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Wednesday, 27 April 2011

The Big Apple's GAA revolution

from John Riordan in New York

WHEN New York’s minor football team take on Roscommon in Croke Park on Saturday, it will mark the second year in a row that an all-American born 15 will take to the field in for a championship clash.

It’s part of a new branch of player development which is being actively encouraged by the GAA as evidenced by the presence of Donegal-born development officer Simon Gillespie who is approaching the completion of his first full year in the Big Apple.

The 25-year-old Ballyshannon native whose home club is Aodh Ruadh studied PE teaching at the University of Limerick before taking a masters in history. He did his undergraduate dissertation on the negative affects that alcohol had on participation in the GAA in the 18 to 21-year-old age bracket and did his masters thesis on the relationship between the catholic church and the GAA during its formative years.

So it’s fair to say, the Association runs deep for Gillespie.

“The first year has been a tremendous learning experience for me,” he told me a couple of weeks ago.

“Just getting around the Tri-State area (New Jersey, Connecticut and New York) where our county board is located is a task in itself. Our county board catchment area is just smaller than the size of Ireland so with clubs all over the location it’s a pretty big task to coordinate such a scattered number of clubs.

“Every day is different to the next. A lot of time is spent coordinating and administering to the various schedules and competitions and making sure there isn’t a crossover with such a limited number of venues in place. Recording our numbers has become a huge task trying to approximate how many kids are actually playing our games over here.

“After that we have anything up to six county board or county management meetings and seven county teams to try and prepare to compete against Irish teams. The days are so different - some days I could be coordinating an underage blitz and the next constructing a template registration site for our boards.”

Of all the obstacles you’d imagine Gillespie runs into, he says organising playing facilities is the single biggest problem.

“We have so many clubs without their own grounds that to develop a sustainable youth program into adult level is very difficult. The opening of the Rockland GAA fields has been a tremendous asset to the game over here and it really is a credit to the Rockland Field Development Committee that the grounds are now the centre of underage activity in New York.”

But he is also keen to open up new markets through the highschool system in the area.

“This year we are piloting a high schools girls programme in four schools and it seems to be getting a good response but developing that link into the youth and senior ladies board will present a huge challenge.”

With the minors travelling to Ireland this weekend and the senior team hosting Roscommon in the Bronx on Sunday, May 1, Gillespie insists that the ultimate goal is for a New York team to be able to compete with the top teams back in Ireland.

“Like everywhere we are looking to increase the number of clubs and players playing our game. In particular we are looking to develop our facilities and reach a stage where all our clubs can have regular access to local facilities so they can properly develop they own programmes.

“There was a general feeling of joy and surprise throughout the community over here when we heard our minors had been given the privilege of playing in Croke Park and being the curtain raiser to the Division 3 and 4 finals. We are delighted about the prospect of our boys on centre stage and many people see this as the highlight of our minor board’s existence. We know the boys have put a tremendous effort into training over the last few months and we’re sure they will do us proud against Roscommon.”
Source: http://feeds.examiner.ie/~r/iesportsblog/~3/5fYkGosGOBI/post.aspx
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Egyptian gas exports to Jordan, Israel halted after blast

A massive blast at a gas terminal near Egypt's border with Israel has leapt huge flames into the air and forced the shutdown of the pipeline. The explosion targeted the al-Sabil terminal to the west of the town of El-Arish on Wednesday morning, the Associated Press reported.

Valves controlling the flow of gas to neighboring Jordan had been shut down as a result of the blast, according to Egyptian officials.

© 2011 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)

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Source: http://www1.albawaba.com/main-headlines/egyptian-gas-exports-jordan-israel-halted-after-blast
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Israeli worshipper killed in West Bank shooting attack

At least one Israeli worshipper died and two were hurt in a shooting attack at a shrine in the West Bank city of Nablus on Sunday, the Israeli army said.

The shooting by Palestinians occurred before dawn at a site known as Joseph's Tomb, the army said.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews frequently defy a military ban on entering the shrine that is in Palestinian controlled territory.

According to AFP, Palestinian witnesses said the army had sealed off the area and were conducting searches.

© 2011 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)

Source: http://www1.albawaba.com/main-headlines/israeli-worshipper-killed-west-bank-shooting-attack
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Lebanese Secularism: The Difference is in Moral Values, and the Courage to Live by Them

