When nominated for an Academy Award, some actors accept the nomination quietly in an attempt to convey a certain level of coolness.
Richard E. Grant is not one of these actors. The 61-year-old is not even going to pretend that he’s not totally over-the-moon excited about his first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor in Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Grant, who posted an emotional video to Twitter when he first received the nomination, just went to the annual Oscar nominees luncheon, and it’s safe to say that he didn’t keep his cool. Like, at all.
On Twitter, Grant posted a series of very blurry selfies with the other nominees.
Just because you’re a star, doesn’t mean you don’t get star-struck when you run into Bradley Cooper.
Or Mahershala Ali, Lady Gaga, Rami Malek, and Rachel Weisz.
You’ll understand why I am blurred and enduring ‘Smiling-rictus’ syndrome after meeting all these folk at the Academy Awards Nominees lunch today!!! pic.twitter.com/vMTYEtg3tG
Here’s a closer look at those gloriously blurred selfies.
Image: @richardegrant on twitter
Image: @richardegrant on twitter
Image: @richardegrant on twitter
Image: @richardegrant on twitter
Grant’s night didn’t even end there. The actor followed up with another tweet saying “This is now getting beyond ‘pinch yourself’ – more like ‘punch yourself,’” in reference to meeting Spike Lee, Amy Adams, Regina King, Glenn Close, Sam Elliot and Viggo Mortensen.
Living the dream, indeed.
And some more!!! This is now getting beyond ‘pinch yourself’ – more like ‘punch yourself ’ SwaziGuy!!!! Living the dream. pic.twitter.com/vqBuyYsULe
The Taliban have killed at least 21 people in their latest attacks in Afghanistan, despite the beginning of peace talks with Afghan officials in Moscow.
Among the dead were 11 policemen slain when fighters stormed a checkpoint in northern Baghlan province, provincial officials said on Tuesday.
The attacks were reported as Taliban representatives began meetings with prominent Afghan figures, including former President Hamid Karzai, opposition leaders and tribal elders, but not Kabul government officials.
In the checkpoint attack, the Taliban targeted the local police force in the province’s Baghlani Markazi district on Monday night, triggering a gunfight that lasted for almost two hours, said Safder Mohsini, head of the provincial council.
Five policemen were also wounded and the Taliban seized all the weapons and ammunition from checkpoint before reinforcements arrived, he said.
“They arrived there late, fought back and managed to get the checkpoint under control,” he added.
Near-daily attacks
Earlier on Monday, the Taliban targeted a local pro-government militia in a village in northern Samangan province, killing 10 people there, including a woman, said Sediq Azizi, spokesman for the provincial governor.
Four people were also wounded in that attack, in Samangan’s Dara-I Suf district, he said.
According to Azizi, the Taliban targeted local villagers, including women and children. As the area is very remote, the villagers have their own militia to provide security for their area and defend their homes from armed fighters.
The Taliban claimed both attacks in statements to the media.
They have been staging near-daily attacks, inflicting heavy casualties on the embattled Afghan army and security forces, as the US is eager to pull out of the war-torn country.
‘A step forward’
The two-day meeting in Russia‘s capital between the Taliban and mainly Afghan opposition figures is seen as another step in a process aimed at resolving the country’s 17-year war, one that has accelerated since the appointment of US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad last September.
But the Moscow meeting has sidelined Afghan President Ashraf Ghani‘s government, which has criticised the gathering.
Ghani has repeatedly called on the Taliban to begin talks with his government, which the Taliban refuses to recognise, calling it a “puppet” of the US.
He was excluded from six days of discussions between the armed group and the US in the Qatari capital, Doha, last month that reportedly sealed the outline of a peace deal.
Abdullah Abdullah, the country’s chief executive, said on Monday that the Afghan government should be at the centre of any peace talks, adding that Kabul “would prefer the Moscow meeting had a different shape”.
Abdullah said that the Taliban were the biggest obstacle to peace, but that if the Moscow meeting creates “an opening for real peace talks, it would still be a step forward”.
Among those attending the meeting is Haneef Atmar, a former national security adviser who is running against Ghani in presidential elections set for July. Former Governor Atta Muhammad Noor and former Afghan President Hamid Karzai, both Ghani’s rivals, are also attending.
