91Èȱ¬

We are all feeling a bit star struck at Stormont today because we had a real life pop star with us - Keith Duffy from "Boyzone", who joined a protest in favour of improved services for children with autism. Keith's daughter was diagnosed with the condition when she was 18 months old. When he talked to us on "Stormont Live" we were all impressed by how passionate and articulate Keith was on the topic.

I am no "Boyzone" expert which was amply illustrated when Jim Fitzpatrick introduced me as chair of the local fan club and the best I could do was to summon up the title of a "Take That" tune.

Keith did not burst into song when he was at Stormont, but the Sinn Fein MLA Francie Brolly, a noted folk singer, serenaded his party colleagues at their Easter Lily event this lunchtime. Francie is one of the more veteran MLAs, which prompted a colleague of mine to suggest that he might qualify for a new "Grandadzone" boy band. Watch this space.

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Anyone out there remember the old "Not The Nine O'Clock News" sketch when the Trade Union bosses end their meeting and try to decide whether to have tea or coffee. The punchline ran along the lines of "So that's seven votes for tea, and 1.5 million votes for coffee".

Watching the vote on the Stormont motion calling on Sammy Wilson to reverse his opposition to the "Act on CO2" climate change advertising campaign felt a bit like that. 48 backed the motion, 30 voted against. And so, under the Assembly's cross community voting rules, the motion fell.

I have been scratching my head to work out why climate change is of particular relevance to one community or the other. The only precedent I can come up with was the heatwave of June 2007 when nationalists took their jackets off and unionists sat on stoically. Do unionists and nationalists react differently to temperature changes? Several academic research projects could be sustained on this topic alone.

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Every cloud has a silver lining, or so they say, so have the ugly disturbances before and after the Northern Ireland Poland match led to an, as yet unheralded, breakthrough in the unfinished business of devolving policing and justice?

I only ask because the SDLP has issued a statement which begins:

"SDLP Justice Minister Alban Maginness MLA has condemned racially motivated attacks on homes occupied by foreign nationals following Northern Ireland's World Cup qualifier with Poland."

The SDLP has always maintained the portfolio is rightfully theirs, but it's news to me that the DUP and Sinn Fein have signed off on this.

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Tomorrow is the last Inside Politics to be broadcast on a Saturday. My guests are two barristers who also wear political hats, the TUV leader Jim Allister and the SDLP's Alban Maginness. In keeping with the legal theme we examine the Lord Chief Justice's ruling on the detention of suspects at Antrim Holding Centre, the rights and wrongs of Monica McWilliams' visit to the centre and the fallout from the guilty verdict in the Cork Northern Bank Money laundering trial.

The programme will be broadcast on 12.45 on Saturday.

From April 5th, Inside Politics is migrating to Sundays. We have a new time, just after the One o'clock news and a new duration, ten minutes longer than the current programme. We still intend to feature a long interview or debate with politicians, but I shall also be joined by live guests who will comment on the political news breaking over the weekend. Stephen Walker, who has joined our ranks as a political reporter covering Westminster will also contribute his thoughts on the latest developments in London.

UPDATE: Since recording the programme I gleaned a bit more information about the Human Rights Commissioner's visit to the Antrim Holding Centre. My source tells me that Monica McWilliams was responding to a direct request from a family member of one of the suspects who had refused food for 8 days. She felt under a duty to act under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which covers the Right to Life. My source also pointed out that the Commission visited the Antrim Holding Centre 18 months ago and raised concerns about the conditions there.

And Andrew - since you asked - Seven Days is moving back an hour to noon.

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Commenter Suzie Flood has beaten me to it. There was plenty to blog about in yesterday's Republican Sinn Fein conference, including the Che Guevara like appearance of Richard Walsh, but I had to head off from the office soon after broadcasting the story so didn't get the chance to gather my thoughts here.

With the Belfast press pack crammed into the tiny back office at RSF's Falls Road office, it felt a bit like a scene from Citizen Smith or the Judean People's Front. However we were all well aware that, given this month's murders, this was no laughing matter.

Mr Walsh's script justifying the latest violence could have been taken word for word from something Gerry Adams or Martin McGuinness might have said 20, 30 or nearly 40 years ago. He was cross questioned about how he could presume to know the minds of the people of Ireland better than did the voters north and south who supported the Good Friday Agreement. He answered to the effect that the voters had been given a choice between peace and terrible war (it sounded like a reference back to Michael Collins and the Treaty) but had, in effect, been sold a pup.

In contrast to previous RSF conferences which have featured ageing southern figures like Ruairi O'Bradaigh, this one included young men wearing baseball hats and "Megadeath" woolie caps. They complained about police raids on their homes in Craigavon - one said the police had taken all his clothes leaving him with nothing to wear. Elsewhere in the building, but declining to be interviewed, was a young woman who had spent 11 days in Antrim Holding Centre being held by police investigating the recent murders.

At 27, Richard Walsh looked not much older than the youths sitting beside him, a point not lost on us rather more venerable hacks. But then Gerry Adams was only 23 when he was released from jail to talk to Willie Whitelaw. A sobering thought.

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It's been brought to my attention that both the and the have identified as a client for David Burnside's PR firm. Mr Burnside confirmed that he is to leave the Assembly to focus on his business interests. I rang him to check if "Fred the Shred" is one of his clients, but Mr Burnside told me his company policy was never to comment on the identity of clients.

