I just voted for Barack Obama. There may still be hope for America…

Northern Ireland Assembly

Yesterday marked an historic day in Irish history marking the start of a power sharing agreement in the Northern Ireland Assembly which devolves, or restores home rule, the government of the region. New First Minister Dr. Ian Paisley (left in picture), member of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) said, “I believe that Northern Ireland has come to a time of peace, a time when hate will no longer rule.” Sinn Féin member and new deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness (right in picture) and Paisley were not seen shaking hands during the swearing-in but according to the Irish Times, “their relationship appeared relaxed and cordial.”

Peace in the North long in the making

As one of my Irish friends once told me, the struggle between Ireland (the Republic) and “The North” is one of the longest wars in history, dating back to the 12th century during the rule of Henry II. A journalist I met while on a trip to Belfast, Northern Ireland this January suggested that there will never be peace in Ireland until the six counties in Ulster are restored to form a full 32 county Republic. Since the beginning of The Troubles from 1969, over 3,500 people have died through 2001. The Good Friday agreement, signed on that day in 1998, established the Northern Ireland Assembly and devolved government. There have been several suspensions of the Assembly since 1998, and yesterday’s restoration marked a new era with agreement in the Executive to share political power amongst both Unionists and Nationalists.

As I’ve said before, I’m not in a very good position to form an opinion one way or another about the Northern Ireland Assembly, but I do know that May 8 is an historic day that hopefully will restore peace to Ireland.

I took this while in Belfast, Northern Ireland and submitted it to the “America” theme on JPG magazine.

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They finally managed to do it. The DUP leader Ian Paisley and Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams have managed to reach an accord that restores self government to Northern Ireland and divides the power in the Northern Ireland Assembly Executive after an hour long meeting in Stormont’s Parliament Buildings dining room. Rev Paisley will take the First Minister position while Martin McGuinness of Sinn Féin will hold the Executive office of Deputy First Minister.

Today marked the deadline of reaching an agreement between the loyalists and the Irish Republicans in the Executive, otherwise the newly elected Assembly would have been dissolved as it has been since October 2002.

Rev Ian Paisley

“Our goal has been to see devolution returned in a context where it can make a real, meaningful improvement in the lives of all the people of this part of the United Kingdom.”

Gerry Adams

“I believe the agreement reached between Sinn Féin and the DUP - including the unequivocal commitment made by their party executive and reiterated today - to the restoration of political institutions on 8 May marks the beginning of a new era of politics on this island.”

Devolution of Government

The two sides voted on a resolution to form the new administration on Saturday as Paisley and McGuinness pledged a six week test of Sinn Féin’s support for the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). The parties certainly have much work ahead to mend wounds and settle differences, but this historic agreement is a big step forward. I write all of this as a bystander, so if you have grown up in Ireland I would love to hear what you think about this new found power sharing agreement.

*UPDATE*
Take part in the poll for this post at the right…

It’s bum rush the charts day:

If you believe in the power of new media, on March 22nd, 2007, take 99 cents and 2 minutes of your time to join the revolution and make iTunes “Mine Again”. If you’re a content producer (blogger, podcaster, etc.), we’re asking you to join up with us and help spread the word to your audience. Nothing would prove the power of new media more than showing corporate media that not only can we exceed their reach and match their purchasing power, but that we can also do it AND make a positive difference in the world. If we can succeed with this small example, then there’s no telling what can do next.

The track we’ve chosen is “Mine Again” by the band Black Lab. A band that was dropped from not just one, but two major record labels (Geffen and Sony/Epic) and in the process forced them to fight to get their own music back. We picked them because making them number one, even for just one day, will remind the RIAA record labels of what they turned their backs on - and who they ignore at their peril.

Support independent artists with your wallet today (make sure to buy “Mine Again,” the first track on the album) I just bought mine and listening to it now. It’s a great track, so let’s make “Mine Again” number one on iTunes today.

Al Gore brought 500,000 messages with him as he testified before Congress yesterday on the threat of climate change, urging legislators to take action. Unfortunately this has become a political issue and it doesn’t help matters that Gore is identified with the Democrats. It is unbelievable that there are people out there like Republican Senator James Inhofe leading a defensive charge.

“It is my perspective that your global warming alarmist pronouncements are now and have always been filled with inaccuracies and misleading statements,” Mr. Inhofe said.

And this is the guy that is the ranking Republican on the Environment and Public Works Committee?!

When will this stop being a political issue and start being a real threat that we can all discuss without taking sides. We have a very narrow window of opportunity to change the course of destruction of our world and parties are bickering over taxes and protectionism.

