Posted by Jim on February 2, 2019
US Congressmen could once again be called on to act in support of peace
in Ireland after the British government openly reneged on a deal to
prevent a hard border after Brexit.
Led by Theresa May, the Tories and the DUP have voted in favour of a
parliamentary amendment to abandon the previously agreed ‘backstop’.
The amendment declares that Westminster would approve a deal with the
EU if the backstop, which protects Ireland from a remilitarised border
across the island, is replaced with unspecified “alternative
arrangements”.
May’s decision to back the game-changing new policy set down by senior
Tory Graham Brady is the clearest sign yet that the British government
has betrayed the 1998 peace deal which ended the armed struggle of the
Provisional IRA.
After a year of crossing their fingers, a hopelessly naive Dublin
government has finally accepted that Theresa May has welshed on the
backstop, which was originally agreed in December 2017.
“It’s an extraordinary situation that when a Prime Minister and a
government negotiates a deal and then goes back and during the
ratification process votes against their own deal, which is what
happened yesterday — and now wants to go back to their negotiating
partner and change everything,” said Foreign Minister Simon Coveney.
With Taoiseach Leo Varadkar left issuing warnings of a return of
British soldiers to the border, Irish nationalism is once again looking
across the Atlantic for support.
But there are signs that Irish-America is wakening to the significance
of Brexit. A resolution opposing the re-imposition of a hard border
through Ireland has now been introduced in the US Congress. Congressman
Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania introduced the resolution on Tuesday.
“One of the great foreign policy achievements of the twentieth century
was the Good Friday Agreement (GFA),” he said. “Brokered by US Special
Envoy George Mitchell, and agreed to by the UK, Republic of Ireland,
and leading parties in Northern Ireland, it eliminated the hard border
that then existed between Northern Ireland the rest of Ireland. Now
Brexit threatens this.
“A hard border would eliminate the free flow of people between Northern
Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, which has proved fundamental to
promoting peace and unity. We must not go backwards.”
And as Westminster voted against the backstop, Boyle tweeted: “After
agreeing to the Irish backstop, Theresa May’s government has now
reneged on it. Why would anyone negotiate with her now?”
Richard Neal, the Massachusetts Congressman who was centrally involved
in the Good Friday Agreement and is the co-chairman of the Friends of
Ireland caucus on Capitol Hill, has recently been appointed as head of
the powerful Ways and Means committee. This committee will play a key
role in overseeing any future trade agreement between Britain and the
United States after Britain leaves the European Union.
Britain already faces being shut out of making new trade deals with the
EU after it falls out of the union in March. The promise of a bilateral
trade agreement between Britain and the United States is a central
plank of Britain’s post-Brexit economic policy, given that British
exports to the United States are worth about 100 billion pounds to the
British economy.
At Davos last week, Mr Varadkar was reported as saying privately that
the Irish-American lobby in Congress would never allow a trade deal
with the US to go through if Britain insists on reimposing its hard
border.
Speaking publicly, he warned the British government that it would “be
very difficult for the UK to conclude any trade deals with the question
of the Irish Border unresolved.”
Posted by Jim on January 31, 2019
Fellow Firefighters,
Friends of Firefighters has been in existence for over 17 years providing free, independent, and confidential mental health counseling and wellness services for active and retired FDNY firefighters and their families. We depend heavily on our Fall Gala for the following year of operation and our 2018 Gala did not meet our goal, partially due to a blizzard. We are working diligently to fill the gap and are asking for support.
One way you can help sustain our operations is to donate 50¢ per paycheck through ESS, which is $26 annually. While that might be barely noticeable to you, for us it would determine whether or not we can be here for you in the years to come. There are 11,000 active Officers and Members; multiply that $26 from even half the population and you then see how your contribution will have an impact on FoF. That money will provide 2,025 counseling sessions, Firehouse Kitchen Talk and On the Arm Breakfast expenses, as well as operating costs to keep our headquarters and satellite offices open and running year round.
How does this help you? As an FDNY firefighter, you (and your family) will have the assurance of ongoing free, confidential, and unlimited counseling and the knowledge that an organization created solely for the purpose of providing support to NYC firefighters will be here for you and your family should you need us.
Please consider donating your 50¢ per paycheck to Friends of Firefighters. It may not mean much to you now, but you can be assured we’ll be here when and if you need us.
