Riots in Belfast Again...

Northern Ireland is All Over Filipino News...

Yesterday on TFC (The Filipino Channel) reported on the latest racist attacks on Filipinos in Northern Ireland. Not a surprise to me but now my parents have a really bad impression of the place, and have been asking weird questions if HopAlong's family is prejudiced because they are Protestant. Well it's obvious they aren't because they wouldn't invite me into their home if they were. At least my parents finally know why I came back and decided to get married and live in America instead of over there...

Racist attack in N. Ireland targets Filipino family
JERRIE M. ABELLA, GMANews.TV

A Filipino family in Belfast, Northern Ireland, has expressed fears for their safety after racist attacks in their Whiteabbey town on Tuesday left a part of their house and a Filipino neighbor’s car scorched.

The Philippine Embassy in London said Ishis Calungsod and his family were targeted in a racially motivated arson in their street, which involved the burning of a car owned by Arnel Verzonilla, another Filipino.

“The Embassy has been in touch with Mr. Calungsod and Mr. Verzonilla, and they and their families are safe," the Embassy said in a statement posted on the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) website.

A report by Belfast Telegraph stated 30-year-old Calungsod and his wife were sleeping with their two children, aged four and six, when Verzonilla’s car, parked at the front door of their house in Fernagh Avenue, went up in flames.

Verzonilla lives in the same building several doors up.

Another car parked on the same street, owned by an Indian family, was likewise torched, the report said.

The report said the Calungsod family learned of the fire only when firefighters broke into their house to rescue them.

Local police have ruled the burning of the cars as racially motivated, following at least three similar incidents also in Belfast recorded a day before, based on the report.

The Philippine Embassy condemned the dastardly act of hate and discrimination committed against a Filipino family and individuals belonging to other ethnic groups. It added that Embassy has made representations with the Police Service of Northern Ireland urging them to undertake action to identify and punish the perpetrators.

“Such hate crimes should be eradicated and the root causes addressed to ensure that these acts do not undermine the cross-community successes in Northern Ireland in recent years," the Embassy said in a statement.

According to the Belfast report, Calungsod moved to Northern Ireland five years ago to work. “We didn’t have any problems before but now we are thinking of moving again. We moved here because our friends live here. They said it was a nice, quiet street, good for our kids. And it had been. But now we are all scared," Calungsod was quoted as saying in the report.

Latest News From the Shankill...

So the story is that a few nights ago down this street one guy was asking another guy out of his house for a fight. The guy in the house wouldn't come out so the guy outside started damaging the other guys car. Today just down at the corner of the Shankill and the next street down from us a guy was standing on the corner. Just before 1pm 2 masked dudes walked up to him and shot him twice in the face. Turns out he was the dude who was in the street a few nights ago asking the guy out for a fight. I love this place.lol

Love,
HopAlong

Bloody bandages mark Shankill murder spot in Belfast

Belfast Made It Into the Wall Street Journal

I was browsing the WSJ and came across this article...

From The Wall Street Journal Roundup (February 5, 2010):

BELFAST-Northern Ireland's main Protestant party backed a compromise plan with the Catholic minority to transfer police and justice powers to Belfast from London a nd save their power-sharing government.

Democratic Unionist Party leader Peter Robinson, who leads the 2 1/2 year old coalition at the heart of Northern Ireland's 1998 peace accord, announced the breakthrough in the early hours of Friday. Terms of the deal would be announced later in the day, he said.

The DUP and its Catholic parter sinn Fein have been mired in a long-running dispute over delays in the transfer of justice power from the U.K. government to Northern Ireland. Sinn Fein sees the issue as crucial to the political process that was designed to end decades of sectarian violence.

Sinn Fein -- which precipitated the power-sharing crisis by threatening to withdraw from the coalition -- had already announced its backing for the plan. But the Democratic Unionists were divided over whether to cut a new deal with Sinn Fein.

Mr. Robinson said his party's lawmakers "have unanimously supported the way forward."

Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams welcomed the Democratic Unionist approval, saying the deal would cledar the way form the crisis-prone coalition to "proceed on the basis of equality, fairness, and partnership."

