Time to focus on the media role during the Troubles

The legacy business, when it comes to what happened in the north of Ireland, seems to be in full swing. The 25th anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) has been the spur for much activity Two contributions have been the BBC's Once Upon a time in Northern Ireland series and the exhibition: Northern Ireland: Living with the Troubles at the Imperial War Museum. Both have shown different aspects of the conflict - how people from the two communities could see the same incident in opposite ways. The documentary went through the different chapters of the conflict largely via interviews of those taking part. The exhibition has striking statistics highlighting the deaths in the 70s, with civilians always making up a large part of the casualties. A short film also emphasises how in many ways the Good Friday Agreement institutionalised the divisions. However, what is lacking in all of this is any analysis of the media. The media is crucial because it played a key role in how the conflict unfurled and now how the history is being written. The latter is so very important if the same mistakes as those made over the years of the conflict are not to be repeated in the future. The media played a major role in adopting the British Government's propaganda model for the conflict, namely, two warring tribes with the army and security forces in the middle trying to keep the peace. This image was never better personified than when the troops were greeted on arrival in 1969 with tea and cakes on the barriers. Ofcourse this all quickly changed, with internment and the army effectively picking a side. The coverage that then followed seemed to normalise the violence. Bombs going off in the north and in England became the staple diet of news bulletins. Yet, although at times Belfast could resemble any war zone around the world, the whole thing became normalised. Indeed, the phrase "the Troubles" was a term devised to trivialise what was happening. There was effectively a war going on, yet, seven general elections passed without it being a major issue. There was also a tendency to blame Republicans for the whole thing. Journalists lacked good sources on the Republican movement to explain what was happening. So, it went on, never a mention of cost either. Billions were poured into the conflict, yet, whether it was affordable never featured. True, this mantra regarding conflict does extend beyond the north of Ireland. There always seems to be money for war. Today, the same sort of rationale applies to Ukraine. The damage done to the system of law, with developments like the Prevention of Terrorism Act and Diplock Courts were not questioned. Nor do the lasting effects feature in the legacy events. Collusion? There is so much missing. The media frame of coverage on the conflict was revealed somewhat in the aftermath of the GFA. As the violence faded, so the North fell out of the headlines. There is some serious work to be done on looking at the role the media played during the conflict and today, as to how it is being seen looking back. There were some efforts to unravel media coverage during the conflict, with Liz Curtis's Ireland and the Propaganda War, then Don't Mention the War by David Miller making outstanding contributions. The Irish Post ofcourse came about due to the appalling coverage of the conflict and to give voice to the Irish community here and in Ireland. The paper was a must read for anyone who wanted an idea about what was going on. The real concern of the moment is that much of the commemorative stuff relies too much on that original British Government/media frame of the feuding tribes, with the peacekeepers in the middle. If that is how the conflict is still being seen, there is a long way to go in terms of really recognising and reconciling to the past. At best, the media can be said to have normalised rather than questioned what was going on in the north of Ireland. A failure to dispassionately and honestly view what happened over those decades of conflict will only ensure that at some time the same sort of scenario plays out again. One important factor to ensure this does not happen is a proper evaluation of the role of media during and since the conflict. It maybe painful for some but only then can a more balanced view be achieved and a repeat of the past avoided.

