text:
Councillor Kavanagh's Message
Round Table Discussion: Alleviating the Impacts of COVID-19 on Women I had the privilege of co-hosting a round table discussion with Mayor Watson, in my capacity as the Council Liaison…
Remembrance Day at Britannia Park
Remembrance Day is a solemn occasion when we give thanks and remember those who served their country. My own father served in the Irish Army and my mother worked on…
Ottawa Public Health Vaccination Plan 5 – 11 year olds
Pfizer has made a submission to Health Canada for regulatory approval of their COVID-19 vaccines for children and we expect a decision to be made in the coming weeks. Immediately…
Who can receive their third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine?
For the most current information about who can get vaccinated visit OttawaPublicHealth.ca November 5, 2021 – Expanded eligibility started on November 3, 2021 – But it must be 6 months…
Lincoln Fields to Pinecrest Station 90-Day Lookahead
Overview The O-Train West Extension is one of the three major extensions to Ottawa's Light Rail Transit Project. The extension will add over 15 km of new rail and 11…
Anti-Racism Secretariat – What we heard report
The City of Ottawa's Anti-Racism Secretariat (ARS) conducted extensive engagement with Ottawa residents and community stakeholders to guide the development of the first Anti-Racism Strategy for the City of Ottawa…
O-Train Line Rail Safety Advisory Letter
On Tuesday, November 2, the City received a Rail Safety Advisory (RSA) letter from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) in reference to work procedures that contributed to the…
Bay Ward Soprano in the news for mask design
Ottawa vocalist and choir director Joan Fearnley set in motion a sewing circle that stitched its way around the world when she started posting tutorials for a mask she designed specifically for singers. Read the rest of…
Section of Richmond Road Sidewalk scheduled for Renewal Summer 2022
The City of Ottawa has identified the sidewalk along Richmond Road (part north, part south) between Carling Avenue to 130m East of Poulin Avenue to be renewed due to its…
Remembrance Day events and schedule changes
Ottawa – The National Remembrance Day Ceremony will take place at the National War Memorial on Thursday, November 11 and will be modified in accordance with local health guidelines. If…


text:
Q: Copy files from specific directory using PowerShell I want to copy files witch part of they folder name is same e.g ../example/test_n, n is from 1 to 15. I saw a resolution when using bash, we just need to write one line and it would be cp ../example/test* ..example/dest. And my question is, is there a equal operation in PowerShell?

A: Equivalent of your bash sample with a wildcard could be
Copy-Item C:\example\test* C:\example\dest\ -recurse

Assuming you don't need to have a control to limit the 1-15 range.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany Accelerates European Expansion Plans for Single-use Products Critical to Manufacturing Vaccines and Lifesaving Therapies
Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany will add a single-use assembly production unit at its Life Science Center in Molsheim, France.
17 Mar 2021 | Darmstadt, Germany
€ 25 million investment in Molsheim, France, will create 350 new jobs
Response to unprecedented global demand of key technology
Production capabilities anticipated to be operational by end of 2021
Darmstadt, Germany, March 17, 2021 – Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, a leading science and technology company, today announced that it will add a single-use assembly production unit at its Life Science Center in Molsheim, France. With the € 25 million investment, the company is accelerating its European expansion plans for this key technology, which is used for the production of Covid-19 vaccines and other lifesaving therapies. Molsheim will be the first site in Europe where the Life Science business sector manufactures the product. Further production sites are located in Danvers, Massachusetts, and Wuxi, China.
The project was announced today in Molsheim in the presence of EU Commissioner Thierry Breton and the French Minister Delegate for Industry, Agnès Pannier-Runacher.
"The pandemic has confronted the world with inconceivable challenges. The science and technology efforts of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany have resulted in significant contributions since the outset of Covid-19. Our new European production unit will increase capacity of the urgently needed supply of single-use assemblies to vaccine and therapeutic manufacturers worldwide. Today's announcement of our expansion in Europe speaks of the company's global commitment during and beyond this pandemic," said Belén Garijo, Vice Chair of the Executive Board and Deputy CEO of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.
The investment in Molsheim will add more than 350 new jobs in total along with 1,700 square meters of ISO7 or ISO5 cleanrooms, using modular building design and existing infrastructure to allow future expansions without any disruptions. The new unit will produce Mobius® single-use assemblies, a key offering that is part of the Mobius® MyWay program of the company's Life Science business. It is planned to be operational by the end of 2021.
With more than 1,700 employees of 32 different nationalities, and producing more than 10,000 products, the Molsheim hub is the third largest site globally belonging to the company's Life Science business. It supplies the world market, exporting more than 85 percent of its production. It hosts three production units dedicated to the manufacture and assembly of products and solutions for pharmaceutical manufacturing processes and applied solutions products for analysis in clinical and industrial environments and water purification systems.
"In recent years, many biopharmaceutical manufacturers have turned to single-use technologies for their flexibility, cost savings, speed and reduced risk, leading to double-digit market growth for this segment. The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated this trend, with most programs using single-use production templates," said Chris Ross, interim sector head, Life Science, at Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. "Our Molsheim site has been a global center of excellence for BioMonitoring and water purification activities for many years. With this new single-use production unit, we will add critical capabilities to meet our customers' needs, while creating new jobs for our community."
Recently, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany announced expansion projects in its Life Science business sector in Darmstadt, Germany; Cork, Ireland; Buchs, Switzerland; Carlsbad, California; Madison, Wisconsin; Jaffrey, New Hampshire; and Danvers, Massachusetts. At the latter site, the company is currently working to double the local single-use production capacity by the end of 2021. These expansions are part of an ambitious, multi-year program to increase the industrial capacity and Life Science capabilities to support growing global demand for lifesaving medications and to make significant contributions to public health.
European-expansion-plans-NA.pdf
Molsheim-Assemblies.jpg
For more information, please contact Andreas Cezanne
+49 151 1454 2702 Email
All Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany news releases are distributed by email at the same time they become available on the EMD Group Website. In case you are a resident of the USA or Canada please go to www.emdgroup.com/subscribe to register for your online subscription of this service as our geo-targeting requires new links in the email. You may later change your selection or discontinue this service.
Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, a leading science and technology company, operates across healthcare, life science and electronics. Around 58,000 employees work to make a positive difference to millions of people's lives every day by creating more joyful and sustainable ways to live. From advancing gene-editing technologies and discovering unique ways to treat the most challenging diseases to enabling the intelligence of devices – the company is everywhere. In 2020, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany generated sales of € 17.5 billion in 66 countries.
The company holds the global rights to the name and trademark "Merck" internationally. The only exceptions are the United States and Canada, where the business sectors of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany operate as EMD Serono in healthcare, MilliporeSigma in life science, and EMD Electronics. Since its founding 1668, scientific exploration and responsible entrepreneurship have been key to the company's technological and scientific advances. To this day, the founding family remains the majority owner of the publicly listed company.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


So pleased that Jessica Norrie agreed to write a monthly literary column for us. Her knowledge of books, from childhood classics to modern literature is exceptional and I am looking forward to learning more about all of them.
Reading from the very start – books that stimulate a child's imagination.
Loneliness explored in science and literature.
A spell for spring… books to bring colour into your life.
Can your protagonist be too old to be interesting?
Have you lost that reading feeling?
Jessica Norrie studied French literature at Sussex University, and trained as a teacher at Sheffield. Then she wandered into parenthood, told her now grown up children stories, and heard theirs. A qualified translator, she worked on an eclectic mix of material, from health reports on racehorses to harrowing refugee tales. She taught, full time, part time, adults, children, co-authored a text book and ran teacher training. In 2008 she was inspired with the idea for "The Infinity Pool" and it appeared as a fully fledged novel in 2015. Meanwhile she sings soprano and plays the piano, walks in the forest and enjoys living in and using London. She looks forward to writing more in the future.
In this thoughtful novel set on a sun-baked island, Adrian Hartman, the charismatic director of the Serendipity holiday community, is responsible for ensuring the perfect mindful break, with personal growth and inner peace guaranteed. People return year after year to bare their souls. For some, Adrian IS Serendipity. But Adrian disappears, and with him goes the serenity of his staff and guests, who are bewildered without their leader. The hostility of the local villagers is beginning to boil over. Is their anger justified or are the visitors, each in a different way, just paranoid?
As romance turns sour and conflict threatens the stability of both communities, everyone has to find their own way to survive. This evocative story explores the decisions of adults who still need to come of age, the effect of well-intentioned tourism on a traditional community, and the real meaning of getting away from it all.
Jessica Norrie's novel, set on a sun-drenched island somewhere in the Mediterranean, examines the personalities and pitfalls encountered on the sort of package holiday that offers holistic life-skills and self-improvement courses. While practising yoga and suchlike activities, guests at the Serendipity resort, together with staff and, from time to time, local villagers, confront social, personal and philosophical challenges.Norrie has a confident narrative voice and a shrewd and sympathetic view of human nature, which makes her account of the goings-on at Serendipity entertaining as well as thought-provoking.
The central character is absent for much of the book: this means that the reader builds up a picture of him through the thoughts and observations of other characters, like a photographic negative – he is defined by his impact on others. When he re-emerges in his own right, his condition is so altered that we learn about other people from their decidedly contrasting (and sometimes unattractive) reactions.
The Infinity Pool is a well-written and acutely observed examination of diverse lives.


