The Political Thread

[Tony Angelino]

A military occupation is something like Occupied France in WW2. It implies a foreign power taking over another country or similar. Some people take that view in relation to NI but in my lifetime, and about 50 years before it, NI has been part of the UK and it therefore wasn't a military occupation in 1969 or thereafter.

For various reasons the term doesn't sit well with me but if you guys want to use it go ahead as I don't think I'll be posting on here anymore.

I really didn't care if police or soldiers asked me my name or where I was going or had a look in my car boot as it was just part of life back then. People always mention the soldiers pointing guns at them but there were a lot more people killed by the terrorist groups than by the soldiers. 

You can go back in to British and Irish history (and ancient history) about NI and argue about who is right here and who isn't. Before anyone starts though I can 100% guarantee the argument will not be sorted out on this forum.

[Supreme Pizza Of The DPRK]

When it comes to the police numbers, terrorism should be a minor part of the argument. While it is current (and not to take anything away from any of the victims or their family's) the bigger issue in regards to police numbers should be the national murder rate (which sits at 500+ yearly and is on the rise), rape and domestic violence figures.

Yes terrorism is a problem that needs to be dealt with, but stopping it is going to require better intelligence, data gathering and data analysis, not having more police on the streets.

What will lower the crime stats is having more police on the streets who are able to respond to the crimes taking place every day in the U.K

Stopping terrorism should be a minor point in the argument of police numbers, not the whole argument.

I stand by my comment made earlier with the PM saying today that she will change human rights laws to combat terror.

God forbid she changed them to make it possible to deport someone who is a "terror suspect" and then we get some Trump-esque loony in charge to whom a terror suspect is someone who's skin is a shade darker than their own.

The woman is insane and must be stopped.

[TordelBack]

You can go back in to British and Irish history (and ancient history) about NI and argue about who is right here and who isn't. Before anyone starts though I can 100% guarantee the argument will not be sorted out on this forum.

I don't think anyone was arguing the rights and wrongs (we've all spent too long doing that), or gods forbid, the final score, and for myself at least I was merely noting that it felt like a military occupation: it's not like the soldiers were local boys, they were from over the water, and it was very hard to escape that.  When those of us from the south spent time Up North, the contrast with our part of the island was gobsmacking (even leaving aside the better roads, top-shelf porn and alien sweets and crisp flavours).

[Old Tankie]

I have to admit at times it felt like a foreign land to us, at other times it felt very British.

[Professor Bear]

People always mention the soldiers pointing guns at them but

Yeah, I'm done here.

[Eric Plumrose]

When you were 12, did you have fully armed military officers asking you where you were going and what you were doing, when you weren't going anwhere in particular and were just walking your dog?

Yes, but did they ever caution you? Because if not then 0bv10u5ly you were let off lightly if that photo Soap posted is owt to go by.

[JOE SOAP]

You can go back in to British and Irish history (and ancient history) about NI and argue about who is right here and who isn't. Before anyone starts though I can 100% guarantee the argument will not be sorted out on this forum.

'It's over, Johnny. It's over.'

Hopefully with Brexit it stays that way and Nrn Irn is not living through just an interlude in what was the 'longest continuous deployment in the British military's history'.

[Mister Pops]

...leaving aside the... crisp flavours).

Our Tayto is vastly superior to your free stayto. It's not even made in a feckin castle, no theme park or nahhin'

[JOE SOAP]

Our Tayto is vastly superior to your free stayto. It's not even made in a feckin castle, no theme park or nahhin'

–Ahem–

[TordelBack]

I have to admit at times it felt like a foreign land to us, at other times it felt very British.

That is the real beauty of NI - it's both and neither, and how could it be anything else?  The unlikely 'cheese and onion' combo of flavours is what makes it such a great place, once you shave off the headcases at each extremity. 

[Goaty]

Daily Mail online is very nasty today. Desperate?

[The Legendary Shark]

"We petition the UK parliament to establish a new oath of allegiance, so that MPs pledge their allegiance to the people, not to the Queen."

[Tiplodocus]

well what was the end of that sentence, Tankie? Please enlighten me.

Actually, don't bother. You're just a wind-up merchant and I've got better things to do than elevate my blood pressure trying to extract the smallest amount of sense from you.

So I read that BOLLO as Tankie typing BOLLOCKS! as a curse ("Drat! You got me!") because you pointed out that he'd ended up agreeing that police numbers do make a difference.

That wouldn't be offensive would it?

Everybody should remember how much subtlety and intent gets lost in online communication and instead of thinking the worst, give people the benefit of the doubt. They probably didn't mean that exactly as you read it. Shrug your shoulders. Imagine a lighter interpretation and move on from there.

The rest of the board, the other poster and your blood pressure will all thank you for it.

[Prodigal2]

Military occupation has a more contentious meaning.

Hmm, I don't have the lived-there experience of these nordie bastards, but as a Souther I can tell you that my experience of crossing that unmissed 'hard frontier' felt exactly like you were entering an area of this island that was under military occupation.  Kids barely old enough to shave pointing automatic weapons at you, and forcibly enquiring after your business in essentially foreign scouse/manc/estuary accents, watchtowers and sniper observation posts everywhere, RUC stations looking like the Lord Humungous' summer palace, and armed helicopters buzzing you when you went hillwalking...

It would have been hard to see the distinction between 'operation' and 'occupation', and that's speaking as someone whose family was largely Protestant.
[/quote



I can see how that was the genuine impression TB. Through my work I went to live in a republican area of north Belfast for years where that would have been the overwhelming experience and interpretation  of events. I knew what it was to be frightened by an assault (or maybe worse) from the British army for example and readily attest to the reality of what you allude to.

As a prod growing up in a largely proddie town I also have experience of the flip side- 1 ton semtex bombs blowing up that town and countless deaths leading to ever-increasing militarisation, oppression, collusion etc etc etc-a horrible circular little equation of utter chaos.

Horrible times all round.

[Prodigal2]

I have just realised that my last post might read as a "republicans started it" analysis. That was not my intent.