Things go boom

[Nephew Twiddleton]

Fucking THIS. Although, this may have shat on the golden goose for them. Anyway. American's funding the IRA is one of my "RAAARGH"  berserk button topics, so I should probably shut up.

It's not "America", it's 5th generation Irish-Americans who feel that they have to "help" in some manner, or they won't be real Irishmen.

This is the same type of person who talks about how the filthy socialists are trying to overthrown the government of the United States. And then goes and funds a bunch of filthy socialists trying to overthrow the government of Northern Ireland.

[Junkenstein]

Fucking THIS. Although, this may have shat on the golden goose for them. Anyway. American's funding the IRA is one of my "RAAARGH"  berserk button topics, so I should probably shut up.

It's not "America", it's 5th generation Irish-Americans who feel that they have to "help" in some manner, or they won't be real Irishmen.

There's probably a rant in how many stupid fucking things have been done so people feel like "Real Men"

[The Good Reverend Roger]

edit - And the US/IRA relationship is beyond fucked up.

You know, there's nothing quite like having some drunks in Boston getting all weepy-eyed and donating to the IRA being labeled as "the US/IRA relationship".

[Junkenstein]

Foreign terrorist cells are relatively quick to take credit for such things so they can get press time, correct?

I'm pretty sure this is something state-side anyway, but I still don't want to jump to conclusions.

That's what I've seen. Plan, execute, surviving members release "HA! GOT YOU!" videos.

[Pope Pixie Pickle]

Fucking THIS. Although, this may have shat on the golden goose for them. Anyway. American's funding the IRA is one of my "RAAARGH"  berserk button topics, so I should probably shut up.

It's not "America", it's 5th generation Irish-Americans who feel that they have to "help" in some manner, or they won't be real Irishmen.

There's probably a rant in how many stupid fucking things have been done so people feel like "Real Men"

Oh, gods. ^this^

Fucking THIS. Although, this may have shat on the golden goose for them. Anyway. American's funding the IRA is one of my "RAAARGH"  berserk button topics, so I should probably shut up.

It's not "America", it's 5th generation Irish-Americans who feel that they have to "help" in some manner, or they won't be real Irishmen.

I hate calling them Irish Americans. (they are fucking AMERICAN) Passport entitlement or GTFO. Growing up with MY surname and my dad in the 80's in the UK. Not good. Anyway. I should probably log out, as  NORAID and "Irish"-Americans is not a subject i can be charitable about, and I don't want to put my foot in my mouth or say something fucked up because of the shit I grew up in. Like being asked if my dad was a terrorist, and other racist bullshit.  I said some kind of fucked up shit post 9-11 related to all this. I know better now, but. emotive.

17th December 1978, there was a bomb planted in Southampton, 6 months before I was conceived. This is why my mum put her foot down about my first name being a explicitly Irish one.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

I hate calling them Irish Americans.

Call them whatever you like.  I'm describing a phenomenon, not the correct labels as we'd all like to see them.

[Pope Pixie Pickle]

Fucking THIS. Although, this may have shat on the golden goose for them. Anyway. American's funding the IRA is one of my "RAAARGH"  berserk button topics, so I should probably shut up.

It's not "America", it's 5th generation Irish-Americans who feel that they have to "help" in some manner, or they won't be real Irishmen.

This is the same type of person who talks about how the filthy socialists are trying to overthrown the government of the United States. And then goes and funds a bunch of filthy socialists trying to overthrow the government of Northern Ireland.

And this is why Twid is my favourite Irish American, EVER (he has a passport too so, you know. IRISH.)

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Forget I said anything.

[Suu]

In other news, some fucking basement dwelling nerds are getting butthurt over not being able to bring their prop weapons to Boston Comic Con this weekend. You know, at the Hynes Convention Center, the one that is across the street from where the bombs went off. The one that you access by public transportation and have to walk through 1 or 2 shopping malls to get to.

The fact they're not postponing the con is beyond me, but the fact that idiots are seriously reeling over not being able to play dress up with guns is downright disrespectful. If your fucking props matter more to you than the lives of others, you need to re-think your fucking purpose in life. Douchenozzle dumfuckimus prime.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

I hate calling them Irish Americans.

Call them whatever you like.  I'm describing a phenomenon, not the correct labels as we'd all like to see them.

It's a good enough descriptor of them. They're Americans of Irish descent. Getting off topic though.