The agreement charts a path for creating a new Justice Department in Belfast that will take control from Britain of the province's police and courts. The deal will give Northern Ireland its first justice minister and marks one of the boldest steps toward consolidating the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

So What Else is New in Norn Iron?

A 600lbs bomb!

Booooooooooring!!!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

A riot during the twelfth. How cliche and unoriginal!

Man Climbs Belfast Wheel

Here's something you don't see everyday. A man from the "traveller community" climbs the Belfast wheel. A traveller is somebody who lives on a campsite on the edge of a housing estate. You know like the travellers in the movie, Snatch. They are nomadic and travel throughout Ireland. They are viewed as second class citizens here. Jack, the racist, would always refer to them as "dirty, thievin' bastards." Most of them reside in West Belfast.

From Belfast Telegraph:

A 38-year-old man who climbed 200ft to the top of Belfast's big wheel was charged tonight with disorderly behaviour.

The Belfast Eye in the grounds of City Hall was brought to a standstill with tourists trapped in pods for more than three hours last night.

The man, a member of the Traveller community currently engaged in a caravan protest over accommodation in front of City Hall, was also charged with false imprisonment.

A police spokeswoman said he was due to appear at Belfast Magistrates Court tomorrow.

Streets around City Hall were closed to traffic for several hours while crowds watched the drama unfold.

The man, wearing nothing but a pair of shorts, was eventually arrested after a specialist team of firefighters climbed up and got him back to ground level.

The drama unfolded shortly after 6.30pm as commuters and city centre shoppers made their way home past the iconic landmark.

He climbed on top of one of the 42 pods before pulling himself on to the rim of the wheel.

Over the next two hours he clung to the edge of the wheel, occasionally shifting his position or leaning over to look down.

A number of tourists who had been enjoying a trip on the wheel were left stranded in their capsules for the duration of the incident.

Dave Hamilton from Australia said he first became aware of a problem when he saw a pair of jeans dropping to the ground.

“He was just going absolutely nuts, crazy,” he said.

“He was yelling and screaming and slamming his head against the post. I definitely thought he was on something.

“It was very scary, I thought he was going to jump.”

Specially equipped members of the Fire and Rescue Service were deployed to try and bring the man down. They climbed up the middle of the wheel and one of them was seen to have a conversation with the man.

Shortly afterwards he began to climb down of his own accord.

Upon reaching the bottom he was arrested and taken away in a police car.

Members of the Traveller community have been camped outside the front of the City Hall since last week to protest at a lack of sites to accommodate them.

Relatives of the man were among the hundreds of people who gathered behind the City Hall to watch the events.

They did not wish to speak to the press, but said they did not know why he had taken such dramatic action.

One anxious woman who watched from below said: “He was just lying at the top of the wheel with his arms wrapped around it and his legs on it.

“He was there for quite some time.”

Another onlooker said: “It was difficult to see him before he started moving but when he did he was alot clearer.”

The area around City Hall was sealed off by police, with large screens erected to try and shield the immediate site from view.

Belfast councillor and former Lord Mayor Pat McCarthy, who was among those at the scene, said: “I have been up on the wheel myself and you would have to have something wrong with you to want to go up on one of those like that.

“We must be glad that this ended peacefully and that noone was killed or injured.”

A police spokesman said last night that the man had been arrested.

“Shortly after 6.30pm police received reports that a man had climbed onto the Belfast Wheel in the grounds of the City Hall,” he said.

“Emergency services attended the scene along with police negotiators and the PSNI Search and Rescue Team.

“A number of people had to remain in the pods on the wheel during the incident.

“The man was brought down safely by Fire and Rescue personnel shortly after 9pm and was arrested by police.”

I Think I Just Puked in My Mouth A Little...

From the BBC:



A man got the shock of his life when he opened a loaf of bread and found a whole mouse inside.

North Antrim Magistrates Court heard how a man purchased a Hyndman's malt loaf from a supermarket in the Ballymoney area before Christmas 2007.

When he unwrapped the loaf he discovered the small lifeless mammal embedded in the base of the bread.

