so saying fuck the Brits is the new anti-Semitism?
these wankers should concentrate on their own fascists - there's enough of the fuckers. There are MI5 papers just released in the last 10-20 years on right-wing British MPs, peers, senior military figures etc that were involved in plots ("including espionage, sabotage, unlawful private attempts to broker peace deals between Germany and Britain") to install a pro-Hitler regime in London.
But beyond these are other files identified in the de-classified MI5 dossiers which have not been released to the National Archives. They relate to yet more aristocrats, MPs and military officers who worked on behalf of Germany during the war.
― calzino, Tuesday, 12 October 2021 08:28 (two years ago) link
the background to this is Sally Rooney refused to allow a certain publisher to publish her work in Israel, which has been twisted into "Sally Rooney refuses to let her works be translated into Hebrew"
― Daniel_Rf, Tuesday, 12 October 2021 09:46 (two years ago) link
anti-imperialism is good
― calzino, Tuesday, 12 October 2021 10:24 (two years ago) link
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBfwwfeXoAUfTLK?format=jpg&name=900x900
now that's all clarified there won't be another word on the subject.
― calzino, Tuesday, 12 October 2021 13:52 (two years ago) link
up the roon'
― 《Myst1kOblivi0n》 (jim in vancouver), Tuesday, 12 October 2021 19:32 (two years ago) link
Fifty year anniversary of Bloody Sunday:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk/gallery/2010/jun/10/bloodysunday-northernireland
― Andy the Grasshopper, Friday, 28 January 2022 21:12 (two years ago) link
how long must we sing this song?
actually you can stop now thanks
― Bill Kristol Meth (Ye Mad Puffin), Friday, 28 January 2022 21:26 (two years ago) link
maybe you just stop posting, dickhead!
― calzino, Friday, 28 January 2022 21:30 (two years ago) link
suspect that was a U2 zing there calz
― Ár an broc a mhic (darraghmac), Friday, 28 January 2022 21:34 (two years ago) link
not that I'd expect it to have been made in eg a similar American civil rights context, for instance
― Ár an broc a mhic (darraghmac), Friday, 28 January 2022 21:36 (two years ago) link
exactly!
― calzino, Friday, 28 January 2022 21:37 (two years ago) link
and take that shite to ilm
My apologies, that was a lazy and ill-considered stupid drive-by post, not helpful or necessary
― Bill Kristol Meth (Ye Mad Puffin), Friday, 28 January 2022 22:15 (two years ago) link
― mardheamac (gyac), Friday, 28 January 2022 22:44 (two years ago) link
it still shocks me that a country where one of the top left-wing politicians consider Thatcher a good person and a victory for representation, is actually full of complete fucking idiots!
― calzino, Friday, 28 January 2022 22:55 (two years ago) link
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60130486
― Legalize Suburban Benches (Raymond Cummings), Saturday, 29 January 2022 01:47 (two years ago) link
Yuri filatov fish
― Ár an broc a mhic (darraghmac), Saturday, 29 January 2022 08:31 (two years ago) link
Ireland's first line of defense against the Russians is something else! #Russia #moscow #YaBollix pic.twitter.com/sCElZuea2R— Niall (@niall_staunton) January 27, 2022
― calzino, Saturday, 29 January 2022 08:54 (two years ago) link
POLL: Business Post/Red C(Jan 21-26, MoE 3%)Sinn Féin 33 (unchanged since Nov)Fine Gael 21 (-1)Fianna Fáil 15Green Party 6 (+1)Social Democrats 5Labour 4PBP-Solidarity 2Aontú 2Independents 11 https://t.co/Xb88kMTflI— Gavan Reilly (@gavreilly) January 29, 2022
― mardheamac (gyac), Saturday, 29 January 2022 21:40 (two years ago) link
I'm just glad we got the Vax before SF get in I guess
― Ár an broc a mhic (darraghmac), Saturday, 29 January 2022 21:44 (two years ago) link
Fuck that 2% for Aontu though. What is wrong with people?
