CONVICT THE COLOMBIA THREE?
Let us hope that the Colombian authorities are rather more courageous in their dealings with alleged IRA terrorists that the craven UK and Irish Governments. Eco-tourism as an excuse for trotting around FARC controlled Jungles - you gotta be kidding. Let justice prevail here. Send them to jail.
MY CAMERA NEVER LIES ANYMORE...
Honest Reporting spills the beans of one more Palestinian PR stunt lapped up by a far from neutral media. Who would have thougt that the poor besieged totally innocent Palestinians would find the time to sloganise in English? Pass the sickbucket.
ST. CLARE OF IRAQ
First we had Joan of Arc, now we have Clare of Iraq. This mega-ego on stilts drags her bleeding heart conscience into every TV studio that will have her. Just one teensy weensy question:- If Saint Clare really feels as passionate as she suggests, why did she knowingly support the war in the first place? Saddam's pin-up girl is out of control and on a media rampage. Poor Tony - imagine invoking the wrath of this woman of mass destruction!
CAPITAL NONSENSE
What exactly is the point of surveys like this that posit the idea that London is one of the worst capital cities in Europe in "quality of life" terms? Who is Mercer Human Resource Consulting and why are we supposed to accept their subjective indices? In my experience London is a vibrant exciting Capital that compares well with all the others. I admit that having a leftist Mayor such as Livingstone is bad for London, but people don't go there to see the Mayoral buffoon in his cocoon aby Tower Bridge. They go for the amazing history, the culture, the arts, the sport, the sense of being at the heart of what makes the UK tick. Zurich and Geneva are both fine cities but who can afford to live there. My Swiss friends all complain at the vast expense of living in these cities and relocate themselves elsewhere. The concept of a league for Cities is daft. It seems to me that there is much to celebrate in just about every major city, even Birmingham!
POT KETTLE BLACK
So Sinn Fein are complaining that Fianna Fail have been "spying" on them. The sheer audacity of it. Given it's links to the IRA, Sinn Fein should be spied upon. The hypocrisy of this gang knows no boundaries and represents the greatest possible threat to democracy, North and South.
LIES DAMNED LIES AND SINN FEIN
Reading the Sinn Fein brownshirts blather at their annual love-in makes one wonder why it is that any Government or democratic political party would any have dealings with these goons. The answer, of course, is the shadow of the IRA which casts itself over everything that they say and do. It is this unspoken but omnipresent shadow of the gunman and bomber which conveys "respect" upon Sinn Fein. The truth is that this monstrous political hydra needs crushed out of all recognition rather than appeased and gently cajoled into Government.
The Friday Essay
SUFFER LITTLE CHILDREN
Shopping with my children is, believe it or not, one of the best parts of being a parent. Once a week, I take my two children to the local newsagents to help them choose a book or magazine. Over the years I have become an expert in children's magazines since I end up buying so many of them! The one trend that has greatly disturbed me is the overt sexualization of girls magazines. Today I pose the question: are we constructing a paedophilic society?
Selecting a decent magazine for my young daughter is becoming more of a nightmare. Whilst she is growing up she is nonetheless quite an innocent child, content to read a novel by Dick King Smith or JK Rowling. Whilst she oftentimes prefers to read novels like other girls of her age, she also likes to keep up to date with fashion and pop-star gossip.
However the proliferation of titles at the newsstand aimed at her has been unbelievable. Subjects covered in these magazines this week, for example, include cosmetic surgery, predatory sexual activities, dysfunctional "celebrities" and body piercing. "Mizz" "Bliss" and "Sugar" - it's come a long way from Buntie. Those who publish these titles sit on tsanctimoniousonous throne claiming that they are aimed at the media to late teen market, but they know fine rightly that younger hands also buy these titles as is evidenced by the sort of pop-stars they put on the cover as bait. How cynical does it get?
It seems to me that our society is going about the grotesque business of removing the innocence from childhood. It is targeting children of primary school age and treating them as mini-adults. Parents who want to junk tiresome responsibility so they can behave with the freedom of children are happy to regard their children as mini-adults who cannot be disciplined and who make their own decisions. Children learn the rules of behaviour from their parents serial sexual contortions. Schools dish out the condoms, GPs hand over the morning-after pill. Teen magazines advise on sex acts for tots. The age of consent is regarded as a joke.
I fully support the suggestion that when it comes to our children's sexuality, current society is two-faced. As stated, it has effectively abolished the age of consent. Certainly anyone who takes this serioulabeledabelled a prude and laughed at. Many parents connive at what is effectively a sex crime by permitting their kids to have sexual relations even thought they are below the required age. Even worse, doctors are required not to inform parents when they prescribe contraceptives to their underage daughters. Thus the circle of conspiracy is complete. This is what happens when liberals are listened to.
Turning to TV programmes, again it is obvious that the days of "Blue Peter"have long since gone. The number of US programmes aimed at younger people clearly belie an underlining agenda. These programmes specialise in portraying dysfunctional families, homosexuality and sexual activity as "normal" I believe that continued exposure to these images misinform our our children, remove their innocence, and corrupt our culture. It is interesting to speculate on the specific agenda pursued by programme makers in the US who work for gay media media moguls like David Geffin, but that can keep for another week.
As marriage breaks down, and as the number of children born out of wedlock passes the number born within the Union of man and woman, our society seems to be morphing into something very decadent, verty immoral. This is then celebrated in the children's media.
It has been said that having created the social circumstances in which the sexual abuse of children is most likely to occur we turn on paedophiles as convenient scapegoats. Many of those daily newspapers that relate paedophile stories in all their sickening detail are also very happy to lewd picture of teenage girls. Their hypocrisy seems to know no bounds.
It also appears that modern society refuses to give up recent freedoms even when it is obvious that the blatant exercise of such are responsible the moral morass in which we find ourselves.
There is little doubt that society is turning young children into sexual objects whilst simultaneously complaining about the growth of paedophilia. This is a great crime that is being committed under our noses and yet it is rarely discussed. The age of innocence has turned into the age of greed and moral equivocation. As responsible people, we should be doing all we can to protect our children from that which is inappropriate. How can this be done in the age of the Internet, where a click of a button can deliver every sort of malignancy to a computer screen? How can this be done in a TV Era where there are dozens of stations broadcasting hundreds of programmes with untold thousands of situations that degrade childhood?
Tom Stoppard has a good line on this; "Childhood is the Last Chance Gulch for happiness. After that you know too much" Taking away this happiness ever earlier indicts this modern age.
TOMMY GUNN
I find the celebratory tone of media coverage concerning the collapse of prosecution of GCHQ "whistle-blower" (or traitor, if you prefer) Katherine Gunn distasteful. The thing that surprises me is that the US had to ask the UK to spy on the UN. I would have thought that the UN merited constant spying on given its pro-terrorist stance. After all, an organisation that has Libya as the Chair of Human Rights is an organisation that cannot be trusted. Congrats to the US for asking the Brits to spy and raspberries to pompous Ms Gunn.
