This & That: Take 19

Is he Serious?

The recent killing of Kieran McManus in West Belfast produced the following reaction from the area’s MP, Sinn Fein’s Paul Maskey: 'it’s hard to comprehend how somebody can come out and kill someone who is at their work.'

It is equally as hard to comprehend how an MP can come out and display a dead memory for the constituency he represents. What sort of armed campaign does he think his predecessor as MP directed?

This type of sentiment inserted into a criticism of the attack on Kieran McManus merely dilutes the integrity of the condemnation being made.

Killing people while they were at work was a frequent tactic of Sinn Fein’s major partner in the Republican Movement, the IRA. It killed people on the job, coming from church, attending funerals, visiting hospitals, drinking in bars and so on.

There is no death penalty in the North and so therefore no right to administer capital punishment. Had the PSNI carried out the killing of Kieran McManus we would be up in arms. Paul Maskey has every reason to feel angry. But as a Sinn Fein member, for him to wax ethical by claiming not to understand the work dimension of this particular attack is to suggest he has not only inherited Mr Adams’s seat but also his forgetfulness. This major memory lapse blanks out the fact that the template for the West Belfast attack came straight from the pages of the IRA’s manual for operations. Not to be killed while on the job was a right the IRA refused to recognise as many school bus drivers, milkmen and postmen will testify to.


It's a stick up

The friend who drew my attention to a certain motion at this weekend’s Sinn Fein ard fheis at first thought it was a wind up, maybe even hoped it was: that the cumann concerned might just be registering a tongue in cheek protest about the road travelled.

If it is not a wind up this cumann would seem to have a memory like the current West Belfast MP and has forgotten all about the cultural wars that were fought over the particular emblem in the years immediately after the emergence of the Provisionals. Bearing a sticky back lily was enough to get the wearer a kicking.

Perhaps the cumann’s attitude is that as the party has been ‘sticking’ it out for so long it might as well go the extra mile and have the Easter lily made without a pinhead, instead using a sticky back to ensure it has traction on the lapel. An emblem appropriate for the times.

Motion 49 from the Charles J. Kickham Cumann, Tipperary: This Ard Fheis proposes that the Easter Lily be made into a sticker.

The motion didn’t stick and was eventually withdrawn. The party’s principled leadership will stick to principles.


Freedom to Imagine

Religious intolerance was again on the march. Not too many of them but enough to provide the rest of us with a bit of entertainment. This time their religious opinion has been upset by the writer Colm Toibin whose play The Testament of Mary opened in the Walter Kerr Theatre, New York. Around 50 advocates of censorship protested outside claiming blasphemy, whatever that is, had been committed. At the heart of the play is a doubt on the part of Mary that her child Jesus is actually the son of god. A reasonable enough assumption for a playwright in the scientific age where virgin births don’t really cut the mustard.

That was enough to send the intolerant onto the streets protesting: ‘Stop blaspheming our lord now’ and ‘We offer God this public act of reparation and vehemently protest against the blasphemous play The Testament of Mary.' They launched into a homophobic rant against Toibin and some of the actors involved.

No doubt god listened and will act accordingly. Perhaps he will strike Toibin down with AIDS or have him drowned in a tsunami, or taken out by one of the many plagues the religious love to see those who don’t believe what they believe, struck down by. So we can expect to hear no more from Mr Toibin. Amen.

 It never takes much to get religious nutters going and this lot from the groups America Needs Fatima and The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP), have not broken the mould.

People have the right to protest although when they are screaming blasphemy as a means to censor writers who craft something that does not conform to their religious opinion, their protests should be treated with disdain. More worryingly is the inclusion of children in these protests. If they were there because the parent took them on a day out or had no child minding arrangements in place, that is something else but to give a child rosary beads, and tell it that the work being beseeched against is something called blasphemy which can get you burned forever and a day is brainwashing. It rather than the play should raise public concern.