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In these credit crunch times it make sense to look after our pennies. So today we have had three money saving suggestions from different political quarters.

1. Sammy Wilson. Whilst our Environment Minister has come out against banning double jobbing per se he has told my colleague Stephen Walker that he is willing to legislate to cut the allowances of councillors who are also MLAs. Sounds a bit like an attempt to shift the gravity of the story away from MPs who are also MLAs (i.e DUP, SDLP and SF politicians) and towards MLAs who are also councillors (includes UUP, Alliance and other politicians).

2. David McNarry. Suggested this morning that more of the government's art works should be put on public display and some could be sold. Suggested this afternoon that civil servants in departments which underspend should forfeit their bonuses, as underspending represents poor service to the public.

3. Jim Nicholson. Suggested this afternoon that £180 million should be saved by closing the Strasbourg parliament and basing all MEPs in Brussels. This is an old EU chestnut.

Coincidentally, a group of animal charities wrote a letter to Jim Nicholson this week urging him to "stand firm" against the use of great apes and wild monkeys in animal experiments. The charities say Mr Nicholson is central to the business of updating EU legislation on animal experiments as one of the members of the European Parliament's Agriculture Committee. In a news release they commended him for "not bowing to pressure" from those they described as pro-vivisection lobbyists.

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I am old enough to remember teenagers riding around my town on their scooters with a sign on the back saying "Thatcher, Milk Snatcher" a response to the Iron Lady's decision to end free school milk

Now the Ulster Unionist George Savage is concerned that not enough of our children are taking advantage of the subsidised milk which is on offer. He claims that with only one child in six drinking school milk more should be done to promote and expand the EU Daily School Milk scheme.

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I'd like to think Barack Obama was listening to my Peace Work Radio 4 documentary over his breakfast, but I'm afraid I'd have to admit it was just coincidence that, on the very day the programme went to air, the President cited Northern Ireland as a successful example of conflct resolution.

Here's the transcript of the exchange from his news conference last night:

"QUESTION: Mr. President, you came to office pledging to work for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Yeah.

QUESTION: How realistic do you think those are hopes are now, given the likelihood of a prime minister who's not fully signed up to a two- state solution and a foreign minister who's been accused of insulting Arabs?

PRESIDENT OBAMA: It's not easier than it was, but I think it's just as necessary. We don't yet know what the Israeli government is going to look like. And we don't yet know what the future shape of Palestinian leadership is going to be comprised of.

What we do know is this; that the status quo is unsustainable. That it is critical for us to advance a two-state solution where Israelis and Palestinians can live side by side in their own states with peace and security. And by assigning George Mitchell the task of working as special envoy, what we've signaled is that we're going to be serious from day one in trying to move the parties in a direction that acknowledges that reality. How effective these negotiations may be, I think we're going to have to wait and see.

But, you know, we were here for Saint Patrick's Day, and you'll recall that we had what had been previously sworn enemies celebrating here in this very room; you know, leaders from the two sides in Northern Ireland that, you know, a couple of decades ago or even a decade ago people would have said could never achieve peace. And here they were, jointly appearing and talking about their commitment, even in the face of violent provocation.

And what that tells me is that if you stick to it, if you are persistent, then -- then these problems can be dealt with."

Something I couldn't fit in to the documentary is a plan by the team behind the Iraq initiative to bring together divided cities around the world including and Londonderry. There are plans afoot to bring officials from the cities together in Boston later this year.

On the Assembly website, there's a photograph of the US President towering over Having started this blog by mentioning Barack Obama's breakfast it would be remiss of me not to mention that during the campaign for the Democrat candidacy he once used his pressing desire to to avoid answering questions about the Middle East.

UPDATE: Putting the waffle to one side, Gerry Adams looks like he'll again be denied a meeting with Israeli officials when he visits the country next week. That's the prediction, anyway, of the

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The assembly returned to Sammy Wilson's decision not to back the UK wide "Act on CO2" advertising question. A series of MLAs from the SDLP, Greens, Ulster Unionists, and Alliance lined up to take pot shots at Mr Wilson. The only problem is that, as a veteran political prize fighter, the minister seems to enjoy such bouts more than his tormentors and always gives back at least as good as he gets.

On the receiving end today was the SDLP's Tommy Gallagher, who Sammy dubbed the Stormont "Carbon King" and "Christopher Columbus" because his mileage claims suggested a propensity for travelling around the world. This was a mite unfair as Tommy Gallagher lives in Belleek, about as far away from Stormont as you can get, and the minister's suggested public transport alternative would probably ensure he never got to a committee or assembly session on time.

Given the question mark over Mr Wilson's respect for scientific orthodoxy, we were then treated to a bizarre lecture on the teachings of In describing the ending of the Ice Age Mr Gallagher maintained this came about beacuse "the sun moved closer to the earth". Mr Wilson retorted that Mr Gallagher should acquaint himself with the findings of Galileo, who determined that the earth orbited the sun, not vice versa. It was a rare instance of the DUP lining up in favour of the enlightenment and against religious fundamentalism.