Football gives a whole new meaning to the word inflation

The money in football is crazy. Over the summer West Ham captain Declan Rice moved to neighbours Arsenal for £105 million. This sum though was soon surpassed, when Chelsea paid Brighton £115 million for 21-year- old Ecuadorian Moises Caicedo. Brighton bought Caicedo for £4 million two years ago. Harry Kane moved from Spurs to Bayern Munich for £100 million. There seems no limit to what clubs can and will pay for players These top bracket players will command wages upward of £200,000 a week. A salary beyond the wildest dreams of most of those who watch the game. The game has really become something of a commodity market, with the players being traded. The one qualifier being that the players do now wield a lot of bargaining power themselves. Caicedo was wanted by Liverpool and Chelsea, so he was able to choose which to join. All the Premier clubs have huge financial resources, much of it due to the money pumped into the game by TV. There are, though, the super rich clubs, like Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Newcastle, who have very wealthy foreign backers. These clubs have bIllions to dish out. The rest have almost becoming feeder clubs. Not that long ago, a player like Rice would have led West Ham for his whole career - remember the late great Bobby Moore. Now, a club like West Ham are lucky to get a few seasons from such a top player. Then they cash in. At present, West Ham are trying to emulate the likes of Brighton, who have performed brilliantly over recent years, due to a very astute recruitment policy, that has included managers and players like Caicedo. Such recruitment, enables a club to punch above its weight as it were. West Ham recently recruited Tim Steidten, as technical director, with this strategy in mind. Known as the pearl diver Steidten is renowned for discovering potential young talent. Unfortunately, in the West Ham case Steidten's choices don't seem to accord with what the manager David Moyes wants, so an impasse has been reached. Not good news for anyone. It's all a long way from the days when most the players came from the local area, where the club was situated. The bond between the players and the community has weakened. It is now all just big business. The game is popular and entertainment value great but it is difficult not to feel the male football has lost its soul. Back in 1979, Trevor Francis became the first £1 million, when he moved from Birmingham City to Nottingham Forest. Sadly, Francis died recently but I wonder what he thought about player values today. Francis played at the last time that this country endured high inflation - I doubt though, he ever envisaged the price inflation in football today, that sees players of his quality retailing for more than 100 times their value some 40 years plus ago.

Too much virtue signalling on equality issues

It was excellent to see the recent Disabilities Festival on Christchurch Green in Wanstead. Supported by Redbridge Council and Vision, the event saw people coming together to celebrate in community. But it was one ill informed comment on social media that brought home how important such events are. Another, able bodied person sounding off about what was happening on the Green. How dare they interfere with the normal activities of the day for the able bodied? This person was quickly informed by a disabled person just how important the event was to her. The original complainant would have done well to inform themselves exactly what was going on before leaping into print on social media. But then when in the social media age has actually knowing the facts been a prerequisite to not sounding off? What the episode brought home is how invisible the disabled are to the able bodied in the population. This has become more of a personal reality over recent years, as my hearing has deteriorated. Little adjustment is made in daily life. Adjustments have to be made but that shouldn't all be down to the individual. The one thing that becomes clear is how many others have similar problems but struggle on in plain sight - invisible. One person who has been an inspiration to many in the area is Churchfields Councillor Rosa Gomez. A Columbian human rights activist, Rosa was shot in 2010. She is now blind, with little use in her arms. She suffers with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Despite these huge obstacles, Rosa became active in the Woodford area. She stood as a Labour councillor in 2018 and won. Her service to residents was so good over the next four years, that she was returned with an increased majority last year. Life though has not been easy for Rosa, more could have been done to make her life as a councillor easier. Disabled people are entitled to have reasonable adjustments made to help them cope. Rosa's excellence in the role of councillor was rewarded last year by a shortlisting in the category of Recovery and Resilience in the Local Government Inform Unit national awards. She did not win but there was recognition of her excellent public service. Rosa is an inspiration to anyone who meets her. And she has urged more disabled people to come forward to get involved in politics. Champions like Rosa, athlete Tanni Grey-Thompson, actress Rose Ayling Ellis and others show what can be done. The challenge going forward is to make it possible for more disabled people to achieve their hopes and dreams. That means creating a really inclusive society. At the moment there is too much virtue signalling across the equality agenda. Anyone can get up and spout the rhetoric on equality, making it happen is often a very different matter. There really needs to be some proper auditing and inspection processes to ensure that private and public bodies, like councils, are really practicing equality. Otherwise, it can all be window dressing. One thing for sure is that plain ignorance is no excuse for inaction.