The judge fined the company, D Hyndman and Son Ltd, Maghera, £1,000 plus costs for placing unsafe food on the market.

The managing director of the company was present in court to answer the charge.

A defence lawyer told the court that the presence of the mouse was a shock to the company. He suggested it might have been put in the tin to "sabotage" the baker who has been in business for 60 years and has never had any complaints.

The judge was shown pictures of the mouse in the loaf. The court heard that tins in which the bread is baked were oiled the night before they were filled with dough.

Pest control

Some time between the tins being sprayed and being filled, the mouse got into the tin, a prosecuting lawyer said.

"In fairness to the defendant they have engaged pest control services who regularly inspect the premises and did so before this incident," she said.

The defence lawyer said an "onerous inspection" is held at the bakery every six weeks and that two field biologists attend each year. There are 131 bait stations in the premises at present, he said.

Staff carry out daily inspections and two full-time cleaners are employed at the bakery who both work eight hours per day.

In imposing the fine, the judge said he had considered public concern but also the steps taken by the company to ensure proper hygiene.


I have a sneaking suspicion that a Chav was working the assembly line, "Ahahahaha, get that down yer fat neck ya bastard!"

Northern Ireland, the Next Hollywood?

This could be promising...Maybe Craig can leave his miserable dead-end job, and work for the tv industry. I think he would really enjoy it since he's such a film buff. Craig, whaddya think? Wanna work for HBO?

THE AMERICAN company behind television hits such as The Sopranos and Sex and the City is to make a pilot programme in Northern Ireland which has the potential to create hundreds of jobs and generate millions of pounds for the North’s economy.

HBO, the US’s leading pay cable network, plans to begin work on A Game of Thrones in October at locations around Northern Ireland and at the Paint Hall studio in the Titanic Quarter of east Belfast.

A Game of T hrones, described as a medieval fantasy, is the first novel in a series of seven books entitled A Song of Ice and Fire , by George RR Martin. Americans David Benioff and Dan Weiss, who met while studying at Trinity College Dublin, are writing and producing the television adaptation.

The pilot project was confirmed after a meeting between First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness with HBO during their recent US visit around St Patrick’s Day.

If the pilot is successful it is expected that each novel will require 10 episodes of filming. According to political and business sources the full series could create up to 600 jobs and be worth up to £20 million annually to the economy.

A Game of Thrones is part of an epic series set in the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, a land that is reminiscent of medieval Europe. Rick Hill, chairman of Northern Ireland Screen, which with Invest Northern Ireland is providing £1.6 million in funding, described it as “ Lord of the Rings meets The Sopranos ”.

HBO’s decision is yet another boost for Northern Ireland’s film industry. The news of the project follows on Universal Studios’ decision to shoot a multimillion-dollar fantasy film, Your Highness , a comedy about an arrogant, lazy prince and his more heroic brother, in Belfast. Your Highness will be shot entirely on location this summer at the Paint Hall where City of Ember , another fantasy, starring Bill Murray, was filmed.

Moyra Lock, NI Screen’s head of marketing, said that despite the recession the facilities on offer and the relatively low strength of sterling against the dollar and euro made Northern Ireland an attractive place in which to make films.

She believed the future for the industry both locally and in terms of enticing the big international companies here was very strong.

Mr Robinson said the project was a “major coup”. He added that HBO was a “worldwide brand” which had an “enviable reputation for offering very high-quality, original programming, receiving critical acclaim for its productions”.

Mr McGuinness said “this is a further boost for this sector and evidence that even in the midst of a difficult economic climate, we can attract world-leading companies to our shores”. -Irish Times

Yay! We're Getting Face Masks!

Million Pig Flu Masks on Way To Northern Ireland

More than one million protective face masks are to be delivered to Northern Ireland in the fight to contain the global outbreak of swine flu.

The Department of Health in England is stockpiling 32 million of the facemasks and around one million of those are to be delivered for use in the province if they are required.

A spokeswoman from the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety said: “The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety already has in its possession 3.6 million protective facemasks for use by healthcare workers and 240,000 special respiratory masks also for healthcare workers.”