Was LA Reid really the one who decided the tracklist?
Thread: Was LA Reid really the one who decided the tracklist?
Why didnt we get film masters?
A possible reason could be they don't see the point in putting a sizable amount of money into restoring/remastering music videos.
Tbh, yeah, I think LA Reid hand picked all the songs. I don't think he went through all of MJ's vault to pick out all the songs; I think just a select number of songs were presented to him and he chose them.
Last edited by Universe; 12-03-2018 at 11:13 AM.
According to Damien Shields, the Estate (namely archivist Karen Langford) has gone on record in their IRS case to claim that there is no music left to release.
Are the douchbags aware of what exactly lies within the vault?
Some of Michaels former collaborators (e.g. Matt Forger, John Barnes) have stated that most of the songs do exist in a non-mixed state - meaning they're divided onto several different reels. In some cases even additional hardware (e.g. synthesizer) is needed to be connected through in order to playback the songs in their entirety.
Oh god we'll never hear any of it hahah. The estate couldn't even be bothered to mix some songs for the Xscape deluxe edition never mind putting actual effort into assembling tracks.


text:
LINSTEAD NEWS
SCARY – Linstead police were without a vehicle of their own for over a week
November 25, 2019 November 25, 2019 Horace Mills	0 Comments Deputy Superintendent Dahlia Garrick, linstead police, vehicle
Deputy Superintendent Dahlia Garrick
The relatively large and increasingly troubled area of Linstead in St Catherine was without a police vehicle of its own for about two weeks and was relying on a motor vehicle assigned to Guy's Hill Police Station, the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) has confirmed.
The situation initially was brought to The Beacon's attention by Councillor for the Treadways Division, Sydney Rose, who complained that the Linstead Police had no vehicle to travel to the scene where one of his employees was robbed on November 16.
When our news team made checks with Head of the Corporate Communications Unit of the JCF, Deputy Superintendent Dahlia Garrick, she confirmed Councillor Rose's claim about the vehicle problem.
She explained that, based on information provided to her, two vehicles assigned to Linstead Police Station were out of operation.
She said one has been down for some time, and the other was involved in an accident recently.
Deputy Superintendent Garrick however stated that the Linstead Police received a vehicle last week Friday, November 22 – the day when The Beacon posed questions about the issue. The responses were provided on November 23.
Deputy Superintendent Garrick, in her response, said: "They (Linstead Police) did in fact confirm that the unit that was serving that area was in an accident and was out, and that some support was given by Guy's Hill, but I was given the assurance that an additional unit was placed in the area [on November 22]."
Deputy Superintendent Garrick, in the meantime, stated that the police have been increasing their presence in the town of Linstead in anticipation of the yuletide season.
"They (Linstead Police) said they have plans to reintroduce some additional mobile patrol. They said, in recent weeks, they have increased the beat patrol in the township, and there should be some additional heightening of policing activities coming on now as we are about to enter the yuletide season," she further said.
By Horace Mills, Journalist; B.A. degree in Media and Communications; CARIMAC, University of the West Indies
← CROFT'S HILL: Dogs kill 24 goats on one night
Point Hill man, known for selling shoes, dies in crash →


text:
Our Earth Copier Paper Available Locally
Exclusively available from independent local office products resellers, Nemo and Office Club recently launched a new environmentally friendly A4 copier paper in partnership with the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust.
Established by author and conservationist Gerald Durrell, Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust has had the same four-word mission statement, 'Saving Species from Extinction', since it was founded in 1959 and this remains at the heart of what the charity does today. For every ream of the new ' Our Earth' paper sold a charitable donation is made to help the charity to continue with its work that has included saving 14 species from extinction, the release of thousands of animals into the wild and the protection of 435,445 hectares of habitat amongst its many achievements.
Beth Gallichan, Fundraising Manager from Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust commented that, "we are delighted to build this partnership with Nemo and Office Club dealers to raise awareness of the important work we are doing to create a wilder, healthier and more colourful world. In choosing to put our name to the paper brand it was important that the production process of the product met the very highest of environmental standards, and this is very much the case with 'Our Earth' paper."
Tim Beaumont, Managing Director of Nemo and Office Club, added: "We are very excited about the partnership with Durrell and the awareness that can be raised through the exclusive sale of the paper brand from our dealers who are supported with a full marketing programme to help them to spread the word and sell the paper based on its support of the charity and environmental credentials rather than feel the need to sell paper purely on price – Providing them with new margin opportunities on a traditionally low margin product."
The international charity recently launched its 'Rewild our World' strategy that sets out four headline
goals to achieve by 2025, when its founder, Gerald Durrell, would have celebrated his 100th birthday.
In 2025 Durrell wants to see:
• 10 ecosystems across the world's major biomes rewilded
• 100 threatened species on the road to recovery
• 500 endangered species projects working more effectively
• 1,000,000 people better connected with nature
The partnership with Nemo and Office Club will see members and their customers play their part in achieving this goal, whilst delivering a high-quality product for use in the home and the workplace.
Find a local stockist


text:
Commissioners on the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the United Kingdom (CSC)
Commonwealth Scholarship Commission
The Commission's Secretariat is based at the Association of Commonwealth Universities, in Tavistock Square, London. Most (but not all) meetings are held in London locations; and events are held throughout the UK.
Five – with terms for three Commissioners to commence from 1 January 2020 and terms for two Commissioners to commence from 1 May 2020
Positions are voluntary and unpaid, although Commissioners receive an honorarium (currently £300) in respect of each selection meeting attended. Travel and subsistence costs are also reimbursed in line with the Commission's travel policy.
You will typically attend two scholarship selection meetings per year and 4 full Commission meetings, to feed into the strategy and direction going forward. Commissioners also attend several events; Welcome and Farewell events for Scholars or any other high level events
The CSC is a non-departmental public body, responsible for delivering the UK's contribution to the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan. It achieves this through awarding around 750 scholarships and fellowships for postgraduate study and professional development to Commonwealth citizens each year. The CSC receives funding from the Department for International Development, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Department for Education, and most UK universities.
There are 15 Commissioners (including a Chair), drawn from a range of academic, development and private sector backgrounds. Their main roles are to:
• Select recipients of awards through selection committees
• Provide policy direction and oversight
• Monitor the effectiveness of awards
• Ensure appropriate structures for governance and accountability
The core requirements of Commissioners are to:
• Establish the overall strategic direction of the Commission within the policy and resources framework determined by DFID
• Participate in policy and strategy discussions at full Commission meetings (currently three half days per year)
• Contribute actively to at least one Commission Committee (currently finance, awards policy, evaluation and monitoring, and audit and risk management), and/or take on a 'Lead Commissioner' role
• Participate in the selection of award holders though participation in selection committees (typically three to four days per year, plus five to nine days reading and preparation time)
• Attend occasional events with award holders and other stakeholders
Applications are invited from candidates with a range of subject and experience backgrounds who feel they have the skills and experience necessary to select recipients of awards and provide policy direction and oversight. Expertise and interest in higher education and international development issues are essential in the current round and the Commission is seeking to recruit at least two candidates with a background/expertise in STEM. Applicants with experience of increasing/supporting involvement of disadvantaged groups in education and practical experience in the field of international development are particularly encouraged to apply. Specific skills/experience such as engaging with members and partners (such as Alumni), as well as experience of finance and budget management, governance (including audit) and evaluation would also be desirable but are not essential.
Positions are for a term of three years in the first instance, with the possibility of renewal for one further term of three years. In accordance with legislative requirements, Commissioners must be UK citizens.
In addition to the qualities listed above, candidates should have the ability to work well in a team environment, to analyse complex information, and to contribute towards strategy development and implementation. An empathy with individuals from a wide and diverse range of backgrounds is also helpful. The specific skills listed in the full description section above would also be helpful, since these would address specific gaps in the Commission which have been identified but are not the main requirements of the position.
CSC Commissioner Recruitment Information Pack_for update v4 PH DB changes for DFID HR (002)


Join the LWV Northfield-Cannon Falls and you will become part of a respected national grassroots organization, where individuals like you are actively engaged in creating positive change on the local, state, and national levels.
Become a member and work to shape the important issues that keep our communities strong.
Empowering millions of voters to protect their right to vote.
Educating citizens and fostering dialogue on pertinent issues – from health care and climate change to openness in government.
Working to ensure that ALL votes are counted and ALL voices are heard.
Membership is open to men and women 18 years or older.
If you would like to subscribe to our mailing list and receive our monthly eCatalyst newsletter as well as updates from our Current Happenings blog, please click here.
The LWVMN never supports or opposes political parties or candidates and as a 501(c)(3) organization is never used to lobby or influence legislation.


text:
module Forem
  class Post < ActiveRecord::Base
    include Workflow
    include Forem::Concerns::NilUser

    workflow_column :state
    workflow do
      state :pending_review do
        event :spam,    :transitions_to => :spam
        event :approve, :transitions_to => :approved
      end
      state :spam
      state :approved do
        event :approve, :transitions_to => :approved
      end
    end

