h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Considering no-one apart from a couple of people replying to the original OP and one of them having legitimate posts hidden the thread might as well creep onto this subject. No-one else seems to be bothered about NI...which says alot.

Yes, I suppose thats an improvement from when it always used to be in the news

Yes, it was always in the news but was anyone not in NI or knowing anyone NI really that bothered? What was happening over there as long as it didn’t mean a potential bomb in a shopping centre somewhere in the UK?

Compare with Iraq: car bombs everyday against soldiers sometimes but mainly civilians and Sunni versus Shia Muslims. Are we really that bothered? Yes, it’s terrible that people are getting senselessly murdered everyday but if they can’t sort out their religious and political differences themselves and it’s not going to affect me why should I be bothered if they can’t realise they are all Muslim?

Same with NI when you get down to basics. Terrible that people were getting killed everyday but when it got down to it being simply about protestant against catholic rather more specifically republican against unionist then they needed to stand back and realise they are all Northern Irish?

Just to keep you up-to-date with the way the Mods seem to find a reason to remove posts.

My first post was removed on these grounds:

"*Break the law, or condone or encourage unlawful activity. This includes defamation and contempt of court."

As I have said I then added info. It has been hidden again for (one of?) these reasons:

<"Postings to BBC Communities will be removed if they:

* Are considered likely to provoke, attack or offend others(NO IT WAS STRAIGHT FACT)
* Are racist, sexist, homophobic, sexually explicit, abusive or otherwise objectionable (NO IT WAS STRAIGHT FACT. THE FACTS MIGHT SEEM TO BE THESE BUT THEY ARE FACTS IN THE PUBLIC ARENA)
* Contain swear words (including abbreviations or alternative spellings) or other language likely to offend(NO NONE)

Discussions considered likely to have been started with the intention of provoking others or disrupting the Community will be removed.(OF COURSE, I WAS WANTING TO PROVOKE OTHERS BUT ON THE SUITABILITY FOR RUNNIGN A COUNTRY).>

I believe that they do not want links to data showing what the two 'gentlemen' who are running NI now have done as there is no other reason to hide the posts...especially as they have now changed their their minds on what it needs to be hidden for.

<shakes-head smiley)

quite frankly I don't care what their qualifications are (the two in N Ireland or any other politician)

In fact, I'd prefer they weren't all Oxbridge types - that definitely would lead to a lot more 'us and them' policies than we get even now.

As for the fact that they don't have project management experience... well, arguably they have. On the other hand - and this would be my biggest point: most of the Project Managers I have the misfortune to work with couldn't Project Manage their way out of a paper bag without a massive amount of help from their 'assistants' and even then they need a map, guide dog and a lot of hand holding.

In any case, to get back on topic: it is quite clear that Paisley and McGuinnes are both keen to move their country forwards. Compromise is a good place to start. More power to their elbows.

And I _never_ thought I'd be saying that.

oh and, since my last was a bit of a Post-21...

lots of people deeply care about Northern Ireland. Although it wasn't on the news every day, I and plenty of my friends, family and colleagues lived with the threat of death and violence every day for an awfully long time. Some of them are not around to tell the tale. And we weren't even in the country.

Well, I did summarise your valid points earlier in the thread when I posted "the bigot and the bomber".

Once, I would have agreed wholeheartedly, but I now think that the very fact that two such despicable people can set aside their obviously deep-rooted hatreds can only augur well for the future. I've heard it said that if Paisley had died before this moment, generations would have continued the fight in his name. Now that spectre of institutionalised violence has been removed.

Not qualified to run anything? Well Paisley started a party and a church, both of which have done rather well.

McGuinness, what did he run, now...

Anyway, as Yes Minister will teach you, the Civil Servants are the ones with experience who keep things running, no matter who's in charge.

And if experience of political office is a pre-requisite for election, we can look forward to a Labour government for the forseeable future, then!

Course we care, we're just fed up of all the old arguements.

Sho< lots of people deeply care about Northern Ireland. I and plenty of my friends, family and colleagues lived with the threat of death and violence every day for an awfully long time. Some of them are not around to tell the tale. And we weren't even in the country.>

Yes, so it affected you directly as it affected 'lots of people'. It affected a lot less people people in England, Scotland and Wales and therefore was something happening somewhere else to someone else and therefore not really worth thinking about too much.

Cynical but true.

I never said that.

Not directly. But you said that relevant experience was essential. That's the logical extension.

I agree that Northern Irelands new rulers are a thoroughly unpleasant pair, who probably deserve criminal investigation rather than political power.

But, the key point is, if they're willing to put aside their differences and work together now, at last, then the next generation of Northern Irish leaders will hopefully be rather more decent people.

No I said relevant experience of runnign a company or such like. A country is a giant company with lots of subsidaries.

Some political education might be appropriate but I am not saying relevant experience of political office. Like any job you only get direct expereince of a certain job by doing it. If we needed relevant experience of a job to get a certain job we would never get a job.

Transferable experience is what I am talking about.

What experience has John Reid got then? 10 ministries in 10 years, how could he possibly have any expert knowledge in any of these disparate fields.

Exactly, which is why democratically elected ministers aren't qualified to do the job...generally.

I don't agree that running a country is like running a company with lots of subsidiaries. I don't think that business acumen or market savviness is as important as charisma, dedication and an understanding of your electorate.

Looks like we'll have to agree to disagree on this one!

I think we will have to disagree here. "charisma, dedication and an understanding of your electorate" does not mean you have the savvy to actually make the right decisions, do the right thing, and have the training to create a solid long term plan for the country.

So you think we should vote in our MP's on an emotional stand point rather than a logical 'can they do the job' stand point.

I never trusr people whose charisma is bigger than what they actually say...look at Blair and Cameron both are all image.

Blair was lucky as everyone hated the Tories when he got in so he just had to say the right things charismatically.