By Joe M. TEKLI ? a Lebanese-Canadian academic and researcher in computer science engineering, Dr. Tekli is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the Institute of Computer Science and Statistics, University of Sao Paulo (USP), Brazil.Amidst the recent protests to end sectarianism in Lebanon, some might take the opportunity to lump all Lebanese politicians together, arguing: ?They?re all sectarian! They?re all corrupt! They all participated in the Lebanese religious civil war! All of them should walk out!?In light of Lebanon?s turbulent past, and its history of flagrant corruption and sleazy political maneuvering, such statements might seem more than adequate in describing most current political figures.Nonetheless, it would be historically unjust to blame everyone, without revising certain historical facts. While talk of ending sectarianism is relatively easy, nonetheless, concrete action on the ground remains the ultimate test. How should we proceed to end sectarian rule? Is it enough to abolish the current political system? I find it difficult to imagine how a population could become less sectarian overnight, by simply changing some electoral and/or administrative laws. While amending the law is a must, and an absolute crucial step toward social and political equality, nonetheless, secularism is rather a state of mind, a daily behavior, the result of an ongoing social education, and a way of life! The proof resides within the Lebanese population itself. Despite the country?s fierce religious and sectarian tensions, especially throughout the 30 years of civil (and regional) war in Lebanon, however certain political groups and leaders have been able to retain their moral principles and secular ideologies throughout the most difficult times.A prominent example would be the late Raymond Iddé, a nationalist and ideological Lebanese politician who so vigorously opposed the partitioning of Lebanon into separate ethnic and sectarian states, when most Lebanese leaders and political parties were (consciously or indirectly) contributing to what would be later known as the infamous Kissinger ?segregation? Plan (after the United States Secretary of State Henry Kissinger). In fact, when the Lebanese Civil War broke out in 1975, Eddé was one of the few major Christian politicians to be living in a predominantly Muslim quarter of West Beirut. Eddé?s political stance and activism as an outspoken believer in coexistence between Christians and Muslims, was deemed ?idealist? and ?uncompromising?, and thus outraged most Christian and Muslim politicians of his era. Eddé was consequently forced to leave Beirut to Paris (where he would remain until his death in the year 2000), after three consecutive attempts on his life in Lebanon in 1976.Other Lebanese political parties founded on secular grounds, and encompassing members of all Lebanese sects and religions, would be the Lebanese Communist Party and the Syrian Social Nationalist Party. These parties remain secular to date, despite their early involvement in the Lebanese civil war as allies to the PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization) and Lebanese Muslim front. Another example emphasizing the power of positive action, as a result of a sincere belief in basic moral values and human equality would be Major General Michel Aoun. Many young Lebanese might know Aoun as a prominent Christian politician. Nonetheless, as he so ardently stated throughout the years, he views himself as ?a Lebanese statesman, not a Christian leader?. The CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) World Fact-book reports, published in the United States? Library of Congress (as of December 1987) are a testimony to this person?s long term belief and tangible actions toward an integrated and non-sectarian society: ?[?] The commander of the Lebanese Army in July 1987 was Major General Michel Awn, who was appointed in June 1984 after long negotiations in the national unity government of Prime Minister Rashid Karami [?]. Although the majority of Christian (Lebanese Army) officers supported the Christian (Phalanges & Lebanese forces) militia, Aoun stayed aloof from factional politics during the Civil War and earned a reputation for neutrality and loyalty to the government. During the war, he was appointed to a military committee charged with rebuilding the army. Aoun strongly advocated the need for an integrated, nonsectarian army. In 1977 he assembled a group of army officers and soldiers from different religious groups who had not participated in the sectarian fighting and founded the Eighth Brigade, which, under his command, suffered few defections. In rising to the position of commander in chief, Aoun succeeded his old rival, Major General Tannus [?]. Unlike Aoun, Tannus had favored the creation of four separate sectarian armies: Christian, Sunni, Shia, and Druze [?]?. While it might sound outrageous at the moment, yet talks of separate armies and separate states, based on ethnic and/or sectarian identity, was main stream during those times. Hence, those few voices advocating unity, integration, and secularism such as Iddé and Aoun would have sounded out of the box!While many young Lebanese might not be aware of certain facts (since they were not alive) during the dark times of the Lebanese civil war (and since the current sectarian system has failed to even provide a unified historical record covering the events of the past 30 years), nonetheless, it would seem necessary to set the record straight. For the sake of historical authenticity, it ought to be known that some prominent Lebanese figures and movements were, and some are still actively engaged in fighting religious segregation, and are promoting equality and mutual respect, not only in uttering words, but in direct and concrete daily action.As a firm believer in a secular Lebanese society, I only hope the young Lebanese secular activists, the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), the Lebanese Communist Party, the Syrian Nationalist-Socialist Party, as well as other secular fractions of the Lebanese society, would combine forces in defining a clear and comprehensive road map toward amending the current Lebanese system of governance. One has to keep in mind that it won?t be achieved overnight, but that it rather requires long term preparation, education, and devotion. Commenting on the on the role of social media in the recent uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa, Canadian writer and social scholar Malcolm Gladwell responded: ?My question is not whether you can reach a person in 5 seconds, but whether you have done the 20 years of preparation work necessary to build a coherent movement? For that is how successful revolutions are done?. The exact same question applies to the Lebanese secular movement today?

Source: http://www.tayyar.org/Tayyar/News/PoliticalNews/en-US/Lebanese-Secularism-ed-6547568.htm

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