DOGS NOT PRODS
Interesting to read in this mornings's Newsletter that the Garda employ the world-record breaking figure of 14 Protestants in a force of 12,000. I reckon that they employ more sniffer dogs than 14, so it seems that a canine has better employment prospects in the Garda than a Protestant. Isn't this a stunning indictment on the lack of plurality in Irish institutions and something that will be muted lest it draws attention.
BARBARA LOVES EMINEN
Scottish folkie songstress Barbara Dickson admits she is a big fan of Eminen. How strange. Assuming this isn't one of those street-cred exercises that has-beens often indulge in, I think it's great! I hate Eminen but respect the right of people to have diverse musical tastes. Since my own tastes vary from Roy Orbison to the Clash, from Elvis Costello to Elvis Presley, from George Jones to George Harrison - it all adds to life's rich tapestry.
BRUSSEL SPROUTS FOR ALLISTER
The DUP have selected Jim Allister as their prospective European MEP. Congrats to Jim, hope he does well. From all accounts he is someone with ability which must have some merit! My broader question concerns the European Parliament and its destructive character, but that's a debate for another day.
WHY WALLS MAKE GOOD NEIGBOURS
Here is an excellent article that explains precisely why Israel has to build a fence between itself and Arafats murder kingdom.
I think the following lines are really on the spot:-
"On one side of the fence, there will be the free world, with elections, emancipated women, religious freedom, free markets, health care, education, hi-tech industries and safe and efficient buses that are pleasant to ride on.
On the other side, the Palestinian Arabs. There they will be free to honor-kill their daughters, oppress their women, force their Christians to emigrate, hate the West, despise equality, fear democracy, resist modernity and fire machine guns into the air every time a Jew is killed.
Only, after the fence is built, the Palestinians will not be able to do the killing themselves. They might want to, but they won't be able to. "
This is the argument that is rarely expressed in the Palestinian-friendly UK and Irish media. It's worth consideration if you seek a balanced view.
BUSH KEEPS MARRIAGE FRONT OF MIND!
Glad to see that President Bush has spoken out firmly and clearly in defence of marriage, currently under sustained attack my militant gay activitists in San Francisco.
It comes after a court in Massachusetts ruled in favour of gay weddings, and thousands of same-sex couples married in San Francisco earlier this month. Yet a recent poll in the same State showed that 66% of people in Massachusetts opposed gay weddings. Give us democracy but not when it gets in the way of the extreme liberal agenda, eh?
The USA needs firm moral leadership on this issue and Bush is now giving it. Wonder what botox Kerry thinks?
WATCHDOGS OR POODLES?
I bet the paramilitary hoods are panicking. It has been revealed that the fearsome International Monitoring Commission is meeting in Dublin today. Yes, these intrepid seekers of truth and justice are on the ball - in Dublin - while the IRA kidnap in Belfast. What a waste of space and money in order to pretend that Government gives a tinkers cuss about what the killers get up to. Sickening.
CEASE-FIRE..WHAT CEASE-FIRE?
The news that the UDA intend to continue with their cease-fire is a laugh given that they've broken it consistently. In the make believe world of the "peace process" it is vital to ensure that these fictions are maintained.
RUMSFELD'S WAR
This account of Don Rumsfeld's immediate response to the events of 9/11 let's us all appreciate how fortunate George Bush is to have such a marvellous and inspirational adviser. The moral clarity of Rumsfeld's thinking in those critical hours whilst the Pentagon was still burning contrasts with the sickening equivocation of Clinton, Kerry and the leftist cabal. Pity Rumsfeld wouldn't run for President, he'd get my vote anyday.
DON'T MENTION THE WAR
As a contrast from the whinging vitriol exuded by the liberal UK media on Iraq, this quote is quite refreshing.
"What we, as Arabs, should truly feel humiliated about are the prevailing political and social conditions in the Arab world -- especially in Iraq -- which allowed someone such as Saddam Hussein to...assume the presidency. We should feel humiliated that Saddam was able...to single-handedly initiate a number of catastrophic policies that transformed Iraq, relatively rich in natural, human and financial resources, into the poorest, most debt-ridden country in the Arab world, not to mention the hundreds of thousands killed and displaced. We should feel humiliated that some of our intellectuals, supposedly the representatives of our nations' consciences and the defenders of their liberty and dignity, not only dealt with Saddam, but also supported him.... The Arabs should have been the ones to bring down Saddam, in defense of their own dignity and their own true interests."
Osama al-Ghazali Harb, Egypt's Al Ahram center for strategic studies
He is absolutely right, but you will never read this sort of comment in the US-bashing leftist media. That's why A TANGLED WEB is always worth a visit!
ON THE BUSES.
The shocking reality of what terrorism actually does to human beings is vividly described in this eye-witness account of the immediate after-math of the suicide-bombing in Jersusaem today.
"Before me lay a corpse - I think a man's - crumpled and twisted, half on the pavement, half on the road. Its head - or the place where its head would have been - was rammed under the chassis, in front of the right rear wheel.
Perhaps it was the bomber's. I subsequently heard he had boarded the bus through the rear door - a door that was now nowhere to be seen. On the other hand, these attacks usually completely tear the killer apart. So maybe it was a passenger blown out of the window, or a pedestrian caught while walking by?
As my mind played strangely with these theories, I saw, a meter away, a naked, pale white leg, severed below the knee, toes curled, with shattered bones and blood vessels protruding from the gaping wound. The road around the bus was splotched with pieces of shredded flesh. Other, unrecognizable body parts, congealed on the hard, cold ground.
The yawning rear doorway revealed more orange, yellow and red flesh, lumps of bodies in the aisle between the seats. Near the front door, a portable pink cassette player lay on its side. Forensic personnel in white coveralls, dark red cloth booties covering their shoes and pink-stained disposable gloves shielding their hands, picked their way through the mix of metal and human debris"
Whenever we hear fools like Cherie Blair or Jenny Tonge express their deep sympathies for the Palestinian psychopaths that create nightmare scenes like that described above, remember what the reality looks like. It helps keep a moral perspective.
GUILTY TILL PROVEN GUILTY
So, self-confessed IRA Commander Martin McGuinness springs to the defence of the IRA when they are caught red-handed in a brutal kidnap attempt. No surprise there then. Yet McGuinness was deemed fit enough to run the Education system in Northern Ireland during the First Assembly. Reading his pathetic excuse making for the IRA one cannot avoid concluding that democracy in Northern Ireland is doomed if it ever permits such a person to hold any office in any political institution. And yet, his risible apologia will be accepted in establishment quarters, people will think "Well, at least the IRA were only kidnapping" and the rotten business of appeasement will continue.
BBC BIAS - PART TWO
The outrageous leftist bias that permeates the UK media is exemplified in this report from the BBC on the latest terrorist car bomb attack in Iraq.