When the minister asked the Fermanagh MLA which scientist's work he had read as the basis for his views on the end of the Ice Age there was an uncomfortable silence. Like Tommy, I am short on academic authority for the Pleistocene era, but I have seen

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After a bit of last minute editing and scripting yesterday, the programme on conflict resolution I've been making was broadcast on Radio 4 this morning. I think it should be available via this listen again page fairly soon, and it will be repeated over the Easter weekend on 91Èȱ¬ Radio Ulster.

The programme tracked the history of the initiative which saw Martin McGuinness flying out to Baghdad last year, in the company of the former Stormont Speaker Lord Alderdice and the political consultant Quintin Oliver.

The Baghdad trip didn't come out of nowhere - there had been two previous conferences in a forest in Finland. Going back further the prime mover behind the initiative, Irish American professor had organised a trip to Capetown for unionists and nationalists to hear Nelson Mandela's wisdom on overcoming violence.

I well remember that trip as I covered it. Although reporters weren't allowed anywhere near the talks venue, I managed to grab a word with Nelson Mandela who was cutting the ribbon at a new Capetown hotel. After dodging his over enthusiastic bodyguards I got three or four questions into President Mandela, and found him surprisingly well briefed on the Northern Ireland politicians' visit.

In the programme I take the story back to Capetown, then trace it through to Finland, Baghdad and more recently Washington D.C. on St Patrick's Day. Martin McGuinness prepared for his trip there keen to portray Northern Ireland as a peace process success story with relevance to other trouble spots around the world. Would President Obama's administration be interested in drawing on Stormont expertise in other areas, like the Middle East.

But as we are all too well aware here, before Messrs McGuinness and Robinson boarded their transatlantic flight the script changed suddenly and dramatically, with the murders of the two soldiers and a police officer. As I recorded the last section of the programme I was interested in the impact of the latest violence on the efforts to export local expertise on conflict resolution. Should our politicians be concentrating on matters closer to home?

The sense I got in Washington was that the Obama administration was still interested in Northern Ireland as a model. After a meeting with Stormont politicians inside the US Congress, the Democratic Congresswoman seemed unfazed by the latest violence and told me about programmes for women in conflict pioneered in Northern Ireland which were now being applied in the Middle East.

Of course, not everyone, is a fan of exporting the peace process. I talked to Jim Allister, who objects on political and moral grounds, and the London University Iraq expert Dr. Toby Dodge who remains sceptical about what impact, if any, the Northern Ireland intervention has had on the ground in Baghdad.

I'll let you listen to the programme and make up your own minds, including what you make of Padraig O'Malley's contention that those who have killed or ordered others to kill make the best negotiators for peace.

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I am sitting in Dulles airport waiting for my flight to be called, trying to summon up my thoughts about the week in Washington. We've carried the orthodox coverage on our airwaves throughout the last few days so here are a few heretical thoughts.

1. Are we second class citizens? The First and Deputy First Ministers were happy about the reception they got in the White House, but there is still a tension between the shamrock sentiment, the Irish government's desire to retain the monopoly on this vital plank in its bilateral relationship with the USA and the Northern Ireland politics which has been grafted on to St Patrick's Day, especially since the 1990s.

That helps explain why the Irish Prime Minister was the guest of honour at a series of occasions immortalised on film, whilst Northern Ireland's top two had to settle for a still photo of their encounter. The logic is that they are merely leaders of a regional executive, not the leader of a sovereign government. Nevertheless in recent years Northern Ireland has tended to provide the strongest policy and story line of the week, and this was no exception. Maybe it's tradition to restrict access to a brief meeting and a still photo, but wasn't the Obama administration meant to be all about change?

2. Why are Irish Americans so special? In New York Brian Cowen announced a review of US-Irish relations. Perhaps in the hope of reciprocation in easing visas for Irish citizens, one proposal is that Irish Americans with a great grandparent should be eligible for naturalisation. Previously you had to have a grandparent.

But if this is the case with Irish Americans, what about Irish Australians or Irish (perish the thought) English? I'm not planning to apply for a green passport anytime soon. But I'd hate to think that my great grandparents, who emigrated to work in the coal mines of Durham and the linen mills of Lancashire, were any less Irish than those who decided to seek their fortune on the other side of the Atlantic.

3. Here's another heresy - does any of the Presidential rhetoric delivered to green champagne imbibers matter? Of course, continued economic and political support is welcome, but as I listened to the speeches inside the White House (although sadly not the Taoiseach's gaffe) I kept thinking of the teenagers who complained about "police harassment" at the question and answer session with MLAs which I chaired last week. If you want to maintain stability, they remain a more important audience to communicate with than the great and the good in D.C.

Before leaving for the airport, I squeezed in a visit to the Newseum near the National Mall in Washington. Last year when covering a visit by Ian Paisley, I spotted a flyer for the Newseum, which had just opened, but didn't have time to visit. I mentioned to a colleague that I thought Belfast might be a good place to have some kind of museum or centre dedicated to journalism, and he quipped "so you want to be stuffed and mounted".

This time I decided to call in to see what the was like. A few days ago I wrote about the moving experience of visiting St Paul's chapel at Ground Zero. That was small, real and charitable in purpose. By contrast the Newseum is big, artificial and commercial.

If that seems damning, I don't mean it to be. Many of the exhibits in the Newseum are fascinating, but have had to be transplanted from far away, be they a chunk of the Berlin Wall, a bit of the shattered broadcast mast which used to sit on top of the World Trade Centre, or the Unabomber's cabin.

