subscribe to the RSS Feed

Wednesday, July 29, 2026

DUP reject draft Brexit deal after talks with UDA/UVF

Posted by Jim on October 18, 2019

IRISH REPUBLICAN NEWS Published: Thursday, October 17, 2019

A draft agreement has been reached on Brexit between the European Union and the British government. However, following consultations with loyalist paramilitaries earlier this week, the DUP continue to reject the planned deal. The EU Commission said the agreement “fully protects the integrity of the EU’s Single Market and Customs Union, and avoids any regulatory and customs checks at the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland”. The Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said that the ‘backstop’, a previously agreed guarantee to prevent the remilitarisation of the border area, had been replaced. The new agreement provides a mechanism to empower the Stormont Assembly with the right to terminate arrangements for the Six Counties and allow for a hard border. However, he insisted overall the new deal “protects the all-island economy” and is “good for Ireland and Northern Ireland”. Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald described the deal as “complex and wide-ranging” and that all aspects needed to be considered “in their entirety”. However, the DUP quickly declared their opposition to the agreement, and on three separate issues — new customs arrangements for the north of Ireland, the likelihood of different rates of VAT (sales tax), and the plan for periodic ‘consent’ votes at the Stormont Assembly. Earlier this week, the DUP controversially consulted with loyalist death squads over its approach to the emerging deal. Arlene Foster and other senior party figures held talks with high-ranking figures from the UVF and UDA, including south Belfast’s Jackie McDonald. The meetings followed warnings of potential violence if loyalists feel the status of the Six Counties under British rule is being “diluted”. Sinn Féin MP Michelle Gildernew described reports of the meetings as astonishing and said the DUP was “living in a parallel universe”. Ms Gildernew said recent evidence directly linking the the DUP to the murderous paramilitary group Ulster Resistance made the meetings all the more concerning. “It is truly astonishing that the DUP are meeting with representatives of loyalist paramilitaries to discuss Brexit rather than listening to the majority who voted to reject Brexit, who want to protect the Good Friday Agreement and who are fearful of a crash-out Brexit,” she said. The British Parliament will vote this Saturday on whether it supports the deal, while the EU Commission President Jean Claude Juncker has recommended that all European partners support it. Arriving at the EU summit today, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said it was now down to the British parliament. “The House of Commons will meet on Saturday and the best thing we can do as Irish politicians is not intervene of interfere in UK politics,” he said. “It’s up to them to decide whether they want a deal, they rejected the last deal on three occasions.” When asked if the DUP could scupper the deal at Westminster, where the party’s ten MPs remain in a powerful position, Mr Varadkar said: “I don’t want to comment on a position taken by any political party, but this will go to House of Commons on Saturday and we have to give them time.”

New IRA to target border infrastructure

Posted by Jim on October 17, 2019

The New IRA has said any border infrastructure developed as a result of Britain’s withdrawal of the north of Ireland from the EU will be considered a legitimate target for attack. In an interview with Channel 4 News, a representative of the organisation’s Army Council told correspondent Alex Thomson that any Crown Border Force installations or personnel would be “legitimate targets”. He said the New IRA reserved the right to attack anyone who upheld “the illegal border in Ireland”. Channel 4 said the interview took place yesterday at an IRA safe house in the 26 Counties under tight security conditions. As intense negotiations continue in Brussels and London ahead of an EU summit starting tomorrow, the New IRA member said: “First of all there is no such thing as an Irish border. It’s a British border. Since its formation, since its inception, the purpose of the IRA has been to take action against all such infrastructure of British occupation. “The IRA is an Army. And as an Army we are committed to armed struggle for political and social change in Ireland. Bearing in mind any installation or aspects of British occupation within the Six Counties — be it at the border or elsewhere — any infrastructure would be a legitimate target for attack and armed actions against those infrastructures and against the people who are manning them. “It’s important to understand that this is a country under occupation by Britain and as in any colonial situation the people have the right there to respond by all means necessary to that occupation.” The spokesman went on to say no kind of Brexit deal would be acceptable to Irish Republicanism. “Regardless of the form of occupation, whatever kind of border there is, be it soft or so called hard border — that’s irrelevant. We are talking about an illegal occupation here. That means the IRA reserve the right to attack those who are upholding that illegal occupation along the border and elsewhere, and the illegal partition that goes with it, and those who are upholding that.” “The EU and the British and the 26 County administration constantly speak about the border as if it has been there two minutes, and it’s only an issue with Brexit. There’s been a border since 1921. It has been resisted. It is being resisted. It will be resisted regardless of any deal formed around it.” The spokesman was also asked about the peace process and the 1998 Good Friday peace deal which ended the armed struggle of the Provisional IRA. “First off, the Good Friday Agreement is dead,” he said. “It was superseded by various other agreements such as the Leeds Castle, St Andrews, Hillsborough deals and others. So the Good Friday Agreement is defunct. “Secondly the Good Friday Agreement was not ratified by the Irish people as a unit, as a whole, but by two separate questions depending on which statelet they lived in.” The spokesman was asked if the new IRA “are on the wrong side of history”. He responded: “On the contrary, we are not on the wrong side of history. No colony has ever secured its freedom without armed resistance. We have more support [in Ireland] than the Conservative Party, but they lord it over us. We also have more support in Ireland than the Labour Party does.” Asked whether this comparison is bogus because those parties are based on the British “mainland”, the spokesperson said: “Well this is the mainland of Ireland. The IRA is confident that it has popular support for its goal of a 32 County Irish Republic. The political parties you reference are silent about the armed activities of the state. For instance, the £25m HQ for MI5 at Palace Barracks.” “There are 700 MI5 operatives in Belfast City alone. Every PSNI officer is armed with a Glock pistol or a Heckler and Koch rifle. Contrary to popular beliefm there are still thousands of British soldiers operating in the Six Counties. And there are also armed pro-British death squads operating under the flag of Loyalism. “So therefore the IRA will take no lectures on morality, or the futility of violence from those who remain morally in favour, if not tactically.” Asked why the new IRA felt it could succeed in achieving Irish unity when the Provisional movement had failed, he said: “Republicanism has always gone through peaks and valleys and at this point we remain heavily organised, and to paraphrase a phrase of our enemy we are sophisticated and capable and showing increasing sophistication and ingenuity. But this is a period of consolidation and rebuilding. “Rebuilding is important, but it’s crucial to realise it doesn’t reduce our operational capabilities

