IRA: imagine what could have happened if some crackpot had decided to bomb Ireland?

 

Before partition, there was violence in Ireland and after the 1920 treaty that was supposed to have dealt with the issue of civil war, the IRA Irish Republican Army went on carrying attacks of the British mainland for countless years until a new treaty known as the Good Friday Agreement was signed to deal with grievances.

IRA members could be found anywhere, including any of the remaining parts of the United Kingdom, but this did not lead the British to use a cannon to kill a fly. One wonders what could have happened if Israelis had dealt with many of the early grievances surgically instead of resorting to full military deployments. 

Understandbly, the British did not resort to mass bombinappg raids or mass military operations. The British were much more clever than the Israelis and the issues were sorted out. Israel has been using constant military might without realising that every time they resorted to the use of military might they were seeding the sources of the next attack and this is exactly what Israel is doing right now. Israel is planting the seeds of more and worse violence in the near future. Because the USA - unlike Britain - has been more about brute force than about diplomacy, the USA has constantly exacerbated tensions in every conflict the USA has been involved. Making people hide does not solve any problems. The concept of deterrance is based on the presuption that if people are afraid enough they will no longer use similar methods. Such way of thinking is absolutely misguided. Pent up anger and frustration will lead the region in exactly the opposite direction and away from peace.After decades, the concept of deterrance has proven to be exactly the opposite of what should have been implemented. Because it trusts only might, Israel has spent more than 70 years in a permanent state of emergency and as soon as it lowered its guard what happened was bound to happen.

Deterrence is not the way forward. Deterrence will only make things worse for both Palestinians and Jews. Fear will not be conducive to peace.

Countries that support military operations in Palestine themselves fail to understand that policies of oppression and destruction can only lead to more insecurity and more violence. The same policies of oppression and destruction were applied over and over again in the past and we are still here facing the same dangers.

Ursula von der Leyen muss weg

 

To say that Ursula von der Leyen was incompetent as German Defense Secretary and has been incompetent as appointed President of the European Commission would be a gross understatement.

She started by making a mess in Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland by going against established EU policies and later backtracking when she was bombarded with criticisms, including criticisms expressed by the German mass media. Shge managed to unite Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland against her.

With regards to the fight against Covid-19, she hasn't been on top of her brief and has stood paralized while EU countries stopped acting as EU countries and went against each other. Austria is leading a group of six EU countries that want to have access to Russian vaccines and Germany has now joined them while France and others remain stuck with rising number of infections, hospitals that cannot cope with the number of cases and rising deaths leading to further quarentine measures.

The latest chapter was the embarrassment during a meeting in Turkey. She allowed herself to be sidelines and later complained saying that she had been sidelined. She doesn't have the guts to act on the spot. Is she really the President of the European Commission? If she is the President of the European Commission she should start acting as the President of the European Commission. If she doesn't have what it takes to be the boss, she should put herself aside and allow somebody else to be the boss.

The office of President of the European Commission is being downgraded, the EU project is being downgraded, and her former boss Angela Merkel is doing no better. Hesitation, gigantic errors of judgment, followed by meaningless apologies that give way to more hesitation, more gigantic errors of judgment, followed by more meaningless apologies. Angela Merkel no longer has what it takes to be leader and voters are turning against CDU/CSU across Germany, election after election. Time for change, but what will replace them? The very authority of the German Chancellor as now former party leader - she had to resign the leadership of CDU to remain in power until the next German Federal Election - is being challenged by members of her own party. She had to come out and threaten members of her own party that were found working with Alternative fur Deutschland in several regions.

To sum up, a mess in Germany and a mess in the European Union. 

Brexit: Then and Now

Brexit: Then and Now

In ten days time, Britain will be on its way to be as it was before entering the Common Market. Will it be like it was before entering the Common Market?

So much has happened in more than 40 years. There has been a demographic revolution and London - its capital city - is completely unrecognizable. The Monarchy itself is unrecognizable. We have had Harry-exit. Diana's boy is now in Canada, without a Royal title. SNP seems to rule Scotland and is threatening to break up the United Kingdom. Let us remember another earthquake that happened in the United Kingdom in the 1920, the partition of Ireland and the creation of two separate entities - the Republic of Ireland in the south and the Province of Northern Ireland in the north. A hundred years later, we are witnessing events that have generated realities that we couldn't possibly have imagined thirty years ago.

But when it comes to surprising changes, Britain is not alone. The European Continent is on the move and significant political developments are taking place. 

