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Taiwan Deserves our Support in Politics JoeUser Forums

There is one part of the world where a small democracy is routinely threatened and harassed by a dictatorship fifty times its size. I’m speaking of the situation on the Taiwan Strait where an island of 23 million is confronted by a country of 1.3 billion. Taiwan has all the trappings of a state; a flag, an anthemn, an army, a president and a parliament. Yet, thanks to Beijing’s “one China” dogma, the rest of the world refuses to accept that Taiwan exists. China cuts ties with any count

Reply to Bliar in Politics JoeUser Forums

Fraid not. Just heard on the radio that Nick Brown, de facto leader of the rebel Labour MPs, has said he'll vote for the government tonight. That's probably going to cause an avalanche of support in Blair's favour. Wouldn't be surprised if some of these "rebels" were government plants, just waiting for orders to "defect" to Blair at the time which will do most damage to the rebels' cause. Ah well, there's always Hutton tomorrow................

Reply to John Kerry: Liar or Fool? in Politics JoeUser Forums

I'm sorry, I just don't agree with that. The acts of genocide, the mass ethnic cleansing of Kosovar Albanians only began AFTER the bombing had started. Prior to that, what was happening in Kosovo was a classic low-level guerilla war. The KLA was trying to split Kosovo from Serbia by attacking Serb police, military and civilian targets. Belgrade responded in an overly aggressive manner and innocent Kosovars were killed and injured. Serb actions were not defensible but they were far less severe th

Reply to John Kerry: Liar or Fool? in Politics JoeUser Forums

But Bush didn't say Saddam had the INTENT to produce WMD he said he HAD WMD. Now he speaks of "WMD programs" which is very different from what he was saying this time last year. Also, to clarify, I didn't mean the Dems should elect Kucinich or Sharpton. I said that if being a good debater was all that matters then they should elect one of those two. It's not all that matters. I wish America was the kind of country where a man as left-wing as Kucinich could be elected president but unfo

Reply to John Kerry: Liar or Fool? in Politics JoeUser Forums

We could play this game all day pointing out people's gaffes if you want - there are whole books filled with "Bushisms". I stand by what I said - they are the two best debaters in the field. I didn't say they were infallible. Why am I defending Kucinich and Sharpton? I was trying to attack Kerry and I got side-tracked, ah well.................

Reply to John Kerry: Liar or Fool? in Politics JoeUser Forums

Was it not obvious to you that Bush was lying about WMDs? It was to me. It's easy to tell when Bush is lying - his lips move. Sorry, old joke. The point is that all the propaganda was NOT convincing to many millions of people AT THE TIME. It was obvious that Bush had decided to go to war and was trying to make the intelligence fit the policy. Kerry should have realised this. Indeed I think he did realise this but he voted for the war because he thought it would be popular.

Reply to John Kerry: Liar or Fool? in Politics JoeUser Forums

"Yes, he voted to give Bush the power to go to Iraq along with almost every other person in congress." Sorry that's just not true. Many members of congress voted against the resolution. "His only mistake was thinking that Bush would actually exhaust every other possibility first, like he said he was going to" This goes back to what I was saying - that Kerry's was a stupidly naive position. It was obvious to nearly every one

John Kerry: Liar or Fool? in Politics JoeUser Forums

If we are to believe Senator John Kerry’s version of events, he was duped into voting for the Iraq war by nefarious White House lies about Saddam’s WMD capability. The 61 year old veteran politician was led a merry dance with tales of mushroom clouds and nerve gas. Now, like a freshly deflowered teenager, he’s discovered that his suitor lied to get him into bed. There weren’t any WMD after all! Oh, George, how could you?! John Kerry claims that he was one of the people who actually beli

Reply to A few number before the state of union speech. in Politics JoeUser Forums

I know I'm going back a bit but this comment pissed me off: "Bush couldn't possibly attend any funerals. If he attended one, he'd have to attend them all" Rubbish! No-one expects him to go to all the funerals. What is expected is that he could go to at least one as acknowledgement of people who have died for their country (however much one may disagree with the war in which they died). Clearly the White House don't want the negative p

Reply to Homophobia: A Killer Disease in Politics JoeUser Forums

Dan, I'm talking about homosexuality - consenting sex between two adults of the same gender not a priest forcing himself on a boy, that's called child abuse (as is a man molesting a girl). Protestants can be pretty damn good homophobes too. Tech Cat, if I take you at your word then, no, you're not a homophobe. I'm not saying you have to march in a Gay Pride parade in order to not be a homophobe.

Reply to Homophobia: A Killer Disease in Politics JoeUser Forums

How interesting. Don't recall actually saying that I was gay. I'm not. Still, I'm sure I've committed other sins that you could love me for :) I'm not talking about anybody's religion, I'm talking about prejudice against people because of their sexual orientation. Perhaps my use of the word "disease" was counterproductive. Homophobia is not a disease in the literal sense, it is a choice. However it is based on ignorance and fear, I'm not retreating on that. Call me arrogant if you want

Reply to A few number before the state of union speech. in Politics JoeUser Forums

Brilliant - especially the juxtaposition of funerals and fundraisers.

