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Does the U.S. Care?
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What, sectarian rivalries?
You wouldn't be trying to bait me, would you Fred?
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I was under the impression that it is getting to the stage in Northern Ireland that it is nearly 50% catholic and 50% protestant and church of Ireland
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There's no doubt that the Brits pulled a swifty in considering the vote of Ulster separately from the desire of the rest of Ireland back then when Ireland was declaring its independence. But in the here and now, saying what most people in Ireland want is a little skewed because it's really up to the people of Northern Ireland. Like I said, it would be like saying that most Iraqis want Kuwait to be part of the Iraq--what about what Kuwaitis say? The other thing I'm starting to notice is that it's inaccurate to talk about this conflict in strictly religious terms, because many Catholics in North Ireland are not Republicans, but actually prefer to be under the Crown. I am finding that it's probably better to talk in terms of political ideology: Republican v. Loyalist. Anyway, the Northern Ireland Assembly represents the only way forward: a representative democracy, where everybody gets a voice. No more first and second class citizenry. If the Republicans gain sway democratically they can join the North to the Republic legally and without fuss, and the Crown won't be able to do a thing. If not, they have, in the context of the EU, virtually the closest thing to political union anyway. That's a pretty luxurious dilemma to be in. Spare a thought for the poor Kurds...
The Scots, too, now have the home rule for which they have so yearned over the years (as do the Welsh), so if the SNP suddenly wins a convincing majority and leads a successful plebicite for independence, there's no stopping them. In fact, in the European framework, independence for the Celtic regions has never looked so achievable. Yet at the same time, we have to take note that in such stable and generally prosperous conditions most people are basically conservative and will not opt for radical change (it's not as though the English are power-mad oppressors), and that the Crown carries an aura and prestige of its own that people just don't easily forsake.
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No, I really don't think they care.
I am on a parenting site of women who are mostly from the US. 5 days after the event, many hadn't even heard about it!! ask them about the sniper in Washington and they can give you any detail.
I'm quite offended because when Sept 11 happened the board became a shrine. With this event, not a single mention.
If you watch Fox it seems to be 24-7 about the sniper...just how much can you report about this?!?
There was mention made of the USA's lack of concern, in preference for reports on the sniper, on the ABC web site today (from a correspondent in the US), but I can't seem to find it. The BBC made mention of it on Foxtel this evening as well.
I am on a parenting site of women who are mostly from the US. 5 days after the event, many hadn't even heard about it!! ask them about the sniper in Washington and they can give you any detail.
I'm quite offended because when Sept 11 happened the board became a shrine. With this event, not a single mention.
If you watch Fox it seems to be 24-7 about the sniper...just how much can you report about this?!?
There was mention made of the USA's lack of concern, in preference for reports on the sniper, on the ABC web site today (from a correspondent in the US), but I can't seem to find it. The BBC made mention of it on Foxtel this evening as well.
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I must say there was and still is quite a bit of it on NPR, which is like ABC Radio.
Fair enough comment on the Northern Ireland Assembly, I don't disagree with that. The Assembly was of course established out of the Good Friday Agreement which was reached by Sinn Fein and the British Government, through the Irish Peace Process. But the worrying part is that the Blair British Government is yet to uphold it's obligations in the Agreement, so until they do that the Agreement will not be fully implemented, and if this does not happen then the entire process is in jeopardy. Thus running the risk of everything that has been worked for falling apart and ending up back at square one again. It's easy for some people ( and I don't include you in this) to knock Sinn Fein and it objectives, but their role and commitment to the Good Friday Agreement and the Irish Peace Process is irrefutable. The Blair Government is stalling and by doing that they are holding up progress towards unity and peace.
If you ask most people in Northern Ireland if they think unity will work they will tell you yes, and a lot of them will even say that the troubles of the last 25 years have been worth it to get this far. But they may be hoping to achieve something that may never happen. Peace and unity doesn't just mean the end of violence. It's all about acceptance, equality, democracy and fair justice for everyone. The Irish have to learn to accept that secratarian differences will need to change and the British government need to acknowledge the undemocratic nature of British rule, the main consequence of which the Agreement was reached in the first place. By stalling on their obligations they are endangering everything. Sinn Fein have said repeatedly that the Agreement must be implemented in full, or there will be no agreement. The ball is in Britain's court it's up to them which way this unity goes.