Meanwhile, ten people who have been tested for swine flu in Northern Ireland have been given the all-clear while results were today pending on another possible case.

Acting chief medical officer Dr Liz Mitchell said she hoped to receive the last set of results by the end of today.

Eleven people across Northern Ireland have so far been tested for swine flu — all of which Dr Mitchell said had been to affected areas in recent weeks.

She reiterated advice to anyone suffering from flu-like symptoms and is worried that they may have contracted the virus, urging them to remain at home and contact their family GP to arrange a visit.

Dr Mitchell also stressed that the only fatal cases of swine flu have been in Mexico and people affected in other countries have recovered.

Plans were also being finalised today for the distribution of information leaflets to every household across Northern Ireland.

Yesterday, Health Minister Michael McGimpsey addressed the Assembly and spoke of the importance of high levels of hygiene in fighting the spread of swine flu.

He said: “I would again reiterate the simple but very effective things that everyone can do in these circumstances. Influenza spreads easily from person to person when an infected person coughs or sneezes. It also spreads through hand to face contact if hands are contaminated.

“Therefore, good hygiene practices, frequent handwashing, and tissues to cover mouth and nose for coughs and sneezes will be the single most effective thing people can do to protect themselves.

“Individuals should listen carefully to government advice which will be made available via the media and distributed on printed material.”

Health officials across the globe are bracing themselves for the emergence of more suspected cases of the virus.

So far 152 people are thought to have been killed in Mexico by the virus.

-Lisa Smith, Belfast Telegraph

Norn Iron is Going Bananas Again!!!

We go away on holiday for a few weeks and Norn Iron turns into a war torn third world country?!? Craig received this email from a friend this morning which made him very upset...

Anyhoo for the second day running Norn Iron has been without drinking water due to some sort contamination which they can't identify just yet. Tesco ran out of bottled water by 10am this morning and the government are seriously considering shipping in water from England. On the usual front, Protestant churches and orange halls are still being attacked (even my old one on the shankill) and in a new twist Sinn Fein offices are being petrol bombed by the real IRA. If I were you I would apply for a company transfer to the States.

I mean...WHAT. THE. FUCK.

Is this a joke?

Bomb Scares and Hijacking

A child rides his bike past a burning lorry in Belfast, Northern Ireland (AFP)

Oh no, here we go again! Is it back to 1969? Goes to show how easily one spark can set everything off. The scary thing is that one of the bomb scares was on Tenement Street which is not too far from where I live. Mind you, a Protestant area not Catholic! Relentless is the word for these IRA dissidents. I honestly think they're trying to push the loyalist paramilitaries into action. If they keep it up, they may very well succeed.

It feels funny reading about Belfast from 5,386 miles away. The news leads you to believe that this is happening ALL over Belfast and the city is going down in flames. But the reality is...these are just isolated areas. Craig called his mom twice this week and she hasn't mentioned anything.

I showed Craig the headlines. He rolled his eyes and didn't bother to read the article because he knows it's the same damn story, like a broken record playing over and over again. I asked him if it made him feel homesick. He was like, "Are you having a laugh?". Then he proceeded to call the airline and postponed our return date a week and a half later. I would take that as a "No, I don't miss the shithole and would rather soak up the sun and the good life in California".

I guess if he's feeling really homesick and nostalgic in these 4 weeks, we could always make a trip out to Oakland.


Suspected IRA dissidents and their supporters hijacked cars Monday in working-class Catholic areas of Northern Ireland in a coordinated effort to block roads and threaten police stations, police said.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland said it was receiving a wave of reports of vehicles being hijacked by masked gunmen in several parts of Belfast and in the Kilwilkie district of Lurgan, a power base for Irish Republican Army dissidents southwest of Belfast.

Some vehicles were being set on fire in roads to disrupt traffic at rush hour, while others were abandoned near four Belfast police stations and on Northern Ireland's major motorway near Lurgan.

Police said they were treating all the abandoned vehicles as potential car bombs, although they cautioned this was unlikely. They urged motorists to avoid Kilwilkie and parts of Catholic west Belfast entirely.

Monday's upheaval came at the end of a month in which IRA dissidents shot to death two soldiers and a policeman — the first killings of British security forces since 1998, the year of Northern Ireland's peace accord.

