Hold the front page! Big Gerry is about to be elected in Louth after bouncing down to take advantage of the deteriorating situation in the republic. The rest of the political opportunists and scheming liars in the south await him in the corridors of avarice. At the same time the gang of northern Stormonteers have come up with a cunning plan to make sure that the cuts being inflicted on the lumpen proletariat, do not affect the politicians themselves.
The Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead, (Adams complained but, did not refuse the title from the Queen of England otherwise he could not have legally resigned as a British MP nor stood for election in Louth) has yet again smiled and lied through his expensive tombstones and has pounded (euro-ed) the beat, telling anyone who he could grip, how genuine he is and how good a republican he is. He will pose for a photo with every man; woman and child in Dundalk if he has to.
The alternative would be to go away in ignominy and learn to face and live with himself. He is not good at going away you know, so he will work 24 hours a day to avoid facing who and what he really is and will instead do his utmost to increase the fortunes of his party in the south.
He will talk a wee bit about a "United Ireland" but, not so much as to irritate Prime (First) Minister Peter Robinson and the other liars and thieves up in the north. It will be the usual pathetic utterances of the "North of Ireland" or, "N.I Water". Not referring to Northern Ireland or British minister Conor Murphy's Northern Ireland Water Department is about as republican as it gets. Semantics replaced ideology and principles a long time ago. Gerry is no different from any of the other politicians in his own or other parties in Ireland. They all play the same grubby little game.
Meanwhile up in Stormont the rumours of a reduction in the number of MLA's has sent shock waves through the ranks of the political sub-contractors for the British Government. The northern British MLA'S have decided to yet again agree and pretend that there is disagreement between the parties and have suddenly rushed to appear on TV and radio to feign heated arguments. The idea is to now cynically create a false "Opposition" in Stormont.
The 108 leeches that have sucked every financial benefit out of their positions at Stormont are terrified of a reduction in MLA posts so they have come up with the idea to pretend that there is a split in the camp and that Stormont needs an opposition. That way the DUP/Sinn Fein marriage can continue as normal and some of the other lesser parties and individuals can plead with the British paymaster to keep their MLA jobs and more importantly, their huge salaries, in a brand new opposition. It's really hard to get a pig to move away from the trough.
The vulgar trash and thieving corner boys and girls that have crawled out from under rocks to fight and claw their way into political careers across this island are beyond shame. The electoral strength of the parties may vary and some of the faces will change but, besides that, it will be business as usual.
Too many free dinners and free holidays have erased any sense of social responsibility. Mortgages must be paid to the uber-criminals in the banks. They have learned to leave spare seats at the black-tie free dinners for the embedded media. So the bankers; their political slaves and the fawning journalists are all in the same very exclusive club. No one wants to rock the boat or to lose their privileged lifestyles.
Best to keep the electorate on both sides of the border on it's toes with higher food prices, unemployment, home repossessions, benefit cuts and constant worry of how to provide the basics for their families. That will keep them too busy to focus on the gangsters in the banks and the liars in political office whose greed created this mess in the first place.
The media will play their part and make programmes about benefit fraud and working class tax evasion to help keep the peoples heads spinning. They will blame the poor and the result will be that the thieves who stole all the money will keep their ill-gotten gains. The most vulnerable in society will suffer most from this totally manufactured "recession" and will endure the further humiliation of having to replace what was stolen from their own already reduced incomes.
These individuals have no ability to feel empathy or guilt for what they continue to do to Ireland and her people but, just for the record I will say it anyway...... Shame, shame, shame!
Friday 25 February 2011
Wednesday 17 March 2010
Beannachtai la le Padraig
Due to the total lack of interest in Paddy's Day and the underlying racism and meanness of spirit shown by ALL the political parties and ALL the Northern Ireland/British media, I'm in Dublin to see what they make of it there. Have a good 'un anyways.
Saturday 13 March 2010
Send Off The Clowns.
Last week I was browsing through the usual suspect’s media releases and absorbing all they had to say about this and that regarding life in this wee place. I suddenly stopped reading and listened as my inner dialogue whispered, “They will always push their own personal agendas and interpret every story to suit their own view and model of the world and they will only change horses and opinions when a better stable offers richer rewards. They pretend to argue with each other until that better offer comes along”.
That to me was and is a simple truth that the daily landfill of newspaper articles and electronic media try to trick us out of thinking about. The career politicians of all hues and their attached, scavenging correspondents feed the media a litany of bullshit that is refined and then fed back to the public. It is designed to make them look clever and good. They pretend sometimes to verbally attack each other and have feigned disagreements in a collective attempt to keep the man and women on the street interested but, separated from each other. Politicians and all who feed and swim with them are essentially professional liars. We all know this deep down but, they continually bombard us into giving them attention.
For politicians it all begins with the need for attention. They convince themselves very early on in life that what they think is important. This then deteriorates into a belief that what they say is important also and should be listened to and believed. Finally, they push and shove themselves shamelessly into the limelight until eventually the majority of them settle into an established party of other politicians that they can get along with. During this entire process they will pronounce at every conceivable opportunity how altruistic they are and how humbled they are to serve the public. This of course is the exact opposite of the truth. The only truth about politicians is that they are all consummate liars.
The media are more than happy to play along with this facade. Sometimes it's difficult to distinguish between the politician and the reporter. They are shape-changers depending on the salary. The trough is big enough for them all to snort some swill from. They feed each other and then feed us whatever suits them each day. They all pay mortgages and depend on this process for all their needs so it is imperative that they keep us interested in these liars and their lies. They all play the game. A rough interview here and an easy ride there; a political crisis here and an historic agreement there, it keeps them in free meals and tries to keep the hamsters on the big wheel.
I’m sick of it now. It’s not even funny any more. I used to get a laugh at the lies and the acting. It doesn’t even provide that any more. They have all settled into being the establishment now and they will stick together behind the doors of Stormont to make sure that they keep all the privileges they now have. It’s pure greed and it sickens me and makes my stomach turn. The money grabbers and the self-obsessed tricksters have taken control of the madhouse and they will fight tooth and nail to stay in control of it.
The fact that this means rewarding themselves with inflated salaries to match their inflated egos is a minor detail to them. Of paramount importance is to keep the ordinary decent people confused and never too far from poverty. If people start to look too closely at them or maybe don’t intend to vote for Stormont, they can threaten to implement water charges like they did last time. Blackmailing the poor to vote for Stormont or pay cash for their water was a new low.
It’s an exclusive club and membership is offered only to those who will play the game. New Sinn Fein; DUP, SDLP, UUP, Alliance and the individual wannabes are all up to their necks in a collaborative con trick. BBC; UTV, Belfast Telegraph, Irish News, Andersonstown News and all the pseudo journalists - all liars. Some create the lies and some are cheerleaders and promoters for the liars but, they are all basically the same gang.