Gimme a break Bee!
It seems you are trying very hard to convince everyone you are some kind of kick-ass gal that takes no prisoners. I don't buy it and I doubt anyone else does either. Save it for the 15 year olds.
Why do you assume that the linkage between Sinn Fein and the IRA is barely an imagined one, made by "uninformed people" like myself? Why then did a prominent Irish columnist describe the joint No campaign between the Greens and Sinn Fein against EU expansion as "an unlikely alliance between tree-huggers and knee-cappers"? Wouldn't he know something about their current structure and past history?
And perhaps you'd like to explain to the rest of the class what appears on the CVs of Gerry Adams, Martin McGuinness etc.
Oh please Ziggy! I am not trying hard to convince anyone of anything. I don't need to. I am what I am. I stand up for what I believe in and I am not afraid to admit it. Unlike you,who it seems needs to use a different user name to go on a tangent about what you say you believe. If you are really serious then post it under your regular user name. It's hard to take you seriously when you are masquerading! And 'kick-ass gal'? Jesus, that is so American. It took me a while to stop laughing after I read that.
Once again you misunderstand. I never said the link was imagined. Everyone knows that Sein Fein is the political wing of the IRA. What I did say was, just because people support Sein Fein doesn't mean they are an IRA sympathiser!
Keep up with it Ziggy, my little 'masquerading fool'. A referendum on Saturday resulted in a YES vote. The Irish have voted for European expansion. A little behind in the news, are you?
Oh, but hang on. Of course, you are talking about Sinn Fein's No Campaign, aren't you? Fancy that, a political party with the democratic right to campaign for or against something! Will wonders never cease!
BTW what's the name of the prominent journalist?
Okay, why not?
Gerry Adams
A working class boy who supported himself with various jobs while becoming involved in civil rights movements.
A political prisoner in the early 70’s. In a prison ship that was known for it’s inhumane conditions and brutality. But strangely after he was freed he was asked to participate in peace talks with the British Government. But the truce that came from those talks was broken by the British.
After that he was arrested and held without trial for four years.
He has seen his brother-in-law killed by the British Army, his brother shot by the British Army, half his family have been harassed and arrested and imprisoned. His home was bombed by loyalists and he also almost died after being riddled with bullets from a loyalist attack.
He was elected as President of Sinn Fein in the early 80’s. He also became a Minister of Parliament around that same time.
In 1993 he revived the Irish Peace talks which eventually resulted in the IRA announcement “cessation of military operations”.
But of course you’d rather believe the loyalists spiel that claim he has held several high positions in the IRA. Something he has always denied, but not according to loyalists who claim it wouldn’t have been possible for him to rise to the position he now holds if he wasn’t. Not that they have been able to prove his involvement in the IRA, but hey, don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story, right?
Martin Mcguinnes
A member of Sinn Fein for 32 years and has been a major contributor in the current peace process. One of the most influential figures in pushing the republican movement. He also pushed for the ‘double approach’ of the political voice alongside the armed wing. He is a self admitted former member of IRA. He revealed his role as 2 IC at the Bloody Sunday inquiry. Not that the British government never knew of his involvement of course as they used to hold secret talks with him over peace negotiations. And they (the British Government) had been exchanging information with the IRA, through McGuinnes and an intermediary.
He has been, along with Gerry Adams, the chief negotiator in The Good Friday Agreement.
He has willingly brought his IRA role out of the shadows. He has nothing to hide.
Now would you like to discuss Ian Paisley and his shadowy past?
Bee
Ziggy1 is my regular user name. A derivative of my surname actually. I've never used any other. Besides who on this site uses their real name, address etc. Do you?
By the way you'll get no argument from me that Ian Paisley is an extremist scumbag and an apologist for violence. I do not differentiate between anyone who targets innocent people for a cause. That includes both Catholics and Protestants, and I rate militant "loyalists" alongside the IRA.
BTW as we try and wind down the personal attacks, I'll stack my qualifications and achievements (yes many of these are material - I'm an avowed superficial capitalist after all) against anyone's thankyou very much. No "masquerading fool" here.
And I've been following the Irish referendum closer than you think, and have been less than impressed by Sinn Fein's and the Greens no compaign, which I believe has been an appeal to paranoia and base selfishness. The Yes vote has restored my faith in the Irish somewhat.
