Comments by "Taint ABird" (@taintabird23) on "DW News" channel.

  1. Nobody is forcing anything, not even those calling for Irish unification.
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  2. The Irish government has agreed to fund Erasmus for residents of Northern Ireland.
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  3.  @LLopez-qb6gz  That is certainly the case for working class people in Britain.
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  4. You need to write to your MP and demand another IndyRef.
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  5. More foodbanks than McDonald's restaurants, and UNICEF feeding its children: the UK owns her own soul indeed. Dickens would have still felt at home.
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  6.  @jmcc8156  On the contrary. You are the one who doesn't understand the point you were making.
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  7.  @deklore  None needed.
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  8. Under the Good Friday Agreement, the English cannot give back Northern Ireland. Only the people of Northern Ireland can make that decision.
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  9. Actually, it appears that they did agree on these principles.  All of the countries are on board - and in record time.  This is a surprise. In recent months the Irish government has been on the diplomatic offensive with the other 27 governments to gain recognition for the disproportionate exposure Ireland has to Brexit.  It appears to have been a success given that Ireland is one of the priorities in the principles, and it indicates that the principles are not enforced, but agreed.
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  10. They did it through ignorance. Most voters have no idea what the Belfast Agreement is and know nothing about NI.
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  11. 'Independence from both' is not an option outlined in the Belfast Agreement. Its not British nationalism that is increasing - that's diminishing - its English nationalism that is the hornets nest.
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  12. At the moment the Scots are vassal state of the UK, that must do what the English say. They will actually have much more freedom as a sovereign member of the European Union.
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  13.  @eb6303  'An island which speaks the same language from North to South, but still manages to have its oppositions on a relatively small area: the entire island of Ireland North + South is 84,421 km2 and doesn't even manage to feel united... But we're going to be united in a EU of 4 476 000 км² with dozen of diferent languages, different religions, and identities... Interesting.' Wow! Nice touch of Gallic arrogance there - I won't be accusing you knowing too much about the subject that is for sure. How could you not know the problem in Northern ireland revolves around two identity groups contesting over the same territory? Unionists in Northern Ireland have a British identity. The rest of us have an Irish identity. The reason Ireland speaks English is because of colonisation and the Unionists are the last vestige of the colonisers. The peace process in Northern Ireland was founded on the notion that people can identify and as Irish or British, or Irish and British but would share an overarching European Union identity built on shared values. That was working - a younger generation was breaking down barriers with their peers - until Brexit disrupted the process, Brexit forces people to choose a side. The EU membership of Ireland and the UK was the cornerstone of the entire project, now one party is gone. Your post is an example of what happens when you start with a conclusion and work backwards. Who is seeking a 'Celtic unity'? I have no idea what you are talking about there.
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  14. Ireland did not want a war with anyone!
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  15. If you think that's bad, the UK thought it was entitled to have its cake and eat it.
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  16. Brexiters see the UK as equal in power to the EU, the USA and China. That's where the delusion starts.
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  17. One day it will just be England.
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  18. Oh not all - you missed the point. I know far more about the border than you do, AND I can spell it - most Brexters can't! Ireland is not going to put barriers up between it and the EU. Are you insane?
