tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967Fri, 10 Sep 2010 13:56:43 +0000http://thepensivequill.am/noreply@blogger.com (AM)Blogger360125http://thepensivequill.amhttp://img218.imagevenue.com/loc254/th_86255_pqfb_122_254lo.jpgbigmackershttp://feedburner.google.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-2152051883787463441Thu, 09 Sep 2010 20:30:00 +00002010-09-10T08:33:17.184+01:00Papal VisitThe arrogance of the some archbishops knows no bounds. Perhaps with their heads so far up one of the universe’s many black holes, they have no appreciation of the world they live in. Given the ignominy heaped upon the Roman Catholic hierarchy because of its global cover up, from the highest authority down, of clerical rape of children, in normal circumstances it would be expected that a touch ofhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bigmackers/~3/TNhy1NZ5PI0/let-there-be-lolly.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (AM)6<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/bigmackers/~4/TNhy1NZ5PI0" height="1" width="1"/>http://thepensivequill.am/2010/09/let-there-be-lolly.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-3106143317768449100Tue, 07 Sep 2010 20:20:00 +00002010-09-07T21:22:06.367+01:00CartoonBrian MórCartoon by Brian MórClick to enlargehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bigmackers/~3/DYPgx65QjmI/viva-espana.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (AM)46<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/bigmackers/~4/DYPgx65QjmI" height="1" width="1"/>http://thepensivequill.am/2010/09/viva-espana.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-5373938215369125217Sun, 05 Sep 2010 19:22:00 +00002010-09-05T20:36:34.568+01:00Christopher HitchensTo be an unbeliever is not to be merely “open-minded”. It is to be, rather, a decisive admission of uncertainty that is dialectically connected to the repudiation of the totalitarian principle, in the mind as well as in politics – Christopher Hitchens.The polemicist Christopher Hitchens is dying. He announced as much during a discussion with Jeffrey Goldberg, the Atlantic National Correspondent. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bigmackers/~3/3yNSf5bmn9w/bad-days-and-worse.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (AM)40<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/bigmackers/~4/3yNSf5bmn9w" height="1" width="1"/>http://thepensivequill.am/2010/09/bad-days-and-worse.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-8214022490951626549Sat, 04 Sep 2010 20:39:00 +00002010-09-04T21:47:08.058+01:00CartoonBrian MórCartoon by Brian MórClick to enlargehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bigmackers/~3/aK7yVD1p_vw/branch-man.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (AM)29<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/bigmackers/~4/aK7yVD1p_vw" height="1" width="1"/>http://thepensivequill.am/2010/09/branch-man.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-5804338997715017567Fri, 03 Sep 2010 21:35:00 +00002010-09-03T22:44:04.453+01:00Orange MarchesI am not from Ardoyne, but as a Republican I had every right to protest against bigots and stand shoulder to shoulder with the residents. I remember on many occasions being asked to go to similar protests and in fact sat linking arms with Tom Hartley and Jim Gibney on the Ormeau Road in 1996. I can't see any difference between then and now. Perhaps this is the price that some pay for getting intohttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bigmackers/~3/C9vj0rCDDwU/yeehaw.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (AM)29<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/bigmackers/~4/C9vj0rCDDwU" height="1" width="1"/>http://thepensivequill.am/2010/09/yeehaw.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-5832430601786075702Tue, 31 Aug 2010 15:22:00 +00002010-08-31T17:43:55.382+01:00DissentRepublicanismGuest WriterToday The Pensive Quill carries an article by guest writer Damian O'LoanEngaging with Dissident Republicanismby Damian O'LoanI: The Imperative of UnderstandingAgainst the background of a concerted disagreement over dialogue with dissident Irish Republicans, one question has been asked time and again: what could these barbarians possibly have to say that is worth listening to? What is the point?http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bigmackers/~3/XgFSx9z5pbE/engaging-with-dissident-republicanism.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (AM)20<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/bigmackers/~4/XgFSx9z5pbE" height="1" width="1"/>http://thepensivequill.am/2010/08/engaging-with-dissident-republicanism.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-1222638257174070835Mon, 30 Aug 2010 20:57:00 +00002010-08-30T21:59:25.583+01:00CartoonBrian MórCartoon by Brian MórClick to enlargehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bigmackers/~3/pHIhxuBUFQY/what-goes-around.