Jump to content

Recommended Posts

I went to a Catholic school, where many of my friends families supported the IRA. Their houses would have pictures of paramilitaries on the wall in full garb holding guns. I certainly understood the situation in Northern Ireland to be a case of English occupation. Of course I now know it's more complicated than that and looking back realise how weird it was that people celebrated / glorified the violence in that way.

My little story goes back to my teens. I fell in love with a girl from Keady, Co.Armagh, who would spend her Summer in my hometown. Having moved to Dublin, my friend who had a car offered to drive me up there. We arranged to meet in the local pub. Keady is a village or at least was then. Sipping our pints and waiting for Siobhan to arrive, in come what seems like half the British army, heavily armed and looking for whoever had the car with the Southern registration. That was us. Thankfully all that happened was we were asked a few questions. For us Southerners though it was quite intimidating.


Some years later I went back to the North. I was working for a Scandanavian company and travelling with a Swede. I let him do all the talking at checkpoints. In more recent years I went with my wife for a holiday in Ireland and started in Belfast. We had no problems whatsoever. However, whenever we were looking for a place to stop I would avoid all those places where there was Union Jack bunting plastered all over the streets. It felt quite unwelcoming.

  • 2 weeks later...

I won't miss that man. I'm glad there's peace in NI but still remember being caught up in central london bombings and scares. Harrods, Hyde park .... my friend from Belfast would stop at the entrances of shops unnecessarily to be frisked by the security guards.


If a convicted murderer learns the piano are they now a pianist and not a murderer anymore? I am still a bit surprised that Nelson Mandela is treated like a diety as HE WAS ACTUALLY IN A TERRORIST organisation that blew up school buees and wasn't jailed for no reason. I was speaking to some twenty somethings who thought he should have a plinth at trafalgar square, they were very shocked to hear about the ANC and thought he was locked up for being black .....?????

I am sure NM was a convicted terrorist?


"uMkhonto we Sizwe (abbreviated as MK, Xhosa pronunciation: [uˈmkʰonto we ˈsizwe], meaning "Spear of the Nation") was the ARMED wing of the African National Congress (ANC), co-founded by Nelson Mandela in the wake of the Sharpeville massacre. Its founding represented the conviction in the face of the massacre that the ANC could no longer limit itself to nonviolent protest; its mission was to fight against the South African government.[1]


After warning the South African government in June 1961 of its intent to resist further acts of government instituted terror if the government did not take steps toward constitutional reform and increase political rights, MK launched its first attacks against government installations on 16 December 1961. It was subsequently classified as a terrorist organisation by the South African government and the United States, and banned.[2]


For a time it was headquartered in the affluent suburb of Rivonia, in Johannesburg. On 11 July 1963, 19 ANC and MK leaders, including Nelson Mandela, Arthur Goldreich and Walter Sisulu, were arrested at Liliesleaf Farm, Rivonia. The farm was privately owned by Arthur Goldreich and bought with South African Communist Party and ANC funds, as individuals who were not white were unable to own a property in that area under the Group Areas Act. This was followed by the Rivonia Trial, in which ten leaders of the ANC were tried for 221 militant acts designed to "foment violent revolution". Wilton Mkwayi, chief of MK at the time, escaped during trial."

stringvest Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I won't miss that man. I'm glad there's peace in

> NI but still remember being caught up in central

> london bombings and scares. Harrods, Hyde park

> .... my friend from Belfast would stop at the

> entrances of shops unnecessarily to be frisked by

> the security guards.

>

> If a convicted murderer learns the piano are they

> now a pianist and not a murderer anymore? I am

> still a bit surprised that Nelson Mandela is

> treated like a diety as HE WAS ACTUALLY IN A

> TERRORIST organisation that blew up school buees

> and wasn't jailed for no reason. I was speaking

> to some twenty somethings who thought he should

> have a plinth at trafalgar square, they were very

> shocked to hear about the ANC and thought he was

> locked up for being black .....?????



You honestly, seriously cannot see how Nelson Mandela genuinely turned his back on violence and with FW de Klerk guided South Africa through an incredibly dangerous time when it could've literally descended into civil war? You cannot see that?


Wow...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Latest Discussions

    • Per Cllr McAsh, as quoted above: “We are currently updating our Enforcement Policy and changes will allow for the issuing of civil penalties ranging from £175 to £300 for visible smoke emissions, replacing the previous reliance on criminal prosecution. " Is anyone au fait with the Clean Air Act 1993, and  particularly with the state of 'Smoke Control' law and practice generally?  I've just been looking  through some of it for the first time and, afaics, the civil penalties mentioned  were introduced into the Clean Air Act, at Schedule 1A, in May 2022.  So it seems that, in this particular,  it's a matter of the enforcement policy trailing well behind the legislation.  I'm not criticising that at all, but am curious.  
    • Here's the part of march46's linked-to Southwark News article pertaining to Southwark Council. "Southwark Council were also contacted for a response. "Councillor James McAsh, Cabinet Member for Clean Air, Streets & Waste said: “One of Southwark’s key priorities is to create a healthy environment for our residents. “To achieve this we closely monitor legislation and measures that influence air pollution – our entire borough apart from inland waterways is designated as a Smoke Control Area, and we also offer substantial provision for electric vehicles to promote alternative fuel travel options and our Streets for People strategy. “We as a council support the work of Mums for Lungs and recognise the health and environmental impacts of domestic solid fuel burning, particularly from wood-burning appliances. “We are currently updating our Enforcement Policy and changes will allow for the issuing of civil penalties ranging from £175 to £300 for visible smoke emissions, replacing the previous reliance on criminal prosecution.  “This work is being undertaken in collaboration with other London boroughs as part of the pan-London Wood Burning Project, which aims to harmonise enforcement approaches and share best practice across the capital.” ETA: And here's a post I made a few years ago, with tangential relevance.  https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/278140-early-morning-drone-flying/?do=findComment&comment=1493274  
    • The solicitor is also the Executor. Big mistake, but my Aunt was very old, and this was the Covid years and shortly after so impossible to intervene and get a couple of close relatives to do this.  She had no children so this is the nephews and nieces. He is a single practitioner, and most at his age would have long since retired - there is a question over his competence Two letters have already gone essentially complaining - batted off and 'amusingly' one put the blame on us. There are five on our side, all speaking to each other, and ideally would work as a single point of contact.  But he has said that this is not allowed - we've all given approval to act on each others behalf. There are five on her late husband's side, who have not engaged with us despite the suggestion to work as a team, There is one other, who get's the lion's share, the typicical 'friend', but we are long since challenging the will. I would like to put another complaint together that he has not used modern collective communication (I expect that he is incapable) which had seriously delayed the execution of the will.   I know many in their 80s very adept with smart phones so that is not an ageist comment. The house has deteriorated very badly, with cold, damp and a serious leak.  PM me if you want to see the dreadful condition that it is now in. I would also question why if the five of us are happy to work together why all of us need to confirm in writing.             The house was lived in until Feb 23, and has been allowed to get like this.
    • Isn’t a five yearly electricity safety certificate one of the things the landlord must give for a legal tenancy?
Home
Events
Sign In

Sign In



Or sign in with one of these services

Search
×
    Search In
×
×
  • Create New...