An Ulsterman's Ramblings

Ramblings Relocates

2009-04-29T23:10:00.002+01:00

Took a notion to shift over to Wordpress, another blogging platform. Don't really desire to keep two up to date, so I'll likely just be posting over there unless I find out it's rubbish and sheepishly return

http://ulsterrambler.wordpress.com/

Sophie Scholl - The Final Days (2005). "Decency, Morals, God"

2009-04-27T14:32:00.003+01:00

Last night I watched Sophie Scholl - The Final Days, and would encourage you to watch at least part of the film, this fascinating clip below.

Sophie Scholl and her brother have been arrested for their involvement in the White Rose movement, distributing leaflets criticising the Nazi regime and Hitler. After thorough interrogation their guilt is proven, and here (2mins 3os in) we see a conversation between Scholl and Investigator Mohr, who treats her in this as intellectual equal, dealing with issues of morality, conscience and God.

The White Rose movement holds high significance, showing clearly that there was opposition to the Nazis from within Germany, thought painfully highlighting its infrequency and lack of strength.

I was in Cologne a few years ago where the actions of the White Rose movement are now celebrated annually.

Article on Sophie Scholl from the Catholic Herald can be found here

Scrap the Scrap money

2009-04-27T13:38:00.003+01:00

£2,000 for a 1965 Morris Minor which hasn't been roadworthy for decades? Scrap it

The decision by Alistair Darling to introduce a car scrappage scheme whereby you can trade in your old car for £2,000 off a new one is a ludicrous one.

As an article in today's Times shows, loopholes are rife. The scheme would allow me to trade in the Renault 9 GT Turbo I bought on Ebay for £42*, providing I had a SORN (statutory off road notification) and receive £2,000 off a brand new car. I'm interested to see what this will do to the second hand car market, as opportunistic sellers realise they can finally get rid of the disused cars sitting about their yard to equally opportunistic buyers for a decent price. Even if you overpaid and bought my Renault 9 off me for £200, you'd still be on course to save £1,800, providing you were planning on buying a new car in the first place.

The scheme undoubtedly benefits the car industry, sure, but why prop up an industry that is fuelling (see what I did there) increased carbon levels? Why not follow Obama - a leader who recognises that renewable energy, and the manufacturing of hybrid cars will create jobs and boost a flailing economy - and promote 'green' cars, and use this scheme in accordance with this?

It's Economy over Environment once more, and ignorant of the huge potential for both to compliment each other

*Incidentally, I don't have this car anymore, having sold it - ironically - for scrap, netting £90

Gerry the Prod?

2009-04-27T13:23:00.004+01:00

An article in today's BT (quoted here at the Indy) attributes some interesting quotes to Gerry Adams talking about faith with Gay Byrne as part of a series on the spiritual beliefs of public figures.

"I have formed an opinion," he says to Byrne, "and it's probably a Protestant thing, that the notions of having some sort of middle-man isn't altogether necessary." He admits he hasn't gone to confession "in years," preferring to speak directly with God.

When asked on the matter of Transubstantiation and whether the elements are the real body of Jesus Christ, he replied unconvincingly "Who knows?"

With these comments perhaps alienating some ardent Catholics, and McGuinness seen by many nationalists to be 'in bed' with the DUPers, just how are SF perceived amongst their traditional base? I'd love to see some poll data...

R we getn thikker?

2009-04-27T12:56:00.005+01:00

Eugh...even my own title repulses me

I'm glad to see the media are providing coverage on the ever-decreasing value of language, vocabulary, spelling, grammar.

In today's Indy (and BT) Robert Fisk writes an opinion piece lambasting society's reluctance to read books, and the knock on effects this has on grammar
Meanwhile in The Times, a leading report by Alexandra Frean on the shrinking range of language in children (especially amongst disadvantaged children) coins the phrase 'word poverty', and makes an interesting observation - "If a child hits or pushes another child, it is usually because they don't have the language of conflict resolution."