    # Used in the moderation tools partial
    attr_accessor :moderation_option

    attr_accessible :text, :reply_to_id

    belongs_to :topic
    belongs_to :forem_user, :class_name => Forem.user_class.to_s, :foreign_key => :user_id
    belongs_to :reply_to, :class_name => "Post"

    has_many :replies, :class_name  => "Post",
                       :foreign_key => "reply_to_id",
                       :dependent   => :nullify

    validates :text, :presence => true

    delegate :forum, :to => :topic

    after_create :set_topic_last_post_at
    after_create :subscribe_replier, :if => :user_auto_subscribe?
    after_create :skip_pending_review

    class << self
      def approved
        where(:state => "approved")
      end

      def approved_or_pending_review_for(user)
        if user
          where arel_table[:state].eq('approved').or(
                  arel_table[:state].eq('pending_review').and(arel_table[:user_id].eq(user.id))
                )
        else
          approved
        end
      end

      def by_created_at
        order :created_at
      end

      def pending_review
        where :state => 'pending_review'
      end

      def spam
        where :state => 'spam'
      end

      def visible
        joins(:topic).where(:forem_topics => { :hidden => false })
      end

      def topic_not_pending_review
        joins(:topic).where(:forem_topics => { :state => 'approved'})
      end

      def moderate!(posts)
        posts.each do |post_id, moderation|
          # We use find_by_id here just in case a post has been deleted.
          post = Post.find_by_id(post_id)
          post.send("#{moderation[:moderation_option]}!") if post
        end
      end
    end

    def user_auto_subscribe?
      user && user.respond_to?(:forem_auto_subscribe) && user.forem_auto_subscribe?
    end

    def owner_or_admin?(other_user)
      user == other_user || other_user.forem_admin?
    end

    protected

    def subscribe_replier
      if topic && user
        topic.subscribe_user(user.id)
      end
    end

    # Called when a post is approved.
    def approve
      approve_user
      return if notified?
      email_topic_subscribers
    end

    def email_topic_subscribers
      topic.subscriptions.includes(:subscriber).find_each do |subscription|
        subscription.send_notification(id) if subscription.subscriber != user
      end
      update_column(:notified, true)
    end

    def set_topic_last_post_at
      topic.update_column(:last_post_at, created_at)
    end

    def skip_pending_review
      approve! unless user && user.forem_moderate_posts?
    end

    def approve_user
      user.update_column(:forem_state, "approved") if user && user.forem_state != "approved"
    end

    def spam
      user.update_column(:forem_state, "spam") if user
    end

  end
end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Second Anniversary of the Defenders!
Come celebrate the second anniversary of the Trylon's Defenders series with the brainchild of it all, Jim Brunzell III. Jim is the Director of Sound Unseen and has a weekly film column that you should definitely check out on the Twin Cities Daily Planet. You'll have to show up to see what kind of abomination Jim has picked for your viewing (dis)pleasure, but remember: asking 'why' is your job! As with all the Defenders screenings, proceeds go towards a worthy cause, and in this case they will go towards the 2013 edition of Sound Unseen coming to the Trylon in November. The fun starts at 7:00 pm tonight, Wednesday, August 21. Advanced tickets are available at the Trylon website.


