One of our unionist political thinkers (yes, there are so many of them, Virginia, I can’t remember which and I’m too lazy too check ) has come up with a solution to the problem of our border post-Brexit. This Thinker figures that drones should do it. This is an advance on the thinking of Arlene Foster, who spoke of an electronic border and data and technology, but failed to mention the use of drones. That omission has now been rectified.
The Thinker and Arlene are indeed right – or rather, half-right. Electronic surveillance played a major part in the British army’s spying during our Troubles; and if you travel the M50 around Dublin, you’ll be struck by the absence of toll-booths and the presence of electronic surveillance that will end up with you getting a fine in the post if you’ve failed to cough up either before or shortly after your journey along said M50. Clearly the same system could be applied to goods in trucks heading north or south – there’d be no need to have someone do a UDR ( see Lisburn’s heroic statue) and flag people down for a detailed search.
And the drone? I didn’t find the Thinker totally clear on this, apart from a brief comment on a drone hovering over a truck heading north. But look, if you’re talking about modern technology, you have to put something in about drones. Otherwise readers might think you don’t know about them. So drones will definitely play a part.
But what baffled me most was not what the Thinker said, but what s/he didn’t. Not a mention of immigrants. Rather important lapse, that. if I’m driving a truck up north, electronic equipment might well detect whether I’d filled out the necessary forms and paid the requisite amount before embarking on my journey, but as far as I know they have yet to develop a technology, drone or otherwise, that’ll tell if I have half-a-dozen immigrants in the back. And you’ll remember, it was the whole immigrant thing that spooked the great British public into voting for Brexit in the first place. At all costs (and boy, will there be costs), keep the furriners out. Alas, short of building a Trump-type wall along the 310-mile border, it’s hard to see how they’ll keep desperate people from crossing into the UK via our own dear border.
Yes I know Charlie Flanagan has said there’ll be no hard border, Arlene Foster has said the same, the Thinker person has done ditto. But either the border will be a hard border with check-points and customs-posts and show-us-your-passport enquiries, or Britain may decide the hell with it, and the island of Britain will be the starting point for customs check-up. In which case, stand by for a knee-and-gouge rumble each time Nelson McCausland is asked for his passport as he enters Britain, and stand by for a boatload or two of immigrants being drowned off the coast of Penzance.
Good article Jude, I have thought of the immigrant issue too.
Regarding the drones, can they go over private property? – road widths were i live are just 2 meters. Could i take these drones down with a .22 or a hornet shot and not be prosecuted?
i cant wait to see all this codology about a border & how it will pan out.
My own road passes into the North twice going to Cavan. I cant wait to see how they will handle the Clones pene-enclave.
There is some talk about them closing all the minor roads again, what they did in my youth. The bold Chinooks hovering into the South – intentionally. Scaring the sheep and cattle. Manys a time i seen the roads reopened in 24 hrs.
On the approved roads – “Can i see your ID Sir”, “Step out of the car, open your boot mate”
Do we want a return to this?
I cant wait to see how long this will last. Has the brexits thought how this will be implement safely without a return the 80’s??
I have to cross the county boundary over a dozen times a week.
The British must know that bringing back a hard border is the end of the GFA and peace process. Are they prepared?
perhaps they are thinking about an Island wide solution. Does the DUP know this but are not letting on?
I’ve a notion that the “new” border will be at the docks and airports across the UK “mainland”. Norneverland will be irrevevant in the Grand Plan and all the vetoing and streaming will be done at the likes of the Liverpool Docks or John Lennon International and Heathrow. That’s where all the extra staff will be employed. As long as these “foreigners” stay in Ireland and don’t make it onto English soil ,everything will be just Jake and there’ll be more jobs to go around checking them all out. and sendin them back At Westminster they’ll not bother too much if Norneverland continues to become a multi-racial society just like themselves…just as long as there are a few spares to send over when needed to run the hospitals..
If you shot at it with a .22 or .17HMR you should be arrested as you should not be shooting a rifle without there being a suitable backstop. 12 Bore is the guy, just think high pheasant.
Drone Alone, not
Grey areas call for grey matter
No room here for a mad hatter
In his Gaza strip
And Royal tieclip
John A is sipping with A. Shatter.
I fear the worst. The Tory right will not give a toss about the GFA or nationalist sensitivities if they decide on a hard border. If the English public express concerns about it, they will simply go to work on persuading them otherwise through their Tory establishment press. We better pray that Hillary gets elected in the States because the GFA is her husband´s baby and the Clinton´s will not look too kindly on the GFA unravelling. I also hope that the Irish Government will not bow to extreme unionist sentiment, and hold their ground but not holding one´s breath comes to mind.
Bully, the unionist power has greatly diminished since the day of the unionist Sunningdale related protests that brought the North to a standstill. And then again in 1996 when they couldnt march down Garvaghy road. They tried to bring the North to a standstill in 2012 for the flag protest, that failed miserably.
