Posted on 06/25/2004 2:23:18 PM PDT by The Bandit
ENNIS, Ireland President George W. Bush was set to arrive at the heavily guarded Dromoland Castle in County Clare on Friday night as the authorities braced for what were expected to be large demonstrations across Ireland against the U.S. occupation of Iraq.In contrast to the jubilant welcomes accorded to Presidents Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and John F. Kennedy, Bush's reception was already developing as frosty, if not outright hostile. Widespread opposition to the Iraq war and revulsion at the Abu Ghraib prison scandal have turned a large portion of Irish popular opinion against him.
Big protests were expected in Dublin and in Shannon, where Air Force One was to land before Bush headed to the EU-U.S. summit at Dromoland Castle. Smaller protests were expected for the cities of Galway, Sligo, Waterford and Tralee in County Kerry.
"Fury and fear as town is turned into a fortress," said the headline in the Irish Examiner. The newspaper quoted the mayor of Shannon as saying that the town's residents were being made into potential targets for a terrorist attack.
Mary O'Rourke, leader of the Irish Senate, refused to attend a recent dinner in celebration of Bush's impending visit at the home of the American ambassador, James Kenny, out of objections to American prison policy at Guantánamo Bay and Abu Ghraib, and for going to war with Iraq, she said. . "Nobody denies we have an affinity with the United States, but that is a different matter from having an affinity with the president," O'Rourke said in the Irish Parliament this week.
But the centrist Irish Independent said in an editorial Friday that while Bush's trip would be the equivalent for the protesters of "a visit from the Devil Incarnate," the demonstrations "seem a bit out of touch."
(Excerpt) Read more at iht.com ...
Stop their immigration levels also, half their population is trying to get here, it's sad, the Irish were once a strong and proud people, now they're just another part of the euro-weenies.
Have you been hitting the bottle today?
Their press was down right rude to our President, and so they were insulting to me, so I know how I feel about them.
Apparently, they are NO better than the rest of the ingrates that want to migrate here in large numbers from other third world nations. They scream bloody murder when the United States does something which they don't agree with, but are happy to flood our shores because their own country failed them.
Ireland is not a staunch ally of the United States as far as I'm concerned.
They might learn a lesson ot two from the Poles, the first being respect (instead of being rude) and the second is showing some class.
It appears the Irish are nothing more than condencending euro-centrists, and in that regard, are no better than the French.
Amen.
Well, put me down as one of the not-educated-enough. Because even with the aid of a dictionary or two, I have no idea re: the defination of "telmarine".
O Paddy dear, and did you hear the news that's goin' 'round? The shamrock is forbid by law to grow on Irish ground. St. Paddy's Day no more we'll keep; his color can't be seen, for there's a cruel law against the Wearin' o' the Green.
O I've heard the whisperin' of that land beyond the sea, where the rich and poor stand equal in the light of freedom's day, where the cruel cross of England will never more be seen, and where, Please God, we'll live and die still Wearin' o' the Green."
(You are full of...) catnip??
You got that right! Nothing you have posted in this thread makes sense.
Wanna come outside and say that?
Actually I was thinking about effluent from the other end of the cat.
I'm just curious, now. But how do you suppose they felt about B.Clinton being there, playing golf? Or R. Reagan, J.Kennedy? Weren't they invited to come there? My point being that they were, presumably invited to come. Wasn't GWB invited also?
Another thing, Is G.Bush a mind-reader? How can he know how all Irish people feel? If they feel so bad about G.Bush being there; wouldn't they feel the same about the other presidents above? Unless there is a threat to his life, G.Bush should be able to go there too if he is invited!
On St. Patrick's day, the Irish leaders come every year. In fact, a few of Ireland's leaders came here to this country to attend R.Reagan's funeral, didn't they?
No, I really think all of this 'hostile reception' stuff is coming from the leftists in that country! And you know that these individuals are going to talk this way, and presume to speak for everyone in that country! Ireland is an ally in this war in Iraq.
They didn't send troops, but they did let us take our planes up there for refueling. I would assume some people up there like our Pres. and our country, or they wouldn't have allowed that, I don't think! Apparently there were enough friendly Irish that they went along with their Pres. and Pr.Minister in this!
But I'm not reading this from their PM or their Pres., so I suspect it is some left-wing big-mouths that are making this opposition, and all of those demonstrations seem much bigger, and more important than they are!
That excerpt from my post didn't directly link Irish and oil. Read it again, and the previous posts.
You'll get over it ;)
I guess that's what made this website so interesting, was a chance to learn current events. Also I get to relearn what I've been taught so wrongly.
stereotypist!
That's lovely! I've never heard of that! Where does this poem come from? Was it from the late 18th century, and does that land across the sea refer to America after the Am. Revolution?
Also, have you ever heard of a Scottish writer named Robert Burns? He was the one who wrote the verse: "Auld Lang Syne". He too, was supportive of our Revolutionary effort, as well as the French Revolution. Also, he was said to "Drink a health" to George Washington!
Sometimes it's hard to accept new information that challenges what you have been told. My sister and I had an interesting argument regarding the discovery of the bodies of the Russian royal family. I saw on tv about how they had found the bodies of the Tzar's family. They were preparing to bury them in a church in Russia.
My sister simply couldn't believe that those bodies were of the Russ. royal family! She said that they had been put in a pit of acid. I told her what I saw, and heard, but she couldn't believe it! Boy, was that ever frustrating!
As it turns out, we were both right! Apparently, the bodies had been thrown in a pit, and acid was indeed poured on them. However, the acid didn't devour all of the remains, so there were enough left of the bones to run tests on them, and they were found to be of the Russ. royal family! The house that they had been shot in was burned down.
My sister's a smart gal, and we are both history enthusiasts. She can be awfull stubborn sometimes, and she just couldn't believe that the acid didn't just eat all the bones up!
But G.W.Bush was asked to go in there by the Iraqi people. Saddam Hussein was hardly a poor, helpless man! Yeah, I can imagine he was scared, but not anymore than his thousands of victims who were also scared when they crossed him! Oh, and you heard he had a "Children's prison", where he kept the children of his political opponents! Our troops found out they were there, and released them from this prison.
Those poor little/young victims of Saddam's swarmed the troops with thanks! But for crying out loud, a prison for little kids who hadn't done anything to Saddam? And these are just a few examples. Not to mention those men who came to Washington to visit with GWB in the oval office; to thank him for letting them come to America to get new prosthetic hands! They also observed our ceremonies at Arlington Cemetery. These men had their hands cut off by Saddam for only handling American money in their places of business!
Then there were the Kwaitis(sp?)13 years ago. Saddam just decided that Kwuait belonged to him, and he just rolled on in, and tormented and imprisoned them too, before us and our allies came in there. So you see, in all due respect, who was/is the conquerer?
Excuse me, in that next-to-last line in last paragraph, that was "we and our allies"! That didn't sound right, I know!
I didn't read all posts, but to comment on the headline... Of course they were hostile, they were wasted. (No offense to any Irish posters)
That's OK, I knew it was an error,,,
I can't spell neanderthal.
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