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			    <title>Family | Irish Blog log</title> 
				<link>http://irishbloglog.com/Family</link> 
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			<title>New LookLeft out now</title>
			<link>http://irishbloglog.com/news/New+LookLeft+out+now</link>
			<description><![CDATA[
Ireland’s leading magazine for progressive news, views and solutions – available in Easons stores and selected newsagents across the country – 48 pages for just €2/£1.50
In the new issue of LookLeft:
Features
Rising tide against austerity: Working people and the Fine Gael/Labour Government are on a collision course over the property tax and attempts to cut public sector pay, reports Kevin Brannigan
The G8 comes to town: Kevin Squires looks at the impact the 39th G8 summit will have.
Learning Division: Fifteen years ago progressives recognised the signing of the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) as a positive development. However, fears that its structures would allow for communal politics to be institutionalised have been realised particularly in the provision of education, writes Justin O’Hagan.
Mobilising a generation: Young Irish people facing sharply limited opportunities at home or emigration are beginning to mobilise, reports Dara McHugh.
Precious few heroes: With his politically charged songs Dick Gaughan has inspired generations of Left activists, Kevin Brannigan caught up with the veteran Scottish folk singer during his spring tour of Ireland
No turning back from here: The Venezuelan revolution has dramatically changed not only the politics of Latin America also but the globe, reports Paul Dillon.
The tyranny of the credit rating agencies: Democratic accountability is being eroded by credit rating capitalism, writes Srinivas Raghavendra
Of live dogs and dead lions: Following the death of Hugo Chávez, Richard McAleavey assesses the Irish media’s representation of the former Venezuelan President.
Calling the bigots bluff: Do anti-choicers want follow through the with the logic of their argument and imprison women, asks Katie Garrett.
News
Petition to end Ministers grotesque pensions
Jim Connell weekend
UNITE wins Waterford Glass pensions battle
94% of young people do not want to emigrate
Why shop in a Fair Shop
Objection to Meath mining licence
Fight against privatisation in Sussex University
Bradley Manning on trial
Spanish Civil war volunteers remembered in Inchicore
Workers Beer Company seeks Irish recruits
Forum
Glass ceilings and Trade Unions: Union organiser Eira Gallagher discusses the obstacles still faced by women workers.
The Laundries are closed but the system remains: Lone parents have remained a favourite scapegoat for the self-satisfied Irish Right since the foundation of the Free State, reports Laura Caffrey.
Foxes and Hen houses: Conor McCabe maintains his steely gaze on the world of ‘high finance’
Reform from inside: Eric Olwin Wright outlines his vision of creating space for socialist advances within the capitalist economy.
Requiem for a Tory: Brian Hanley’s reflections on Margret Thatcher
Debate: Immigration – concern or opportunity? Stephen Nolan/Gavan Titley 
Jemmy Hope on religion, Bill Cullen, Jim Dowson and Alex Ferguson
Tradition and Culture
Great minds think alike: The lives of William Thompson and Anna Doyle Wheeler recounted by Lily Murphy
Our rabble: James Redmond, Head of production of Dublin underground newspaper Rabble, told LookLeft why he believes building an alternative media is important and ponders how it can be done.
Anderson’s song: Barry Healy talks to Rag man Daniel Anderson
The downtrodden and the risen: Kevin Squires looks at some recent graphic novels portraying contemporary and historical peoples’ struggles
Review: Physical Resistance: A Hundred Years of Anti-Fascism by Dave Hann	
Gonna shoot you down: Sam McGrath looks at the politics behind Madchester band The Stone Roses
What foot does he kick with?: Kevin Brannigan examines the role players from the Republic had in the modern history of one of Loyalism’s footballing bastions.
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			<pubDate>Tue, 21 May 2013 08:00:02 IST</pubDate>
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			<title>Church movements bringing 50000 more than Vatican expected</title>
			<link>http://irishbloglog.com/news/Church+movements+bringing+50000+more+than+Vatican+expected</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The attendance response to a Pentecost weekend event for Church  movements exceeded the Vatican’s expectations by 50,000 people.“Over 120,000 people signaled their attendance, around 150  different ecclesial realities coming from around the world are  registered attesting to the fact that the Church&#039;s catholicity knows no  boundaries,” said Archbishop Rino Fisichella, head of the Pontifical  Council for Promoting New Evangelization.“The Year of Faith is going better than what I thought, because the  response has been great so far,” he remarked in an interview with  CNA.