Mayor Sadiq Khan has shown real leadership on ULEZ and active travel agenda

The Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) is set to go ahead at the end of the month. The high court recently dismissed the efforts of five London boroughs to halt the expansion to cover the whole of the Capital. So everyone in London will now be able to breath cleaner air. There have been objections raised about the impact of the charge on those struggling to get by in the cost of living crisis. But it is a bit rich of the Tory government, who created the crisis, to now target ULEZ as a cause. They have also made life more difficult for the Mayor in terms of making a more generous scrappage scheme available by not providing more funding. Central government has continued to play politics with London's transport system, ever since TFL were plunged into financial difficulties, courtesy of COVID. What the Mayor could do is look to provide some more imaginative solutions. How about providing a year or more of free travel on public transport in exchange for scrapping or giving up a ULEZ non- compliant vehicle? A win win, contributing to the Mayor's active travel goal of having 80% of journeys being on cycle, on foot or by public transport by 2041. Or following French President Emmanuel Macron's example, by offering low income families electric cars to lease for £88 per month - including maintenance and insurance? There is a real challenge moving forward if we are to address climate and biodiversity crises. Many London boroughs have made huge strides in terms of active travel: rolling out controlled parking zones, 20 mph speed limits, school streets, comprehensive protected cycling networks and Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTN). Hackney and Waltham Forest have been particularly successful. Hackney has reduced car journeys by 37%. These boroughs have shown strong leadership on active travel, seeking to take their local populations with them on the journey of change. They have also had the funding for schemes. In Redbridge there have been steps made. The number of school streets schemes and protected cycle lanes have increased. 20 mph speed limits and controlled parking is spreading across the borough. But funding is often an obstacle to providing more and more quickly. The efforts of Mayor Sadiq Khan and several leaders of London boroughs is to be applauded. They have shown real leadership, stood up and faced down much opposition to bring in measures that will in the long term ensure we all live healthier, more sustainable lives.

Dispatches from the Diaspora by Gary Younge

Published by Faber Price -£14.99 Gary Younge has been one of the outstanding journalists and commentators of the past 25 years. In this book, he pulls together reportage, comment and reflection to present a fascinating journey from the election of Nelson Mandela as the first black president of South Africa to the advent of Black Lives Matter. Also, along the way Barack Obama is elected the first black President of America, though as Younge insightfully reveals that was his greatest achievement. The lot of black people in America did not materially change for the better over the Obama years. Younge chronicles the 12 years he spent living in America reporting for the Guardian. The book is made up of Guardian pieces together with other contributions to the Nation, New Statesman and other publications. Younge skillfully weaves together his reportage of events like Hurricane Katrina and the shooting of black people in America with his own experience as a black person, with a young family, living in the US. The ability of the good journalist to get under the skin and dig out interesting slants is never better illustrated than in the piece on Rosa Parks - the black woman, who refused to give up her seat on the bus in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955. Younge reveals how another younger woman Claudette Colvin had done the same action months earlier. Colvin, though was a pregnant, unmarried teenager. Parks was a much better fit for the story, as far as the civil rights movements was concerned - married, middle class and church going. So it was Parks story that became prominent. Colvin went on to have a hard life with little respite or recognition. The hypocrisy of Britain with its empire legacy and imperialist pretensions also features. The book splits into four sections - looking at hope for change with the likes of Mandela, then how many of those hopes were unfulfilled. Then, how different interpretations can be applied to situations and how individual actions of witness can make a difference A favourite in this section was the piece on John Carlos, who made the iconic black power salute, when receiving his gold medal at the 1968 Olympics. A man, who subsequently suffered for his action but who remains unbowed. There are some excellent profile type interviews with the likes of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Andrea Levy. Maya Angelou and Angela Davis. Younge's authenticity comes out throughout but particularly in the latter chapters of the book when he recalls his own experiences of racism in Britain and America. In an interview with racing driver, Lewis Hamilton, there is great empathy, as both grew up in Stevenage, so experienced similar racism. Younge manages to produce an authentic body of work that chronicles class and race over the past 25 years. Never sentimental but always prescient and aware as to how far society has to go in order to create a better more equal world. An excellent book from one of the best journalist and commentators of recent years.

What is going on at West Ham?

