成人快手

Dump the deadline

• Mark Devenport
• 22 Feb 07, 10:37 PM

Belfast City Council has picked March 26th as their deadline for consultation on the new Giants Park, replete with ferris wheels and cable cars. Perhaps the process could be rolled together with the wider effort to restore devolution which is, of course, scheduled to culminate on the same day. The last minute push to negotiate a satisfactory peace dividend and further changes to the Stormont rules would be given added urgency if it took place not in Downing Street, Stormont, the White House or another plush Scottish hotel or English stately home. Instead why not convene the discussions in the middle of Dargan dump, the proposed site for Belfast's new visitor attraction. Half an hour there and the politicians will sign anything.

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Par for the course

• Mark Devenport
• 22 Feb 07, 10:22 PM

After Ian Paisley on Pancake Tuesday, I spent Thursday with Gerry Adams. He's obviously very tight for time as he treated to me to possibly the shortest walkabout I have ever covered. In Armagh, it was more of a street corner about than a real walk about. The name of the game is to stop in as many places as possible for the shortest time possible, ensuring that in each place there's a candidate on hand and a local newspaper photographer to immortalise the leader in the target seat.

An Armagh GAA player got hauled into one photo opportunity - no surprise there. But in Gilford I was a little more puzzled to find local republicans strongly promoting the game of golf. It's nothing to do with their attachment to the agreement hatched in St Andrews, the home of golf.

Instead they are backing developers who want to convert the shell of the old local mill into a hotel. That's got planning permission, but the project is tied to developing adjacent land as a golf course in order to attract people to stay there. And that idea is apparently stuck in a planning bunker.

Bunkers and republicans. Now why does that ring a bell?

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Baby boom

• Mark Devenport
• 22 Feb 07, 11:33 AM

Babies normally play a vital role in election campaigns as they are the only people who don't object to being hugged by politicians. Politics producer Robin Sheeran is just away to an event organised by the early years group NIPPA, which promises to have 18 babies on hand - presumably one for every constituency. Our lobby groups are doing their best to make their presence felt during this campaign. Gareth Gordon is intending to go to a manufacturers' group debate today. The RSPB are launching an environmental manifesto later this week and the integrated education council, NICIE, has a debate planned for next week.

Another interest group keen to get its message across is the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action, which tells me it has set up a special election website

I see the site has recent comments from Michael Wardlow of NICIE and the PUP leader Dawn Purvis. Incidentally I've just seen a video of the PUP election broadcast which is due on terrestrial TV tomorrow. What do you do when your main vote winner has just tragically passed away? The PUP broadcast is interesting because it features David Ervine as an inspiration for Dawn Purvis's political journey. Best line "it takes a David not a Goliath party...."

I'm off in search of Gerry Adams all day today, which means the ever industrious Mr Gordon gets my favourite slot chatting over Ian Knox's cartoons on Hearts and Minds. He gets all the best gigs.

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