“We expected 70,000 people and we reached double the numbers,” he added.The Vatican had organized the May 18-19 weekend for Church movements to  gather in Rome as part of the “Year of Faith,” an initiative aimed at  evangelizing and helping Catholics become more fervent in faith.The Church movements are typically focused on presenting the Gospel in  depth, building and promoting Christian community, and preparing their  members to witness to their faith in the public square.“New movements and associations are the young face of the Church and  it’s a fruit of the Second Vatican Council,” the archbishop explained.Participants in the weekend will have a chance to experience the faith in several ways.Starting at 7:00 a.m. on May 18, groups of around 50 people were  guided by experts in theology on a pilgrimage to St. Peter’s tomb inside  Saint Peter’s Basilica.Later in the afternoon, between 3-6 p.m., members of the Focolare  movement’s Gen Verde musical group, along with a choir of over 150  singers from the various movements provided music for those gathered  in St. Peter’s Square.Once the music has finished, Pope Francis joined in the celebration  with a prayer in front of the image of the Virgin Mary Salus Populi  Romani.The event continued with two strong testimonies by Irish writer John  Waters and Pakistani surgeon Paul Bhatti, whose brother was killed by  the Taliban for standing up against the country’s blasphemy law.Members of the movements then asked the Pope some questions, which he responded to off-the-cuff.A large group of people with disabilities, the parents of a child killed  in L’Aquila’s earthquake, and Italian politicians from the Communion  and Liberation movement were among those attending.The weekend ceremony concluded on Sunday with Pentecost Mass  presided over by Pope Francis at 10:00 a.m. in St. Peter’s Square.The archbishop explained that Pope Benedict XVI launched the Year of Faith to call people to be witnesses of faith.“On the other hand, the new Pope’s presence and his simplicity is  attracting many people to Rome who want to listen, touch and see him,”  said Archbishop Fisichella.“This is great. And it’s in some way an effect of the Year of Faith,  especially seeing Pope Francis being the first witness,” he stated.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Tue, 21 May 2013 05:00:02 IST</pubDate>
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			<title>Mgr Savio Dominic Fernandes to serve by the grace of God as Mumbais new auxiliary</title>
			<link>http://irishbloglog.com/news/Mgr+Savio+Dominic+Fernandes+to+serve+by+the+grace+of+God+as+Mumbais+new+auxiliary</link>
			<description><![CDATA[&quot;I feel God&#039;s love poured onto me and my response to it will be service with love in response to God&#039;s love,&quot; Mgr Savio Dominic Fernandes said.&quot;Christ called me to serve as a priest, and with His Grace, I shall serve him as a bishop,&quot; he told AsiaNews after Pope Francis yesterday appointed him and Mgr John Rodrigues as auxiliary bishops of Mumbai.&quot;It came as a complete surprise,&quot; the new bishop said. &quot;I feel very humble. I never expected to be a bishop. I remember the days when I felt called by God to the priestly vocation. The two bishops-elect were also given respectively to the titular sees of Cozila and Deulto.Chancellor of the Archdiocese, Mgr Fernandes was also in charge of the Women Commission of the Archdiocese of Mumbai. Now his priority will be &quot;to serve God by serving the most vulnerable, the weakest, the needy and downtrodden.&quot;&quot;In our country,&quot; he explained, &quot;women and girls are the most vulnerable. Regrettably, the patriarchal mindset does not consider women as equal, beginning with the sanctity of the home. This mindset has to change and doing so will be a significant part of my service. I shall defend the sacredness of life, teach values, and teach the dignity of girls.&quot;For him, &quot;Parents must learn that girls and boys are equal in dignity and should have equal rights and opportunities.&quot;The new auxiliary bishop wants to focus on the religious sphere. &quot;I find,&quot; he said, &quot;that spirituality has been relegated to the background and it has all become materialistic.&quot;&quot;I plan to increase my personal holiness and through that, people may also be affected and gain holiness. I plan to be a good spiritual leader. This is what, according to me, Bombay and the whole country need&quot;.From a large family of five children, Mgr Fernandes lost his father a few years ago. His 92-years-old mother is still alive.&quot;It never dawned on her that I could become a bishop,&quot; he said, but &quot;she always prayed for me, ever since I entered the seminary, that I might be a good priest.&quot;]]></description>
			<pubDate>Tue, 21 May 2013 05:00:02 IST</pubDate>
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			<title>Asghar Ali Engineer a voice for dialogue between Christianity and Islam is dead</title>
			<link>http://irishbloglog.com/news/Asghar+Ali+Engineer+a+voice+for+dialogue+between+Christianity+and+Islam+is+dead</link>