First off, note Barbara Plett's use of the word "collaborators" to describe those Iraqis who wish to establish law and order. The word "collaborator" is charged with emotional content and is self-evidently not neutral. These people are Islamic Jihadists and it is time the media stopped propagandising for them.
The note the use of the term "Iraqi resistance" to describe the terrorists. Are they Iraqis, Barbara? Are you sure that they are not foreign Jihadists? Can you explain how it is that suicide bombing hitherto unknown in Iraq suddenly kicks in with the arrival of men from Iran, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Palestine?
Goebbels understood the value of propaganda in a war. So does Al Qu'eda. When useful fools like Barbara Plett echo the vocabulary of the Jihadist, what cost Iraqi freedom?
Steven Plaut has provided an essential list for all those who ever seek to debate with leftists. I think this is truly excellent and up to Steven's usual high standard!!
"The following are the basic principles upon which all public debate must
be conducted if you wish to be a true progressive leftist and politically
correct:
1. Leftists should be free to call everyone else nasty names, but no one
should be permitted to call leftists back nasty names.
2. For a leftist to call someone nasty names shows social concern and
awareness. For someone to call a leftist a nasty name back is immature and
impolite and avoiding the issues.
3. Leftists need never document their claims.
4. Whenever a leftist is presented with documentation of facts that
contradict the leftist's theology, the leftist must insist that no facts
have been presented at all.
5. No scientific sources that presents facts contradicting leftist
theology are admissable.
6. Never ever take an economics course.
7. Never recognize the fact that every idea of Marx's was debunked over
150 years ago. Never read any social science written since Marx. Never
admit that you know that Marx was a racist and anti-Semite.
8. Never visit the library.
9. Never study statistics or public policy analysis.
10. Insist that you truly believe 10% of humans are gay and that gay
people are not abnormal.
11. Always say "people of color" so everyone will know you care.
12. Recycle.
13. Pretend that you do not care about material things, but never sell
your VCR or cellular phone or condo.
14. Never admit that life ever involves tradeoffs. After all, when there
are tradeoffs it is harder to feel righteous.
15. Always support proposals that make real problems of the world worse as
long as they make you feel caring and righteous.
16. Never admit that anything could be positive about the United States.
17. Always insist that there are few world problems that could not be
improved through the destruction of Israel.
18. Always insist that you have no idea what political correctness is.
19. Always use the female pronouns half the time or more. That way
everyone will know you are egalitarian.
20. Insist that you are more caring and compassionate than anyone else.
21. Remember, you would rather that poor people in the Third World starve,
rather than that they should embrace capitalism and live like you do.
22. Other people must always be required to relinquish their material
things so that you may feel idealistic.
23. Your property is scared; other people's property is to be used for
social engineering and doing good."
Way to go....
SINN FEIN CONDEMNS SINN FEIN
Having been caught out by the PSNI mid-kidnap attempt, the poor old IRA were looking a bit red-faced yesterday. So out comes this crap from their propaganda wing, Sinn Fein, "condemning" the IRA for doing that which it does best. Kidnapping, maiming, murder - this is what the IRA exists for. Of course we all know that this PR fluff is damage limitation drivel, aimed at assuring those who are stupid enough to need it. Having spent some time with a few such people in a BBC studio earlier today, I am reminded that you can indeed fool some of the people all of the time. Once again, the dark side of republicanism is clear for all to see, but who is looking?
BRIDGET THE MIDGET
Brid Rodgers bows out as Deputy Leader of the SDLP by calling for Irish unity. Thats OK - the SDLP has become utterly irrelevant thanks to the failure of those like Ms Rodgers to act responsibly and work with unionists. Instead the old green tinged Celtic mists descend and we get Sinn Fein lite. Happy retirement Brid - you won't be missed.
ARAFAT ATROCITIES
News of the latest Palestinian atrocity against innocent Israelis, this time on a bus in Jerusalem, is proof that there will never be any peace until Arafat and his corrupt murderous regime is removed. News reporting of this latest act of barbarism is laced with the usual moral equivocation that pervades Western news-rooms; translates Israel deserves all it gets because of how it treates "poor" Palestinians.
IRA STILL ACTIVE
Caught in the act of brutalising one more person, the IRA has been exposed for the bunch of thugs we all know them to be. Hugh Orde was crystal clear on the matter. And yet this will not be defined as a breach in their cease-fire. The IRA will not be punished. In the perverted world of the Belfast Agreement, Catholics can torture and murder Catholics, and Protestants can brutalise and kill Protestants. Talk about a license to kill.
THE PINK TERMINATOR
At long last, Arnie stands up to the outrageous law-breaking behaviour of the delinquent Mayor of San Francisco and his gay marriages. Go get 'em Arnie!
DERMOT NESBITT - A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS.
I always enjoy reading what Dermot Nesbitt has to say. I use him as a political weathervane. I have come to value his opinion - on the basis that he always gets it wrong! His latest little press release today is almost surreal. Unionists should be confident, he asserts, because we have all come "so far."
So far from our principles that we can no longer go on a TV programme and make it clear that we do not favour an All-Ireland Football team, eh Dermot? If ever the quisling fraternity needed a figurehead - it is clear that South Down can provide a man with the right stuff.
HMS TITANIC PLANS EXTENSION
The news coverage of the "relaunch" at Stormont of the Young Unionists was a great laugh. There was Captain Trimble, up to his neck in the cold North Atlantic political water, declaring that the tide is on the turn! I wonder what sort of people these alleged young unionists actually are? On the off-chance that one actually can read, maybe they could enlighten me? Where they put off entering the UUP whilst it still retained some vestigial opposition to the corruption of the GFA? Are they uber-appeasers? Which cupboards have they been hiding in? What is their view on terrorists in Government?
Mmm...no answers from Trimble and his media pals on this one, just silence.
THE FRIDAY ESSAY
SUICIDE IS PAINLESS?
Well, the song may say that Suicide is painless but the anguish it leaves behind suggests it is excruciatingly painful for all those concerned. To lose a child in any circumstances must be the most awful pain that a parent can experience. When a young life ends in suicide the grief must be unbelievable. Guilt, self-doubt, a sense of parental failure – these are the horrible emotions that often afflict the parents who find themselves suddenly cast into these desperate circumstances.
North Belfast has experienced a spiralling suicide rate, and has labelled as the “suicide capital” of Europe. During the past week, there has been a tragic tale unfold as one young man, 18 year old Bernard Cairns, killed himself after attending the funeral of his friend, 18 year old Anthony O’Neill, who had also killed himself. Both young men had been brutalised by one of the local paramilitary gangs, in this instance the INLA. Bereft of hope, tragically they must have concluded that death was the best way out. A truly horrible situation - but one which is all too common in Northern Ireland these days!
How has such a situation come about? Why is it that suicide is on the increase? What has gone wrong in our society? Is there a way of helping those who contemplate the unthinkable – the taking their own lives?
