[OT?] Good idea... let's free the terrorists for New Year's - Ireland

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Uh... what's wrong with this picture? Tons of warnings about the possibility of terrorists taking advantage of Y2K to do their dirty deeds. And then there's this article:

N.Irish Maze prison to release guerrillas for Xmas

Updated 7:21 PM ET December 22, 1999

LONDON, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Northern Ireland's Maze Prison is to release 139 convicted guerrilla extremists for Christmas and the New Year, the Times newspaper reported on Thursday.

Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Mandelson ordered that all inmates jailed for extremism during 30 years of strife in the British province should be let out for 12 days over the Christmas period as "a confidence measure," the paper said.

Inmates to enjoy Christmas and New Year at home include James McArdle, jailed for his part in the 1996 London Docklands bombing.

A total of 330 prisoners, including the convicted guerrillas, will be freed from Maze prison for the period.

The move comes less than a week after Britain freed top IRA guerrilla Padraig Wilson under Northern Ireland's Good Friday peace accord. Wilson had also been kept at Maze prison, outside Belfast.

Northern Ireland's peace process received a new lease of life this month following the creation of a power-sharing government of Protestants and Roman Catholics and a decision by the IRA to discuss disarming.

-- Linda (lwmb@psln.com), December 22, 1999

Answers

It sounds like a condition is being met. Such as...."free these people by christmas or else..... know what i mean vern?

-- cin (cinlooo@aol.com), December 23, 1999.

...and one more piece of the puzzle slips so "tightly" into place. We almost have the whole picture. It should be ready for framing on, oh say, Jan. 1 ?

-- Rob (maxovrdrv51@hotmail.com), December 23, 1999.

To all yanks, this is the annual good will gesture extended to the boys (for BOTH sides usually) If wee kelly green "merkins" had been paying a little more attention since oh say, Jan 1972 and Bloody Sunday, you would be well aware that the Crown often extends annual yuletide amnesty. They also give temp. amnesty for humanitarian reasons such as attending a funeral of a parent/child etc. Very different legal system in the UK/North, no death penalty but also no "BILL OF RIGHTS" for example. The "British Isles" basically close beginning about 3 p.m. on Christmas Eve and stay that way for days. 24th/25th/26th. St. Stephens/Boxing Day on 26th etc, horse races and soccer matches on tv in pubs. Airport flights/ferries/customs cease. Not much in the way of in or out. The lads will be scooped back up and deposited in the coop before then. Then again, you can never put anything past Perfidious Albion. From what I hear, they are turning Thames side into a giant parking lot and 36 hours, that's right, 36 hours of continuous drinking on Rollover. Even the Republic has enuf horsesense to shut the pubs after a decent interval on New Year's Eve. If it's anarchy in the UK, it will probably be MI5 "skinheads" but the lads will be sure to take the blame for it. Think WTO riots.

-- Sally Hemmings (286yrsinUSA@slavery.com), December 23, 1999.

P.S. Linda in reference to your post: Let's free the terrorist's for New Year's - Ireland. Darling, that is NORTHERN IRELAND, aka "Norn Iron". Not the ROI Republic of Ireland. If you ever visit the dear boggy sod, be sure you do not make that mistake in the south. You will NEVER hear the end of it. 2 different nations, 2 different policies, 2 different governments etc. etc. ad nauseum.

-- Sally Hemmings (286yrsinUSA@slavery.com), December 23, 1999.

Sorry Sally... was trying to keep the subject line short.. shouldn't have taken that particular shortcut.

-- Linda (lwmb@psln.com), December 23, 1999.


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