			<description><![CDATA[&quot;We are saddened by the death of Asghar Ali Engineer, an Islamic scholar and tireless voice for dialogue, who had always opposed all forms of religious bigotry,&quot; Fr Pushpa Anbu, from the Society of the Divine Word, as he spoke to AsiaNews about the Indian Muslim scholar who passed away last Wednesday in Mumbai at the age 74 after a long illness. A friend of AsiaNews and a great expert on Islam, Asghar Ali Engineer headed the Centre for the Study of Society and Secularism in Mumbai and was well known for his fight for human rights within Islam. Fr Anbu, who is the secretary of the Islamic Studies Association (ISA) and editor of Salam, knew the Muslim intellectual well, and remembers him as &quot;a man of great sensitivity and culture; a real asset to interfaith dialogue.&quot; &quot;Engineer,&quot; he explained, &quot;will remain in the hearts of all the people who knew him, and his efforts and writings on peace and dialogue between communities will continue to inspire and instil hope in people.&quot;Born in Salumbar (Rajasthan) on 10 March 1939 into a family of religious officials, Engineer studied Islam, Islamic culture and Arabic at great length. He also placed his profound knowledge of the Muslim world in the service of interfaith dialogue. For his work, he received many awards.In 1997, the Government of India gave him the National Communal Harmony Award, one of the country&#039;s most prestigious prizes. In 1987, the US International Student Assembly and the US Indian Student Assembly recognised his work with the Distinguished Service Award.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Tue, 21 May 2013 05:00:02 IST</pubDate>
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			<title>Higher education trending what do students want to study and why</title>
			<link>http://irishbloglog.com/news/Higher+education+trending+what+do+students+want+to+study+and+why</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Last month the Irish Higher Education Authority (HEA) published an analysis of the last five years of student applications to the country&amp;#8217;s universities and institutes of technology. This revealed some interesting trends. Unsurprisingly, student interest in construction-related courses (including architecture, surveying, civil engineering and planning) has, in the wake of the near-collapse of the Irish construction industry, waned significantly. Over the five-year period to 2013 first preference applications declined by 55.3 per cent. Given that some of the academic departments affected had, only six or so years ago, been dashing for growth during the boom, this has created major problems in some institutions that had seriously over-invested in this field.
No other subject area has suffered anything quite as dramatic over the period, but other big losers were business and law, together suffering a decline in applicants of nearly 13 per cent over the same period. Interestingly some of the main growth areas have been computing, engineering and science. The re-emergence of computing as a popular choice for students &amp;#8211; applications have grown by over 50 per cent in five years &amp;#8211; is remarkable, given that for much of the past decade students (and their parents, teachers and guidance counsellors) were concluding that this was an industry in decline and to be avoided. But the emergence of some key companies as economic powerhouses &amp;#8211; Apple and Google spring to mind &amp;#8211; changed all that.
What does all of this tell us? Mainly that today&amp;#8217;s news about economic and industrial developments determines a good many student choices. However the rationale behind these choices is pretty questionable. By the time these students enter the labour market the developments that caused the economic trends have long passed, and some other events will create different effects. Students who entered universities to study civil engineering in 2006 when construction was booming entered the labour market four years or so later when it had imploded. People who wouldn&amp;#8217;t touch computing in the same year because they were convinced that the dot.com collapse earlier in the decade had destroyed the industry will have noticed that when they were ready for their first jobs the IT sector was one of the few to be growing aggressively.
We also know from British studies that students are looking more closely at the economic career benefits of particular disciplines before choosing their courses. That of course is a doubtful practice if those benefits cannot be securely predicted over a period of time, or if such predictions are based on palpably wrong assumptions. So how should such choices be made? There is no perfect answer, but one that is as good as any other is to choose according to talent and interest. If you feel passionate or engaged or stimulated about something, then that&amp;#8217;s very likely a good subject to study. But don&amp;#8217;t assume that today&amp;#8217;s newspaper headlines are of any relevance to the success of a particular career to be begun four or five years from now. They aren&amp;#8217;t.
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			<pubDate>Tue, 21 May 2013 05:00:02 IST</pubDate>
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			<title>The passing of Andy Nolan</title>
			<link>http://irishbloglog.com/news/The+passing+of+Andy+Nolan</link>
			<description><![CDATA[It is with a great deal of personal sorrow that the Diary records the death of Andy Nolan.

