“Look Ella, I’m writing my blog…”
The personal blog of Dr. John H. Watson. And do read the comments. Think The Strand Magazine for the 21st Century. More clues? Try here. more »
If all else fails, hit it with a hammer…
Or, as I was tempted to title this post, “Floating in a tin can…” ANYhoo… Having eventually fixed the toilet in the US segment, last weekend [31 July] the crew of the International Space Station were forced to reduce power, and suspend scientific experiments, when half their cooling system suddenly shut down. Trouble arose on Saturday night [...] more »
Haf hirfelyn tesog* – well, perhaps not in Ebbw Vale..
It’s a climatic phenomenon as profound as El Nino – the National Eisteddfod in the first week of August draws rain clouds from around the globe. To be honest it hasn’t been that bad in Ebbw Vale this week and a cultural success with worthy winners in the three main literature competitions. more »
Featured essay:
Will you take a sausage roll First Minister?
That’s a line from radio drama Trouble and Shame written by David Ireland, produced by BBC Scotland and broadcast on Radio Ulster/Foyle last Monday night. Andy Hunter is a slightly unhinged Glaswegian. He comes over and kidnaps the First and deputy First Minsters, holding them hostage in his car. Not for financial gain, or terrorist [...] more »
Number of security alerts indicate heightened concern
[Updated below the fold] Yesterday’s security alert in east Belfast has been declared a hoax, and another in the Gobnascale area of Londonderry has ended after army bomb experts examined a ‘suspicious’ van following reports of masked men and shots being fired. And more army bomb experts are examining a suspicious object found near the home of a police officer in Kilkeel, [...] more »
NI Water: CEO crunched by dual responsibilities?
By demand, here’s a chart explaining the different primary relationships within and between DRD and NI Water. The complexity was introduced by the introdcution of the designation “Sub Accounting Officer” for the CEO, Mr McKenzie. It may or may not make things clearer for those of you who still care. This was on foot of [...] more »
“we can only conclude that publicity was indeed his agenda”
The reports of “ground-breaking talks” to be held in September between Sinn Féin and the 32 County Sovereign Movement appear to have been somewhat exaggerated… From the iol report The 32 County Sovereignty Movement later, however, played down the expectation of talks. It said it believed talks were to focus on issues surrounding dissident republican prisoners held [...] more »
NI Water: “As for the minister, he’s not commenting…”
I see Senator Mary White’s husband Padraic is taking on the role of Chair for NI Water. I hope he has a guarantee that he cannot be sacked for failing to address a problem he’s not been told about until he’s actually under investigation. Okay, back to the main story. There’s a nice piece by Martina Purdy [...] more »
Dying for ‘the patriot game.’
Medals belonging to a member of our family on my father’s side, surfaced when he died. The young soldier from the heart of South Armagh who fought for Britain spent the rest of his life in hospital. It was always said he had not recovered because he suffered from ‘shell shock.’ Had I been brought [...] more »
Integration – can Robinson and McGuinness be serious?
FMDFM’s consultation paper A Programme for Cohesion, Sharing and Integration reads like a plan for radical transforming action. Not a bit like “ motherhood and apple pie” if I may beg to differ from the esteemed Mark Devenport. On the face of it, the programme cuts across what most local parties stand for and the very dynamic of [...] more »
End this FOI game and give us everything (you reasonably can)!
Hugh Linehan in the Irish Times captures something essential about what Freedom of Information means for public institutions, and that in fact the kind of backwards and forwarding over the precise language of any request is missing the point. He mentions a fascinating paper written by Nat O’Connor for Tasc, in which he argues that [...] more »
ESO’s VLT provides first 3-D image of supernova remnant
As the BBC notes, having already observed the most massive star ever discovered ESO’s Very Large Telescope array [VLT] in Chile has now provided the first 3-D image of a supernova remnant. The first video is an artist’s impression of the material around recently exploded star, known as Supernova 1987A [SN 1987A]. Credit ESO/L. Calçada. From the ESO [...] more »
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes (after they retire)?
Nassim Taleb has a thought provoking blog on the subject of gamekeepers turned poachers at the Huffington Post. Specifically he deals with regulators who use their in-depth knowledge of government regulations to secure extremely well paid employment, helping firms sail as close to the regulatory wind as possible, upon leaving public service. At Davos last [...] more »
NI Water: DRD had form in procurement issues…
Now, I imagine that the former Chair of NI Water Chris Mellor is not too pleased with his mention in this week’s Private Eye. Not least because it links him and his fellow sacked non executive directors directly to issues around procurement at time when the health regulator Monitor, of which he is currently the [...] more »
NI Water: “The permanent secretary accidently hit the caps button”
The News Letter this morning picks up on our ‘scoop’, the email from Permanent Secretary Paul Priestly to the Auditor General, Kieran Donnelly, and asks DRD for clarification of what was going on with those BLOCK CAPs of his: “The permanent secretary did not make recommendations on behalf of the IRT. The permanent secretary was not [...] more »
Sometimes the ‘Vision’ statement isn’t quite the reality
Groundwork NI has a really nice sounding Vision statement and I’ll be returning to them in a lot more detail in coming weeks; Our Vision - the kind of world we want to live in Our vision is of a peaceful and inclusive society made up of vibrant, healthy and safe communities, which respect the [...] more »
Gender quotas
Over on the Anti-Room group blog, Amanda posts about female political representation and gender quotas. She notes: Now we hear news that Irish female politicians as a group (all be it a very small one in comparison to their male counterparts) are not in favour of introducing quotas to ensure a greater number of women [...] more »
“The bill is built on ignorance of the law, plain stupidity, arrogance, and worst of all, political expediency.”
In his Irish News column this week Brian Feeney is mostly correct in his response to the, DUP/Sinn Féin drafted, contentious “Public Assemblies, Parades and Protests Bill“. Where he’s wrong is in his assertion that “The problem to be confronted under the terms of the Hillsborough Agreement was Orange marches – and only 5 per cent [...] more »
“there was good news and bad news…”
The still-Northern Ireland Finance Minister, the DUP’s Sammy Wilson, won’t be making a formal statement to the Assembly until September, but he’s written to MLAs to inform them of the NI Executive’s decisions about this year’s additional cuts in departmental budgets. From the Belfast Telegraph report In a letter penned to MLAs he said: “The main issue [...] more »
‘Booby Trap’ Bomb Under Soldier’s Car Found This Morning
An “undercar booby trap bomb” has been discovered under the car of a soldier in Bangor, County Down this morning. The bomb fell out from underneath the car this morning and was discovered. 20 – 30 homes in the area were subsequently evacuated. This follows the bomb at the Strand Road Police Station in Derry [...] more »
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on Listenderry.org- A Rose by any Other Name 8 August 2010
- Culture Shock 6 August 2010
- CCTV Video Footage of the Strand Road Bomb 5 August 2010
