Belfast rioting over removal of Union Jack

[NAG1]

He is doing well to type anything from a straitjacket.

Unreal, long may they continue to be lead by such baffoons, it would actually be completely laughable if it wasn't slightly scary when you read some of the literature that this boy is producing.

[Main Street]

Simply no excuses. The police cannot be forgiven for tip toeing around a bunch of teenage scumbags for fear of upsetting them. If it was just in East Belfast it would be nothing more than an easy excuse, where the paramilitaries are rife, but the cops are employing the same facilitation strategy across the board. Places like Omagh, a majority Catholic town with no real active loyalist paramilitary group and the same small group of scumbags are out on a regular basis, illegally blocking the roads at rush hour and kicking blocked cars while the police stand around with them having a good ol' yarn. Unacceptable. Meanwhile, in the same town a few weeks ago, in the wee small hours when there was little or no traffic, five or six lads singing a celtic song at the side of the road outside a pub, were charged into, several were hit with batons and two were arrested. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbGm_7Gg3Ow

No doubt you've asked your local Sinn Féin MLA/MP to get their reps on the Policing Board to raise your valid complaint.
I presume you will also make a complaint to the Police Ombudsman.
Or are you just happy to bitch on the Gaaboard.....

No need for that in these. mea culpa post-RUC times.

The 'Chief Constable of the PSNI has apologized to nationalist residents in Belfast whose homes were attacked by loyalist protesters over the weekend.' "Residents should not have been put through that. I'm sorry they were put through that trauma."
when around 200 loyalists broke away from the main protest route and marched through the nationalist Short Strand area where they clashed with residents.

Of course, this not discount the BBC radio reports of Short Strand residents (aka bigots) actively engaging in sectarian conflict by attacking peaceful marchers on their way home

[Applesisapples]

Yeah you are probably right. Being too heavy handed would be counter productive really.  The more heavy handed they are the more likely someone, probably a police officer, is to get killed. If you look at some incidents on saturday the police could actually trap these guys easy enough but it would get very messy.

Interesting blog here http://garethrussellcidevant.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-protestants-of-ireland-know-nothing.html. It's a unionist guy blogging but it is an articulate and fairly objective blog which is refreshing to see for a change. (Both the articulate and the objective parts)

This is an interesting and well thought out article that makes many good points.  However it does worry me slightly that a graduate of St Peter's College Oxford, who also hold a Master's in Mediaeval History from Queen's, and has written two novels, uses the phrase "wrapped harshly over the knuckles"...twice.  Had it not been for that I'd have given him an A+.

It's well thought out from a unionist perspective as he talks about all the concessions have been on the unionist side.

Well if fair employment legislation, and equal rights to housing, education, an impartial policing service etc are deemed a concession then yes they've had to make concessions but that tells you more about where we were than where we are now.

And yet despite all of these concessions more catholic areas are in the top 30 for social and economic deprivation, I believe only 2 loyalist areas make it and catholics are still more likely to be unemployed. This is something the media and Unionist politicians conveniently ignore.

[Hereiam]

There is no doubt that orders are coming from westminister for the RUC to keep there distance and let these poor subjects go about there business. As we have seen in the past if the nationalist side were to try and carry on like this the good people would have been shown no mercy what so ever.

[Jeepers Creepers]

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/loyalist-flag-protester-jamie-bryson-hit-by-ifa-ban-for-violence-16261619.html

Cant help himself

[johnneycool]

I got talking to a copper the other night and was giving them a hard time for their softly softly approach to these yahoos blocking roads and whatnot and they told me that they arrested a lot more especially around Sandy Row after a bit of rioting and their commanding officer told them to let them go as 'it would be easier in the long run'.

WTF!

[Armaghgeddon]

This Bryson lad is comedy gold but not in a positive way, for him anyway.

[Nally Stand]

Over 40 days of loyalist riots and that great republican Micheal Martin gets a special column in the Irish News to talk about it...but uses it to bitch about SF. There's a shock. I'm sure, thanks to your unwavering support Micheal, the good people of the Short Strand will welcome you with open arms when your party comes looking for votes there at the next...oh...wait....

[All of a Sludden]

Over 40 days of loyalist riots and that great republican Micheal Martin gets a special column in the Irish News to talk about it...but uses it to bitch about SF. There's a shock. I'm sure, thanks to your unwavering support Micheal, the good people of the Short Strand will welcome you with open arms when your party comes looking for votes there at the next...oh...wait....

FF don't take part in British elections. 

[ziggysego]

Over 40 days of loyalist riots and that great republican Micheal Martin gets a special column in the Irish News to talk about it...but uses it to bitch about SF. There's a shock. I'm sure, thanks to your unwavering support Micheal, the good people of the Short Strand will welcome you with open arms when your party comes looking for votes there at the next...oh...wait....

FF don't take part in British elections. 

Good job Belfast isn't in Britain

[ziggysego]

The fleg protesters are going to protest outside the Stephen Nolan Show on BBC 1 tonight. I might actually tune in tonight.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/loyalist-flag-protesters-target-stephen-nolan-16261909.html

[AQMP]

Eamon Gilmore due in Belfast tomorrow   That should calm things down!

[Arthur_Friend]

Over 40 days of loyalist riots and that great republican Micheal Martin gets a special column in the Irish News to talk about it...but uses it to bitch about SF. There's a shock. I'm sure, thanks to your unwavering support Micheal, the good people of the Short Strand will welcome you with open arms when your party comes looking for votes there at the next...oh...wait....

FF don't take part in British elections. 

According to the latest poll around 21% of free-staters are ready to vote for FF again!

[Nally Stand]

Over 40 days of loyalist riots and that great republican Micheal Martin gets a special column in the Irish News to talk about it...but uses it to bitch about SF. There's a shock. I'm sure, thanks to your unwavering support Micheal, the good people of the Short Strand will welcome you with open arms when your party comes looking for votes there at the next...oh...wait....

FF don't take part in British elections. 

According to the latest poll around 21% of free-staters are ready to vote for FF again!

No doubt come election time, about a quarter of them will be seeking FF to run the show again. Which is fair enough, because it's not as if FF have ever bankrupted the place and surrendered sovereignty or anything like that!

[All of a Sludden]

Over 40 days of loyalist riots and that great republican Micheal Martin gets a special column in the Irish News to talk about it...but uses it to bitch about SF. There's a shock. I'm sure, thanks to your unwavering support Micheal, the good people of the Short Strand will welcome you with open arms when your party comes looking for votes there at the next...oh...wait....

FF don't take part in British elections. 

Good job Belfast isn't in Britain

Technically you are right ziggy, shall we settle on the United Kingdom? Do you take euros up there?