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (AM)13<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/bigmackers/~4/pHIhxuBUFQY" height="1" width="1"/>http://thepensivequill.am/2010/08/what-goes-around.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-487707665892663119Sat, 28 Aug 2010 20:34:00 +00002010-08-31T17:06:56.371+01:00Gerry McGeoughGuest WriterTonight the Pensive Quill carries an article by guest writer Helen McClafferty who spoke to Gerry McGeough about the British state's ongoing pursuit of him.In an interview with Gerry McGeough regarding his case and the resumption of his trial scheduled for September 7th, Gerry said that the recent article about his case in the Sunday World newspaper highlights the hypocrisy of the British http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bigmackers/~3/cQNjkJmVDNw/pathetic-joke.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (AM)17<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/bigmackers/~4/cQNjkJmVDNw" height="1" width="1"/>http://thepensivequill.am/2010/08/pathetic-joke.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-6741059823537738500Fri, 27 Aug 2010 22:08:00 +00002010-08-27T23:10:39.312+01:00CartoonBrian MórCartoon by Brian MórClick to enlargehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bigmackers/~3/WapUHI7ImpM/au-revoir.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (AM)3<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/bigmackers/~4/WapUHI7ImpM" height="1" width="1"/>http://thepensivequill.am/2010/08/au-revoir.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-2693759571929447072Thu, 26 Aug 2010 20:37:00 +00002010-08-27T05:49:40.974+01:00ReligionAtheismRichard DawkinsOn a number of train journeys recently I found myself reading a book, On God by Norman Mailer. For a bookmark, as is my wont, I was using a card from a deck provided for those of us who belong to the Rationalist Association, called God Trumps. They were sent out to us gratis alongside the Association’s magazine, New Humanist. On one side of the card-cum-bookmark a representative of one of the http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bigmackers/~3/Vlzdbg4AVXk/godly-delusions.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (AM)21<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/bigmackers/~4/Vlzdbg4AVXk" height="1" width="1"/>http://thepensivequill.am/2010/08/godly-delusions.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-5490597604263307783Mon, 23 Aug 2010 15:52:00 +00002010-08-23T21:06:55.906+01:00Liam O RuaircGuest WriterToday The Pensive Quill carries an article by guest writer Liam O Ruairc on the differences between political and criminal prisonersCOMMON CRIMINALS OR POLITICAL LAW-BREAKERS?by Liam O Ruairc‘Support Republican POWs’, ‘Restore Political Status’ are slogans that will be familiar to all those concerned about the plight of the close to one hundred republicans imprisoned today. At the same time therehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bigmackers/~3/VF0Rro2fNM0/common-criminals-or-political-law.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (AM)66<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/bigmackers/~4/VF0Rro2fNM0" height="1" width="1"/>http://thepensivequill.am/2010/08/common-criminals-or-political-law.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-6013077096407082209Sun, 22 Aug 2010 18:42:00 +00002010-08-22T20:04:59.695+01:00ObituaryMick HallGuest WriterToday The Pensive Quill carries a response to Fred Halliday's obituary by guest writer Mick HallOn reading of Fred Halliday's and other former socialists take on the Iraq war, it is difficult not to be enraged. First, most of us leftists did not make our judgment to oppose the US war and occupation of Iraq by looking at Saddam’s crimes. Sure, up until then many of us did what little we could to http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bigmackers/~3/qSm2gx-xAiY/getting-it-wrong.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (AM)28<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/bigmackers/~4/qSm2gx-xAiY" height="1" width="1"/>http://thepensivequill.am/2010/08/getting-it-wrong.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-7053865054513691940Fri, 20 Aug 2010 21:44:00 +00002010-08-21T10:53:25.874+01:00ObituaryThe issue of rights is absolutely central. We have to hold the line at the defence, however one conceptualizes things, however de-hegemonized, of universal principles of rights. This is how I locate my own political and historical vision—it is my starting point – Fred HallidayFred Halliday’s death from cancer in Barcelona has deprived the thinking Left of one of its most articulate minds. My http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bigmackers/~3/TQ4jErdCye8/fred-halliday.