The Taliban is scheduled to hold another round of peace talks with the US in Doha on February 25.
LAST YEAR, we laid out why we thought the State of the Union was a bit worthless, both on a practical level and specifically because of how PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP governs. He speaks publicly all the time, so a speech in the House chamber, while longer than most of his missives, is still not terribly unique. As always, both sides are in their corners. To review, take a look at what we wrote last year.
BUT THIS YEAR, we are seeing signs that the State of the Union will be less believable than ever.
— THE WHITE HOUSE IS TEEING UP that the message for this State of the Union is bipartisanship and working across the aisle. But, the only bipartisanship we can see is that members of both parties are increasingly opposed to TRUMP on issues he’s putting front and center.
REPUBLICANS have begun speaking out against his foreign policy, have snubbed him on his wall and are prepared to block him if he tries to build a border barrier on his own. The most recent example of bipartisanship was when the president ended the shutdown, and in that case, he adopted the Democrats’ position.
TRUMP is a president who frequently urges moderation, and yet exercises his most extreme instincts. So you might forgive people who are naturally skeptical of the White House’s message.
— THE FIRST LADY has invited a child named Joshua Trump to the SOTU, because he “has been bullied in school due to his last name.” Of course, this is sad, and bullying is awful. But, again, it’s a bit rich for the Trump White House to make bullying its issue du jour. Cryin’ Chuck, Crooked Hillary, Da Nang Dick, Pocahontas, Lyin’ Ted anyone? (“Joshua Trump’s name got him bullied. Now the sixth-grader is going to the State of the Union,”by WaPo’s Eli Rosenberg) … Full list of Trump’s guests
WHAT YOU SHOULD WATCH FOR … Any incremental movement on the border wall. Will the president alter, in any way, his position? … A call for infrastructure spending would be well received in the chamber. … Anything on USMCA, the trade deal Trump needs to pass … Revealing the location of his second summit with Kim Jong Un.
THE SPEECH will begin at 9 p.m.
MORE ON THE SOTU …
— NYT’S ANNIE KARNI and MAGGIE HABERMAN on A15: “For Trump, the State of the Union Is a Spectacle, and He Is Ready for It”: “After spending part of the weekend at Mar-a-Lago, his club in Palm Beach, Fla., working on the speech, Mr. Trump spent two hours going over it with Stephen Miller, his chief policy adviser, in the Oval Office, according to his private schedule.
“He also spent time on Monday practicing in the Map Room with a handful of senior administration officials. He was expected to do another teleprompter-and-lectern practice session there on Tuesday, with his aides giving him notes. …
“Mr. Trump, aides said, views the speech and all of the pomp and circumstance that accompany it with some reverence, and aides said he puts more time into his script because it is one instance where he usually sticks to it. For all of the president’s fabled norm-busting, there are aspects of the conventional presidency that appeal to him, none more so than standing in the hallowed halls of Congress, with all eyes on him speaking to the nation.” NYT
— NYT: “A More Honest State of the Union”: “By many measures, America is thriving. The economy is humming, and unemployment is at 4 percent. High-school graduation rates are at an all-time high, and teenage pregnancy rates are at an all-time low. The crime rate is way down, and illegal immigration has been declining for over a decade.
“And yet: Polls show that three in five Americans think the country is on the wrong track. A majority expect things to get worse in the coming year. The president’s job approval numbers are underwater; Congress’s even more so. As President Trump prepares to deliver his delayed State of the Union address on Tuesday, he might want to ask himself why people are so unsettled.” NYT
— WSJ: “Trump’s Re-Election Challenge”: “As Mr. Trump will no doubt tell Congress in his State of the Union address Tuesday evening, his main achievement has been re-energizing what had been a long but weak and fading economic expansion. As the nearby table shows, the economy nearly dipped into recession at the end of 2015 and early 2016 before recovering to its 2% Obama-era trend. …
“Mr. Trump can help guard against an economic slump in the next two years by stepping back from his 2018 burst of protectionism. First, get as good a trade deal as he can with China, declare victory, and spend the next two years monitoring how well Beijing abides by its terms. Second, withdraw the threat of car tariffs on Europe as he negotiates a trade deal with the European Union. The U.S. economy can’t grow at 3% or higher if China and Europe aren’t growing. …
“Democrats may give Mr. Trump a chance by running too far to the left, but voters may take even that risk unless Mr. Trump can point to prosperity and give more Americans more confidence in him personally. By now we’ve learned that last point is beyond our counsel.” WSJ
Good Tuesday morning. MEANWHILE … PAUL RYAN is hitting the speaking circuit. He will speak at the spring conference of the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care in San Diego on Feb. 21.
