Darkness decends...

Troubles?
I had thought, dear reader, that the homeland of my ancestors, was past these dark days, or Troubles, if you will. I suppose that I've been proven wrong. The timing, the place, the attack, was at the worst time possible, or the the best time possible for those who want the English Army patrolling the streets of Dublin again. Hence creating, fund raising, recruitment, etc. I am of the thought that, you can't justify fighting a war that the English have no taste for? That is to say, why show up at the football field, if there is no one to play against? The worst thing that can happen is a Protestant response, thus justifying, more RIRA(Real Irish Republican Army) attacks, which, accordingly, begets more violence...
We have all seen the cycle, Palastine, Hamas, Hezbolla, Isreal, FARC,... We know the historical drill... I'm not a peacenik, not by any means, we can trace this back to fall of the Roman Empire, the coming of the Angles and the Saxons, or the Norman, William the Conqueror to England (Angleland). Alaric of the Visiogoths, begged to cross the Rhine, escape the Huns and Tartars to save his people. He then sacked Rome in the end, or Geneseric of the Ostrogoths did the same. The cycle continues, here it comes again, Rome (United States), burns, as Nero (Obama) fiddles, as Rome burns... The Goths (Mexican drug lords) are asking to enter the Empire, the provinces are folding to are enemies (See Britain expelling Geert Wilders). Read this (http://townhall.com/columnists/FrankJGaffneyJr/2009/03/09/farewell_to_britain) and think. The world is moving on. The place we live in today, won't be the place our children live in tomorrow. If you've put up with my diatribe for this long, read the article below, then follow the trail I've put before you, dear reader, look up my facts, prove me wrong, I wish someone would, I dare you...
Bruc
P.S.
Follow me down the Rabbit Hole.
I'm late, I'm late, follow me...



Brown vows N.Ireland peace 'unshakeable' AFP/File – The car driven by the pizza delivery driver is parked at the front entrance of Massereene Army base after …

* Gun Attack at Ireland Army Base Slideshow:Gun Attack at Ireland Army Base

ANTRIM, Northern Ireland (Reuters) – Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Monday the killing of two soldiers by gunmen opposed to Northern Ireland's peace process would not drag the British-ruled province back into violence.

There are no plans to put troops back onto the streets of Northern Ireland, a senior British army officer said, as leaders tried to ensure that the deadliest attack in a decade did not reverse progress made since the Good Friday peace deal in 1998.

Brown visited the army base in Antrim where gunmen from the Real IRA republican splinter group killed the soldiers, hours before they were due to fly to Afghanistan. The prime minister then held talks with political leaders in Belfast.

"They want to send out the message to the world, as I do, that the political process will not and can never be shaken," Brown said.

The IRA, which fought British rule for decades and drew support from the minority Roman Catholic community, and pro-British Protestant guerrilla groups agreed to ceasefires under the 1998 deal.

The agreement helped to greatly reduce sectarian violence, which had killed more than 3,600 people in Northern Ireland since the late 1960s.

The Real IRA wants an end to British rule and a united Ireland, but is shunned by the province's politicians who have put aside years of enmity to work together in a devolved national assembly.

The Real IRA carried out the deadliest single bombing of the sectarian violence, in the market town of Omagh in August 1998. Twenty-nine people were killed.

Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward described Saturday's attack as a "pre-meditated attempt at mass murder," saying two masked gunmen had fired more than 60 shots.

Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen said police south of the border would join the hunt for the gunmen.

"Despite the success of the peace process in recent years there has been no reduction in the monitoring by the gardai (police) of dissident Republican activity," he told reporters.

BACKLASH FEARED

While security experts question how capable the Real IRA is of launching a campaign of violence, there are fears the killings could spark a backlash from pro-British guerrillas.

"This here could kick it off again," said John Stevenson, 47, a Protestant father of three, who works for a taxi company in the town of Lisburn.

Stevenson showed Reuters a text message which had been circulating among the Protestant community.

"To all Ulster men and women. Two of our British soldiers were slaughtered and 4 others critically wounded by republican filth last night. This txt signals that the war has begun. We must be ready to fight once again. Send to all loyalists. Let the battle begin," it said.

Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams, for years the face of republican opposition to British rule in Northern Ireland, called for calm and pledged his support for the police service.

"There cannot be on the one hand any succor for those who carried out this action but neither can there be any sort of a security response from the British," he added.

Troops patrolled Northern Ireland's streets during decades of sectarian violence but stood down in 2007, leaving security in the hands of the police.

Putting them back on patrol would be divisive and antagonize Sinn Fein, handing the Real IRA, which is thought to number about 100 people, a propaganda coup.

"We will continue to live in Northern Ireland as part of the community as we have done since 2007 and as we do in Great Britain," Brigadier George Norton, Northern Ireland garrison commander, told reporters.

The soldiers were the first troops to be killed in the British-ruled province since 1997. They were named as Cengiz Azimkar, a 21-year-old from north London, and Mark Quinsey, who was 23 and from the central English city of Birmingham.

(Additional reporting by Carmel Crimmins; Writing by Keith Weir and Jonathan Saul; Editing by Ralph Boulton)

Back in the saddle

I've been recently listening to Audio Books, that is books on tape, at work. One I've listened to recently is The Insurrection in Dublin by James Stephens. I found it on LibriVox.org for free, just download the ZIP file, and rip it to an MP3 player, or IPOD.
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