See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-27278039.
Gerry Adams has been released from custody following days of questioning over the 1972 murder of Jean McConville in Northern Ireland. A file is being prepared to decide whether charges will be brought later. Mr Adams has always denied involvement in the murder.
One thing is certain: if Gerry Adams is summoned, justice may be served, but the Northern Ireland peace process will be irreparably damaged . In some ways, a greater peace would be served if he was not prosecuted, even if the PPS believe he was involved. Sinn Féin are "engaged" in the peace process and alienating them would not be in the long-term interests of the province. The next six months will be critical for the peace process. I am glad this decision is not mine to make.
In an ideal world the evil past would be history. One good thing would be for both side to say where "The Disappeared" are buried i.e. those killed by the IRA and protestants but whose place of burial has never been known. For the families this has been a nightmare. I am a believer in a amnesty for past political crimes and realise some who committed real atrocities would be free men. Evil was done on both sides of the divide in the last 50 years. Surely better to bury the hatchet of history and to work constructively for a really long, peaceful future. One of the enduring images in recent years in Northern Ireland is of Martin McGuinness and Ian Paisley - once sworn enemies - enjoying a laugh together (the so-called "chuckle brothers"). If they can make peace there is real hope.
Sadly, this is Northern Ireland and nothing follows sensible paths. We must now wait and hope.
Sunday, 4 May 2014
Saturday, 3 May 2014
Salcombe, Devon - where I came from years ago
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| Salcombe, S.Devon |
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| Looking out to sea - Salcombe |
Friday, 2 May 2014
Politics in Northern Ireland
Politics in Northern Ireland continues to puzzle me.
I am in no position to say whether or not Gerry Adams was in any way, shape or form involved in the murder in 1972 of Jean McConville. In many ways I hope he was not.
There is a kind of uneasy peace in the province. In many ways, the sectarian violence of a few years ago has gone, yet the fundamental sectarian bad feelings are still there simmering just beneath the surface. A visit to Northern Ireland still has reminders of the past: the barriers between Catholic and Protestant areas are still there in Belfast, the police stations still have huge barrier fences etc. The politics is divided on sectarian lines even now, not politics in the sense we know it elsewhere in the UK.
It seems to me very little would be needed to change the current (uneasy) peace back to violence.
Why cannot the ordinary folk of this most beautiful province cast the past aside and really embrace peace? True peace can only come when forgiveness has a chance to flourish. We are still some way from this.
I am in no position to say whether or not Gerry Adams was in any way, shape or form involved in the murder in 1972 of Jean McConville. In many ways I hope he was not.
There is a kind of uneasy peace in the province. In many ways, the sectarian violence of a few years ago has gone, yet the fundamental sectarian bad feelings are still there simmering just beneath the surface. A visit to Northern Ireland still has reminders of the past: the barriers between Catholic and Protestant areas are still there in Belfast, the police stations still have huge barrier fences etc. The politics is divided on sectarian lines even now, not politics in the sense we know it elsewhere in the UK.
It seems to me very little would be needed to change the current (uneasy) peace back to violence.
Why cannot the ordinary folk of this most beautiful province cast the past aside and really embrace peace? True peace can only come when forgiveness has a chance to flourish. We are still some way from this.
Max Clifford gets 8 years sentence
See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-2725931 .
So PR guru Max Clifford gets a sentence of 8 years allegedly for sexual assaults on women. With good behaviour "inside" he will be out again in 4-5 years' time. What do I think? No real views, but he was tried on the evidence before a judge and jury and found guilty, so he must serve his time according to English law.
This is one of the Operation Yewtree trials that has led to a conviction. I assume the evidence must have been convincing, whereas in many other trials it depended on very old, and somewhat hearsay, evidence that was never going to convince a jury, beyond reasonable doubt, of the defendant's guilt. In English law a man is innocent until proven guilty: the onus is on the prosecution to convince the jury of the evidence beyond reasonable doubt i.e. it has to be good and solid evidence.
My view is that a lot of people are getting on the compensation bandwagon now and many cases should not be brought to court. If the evidence is strong and recent, then yes, but hearsay evidence that is 50+ years old, when our public morals were very different is not on. In my place of work 50 years ago, the moral climate was quite different. Many a girl had her bottom pinched or was wolf whistled. I am not saying this was right, just that our standards today are different. What was acceptable then may not be by our standards today.
I also have a problem that it is only now these cases are coming into the open. Surely if a person was a monster 40 years ago he should have been brought to justice then and not in 2014? The argument that people would not have been believed then are not that convincing in really serious cases
My views - you may well hold differing views.