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  19. Oh but self-assessment of your abilities is no assessment at all - and is certainly no substitute for rational debate. I lived on the border for years - what are your qualifications? The mendacity of Brexit is that it promised to take control of the UKs borders and controls on the British border in Ireland undermines the GFA. It also shows bad faith to the nationalist population of NI. It is possible that this was an incompetent oversight, or perhaps Brexiters arrogantly assumed the Irish would simply 'know their place' and leave the EU with the UK. In any case, to overcome the problem the UK simply declared that it will not put up any border, placing all the pressure on Ireland to accommodate a British policy it never voted for and for which there is no majority on the island of Ireland. Democracy? Sovereignty? It only applies to the English, apparently. The Irish have said they will not do it. It will be political suicide for any Irish government and has the potential to destabilize the whole island, economically and politically. [It has already put the divisive issue of Irish unity to the forefront of political debate long before it needed to be ] The Irish government has a responsibility to Irish nationalists in NI. Perhaps then the UK assumed that Ireland would put up a customs border with the EU, or vice versa. This is not politically or economically acceptable for Ireland either, despite your fact-free claim that Ireland not putting up a border on the island will be 'no problem'. The EU seem determined not to disadvantage Ireland because the circus in Britain. The solution is being negotiated presently. One assumption is that any hard border in Ireland will be temporary as the UK will soon be back to the negotiating table once the reality of a hard Brexit become apparent to the non-millionaires supporting it. In any case, on the island of Ireland everyone knows where the responsibility this situation lies despite the cognitive dissonance rampant across the Irish Sea. Meanwhile, Irish people are being lectured on the border in Ireland by people on the neighbouring island who can't even spell the word....
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  20.  flip inheck  'It is a historical fact that Ireland (Free State) left the UK creating the partition, your ignorance of historical fact is obvious' You owe Bush Ranger and apology. Partition took place on 3 May 1921 under the Government of Ireland Act 1920. The smaller of the two, Northern Ireland, was duly created with a devolved administration and forms part of the United Kingdom today, but the larger one, intended as a home rule jurisdiction to be known as Southern Ireland, failed to gain acceptance. The territory instead became independent and is now a sovereign state also named Ireland and additionally described as the Republic of Ireland. The Act of 1920 was intended to create two self-governing territories within Ireland, with both remaining within the United Kingdom. It also contained provisions for co-operation between the two territories and for the eventual reunification of Ireland. However, in 1922, following the War of Independence (1919–1921) and the Anglo-Irish Treaty, the southern and western part became the Irish Free State, while Northern Ireland exercised its option to remain in the United Kingdom. Therefore, partition occurred before the creation of the Irish Free State. Incidentally, Irish nationalists were not consulted on partition or the Government of Ireland Act, 1920. The British government only consulted Ulster Unionists who took the opportunity to abandon their brethren in Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan in order to ensure a larger Protestant majority in their truncated province.
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  21.  flip inheck  So now you claim partition never happened until 1937? Odd that, the DUP are already talking about commemorating the centenary of the creation of Northern Ireland later this year... Contrary to your claim, Ireland left the United Kingdom following the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921, becoming the Irish Free State. Partitioned in 1920, the Boundary Commission cemented the border in 1925. In 1923, the Irish Free State joined the League of Nations, and with the adoption of the 1937 Constitution following a plebiscite, the name of the state changed to Eire and it elected a Head of State. In 1949 the state became Ireland, left the Commonwealth and declared itself the Republic it was in all but name. Contrary to your other claim, Ireland was universally recognised as an independent country, with any doubts being removed following the 1938 Anglo-Irish Agreement which saw the removal of the three RN bases. Irish independence and neutrality was recognised during WW2 when the UK and the rest of the Commonwealth declared war on Germany.
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  22. ​ @xavariusquest4603 Brexit is the cause of all of the problems since 2016 in Northern Ireland. Brexit is binary, there is no compromise or grey area with it. The GFA is built on compromise and it has its ambiguities. It allowed both sides to believe they had won something. Does Brexit do that? No. The DUP found themselves in a position of power in 2016 and decided they would shaft the nationalists but not supporting Teresa May's deal, even though the people of Northern Ireland did not want Brexit at all. The DUP never supported the GFA, as they never miss a chance to be out of step. May's deal would have kept the UK inside the Single Market. In the end they have found themselves with a border in the Irish Sea instead. Now they feel cut off, the way they wanted nationalists to feel. The problem is Brexit.
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  23. @ Sarah hardcastle 'When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?' - John Maynard Keynes.
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  24. No codified constitution the citizens can vote on, an unelected House of Lords (with Bishops in it!), an out-dated First Past the Post Electoral system in a multi-party state, no devolved power for England, and a hereditary monarchy. And they lecture others on democracy.