Looking at the statistics, it is apparent that the suicide rate in Northern Ireland was in long-term decline between 1982 and 1996. Then it started to rise again. Why?
Did some momentous event occur in the mid to late 1990’s? Yes! The Belfast Agreement was wedged into place amidst spectacular promises of a bright new tomorrow. Such a high-minded vision was assiduously sold to the population as the best way forward, but I contend that it carried a low-down price.
That price was that Government ceded de facto control of entire swathes of the country to the paramilitary gangs. This was memorably summed up by an NIO official describing the brutal murder of Charles Bennett by the IRA as “internal housekeeping.” Taking a life was equated to the sweeping of a floor. Such depravity subsequently informed government policy, and was exploited by republicans and loyalists as they proceeded to houseclean by murdering at will amonst their host community. The peace process had gifted a license to kill to those who wore the balaclava.
Since that time the paramilitary warlords have gained supremacy over large swathes of urban communities. They rule by the usual mixture of fear and violence. They sanction criminality; they act as judge jury, and sometimes, as executioner.
For civilisation to take a grip, it is vital that the rule of law prevails and that it applied equally without friend or favour. No one should be above the law and no one should be crushed underneath its very nose. Yet that is what happens. The rise of the paramilitary warlords, in both republican and loyalist areas, has been accompanied by the corresponding degradation of civilised values.
Against a background of spiralling crime, drug-peddling, high unemployment, parents struggle to cope and their children must see a bleak future.
So what to do? First off, it is vital that Government stops looking the other way. It carries responsibility for the young people in North Belfast as much as North Down. It cannot abandon them to the ferocious embrace of the terrorist mafiosa that presently police these areas. It must act NOW!
The PSNI must be directed to move into these areas, and exercise zero-tolerance with regard to any form of criminal activity. The drug dealers need to be driven out of the area by the legal forces of law. The paramilitary gangs must be squeezed off the streets. There must be a dramatic increase in police man-power and this has to be sustained. Quite where the two-faced hypocrisy of SDLP cries for the removal of the PSNI Full Time Reserve fall into this is unfathomable.
There is also a responsibility on the local community to come out and show that it does not want these monkeys on it's collective back. It has to be clear that it favours the rule of law over the rule of the lawless. Local Church and Community leaders have a role to play here by encouraging this unequivocal condemnation of ALL paramilitaries.
Only by restoring the building blocks of a civilised society can the dreadful problems in the likes of North Belfast be tackled.
It may be a gangster’s paradise but for the aged, the vulnerable, the young and the impressionable, it can turn into a living hell.
DONKEY TO STAND FOR UUP LEADERSHIP?
I was amused to read that a lady in England has valiantly tried to register two of her cows as voters. Alas, she was fined for her bother but her spirit is an inspiration to us all.
For some time, I have wondered what the prospects would be if I were to put forward "Dobbin - the traditional Unionist donkey that you can trust" in Upper Bann against incumbent MP David Trimble. My theory boils down to a nagging suspicion that it doesn't matter a jot what kind of ass you select as a candidate, if you wrap it in a Sash, release ludicrous Press Releases that you have no absolutely no prospect of ever fulfiling, and make sure it is seen on the 12th July by all the right brethern, then you have a really good prospect. So Dobbin "the Traditional Unionist who wants devolution Now" Donkey could yet be Trimble's surprise stalker candidate - waiting to kick his ass, so to speak.
TRIMBLE TOTTERING
When Jeffrey D left the UUP, we were told by the media that Trimble's grip on his Party was actually strengthened! So, a few weeks on, we read in the Belfast Telegraph that - A challenge to his leadership is looming! Once again, Trimble, the political master, demonstrates the meaning of political ineptitude. And all the while, the DUP looks on and smiles.
BRING 'EM HOME ALIVE?
The news that the British Government has succeeded in getting five UK Al Qu'eda suspects released from Guantanamo Bay is very depressing. These five totally innocent characters, accidentally arrested by US Special forces in Afghanistan and Pakistan, had been presumed for some odd reason, (Namely where they were and what they wered oing there) to be likely Al Qu'eda suspects. Hence their detention. But now the sustained moaning of the left, and the rancid instincts of Blair's rotten socialist administration means that the UK has its very own alleged Jihadists back in town. Sleep easy folks- but watch the skies. When they fly into town you just might want to be alert.
THE SHADOW OVER EUROPE
The growing hatred towards Jews in the EU is being brought to the attention of the European Commission by the European Jewish Congress. I fear that they will be listened to very politely and then, once they leave, the flood of money from the EU to Arafat's terror regime will continue unabated. Given Europe's shameful historical treatment of Jewish people, it seems the more things change the more they stay the same. The dark shadow of seething anti-Semitism spreads over Europe.
THEY'RE OFF!
Sunday shopping, Sunday Rugby....and now Sunday Racing! As the Lords's Day gets ever more desecrated, I have to say my sympathies lie with those who take a moral stand againt this business. I so appreciate that some people and some functions have to operate on a Sunday. But Horse Racing...mmm? Having one day in seven that is special, that can be used for worship and reflection, seems a good idea to me. But the Tote thinks differently, I guess.
TRUTH OR JUSTICE?
Des Rea, Chair of the Police Board, has come out (oh er) and said that what Northern Ireland needs now is a Truth Commission. He goes to state that this Super commission would look into all the events of the past thirty odd years in order that people could "reconcile the losses of the past and embrace the future". What crap! This sort of sub-social worker psyco-babble is all we can expect from quango heads.
What those who have lost loved ones to terrorists need is justice. They need the guilty brought to book. They need to see the law-breakers punished, not exonerated in some Faustian mass love-in.
Both Des Rea, and Denis Bradley, spent their time politicising from their quango pulpits. It's absolutely sickening and proof, if proof were needed, that the construction of this farcical Policing Board is one more nail in the coffin for a decent society.
NO INVITES REQUIRED
The DUP has been criticised for not inviting the Roman Catholic Church to its briefings on it's devolution plans. I do agree that it was discourteous not to invite the RC representative. I also wonder why the DUP thinks it is relevant to provide political briefings to religious bodies. Haven't we suffered enough from the explosive mixture of religion and politics?
WHAT A GAY DAY!
The news that a man can be fired for refusing to approve of homosexuality is a sign of the moral decadence in which our society is emersing itself in the name of "equality" Militant homosexual lobbyists are pressing their advantage through the obliging prism of a pink-lensed media, and employers such as A&T are falling over themselves to placate this vociferous minority. It seems to me that balance has got to be restored here, and I do not see that the man concerned did anything that warranted the sack.
SUICIDE NATION
It is very sad to read of the spiralling increase in suicides in North Belfast, making it the suicide capital of Europe, as the Belfast Telegraph puts it. Every death must cause unimaginable pain for the families concerned. The truth of the matter is that areas like North Belfast have been taken over by the paramilitary mafiosa, the rules of the gang prevail, and the rule of law has long since ceased to mean anything. Ceding ground to terrorists is an affront to society, but most of all it is the people amongst whom the terrorists live that suffer the most. What is needed in North Belfast is for the police to ensure that paramilitaries are driven to despair through zero-tolerance policing. Until the Government grasp this, it is young people who will be driven to despair or worse.
