Well, it must have seemed like a good idea at the time. The bright spark who came up with Bush’s WMD hide-and-seek gag must be regretting it now. Dubya’s joke at the Radio and Television Correspondents Association last week has stirred up a maelstrom. He has been lambasted for his poor taste in laughing about a war in which more than 500 US soldiers have died. Even Na
You talk about "one-sided" but never in your article do you mention the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. You act like Israel is some poor little country which has the misfortune of being surrounded by people with an irrational hatred of them. Israel is the occupier, Israel is the aggressor, Israel out-kills the Palestinians by three to one. The murder of Yassin will not make Israelis any safer.
You don't have any bases in Taiwan btw. US support is important but don't expect Taiwan to throw in the towel if Uncle Sam abandons them. It's not a banana republic you know, they have clout.
You're not really saying much more than "there is life, so there must be God" which I find unconvincing. Even if there is some higher being, what makes you think it's "God" as you understand him? Why can't it be Allah? The fact that Christianity emphasises "blind faith" so much is very telling. It's like saying "I can't prove any of this so just close your eyes and believe". Not good enough. The fact is that evolution is a sound scientific th
Yes the two parties have definitely moderated a lot in recent years which is a good thing. It's still depressing to see these two on top. The fact that the youth vote is fuelling their rise is also worrying. Partly the SDLP/UUP's fault for being too lacklustre.
I like that "oil is limited, blood isn't" idea. Never thought about it in that way before. Thanks Jepel.
"The opposite of love, I have found, is not hate, but indifference." Elie Weisel
Hands are very much in the news today. Much of the coverage of Tony Blair’s visit to Tripoli today has focussed on the fact that he shook hands with Muammar Gaddafi. Metaphorically, the Libyan leader’s hands drip with the blood of innocents. According to some, the British Prime Minister should have a bar of soap ready. Some, especially on the British right,
I wish you were right, but I don't think so. Unionist support for the agreement started to dissipate quickly after it was signed. There are lots of reasons but chief among them would be decommissionig, prisoner releases, continuing paramilitary activity, police reform and Martin McGuinness as Education Minister. In the 1998 referendum unionists narrowly backed the agreement. The decisive factor was the middle-class, couldn't-care-less unionis
That was a very long blog so I can't pull out all the bits that I disagree with. Here's a sample: "First of all is 9/11. One of the worst acts in U.S. history comparable to Pearl Harbor. Nothing short of admirable was his leadership in these most difficult of times" Do you think it was "admirable" to take half a day to get from Florida to DC when the country had been attacked? He certainly didn't seem like a leader that day. That mant
It's worse than that. Bush couldn't go to Belfast, there'd have been too many protestors. He just dropped into Hillsborough Castle for a few hours. It's outside Belfast, so harder for him to hear the voices of protest. He saw as much of Belfast as he did of Baghdad. I'm sure his faux pas upset Trimble, the man is a notorious pedant.
Sydney Elliot, the leading psephologist, used to present the electoral history of Northern Ireland (NI) in three distinct phases. In the first stage, from NI’s formation until the outbreak of the Troubles, elections were dull affairs. On the unionist side there was one party, the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), for whom all unionists dutifully voted, election after elect
By all accounts David Trimble, leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), is a hard man to like. Cold, pedantic and distant, the Bangor man is not the type to attract a large personal following. In spite of this, and of my political differences with him, I can’t help but admire the man. I count myself as a stubborn person but even I must doff my cap to Trimble when it
Some people in Israel want to tear down al-Aqsa to build a new temple but they're a small minority. In Avi Shlaim's book "Iron Wall" he records that the IDF's chief rabbi in 1967, Gen. Shlomo Goren, wished to blow up the mosque after it fell to the Israelis. Wiser heads prevailed.
E Macy, I'm really disappointed. I thought your rant against the Jews a few days back was an abberation. You put up a blog explaining your comments and retracting them which was good of you. But then you come out with the same prejudice again in this blog. I think you need to be very careful, considering history, when discussing Jewish influence. I think it's indisputable that Jews in America have power out of proportion with their n
sgsmitty64, In answer to your question, Emmet planned a large uprising but only 80 people turned up. They marched on Dublin Castle (British HQ in Ireland). I think some people died (not sure). The whole thing was a mess, Emmet was caught, tried and executed. The inportant thing in Ireland is not to succeed but to fail gloriously. I'm using the song as an example of how martyrs are remembered long after their death. Sometimes they didn
Larry, I'm always surprised how positive you are about my Palestine blogs coz you and I don't exactly sing from the same hymn sheet on this issue. I wish you were right about negotiations but I dont think you are. As far as I can see, there are very few Israelis prepared to pull out from the West Bank entirely. For me this is the price of peace. I think most Israelis, with the exception of Meretz and their like, want peace on the chea
Bold Robert Emmet, the darling of Eireann. Bold Robert Emmet, he died with a smile. Farewell companions, both loyal and daring. He lay down his life, for the Emerald Isle. So goes the chorus of “Bold Robert Emmet” a tribute to the leader of the 1803 Irish rebellion against British rule. “Rebellion” is perhaps the wrong word in
Yeah, I suppose it comes down to what you want, a wide EU of many loosely-connected states or a deep EU of fewer inter-connected states. I'd say all the other countries you mention are a long way off becoming members, if ever. It took 15 years to get countries like Poland in (far too long if you ask me). The interesting thing about Turkey's entrance is that it raises issues of identity, is the EU a Christian club etc? I think that EU membershi
There’s a queue outside the European Union, the most exclusive club in town. For the past ten years Poland, Hungary et al have stood outside patiently waiting to be let in. Very soon, the doorman will stand aside and ten Central and Eastern European states will shuffle in the door. Further back in line, the likes of Croatia have been promised they’ll be let in soon, despite fighting in line. <B
BakerStreet, "If you ignore the inherent, cultural anti-Semitism within the Islamic faith" And Christianity has a better record on this issue? Relations between Muslim, Christian and Jew were quite good in Palestine in the pre-Zionism days. "so you can pretend that "truth" is what it is about. There is no "truth", only "belief". " Huh? I said that a blackwhiter believes in one truth, their truth. I'm sceptical about
BriRyJor, "O G San needs to understand that just because he believes U.S. foreign policy is hypocritical of U.S. values such as democracy, doesn't mean all arguments that support U.S. foreign policy are hypocritical." Your criticism is valid, my use of language in the post when I wrote: "OK, then drop the hypocritical rhetoric." was too vague. I was refering to the US, not to you in particular. I can see how you thought I was referin
Corio, Thanks for your kind words. VES, Interesting point. I'm no expert at the more philosophical stuff but I suppose what distinguishes a shadesofgreyer from a blackwhiter is the idea that they may be wrong. That there could be another Truth, or many Truths, or no Truth. A blackwhiter would always believe that they had the Truth. I suppose there could be such a thing as an absolute relativist, someone who always a
BakerStreet, "You go a long way to describe why the people we are opposed to feel their racial hatred" Actually, I don't mention race in the blog at all, I talk about politics and religion. I'm quite happy to discuss why certain Americans may dislike certain other races but always on the premise that THIS IS WRONG. I don't think hating Jews is acceptable regardless of who is doing it. I think describing Palestinian violence
If I could steal another Joeuser’s name it would be shadesofgrey. I’ve always believed that there’s more to life than black and white; that nuance, subtlety and context are important when appraising any situation. I’ve always suspected those who assume to possess The Truth, who believe themselves to be completely right and noble and their opponents to be entirely wrong and evil. Curren
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