'BRITISH COLONEL W.W.B. TOPPING ON THE CAMPAIGN' ....... From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, January 1958 .
Quoting from a press release from the Irish Republican Publicity Bureau, British Colonel W.W.B. Topping gave the reason for the 'troubles' in Occupied Ireland : " For example in the Fermanagh area , the headquarters of British mechanised forces there are at Castle Archdale, near Enniskillen . Tanks , heavy armoured cars weighing 15 tons at least , armoured scout cars and heavy troop carriers are used nightly along all Fermanagh roads .
Churchill tanks have been used to guard main roads while the other vehicles in the patrol passed by . All units of the British Army which are engaged in these operations are accompanied by B-Specials who act as guides..." The RUC Commandos, the 'Irish Republican Publicity Bureau' press release went on to relate , were more of a Black-and-Tan terror force than an elite group picked from the RUC- they had been specially trained at Ballykinlar British Military Camp by the British Army for anti-guerrilla operations . The majority of these 'RUC Commandos' were full-time B-Specials.......
(MORE LATER).
A DAY AT THE RENT COURT.......
From 'GRALTON' magazine , August/September 1983 .
Both of the houses mentioned in the above cases , and one other dwelling , were bought by the present landlord in 1979 : he paid between £1000 and £1500 each for them . This information was supplied by a friendly valuer , but was not mentioned in court and therefore was not taken into account in fixing the rents .
The judge in this court is known to be more sympathetic (!) than most to the tenants that come before her and , indeed , she treated them kindly . It did not , however , appear to affect her final rent decisions : from 87 pence per week to £19.50 and from 57 pence per week to £16 . ('1169...' Comment - decisions like those made by well-heeled insulated leading-lights of the so-called 'Establishment' contribute in no small way to situations like this. However , then , as now , that is of no concern to those well-heeled 'elite'.)
[END of 'A DAY AT THE RENT COURT']
(NEXT : 'Sounding Off - Comrades And Calculators' ; from 1983.)
WHAT ROUGH BEAST IS THIS , ITS HOUR COME ROUND AT LAST.......?By JOHN WATERS.
From 'IN DUBLIN' magazine, 'Election Special' , 1987.
On the campaign trial you get the sense of being in the presence of a man whose hour has come round at last , of destiny about to be fulfilled , that Charlie Haughey has used up all of his life-time's bad luck . ('1169...' Comment - whatever about that , Haughey lost no time in manufacturing more 'bad luck' for himself...) And the reason why he is going to win this election is that we want to feel that we have used up all of our bad luck as well , and that with Haughey at our head we will stride boldly forward into a new bright future . And perhaps we will , too . Most of us believe that this is a great little country which has been * dragged down by vested interests and small-minded men - politicians , economists , journalists etc . ('1169...' Comment *...and still is..)
But maybe Charlie Haughey , too , is all wind and piss , but it remains , largely , to be seen . We cannot really say that he has yet had a real chance . Or maybe not - in all the acres of newsprint written about this election , one of the most interesting items was a piece in 'The Sunday Tribune' two weeks ago by Vincent Browne, which purports to report a private conversation with Haughey in which he is supposed to have said that in office he is 'determined to face the tough decisions' in spite of his campaign rhetoric .
If this is accurate it bodes ill for the prospect of any new thinking being injected into the running of political affairs , if Charlie Haughey is prepared to allow the same economists and commentators set the agenda for the coming five years . He seems , listening to his public utterances , to really believe that this country has the capacity for large-scale growth , but if he allows himself to be frightened by the figures and the economic blackmail of the World Bank then it will not happen . No country or business ever became great on cuts.......
(MORE LATER).