I noticed three glancing references to Northern Ireland. There's a "Tony Blair" sound bite and an image of the Good Friday Agreement in an introductory film which explains that news can be about war or about peace. James "Whitey" Bulger, the Boston gangster who was mixed up with the IRA, features as part of the FBI's "Ten Most Wanted" in an exhibit on "Journalists and the G Men". And Martin O'Hagan of the Sunday World is one of scores of names engraved on a memorial to journalists killed as they tried to do their job. In addition the collection of that morning's front pages around the world included a copy of the "Irish Independent" which covered the Taoiseach's White House stumble and a picture of Joely Richardson visiting the Manhattan hospital where her sister was pronounced dead.

Some aspects of the Newseum made me uneasy. Focussing in on journalists sits uncomfortably alongside the conviction of most of my colleagues that stories should be about those who make them, not about those who report them. But on the plus side the artifice provides a handy prism through which to present modern history, plenty of scope for interactive and video exhibits and the chance for kids to have a bit of fun, playing at becoming TV reporters.

I think Michael Bloomberg part owns the Newseum, and I well remember him telling the US Investment conference in Stormont last year that for a modern city to attract business it has to provide a good quality of life including cultural diversions.

It would be crazy to think Belfast could sustain anything on the scale of the Newseum, but we are the home of the oldest daily newspaper, the News Letter, which was the first to report the US Declaration of Independence on this side of the Atlantic. The media did play a crucial role during the troubles, and grappled with editorial dilemmas over dealing with paramilitaries and Mrs Thatcher's broadcasting ban. And we are now adapting (we hope) to changing times. Anyone who has seen John Harrison's exhibition of news photographs could appreciate the potential (and John now has a photo of Messrs Obama, Robinson and McGuinness to add to his collection).

If you are wondering why I am being so long winded, it's because I shan't be blogging for a few days. After getting back I have to get a Radio 4 documentary ready in time for its scheduled transmission at 11 o'clock on Tuesday morning. It's about the attempt to export Northern Ireland's experience in conflict resolution to Iraq and the Middle East.

In my absence Martina Purdy is taking over Inside Politics. Her guest will be David Ford, ahead of the Alliance's conference. That's on Radio Ulster as usual at 12.45pm on Saturday.

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Proof positive that a reporter is only as good as what he is allowed to see. Last night I blogged that President Obama and the Taoiseach had made identical speeches to two seperate gatherings inside the White House.

That was the plan, but I couldn't verify it as we were thrown out of the residence after the first speeches were made in the East Room.

This morning I discovered that things went awry in the other state room. The Taoiseach began addressing the guests, got a fair way through his speech and then realised that he was reading the President's speech by mistake.

Much hilarity ensued, then I am told the President made light of it all by beginning his own remarks with the words "I'd like to thank President Obama". So Take Two wasn't quite as word perfect as Take One.

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I managed to get into the White House this evening as part of the pool TV coverage of President Obama's first St. Patrick's day reception. This sounds more glamorous than it is. As a mere hack I could watch others drinking the White House's green champagne, but didn't get a chance to sip any myself.

By switching the reception from mornings to evenings, the Obama team is edging back towards the regime during the Clinton years. But I still harbour fond memories of past Clinton receptions when we were able to mingle (and drink!) on a par with all the other guests.

Working your way into the White House can be quite an effort. You spend lengthy periods in "lockdown" getting cleared by security agents. Then you make your way through to the briefing room, where the White House press corps cross question the President's spokesman. Then it's on to the main event.

Here's a bizarre fact. The reception was divided into two grand rooms, the East Room and, I think, the State Dining Room. The President delivered a speech to his guests in one room, and then, I'm told, delivered exactly the same speech to his guests in the other. St Patrick, St Patrick, so good they named him twice. In fact the President deployed exactly the same soundbites on the peace process which he had delivered in a series of speeches earlier in the day.

A White House staffer told me the reception was the biggest party there has been since President Obama took office. Because of the credit crunch he has been reluctant to be seen throwing many swanky occasions.

The President told his guests to stay as long as they wanted (a dangerous statement to make to such a gathering) but reminded them to avoid putting any lampshades on their heads, for fear of passing photographers.

Soon they will be heading home, bouyed up by the American expressions of support, but needing to face up to the tough economic and political realities back at home.

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Within the last hour President Obama has said that the people of Northern Ireland "responded heroically" to the dissident murders and that he is more convinced than ever that peace will prevail.

The President made his comments after accepting the traditional bowl of shamrock from Brian Cowen. Earlier he joked about their common Offaly roots saying they had yet to clarify if they were cousins. Thrown a question about whether he intended to visit the county, the President answered "I hope so".

Around now the First and Deputy First Ministers are due to be meeting the President's National Security Adviser Jim Jones and the President will "drop by". We are waiting for a still photograph of the encounter.

Earlier the Deputy First Minister told a breakfast reception that the dissident republicans ' strategy would not deliver a United Ireland "in a million years".

Some young people from the provided the entertainment at a breakfast reception for the First and Deputy First Ministers. Martin McGuinness told those present that the dissident republican strategy would not deliver a United Ireland "in a milion years".

So are the politicians right when.they vow that the violent minority will not succeed? That will depend on the future attitudes of the younger generation, whether they be singers promoting community harmony or the disaffected youths we have seen rioting out on the streets of Craigavon.

