Belfast Newsletter - Alex Kane Feed

‘Us and them’ issues at the heart of our identity crisis

Mon, 20 May 2013 12:32:16 GMT

Every time I hear someone (and it’s usually someone from a pro-Union background, by the way) quote John Hewitt – “I am an Ulsterman, I am British, I am Irish and I am European. Anyone who demeans any one part of me demeans me as a person” – my thoughts irresistibly run towards multiple personality disorder. Indeed, I usually start humming the theme tune from CSI (the TV show, not the shared future strategy), “who are you, who, who, who, who?”

Parties more interested in a carve-up than shared future

Mon, 13 May 2013 12:28:44 GMT

So, the folks on the hill are having yet another go at creating a shared future, or space, or environment, or framework – or whatever the buzz phrase is this time round.

Cameron is the worst Tory leader since Edward Heath

Mon, 06 May 2013 10:14:02 GMT

A few days after David Cameron was elected leader of the Conservative party in December 2005 I noted: ‘He is the worst possible choice for the party. He has been chosen, not because of his convictions or innate conservatism, but because he is the candidate who most resembles Tony Blair. But when the electorate finally rumbles just how bad Labour and Blair have been for this country, they are hardly likely to warm to a Conservative clone. The party has opted for image rather than ideology.’

Union remains safe despite the antics of political parties

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 09:07:03 GMT

I sometimes wonder if there is a self-destruct button at the very heart of unionism.

Why should the taxpayer fund terrorists’ museum?

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 09:19:38 GMT

Last Friday I attended the launch of A Charter for Innocent Victims. The charter is the work of Innocent Victims United (a consortia of victims groups and ex-security service support organisations) and represents the beliefs and concerns of innocent victims and survivors of terrorism and their relatives across Northern Ireland.