There is not a truthful or honest journalist in this country today that is employed by any section of the established media. Some will dig and rant about some particular story or other but, they are just pushing their own personal agendas against someone they want to either promote or destroy. If they were genuinely truthful or honest, they would be unemployed because the established media does not employ those who are honest or truthful.
So for me the circus is full of clowns that hide a deep and menacing negativity behind the painted smiles. I have never understood what kind of person would want to be a clown or what the true motivation for such a career would be. Clowns have always made me uncomfortable in a skin crawling kind of way. Politicians and clowns have a lot more in common than hiding behind grotesque greasepaint to confuse us. They are both the opposite of what they try to portray and neither of them are funny.
That to me was and is a simple truth that the daily landfill of newspaper articles and electronic media try to trick us out of thinking about. The career politicians of all hues and their attached, scavenging correspondents feed the media a litany of bullshit that is refined and then fed back to the public. It is designed to make them look clever and good. They pretend sometimes to verbally attack each other and have feigned disagreements in a collective attempt to keep the man and women on the street interested but, separated from each other. Politicians and all who feed and swim with them are essentially professional liars. We all know this deep down but, they continually bombard us into giving them attention.
For politicians it all begins with the need for attention. They convince themselves very early on in life that what they think is important. This then deteriorates into a belief that what they say is important also and should be listened to and believed. Finally, they push and shove themselves shamelessly into the limelight until eventually the majority of them settle into an established party of other politicians that they can get along with. During this entire process they will pronounce at every conceivable opportunity how altruistic they are and how humbled they are to serve the public. This of course is the exact opposite of the truth. The only truth about politicians is that they are all consummate liars.
The media are more than happy to play along with this facade. Sometimes it's difficult to distinguish between the politician and the reporter. They are shape-changers depending on the salary. The trough is big enough for them all to snort some swill from. They feed each other and then feed us whatever suits them each day. They all pay mortgages and depend on this process for all their needs so it is imperative that they keep us interested in these liars and their lies. They all play the game. A rough interview here and an easy ride there; a political crisis here and an historic agreement there, it keeps them in free meals and tries to keep the hamsters on the big wheel.
I’m sick of it now. It’s not even funny any more. I used to get a laugh at the lies and the acting. It doesn’t even provide that any more. They have all settled into being the establishment now and they will stick together behind the doors of Stormont to make sure that they keep all the privileges they now have. It’s pure greed and it sickens me and makes my stomach turn. The money grabbers and the self-obsessed tricksters have taken control of the madhouse and they will fight tooth and nail to stay in control of it.
The fact that this means rewarding themselves with inflated salaries to match their inflated egos is a minor detail to them. Of paramount importance is to keep the ordinary decent people confused and never too far from poverty. If people start to look too closely at them or maybe don’t intend to vote for Stormont, they can threaten to implement water charges like they did last time. Blackmailing the poor to vote for Stormont or pay cash for their water was a new low.
It’s an exclusive club and membership is offered only to those who will play the game. New Sinn Fein; DUP, SDLP, UUP, Alliance and the individual wannabes are all up to their necks in a collaborative con trick. BBC; UTV, Belfast Telegraph, Irish News, Andersonstown News and all the pseudo journalists - all liars. Some create the lies and some are cheerleaders and promoters for the liars but, they are all basically the same gang.
There is not a truthful or honest journalist in this country today that is employed by any section of the established media. Some will dig and rant about some particular story or other but, they are just pushing their own personal agendas against someone they want to either promote or destroy. If they were genuinely truthful or honest, they would be unemployed because the established media does not employ those who are honest or truthful.
So for me the circus is full of clowns that hide a deep and menacing negativity behind the painted smiles. I have never understood what kind of person would want to be a clown or what the true motivation for such a career would be. Clowns have always made me uncomfortable in a skin crawling kind of way. Politicians and clowns have a lot more in common than hiding behind grotesque greasepaint to confuse us. They are both the opposite of what they try to portray and neither of them are funny.
Tuesday 2 March 2010
Ode to Big Ian
Good riddance Big Ian
You were always a bane
No more need be said
So soon you’ll be dead
You were always a bane
No more need be said
So soon you’ll be dead
Saint Patrick's Day Is Here Again!
And so we are into March again and I for one am all excited about the huge party and celebrations planned by Belfast City Council, (BCC) for Saint Patrick’s Day. This year BCC have exceeded even my wildest dreams with a packed programme of Celtic-themed events that the whole family can enjoy.
The big day begins with a magnificent, colourful parade through the city with floats depicting all aspects of Irish culture and history. Bands will play traditional Irish music as they wind their way through the city streets to Sailortown, (Cathedral Quarter), where Irish legends, The Chieftains will headline a free concert for all the people of the city. Other acts booked to perform are The O’Toole School of Irish Dancing and the Irish Women’s Holy Choir. It should be an amazing day, show-casing all that is positive and good about our Irish culture.
BCC have even offered to remove the Union Jack from Belfast's city hall for the day, in a gesture of friendship and mutual respect. Credit where credit is due, I say.
The celebrations of the biggest day in Ireland’s calendar will begin at midday and will continue on into the wee small hours so get plenty of sleep the night before because, both BBC and UTV will cover the entire event live and will show highlights on both channels later that evening. I’m sure you will want to see yourself and your delighted kids on television, enjoying the wonderful family day of fun and frolic.
Um, er, um, er, I may have got a tiny bit mixed up in some of the details of my previous paragraphs. Belfast City Council have booked a 19 year old hip hop rapper from London as the star act. His speciality (whoever he is) is the Grime form of rap, so that should be sort of, er, good. A never-before heard of Romanian band will also perform a form of music that I am sure we will all appreciate also. It's good to be inclusive and exposed to new things, so that's, um, good too.
The Union Jack will continue to fly illegally on the big day but, Irish tricolours are prohibited at the parade as are Irish shirts or hats or anything else that might infer anything Irish. The world-wide tradition of celebrating Irishness on Saint Patrick's Day will not be the case in this part of Ireland. Instead, the theme has been changed to "Spring" and there is a promise of lots of spring flowers and "Huge Butterflies" in the carnival parade.
There will also be a patronising concert at the Waterfront Hall that evening for those that know their place and know how to behave. These people would be outraged to the point of tutting or possibly writing a letter of complaint to the Daily Trumpet, if they didn’t get at least a free gig that night, away from the unwashed riff raff.