Hmm okay, so you registered in Big Footy last week just to post on political issues, right? If that's true fair enough, but I find it hard to believe to be honest.
No, of course Bee isn't my real name, but it is my regular user name. Most people here know my real name. They also know I used to post under a different user name. A name that you no doubt would think was more appropriate. But I have an inkling you already know.
Likewise, but you did accuse me last week of showing a lack of intelligence, remember? A little 'eye for an eye', what else could you expect from an 'IRA sympathiser'?
Paranoia, maybe. But the campaign was more based on the fear that a Yes vote would be a vote for privatisation at the expense of individual rights.
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In what way?
Bee
Believe it. The first time I have posted on BigFooty. And only because some peanut (and no it wasn't you) who tried to blame the Bali bombings on others apart from the actual killers themselves. Do all those on the Left think that there are excuses to be made for the terrorists actions? Probably not. Fair enough.
But at this time I found it obscene that some clown could connect the dots to somehow arrive at the view that they targeted Australians because of our policy of supporting the US stance on Iraq. Absolutely ridiculous and completely illogical. France supported the US until about 3:45 pm on Sept 12, 2001 and has been it's most ardent opponent on the Iraq issue in the UN. It didn't stop Islamic terrorists from attacking a French supertanker off Yemen a few weeks ago, nor did it prevent the murders of French nationals in Pakistan. That argument is rendered obsolete by the facts. After the Yemen attack a spokesman for the Islamic Army of Aden said:
"We would have preferred to hit a US frigate, but no problem because they are all infidels".
No problem. They are all infidels. Who gives a buggery if they're French or any other nationality.
Love to argue the issues a little longer but if I don't pick up my wife I'll be meeting my maker a little sooner than I'd like.
P.S. I wouldn't have the foggiest what your real name is.
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a friend from the US sent me this article from the Jerusalem Post. I'm also proud to say that her particular church group did a fund raiser for the Australian Red Cross, which is wonderful!
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/A/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1035173006631
Oct. 21, 2002
The Bali bombings: Australia's Sept. 11 BY MARK STEYN
There are 192 countries in the world. One is America. The remaining 191 are mostly countries that hate America. I say "mostly" because I don't want to get into a lot of quibbling about whether it's 183 or 185.
Some hate America actively that's to say, they're in favor of flying planes into American skyscrapers.
Some (like France) despise America because they can't quite figure out how a great historic culture like theirs wound up a bit-player in a world dominated by ghastly vulgar cowboys.
Others express their feelings more or less harmlessly by going out of their way to laud the most incompetent and ludicrous Americans, as the Swedes did the other day by giving Jimmy Carter the Nobel Peace Prize. "For what?" you may be asking. Oh, come on. It was Jimmy who handed the Islamofascists their first great victory, in Iran a quarter century ago. If that ain't worth a Swedish meatball, what is?
Faced with this worldwide hostility and contempt, you can say, "Screw 'em. Who needs those losers anyway?" But it's important to know where to draw the line, and I draw it here: There are a handful (just) of countries on this planet who still like America enough to be willing to send their troops into combat with US forces that's to say, their soldiers are prepared to fight and die alongside Americans on some godforsaken bit of foreign sod.
It was British SAS commandos who helped put down the Taliban uprising at Qala-i-Jangai, at which the CIA's Mike Spann was bitten to death; it was SAS men who saved his colleague, known only as "Dave," from meeting the same fate. The first soldier to die in combat in Afghanistan was an Australian.
Just over a week ago, hundreds of people were blown to pieces in two Balinese nightclubs. Most of them were Westerners. More than 30 Britons were killed. For Australians, the death toll is even greater: most of the hundreds still euphemistically listed as "missing" are Aussies. (Bali is Australia's Mexico, vacation-wise.)
In relative population terms, that Saturday was Australia's September 11. The personal stories exist at the same freakish random intersection of civilization and barbarism: Kosta and Maria Elfes, newlyweds from Sydney, are on their honeymoon.
They're spending it searching the morgues for their four bridesmaids two of Maria's sisters plus two friends. Imagine that: For as long as you live, your wedding anniversary will also be the anniversary of the murder of your family and friends.
