Wouldn't it be nice if...

[Denny]

Some terrorist manages to blow up Blair and Brown.

In fact it would be really good.

In fact it would excellent.

In fact it would be......

GLORIOUS

Just thought I'd slip that in while I still can

BANG goes your security clearance.

[xoggoth]

What? Lose my security clearance??

No more living in the country's dullest city doing dull tulipty contract work? Back to living off the wife's earnings again??

Boom! Boom! GLORIOUS! ANOTHER bunch of stinky government officials in small bits! Boom! Glorious! Boom! Boom! Glorious! Boom! Boom! Glorious! Boom!

[jenever]

Too good for them

whatever happened to stabitty, stabitty Xog? That sounded quite therapeutic.

[xoggoth]

True. Stabbing politicians with stabbity stabbity could be set to a fine range of music to suit all tastes. Blowing them up is much more limited, basically there is only the 1812 overture

Dah dah dah dah dah dah haah ha dah
da da da da da da da da da da
booooooooooooooooom!
da da da da da
booooooooooooooooooooooom!
da da da

Don't want Straw or Clarke blown up as I don't mind either, fairly honest and straight chaps by New Labour standards. I certainly don't want Prescott blown up, not because I like him, but because half of England would be covered in rancid tulipe, albeit with rather less intelligence than that substance usually manages.

[stackpole]

It really pisses me off too, how these bloody politicians always spend umpteen million protecting themselves from the terrorism that their unjustified and self-glorifying actions have mostly caused, like a totally one sided support for Israel regardless of what that awful country does and the pointless Iraq war.

Israel was created largely thanks to the terrorist Stern gang.

[Jabberwocky]

Xog, as a citizen of this great nation I am compelled to invoke the much needed new terror legislation and turn you into the authorities. Shortly, some of our boys will be calling at your abode. These guys are heros, defenders of democracy, committed men and women serving our nation and spreading the word of freedom throughout the country.

They will blow the head off everything that moves.

[Fungus]

Israel was created largely thanks to the terrorist Stern gang.

The main Jewish terrorist groups in Palestine were Hagana, the Stern Gang and Irgun. More than a few serving Israeli government ministers, including I think Menachim Begin, were at one time members of those organisations.

I would say that Britain has the most responsibility for the creation of the state of Israel. We had control over Palestine from 1917 as a result of the break up of the Ottoman Empire. It was one of the spoils of war. We then allowed large scale Jewish immigration into Palestine allowing Jews to gain a significant stronghold. Without that large power base, it's unlikely that they could have formed an independent state. During its rule Britain ignored the wishes of the Arabs who initially were by far the largest group in Palestine. Hence the bloody mess that we see today, whereby many Arabs feel, not surprisingly, that Israel is the illegitimate child of colonialism and has no right to exist.

[xoggoth]

Quite agree, the whole thing of Empire sucked and the state of Israel should never have been created.

One can hardly just reverse such things and ignore the current population. Pity the Palestinians didn't have the sense the IRA had and use the power of past terrorism to get a decent settlement. There seemed to be a chance a few years back under a more moderate Israeli leadership and with a sensible US president in power but the likes of Hamas wrecked it. No point engaging in a perpetual struggle that can never be won.

[Fungus]

Quite agree, the whole thing of Empire sucked and the state of Israel should never have been created.

One can hardly just reverse such things and ignore the current population. Pity the Palestinians didn't have the sense the IRA had and use the power of past terrorism to get a decent settlement. There seemed to be a chance a few years back under a more moderate Israeli leadership and with a sensible US president in power but the likes of Hamas wrecked it. No point engaging in a perpetual struggle that can never be won.

Indeed. Isreal is a reality, and Hamas et al have to realise that. However, even with the Oslo Accord signed, Israel carried on expanding settlements, and building roads, and checkpoints. So it's hardly surprising that Hamas et al carried on murdering and maiming innocents, and that Fatah lost popularity. It made a mockery of any agreements.

The problem as I see it is that the occupied territories are full of young disaffected people, and most hate Israelis. There is anarchy, with numerous competing terrorist groups. At best we will see the birth of an extremist Islamo-Fascist state. Israel for all its faults is a modern democracy. At least for those subjects within its borders.

The only real answer is for Europe and America to put pressure on Israel to pull out of the West Bank, and Palestinians to cease all terrorism, eradicate corruption and nepotism, recognise the right of Israel to exist, and sign up to full democracy. Fat chance.