ABOUT LAST NIGHT — “Federal Reserve Chairman Powell Dines With Trump at White House,” by WSJ’s Nick Timiraos: “Mr. Powell has been a frequent target of criticism by Mr. Trump since last summer. The central bank raised interest rates four times last year, prompting the president to vent to his advisers about whether he could dismiss the Fed chairman. Mr. Trump hadn’t met with Mr. Powell since he tapped him to lead the Fed in November 2017. Mr. Powell became Fed chairman a year ago.
“Mr. Powell’s No. 2, Fed Vice Chairman Richard Clarida, also attended the dinner. The Fed said both men joined Messrs. Trump and [Treasury Secretary Steven] Mnuchin at the invitation of the president to discuss the economy. … The dinner, which occurred on Mr. Powell’s 66th birthday, lasted about 90 minutes and steak was served, according to a person familiar with the meeting.” WSJ
THE LATEST IN VIRGINIA … NYT’S JONATHAN MARTIN in Richmond: “Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax of Virginia Denounces Sexual Assault Allegation as a ‘Smear’”: Fairfax “emphatically denied on Monday a woman’s claim that he sexually assaulted her in 2004, suggesting at one point that Gov. Ralph Northam’s supporters were trying to block his ascent to the governorship at a moment when Mr. Northam is besieged by demands that he resign over charges of racism.
“‘Does anybody think it’s any coincidence that on the eve of potentially my being elevated that that’s when this smear comes out?’ Mr. Fairfax told reporters surrounding him in the rotunda of the state Capitol about whether he believes Mr. Northam, a fellow Democrat, was behind the accusation’s coming to light.
“He softened his suggestion as he left the Capitol Monday night, telling reporters he had ‘no indication’ that Mr. Northam was responsible. But in the same conversation, Mr. Fairfax hinted that Levar Stoney, the mayor of Richmond and a potential rival to Mr. Fairfax for the 2021 Democratic nomination for governor, may have played a role — praising the acumen of a reporter who inquired whether Mr. Stoney might have been responsible.
“Asked if he had any involvement in leaking the claims of assault, which first surfaced Sunday night on a right-wing website, Mr. Stoney said, ‘The insinuation is 100 percent not true, and frankly it’s offensive.’” NYT
COMING ATTRACTIONS … JAMES ARKIN: “Cornyn braces for brutal Texas reelection battle”: “Sen. John Cornyn watched with alarm when Beto O’Rourke nearly won Texas’ other Senate seat last year — alarmed that it could be him on the losing end when he’s up in 2020.
“Determined not to get caught off guard by shifting demographics and fired-up Democrats, Cornyn is revving up his reelection campaign earlier than ever after O’Rourke’s near upset of Sen. Ted Cruz. Cornyn has already stockpiled more campaign cash than any other senator: $5.8 million. He’s filling high-level campaign jobs.
“And crucially, Cornyn secured early endorsements from Cruz and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, two of the most prominent conservatives in the state, in a show of force to prevent a primary challenge. … [M]illions of new voters have flocked to the state in recent years, and reliably Republican areas in the suburbs outside Dallas and Houston — where Cornyn has racked up big margins in past elections — have shifted hard toward Democrats.” POLITICO
SMART STORY … MELANIE ZANONA: “‘They basically have nothing to do’: Trio of Republicans face life in exile”: “They’re the outcasts of Capitol Hill, personae non gratae even in their own party. Duncan Hunter, Chris Collins and Steve King have been excommunicated from the House GOP conference in the most public way possible: stripped of their committee assignments and forced to watch the legislating from the sidelines.
“Now, while the rest of their colleagues work on crafting bills, the trio of committee exiles are searching for ways to spend their time on Capitol Hill so they’re not just waiting around to vote or aimlessly roaming the hallways.