A lot of fans are wondering what is happening at West Ham United Football Club? It is just two months since the club won the European Conference League. Hopes were high for the new season but that all quickly dissipated after the celebrations on Stratford Broadway. Top player Declan Rice has departed for neighbours Arsenal in a £105 million move. Other players have wanted away. Few seem to want to come to the London Stadium. All this despite winning the club's second European trophy in almost 60 years. So, what is going on, are West Ham's owners once again snatching defeat from the jaws of victory? The biggest stumbling block appears to be the appointment of Tim Steidten as technical director of football. He has been charged with buying and selling players but his choices seem to be at odds with those of manager David Moyes. Moyes clearly stated, as far back as the final press conference at the London Stadium, last season, following triumph over Leeds, that he wanted English based players to build the side around. The manager rued the difficulties when a lot of foreign players were brought in last season and took a long time to settle. Leicester City's Harvey Barnes was believed to be one of the players Moyes wanted - he has since joined Newcastle United. Then, West Ham appointed Steidten, known as the pearl diver due to his ability to discover potential talent. Steidten favoured younger foreign players with potential, rather than tried and tested campaigners. The owners drew their inspiration for the Steidten strategy from clubs like Brighton, who lack the spending power of a Manchester City, United or Chelsea but have operated an excellent recruitment policy. The pearls Brighton have discovered like Ecuadorian Moises Caciedo has enabled them to punch well above their weight. Bought for £4.5 million two years ago, Caiciedo now commands a fee in excess of £80 million. Whilst the policy may seem enlightened in financial terms, the way it is backfiring at West Ham spells disaster. Manager and technical director have to be in agreement. Despite, European success, the club struggled against relegation for much of last season. Now, Rice has gone and not been replaced. More European commitments beckon in the Europa League this season. West Ham should have brought in at least 5 or 6 players but at time of writing there have been no additions. There is talk of Steidten or Moyes leaving. The two men have to be in agreement. No club works where the director of football is buying players the manager does not want. The manager must have the final and predominant say. These are worrying days for West Ham supporters. When they should be looking at the new season, with hope and optimism, most are apprehensive, fearing another campaign fighting relegation. It doesn't have to be that way if the board backs Moyes and gets the players in he wants.

Will brave new world of automation lead to a lonely world?

The recent announcement that NatWest Bank in Wanstead is closing caused dismay in the local community. The last bank on the high street gone - they used to be numerous. Then, came the news that ticket offices are to close at railway stations across the country. So, if you have a problem, where do you turn? What of disabled people needing help? There seems to be a de-peopling process going on across society. Supermarkets have been endeavouring to force customers onto self-service check outs for years. Many have stubbornly refused, preferring to be served by a real human being. Post offices have been shutting down across the country - some migrating into shops. The advance of technology has meant that fewer people are needed to provide these services. A lot is now done online. The COVID pandemic saw much of this automation revolution accelerate in its application. A lot of shopping moved online, with deliveries coming to the door. Helpful in days of lockdown. The move from cash to credit cards also accelerated. Today, a number of businesses will not accept cash - whether this will last as they miss out on business remains to be seen. The worrying thing is what about the human being in all of this? Job losses but also people who don't want to do everything online. Lonely people who may look forward to some interchange with fellow human beings at the bank, post office or supermarket. What about people who still like to talk face to face with someone rather than communicate by phone? People cannot just be cut off because they don't want to go online. What modern society is creating are soulless oceans of loneliness. We saw how damaging this can be to mental health at the time of the pandemic. The advance of artificial intelligence is likely to accelerate the automation process further So what can be done? Businesses would argue they are there to make money, not provide some sort of social service. However, some recognition that not everyone wants to be forced online, away from people would be helpful. If all the jobs go, what happens to the people? Maybe some businesses might consider swimming against the tide. New staffed banks providing in-person services. The demand could be there - people may flock to them. A similar approach in other businesses. They would, though, have to be supported by customers. Whether, any of this can happen remains to be seen. What is for sure is that not everyone wants to sign up to the brave new world of automation. It makes many feel increasingly isolated, anxious and insecure. It does ofcourse make life easier for many others but there needs to be some sort of middle way found that puts the well being of human beings as the central concern.