Disgusting. The photograph above of the defiant thug blocking the path of a PSNI vehicle says it all. Pumped up on their own self-importance. Just who do these thugs think they are? I am a Unionist and these scumbags do not represent me. How British is it to ignore democracy, disrupt public services to their own community (not that doing so elsewhere would be any more acceptable but one can see the stupidity in harming ones 'own' community), and to attack the police service?! There has been a sensible compromise agreed by the Council which to me is a common sense approach - the Union Flag will be flown to mark important dates on the UK calendar and not used to mark out territory. So why can't these thugs just pack up and go home? They should face the full weight of the law and an end should be brought to these futile protests which do nothing to advance the cause of Unionism and disgrace those Unionists who simply want to live in peace with their neighbours and get on with their lives.
This is so disappointing. For those of us of a liberal Unionist persuasion, Basil McCrea seemed like someone who was talking our language - someone who thought that a successful Northern Ireland is a Northern Ireland where we live in mutual respect and focused on jobs and education, not one where success was guaged by the amount of flags flown and kerbstones painted. It was to be hoped that Mike Nesbitt, an educated man who should have been at ease with the media, would have taken the UUP in the direction Basil wanted too. The UUP should focus on representing the more liberal strands within Unionism, not trying to 'out DUP' the DUP.
I think we'll have to agree to disagree too but I hope you had a good one!
Not too sure about that to be honest! We come from different viewpoints but at least we can discuss things rationally - something that is sadly lacking in Northern Ireland.... Hope you had a good festive season!
Or even better, learn to tolerate those who hold different opinions to you?
Why can't people leave Rory to make his own mind up? People from Northern Ireland are entitled to represent the British or Irish teams, and if Rory feels more British than Irish then that is his business. So what if he was developed by the Irish golfing infrastructure? It is no different to Northern Irish footballers going through the IFA structures but at senior level opting for the Republic, except for Rory, there was no Northern Irish structure for him to use and he had to use the all-Ireland structures whilst he was younger. Under the GFA I thought we were entitled to our identities, so if Rory opts to represent the British team then he should be allowed to. It doesn't take away from the fact that he is from County Down in Northern Ireland and someone we can all be proud of. He should not be cajoled into missing his opportunity to play in the Olympics. Likewise, if he identified more with Ireland than the UK, that is his business. Just support the bloke or leave him alone.
In fairness, the team name in full is 'Team GB and NI' as was always stated when the medals tables were displayed during the telly coverage, but it was shortened to Team GB for convenience sake, as most people outside of Northern Ireland aren't that pedantic and knew exactly who was represented by the team. As for it being 'Team England', well of course the majority of it's membership was English - it's the biggest part of the UK - but you do overlook the Gold medal winners from Northern Ireland and elsewhere. Likewise, the majority of the Team Ireland squad were from the Republic because it's bigger than NI - it does not diminish in anyway from the contributions of athletes from Northern Ireland to both squads.
When oh when will this all end?! I'm a Unionist and a British citizen but I do not need the Union Flag flying 24/7 to remind myself of the fact. The Alliance compromise proposal suits fine and if anything has brought us closer into line with the rest of the UK where the Union Flag is a source of national identity rather than a tribal marker - hopefully some day those who claim to identify with the flag in Northern Ireland will come to view it as such.... In the meantime, I think Northern Ireland has more pressing problems to deal with.
Parties such as Golden Dawn and their counterparts in this country such as the BNP and the EDL are absolutely reprehensible. However, unfortunately we must tolerate such parties as the priceof freedom of expression and freedom of speech. Provided they don't actually break the law then sadly these bigots must be allowed to express their opinions which they are entitled to hold, irrespective of how vile the rest of us find them. We can't just ban parties or groups just because we disagree with them. To do so would also be reminiscent of Nazi Germany.
Ha ha ha, I was thinking the same thing to be honest.... Yes, I think we'll have to agree to disagree on this, but there is nothing wrong with that at all. Apologies once again for misreading your post, and a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you too.
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Ruckus