“Their options, however, are limited. They could sign up to deliver short, late-night or early morning speeches on the House floor, but those take place outside normal legislating hours and typically fade into the C-SPAN abyss. King this year has spoken twice on the floor, spending his time defending his racist comments to The New York Times. Neither Hunter nor Collins has given a floor speech this year.” POLITICO
THE INVESTIGATIONS — “New York prosecutors seek records from Trump inauguration committee: Sources,” by ABC’s John Santucci, Josh Margolin and Matthew Mosk: “Prosecutors in New York’s Southern District have subpoenaed documents from President Donald Trump’s inauguration committee, sources with direct knowledge told ABC News, indicating that even as the special counsel probe appears to be nearing an end, another investigation that could hamstring the president and his lawyers is widening. …
“Prosecutors are seeking documents and records related to the committee’s donors to the massive inauguration fund, according to sources familiar with the request. Prosecutors also are seeking information on attendees to the events surrounding the inauguration, including benefits to top-level donors such as photo opportunities with Trump, sources said.” ABC
— NYT’S MAGGIE HABERMAN and BEN PROTESS: “People familiar with the subpoena said prosecutors are interested in potential money laundering as well as election fraud, though it is possible that the prosecutors do not suspect the inaugural committee of such violations. The prosecutors cited those crimes in the subpoena simply as justification for their demand for documents, the people said.
“Only one individual was named as part of the subpoena’s demand for documents: Imaad Zuberi, a former fund-raiser for President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton who was seeking inroads with Mr. Trump, and whose company, Avenue Ventures, gave $900,000 to the inaugural committee. The subpoena also seeks documents related to his company.” NYT
— WSJ’S REBECCA BALLHAUS and REBECCA DAVIS O’BRIEN: “In the final weeks leading up to the inauguration, the fund’s deputy chairman, Richard Gates, asked several vendors if they would be willing to accept payment directly from donors, or through channels outside the inaugural committee, two people familiar with the matter said.” WSJ
NANCY COOK: “The plan to keep Trump’s taxes hidden”: “The new House Democratic majority is widely expected to test one of Donald Trump’s ultimate red lines by demanding the president’s personal tax returns — and the Trump administration has been gearing up for months to fight back hard. Trump’s Treasury Department is readying plans to drag the expected Democratic request for Trump’s past tax filings, which he has closely guarded, into a quagmire of arcane legal arguments.
“At the same time, officials plan to publicly cast the request as an overtly partisan exercise. The two-pronged plan was developed by a handful of top political appointees and lawyers inside the department — with the ultimate goal of keeping the president’s past returns private, according to four people familiar with the administration’s approach.” POLITICO
JEWISH INSIDER: “Trump to appoint Elan Carr Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism”: “Carr is a veteran of the United States Army and served as a judge in the Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corp. He was also a Deputy District Attorney in Los Angeles County. In 2014, Carr ran against Rep. Ted Lieu in an unsuccessful bid for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.” JI
FOR YOUR RADAR — “U.S. officials fear IS fighters are lying low, not defeated,” by AP’s Matthew Lee: “President Donald Trump is expected to declare near-total triumph over the Islamic State group in Syria in his State of the Union address, but U.S. defense officials are increasingly fearful that the militants are simply biding their time until the Americans leave the battlefield as planned. IS militants have lost territory since Trump’s surprise announcement in December that he was pulling U.S. forces out, but military officials warn the fighters could regroup within six months to a year after the Americans leave.
“A Defense Department watchdog report released Monday warned of just such a possibility. The Islamic State group ‘remains a potent force of battle-hardened and well-disciplined fighters that “could likely resurge in Syria’ absent continued counterterrorism pressure,”’ the report from the inspector general said.” AP
NAHAL TOOSI: “Even skeptics wonder: Does Trump deserve some foreign policy credit?”: “The authoritarian rule of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela is in peril. Afghanistan could finally see a peace deal with the Taliban and a drawdown of American troops. North Korea has stopped its nuclear tests — for now.