After September 11, Americans took it for granted that the rest of the civilized world would be moved by the simple human injustice of what happened. Australians have the right to expect the same. But, if anybody in the US is interested in this story, you'd never know it from watching the TV news. The networks are playing this like they would one of those Bangladeshi floods or a Turkish earthquake just one of those goofy things that happens to obscure foreigners somewhere offshore thousands of miles away.
It's not. These people were murdered by the same psychotic losers the victims of September 11 were slaughtered by.
After 9/11, Australian Prime Minister John Howard summed up his country's solidarity thus: "This is no time to be an 80 percent ally." He wasn't. But right now that's about 79 points more attention than the Bali massacre is attracting from the American networks. Even the joke "election" in Iraq is getting weirdly reverential coverage perhaps because CNN and Co. have permanent bureaus there, conveniently housed in Saddam's Ministry of Information. As for the rest, it's Sniper Boy 24/7. I bet my assistant a hundred bucks that the sniper would turn out to be a Middle Eastern terrorist, and that bet's looking better every day.
But, even if that's so and the sniper and the nightclub are part of the same story, 99% of the all-sniper-all-the-time dronefest is speculation, while the Bali end is full of interesting hard facts about the scale of both the Islamofascists' ambition and their depravity. The blow-dried blowhards on the news shows should be covering it.
I know it's difficult: "ABC World News Tonight with Peter Jennings" is all Peter Jennings and no World News; ABC World News Headquarters in New York is a headquarters with no branch offices. CBS News covers the British Isles, Europe, Africa and the Indian subcontinent from a three-man bureau in London. Dan Rather's hairdresser sucks up the rest of the budget.
THAT'S ONE reason why I loathe "multiculturalism," the lazy but dominant philosophy of our times that insists all cultures are equally valid and worthy of respect. Multiculturalism doesn't actually involve knowing anything about other cultures like, say, the capital of Malaysia or the principal exports of Indonesia. Instead, simply subscribing to the fluffy feeling that all cultures are just as good as any other absolves one of knowing the first thing about them. The mainstream media are among the biggest proponents of multicultural sappiness in America, and their foreign coverage is a perfect indicator of their real interest in other cultures.
After 9/11, Queen Elizabeth II, Britain and Australia's head of state, ordered the playing of American patriotic songs at Buckingham Palace. At St. Paul's Cathedral, she sang, for the first time in her life, a foreign national anthem The Star-Spangled Banner.
It would be nice if America's head of state could make a reciprocal gesture, to let the Australians know that he stands with them as they stood with him. It makes no sense to be so careless and thoughtless about your last three or four real allies. It shows an inability to distinguish between countries almost as dumb as the Islamofascists, whose attitude was neatly summarized by a spokesman for the Islamic Army of Aden the other day, after they'd blown up a French oil tanker in Yemen: "We would have preferred to hit a US frigate," he said, "but no problem, because they are all infidels." No problem. They are all infidels. That's the meaning of the Bali bomb: It doesn't matter whether you're a Wall Street trader or a Scandinavian stoner, they hate you all.
But the American media seem to operate on a similar principle: They're all foreigners, so who cares? Australia is one of the US's few real friends in the world. We're not just fellow infidels, but brothers on a field of battle that stretches from Manhattan to Bali. If the American media don't understand that, then the American president needs to remind them.
The writer is senior contributing editor for Hollinger Inc.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/A/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1035173006631
Oct. 21, 2002
The Bali bombings: Australia's Sept. 11 BY MARK STEYN
There are 192 countries in the world. One is America. The remaining 191 are mostly countries that hate America. I say "mostly" because I don't want to get into a lot of quibbling about whether it's 183 or 185.
Some hate America actively that's to say, they're in favor of flying planes into American skyscrapers.
Some (like France) despise America because they can't quite figure out how a great historic culture like theirs wound up a bit-player in a world dominated by ghastly vulgar cowboys.
Others express their feelings more or less harmlessly by going out of their way to laud the most incompetent and ludicrous Americans, as the Swedes did the other day by giving Jimmy Carter the Nobel Peace Prize. "For what?" you may be asking. Oh, come on. It was Jimmy who handed the Islamofascists their first great victory, in Iran a quarter century ago. If that ain't worth a Swedish meatball, what is?