[Cain]

Right then.

Terrorism in the modern world likely has a number of underlying, systemic causes.  Looking internationally, the post 1918 and post 1945 settlements in particular must share some blame.  After WWI, Woodrow Wilson blamed the violence in the Balkans on nationalism by groups seeking self-determination and states.  By giving them a state, violence would be avoided.

This principle was built upon by the UN.  Resolution 1514 states that "all peoples have the right to self-determination and membership of international society...and colonialism is a crime, which constitutes a violation of the charter of the United Nations."  Therefore, all non-state actors which claim to represent a people are, in theory, considered legitimate and have a right to self-determination and state-formation.

The unfortunate truth is that, of course, this is not how it really works.  By placing special emphasis on the nation-state as the legitimate political unit of global politics, it helps perpetuate intractable conflict, as existing states emphasize their "sovereign" rights and minority groups claim a right to political and violent resistance.

Even in "liberal" states this can be the case, as a consistently outvoted and outnumbered minority fail to get represenation on the political level they feel justified to.  While in theory liberal states are representative, states are always ethnically, religiously, linguistically and territorially arbitrary.  Thus political grievances will arise, and some people will resort to violence to try and settle them.

In fact, the existence of liberal states is owed to political violence, in particular the French Revolution.  The philosophies of the Enlightenment helped create a theory of "natural rights" which justified tyrannicide, then revolution, then terror, and were instrumental in the creation of modern terrorism as we understand it.  One can easily see how these ideas link in with the idealist views of the UN and Woodrow Wilson.

State violence is frequently decisive in the formation of terrorist groups.  Donatella della Porta argues that the strategy chosen by the state is often instrumental in the develop-ment of anti-state terrorism. She suggests the existence of the 'radicalisation of protest'. This happens to political demonstrations that start peacefully and culminate in violence, and result in the creation of potential terrorist groups that are driven underground by harsh state oppression.

And, of course, should a terrorist campaign result in the successful establishment of a state, that state will likely employ violence in a similar manner, creating it's own terrorist problems.  Israel and Algeria come to mind.  Terrorism propagates states which propagate terrorism which propagate states ad infinitum.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

In other news, some fucking basement dwelling nerds are getting butthurt over not being able to bring their prop weapons to Boston Comic Con this weekend. You know, at the Hynes Convention Center, the one that is across the street from where the bombs went off. The one that you access by public transportation and have to walk through 1 or 2 shopping malls to get to.

The fact they're not postponing the con is beyond me, but the fact that idiots are seriously reeling over not being able to play dress up with guns is downright disrespectful. If your fucking props matter more to you than the lives of others, you need to re-think your fucking purpose in life. Douchenozzle dumfuckimus prime.

Any change in behavior is going belly up to terrorism.  Let 'em play with their toys.

Anything else is cowardice as a social norm.

[Pope Pixie Pickle]

I hate calling them Irish Americans.

Call them whatever you like.  I'm describing a phenomenon, not the correct labels as we'd all like to see them.

as i said. Berserk Button topic. You could be locked up for a week without charge by the Special Branch in London charge (usually 48 hours) back when that was going on. Innocent London Irish fell foul of that one on more than a few occasions.

I have D&D now, so gotta go. I probably should have stayed shut up.

Sorry.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

I hate calling them Irish Americans.

Call them whatever you like.  I'm describing a phenomenon, not the correct labels as we'd all like to see them.

It's a good enough descriptor of them. They're Americans of Irish descent. Getting off topic though.

I was trying to clarify this insistent accusation that the "US" is funding the IRA, which at least two people said but then won't discuss.  Then it became who gets to be Irish and who gets excluded.

Fuck this noise, I'm just going to read Cain's last post, and then leave this subject.  I am fucking TIRED of EVERYTHING turning into weird accusations of cultural appropriation, etc.

Neither of my points got fucking addressed.  I was answered BY REFLEX, and therefore AM NOT A PERSON WITH RESPECT TO THIS DISCUSSION.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

State violence is frequently decisive in the formation of terrorist groups.  Donatella della Porta argues that the strategy chosen by the state is often instrumental in the develop-ment of anti-state terrorism. She suggests the existence of the 'radicalisation of protest'. This happens to political demonstrations that start peacefully and culminate in violence, and result in the creation of potential terrorist groups that are driven underground by harsh state oppression.

Seems fairly intuitive.  Live by the sword, etc, etc.