Toibin said ‘the freedom to imagine and publish is one of the things we have all worked for over a number of centuries.’ Indeed. Sad that protecting it from mobs screaming ‘blasphemy’ still seems necessary in the world of today which artistically pushes against barriers rather than imposes them.

21 comments:

  1. AM-

    I will never get over the fact that
    many God lovers hate so much-

    The final and only judge [in my eyes ] for us humans will be God some day-
    Jesus saved a woman from a righteous stone throwing mob who said she was scorned and were about to kill her-[the Di Vinci code said Jesus married her ]

    I have no doubt that if the Son of God was about today that he would have been in that theatre watching Colm Tobins play and not outside with todays equivalent of those stone throwers-

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  2. NUM have few regrets either. Sort of makes it hard for Marty and Gerry to have a minutes silence at the ard fheis

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  3. The Big Liar was giving his address at the ard fheis and he told the sheep SF would out manners on the elite. The elite must be laughing knowing the way SF put manners on the PSNI. He can talk some crap

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  4. Only able to talk crap 'coz the media wont do its job. The peace is safe, lets have some OBJECTIVITY.

    I like the miners, they worked hard for generation after generation. Unlike SF and Thatcher.

    Are the shitters really going to hold a minutes silence? Actually...now I think of it... WTF am I surprised for lol.

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  5. See the Big Liar is sending love letters to Fianna Fail.

    If Labour pulled out of government with Fine Gael does anybody seriously think SF would not rush to fill the vaucuum? If you share power with the DUP you will share it with anybody.

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  6. That's what it says on the SF tin. 'We are the cukoo party- take yer political clothes and place' ...like they did with the SDLP.

    Who needs a political policy when you just muscle in on some other party's territory?

    They want an election in the south ASAP to try and replace this coalition with a SF/FF one which will do exactly what this coalition is currently doing.

    YAWN!

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  7. Including FG a cara power for powers sake...sin é

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  8. The Ard Fheis was a spectacle alright! McGuinness who oozes quease was not even upstaged by the Big Liar.
    Paul Maskey has zero credibility. He is where he is today because he is the brother of Alex not other reason. A puppet and sadly for him not even a good one, goes off script now again even though it is clearly written for him.
    Agree with Michaelhenry's take on Toibin. Always loved the sketch on Fr Ted about the church trying to force the parishioners out of watching a blue movie and their stance filled every seat in the place

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  9. 15 yrs into a piss-process SF want dialogue and co-operation with unionists...what was the GFA about lol

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  10. See the Big Liar is sending love letters to Fianna Fail.

    AM

    I saw that, he's against it but he would not rule it out.

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  11. Organised Rage,

    he would go into government with Fine Gael if the offer was made. And he would not change a thing. All this nonsense he spouts about a coalition of the Left. Whatever floats his boat is the determining factor. And the party membership to their shame woll roll over as they have rolled over on everything else

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  12. Slapdown for Contra Marty from a young republican doing the rounds


    Martin McGuinness has asked the Irish Republican Youth where were we when the war was being fought?

    We were watching our mothers being pulled from cars on border roads by the UDR or British Military Police; abused and threatened while the RUC shone their torches in our eyes and pointed their rifles at our heads.

    We were in Belfast bedrooms cowering in terror waiting for our fathers to come through the door after hearing on the radio Loyalists had just shot another man dead on his way home from work.

    We were on Derry bus runs to Long Kesh to visit fathers we never knew before Gaol and could only dream of after prison yet we shared memories as vividly as if they always existed outside our childish minds,

    We were round the kitchen tables when the adults cried for Loughgall and Clonoe or we were in front of the TV when our boys cried "we're down we're down" but their men butchered Diarmaid O'Niell in Hammersmith

    We were everywhere we had no choice to be Martin when you told the world the cutting edge of the IRA would bring us Freedom. We were the eyes that consumed your strategy then,

    And when you surrendered and thought you had left us scarred, broken, defeated, leaderless and lost, we occupied the barron grounds of rededication and in your absence became the men and women who will do what you could never do -

    Commit to Irish Freedom no matter what they say - even you

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  13. that

    Anthony that was a superb post ,one of the best I,ve read in many a long day










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  14. Anthony:

    "Slapdown for Contra Marty from a young republican doing the rounds"

    Sounds a very intelligent youth to me. Spoke nothing but the truth. (for everyone of those McGuinness asked that stupid question)

    That is the type of youth I was on about in a previous piece. Re Education!.