ENROLLING/ ADDING a new NYC Gives Contribution in ESS Log in to NYCAPS Employee Self-Service (ESS) at www.nyc.gov/ess from work or home. Go to Payroll and Compensation > Deduction Information > NYC Gives. Click the NYC Gives link. Click the NYC Gives charities search link at the bottom of the EForms NYC Gives page to search and select Friends of Firefighters. Return to the EForms NYC Gives page. Click Enroll. Enter the 5-digit code for FoF (#12667) in the NYC Gives Organization Code field and tab to the next blank field. Enter the Amount to be Deducted per paycheck. Click Submit Changes. Enter Last 4 digits of your Soc Sec Number to authorize your enrollment. Click Certify/Confirm. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
Sincerely,
Retired Firefighter Tony Catapano |
Posted by Jim on January 30, 2019
BUTCHER’S DOZEN:
A LESSON FOR THE OCTAVE OF WIDGERY
by Thomas Kinsella
I went with Anger at my heel
Through Bogside of the bitter zeal
– Jesus pity! – on a day
Of cold and drizzle and decay.
A month had passed. Yet there remained
A murder smell that stung and stained.
On flats and alleys-over all-
It hung; on battered roof and wall,
On wreck and rubbish scattered thick,
On sullen steps and pitted brick.
And when I came where thirteen died
It shrivelled up my heart. I sighed
And looked about that brutal place
Of rage and terror and disgrace.
Then my moistened lips grew dry.
I had heard an answering sigh!
There in a ghostly pool of blood
A crumpled phantom hugged the mud:
“Once there lived a hooligan.
A pig came up, and away he ran.
Here lies one in blood and bones,
Who lost his life for throwing stones.”
More voices rose. I turned and saw
Three corpses forming, red and raw,
From dirt and stone. Each upturned face
Stared unseeing from its place:
“Behind this barrier, blighters three,
We scrambled back and made to flee.
The guns cried Stop, and here lie we.”
Then from left and right they came,
More mangled corpses, bleeding, lame,
Holding their wounds. They chose their ground,
Ghost by ghost, without a sound,
And one stepped forward, soiled and white:
“A bomber I. I travelled light
– Four pounds of nails and gelignite
About my person, hid so well
They seemed to vanish where I fell.
When the bullet stopped my breath
A doctor sought the cause of death.
He upped my shirt, undid my fly,
Twice he moved my limbs awry,
And noticed nothing. By and by
A soldier, with his sharper eye,
Beheld the four elusive rockets
Stuffed in my coat and trouser pockets.
Yes, they must be strict with us,
Even in death so treacherous!”
He faded, and another said:
“We three met close when we were dead.
Into an armoured car they piled us
Where our mingled blood defiled us,
Certain, if not dead before,
To suffocate upon the floor.
Careful bullets in the back
Stopped our terrorist attack,
And so three dangerous lives are done
– Judged, condemned and shamed in one.”
That spectre faded in his turn.
A harsher stirred, and spoke in scorn:
“The shame is theirs, in word and deed,
Who prate of justice, practise greed,
And act in ignorant fury – then,
Officers and gentlemen,
Send to their Courts for the Most High
To tell us did we really die!
Does it need recourse to law
To tell ten thousand what they saw?
Law that lets them, caught red-handed,
Halt the game and leave it stranded,
Summon up a sworn inquiry
And dump their conscience in the diary.
During which hiatus, should
Their legal basis vanish, good,
The thing is rapidly arranged:
Where’s the law that can’t be changed?
The news is out. The troops were kind.
Impartial justice has to find
We’d be alive and well today
If we had let them have their way.
Yet England, even as you lie,
You give the facts that you deny.
Spread the lie with all your power
– All that’s left; it’s turning sour.
Friend and stranger, bride and brother,
Son and sister, father, mother,
All not blinded by your smoke,
Photographers who caught your stroke,
The priests that blessed our bodies, spoke
And wagged our blood in the world’s face.
The truth will out, to your disgrace.”
He flushed and faded. Pale and grim,
A joking spectre followed him:
“Take a bunch of stunted shoots,
A tangle of transplanted roots,
Ropes and rifles, feathered nests,
Some dried colonial interests,
A hard unnatural union grown
In a bed of blood and bone,
Tongue of serpent, gut of hog
Spiced with spleen of underdog.
Stir in, with oaths of loyalty,
Sectarian supremacy,
And heat, to make a proper botch,
In a bouillon of bitter Scotch.