“President Donald Trump is expected to tout these developments as major foreign policy wins during his State of the Union address Tuesday night, rebutting critics who say Trump’s main role on the international stage has been to bully American allies and further destabilize combustible regions with rash decisions.
“But while ‘win’ may be too strong a word — each of these situations is fragile and could portend disaster — even the president’s skeptics are pondering the question: Doesn’t Trump deserve some credit? … ‘He’s a disrupter. That is leading to some very healthy debate about what are our goals,’ said Ivo Daalder, who served as President Barack Obama’s ambassador to NATO and a frequent Trump critic.” POLITICO
THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION — “Former Koch official runs EPA chemical research,” by Annie Snider: “The Trump administration has placed a former Koch Industries official in charge of research that will shape how the government regulates a class of toxic chemicals contaminating millions of Americans’ drinking water — an issue that could have major financial repercussions for his former employer.
“David Dunlap, a deputy in EPA’s Office of Research and Development, is playing a key role as the agency decides how to protect people from the pollution left behind at hundreds of military bases and factories across the country.” POLITICO
SCOOP — “Trump picks World Bank skeptic Malpass to lead institution,” by Victoria Guida and Ben White: “President Donald Trump is expected to tap Treasury Department official David Malpass as the U.S. pick to lead the World Bank, according to senior administration officials, a clear sign the administration wants to rein in the international financial institution.’” POLITICO
WHAT THE LEFT IS READING — “‘There Is Going to Be a War Within the Party. We Are Going to Lean Into It,’” by David Freedlander in POLITICO Magazine: “The Justice Democrats helped get Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez elected. Who are they after next?” POLITICO Magazine
MEDIAWATCH … HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: “CNN Cuts Ties With Two More Pro-Trump Contributors,” by Jeremy Barr: “Former elected representatives Jack Kingston and André Bauer are no longer on the network’s payroll.” Hollywood Reporter
TRANSITIONS — Jess O’Connell, former EMILY’s List executive director and DNC CEO, Emily Ruiz, former Hillary for America state director, and Tim Lim, former Bully Pulpit Interactive partner, have launched NEWCO Strategies. Its clients include Onward Together, the DNC and Korean Americans in Action.
— TRUMP ALUMNI — Annie Donaldson Talley, who served as deputy White House counsel under Don McGahn, is joining Luther Strange & Associates LLC, the Birmingham-based law firm founded by former Sen. Luther Strange (R-Ala.). Donaldson left the White House in December. She will be based in Montgomery. (hat tip: Eliana Johnson)
BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Ali Spiesman, agent at CAA. What she’s been reading: “‘The Sibling Effect’ by Jeffrey Kluger, about the complexities surrounding sibling relationships. The book provided tremendous insight about the impact of birth order and effect of life events on my relationship with my younger sister, as well as family dynamics.” Playbook Plus Q&A
BIRTHDAYS: Michael Steel, partner at Hamilton Place Strategies … Omarosa Manigault Newman is 45 … Tom Reynolds, who works in policy comms at Facebook … Clark Stevens, director of the office of government affairs and strategic partnerships at Airbnb … Jaime Harrison, DNC associate chair and counselor, is 43 (h/t Jon Haber) … Phil Kim of KKR … Drew Godinich is 28 … Ryan Velasco with Ogilvy PR … Matt Coudert is 55 … William Upton, account executive at CRC Public Relations … Shelly Palmer … POLITICO’s Glen Mazza … Gina Hyams … Jayne Chapman … Marshall Project reporter Alysia Santo … Grant Carlisle … Trevor Kincaid, an alum of Brunswick Group (h/t Andrew Bates) … Sarabeth Berman, global head of public affairs at Teach for All, is 35 (hubby tip: Evan Osnos) … Kristina Baum …
… Hannah Alani, reporter at the Post and Courier … Mike Kiernan … Vinoda Basnayake, partner at Nelson Mullins … McKinsey’s Matt Cooke … Daniel Hoff, the federal lobbyist for Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (h/t Bethany Hoff) … BuzzFeed’s Lisa Tozzi … Valerie Hamilton McMakin (h/t Kaily Grabemann) … Bret Jacobson, partner at digital firm Red Edge (h/ts wife Trice Jacobson and Laura Whitefield) … Lynsey Humphrey … Jordan Wilson … Nicole Levy … Armstrong Williams is 57 … Jillian Davidson, SVP and state research director at America Rising, is 3-0 … Ralph Z. Hallow of the Washington Times … Edelman’s Ashley Whitlock … former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm is 6-0 (h/t Mitchell Rivard) … Margaret Franklin … Rachel Swartz … Rizwan Asghar … Bob Gibson … Phyllis Watt Jordan … Richard Parker (h/t Ashley Chang) … Andy Baldwin … Lisa Kohnke … Jane Bryant Quinn is 8-0 (h/t AP)
Speaking at FX’s Television Critics Association press event, Waititi denied the rumours that have been circling since last year.