UNWISE COUNCILS
Interesting to observe that NI local Councils, the DUP's model for Government, have struck their annual rates increases - in most cases four times above the average rate of inflation. Way to go guys - tax us till the pips squeak! Isn't it pathetic that the staggering economic inefficiency of these Councils is never discussed or challenged beyond the desultory shrig of the shoulders each year? Still people get the Councils and Councillors they deserve.
WHAT A LOAD OF RUBBISH
I see that my local Council, Craigavon, have decided that rate-payers are going to have to cough up £2m for land-fill facilities. Naturally the rates burden, already up 29% in five years, will have to accelerate further. Unbelievable. I think that rather have Councillors, we should relocate a troupe of monkeys from Belfast Zoo in the Craigavon Chamber and allow them to randomly make decisions. The odds are that they would do a better job, show more simian judgement, and deliver improved services. Fresh bananas, anyone?
INTOLERANCE
News reports of overnight attacks on members of an ethnic community in South Belfast are depressing but not surprising. Once again the intolerance that pervades this society raises its ugly head. I think the media "racist attack" bandwagon on this is wrong, however. It attributes the racist motive to the thugs that carried out these attacks when a more obvious motive is apparant - sheer bloody intolerance. The victims could as easily have been Roman Catholics/Protestants/or anyone who looks or behaves "differently." Furthermore, what we need is not a battalion of sociologists spouting their tripe on TV about the evils of racism, what we do need is policemen on the streets prepared to impartially enforce the law. The thugs in South Belfast live in a gangsta paradise with a mollified Policing "Service" turning a blind eye just in case it might arrest the "wrong" guy. My advice - crack down on them all mercilessly, protect all the innocent, the elderly, the ethnic minorities. This can only happen if the rule of law is seen to prevail. After thirty four years, I'm still waiting on that one.
WET AS FISH
Oliver Leftwing is the perfect example of all that is wrong with the British Conservative Party. Having unveiled the Tories spending plans should they get re-elected this side of the second coming, I am decidly underwhelmed. Timid, dull and unoriginal, this is the thinking of a Party still scarred by two terms of Blairism.
I would encourage bolder more imaginative thinking, slashing taxation, reducing the intrusion of the State, assisting entrepreneuralism, freeing choice....all the virtues of a genuine conservative. Timid little Letwin may be much loved by a liberal media but he will do nothing to get his Party back in power.
Try harder, Mr, Howard.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Today is George Washington's birthday. In honor of this great American, the following quote takes pride of place,
"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, Religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great Pillars of human happiness -- these firmest props of the duties of Men and citizens."
Think about that, then think about the likes of Bill Clinton.
A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME..
The rotten bigoted foundations of the Belfast Agreement are nowhere more manifest than in the legalised discriminiation against Protestants and ethnic minorities in the PSNI. The Belfast Telegraph belatedly recognises that this shocking discrimination is wrong but then goes to defend it as a necessary evil. What rubbish. Each job in the PSNI should be occupied by the best qualified candidate regardless of religion. It should be based on meritiocracy not more rancid social engineering - in this case predicated around religion!
The PSNI is proving to be a most unacceptable bastardised form of police force, sorry, service. A pale green shadow of the Royal Ulster Constabulary.
RATS ON THE RUN
News that Northern Ireland's rodent population has mushroomed does not suprise me. After all, when the jail gates were thrown open care of the Good Friday Agreement surely we must have expected this rodent infestation?
AN EXCESS OF HOT AIR
Danny Morrison attacks Tony Blair for being a human windbag. Well, at least that's one thing we can agree on. However the fact is that Mr. Morrison required this human windbag to flog the Belfast Agreement to unionists back in 1997. At that point, republicans were happy to hide their voracious appetites behind the form of St. Tony, as he went about his business of lulling foolish Unionists to vote YES to an appeasement process directed at the IRA. It seems to me that there is an abundance of hot air in the current political process.
BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO
Tensions between the UUP and the Orange Order are neatly summed up in this article by Mark Davenport. As I am a member of neither organisation, I view this rather less passionately than some. On the one hand, I can understand why the UUP would seek to ensure that its membership paid its fees. In many walks of life, membership fees can be a touchy subject. On the other hand, Orange Order cries of "purge" carry a degree of authenticity as Trimble pursues his project of making the UUP permanently non-electable on a unionist vote anyway.
The inherent conflicts of the OO, which portrays itself as a religious and historical organisation, and its links with any specific political party, are coming to a head. Perhaps that will turn out to be a good thing?
ANTI-ZIONISM
The unwelcome strain of ant-Semitism that pervades a strata of Irish society is exemplified in this letter in todays press. By way of balance, read this.
SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY
It's not often that I agree with Liam Clarke but writing in the Sunday Times today he declares that "throwing money at a historic grievance does not bring results." Quite. Regardless of where one stands on the Bloody Sunday issue, the obscene amount of money thrown at this by an appeasement-minded British government intent on buying itself favours with irridentist republicans, cannot be justified. This attempt to rewrite history will achieve nothing of substance. The dead will stay dead. The rights or wrongs of something that has happened three decades ago are subjective and now, anachronistic. Maybe we need a Bloody Friday investigation - same scale, same publicity. Shouldn't the quest for truth extend beyond Derry's walls?
HAKUNA MATATA
So the Orange Order representatives have packed their sun-cream, boarded the Jetplane, and headed off for the South African beano organised by the Parades Commission. In a word, pathetic. Do these bozos have any concept of strategic vision? Do they really think that a Johannesburg jamboree will cause the Drumcree impasse to resolve itself? It seems to me that the Orange Order is an organisation without leadership and without vision. Hope the weather is nice boys.
St. Valentines Day Massacre.
Once more the day dawns with news that the Jihadists in Iraq never rest from their quest to stop democracy from becoming established. What sickens me most is the Euro-weeny chorus in the UK media that paints these Islamofascist thugs as "guerillas." These are the storm-troopers of Bin Laden and their presence in Iraq demonstrates the validity of the Allied operation there. By providing them with media profile, the news broadcasters give hope to these terrorists. One question worth asking is, if you were an Al Qu'eda planner - who would YOU like to see in the White House ...Bush or Kerry? Who would YOU fear most? It's not that tough, is it?
KERRYING THE CAN
Pity JFK....John Kerry to his friends. No sooner had the liberal media gone into hyperdrive on his behalf than, bang, Matt Drudge reports that Kerry has been active in all sorts of ways in recent years. The thing is, I hate this kind of revelation on a persons private life. It strikes me as sordid, intrusive and unfair. Do I care about what Kerry gets up to in his private life? No, I care about his wacko political track record and that's all.