Your editor writes this from abroad, having just heard the news of his passing. Not unexpected with recent reports of his medical condition, but none the less an occasion of deep emotion.

Those of us who grew up in what might be termed now the new old Kilcullen know that the Nolan family is one of a number which have been here as the foundation of the modern village of Kilcullen become town. 

The Nolans as butchers and victuallers have served Kilcullen through generations since 1886, and Andy Nolan and latterly his son James have been the unstinting keepers of that business trust to the community.

But more than that, the ethos of service to the people of Kilcullen in the provision of the best of food possible to everyone regardless of their means or station is how many will remember Andy Nolan&#039;s legacy. It was more than mere business, as it remains to this day. Andy will have been very pleased with the awards which Nolans has achieved at home and abroad over recent years, but those will always have been secondary to his wish that every customer was properly and adequately served.

Andy also passed on a sense of commitment to the place where he lived and which he loved, to his own children, which has blossomed as so did they themselves in their own lives.

As a husband and father to his family he will be most held dear, and felt greviously lost, to those who are left behind with his passing. As a sportsman he will be recalled with affection not least by Kilcullen GAA and the Curragh Golf Club, where he has left his name in honours. 

As a relative, in whose family home as a young person I played during my journey towards growing up, his passing tolls a personal loss, albeit a little less directly than for those who were privileged to know him better over the later decades of his life.

There will be much said about Andy Nolan in the coming days. None of it will be negative, I am sure. I hope to do something more on this later on the Diary, but in the meantime, to his direct family, I offer my heartfelt condolences, in the certain knowledge that Andy now rests in a very deserved peace.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Tue, 21 May 2013 02:00:02 IST</pubDate>
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			<title>The Minister and Mick</title>
			<link>http://irishbloglog.com/news/The+Minister+and+Mick</link>
			<description><![CDATA[     Alan Shatter TD and Minister for Justice is a solicitor with a proven track record, particularly in the area of family law. It is ironic then that such an able legal mind should have perhaps committed such a basic legal faux-pas that would threaten the future of his political career. It remains to be seen whether any offence will be deemed to have been committed but even to place himself in a situation where the question can be asked shows a lack of judgment on the part of the Minister. Surely a man of Shatter’s experience and standing would realize that the use of privileged information in a political context is exceedingly dangerous.I sympathize with his frustration in sharing a platform with Mick Wallace who to my mind belongs anywhere but in public office, but that was the will of the people in our democracy, which all politicians, Shatter included, are sworn to uphold. The Minister should know better than to let himself be risen by such buffoonery.And yet Shatter’s response has been anything but conciliatory. His familiar arrogance has been to the fore as he has tried to bluster his way out of an exceedingly tight corner. I am quite certain that the Minister knows that he has at best pushed the boundaries of his office to a new limit and at worst may have committed an offence under data protection legislation. So why does he not simply apologize to Mick Wallace and the Irish people for overstepping the boundaries of his office? Surely one such as he who has devoted his professional life to the law, its formation and enforcement would not wish (no matter how arrogant he is) to stand over actions which if condoned would undermine the basis of our democracy. Surely even he would eat a little humble pie for the sake of the Law. I use capital letters for Law here intentionally because I do believe he would see it as one of the pillars of our society.So why not hold his hands up and ask for forgiveness? I think this is the nub of the matter. He knows that there will be no forgiveness. To admit to having, however inadvertently, broken the law is career suicide. That will be the end of Alan Shatter TD and Minister for Justice and it will be not only his loss but ours too for he has made a considerable contribution to Irish politics and law in his lifetime. It will indeed be a sad end if this does prove to be his nemesis.However as long as Shatter persists in defending the indefensible he will simultaneously diminish the democratic capital of this State. However provoked we cannot allow those with such weighty responsibility to abuse their privileged status for political point scoring. This is a dangerous precedent and one which must be stopped in its tracks! As it stands the best solution for the ongoing integrity of our democracy would be that the Minister would relinquish office.I wish it were other, but in an unforgiving society there is no alternative. I wish we lived in a society where people could admit to mistakes and failures and be allowed the opportunity to learn from them. I would much prefer to have Alan Shatter continue in office, having eaten the necessary humble pie, and through the whole experience grow in stature and integrity. But that will never be unless things change radically and we abandon the culture of spin and systems failure where nobody is ever responsible for anything or anyone. In the meantime in this imperfect world I hope the Minister does the right thing.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Mon, 20 May 2013 20:00:03 IST</pubDate>
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			<title>Being named online will deter distressed borrowers availing of insolvency service</title>
			<link>http://irishbloglog.com/news/Being+named+online+will+deter+distressed+borrowers+availing+of+insolvency+service</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Fianna Fáil Finance Spokesperson Michael McGrath has said confirmation that the public register of those availing of the new insolvency service will appear on the agency’s website will deter some distressed borrowers from availing of the new service.