As many of you know, I am a postgrad in economics and appreciate charts and graphs. So, I’ve been chuckling at Jessica Hagy’s, Indexed for a few weeks now thanks to a friend’s suggestion. Jessica has a simple, brilliant concept: take line graphs and Venn diagrams, throw in a bit of controversial social topics, mix together on a lined index card, and you have a new breed of daily web comic. Today’s Indexed takes on the meaty issues of global warming, abortion, taxes, gay marriage, health care, and Iraq. If you ask me, Jessica’s index cards a loads funnier that most newspaper political cartoons.

Not all of her cards are serious or political in nature. This one about high school reunions hits the nail on the head and got me to snicker since I recently went to my own 10 year reunion. There are loads of other great index cards and it’s definitely a blog I read regularly. Her site could use some tweaking and it’s really frustrating that she has urls in the the header that are not linked, but its easy to look past all that with the great content.

Finally, Indexed just got a book deal with Penguin Viking, so I can’t wait to see what else is in store for Jessica Hagy. Congratulations!

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In continuation of my efforts to learn more about the politics of Ireland and Northern Ireland and share them with you, I give you this follow-up piece. The results are in from the Northern Ireland Assembly election held last Thursday and as expected, The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) took the lead as the largest party with 36 seats out of the 108-member Assembly. Sinn Féin, the Irish Republican party, took the second largest position with 28 seats. The two parties are now faced with a 26 March deadline to form a power-sharing agreement in the Executive.

DUP leader Ian Paisley is poised to take the First Minister position in the Executive, while Sinn Féin’s Martin McGuinness would take the Deputy First Minister spot. Of the ten Executive positions, the DUP will take four positions, Sinn Féin next with three, then two Ulster Unionists and one nationalist SDLP.

This should be interesting with such polar-opposite leaders potentlially sharing the number one and number two Executive positions. Paisley is an outspoken critic of the Catholic Church who once called Pope John Paul II the anti-Christ, while McGuinness was a former second-in-command leader of the Provisional IRA during Bloody Sunday and, like his fellow Sinn Féin members, refuses to take his seat as a Member of British Parliament. We’ll just have to wait and see if the power-sharing agreement can be made before 26 March.

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Féin, the hardline Nationalist party, both gained seats in Northern Ireland Assembly elections yesterday. The DUP is expected to pick up at least 3 seats to end up with 35, while Sinn Féin should add 4 seats for a total of 28. However, unless a power sharing agreement among the government department executives can be reached by 26 March, the Assembly will be dissolved.

The Assembly has been suspended since October 2002 and if reinstated, will give Northern Ireland home rule once again.

I am still learning about the complex political situation between the Republic of Ireland (ROI) and Northern Ireland (UK) and at this point still have not formed an opinion one way or the other. It will be interesting to see if the Assembly is reinstated and how it may change the political climate.

The Northern Ireland Assembly, currently suspended since October 2002, may resume sessions in March, according to this week’s The Economist. The International Monitoring Commission met January 30th and seems satisfied that the IRA has ceased terrorist activities. This prompted prime ministers Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern, of Britain and Ireland, to call for an election of a new assembly March 7th, with a resumption of self rule on March 26th.

The Northern Ireland Assembly aims to share power between the Unionists and the Nationalists and establish self-government of the region. If the elections take place, which are in doubt, it would be a another significant step toward peace intended by the Good Friday Agreement of 1998.

Here’s the latest Bushism:

“I think it’s important to bring somebody from outside the system, the judicial system, somebody that hasn’t been on the bench and, therefore, there’s not a lot of opinions for people to look at.”

%u2014On the nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court, Washington, D.C., October 4, 2005 http://slate.msn.com/id/76886/

As soon as I get my hands on this from playmobil, my son’s Christmas shopping is done! I wonder if this comes with the TSA ‘backroom’ for those on the watchlist and collectible al Qaeda action figures?

Found on the PC Doctor

I guess this shouldn’t come as a surprise…but still unbelievable!

http://www.boingboing.net/2005/10/15/walmart_photofinishi.html

I want this for Christmas!

http://www.boingboing.net/2005/10/15/disappearing_rights_.html

Well, what can I say…these aren’t my words, and they’re not the most graceful…but I think it pretty much sums up the situation:

I’m simply stunned at the lack of effort the federal government has put forth towards the rescue of Hurricane Katrina victims. Yet, I still hear people giving their support to this administration! What the hell is happening?