As you well know, the Roman's that invaded Britain in 43, were not Christian's let alone Papists. The first Chirstian emperor was not until 306, Constatine.

Let me see now.

The Romans invaded the British Isles. They captured slaves from the parts they didn't like, and brought them to the parts they did like. Mostly England and Wales. They slaughtered the native priesthood and their followers, and pushed those that escaped to the very fringes of our Isles.

Then they left us Christian, and a vassal state to a bunch of skirt wearing pedophiles masquerading as holy men, operating out of Rome, promising salvation to superstition riddled kings in exchange for spilling the blood of our youth in foreign deserts. A situation that went on for over 1000 years. Then when we had the nerve to tell Rome to get fucked, we encountered the hostility of all Catholic Europe right up until very modern history. And historians have the nerve to call that little bit of time when nobody is sure if we were really Catholic or not "the Dark Ages".

And Sinn Fein have the nerve to complain about a bit of potato blight, and not being able to get a job because they pray in the wrong church?

Yes, those evil Romans. A technlogicly advanced, militarily superior empire taking the lands of native peoples by force, ruthlessly suppressing native culture, and executing any who dare resist. Sounds strangely familiar, doesn't it?

It must do to any one who lives in either of the American continents.

An article on the Sky News website describing the marking of the 20th anniversary of the Omagh bomb, tells us how "dissident republicans, opposed to the peace process planted a 500lb bomb".

Let us not forget that Sinn Fein, the political organisation representing the Provisional IRA were at that time opposed to the Good Friday Agreement. So Continuity/Real/Flavourofthemonth IRA are not dissidents. They are IRA, and so long as they are operating, Sinn Fein are not keeping to the agreement, and should be sanctioned.

I popped in to the King Billy for a couple of jars to remember the victims of the IRA today. :)

Its pointless to keep arguing that the dissidents of today are in fact the IRA. Your own intelligence services as well as the PSNI and the Garda have publicly stated that while they believe the Army council still exists they are not involved in any paramilitary activities. Unless you continue to hold to the absurd theory of a vast international conspiracy to deny that the IRA is still active.

Then what would be the purpose of an army council if not to engage in military operations?

the Army council and a limited number or what's refereed to as "hard men" are maintained against the possibility of things totally going to shit in the north. Should the north totally go up in flames, highly unlikely in my opinion, the IRA does not want to to be caught flat footed as they were in 1969.

Read today four men stole cash and a phone from a car in west Belfast. The owner sees them and gives chase, 3 of the 4 get away. The fourth cant run as fast due to being previously knee capped for similar activities. I don't support the punishment shootings, but this guy is a slow learner. His lawyer argued for a reduced sentence based on his previous injury.

So the army council that doesn’t want to be caught flat footed. They would be intelligence gathering. Probably have arms, ammunition, explosives, stashed away. Almost certainly know who the so called dissidents that are operating in their name are, but are allowing them to carry on. That is if they aren’t operating with either their permission, or orders.

So every thing short of planting bombs and ambushing the security services them selves, really. In complete contravention of the Good Friday Agreement.

Apparently our security services know this army council and core cell exists.

But there isn’t a cover up, and I’m just a conspiracy theorist? The peace process isn’t a farce?

Just wanted to check.

All over the news this week whilst I've been away have been the names of four men, two prison guards, two PSNI officers, murdered by so called "dissident" republicans.

Their names have been in the news because, in what is being described as a "hate crime" by the PSNI, British politicians, and various other talking heads, the four mens names were mounted atop bonfires lit in West Belfast on the 15th of August. According to one newspaper article I read, this date has long been a traditional catholic bonfire lighting date, although it didn't explain why, except to say that in recent years this date has been moved mostly to the 9th of August as we saw a few posts back.

Of course, mocking of people killed during the troubles really doesn't help matter, but consider this. Bonfire celebrations hold religious and social significance that long predate the arrival of Christianity in the British Isles, as I'm sure they do other parts of the world.

