sluggerotoole--2020-06-09--“The Referee’s a w*nk*r…”

“The Referee’s a w*nk*r…”

Anyone with an interest in soccer in these islands will probably be familiar with this chant .
It is part of what is often referred to as – football culture .
It is now normalised that , what otherwise is deemed to be grossly offensive language , can be audible in living rooms across these islands on a Sunday afternoon – and yet no one seems to actually hear it .
Or if they do hear it , no one seems to be concerned that the person charged with adjudicating the sporting entertainment they enjoy should be so abused by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Being much more of a rugby fan than a soccer fan myself , it is quite rare for me to attend a soccer game – but back in the day ( January 2020 ) , when crowds were permitted to attend football matches in Britain , I ventured in ( with a friend ) to see an English Championship match .
For those unfamiliar with the structure of the English game , the Championship is the level below the Premier League .
Being the Championship – it was a reasonable game in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , on what was a very cold evening and on my way back to my seat with a warming cup of coffee , I noticed a sign which encouraged fans to text the seat number of any fans they observed involved in ‘ offensive ’ behaviour .
This seemed like a simple , practical initiative to stamp out those unsavoury ( and sometimes illegal ) elements of soccer culture which have blighted the sport for decades .
The main target of this and similar initiatives is undoubtedly racism and the soccer authorities have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Back in my seat , with the second half underway , I reflected that the atmosphere was in general very friendly – although the visiting fans who are always corralled in a separate area for their own safety – were at the opposite end of the ground .
So I might have missed any of the traditional threats of violence which may have been directed against them .
Then , with the game in the balance the referee made what was deemed by the home supporters to be a controversial and unwelcome decision @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what seemed like most of the people in the stand , began that chant ( see title ) .
This was a clear case of offensive behaviour .
No need for seat numbers I thought , as most of the fans in the stand will be captured on CCTV – I will report it to the club .
But my – no sh !
t Sherlock – moment , that the chanting by fans , that the referee was a wanker , was clearly offensive , didn ’ t turn out to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thought it was .
The club , in responding to my email which outlined my views on the matter , argued that although the individuals could be identified , it was not for them to say if the chanting was offensive .
It was , they suggested , a matter for the referee himself and they pointed out they encourage respect for the match officials .
In my reply , I respectfully disagreed with the club ’ s conclusions , but decided I would check with the relevant referees organisations if they considered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ my surprise , one of the referees organisations adopted a similar position to that of the club , suggesting that it was a matter for the individual referee as to whether they determined it to be offensive .
In some regards , it seems a strange position for a referees organisation to adopt , given that their members are regularly and publicly being chanted at with language which most people would view as offensive and which would not be acceptable in many , if any , other workplaces . ]
Referees , in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as I understand it ) do not have the same rights as those that cover employees under British employment law .
Another referees organisation I contacted , suggested it was the responsibility of the club to deal with the matter and offered no further opinion as to whether they deemed the chant offensive .
On reflection , of course , there may well be legal , practical and financial considerations for clubs and referees organisations should it agree that such a chant is “ offensive ” and it is quite the philosophical poser @ @ @ @ @ @ @ received – or both .
Perhaps the embarrassing nature of the chant means that the awkwardness that may surround it being discussed , has insulated it somewhat from criticism ?
Or maybe I ’ m just letting my experience of attending rugby matches unreasonably colour my expectations of the standard of behaviour to be expected at soccer matches ?
But , I can ’ t help feeling that at some point in the not too distant future – that many people may look back and reflect with some amazement as to how such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ intimidate its own officials , continued for so long to be an acceptable part of soccer culture and how soccer players were expected to have respect for the match officials during the game whilst everyone in the ground listened to the outrageous abuse being directed at the referee .
And perhaps be even more amazed that nobody seemed to want to do anything ( serious ) about it .
The beautiful game ?
Not from where I ’ m sitting .
Photo by planet_fox is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA

Anyone with an interest in soccer in these islands will probably be familiar with this chant. It is part of what is often referred to as – football culture. It is now so normalised that, what otherwise is deemed to be grossly offensive language, can be audible in living rooms across these islands on a Sunday afternoon – and yet no one seems to actually hear it.
Or if they do hear it, no one seems to be concerned that the person charged with adjudicating the sporting entertainment they enjoy should be so abused by thousands of those present at the event.
Being much more of a rugby fan than a soccer fan myself, it is quite rare for me to attend a soccer game – but back in the day (January 2020), when crowds were permitted to attend football matches in Britain, I ventured in (with a friend) to see an English Championship match. For those unfamiliar with the structure of the English game, the Championship is the level below the Premier League.
Being the Championship – it was a reasonable game in terms of quality.
At half time, on what was a very cold evening and on my way back to my seat with a warming cup of coffee, I noticed a sign which encouraged fans to text the seat number of any fans they observed involved in ‘offensive’ behaviour.
This seemed like a simple, practical initiative to stamp out those unsavoury (and sometimes illegal) elements of soccer culture which have blighted the sport for decades. The main target of this and similar initiatives is undoubtedly racism and the soccer authorities have had considerable success in this regard.
Back in my seat, with the second half underway, I reflected that the atmosphere was in general very friendly – although the visiting fans who are always corralled in a separate area for their own safety – were at the opposite end of the ground. So I might have missed any of the traditional threats of violence which may have been directed against them.
Then, with the game in the balance the referee made what was deemed by the home supporters to be a controversial and unwelcome decision. Immediately, to my right, what seemed like most of the people in the stand, began that chant (see title).
This was a clear case of offensive behaviour. No need for seat numbers I thought, as most of the fans in the stand will be captured on CCTV – I will report it to the club.
But my – no sh!t Sherlock – moment, that the chanting by fans, that the referee was a wanker, was clearly offensive, didn’t turn out to be quite the open and shut case I thought it was.
The club, in responding to my email which outlined my views on the matter, argued that although the individuals could be identified, it was not for them to say if the chanting was offensive. It was, they suggested, a matter for the referee himself and they pointed out they encourage respect for the match officials.
In my reply, I respectfully disagreed with the club’s conclusions, but decided I would check with the relevant referees organisations if they considered the chant to be offensive.
To my surprise, one of the referees organisations adopted a similar position to that of the club, suggesting that it was a matter for the individual referee as to whether they determined it to be offensive. In some regards, it seems a strange position for a referees organisation to adopt, given that their members are regularly and publicly being chanted at with language which most people would view as offensive and which would not be acceptable in many, if any, other workplaces.
Referees, in the English professional game being self-employed (as I understand it) do not have the same rights as those that cover employees under British employment law.
Another referees organisation I contacted, suggested it was the responsibility of the club to deal with the matter and offered no further opinion as to whether they deemed the chant offensive.
On reflection, of course, there may well be legal, practical and financial considerations for clubs and referees organisations should it agree that such a chant is “offensive” and it is quite the philosophical poser as to whether offence is given or received – or both.
Perhaps the embarrassing nature of the chant means that the awkwardness that may surround it being discussed, has insulated it somewhat from criticism? Or maybe I’m just letting my experience of attending rugby matches unreasonably colour my expectations of the standard of behaviour to be expected at soccer matches?
Perhaps.
But, I can’t help feeling that at some point in the not too distant future – that many people may look back and reflect with some amazement as to how such a chant, designed to bully and intimidate its own officials, continued for so long to be an acceptable part of soccer culture and how soccer players were expected to have respect for the match officials during the game whilst everyone in the ground listened to the outrageous abuse being directed at the referee.
And perhaps be even more amazed that nobody seemed to want to do anything (serious) about it. The beautiful game? Not from where I’m sitting.
Photo by planet_fox is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA


sluggerotoole--2020-06-09--Removing statues is a revolutionary gesture. Is that what’s needed?