“For me, those are James (Gunn)’s films,” Deadline reports him as saying. “Going into something like that with his stamp all over his films, would be like going into someone’s house and saying ‘Hey, I’m your new dad, and this is how we make peanut butter sandwiches now.’
“It feels kind of awkward.”
“It feels kind of awkward.”
The Guardians franchise has been in something of a limbo since last summer, when previous writer/director James Gunn was fired by Disney after people dug up his old offensive tweets.
The firing still stands, though, and — despite Chris Pratt’s recent promise that a third film will happen — there is still no director attached to the project.
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Facebook is getting serious about blockchain and cryptocurrency.
Image: Omar Marques/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Facebook is investing big in blockchain technology.
The social media giant has acquired four key people behind blockchain startup Chainspace and is investing considerable efforts and resources into blockchain tech, a source familiar with the company’s plans told Mashable (Cheddar first broke the story late Monday).
Chainspace, self-described as a “planetary scale smart contracts platform,” recently posted a note on its website, announcing that the team is “moving on to something new.”
“Chainspace code and documentation will still be open source, and all previously published academic work remains available,” the note says.
Meanwhile, some of the key people behind Chainspace have already changed their LinkedIn profiles, indicating they work for Facebook now. George Danezis, Chainspace co-founder, is now listed on LinkedIn as “Blockchain researcher” at Facebook, as of February 2019. Co-founders Shehar Bano and Alberto Sonnino have done the same.
Though the news hasn’t been officially announced yet, several folks from Chainspace have already made it publicly known that they’re now working at Facebook.
Image: Stan Schroeder/Linkedin
Chainspace is a decentralized application platform, somewhat similar to Ethereum, but still in early stages of development (read the project’s whitepaper here). The startup was in the process of raising a seed funding round to the tune of $2.5 to $3 million and was near that goal when key members of the team got hired by Facebook. The company was previously backed by Lemniscap, MW Partners and KR1, among others.
As for Facebook, the company has publicly stated its interest in blockchain on several occasions, most notably in May 2018, when former Messenger lead David Marcus announced he’s leaving that group to lead a new group “to explore how to best leverage Blockchain across Facebook, starting from scratch.” My source tells me the former Chainspace employees are joining this team. In December 2018, Bloomberg reported that Facebook is working on a cryptocurrency that will let users of its messaging service WhatsApp send and receive money.
A Facebook spokesperson told Cheddar that the company hasn’t acquired Chainspace’s tech, only the talent.
I’ve asked Facebook about the acqui-hire and its blockchain-related efforts and will update this article when I hear from them.
Seven teenagers walked past a Ford Fusion car parked outside a court house in Bishop Street, Londonderry, Northern Ireland, at 7.39pm on January 19.
CCTV footage captured the group laughing and joking as they walked down the street and out of vision.
Thirty minutes later, the same CCTV camera shows the car exploding in a ball of flames, the sound wave ricocheting throughout the small city nestled in the valley of the River Foyle, causing the windows and doors in houses two miles away to tremble.
Rewind the CCTV footage 46 minutes, and the car can be seen being driven into the street and parked before a young man wearing a hooded sweatshirt gets out and runs away.
Police efforts to investigate the attack in the following days were hindered by continued security alerts and hoax bomb threats. Nonetheless, the city’s chief police officer was sure who was responsible – the “New Irish Republican Army”.
International journalists were already scrambling to the city to report and analyse the significance of the car bombing.
The level of interest almost indicated that the attack was something new, but it wasn’t.