text:
It's still only thursday
"Yes it's been a successful week…"
Respect, Integrity and Equality
Fodor's Sectarian Folly
Ordinary Voices: Interview 6
The Masters of Debate
Earwig on Prisoners of Conscience
Anthony McINtyre on Prisoners of Conscience
Ozzie on Bonfires
DeValera
Indyref
Irish nationalism
Loyalism
Scottish Referendum
Ullans
Ulster History
Ulster murals
Ulster Politics
Ulster-Scots
UVF
UYM
Abortion Alliance Party Apathy Art Belfast Benny Redfern Bombs Censorship Collusion Crimea Culture Derry/Londonderry Donetsk Europe Gary Lynch Gaza Hamas History holocaust Ideology Indyref Iraq Ireland Irish Irish nationalism Irish Nazis ISIS Islamic State Israel Kosovo Language Legacy Londonderry & North Antrim Loyalism Loyalist Murals Nationalism Nazi Northern Ireland Ordinary Voices peace building PIRA/Sinn Fein PIRA Warcrimes Politics Progressive Unionist Party Reconciliation republicanism Russia Salmond Scotland Serbia Sinn Fein SNP social media Speaker Stormont Syria Terrorism The Troubles Twitter UDA UDP UFF UK Ukraine Ullans Ulster Ulster-Scots Ulster Loyalism Ulster politics Unionism Unionist UPRG UWC Strike Westminster
Follow It's still only thursday on WordPress.com
Tag / Northern Ireland
01/07/2019 01/07/2019 by Ozzie
Nationalism, Reconciliation, social media
Irish nationalism, Northern Ireland, Reconciliation, republicanism, social media, Twitter
How many times have you heard the Irish republican mantra of "Respect, Integrity and Equality"? I've oft wondered just what they meant when they said those words.
Sometimes I honestly think republicans don't know what those words actually mean.
Respect? Integrity? Equality?
Every single day on social media one can encounter these lovely, tolerant people. The very epitomes of respect, unity and egalitarianism.
Ah yes, John O'Neill, the well known historian, author and university lecturer
A threatening tweet? Surely not!
Indeed. Keep this in mind for a second
Punctuation mustn't be a strong point of renowned authors/lecturers like John
Anti-British racism as well, tut tut!
Maybe it's me that is mistaken about the definition of words like 'respect' and 'equality'? Maybe, being a Loyalist, I really am stupid?
No lazy sectarian stereotypes here! Nope. None. Zero. Honest.
But perhaps I'm being too quick to judge, maybe these people are simply the lunatic fringe? Surely the self appointed 'parody wing' of the republican movement wouldn't stoop so low?
OK, never mind, let's move on….
Elaine is a special kind of bigot, here she is targeting a grandmother who shared a picture of her grandson (note, we have deliberately obscured the picture)
More from the charming Elaine? OK, if you insist
Elaine doesn't like Americans. Or "Brits", strangely though….
Says the troll group that has a very cozy relationship with certain dissident republicans, but hey, I suppose they aren't "terrorists"?!
Racist, sectarian and homophobic. Say it ain't so!
Sometimes I can't even read these lovely and tolerant tweets, such is the level of intellectual brilliance.
"ro0bbed the natives". For shame
Do republicans deny being republicans so they can distance republicanism from their own tweets?
Oops, posted that one again! Btw John Paul, how does your own medicine taste?
Such beautiful people
Is it just me or does Elaine look like she's dressed as Batman?
OK, so let's try to get some balance here, let's go back to John O'Neill, well-known lecturer and author.
Such respect.
I'm beginning to feel a little overwhelmed by all this respect, Integrity and equality.
Apparently John is also an expert in pest control.
What a shame. We should crowd fund some university to re-employ John.
Another one who seems fixated on rats.
I don't know about you but all this respect and equality is starting to make me feel a bit ill.
The Dark Knight can't stand crime*
(*unless it's republican crime)
Somebody seems a little obsessed.
Elaine defending ISIS. Surely she must be on a watch list somewhere? GCHQ, we're looking at you here!
Now that's what I call respect!
Yes Paul, I think it is.
Nice of professor O'Neill to openly admit that Protestants were ethnically cleansed from Co. Cork.
True story. Ireland almost became a German state. Honestly.
John is a historian, an author of several books and is the world's best lecturer. He is also fearsomely handsome.
Well folks, I think that's enough for one day. After all that equality and respect I think I need to lie down in a dark room for a while.
Never fear though, we'll be back next week with more evidence of the true nature of Irish republicanism.
Nationalism, NORTHERN IRELAND, Reconciliation, Ulster Politics, Uncategorized
Legacy, Loyalism, Northern Ireland, Ordinary Voices, peace building, Reconciliation, The Troubles, Ulster politics
Respondent is Enda, who describes himself as-
"27, recently married, council employee, Liverpool FC fanatic and hater of DIY. South Tyrone man living in Belfast"
As with all the interviews in the Ordinary Voices project, this interview was conducted via email.
Q1. How would you describe yourself politically?
I'm not actually sure anymore tbh. I'm definitely a Nationalist and a couple of years ago I would have called myself a Republican but now I'm not entirely sure.
I suppose I am still a Republican at heart although I have lost a lot of faith in Sinn Féin in the last couple of years.
To give you the short answer- I'm a Nationalist without a party to support.
Q2. Do you think there is an inherent bias with regard to Legacy Issues?
No, I honestly don't think there is. The British forces (and I include the RUC/UDR in that) did a lot of heinous things during the "Troubles". Those who killed innocent people have to be brought to justice.
An awful lot of Republicans and a fair number of Loyalists did face justice and served long prison terms, it is only right that state forces face the same. The IRA and Loyalist groups did not keep records of their actions, the army and police did though and people deserve the truth.
Q3. Do you think that legacy issues are being handled well?
Yes, actually I think the UK government is doing ok in that regard. Something like a Truth Commission will never work in the North. Some people would be truthful, some wouldn't and then you have those who simply wouldn't be reliable in their testimony.
A relative of my wife's is a former Republican prisoner. The man is 60 years old and in poor health because of years of heavy drinking. Tbh I don't think he'd be able to remember accurately things he was involved in 30 or 40 years ago and I'm sure there are many others like him.
Q4. Do you think that Legacy Issues are damaging the Peace Process?
No. I think the peace process is more or less fireproof now. There's no going back to the "Troubles" now. Too much time has passed, too many people have moved on. There is a huge centre ground now and many of those people don't really care about the issues of the past.
Of course there is still a lot of hurt on both sides, on the Nationalist side especially I think, but I can't ever see things going back to the way they were years ago. There's just no appetite for it from anybody.
Q5. Do you think that the Loyalist community has been unfairly stereotyped in a negative way?
No. I don't think that at all. Loyalists bring any negative publicity on themselves. They are their own worst enemy a lot of the time. Take bonfires for example. Why the constant need to insult and intimidate others with these massive bonfires? Why put Holy Statues and flags and other things onto these fires?
Loyalist "culture" is a joke tbh. Nothing but constant marching and burning things. It actually angers me. Loyalists could celebrate Irish culture in their own way but they refuse to even admit that they are Irish, so instead they go out of their way to antagonise others. The DUP pander to Loyalists which is why so many people hate them as a party. The DUP will never get votes from the centre ground because they won't walk away from the bonfire builders and the "kick the Pope" bands.
Q6. Do you believe that reconciliation is possible between the two communities?
No. We will continue to live parallel lives I think. The centre ground will keep growing, Nationalism will pretty much remain as is and Unionism will continue to be pushed to the margins. We will probably end up in a situation where the people in the centre interact with Nationalists and vice versa but Unionists and Loyalists will be left on the sidelines.
I don't think that Loyalists are capable of reconciliation, or want it. There are some people on the other side who are the same, they just can't move on. So I suppose the north will just stagger on as it is.
Q7. Do you believe that a 'united Ireland' is imminent?
No, unfortunately. I stopped supporting Sinn Féin partly because they have absolutely no clue how they can achieve reunification. Sadly there are lots of Nationalists who are too comfortable and complacent. They will keep on as they are.
Everyone says that Brexit will lead to reunification but I don't see it. It's not going to make any difference to hard-line Unionists, they will still be against a UI even if they are broke and the country is ruined and despite what a lot of Republicans will tell you, a United Ireland is impossible without winning over a lot of Unionists.
It's too late imo, the North is becoming more multicultural and progressive. Where I live now is very diverse. There is a large Muslim community here now. Will people who have come to live here in the last few years vote to leave the UK? Probably not.
Then there's the centre ground, the people who vote for the Green Party and Alliance and even some SDLP or PBP voters, they might be Nationalists, even just culturally, but people like that will vote with their heads not with their hearts. If there was a border poll tomorrow people like that will vote to keep the NHS and their Civil Service jobs.
Q8. What are your hopes and aspirations for Northern Ireland in the medium to long term?
Aside from a United Ireland, I'd like to see the North becoming a more modern and progressive place. I want an ILA and the laws on abortion and Equal Marriage changed and brought into line with the rest of the world.
I'd like to see the DUP disappear from the political landscape and I'd like to see Sinn Féin come up with some coherent policies, especially with regards to the economy. Most of all I want there to be peace- complete peace and normality. No more murders like that of Lyra McKee. No more pipe bomb attacks. No more punishment beatings or kneecappings or security alerts or riots. Just peace for everyone.
Our thanks to Enda for participating in the Ordinary Voices project.
23/04/2019 23/04/2019 by vvv1688
The Dead Weight of History & the Hypocrisy of Sinn Fein
Derry, Irish nationalism, Londonderry, Sinn Fein
Derry/Londonderry, Ireland, Irish nationalism, New IRA, Northern Ireland, PIRA/Sinn Fein, Soaradh, Terrorism
How do the 'New IRA' justify their actions?
In the wake of the senseless murder of Lyra McKee some reevaluation of entrenched positions is necessary, and urgent. We must ask ourselves how we have arrived at the situation, where 21 years after the signing of the Belfast Agreement, young women are being murdered on the streets of our second city by Irish republican extremists.
From where do these gangs draw support? From where do they take their inspiration? Unfortunately those are extremely easy questions to answer.
The 'New IRA', like the Real IRA, Continuity IRA, Provisional IRA and the Official IRA before them, see themselves as the legitimate heirs of the insurrectionists of Easter, 1916.
The 'New IRA' on parade in Dublin. This could however be any republican grouping from the last 50 years.
Furthermore, groups like the so-called New IRA, also look to the actions of their predecessors for moral justification. The statement released by them today, apologising for the death of Ms McKee but attempting to deflect blame away from themselves, is almost a carbon copy of many such statements released over the years by the Provisional IRA, INLA, IPLO etc etc.
A significant number of the older 'volunteers' of the New IRA will have grown up hearing such statements. ALL of the members of that group, and it's political wing Soaradh, will have grown up hearing dead PIRA/Sinn Fein, OIRA, IPLO and INLA/IRSP members being eulogised and lionised.
Dead republican activists are held up as exemplary people. Made into larger than life figures, heroes to be worshipped and emulated by the younger generation. Such veneration of the republican dead continues to this day, indeed, it has become even more bombastic, unrealistic and quasi religious.
Bobby Sands, former burglar, now portrayed by republicans as a modern day Saint.
This Easter, Provisional Sinn Fein have been busily engaged in myth making. Remembering the so-called "patriot dead", not as having been living, breathing, fallible human beings, but as symbols of their cause. Comic book versions of real people.
House breakers, gunmen, alcoholic thugs and child murderers are lauded as being almost saintly.
Lofty quotes are attributed to men who, in life, struggled with basic literacy. Morbid graveside orations take on the character of something akin to a church service, mixed with an NSDAP party rally.
Loyalism does not indulge in such outlandish commemoration. Partly because militant Loyalism remembers its fallen on Remembrance Sunday, a day on which any outlandish or overtly militaristic displays would be roundly condemned (rightly so), by the wider Unionist community and by society at large.
Partly because Loyalism does not have at its core a foundational myth like that of Irish republicanism, which has turned the events of Easter week, 1916, into an almost miraculous sequence of events, culminating in the "blood sacrifice" of the Easter rebels.
A Loyalist commemoration in Belfast.
Our critics will, without doubt, highlight our previous articles in remembrance of fallen Loyalist volunteers and accuse ISOT of hypocrisy. Any meaningful reading of those articles will, however, reveal that my co-author was not attempting to present the dead as paragons of virtue, nor as cartoonish, uber-heroic archetypes, but was attempting merely to humanise those who, in the opinion of both myself and my co-author, paid the supreme sacrifice in defence of their community and their country.
A re-reading of those articles will reveal no 'call-to-arms' from beyond the grave. No quotes attributed posthumously in order to inspire the impressionable youth.
Rank Hypocrisy
There is, however, incredible hypocrisy in the words of PSF, who apparently see no contradiction in, on the one hand, condemning the violent actions of the New IRA, whilst on the other hand eulogising the dead of the Provisional IRA and presenting their actions, not only as justifiable, but as having been necessary in the context of the times.