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I spent tonight at the American Ireland Fund dinner, where Dan Rooney was the guest of honour. Chief of the Pittsburgh Steelers American Football Superbowl champs, he is the odds on favourite to become Barack Obama's ambassador to Dublin.

The Irish Americans we spoke to all declared that the recent dissident violence would only spur them on to back the peace process even more. Amongst those expressing that view was the former envoy Paula Dobriansky. Martin McGuinness sounded hopeful that her successor would be announced this week, but others say there are still about three runners and riders.

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Whilst waiting to go on Radio 5 Live (in a few minutes time, as I write) I strolled down to Ground Zero. Although I used to work in New York I left the city in the spring of 2001 and have never seen the site of the September 11th attacks. These days it's a massive building site full of cranes beavering away on the Freedom Tower and other planned developments.

After taking a look at the boarded off site, and a memorial to the hundreds of firefighters who lost their lives, I wandered over to Manhattan's "oldest public building in continuous use", St. Paul's played an extraordinary role as a place of comfort and rest for the relief workers toiling away in the days after September 11th.

These days it's a mixture of a church and a very moving interpretative centre, with many mementoes of the harrowing days back in 2001 on display, and video screens which play testimony from eyewitnesses.

All this got me thinking again about the need for "recognition" voiced by the Eames Bradley report. Now that the proposed £12,000 payments have been ruled out, I am strengthened in my view that centres like St. Paul's might be the best way of providing the recognition of troubles victims which is still lacking.

Clearly there would be major problems - not least that, unlike those who so carefully assembled the exhibits at St. Paul's, we don't all have a "shared narrative" of the troubles to present. Nevertheless I remain convinced that with professionalism and imagination there are many places in Northern Ireland which might match the emotional imoact of a visit to St. Paul's at Ground Zero.

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The US St. Patrick's Day festivities are always guaranteed to provide some interesting combinations of people and this year was no exception. The Fitzpatrick Manahattan hotel has been playing host to Brian Cowen, Micheál Martin, Martin McGuinness, Margaret Ritchie and both Ian Paisleys (the older one is about to embark on a preaching tour of South Carolina). Which could make for some interesting conversations over the rice crispies this morning.

Martin McGuinness is due to attend an announcement tomorrow from the of another multi million dollar fund earmarked for Northern Ireland. Before anyone starts jumping for joy it's worth noting that the Emerald Fund, launched with much hoopla last year, has yet to spend a cent on the ground in Northern Ireland.

Peter Robinson has given New York a by ball and is heading to Washington D.C. via Chicago where he's been meeting US firms who employ people back at home, like All State. In California the top two had talks with the film companies like HBO and Universal. Although there were no solid announcements there seems to be confidence that some NI film projects remain on track.

Tomorrow the focus moves to Washington D.C. where the American Ireland Fund is holding its Then on Tuesday Brian Cowen and the First and Deputy First are due to get their meetings with President Obama. The White House is holding a reception for 300 people this year. The word is that in contrast to some previous events it's not going to be almost exclusively Irish American but will have a strong representation from across America's many ethnic groups.

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The dominant image of the day has been the images of Constable Steven Carroll's funeral, with the Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde visibly moved as he pledged to Constable Carroll's widow that her husband would never be forgotten.

Overnight the Real IRA's political wing, the 32 County Sovereignty Movement, gave its response to the latest killings in a statement carried on its website. The statement rejected Martin McGuinness's comments on Tuesday, when he called those responsible for the violence murderers and "traitors to the people of Ireland".

The movement argued that the sight of Martin McGuinness standing as Stormont calling IRA members "traitors" was "the pinnacle of British strategy".

On the Talkback programme Fr Aidan Troy argued that talks of some kind should be attempted with the the Real IRA, in order to emphasise how wrong their actions are.

Others countered that such dialogue would merely be a reward for violence.

For his response to this call for dialogue, as well as his take on the dissident threat in the future and the prospects for devolving justice powers, I have been talking to the Justice Minister Paul Goggins. You can hear the interview in full on Inside Politics tomorrow at 1245 pm.

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Given the terrible events this week, I suppose we should be glad that noone was hurt in the major blaze which took hold of the Crumlin Road court house. But it is awful that such an historic building should be so badly damaged. I just hope that it's possible to restore the court house to its old self, like the Stormont chamber which was gutted by a blaze in 1995.

During the troubles I had to cover a few court cases at the "Crum" then on one occasion sat nervously waiting to give evidence in a case related to Joe Hendron's election as West Belfast MP (fortunately the point on which I was due to be questioned was conceded before I had to go into the dock).

Then back in and had the chance to walk through the tunnel which links the dock in the Courthouse to the jail on the other side of the road. This is the grim walk which many prisoners took, some of them on their way to the condemned men's cell. The jail still contains a number of unmarked graves.

It was obvious that with the right restoration and imaginative marketing the jail and the courthouse could provide a unique visitor attraction, whether it be a "Troubles Museum" or something more specific to the story of the "Crum" itself. It's therefore frustrating that the re-development of the site has taken so long and that the property owner, Barry Gilligan, has had such a battle to keep the vandals at bay.

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The Northern Ireland Youth Forum organised a question and answer session this afternoon with MLAS, at an interesting time given the focus on what young people make of the murders over the last few days.

