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[I also believe that he was, just like his brothers, an IRA operative,]

The British state is now saying that PF was not in the IRA, yet at one stage most of the RUC special branch, MI5 and that army unit that Brian Nelson was attached to believed otherwise. That's precisely why he was set up to be murdered. The British government has changed its tune because it suits it to do so. To argue that PF was an IRA man would create the impression that the government was trying to justify the actions of state agents in murdering him. It would also keep the thing rumbling on when the government desperately wants to put a lid on it. It doesn't want a public enquiry that might reveal more details about the extent of collusion at the time, or which might start shining a light on how high up the involvement actually went. Much better, therefore, to issue a few apologies and blame it all on a few rogue operatives, who are mostly dead, out of service, or local thugs.

All this, of course, suits the republican agenda, which is happy  to portray PF as the innocent human rights activist cruelly cut down in his prime by the big bad Brits. I believe he was murdered by the state and that the murder was inexcusable. I also believe that he was, just like his brothers, an IRA operative, who was taking information in and out of the prisons under the cover of his professional duties.

Show me some proof and your argument wont seem like a turkey on christmas eve,hopeless,
Your reverse pscyhology argument is showing you up like the alcoholic who says he will give up the booze in the morning but knowing full well that wont happen.

Who do you buy though? Who is available that would solve the problem?

David Becknam maybe.would improve the bus pass eligibility criteria in midfield

even Mr Cameron explained this morning that there was a campaign of disinformation ref Mr Finucane, you can't blame someone for trusting their sources. Again he's willing to come and discuss which I think is a very welcome addition to the forum...

Maybe 20 years ago it could be forgiven but Finucane was cleared by many reports in the meantime. Repeating the lies here is only shit-stirring and insulting.

So you're convinced that PF wasn't in the IRA because a succession of British-state sponsored reports have said so? Just to be clear: that would be the same British state, presumably, that targeted him and colluded with loyalist killers to murder him in the first place? The same British state that might now have a vested interest in denying that PF was ever in the IRA, because to do otherwise would expose it to the accusation of retrospectively justifying his murder? The same British state that might be far better off just issuing a few apologies and claiming that a few rotten apples at the bottom of the barrel were to blame (especially as most of these rotten apples, as Mrs Finucane has pointed out, are dead or no longer serving with British forces) rather than risk a whole can of worms being opened up? That's the same British state you're citing to support your view that PF wasn't a Provo?
Fair enough. Each to his own.

So you are saying now that the brit goverment has made up the findings of the da silva report so that they now seem to be some sort of apologetic man that we now all have to feel sympathy for and take at face value that there was wrong one time in their past but all is rosy now and should be forgiven. but your twisted mindset still thinks instead the oppsite is the case and your view of mr Finucane being an active member of PIRA is the correct opinion.

I knew you were of the same pedigree as one of those hairs on the ballbag of a diseae infected rat but your last statement just confirms my findings

Just seen a picture on rte news of a road block on donegall road with a placard saying welcome to british south belfast.
Does this mean that the loyalist protesters believe that there is an irish south belfast under the juristiction of the republic?

Was worried about the game yesterday against st johnstone and was right.their on a good run at the moment and lomas has them flying.again lack of focus and composure lost the bhoys two points.need to bounce back quickly as hibs had a good win early sunday against the arabs.
on that game watched it and it was super game.end to end and fenlon has hibs playing super stuff.some turn around and shows why dundee utd were mad to get him few years back.id say thompson wished now he had spalshed the cash to get him.
Both teams had a high representation from ireland (both sides of the border) and mcgivern and eoin doyle really impressed me.

Cream always rises.

you were right for once

That was special.ive had some great nights watching this great club but thats a memeory ill always have.immense doesnt even come close to the performance of the bhoys tonight.
they have done what man u,aresnal,madrid and most other top european clubs have failed to do in recent years and beat this great barcalona side in europe.

special praise has to go to lennon.his attitude and ability has matured so much in twelve months.
ill enjoy tonight but a tricky home game against at johnstone on sunday will help focus the minds on the league.
hibs could go top with a win at home to the arabs on sunday morning so a win on sunday is vital.

is the helsinki game on telly tonight

Have to agree with everything rossfan said about Saturdays game however this has been coming all year and its only when we got down to the do or die championship end of things are we shown up to what we truly are.A poorly managed and ran set up.
I'm all for optimism but from what ive seen since the first Sunday in January in ballyforan up until last saturday the lads in charge don't have it its as simple as that.
We can win every under age title till the cows come home but until we start using players who are A up to the level and B want to play and C are properly managed we are flogging a dead horse.
There are too many players not up to high level championship and the good players we have cant be expected to carry them all the time.
We are an absolute disaster for thinking we are better than we actually are.Im all for confidence but until we realise that we are an average team at the moment and try and improve our playing panel will then there are going to be  more false dawns.
I didn't expect to win last Saturday but i was hoping that they might prove me wrong and put up a good performance but that was even impossible.