The PSNI have promised to keep to their tradition of providing an annual riot in the Holy Lands, where they will arrive heavy-handed in body armour and with attack-dogs to force Irish students off the streets. No loud Irish music or celebration of any kind will be tolerated in their own area and the students will be blamed for being drunk and noisy in the first place.
(Hmmm? I wonder why the drunken hoards that line the public route and leave the streets knee deep in urine; vomit, discarded food and packaging; condoms, used syringes, and empty alcohol cans and bottles every year on the Twelfth of July, never face this treatment? The PSNI are happy to stand among them to chat and watch as the Glorious Twelfth is celebrated with deafening music and a certain form of dancing all day and into the night. They will stand and warm their hands at the flaming bonfires topped with Irish tricolours and which pollute the air and destroy the roads and everything else they touch. The full resources of BCC are brought to bear to clean it all up very quickly, as soon as the drunks fall into bed. Maybe if the Irish students left their own area; rioted a bit more ferociously and caused lots more damage, then they would be appeased with grants and free fireworks from the city council too)!
So I hope that clears up the few, slight discrepancies I may have made initially. I am sure we will all still feel great at the free and unfettered expression of our national identity on Ireland’s biggest day.
By-the-way, the application date has now passed for those artists wishing to apply to Belfast City Councils', Good Relations Partnership, for their `Irish History and Heritage` artwork project.
The council had invited artists to submit expressions of interest in the project. The completed artwork will be displayed this coming July, in Belfast City Hall, which reopened last October after an £11 million refurbishment programme.
While the theme of the new art work is `Irish History and Heritage`, the council stressed that it is open to interpretation and not prescriptive. "The budget for this commission is £20,000, which is inclusive of all fees and expenses, VAT, insurance, travel costs and cost of fabrication and installation". Did I mention the £11 million spent on the refurbishment?
Councillor Maire Hendron, (Alliance Party) Chairman, (Surely they meant Chairperson?) of Belfast City Council`s Good Relations Partnership, gushed enthusiastically, “I`m excited about this commission for a new piece of art for our wonderful building. This art work will contribute to making people feel this is truly a City Hall for all.”
So if you’re an Irish artist who can cut costs by creating your masterpiece from empty toilet-roll tubes and sticky-back plastic, in your back garden shed and be very careful not to cut yourself because you can’t afford insurance, then this might be for you. Utilising other bits and bobs that you might find lying around will also reduce costs.
You will have to limit the scale of the piece, due to tax and VAT and the cost of fabrication of your work. You will also need to take into account the cost of buying two unemployed and thirsty mates a few pints. They can help you lessen the travel costs of towing your work to the city hall and also to help nail it to one of the walls of the magnificent building before connecting and running the electric cable to a safe distance away, behind something concrete, before switching it on. Don't worry though - no one is expecting anything as grand as The Angel of the North!
After all that, you might actually have a few quid left for yourself. It will probably be best if there is nothing really too overtly Irish about the work so that it can blend in nicely with the UDR stained-glass windows and general British decor throughout. I can't wait to see the finished piece in it's highly visible position.
Finally on BCC, (for now) - Congratulations to Andersonstown News, (ATN) and North Belfast News, (NBN) for pointing out that BCC had been insulting the queen of England by flying the Union Jack upside down! A brand new flag was quickly turned the right way up and now flies in the face of us all just as illegally but, more correctly, than it did before.
Those silly olde city fathers had been looking a bit stupid really until The New Sinn Fein, newspaper staff got on the ball and got things turned round the right way again. Never let it be said that ATN and NBN are less than sycophantic protectors of their leaders beneath the dome.
Full marks to Mr. O' Muilleoir and friends for getting that quickly put right. I understand that they had some convincing to do but, they got it sorted out in the end. We wouldn't have wanted all those tourists continuing to take photographs to take home and show their friends, of such an oversight and insult to the British crown, now would we? So, well done you!
The big day begins with a magnificent, colourful parade through the city with floats depicting all aspects of Irish culture and history. Bands will play traditional Irish music as they wind their way through the city streets to Sailortown, (Cathedral Quarter), where Irish legends, The Chieftains will headline a free concert for all the people of the city. Other acts booked to perform are The O’Toole School of Irish Dancing and the Irish Women’s Holy Choir. It should be an amazing day, show-casing all that is positive and good about our Irish culture.
BCC have even offered to remove the Union Jack from Belfast's city hall for the day, in a gesture of friendship and mutual respect. Credit where credit is due, I say.
The celebrations of the biggest day in Ireland’s calendar will begin at midday and will continue on into the wee small hours so get plenty of sleep the night before because, both BBC and UTV will cover the entire event live and will show highlights on both channels later that evening. I’m sure you will want to see yourself and your delighted kids on television, enjoying the wonderful family day of fun and frolic.
Um, er, um, er, I may have got a tiny bit mixed up in some of the details of my previous paragraphs. Belfast City Council have booked a 19 year old hip hop rapper from London as the star act. His speciality (whoever he is) is the Grime form of rap, so that should be sort of, er, good. A never-before heard of Romanian band will also perform a form of music that I am sure we will all appreciate also. It's good to be inclusive and exposed to new things, so that's, um, good too.
The Union Jack will continue to fly illegally on the big day but, Irish tricolours are prohibited at the parade as are Irish shirts or hats or anything else that might infer anything Irish. The world-wide tradition of celebrating Irishness on Saint Patrick's Day will not be the case in this part of Ireland. Instead, the theme has been changed to "Spring" and there is a promise of lots of spring flowers and "Huge Butterflies" in the carnival parade.
There will also be a patronising concert at the Waterfront Hall that evening for those that know their place and know how to behave. These people would be outraged to the point of tutting or possibly writing a letter of complaint to the Daily Trumpet, if they didn’t get at least a free gig that night, away from the unwashed riff raff.
The PSNI have promised to keep to their tradition of providing an annual riot in the Holy Lands, where they will arrive heavy-handed in body armour and with attack-dogs to force Irish students off the streets. No loud Irish music or celebration of any kind will be tolerated in their own area and the students will be blamed for being drunk and noisy in the first place.
(Hmmm? I wonder why the drunken hoards that line the public route and leave the streets knee deep in urine; vomit, discarded food and packaging; condoms, used syringes, and empty alcohol cans and bottles every year on the Twelfth of July, never face this treatment? The PSNI are happy to stand among them to chat and watch as the Glorious Twelfth is celebrated with deafening music and a certain form of dancing all day and into the night. They will stand and warm their hands at the flaming bonfires topped with Irish tricolours and which pollute the air and destroy the roads and everything else they touch. The full resources of BCC are brought to bear to clean it all up very quickly, as soon as the drunks fall into bed. Maybe if the Irish students left their own area; rioted a bit more ferociously and caused lots more damage, then they would be appeased with grants and free fireworks from the city council too)!