"Our IRA = good, New IRA = bad" the hypocritical message of PIRA/Sinn Fein
Thus Sinn Fein glamourise and romanticise violence. Young, and not-so-young, men within the nationalist/republican community are left with the impression that in order to earn high status within their community, and to earn fame within Irish republican circles, they must engage in violence (of one sort or another).
It is not only hypocritical and disingenuous, it is also dangerous. Young Irish republicans in places like the Creggan will see Sinn Fein's condemnation of the actions of the New IRA as being either- A) hollow words issued in order to assuage popular opinion, or B) the words of traitors who have abandoned the 'true faith', either for economic gain, or for the sake of their own personal safety. Weasel words spoken out of one side of their mouths, whilst PSF continually to harken back to the 'righteous' violence of the Provo's armed campaign out of the other side of their mouths.
A recent social media post by PSF in North Down. What message does this send to so-called 'dissident' republican gangs?
No political party or organisation can "ride two horses". Either Provisional Sinn Fein take responsibility for the radicalisation of thousands of impressionable people within their community, and consequently tone down their martyr worship and constant justification of past violence, or they must face the fact that they will be guilty of giving further aid and succour to the so-called 'dissident' terror gangs.
Provisional Sinn Fein: rewriting history to suit their own agenda
Nor can the Provisional republican movement continue to openly and continually justify 30 years of sectarian violence, murder and mayhem, whilst at the same time condemning contemporary republican violence.
Every community has an inalienable right to remember their dead, a right which I would defend absolutely, however, however, for the sake of future generations, such remembrance must be solemn and dignified, absent any triumphalism and without the lionising of the dead which has done so much to indoctrinate successive generations. We must remind the youth that ALL such deaths were tragic.
Only by doing so can we move forward without glamourising violence. There is no "blood sacrifice", no 'martyrdom', there is only the personal tragedy of violent and premature deaths.
Sinn Fein have turned the republican hunger strikers into heroic archetypes
Let every community remember it's dead, but in a way that does not jeopardise the future.
The dead do not speak to us from beyond the grave, as Provisional Sinn Fein would have us believe. They do not spur us on towards our perceived goals. This is the lesson that Irish republicanism MUST learn.
To dehumanise the dead by turning them into caricatures, semi-religious figures, absent of any human frailty, is to do them a grave disservice and to insult their memory in the eyes of those who knew them as living, breathing human beings with human failings and foibles.
It is also, as previously stated, a dangerous path. One which leads younger people into believing in violence for violence's sake. Graveside orations and calls to action from beyond the grave are destructive, inciting and deeply damaging. They do nothing but add fuel to the fires, a fire already well stoked by the so-called 'dissidents'.
Spot the difference- New IRA or Provisional IRA?
We must ALL learn that acts of remembrance are not calls to arms, nor appeals for fresh tragedy. Irish republicans need to learn this most of all. For if that lesson is not learned, our society will face more tragedy, and more senseless murder.
Is Reconciliation Impossible?
Irish nationalism, Reconciliation, social media, Twitter
Irish nationalism, Northern Ireland, Reconciliation, republicanism, social media
Anybody who has been keeping up with the news in Northern Ireland over the last few weeks would probably be inclined to say yes. With the Sinn Fein leader walking behind a xenophobic and anti-British banner in New York, people in a bar singing about their hatred of Roman Catholics, people in another bar chanting "up the Ra", sectarian attacks against the Protestant community in Claudy, Co. Londonderry, and the disgraceful vandalism of a Protestant Church in Newry, Co. Down.
Reconciliation looks like it is far away as it ever was, especially if one looks at the attitude of certain people on social media; Irish republicans especially. For whilst Sinn Fein, the SDLP and other nationalist/republican groups like to present themselves as rational, reasonable, non-sectarian and intelligent, there are many Irish nationalists and republicans who do not attempt to hide their hatred and contempt for Loyalism, Unionism, the United Kingdom and anything that they perceive as being 'other'.
The purpose of this blog post is to shine a spotlight onto the attitudes and opinions of some of those people. People who will never accept anything which is not Irish, Catholic and 'gaelic'. People who use social media in the same way a pitbull uses it's teeth and jaws. People who revel in the sectarian slaughter visited on the people of Ulster by republican murder gangs.
Unfortunately, we have hundreds of examples of the bitterness and hatred of such people. We ask you to read their vile comments and their idiotic rants and to ask yourself- is reconciliation really possible?
Of course there are bigots on both sides of the divide. Of course the people featured in this article do not represent all Irish republicans. However, they do represent a large section of that constituency. In all honesty, we rarely see naked sectarianism from Loyalists and Unionists online. We rarely encounter the kind of 19th century style racism that is so often demonstrated by Irish supremacists.
Perhaps we do not see it because we are not looking for it, or perhaps we do not see it because it is much less prevalent than the kind of hatred and vitriol one encounters from republicans on a daily (sometimes hourly) basis.
Please take the time to look at all of these images; imagine the sort of venom and bitterness that a person must feel within themselves to actually articulate this type of intolerance, xenophobia and hate. Then ask yourself if there is any hope for real, sincere, reconciliation and the resolution of legacy issues in Northern Ireland.
Can unreconstructed Irish republican bigots like these ever become valuable (and valued) members of a secular, democratic and pluralist society?
There is no place in the 'new' Northern Ireland for their toxic, narrow nationalism. There is no place in the 21st century for this sort of bigotry, sectarianism, racism and dehumanisation. If such people cannot, or will not, let go of their own toxic prejudice, then they must be left behind to wallow in their hatred in their own little vile, miserable echo-chamber.
It is interesting to note the exceedingly low level of education many of these people seem to have attained.
Interesting to see Irish supremacists use a term such as "mudderland" (sic), a term which neo-Nazis/white supremacists use to refer to the continent of Africa.
Another example of this kind of racist language being used by republicans is the use of the term "slurry skinned" which Ladfleg (South Belfast SF) use continually to refer to Belfast City councillor Ruth Patterson.
Another Irish republican/neo-Nazi 'crossover'. A modified meme, depicting Celtic FC manager with a rifle and wearing military style uniform, which was originally a neo-Nazi/antisemitic meme widely used by the so-called 'altright'.
Homophobic insults and breathtaking ignorance all in one tweet. Scarcely believable that such crass stupidity still exists in the 21st century.
Unfortunately this kind of abuse is all too common. Victims of Irish republican terrorism seem to attract more of this sort of poisonous bigotry than others. Perhaps republicans feel threatened by those who speak out on behalf of their murdered family members?
Usually republicans attempt to mask their ethno-religious bigotry by using derogatory terms like "immigrant", "hun" or "planter" but sometimes their rage and bitterness gets the better of them and they revert to the type of language online that they generally only use at home, in pubs etc
This is the kind of dehumanising rhetoric used by Irish supremacist bigots. They dismiss the Protestant community as "stupid", "uneducated" and even use the term "underprivileged" as an insult, ignoring the fact that they are unwittingly admitting that the 'PUL' community suffers social exclusion, deprivation and discrimination.
For some reason many republicans on social media deny being republicans. Despite the fact that their political opinion is obvious (Easter lily avatar etc)
(For the record, we have never murdered or raped anyone)
The irony of someone with a Liver bird, emblem of the city of Liverpool and of Liverpool FC, tweeting this kind of anti-British racism is apparently lost on Irish republicans.
More homophobic ranting, this time from a republican 'parody' account. There are at least a dozen of such accounts. None of which engage in any kind of satire or even any attempt at humour, instead using obscenity and school yard insults to attack Loyalist and Unionist elected representatives, victims of terrorism etc. The most notorious of these 'parody' accounts being Ladfleg, which is now (more or less) completely controlled by Sinn Fein.
Often, tweets by Irish republican extremists are almost unintelligible.
The use of the word "evil" and the comparing of Unionism to a "disease" or even to "cancer" is particularly curious. This would suggest a quasi religious aspect to the bigotry of such people.
The twitter user above is a favourite of Ladfleg and seems to comment on almost all of their tweets. It has been suggested that the account actually belongs to one of the people behind the Ladfleg account, who uses the @Cobblerz37 account to vent his spleen and say what he really thinks about Protestants.
More homophobic remarks and glorification of the "RA" (presumably the Provisional IRA?)
Outright genocidal rhetoric from someone who wished to see the Loyalist/Unionist community "exterminated". Stalin, Mao, Hitler and Pol Pot would be proud!
This is a new low, even for @corkyhere, a well known republican oaf who uses someone else's picture for his avatar.
Shinnerbots are usually blatantly obvious. No avatar, an obviously fake/bot generated username, fewer than a dozen followers etc etc
The disgusting fascism of Irish republicans. The last Queen of Éire here telling another twitter user what their future will be and engaging in inflammatory racist language that would make Andrew Anglin blush!
@Irish_Ulster is a compulsive liar who, it has been suggested to us by a reliable source, has serious mental health issues. She is neither Irish nor male but is in fact a woman from the North-Eastern United States.
More dehumanising rhetoric from the usual suspects.
More homophobic insults, this time suggesting that Jamie Bryson has HIV/AIDS.
Ladfleg like to propagate the old PIRA/Sinn Fein myth that the UDR was merely a Loyalist paramilitary group in uniform. Ignoring the sacrifice of many Catholic UDR men murdered by Irish republican terrorists.
A rare admission that many Irish republicans support republican gangs involvement in the illegal drugs trade.
Comparing Loyalists and Unionists to rats is another staple of Irish supremacists.
Note that Ladfleg have never censured @cobblerz37, taken him to task for his overtly sectarian (and frankly deranged) replies to their tweets or even suggested he show some constraint.
I have no idea what the above even means.
The irony of that tweet (sent from Walthamstow, London)
Elaine believes the recent sectarian graffiti that was daubed across Claudy was done by fairies.
So, is reconciliation possible? From where I sit I'm sorry to say I don't know anymore!
02/03/2019 by Ozzie
Ordinary Voices; Interview 4
Legacy, NORTHERN IRELAND, The Troubles
Legacy, Northern Ireland, peace building, Reconciliation, The Troubles
Respondent is Lez – who describes herself as "Grammar school educated. Happily retired RUC/PSNI. Happily divorced mother of two grown up kids. Passionate about family, animals, gin,integrated education, truth and travel. Hate sectarianism, lies and lack of integrity"
Apolitical. I have been very fortunate in my life to see many sides of the arguments. I have seen the way catholic communities were treated by certain members of UDR ( I experienced this first hand) I came from Protestant background so see how unionists view life here but mostly I've seen just the senseless manner in which peoples lives were taken, how easily others killed and maimed and how BOTH communities vilified police.
Yes. It would seem that for many high profile cases it is a case of getting the truth from security forces/state, but where is the truth coming from Republicans? When Gerry Adams can't even admit being a member of the IRA how can anyone expect the 'truth' when everything seems to be so one sided?
I have mixed feelings on legacy issues. For some victims, it can never bring them justice because the very people who they rely on to give them closure and answers will never actually come out and tell the truth. By these people I mean IRA and the state. Do I think we should just draw a line in the sand and put the legacy issues down to unprecedented times and accept things have changed? Personally I could but I am acutely aware that many many victims cannot do that.
Q4. What do you think could be done to help improve community relations and foster reconciliation?
Integration of schools is the single most important and successful way of improving community relations. When people start to OPEN their ears and listen rather than being so entrenched that they lose the ability to listen then we may have a chance.
Q5. Do you believe there is a bias in regards to legacy issues?
Unfortunately yes. As outlined in previous answers, it would seem that security forces would be easy targets for legacy investigations since there were some sort of records kept, it's much harder for victims of terrorism to get to the truth.
Q6. Do you believe that Loyalists, especially within the UPRG and PUP, have done enough to reach out to nationalists and republicans?
I think that David Ervine was the greatest loss to the loyalist community. Forward thinking, articulate and repentant of his wrongdoing. It's the DUP who have done nothing whatsoever to reach out not just to nationalists but also to Protestant community.
Q7. Do you think that republicans could do more to reach out to the Loyalist/Unionist community?
I think admission of guilt, admission of the wrongs done to so very many people. A start would be for Gerry Adams to admit his role as a Republican in a proscribed organisation.
Q8. What are your hopes and aspirations for NI in the medium to long term?