Other pieces worth looking at are the appalling comments made here by a 'leading academic' calling for spelling within English language to be re-drafted along phonetic lines.

Another interesting report can be found here, at First Things, A self-titled journal of Religion, Culture and Public life which makes the point that the Internet has not increased our learning, but rather increased our social network at the expense of our social skills. I found this particularly true: "The genuine significance of the Web to a seventeen-year-old mind is not the universe of knowledge brought to their fingertips, but an instrument of non-stop peer contact”

Below is my favourite mis-spelling, taken at London protests against Israeli strikes in Gaza

Match Fixing - justifying the original scepticism of Professionalism?

2009-04-24T19:21:00.003+01:00

The Independent reports today on the betting scam surrounding a match between Accrington Stanley and Bury at the end of last season, which saw home side Accrington lose 2-0. Meanwhile at home, the Irish League is once more embroiled in the now annual farce of supposed match fixing where teams with nothing to play for are suddenly backed either to win or to lose by huge sums of money. Gareth Fullerton broke the story on the front page of the Belfast Newsletter, reporting that Paddy Power are only taking bets on the IPL matches involving Linfield and Glentoran this weekend.

These problems were foresaw at the very inception of professional sport in the late 19th Century, and the prospect of match fixing was one of the major reasons why Gentlemen Amateurs were desperately against the introduction of payment for playing. Neal Garnham reports that "In England the most influential arguments against professionalism had been based on ‘the social antipathy of men who considered professional sport ethically unacceptable’". There was a genuine fear that if a man was being paid to win, he could be bought to lose.

Reference - Garnham, Neal; Association Football and Society in Pre-Partition Ireland; (Ulster Historical Foundation, Belfast, 2004).

"Why we can't go to war with North Korea" according to one American

2009-04-24T19:09:00.003+01:00

This simplistic article highlights numerous reasons why the US shouldn't go to war with North Korea. However whilst he illustrates why a war isn't a good idea (and it isn't) he implies that any interference in the goings on of NK is none of the USA's business, even if they do bomb Japan.

Fascinatingly enough, he quotes Santanya's well known phrase, "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it" to illustrate his point about the mistakes of the Korean War. However, he should also imply that phrase to the Isolationist policy the US had in the 30s and early 40s which allowed a dictator far too much room to manoeuvre and almost brought about a restructuring of world order. With the new totalitarian regime possessing nuclear weapons, this is no time for America to be isolationist, and thankfully Obama seems to recognise this

Ronnie Biggs Press Reaction. A Case study to highlight critical consumption of the Media

2009-04-24T18:11:00.008+01:00

Ronnie Biggs, who turns 80 later this year, is currently being recommended for release from prison. Infamous for his role in the Great Train Robbery of 1963, he escaped prison after only 15 months of his 30 year sentence to Brazil where he gained celebrity status for his bold taunting of the British justice system, including recording a single with the Sex Pistols. He returned to Britain in 2001 where he was subsequently re-arrested and sent back to prison.

Today's papers presented the same story, told in a different manner, sometimes subtly, sometimes not so.

The Times offers a sympathetic view to Biggs, even allowing the story space within their Editorial comment. It calls for "Mercy" and "Clemency" and twice asserts that the decision to exercise such acts of kindness lie with Jack Straw.

In its article by Richard Ford and Adam Fresco, a hugely sympathetic view is taken, with the onus on justice secretary Straw to cede to compassion. We are told that he hopes to move to a nursing home near his son, that he has suffered strokes which have left him unable to speak, and furthermore he is reduced to pointing and spelling out words with letters of the alphabet. His physical condition is described in that he is fed through a tube and can only walk a few steps unaided. After this factual information presented in a manner to create an image of a helpless creature, we are told that the parole board is expected to release him in time for his 80th birthday. So not only does the innocent reader feel sorry for the physical state of this man, but we are also invited to show sentimentality and a display a sense of occasion.