― mardheamac (gyac), Saturday, 29 January 2022 21:45 (two years ago) link
I mean 2% tho
the beauty of not having only two sides is that you see the genuine crazy separate to those that will just cynically exploit em
― Ár an broc a mhic (darraghmac), Saturday, 29 January 2022 21:48 (two years ago) link
Crying laughing at this
He also recalled how his mother, Catherine Finnegan – known as Jean – visited the UK and spent a night in a hotel where, she was told, the Queen had once stayed.“She was so appalled that she slept on the floor all night, rather than risk sleeping on a bed that the Queen had slept on,” Pritchett wrote, adding she personally admired anyone who allowed their principles to take precedence over a comfortable bed.
― mardheamac (gyac), Thursday, 10 February 2022 20:48 (two years ago) link
man joe
― Ár an broc a mhic (darraghmac), Thursday, 10 February 2022 20:59 (two years ago) link
we elected the wrong Biden!
― rob, Thursday, 10 February 2022 20:59 (two years ago) link
His parents were Irish
I don't think they qualify as Irish even by American standards tbh. The "Bidens" were actually English, but no votes in that.
― Bastards of Fish (Tom D.), Thursday, 10 February 2022 21:52 (two years ago) link
did you also know he was the first half English/half German person with an Irish sounding surname in his family to to go into higher education?
― calzino, Thursday, 10 February 2022 22:28 (two years ago) link
I don't even feel as Irish as Biden does despite my dad immigrating from Kerry and my mum from County Meath but this an American thing.
― calzino, Thursday, 10 February 2022 23:13 (two years ago) link
George fall into the sea challenge
Yes, Donbas is majority Russian-speaking. On the same grounds, England has a right to re-occupy the Irish Republic.— George Monbiot (@GeorgeMonbiot) February 22, 2022
― mardheamac (gyac), Tuesday, 22 February 2022 09:19 (two years ago) link
George LOLbiot
― Blu Ray Davies (Tom D.), Tuesday, 22 February 2022 09:21 (two years ago) link
hes not wrong just a wee bit off right
― Ár an broc a mhic (darraghmac), Tuesday, 22 February 2022 09:55 (two years ago) link
do not
― mardheamac (gyac), Tuesday, 22 February 2022 09:58 (two years ago) link
Presumably he's saying: the UK has no right to re-occupy the Republic of Ireland.
I agree with that.
― the pinefox, Tuesday, 22 February 2022 10:38 (two years ago) link
The start of this thread was remarkably, unusually bad.
So then -- a bunch of Guinness-soaked louts or a flowering of native Celtic genius that makes the English look like a passel of Hooray Henrys and who wisely escaped the UK's clutches to help make America the brilliant place it is?
― the pinefox, Tuesday, 22 February 2022 10:40 (two years ago) link
It’s a totally stupid point given that aiui:- lots of people in Donbas consider themselves Russian proper and hold passports to that effect- “the Irish republic”? Really, George? It’s out of touch at best and pejorative at worst.- there’s six counties in the north east of the island that actually make a better argument for this but it doesn’t exactly place the UK in the best light to do so- as an Irish citizen, seeing all kinds of cunts now get outraged about shooting protestors and the like given that the UK government is actively trying to row back on “Bloody Sunday was bad”? Indescribable- why am I writing this in English, George?
― mardheamac (gyac), Tuesday, 22 February 2022 10:56 (two years ago) link
You missed out calling the UK England.