Faced with this worldwide hostility and contempt, you can say, "Screw 'em. Who needs those losers anyway?" But it's important to know where to draw the line, and I draw it here: There are a handful (just) of countries on this planet who still like America enough to be willing to send their troops into combat with US forces that's to say, their soldiers are prepared to fight and die alongside Americans on some godforsaken bit of foreign sod.
It was British SAS commandos who helped put down the Taliban uprising at Qala-i-Jangai, at which the CIA's Mike Spann was bitten to death; it was SAS men who saved his colleague, known only as "Dave," from meeting the same fate. The first soldier to die in combat in Afghanistan was an Australian.
Just over a week ago, hundreds of people were blown to pieces in two Balinese nightclubs. Most of them were Westerners. More than 30 Britons were killed. For Australians, the death toll is even greater: most of the hundreds still euphemistically listed as "missing" are Aussies. (Bali is Australia's Mexico, vacation-wise.)
In relative population terms, that Saturday was Australia's September 11. The personal stories exist at the same freakish random intersection of civilization and barbarism: Kosta and Maria Elfes, newlyweds from Sydney, are on their honeymoon.
They're spending it searching the morgues for their four bridesmaids two of Maria's sisters plus two friends. Imagine that: For as long as you live, your wedding anniversary will also be the anniversary of the murder of your family and friends.
After September 11, Americans took it for granted that the rest of the civilized world would be moved by the simple human injustice of what happened. Australians have the right to expect the same. But, if anybody in the US is interested in this story, you'd never know it from watching the TV news. The networks are playing this like they would one of those Bangladeshi floods or a Turkish earthquake just one of those goofy things that happens to obscure foreigners somewhere offshore thousands of miles away.
It's not. These people were murdered by the same psychotic losers the victims of September 11 were slaughtered by.
After 9/11, Australian Prime Minister John Howard summed up his country's solidarity thus: "This is no time to be an 80 percent ally." He wasn't. But right now that's about 79 points more attention than the Bali massacre is attracting from the American networks. Even the joke "election" in Iraq is getting weirdly reverential coverage perhaps because CNN and Co. have permanent bureaus there, conveniently housed in Saddam's Ministry of Information. As for the rest, it's Sniper Boy 24/7. I bet my assistant a hundred bucks that the sniper would turn out to be a Middle Eastern terrorist, and that bet's looking better every day.
But, even if that's so and the sniper and the nightclub are part of the same story, 99% of the all-sniper-all-the-time dronefest is speculation, while the Bali end is full of interesting hard facts about the scale of both the Islamofascists' ambition and their depravity. The blow-dried blowhards on the news shows should be covering it.
I know it's difficult: "ABC World News Tonight with Peter Jennings" is all Peter Jennings and no World News; ABC World News Headquarters in New York is a headquarters with no branch offices. CBS News covers the British Isles, Europe, Africa and the Indian subcontinent from a three-man bureau in London. Dan Rather's hairdresser sucks up the rest of the budget.
THAT'S ONE reason why I loathe "multiculturalism," the lazy but dominant philosophy of our times that insists all cultures are equally valid and worthy of respect. Multiculturalism doesn't actually involve knowing anything about other cultures like, say, the capital of Malaysia or the principal exports of Indonesia. Instead, simply subscribing to the fluffy feeling that all cultures are just as good as any other absolves one of knowing the first thing about them. The mainstream media are among the biggest proponents of multicultural sappiness in America, and their foreign coverage is a perfect indicator of their real interest in other cultures.
After 9/11, Queen Elizabeth II, Britain and Australia's head of state, ordered the playing of American patriotic songs at Buckingham Palace. At St. Paul's Cathedral, she sang, for the first time in her life, a foreign national anthem The Star-Spangled Banner.
It would be nice if America's head of state could make a reciprocal gesture, to let the Australians know that he stands with them as they stood with him. It makes no sense to be so careless and thoughtless about your last three or four real allies. It shows an inability to distinguish between countries almost as dumb as the Islamofascists, whose attitude was neatly summarized by a spokesman for the Islamic Army of Aden the other day, after they'd blown up a French oil tanker in Yemen: "We would have preferred to hit a US frigate," he said, "but no problem, because they are all infidels." No problem. They are all infidels. That's the meaning of the Bali bomb: It doesn't matter whether you're a Wall Street trader or a Scandinavian stoner, they hate you all.