Merkel, Medvedev, Schroeder

Germany is also unrecognizable. CDU/CSU is faltering and Alternative für Deutchland and Grünen are rising stars. In France, Emannuel Macron - the opportunity candidate that rose to power as to prevent National Front (Now National Rally) from winning the French Presidential Election is facing war as discontent rises. As the Socialists were on the way out, the French Centre Right faced the unthinkable and had to create a fantasy on the back of a massive propaganda effort.

Brexit is not the main issue, Europe is facing. Much more serious developments are on the way. Unfortunately, and perhaps in a premeditated manner, the mass media have their own agenda and they don't report about certain events to the point that when something dramatic happens it seems to have come from nowhere.

Britain: Will Scotland declare independence unilaterally?

Britain: Will Scotland declare independence unilaterally?

The Brexit earthquake just happened but there are tremors in Scotland with QC stating that Scottish Parliament could call a Referendum without the authorization of the Westminster Parliament. 

Whether it is legal or illegal for Scotland to declare independence is irrelevant. What is relevant is the question of what could happen if Scotland were to unilaterally declare independence. In the years after the 2016 Referendum on EU Membership, the movement towards Scottish independence has been reinforced by a General Election in which SNP has reaffirmed its position as the party of Scotland going against what happened in other parts of the United Kingdom where the Conservative Party won in Labour Party heartlands.

The present crisis in the British Monarchy doesn't help. For many years, the Monarchy has been the glue that kept together the United Kingdom. A weaker Monarchy is a recipe for trouble. In geopolitical terms, Scotland is moving towards EU while the rest of Britain is in limbo. For the moment, at least some kind of balance has been in Northern Ireland with the restoration of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Trying to keep the United Kingdom in its present form by force could lead to civil war. But if the use of force is out of the question, how would people on both sides of the border react if the Scottish Parliament decides to call a Referendum or decides to declare independence unilaterally. In the 1920s, there was the partition of Ireland giving birth to the Republic of Ireland in the south of Ireland and the Province of Northern Ireland in the north of Ireland. A century later, could this be the time for Scotland?

 

Britain: Of Fidel Castro, Salvador Allende and Jeremy Corbyn

Britain: Of Fidel Castro, Salvador Allende and Jeremy Corbyn

Jeremy Corbyn has publicly stated that he wants a General Election because he believes that the embattled Labour Party under his leadership has a clear opportunity to take over the reins of Britain and Conservatives like Philip Hammond, Dominic Grieve and Rory Stewart are more than willing to destroy a Conservative government and open the way for a government led by Jeremy Corbyn.

Will the European Union openly support such possibility in spite of the obvious ideological differences and geopolitical repercussions? We are talking about major issues that include Britain's relationship with Iran, Saudi Arabia, Israel and, fundamentally, Britain's relationship with the USA and NATO.

And what about the unity of the United Kingdom? Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell openly supported the IRA and the unification of Ireland. The latter has been criticised for having in his constituency office images about the 'martyrs of the IRA'. 

Under Tony Blair, there was talk about nationalisation but it was just talk. Under a Labour government led by Jeremy Corbyn with John McDonnell as Chancellor of the Exchequer, talk will become certainty.

Getting Brexit right, given the threats posed by a Labour government led by Jeremy Corbyn, becomes much more of a priority. The newly elected Lib Dem Leader did well to distance herself from a potential alliance with the present Labour Party. There is always the Law of unintended consequences. If the Remain Camp seeks to destroy a Conservative government, the Remain Camp will unleash forces that they will not be able to control

What do Paul Golding, Jayda Fransen and Tommy Robinson have in common?

What do Paul Golding, Jayda Fransen and Tommy Robinson have in common?

For more than 16 years, children were being raped in places like Rotherham and other British cities and so called mainstream political parties and Police were doing practically absolutely nothing to protect those being abused because they were afraid of being accused of racism.

Organisations that were supposed to protect vulnerable children looked the other way and rape gangs could do their dirty business unmolested. They were so confident than in some cases taxi services were used to transport children to places where gangs plied them with alcohol and drugs and gang raped them.

When a well-known Far Right leader spoke to the BBC, the BBC accused him of being racist for daring to raise the issue that is today widespread news and not long after the BBC itself was rocked by a scandal involving well-known entertainers that even used BBC facilities to carry out sexual activities with minors.

Now, what do Paul Golding, Jayda Fransen and Tommy Robinson have in common? All of them have spoken openly about Muslim rape gangs and against Muslim terrorism while British authorities have indicated that they are actively working to prevent Muslim terrorist attacks.