― Blu Ray Davies (Tom D.), Tuesday, 22 February 2022 10:58 (two years ago) link
lol right. Man’s a hack
― mardheamac (gyac), Tuesday, 22 February 2022 10:59 (two years ago) link
The start of this thread was remarkably, unusually bad._So then -- a bunch of Guinness-soaked louts or a flowering of native Celtic genius that makes the English look like a passel of Hooray Henrys and who wisely escaped the UK's clutches to help make America the brilliant place it is?_
― mardheamac (gyac), Tuesday, 22 February 2022 11:03 (two years ago) link
monbiot usually has his heart sort of in the right place but that is a crass (and crassly-phrased) comparison yes
― imago, Tuesday, 22 February 2022 11:08 (two years ago) link
A totally unrelated side note is that I spent some time in Dublin for the first time in eleven years a couple of weeks back. It was great, but it’s changed so much since I was last there and even longer when I lived there. I was really really impressed by the Luas, but Dublin bus has cut a load of bus routes and as someone who used the services constantly when I lived there, it was really noticeable. The airport bus service being cut is a total disgrace.I also stayed in the Gresham which I did for 3 reasons a) I got a really good deal on a night there b) central af, meaning I could stagger out of bed the next day and walk around a bit before staggering for the train home c) it tickled me a bit bc I remembered writing essays in Irish as a child where I said I stayed there. Hotel was pretty nice, would do again. It was lovely to see the Connolly statue, which I posted about in another thread. It’s neglected, though, which is a shame and apt considering his political successors, for example:https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DnVCl8PX4AABpkr?format=jpg
― mardheamac (gyac), Tuesday, 22 February 2022 11:11 (two years ago) link
The Gresham is where the Conroys stay the night in the story 'The Dead', rather than going back home in the snow, and thus where Gretta C tells Gabriel C about Michael Furey.
― the pinefox, Tuesday, 22 February 2022 11:13 (two years ago) link
So it is. Ty pinefox. There is a relevant picture here but I can’t post it itt.How did you come to be interested in Irish literature anyway?
― mardheamac (gyac), Tuesday, 22 February 2022 11:19 (two years ago) link
having a wilfully distorted understanding of everywhere else in the world is a defining feature of UK liberalism. Even with supposedly nominally left leaning libs like Monbiot. And he's a cunt!
― calzino, Tuesday, 22 February 2022 11:19 (two years ago) link
it goes beyond a clumsy ill considered analogy, he's just showing his real colours
― calzino, Tuesday, 22 February 2022 11:24 (two years ago) link
lol my point on monbiot, of whom i know nothing and care not to know any more, is as pinefox says and further again to pretty much your own point about "golly you could almost follow that back and come to some conclusions about the non-republic part"
― Ár an broc a mhic (darraghmac), Tuesday, 22 February 2022 12:31 (two years ago) link
Gyac: the short and fairly predictable answer is simply that I read Ulysses, around the time I first visited Ireland, and everything followed from the immense enthusiasm and fascination of this experience (the literary experience, but the geographical one was good and relevant too).
― the pinefox, Tuesday, 22 February 2022 20:55 (two years ago) link
I found myself thinking today about a United Ireland and to cut a long story short I mainly wondered what would happen to Unionism when it no longer had a Union to demand, but still had demographic power in the new Ireland.
The obvious answer is: a reassertion of Ulster as an identity (without 'British'), Northernness becoming a cultural element in the ROI in a new way, and Belfast as a power base to rival Dublin - which presumably no Dublin politician wants, which you would think make a Dublin politician now wary about the whole idea of reunification. (This will all have been said before; well especially the last part.)
The slightly less obvious thing that came to me is: there would be an alliance between the Conservatism of the DUP and UUP and eg: Fine Gael - Ulster and Southern forms of 'conservatism' would find a lot of common ground, if only for strategic reasons. Maybe Fianna Fail would then reposition as the opposition to this bloc?
The SDLP would presumably join with southern Labour, in a not very effective way (maybe in a coalition with FF?). But the power of Sinn Féin, by now, in the North would join the power it now has in the south and, I guess, compound it, and maybe there would be an all-Ireland plurality or majority for SF, in the short term - which I guess would be a kind of 'left populism' especially once the border question no longer existed?