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (AM)14<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/bigmackers/~4/TQ4jErdCye8" height="1" width="1"/>http://thepensivequill.am/2010/08/fred-halliday.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-1041009800144085991Thu, 19 Aug 2010 21:32:00 +00002010-08-19T22:43:12.444+01:00CartoonBrian MórCartoon by Brian MórClick to enlargehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bigmackers/~3/lztNG8MXgCA/bluto-redux.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (AM)35<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/bigmackers/~4/lztNG8MXgCA" height="1" width="1"/>http://thepensivequill.am/2010/08/bluto-redux.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-520218540896493204Wed, 18 Aug 2010 20:33:00 +00002010-08-18T21:37:42.164+01:00Gerry McGeoughGuest WriterTonight The Pensive Quill carries a piece from guest writer Helen McClafferty highlighting the ongoing case of Gerry McGeoughJuly 25Urgent And Immediate Action RequiredIt has now emerged that the chief "evidence" to be used against Gerry McGeough in his trial under the discredited Diplock Court system is comprised of alleged Political Asylum application papers from Sweden.The British claim that http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bigmackers/~3/118kDLrljNY/swedish-angle.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (AM)4<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/bigmackers/~4/118kDLrljNY" height="1" width="1"/>http://thepensivequill.am/2010/08/swedish-angle.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-9156728688413812148Mon, 16 Aug 2010 17:32:00 +00002010-08-20T22:59:35.873+01:00Book ReviewsGerry BradleyBook Review: Insider: Gerry Bradley’s Life in the IRA, by Gerry Bradley & Brian FeeneyThere must have been a fair measure of creative chemistry between Brian Feeney and Gerry Bradley which propelled this most welcome book onto the shelves. It is easily one one of the most absorbing literary works yet produced on the Provisional IRA, its appeal enhanced by a refreshing lack of drudgery or academichttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bigmackers/~3/_-NDuu9mB-s/insider.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (AM)14<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/bigmackers/~4/_-NDuu9mB-s" height="1" width="1"/>http://thepensivequill.am/2010/08/insider.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-6863964371613010865Sun, 15 Aug 2010 20:01:00 +00002010-08-15T21:03:16.147+01:00CartoonBrian MórCartoon by Brian MórClick to enlargehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bigmackers/~3/CTsjukOmD_I/auld-protocols.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (AM)43<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/bigmackers/~4/CTsjukOmD_I" height="1" width="1"/>http://thepensivequill.am/2010/08/auld-protocols.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-7467178425942410973Sat, 14 Aug 2010 20:40:00 +00002010-08-14T21:59:00.741+01:00Gerry McGeoughGuest WriterTonight the Pensive Quill carries an update by Helen McClafferty charting the Gerry McGeough case since the end of June.26 June 2010 Gerry's lawyers have described as "worrying" the attitude of the judge who is to rule on his abuse of process application. After weeks of inactivity, Gerry was notified by phone on Thursday night, June 24th, that he had to be in court in Belfast the following http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bigmackers/~3/6-EhEWOJR5g/worrying-times.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (AM)33<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/bigmackers/~4/6-EhEWOJR5g" height="1" width="1"/>http://thepensivequill.am/2010/08/worrying-times.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-6329751956799300113Thu, 12 Aug 2010 21:24:00 +00002010-08-14T07:28:22.947+01:00Physical Force RepublicanismOn learning that the Provisional IRA’s fifth chief of staff had called the independent republican councillor Martin Connolly an eegit some people may have been tempted to think that Connolly had stated a belief in a united Ireland by 2016 or had claimed that securocrats are working tirelessly to wreck the peace process. That’s the type of things eejits claim to believe. What earned Connolly the http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bigmackers/~3/iqSDzvK-8XY/eegits.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (AM)44<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/bigmackers/~4/iqSDzvK-8XY" height="1" width="1"/>http://thepensivequill.am/2010/08/eegits.