The DUP may be playing to crowd about wanting brexit, etc but behind it all they are scared the border will come make. A border isn’t good business & they were always more loyal to the half-crown anyway.
“Bully, the unionist power has greatly diminished since the day of the unionist Sunningdale related protests that brought the North to a standstill”
True, the combined Unionist vote at May’s Assembly Election was 44.2% according to my source, that’s obviously not even a majority. Of course you have to account in all the people who don’t vote, that goes for both Unionist and Nationalist. More and more Nationalists aren’t coming out to vote, the reason why is debatable and another topic but it needs sorted. I mean, I’m not often happy with Sinn Fein/SDLP or the new People Before Profit but I always vote and encourage all nationalists to.
“And then again in 1996 when they couldnt march down Garvaghy road”
Drumcree was an absolute disgrace, what that community had to go through was horrible, literally locked in and besieged by Loyalists with the backing of political Unionism. There is numerous Catholic families who had loved ones murdered due to Orange demands to parade. That’s why I find it insulting and disgraceful that the Orange Order still think they can march down that road, they have no shame. The biggest mistake we can ever do is show tolerance to contentious orange parades which were deliberately made contentious by the Orange Order for sectarian reasons. We don’t demand to march and make contentious parades, nor should they.
Its amazing Ryan the Orange Order had some power in its day. You reminded me of a story of how one of my ancestors was killed outside Monaghan Town in 1840, as a result of an orange march in the town. He was sitting on horse cart trying to come up the street, when an orange march procession insisted on coming down the street and expected all horses and carts to pull in. His horse got startled and the cart toppled over, my ancestor hit his head of the nearby wall – died. 6 children orphaned. The protestant owned paper that time, The Northern Standard didn’t publish the report.
Great article, well worth a read.
http://www.irishnews.com/opinion/columnists/2016/10/05/news/lack-of-leadership-among-unionists-is-shameful-718989/
If nationalists are banking on Hilary Clinton then they are in trouble. She’ll not worry too much about the GFA as she’ll have bigger fish to fry. Don’t kid yourselves that Clinton cares one iota. The Clintons involved themselves in the peace process for opportunistic reasons I.e votes fron the Irish American community.
“This Thinker figures that drones should do it”
OK, so how will this work? Whose drones will they be? Will they be drones belonging to the Irish Government or British Government? Will the Irish Government approve of such drones if their flown by the British? We know the Irish Government would never consider allowing British soldiers an inch into Irish territory in the Troubles, will they allow British drones into Irish airspace now? I doubt it. Or vice versa? would the British Government allow Irish drones into the north? I wouldn’t have an issue with that, given I believe the Irish government should have the right to govern all 32 counties.
Then there’s safety to consider. What if these drones pose a danger to helicopters and airplanes around the border? We hear in Britain that theres going to be a ban on drones flying near airports, even small drones available for less than £100 to the public. These drones have forced pilots to make emergency landings and refuse to take off out of safety concerns.
Then what’s stopping these drones from being shot down? Yes they fly very high and all but all you would need is an air rifle to shoot them down. We see the PSNI using drones to record riots, for example during the fleg protests. The PSNI even give out warnings that people will be arrested for shooting at or even shining a laser pen at the drones because it can damage its delicate instruments. What’s stopping dissidents or even just normal people along the border going out and shooting the drones down, with real guns or something else?
” In which case, stand by for a knee-and-gouge rumble each time Nelson McCausland is asked for his passport as he enters Britain”
I think that’s the only reasonable solution. The Irish Sea/English channel is the only reliable way for Britain to control its borders. As I said before if there’s any attempt to ask for passports at the border I will refuse to show mine and I encourage others to do the same. I don’t know what the British Government is going to do about the border but common sense and reason clearly says to make Britain’s ports the immigrant checkpoint. But the British Government doesn’t usually have common sense, their history in the North proves that with their countless disastrous decisions. I wouldn’t be surprised if they tried to make checkpoints along the border here (maybe at the urging of Unionist politicians) but one thing I know is if they do then the checkpoints wont last long.
Wolfe tone, You could be right but the Clinton administration underwrote
Wolfe tone, The GFA was an achievement, which would never have happened without American power., The Clintons were very involved in the process, despite at times, a lot of opposition from the British. Like them or loathe them, it was a great success for them and I would certainly feel a lot more comfortable with Hillary in the White Hose than Trump. However, I do admit that if a crisis happens concerning the GFA nothing is certain.
It is, of course, also possible that there might be a free movement of goods and people within Ireland, and between Ireland and Britain.
PF, i like your optimism, hopefully sense will prevail in the end, because bringing back borders & checkpoints will bring back the troubles.
Thank you, Oriel27.
You do realise, however, what my suggestion might mean for Ireland?
Pf – are u suggesting regioning the commonwealth?
Oriel
Good afternoon; I trust you are well.
Rejoining the Commonwealth? Not only and not merely; I am suggesting much more than that.
It’s interesting how so few have picked up on the summer conversation between Jessica and myself, and to which I referred again just recently.
This particular Unionist is all for a United Ireland…