More integration of education system, more business investment, more emphasis and funding for reconciliation projects. For our politicians to get back to actually earning their wage and for parties to work more closely on co-operation where possible instead of bickering, sniping and denigrating each other. Find the common goals and work harder to achieve those together rather than constantly in opposition.
Our thanks to Lez for her participation in the Ordinary Voices project.
Loyalism, NORTHERN IRELAND, Reconciliation
Legacy, Loyalism, Northern Ireland, peace building, Reconciliation
The first interview for the Ordinary Voices project. Respondent was Ian, a community worker and member of the Progressive Unionist Party from South Belfast.
The interview was conducted via email, as all the interviews in the Ordinary Voices project are.
Question 1; do you believe that legacy issues are undermining the peace process?
I believe that the legacy issues are undermining the peace process. I feel there is a tendency not to pursue those whose arrests could possibly destabilise the peace process. We need to respect people who lost their lives or were injured and their families by finding a key which allows us all to move on. Fundamental to that is an open, honest political system. The HIU however are under a huge amount of pressure given the amount of cases to be investigated in such a short space of time. I believe our ability to deliver for victims has been undermined by decisions made earlier in the peace process.
Question 2; Is there, in your opinion, a bias when it comes to legacy issues?
I am led to believe the legacy issue proposals ignore cross-border dimensions on many of the past crimes. There is no equal information process on the Irish side, which means no evidence available or even commitment to co-operate. Personally, I see a one-sided process that focuses less on those who murdered and more on those who tried to prevent violence; partly because the demand for investigations comes largely from one side of the community. Additionally with OTR letters issued I think its a fair assessment that legacy issues are bias. I fear the word 'Justice' is becoming politically weaponised.
Question 3; Do you think that Loyalism has done enough to challenge the negative stereotypes cultivated by others?
Decades of conflict have fuelled images and stereo types to the extent that the terms 'Loyalist' and 'PUL' have become a dirty words in some peoples opinions. I am a proud Unionist and I have hopes for a peaceful prosperous Northern Ireland, but I believe that the negative and disrespectful attitudes towards Loyalism and our culture is cultivating tension within our communities. I am extremely keen on challenging the Republican narrative as necessary and recommend others are conscious of this also.
Question 4; What do you think could be done to foster real reconciliation, especially in interface areas?
The biggest problem I see in South Belfast at the moment is the new developments popping up which sometimes, unwittingly, create new interface areas. We are in desperate need of social housing across South Belfast, there are many applications in for new private developments, however when they cant be sold for a massive profit they are sold on and re-classified as social housing schemes which turn to interfaces. In many Unionist areas there are limited educational choices at post-primary level, 2 secondary schools across South Belfast, which means parents have to bus their children out to attend schools, reconciliation is a long way off when we can't sort out fair education in deprived Unionist areas.
Question 5; Do you believe that there is an inherent ambiguity in the Belfast Agreement?
People initially supported the Belfast Agreement but I have become disillusioned with how the agreement is being implemented, I think it is clear that the interpretations of it on both side are completely out of touch with each other.
Question 6; Finally, what are your personal hopes and aspirations for NI in the medium to long term?
I would like to see a return to Stormont soon but not at the cost of an Irish Language Act, my view is feel free to speak Irish, take Irish lessons in your own time but enforcing an Act which sees a compulsory percentage of Irish speakers be employed in workplaces etc is unfair. I hope for another peaceful summer and hope that Northern Ireland can continue to stand strong in these uncertain times of Brexit.
Many thanks to Ian for agreeing to an interview and participating in the Ordinary Voices project.
Prisoners of Conscience
Legacy, Loyalism, NORTHERN IRELAND, The Troubles, Ulster Politics
Legacy, Loyalism, Loyalist, Northern Ireland, Politics, The Troubles, UDA, UDP, Ulster Loyalism
I had intended that this piece would be an examination of how the political centre, namely the UUP and the SDLP, seem to understand, or at least seek to understand, physical force Loyalism far more, and far better, than the extreme Liberal fringe, epitomised by the Alliance Party and the Green Party.
I had intended to clearly demonstrate that the DUP does not, and has never at any time, clearly understood or sought to understand the driving forces which motivate militant Loyalism. However, as I began to think about this piece, I began to realise that it was always going to go in a very different direction.
For in the process of considering those themes, I was (reluctantly) forced to re-examine the War which was wasn't a War, the role of Loyalists within that conflict and, on a more personal level, my own role in it and the pseudo war which has been fought since.
A re-examination of my own conscience which has neither been easy nor comfortable but which, on reflection, has been a long time coming. Not that I shall be making public much, if any, of that 'soul searching', but I will examine the outlines of the thought processes which were involved in my own introspection.
I sincerely hope that this piece will serve some purpose and that, at least, some of those who were most deeply impacted by the 'Troubles', both victims and participants alike, will derive something from it, however small.
I will begin by stating something which I feel should be obvious to anyone seeking to understand the Ulster conflict; i.e. that within the working class communities of Northern Ireland, on both sides of the divide, violence is not, and was not, viewed as intrinsically evil or immoral. Both communities had men made notorious for being "street toughs", both communities believed firmly in corporal punishment, and both 'sides' very firmly believed in the biblical concept of "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth", even before the advent of the 2nd 'Troubles' in 1969.
The idea must seem utterly foreign to the contemporary middle classes. Indeed, it may seem somewhat odd even to the younger members of some working class communities, but it is the fundamental starting point of this analysis. Violence, in one form or another, was part of our lives from a very early age. It is unsurprising then that when NICRA provoked the crises of the late 1960's, that violent interaction between the two opposing factions would soon follow. The only real surprise was the level of violence which was to follow.
It is a truism that violence begets violence but it is worth bearing in mind. Once one rubicon had been crossed, it became easier to cross another and another. No tactic became 'off limits', nothing became unjustifiable. The two communities became ever more polarised and ever more entrenched in their respective positions. Good men did bad things and bad men did even worse.
Loyalist barricade, Belfast circa 1972
Ordinary killers
It is my personal opinion that some men are indeed "natural born killers". As far back as Socrates and Plato it was postulated that some men felt driven to kill; that some men subconsciously saw in the act of killing, a sort of natural counterpart to the act of giving birth, which of course men cannot do under any circumstances. This theory of "birthing envy" is an intriguing one and one which is deserving of far more attention.
For every born killer however there are many, many more who are driven to kill. Driven to kill by rage, by circumstances, by a need for revenge, or, as incredible as it may seem, by fear. It is these men, those driven to kill, that constitute the vast majority of the killers, the gunmen and the bombers, of the Ulster conflict, and it is these men (and women) who would go on to perpetuate the violence, not for their own gain, not for their own twisted pleasure or some sense of divine purpose, but for reasons which will seem utterly alien and incomprehensible to those detached from the War, by distance, by time or by virtue of social class.
I recognise, as I have always recognised, that there were those on both sides who were not motivated by soaring rhetoric, or by idealism, but were driven instead by their own psychosis. By a deep seated, guttural and irrational hatred which moved such people to commit the most heinous and barbaric atrocities. Things indefensible and unconscionable.
What, in the process of my own individual reflection, I am forced to acknowledge now, perhaps for the first time, is that there were men and women "amongst the ranks of the enemy" who were people of integrity and of undoubted courage. Such people, whom in my opinion were motivated by an acutely skewed reading of history and who had scant regard for democracy, were nevertheless, decent people with real concerns, real grievances and genuine aspirations, however far those aspirations were from my own.
Prisoners of history
It is an undeniable truth of history that a war between two nations, separated by great distance, or even between two neighbouring states, is invariably less bitter, less savage and less brutal than a war between two peoples who share the same piece of territory. When one also factors in the long and complex history of Ulster, then it is unsurprising that the 'Troubles' turned out to be one of the most dirty wars ever fought in Europe.
It is also unsurprising that we have become prisoners of history. Prisoners of our own times. We will never be set free. For us, every generation born into the conflict, it is already too late. Our lives have been irrevocably altered by the war we were born into. The 'Troubles' are a millstone around our necks from which we will never be unfettered. We deserve sympathy that we will never receive. We deserve a respite which will never come. However, we can, and must, tell our story. We have a burden of responsibility to the younger generations to ensure that we never again slide headlong into a situation in which ordinary people are forced to become killers, 'intelligence officers', bomb makers, gun runners and 'spotters'.
I genuinely fear that we will not be up to the task. There is too much malice, too much distrust and animosity on both sides. If the generation that fought the Second World War are remembered as "the greatest generation", then perhaps those 3 generations or so who fought the 'Dirty War', might well be remembered as the worst generations. One generation who began a war they could not possibly win (and that applies to both sides), one generation who continued that war because they had no idea how to stop it, and one generation who continued it because they could not imagine life any other way.
Looking inward
We should nevertheless tell our stories. Although it would be infinitely more helpful if we, 'the worst generations', were to explain to our young people that we were motivated far more by what we thought was going on, rather than perhaps what was really happening. Suspending, as it were, the historical narrative as we understand it and instead relaying the personal narrative.
In the immediate aftermath of the 1994 CLMC ceasefire, militant Loyalism underwent a period of deep introspection. Such a period of introspection is once again required, and this time Irish republicans must include themselves, if indeed there is any real desire from that quarter for real reconciliation (which I, personally, very much doubt). Those who participated in the Conflict must also free themselves from the constraints of moral recrimination; that is, we must abandon objective moralism and, taking into account the circumstances of the times, must not be afraid to see ourselves as sometimes having been the villians, those who were clearly in the wrong, if only on certain occasions or in certain situations.
"We must share the responsibility of maintaining good government" – John McMichael
Unlike Irish republicanism, Loyalism does not need to portray itself as whiter than white. True patriotism is not tarnished by the occasional uncomfortable truth. We are, along with every other Briton, the inheritors of the legacy of the British Empire. We recognise the moral ambivalence of that situation. That is perhaps why Loyalists have no fear of a critical analysis of the past and of their role therein.
What Northern Ireland needs now is for republicans to engage in the same kind of soul searching. To admit the immorality of at least some of their actions and, furthermore, to admit freely that the motivation for many of their actions was, at the very, very least questionable. What we also need is for the '3rd party', the extreme Liberal fringe, to end their illegitimate occupation of the moral high ground and recognise, if they are capable of doing so, that there are those in Ulster who do not share their pacifistic and utopian ideals.
In particular I would appeal to the members and supporters of the Alliance Party, Green Party etc to stop the politics of wishful thinking and to acknowledge the very real and very deep divisions within NI society. To stop the utterly ineffectual lecturing of the working class Loyalist community, especially in Belfast. As I, and others within Loyalism, have stated repeatedly since 1998, peace and reconciliation cannot be imposed from the top down but must instead be built from the ground up. Indeed, my own opposition to the 'Good Friday Agreement' stemmed primarily from my view that the Belfast Agreement was the very epitome of a 'top down' peace. Something that we, all the people of Northern Ireland, have a chance, however slim, to change.
Such change is however very unlikely unless or until all parties to the Conflict have the courage to admit our own past failings, recognise our common humanity (which applies even to those who have committed violent acts), fully recognise the intolerable hurt of innocent victims and resolve to never again allow our communities to be held to ransom by our inescapable past. In short, any real and just peace can only be achieved once we, the very people who, one way or another, created the Conflict, have all admitted that we are prisoners of conscience and that that is what we will always be.