Queen Victoria being removed from the front of the Dail Fergus on Monday nailed it .
In the current atmosphere the statue of Oliver Cromwell speaks for itself .
Perched in front of Westminster Hall the Victorians who erected it were celebrating the victory of Parliament over the royal tyrant Charles 1 .
But even leaving aside the massacres of Drogheda and Wexford , this distorts Cromwell ’ s record .
He sent the troops in to expel Parliament not once but twice and instead ruled by decree as Lord Protector .
By God ’ s Will , naturally .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ commemorated .
30 years after Cromwell ’ s death , it was Parliament that offered King Billy the throne .
Parliament held the whip hand from then on .
Real history is a lot more precise than statues .
Legacy is something else entirely ; how we imagine history to suit our vision of the present .
Demands have been revived to topple the tiny statue of benefactor arch imperialist Cecil Rhodes from Oriel College Oxford .
The 2016 campaign was inevitably led by a Rhodes scholar .
London mayor Sadiq Khan has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ review the city ’ s official statuary .
The targets stretch beyond slavery to racism , the generic term that damns in a word the entire history of the British Empire .
The mayor admitted this could include the names of “ certain institutions ” , but added that the review would also consider whether that amounted to “ cleansing the reputation ” of bodies such as the Tate galleries and Guy ’ s Hospital , whose founders profited from slave labour .
Good luck with that .
Trafalgar Square stripped bare of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ toppled from his perch as a slave owner .
Moving on , Clive of India removed from the top of Clive Steps in Charles 11 Street .
Yep , Churchill was racist .
In this company only Abraham Lincoln and Nelson Mandela are safe .
But as Prof Richard Toye of Exeter University writes : Churchill was a white supremacist but he did not believe that the interests of people of colour were of no account at all even if , for example , he regarded the Kikuyu people in Kenya as childlike @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in his lengthy Liberal phase some of his critics regarded him as too much of a Radical ( in the left-wing sense ) and even as a danger to the Empire .
And Churchill ’ s racial views , however abhorrent , deserve to be distinguished clearly from those of the Nazis .
He made some appalling comments about Indians at the time of the Bengal famine and could have acted quicker to save lives , but it is not true that he deliberately engineered starvation as an act of genocide .
His @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lead us to ignore any aspect of his opinions , but if his war leadership was not perfect it is hard to think of anyone else available who could have done the job better .
This is the sight of a statue being reinstalled not removed – John Lawrence Viceroy of India being transferred from the old school buildings on the west bank to its new site in the Waterside in Derry .
He and his brother were pupils at the original school on Lawrence Hill .
Both suppressed the Indian Mutiny in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lucknow .
John recaptured Dehli the seat of the uprising .
He is credited with trying to moderate the fierce reprisals that followed .
However keen Derry folk always are to commemorate their own , are the Lawrences best left forgotten ?
What about the most prominent journalistic apologist for the Confederacy during the US Civil War , our very own John Mitchel—firmly ensconced in the Deep South after his Young Ireland escapades , his transportation to Australia , and his daring escape .
Mitchel , subject of much hagiographical coverage—some of it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ worse off than black slaves in the southern states .
While mid-19th century Irish tenant farmers , cottiers and farm labourers were hardly comfortable ( a million of them died of starvation and disease between 1845-50 and another million were forced to emigrate ) at least their landlords couldn ’ t whip them and sell their children down the river .
Despite his steadfast defence of the institution of slavery—which helped earn him a sojourn in a post-war Union jail ( he opted not to describe the experience in Jail Journal II ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mitchel in his native Newry in County Down .
Should Sinn Fein ’ s Mitchel McLaughlin although retired , change his name ?
Alex Massie makes sure the Scots get a look in In Edinburgh , campaigners have for some time focused on the column and statue in St Andrew Square memorialising Henry Dundas , 1st Viscount Melville and the most significant figure in Scottish public life in the late 18th century .
The greatest charge against Dundas is that he single-handedly delayed the abolition of the slave trade by 15 years .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ it might be more profitable to remember it .
A Museum of Empire is long overdue .
Glasgow , the city that for so long revelled in being the empire ’ s second city , seems a fitting base .
Nigel Biggar Regius professor of moral and pastoral theology , University of Oxford has form as a critic of platforming .
Undaunted he enters the lists .
Most of us are a moral mixture of good and bad .
Which aspect other people focus on is a matter of choice .
Christopher Codrington @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a theological college in Barbados .
Yet contemporary Barbadians working and studying at Codrington College , many of them direct descendants of slaves , apparently feel no need to expunge his name .
Why , then , did Sunday ’ s anti-racist protesters , most of them with far weaker ties to historic slavery , choose to topple Colston .
Among the reasons surely lies the political power of adopted victimhood .
Charles Grant the EU analyst talks a lot of sense on this subject too It is silly to judge people of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no pre-19th century leader in any country had the ‘ correct ’ views on race , class , gender , democracy .
Let us study the past to understand why people thought what they did .
Last word from south of the border , from DCU academic Eoin O ’ Malley De Valera , who has a reasonable claim to be a leading anti-colonialist opposed the removal of imperial statues on the grounds that they had historical interest .
He was under pressure from his party to remove this one from Leinster House @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who did .
John Costello the taoiseach who declared the Republic .

Queen Victoria being removed from the front of the Dail
Fergus on Monday nailed it. In the current atmosphere the statue of Oliver Cromwell speaks for itself. Perched in front of Westminster Hall the Victorians who erected it were celebrating the victory of Parliament over the royal tyrant Charles 1. But even leaving aside the massacres of Drogheda and Wexford, this distorts Cromwell’s record. He sent the troops in to expel Parliament not once but twice and instead ruled by decree as Lord Protector. By God’s Will, naturally. Yet part of his legacy is rightly commemorated. 30 years after Cromwell’s death, it was Parliament that offered King Billy the throne. Parliament held the whip hand from then on. Real history is a lot more precise than statues. Legacy is something else entirely; how we imagine history to suit our vision of the present.
Demands have been revived to topple the tiny statue of benefactor arch imperialist Cecil Rhodes from Oriel College Oxford. The 2016 campaign was inevitably led by a Rhodes scholar.
London mayor Sadiq Khan has rushed to set up a commission to review the city’s official statuary. The targets stretch beyond slavery to racism, the generic term that damns in a word the entire history of the British Empire.
The mayor admitted this could include the names of “certain institutions”, but added that the review would also consider whether that amounted to “cleansing the reputation” of bodies such as the Tate galleries and Guy’s Hospital, whose founders profited from slave labour.
Good luck with that. Trafalgar Square stripped bare of its Indian Mutiny generals, even Nelson toppled from his perch as a slave owner. Moving on, Clive of India removed from the top of Clive Steps in Charles 11 Street.
Then round to Parliament Square.
Yep, Churchill was racist. In this company only Abraham Lincoln and Nelson Mandela are safe. But as Prof Richard Toye of Exeter University writes:
Churchill was a white supremacist but he did not believe that the interests of people of colour were of no account at all even if, for example, he regarded the Kikuyu people in Kenya as childlike and requiring instruction. Indeed, early in his lengthy Liberal phase some of his critics regarded him as too much of a Radical (in the left-wing sense) and even as a danger to the Empire.
And Churchill’s racial views, however abhorrent, deserve to be distinguished clearly from those of the Nazis. He made some appalling comments about Indians at the time of the Bengal famine and could have acted quicker to save lives, but it is not true that he deliberately engineered starvation as an act of genocide. His leadership against the Hitler regime should not lead us to ignore any aspect of his opinions, but if his war leadership was not perfect it is hard to think of anyone else available who could have done the job better.
This is the sight of a statue being reinstalled not removed – John Lawrence Viceroy of India being transferred from the old school buildings on the west bank to its new site in the Waterside in Derry. He and his brother were pupils at the original school on Lawrence Hill. Both suppressed the Indian Mutiny in 1857, Henry dying in the siege Lucknow. John recaptured Dehli the seat of the uprising. He is credited with trying to moderate the fierce reprisals that followed. However keen Derry folk always are to commemorate their own, are the Lawrences best left forgotten?
What stirs in Newry?
What about the most prominent journalistic apologist for the Confederacy during the US Civil War, our very own John Mitchel—firmly ensconced in the Deep South after his Young Ireland escapades, his transportation to Australia, and his daring escape. Mitchel, subject of much hagiographical coverage—some of it auto-hagiographical—once claimed that the Irish peasantry were worse off than black slaves in the southern states. While mid-19th century Irish tenant farmers, cottiers and farm labourers were hardly comfortable (a million of them died of starvation and disease between 1845-50 and another million were forced to emigrate) at least their landlords couldn’t whip them and sell their children down the river. Despite his steadfast defence of the institution of slavery—which helped earn him a sojourn in a post-war Union jail (he opted not to describe the experience in Jail Journal II) there’s a fine statue of Mitchel in his native Newry in County Down.
Should Sinn Fein’s Mitchel McLaughlin although retired, change his name?
Alex Massie makes sure the Scots get a look in
In Edinburgh, campaigners have for some time focused on the column and statue in St Andrew Square memorialising Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville and the most significant figure in Scottish public life in the late 18th century. The greatest charge against Dundas is that he single-handedly delayed the abolition of the slave trade by 15 years. .. Rather than forget the past, it might be more profitable to remember it. A Museum of Empire is long overdue. Glasgow, the city that for so long revelled in being the empire’s second city, seems a fitting base.
Nigel Biggar Regius professor of moral and pastoral theology, University of Oxford has form as a critic of platforming. Undaunted he enters the lists .
Most of us are a moral mixture of good and bad. Which aspect other people focus on is a matter of choice. Christopher Codrington was also a slave-owner, who founded a theological college in Barbados. Yet contemporary Barbadians working and studying at Codrington College, many of them direct descendants of slaves, apparently feel no need to expunge his name. Why, then, did Sunday’s anti-racist protesters, most of them with far weaker ties to historic slavery, choose to topple Colston . Among the reasons surely lies the political power of adopted victimhood.
Charles Grant the EU analyst talks a lot of sense on this subject too
It is silly to judge people of past centuries by contemporary standards. Virtually no pre-19th century leader in any country had the ‘correct’ views on race, class, gender, democracy. Let us study the past to understand why people thought what they did.
Last word from south of the border, from DCU academic Eoin O’ Malley
De Valera, who has a reasonable claim to be a leading anti-colonialist opposed the removal of imperial statues on the grounds that they had historical interest. He was under pressure from his party to remove this one from Leinster House. It was a Fine Gael Taoiseach who did.
John Costello the taoiseach who declared the Republic.


sluggerotoole--2020-06-09--The new normal is an opportunity for Northern Ireland’s centre ground

