[mountaineer]

Ah yes, the man who - once and for all - brought peace to Northern Ireland.

[Howlin]

I guess it depends on what the meaning of "peace" is, huh?

[Piquaboy]

That is spelled PIECE not PEACE.

[mountaineer]

In other news from Northern Ireland, where Bill Clinton created a lasting peace after so many years of conflict:


BELFAST, Northern Ireland (Nov. 4, 2002, AP) - A Roman Catholic man who was savagely beaten and left nailed to a fence post on the outskirts of Belfast called his attackers cowards Monday.

Harry McCartan, 23, was abducted from the IRA stronghold of Poleglass on Belfast's western outskirts early Saturday.

Police said the attackers hit his legs, face and body with bats, then attached his hands to the fence post using hammers and nails. Firefighters cut him loose and took him to the hospital with the fencing still hammered to his hands.

``Nobody should be treated like this,'' McCartan said. ``They are just cowards. I was on my own, and it took more than four people to do this. They are lower than animals.''

McCartan is believed to be the latest victim of fighting between outlawed rival armed groups in Northern Ireland.

Police believe the attack was related alleged car thefts, and the British news agency Press Association quoted sources in an outlawed Protestant group, the Ulster Defense Association, as saying it was a revenge attack.

However, the Ulster Defense Association denied orchestrating the attack on McCartan. McCartan said he was not involved in car theft and had been targeted because he was Catholic.

McCartan's injuries were so severe that his father initially identified him by a tattoo on his hand. Television reports showed McCartan in his hospital bed, his face badly swollen and bruised and his hands bandaged.

The Irish Republican Army and the major outlawed Protestant groups, the Ulster Defense Association and the Ulster Volunteer Force, all mete out so-called ``punishment'' attacks on criminal rivals.

The IRA has previously been blamed for hammering victims to fences in what locals call a ``crucifixion'' punishment. The most common form of attack is ``knee-capping'' - gunshots to both legs. People gangs regard as repeat offenders occasionally receive ``the six pack'' - shots to the knees, ankles and elbows.

---

Yes, well, it DOES depend on one's meaning of the word peace.

[Kevin Curry]

LOL! I'm of Irish extraction, and "Irish Peace Prize" strikes me as being more than mildly oxymoronic.

[expatpat]

Senator George Mitchell will present the award on behalf of the Irish American Democrats lobby group...

Is this one of the groups that has been collecting money in the US to finance the murdering IRA?

[nightdriver]

"Senator George Mitchell will present the award on behalf of the Irish American Democrats lobby group, and organisers hope that David Trimble, Mark Durkan and other Northern Ireland politicians will attend."

So let me get this straight, some American democrats are going to honor another American democrat on American soil for a less-than-successful agreement in Ireland and they hope that some Irishmen will attend?

Wow!! What a significant ceremony!! ROTFLMSAO!!

[leprechaun9]

They should change the name to MANURE HOUSE in KILLADEAS!

This originally was planned for Labor Day just prior to the Presidential Election - sort of a Irish/American or American/Irish beer blast to launch the final stage of the campaign.

[Valin]

Doesn't this make you feel all warm and fuzzy? :-)

[Alberta's Child]

I am primarily of Irish descent, and it pains me to see these people confirm my opinion that many Irish-Americans are among the dopiest people on the planet.

[PBRSTREETGANG]

Sure, and Clinton can pick up his Middle East peace prize immediately thereafter.

[Seruzawa]

Clinton wins Irish peace prize

This is a clerical error it should read:

Clinton wins Irish piece prize.

The prize itself is a weekend with Anna Nicole Smith.

[bc2]

Mr Clinton is expected to speak on the need to reaffirm commitment to the Good Friday Agreement following the suspension of Northern Ireland's power sharing government and Assembly.

and from our loyalist friends...

Harry McCartan recovers at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast November 4, 2002, following an attack in which he had his hands nailed to a wooden fence post and brutally beaten. McCartan, from Poleglass in Northern Ireland, was attacked in the predominantly loyalist area of Dunmurray, south of Belfast, on November 2 and police have described it as paramilitary style attack. REUTERS/POOL/Paul Faith

[brewcrew]

"Irish Peace Prize." Oxymoron, like Jumbo Shrimp.

[joesnuffy]

Whats the prize? A fifth o'whiskey and a tart?

[Jaxter]

For those of you that were wondering what the prize actually is...

[aristeides]

So this is to be awarded on St. Patrick's Day in NYC. I wonder if either Clinton will show up at the parade that day. I understand neither showed for the Veterans' Day parade in NYC yesterday. Anybody know where the Clintons were yesterday?

This NY Times article on the parade mentions the presence of Mayor Bloomberg and Sen. Schumer, but makes no mention of either Clinton.

[soozla]

"Irish American Democrats spokeswoman, Stella O'Leary, said that both events next year showed the Clintons' unwavering commitment to the Irish peace process."

......translation: "Both events show the Clintons' never-ending search to patch up their "legacy" and keep them forever in the limelight.........."

I wonder whose arm got twisted out of its socket, on behalf of Billy O'Clinton, to set up this sorry soiree.....YUCK!!

[Fraulein]

There is also a statue of Clinton in Ireland. It's been there now for years. I will look for a link.

[Vets_Husband_and_Wife]

I LOVE IT. Just keep Clintoon in the limelight until AFTER the 2004 elections.. PLEASE!!!!!

BTW,.. as a person of Irish heritage, I find anything with Bill Clintons name attached to it UN-Irish and disgusting. I KNOW I speak for a multitude of Irishmen/women. Then there are those of Cherokee and German heritage that he will never represent, who I can also speak for (sure, not all of them.. but a heck of a lot of them and I think even the majority of them!!). This is nothing more than a ploy by the Idol Worshipping Dems who can't get over bubba. Those in the DemoCRAPPY party who just don't get it..and won't until they are in the EXTREME minority.. I say bring it on!!

Lets hope this TREND continues. I PRAY they keep bubba in the limelight.. it served them sooooo well in this past election. :o)

[nutmeg]

*Barf alert* ping!