Official Communication from the UFA

Posted by Jim on


RENAMING OF FDNY LT. MICHAEL R. DAVIDSON PLAYGROUND

Join Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer & Friends of Michael Davidson Playground to celebrate the acquisition and renaming of FDNY Lt. Michael R. Davidson Playground and in honoring a Sunnyside and Woodside hero on Wednesday, October 30 at 11:00 AM at 50th Street and 39th Avenue, Sunnyside, NY 11104.

FDNY ANCHOR CLUB

On Sunday, October 27, the FDNY Anchor Club is sponsoring a “Visit to Calvary Hospital” located at 1740 Eastchester Road, Bronx, NY. The visit will start at 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM. Lunch will follow. The event will resume from 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM. The outline for the day includes visiting patients, distributing candy and flowers, and providing some light entertainment. All off-duty members, their families and friends are invited to participate. For additional information, please contact William Greco, E-68, at 917-575-1012.

RETIREMENT SEMINAR

The UFA will host a Retirement Seminar for delegates and members who are beginning the retirement process on Tuesday, October 22, at 12:00 PM, in the 4th Floor Conference Room of the UFA office. Space is limited, so we are only able to accommodate 50 members. Members must RSVP beforehand to reserve their place. Topics include knowing how your SBF Benefits change in retirement, knowing your Social Security options and learning your pension options. For more information, or to RSVP, contact UFA Retiree Liaison Marty Tighe at mtighe@ufanyc.org or call 646-839-6577.


HISPANIC HERITAGE CELEBRATION

On Monday, October 21, 2019, from 1700 – 1900 hours, a Hispanic Heritage Celebration will be held at the Fire Museum at 278 Spring St. New York, NY hosted by the Hispanic Heritage Society and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. All are welcome to attend. Come celebrate with your fellow employees, enjoy live music and great food. To RSVP, please email diversity.inclusion@fdny.nyc.gov.

Posted by Jim on

Doctor’s Confirm Nancy’s Are Bigger Than Trump’s

Posted by Jim on

by James Schlarmann

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Doctors in the D.C. area have confirmed for the American public this morning that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has bigger ones than President Donald Trump. In a testy exchange at the White House yesterday, Pelosi, House Majority Whip Stenny Hoyer, and Sen. Chuck Schumer, all Democrats, left a meeting with President Trump abruptly. Reportedly, Trump called Pelosi a “third rate politician” after being pressed by her to give definitive answers about his plan for the rapidly deteriorating situation in Syria involving Kurdish people and Turkey, a NATO ally of the United States.

When she left the White House, Pelosi told reporters that she thought Trump might have been upset before the meeting because she had overseen a resolution with stunning bipartisan support in the House hours earlier. On a vote of 354 to 60, roughly two-thirds of House Republicans voted along with the Democrats to condemn Trump’s decision to pull U.S. forces out of Syria. Since then, Turkey has begun bombing in the area, and Russia has sent in military support to help Syria. 

Though there were no videos taken of the meeting that have been released, photos published on President Trump’s Twitter feed document the fiery exchange. One image, of Pelosi literally standing up to Trump, was shared by the president perhaps to mock Pelosi. However, within minutes of Trump tweeting the photo, Speaker Pelosi had made it the banner image on her Twitter profile, effectively putting the fires of that particular insult out.