After such a picture is painted, the scene is set for Ford and Fresco to inform us "The final decision on whether Biggs will spend his last years in freedom rests with Jack Straw". Look at the language. It places huge pressure on Straw to be populist, and invites the reader to condemn the Justice Secretary should he deny this frail creature his "last years in freedom".

As a Times devotee, I'm somewhat dismayed by the lack of objective reporting which is contrasted with the Independent's story (objective mainly due to length) and the BBC's dull version of events (objective because it prides itself in such).

Meanwhile The Sun seems to tilt to the other side of the argument. In a much shorter article than in The Times, it uses language such as "villain father" and reminds us that Biggs has served [only] "a third of his sentence". The information on his condition is presented matter-of-factly, not inviting "mercy" or "clemency"

The Daily Mail predictably goes even further, offering two full pages on Biggs (p.10-11), considerably more than the other papers. Twice we are told in Stephen Wright's (Crime Editor) article that the care received by Biggs if released would be "provided at the taxpayers expense" as well as the question being asked of which authority will have to "pick up the bill for caring for Biggs". Here we are not presented with a frail old man, but rather an undeserving drain on the public purse.

The opinion piece which goes alongside the article by Geoffrey Wansell is unsubtly titled "He put two fingers up to justice for 36 years. So should he just be freed because he's a sad, broken old man?" Wansell presents the previously unmentioned view that "There are those who are convinced that Biggs has failed to 'serve his debt to society' - not least because he has never demonstrated the slightest remorse for his crime." Wansell refers to Biggs' "unrepentant delight" and the paradox of his "fame as a fugitive". He refers to Biggs as "cocky", "a convicted criminal", "a ruthless chancer" and tells us how much he earned from the Robbery - £146,000.

While The Times refers to "Mercy", Wansell refers to "Compassion" but uses it in such a way as to question whether we should have any compassion on "a conman with little or no compassion for anyone but himself."

Facts are facts. Yet which facts are chosen and how they are presented affect a story hugely. The Daily Mail emphasises that the Taxpayer will have to foot the bill for Biggs' healthcare, not mentioning that of course the Taxpayer is already paying for his imprisonment. It glosses over Biggs' physical condition, mentioning it briefly three quarters way down the article when many readers have stopped reading or skipped straight to the end. Conversely, The Times places great emphasis on the frail condition of Biggs mentioning it near the beginning of the article, and in great detail.

Compare too that The Times tells us that Biggs married in 2002, while Wansell in The Mail informs us that "He abandoned his wife and three sons in Australia when he was close to being captured by the British police in 1969". Both facts. Both true. Yet both inviting incredibly different conclusions to be drawn.

We are slaves to the information the media decides to inform us of, yet as clever consumers we can read a variety of sources, and question the language being used, the positioning of information and the conclusions that the writer is urging us to draw.

North Korea - We know

2009-04-08T09:48:00.002+01:00

Further to the National Geographic piece on Refugees from North Korea which I mentioned a few weeks ago, I'd like to highlight just one practical way in which you can make your voice heard.

Open Doors are running a campaign to speak out against China's forced repatriation of N.K. refugees. It is a great tragedy that China forcibly return refugees to a country where leaving is a capital offence. As a result, not only are many refugees returned to face potential execution, but the stance of the Chinese Government means that female refugees who aren't caught, unable to declare their status, are often forced into the sex slave trade. Open Doors claims that 70% of N.K. women refugees are forced into brothels or sold as sex slaves or wives (source)

Just as we condemn the Allies for knowing about Auschwitz and doing nothing about it so will our children condemn us for knowing something of the terror that goes on in North Korea and refusing to engage with it, instead ignoring the information and living selfishly in denial.

When you kids ask what you did to liberate the people of North Korea, what will you say?

Start here - not to ease your conscience but rather to take action - by sending a letter to the Chinese Ambassador asking her to urge the Chinese Government to change its policy of forced repatriation.

Click for change

Fees ... Where's the justice?

2009-04-02T15:30:00.004+01:00

Where does £3,125 of tuition fees per year go, if you study at the University of Ulster?

