That's a very pragmatic viewpoint tbh and one which I would be in agreement with.
https://kesslereffect.bandcamp.com/album/kepler - New music. It's not that bad.
That's a very pragmatic viewpoint tbh and one which I would be in agreement with.
DID YOU NOTICE A SIGN OUTSIDE MY HOUSE...?
Of all the fig leaves we can offer Unionism, a 'look lads, we need a hand to sort this sh*t out, its a mess' would surely turn their heads, see, this works on every level
And with Unionism's proven track record of a one tier society with a fair hand dealt to all and opportunity based on merit they will be the very men we need, surely ?
There is an interesting article on FT.com.
It's behind a paywall so I'll quote some of it here if that's okay:
https://www.ft.com/content/f4c720b0-...b-5528796fe35cOriginally Posted by Financial Times
Last edited by BonnieShels; 27/04/2017 at 10:59 PM.
DID YOU NOTICE A SIGN OUTSIDE MY HOUSE...?
Just on that note...: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/wo...-a7703141.html
Originally Posted by Will Worley
I wonder how the people making/responding to that survey defined "uprising".
Edit: Just saw this on the news: http://www.rte.ie/news/brexit/2017/0...nited-ireland/
Author of Never Felt Better (History, Film Reviews).
Brian Walker on Slugger O'Toole feels that the EU's declaration on a future accommodation of Irish unity further isolates a weakened UK, but may also lead to unionism being less willing to co-operate with the south: https://sluggerotoole.com/2017/04/28...ish-isolation/
Some interesting comments:Originally Posted by Brian Walker
This one is similarly complimentary of Enda Kenny:Originally Posted by Karl
Originally Posted by Conchúr Ó Conghaile
As much as a I fully agree with the statement as it pertains to the north and would compliment the government on pushing for it, the idea that it came about because we were "good Europeans" during the crash and after makes my skin crawl a little.
Author of Never Felt Better (History, Film Reviews).
Heh, I hear you. It's not the most pleasant of thoughts and I'd personally be hesitant to heap too much praise upon Enda, but I thought it an interesting interpretation of developments, or perhaps realpolitik even, in the broader context nonetheless.
I'm assuming Walker is arguing that the declaration "could make unionists more reluctant to cooperate with the south on a practical basis" because he feels they'll fear such future co-operation would only further weaken the union with Britain and strengthen the case for Irish unity. Considering political unionism represents a minority now, with those unionists who'd be actively hostile or antagonistic towards the south representing fewer numbers, they'll be paddling against the tide. Nationalism and the non-designated middle-ground ("Other") - now representative of greater numbers - will be pushing for enhanced co-operation.
Last edited by DannyInvincible; 28/04/2017 at 11:30 AM.
This though: "...could make unionists more reluctant to cooperate with the south on a practical basis."
The very nature and existence of Unionism is predicated on a concept of non-cooperation. The middle ground will grow and the likes of Campbell, McCausland and Poots will be left behind. Thankfully.
DID YOU NOTICE A SIGN OUTSIDE MY HOUSE...?
The Daily Mail's rational and considered take on the situation:
Jeffrey Donaldson was of course measured in his response: " 'no chance' Northern Ireland would want to abandon the UK and join a 'struggling' EU."Originally Posted by The Daily Mail
"'None of this changes the reality that Northern Ireland remains part of the UK and I believe it is likely to do so in the lifetime of every single person alive today.
'What the EU is doing is little more than clarifying a legal position. No person in their right mind would want to give up British citizenship to join an organisation that is seriously struggling.
'This is no more than the Irish government trying to lay down a marker that there wouldn't be a problem.
'There is more chance of the Irish Republic wanting to rejoin the UK... given its huge dependence on the UK for trade.'"
DID YOU NOTICE A SIGN OUTSIDE MY HOUSE...?
My take is that today had nothing at all to do with Ireland.
The precident of Germany is as obvious as getting hit by a brick. Today was about putting Scotland and Catalonia off.
I'd like if possible to bring this back around to the issue of partition and the huge damage it does to our society. This week in the north we have had controversy over the potential closure of Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry. It seems ludicrously obvious to me that there should be an acute regional hospital in Dundalk to cover the people of Newry, Dundalk and Drogheda and surrounding areas. Yet people in Newry having a heart attack are to be carted off the Portadown.
This is crazy. This is directly because of partition. Partition is crazy.
Bring Back Belfast Celtic F.C.
In that the message to Scottish and Catalan separatists is that the north of Ireland will only be accommodated with continued EU membership because it would be uniting with a present member state rather than going independent alone? Why would today necessarily set a precedent for the Scottish and Catalan situations considering those situations aren't really analogous to our situation at all? And isn't the EU sympathetic to the soon-to-be-marooned Scots?
Last edited by DannyInvincible; 29/04/2017 at 1:12 AM.
The EU has always given the tit to the mouth screaming the loudest. Ireland want it made clear that Northern Ireland should be able to rejoin the rest of the island in the EU without any paperwork or bull****, and Spain want it made clear that Scotland can't. And that is exactly what has happened.
No European nation with a reasonable economy and human rights record has ever been told no as far as i am aware, but it seems obvious that Spain would want to pull up the drawbridge in the event of a Scottish application to rejoin. But for that the Scots would have been given a much better reception imho.
Bring Back Belfast Celtic F.C.
Obviously, as far as a fearful Spain is concerned, accommodation of Scotland by way of assuring Scots a smooth or seamless transition back into the EU bloc would only give encouragement to Catalan separatists, but when was it made clear that Scotland would have great difficulty re-joining the bloc? Was that clarified yesterday/today? Hasn't there been a bit of ambiguity and confusion over that since Scotland's independence debate began with most pronouncements from those in the know making clear that Scotland would have to re-apply but that this really shouldn't be an insurmountable hurdle?
This STV piece from the 20th of February claims that "[a]n independent Scotland could be "fast tracked" to full European Union membership by 2023, according to two academics".
This Guardian piece from the 14th of March states:
That reiterated position of Barroso was first set out in 2012.Originally Posted by Jennifer Rankin and Severin Carrell
Meanwhile, this New Statesman piece from the 29th of March argues that this notion of possible Scottish difficulty in the future is a pretence:
What has effectively or substantively changed as of yesterday or today, as far as Scotland's potential future route back into the EU (if it decides to leave the UK) is concerned?Originally Posted by Julia Rampen
Last edited by DannyInvincible; 29/04/2017 at 12:54 PM.
For what it's worth, the EU27 unanimously approved the draft negotiating guidelines for Brexit talks with UK within 15 minutes today.
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