Burning in effigy has a long tradition too. I expect many readers know about Guy Fawkes night, the celebration of the foiling by catholics to blow up parliament and kill one of the (probably secretly catholic king James).

Then following on from this is the annual Guy Fawked parade in Lewes, on the south coast of England. Burning crosses are carried through the town, along with an effigy of the villain of the day. Past effigys have included Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair, Diego Maradonna. The villain is then cast on to a bonfire at the end of the parade and burnt.

Then there are other peculiarly English celebrations, Tar Barrel night also held on the 5th of November in Ottery St Mary in Devon, and the annual cheese rolling held on Brockworth Hill in Gloucestershire.

I may seem to be deviating, but these are all events that killjoys have sought to either ban, or to regulate and profit from.

Putting sectarian divisions aside, should we really be letting tiresome, over-sensitive, risk-averse politicos whose knee-jerk reaction to any thing even slightly risky or controversial spoil our fun? How is burning in effigy any sort of crime? Distasteful, possibly, but I'm sure nobody cries foul if Hitler or Mussolini is cast on the fire.

Continuing on the censorship theme, it is a criminal offense in Scotland to sing traditional sectarian songs at football matches!

A Sean McVeigh is currently on trial for attempted murder of a PSNI officer after he was discovered allegedly placing a bomb under a car in Londonderry in 2015.

McVeigh at the time escaped and was later stopped by Garda in the Republic of Ireland, and residue of explosives were found on a pair of gloves in his possession.

A year later McVeigh was arrested by PSNI back in the province.

The BBC report is not clear about what happened after McVeigh was stopped by the Garda, and does not suggest any sort of political or terrorist affiliation behind his actions.

Curiously, I agree on the over reaction to political /sectarian displays. I understand the PSNI reaction given the tinder dry situation in the north right now, but it borders on suppressing free speech. A new example:

Limerick won the all Ireland hurling championship. Given that it is Limerick, they have very little to sing about. But among the songs sung by the team sung was "Sean South from Garryowen". South was an IRA volunteer killed during a raid on a RUC barracks on new years day 1957

Unionists are up in flames over the team singing the song. South is a bit of a local hero in Limerick, given he has been dead for over 50 years, not really something to get worked up over.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAQfJ5AZRyk

Two pipe bombs found in a bag full of coins thrown in a hedge in North Belfast yesterday by workmen working in a nearby school.

Could it be that the last of the IRAs arms dumps have finally been found? ;)

A controlled explosion was carried out on the devices that are being described as "viable".

“Up in flames.”

More a case of political types having a meltdown. Same thing happens with Sinn Fein every time the Union Jack is raised over Belfast city hall, or to Sadiq Khan every time Donald Trump posts a tweet. Or vis versa for that matter!

Politics has been reduced to most precious snow flake in the identitarian crisis blizzard. “Who governs” is no longer about us, it is about “them”.

Interesting article in the Irish Times the other day. It reported what's referred to as the "old IRA" had disappeared 4 times as many people in Cork alone as the Provos did in 30 years.

There is a tendency among mainstream Irish politicians to romanticize the old IRA while castigating the provisionals. Young lads fresh off the farm, flying columns striking the hated Black and Tans and Auxiliaries then fading back into the hills paints a pretty picture, but the reality was far darker.

Guerrilla warfare is a dirty business, it was in 1919, it still is.

I’m sure Leo Varadkar secretely would love to see everything British kicked out of Northern Ireland by the IRA, so that he can gift it to his precious European Union!

Thought I would update you all on how the Northern Ireland peace process is going following two separate shooting incidents in Londonderry over night:

"PSNI Detective Inspector Stephanie Finlay said the Ballymagroarty shooting was "yet another example of how criminal groups seek to control communities through fear and violence."

Just curious, how many violent crimes in London, Manchester, Liverpool in the same time frame?