After Paisley's press conference, I consider him a national treasure .

[non sociopath skin]

... who ought to be buried in a deep hole somewhere ASAP.

The Skin

[Taxloss]

1. A heart of gold.

Small, yellow, and hard.

[moggie]

2. I haven't read anything about it

But let me guess: could it be summarised by shouting "no surrender" very very loudly?

[D-Notice]

3. Even better summarisations:

"NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"SURRENDER & BETRAYAL"

[muriel_volestrangler]

4. I presume it's this story

Royal Irish units to be disbanded

"The government's so-called normalisation programme will have a profound effect on the political process in Northern Ireland," he said.

"It is a surrender to the IRA and is further evidence of bad faith on the part of the government.

"We are appalled at the dishonest and dangerous approach of the government with today's announcement of 'normalisation' and we want to make it clear that it will pay a high price for the approach that is being taken."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/4734747.stm

The IRA says it's ending bombing and violence, and he's still complaining. Let's face it, he actually enjoys the mayhem. He'd be out of a job without it.

[non sociopath skin]

5. That's it, Mu. There was nothing online when I posted ...

... but it made me so bloody angry. The anger of Ol' "Dr" Bullneck and his flint-faced skinhead friends at the fact that peace might be breaking out was a sight to see.

The Skin

[D-Notice]

6. Maybe he's concerned about

the eventual outcome, if this article is correct A united Ireland is inevitable:

At last, Sinn Féin has realised that, far from promoting Irish unity, the violence of its military wing has held back the achievement of an honourable aspiration. Partition will be ended by forces wholly unconnected with the IRA. Its gunmen - if they are anything other than gangsters - will promote what they claim to be their only objective by stepping aside. They can console themselves with the thought that the border, which they hope to obliterate, is already blurred and will soon be effectively abolished.

The hopes of Michael Collins and Eamon de Valera will be realised courtesy of the global market and the European Union. The inexorable pressure of economic reality is dragging the six counties closer and closer to the republic. Where economics leads, politics is bound to follow. Industry and commerce grow closer day by day and the institutions of government will soon reflect that shift from partnership to integration.

The pressure to combine has been increased by the growth of the republic's economy. Gross domestic product per head is now higher in Ireland than in the United Kingdom. Northern farmers do not enjoy the "regime" that has made their southern competitors prosperous. The old jokes about Irish devotion to antique inefficiency are contradicted by signs of progress that mock the north. Miles were changed to kilometres overnight. A smoking ban in public places was peacefully accepted by the allegedly self-destructive peasantry. Thanks to tax breaks, picturesque hovels have been replaced by holiday homes.

[Anarcho-Socialist]

7. I think it might be take a couple of generations

for opinion to change drastically north and south in favour of a united Ireland (if indeed it does so).

I do agree with Hattersley that integration will come out of economic necessity, but this will likely be within a European Union context.

A European state would likely supercede questions of nationalism in Northern Ireland.

[Pert_UK]

8. God how I hate that man.......

Basically his entire raison d'etre is to shout about the IRA and, IMHO, the only possible justification that he could ever give for his vitriolic dogma is the IRA's terrible violence over the years.

Unless he can convince people, in the face of evidence to the contrary, that the IRA is still a vicious menace to the peace of NI and the UK, then pretty soon he's going to be a bitter, twisted, pointless nobody.

It's so sad that after all these years of trying to get the IRA to disarm and disband he is unable to see that they are actually making moves in this direction.

[non sociopath skin]

9. As Muriel pointed out above ...

... the IRA is his raison d'etre. It's pure symbiosis: without them he'd be the nothing that he deserves to be.

Perhaps he needs to take a leaf from the Neocons' book and switch his fire to the Muslim World Conspiracy.

"NO SORRENDOR TO THE MOSLIMS! :mad: :mad::mad:NO SORRENDOR TO THE TORBANNED ROFFIANS! :mad::mad::mad:


THOR SHALL BE NO TAKING OFF OF SHUES AT TORBANNED ROFFIANS DOORS!
:spank::spank::spank::spank::spank:

THOR SHALL BE NO INFIDEL CRESCENT ON THE FLOG OF OLSTER!!!!"

:banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead::banghead:

Yep, I can see him getting into that ...

The Skin

[T_i_B]

11. Worse then that...

"As Muriel pointed out above the IRA is his raison d'etre. It's pure symbiosis: without them he'd be the nothing that he deserves to be."

The IRA are only part of it I'm afraid. You see Ian Paisley's real Raison d'etre is the Catholic Church and its adherants, which he has a deep theological loathing of. That is why he is opposed to being united with the Catholic Republic so much. Here's his website for more.

http://www.ianpaisley.org/

[ikri]

10. Perhaps

Since the US redefined the "War on Terror®" to the "Struggle against violent extremism" we can expect an air strike heading his way.

Well I can always dream.