So I hope that clears up the few, slight discrepancies I may have made initially. I am sure we will all still feel great at the free and unfettered expression of our national identity on Ireland’s biggest day.
By-the-way, the application date has now passed for those artists wishing to apply to Belfast City Councils', Good Relations Partnership, for their `Irish History and Heritage` artwork project.
The council had invited artists to submit expressions of interest in the project. The completed artwork will be displayed this coming July, in Belfast City Hall, which reopened last October after an £11 million refurbishment programme.
While the theme of the new art work is `Irish History and Heritage`, the council stressed that it is open to interpretation and not prescriptive. "The budget for this commission is £20,000, which is inclusive of all fees and expenses, VAT, insurance, travel costs and cost of fabrication and installation". Did I mention the £11 million spent on the refurbishment?
Councillor Maire Hendron, (Alliance Party) Chairman, (Surely they meant Chairperson?) of Belfast City Council`s Good Relations Partnership, gushed enthusiastically, “I`m excited about this commission for a new piece of art for our wonderful building. This art work will contribute to making people feel this is truly a City Hall for all.”
So if you’re an Irish artist who can cut costs by creating your masterpiece from empty toilet-roll tubes and sticky-back plastic, in your back garden shed and be very careful not to cut yourself because you can’t afford insurance, then this might be for you. Utilising other bits and bobs that you might find lying around will also reduce costs.
You will have to limit the scale of the piece, due to tax and VAT and the cost of fabrication of your work. You will also need to take into account the cost of buying two unemployed and thirsty mates a few pints. They can help you lessen the travel costs of towing your work to the city hall and also to help nail it to one of the walls of the magnificent building before connecting and running the electric cable to a safe distance away, behind something concrete, before switching it on. Don't worry though - no one is expecting anything as grand as The Angel of the North!
After all that, you might actually have a few quid left for yourself. It will probably be best if there is nothing really too overtly Irish about the work so that it can blend in nicely with the UDR stained-glass windows and general British decor throughout. I can't wait to see the finished piece in it's highly visible position.
Finally on BCC, (for now) - Congratulations to Andersonstown News, (ATN) and North Belfast News, (NBN) for pointing out that BCC had been insulting the queen of England by flying the Union Jack upside down! A brand new flag was quickly turned the right way up and now flies in the face of us all just as illegally but, more correctly, than it did before.
Those silly olde city fathers had been looking a bit stupid really until The New Sinn Fein, newspaper staff got on the ball and got things turned round the right way again. Never let it be said that ATN and NBN are less than sycophantic protectors of their leaders beneath the dome.
Full marks to Mr. O' Muilleoir and friends for getting that quickly put right. I understand that they had some convincing to do but, they got it sorted out in the end. We wouldn't have wanted all those tourists continuing to take photographs to take home and show their friends, of such an oversight and insult to the British crown, now would we? So, well done you!
Monday 1 March 2010
Making Peace With Your Enemies but, Not Your Friends.
Barely had the first shovel of earth been dropped on the coffin lid of Derry man Kieran Doherty when the rush to issue the most vociferous condemnation began by those seeking publicity and the approval of some hidden higher powers. Deputy First Minister of the Northern Ireland Assembly, Mr. Martin McGuinness was among those issuing the first flurry. He stood up in Stormont Castle and without measure, spat venom at the republican militants responsible for the killing.
There was no sign of the experienced politician and chief negotiator who could diffuse potentially difficult disagreements and bring quiet understanding and diplomacy to a problem. The man who has spent the past twenty years becoming friends with and understanding the representatives of those who discriminated against, tortured and murdered nationalists/republicans for centuries, showed no tact or skills that might quieten things down. Instead he chose to attack and provoke a bad situation into something potentially much worse.
Mr McGuinness called his former comrades, “.... just a gang of people with no lives who represented nobody” and went on, "This is a gang of people who are opposed to peace, who are opposed to justice and who are opposed to political progress and these are a gang of people who believe that it's a legitimate political objective to destroy all of the good work that many of us in this house have been engaged in with the assistance of others over the course of the last 15 years,” No sign of an olive branch there then! Not much in the way of understanding or trying to calm things down. He didn't forget to get the "Dissident" word in either during the extended version of his rant.
If this attack was designed to please someone then the question has to be asked, who? Surely it is the responsibility, if not the imperative of any politician, to try to use all their skills and contacts to try to stop difficult and dangerous situation from getting out of hand. This is what Mr McGuinness constantly lectures us all about. His work, (he oft tells us), and all those in “This House” (?) has always been to talk to each other and to negotiate an agreement through listening and understanding. Why is this not the case then with his former republican comrades?
Spiteful bile aimed at those who feel,(rightly or wrongly) disenfranchised and angry, is not the way to a resoloution. The nouveau riche and powerful, who mock those outside of the Stormont establishment view and who cat-call at them for having "no lives," are not trying to help the situation. This tactic was utilised for decades against Mr McGuinness's own party and it achieved nothing but, more misery.
It's very easy to be happy with your lot as you look through the tinted windows of your chauffeur-driven car at the world. Never having to pay a food bill or consider the expense of having a life can skewer a mans view. It can remove him from being in touch with reality. It can also make a man fight more fiercely and viciously than he ever has before, to protect and preserve his new way of life and all that it offers.
I don’t know who Martin McGuinness was trying to appease and please with this scathing and inflammatory attack. Throwing petrol onto the barely simmering embers of trouble, is exactly the opposite of what is needed to be done. He is not stupid and he knows that very well. So why did he do it? Did he simply get a rush of blood to his head and in the sumptuous halls of Stormont decide to issue a unilateral proclamation, or did he just lose the plot? Maybe it was just to get a pat on the back from his boss, Peter.
The truth about the background and circumstances of so many killings here will never be known for sure. Counter insurgency tactics were a huge part of MI5’s war here and nothing has changed in that regard except that they have relocated here and set up home permanently now. The essence of MI5’s modus operandi is to divide; confuse and mislead while they attack from within. They have proven themselves very adept at such things in the past. All we can know for sure is that we surely don’t know.
Maybe in the coming days and weeks someone with a titter of wit will try the art of diplomacy and quiet understanding to rid us of this blight of violence. Mr McGuinness has told us all many times that, ”You do not make peace with your friends – you make peace with your enemies”. Let’s see if he will calm down and follow his own advice when it comes to dealing with his former comrades, or if that advice is only meant in reference to the British and unionists.
Besides all the depressing stuff - I hope you all have a great March.
White Rabbit, White Rabbit, White Rabbit.
