LOL No 647 Earl Of Erne or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

A few weeks ago, British QUANGO the Parades Commission gave the go-ahead to a “Cultural Demonstration” by the Blue Man Group followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh the Orange Order (LOL No 647 Earl Of Erne) in Ardoyne, Belfast.

And the rest, as they say, is over 400 years of History.

And ah, screaming headlines.

And er, riot pr0n.

Anyway, the media is doing its bit to bring about a peaceful resolution to the centuries-old conflicts in Northern Ireland/The Six Counties. (Paola Totaro, Fairfax corporation’s Europe correspondent, summarises the political situation as follows: “The great majority of the British Army, seemingly ever-patient and self-controlled, stood for years as Irish kids baited and yelled, shoved and provoked. A handful of soldiers used well-placed butts while guns were fired only in response to the vandalism.”) Thus ‘The Mirror describes it as “wanton violence for the sake of it”. The Irish News calls it “shameful”. For the News Letter, the blame lies with dissident republicans “who have nothing to offer this community”.’

Otherwise, The Guardian‘s reportage on the mere fact that police intend to publish photos of persons of interest (Northern Ireland police chief to publish images of Ulster rioters, Henry McDonald, July 13, 2010) singularly fails to match the enthusiasm with which The Age undertook the task in 2006. On the other hand, the devastation the G20 protests brought to Melbourne that year easily overshadow the 82 police injured in 48 hours in rioting in Belfast and Co Armagh (Belfast police, Catholic rioters clash over parade, Shawn Pogatchnik, The Washington Post (The Associated Press), July 12, 2010).

See also : Ardoyne Sit Down Protest Attacked by PSNI | A personal account of the annual Orange Order parades from Belfast to Bangor (2009) | The Orange Order & sectarianism in Ireland.