.0%]

Unionist Votes   50     Unionist Ayes     1       [2.0%]

Other Votes        9       Other Ayes         9       [100.0%]

Question accordingly negatived (cross-community vote).

Meanwhile, back in the real world, the BBC Northern Ireland reports today that … “research, conducted by commercial property agency Lisney, said 23% - or almost one in four shops in Belfast - are now lying vacant.”  

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-19700759