I recently had the chance to speak to some friends in the Short Strand. I used to live in the Markets area across from the Short Strand on New Bonn Street which sadly got in the way of progress and no longer exists. A street of old three story character homes replaced with red brick boxes. Any way I digress. After speaking with my friends the consensus on the ground seems to be that this was an act of thuggery and people don't want to live with this happening in their neighbourhood. Even Gerry Adams has called it thuggery and called on anyone who has any information to come forward.

There has even been a call for the IRA to disband. Why are the needed anymore? The way forward should be through political means. Sounds good on paper.

But what if the IRA were to go away. What then. We don't seem to be progressing well politically do we. I think even a blind man on a galloping horse has at least some inkling that loyalists and unionists do not want to share power when it comes to the governance of N.Ireland. The loyalists are still armed to the teeth. Ethnic cleansing is still high on their agenda. As can be seen by all the attacks on immigrants of late. So its not only catholics that loyalists can't abide living with. The word rascist attack has now joined sectarian attack in the Ulster lexicon. So will the repackaged RUC have a sudden change of heart and decide maybe to serve and protect nationalists. Their record over the last thirty years speaks for itself in that regard. Supplying weapons to the loyalist trigger men. Giving them safe passage in and out of nationalist areas. Maybe the British army will fill the breach. No I'm afraid we've been down that road too. Their hands are as bloody as the loyalists. Hmmm what to do. Well I'm sure we'll have some advise soon from our resident experts and we can put it all behind us and get back to living together peacefully, happy ever after. Oh wait scratch get back to living peacfully.