Lar i dont believe the money debacle is connected but i do believe that the county set up in terms of management bar one exception and county board personnel is poor and its based on a who you are and who you know and how big is your club.
I predict a sizeable amount of amalgamation in the next few years in Roscommon and i believe that this will aid the senior team but the county board at the moment are closing their eyes on this problem and like our beloved government and Europe are only kicking the can down the dusty lane blinding themselves in the process.

I just watched that - he seems a bit unstable.

Without a doubt he has mental problems, nobody could naturally be that much of a prat.

Except you of course.

Some of this stuff is crazy.
Men getting party donations and keeping it for themselves.
Donations as big as 50,000 punt back in the nineties.That was some donation back then.Would that equate to 200k in todays value taking all factors into consideration.

I know this is probably a stupid question but is there any liklihood that any criminal proceedings will be brought against some of these clowns?

I know alot of this is stuff we already know but just reading some of the findings on rte and bertie and p fylnn not coming out at all smelling well.

A load of nonsense

[They also know that if fergie really wanted to be in the next round he would be in it. The Europa league is not for Manchester United.]

Happy enough with this. All efforts on number 20 now.

Your happy enough to see the team you claim to support get tore a new one in Europe by a team 30plus points behind the leaders in their league?
Most fans I know hate seeing their team lose whatever the tournament as I'd say most die hard United fans would hate this tonight.

You are wrong. Most 'die hard' UTD fans see the bigger picture of the PL. They know that UTD have a better chance of winning the PL if they do not have the distraction of Thursday night football in God knows where. They also know that if fergie really wanted to be in the next round he would be in it. The Europa league is not for Manchester United.

Without a doubt the most stupidest thing i have ever read on this board.

Calling you an idiot would be an insult to idiots.

Dunno, I'm finding the whole thing fascinating on a number of levels. I've never really took an interest in soccer although there's pictures about of me wearing the hoops as a child. In fairness I can claim a tenuous link through my grandfather who lined out for them in the '20's before returning home as a founder member and player for the green and white hoops of the Highmoss Sarsfields. Always wondered if there was a link between the skips.

Anyhow, from a geeky point of view, the rangerstaxcase blog exemplifies the value of crowdsourced investigative journalism. Not only did the bloggers and commenters  "pull down the facade at Rangers” exposing the greed and corruption, but also the shear lunacy of the 'win at all costs mentality' of professional soccer. From what I've read, Rangers had a number of opportunities over the past decade to rein in the spending and get themselves on an even keel but they choose instead to spend millions more and gamble on European glory. They've bankrupted themselves in an attempt to buy bragging rights over their neighbours. Crazy. No notion of fairness or sportsmanship exist is this game, it's not even about winning, it's about dominating all around you. If the GAA ever goes professional, I'll cease to me a member the same day.

On a cultural level the contrast is amusing. Okay, I'm a fenian, so I'm going to be biased. I've never been to a soccer game and my only experience of soccer culture outside Ireland is the last couple of weeks on the "kerrydalestreet" and "rangermedia" forums. However, the cultural differences between the two boards is a bit mad. For example on "kerrydalestreet", swearing and cursing is banned while on "rangermedia" you'd do well to get through a post without someone f**king your sister, mother or daughter. "kerrydalestreet" has 'jelly and ice-cream',  "rangermedia" has 'vodka and charlie'. "kerrydalestreet" threads will usually run to 20 or 30 pages of discussion while on "rangermedia" you'll be lucky to get more than 3 and most of those will be inane adolescent rants which invariably end up in someone accused of being a 'bead-rattling tim paedophile' - one I read the other day had posters wishing a 9 year had his legs broken because he scored a goal against a Rangers youth team.

I didn't know until I read this thread that Celtic fans had a history of claiming establishment conspiracies against them but from reading the coverage of this story I have been genuinely amazed how the media have been giving an easy ride to the various players in the Rangers saga. A bigger dose of gangsters, chancers, gombeens, conmen, free-loaders, idiots and outright psychopaths has never to my knowledge ever blighted this earth but the Scottish media seems oblivious to them all - as do their politicians.

Excellant post