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  25. They can be British and Irish in a united Ireland.
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  26. Ireland has no interest in leaving the EU.
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  27. The problem is that the UK wants it cake and it wants to eat it.
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  28.  @funchalflash6994  Is English your first language?
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  29. It is definitely Brexit. Anybody with a brain cell can see that. How can you vote to leave the EU without a plan and blame the consequences on the EU? The EU and US accept what passes for democracy in your country. They also understand that the Irish needed to protect their national interests from the consequences of your vote. A democratic vote on the other island carries no legal obligations in the Irish republic. Understand that and everything becomes clear.
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  30. UK pensions have nothing to do with the EU. Your country is badly run, has more foodbanks that McDonalds restaurants and has UNICEF feeding children. That's what Tory leadership does to you.
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  31. @ P S Who is going to erect a hard border. Both Ireland and UK will have to erect a hard border. Ireland will erect a hard border to protect the Single Market, the UK will be required to deploy checks for WTO purposes. Another hard border will be erected by the UKs denial of Irish identity and the EU rights of Irish citizens in NI in contravention of Article 1 (vi) of the Belfast Agreement. The UK has provided no solutions to this problem either. Dissident IRA have already set off a bomb in County Fermanagh this week (Fermanagh is on the border) and so armed security will in due course be returning to the border. I told you that there is a diminishing UK demos - what part of that do you not understand?. Most Leave voters are English and identified as such in the 2011 census, or as English first and British second. There is a direct co-relation between the pattern of leave voters and the expression of English identity in the 2011 Census. Brexiters don’t care about the UK, and we know from recent polls of members of the Tory party that they want Brexit more that they want to maintain the United Kingdom. The only reason the backstop is an issue is because the Tories are stuck depending on the DUP to keep Corbyn out of power. Brexit is a product of an English identity crisis and a Tory party at war with itself. Both the Scots and Northern Irish voted to remain and the fact that they are leaving is indicative of a democratic deficit in a union that is no longer fit for purpose. Therefore, your comment, is disingenuous. Texas is not at all like NI, it is true, but neither is any other part of the UK for that matter. NI can vote to leave the UK at any time and its citizens are entitled to plural identities. The citizens of say, Somerset, do not have this right and cannot claim an identity that is Irish, British, both or neither. You have never read the Belfast Agreement, and neither have your Brexiter leaders. The EU is mentioned in relation to the development of cross border relationships, their funding etc, in relation to Strand Two. These cross border relationship (Agriculture, Education, Transport, Environment, Waterways, Social Welfare, Tourism, Inland Fisheries, Aquaculture, Health and Urban development) will be disrupted or halted as the UK will be outside the EU. This is significant for the island of Ireland. The people of NI did not vote for this. While Northern Ireland remains part of the UK, the BA states that no changes to status of NI can be carried out unless the people NI vote for it. NI nationalists did not vote to lose their EU rights that come with their Irish identity which they are permitted to have under the Belfast Agreement. So, your argument is baseless and pointless.
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  32.  @jonnyenglish1776  This all correct. Do you have a point?
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  33. The UK is more undemocratic than the EU, by some considerable distance.
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  34.  @hc2155  Its better than what passes for democracy in the UK. The English left the wrong union.
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  35. Do you think the fact that the British fishing industry sold alot of its quota to foreign fishing interest played a part? Do you feel that the collapse in the price of fish exports to the EU will be a factor in the continued decline of the British fishing industry and the communities it supports?
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  36. Everyone is a loser.
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  37. The people will unite eventually. There is already an increase in mixed marriages, for example - a sign that people just want to get on with living. In time that will extend across the border too. Unity is inevitable - just give it time.
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  38. I don't think there are tariffs on British fish exports to the EU.