I didn't detect any great sense of fear amongst the young people in the room, although that may have been simply because those present weren't keen to talk. A bit worrying for the authorities, perhaps, was the fact that our discussion of the shootings moved swiftly into complaints about the police from some youngsters who felt they were being harrassed (but given their admission that they sometimes did "a bit of wrecking" you could see why the police might take an interest).

There was a general consensus that there is not enough for teenagers to do to keep them out of trouble.

Some present expressed an interest in some kind of youth assembly. The Stormont Commission is keen on developing this idea, although it might not be every young person's cup of tea. Basil McCrea pointed out to those not interested in a debating society that he had organised a "rave" at Stormont which had been successful, despite (or maybe because of) a no alcohol rule.

Due to the rush of events and the demands of the 91Èȱ¬'s many network as well as local outlets I have let some of the usual stuff of Stormont politics pass me by this week. One debate which otherwise would have got more attention was the discussion on Tuesday of the controversial topic of dual mandates. You can access the transcript

The DUP put down a petition of concern on the Ulster Unionist motion requesting the UK government to bring forward legislation banning dual mandates. That meant it needed a cross community vote for it to pass.

Sinn Fein called the motion a "mischievious distraction". During the debate Raymond McCartney revealed that whilst Arlene Foster had declared her intention to prepare legislation ending dual mandates, her successor Sammy Wilson has dropped that pledge.

To the derision of some, Alliance announced its intention to back the DUP in the debate (nothing to do with an impending Justice job, I am sure). The UUP also faced criticism, because of the natural shrinkage of their Westminster team (Stephen Farry claimed they had been doing a good job on their own of ending dual mandates).

So when the matter of our "plane people" (as Mark Durkan dubbed himself and the other flying MPs) went to a vote, a DUP amendment was agreed. It noted that dual mandates, including council membership, were already being considered by the Assembly and Executive Review Committee and argued that a phased approach represented the best way forward.

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Once again the Assembly began its proceedings on a sombre note - yesterday party leaders condemned the murder of the two soldiers in Antrim. This morning the politicians' stood for a minute's silence in memory of Constable Stephen Carroll.

Perhaps because of the evident sense of public revulsion, and perhaps because it was easier for a republican to side with the PSNI than the army, there was no delay or equivocation in Sinn Fein's response. That lent an impressive degree of unanimity to the proceedings.

More important in symbolic terms, the First and Deputy First Ministers (whose joint appearances have been thin on the ground in comparison to the "Chuckle Brothers" era) appeared side by side outside Stormont Castle. Just behind and hetween them stood the Chief Constable.

Martin McGuinness called those behind the Craigavon murder "traitors to the people of Ireland". Peter Robinson vowed that the politicians would win the "battle of wills" with the gunmen. The Chief Constable said he had no intention of asking the army for "routine military support".

Within the last hour the First and Deputy First Ministers have visited Constable Carroll's widow. Their meeting lasted around twenty minutes. It had been thought they would attend the funeral but after the home visit they have now resumed their plans and are due to fly to the USA tomorrow.

At Stormont the parties are playing down their differences in the realisation - in the words of Ian Paisley Jr. on Stormont Live - that "we swim together or sink together".

However the difference between, say, John O'Dowd and David Simpson when questioned on the Nolan show about the potential role of the army remains. More outspokenly Jim Allister has called for the SAS to be deployed, something which would antagonise not just Sinn Fein but probably the SDLP too.

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I'm feeling fairly sleep deprived after a day which started at 5.30 am reading the local papers for a newspaper review on the 91Èȱ¬ World Service. So if my thoughts are less cogent than usual I'd advise you to turn to our main news website where Martina Purdy will be publishing an analysis of the day.

But here are a few thoughts. The Stormont assembly session at noon felt quite impressive. Most leaders struck the same note, rejecting the dissident violence. Peter Robinson made his most statesmanlike speech to date, sounding like a First Minister rather than just a DUP leader.

Gerry Adams had a harder task, still trying to avow his republicanism whilst denouncing a killing which in an earlier era he would have justified. That said, he filled in the gaps from his statement yesterday by offering condolences to the families of those killed and injured.

Hailing from Antrim, David Ford sounded the most upset. He insisted that the cross community vigil represented the true spirit of the town.

Under the show of unity there are abiding tensions. Sir Reg Empey told MLAs he didn't think the Executive was mature enough to assume justice powers. Both the SDLP and Sinn Fein, appearing on Stormont Live, begged to differ.

The argument over army special units has faded into the background but hasn't disappeared.

The PM will no doubt hope that his visit will show the government's determination to isolate the dissidents. But during the troubles, murders, however terrible, rarely prompted such prime ministerial visits so maybe those behind the Masserene attack will regard it as yet more proof of the impact they have made.

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When I first received a text late last night to indicate that at least one soldier had been killed and others injured in Antrim, I responded by texting back "an attack?" During the troubles I would have probably assumed we were dealing with a deliberate killing. But in this era, naive as it might sound, a part of me wanted to keep open the possibility that there had been a bus crash or some such terrible accident. Within a short time I discovered the circumstances and the truth that the shadow of the gunman has returned.

Overnight and during the morning politicians have been responding to the murders. Phrases like "futile", "sinister" and evil" have been frequently used.

Around half past eleven this morning, nearly 14 hours after the killings, Sinn Fein released a carefully calibrated statement. Gerry Adams called the murders "wrong and counterproductive". He argued that dissident attacks must end and the people support peaceful and democratic change.