Homophobia: A Killer Disease in Politics JoeUser Forums

The resilience of homophobia is striking, particularly in “traditional” societies like Northern Ireland. Many people here who would never dream of uttering a bad word about those of another race or religion gladly bandy around words like “poof” and “fag”. These terms are still considered acceptable insults for someone whose behaviour fails to live up to some standard of “masculinity”. Homophobia is considered a harmless prejudice, just a bit of banter. It’s obvious that anti-semitism,

Paisley: The Beginning of the End in Politics JoeUser Forums

Dr. Rev. Ian Paisley: MLA, MP, leader of the DUP, founder of the Free Presbyterian Church and, come May, ex-MEP. Today the seventy-seven year old announced that he will not seek re-election to the Strasbourg parliament. It is the first indication that he has accepted he can’t go on forever. For the rest of us, this fact has been obvious for some time. The great frame slumps ever forward and the once booming voice is now reedy and weak. Where once he relished confrontation now he avoids it, leavi

Sinn Fein and the DUP - Separated at Birth? in Politics JoeUser Forums

Are the new top dogs of Northern Ireland politics really so different? On the surface the answer is: “yes, of course”. Sinn Fein stands for a united Ireland while the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) believes in the maintenance of the Union at all costs. Ideologically they are as different as chalk and cheese but, on other levels, they look like two peas in a pod. The first striking similarity is the discipline which both parties display. Both the DUP and Sinn Fein brook no dissent in a

Are We Being Complacent? in Politics JoeUser Forums

It’s a truism of Northern Irish politics that, whenever the political process breaks down, the paramilitaries step in to fill the vacuum. With this in mind, it has been a pleasant surprise that the current impasse has not been accompanied by the rattle of paramilitary guns. Ten people were killed by paramilitaries last year. That’s ten too many but, compared to other peace process years, the number is low. Intimidation and punishment attacks continue as ever but no group has tried to “take the w

Hutton Report is Only a Sideshow in Politics JoeUser Forums

The Hutton report into the suicide of British weapons expert David Kelly is to be published in the coming weeks. Already the media and political elite inside the Westminster bubble are frothing at the mouth with excitement. Will Hutton call Blair a liar? Is Hoon finished? Should Gilligan start looking for alternative employment? All very interesting of course. I, myself will be following events closely. However we should not lose sight of the main issue. This time last year Blair was en

Reply to Racism in Belfast in Politics JoeUser Forums

I spent two summers working in DC and I was struck by how segregated it was. Some parts of Belfast have walls to keep Protestant and Catholic apart but I think in some ways America was worse. On the surface blacks and whites worked together and were civil to each other but there didn't seem to be any social mixing. In many parts of Northern Ireland people mix across the "sectarian divide". We've been killing each other for centuries so at least we can't pretend we don't have a problem.

Racism in Belfast in Politics JoeUser Forums

On Saturday night two Chinese families and an African family were viciously assaulted in south Belfast. This is the latest in a long line of attacks on Belfast’s tiny non-white population. Worst of all, two of those injured at the weekend were heavily pregnant women, one due to give birth on Christmas Day. Even with our long history of savage violence, the deliberate targeting of pregnant women represents a new low. Returning home after two years away I was struck by the higher number

No Merry Christmas in Bethlehem in Politics JoeUser Forums

For the Christian population of the Palestinian city of Bethlehem there is little to be merry about this yuletide. Once a booming tourist-driven success, the city has been in a slump since the start of the intifada three years ago. Tourism has all but evaporated and with it the jobs on which many had depended. Israel controls all entry and exit points in to the city often forcing people to wait for hours to pass. It’s little wonder that so many, both Christian and Muslim, are emigrating. <B

2004: The End of the Road for Blair? in Politics JoeUser Forums

Next year sees the tenth anniversary of Tony Blair’s election as leader of the British Labour Party. For most of this time his position has been unassailable. Taking over a party which had lost four elections in a row, Blair systematically gutted Labour’s core principles in order to win power. Many in the party who were unhappy about this chose to remain silent, such was their desire to win power. It was hard to criticise their silence as Labour won a landslide victory in 1997 followed by an unp

Intifada RIP? in Politics JoeUser Forums

More than three years into the second intifada, is it possible to view the uprising as anything other than a disaster for the Palestinian people? Thousands dead, tens of thousands injured and imprisoned, homes and fields destroyed, the PA smashed, rampant unemployment and emigration. Was all this sacrifice in vain? Sadly, it seems that it was. The prospect of a Palestinian state, never bright, seems dimmer than at any time since the Algiers conference of 1988. This is not to say that th

Reply to Saddam's Capture Changes Nothing in Politics JoeUser Forums

I'm quite happy to take your word for it that, for you, WMD was never the issue. That's fine. However for Bush, Blair et al WMD was THE reason used to justify this war. All other arguments were presented to the public as supplementary reasons. Do you deny that this was the case in the months leading up to the war?

Reply to Saddam in the Jailhouse, Hu Jintao in the White House in Politics JoeUser Forums

Thanks for your comment. A few thoughts. The comparison outlined in your link between Germany in WW2 and Iraq in 2003 seems entirely specious to me. First of all, Germany declared war on the US, Iraq did not declare war on America. Secondly, the Germans had a long-standing pact with the people who actually attacked America (the Japanese). Iraq had no such pact with the people who attacked America in 2001. I'm interested in your description of Iraq as "an active enemy". In what way was

Saddam in the Jailhouse, Hu Jintao in the White House in Politics JoeUser Forums

With their WMD argument hanging by the loosest of threads, the hawks have tried to focus attention on the nature of the regime which their illegal war in Iraq overthrew. "O.K.". goes the argument, "we made up all that stuff about WMD, but look, we got rid of the bad guy so alls well that ends well." The problem with this is that Bush and Blair refuse to accept the logic of their own argument. There are many repressive regimes in the world, why not overthrow them? If, as the hawks cla