Since 2009, organisations who want to continue the Irish republican tradition of “armed struggle” against British rule have claimed responsibility for a string of killings of British soldiers, policemen, and prison officers.
What journalists wanted to know was to what extent their activity now relates to the political drama of Brexit unfolding in London.
Northern Ireland, like Scotland, voted against Brexit in the June 2016 referendum , while Wales and England wanted to leave the bloc.
Since the vote, people in Northern Ireland have found themselves in front of TV cameras more than any time since a peace agreement ended 30 years of sectarian violence in 1998.
Like the rest of the community, we’re absolutely disgusted by what has happened here. I would love to hear someone try to explain why they did what they did in our busy city centre with lots of people about. They have heard the outrage of the community.
Elisha McCallion, Sinn Fein MP
That conflict pitted pro-British mostly Protestant unionists dedicated to retaining Northern Ireland’s place in the UK against Irish nationalists, mainly Catholic, who wanted to unite with the Republic of Ireland.
Peace was reached when the two blocs agreed to share power, and allow the constitutional future of the Province to be decided by popular vote when the right time came.
It was facilitated by the UK and Republic of Ireland, both EU member states, allowing their governments to remove trade and security barriers along the controversial border that reminds nationalists that the island of Ireland is still divided into two separate countries.
Britain’s withdrawal from the EU threatens to make that border more significant and more visible.
Justifiably, the media has been quick to point out the combustibility of the situation, and hawkish in spotting any signs that stability in the Province might be deteriorating.
But suggestions that hardline Irish republicans intent on using force to achieve their goals are in some way motivated by Brexit is perceived almost as an insult by those paramilitaries who pride themselves on their ideological purity.
The scene of a suspected car bomb is seen in Londonderry, Northern Ireland January 20, 2019 [Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters]
Infrastructure or none, the border that divides Ireland exists, and for them, it’s a symbol of occupation.
The New IRA said as much when it eventually took responsibility for the Derry car bomb.
“All this talk of Brexit, hard borders, soft borders, has no bearing on our actions and the IRA won’t be going anywhere,” its statement read.
Republican hardliners who believe Sinn Fein has sold out to the British government have peeled away from mainstream republicanism at various stages of the peace process.
In 2012, a collection of these dissident groups joined forces and rebranded themselves simply, “the IRA”.
For everyone else, they became known as “the new IRA”.
Quite systematically, British intelligence has set about dismantling this group with surveillance and informers.
In the last seven years they’ve identified a number of arms dumps and made arrests that have crippled the new IRA, everywhere but Derry.
A motorist makes their way North along the old Belfast to Dublin road on the Irish border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic close to the town of Newry, Northern Ireland [File: Peter Morrison/AP]
According to Allison Morris, security correspondent for the Irish News, Derry became a blackspot in the security services efforts to thwart dissident republican violence.
As such, the threat there hasn’t just grown, but evolved.
“Elsewhere it’s just disenfranchised former members of the Provisional IRA, but that’s not the case in Derry. These are new recruits, people who were too young to be involved in the conflict,” she said.
That growth has seen Derry become something of an ideological battleground between the dissidents and Sinn Fein to win the hearts and minds of young working class people in nationalist housing estates.
Where the dissidents have prevailed, violence has often followed.
Last summer, the new IRA was widely blamed for orchestrating sectarian rioting during the annual Protestant marching season.
For six nights in a row, the city’s only Protestant housing estate to the west of the River Foyle was pelted with petrol bombs.
Some of the most trenchant condemnation of last month’s car bomb came from the local Sinn Fein Member of Parliament, Elisha McCallion.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, she said: “Like the rest of the community, we’re absolutely disgusted by what has happened here … I would love to hear someone try to explain why they did what they did on Saturday night in our busy city centre with lots of people about… they have heard the outrage of the community.”
But for dissidents, this just reinforces their view that Sinn Fein has betrayed republicanism.
If it hadn’t been for armed struggle, Martin McGuinness would have been a butcher and Gerry Adams would have been pulling pints in a bar on the Falls Road. For them to condemn young republicans now is the height of hypocrisy.
Packy Carty, member of the dissident republican party Saoradh
Packy Carty is a senior member of the dissident republican party Saoradh.
