Posted by Jim on September 18, 2018
“Members of Congress and their Staff should find this Editorial from the Irish News of Belfast illuminating.Even the most ardent DUP supporter would find it hard to quibble with it.”—Fr. Sean McManus
Time for change
Irish News Eitorial. Belfast. Monday, September 17, 2018.
It is increasingly difficult to see how our power-sharing executive can return before the DUP, which remains marginally the largest Stormont grouping, undergoes a period of profound and fundamental reform.
All the main parties in the suspended assembly face issues which need to be addressed to a greater or lesser degree but it is the DUP which has been sharply exposed as a party which is dysfunctional on a range of fronts.
While a series of previous scandals, including the Red Sky debacle and the so far unresolved National Asset Management Agency (Nama) saga, caused major damage to the party’s reputation, the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) Inquiry has taken matters to an entirely different level.
Witnesses are still appearing, and the final report from Sir. Patrick Coghlin may not be delivered until well into 2019, but no one can doubt that the evidence to date has been entirely devastating for everyone connected with the DUP.
Senior figures have turned on each other publicly, extraordinary revelations have steadily emerged about not only the DUP’s highly unusual internal processes, but its basic competency and, most significantly of all, concerns about financial malpractice are advancing with every day that passes.
It is an unedifying spectacle, which is being played out daily as alarm over the well documented conduct of Ian Paisley, an MP inextricably linked to the wider image of the DUP, reaches a decisive stage.
If the implications for our devolved structures were not disturbing enough, the British prime minister Theresa May has somehow managed to leave the overall survival of her government under the control of the DUP’s Westminster contingent which may or may not include the same Mr Paisley.
As the Brexit crisis deepens, the sense is growing that circumstances are firmly falling into place which will inevitably lead to the final break-up of the constitutional structures to which Mrs. May claims she is committed.
It is important to note that it is not only observers from nationalist or non-aligned backgrounds who have concluded that we are going through a defining chapter in our history since the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.
The Ulster Unionist leader Robin Swann, reflecting on recent developments, said at the end of last week that confidence in politics here had “completely collapsed” and it would be very difficult to disagree with his assessment.
If the DUP can review its position on many key questions which involve integrity, human rights and the aspirations of what has become the non-unionist majority, progress has always been possible.
However, the firm indications are that it is a party which is largely incapable of embracing change.
Posted by Jim on
STEUBEN ASSOCIATION SCHOLARSHIP GOLF OUTING
On Monday, September 24, 2018, the FDNY Steuben Association will be hosting the Annual Scholarship Golf Outing at the Forest Park Golf Course in Glendale, Queens, NY. The participation fee of $150 includes 18 holes of golf, golf cart, free parking, breakfast, refreshments, and dinner at the Oak Ridge House, Forest Park Drive, Glendale. For reservations contact: John Louthan, 646-327-2773. All proceeds benefit the FDNY Steuben Scholarship Fund. For further information visit www.fdnysteuben.org.
On Wednesday, September 26, 2018 at 1100 hours, a Plaque Dedication will be held honoring the memory of Firefighter William N. Tolley, L-135, who made the supreme sacrifice on April 20, 2017. The dedication will take place in the quarters of E-286/L-135, 66-44 Myrtle Avenue, Queens, NY. All off-duty members and their families are invited to attend. Members are requested to attend in dress uniform.
On Saturday, September 29, 2018, from 12:30 to 4:30 pm, E-286/L-135 will be hosting the first Annual William Tolley Benefit at Plattdeutsche Park, Franklin Square, NY. The benefit is in memory of FF William Tolley, who died in the line of duty on April 20, 2017. There will be plenty of music, games, raffles, prizes, food, drinks, and fun for all. Donation at the door is $60 Adults, $35 Teens 13-20, $20 Children 3-12. All proceeds benefit the William Tolley Foundation. For further information contact E-286/L-135 at 718-476-6286.