Deputy McGrath stated, “The Minister for Justice has confirmed that the register of persons who avail of the debt options under the new insolvency service will be placed on the agency’s website. I am genuinely concerned that naming distressed borrowers in this way could put off a lot of people overburdened with debts from seeking relief under the new insolvency arrangements.

“I cannot see how it is in the public interest to publish online the identity of people who may have had no other option but to avail of one of the debt relief options under the new service. The Minister has confirmed to me in a Dáil reply that he does intend to bring forward amendments including one which will allow debtors who have successfully completed their arrangement to be removed from the public register. This proposed change is welcome but it doesn’t go far enough.

“Thousands of people struggling with unsustainable levels of personal debt are looking to the new insolvency arrangements as a fresh start. However, the fact that family, friends, neighbours and complete strangers will be able to see their name on a published list will cause unnecessary stress and anxiety.

“In my view, a more sensible proposal would be for the proposed new Credit Register to hold information on arrangements entered into under the new insolvency service. This would enable lending bodies to access information on request but would not involve the identity of those availing of the insolvency arrangements being made public.”
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			<pubDate>Mon, 20 May 2013 20:00:03 IST</pubDate>
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			<title>A Maze of cut through alleyways and entries.</title>
			<link>http://irishbloglog.com/news/A+Maze+of+cut+through+alleyways+and+entries.</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Guest writer Davy Carlin takes us through the maze of streets that made up the Ballymurphy of his childhood

The Carlin family was a large family like many in those days. One of my uncles was killed though when he was a child. For me I was lucky even to be born. I was the result of a vacuum birth where a large dent covered by hair remains in my skull. I had less than a 5% chance of living. I had always thought though that I had been born in the Royal Victoria Hospital in West Belfast like the rest of my stepbrothers and sisters but in fact I was actually born in the Belfast City Hospital in South Belfast.

Having been born into the Murph I am still considered by some a ‘Murph man’ Today books, articles and songs have been written about the Murph with many more stories of daring, of courage, and of resistance handed down from word of mouth. The Ballymurphy estate pre-war {the recent conflict} was an area like many other Nationalist working class estates that suffered socio and economic deprivation, poor housing, discrimination and much more at the hands of the Unionist dominated state. For that reason the establishment of a local Tenants Association took place in the early 1960’s. Its first meeting was held in St Bernadette’s school almost directly across the road from me. St Bernadette’s was a school where as a child I had used to climb over its gates with other kids, as so to go and play handball against its walls. My grandfather, Jim Carlin, was in the Ballymurphy Tenants Association {BTA} along with Hugh McCormick, one of its founders. I used to as a child knock around in those days with one of his grandkids, Kieran Mc Cormick, who frequented his home, which was directly across from ours. Also in the tenants association was Frank Cahill the brother of veteran Republican Joe Cahill. At times the BTA had held its meetings in our home where my mum would serve up tea and biscuits and would also have helped out at some of the social functions etc. organised by the BTA. The BTA went on to have a huge impact for the betterment of the community and was a testament to the skills, commitment and determination of its activists that they had achieved so much. This more especially against the backdrop of the overt discrimination and state barriers erected against them.