Speaking at the scene Peter Robinson offered his heartfelt sympathy and condolences to the families of the dead soldiers. Such a sentiment did not feature in the Sinn Fein statement. Perhaps Martin McGuinness or some other representative will fill in this gap as the day goes on. But the almost clinical style of the Sinn Fein initial position seems to reflect general republican antagonism towards the army (presumably this would have been different if the casualties had been PSNI officers) and the sensitivities of the recent row over the deployment of reconnaisance soldiers against the dissidents.

The Ulster Unionist Deputy Leader Danny Kennedy says his party "will be watching closely and evaluating the reactions of all political leaders and parties to this indefensible act". So far the only unionist to have pointed the finger at Sinn Fein has been the anti-power sharing MEP Jim Allister. The Traditional Unionist MEP asks to be spared "the crocodile tears of the Stormont political wing of the IRA", arguing that Sinn Fein's opposition to the deployment of the reconnaisance soldiers "tells us all we need to know about the bona fides of McGuinness and Co. when it comes to resisting terrorism".

Of course MrAllister is opposed to the Stormont system. He's not the only one. In Antrim Peter Robinson got a taste of the challenges to come when he was heckled by a solitary protestor who wanted to know where Martin McGuinness was and used the oft quoted line "if you lie down with dogs you'll get fleas". However Mr Robinson insists that he will not allow the dissidents to drag politics here back to the bad old days.

UPDATE AT 1300: Speaking on the Politics Show, Martin McGuinness has just specifically offered his condolences to the families of those killed and injured. Neither he nor the SDLP leader Mark Durkan backed away from their previous criticism of the use of special army units, although Mr Durkan made the point that this should be a test for al the local parties, not one, and Mr McGuinness added that the focus should be on the unity of the parties' responses against the murders.

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Martin McGuinness and Peter Robinson board their flights to the United States tomorrow. On the eve of the trip, the Deputy First Minister talked to me about his hopes for continuing US political and economic support. However Mr McGuinness sounded angry about Sir Hugh Orde's decision to draft in special army forces to combat dissident republicans, arguing that this return to the old days could have a negative impact on the investors he is trying to attract. But what would be the impact if the dissidents murdered a police officer?

I ask the Deputy First Minister whether he would not concede the move is correct if a scrap of intelligence gathered by the army prevented a police officer being killed or injured.

You can hear the interview on Inside Politics at 12.45pm.

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• - What's this?

Listening to my colleague Gareth Gordon's piece on the political history of the Ulster Hall on Good Morning Ulster this morning reminded me that a couple of weeks ago a neighbour had dropped around an old wooden Rowntree's Imperial Chocolate Box with the letters "UVF" written on the top.

For a moment I wondered whether this was something I should be referring to General De Chastelain, but a quick check established we were dealing with the pre World War One UVF.

The box contained old postcards from the signing of the Covenant in 1912, including some showing the Ulster Hall hasn't changed a lot since those days. I shall, technology allowing, reproduce a few of them.

Together with the postcards there were various documents dating back to a psalm sheet from an Ulster Unionist Convention in1892. I formed the impression that unionists in those days ate a lot. Apart from various flyers for rallies there seemed to be a lot of menus for anti-91Èȱ¬ Rule dinners.

But the box also included a lot of internal documents from the old UVF, which seemed to be the property of George R. Black, the commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion of the South Belfast Regiment. The documents dealt with Sir Edward Carson, the amalgamation of the UVF into the British Army and other matters. I shall reproduce them in the extended entry.
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Jeffrey Peel has just resigned from the Ulster Unionist Conservative Joint Committee, accusing the UUP of using the Tories as a cash cow. It doesn't surprise me that much as I witnessed a furious row between the two sides in the margins of the UCUNF launch last week over the website I reerred to in a previous entry. Clearly it's bigger than a one off personal disagreement. I am publishing Mr Peel's outspoken resignation statement in the extened entry.

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• - What's this?

The First and Deputy First Ministers are off to the United States this weekend for a coast to coast trip which, they say, will primarily focus on the economy. They are visiting firms which already employ people here, although they are hopeful about attracting new jobs it's fair to say that their intent is as much to defend the investment we already have as to seek anything fresh.

Given the global downturn, the ministers appeared concerned about the future at a briefing inside Stormont Castle earlier today. Irish ministers have promised to stick to their committments on road projects like the Aughnacloy to Donegal link. However the First and Deputy First worry about whether Dublin might have to reconsider this in the context of any further drastic action it might take.

On another front there's the continuing battle with London over the UK government's push for greater "efficiencies". Nigel Dodds is due to meet his counterparts in Edinburgh on March 12th. The Stormont line is that London must abide by promises made at the time devolution was restored that Northern Ireland could keep any savings it makes. But whilst they make this argument, our ministers remain concerned in case the Treasury presses ahead with a plan which they reckon could mean cuts of between £150 and £200 million in the year 2010/2011. We probably won't know how this argument is resolved until the budget is announced on April 22nd.

On one front the minister think we have done fairly well, as the Ulster Bank has been allocated £250 million to provide for fresh lending. But they are unsure how much of this is fidning its way to those in need of credit. No doubt this will be a question on the agenda when a new advisory forum meets the Ministers for the first time next month. The 25 strong Economic Forum will include representatives from the local banks, businesses, the trade unions, the Consumer Council and other groups. It sounds like the First and Deputy First have already made up their minds about who they want to replace the Civic Forum.