― the pinefox, Wednesday, 23 February 2022 10:09 (two years ago) link
[first sentence should I think say: a Union to *defend*]
― the pinefox, Wednesday, 23 February 2022 10:10 (two years ago) link
I haven’t thought much about any of the issues you lay out to the point of having coherent replies to them and I will do so and will reply in full when I do (lucky you, having to read that avalanche of shit!)Something that has been on my mind a lot ito reunification is the issue of integrating Irish above the border with those below it. It might seem like a done deal and not worth considering, but there’s a lot of issues. For one thing, Dublin my whole life and certainly most of my parents’, has been actively distanced from the Irish in the north and their suffering. Although they are our citizens, they are not “us”. There are a number of reasons why this position is taken, not least it’s a responsibility that is…tricky…for Dublin when we can’t even care for people below the border. I was thinking about the shift in my views on this in my lifetime. It goes along with a move from being an unconsidered melt to considering things more fully (no shit), and basically my views have gone from “oh that’s all happened in the past/nothing to do with us” to “they are our citizens. We have a duty to them!” and obviously I feel a lot of shame about having held the former view. I don’t think it’s coincidental that a lot of people my age and younger (mainly the latter) are more pro-reunification, especially with them skewing more left at a cohort. Even basic stuff like social media can be hugely illuminating if you grew up far from the border and have no idea of what life was like. I was listening to a Twitter space a few weeks back operated by Nordies who were speaking about their hurt due to Irish in the south basically being ignorant of/dismissing their Irishness and in some cases even laughing at them. A young man was saying about his family crossing the border due to the 12th and overhearing a b&b owner referring to the family as “the black Irish”; he said this casual dismissal stuck with him as, after all, his parents had taken him south of the border out of concerns for their safety on the 12th.I also have come to befriend Nordies irl and hearing all this makes me feel ashamed of my own ignorance, and they have a point when they complain about us being (rightly) supportive of Palestine but outright ignorant of and dismissive of the situation faced by our own people on the same island.I’ve pretty much just typed this all out without stopping to read it back so sorry if incoherent or claggy reading. It’s interesting to talk about these things but it comes with a lot of discomfort due to personal complacency and the disregard shown by us as a nation IMO.
― mardheamac (gyac), Wednesday, 23 February 2022 10:22 (two years ago) link
all that, yes
also my habitual wariness of the full side of any story coming from just one perspective too tho, and carving out some level of justifiable position of none of any of us being born into a very idea ireland with very clear and agreed lines of history or the correct course of action to take
94 was the start of a lot of new perspectives and def agree that social media has led to another jump in perspective, and further again sf being all things to all men (for good and for ill) in the south means they will be the major political force on the island in our lifetimes (and i agree with pf that the nature of them rising on an professional-opposition basis means that this phase may well be shortlived depending on how quickly their anti-govt (any govt) vote becomes disillusioned.
FG/FF wont survive as a joint force in opposition i dont think, covid prob the best thing that could have happened to that pairing. they wont solve housing before the next GE so it will really be a question of will they do enough to swing back enough votes allied with what SF's ceiling actually is
ive moved away somewhat from the actual question, unity and what it means. agreed it means an ulster identity within an all-island nation, think that isnt that far off as is, think (informed by a good discussion about it all with a soft-nationalist catholic fella in his fifties at the weekend) that we in the south still- whether we go one way or the other about it- fetishize what it was or is to be a northern catholic, he spoke well and with great conviction about it being a part of his history, identity, experience but by far the larger part was normal ulster rural living which was no more different to what i recognise as my connacht rearing (minus the extraordinary personal parts) was to a youngfella raised strangely in farflung kerry
after unity, fg will be pulled a few ways but towards an ever bluer all island identity certainly seems likely, ff might still exist and pull quite a bit of the above softer northern nationalist vote, sf will have to govern and see how that actually goes for them but hey we've tolerated enough from the other lots til now, setting aside my misgivings as to what their actual attitude is towards the structures of the 26 county state whether they can consolidate and achieve in what youd presume would still have to be some form of coalition is an interesting question in itself
― Ár an broc a mhic (darraghmac), Wednesday, 23 February 2022 10:47 (two years ago) link