But the American media seem to operate on a similar principle: They're all foreigners, so who cares? Australia is one of the US's few real friends in the world. We're not just fellow infidels, but brothers on a field of battle that stretches from Manhattan to Bali. If the American media don't understand that, then the American president needs to remind them.
The writer is senior contributing editor for Hollinger Inc.
Okay fair enough. Read your PM's.
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I'm reviving this thread because two articles on this theme are just off the press:
***********************************************
Census in Northern Ireland dashes republican ambitions
By Thomas Harding, Ireland Correspondent
(Filed: 20/12/2002)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk
Republican hopes of achieving a united Ireland by Roman Catholics outnumbering Protestants suffered a setback yesterday when the 2001 census results were published.
Protestants account for 53 per cent of the 1.7 million population with Catholics at just below 44 per cent. The headcount, which Paul Murphy, the Northern Ireland Secretary, had called one of the few in the world with "winners or losers", showed that while Catholics were steadily growing in numbers their high birth rate was dropping to converge with that of Protestants.
The results will come as a disappointment to Sinn Fein, the political wing of the IRA, whose leaders have promoted the demographic route to Irish unification.
Observers say they will now have to enter a "proper debate" on power-sharing rather than relying on a high Catholic birthrate.
Under the Good Friday Agreement a simple majority in a "border poll" would put Northern Ireland on the path to unification with the Republic. However, in the past, about a fifth of Catholics have indicated they want to remain in the United Kingdom.
Jeffrey Donaldson, Ulster Unionist MP for Lagan Valley, who labelled the census a "sectarian headcount", said: "A united Ireland is not even a remote possibility and it's time for republicans to accept that."
Protestants outnumber Catholics by more than 200,000. With a total of 20,000 births a year it would take a significant increase in Catholic births for them to overtake Protestants, said Robert Beatty, head of demographics for the census.
"Even if the birth rate was 60:40 in favour of Catholics that would only be a difference of 1,000 births a year. Migration is the only thing that has potential to change things rapidly."
*******************************************
Unionism rejuvenated
(Filed: 20/12/2002)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk (Editorial)
Reports of the death of Protestant Ulster are turning out to be greatly exaggerated. The 10-yearly census, published yesterday, revealed that Protestants still make up the majority over Catholics in Northern Ireland by nearly 10 per cent. When Catholic Unionism is added to this total - and the recent findings of the Northern Ireland Life and Times survey suggests that this comprises a minimum of 15 per cent of the Catholic community - it is clear that there is going to be a substantial pro-British majority for the conceivable future.
The statistics dramatically point up the shortcomings in the political strategy of the Sinn Fein leadership. It abandoned armed struggle partly because the tides of demography were said to be moving in its direction. The republican top brass could implicitly accept the consent principle - that is, that Northern Ireland was the relevant political unit within which the future of the province was to be determined - because, their advocates argued, the burgeoning Catholic birth rate would render the fading Protestant majority irrelevant.
The biological triumphalism of the republican movement has been shared by the Irish state. For some time, it has reckoned on near numerical equality between the two main communities. The British Government has often behaved as though it, too, agrees with this presumption. Thus, although most analogous political settlements across the world are based on the principle of proportionality, northern nationalists have received spoils in excess of their numbers - such as the 50-50 recruitment policy for the police.
Such inequities must be redressed if Unionists are ever to re-enter Northern Ireland's suspended Executive. But they should be in no hurry to do this. Not only is their demographic position better than they had any right to expect; so, too, is their political position.
They have not lost the "blame game". Instead, it is the republicans who are under the spotlight - as illustrated by the admission in this week's leaked document from the Irish department of foreign affairs that the Provisionals were still training and procuring weapons. Their options are closing down abroad, too. As the US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, observed recently, the Irish republican movement also poses a threat to democracy in Latin America, by virtue of its role in spreading terrorist techniques in the western hemisphere.
It will be many years before Unionists can trust republicans. In the meantime, they can live perfectly happily with direct rule from Westminster - far more so, ironically, than the Sinn Fein political class, which craves the rapid re-establishment of Stormont so that it can continue the drive for reunification from both sides of the border. Paul Murphy and the ministerial team in the Northern Ireland Office may not be perfect, but at least Labour - unlike Sinn Fein - has not been allied to an unrepentant terrorist organisation that has committed more than 2,000 murders in the past 30 years.
**********************************************