So PR guru Max Clifford gets a sentence of 8 years allegedly for sexual assaults on women. With good behaviour "inside" he will be out again in 4-5 years' time. What do I think? No real views, but he was tried on the evidence before a judge and jury and found guilty, so he must serve his time according to English law.
This is one of the Operation Yewtree trials that has led to a conviction. I assume the evidence must have been convincing, whereas in many other trials it depended on very old, and somewhat hearsay, evidence that was never going to convince a jury, beyond reasonable doubt, of the defendant's guilt. In English law a man is innocent until proven guilty: the onus is on the prosecution to convince the jury of the evidence beyond reasonable doubt i.e. it has to be good and solid evidence.
My view is that a lot of people are getting on the compensation bandwagon now and many cases should not be brought to court. If the evidence is strong and recent, then yes, but hearsay evidence that is 50+ years old, when our public morals were very different is not on. In my place of work 50 years ago, the moral climate was quite different. Many a girl had her bottom pinched or was wolf whistled. I am not saying this was right, just that our standards today are different. What was acceptable then may not be by our standards today.
I also have a problem that it is only now these cases are coming into the open. Surely if a person was a monster 40 years ago he should have been brought to justice then and not in 2014? The argument that people would not have been believed then are not that convincing in really serious cases
My views - you may well hold differing views.
Stroke progress
When I came out of hospital in January I was expecting to get better very quickly. That was early January and we are now early May, almost 4 months later.
Although walking is much better I still have major balance issues best described as feeling like I've just had 8 pints of beer. My eating and drinking by mouth are not that different, especially drinking which I still find hard. However, I have much less liquid feed directly into my stomach and am eating a larger variety of foods by mouth though. I must be making progress without realising.
The lesson seems to be to measure progress in many months and not weeks and to be very patient. Progress is slow and in fits and starts. I have to "hang in there" and not expect to get instantly better. All in its own time. This is not as I expected. Some days I feel I'm actually sliding backwards and this can be disheartening. To be honest, I am very frustrated with the progress.
.
Although walking is much better I still have major balance issues best described as feeling like I've just had 8 pints of beer. My eating and drinking by mouth are not that different, especially drinking which I still find hard. However, I have much less liquid feed directly into my stomach and am eating a larger variety of foods by mouth though. I must be making progress without realising.
The lesson seems to be to measure progress in many months and not weeks and to be very patient. Progress is slow and in fits and starts. I have to "hang in there" and not expect to get instantly better. All in its own time. This is not as I expected. Some days I feel I'm actually sliding backwards and this can be disheartening. To be honest, I am very frustrated with the progress.
.
Thursday, 1 May 2014
Peaches Geldof
See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-27242721
What a sad loss of a young life. Heroin was found in her body so she may have died, like her mother, from an overdose? Whatever, it is too young to die for any reason, especially with a child. Sir Bob Geldof lost a young wife and now has lost a daughter. My heart goes out to him in his pain. It must be dreadful for him, especially with a world watching, when all he wants is to be able to grieve in peace.
What a sad loss of a young life. Heroin was found in her body so she may have died, like her mother, from an overdose? Whatever, it is too young to die for any reason, especially with a child. Sir Bob Geldof lost a young wife and now has lost a daughter. My heart goes out to him in his pain. It must be dreadful for him, especially with a world watching, when all he wants is to be able to grieve in peace.
Carbon Capture
See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-27063796 .
We seem to be sleep-walking into the future with no real attempts to move away from a carbon based energy economy. Oil and gas are very heavily subsidised I believe in many western nations, so there is no imperative to make a switch to more sustainable energy sources. This being so we need to either change (fast) or move to measures that will mitigate the effects of high carbon use.
The UK looks to have been granted EU money (300M euros) to support a pilot project (see BBC report linked). This takes CO2 from coal power station emissions and buries it under the North Sea. If successful, CCS could be a useful technique as we make the switch to a lower carbon energy economy.
We tend to forget the positive side of EU membership.
We seem to be sleep-walking into the future with no real attempts to move away from a carbon based energy economy. Oil and gas are very heavily subsidised I believe in many western nations, so there is no imperative to make a switch to more sustainable energy sources. This being so we need to either change (fast) or move to measures that will mitigate the effects of high carbon use.
The UK looks to have been granted EU money (300M euros) to support a pilot project (see BBC report linked). This takes CO2 from coal power station emissions and buries it under the North Sea. If successful, CCS could be a useful technique as we make the switch to a lower carbon energy economy.
We tend to forget the positive side of EU membership.
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