Politics is a dirty world and this in one more instance of dumbed down debate. My only other observation is to note that many of those Dem's now feigning "outrage" at Drudge's report would give their right arm for similar dirt on Bush. These were the same people that happily dished the dirt on the Terminator over in California. Do as I say...eh?
The Friday Essay
RE:UNION
Unionists are a strange breed in many ways, and perhaps few stranger than me! Whether we are pro-Agreement, anti-Agreement, pro-Integration, pro-devolution, the one thing which supposedly binds us together is a common desire to keep North Ireland within the Union with Great Britain. My question is: Why?
The clichéd response is to state that this is the best overall arrangement for all of the people living in Northern Ireland. In a way this is a patronising answer. Republicans, and a significant number of nationalists, beg to differ. If there was a poll tomorrow on the issue of remaining within the Union or leaving it, I do not doubt that a majority of the electorate would vote to remain in orbit with Great Britain. But many would not! How can we explain to them what is so special about the Union that keeps generations of Ulster people committed to preserving it?
There are many different answers to that and it invokes a passion that nationalism should try to understand, if not accept.
Remaining part of the powerhouse UK economy, the world’s fourth largest, is one good practical reason to start with. Quite why anyone would wish to leave this economic success and settle for the Euro-zone with all its troubles and tribulations is not apparent, and has not been argued with any real conviction or with substantive data by Irish nationalists. Whilst the UK retains the Pound Sterling, it offers all of us all sorts of economic advantage together with the national freedom to manage our economic needs according to our specific needs.
Enjoying the rich cultural, artistic and sporting dimensions of a shared UK heritage is another splendid reason to stay in the UK.
The centuries-old links between NI and GB, specifically going back to the Glorious Revolution, also creates a formidable attraction. Ulstermen and women have made the supreme sacrifice in order to preserve our ancient liberties. From Flanders Fields to the Iraqi desert, from the back roads of South Armagh to the donkey tracks on the Falkland Islands, there is a shared blood sacrifice in pursuance of liberty. This is manifest on Remembrance Sunday each year, and affects virtually every family in Northern Ireland.
The Protestant Monarchy is one more reason for staying within the Union. Even at this time of ecumenical apostasy, the UK remains nominally a Protestant nation. Having provided a sound constitutional settlement for centuries, many unionists feel a deep sense of commitment to the Monarch.
One final reason for remaining British is the certainty that we will almost certainly never win the Eurovision Song contest again. With the Franco-German axis of weasel influencing the voters, we must be confident that the national character will be damaged through another unexpected win in Euro-music land.
And yet, questions must be asked.
What value is a Union with GB should Mr Blair take the UK into EMU? If we seek to remain British in order to enjoy ancient liberties, and these liberties are thrown away by Blair, what then? Do we settle for common servitude?
How about if the Union chooses to replace it’s constitutional monarchy? What is the Protestant (or even Christian) dimension to the UK disappears? What if a Roman Catholic Monarch sat on the throne? Would that dim the brightness of the Union?
If being British ceases to be valued by the majority within Britain, whither Ulster Unionism?
I do not seek to trouble Unionists further but sometimes it is very necessary to examine WHY one retains a given political loyalty. An unswerving commitment to an ever-changing Union is admirable in terms of loyalty but is it sensible? Unionists could do worse than reflect on the fundamentals of their professed political allegiances.
Confident Unionism needs to understand why it exists. Pursuing devolved power is not an answer. Maybe we need a debate on the essence of what Unionism means in 2004?
TOPPING UP TOP UP FEES!
Fascinating to see that Universities are already angling to increase the amount they can charge for top-up fees!
The brutal truth here is that the more Government seeks to regulate, interfere and control Education, the worse things will get. Labour's appalling decision to charge top-up fees (Or a tax on learning to be more precise) is driven by their social engineering objective to send 50% of the population to Univerity. Since this has put a huge strain upon Universities, one can understand why they seek more money, but one cannot forgive the government which has brought this disaster about.
WAUGH - WHAT IS HE GOOD FOR?
Writing in the Belfast Telegraph, Eric Waugh produces a rather good article on John Hume's failure to step up to the plate and work with Unionists. In order for Northern Ireland to function effectively, the SDLP had to choose to work with Unionism even if it meant isolating republicans. This is not a question of triumphalism merely realism. Hume flunked this, disappointing many unionists. Perhaps Hume never wanted Northern Ireland to operate effectively, maybe it was his strategy to ensure ongoing constitutional chaos. Either way, the Party he once led shows itself as a lighter shade of green these days and entirely delinquent when it comes to political leadership.
KERRYMANDERING.
Glad to see the Belfast Telegraph has seen fit to print my comments on Senator John "botoxically challenged" Kerry.
With this loser as their standard-bearer, the Dem's have clearly been inhaling even if Bubba Bill didn't.
UNDER AFRICAN SKIES.
Interesting to see that Mr.McKenna is not going off on the South African beano organised by the Parades Commission. I wonder will those intrepid freeloaders from Co. Armagh Grand Lodge who are packing their suitcases as I write feel the need to revise their week-end plans?
Once upon a time, I considered County Armagh Grand Orange Lodge as a worthy institution standing up for liberty in the face of republican agitation. However without any coherent leadership, and stacked with those who can't resist a holiday in the sun, at best we can view them as lions led by donkeys. Pass the sick bucket.
WHAT IS A TERRORIST? - ASKS GERRY ADAMS, SERIOUSLY!.
So leading author, poet, and Leader of IRA/Sinn Fein, Gerry Adams, asks the big question, "What is a terrorist?" Strange he can't work that one out. Let me help.
A terrorist would be the sort of monster that ordered the Bloody Friday outrage in July 1972 in Belfast that saw innocent men and women blown to smithereeens whilst they waited on a bus. A terrorist would be the sort of inhuman thug that gave the approval for the bombing of the La Mon hotel back in 1978.
So I guess all Mr. Adams has to do is discover who was responsible for these barbaric terrorist crimes and, hey presto, he will have 20:20 insight into what a terrorist looks like.
WRECKING IRAQ
The latest massive car bomb assault on the Iraqi Police has been sensationalised by the leftist UK media to present the notion that somehow this is a massive blow to the USA and the "collaborators" in Iraq that work with it.
Only in the fevered imaginations of the hard left could such a conclusion be drawn. It is obvious that these attacks are being controlled by the very militant Islamofascists that we were told did not even exist in Iraq! They are directed against Iraqis! They are aimed at destabilising Iraq society to ensure no form of stable democracy can establish itself. This vindicates the US decision in the first instance . Hysterical media coverage here only plays into the hands of the terrorists. No big surprised there then!
HATE CRIME OR HATE GOVERNMENT?
Labour is the Government that has yet to come across an issue it didn't see fit to legislate for. The latest Hate Crime legislation being proposed is plain stupid. Interfering in every aspect of our life, telling us what we can do, chipping away at our liberty, this is the real agenda of the left. Whilst every sensible person will agree that zero tolerance should be extended to thugs who terrorise innocent people, we do not require more legislation, more liberal self-indulgence, to bring this result about.