Last, the choice ingredient: you.
Now, to crown your Irish stew,
Boil it over, make a mess.
A most imperial success!”
He capered weakly, racked with pain,
His dead hair plastered in the rain;
The group was silent once again.
It seemed the moment to explain
That sympathetic politicians
Say our violent traditions,
Backward looks and bitterness
Keep us in this dire distress.
We must forget, and look ahead,
Nurse the living, not the dead.
My words died out. A phantom said:
“Here lies one who breathed his last
Firmly reminded of the past.
A trooper did it, on one knee,
In tones of brute authority.”
That harsher spirit, who before
Had flushed with anger, spoke once more:
“Simple lessons cut most deep.
This lesson in our hearts we keep:
Persuasion, protest, arguments,
The milder forms of violence,
Earn nothing but polite neglect.
England, the way to your respect
Is via murderous force, it seems;
You push us to your own extremes.
You condescend to hear us speak
Only when we slap your cheek.
And yet we lack the last technique:
We rap for order with a gun,
The issues simplify to one
– Then your Democracy insists
You mustn’t talk with terrorists!
White and yellow, black and blue,
Have learnt their history from you:
Divide and ruin, muddle through,
Not principled, but politic.
– In strength, perfidious; weak, a trick
To make good men a trifle sick.
We speak in wounds. Behold this mess.
My curse upon your politesse.”
Another ghost stood forth, and wet
Dead lips that had not spoken yet:
“My curse on the cunning and the bland,
On gentlemen who loot a land
They do not care to understand;
Who keep the natives on their paws
With ready lash and rotten laws;
Then if the beasts erupt in rage
Give them a slightly larger cage
And, in scorn and fear combined,
Turn them against their own kind.
The game runs out of room at last,
A people rises from its past,
The going gets unduly tough
And you have (surely … ?) had enough.
The time has come to yield your place
With condescending show of grace
– An Empire-builder handing on.
We reap the ruin when you’ve gone,
All your errors heaped behind you:
Promises that do not bind you,
Hopes in conflict, cramped commissions,
Faiths exploited, and traditions.”
Bloody sputum filled his throat.
He stopped and coughed to clear it out,
And finished, with his eyes a-glow:
“You came, you saw, you conquered … So.
You gorged – and it was time to go.
Good riddance. We’d forget – released –
But for the rubbish of your feast,
The slops and scraps that fell to earth
And sprang to arms in dragon birth.
Sashed and bowler-hatted, glum
Apprentices of fife and drum,
High and dry, abandoned guards
Of dismal streets and empty yards,
Drilled at the codeword ‘True Religion’
To strut and mutter like a pigeon
‘Not An Inch – Up The Queen’;
Who use their walls like a latrine
For scribbled magic-at their call,
Straight from the nearest music-hall,
Pope and Devil intertwine,
Two cardboard kings appear, and join
In one more battle by the Boyne!
Who could love them? God above…”
“Yet pity is akin to love,”
The thirteenth corpse beside him said,
Smiling in its bloody head,
“And though there’s reason for alarm
In dourness and a lack of charm
Their cursed plight calls out for patience.
They, even they, with other nations
Have a place, if we can find it.
Love our changeling! Guard and mind it.
Doomed from birth, a cursed heir,
Theirs is the hardest lot to bear,
Yet not impossible, I swear,
If England would but clear the air
And brood at home on her disgrace
– Everything to its own place.
Face their walls of dole and fear
And be of reasonable cheer.
Good men every day inherit
Father’s foulness with the spirit,
Purge the filth and do not stir it.
Let them out! At least let in
A breath or two of oxygen,
So they may settle down for good
And mix themselves in the common blood.
We are what we are, and that
Is mongrel pure. What nation’s not
Where any stranger hung his hat
And seized a lover where she sat?”
He ceased and faded. Zephyr blew
And all the others faded too.
I stood like a ghost. My fingers strayed
Along the fatal barricade.
The gentle rainfall drifting down
Over Colmcille’s town
Could not refresh, only distil
In silent grief from hill to hill.
Posted by Jim on January 29, 2019
All-Ireland talks are important
Irish News. Editorial.Belfast.Tuesday, January 29, 2010
Almost every serious economist agrees that Brexit will be a disaster for all traditions in Ireland and the consequences for community relations across The North are arguably even more alarming.