Police authorities and Anti-Terrorism organisations within the Security Services did not prevent what happened on July 7, 2005. They did not prevent either the beheading of a British soldier close to military headquarters in London. They knew the to-be culprits long before they perpetrated attacks that left more than 50 dead and many more injured. They even tried to recruit the killers of Lee Rigby.

What do Paul Golding, Jayda Fransen and Tommy Robinson also have in common? They have been arrested, trialed and convicted. We have come to the point that more Police resources are being used against those who denounce crime. This is certainly a paradox when Police representatives have gone as far as asking parents to denounce their children and teachers to denounce pupils if there is any suspicion regarding their involvement in terrorist activities. Needless to say, it is a monstrosity to ask parents to denounce their own children and it is also a monstrosity to ask teachers to denounce their own pupils.

But this is just part of the picture. Even a joke, something done merely as a joke, without intent to cause damage and without hatred, can land anybody in serious trouble in a legal system in which courts are eager to prosecute and convict those accused to appease or gratify vested interests. When this happens, Justice goes out through the window and a Totalitarian State is born.

There are also attempts to censor people who use social media and threats have been made against social media providers. Power and control, repression, persecution, demonizing, prosecution and incarceration are now the rule rather than the exception in an environment that is increasingly unstable in a very fragmented British political and social reality.

In the meantime, the number of victims of stabbing and gun crime keeps rising. Whether it is about issues involving Jews, Muslims or people leaving on the fringes of society, the country is in a state of flux. Add to this the complications arising from political issues and geopolitical issues and you get an explosive mix. I haven't included factors related to an economic reality in which people find themselves in ever more difficult financial circumstances that lead to dysfunctional families and mental and physical health problems.

This is not a very optimistic description of what is happening in Britain but even less optimistic events will follow sooner than later that could put an end to the United Kingdom as we know it. The man that some say could be the next British Prime Minister favors what some call a 'United Ireland', knowing the implications of supporting such a move.

Therefore, wherever you look you can see impending crisis. If you criticize a Jew or a Muslim, somebody would be offended and you could end up in court and facing jail. But if you support murdering babies, the mass media will rejoice and you could become a celebrity. People in the Republic of Ireland voted in favour of the Babies Holocaust.

Stephen Fry: We are duly entitled to criticise everything that we don't agree with

Dear Sir/Madam,

I fully support Stephen Fry. The so called ‘blasphemy’ crimes are a remnant from a by-gone era. We are free to believe or not to believe and we are fully entitled to have our own opinions. We can criticize whatever we want to criticize. When it comes to faith or religion that is pretty close to superstition people are entitled to their own views.

The 2009 Blasphemy Law dates back to the Inquisition when people were tortured and killed in the name of religion. Today, in the so called Western Civilization people are not usually killed but they are still being killed in other cultures namely Islam that is a murderous ideology posing as a religion.

The time is long overdue to get rid such monstrosities used to persecute, to torture and to kill innocent people around the world. Get rid of the so called 2009 Blasphemy Law that is nothing more than a mental illness, a product of sheer stupidity.

Stephen Fry is being investigated by Irish police over blasphemy claims more than two years after his outspoken comments about God on RTE's The Meaning of Life went viral.

Mr Fry described a hypothetical creator as “stupid” and an “utter maniac” for designing a world filled with undue suffering.

Asked in 2015 by the programme's host, Gay Byrne, what he would say to God if he arrived at the pearly gates of heaven, the actor and author replied: “I’d say, bone cancer in children? What’s that about?”

The committed atheist added: “How dare you? How dare you create a world to which there is such misery that is not our fault? It’s not right, it’s utterly, utterly evil.

BBC Asian Network asks: 'What is right punishment for blasphemy?'

“Why should I respect a capricious, mean-minded, stupid god who creates a world that is so full of injustice and pain?

“We have to spend our life on our knees thanking him? What kind of god would do that?

“The god who created this universe, if it was created by god, is quite clearly a maniac, an utter maniac, totally selfish.”

I agree with Stephen Fry that judged on very clear facts the so called God or Creator would be judged as “a maniac, an utter maniac, totally selfish” in “a world that is so full of injustice and pain” in which innocents are so blatantly suffering. Stephen Fry is absolutely right to challenge religion as we are duly entitled as human beings to challenge everything that we don’t agree with.

Best regards

Karl Hohenstauffen

The World of Politics / Politische Welt/ Мир политики

London, England, United Kingdom - Mob: 07973 387 158

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/stephen-fry-blasphemy-god-utter-maniac-ireland-gardai-rte-meaning-of-life-atheist-a7722081.html