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  39. @ Charlie No it is not. Some Scots hate the English, who utterly dominate them. Who else do they hate? Nobody. Irish and English friends in Scotland have told me stories about the hostility some Scots have for the English, and both have found it shocking. It is not something you would ever see in Ireland, not since it took its place among the nations of the world, although some English I find on this media insist I that I hate them because the are English - or more accurately, because I am Irish. The English also insist on speaking on behalf of the various Celtic nations, claim to know what is best for them - your statement that the Scots 'wrapping themselves up in an EU blanket won't make them feel any better' indicates that tradition is still alive in you. In my opinion, it also points to your insecurity - the English still need the Celtic nations in order to feel secure in their identity. This will change over time. English nationalism is still in at nascent stage, and it is relatively incoherent. It make sense to me that you should be confident as the world is full of Englishness: football, rugby, cricket, the English language, Common law etc. English culture is everywhere and is easily identifiable, a product of an imperialism that was a vehicle for English nationalism for hundreds of years. And yet Brexiters still feel that the EU threatens their identity. This is because the post-Imperial English are still trying to find their place in the world. Irish identity and culture has thrived and its nationalism has matured since joining the EU, in a large measure because it is not dominated by England to the same extend anymore. Irish people are also more confident than they used to be, as we have an equal voice in the EU, unlike the experience of the Union Ireland left in 1922. In short, membership of the EU has done more for Irish identity than independent isolation did previously. The Scots understand this, and the English fear it. This brings me back to a point I've made before. The real problem the English have with the EU is the equality that it offers. The English don't feel equal to anyone, they feel they are exceptional because of what they achieved in the past and this is a reliable indicator of can be achieved in the future. They want exceptions to be made for them as they are particularly special. You can see it clearly in the Brexit 'negotiation strategy' of the UK government, UKIP and the like. You are right, Brexit is the least of the EUs problems, and I think that overlooking that has been a strategic error of the exit strategy. 'They need us more than we need them' has proven to be an unreliable hook to hang the Brexit strategy on. British Eurosceptics have been predicting the end of the EU since they joined in 1973. It won't happen, it will merely continue to evolve. Can the same be said for the UK? That remains to be seen.
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  40. The English are even dividing and ruling themselves at the moment.
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  41. Gimme a break. This Brexiter victimhood is nauseating.
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  42. According to the finance corporation J P Morgan, the EU is the big winner. Brexit has succeeded in convincing other eurosceptics that reform of, rather than departure from, the EU is the better goal. No other country will leave.
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  43.  robin Braznell  It's actually quite coherent. Brexiters only need proof when they are being told things they don't want to hear, otherwise they have no interest in evidence or facts. They hold everyone else to a higher standard than they hold themselves. Norway is a well run, cohesive, social-democrat society. The UK is not. This is why the standard of living in Norway is higher than in Britain.
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  44. When the British from NI go to England they are treated like Irish people and they hate that.
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  45. If you are an Irish citizen you do not need a passport to travel to the UK or vise versa. You do not need a passport to travel to Northern Ireland. You need a passport to travel from Italy to Ireland. You can still use the Euro.
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  46.  @conniedean3787  I don't see any changes for US Passport holders, this is all about the UKs relationship with the EU. There are big changes for British passport holders. They will be in the same line as you now, as far as I can tell.
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  47. It is in this position because Brexiters had no coherent plan, no consensus, no negotiators, no opposition and no leadership. Apparently the only option for Brexiters now is to trade solely on WTO rules, alongside such economic powerhouses as Western Sahara, South Sudan and Timor Leste, for example. It is the greatest exercise in national self-harm since the Easter Islanders cut down their last tree.
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  48. A lot of Irish people have returned from the UK since 2016. Many don't like the change of atmosphere in the UK since June 2016, the country is very divided, and can't relate to the values that underpin Brexit. I think the doctor was very reserved in what she was saying.
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  49. Because loyalists believe if they say something, then it must be true. Evidence and facts are not required.
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  50. Not really. It points to a sense of insecurity among even the Irish in the UK, because Brexit is about a set of values that Irish people do not recognise.
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