Extra lecturers, or even pay rises to attract the top ones?
- No, staff face pay reductions of up to £5000 per year, as the Vice Chancellor received a 25% pay increase to take him up to £212,000 per year (that's slightly more than the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, and nearly 20 grand more than Gordon Brown gets) (source)

Free printing?
- No, students pay 5p per sheet which is the same as, for example, Bennett's 1 hour photo charge. A service, or profiteering?

No, apparently the money that students pay to the University, is not reinvested back into them. Rather it pays for extortionate and rarely used equipment such as the 'Bod Pod'.
And surveys which reveal the jaw dropping results released today, that "Sisters make people happy"

Wow. If that's not value, I don't know what is

Dissertation

2009-04-01T11:09:00.002+01:00

If you're interested, you can read my Dissertation here

Entitled 'Fiercely Loyal or Indifferent?' it attempts to use Association Football as a gauge of how involved Northern Ireland was in the Second World War by looking at wartime football in both Northern Ireland and England

Newsletter exclusive!

2009-03-31T12:41:00.002+01:00

On the front page of yesterday's Newsletter was the beginning of an article entitled "Education sector 'is in distress'". It began with this statement

Primary six pupils and their parents are in 'a state of anxiety' over the future
of the transfer system as confusion reigns over just what will happen in the
next 18 months, according to education experts

I guess that makes me an expert on education then, because I independently had come to the same conclusions...

Escape from North Korea, National Geographic

2009-03-26T12:04:00.003Z

Since last summer when I looked into the possibility of going on an organised tour to North Korea (there is no other way of travelling to/within the country), I have had kept an eye out for any news smuggled out of the country. As the world's most inaccessible country, it appeals enormously.

National Geographic ran an article last week entitled 'Escape from North Korea' and whilst it's long, it's well worth a read, bringing up issues of sex trafficking, active love, gratitude and the effect of faith on people in need

Read it here

Free things No.3 - Gumtree

2009-03-24T18:03:00.003Z

More free things from Gumtree. I'm relatively new to the whole Gumtree thing. Essentially it's a classified website offering jobs, flats, cars all that kind of stuff. But there is a 'Freebie' section, worth checking out. My personal favourite is 15 foot Boa Constrictor offered here

Good or Bad? - No.1 Ryanair

2009-03-24T15:01:00.008Z

Spent this past hour booking flights for myself and my father to go to Belgium early June. As ever, using good old Ryanair because I am a slave to their ridiculously low prices. Having sacrificed taking any luggage, travel insurance and deciding to check in online rather than at the airport, I had my flights for a bargain 20 Euros a piece. However, without a VISA Electron card, I faced charges of another 20 euros (10 euros per passenger) for paying with a credit card (it's the same price as with a debit card, but with the added security).

Ryanair is without doubt the cheapest airline on paper, providing you are willing to forgo your human rights for the length of time it takes to get to your destination. Overpriced snacks on board, as well as all the additional charges they try and lure you into before you can book your flight are only the start of it.

Charging for mobile phones is the latest thing, with threats in place to charge a quid if you want to use the toilet. Chief Executive Michael O'Leary is undoubtedly one of the most successful and despised businessmen in Europe, making £650m a year from all the extra charges. He's not in a hurry to help either, as this quote illustrates

"We don't fall all over ourselves if they... say my granny fell ill. What part of no refund don't you understand? You are not getting a refund so fuck off"

The bottom line is they are cheap, and we are suckers for a bargain. If they work in our favour, great. But if there is a problem, don't expect any help.

It comes down to that old adage - You get what you pay for. But frankly, I'll take it

Verdict: Good

Papal Infallibility?

2009-03-20T19:21:00.000Z

If the Pope is infallible, how can he make mistakes?

