Optimism for Northern Ireland

Having just returned from a research visit to Belfast, I was struck by what a pleasant and attractive city it is. It was full of hustle and bustle and the local economy seemed to be booming. Speaking to republicans, they feel genuinely and understandably pleased to be treated a lot better and not like second-class citizens. As I was driven down West Belfast's Falls Road it seemed hard to believe that this was the cockpit of the sectarian and terrorist struggle less than 20 years ago.

It is maybe too soon to say the conflict is over once and for all, but thing are looking up in Northern Ireland. This is surely a good sign for other global conflicts that appear to be intractable. Governments can do good it seems, and there was particular praise for Bill Clinton and his role in the peace process. Let's hope the stability remains, for everyone's sake.

More bad government!

Two stories that highlight the current government's lack of touch with reality and which illustrate how it is driving voters and supporters away in their droves.

The first is the decision is to maintain Blair's poodle-like subservience to the USA and allow Gary McKinnon to be extradited without a whimper. Shame on you Alan Johnson! The British Home Secretary should be ensuring this man is dealt with fairly in this country, not made an example of in the USA. Could you seriously envisage the Americans allowing one of their citizens to be treated this way?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8179059.stm

And then pops along Harriet Harperson to make some ridiculous comments about men not being trusted to run this country and promising that women should have a permanent place in the Labour leadership. These comments are so out of tune with the meritocratic mentality of most people, yet Harriet still seems to have some feminist siege mentality that sees male oppression everywhere.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8180195.stm

Time has moved on Harriet from the days when women were to be seen and not heard. We did after all have a female Prime Minister for eleven and a half years, and given that she proceeded to wreck the country, she is probably not seen as a good role model to many! She did however get there on her own ability, which is to be admired, and not by some form of gender-balancing social engineering. People should govern on merit, regardless of age, gender or any other feature. Harriet is hardly the best example of allowing women near the centre of government anyhow, and her ridiculously PC views deserve pride of place in the dustbin of political debate.