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- [Nodejs and PostgreSQL Tutorial with Example](http://www.javascriptpoint.com/nodejs-postgresql-tutorial-example/)

### NodeJS & Express & PGSQL Example

~~~
  var express = require('express');
  var pg = require("pg");
  var app = express();

  var config = {
    user: 'mrroom',
    database: 'mrroom',
    password: 'xxxx',
    port: 5432,
    max: 10, // max number of connection can be open to database
    idleTimeoutMillis: 30000, // how long a client is allowed to remain idle before being closed
  };

  var pool = new pg.Pool(config);

  app.get('/', function (req, res, next) {
      pool.connect(function(err,client,done) {
         if(err){
             console.log("not able to get connection "+ err);
             res.status(400).send(err);
         }
         client.query('SELECT * from users where user_id = $1', ['mrroom'],function(err,result) {
            //call `done()` to release the client back to the pool
             done();
             if(err){
                 console.log(err);
                 res.status(400).send(err);
             }
             res.status(200).send(result.rows);
         });
      });
  });

  app.listen(4000, function () {
      console.log('Server is running.. on Port 4000');
  });

~~~


As the title, how to make ideas happen, I just let the emotion I felt that day run free. I wanted to get deeper in to the roots of my ideas and how I, from being a more ignorant teenager I grew up to be a complete different person, through out the people I met, my experiences and the places I visited for the last four years.
I come from a southern city of Sweden called Helsingborg, where just over the sea you can see Denmark's beautiful coast. I believe love, our bodies, health and the nature is all we are and have, so we should take care of it better. I'm a restless and an organized person who can't go a day without learning something new. Inpatient to create.


January to April 2019 programme!
We are delighted to launch our updated programme of activities and family support services for October to December 2018.
We provide a wide range of parent & child sessions, groups & workshops for parents and one-to-one support, available to children and families in Drumchapel, Knightswood and Yoker.
October - December 2018 activities programme!
August - October 2018 programme!
We are delighted to launch our exciting programme of activities and family support services for August to October 2018.
We provide a wide range of sessions and one-to-one support available to children and families in Drumchapel, Knightswood and Yoker.
We are currently recruiting for two positions Please see below for more information.
Closing date for applications is Thursday 14th June 2018.
To provide operational and day-to-day management of the project and lead a team of staff delivering children & family services.
To provide a programme of family support including both family and Dad's only sessions to Dads/Male carers and their children.
Fixed Term until 31st May 2020 and then subject to funding. This post is funded by the Tudor Trust.


HemPoland - makers of CannabiGold - is the first private company in Poland to obtain a state license allowing it to grow and manufacture Cannabis Sativa. "Go big or go home" – hence, since the very beginning we aim to develop dynamically and introduce innovative solutions on the global scale. Our team consists of several dozen experts in various fields, their international experience, passion and commitment guarantee the top quality of the production process. Thanks to this meticulous production control and our flagship product CannabiGold oil, we have gained well-deserved internatonal recognition in many European countries.


Band of Skulls present a special one-night-only show, celebrating the launch of their highly anticipated new album 'Love is All You Love'!
Tickets are exclusively available as album/ticket bundles from Band of Skulls directly, starting at just £20. Get yours by clicking here!


text:
Healthcare-associated infections: prevention and control in primary and community care (CG139)
This guideline covers preventing and controlling healthcare-associated infections in children, young people and adults in primary and community care settings. It provides a blueprint for the infection prevention and control precautions that should be applied by everyone involved in delivering NHS care and treatment.
More chapters for Healthcare-associated infections: prevention and control in primary and community care (CG139)
Hip fracture: management (CG124)
This guideline covers managing hip fracture in adults. It aims to improve care from the time people aged 18 and over are admitted to hospital through to when they return to the community. Recommendations emphasise the importance of early surgery and coordinating care through a multidisciplinary hip fracture programme to help people recover faster and regain their mobility.
More chapters for Hip fracture: management (CG124)
Hepatitis B (chronic): diagnosis and management (CG165)
This guideline covers assessing and managing chronic hepatitis B in children, young people and adults. It aims to improve care for people with hepatitis B by specifying which tests and treatments to use for people of different ages and with different disease severities.
Clinical guideline Published June 2013 Last updated October 2017
More chapters for Hepatitis B (chronic): diagnosis and management (CG165)
Terms used in this guidance
Autism spectrum disorder in under 19s: recognition, referral and diagnosis (CG128)
This guideline covers recognising and diagnosing autism spectrum disorder in children and young people from birth up to 19 years. It also covers referral. It aims to improve the experience of children, young people and those who care for them.
Clinical guideline Published September 2011 Last updated December 2017
More chapters for Autism spectrum disorder in under 19s: recognition, referral and diagnosis (CG128)
Appendix: Signs and symptoms of possible autism
Peripheral arterial disease: diagnosis and management (CG147)
This guideline covers diagnosing and managing peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in people aged 18 and over. Rapid changes in diagnostic methods, endovascular treatments and vascular services associated with new specialties in surgery and interventional radiology have resulted in considerable uncertainty and variation in practice. This guideline aims to resolve that uncertainty and variation.
Clinical guideline Published August 2012 Last updated February 2018
More chapters for Peripheral arterial disease: diagnosis and management (CG147)
Rationale and impact for new recommendations
Osteoporosis: assessing the risk of fragility fracture (CG146)
This guideline covers assessing the risk of fragility fracture in people aged 18 and over with osteoporosis. It aims to provide guidance on the selection and use of risk assessment tools in the care of adults at risk of fragility fractures in all NHS settings.
More chapters for Osteoporosis: assessing the risk of fragility fracture (CG146)
Nutrition support for adults: oral nutrition support, enteral tube feeding and parenteral nutrition (CG32)
This guideline covers identifying and caring for adults who are malnourished or at risk of malnutrition in hospital or in their own home or a care home. It offers advice on how oral, enteral tube feeding and parenteral nutrition support should be started, administered and stopped. It aims to support healthcare professionals identify malnourished people and help them to choose the most appropriate form of support.
Clinical guideline Published February 2006 Last updated August 2017
More chapters for Nutrition support for adults: oral nutrition support, enteral tube feeding and parenteral nutrition (CG32)
Developing this guideline
Parkinson's disease in adults (NG71)
This guideline covers diagnosing and managing Parkinson's disease in people aged 18 and over. It aims to improve care from the time of diagnosis, including monitoring and managing symptoms, providing information and support, and palliative care.
More chapters for Parkinson's disease in adults (NG71)
Urinary tract infection in under 16s: diagnosis and management (CG54)
This guideline covers diagnosing and managing first or recurrent upper or lower urinary tract infections in infants, children and young people. It aims to achieve more consistent clinical practice, based on accurate diagnosis and effective management.
More chapters for Urinary tract infection in under 16s: diagnosis and management (CG54)
Obesity: working with local communities (PH42)
This guideline covers how local communities, with support from local organisations and networks, can help prevent people from becoming overweight or obese or help them lose weight. It aims to support sustainable and community-wide action to achieve this.
Clinical guideline Published November 2012 Last updated June 2017
More chapters for Obesity: working with local communities (PH42)
Introduction: scope and purpose of this guidance
6 Updating the recommendations
Immunisations: reducing differences in uptake in under 19s (PH21)
This guideline covers increasing immunisation uptake among children and young people aged under 19 years in groups and settings where immunisation coverage is low. It aims to improve access to immunisation services and increase timely immunisation of children and young people. It also aims to ensure babies born to mothers infected with hepatitis B are immunised.
Clinical guideline Published September 2009 Last updated September 2017
More chapters for Immunisations: reducing differences in uptake in under 19s (PH21)
Type 2 diabetes: prevention in people at high risk (PH38)
This guideline covers how to identify adults at high risk of type 2 diabetes. It aims to remind practitioners that age is no barrier to being at high risk of, or developing, the condition. It also aims to help them provide those at high risk with an effective and appropriate intensive lifestyle-change programme to prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes. The recommendations in this guideline can be used alongside the NHS Health Check programme.
Clinical guideline Published July 2012 Last updated September 2017
More chapters for Type 2 diabetes: prevention in people at high risk (PH38)
Rationale and impact of the new recommendations
Rheumatoid arthritis in adults: management (NG100)
This guideline covers diagnosing and managing rheumatoid arthritis. It aims to improve quality of life by ensuring that people with rheumatoid arthritis have the right treatment to slow the progression of their condition and control their symptoms. People should also have rapid access to specialist care if their condition suddenly worsens.
More chapters for Rheumatoid arthritis in adults: management (NG100)
Early and locally advanced breast cancer: diagnosis and treatment (CG80)
This guideline has been updated and replaced by NICE guideline NG101.
Clinical guideline Published February 2009 Last updated March 2017
Stroke and transient ischaemic attack in over 16s: diagnosis and initial management (CG68)