The centre ground in Northern Ireland has been a tough road for the last fifteen years .
Rightly or wrongly , the truth is that our own version of it has been a somewhat half-hearted attempt to be brave enough to say that elections , as opposed to a border poll if and when there is one , need not necessarily be about securing the most nationalist or unionist votes .
Recently , Irish economist David McWilliams when describing how Churchill had won the war but lost the subsequent election said : “ Churchill went into the election as a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ promising that things would go back to the way they were .
But the people had moved on.
” Like history has shown us in the aftermath of an event of truly global significance , things will not go back to the way they were .
This is the opportunity for the smaller political parties in Northern Ireland .
A return to normal will be in the interests of our two dominant parties because that ’ s the environment in which they ’ ve had a grip on the political marketplace .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ parties can ride the crest of that wave , they ’ re back at the races .
There are many commentators who say Northern Ireland isn ’ t capable of having a dominant centre ground whilst our constitutional position remains contested .
But this is simply untrue .
My evidence ?
Well , for example , more people are registered to vote , but don ’ t vote , than vote for Sinn Fein and the DUP combined .
Even accepting there will never be 100 % turnout at an election , isn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plausible to say that none of the parties who claim to occupy our centre ground , apart from arguably Alliance of late , have been able to give these people a reason to vote as to say the political space doesn ’ t exist at all ?
Perhaps they ’ ve simply not had the right message , policies or campaigning prowess to reach them .
To take another example , if a party like the SDLP could secure 5 % of non-voters , that ’ s enough for six additional Assembly seats @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 4 % of transfers of Unionist voters to , say , 10 % , it would be a different ball game altogether .
The point is that the centre ground in Northern Ireland , as with other parts of Europe and the rest of the world , either overcomplicates elections , is clouded by self-righteousness and self-entitlement or simply isn ’ t very good at the fundamentals of organising a campaign .
An election is just like a market – there are buyers and sellers .
The sellers who do well know what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ customers are .
But the political marketplace in Northern Ireland for anyone else other than the big two parties has been difficult .
The others have been unsure of their product , have been relatively poor with their marketing and potential buyers are equally unsure of what they want .
Post-COVID and in the “ new normal ” , however , this market might change .
A global pandemic that has caused a scale of tragedy , disruption and recession , like no other in our lifetimes , might mean the buyers will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other than strength and clarity on Irish and British constitution .
For example , they may want a push towards a more wellbeing-based economy or a party willing to be brave and use this opportunity to completely reform post-primary selection after the faff of this year .
To do this , the SDLP , Alliance , the UUP and the Greens will need to be brave .
They ’ ll need to : finally accept that , to varying degrees , they ’ ve been offering the wrong product to the wrong customers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ candidates ; develop better campaigning and organisational expertise ; and offer something new and different that will be relevant and attractive in the new normal .
The space for new ideas and new vision will be there , the question is whether anyone is willing to leave their comfort zone to fill it .
Photo by pixel2013 is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA

The centre ground in Northern Ireland has been a tough road for the last fifteen years. Rightly or wrongly, the truth is that our own version of it has been a somewhat half-hearted attempt to be brave enough to say that elections, as opposed to a border poll if and when there is one, need not necessarily be about securing the most nationalist or unionist votes.
Recently, Irish economist David McWilliams when describing how Churchill had won the war but lost the subsequent election said: “Churchill went into the election as a the General fighting the last war and promising that things would go back to the way they were. But the people had moved on.”
Like history has shown us in the aftermath of an event of truly global significance, things will not go back to the way they were. This is the opportunity for the smaller political parties in Northern Ireland. A return to normal will be in the interests of our two dominant parties because that’s the environment in which they’ve had a grip on the political marketplace. But if history repeats itself and the smaller parties can ride the crest of that wave, they’re back at the races.
There are many commentators who say Northern Ireland isn’t capable of having a dominant centre ground whilst our constitutional position remains contested. But this is simply untrue. My evidence? Well, for example, more people are registered to vote, but don’t vote, than vote for Sinn Fein and the DUP combined.
Even accepting there will never be 100% turnout at an election, isn’t it at least just as plausible to say that none of the parties who claim to occupy our centre ground, apart from arguably Alliance of late, have been able to give these people a reason to vote as to say the political space doesn’t exist at all? Perhaps they’ve simply not had the right message, policies or campaigning prowess to reach them. To take another example, if a party like the SDLP could secure 5% of non-voters, that’s enough for six additional Assembly seats. If it could move from securing 4% of transfers of Unionist voters to, say, 10%, it would be a different ball game altogether.
The point is that the centre ground in Northern Ireland, as with other parts of Europe and the rest of the world, either overcomplicates elections, is clouded by self-righteousness and self-entitlement or simply isn’t very good at the fundamentals of organising a campaign.
An election is just like a market – there are buyers and sellers. The sellers who do well know what their product is and know who their customers are. But the political marketplace in Northern Ireland for anyone else other than the big two parties has been difficult. The others have been unsure of their product, have been relatively poor with their marketing and potential buyers are equally unsure of what they want.
Post-COVID and in the “new normal”, however, this market might change. A global pandemic that has caused a scale of tragedy, disruption and recession, like no other in our lifetimes, might mean the buyers will begin to look for a different product other than strength and clarity on Irish and British constitution. For example, they may want a push towards a more wellbeing-based economy or a party willing to be brave and use this opportunity to completely reform post-primary selection after the faff of this year.
To do this, the SDLP, Alliance, the UUP and the Greens will need to be brave. They’ll need to: finally accept that, to varying degrees, they’ve been offering the wrong product to the wrong customers; take difficult decisions with regards to candidates; develop better campaigning and organisational expertise; and offer something new and different that will be relevant and attractive in the new normal.
The space for new ideas and new vision will be there, the question is whether anyone is willing to leave their comfort zone to fill it.
Photo by pixel2013 is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA


sluggerotoole--2020-06-10--#CargoOfBricks: On the political purgatory of Irish government formation, and Sinn Féin’s great leap

#CargoOfBricks: On the political purgatory of Irish government formation, and Sinn Féin’s great leap forward

In this week ’ s episode of Cargo of Bricks , I ’ m talking with Professor Gary Murphy of Dublin City University about last February ’ s tumultuous general election and the dilemmas facing the now five-month-long process of government formation .
In it , we dissect : • How Ireland ’ s swing from right to left , illustrated by the collapse in the Fine Gael vote and Sinn Féin ’ s unanticipated great leap forward , has nullified Micheál Martin ’ s long-held ambition to lead a non-SF , left-leaning coalition government .
• The political purgatory @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the southern state as FF faces up to the possibility that they may never see power again if they don ’ t do the last thing many of their activists want to see and govern together .
• And through all of this despite taking his party to the unprecedented success of 12 Dail seats the Greens leader , Eamon Ryan faces a last-minute defenestration as leader by his deputy , Catherine Martin , who is also the party ’ s chief negotiator .
Enjoy and see you next week .
You can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ TV , and other podcasts on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts or Spotify .
The YouTube version below has subtitles on it if you click the CC button .

In this week’s episode of Cargo of Bricks, I’m talking with Professor Gary Murphy of Dublin City University about last February’s tumultuous general election and the dilemmas facing the now five-month-long process of government formation.
In it, we dissect:
How Ireland’s swing from right to left, illustrated by the collapse in the Fine Gael vote and Sinn Féin’s unanticipated great leap forward, has nullified Micheál Martin’s long-held ambition to lead a non-SF, left-leaning coalition government.
The political purgatory now facing the two traditional enemies of the southern state as FF faces up to the possibility that they may never see power again if they don’t do the last thing many of their activists want to see and govern together.
And through all of this despite taking his party to the unprecedented success of 12 Dail seats the Greens leader, Eamon Ryan faces a last-minute defenestration as leader by his deputy, Catherine Martin, who is also the party’s chief negotiator.
Enjoy and see you next week. You can subscribe to Cargo of Bricks, Slugger TV, and other podcasts on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts or Spotify.
The YouTube version below has subtitles on it if you click the CC button.


sluggerotoole--2020-06-11--A letter to the Ministers of Education and Health on Childcare provision