The group is accused of having formal links to the new IRA, and five of its members were arrested after last month’s bombing – all have been released.
It denies those associations, and saves its most stinging criticism for Sinn Fein, who Carty doesn’t regard as legitimate republicans.
“If it hadn’t been for armed struggle, Martin McGuinness would have been a butcher and Gerry Adams would have been pulling pints in a bar on the Falls Road,” he said. “For them to condemn young republicans now is the height of hypocrisy.”
A soldier deploys a mechanical bomb defuser at the scene of a suspected car bomb in Londonderry, Northern Ireland January 20, 2019 [Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters]
Not all of those who disagree with Sinn Fein’s politics would go as far as excusing or condoning continued violence.
In a lengthy blogpost, former Provisional IRA member and Sinn Fein critic Anthony McIntyre wrote: “It seems unfathomable that there remain republicans so divorced from the concept of rights other than their own, that they would still consider detonating a car bomb in a population centre.
“If the Provisional IRA couldn’t succeed, and their campaign was an unmitigated failure, then what chance have these make-believe IRAs got?”
Ultimately this is the point, and it strikes at the heart of the differences between Sinn Fein’s pursuit of a united Ireland and the tactics of dissident republicans.
Brexit might not matter to the hardliners, but it has given Sinn Fein the political momentum to push for a public vote on Northern Ireland’s future.
SOURCES: The Pelicans want Ball, Kuzma, Ingram, Rondo, Beasley, Stephenson, 4 first round picks, 4 second round picks, 3 bottles of red wine from LeBron’s cellar, 3 bottles of white, 2 letters from the HOLLYWOOD sign, and 1 of Adam Levine’s nipples
so how many first-round picks do the Pelicans actually want from the Lakers? https://t.co/FZojY9wWJX
No Pressure at All
Nate Jones @JonesOnTheNBA
You push too hard when you don’t have leverage and now you’ve introduced ego and pride to the mix. Honestly, the Pelicans aren’t a franchise that was selling tickets and getting ratings with or without Davis. There’s ZERO pressure for them to get something done.
SOURCES: The Pelicans want Ball, Kuzma, Ingram, Rondo, Beasley, Stephenson, 4 first round picks, 4 second round picks, 3 bottles of red wine from LeBron’s cellar, 3 bottles of white, 2 letters from the HOLLYWOOD sign, and 1 of Adam Levine’s nipples
so how many first-round picks do the Pelicans actually want from the Lakers? https://t.co/FZojY9wWJX
No Pressure at All
Nate Jones @JonesOnTheNBA
You push too hard when you don’t have leverage and now you’ve introduced ego and pride to the mix. Honestly, the Pelicans aren’t a franchise that was selling tickets and getting ratings with or without Davis. There’s ZERO pressure for them to get something done.
SOURCES: The Pelicans want Ball, Kuzma, Ingram, Rondo, Beasley, Stephenson, 4 first round picks, 4 second round picks, 3 bottles of red wine from LeBron’s cellar, 3 bottles of white, 2 letters from the HOLLYWOOD sign, and 1 of Adam Levine’s nipples
so how many first-round picks do the Pelicans actually want from the Lakers? https://t.co/FZojY9wWJX
No Pressure at All
Nate Jones @JonesOnTheNBA
You push too hard when you don’t have leverage and now you’ve introduced ego and pride to the mix. Honestly, the Pelicans aren’t a franchise that was selling tickets and getting ratings with or without Davis. There’s ZERO pressure for them to get something done.
SOURCES: The Pelicans want Ball, Kuzma, Ingram, Rondo, Beasley, Stephenson, 4 first round picks, 4 second round picks, 3 bottles of red wine from LeBron’s cellar, 3 bottles of white, 2 letters from the HOLLYWOOD sign, and 1 of Adam Levine’s nipples
so how many first-round picks do the Pelicans actually want from the Lakers? https://t.co/FZojY9wWJX
No Pressure at All
Nate Jones @JonesOnTheNBA
You push too hard when you don’t have leverage and now you’ve introduced ego and pride to the mix. Honestly, the Pelicans aren’t a franchise that was selling tickets and getting ratings with or without Davis. There’s ZERO pressure for them to get something done.
By Laura Byager
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