So Peter Robinson thinks it’s not helpful for Martin McGuinness to ‘pull the pin out of the hand-grenade’ with his talk of St Patrick’s Day as a deadline for getting the fiasco of the Haass talks sorted. What an odd image to use, don’t you think? OK, it’s not an odd image. He could have said Martin was wrong to raise the stick as if to break a Clontibret window, but that wouldn’t have conveyed the sub-text Peter wanted. The hand-grenade image is Peter’s way of saying to his electorate “See this McGuinness guy? I’m with you – he is/was a ****ing terrorist and if I had my way, I wouldn’t be yoked with him for five minutes. I blame the Doc. So remember that and vote for me”. It’s the election, stupid.
I’ve just watched the Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore on TV telling us that if agreement isn’t found between the parties here, then the Irish and British government will intervene to sort things out. And as I watched something extraordinary happened. Eamon’s fine head of hair melted into baldness, the glasses came off his nose, his ruddy colouring grew paler, his face thinned and he developed a very gentle Cork accent. In short, he became Jack Lynch. And what he was saying was “We in the Irish government cannot stand idly by and watch this terrible state of affairs in the north.” We all know how full of substance Jack’s words were, back in the day. And we all know how desperate Eamon is to find a cause, any cause, goddamit the north will do, to lift him and his party out of the political doldrums before it’s too late. It’s the election, stupid.
Listening to gilmore would make anyone sick,all the hype is to distract attention from irish water, a board made up of inexperienced CRONIES of the ruling junta..Anything to distract attention from the coming debacle will be used…I for one will not pay water taxes and i hope other people will follow suit.
it’s all very easy to criticise Eamon Gilmore and Jack Lnych, but in fairness what can or could eitrher of them do ?
If Eamon phoned you and asked what he could or should do, what would you tell him ?
We are a small tiny country at the edge of Europe (and financially broke too).
He has very limited powers.
Thanks for thoughts, Chris and Dublin6. I think you’ve hit it, Chris. My criticism of Gilmore/Lynch, Dubln6, would be that they (i) pretend to give a damn about the north; (ii) pretend they’re going to do something. They don’t care and they have no clout. I don’t criticise them for lack of clout but for their pretence of same; I most certainly do criticise them for not giving a damn about the north and effectively treating the Irish people north of the border as some kind of weird psychotics.
Hi Jude ,you could not have explained it better.Gilmore and co throw muck and smokescreens with the aid of their people in the media.in essence this state is controlled by 3 cabinet ministers and their well paid and unelected advisiorsThe govt pay guides were broken for the advisiors,one would have to ask about their pension rights as well……
If you are so critical and dismissive of the Southern Government ,why is there a photograph of yourself and Enda Kenny highlighting your responses?
So THAT`S who that is. I was asking `who is that guy with Jude Collins…` Incidentally Jude, were there no grenades among the massive pile of weapons imported into the north by Paisley and Robinson associated Ulster Resistance in 1988?
Argenta, it’s a little thing called ‘irony’. Remind me to explain it to you some day.
Another Jude: they didn’t ask me to make an inventory of it so I’m not in a position to say
Jude, I have just checked and yes, Soviet Fragmentation Grenades were indeed part of the massive arms haul imported for, amongst others, Ulster Resistance. I do not know whether these have a pin or not, maybe Peter would be kind enough to go through the records and find out for me? I think I am right in saying Michael Stone used them at Milltown.
Oops, I do the Resistance a disservice, they also imported parts of a Javelin Surface to Air missile, God only knows who or what they intended to shoot down with that thing.
Im supprised that you have forgotten that many of the weapons that the uvf ,and the uda had were supplied by the ruc special branch and the british army,never mind the homemade varity that was produced in the harland and wolf machine shops and if shorts were asked to produce items that were stolen from their stockrooms, they would be embarrased by the shortfall….However…we would hope those days were dead and gone….Im not supprised that Peter Punt and big ian have fallen out over the heave but thats politics…..Hopefully the past will be consigned to history and peace will reign…
Peter Robinson – by using such a cack-handed phrase “about people pulling pins from grenades” simply flags up his – and his party’s – frustration at being so completely
out-manoeuvred by Nationalists, most recently at the Haass talks.
Peter Robinson, like the majority of the unionist leadership – to their deep displeasure – is reduced to all bark – but there’s no capacity to bite.
It’s all good.