4 ms·

The most comical part was the words were still spoken by an actor trying to lip sync. Which made a mockery of the intent to deny terrorists the oxygen of public

The most comical part was the words were still spoken by an actor trying to lip sync. Which made a mockery of the intent to deny terrorists the oxygen of publicity - in every news broadcast. They didn't think that one through too far. :) > asking difficult questions like "how will this work" and "will it achieve the stated purpose" I think that's been steadily dying since the mid and later Thatcher years, and accelerated rapidly under Blair. This current lot have just achieved peak "strong and stable" absurdity. It really takes some doing to achieve a slogan the journos are taking the piss out of on the first and second day it's used.

Veen 8y ago
It is a good thing that it made thugs like Martin McGuinness and Gerry Adams look ridiculous as they attempted to represent themselves as peaceful politicians rather than the terrorists they actually were.
- dsfyu404ed 8y ago
  When it comes to groups like the IRA one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. You necessarily need to act in a way that makes you a terrorist in the eyes of the government if you want to get your freedom.
  - Veen 8y ago
    No. The people who murdered innocent families in pubs and on busy shopping streets are terrorists. Are you really saying that the murder of hundreds of British civilians was a price worth paying?
- NeedMoreTea 8y ago
  Also true, as they pretended to know nothing of the IRA whilst being part of the leadership.
- Gupie 8y ago
  maybe but they were instrumental in making the lasting peace.
  - Veen 8y ago
    Yes, they stopped murdering people and then there was peace.
    - ben_w 8y ago
      The trick is to convince people that there is peace now so murder time is over. If you don’t convince people peace has come, those who call themselves soldiers keep fighting those they call their enemies.
pjc50 8y ago
I would probably date the exact collapse to the singularity of UK politics, the Iraq War, where failure to ask those two questions got an awful lot of people killed. But the years before were hardly free of gimmicks.
jdietrich 8y ago
>The most comical part was the words were still spoken by an actor trying to lip sync. As brilliantly parodied by The Day Today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6UhXivPyw4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6UhXivPyw4

Veen 8y ago

It is a good thing that it made thugs like Martin McGuinness and Gerry Adams look ridiculous as they attempted to represent themselves as peaceful politicians rather than the terrorists they actually were.

dsfyu404ed 8y ago
When it comes to groups like the IRA one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. You necessarily need to act in a way that makes you a terrorist in the eyes of the government if you want to get your freedom.
- Veen 8y ago
  No. The people who murdered innocent families in pubs and on busy shopping streets are terrorists. Are you really saying that the murder of hundreds of British civilians was a price worth paying?
NeedMoreTea 8y ago
Also true, as they pretended to know nothing of the IRA whilst being part of the leadership.
Gupie 8y ago
maybe but they were instrumental in making the lasting peace.
- Veen 8y ago
  Yes, they stopped murdering people and then there was peace.
  - ben_w 8y ago
    The trick is to convince people that there is peace now so murder time is over. If you don’t convince people peace has come, those who call themselves soldiers keep fighting those they call their enemies.

pjc50 8y ago

I would probably date the exact collapse to the singularity of UK politics, the Iraq War, where failure to ask those two questions got an awful lot of people killed. But the years before were hardly free of gimmicks.

jdietrich 8y ago

>The most comical part was the words were still spoken by an actor trying to lip sync. As brilliantly parodied by The Day Today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6UhXivPyw4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6UhXivPyw4