There was no sign of the experienced politician and chief negotiator who could diffuse potentially difficult disagreements and bring quiet understanding and diplomacy to a problem. The man who has spent the past twenty years becoming friends with and understanding the representatives of those who discriminated against, tortured and murdered nationalists/republicans for centuries, showed no tact or skills that might quieten things down. Instead he chose to attack and provoke a bad situation into something potentially much worse.
Mr McGuinness called his former comrades, “.... just a gang of people with no lives who represented nobody” and went on, "This is a gang of people who are opposed to peace, who are opposed to justice and who are opposed to political progress and these are a gang of people who believe that it's a legitimate political objective to destroy all of the good work that many of us in this house have been engaged in with the assistance of others over the course of the last 15 years,” No sign of an olive branch there then! Not much in the way of understanding or trying to calm things down. He didn't forget to get the "Dissident" word in either during the extended version of his rant.
If this attack was designed to please someone then the question has to be asked, who? Surely it is the responsibility, if not the imperative of any politician, to try to use all their skills and contacts to try to stop difficult and dangerous situation from getting out of hand. This is what Mr McGuinness constantly lectures us all about. His work, (he oft tells us), and all those in “This House” (?) has always been to talk to each other and to negotiate an agreement through listening and understanding. Why is this not the case then with his former republican comrades?
Spiteful bile aimed at those who feel,(rightly or wrongly) disenfranchised and angry, is not the way to a resoloution. The nouveau riche and powerful, who mock those outside of the Stormont establishment view and who cat-call at them for having "no lives," are not trying to help the situation. This tactic was utilised for decades against Mr McGuinness's own party and it achieved nothing but, more misery.
It's very easy to be happy with your lot as you look through the tinted windows of your chauffeur-driven car at the world. Never having to pay a food bill or consider the expense of having a life can skewer a mans view. It can remove him from being in touch with reality. It can also make a man fight more fiercely and viciously than he ever has before, to protect and preserve his new way of life and all that it offers.
I don’t know who Martin McGuinness was trying to appease and please with this scathing and inflammatory attack. Throwing petrol onto the barely simmering embers of trouble, is exactly the opposite of what is needed to be done. He is not stupid and he knows that very well. So why did he do it? Did he simply get a rush of blood to his head and in the sumptuous halls of Stormont decide to issue a unilateral proclamation, or did he just lose the plot? Maybe it was just to get a pat on the back from his boss, Peter.
The truth about the background and circumstances of so many killings here will never be known for sure. Counter insurgency tactics were a huge part of MI5’s war here and nothing has changed in that regard except that they have relocated here and set up home permanently now. The essence of MI5’s modus operandi is to divide; confuse and mislead while they attack from within. They have proven themselves very adept at such things in the past. All we can know for sure is that we surely don’t know.
Maybe in the coming days and weeks someone with a titter of wit will try the art of diplomacy and quiet understanding to rid us of this blight of violence. Mr McGuinness has told us all many times that, ”You do not make peace with your friends – you make peace with your enemies”. Let’s see if he will calm down and follow his own advice when it comes to dealing with his former comrades, or if that advice is only meant in reference to the British and unionists.
Besides all the depressing stuff - I hope you all have a great March.
White Rabbit, White Rabbit, White Rabbit.
Friday 26 February 2010
The Killing of Kieran Doherty
May all the Gods rest Kieran Doherty. I never knew nor heard of the man while he was alive but, his family and friends will grieve with all the genuine heartache and sorrow that the sudden and horrific loss of a loved one brings. Thankfully I cannot begin to imagine the pain they must be enduring at this time and the pain that will stay with them for a long time to come but, I hope they find the strength somehow to bear it.
The organisation calling itself The Real IRA has tonight, (Thursday) admitted that it was responsible for the killing. It offered information to the media about Mr Doherty, which it claimed was true and which it believed justified the killing.
Enough bodies were disappeared or dumped on border roads and city streets in the past to make it clear that even if you then agreed with a strategy of executing certain people for certain alleged activities - plenty of mistakes were made. One mistake is one far too many. That’s not even beginning to take into account the terrible fact that in the very dirty war that went on here, MI5 and all the other British security services were wading knee deep in the blood of those they wanted out of the way and they had huge success in recruiting agents from within organisations to accuse and execute members of their own organisation. Nothing justifies the killing of Kieran Doherty. Those days are gone and not soon enough.
I don’t know who The Real IRA are, or what their ideology is and I sometimes get them confused with The 32 County Sovereignty Movement and yet another new group calling itself Oglaigh na h-Eireann. I am aware that all of these relatively new groupings have at some time or another said that their aim is to remove Britain from Northern Ireland by the use of armed struggle. The fact that something is said does not always make it so.
To have an ideology you must have all three elements that constitute an ideology. Without all three elements you cannot have an ideology:
(1) You have to know and understand the situation that you find yourself in at present.
(2) You have to know where you want to be and what achievements you want to attain in the future.
(3) You have to have a REALISTIC plan of action that will take you from the present to the future you desire.
It’s very clear that the third and most important element of having an ideology is missing from any public statements so far from any of these organisations and so we have no real way of knowing for sure if they actually have an ideology or not. Unless and until they produce one, it’s fair to assume they don’t have one. Without one it seems impossible for this or any other group to allege that it has a higher political purpose that justifies the use of violence.
Of course there will be an even bigger crowd of politicians and commentators tomorrow, rushing red-faced to get on television and radio to churn out yet more crocodile tears for a man they never knew nor heard of. For the vast majority of them, their only interest is publicity for themselves or a free kick at their opponents. Trying to make political capital out of someone else’s distress is sickening. It was true for all those years of the war and it's just as true today.
The family and friends of Kieran Docherty have asked the media to stay away from their home and not to contact them. Let’s hope they are afforded that.
My hope is that there are no more left like Kieran Doherty was and no more families left to pick up the pieces. The hope is that the people who carried this attack out will stop and think of all that has passed and all that was achieved. Maybe they will even stop and think of all that was NOT achieved and cannot be achieved now.
There are huge differences of opinion among republicans since the ending of the armed struggle and the beginning of the campaign for Stormont by New Sinn Fein. It’s perfectly healthy and in-keeping with being a good republican to debate and fiercely disagree – even fundamentally – on the direction New Sinn Fein have travelled. There are many who could never vote for a DUP/New SF ticket and all that that means but, the truth is that armed conflict will not improve on the situation and will only bring more misery and darkness to those utilising it and those who are victims of it.
The organisation calling itself The Real IRA has tonight, (Thursday) admitted that it was responsible for the killing. It offered information to the media about Mr Doherty, which it claimed was true and which it believed justified the killing.
