Northern Ireland, Let them bloody well have it!

I grew up through the 1970s and the 80s when as far as I know, the IRA was at its most violent, most destructive and became enough of an entity for the government (eventually under Blair at the turn of the millennium) to do what they should've done from the very beginning and commence dialogue with the disgruntled freedom fighters in the spirit of democracy. Everyone got Nobel Peace Prizes and all the old murderers (on both sides of the fight) sat happily in the Houses of Commons and Lords together at last and in peace.

Isn't it really interesting to see what an MP's salary, expense allowances and lifestyle will do to a man's courage and conviction?

Blair killed the problem of the IRA because he took in the hungry wolves who were Sinn Fein and fed them so much political lamb that they didn't know what to do with themselves. He gave them something to lose and that's when they finally betrayed their people. The thing is that their people didn't realise this straight away because they were allowed to feed too. House prices went up. The economy looked good and for once, they didn't have to fear being blown into a hundred pieces on their way to the bank.

Then (who could've predicted it?) the banks blew up, the jobs in construction and real estate began to vanish. The acorns and shoots of growth in the local economy began to whither and die and so did the illusion. Small numbers of people started to see that all that was achieved by the hollow peace process was that their ageing trusted leaders were given great jobs with great benefits and great pensions. What did they do next? Not much! Has anyone seen Gerry or Martin on the news fighting for stimulus packages fro NI? I know I haven't...and I look at the news for a living. They might be doing stuff on local TV but there is no sight of them in London. I can't even remember the last time I saw Gerry on the TV in any capacity.

The murders have started again. How can this be? We have given them what they wanted, Haven't we? No!

What I think they want is independence, presuming it's not just blood and mayhem. They should be entitled to it too. I don't understand why as a country are we still trying to hold on to a geographical race of people who don't want our rule? We've already lost the empire and it would really make economic and common sense for the nation if we were to give the N.Irish what they wanted; freedom!...same goes for the Scottish and the Welsh to be perfectly honest. Sure there would probably be trouble, but it wouldn't be our trouble to sort out and quite frankly it never really was.

The reemergence of murder in NI is just about the last thing anyone needs at the moment so why don't we do the honourable thing for once in our political history and let them go forth without us if that's what they're fighting for. The last thing I want to see happen is for the fight to come back to London again...I've got too much to loose now and I'll be damned if my children will grow up in the shadow of the IRA as well as teenage pregnancy, stabbings, drugs, global warming and bankers.

Republican Thugs in NI Must be Nipped in the Bud

Well it didn't take long for troubles to flare up in Northern Ireland which is a real shame. I've been thinking to myself over the last couple of years that it's been really good to see old guard terrorists talking their troubles out face to face, like civilised human beings in parliament and regional assemblies. The economy of NI even started to look promising for the future and at one point a couple of years ago, house prices there were growing faster than anywhere in the country.

Then global financial problems start to happen. House prices drop, unemployment rises, and everything seems to be headed back to square one. First sign of trouble, the guns come out and they want to start shooting and blowing people up again. Gunmen opened fire in a drive-by style shooting at Massereene Barracks in Antrim last night, killing two soldiers and wounding another four (including two pizza delivery men). The soldiers had just picked up pizza in fact and were supposed to be flying out to Afghanistan that night to fight a real war against another militia who also seems to lack the bravery and intelligence to engage their enemy in diplomacy like civilised human beings.

By all reports, although no group has claimed the attack, it is believed that it was carried out by a splinter republican group who have been linked to an increasing security threat to local police officers. Apparently this group is in a small minority so one can only hope that people in the area will not look to harbour them for fear of their country slipping back to what it was like before the peace process.

What needs to happen is the quick apprehension and conviction of these thugs before they claim glory for what they have done. What we don't want to see in a region that will undoubtedly be hit hard by the recession with many likely to blame the government for poverty, home repossessions and job losses, is for the perpetrators to gain any capital or credibility for their cause from this cowardly attack.