Police said at least two cars were hijacked in Lurgan's Kilwilkie district, the power base of suspected IRA dissident Colin Duffy. Duffy, 41, was charged last week with murdering the two soldiers.

One of the hijacked cars was abandoned on the M1 motorway, which connects Belfast to Dublin, 100 miles (160 kilometers) to the south. Authorities shut part of the motorway as a precaution.

One abandoned vehicle — which police said did not contain a bomb — was left near the Stormont Parliamentary Building, the center of Northern Ireland's power-sharing government between the British Protestant majority and Irish Catholic minority.

The coalition's Protestant leader, First Minister Peter Robinson, said the rising dissident IRA threat would not spur Protestants to sever links with Sinn Fein, the IRA-linked party that represents most Catholics today.

"The criminal terrorists responsible for the series of bomb scares and hijackings are beneath contempt and have no support whatsoever in the community," Robinson said.

The hijackings and security alerts also coincided with a widespread breakdown of Belfast's traffic lights system. Police in a statement called that an "unfortunate coincidence."

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Barak Speaks Norn Iron

Yay! It's St. Patrick's Day! Craig warned me that St. Paddy's Day isn't a big deal here as it is in the States. I was quite surprised as I was really looking forward it. You'd think that it would be a grand shindig since well, it's IRELAND! This year proved him wrong with the biggest ever St. Patrick's Day parade in the City Centre. Vibrant costumes abound, elaborate floats, and festive music from around the world. It was a multicultural event which was a nice touch. Craig and I just chilled out at home scarfing down "authentic" Thai food. He glugged his Guinness as I sipped my green tea. I know I'm weak. But it's tea that is GREEN, it should count for something!

In other news, Martin McGuiness and Peter Robinson celebrated St. Patrick's Day across the pond with Barak Obama. Aside from touting his Irish ancenstry (his mother's side is from County Offaly), Obama gave an uplifting and supportive speech reassuring Northern Ireland that "the US will stand by those who work towards peace." Other discussions included prospects for investment and the relocation of US businesses to Northern Ireland. And in light of the occasion, the White House Fountains were dyed green! A first in White House history thanks to First Lady Michelle Obama!

President Barack Obama receives a bowl of shamrocks from Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen at the White House Photo: AP


From BBC News:

US President Barack Obama has said the people of Northern Ireland responded "heroically" to recent murders.

The dissident republican murders of two soldiers and a policeman sparked widespread public outrage.

President Obama said after watching former adversaries uniting in the face of what happened, he had never been so confident that peace would prevail.

He was speaking at a St Patrick's Day ceremony in the White House after meeting Taoiseach Brian Cowen.

"I want everyone listening to know this - the United States will always stand with those who work towards peace," he said.


Barack Obama met Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness
The murders earlier this month by dissident republicans of a police officer and two soldiers in the space of three days has placed renewed international focus on Northern Ireland.

President Obama said the "real question" was how the people of Northern Ireland would respond following the killings.

"Now we know the answer - they responded heroically. They and their leaders on both sides have condemned this violence and refrained from the old partisan impulses," he said.

"They've shown they judge progress by what you build and not what you tear down. And they know that the future is too important to cede to those who are mired in the past."

Reassured

President Obama also met Northern Ireland's first and deputy first ministers PeterRobinson and Martin McGuinness in the office of his national security adviser.

Mr Robinson said he believed both he and the deputy first minister had reassured Americans about the prospects for investment following the recent dissident republican murders.

He said that several US businesses were looking to relocate to Northern Ireland.

Mr McGuinness said "the dissidents' strategy would never unite Ireland in a million years".

The DUP and Sinn Fein MPs who lead Northern Ireland's devolved government had twice delayed their departure for the US because of the killings.

St Patrick's Day visits to the US by politicians from Belfast and Dublin have become a tradition, and the White House marked the occasion by putting green dye in the fountains.

The idea came from First Lady Michelle Obama, who was inspired by her hometown of Chicago's custom of dyeing the river green for the day.