    SF have got to the stage now, they would wear nothing but Nappies and stand outside Leinster House awaiting to be greeted to share power, (WITH ANY PARTY) power crazy party as they are.
    as for talking to the Unionists, ffs, they talked to them plenty of times (supposedly secretive) well before the GFA talks had commenced and then put the plans in motion to go for power sharing in stormont, this was all manipulated in changes at the Ard-Fheis's. first to get into Leinster House, then Stormont.

    Michaelhenry:

    are you sure John Mc Girr didn't write that piece for you about GOD!. Oh, it was said she was a prostitute.

    Da vinci Code?, its a myth made up to sell books/movies.

    Now you are branding the youth who throw stones as attempting to murder with those same stones.

    Armoured Cars and Tanks and Guns!. Have you forgotten?.

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  15. Might McGuinness and co. not be better apologising for all the dead and jailed nationalists after 1986 and their wee split considering from that moment on it was all an ugly dirty waste of everyones time? You know what I mean, before they go vote-seeking by apologising to loyalists and brits...Just a thought.

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  16. Given that "our PSNI" (as Jim Gibney and Sinn Fein seem to have no problem calling them) only days ago smashed an 85 year old Tattyreagh woman's front door in round her, burst into and ransacked her home fully armed and clad with riot shields, faces covered by ski masks, and frightened the life clean out of her and the other occupant of the house, I'd say it's safe to assume Anthony that manners is the last thing that's been put on these terrorists. Gibney and the rest have no shame giving unfettered support to what remains the armed wing of unionism given what is an ongoing situation with these thugs. A few words of regret by a local councillor are not enough, Sinn Fein needs to reassess its position and begin to countenance owning up to the huge error it has made in endorsing British policing. Shame on Jim Gibney and shame on Sinn Fein for pretending it would be otherwise when they made those false promises to secure the support required for signing up to this policy. Right thinking people should wash their hands of these liars

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  17. itsjustmacker-

    How are you keeping kid-

    " Oh,it was said she was a prostitute "- thats no reason for her to be stoned to death-love not hurt and hate-

    " its a myth made up to sell books/movies " - what-like the bible's-

    " attempting to murder with those same stones " - thats what happened to girls and young women they used to be stoned to death- some are still being killed today for going to school-Jesus was against that carry on-why are you not-

    " Armoured Cars and Tanks and Guns!.Have you forgotten?. "- who could forget the brit sh1te- the tanks are gone and a lot of the guns are on R and R-and we now support those in the Armoured Cars-

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  18. Michael...Tell the world something we don't know.

    who could forget the brit sh1te- the tanks are gone and a lot of the guns are on R and R-and we now support those in the Armoured Cars-

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  19. You's now support those in the armoured cars is dead right Michael. Whatever happened to putting manners on them?

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  20. michaelhenry:

    "How are you keeping kid-"

    LOL, that made me laugh, but that's all what made me laugh.

    "lot of the guns are on R and R-and we now support those in the Armoured Cars-"

    Sure I know all about the R and R guns, that's those which weren't sold off (destroyed) for a price, and, that price was not Freedom, You lot have a lot to answer for, you's don't give to hoots who is lifted, and, who is interned, you's will do anything for the Queens Shilling, or, the Euro.

    As Sean Bres stated above, an 85 year old woman having her door knocked in around her, are you also proud of that?.

    I feel like puking up all over you lot, and, that's just a minor issue, Because I would love just to eradicate the lot of you, but who knows, will time not tell.

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