This is the question I found myself asking last week when Pope Benedict XVI admitted to making "mistakes" and "mishaps" over the re-admittance of Bishop Richard Williamson to the Catholic Church, despite his refusal to acknowledge the scale of the Holocaust. Surely this denies the dogma of Papal Infallibility, which according to the Catholic Encyclopedia is not only exemption from error, but also the exemption from the liability to err.

And so if the Pope can make mistakes, how infallible is the statement that he made on Tuesday that condoms are not a solution to the AIDS epidemic in Africa? He is also quoted as saying that condoms "even aggravates the problem" Does that sound infallible? Or is it a 'mishap'?

What if God had Facebook?

2009-03-18T12:01:00.001Z

Clicky for a chuckle

Chris McCandless

2009-03-16T16:31:00.004Z

His life was documented first in Jon Krakaurer's book, and then in Sean Penn's film both titled 'Into the Wild'. I haven't seen the film, but found the book fascinating, the life of this nomad so enticing that I just wanted to lock up the shop I was working in and go get a bus to wherever.
This quote from a letter he wrote to Ron, an old churchgoing man whose life he seriously impacted is something that has stuck with me

"So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more dangerous to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun."

- Chris McCandless

Seriously?

2009-03-13T11:35:00.001Z

Reports like this really make you scared about the people we live, work and hang out with. Who are these one in seven people who actually believe it's acceptable to hit a girl for wearing revealing clothing in public?

No more

2009-03-10T10:37:00.002Z

No.

No more.

We will not be dragged backwards. We will not let the good name of our Province be used as a byword for terrorism no more. We will not stand idle while bastards try to rip down our peace, we will not simply watch as they indoctrinate children and rape this country of its fragile unity. We will not be known as the generation who allowed this to return

Nor will we retaliate.

We will let these cowards know that there is no home here for their attitudes, no refuge for their methods.

We will stand, and we will let the world know what we stand for.

Stand
1pm, Wednesday
Belfast City Hall
L’Derry Guildhall Square
Newry Town Hall

Old Age

2009-03-09T17:51:00.001Z

Was back home for the weekend there, and asked my 90 year old Gran; "Nanny, what's it like being old?

She paused for a moment and sighed:

"It's all right ... You've got nothing to do ... but you've alot of time to do it"

An Eye for an Eye

2009-03-09T16:25:00.003Z

In a quite literal manifestation of the laws given to the Hebrews in Exodus 21, an Iranian woman who was blinded and disfigured after a man threw acid in her face has welcomed the decision by a Tehran court to do the same to him. Ameneh Bahrami, 30, rejected a marriage request from the man - known only as Majid - who responded by waiting for her outside of her workplace to throw acid on her. Ms Bahrami (seen above) who is currently in Barcelona receiving medical treatment waived her right to $25,000 so that the man would be blinded in both eyes, rather than just one as was originally intended.

But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.

Exodus 21v23-25

You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

- Jesus

Matthew 5 v 38-39

This is perceived to be one of the Bible's great contradictions. Some reading around however sheds some light. In the time the law was given, the concept of “an eye for an eye” was not a requirement, but a limit. The purpose of the statement was not that if someone pokes out your eye, deliberately or not, then you HAVE TO poke out his eye in return. The statement’s purpose was to say that if somebody deliberately pokes out your eye, then you have the right to avenge your mistreatment, but ONLY UP TO what they’ve done to you. You could merely punch them in the nose if that satisfies justice for you, or you could go all the way up to the point of
poking out his eye in return, but no more. You can’t chop of his head if he poked out your eye. In a world where blood feuds were common, meaning that one family would go to war with another family because of a series of escalating insults and violent actions. The concept of “an eye for an eye” stopped the escalation of violence. The concept was simply “if you must retaliate, then you
can only go this far and no further.” Another commentator wrote that if someone killed your sheep, it was the 'macho' thing to go to his and kill five of his cows. Thus starting a tit-for-tat.