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MPs have spent the day debating a bill intended to implement the deal reached by the DUP and Sinn Fein on policing and justice last November.

Mark Durkan sees the plan to elect a future Justice Minister by a cross community vote as an assault on the system enshrined in the Good Friday Agreement and he has been vociferous in his opposition to the bill.

Expounding on the theme that this was the ninth model for a Justice Ministry legislated for by the government, Mr Durkan recalled having previously accused Peter Hain of displaying more "vacuous models" than the Playboy mogul Hugh Hefner.

Former NIO minister David Cairns reckoned he';d heard the SDLP leader deploy this line on about four previous occasions, insisting that last time it had been deployed the punchline involved Peter Stringfellow.

Although some MPs enjoyed this, others were evidently less enthralled by Mr Durkan's contribution. After the SDLP leader finished, Sir Patrick Cormack implored the Deputy Speaker to insist on more brevity for speakers, so more MPs could get their say during today's truncated debate.

When he got to his feet the First Minister Peter Robinson revealed that he had nearly lost his notes when the steward on his flight had offered to clear "that rubbish away" pointing to the paoers beside him. Mr Robinson thought some MPs might have been relieved if the steward had taken Mr Durkan's notes instead.

Aside from joining the Hefner/Stringfellow debate, David Cairns was interesting on the multiplicity of Stormont departments. Recalling his time dealing with planning officials and planning policy officials from seperate departments, the former minister said the number of departments "makes no sense" and should be revisited soon.

Sinn Fein has sent Alex Maskey to monitor the debate. Presumably sending an MP would be too risky just in case they were tempted to vote by mistake. Another bystander has been the Alliance leader David Ford who visited Westminster fort he day. Given the possibility that he could be a future Justice minister this visit set some tongues wagging, but Mr Ford insists he was just touching base with his Liberal Democrat colleagues.

In relation to this, there were some interesting exchanges between the Liberal Democrat Alastair Carmichael and the DUP. The Lib Dems argued that it was unacceptable for a future Justice Minister to be removed by an Assembly cross community vote. Mr carmichael said tghis would make a future minister vulnerable to a populist mood amongst the Assembly. He pointed out that Sammy Wilson and Caitriona Ruane were both unpopular amongst their opponents but appeared impregnable. He wanted the future Justice Minister tobe just as impregable.

Spelling it out, the Lib Dem spokesman questioned whether it was worth legislating for a system which an Alliance member would not accept. Certainly, whatever Mr Ford's purpose in visiting London, it looked like a proxy negotiation between the Alliance party and the DUP, being conducted via the Liberal Democrats.
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• - What's this?

Napoleon might have dismissed England as a nation of shopkeepers, but this afternoon the DUP sounded like a party of shopkeepers as they jumped to the defence of retailers concerned about Michael McGimpsey's proposed ban on the display of tobacco items. The retailers say the change could cost them £5000 in alterations to their premises and want until 2013 to implement the ban. That's the timetable scheduled for the rest of the UK. However the Health Minister argues that health is more im portant than wealth and wants to press ahead with the measure late next year.

There were some lively exchanges between the UUP and the DUP over the move, but when it came to a vote the measure went through without a division. Perhaps the most cutting put down came from Minister McGimpsey to the DUP's Alistair Ross. The East Antrim MLA had complained about the "nanny state" but the Minister reckoned the young politician's nanny must have been too careful about letting him out and about in the real world.

The ban will be subject to a consultation. Its final timing is up to the minister, whose officials point out that a similar measure is due to come into force south of the border from this summer.

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The First and Deputy First Ministers recently suggested it would improve the quality of their question time if they shifted to a once a month rather than fortnightly appearance. But today, just a mere seven days after Martin McGuinness answered questions, Peter Robinson was on his feet. the reason - the dynamic duo are off to the United States next week for a coast to coast St Patrick's Day tour.

The FM and DFM will visit US firms who employ people here in the hope of persuading them to continue their involvement, despite the credit crunch. The trip will culminate in Washington D.C. where President Obama is expected to host his first St Patrick's reception.

Questioned about whether the President's election promises to keep jobs in the USA would impact on US economic involvement in Northern Ireland, Mr Robinson expressed the hope that the new President would be just as committed as his predecessors to investment here. Nevertheless it's a sign of the changing times that this latest trip is focussed on protecting jobs rather than attracting new ones.

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Watching the Treasury Select Committee meeting in the Stormont Senate chamber this morning I was somewhat surprised to hear the Chairman, John McFall, giving me a name check. He told witnesses that I'd asked him whether the hearing on the regional impact of the credit crunch would turn into "a riot".

This came as news to me as I hadn't interviewed Mr McFall. A short process of elimination revealed the questioner to be Mark Simpson (my much better looking doppelganger) who had asked whether the hearing might become "a shouting match".

In the end the meeting seemed fairly calm. The MPs heard from local business people suffering from the lack of credit provided by local banks and several savers hit by the collapse of the Presbyterian Mutual Society. The MPs advised the PMS savers to form a web based action group, although I think the savers would rather hear that Gordon Brown or Alastair Darling is ready to throw them a lifeline.

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