I was watching the programme on BBC 1 TV last night(Wed 30 October,10.35pm) which concerned itself with the 'life and times' of one Martin McGuinness , ex-Republican hard man now , sadly , a "team player" with Stormont United(!) and paid accordingly(ie like Beckham). Martin ,who has taken to shrivelling himself up in the hope that he won't look too offensive to his British co-workers and pay-masters , recalled for the camera the time he was in his office when his then new best friend , Mo Mowlam , walked in : "What are they?" , said Mo ,pointing to a pile of Easter Lilies on the table - Martin , at this stage giggling to himself at the thought of it, replied that they were called Easter Lilies and were worn in memory of those that had died for ireland ; "I'll have one of those" ,said the British Secretary of State,and pinned one to her jumper before leaving the room . With that ,said the rebel McGuinness , ' I went out into the corridor after her and asked where she was going' -- " To meet the Unionists for an arranged appointment " , says Mo .... "Oh no no no ," said Martin - " I don't think so"~and then ,says he, ' I removed the Lily from her jumper' . AND MARTIN SERIOUSLY COULD NOT SEE ANYTHING WRONG WITH THAT PICTURE! Is he really so friendly ,so pally, so much in awe of the British establishment that he will prostitute himself morally ,in such a cringe-inducing fashion , in the corridors of Stormont and then see nothing wrong in recounting the horrible scene ,in public, on TV? Why in the name of God do some people feel that they must atone for the sins of their oppressor? I used to meet Martin on occasion in Dublin ,in the early 1980's , regarding political business relating to the then Sinn Fein organisation and the man was nothing like he is now - back then he pointedly refused to hang his backbone up with his coat in the morning ~ shame , Martin ,the Brits have no respect for crawlers and lackeys - their former colonies are full of them ! True independance means setting your own limits - not having your new best friends ,no matter how courteous they appear , setting your agenda . Your mark on history , Martin,will be likened to the mark that froth leaves on a beer-glass .You made me ashamed and embarrassed for you -I can only hope that someone in your party brings you back to reality.

"Welcome" and "Good Luck" to Pat Rabbitte in his new position as leader of this States 'Labour Party' and Liz McManus as deputy leader. Pat and Liz were both members of the so-called 'Workers Party' which went into Leinster House in the early 1980's to "change the system" ; however,as human nature dictates, the system changed them ,much to the annoyance of their membership who cried foul and insisted that their elected representatives return to basics-- the elected suits,however, having tasted the gravy,wanted to stay on the train and a split developed--and 'Democratic Left' was hatched,only to be run-over by 'Labour' as it tried to cross the road! Paddy Rabbitte has a reputation as a " wit" in Leinster House and will now surely be laughing all the way to the bank.... And what to make of the new 'grouping' in Leinster House-the 'Technical Group'-formed specifically to outnumber Paddys Party (Labour) in that institution ; the Provos instigated the formation of that coalition Group and were happy to invite,amongst others, Michael Lowry (ex-Fine Gael,now Indp)to join,as they needed his support. The bould Michael L has been involved with three tribunals (Buchanan , McCracken and Moriarty) looking into "financial irregularities" in this little State -and no , he was'nt on the judging panel! What a tangled web we weave........ (Comment?-johnhoranrsf@eircom.net)

'Spud' Murphy started his new job today ,Friday 25/10/02 , in this troubled isle of ours. His predecessor , a Mr Reid , served his time in the Six Counties and thus was rewarded with a cosy(er) position back on the 'mainland'(!).The Brits apparently use the North-Eastern counties as a testing ground for those politicians whom their PM considers to be on the way up -you know, "Test their mettle and all that,what".... For once , Gerry Arafat SORRY Gerry ADAMS was right- it makes no difference who assumes the role of 'British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland'(sic) ; whoever it is can only hope to maintain the status quo and try to keep a lid on the whole situation .And we've had nearly a thousand years of that BUT WHAT THE HELL maybe Spud Murphy , a good welshman, will surprise us all and call for an immediate British withdrawal........

Well thank God for that - it's 'official' ; we ARE good europeans !! A 'YES' vote on NICE TWO means that we have not upset our friends in the rest of 'Europe' . . . Christ Almighty-the shame if we had! Our politicians in Leinster House can breath easy now and plan for the future--THEIR future....more jobs oops - I mean 'positions' will be available(or made specially) for them and their like , and they can visit other countries without feeling that they have let their new-found friends down. The state of this little State we're in .....

I voted today(Saturday 19 October) on the NICE TWO issue; a 'NO' vote ! Then went to the RSF Ard Fheis in Dublin - stopped by the Special Branch on my way in and questioned re my business in that area,then searched by same .On leaving ,some six hours later, stopped and searched again ! We must be putting their kids through college !! Great money if you can leave your conscience behind.... Anyway- hopefully ,the 'NO' vote on NICE will prevail(again) and the money-hungry politicians will not further enhance their careers and pensions in Brussels .We should know on Monday-Slan Anois.

1169 and counting-- from what and to what? Those familar with this island will also be familar with its problem(s) implied in the above 'BLOG' address ; those not familar will probably not be interested enough to read on . And those that are familar but would not consider the date in question to be a problem might read this far out of curiosity but will be logging out about now!
As I write , the Stormont Parliament has just collapsed ,again,and people in the 26 County State are about to vote , again , on the NICE treaty . The politicians , employers , business class , the church's and most of the trade union leadership tell us that their is no alternative to the Stormont set-up and no alternative other than to accept NICE ; the British funded 'government' in Stormont was put together in 1998 - the problem has existed since the twelfth century ,so what was the alternative before then?
The NICE treaty was already voted on by those that bothered to vote in June 2001 and the EEC/EU did'nt collapse simply because the majority voted 'NO' ; this time , apparently, it will , if the establishment are to be believed. There are many who think that the 'Peace Process' is the only game in town and a 'YES' vote on NICE TWO is the only honourable answer to our betters in Brussels . I am not one of those - what do you think?