The Murph itself was a maze of the ‘‘cut through’’ alleyways and entry’s. Perfect for the IRA volunteers to take on the Brits in the urban territory before the redrawing of the eventual new estates that took such a situation into account. The Murph although at the forefront of the Irish War was a community not only of resistance but a community that also cared and embraced each other. Of course there were the various splits and disagreements within and between various organisations. Which when feuding, took those feuds at times brutal and bloody onto the Murph’s surrounding areas streets. Nevertheless at times of need, the community stood firm as one, and resisted whatever was thrown against them.

As a kid I knocked about with many on the street with many more on the street having been related to me. In those days extended families lived very close to each other and so the maze of streets in the Murph had many families related to me. Therefore seeing the number of relatives houses actually running well into double figures from my mums and stepfathers sides of the family. Their homes stretched from Glenalina Road right round to the Ballymurphy road and within the surrounding area.

Visiting such homes always was a delight with being handed sweets and biscuits as I made my rounds from home to home. Yet such was the times that all homes that I frequented were open and welcoming. In those days doors where left open not only as so to be open and welcoming for visitors but in many occasions as so those being chased by the Peelers or Brits could run through the front door and out the back. Something I had availed of on many occasions as a child with the Brits in tow chasing after me, to words of the effect, ‘there’s the wee Black Bastard’. Ballymurphy in those days was an estate that was at the forefront of the conflict with every family and household affected by it and participant in various ways within it. Even today the stories I hear within conversations shows up not only the discrimination and the brutality of the state but of the resolute willingness of such citizens to stand firm against it.

Yet while I was being born into the Murph on the 4th of Oct 1970 a hand full of doors down the bottom of our street was the house of the Adams family. On that adjourning street of Divismore Park, within that house, was a young man who would go on to become infamous in the annals of the recent conflict. His name was Gerry Adams and he was to go on to become the President of Sinn Fein {SF}. Yet such was the nature of Ballymurphy and West Belfast in general, many such persons now recognised within the recent conflict had lived or still live there.

When I had moved to Sevastopol Street I had witnessed the shooting of Ronnie Bunting. Ronnie Bunting was the founding member of the Irish Republican Socialist Party {IRSP} and once Belfast commander and a senior chief of staff of the Irish National Liberation Army {INLA}. The house that I had actually moved into in 6 Sevastopol Street in the early seventies, the person that had lived there previous to me was another whose name is now famous in the annals of our recent conflict. His name was Seamus Twomey, the Provisional Irish Republican Army’s {PIRA} Chief of Staff. Then when I had moved to Twinbrook, John Lowry, who had gone on to become the General Secretary of the Workers Party {WP} who were allied with Official Irish Republican Army {OIRA} had lived in my street there in Twinbrook. So such was the nature of the times that most streets had a history that has already be written within the history books detailing various incidents and movements, or indeed of those involved within them.

For me though as a six year old such things were not part of my understanding, but such times were though indeed exciting. In those days the streets of the Murph as a community held their own ‘get togethers’ and entertainment. As I kid I remember bringing out the kitchen chairs in those long hot summers onto the streets of the late seventies and playing street bingo or having a street party. The games of yesteryear in the Murph for the girls and at times the boys where hop scotch and skips. Skips was a rope turned and we skipped over it while all sang the various songs to accompany it. I remember I also had these toy soldiers and Brit jeeps, which I mercilessly attacked in pretend ambushes or threw against the wall to see them smash into smithereens.

As a kid and teenager I knocked around with my cousins Patrick, Martin, John, Ian and Seamus. I also hung around with my neighbour whose house was a first aid centre during some of the worst days of the troubles This when volunteers where having gun battles with the Brits from the back alley ways, from side streets or from within the gardens of the Murph. Or when the Brits where attempting to run riot and to dish out their brutality throughout the Murph, and so seeing the Murph residents of all ages getting wired into them in running street battles.