Enough bodies were disappeared or dumped on border roads and city streets in the past to make it clear that even if you then agreed with a strategy of executing certain people for certain alleged activities - plenty of mistakes were made. One mistake is one far too many. That’s not even beginning to take into account the terrible fact that in the very dirty war that went on here, MI5 and all the other British security services were wading knee deep in the blood of those they wanted out of the way and they had huge success in recruiting agents from within organisations to accuse and execute members of their own organisation. Nothing justifies the killing of Kieran Doherty. Those days are gone and not soon enough.
I don’t know who The Real IRA are, or what their ideology is and I sometimes get them confused with The 32 County Sovereignty Movement and yet another new group calling itself Oglaigh na h-Eireann. I am aware that all of these relatively new groupings have at some time or another said that their aim is to remove Britain from Northern Ireland by the use of armed struggle. The fact that something is said does not always make it so.
To have an ideology you must have all three elements that constitute an ideology. Without all three elements you cannot have an ideology:
(1) You have to know and understand the situation that you find yourself in at present.
(2) You have to know where you want to be and what achievements you want to attain in the future.
(3) You have to have a REALISTIC plan of action that will take you from the present to the future you desire.
It’s very clear that the third and most important element of having an ideology is missing from any public statements so far from any of these organisations and so we have no real way of knowing for sure if they actually have an ideology or not. Unless and until they produce one, it’s fair to assume they don’t have one. Without one it seems impossible for this or any other group to allege that it has a higher political purpose that justifies the use of violence.
Of course there will be an even bigger crowd of politicians and commentators tomorrow, rushing red-faced to get on television and radio to churn out yet more crocodile tears for a man they never knew nor heard of. For the vast majority of them, their only interest is publicity for themselves or a free kick at their opponents. Trying to make political capital out of someone else’s distress is sickening. It was true for all those years of the war and it's just as true today.
The family and friends of Kieran Docherty have asked the media to stay away from their home and not to contact them. Let’s hope they are afforded that.
My hope is that there are no more left like Kieran Doherty was and no more families left to pick up the pieces. The hope is that the people who carried this attack out will stop and think of all that has passed and all that was achieved. Maybe they will even stop and think of all that was NOT achieved and cannot be achieved now.
There are huge differences of opinion among republicans since the ending of the armed struggle and the beginning of the campaign for Stormont by New Sinn Fein. It’s perfectly healthy and in-keeping with being a good republican to debate and fiercely disagree – even fundamentally – on the direction New Sinn Fein have travelled. There are many who could never vote for a DUP/New SF ticket and all that that means but, the truth is that armed conflict will not improve on the situation and will only bring more misery and darkness to those utilising it and those who are victims of it.
Wednesday 24 February 2010
Jesus Christ Gerry - What Next?!
Big Gerry Adams kicked off the Channel 4 series, The Bible: A History last night and kicked off His big shoes that He had been “ploughing in all day” to swish His big sweaty kebs around in the filthy, polluted waters of the River Jordan. It was a strange thing to watch and kind of uncomfortable. I was reminded of David Frosts’ comment regarding President Nixon, “The man suffered from total lack of any real personality outside of politics”.
Big Gerry cut a linear one-dimensional figure that parroted and regurgitated old republican clichés about Sinn Fein being once an underground movement and the tomb of Jesus being like a Long Kesh Tunnel. He seemed totally unable to think outside His own narrow experience of Northern Ireland. It was a case of me; me, me, me, me, me and did I remember to mention ME?!
Jesus and the bible did get a bit of a look in with Big Gerry reading drone-like from the Gospels and talking about how Christmas was ruined now that it was revealed that Jesus was most likely born in Nazareth and not on December 25th. He also commented on how Barrabas could be seen by some as freedom fighter and not a terrorist. A bit like Big Gerry Himself again really, me, me, me!
I can’t say with any certainty how flattered Jesus and Barrabas must feel to be talked about and compared to Big Gerry Himself but, I’m sure that Big Gerry feels a lot better about Himself now that He has given some credit to these two biblical dudes for all His own achievements in Northern Ireland.
He told us how He had forgiven those who had hurt Him and how we all need the capacity to forgive and be forgiven. Wonder where He heard that one?
It’s not difficult to see why this man has never given too much away about His private life or why He has never given any insights into His personality outside of His military and political life. He has nothing to say that’s interesting and if He hadn’t had the constant prepping and guidance of those behind Him and above Him pulling His strings all these years, then He may well have been found today having been promoted from glass-washer to pulling pints in the Duke of York Bar where He would talk, talk, talk to any punter who would listen to Him about er, um, er, um, Himself.
To be honest though I can’t say I blame Him – if someone had offered me a free all expenses paid holiday in the Holy Lands and ten grand spending money, I would have been away in a shot , (blank cartridge of course) to talk complete shite too! Nice work if you can get it.
Big Gerry cut a linear one-dimensional figure that parroted and regurgitated old republican clichés about Sinn Fein being once an underground movement and the tomb of Jesus being like a Long Kesh Tunnel. He seemed totally unable to think outside His own narrow experience of Northern Ireland. It was a case of me; me, me, me, me, me and did I remember to mention ME?!
Jesus and the bible did get a bit of a look in with Big Gerry reading drone-like from the Gospels and talking about how Christmas was ruined now that it was revealed that Jesus was most likely born in Nazareth and not on December 25th. He also commented on how Barrabas could be seen by some as freedom fighter and not a terrorist. A bit like Big Gerry Himself again really, me, me, me!
I can’t say with any certainty how flattered Jesus and Barrabas must feel to be talked about and compared to Big Gerry Himself but, I’m sure that Big Gerry feels a lot better about Himself now that He has given some credit to these two biblical dudes for all His own achievements in Northern Ireland.
He told us how He had forgiven those who had hurt Him and how we all need the capacity to forgive and be forgiven. Wonder where He heard that one?
It’s not difficult to see why this man has never given too much away about His private life or why He has never given any insights into His personality outside of His military and political life. He has nothing to say that’s interesting and if He hadn’t had the constant prepping and guidance of those behind Him and above Him pulling His strings all these years, then He may well have been found today having been promoted from glass-washer to pulling pints in the Duke of York Bar where He would talk, talk, talk to any punter who would listen to Him about er, um, er, um, Himself.
To be honest though I can’t say I blame Him – if someone had offered me a free all expenses paid holiday in the Holy Lands and ten grand spending money, I would have been away in a shot , (blank cartridge of course) to talk complete shite too! Nice work if you can get it.