After his meeting with Mr Cowen, President Obama said he hoped to visit Offaly, the Irish county from which his ancestor Falmouth Kearney emigrated to America.

He joked to Mr Cowen: "We may be cousins. We haven't sorted that through yet."

Peace Protest at Belfast City Hall

Thousands stand in silence outside Belfast City Hall in one of a number of rallies across Northern Ireland to protest at the murders of two soldiers and a policeman. Photograph: EPA

When I spoke to my parents back home about the shootings here, they were unphased. My dad said, "And? Police get shot here everyday!". I thought that was callous but I didn't expect them to understand. What they don't know is that just one event can set off another civil war. That is how volatile and fragile this society still is.

I asked Craig if we can go into town for the Protest. Without hesitation he said, "No". Not that he was against it but in the back of his mind he can't help but think what might happen. I didn't want to argue because I know he'll give me a speech about getting caught in the middle of a riot which he has experienced many times as an innocent bystander. He's told me numerous times that just one minor incident can trigger a riot that can escalate very quickly. He even gets paranoid that a riot will ensue walking among the drunkards on the Dublin Road. I don't blame him for looking out for our safety. So I just watched it on tv. I saw people in droves gathered in solidarity to express how much they don't want to relive the past. People holding signs "No more killings" and "No Going Back". Everyone from all walks of life gathered today with one goal in mind...for unity and peace. I can't imagine what people felt. Probably disappointed and confused. A protest like this is unnecessary during a time of peace. Their healing wounds have been reopened and are reminded of the painful memories of the past. They never thought they would go back to this again. But today was the perfect opportunity to show themselves and the rest of the world that Belfast is redefining itself. And that its people will continue to strive for peace because their children and future deserve it.

Dare I say it, but props to loyalist paramilitaries for keeping their heads straight by not retaliating and adding fuel to the fire.

Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Northern Ireland today for silent vigils to protest against the murders of two soldiers and a policeman by dissident republicans.

Carrying placards reading "No Going Back", more than 2,000 people gathered in front of Belfast City Hall. As a lone bagpiper played a lament, the crowd fell silent for five minutes.

Former paramilitary convicts stood alongside mothers cradling children. Some people wept while others shook hands and offered condolences to police.

Aidan Kane, a paramedic who attended the rally with his six-year-old boy on his shoulders, said he was a Catholic who grew up in an area "where the police were the enemy". But he said: "If my wee lad here wants to be a policeman when he grows up, I'd be proud."

John Batch, 49, told Reuters: "What has happened over the last 10 years should not be surrendered. I grew up through the Troubles in Belfast. I don't want that for my children."

Other vigils were held in Londonderry, Newry, Downpatrick and Lisburn.

Speaking outside Belfast City Hall, Peter Bunting, the assistant general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions which helped organise the protests, said people were delivering a strong message that they did not want a return to bloodshed.

"This lunchtime thousands of citizens are gathering to collectively share moments of silence," he said.

"The trade union movement stands together with all citizens in solidarity to prevent any derailment of the peace process. The callous attacks of the past few days were an assault on every citizen who supports peace.

"Here in Belfast, and in Newry, and in Londonderry, and at spontaneous gatherings across our land, workers and their families are making clear their abhorrence at these murders and the direct threat to the peace process."

Security on the Irish border was tightened today in response to the upsurge in terrorist violence.

Additional checkpoints have been set up on the frontier after a security review by the Garda Siochana. The assistant garda commissioner, Mick Feehan, who heads the force's northern region, has instructed local commanders to increase checkpoints and mobile patrols on the border with Northern Ireland.

Fears of loyalist paramilitary retaliation over Real IRA and Continuity IRA attacks subsided today after the Ulster Defence Association ruled out any revenge attacks.

The UDA leader, Jackie McDonald, praised the Sinn Féin MP and deputy first minister, Martin McGuinness, for his strong condemnation of the killers.

"The IRA blew the two communities apart during the Troubles but the Real IRA and Continuity have actually united the people like never before," the UDA chief said at today's rally in Belfast.