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All eyes on Gottheimer, Sherrill as Democrat leadership vote nears
GOTTHEIMER
By Eric Obernauer New Jersey Herald
Posted: Nov. 27, 2018 12:01 am
The two Democrats who will represent Sussex County in the House of Representatives next year, both of whom distanced themselves from Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi during their recent campaigns, could play a key role in Wednesday's vote to determine their party's nominee to be the next House speaker starting in January.
U.S. Rep.-elect Mikie Sherrill, whose 11th Congressional District includes the five southeast Sussex County municipalities of Byram, Hopatcong, Ogdensburg, Sparta and Stanhope, has yet to indicate publicly whom she'll support.
As a candidate, Sherrill said that "I don't support Nancy Pelosi (and) I put out a commercial saying that I don't support Nancy Pelosi" -- a statement she made after being tagged by her Republican opponent as "a Pelosi Democrat." Efforts since then to reach Sherrill or a spokesperson for her campaign have been unsuccessful.
U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-5th Dist., indicated he was still waiting to hear if Pelosi would get behind three "Break the Gridlock" reforms proposed by the bipartisan Problem Solvers caucus, of which he is a co-founder. Nine Democrats from the Problem Solvers caucus, including Gottheimer, have said anyone seeking their backing will need to support their proposals, which they say are needed to break the legislative logjam impeding progress on issues of health care, immigration, and infrastructure where there is broad support in both parties.
But despite early indications of a potential leadership fight in the Democratic caucus, Pelosi now appears to have more than enough support to become the Democratic speaker nominee, for which she'll need only a simple majority of Democratic votes on Wednesday.
However, the potential still exists for her to face an uphill climb to secure the House speakership, for which she'll need the support of a majority of the House's entire 435-member body -- that is, 218 votes -- when Congress reconvenes in January.
Despite Democrats being projected to have at least 233 members in the new House in January -- and possibly as many as 236, depending on the outcome of a handful of races still too close to call -- the very most Pelosi could afford to lose in her bid to become speaker would be 18 Democratic votes.
Earlier last week, Pelosi's path to the speakership appeared to be in doubt after 16 incumbent and incoming House Democrats signed a letter saying they would vote for "new leadership." However, at least two of those are now said to be reconsidering their stance, and no one has yet come forward as an actual challenger to Pelosi for the leadership spot.
Her bid could be further complicated by her position on the reforms proposed by the Problem Solvers, which Gottheimer and other advocates say are needed to break the strict seniority rules that allow party leaders and committee chairs with the longest service to have a disproportionate say on what House legislation gets considered.
The first of their three planks would require any bill receiving support from 290 co-sponsors, or three-fifths of the House, to be sent to the House floor for debate and a timely up-or-down vote.
The second proposal would require any proposed amendment, or bill change, with at least 20 Democratic and 20 Republican supporters to similarly receive a timely debate and vote.
The third proposal would allow each member of Congress, during the course of his or her term, to introduce at least one bill for consideration on the committee on which they serve. The bill would be guaranteed a vote on that committee, a formality typically necessary for a bill to advance to the House floor, so long as it has bipartisan support from at least two committee members -- one from each party -- and is relevant to the committee's jurisdiction.
Gottheimer, in a phone conversation Monday, stopped short of saying whether he would support Pelosi or another person to be the Democratic leader.
But, he said, "There are two realities we have to face, the first of which is there are areas that have broad bipartisan support when it comes to fixing health care and bringing premiums down, on immigration reform, and on fixing our roads and infrastructure, including the Gateway Tunnel project, that we have not yet been able to bring to the floor, which is beyond frustrating."
"The second reality is that for at least the next two years, we're going to have divided government -- Democrats will control the House, but Republicans will still control the Senate and the White House -- and we're going to have to work together."
In a statement put out by his office Monday, Gottheimer and eight other Democrats said they were "pleased" by comments by Pelosi suggesting she supports efforts to facilitate "more transparency and bipartisan governing."
"For us, our rules proposal isn't about changing leadership; it's about changing a system that stymies the will of the commonsense majority," they wrote.
Still, said Gottheimer, "we've been working on these proposals since June, and we're only going to support someone who's going to help us break the gridlock."
Eric Obernauer can also be contacted on Twitter: @EricObernNJH or by phone at 973-383-1213.


text:
Ignacy Grabowski (2. poł. XVIII w.) – trynitarz,  publicysta
 Ignacy Grabowski (zm. 1817) – adwokat
 Ignacy Grabowski (1866–1933) – polski pisarz
 Ignacy Grabowski (1873–1944) – polski przedsiębiorca, działacz społeczny
 Ignacy Grabowski (1878–1950) – polski duchowny, profesor prawa kanonicznego

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Hyperlocal Marketing Can Benefit Your Med Spa: Here's How!
Around 82% of consumers research online before making a purchase. And, 46% of all searches on Google are local. That's a huge number of people searching for local businesses. If they don't find your business, you're missing out on a large number of potential customers.
Hyperlocal marketing is the process of targeting potential customers in highly focused geographic areas. Sometimes, the area is only a few blocks or within the vicinity of key locations. Although the audience tends to be more narrow, engaging this audience is meaningful and can lead to big profits. In fact, 78% of local-mobile searches lead to offline purchases. Wouldn't it be nice to capture some of that traffic?
Hyperlocal marketing involves hyperlocal targeting. This is accomplished through hyperlocal SEO. The goal is to engage consumers who are conducting near me searches, usually on their mobile phones.
Hyperlocal marketing will drive customers in your area to your medical spa. If their experience at your spa is good, why would they want to travel further away from you? People crave convenience, so make sure they can find you nearby.
Launching a hyperlocal campaign will drive foot traffic through your door. The trick is to be specific about your geographic area and its landmarks in the keywords. When people search "medical spas near me", they'll see your medical spa and want to learn more.
Think of all the popular attractions near your business and see how you can incorporate them into hyperlocal SEO. You'll need to do some research on the terms, but if there are places of interest near your business, take advantage of them.
Local customers are more likely to generate business through word of mouth. If they leave reviews, people are more likely to trust them. Reviews are hyperlocal SEO gold. If you don't have a review process in place, you should build one immediately.
Google prioritizes hyperlocal search results over ones that are further away. Hyperlocal SEO will boost your overall SEO presence.
Your website(s) and information are more likely to crop up when a consumer conducts a local search for medical spas. More importantly, your medical spa is more likely to show up first as a search result. Google prefers to serve users local SEO results in clusters.
Once again: Use local keywords in your search. The more specific a search, the more likely your medical spa will show up.
Hyperlocal targeting increases brand recognition. By using hyperlocal marketing, people in your medical spa's area will recognize your brand. This means people are more likely to remember your medical spa before others.
By appearing in search engine results, consumers familiarize themselves with your website/information. They're more likely to read about your medical spa and the services offered there. Local SEO is an effective form of advertising.
Plus, this brand recognition among an audience that matters: local consumers. That only adds power to the punch.
Around 50% of consumers who conducted a local search visited a store within the same day. Let hyperlocal marketing give your medical spa the business it deserves.
Nearly 88% of consumers trust reviews as much as personal recommendations. Every review counts with hyperlocal SEO.
Upgrade your medical spa's business and learn how professional services can help you retain customers. Your medical spa will thank you for it.