Tuesday 23 February 2010
Myths and Claims
Recently in the media it has been inferred that IRA volunteers and members of the republican family/community were forbidden to contact the RUC under any circumstances about anything. Some commentators inferred that this was the position of the republican leadership and was understood and accepted by all in the republican community. This myth was offered as a reason why certain alleged crimes by certain alleged republicans and those who were aware of them, were kept secret. I have never been aware of an actual IRA volunteer or leader who has expressed this law at ay time during the conflict. In fact quite the opposite was true in numerous circumstances.
IRA volunteers were correctly and actively encouraged to make complaints to their solicitors against the RUC and Special Branch when they had been abused and tortured by them. This was intended to result in court cases against the RUC/Special Branch/British Army. This tactic was intended to maximise the amount of cases won in court against them so that international opinion could be influenced and mobilised against British torture. It was also a means to clog up the legal system and often resulted in financial rewards for successful compensation claims. A further benefit was that it could put pressure on the interrogation staff and their masters to reduce the amount and extent of torture used on volunteers. Utilising the Northern Ireland legal system itself to fight against the inherent injustice of the Northern Ireland legal system was a perfectly good strategy and no one had any problem with that after the "Refuse to Recognise the Court" days were over.
IRA volunteers and supporters were also encouraged to claim for social security payments to increase their personal security after they had been contacted by the RUC to inform them that they were officially being informed that loyalist death squads intended to kill them. The volunteer would have to make a statement that the RUC were aware that loyalists now had their personal details. The volunteer or community member would have to tell the social security staff that the RUC would be the witness to confirm the death threat and this would secure a payment for security equipment to be installed at the intended victims’ home.
During the conflict anyone who ever had their car stolen or hijacked or their house broken into, had to go to the RUC to make an official complaint and to give all information pertaining to the crime or it would be impossible to have an insurance claim or any kind of financial reimbursement. This was also the case for the thousands of houses that were taken over by the IRA for operations - if there had been any damage caused to the property. The same was true of anyone whose giro social security payment went missing in the post – the RUC had to be contacted and a statement made or no new giro could be issued.
All these examples and more were common knowledge and commonly utilised as the norm. All volunteers and all members of the community and anyone else were of course expressly forbidden under any circumstances to contact the RUC with information about IRA operations or activities. That was very different indeed from the everyday necessary registering of civil complaints about everything from a drunken husband punching his wife in the face, or a drunken wife utilising her stiletto heel shoe to leave her husbands head like a golf ball, to even more serious civil crimes. Everyone knew and understood the difference.
There never was a law prohibiting contacting social services or the RUC when it came to civil offences or compensation claims would never have been the big industry that it was and still is here. So there must be some other reason why certain alleged crimes by certain alleged republicans were kept secret by other alleged republicans who claim that they knew all along about the allegations.
IRA volunteers were correctly and actively encouraged to make complaints to their solicitors against the RUC and Special Branch when they had been abused and tortured by them. This was intended to result in court cases against the RUC/Special Branch/British Army. This tactic was intended to maximise the amount of cases won in court against them so that international opinion could be influenced and mobilised against British torture. It was also a means to clog up the legal system and often resulted in financial rewards for successful compensation claims. A further benefit was that it could put pressure on the interrogation staff and their masters to reduce the amount and extent of torture used on volunteers. Utilising the Northern Ireland legal system itself to fight against the inherent injustice of the Northern Ireland legal system was a perfectly good strategy and no one had any problem with that after the "Refuse to Recognise the Court" days were over.
IRA volunteers and supporters were also encouraged to claim for social security payments to increase their personal security after they had been contacted by the RUC to inform them that they were officially being informed that loyalist death squads intended to kill them. The volunteer would have to make a statement that the RUC were aware that loyalists now had their personal details. The volunteer or community member would have to tell the social security staff that the RUC would be the witness to confirm the death threat and this would secure a payment for security equipment to be installed at the intended victims’ home.
During the conflict anyone who ever had their car stolen or hijacked or their house broken into, had to go to the RUC to make an official complaint and to give all information pertaining to the crime or it would be impossible to have an insurance claim or any kind of financial reimbursement. This was also the case for the thousands of houses that were taken over by the IRA for operations - if there had been any damage caused to the property. The same was true of anyone whose giro social security payment went missing in the post – the RUC had to be contacted and a statement made or no new giro could be issued.
All these examples and more were common knowledge and commonly utilised as the norm. All volunteers and all members of the community and anyone else were of course expressly forbidden under any circumstances to contact the RUC with information about IRA operations or activities. That was very different indeed from the everyday necessary registering of civil complaints about everything from a drunken husband punching his wife in the face, or a drunken wife utilising her stiletto heel shoe to leave her husbands head like a golf ball, to even more serious civil crimes. Everyone knew and understood the difference.
There never was a law prohibiting contacting social services or the RUC when it came to civil offences or compensation claims would never have been the big industry that it was and still is here. So there must be some other reason why certain alleged crimes by certain alleged republicans were kept secret by other alleged republicans who claim that they knew all along about the allegations.
Car Bombs Will Not Achieve Freedom
Militant republicans seem sure to be responsible for the car bomb which exploded outside Newry court house last night. The huge bomb neither killed nor injured anyone which is at least something to be thankful for. The mortar bomb attack mounted by militant republicans in Newry in February 1985 and which resulted in the deaths of nine RUC personnel, did not free Ireland and this latest attack won’t achieve that either. The people who planned and engineered last nights device and those who risked their own and others lives delivering it to the courthouse where it was detonated, are at best misguided.
Violence by republicans achieved many things in Northern Ireland. In seventy years of the olde Unionist Stormont the only piece of legislation that a nationalist was ever able to succsessfully get passed, was regarding the protection of birds. Many people still choose to pretend that blatant sectarianism against catholic/nationalists did not exist. There are also many who would say that all those things are in the past and should be forgotten so that we can all make money and prosper happily together now.
The fact remains that we can get a clearer understanding of our present and where we hope to be in the future by taking account of our past. That’s not to say we should forever dwell in it but, it’s vital that we acknowledge it, learn from it and move on.
Catholic/nationalists were discriminated against in; Housing, education, employment, health and all aspects of life here. Nothing would ever have changed had it not been for the campaign by militant republicans. Those who try to minimise the positive achievements of the conflict are either British/unionist propagandists or are deluding themselves.
Those who profess to be nationalists and who attempt to belittle the achievements of the conflict here are numerous also and they have their own selfish interests for this. Tugging the forelock and bending the knee to the landlord can get a guy a good job still in this day and age. If he/she continually minimises and tries to rubbish republican efforts and successes then it can keep him/her in a job or secure further promotion. This is all the more ironic since they more than likely would not have had access to a university education or a career in the first place had it not been for the sacrifices of militant republicans. Still, for some it is better to live in self-imposed denial rather than accept that all that they own is the direct result of the sacrifice of those who own nothing.
