Honoring the best of Queens
Posted by Jim on August 15, 2019
Official Communication from the UFA
Posted by Jim on
ELSASSER ONE PITCH TOURNAMENTThe Elsasser One Pitch Tournament, hosted by Engine 221 / Ladder 104, will be held Friday, October 4, 2019, in Cunningham Park, Queens (73rd Ave between Clearview Expwy and Francis Lewis Blvd). The tournament begins at 9:30 AM. Registration is $350 per team. The tournament is limited, so register your team ASAP. There will be no registration the day of the tournament. Food, soda, water and Gatorade will be served. All proceeds go to families of deceased N.Y.C. Firefighters and Fire Officers who died non-line of duty. Send checks via post office only, payable to Engine 221/Ladder 104 One-Pitch Fund, to 161 South 2nd Street, Brooklyn, NY 11211, C/O Ken Butler/Chris Amengual. Any questions, call (718) 965-8221. MEMORIAL MASS On Wednesday, August 28, 2019, at 0900 hours, a Memorial Mass will be held
CONDONING SECTARIAN ANTI-CATHOLIC PARADES
Posted by Jim on
DUP efforts at outreach now look like cosmetic exercise
John Manley. Irish News. Belfast.
Thursday, August 15, 2019
But the trust and respect that has been built over nearly two decades was almost wiped out overnight by the ill-conceived actions of the Clyde Valley Flute Band from Larne.
Wearing the Paras’ [ British Parachute Regiment, one of the most elite in the world] insignia on their band uniforms was not only insensitive and offensive but provocative too.
Yards from where Saturday’s parade passed, 13 civilians were shot dead [by the Paras] on Bloody Sunday.
Nearly five decades on, the pain in the city remains raw and is accentuated by the prosecution of Soldier F and public displays of support for the former Paratrooper.
Given the context and the potential for trouble, the police action on Saturday was measured and justified.
This should have been acknowledged immediately but instead there was dithering and equivocation that only inflamed the situation.
Somewhat belatedly, the Apprentice Boys said it recognised that the band’s behavior “may have caused upset” but declined to apologize, while Ulster Unionist leader Robin Swann appeared to seek to defuse the situation by voicing support for the police.
He perhaps should have gone further by at least acknowledging that the band’s actions were ill-judged and dangerous but
Mr. Swann too often lacks the courage and decisiveness that characterise a strong leader.
However, when compared to the behavior of the DUP, his words were positively conciliatory.
Emerging from Tuesday’s meeting with the PSNI to discuss Saturday’s operation in Derry, Arlene Foster remained belligerent.
Flanked by Sammy Wilson and Gregory Campbell, the DUP leader noted that the band’s Para insignias were not illegal and “did not tangibly threaten a breach of the peace”.
It was a detached [unfeeling, without empathy] interpretation of the band’s actions that completely failed to take account of how the people of Derry, and in particular the families of the Bloody Sunday victims, would view such a provocative gesture.
She contrasted the police’s action against the band to its response to “events orchestrated by dissident republicans” in Derry on the same day and a recent Sinn Féin Hunger Strike commemoration in Strabane which she claimed was “glorifying terrorism”.
Mrs Foster knows there’s every likelihood of an election in the coming months and with such whataboutery appears set on casting herself as the uncompromising leader of unionism, her efforts at outreach now looking like a cosmetic exercise.
In broadcast interviews yesterday, Mr Wilson remained unapologetic, again claiming the insignia was “not offensive”.
What began as DUP criticism of police tactics has since seen the party double down in an attempt to justify the crass [conduct]..
Yet again the party is in danger of blinkardly painting itself into a corner that could provide justification for the actions of more extreme elements.