In Northern Ireland we know all about tit-for-tat murders. Perhaps even now some loyalists are plotting revenge for the two British soldiers murdered in Antrim Saturday night. But where does that get us? Is that not what the dissidents want? A civil war to encourage Britain to wash its hands of us? Justice must be sought, in that these murderers should be brought to trial and sentenced accordingly. But can we go further? Can we offer forgiveness? Mercy? Even Grace? Jesus advocates justice. But he also calls us to go further. When one considers that he calls us to offer forgiveness instead of seeking revenge, to love instead of hating and to forgo our rights, is that really a religion to use as a crutch? What would you do if you were Ameneh Bahrami?

Darwin's Deathbed Conversion - Urban Myth!

2009-03-09T15:40:00.003Z

Being a Christian I have oft heard the story that Charles Darwin 'repented' of his theory of Evolution on his deathbed and converted to Christianity. Being a historian, I investigated this and have found to be an urban-myth-come-Christian-propaganda.

Basic googling exposes this as a lie made up by Elizabeth 'Lady' Hope, an evangelist who claimed that in Autumn 1881 (Darwin died in April 1882) she visited a bed-ridden Charles who was reading the book of Hebrews. She alleged that upon her speaking on the Genesis account of creation, he became distressed and asked her to return the following day to speak about Jesus to him and a room full of around 30 staff. It is at this time, that he supposedly gave his life to Christ.

It is probable that Lady Hope did visit Darwin in late September/early October 1881. His children who furiously deny this story were almost certainly absent, and therefore not witnesses to this tale.

However, historical investigation has shown several flaws with this account. Firstly, Darwin was not bedridden six months before his passing. Secondly, even if he was, the room he was in was far too small to accommodate 30 people. His wife Emma was present, and herself being a religious person why is it she never collaborated with this story? Why didn't Darwin himself let his children or others know about his conversion? Why did Lady Hope wait until after his death before making her story known?

The urban myth still holds popularity today. It filters down and I hear many of my contemporary Christian friends speculate of this account, as it continues to snowball into supposed truth. Yet it is simply not true.

Being a Christian is not an excuse for being naive, or dismissing fact because it doesn't fit in with uor worldview. When our beliefs our challenged, we should investigate further. Likewise, to not believe in something, does not mean it isn't true. And so, we should investigate the sources before we reject anything out of hand

References

The Lady Hope Story - A widespread falsehood

ChristianAnswers.net account

UniStats.com - Exposing UU?

2009-03-05T14:04:00.001Z

As a dissatisfied student at the University of Ulster, I'm out to bash it, so the statistics I've selected below are completely to back up my point of view. However, for those of you who want to investigate for yourself, a full range can be found at Unistats.com. I have compared results with Queens and Stirling (it lets you compare any three universities in one sitting)

- 7% of UU graduates, 6 months after graduation, are sales assistants or retail cashiers. 5% are assumed to be unemployed. 3 years well spent, won't you agree? For History graduates at UU, one in five will work in sales/retail.

- 70% of UU students get employment with a job related to their degree. At Queens this is 81%

- Only 25% of History students go into a graduate job, that is a job related to the degree they studied. For history graduates at Queens, this is 30%, Aberdeen 40%, Birmingham 51%

-14% of UU students leave with no award. Significantly higher than at Queens where this is 4%, Stirling 5%

- As many as 76% find their course at UU intellectually stimulating. Queens 86%, Stirling 84%

Fairtrade Fortnight

2009-03-04T16:56:00.005Z

It's been a manic week and a half of late, but now that the fuss is over, I can get back to my little retreat of blogging

We're in the middle of Fairtrade fortnight now, and today has seen the positive announcement that Cadbury's Dairy Milk has committed to going Fairtrade. The fact that this is such a prominent chocolate bar, shows their intentions and should do much to promote Fairtrade.

Around this time last year Tate & Lyle announced that they would become the biggest UK company to carry the Fairtrade certificate when it brought all its sugar into line with Fairtrade ideals.

It's great to see these companies use their large volume of change to make a genuine difference in people's lives, although it would be great if they didn't have to wait until Fairtrade fortnight to launch their proposals.