Dr John Coulter in a recent article on The Pensive Quill raised the issue of the economic and social meltdown in the 26 county state necessitating Republicans accepting that integration with the British state may be the only answer to the situation.
I would disagree with John; hitching yourself to a more nuanced version of what has destroyed you is never a route forward. There is definitely a version of Cameron’s ‘Eton Rifles’ in Ireland who realise their survival, on their terms, is dependant on having a strong backup from their philosophical cousins across the water. The other ninety per cent of people on the island need a new radical departure from what has gone before.
It would seem even if political connection did come to pass a large section of the British population would not notice. In a survey released in March 2012 carried out by the major British Tour operator “Journeys of Distinction” one in five of the 2,000 members of the British public surveyed could not name the constituent countries of the United Kingdom.
Eurostat figures released in April 2012 show that the United Kingdom has the largest trade deficit in the European Union.
The same organisation in late 2011 revealed that Britain has the worst teacher-pupil ratio for primary schools in Europe.
A USWITCH Quality of life index put the UK as the worst place to live out of ten European countries surveyed.
The UK does top some tables. The UK is the violent crime capital of Europe according to research released by the European Commission in 2009. London is the cocaine capital of Europe according to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction in statistics released at the end of 2011. The same report indicated that drug related deaths are three times the EU average in the UK.
The European Commission through the Eurobarometer findings of last year tells us that the United Kingdom has the worst binge drinking problem in Europe.
Would the cultural social and political relationship make it worth it? Don’t think so. In recent weeks the Mayor of London Boris Johnson described the official event that marks St Patrick’s day in London as “lefty crap”.
In February 2012 the British state broadcaster allowed one of its leading presenters Jeremy Paxman question the need for a British apology for the Irish Famine without any repercussions. Paxman called such an apology “an exercise in moral vacuousness”. These comments were made in the Radio Times the state broadcaster’s official publication.
Alex Thompson the award winning Channel 4 journalist has been investigating the criminal conspiracy that is Rangers football club in Scotland. Speaking in March 2012 of his experiences in Scotland Thompson said:
What I didn’t expect were the insults and in one case a direct physical threat, not from fans but Scottish journalists. Sarajevo, Mogadishu, Kabul, Islamabad, Tripoli, Baghdad - I could bore you with more - in none of these places have I ever got this interesting reaction from local journalists, only in Glasgow.
Rangers are a club who until 1989 held a very public policy of not signing Catholic players. They have never played a player from the 26 counties in their first team, the only senior professional football team in Britain to hold this particular distinction. What is mind numbing is that a man who was a director of Rangers during the religious apartheid era is now president of the Scottish Football Association. That man is Campbell Oglieve.
Scottish First minister Alex Salmond speaking of Rangers following the appointment of Administrators to the club in February 2012 said ‘we are talking about a huge institution, part of the fabric of the Scottish nation..’
As recently as April 2011 UEFA fined Rangers for a second time for their fans racist anti-Irish singing.
At the sentencing of Rangers fans in Manchester in 2010 for the large scale rioting which followed the 2008 UEFA cup final, Judge Andrew Blake described the violence in the following manner: ‘what followed was the worst night of violence and destruction suffered by Manchester city centre since the Blitz.’
The Official Ambassador for the London Olympics is one Harry Windsor, a man who was caught on film racially abusing a work colleague, calling the individual concerned a “rag head”. Windsor has also seen fit to wear a Nazi uniform while socialising. While on duty with his employer in his role in the British military Harry wore headgear with the embroidered message ‘We do bad things to bad people.’ Since January alone among the “bad things” the British military have been exposed as doing in Afghanistan are the bayoneting of a ten year old Afghan boy and the rape by two British soldiers of two young Afghan children, one boy and one girl. The individuals filmed their acts and showed them to their colleagues.
I feel strongly Harry Windsor, Alex Salmond, Boris Johnson and their ilk have nothing to offer the people of Ireland.
Dave watch how Martyboy and his qsf cronies grovel to Harry,s ma in the coming months,something anathema to any republican never mind so called Irish ones,
ReplyDeleteMaybe republicans would like to become the 51st state ? If the UK is so bad, why are 20,000 a yr emigrating to there from the 26 counties ? France, Spain and Italy are bust.
ReplyDeleteDave one very simple reason the Euro is a lot weaker than the pound. Which probably goes along to explain why in a recent poll/study carried out by Queens Uni. a few months back claiming that 73% of people in the north want to remain part of the UK. Can the Republic afford the North today..Very easily, simply do what Putain did yrs ago when he came to power and thats tear up the agreements with the oil companies and gives them new ones with a smaller profit margin and the bulk going to the people/country. And it one swoop the debt is paid and Ireland will be in the black and not the red..It (26 counties) also needs to leave the Euro ASAP. People Dave vote with how much money they have..Basic bread & butter issues.
ReplyDeleteWhat I'd like expalined is why SF rubber stamp alot (if not all) Tory cuts in the North while opposing the same cuts in the south...
Frankie a cara qsf rubber stamp all tory cuts in the north because thats what puppetes do,in the south they play to the gallery.
ReplyDeleteThanks marty for that clear up. Stupid question why do you refer to SF as qsf (nope I don't support them). I remember growing up in Belfast and being told there was the good IRA (provisionals) and the bad IRA (officials). I thought they were different strands of republicanism. I've never understood why Gerry Kelly sided with Adams/McGuinness. Guess the brits played a blinder in dividing and conquering..
ReplyDeleteBack to the post..Is Harry, Willy's half brother?
Frankie a cara after Vidkun Quisling head of Norways puppet government during the nazi occupation 1940-45 hence qsf, there certainly was no black and white between either OFM, and PRM, there was some really good people in both organisations, and some right bastards,i.e.some say Vol Joe Mc Cann OIRA would have opposed the upcoming ceasefire by OIRA and with his popularity he would have taken a large part of the Belfast brigade and more with him to PIRA, so there is many who believe he was set up by the so called leadership.the unnecessary deaths of volunteers during the hunger strikes for selfish gain exposed the treachery of Adams and his cronies.so a cara nothing is clear cut about our recent past,that is why imo the Boston tapes were/are so important for future generations to dissect the guff,lies and deciet,and reveal the truth about what really went on here in some small part.yes a cara the brits played a blinder no doubt about that..
ReplyDeleteP.S. Frankie of course Harry is a half bro, just look at his real da..
ReplyDeleteThe people of the Republic of Ireland do not want to join the United Kingdom. In voting for any party which runs for Dáil elections, people are supporting a republican democracy and a sovereign one at that. Ireland is already too deep in another commonwealth, that being the E.U. : we do not need another union to worry about.
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