BACK FROM THE JUNGLE!
It sure is a jungle out there - in commerce anyway! I've been away on business so this is the first chance I've had to catch up on a lot of issues. Predominant in my thoughts is the "DUP say Yes" to devolution at any price - so long as it looks different from the UUP's position.
There have been several interesting discussions on this on Slugger O'Toole. What interests me most is the remarkable level of DUP supporter acquiescence to a strategy that will restore devolution by placing the IRA's proxies in Government. Such discipline! This contrasts with the rancour in UUP ranks when their policies could, with a degree of logic, be now viewed as tougher than the DUP's.
Do DUP supporters ever question the infallibility of Dr. Paisley? Does Dr. Paisley fully understand what the pragmatists in the DUP have proposed? Is Devolution now more important than guns now? Is principle an optional extra in the Unionist political camp?
I SPY.
Glad to hear that the UK is supposed to have "spied" on at least one other UN Security Council Member, as reported in the Guardian today. Knowing the deviousness and duplicity of countries like China and France, I'd spy on them to. Someone's looking at...!
IS THAT IT?
Just after the momentous Liveaid concert, someone came up to Bob Geldof and asked "Is that it?" Having read the DUP master strategy on strand one issues, I know the feeling! Come on guys, are you serious????
Given the wealth of intelligence and experience within DUP ranks, it's quite a feat to produce proposals which superficially shaft the UUP, but at the same time make the UUP look positively butch on the issue of decommissioning! Is DT about to swap roles with Paisley as Dr. No? Will DUP electoral fortunes benefit from policy dissembling around what constitutes "Government"?
The continuing soap opera of local politics hits a new high in stupidity.
THE ABOMINABLE NO-MEN SAY YES!
Media response to the DUP plans to restore a form of devolution here has been generally quite favourable. The man from the DUP, he say yes to Sinn Fein/IRA in an Assembly, taking decisions on a corporate basis that effect our society! Nice one - just one teensy-weensy question;
If Sinn Fein/IRA is fit to participate in Government in a sub-Executive position, on what basis does the DUP believe they are not fit to participate at Executive level? Are guns a barrier to being a Minister but quite acceptable to being an MLA?
One word comes to mind: hypocrites.
BUSY BUSY
I have been just so busy today that I have had to forego the Friday Essay! (Sighs of relief all round)
That said, one reason I have been so busy is preparing for a four week residency on the BBC Radio Ulster "Seven Days" Sunday lunchtime programme. This week the panel will discuss the 11+ exam issue and rabid Bush-hater Kevin Phillips new book on the Bush family, WMD'S etc. The programme goes on air at 1.10pm and should provide for lively debate.
I will also be appearing on "Hearts and Minds" on BBC1/BBC2 next Thursday 12th February. I have been invited to provide the "If you ask me" section - and guess what, the DUP proposals are in my sight, and I am not happy with them!!!
Look out DUP fans - here comes the axeman!
SAD OR WHAT?
Sometimes you pick up on a story which is so obviously little more than PR hype that it just looks..sad. So when the UUP put out a little item manfully declaring that their membership is surging forward...well, you decide!
I think the major question that has to be asked here is what is in the tea that they drink in Cunningham House. Everybody knows that this is a political Party in crisis. It now looks like it is also a political party in denial.
BIN LADEN TO BEAT BUSH - POLL LATEST!
A poll commissioned by A TANGLED WEB central has come up with the startling conclusion that Osoma bin Laden would definitely beat Bush if he stands against him this November!
Well, OK - thats not true. But anyone watching the hysteria in which the main UK broadcasters are indulging themselves with regard to "botox" Kerry's electioneering success could be forgiven for thinking they would swallow any anti-Bush tripe.
I find the UK profiling of Kerry totally uncritical. He is a "war hero" that puts Bush to shame. Except...he voted against the liberation of Kuwait, he he voted for the liberation of Iraq but said he didn't mean it! Kerry is as twin-faced as Janus and he will be rejected by the US people with a vengeance.
The loopy dems and their UK media apologists can enjoy the feeding frenzy but Kerry's butter in Bush's hands.
WHY I WRITE.
The purpose of A Tangled Web is for this writer to comment on life, the universe, and anything else he takes issue with. Whether people seek to respond or not, on any issue, is down to them. I have provided the facility for them!
One critic has chosen to comment on the lack of comments in recent days - which in itself greatly amuses me. The irony is obviously lost on her!
It is always hard to speak for others but I am entirely driven by a burning desire to articulate my dissent from the contemporary political scene. I am not a member of any Party, nor do I support any one party in NI or GB. I think it is healthy to treat most politicians with caution, to challenge what they say, and to ensure that personal liberty is not traduced in the name of any Party or any agenda.
ST. JOHN TO ASCEND TO HEAVEN?
John Hume, the patron saint of the Belfast Agreement, Nobel Laureate, will announce today that he will be not be standing again for Europe in the May elections.
Bye Bye SDLP! I bet Durkan and co are quaking in their boots this morning.
Hume was many things. At a personal level, I found him a pleasant man, with good intentions. Unfortunately the road to hell is paved with such, and it was his lasting folly to bring the Sinn Fein/IRA monster to life in the body politic. It is now devouring his Party and it will devour his Euroseat.
As I have said before, what does it profit a man that he loses his political party but furthers Irish unity.
Happy retirement John - but you were a political calamity!
KERRY ON LAUGHING.
The Kerry bandwagon rolls on as the botoxically-challenged Dem with a heart of gold (and a wife made of gold) wins several more States. Lieberman has gone (so long Joe) and Edwards is lining up as the number two.
This is great stuff with the BBC salivating over how Kerry can really beat Bush in November. Dream on lefties - once the Kerry track record is examined, and his disgraceful anti-war behaviour analysed, we'll see who sweeps into the White House.
PROVO..SORRY..PHOTO OPPORTUNITY
Well, the Government got the images it was after. There were the IRA's proxies seated at the table and lo and behold, there was the DUP, the abominable no-men. See - Mr. Trimble was right along along. Not. Paul Murphy hails the meeting as "civilised" - oblivious the the irony of having Western Europe's largest terrorist group not far from the seat of power.
Devolution is a honey pot aimed at securing Unionist buy-in to a rolling Irish unity process. The DUP must be very careful what they say.
NO CONFIDENCE.
Few in the pro-union community will be surprised to discover that Nuala O'Loan enjoys little support from serving police officers. I think we need to have an Ombudsman to monitor the Ombudsman!
DAVID THE BAPTIST
Another hilarious column from Roy Garland. In this, he excels even his own standards by describing David Trimble as John the Baptist. Isn't this a bit modest - why not use the name of his successor?