Yet looking back on those days although a kid I can remember nearly every surname in that street. Such was those days; I believe many of similar and older age can. Today though many things are different, with the street games all but gone and home computers, motorbikes, mini quad bikes, and even mini jeeps the interest of many such kids today. Also seeing the extended family in most cases not existing, to and in the same extent, as many of the now generation of my age tending to move further and further away. This, as many more are now able to find jobs and some financial stability. Yet in those days of yesteryear although we had little in the material sense we nevertheless had much within that sense of community and solidarity. This was indeed intensified within the collective forms of struggle and resistance.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Mon, 20 May 2013 20:00:03 IST</pubDate>
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			<title>British MPs to debate gay marriage plans</title>
			<link>http://irishbloglog.com/news/British+MPs+to+debate+gay+marriage+plans</link>
			<description><![CDATA[			       The British government’s controversial gay  marriage legislation returns to the Commons today with Tory MPs and  activists deeply split over the issue.      The move has been championed by David Cameron  but he has faced Conservative opposition at all levels from the  grassroots to the cabinet .       A group of more than 30 current and former  local party chairmen warned that the plans would drive Tory voters to  the UK Independence Party and make a Conservative election victory in  2015 impossible. 						                                                      				 						                 			       Bob Woollard, chairman of the Conservative  Grassroots group which organised the protest letter to the prime  minister said: “Same sex marriage is really a tipping point, a  bellwether issue if you like — people have just said ‘I’ve had enough,  I’m off, I will never vote Conservative again’.       “Scores and scores and scores of people that we  have all spoken to, probably hundreds of thousands of people have said:  ‘I’ve had enough, that’s it now, we can’t cope with this so-called  modernisation agenda. We are not voting Conservative again until this  bill is scrapped, defeated in the House of Lords, kicked into the long  grass or until there’s a change of leadership’.”       But a rival letter, signed by more than 100  Tory activists, called for Conservative MPs to “deal with the Bill then  move on together as a party”.       The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill will be  debated over two days, with its third reading — the final hurdle in the  Commons — tomorrow. Tory former minister Tim Loughton will attempt to  amend the legislation to allow heterosexuals to have the same right to  civil partnerships as gay couples.       He highlighted a ComRes survey of 159 MPs from  across the parties which found 73 per cent agreed that civil  partnerships should be extended to heterosexuals “in the interests of  equality” if gay marriage is legalised.       Mr Loughton said: “Far from being a ‘wrecking  measure’ some of the strongest support for my amendment to extend civil  partnerships comes from the biggest supporters of same sex marriage in  the Labour and Lib Dem parties.       “If the government think it is right to extend  marriage to everyone then it has to be right to extend civil  partnerships to everyone too. This can only be good for improving  stability for many more of the near three million opposite sex couples  who currently choose to cohabit but are in no formally recognised  relationship.      “Giving them the opportunity for the rights and  responsibilities that go with civil partnerships has also to be a good  thing for more stability for children which is enormously important at a  time of rising family breakdown.”       Mr Loughton is also supporting amendments which  will give registrars the option to opt-out of holding same-sex unions  on faith grounds and also protect teachers if they refuse to promote gay  marriage.       Labour’s equalities team, led by shadow home  secretary Yvette Cooper, is set to support Mr Loughton’s amendment on  heterosexual civil partnerships.      Ms Cooper warned on Sky News’ Murnaghan  programme that it would be a “real problem” if the legislation “gets  lost in the vortex of the Tory infighting”.       With free votes for MPs, Mr Loughton’s  amendment could pass despite the opposition of ministers. Culture  secretary Maria Miller has tabled rival amendments to allow a review on  extending civil partnerships to heterosexual couples, but only five  years after gay marriage has been introduced. It would pave the way for  civil partnerships to be extended, or, if demand has plummeted, scrapped  altogether.       A Government source said Mr Loughton’s  amendment would cost taxpayers £4 billion as a result of extra pension  liabilities and could delay the introduction ofgay marriages by up to 24  months.      The source added that it “undermines marriage  by creating a two-tiered system”.If the Bill clears the Commons  tomorrow it will head to the Lords, where fierce opposition to the  proposals is expected.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Mon, 20 May 2013 19:00:02 IST</pubDate>
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