EMERALD SOCIETY DINNER DANCE
The FDNY Emerald Society announces its 62nd Anniversary Dinner Dance on Friday, November 2, 2018, at 7:30 pm, at the original Antun’s, 96-43 Springfield Blvd, Queens Village, NY 11429. The Dinner Dance will honor their 2018 Irishmen of the Year: UFA Vice President, Firefighter LeRoy McGinnis, E266, and Former UFOA Treasurer, Captain Eddie Boles, L59. Live music by Good Clean Fun. Tickets are $95 per person. For more information, contact Dance Chairmen: Artie Evans at 917-697-7875 or aevans33@verizon.net, or Steve Rogers at 917-584-4569 or fdnysteverogers@gmail.com.
NYFF’S 6TH ANNUAL CHARITY PENSION SEMINAR
NYFF’s 6th Annual Charity Pension Seminar will be held Thursday, November 15, 2018, from 8:30 am – 4:30 pm, at Sea Cliff Yacht Club, 1 The Boulevard, Sea Cliff, NY. Leading experts are made available to members to help get you the right information to make the best decisions possible in regard to retirement planning. Topics include: 401k 457 rollovers, Changes to health care when you retire, Pension Excess, Pulmonary Issues, Pension Max, Heart Bill/ Lung Bill / 9-11 Bill, Life Insurance, Volunteer Opportunities for Retirees, Exit Physical Exams and What to Expect When You “Put Your Paper In.” Breakfast, Hot Buffet Lunch, afternoon desert and beer donated by Sam Adams are included. Space is limited to the first 100 firefighters only. Cost is $100 per firefighter. To register, visit www.fdnyheart.com and click on Seminars. 100% of the proceeds from seminar will benefit FDNY Charities, including UFA / UFOA Scholarship Funds and NYFF Heart Foundation.
Posted by Jim on September 17, 2018
Thursday, September 20, 2018
2:00 pm – 4:00 pm and 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Friday, September 21, 2018
2:00 pm – 4:00 pm and 7:00 – 10:00 pm
Christopher T Jordan Funeral Home
Saturday, September 22, 2018
All Off-Duty Members should attend in Class A Uniform.
Posted by Jim on September 15, 2018
By Eamonn McCann
The exposure of Michael Jackson in Channel 4’s Ballymurphy documentary
makes it necessary to look back on his performance at The Bloody Sunday
Inquiry – and at the Inquiry’s refusal to draw proper conclusions about
his participation in the murders, his role in the cover-up, and his
perjury to the Inquiry.
His word isn’t worth its weight in dirt.
Jackson was present in Ballymurphy throughout the three days in August
1971 when the paras turned the area into killing fields. He was quoted
in the documentary saying that he had been “dealing with the press” when
the shooting was at its height and hadn’t seen a thing.
He put on exactly the same performance in the Bogside five months later.
He is a murderer, a liar and a coward.
Even before the smoke had cleared from Rossville Street on Bloody
Sunday, Jackson was writing out fake accounts of every single killing
and wounding. His script was then typed out and distributed by British
Army chiefs and the Ministry of Defence and sent by the Foreign Office
to every British embassy and consulate in the world as the basis for
answering any questions from local politicians or media.
Jackson’s lies were effectively repeated in the House of Commons by Home
Secretary Reginald Maudling. It will be remembered that Bernadette
Devlin rushed across the chamber and didn’t hit him half hard enough.
All this was laid out in detail in “Go On The Paras!” published three
years ago by the Bloody Sunday March Committee. “Go On The Paras!” will
be republished next January.
The fact that Bloody Sunday was a repeat performance in Derry of what
had happened in Belfast links Ballymurphy and the Bogside together
forever. We pledge the Ballymurphy families our full support until
justice is done.
The Ballymurphy families have marched with us every year. Next January
we hope that they and representatives of all other families bereaved by
State killers will join with us and shout out with one voice our demand
for truth and justice.
Ballymurphy and Bloody Sunday directly contradict the official narrative
of the Troubles which has implicitly been accepted by mainstream opinion
North and South – that the problem here has to do with ancient hatreds
between Protestants and Catholics and that the solution lies in a system
of government in which Protestants and Catholics agree to bite their
lips and “share power.”
This lets State killers off the hook.
We ask British journalists to ensure that we will never again have to
watch Michael Jackson on television mouthing off about morality in war.
It’s like Jack the Ripper giving us his opinion on violence against
women