Having spent years selling Ulster for the pound, Vichy Unionists now seek to attribute their own weaknessess, their own innate prejudices, their wretched self-hatred and stupidity to others. For the DUP to follow their example, as Mr. Garland suggests, would be both immoral and stupid. I think wishful thinking is de rigeur at Cunningham House these days. I suppose when there is nothing else to do one can almost forgive them.
Thank god that the Irish News is always open to Roy and his unique grasp of unionism.
The thing about John the Baptist is that he ended up losing his head. Roy doesn't appear to have noticed but Trimble was politically decapitated in November.
Shouldn't someone tell him?
FRESH ELECTIONS ANYONE?
Forgetabout bringing election posters down! Looks like we could be having a June election, if this article is to believed. (Which seems a tad unlikely) The notion of a second Assembly election is a hilarious kite flighted by the increasingly desperate NIO. Just imagine how the DUP would gain even MORE seats at Mr. T's expense, and how Sinn Fein/IRA would pulverise the puny SDLP. The penny has to drop that the GFA is dead and a decent burial is required. The lugubrious Mr. Murphy has to learn "to leave the past behind and move forward"
REISS'S PEACES!
New US special envoy, Mitchell Reiss, arrives today in Northern Ireland. He is very welcome and one hopes he will prove rather less accommodating to Sinn Fein/IRA than his predecessor, the Haas-been. The US has a pivotal role to play in facilitating genuine political progress here, my worry is always that State get the wrong end of the stick (e.g. The Roadmap in the Middle East) then sell it back to the President, and then everyone sits back and watches while it goes up in smoke. Diplomatic wheels move slowly but surely, and let's hope that Reiss can identify the GFA is dead and that we need to all start thinking outside the box to find a new political solution.
INCOMPETENT WORKERS?
It seems that one in five workers in England are incompetent at their jobs, if this report is to be believed. As with all such polls the findings must be treated with some caution. Yet there are a couple of points that can be made;
1. We need to improve the standard of vocational based education. Too many children are being forced down a pseudo-academic route which is not best suited to them OR societal needs.
2. Is Government hiding behind this "poll" and planning to use it as a weapon for their on-going crusade against any type of worthwhile GCSE or A level qualification?
THE PEACE OF GOD
Leaving aside politics for a moment, I was relieved, if that is the right word, to see that the body of the young boy who had fallen into the sea near Killough three weeks ago has been found. The grief that his family has gone through, waiting to see if their sons body would ever be recovered, is unimaginable. To lose a child in any circumstances must be appalling, but to have your son washed away into the stormy depths of the sea is horrific. Let us hope that the peace of God embraces this family and gives them comfort. They should be in our prayers.
CRUISE CONTROL
"The main thing that endears the United Nations to member governments, and so enables it to survive, is its proven capacity to fail, and to be seen to fail" Well said, Dr Conor Cruise O'Brien!
The US should withdraw from this sham, leave it's terror loving members to their own corrupt anti-US devices, and watch it fall apart financially even as it disappears up its own immoral orifice.
PEANUT BRAIN.
As a rule of thumb, if Jimmy Carter is in favour of it, then I am against it. The Ulster-Scots musical that Carter favours, and being argue for by the amusingly named Lord Laird, is a really bad idea for one simple reason. Politicians meddling in showbiz musicals is always a bad idea. Och aye!
GLUG GLUG GLUG..!
So now UUP's Lord Kilclooney comes out and confirms that the Party will remain hopelessly split under Trimble's leadership! No doubt the delusional tendency such as Roy Garland and Steven King will view this as another victory for their peculiar strategy for sinking the ship whilst denying they are getting wet. Lifejackets anyone?
READ THE EVIDENCE!
The “rush to judgement” by the political left and their media courtiers following the evidence given to the Senate Armed Services Committee by David Kay, the CIA’s chief weapons Inspector in Iraq until last week, flies in the face of what Dr. Kay actually said! No surprises there the, but it might be worthwhile to point them out anyway!
The media have seized on the comment that Iraq didn’t have “large stockpiles of newly produced weapons of mass destruction” as confirmation in their fevered minds that the war was wrong. No blood for oil has been justified. The BBC, having been thrashed by Hutton over claims that the UK government lied over WMD now turn their broken guns on the US! But David Kay said much more than this, and a far from accurate picture has been presented, all aimed at propping up the wacko anti-war brigade.
It is a matter of fact that Saddam had chemical and biological WMD in 1998. He refused to provide any documentation that he had destroyed these WMD’s in the intervening period before the US liberation in 2003.
Dr. Kay did not conclude that Saddam was any less a threat to U.S. national security than originally estimated by President George Bush. He said "I actually think this may be one of those cases where it was even more dangerous than we thought. I think when we have the complete record you're going to discover that after 1998 it became a regime that was totally corrupt. Individuals were out for their own protection. And in a world where we know others are seeking WMD, the likelihood...of a seller and a buyer meeting up would have made that a far more dangerous country than even we anticipated...." It was this prospect of Saddam and his minions brokering biological or nuclear WMD to surrogate factions like al-Qa'eda that led to the liberation of Iraq by the U.S.-led coalition last year.
"We know that terrorists were passing through Iraq," Dr. Kay said. "And now we know that there was little control over Iraq's weapons capabilities. ... Iraq was a very dangerous place."
Dr. Kay also made it clear that “If you read the total body of intelligence in the last 12 to 15 years that flowed on Iraq, I quite frankly think it would be hard to come to a conclusion other than that Iraq was a gathering, serious threat to the world with regard to WMD."
Dr Kay added “We know from some of the interrogations of former Iraqi officials that a lot of material went to Syria before the war, including some components of Saddam's WMD program." Kay added, ominously, "Precisely what went to Syria, and what has happened to it, is a major issue that needs to be resolved." Silence from the BBC on that point.
Hilary Clinton, questioning Dr. Kay asked “ I think that rightly does raise questions that we should be examining about whether or not the U.N. inspection process pursuant to 1441 might not also have worked without the loss of life that we have confronted both among our own young men and women, as well as Iraqis."
Dr Kay replied by informing her that a number of Iraqis had come forward and said, 'We did not tell the UN about what we were hiding, nor would we have told the UN because we would run the risk of our [losing our own lives]' -- I think we have learned things that no UN inspector would have ever learned given the terror regime of Saddam.... Iraq was in clear violation of the terms of Resolution 1441. ... Iraq was in clear and material violation of 1441. ... So there was a lot they wanted to hide because it showed what they were doing that was illegal. I hope we find even more evidence of that."
Dr Kay also said that “There's still going to be an unresolvable ambiguity about what happened. [Some of the looting] was designed by [Saddam's] security services to cover the [WMD] tracks."
The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, having listened to all the evidence presented to him said, "Anyone who believes otherwise has not done their homework and certainly was not listening to Dr. Kay."
Once again, the frenzied gnashing of leftist teeth distracts from the underlining reality that we were 100% right to go to war against the Saddamite dictatorship. The world is a safer place for the brave actions of the US and its many allies.
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