Dr Orna Young & Dr Ciara Fitzpatrick write for us about their joint letter highlighting the issue of childcare provision We have written to the Ministers for Education and Health to urge them to provide clarity on the issue of childcare provision , and an indication of a road map to ensure children can return to childcare settings when appropriate and the risk has been proven to be reduced .
The current situation is unsustainable , with parents and guardians continuing to provide full-time childcare and education , as well as contributing to the economy , with no sense of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to childcare .
Furthermore , it is vital that our young children can begin to interact with each other in order to support their emotional development .
These issues also emphasise the urgency for the need for the prioritisation of sustainable and affordable childcare .
You can read our letter to the ministers here : We are writing to you as we are very concerned about the lack of clarity on the issue of childcare provision for parents and guardians who are being asked to return to work , and for those who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and childcare responsibilities .
There is an urgent need for a road map to ensure that children can return to childcare settings when appropriate and the risk has been proven to be reduced .
We are also more broadly calling for sustainable and affordable childcare to become a government priority .
It is disappointing that there is still no overarching childcare strategy to ensure that all of our children have an equal start in life .
There has been a notable lack of any information from those Departments ( Health and Education ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This lack of guidance is having negative implications , as some employees ( predominantly women ) are falling into unnecessary disputes with employers who expect them to return to the workplace .
This is not possible without access to childcare .
This situation is unacceptable in the short-term .
In the long-term , the continued lack of clarity and support will have a significant impact on women ’ s equality , as evidence has shown that it is women who shoulder the majority of childcare responsibility .
In addition , there are many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who may be forced to exit formal employment , either entirely , or on a part-time basis , to provide full-time childcare .
This will push the hard won progress that has been made on the participation of women in society outside of the home back many years .
Parents and guardians from low income and minority ethnic families will face the most acute challenges ; for example they are likely to feel greater pressure to return to work due to growing financial pressure .
They are also more likely to rely on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , who are more at risk if they catch the virus ) ; and are more likely to rely on government subsidised childcare facilities .
Women ’ s Centre ’ s provide free or subsidised childcare for women on low incomes in disadvantaged areas .
The biggest issue that these childcare settings currently face is that they will not be able to operate to capacity , therefore many families will not be able to access more affordable childcare and childcare workers may find their employment at risk as they may be considered surplus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ guardians have been keeping their children at home in order to protect the health and well-being of the general public , while also ensuring the capacity of the NHS to deal with the challenges presented by COVID-19 .
We acknowledge how important this was as COVID-19 reached its peak .
However , as the rate of virus transmission declines , and we begin to see a vital reopening of the economy , it is critical that there is access to childcare provision for all of those who need to access it .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ guardians are unable to continue providing full-time childcare and education as well as contributing to the economy at the same time .
Furthermore , it is vital that our young children can begin to interact with each other in order to support their emotional development .
While the reopening of schools has featured heavily in public discussion , the same attention has not been given to early years care .
It is vital that parents and guardians are provided with an indication of when they will be able to access care arrangements and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to return to facilities that they were attending before lockdown was enforced .
Childcare providers also need urgent clarity to ensure that they can take measures to ensure the continued operation of their businesses .
Registered childminders are also disadvantaged , as they have been unable to avail of the government ’ s job retention scheme .
Your leadership in making these expectations clear to parents and to the early years sector will not mean ‘ moving ahead of the science ’ – but rather , that when the science supports it , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the challenges to adjusting to the ‘ new normal ’ that many other sectors , such as retail , manufacturing and construction , have already worked through .
The lack of clarity is providing a vacuum in which parents will be forced to put people ’ s health at risk , by seeking out their own arrangements .
Orna Young Ciara Fitzpatrick Cathy Fegan Claire Van Ristell Elaine Crory Claire Mitchell Naomh Gallagher Sasha Gillespie Elizabeth Nelson Mary Connolly Elizabeth Agnew Philippa McKeown William Bradley Danny Donnelly Claire Hanna Claire Hackett Joana Monterroso @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Currie Ashleigh Topley Michelle Guy Kate Nicholl Kellie O ’ Dowd Zoe Foss Rachel Wilson Heather Cloughton Lisa Collins Maeve O ’ Brien Lisa Rea Amanda Jones Peter McReynolds Michelle Kelly Barbara Wallace Alfie Wong Jenny Wong Arlene O ’ Connor Aine Tyrell Caoimhe Whinnery Lisa Caldwell Niall Caldwell Emma Cassidy Nuala McAllister Sian Mulholland Anya O ’ Connor Adrienne Reilly Paul Kelly Clare Patton Ciara Hackett Julie Wilkinson Lisa McIlvenna Rachel Watters Louise Stevenson Nial Borthistle Suzie Douglas Emma Mallon Patricia McNally Bebhinn McKinley Corrine Heaney Ailbhe Hickey Sarah Williamson Julie Gilmour @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Enda Young Fiona Fisher Sarah Wright Sarah Jankowitz Eric Hanvey Fiona McIlvar Sandra Bell Christopher McKeown Claire Hackett Matt Beautmont Lisa Dunn Louise Dougan David Jones Jane Robb Anna Mercer Peter McNiece Gemma Mynes Donna Daniels Deborah Johnson Kate McAuley Ellen Fitzpatrick Reece McQuade Liam Connolly Ruth Bullock Sorcha Eastwood Sam Nelson Trish Lyons Ciaran Moynagh ( Phoenix Human Rights Law ) Jonna Monaghan ( NIWEP ) Carolyn Ewart ( BASW NI ) Daniel Holder ( CAJ ) Robyn Scott ( CAJ ) Louise Coyle ( NIRWN ) Grainne Teggart ( Amnesty NI @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s Resource and Development Agency ) Rachel Powell ( Women ’ s Sector Lobbyist , Women ’ s Resource and Development Agency and on behalf of the Women ’ s Policy Group Northern Ireland ) Elizabeth Law ( Women ’ s Policy Group ) Chris Quinn ( NI Youth Forum ) Dr Fiona Bloomer ( Ulster University ) Dr Jennifer Hamilton ( Ulster University ) Professor Gráinne McKeever ( Ulster University ) Dr Catherine O ’ Rourke ( Ulster University ) Professor Rory O ’ Connell ( Ulster University ) Dr Anne Smith @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( Ulster University ) Professor Ann Marie Gray ( Ulster University ) Taryn Trainor ( Unite the Union )

Dr Orna Young & Dr Ciara Fitzpatrick write for us about their joint letter highlighting the issue of childcare provision
We have written to the Ministers for Education and Health to urge them to provide clarity on the issue of childcare provision, and an indication of a road map to ensure children can return to childcare settings when appropriate and the risk has been proven to be reduced. The current situation is unsustainable, with parents and guardians continuing to provide full-time childcare and education, as well as contributing to the economy, with no sense of a timescale for a normalisation of access to childcare. Furthermore, it is vital that our young children can begin to interact with each other in order to support their emotional development. These issues also emphasise the urgency for the need for the prioritisation of sustainable and affordable childcare. You can read our letter to the ministers here:
11 June 2020
Re: Urgent action required on childcare provision
Dear Minister Swann and Minister Weir,
We are writing to you as we are very concerned about the lack of clarity on the issue of childcare provision for parents and guardians who are being asked to return to work, and for those who are balancing working from home with education and childcare responsibilities. There is an urgent need for a road map to ensure that children can return to childcare settings when appropriate and the risk has been proven to be reduced. We are also more broadly calling for sustainable and affordable childcare to become a government priority. It is disappointing that there is still no overarching childcare strategy to ensure that all of our children have an equal start in life.
There has been a notable lack of any information from those Departments (Health and Education) who are responsible for childcare provision. This lack of guidance is having negative implications, as some employees (predominantly women) are falling into unnecessary disputes with employers who expect them to return to the workplace. This is not possible without access to childcare. This situation is unacceptable in the short-term. In the long-term, the continued lack of clarity and support will have a significant impact on women’s equality, as evidence has shown that it is women who shoulder the majority of childcare responsibility. In addition, there are many parents and guardians, particularly women, who may be forced to exit formal employment, either entirely, or on a part-time basis, to provide full-time childcare. This will push the hard won progress that has been made on the participation of women in society outside of the home back many years.
Parents and guardians from low income and minority ethnic families will face the most acute challenges; for example they are likely to feel greater pressure to return to work due to growing financial pressure. They are also more likely to rely on informal childcare arrangements (such as grandparents, who are more at risk if they catch the virus); and are more likely to rely on government subsidised childcare facilities. Women’s Centre’s provide free or subsidised childcare for women on low incomes in disadvantaged areas. The biggest issue that these childcare settings currently face is that they will not be able to operate to capacity, therefore many families will not be able to access more affordable childcare and childcare workers may find their employment at risk as they may be considered surplus to current staffing requirements.
Parents and guardians have been keeping their children at home in order to protect the health and well-being of the general public, while also ensuring the capacity of the NHS to deal with the challenges presented by COVID-19. We acknowledge how important this was as COVID-19 reached its peak. However, as the rate of virus transmission declines, and we begin to see a vital reopening of the economy, it is critical that there is access to childcare provision for all of those who need to access it. The current situation is unsustainable. Parents and guardians are unable to continue providing full-time childcare and education as well as contributing to the economy at the same time. Furthermore, it is vital that our young children can begin to interact with each other in order to support their emotional development.
While the reopening of schools has featured heavily in public discussion, the same attention has not been given to early years care. It is vital that parents and guardians are provided with an indication of when they will be able to access care arrangements and indeed, if children will be able to return to facilities that they were attending before lockdown was enforced. Childcare providers also need urgent clarity to ensure that they can take measures to ensure the continued operation of their businesses. Registered childminders are also disadvantaged, as they have been unable to avail of the government’s job retention scheme.
Your leadership in making these expectations clear to parents and to the early years sector will not mean ‘moving ahead of the science’ – but rather, that when the science supports it, the sector will have already dealt with the challenges to adjusting to the ‘new normal’ that many other sectors, such as retail, manufacturing and construction, have already worked through. The lack of clarity is providing a vacuum in which parents will be forced to put people’s health at risk, by seeking out their own arrangements.
Yours sincerely,
Orna Young
Ciara Fitzpatrick
Cathy Fegan
Claire Van Ristell
Elaine Crory
Claire Mitchell
Naomh Gallagher
Sasha Gillespie
Elizabeth Nelson
Mary Connolly
Elizabeth Agnew
Philippa McKeown
William Bradley
Danny Donnelly
Claire Hanna
Claire Hackett
Joana Monterroso
Lauren Gray
Clare Higgins
Laura Banks
Denise Currie
Ashleigh Topley
Michelle Guy
Kate Nicholl
Kellie O’Dowd
Zoe Foss
Rachel Wilson
Heather Cloughton
Lisa Collins
Maeve O’Brien
Lisa Rea
Amanda Jones
Peter McReynolds
Michelle Kelly
Barbara Wallace
Alfie Wong
Jenny Wong
Arlene O’Connor
Aine Tyrell
Caoimhe Whinnery
Lisa Caldwell
Niall Caldwell
Emma Cassidy
Nuala McAllister
Sian Mulholland
Anya O’Connor
Adrienne Reilly
Paul Kelly
Clare Patton
Ciara Hackett
Julie Wilkinson
Lisa McIlvenna
Rachel Watters
Louise Stevenson
Nial Borthistle
Suzie Douglas
Emma Mallon
Patricia McNally
Bebhinn McKinley
Corrine Heaney
Ailbhe Hickey
Sarah Williamson
Julie Gilmour
Orla Black
Brian Patrick Crawford
Mary-Kate McLaughlin
Enda Young
Fiona Fisher
Sarah Wright
Sarah Jankowitz
Eric Hanvey
Fiona McIlvar
Sandra Bell
Christopher McKeown
Claire Hackett
Matt Beautmont
Lisa Dunn
Louise Dougan
David Jones
Jane Robb
Anna Mercer
Peter McNiece
Gemma Mynes
Donna Daniels
Deborah Johnson
Kate McAuley
Ellen Fitzpatrick
Reece McQuade
Liam Connolly
Ruth Bullock
Sorcha Eastwood
Sam Nelson
Trish Lyons
Ciaran Moynagh (Phoenix Human Rights Law)
Jonna Monaghan (NIWEP)
Carolyn Ewart (BASW NI)
Daniel Holder (CAJ)
Robyn Scott (CAJ)
Louise Coyle (NIRWN)
Grainne Teggart (Amnesty NI)
Anne McVicker, (Women’s Resource and Development Agency)
Rachel Powell (Women’s Sector Lobbyist, Women’s Resource and Development Agency and on behalf of the Women’s Policy Group Northern Ireland)
Elizabeth Law (Women’s Policy Group)
Chris Quinn (NI Youth Forum)
Dr Fiona Bloomer (Ulster University)
Dr Jennifer Hamilton (Ulster University)
Professor Gráinne McKeever (Ulster University)
Dr Catherine O’Rourke (Ulster University)
Professor Rory O’Connell (Ulster University)
Dr Anne Smith (Ulster University)
Dr Victoria Simms (Ulster University)
Professor Ann Marie Gray (Ulster University)
Taryn Trainor (Unite the Union)


