Neighbours: The Real Story
Forget all the talk about Neighbours moving to Channel Five, after the 大象传媒 refused to pay 拢300M for a new series. The real story is the knock on effect of the loss of Neighbours, which is sending the soap opera you all follow off to 大象传媒2. That's right if you want to get your fix of Committee walk outs, ministers battling ministers and rhetoric without compare, then tune in to Stormont Live at its new time of 2.15 on 大象传媒2.
Inside Politics, meanwhile, has a debate between basil McCrea and Alec Maskey which covers the potential 16% pay rise, the employment of family members and, given both politicians sit on the Policing Board, the latest intelligence on dissident republicans.
On the topic of the 16% rise, the Assembly says a draft report from the Senior Salaries Review Body is not due until July, which is later than I understood when I broke the story last night. Apart from the pay of MLAs in comparison to their counterparts, it will be interesting to see if the SSRB thinks any consideration of new Assembly allowances is within its remit.
In their discussion on the SSRB pay review back in December, the Assembly Commission, according to its minutes, "asked for consideration to be given to an allowance for Whips and Chairs of Standing Committees and sought further information in relation to the pension benefits for Members who retire through ill health. Members also asked for consideration to be given to the inclusion of an allowance to cover visits to EU Institutions and Westminster."
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颁辞尘尘别苍迟蝉听听 Post your comment
Who is the Senior Salaries Review Body? I expect parties to reject his. How can they ask people to accept below inflation rises when they take 16%?
When very talented employees in public and private sector bodies see the ability profile of some members of the legislature performing on T.V. and know that few could gain admittance to the civil service never mind director posts on companies and feel financially restricted themselves in their career is it no wonder that quite a few people are disgusted at the apparent greed of some political representatives. To hear senior politicians scold others for not trimming down their departments toward greater efficiency and effectiveness while filling their own pockets is blatant hypocrisy.
Mark
NO PLEASURE FOR SINN FEIN IN REPEATED PENETRATION BY MI5
It鈥檚 a pity the Informer story broke shortly after the pre-recording of Inside Politics because it would have been amusing to have heard Alex Maskey castigating MI5 following its latest 鈥榦uting鈥 of a Sinn Fein mole.
Sinn Fein Driver, McShane, exposed as MI5 Agent ran the headlines on Friday evening. Would you believe it? The Anti-Fascism Branch of MI5 has shafted Sinn Fein again. Sorry, that鈥檚 wrong. The Anti-Fascism Branch of MI5 continues to shaft Sinn Fein just as it has always done.
My mind is teeming with questions about MI5鈥檚 latest 鈥榦uting鈥 of someone who is obviously of relatively low-level importance to the Security Services and Sinn Fein. Of course MI5, much like GOD, moves in mysterious ways, and one can only guess at its reasons for this latest unveiling. What message is MI5 sending to Sinn Fein? Is someone further up the Sinn Fein Informer Chain getting stroppy? Is someone in Sinn Fein not obeying his/her Handler? Is MI5 sending a warning to one of its employees in the Army Council? Is MI5 trying to divert attention from something more significant that is about to break? Your guess is as good as mine! Where鈥檚 John LeCarr茅 when you need him?
Not surprisingly, Alex Maskey, dissembling as usual, was dismissive about McShane鈥檚 exposure, claiming that 鈥渉e had been under suspicion for some time and been sidelined.鈥 Following that logic, in light of Gerry Adams鈥檚 near-invisibility in recent months, it is permissible to pose the question of whether or not he is 鈥渦nder suspicion鈥.
I鈥檓 sure that MI5 is just as interested in the other half of the Fascist Coalition so the DUP would be well advised not to overdo the gloating at Sinn Fein鈥檚 latest misfortune. It鈥檚 a nailed-on certainty that there are DUP MLAs on the MI5 payroll. A pleasant enough pastime, if not intellectually stimulating, is to speculate on who might be moles. I can鈥檛 even begin to guess but I do know that in recruiting Informers, MI5 looks for people with certain characteristics, notably those who are: arrogant to the point of recklessness, supercilious, venal by nature, vulnerable to blackmail, lacking moral values, greedy for power & money and unduly influenced by people who have wealth. If those are the traits that make a good Informer, then MI5 is spoiled for choice in terms of attracting recruits from within the ranks of the DUP.
Final Question: Who鈥檚 next for a sudden trip abroad, courtesy of MI5 Tours? An Assembly Bigwig, perhaps?
Susie
Carryduff