"There is no place in this society for these people [the dissident republicans] but it's up to the police alone to deal with them," McDonald said. "People on the loyalist side are determined not to fall into any more traps. That's what groups like the Continuity IRA and Real IRA want us to do. There is no reason to go there again and nobody wants to go back. Loyalism has matured an awful lot in recent years."

The UDA commander revealed that the organisation's political allies, the Ulster Political Research Group, held talks this morning with the Sinn Féin mayor of Belfast, Tom Hartley.

Hartley later confirmed that the ground-breaking meeting between himself and the UDA's political voice had taken place, with the aim of calming fears within the loyalist community. He said loyalists had a "very important" role to play in building peace.

The other main loyalist paramilitary organisation, the Ulster Volunteer Force, has already made clear its opposition to any return to violence in response to the recent attacks.

During prime minister's questions, Gordon Brown said the murderers should not be allowed to destroy the achievements of the peace process and said today's vigils showed "the unyielding resolution to say with one voice that the peace that the people of Northern Ireland are building no murderers should ever be allowed to destroy".

The prime minister sent his condolences to the families and friends of Sappers Mark Quinsey and Patrick Azimkar, who were shot dead on Saturday, and PC Stephen Carroll, who was killed on Monday. David Cameron, the Conservative leader, said the most important thing was that everyone in the province worked with the PSNI to ensure the "callous killers" were caught, charged and convicted.

The pope joined in the condemnation of the killings, describing them as "abominable acts of terrorism" during an address to pilgrims in St Peter's square, Vatican City.

Feehan said that despite the murder of Carroll, there were no plans to withdraw a small number of Garda officers who were working on secondment at the PSNI as part of an exchange programme between the two police forces.

A man, aged 37, and a 17-year-old youth remained in custody today after being arrested in the Craigavon area yesterday. They were being questioned about the Continuity IRA murder of Carroll, the first member of the PSNI to die at the hands of terrorists.

Meanwhile, Northern Ireland's first and deputy first ministers have left for the US after twice postponing their trip because of the murders. Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness are hoping to persuade US investors to set up businesses in Northern Ireland. During their tour, the DUP and Sinn Féin MPs will attend a St Patrick's Day celebration at the White House hosted by Barack Obama. - Henry McDonald, Esther Addley and Haroon Siddique, guardian.co.uk

This is Not on Seriously!

A policeman was shot in the head yesterday at Craigavon 20 miles outside of Belfast. As if the 2 soldiers weren't enough? Remember the post about what I said about PSNI? This is a prime example.

And why the heck did it take Sinn Fein 12 hours to release a statement after the first shooting?

I'm so done with this shit.

There's Always Some ASSHOLE Who Ruins It for Everyone!!!

Just when you think everyone in Northern Ireland is finally at a stage where they can sit back, relax and get on with their lives, this shit happens:

Two army personnel were shot dead during a drive-by shooting at an army base in Co Antrim last night, raising fears that the grim spectre of terrorism has returned to haunt Northern Ireland.

Two more military personnel were wounded along with two civilians in what is believed to be the first major terrorist attack in the province for over a decade. All four are said to be in a "serious" condition.

The shootings occurred at the Massereene Army base in Antrim, 16 miles north of Belfast, at 21.40 last night. It is understood that a car or van pulled up outside the main gates. Soldiers and security staff thought pizzas were being delivered and walked straight into an ambush.

Read more from The Observer

This saddens me. It really does. But to tell you the truth, I saw something like this coming. Everything I've read about The Troubles, social unrest escalated at the highest point of unemployment at the lowest period of the economy. And guess what, people? We're in a recession! When people don't have jobs to go to, what else is there to do?

But still, it isn't an excuse to resort to violence. When will they learn that violence doesn't solve anything? Haven't they learned it hasn't worked for oh say...the past few hundred years?!?!

I'm kind of freaked out now. I actually have nervous knots in my stomach and I feel like I want to puke! I hope they nip this in the bud soon and catch those terrorists. I'm sure most of the good people in Belfast agree that what they did was a very stupid, stupid, stupid act. My fingers are crossed that everyone in the city stays safe.

UPDATE: The reason for their attack was in retaliation for the SAS being sent to NI to gather intelligence on Real IRA.