sluggerotoole--2020-06-11--Symbolism: the art of propaganda…

Symbolism: the art of propaganda…

Edward Colston , Slave trader , Tory member of Parliament and…philanthropist .
As a liberal who believes that society , the law and democracy should serve only to liberate I abhor slavery and its nefarious influence which still skews our global economy to this very day .
The city of Bristol , like so many other western European port towns , lives with the historical scar of Colston ’ s ill-gotten wealth .
There is a hall , tower , schools and streets named after this man throughout the city .
In many ways the toppling of the statue was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after years of deliberation finally tearing down the statue and dumping it in the harbour .
No conciliation , no effective legal process of removal and all that is left is the extreme options of keeping an homage to a slave trader or dumping him in the harbour – would it be cheeky to make a Brexit comparison ?
Inasmuch as Englishness ( at least pre-Brexit ) was defined by moderation and compromise , this is now dead with the England of Politics and England of Culture at odds with each other .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ political extremes , since 2018 the Labour MP Thangam Debbonaire has been trying to obtain its legal removal only to be scuppered by the “ Society of Merchant Venturers ” ( yes it does exist in this century ) .
According to local press , a Tory councillor successfully lobbied to have references to Colston ’ s political career removed from a plaque .
Again , we see a Tory party more obsessed with its own image rather than demonstrating any interest in removing a symbol of what can only be called evil @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it may be , does it really warrant public vandalism ?
Frustration at a process is one thing , but like with Brexit , does throwing our problems into the harbour solve anything ?
Bristol is one of the main cities in the quite prosperous west country of England , how many BAME people stand to benefit from this in real terms ?
Then we turn to Ireland , Irish twitter shot alight with pictures of Oliver Cromwell the brutal ‘ Lord Protector ’ who systemically butchered his way through entire counties .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ removal of Queen Victoria statues with the photograph of her removal from Leinster House in 1948 front and centre .
This not only makes me feel uneasy , it makes me feel extremely unwelcome in a place where I live happily with neighbours of all religion , ethnicity and philosophical persuasion .
I won ’ t fail republican activists from their constant crusade to link every injustice with the Irish experience , but at some stage we must see political symbolism it for what it is ; propaganda .
During the home rule @ @ @ @ @ @ @ century the nationalist and unionist press packs couldn ’ t get enough of symbolic propaganda .
To the unionist mind the idea of ripping down the Albert Clock ( above ) personified the fears of home rule and the cultural ‘ whitewash ’ which would follow – in this case the white marble statue of Redmond .
It is important to stress that although the erection of monuments themselves are an act of propaganda , their destruction or removal is also an act of propaganda .
Propaganda campaigns can become very real and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ used .
Not content with Queen Victoria being removed from the front of Leinster house by Irish Republic officialdom , the IRA destroyed the uniquely British symbol of Nelson ’ s Column on Dublin ’ s Connolly street in 1966 .
The old Admiral never did anything to the Irish , his defeat of the French navy at Trafalgar in 1805 was 2 years after Robert Emmet ’ s execution and the last stand of the united Irishmen who had allied themselves to France in the 1790s and plotted to have French armies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rebellion against the crown .
For good measure I would like to include a final destroyed monument which stood on Derry ’ s historic walls , destroyed by the IRA in 1973 .
It commemorated Governor George Walker who took joint custody of the city during the turbulent siege in 1689 .
The area was somewhat of a pilgrimage site to Unionism therefore it became legitimised in the minds of a crusading IRA to blow it up completely .
It stood at 27 metres , unlike the larger Dublin pillar it was completed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ since been rebuilt .
I dream of a day when we can build a replacement with a unifying figure such as Saint Columba placed atop .
Whatever your views on pulling down statues , the process of how something is done is as important of the substantive reasons for doing it .
A statue of a slave trader in one of Britain ’ s cities is unjust but the frenzy of anger on display this week is not the path to justice , that can only come through meaningful change to our social @ @ @ @ @ @ @ removal of John Mitchel ’ s statue will make no tangible difference to BAME people in Ireland who face discrimination on a daily basis ( the reports on NI racism are damning ) without more meaningful reform .
Like with the propaganda value of the IRA campaign or the cartoons of the home rule debates , all that will result for the ‘ statue topplers ’ is the same unjust system if they refuse to engage with it and change it using the process set down by law .
We learned the hard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the end all that results is a group of people hoarding power for themselves with a vice like grip ; whether it be Labour and the Tories , the old Stormont regime or indeed the Catholic Church of Dev ’ s Ireland .
Photo by Pexels is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA

Edward Colston, Slave trader, Tory member of Parliament and…philanthropist. As a liberal who believes that society, the law and democracy should serve only to liberate I abhor slavery and its nefarious influence which still skews our global economy to this very day.
The city of Bristol, like so many other western European port towns, lives with the historical scar of Colston’s ill-gotten wealth. There is a hall, tower, schools and streets named after this man throughout the city.
In many ways the toppling of the statue was very English. The righteous majoritarian mob after years of deliberation finally tearing down the statue and dumping it in the harbour. No conciliation, no effective legal process of removal and all that is left is the extreme options of keeping an homage to a slave trader or dumping him in the harbour – would it be cheeky to make a Brexit comparison?
Inasmuch as Englishness (at least pre-Brexit) was defined by moderation and compromise, this is now dead with the England of Politics and England of Culture at odds with each other. We have an England now dominated by political extremes, since 2018 the Labour MP Thangam Debbonaire has been trying to obtain its legal removal only to be scuppered by the “Society of Merchant Venturers” (yes it does exist in this century).
According to local press, a Tory councillor successfully lobbied to have references to Colston’s political career removed from a plaque. Again, we see a Tory party more obsessed with its own image rather than demonstrating any interest in removing a symbol of what can only be called evil.
Yet, though a righteous mob it may be, does it really warrant public vandalism? Frustration at a process is one thing, but like with Brexit, does throwing our problems into the harbour solve anything? Bristol is one of the main cities in the quite prosperous west country of England, how many BAME people stand to benefit from this in real terms?
Then we turn to Ireland, Irish twitter shot alight with pictures of Oliver Cromwell the brutal ‘Lord Protector’ who systemically butchered his way through entire counties. Sadly, discussion even veered into the removal of Queen Victoria statues with the photograph of her removal from Leinster House in 1948 front and centre.
This not only makes me feel uneasy, it makes me feel extremely unwelcome in a place where I live happily with neighbours of all religion, ethnicity and philosophical persuasion. I won’t fail republican activists from their constant crusade to link every injustice with the Irish experience, but at some stage we must see political symbolism it for what it is; propaganda.
(Ulster Unionist Political Propaganda postcards: Credit – Isles Abroad blog)
During the home rule debates in the 19th to early 20th century the nationalist and unionist press packs couldn’t get enough of symbolic propaganda. To the unionist mind the idea of ripping down the Albert Clock (above) personified the fears of home rule and the cultural ‘whitewash’ which would follow – in this case the white marble statue of Redmond. It is important to stress that although the erection of monuments themselves are an act of propaganda, their destruction or removal is also an act of propaganda.
(O’Connoll Street, Nelson’s Column explosion: Credit – National Library of Ireland)
Propaganda campaigns can become very real and very dangerous – especially when explosives are used. Not content with Queen Victoria being removed from the front of Leinster house by Irish Republic officialdom, the IRA destroyed the uniquely British symbol of Nelson’s Column on Dublin’s Connolly street in 1966. The old Admiral never did anything to the Irish, his defeat of the French navy at Trafalgar in 1805 was 2 years after Robert Emmet’s execution and the last stand of the united Irishmen who had allied themselves to France in the 1790s and plotted to have French armies land in 1798 as part of the rebellion against the crown.
(Walker’s Monument: Credit – Derry of the past)
For good measure I would like to include a final destroyed monument which stood on Derry’s historic walls, destroyed by the IRA in 1973. It commemorated Governor George Walker who took joint custody of the city during the turbulent siege in 1689. The area was somewhat of a pilgrimage site to Unionism therefore it became legitimised in the minds of a crusading IRA to blow it up completely. It stood at 27 metres, unlike the larger Dublin pillar it was completed destroyed along with its plinth which has since been rebuilt. I dream of a day when we can build a replacement with a unifying figure such as Saint Columba placed atop.
Whatever your views on pulling down statues, the process of how something is done is as important of the substantive reasons for doing it. A statue of a slave trader in one of Britain’s cities is unjust but the frenzy of anger on display this week is not the path to justice, that can only come through meaningful change to our social and economic order. Just as the removal of John Mitchel’s statue will make no tangible difference to BAME people in Ireland who face discrimination on a daily basis (the reports on NI racism are damning) without more meaningful reform.
Like with the propaganda value of the IRA campaign or the cartoons of the home rule debates, all that will result for the ‘statue topplers’ is the same unjust system if they refuse to engage with it and change it using the process set down by law. We learned the hard way that without a legal process in the end all that results is a group of people hoarding power for themselves with a vice like grip; whether it be Labour and the Tories, the old Stormont regime or indeed the Catholic Church of Dev’s Ireland.
Photo by Pexels is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA


sluggerotoole--2020-06-11--We Always Kill Our Heroes – The legacy of Winston Churchill…