That having been said, it is now obvious that the campaign for a 32 county socialist republic was never going to succeed and it is more than highly doubtful now that it was ever genuinely intended to. That ideal was surrendered along with IRA weapons and all the other sacrificed golden cows of republican ideology, and was replaced by a campaign for parity of esteem and the acceptance of Northern Ireland governed by locals on Britain’s behalf. As soon as the hunger strikers had been deemed to have sacrificed enough and reached the point where enough votes could be delivered for the New Sinn Fein leadership to get elected, then it was a forgone conclusion that the IRA would be disbanded and dumped. Jobs in Stormont would be the new goal.
This achieved, the New Sinn Fein leadership held yet another meeting and decided that it would be best to make a clear differentiation in the publics' mind between those who professed to fight for Irish freedom in the past and those who profess to fight for Irish freedom in the present. The Sinn Fein leadership which had always condemned the “politics of condemnation”, now labelled militant republicans as “Dissidents”. The British Government; MI5, RUC/PSNI, unionist politicians and all elements of the embedded media fell into line and agreed that this label would be used at all times and in all reports. This was no small achievement by New Sinn Fein and one that is worth thinking about.
So the embedded media and all the usual suspects in politics and the British security services rushed to comb their hair for the cameras and to rant and rave about the Newry court house bomb. Dissident this and dissident that was the order of the day. The old tactic of telling us how lucky the old pensioners were, not to be blown to bits and the children playing nearby and the disabled people who had just passed the spot was rolled out. They even added a new Polish element where a young Polish couple and their baby were interviewed about how lucky they were not to be killed! How all these people had been outside Newry court house late at night and had miraculously survived without a single scratch is beyond me, but it was on television so it must be true!
That car bomb should not have been left outside that court house. Not one more single shot should be fired by any republican of any hue. Ireland sadly will not be freed from British shackles (chains and monetary) by more violence and more loss of life. An Ireland completely free from British control and influence is impossible. No amount of car bombs or mortar tubes will change that now.
It is a tragedy that British/unionist leaders could not have brought themselves to give universal suffrage equally to all here in 1969. They would have never voluntarily given civil rights and equality to catholic/nationalists. It had to be fought for and achieved on the backs of the thousands of dead from all sides involved in the dirty, filthy conflict. All those dead and injured victims could have been avoided it now seems.
Given two choices in relation to Ireland, Britain has historically always chosen that which is worst for the Irish. Sadly it now seems that the New Sinn Fein leadership were slowly but, surely negotiating to ensure that there could be no viable alternative to their new arrangement with the British. Violence is no longer an option to achieve freedom and it is highly doubtful that it was ever intended to achieve anything other than New Stormont.
Violence by republicans achieved many things in Northern Ireland. In seventy years of the olde Unionist Stormont the only piece of legislation that a nationalist was ever able to succsessfully get passed, was regarding the protection of birds. Many people still choose to pretend that blatant sectarianism against catholic/nationalists did not exist. There are also many who would say that all those things are in the past and should be forgotten so that we can all make money and prosper happily together now.
The fact remains that we can get a clearer understanding of our present and where we hope to be in the future by taking account of our past. That’s not to say we should forever dwell in it but, it’s vital that we acknowledge it, learn from it and move on.
Catholic/nationalists were discriminated against in; Housing, education, employment, health and all aspects of life here. Nothing would ever have changed had it not been for the campaign by militant republicans. Those who try to minimise the positive achievements of the conflict are either British/unionist propagandists or are deluding themselves.
Those who profess to be nationalists and who attempt to belittle the achievements of the conflict here are numerous also and they have their own selfish interests for this. Tugging the forelock and bending the knee to the landlord can get a guy a good job still in this day and age. If he/she continually minimises and tries to rubbish republican efforts and successes then it can keep him/her in a job or secure further promotion. This is all the more ironic since they more than likely would not have had access to a university education or a career in the first place had it not been for the sacrifices of militant republicans. Still, for some it is better to live in self-imposed denial rather than accept that all that they own is the direct result of the sacrifice of those who own nothing.
That having been said, it is now obvious that the campaign for a 32 county socialist republic was never going to succeed and it is more than highly doubtful now that it was ever genuinely intended to. That ideal was surrendered along with IRA weapons and all the other sacrificed golden cows of republican ideology, and was replaced by a campaign for parity of esteem and the acceptance of Northern Ireland governed by locals on Britain’s behalf. As soon as the hunger strikers had been deemed to have sacrificed enough and reached the point where enough votes could be delivered for the New Sinn Fein leadership to get elected, then it was a forgone conclusion that the IRA would be disbanded and dumped. Jobs in Stormont would be the new goal.
This achieved, the New Sinn Fein leadership held yet another meeting and decided that it would be best to make a clear differentiation in the publics' mind between those who professed to fight for Irish freedom in the past and those who profess to fight for Irish freedom in the present. The Sinn Fein leadership which had always condemned the “politics of condemnation”, now labelled militant republicans as “Dissidents”. The British Government; MI5, RUC/PSNI, unionist politicians and all elements of the embedded media fell into line and agreed that this label would be used at all times and in all reports. This was no small achievement by New Sinn Fein and one that is worth thinking about.
So the embedded media and all the usual suspects in politics and the British security services rushed to comb their hair for the cameras and to rant and rave about the Newry court house bomb. Dissident this and dissident that was the order of the day. The old tactic of telling us how lucky the old pensioners were, not to be blown to bits and the children playing nearby and the disabled people who had just passed the spot was rolled out. They even added a new Polish element where a young Polish couple and their baby were interviewed about how lucky they were not to be killed! How all these people had been outside Newry court house late at night and had miraculously survived without a single scratch is beyond me, but it was on television so it must be true!
That car bomb should not have been left outside that court house. Not one more single shot should be fired by any republican of any hue. Ireland sadly will not be freed from British shackles (chains and monetary) by more violence and more loss of life. An Ireland completely free from British control and influence is impossible. No amount of car bombs or mortar tubes will change that now.
It is a tragedy that British/unionist leaders could not have brought themselves to give universal suffrage equally to all here in 1969. They would have never voluntarily given civil rights and equality to catholic/nationalists. It had to be fought for and achieved on the backs of the thousands of dead from all sides involved in the dirty, filthy conflict. All those dead and injured victims could have been avoided it now seems.
Given two choices in relation to Ireland, Britain has historically always chosen that which is worst for the Irish. Sadly it now seems that the New Sinn Fein leadership were slowly but, surely negotiating to ensure that there could be no viable alternative to their new arrangement with the British. Violence is no longer an option to achieve freedom and it is highly doubtful that it was ever intended to achieve anything other than New Stormont.
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