I am trying to understand how the British have descended into this horrible morass. On the one hand we have Theresa May running to Europe with begging bowl in hand looking for more, like the character from Dickens.
My sympathies to that lady, as she inherited that poisoned chalice from David Cameron who promptly ran away like a scared wee boy after he had triggered this debacle along with the rest from project fear. Oh they all made sure they were wearing Teflon underwear when selling the British that dead pup.
What a circus this has turned out to be and the bewildered British people have asked these individuals to represent them in withdrawal negotiations. Supposedly a parliament of wise owls they have turned into a gaggle of geese just honking and hissing. It is no wonder the rest of Europe laughs at the xenophobia of the little Englanders. Ah the ignominy of being thwarted by better players.
Then we have the other lady and the 10 little Indians from Northern Ireland, who are more concerned about the precious union. To paraphrase a certain movie quote: ‘Frankly my dear, the majority of the people in NI don’t give a damn about the union’. Their biggest concerns are jobs, health, education, a peaceful life and if individuals would waken up get rid of their hubris, a return to government here.
Oh, but the little Indians ran off and joined that circus in Westminster called Parliament with the rest of the buffoons to also spew their mordacious words – nothing new there. Beat the tribal drum loudly enough and it resonates with certain members of the populace who think their culture will be extirpated.
The little Indians bluster on and on ad nauseam about doing what is right for the people here. Do they know from day to day what they want? This is a party who care only how they look when facing TV cameras. This is a party who have never agreed on anything – keyword Never, Never. Their churlish behaviour is why NI is in such a sad state.
We are Irish. We live on a Island. We are not joined by a umbilical cord to mainland England. Listening to the inane chattering of those people one would surmise we are. Have they forgotten they voted with the Lemmings to leave against the wishes of the majority vote here.
All people are equal – it is not birth, it is virtue alone that makes the difference.
JOSEPH O'MUIRCHEARTAIGH
Annalong, Co Down
DUP to blame for paralysis in Brexit politics
Ken Clarke, a very knowledgeable and experienced ‘Father of the House’ of Commons, is completely scundered at the shenanigans of Brexit that’s going on over there at the circus in the British Parliament.
It’s not a bit of wonder. Ken views the whole scenario as something akin to the ‘Monster Raving Looney Party’.
He believes that the DUP sectarian tail is wagging the political dog and he lays it on the line about who is to blame for the paralysis in the Brexit politics.
It’s the ‘Sectarian Protestant Party in Ireland, the DUP and he further lamented the time which the prime minister is spending courting Arlene Foster and her colleagues.
We know in Ireland only too well that English parliamentarians and a sizeable contingent of their population have been blaming the Irish ‘backstop’ as the main reason they are hogtied with Brexit. Once again we have to look at the assertion that this problem is all of their own making.
Sally Tomlinson, Emeritus Professor of Education at Goldsmith’s College, University of London, was on television not long after Ken discussing her new book Britain and the end of the Empire.
She laughed ironically when discussing Ireland and identified the year, 1169 when the English first came to subjugate Ireland.
Any Irish person with a modicum of understanding ought to be able to see that the English/British presence in Ireland has brought untold suffering, death and misery to countless hundreds of thousands of Irish people throughout the 32 counties of Ireland.
Today, their presence continues to bring trouble. The British border, emanating from partition, is the overriding causative factor in all conflict in the occupied six counties.
Only on man in the ‘bastion’ of democracy had the courage to stand up and nail it. Make no mistake about it.
So fair play to you Ken.
V McCULLAGH
Derry City
What is it with the Irish?
Regarding the advancement of an Irish boycott bill against Israel we need to question what is it with the Irish that they would jeopardise their own economy in their detestation of Israel?
Why is it that they will pass a law against an Israeli village built on state land, according to the international law introduced by the League of Nations and enshrined in Article 80 of the UN Charter, yet call that village “a weapon of war”?
Why is it that the Irish Parliament has said nothing, done nothing, about decades of murderous Palestinian terror that has slaughtered and injured thousands of Israeli civilians, and the rejection of peace by their leaders?
One has to look for a forensic answer to this blatant bias.
When the Irish government, some dressed in Palestinian keffiyehs, pick on one small country to act out its venom, yet ignores others such as Russia, Turkey, Morocco, who are guilty of actual occupation of other countries, one has to examine why the Jewish State of Israel, is the only one singled out for legal sanction.
The answer is where the four ‘D’s – double standards, defamation, discrimination and delegitimisation – are applied against tiny Israel, and against no other country, that is the epitome of anti-Semitism.
It is certainly not the way to establish peace.
BARRY SHAW
Netanya, Israel
Brexit can’t be valid excuse for incompetence
We have had no executive government for more than two years and prior to that we had a dysfunctional government. For all the fine words, democracy in Northern Ireland does not reflect public opinion. The DUP and SF have no interest in anything except riding on backward-looking attitudes.
The general view often expressed is frustration at the negativity and lack of progress of DUP and SF.
Bill Wolsey, who has built several businesses locally, employs many people and pays his taxes, is correct in saying that we didn’t vote for politicians to avoid each other and avoid making decisions.
All parties say they want to get into government again. What is stopping them? They are failures. No business could operate that way without going bust.
Does anyone tell the big parties of how much taxpayers’ money (Bill Wolsey’s and mine among others) they are wasting, due to inaction, or stymied action ?
A rough calculation indicates that the cost of inaction at the York Street Interchange in Belfast is about £5m a year and the delay in the development of Belfast’s Transport Hub is about £1m per month. How many lives lost due to the dangerous rural road A5 – probably one or two every year?
The estimated waste for two years alone and for these three projects is say £34m. What other wastage is there in health care reform, education, housing needs and so on?
It is time that the DUP and SF got back to what we expected from the Good Friday Agreement. They should stop the vetoes and make progress on the issues which were agreed years ago.
Brexit cannot be a valid excuse for delay and incompetence. We deserve better.
TOM EKIN
Belfast BT9