There is a whiff of revolution in the air .
As I write these words the White House is under virtual siege and a statue of a long dead slave master has been unceremoniously dumped into a river .
In London , the cenotaph and a statue of Churchill have been defaced .
It is easy to dismiss such actions as mindless vandalism but they were calculated to gain attention by striking at Britain ’ s very idea of itself and by extension , many British people ’ s own sense of identity and esteem .
The decades have been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a legend , that curious mixture of fact and fiction where the good is accentuated and the bad ignored or forgotten .
Of course , he had the advantage of surviving the war when Roosevelt , Hitler and Mussolini did not .
Stalin too survived but was not inclined to write his memoirs .
Churchill , comprehensibly rejected at the polls in 1945 , had time on his hands and began writing the history of the great events he took part in .
Unsurprisingly , like all memoirs , his multi-volume history of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the starring role but more importantly , it laid the foundation story many subsequent histories built upon .
The story is well known , like King Arthur , Churchill was called upon to rescue his country at its hour of greatest need .
Not only did he save it from defeat , he led it to victory over one of the greatest evils in human history .
Surely it is heresy to accuse this demi-god of something as base a racism ?
Actually , no .
The evidence is overwhelming and most of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ own mouth .
‘ But ’ , you might say , context is important , wasn ’ t everyone racist then ?
While it is true to say modern concepts of racism didn ’ t exist in the 1940s , but it would be wrong to say they were universal .
Churchill grew up in the high noon of empire and with his privileged background it would be surprising if he turned out to be anything but an arch imperialist .
His doctor , Lord Moran , noted the difference between President Roosevelt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , China means four hundred million people who are going to count in the world of tomorrow , but Winston thinks only of the colour of their skin ; it is when he talks of India or China you remember he is a Victorian.
’ [ i ] Speaking to Roosevelt ’ s advisor on the Caribbean Churchill opined , ‘ … We will not let the Hottentots by popular vote throw the white people into the sea.
’ [ ii ] Roosevelt presided over a deeply racist country that saw race riots @ @ @ @ @ @ @ south during the war , but he wanted a world without the European empires , that subjugated dark-skinned peoples .
That was one of his war aims , Churchill ’ s was to maintain the status quo and that meant maintaining the empire , even though it was clear much of it did not care for colonial rule .
He despised Gandhi and India in general but still wanted to rule it .
When famine struck Bengal in 1943 , he resolutely opposed measures to alleviate it .
In fairness the causes of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rice imports from Burma dried up after the Japanese invasion and a cyclone devasted Bengal .
As prices began to rise , merchants hoarded the remaining supplies to drive prices up further leading to serious food shortages and ultimately famine , yet Churchill was in no mood to help .
India saw a wave of anti-British riots in 1943 and Churchill refused to divert admittedly stretched shipping resources to help .
British soldiers were even forbidden ( NOT on his orders ) from giving food to starving children , though some risked disciplinary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a political ally who was instrumental in the revolt which forced Chamberlain to step down thereby clearing the path for Churchill to become prime minister , commentated that Churchill , ‘ knew as much about the Indian problem as George III did of the American colonies.
’ [ iii ] The situation was finally eased after intense lobbying from the ( British ) government in Delhi that warned London India would be in revolt and useless to the war effort unless something was done .
The famine ended up killing around 3,000,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ soldiers killed in British service during the war .
[ iv ] ‘ Bad people ’ if I can use such a simplistic term , sometimes do good things and not always for the right reason .
Stalin was the greatest contributor to Allied victory but he was a mass murderer who fought , not out of altruism or a loathing of fascism , but because Hitler invaded the USSR in a war of extermination .
Churchill , in my view , saved his country not from German invasion which he did not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ via a negotiated and probably humiliating peace treaty .
In his favour , he carefully nurtured the war winning alliance and held it together through no small personal risk , travelling the world to various political summits in freezing converted bombers at a time when aircraft crashes were frighteningly common .
He almost died in early 1944 after contracting pneumonia on a flight back from Moscow .
There is no doubt Churchill inspired a battered country in its darkest days and helped keep it on track but despite his great desire to emulate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ military genius .
Lord Alanbrooke , a son of Ulster , and the main force behind Allied strategy in the European war , confided to his diary , ‘ Without him England would have been lost for certain , with him England has been on the verge of disaster time and again.
’ [ v ] Brooke worked with Churchill at close hand on an almost daily basis and often saw a petulant , bad tempered , childish and occasionally drunken brilliant prime minister that tested his patience by constantly meddling in plans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The disasters of Norway , Greece , Tobruk , Singapore and near defeat at Anzio had Churchill ’ s fingerprints all over them and it was he who initiated the area bombing policy that killed hundreds of thousands of German civilians .
Yet , Brooke , by his own admission , still loathed and admired him in equal measure .
Closer to home , Churchill was instrumental the Anglo-Irish Treaty and unleashing the Black and Tans .
Before that he also favoured Home Rule , and if my grandfather was to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a visit to Belfast .
In 1940 , he wanted to trade Northern Ireland for Irish participation in the war , a scheme that was still-born because De Valera smelt a rat and Chamberlain , who was still leader of the Conservative Party , refused to coerce unionists into a united Ireland .
No one likes to admit their heroes have feet of clay .
I am sure that many people feel outraged at the vandalism of his statue or indeed , possibly even by this article , but history is deep , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s world has much to feel grateful to Churchill for , but let ’ s be honest about him .
Legends are comforting but they are seldom true .
“ Winston Churchill mural in Croydon ” by Matt From London is licensed under CC BY

There is a whiff of revolution in the air. As I write these words the White House is under virtual siege and a statue of a long dead slave master has been unceremoniously dumped into a river. In London, the cenotaph and a statue of Churchill have been defaced.
It is easy to dismiss such actions as mindless vandalism but they were calculated to gain attention by striking at Britain’s very idea of itself and by extension, many British people’s own sense of identity and esteem.
The decades have been kind to Churchill. He has become a legend, that curious mixture of fact and fiction where the good is accentuated and the bad ignored or forgotten. Of course, he had the advantage of surviving the war when Roosevelt, Hitler and Mussolini did not. Stalin too survived but was not inclined to write his memoirs. Churchill, comprehensibly rejected at the polls in 1945, had time on his hands and began writing the history of the great events he took part in. Unsurprisingly, like all memoirs, his multi-volume history of the Second World War places him in the starring role but more importantly, it laid the foundation story many subsequent histories built upon.
The story is well known, like King Arthur, Churchill was called upon to rescue his country at its hour of greatest need. Not only did he save it from defeat, he led it to victory over one of the greatest evils in human history. Surely it is heresy to accuse this demi-god of something as base a racism?
Actually, no. The evidence is overwhelming and most of it comes directly from Churchill’s own mouth. ‘But’, you might say, context is important, wasn’t everyone racist then? While it is true to say modern concepts of racism didn’t exist in the 1940s, but it would be wrong to say they were universal. Churchill grew up in the high noon of empire and with his privileged background it would be surprising if he turned out to be anything but an arch imperialist. His doctor, Lord Moran, noted the difference between President Roosevelt and Churchill:
‘To the president, China means four hundred million people who are going to count in the world of tomorrow, but Winston thinks only of the colour of their skin; it is when he talks of India or China you remember he is a Victorian.’[i]
Speaking to Roosevelt’s advisor on the Caribbean Churchill opined, ‘… We will not let the Hottentots by popular vote throw the white people into the sea.’[ii]
Roosevelt presided over a deeply racist country that saw race riots and lynchings of black servicemen in the south during the war, but he wanted a world without the European empires, that subjugated dark-skinned peoples. That was one of his war aims, Churchill’s was to maintain the status quo and that meant maintaining the empire, even though it was clear much of it did not care for colonial rule. He despised Gandhi and India in general but still wanted to rule it. When famine struck Bengal in 1943, he resolutely opposed measures to alleviate it. In fairness the causes of the famine were beyond his control: rice imports from Burma dried up after the Japanese invasion and a cyclone devasted Bengal. As prices began to rise, merchants hoarded the remaining supplies to drive prices up further leading to serious food shortages and ultimately famine, yet Churchill was in no mood to help. India saw a wave of anti-British riots in 1943 and Churchill refused to divert admittedly stretched shipping resources to help. British soldiers were even forbidden (NOT on his orders) from giving food to starving children, though some risked disciplinary action and did so. Leo Amery, a political ally who was instrumental in the revolt which forced Chamberlain to step down thereby clearing the path for Churchill to become prime minister, commentated that Churchill, ‘knew as much about the Indian problem as George III did of the American colonies.’[iii]
The situation was finally eased after intense lobbying from the (British) government in Delhi that warned London India would be in revolt and useless to the war effort unless something was done. The famine ended up killing around 3,000,000 a figure that dwarfed the 36,000 Indian soldiers killed in British service during the war.[iv]
‘Bad people’ if I can use such a simplistic term, sometimes do good things and not always for the right reason. Stalin was the greatest contributor to Allied victory but he was a mass murderer who fought, not out of altruism or a loathing of fascism, but because Hitler invaded the USSR in a war of extermination. Churchill, in my view, saved his country not from German invasion which he did not consider a serious possibility, but defeat via a negotiated and probably humiliating peace treaty. In his favour, he carefully nurtured the war winning alliance and held it together through no small personal risk, travelling the world to various political summits in freezing converted bombers at a time when aircraft crashes were frighteningly common. He almost died in early 1944 after contracting pneumonia on a flight back from Moscow. There is no doubt Churchill inspired a battered country in its darkest days and helped keep it on track but despite his great desire to emulate his ancestor Marlborough, he was no military genius. Lord Alanbrooke, a son of Ulster, and the main force behind Allied strategy in the European war, confided to his diary, ‘Without him England would have been lost for certain, with him England has been on the verge of disaster time and again.’[v]
Brooke worked with Churchill at close hand on an almost daily basis and often saw a petulant, bad tempered, childish and occasionally drunken brilliant prime minister that tested his patience by constantly meddling in plans that took months of planning and negotiation. The disasters of Norway, Greece, Tobruk, Singapore and near defeat at Anzio had Churchill’s fingerprints all over them and it was he who initiated the area bombing policy that killed hundreds of thousands of German civilians. Yet, Brooke, by his own admission, still loathed and admired him in equal measure.
Closer to home, Churchill was instrumental the Anglo-Irish Treaty and unleashing the Black and Tans. Before that he also favoured Home Rule, and if my grandfather was to be believed, was stoned by unionists on a visit to Belfast. In 1940, he wanted to trade Northern Ireland for Irish participation in the war, a scheme that was still-born because De Valera smelt a rat and Chamberlain, who was still leader of the Conservative Party, refused to coerce unionists into a united Ireland.
No one likes to admit their heroes have feet of clay. I am sure that many people feel outraged at the vandalism of his statue or indeed, possibly even by this article, but history is deep, complex and often dark. Today’s world has much to feel grateful to Churchill for, but let’s be honest about him. Legends are comforting but they are seldom true.
[i] Thompson, S, The Lesser Evil, 2013, L3059
[ii] Thompson, S, The Lesser Evil, 2013, L3060
[iii] Thompson, S, The Lesser Evil, 2013, L3073
[iv] Thompson, S, The Lesser Evil, 2013, L3076
[v] Danchev & Todman (Eds), War Diaries, 1939-45, Filed Marshal Lord Alanbrooke, p.590, 10 September 1944
“Winston Churchill mural in Croydon” by Matt From London is licensed under CC BY


sluggerotoole--2020-06-11--NICS is ‘shredding’ records of critical email exchanges after three months by default…

