Jaded Isle

Parnell Street, under fire

From a somewhat dubious source...

Armed British police to patrol Dublin streets for Queen's visit with fears of dissident attack - Daily Mail
Larissa Nolan and John Lee - Sunday, May 15, 2011

The Government is allowing up to 120 armed British police officers to patrol the streets of Irish cities to protect Queen Elizabeth II on her State visit to Ireland this week.
Amid growing security fears, a huge force of the Metropolitan Police's royalty protection force carrying Glock pistols and Heckler & Koch submachine guns will join gardaí in ensuring her safety.

Clearly, the powers that be are not content with abrogating civil liberties for most of the city centre (with illegal searches, restrictions on right to protest, travel, speech etc). More must be done.

In a particularly strong spasm of its death-throes, the Irish state now welcomes even more armed police onto the streets of Dublin, this time from a foreign power.

Re-enacting the days of occupation by a foreign power with our own anti-democratic security forces was just not good enough; we had to bring some of the old boys back.

After all the worry about whether the Irish people would welcome the Queen (and I think they would), a fervent effort is being made to ensure that ordinary people's lives are inconvenienced to such an extent that will resent the fact that Elizabeth II ever came here, as they are kettled in their own streets, have guns pointed at them on the pavements and are searched in their offices.

In fact, basically no-one will get the chance to meet or see the Queen, nor she them. The roads around her visit will lie empty, "for security reasons". She may as well have not come at all. But sure isn't it a great excuse to oppress the man in the street! Aye, 'tis.

"I was always willing to be reasonable until I had to be unreasonable.
Sometimes reasonable men must do unreasonable things."
- Martin "Killdozer" Heemeyer