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-8885525387325634042Tue, 10 Aug 2010 10:57:00 +00002010-08-10T21:30:54.550+01:00Richard O'RaweBook ReviewsGuest WriterToday The Pensive Quill carries a review of Joshua Levine's recent book, Beauty and Atrocity, by guest writer Richard O'RaweBeauty and Atrocity: People, Politics and Ireland's Fight for Peace, Joshua Levine, 2010. BOOK REVIEW by Richard O'RaweJoshua Levine hadn’t long to wait to experience the absolutism that has afflicted Northern politics since the Plantation of Ulster in the sixteenth century.http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bigmackers/~3/xFZhTZTft-Q/beauty-and-atrocity.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (AM)37<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/bigmackers/~4/xFZhTZTft-Q" height="1" width="1"/>http://thepensivequill.am/2010/08/beauty-and-atrocity.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-5886291856416337200Sun, 08 Aug 2010 19:30:00 +00002010-08-09T08:50:20.680+01:00Book ReviewsResignation and frustration are spreading rapidly among both the clergy and the active laity. Many feel that they have been left in the lurch with their personal needs, and many are in deep distress over the state of the church. In many of your dioceses, it is the same story: increasingly empty churches, empty seminaries and empty rectories. In many countries, due to the lack of priests, more andhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bigmackers/~3/FQ4Fcwo7rDQ/empty-pulpits.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (AM)84<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/bigmackers/~4/FQ4Fcwo7rDQ" height="1" width="1"/>http://thepensivequill.am/2010/08/empty-pulpits.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-1097419431471092317Fri, 06 Aug 2010 22:03:00 +00002010-08-06T23:11:13.490+01:00CartoonBrian MórCartoon by Brian MórClick to enlargehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bigmackers/~3/eHkmuXXo6EE/cumann-na-cultur-seal-of-approval.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (AM)56<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/bigmackers/~4/eHkmuXXo6EE" height="1" width="1"/>http://thepensivequill.am/2010/08/cumann-na-cultur-seal-of-approval.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-7709455427820085045Wed, 04 Aug 2010 21:31:00 +00002010-08-04T23:02:45.558+01:00HolidaysNow that the annual family holiday is over my wife and I can relax again! Kids take it out of you by the yard and a holiday is needed to get over a holiday. The flights might have been comfortable even if delayed, no real turbulence either going or leaving, but we had our own 5 year old Stuka dive bomber ready to strafe his nine year old sister at every opportunity, and on the flimsiest of http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bigmackers/~3/0Ot4um1xrj4/majorcan-sun.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (AM)9<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/bigmackers/~4/0Ot4um1xrj4" height="1" width="1"/>http://thepensivequill.am/2010/08/majorcan-sun.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-6578394949999466187Sun, 01 Aug 2010 15:36:00 +00002010-08-01T16:36:00.343+01:00Liam O RuaircPeace processIrish RepublicanismGuest WriterToday The Pensive Quill carries part five of an article by guest writer Liam O Ruairc on Irish Republicanism and the Peace ProcessFROM DEFEAT TO DECOMMISSIONING …AND DISBANDMENT?Liam O RuaircSigning up the Belfast Agreement in 1998 signalled that the Provisional IRA’s war against the British state was well and truly over (154). It took almost ten more years for the Provisional Republican Movementhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bigmackers/~3/xwSsRXGkg70/from-defeat-to-decommissioning-and.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (AM)34<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/bigmackers/~4/xwSsRXGkg70" height="1" width="1"/>http://thepensivequill.am/2010/08/from-defeat-to-decommissioning-and.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-7196353869390605942Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:35:00 +00002010-07-28T16:35:00.245+01:00Liam O RuaircPeace processIrish RepublicanismGuest WriterToday The Pensive Quill carries part four of an article by guest writer Liam O Ruairc on Irish Republicanism and the Peace ProcessHONORABLE COMPROMISE OR REPUBLICAN VERSAILLES?Liam O RuaircOn 10 May 1998 at a special Sinn Fein conference in Dublin, 331 out of the 350 delegates present voted to accept the Belfast Agreement. The Provisional movement claims that the Belfast Agreement does not http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bigmackers/~3/PiZfVwX3xWU/honorable-compromise-or-republican.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (AM)8<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/bigmackers/~4/PiZfVwX3xWU" height="1" width="1"/>http://thepensivequill.am/2010/07/honorable-compromise-or-republican.html