I was on at the end of the Nolan Show ( for some reason the online newsroom was slow to publish it , but thanks BelTel ) , to comment on a story his team broke as the first item this morning about how the NICS autodeletes emails after ninety days .
Turns out , this is compliant with a regulation that was brought into Whitehall in and around 2004 , because it generated huge PST files in Microsoft Outlook and was becoming unmanageable .
As one former Whitehall senior civil servant explained to Slugger : Even as you archive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ways that mean they can not be searched for and/or read within the context of the original exchange .
Although with modern kit and memory being dirt cheap , this is no longer a problem .
James Lappin noted a few years ago , when the FT brought up this same issue within the Cabinet Office , in solving the space issue , the default deletion measure has created huge and significant gaps in the Civil Service ’ s internal records .
He cites two examples from the article at the time : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that ‘ It means that people don ’ t remember things…It is dysfunctional .
Then they check their emails and they don ’ t exist anymore ’ .
An aide is quoting as expressing their frustration that colleagues often had different recollections of what had been agreed at meetings .
Importantly he goes on to point out the key flaw in a method that came highly recommended by the national archives ( and still is ) : The experience we have had in the UK , in continental Europe , in Australia and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to choose which of their e-mails are significant , declare them as a record , and move them to some sort of electronic file ( or paper file , or SharePoint document library ) does not capture an even vaguely adequate record of correspondence .
Despite grave questions hanging over the Northern Ireland Executive ’ s commitment to the much-vaunted principles of open government , in this case , it ’ s a matter of pure cut and paste from what ought to have been a Whitehall stopgap .
But Steve Aiken is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all party leaders to discuss an issue which from our brief research suggests is relatively easily fixable .
And let ’ s be clear the context around this story is certainly incriminating even if this measure isn ’ t : …the DUP and Sinn Féin were sensitive to criticism and in that context , senior civil servants had “ got into the habit ” of not recording all meetings .
He said this was done on the basis that it was sometimes “ safer ” not to have a record which might be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of course , in terms of the culture of this place , we are still swimming against one ratehr strange ( and not entirely defensible ) principle of the Northern Irish Peace Process™… Memory and context matter both inside and outside the NICS .
It ’ s how we hold institutions and politicians to account .
Civil Servants also need that material to defend their reputations by having the full records on which to fall back .
But in a place where ministerial colleagues routinely leak confidential material shared under cabinet responsibility one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s government won ’ t give them information early enough the next , accountability really does matter .
Photo by Monsterkoi is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA

I was on at the end of the Nolan Show (for some reason the online newsroom was slow to publish it, but thanks BelTel), to comment on a story his team broke as the first item this morning about how the NICS autodeletes emails after ninety days.
Turns out, this is compliant with a regulation that was brought into Whitehall in and around 2004, because it generated huge PST files in Microsoft Outlook and was becoming unmanageable. As one former Whitehall senior civil servant explained to Slugger:
The old practice of filing had gone away and people just left things in email and this meant that (a) no one else could find them once an individual left their job and (b) the search load on the exchange servers was huge, preventing them working properly.
Even as you archive emails they have to be stored in ways that mean they cannot be searched for and/or read within the context of the original exchange. Although with modern kit and memory being dirt cheap, this is no longer a problem.
James Lappin noted a few years ago, when the FT brought up this same issue within the Cabinet Office, in solving the space issue, the default deletion measure has created huge and significant gaps in the Civil Service’s internal records.
He cites two examples from the article at the time:
A special advisor is quoted as saying that ‘It means that people don’t remember things…It is dysfunctional. Then they check their emails and they don’t exist anymore’. An aide is quoting as expressing their frustration that colleagues often had different recollections of what had been agreed at meetings.
Importantly he goes on to point out the key flaw in a method that came highly recommended by the national archives (and still is):
The experience we have had in the UK, in continental Europe, in Australia and in the US is that asking colleagues to choose which of their e-mails are significant, declare them as a record, and move them to some sort of electronic file (or paper file, or SharePoint document library) does not capture an even vaguely adequate record of correspondence.
Despite grave questions hanging over the Northern Ireland Executive’s commitment to the much-vaunted principles of open government, in this case, it’s a matter of pure cut and paste from what ought to have been a Whitehall stopgap.
But Steve Aiken is dead right to call a meeting of all party leaders to discuss an issue which from our brief research suggests is relatively easily fixable. And let’s be clear the context around this story is certainly incriminating even if this measure isn’t:
…the DUP and Sinn Féin were sensitive to criticism and in that context, senior civil servants had “got into the habit” of not recording all meetings. He said this was done on the basis that it was sometimes “safer” not to have a record which might be released under Freedom of Information.
And of course, in terms of the culture of this place, we are still swimming against one ratehr strange (and not entirely defensible) principle of the Northern Irish Peace Process™…
The presumption will be to release all records but any document that can be shown to contain “information prejudicial to the effective conduct of public affairs in Northern Ireland or to the work of the Executive Committee of the Northern Ireland Assembly” will be held back for 10 years longer. [added emphasis]
Memory and context matter both inside and outside the NICS. It’s how we hold institutions and politicians to account. Civil Servants also need that material to defend their reputations by having the full records on which to fall back.
But in a place where ministerial colleagues routinely leak confidential material shared under cabinet responsibility one day and then complain the republic’s government won’t give them information early enough the next, accountability really does matter.
Photo by Monsterkoi is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA


sluggerotoole--2020-06-12--#InConversation Podcast with Andrew Hill – What is going on in America?

Andrew Hill is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at St. Philip ’ s College in San Antonio , Texas .
@ @ @ @ @ talk about the recent race protests in America , inequality and the upcoming Presidential Election @ @ @ @ @ connection , he worked at Corrymella for a year and he also studied at Trinity @ @ @ @ @ Andy recommended were Linda Hogan ’ s Keeping Faith with Human Rights , and Sluggers @ @ @ @ @ books .
You can find out more about Andy on his website , or follow @ @ @ @ @ can subscribe to Slugger Podcasts on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts or Spotify The YouTube @ @ @ @ @ just click the CC button .

Andrew Hill is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at St. Philip’s College in San Antonio, Texas. In this podcast, we talk about the recent race protests in America, inequality and the upcoming Presidential Election. Andy has a local connection, he worked at Corrymeela for a year and he also studied at Trinity College Dublin. The books Andy recommended were Linda Hogan’s Keeping Faith with Human Rights, and Sluggers own Gladys Ganiel’s books.
You can find out more about Andy on his website, or follow him on Twitter.
You can subscribe to Slugger Podcasts on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts or Spotify
The YouTube version below has subtitles, just click the CC button.


sluggerotoole--2020-06-12--Brexit, chicken nuggets, bloody diarrhoea and Stormont…

