Blogging politics US style...

There has been from time to time fierce discussion here and on other NI blogs about what makes a blog and what doesn't. Elsewhere this kind of discussion as taken second place to what individual bloggers can actually do. This week as the US Republican convention is being blogged just like the Democrats. Like last time, even the BBC is getting involved! Reason has substantially supplemented its blog team from last time out. The New Republic magazine's blog is there too. The Cyberjournalist has a comprehensive list of bloggers by political allegiance.

Policing: local reserve might attract Republicans?

George Kerevan notes the continuation of recruitment of IRA volunteers has continued long past the two ceasefires and the Belfast Agreement. But a successful conclusion to current negotiations, he believes, might see Sinn Fein recognising the PSNI and local youngsters who might previously have joined the IRA being recruited into a part-time local PSNI reserve.

Ceasefires: ten years on...

RTE this morning marked the anniversary of the first IRA ceasefire with a retrospective from Belfast academics Paul Bew and Eammon Phoenix, and a report from their Northern editor Tommy Gorman highlighting the one consistent success story since that time - the tourist industry.

Cullybacky woman in with medal chance?

Jessica Kuerten, (nee Chesney) has just jumped a clear round to tie with Britain's Nick Skelton in Athens. At the very least it puts her in with a shout of winning a medal of some discription in tonight's final. Irish representatives in both national teams have turned in some good performances, but have thus far struggled to make an impact in the final stages.

On a short hiatus...

Slugger finally got too big and cumbersome for our UK server yesterday. It is going to take a number of days to effect the transfer, especially given that we are going into a long weekend and our tech genious from River Path Abi is currently on holidays somewhere in Co Antrim. So in the meantime there will be no more blogging here until next Tuesday. We hope to be restored to our former home soon after that. Have a good weekend all.

Guinness ice cream anyone?

Mmmm.... Or maybe not! This little piece of frivolity was thanks to Smoke Signals.

Negotiations: police and arm(ie)s are key

Barrister Noel Whelan is one of the more erudite commentators on Northern Irish affairs in the Republic. This week he his column in the Examiner covers the potential sticking point between the DUP and Sinn Fein of policing and decommissioning.

He summarises Jeffrey Donaldson at the Parnell School last week:

"...the DUP is seeking the following: full decommissioning of IRA weapons to be dealt with 'conclusively'; the IRA and the associated 'architecture' of paramilitary violence to be disbanded; Sinn Féin to 'sign up' to the new policing arrangements".

"By contrast" he suggests, "Adams wants a timetable for the devolution of policing responsibility to be set out in advance".

Here Whelan has hit upon what may be the real sticking point in coming to a future deal.

As the number one party in Unionism facing - and this is important to understand - a largley pro-Agreement UUP opponent, the DUP has a huge amount of scope to make deal for Agreement Mark II that is also fully agreeable to Sinn Fein.

But it is felt by most Unionist commentators that Trimble's vulnerablity to the DUP's successful counterattack lay in the widely held perception that Sinn Fein had negotiated him into clearly legislated commitments, without any visible countervaling commitments on the part of the IRA.

Given this is an issue of taking the home constituency along with them, it is therefore highly unlikely that the party will want to leave port before these particular bow doors are firmly closed.

NI dominates Ahern's 'reshuffle'?

Brian Feeney looks at the what may turn out to be the longest Cabinet re-shuffle in Irish political history and reckons it may the thought of moving Brian Cowen from his key brief at Foreign Affairs and the need for his party to parry the Sinn Fein challenge in the south that is staying his hand. Feeney tips Louthman Dermot Ahern to succeed Cowen, if and when it finally happens.

Education: a future political battleground?

David Vance will no doubt be pleased that the outstanding performance of Northern Irish GCSE candidates have made it into the leader of the Daily Telegraph this morning.

Martin McGuinness's plans to abolish the 11+ will be executed by a Labour government in 2008, if 1) there is no change in the UK government in the elections widely expected to take place next year, and/or 2) a nationalist MLA manages to negotiate the Education post in any reconvened local Executive.

But it opens intriguing possibilities for any future administration formed on the d'Hondt principles. A Belfast Telegraph poll had all MLA's (with the exception at least one of the PUP's representatives) split on strictly sectarian lines on the issue.

In the inevitable horse trading, there must be serious incentive for Unionist (of either party) to take that particular post and cancel, stall or otherwise circumvent the abolition of the selective test.

You can read David's latest suggestions, which include abolishing all Training Colleges in favour of on-the-job training, here.

Reg backing a corporate Assembly?

He doesn't say so explicitly, these statements from Reg Empey hint that if the negotiations to get the Belfast Agreement back online, he might support the DUP's alternative of a corporate Assembly.

One step forward and two back...

Our UK server gave out on us this afternoon and we've had to temporarily resort to our old cramped offices at the original blogspot site. A case of back to the future! We will be moving Slugger to a brand new shiny Linux server in New York over the next few days.

We can't bring back the very recent past until then, but we will try to bring you a few morsels to pick over. In the meantime, you may want to look around at Slugger as it used to be in its earlier days! Think of it as a form of blog archeology!