Firstly i agreed with thatchers policy of not negotiating with terriosts. Due to a quirk of my own beliefs i actuaally side with the IRA over the northern ireland issue, though obviously not using violence. If she had over dealt with the IRA because they used violence then it would have been a call to arms for any other group who wanted change of some sort.
As for sorting out the causes of extersim, i agree we should try to do that, whats say we try to block those websites that say how to build bombs, perhaps start to monitor peoples internet use. I see even labour have finally got on board with this, but those good old liberals are still against it.
It is the left wing politics that gave us the human rights act and when we try to kick out nutters that preach hatred they hide behind this, and the left seemingly are happy for it to continue as they have done for the last few years.
This is not me joking these are my thoughts on this. I do not care if i am seen as etreme, though i noticed in other threads when people tried to belittle my views. I came back with good responses and links to my reasoning and of course they shuffled off quickly.
The danger in this country comes from the left, i mentioned to scara and crawley that i see a few members of this site as a threat to national security and i do. Your not one of them for the record. But now i only use this site to keep an eye on a very dark and disgusting section of our society. It is sad but true but my cycling and kitesurfing forums are more inkeeping with the country from which their members come from.
I understand not negotiating with terrorists to an extent, but she could've initiated talks BEFORE the escalation of violence. Instead, she made it very clear she was not interested. My mother is a Dublin born lady, so trust me, I have Irish blood BUT it was absolutely clear that it needed political compromise. She did nothing. fudge all. In fact, the police were all unionists, the streets were militarized and the message was 'if you're for Eire you can fudge off because we will crush you!' Even Rain Man would know that taking such an approach will provoke a certain response. Sorry. For me, her stupid, stubborn and lacking in political savvy policies put blood on her hands as much as anyones. Funny how John Major (a Tory too) and Clinton managed to initiate peace in the region through dialogue.
As for extremists/websites, etc, again, I see exactly what you're saying, and when it comes to wider issues such as the filth of pedophilia, then I am absolutely up for people's internet being monitored. Sadly, as a race we seem incapable of enjoying full liberty in this sense without some percentage turning it to bad. My worry with this sort of stuff is always that depending on who's in power, certain things will be deemed 'OK' or 'illegal'...I agree this is an area which must be explored, but equally it would need a very clear, transparent charter which supersedes ALL party politics and stands alone as the definitive guide. Again, it's a tough call though because it is interfering with freedoms. China and many middle eastern countries already exercise some for of internet censorship and get hammered for it from the outside. My PERSONAL feeling is that to eradicate extremism we need to (literally) feed the people who get converted; give them something to lose. For a fraction of what we send blowing people up, we could put in place infra-structures which would give people something to live for and something to lose.
Sorry, the Human Rights act is fantastic when exercised properly. Where I agree with you is that people preaching hatred against the nation should be repatriated. The bigger issue we are running into now, however, are radicalized young ENGLISHMEN and THAT'S where I believe we need to be more scared and certainly take more pro-active social steps to (again) give young people who have grown up in isolated communities the immersion and inclusion that stops them being haters. If you've seen the (dark comedy) Four Lions, it's hilarious and thoroughly unsettling at the same time because those people are exactly the sort who could easily be swayed back to the right side, yet we keep missing them.
I hope you can come to see that people who have a somewhat socialist mentality are (for the most part) your friends too mate. No right-minded person wants to give sanctuary to lunatics, hate-mongers and canvassers. But equally, we must get much much smarter in our 'war' on terror and terrorism. It's vital. Otherwise, in the dust storm created by the boots of fury pounding a path to boot a few tossers out, we will miss the growing pockets of discontent within our own population.
I understand what you're looking for with regards to your finding solace in the cycling/kite-surfing forums. I, too, lament a society of decent people, and further, decent behaviour towards others, a moral code, right from wrong, manners and finding the time to appreciate some of the tremendous values Great Britain was founded on. I applaud both those who profit from their own hard work and industry and the benevolence of a society which can care for the less fortunate. I believe you can have socialist values and still appreciate very much the rewards of a free market/small business. It just requires a sense of benevolence and empathy. No-one wants the rich to give it all up, why should they if they worked hard for it? But sadly, the anger you'll hear from the likes of me towards 'some' of those people is aimed squarely at the people who rake enormous bonuses and salaries in the murky world of finance at the expense of hard working people. I am going off course here, but anyway...I wanted to take my time and answer your points clearly mate.
It's good to have discussions with people who you might not necessarily agree with, I certainly appreciate it anyway.
) with most of Richie's political views but find myself agreeing 100% with that one.