It is essential that serious and measured consideration is given to a range of forthcoming options, even though it is painfully obvious that the British cabinet has been unable to come up with a coherent strategy for the withdrawal which is scheduled to take effect from March 29.
What is heartening is that, for the first time since the partition of Ireland almost a century ago, our issues have been placed at the centre of European political developments and the remaining 27 EU member states, assuming that the UK really does withdraw later this year, have lined up solidly behind the position of the Dublin government.
If it was the case that northern Nationalists and Unionists could come together and demand that, at the very least, a no-deal Brexit is emphatically ruled out, a hugely powerful message would be sent to Theresa May,
Unfortunately, while nationalism in all its strands on both sides of The Border is united in deep concern over Brexit, the Unionist response has taken some much more complicated forms.
Some unionists know that a catastrophe is coming down the line, others have exercised their right to curry temporary favor with the Conservative Party at Westminster and a relatively small number are cheerleaders for the most reactionary elements of the Brexit campaign.
A full debate at a functioning Stormont assembly might have moved events forward, and it needs to be acknowledged that all sides carry degrees of responsibility for the collapse which occurred there almost exactly two years ago.
Many commentators have offered valid and credible points about the priority of engaging across the board and establishing ways of extending the hand of friendship in all directions.
However, the Renewable Heat Incentive public inquiry laid bare the specific extent of the dysfunctional and unacceptable nature of the DUP’s approach to financial management in particular and basic standards of public administration in general.
The forthcoming report from Sir Patrick Coghlin will be closely studied, and there will be major surprise if grave criticism is not directed at some senior figures, so it is inevitable that a sweeping overhaul of DUP structures must follow before a return to devolution can start to be contemplated.
Stormont parties need to step up their dialogue in the meantime but discussions on an all-Ireland basis are equally important and should be encouraged in every way.
The gathering at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast at the weekend represented a unique coming together of the two largest Dáil groups with the two main northern nationalist parties in front of a huge and enthusiastic audience.
If some Unionists wish to align themselves with the dangerous and divisive Brexit gamble, nationalists are equally entitled to set out an alternative vision of progress through partnership at all levels
Posted by Jim on January 28, 2019
2019 RANGERS FIRST RESPONDERS NIGHT
The New York Rangers are pleased to provide special access to tickets to first responders, their families, and friends for Rangers First Responders Night on Wednesday, February 27th as the Rangers play host to the Tampa Bay Lightning at 7:30 PM at Madison Square Garden. This offer provides savings off of individual game tickets and can be shared with your friends & family. Tickets purchased through the link https://www.fevo.com/…/2019-Rangers-First-Responders-Night-… include an exclusive First Responder’s patch, and a portion of all tickets purchased through the above link will be donated to the UFA Widows and Children’s Fund. For questions, please reach out to Tim Holder at tim.holder@msg.com or 212-631-5659.
FDNY EMERALD SOCIETY MEETING NOTICE
The Emerald Society’s monthly meeting will be held on Wednesday, February 6, 2019,in Long Island. The meeting will be at 8:00 PM at the Irish American Center, 297 Willis Ave, Mineola, NY 11501 (one block north of Jericho Turnpike). Do not park in the lot. Food and refreshments will be served. For more information, visit www.fdnyemerald.org or call their hotline at 516-889-2541.
2019 NYC MARATHON PARTICIPATION WITH THE FDNY RUNNING CLUB
Any member interested in running the 2019 NYC Marathon must register for the marathon lottery with the NYRR at https://www.tcsnycmarathon.org/ by February 14, 2019. For more information about the marathon and the FDNY Running Club, please email Denis Sweeney (L-35) at denis.p.sweeney@gmail.com.
WORKING ADVANTAGE CORPORATE DISCOUNT PROGRAM
Working Advantage is pleased to offer entertainment and travel discounts for both regional and nationwide attractions and events to all UFA Members. Now you’ll have access to exclusive savings on movie tickets, theme parks, hotels, tours, Broadway and Vegas shows & more. These discounts are not available to the general public and are exclusive to the Working Advantage Corporate Discount Program. Be sure to visit often as new products and discounts are constantly being added! To get started, visit https://www.workingadvantage.com/ and click “Register.” You will then be prompted to create an account with your email address & company code: 99042621. Once enrolled, you will have access to all the savings nationwide. Please see the workingadvantage.com website for details and restrictions.