Terrorists how they justify this?

[The PIT]

Lets see if the picture attaches this time. This loyalist terrorists targeting children going to school. This child was hit by schrapnel from a nail bomb from by loyalist terrorists. These guys don't understand they're are not wanted by anyone in Britain. Hopefully the war on terrorism will get around to these non descripts.

[Joel]

The main problem with terrorists, no matter who they are, is that are nothing but a bunch of F***ING COWARDS who only attack those that can't fight back.

Joel

[The PIT]

Even better the residants in the area are extending a wall to block off catholics and protestant areas from each other. Time the area was bulldozed overnight. Again the excuse is religon.

[Gurm]

Damn Catholics.

Catholicism is second only to Islam in... oh, wait. We're supposed to be tolerant, right?

I vote that we grab the Pope along with Bin Laden. His policies have killed millions of children in third world countries whose parents won't use birth control, thus dooming 17 of their 18 children to starvation and early death.

- Gurm

[Wombat]

That comment seems a little misplaced here Gurm. If I have my facts straight, the loyalists are protestants. That child is Catholic.

[Gurm]

Oops, dammit. You mean I can't use this thread as an excuse to exercise my anti-Catholic rhetoric?

You do know that some die-hard papalists still believe that you go to hell if you use a fork, right?

*sigh*

Ok, apparently you missed my hidden meaning - which was that we can find reasons to hate ANYONE.

- Gurm

[agallag]

Take any racial/religious/societal group. A small percentage of them will most likely be sociopathic whack jobs. It's not restricted to islam/catholicism/chess club members. There are just some seriously imbalanced people out there, and they're the ones that need to be exterminated.

Figuring out which ones are dangerous is the hard part.

[The PIT]

Well the IRA claim to have decommisioned some of their arms what the Loyalists? This rarely gets mentioned on the British news and when it does it's said in hushed tones like they said something wrong. More political correctness ????

[KvHagedorn]

What a pretty little girl. Thank heaven it didn't get her in the eye or worse.

I don't think any of it is REALLY about religion. It's about nationalism. When people murder or harm innocents in the name of God, it's blasphemy, and I think I would want Him on my side if I had to go to war.

[The PIT]

When asked Loyalists said you'll get commisioning if and when we feel like it. Come on Mr Blair a bit of preasure please.

[RedRed]

Pit:

I know, the Loyalist groups (so called because they wish to remain part of the UK - Loyal to what?) have mostly been re-subscribed - meaning that they are no longer considered part of the NI peace process - that they have broken their cease fire. This happend a couple of weeks ago when they started shooting at the Police during rioting (they have killed a few people over the last year too). This rioting is hapening every night accross one part of Belfast.

Years ago, it was the 'Nationalist' minority who rioted - now it seems that it is almost exclusively the 'Loyalists'.

I agree with KvHagedorn.
This is not particularly about religion, rather it is about political influence and strength. The Protestant people in Northern Ireland were, since the partition of Ireland in the 1920's, the majority force, controlling everything from electral boundaries (its Northern Ireland where the term Gerrymandering come from) to the allocation of housing planning and school provision and, most importantly the Police.

This powerbase has been eroded since the late 1960's (with the resulting rise in Loyalist paramilitaries), with the introduction od direct rule from London, breaking the political strength of the Protestant majority.

With the new assembly, where the views of both sides of the community must be heard (a decision cannot be made without a number of both nationalists and Unionists aggreeing), and a beginning to decomissioning, we look hopeful for a brighter future.

I hope the loyalists follow suit, but I am not entirely hopeful).

The riots in the North of the city are as much one sides as the other, however. The loyalist rioters are in a small enclave of a largely nationalist area. They fly Flags and taunt people. The nationalists then vandalised the flags and destroyed murals, as I understand it. This then escalated, as it always does. The school children are now escorted down this loyalist enclave by riot police. The ironic thing is is that the enclave is only about 8 streets in size, and the kids could be led round the area, through the side entrance of the school. The parents refuse to take them round the extra 1/2 mile to school. My ex-lodger (who works in a health clinic in the area told us that half the kids are now on anti-depressants, because they are too young to understand this turf war. Tis is a primary school, the oldest kids are about, what 10?

Regards
John J

[mdhome]

RedRed

This reminds me of 2 people I used to work with at Unisys. Both were from NI. One was Protestant (ex British Army Tank regiment) and the other a Republican. God did they hate each other. Must have been a clash of personalities. .

There was a superb Spitting Image episode about 10 years ago or more where the *Rev* Ian Paisley was spouting off his vitreol against Gerry Adams. "Lord, can you manifest yourself as boils on the underside of Gerry adams' bum". At the time it was funny but now I just look at both sides with disgust. The people of NI have suffered because of people like these.

regards MD

[RedRed]

Too true MD home.......


Regards
RedRed

[The PIT]

I think I did say earlier that religon is an excuse. Both sides are guilty of large crimes however it seems more politically correct to condem the IRA and splinter groups than it does the Loyalists. Since the loyalists think they're loyal to Britain cougth cougth it's up to Tony Blair to put preasure on them to also decommision.
A lot of people on mainland Britain don't want anything to do with Northern Ireland and wish we'd pull out and disown them or let the UN sort it out.

[Wombat]

Hey RedRed,
It's a minor point, but something about your post got my attention. Gerrymander does <B>not</B> come from Ireland. It comes from Massachusetts.

http://www.dictionary.com/cgi-bin/dict.pl?term=gerrymander

I tried to find web sites that credit an Irish event for the word, but none exist.