First , an upfront declaration of interests : – I qualified as a microbiologist and have a life-long interest in our environment : today , I also Chair the Renewable Heat Association – a group advocating for the responsible use of renewable energy .
There has been much comment about the importation of cheap meat products from America and other countries , as a part of a post-Brexit trade deal .
What is the risk ?
Ethical farming methods and accepted animal welfare practices in Northern Ireland are vastly different from routine practice and procedure in America and across much @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In those countries , the injection of growth-promoting hormones in beef , the widespread use of antibiotics to control disease , and the washing of chicken carcasses in chlorinated compounds are both lawful and necessary .
Why ?
The relentless pursuit of profit by meat processors and their American and Brazilian farmers resulted in the prevalence of the disease in American and Brazilian animals – from birth all the way through the supply chain .
Poultry raised in humid , poorly ventilated conditions is prone to respiratory diseases and to Campylobacter , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ % of poultry flesh on sale in retail shops , tests positive for the bacterium .
The infection , which , when passed to humans , results in severe , often bloody , diarrhoea .
For some , the disease may have a serious , enduring impact .
Rather than address the welfare problems at the farms , American and Latin American meat processors use a chlorine wash on meat for export .
The chlorine wash is not so much the issue but rather , it is an indicator of the poor animal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ European ( and currently UK ) food standards regard poultry flesh produced under conditions that require a chlorine wash , to be unfit for consumption .
By and large , fresh poultry on sale locally has been produced locally but careful examination of poultry products in the freezer section of any supermarket will reveal that the country of origin – which is likely to be : China , Thailand , Brazil or , Ukraine .
Currently , these imports are required to meet EU quality standards but , the trade standards at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ States and with other countries may be relaxed .
Some favour relaxation of these standards in order to enjoy access for UK goods and services to new markets .
To do so , will promote food imports , potentially , at lower quality and food safety standards .
The chicken nuggets will be cheap and plentiful !
Our animal welfare standards and food production standards are high , for all manner of structural reasons .
Critically , the environment for chickens being raised in the UK is cleaner , drier , and therefore @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , like their counterparts in GB and in the Republic of Ireland , have almost universally adopted warm water heating systems which heat the poultry sheds using a combination of fan-assisted hot-water radiators and hi-tech boilers fuelled by woodchip or pellets .
These replaced the naked flame liquid petroleum gas burners that had previously heated the sheds .
Gas burners whilst effective and speedy , had multiple drawbacks and disadvantages – they added vast amounts of water , carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide to the environment .
Moisture and bacteria act on poultry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ greenhouse gas .
Damp litter in the poultry shed will enable bacterial growth – including those that cause animal and human diseases .
Effective , sustained , financial incentives in GB and Ireland defer the cost of generating the heat essential to the survival of day-old chicks and to sustain healthy conditions for what is termed “ high welfare ” conditions .
NI poultry producers supply about 20 % of all fresh poultry meat in the UK market .
Unlike their competitors in GB and Ireland , our local farmers are paid a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rebate that they were guaranteed to offset the additional costs of operating biomass systems .
The price of the fossil fuel alternative has fallen through the floor whilst , at the same time , the cost of biomass has risen .
Without support , the cost of the biomass fuel , the repayment of capital loans , and maintenance costs of the plant is crippling business in NI .
Gas and kerosene are cheap .
Unless the price cost is reversed or offset , the use of renewable energy will stop .
Importantly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ poultry and a whole host of other agrifood products in Northern Ireland will rise – making their products uncompetitive and therefore , putting the jobs of thousands at risk .
Here is the connection between bloody diarrhoea and our politics : the “ New decade , New Approach ” document states that the NI RHI Scheme is to be closed .
That decision is reported to be “ imminent.
” To do so , will be catastrophic .
We have had the RHI Public Inquiry assessment that the Scheme was a “ project @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” The 1,100 businesses – the core participants and the firms in the supply chain , are none the wiser about what will happen ; the scheme ( legally ) has a further 15 years to run .
Panic has set in .
Their capital investment of greater than £150m is now at risk .
The businesses are queuing up to revert to gas and to cut their operating costs .
Their confidence in their government is shot .
The theory and practice of hot water heating are proven .
The health benefits @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were ( and are ) additional costs – costs of plumbing , pumps , and fans , costs for new boilers , and costs of additional fuel .
The Scheme should offset all of these .
Ethically , it is unsound to replace one fossil-fuelled system with another which produces green-house gases : it isn ’ t “ decarbonization.
” For a whole host of reasons , ethical farmers accepted the government-backed renewable heat incentive for what it was .
Now , much-derided and vilified , these farmers carry the whole additional cost @ @ @ @ @ @ @ additional cost of using renewable energy with the hot water system – in the absence of the index-linked rebates that were guaranteed .
Repossession of plant , foreclosure , and the sale of farms is an everyday event .
Why ?
The business decisions made between 2012 and 2016 – when the Scheme was suspended -were made based upon guarantees that have twice been welched upon by the very Department that made them .
Public Inquiry has exposed all of the deficiencies in our government systems and departments .
It was a “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Northern Ireland.
” Renewable energy should be a core component of our island economy in a post-COVID-19 response .
It is of huge importance to our rural economy , to forestry , wood processing to farming , and to the remaining six of the ninety renewable energy engineering firms that traded in 2016 and who now remain in business .
Renewable heat is important : it helps to keep our food supply chain safe , chlorine , and antibiotics free .
Business abhors uncertainty .
Closing RHI will be bad for jobs , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and for the economy .
Reversion to using fossil fuels is inevitable – an additional 2 billion litres of oil will be burned .
For the sake of our environment , our economy , the 10,000 jobs in the sector and our health , politicians please sort it out and come up with a sensible approach .
If you can ’ t agree about the future of renewable energy , give the issue to a parliament that can .
Photo by Capri23auto is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA Photo by Capri23auto is licensed under @ @

First, an upfront declaration of interests: – I qualified as a microbiologist and have a life-long interest in our environment: today, I also Chair the Renewable Heat Association – a group advocating for the responsible use of renewable energy.
The Issue
There has been much comment about the importation of cheap meat products from America and other countries, as a part of a post-Brexit trade deal. What is the risk? Ethical farming methods and accepted animal welfare practices in Northern Ireland are vastly different from routine practice and procedure in America and across much of Latin America, including Brazil.
In those countries, the injection of growth-promoting hormones in beef, the widespread use of antibiotics to control disease, and the washing of chicken carcasses in chlorinated compounds are both lawful and necessary. Why?
The relentless pursuit of profit by meat processors and their American and Brazilian farmers resulted in the prevalence of the disease in American and Brazilian animals – from birth all the way through the supply chain.
Poultry raised in humid, poorly ventilated conditions is prone to respiratory diseases and to Campylobacter, a bacterial disease. In America, 24% of poultry flesh on sale in retail shops, tests positive for the bacterium.
The infection, which, when passed to humans, results in severe, often bloody, diarrhoea. For some, the disease may have a serious, enduring impact. Rather than address the welfare problems at the farms, American and Latin American meat processors use a chlorine wash on meat for export.
The chlorine wash is not so much the issue but rather, it is an indicator of the poor animal welfare conditions that render it essential. European (and currently UK) food standards regard poultry flesh produced under conditions that require a chlorine wash, to be unfit for consumption.
By and large, fresh poultry on sale locally has been produced locally but careful examination of poultry products in the freezer section of any supermarket will reveal that the country of origin – which is likely to be: China, Thailand, Brazil or, Ukraine.
Currently, these imports are required to meet EU quality standards but, the trade standards at the heart of trade negotiations with the United States and with other countries may be relaxed.
Some favour relaxation of these standards in order to enjoy access for UK goods and services to new markets. To do so, will promote food imports, potentially, at lower quality and food safety standards. The chicken nuggets will be cheap and plentiful!
Our animal welfare standards and food production standards are high, for all manner of structural reasons. Critically, the environment for chickens being raised in the UK is cleaner, drier, and therefore, safer.
Northern Irish poultry farmers, like their counterparts in GB and in the Republic of Ireland, have almost universally adopted warm water heating systems which heat the poultry sheds using a combination of fan-assisted hot-water radiators and hi-tech boilers fuelled by woodchip or pellets.
These replaced the naked flame liquid petroleum gas burners that had previously heated the sheds. Gas burners whilst effective and speedy, had multiple drawbacks and disadvantages – they added vast amounts of water, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide to the environment.
Moisture and bacteria act on poultry litter to produce ammonia – yet another greenhouse gas. Damp litter in the poultry shed will enable bacterial growth – including those that cause animal and human diseases.
Effective, sustained, financial incentives in GB and Ireland defer the cost of generating the heat essential to the survival of day-old chicks and to sustain healthy conditions for what is termed “high welfare” conditions.
NI poultry producers supply about 20% of all fresh poultry meat in the UK market. Unlike their competitors in GB and Ireland, our local farmers are paid a fraction (generally 1/10th) of the rebate that they were guaranteed to offset the additional costs of operating biomass systems.
The price of the fossil fuel alternative has fallen through the floor whilst, at the same time, the cost of biomass has risen. Without support, the cost of the biomass fuel, the repayment of capital loans, and maintenance costs of the plant is crippling business in NI. Gas and kerosene are cheap.
Unless the price cost is reversed or offset, the use of renewable energy will stop. Importantly, the net cost of production of poultry and a whole host of other agrifood products in Northern Ireland will rise – making their products uncompetitive and therefore, putting the jobs of thousands at risk.
Here is the connection between bloody diarrhoea and our politics: the “New decade, New Approach” document states that the NI RHI Scheme is to be closed. That decision is reported to be “imminent.” To do so, will be catastrophic.
We have had the RHI Public Inquiry assessment that the Scheme was a “project too far for the Northern Ireland Government.” The 1,100 businesses – the core participants and the firms in the supply chain, are none the wiser about what will happen; the scheme (legally) has a further 15 years to run.
Panic has set in. Their capital investment of greater than £150m is now at risk. The businesses are queuing up to revert to gas and to cut their operating costs. Their confidence in their government is shot. The theory and practice of hot water heating are proven. The health benefits are proven.
The barriers to change were (and are) additional costs – costs of plumbing, pumps, and fans, costs for new boilers, and costs of additional fuel. The Scheme should offset all of these. Ethically, it is unsound to replace one fossil-fuelled system with another which produces green-house gases: it isn’t “decarbonization.”
For a whole host of reasons, ethical farmers accepted the government-backed renewable heat incentive for what it was. Now, much-derided and vilified, these farmers carry the whole additional cost of the capital investment and carry the additional cost of using renewable energy with the hot water system – in the absence of the index-linked rebates that were guaranteed.
Repossession of plant, foreclosure, and the sale of farms is an everyday event. Why? The business decisions made between 2012 and 2016 – when the Scheme was suspended -were made based upon guarantees that have twice been welched upon by the very Department that made them.
Public Inquiry has exposed all of the deficiencies in our government systems and departments.
It was a “project too far for the government of Northern Ireland.” Renewable energy should be a core component of our island economy in a post-COVID-19 response. It is of huge importance to our rural economy, to forestry, wood processing to farming, and to the remaining six of the ninety renewable energy engineering firms that traded in 2016 and who now remain in business.
Renewable heat is important: it helps to keep our food supply chain safe, chlorine, and antibiotics free. Business abhors uncertainty. Closing RHI will be bad for jobs, for regional competitiveness, for jobs, and for the economy. Reversion to using fossil fuels is inevitable – an additional 2 billion litres of oil will be burned.
For the sake of our environment, our economy, the 10,000 jobs in the sector and our health, politicians please sort it out and come up with a sensible approach. If you can’t agree about the future of renewable energy, give the issue to a parliament that can.
Photo by Capri23auto is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA
Photo by Capri23auto is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA