Thers been a lot happening heer as you know over the last 3 weeks.

The lastest around me was Last night a frend was shot at while at work, they wer't hit but bullets went into walls behind them. Polic are involved this morning but its more than liklie the terrorist spoken about before with poppie etc or the other side making some of thir first majour moves at retaliasion.

I don't know if the news hit USA about st patriks day riotes but while you were eating corned beef i went to movies with L on way home we had to drive past 100's of people and looking right ther was burning cars etc up side streets. So i sat in the rest of the day in house and listened to the helicopets above, thir always a bad sighn as thir watching monitoring whatever goin on. They stoped about 8-9 at night.

Between myself and the riotes thir is a 30 foor river, i been joking with my frends that we were ok as they were too drunk to swimm. That side of the rivers mixed but mostlie catholic and this side of the river is mixed but mostlie protestant. behind my house 50 yards away is the big protestant estate, so we in the interface area, normalie ok but at this time while its unstable its not the idealist place to be.
I a bit nerviouse but not too scared, nerviouse of walking through it with L in his school uniforme, that the unifore identifies what people will think his religion.

Its not good at moment generallie heer as the whole level of activities gone skyward and if ratialiasions incress we'r all in for a rougher ride untill it can be stoped.

The threats being that it all esulates or the retaliasions incress. The main terrorist group on one side are the ones responciable for the omagh bombing ten yrs ago were 28 weer killed, so thir a bad enough bunch and the other side are making noises now. Their the ones who have been planting bombs since christmass, and killed the policman and two shouldeers few weekends ago.

i sure your boared sillie heering about this but i don't know anyone heer that aint worried at the lest and scared of imediant future.

so i thought id have a wee vent and ask for prayers for theis area of the world, cheers.

Celtic,…it sounds like you are living in a war zone. What am I saying? It is a war zone!

We haven’t been getting any of this on our news. I don’t understand that. Did any of you hear about the amok high school killer in Germany?

I thought things were supposed to get peaceful between the Protestants and Catholics. It is such a deep hate, and beyond my comprehension. Anyone hear what the Pope said? He now claims that Protestants don’t practice a religion. With statements like that, he should be dethroned. The drop outs out of the Catholic Church are record high in Germany.

Yes, it is a good idea to stay inside as long as those hoodlums run about. You take care of yourself and the little one.

tell me about the high school killings and no i not heared anything about it, don't know abou anyone else.

You mean dethroned, EW. Unlikely to happen though. There are also twice the number of reverts and converts to those who leave the Catholic Church. Anyway...

The origin of the struggle in Northern Ireland have a religious and political history.
A brief background:

Ireland was a constituent country of the United Kingdom prior to its independence in 1922. Catholicism was illegal in Ireland during the Protestant Reformation, as it was in England. Religious persecution was only one of the many abuses the Irish suffered under the English. They were also deprived of any participation in politics, were victims of abuse and suffered economically from landgrabs.

As a result of many rebellions, Ireland won its right to sovereignty and independence from the UK. Except for the northern part of the country. Northern Ireland remained as a constituent country of the United Kingdom (like Wales and Scotland) because there was disagreement between the republicans (those who want separation from the UK) and the unionists (those who want to remain as part of the UK). The unionists won ( at least, that's what they think).

The many years of conflict continue to centre on whether the Northern Ireland territory should be a part of the UK or the Republic of Ireland. The unionists are predominantly Protestants. The Republicans are predominantly Catholics.

The breaking point between the two sides is that the Irish Catholics continue to suffer. Whilst Catholics in mainland UK can achieve relative freedom in all aspects of life, it has not been the same for those in Northern Ireland. Poppie can provide more depth to the struggle in Northern Ireland from her personal experience.

There is a theological basis for what the Pope said about the Protestant Churches. However, setting theology aside, the Irish Protestants ought not to use the Pope as a flimsy excuse for their mischief. The English and Rev. Ian Paisley have done a far better job of that than any Pope.

Celt, we're getting very little coverage of the news here. Keep posting and please be careful. Praying for safety for you and Lucien.

celt, haven't heard anything on our news. I'm so grateful you have the river between you and the violence.

How are you explaining this to L without scaring the heck out of him? Do they address it in schoool?

Catholisisum always has considered itself the origional and true religion and has never properlie recognised protenstntisum as a legitimate entity in itself.

The pope saying that above now, he's onlie being consitent and saying the attitude which has existed all along. That protestants should follow catholic rule, as they seperated from within catholisisum, so they recognised themselfs as a new religion out of bones of catholisisum wearas protestants always did view themself as seprite from catholisisum as that was the point of protestantisum, kinda a freekie paradigium eh!

I don't wanna be part of it so i solved it by opting out of christianity.

this is onlie reallie a two religion countrie so my son gota be in one school (christion from either one of the two types)yet thers always this religgouse tension, thats whats bonkers. The tension not the religouse diffrenses or necassarily the religions.

Is this catholic protestant tension within the rest of europe? I know its thir in the states.

trouble is and i say it 100 times every religion views itself as the "right" one... with any outside religion being the wrong type or at best not quite good enough.

I am not defending the pope by any means for saying that statment but historicalie he's just saying what is and i think what any leader of a religion says about their owen religion.

I am not sure why he said it or in what contect and Heer ise't the centre of the world or catholisium but we gonna be heering a lot more about it over next while as catholic and protestant alike be fighting it out about that statment, bet both dig their heels in more now.

I gonna do a seperate post next to say why Northern ireland situasion aint a religouse war, becouse its about class and being identified as an insider or outsider and lack of cival rights. religion is used as how to identify whom but not the couse of the fight.

Theirs a peace agrement (good fri agrement) for about 10 yrs and giving up of guns etc in that time. Much has been done in that time.

the original violense erupted becouse of a seriouse hampering in cival rights with catholics, no one should be supresed and it was stuff like you could't vote if you din't owen a house and few catholics could owen houses. £30 yrs ago that was still being used and just one example of no cival rights as well as old boy networks agenst catholics so they coul't get jobs, latlie equality of employemt legistlasion been introduced to even out numbers and 10 yrs later thir still opperating positive descriminasion in favour of catholics as their underrepresented in some areas. Slowlie it changies.

the other couse for "war" as its called heer was Northern ireland being british ruled, when historicalie the british devided the countrie becouse they refused to give up ocupancy of it all so keept the north. The fighting been about that too. I am a scot but tecnicalie i am british, welsh the same and northern ireland the same, its the celtic plight. The catholics want it back to all ireland, the protestants don't its the one thing not being changed with the peace process.

Thats the justificasion for the catholic sides taking up arms, the other side will take up arms agenst the catholics again "becouse thir enimies of Ulster" another name for northern ireland is Ulster.

id agree with ireland being all irish hopefullie but i don't agree with the violense used to get it. Its ment to be a process within scotland too but most thats been achived has been devolusion, now Ni scotland and wealse are devolved which is a local type of government BUT England or Britan remans in sovern and in absolute control.

Like Australia, hong kong, India were all British colinies (Even part of the states at one time, rember)but the above countries all recived indipendanse from UK, so the celts want the same. Hence distane and or conflict with the brits today and violent in Northern ireland again.

So its about who rules what countrie and about identitie, independanse and freedom.

This is not a religouse war.

Uk and monacharkie is protestant so was once couse of biase and predijise agenst catholics which couse a lot of unrest, the hangover from then.

In Northern ireland religion is or was a social/cultural/class marker and sepearates identifies or tags people in to two camps which created cival rights defisets.

their aint arguing about religion per say just what happens to you if your from one religion or another.....and the united ireland prediciment.

thats a potted version for those of you not familure with the historie.

lola dotsie you two posted while i was righting the above posts and cutting pasting ....i gonna read yours now

The rioting happended from afternoon on paddies day and had stopped by 8 or 9 that night.

i think i was in heer an upset reading what type day you had verses noise of helicopters i was listening to.

L kept telling me it was about "patric, on the mountain with sheep and snakes ...why were they all drinking adult juice and being sillie". we went through it and i told him it was adults being sillie on "adult juice"....which is alcohole

we wre all a bit scared getting through area to get home but today when i went to pick him up they told me he was obsessed with alcohole and drunk people.......So somethings gone in an now the symptoms of his fear comming out. rember he can't communicate well or acuritlie or even imediatlie.

Bottom line i can't say how he is but he's internalised something about it, I will work it out with him, i hope.

The shouting was last night, and reported to police investigated this morning.

14 days ago poppies sister being held in her house with her familie wase't reported to police a lot ise't reported due to fear of repercusion. Poppies post is in heer at end of prayers for poppie.

the shoting into police shop/station was 2 nights ago, not on our news either.

I have frends in armie and polise and both said it did happen, so media blacking it out. So not to give other side more justificsasion to kick off, same arguments about the bombs being hushed up.

we onlie know about poppie sister becouse it was her sister, no news. My frend becouse its my frend. Polic station becouse i know police and armie.

But if they (terrorists)have a mind to they will esculate violse untill someone dies like policmen and 2 armie then they get thir news covarage, so if they do cover it their be trouble and if they don't they be trouble, just diffrent types. As news about bombs went public onlie after 3 men diead in one weekend.

I think me poppie chattie and lola maybee some others descused policman and sholders dead in current affares, last week but it didn't go on long.

With the news coverage being hushed up what gets more scarrie is onlie knowing part of it. Statisticalie, thers gotta be loads going on thats we don't even know of. If you don't know how can ya tell if it's gotton worse.

everyone i know of from heer who is old enough to rember the "old days" is scared with what has been reported and all of a sudden its gone from being hushed and people being unseattled.... to everyone i know of being back to high fear and anxiety. The peace prosess ment to be a given and solid yet it appers very fragile thing afterall.