The Gerry and Jim Show
This lunchtime we broadcast the second in our special election editions of Inside Politics. We had an interview with the TUV leader Jim Allister, recorded on Friday, in which he indicated that in those seats where his party isn't standing his supporters should perhaps back the UUP rather than the DUP because of their opposition to devolving justice. Since the interview went on the air, Sammy Wilson has responded claiming this advice would have the Sinn Fein candidates "jumping for joy".
My live guest was the Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams. I recalled recording a previous Inside Politics in which Mr Adams was streaming with the cold but carried on regardless - this time the boot was on the other foot, as I'm suffering a touch of "man flu". I can reveal that the Adams patent remedy for these situations is plenty of Vitamin C and echinacea.
During the interview we covered the SDLP's rejection of a nationalist pact and the chances of Sinn Fein abandoning its long held policy of abstentionism in the event of a hung parliament (answer = zero). I also questioned him about the Brendan "Darkie" Hughes testimony on his involvement in specific murders and disappearances during the early 1970s. Anyone who listens to the last five minutes of the programme on the I Player will hear that it's not a topic which the Sinn Fein President wants to give any further "oxygen of publicity" to borrow a Margaret Thatcher phrase. He wouldn't give an answer on why Ed Moloney's book has not prompted defamation proceedings, but insisted it would be up to the voters to make their own judgements on who is telling the truth about the past.
I'm 
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~17~RS~)
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Mark,
The world and his wife knows Gerry was in the IRA. As we all know the only way out of these organisations is through death.
The cowboy!
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Mark
ADAMS NOT CONCERNED ABOUT MURDER ACCUSATIONS
Ref today’s Inside Politics.
The logic of Adams’s stance about the murder of Jean McConville et al is that the public will make up their mind about his guilt or innocence. In effect, whatever the accusation, he will not seek legal redress.
That being the case, this member of the public believes that he had a hand in the murder of Jean McConville et al.
Susie
Carryduff
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rhinestonecowboy you said - "As we all know the only way out of these organisations is through death". How do you know this? Have you any proof to back up this claim.
SusieFlood
How many government advisors including David Christopher Kelly who allegedly committed sucide but Lord Hutton ruled that evidence related to his death will be kept secret for 70 years, advised the British government not to invade Iraq that there were no weapons of mass distruction. One million Iraqi men women and children have been murdered since that invasion. include the deaths of British personnel as well. So following your logic, can Tony Blair including Gordon Brown and the British government be held directly responsible and be accused of having a hand in all those murders.
Did you know Brendan Hughes personally? Did you know anything about him before these accusations arose so how can you take his accusations as absolute truth?
I have no love nor do I support Gerry Adams or Sinn Fein but I would not judge him because someone who is now dead said he done this or that - what about due process and real evidence or can people now be judged and convicted with the memoirs of dead people.
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Jimmy,
What other way is there?
The cowboy!
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rhinestonecowboy that doesn't answer my question! But anyway they just resign or dont go back.
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Jimmy Cricket
Your dead right, pardon the pun. Again you expose the terrorist nature of the British; have an inquiry, then ban its publication until were all dead!!!
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DisgustedinDERRY,
You said -
"I have many, many friends who were once members of the IRA. They are no longer members of the IRA, as the IRA no longer exists."
Have you a link to prove that?
The cowboy!
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Mark, if Sinn Fein put a snooker table up for election on the 6th of May it would get elected in West Belfast. I dont know why you bother interviewing Adams, Robinson, McGuinness etc. They do what they want, say what they want and come election time will get elected yet again no matter how they have behaved. I dont know what some of our politicians would have to do not to get elected, its a very sad state of affairs.
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Mark
I'm watching 'The Tropic of Cancer' on TV. It makes me sick to think, that the British government spend billions of pounds on munitions, when children the whole world over have to work. If they don't work they will starve to death. Shame on the British and other governments involved in unwanted wars in the name of our freedom.
Stormnotspy
I do not have to prove anything to you, you have a trail of issues following you that you need to wake up to before asking people to prove anything!!!
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Susie
WILL YOU EVER GIVE OVER ABOUT ADAMS
Change the record, for God's sake. It's like you must scan the news looking for anything at all you can beat him with. It's bordering on personal and your cleverly constructed series of criticisms is starting to cost a lot of credibility.
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Obviously a brain freeze there - I am amazed at the way some people who obviously have some sort of infatuation or personal vandetta, slant their opinions for others to take as fact, especially when it comes to Sinn Fein. Then at the same time promote Unionism and the Loyal Orders, refusing to accept that just because you work for the government or claiming something is religious does not make their actions legal and moral.
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"Shinners Jumping for joy" does SW not realise that people are now seeing through this. Long gone are the days when the unionist politicians said, never mind your bad housing or not having a job, at least you are not one of them.
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why didn't mark devenport challenge gerry adams on his claim that he never predicted a united ireland by 2016. i attach a bbc link which demonstrates otherwise: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/601115.stm - not telling the truth about the past seems to extend not just to the years of the worst ira violence, in the early 1970's, but to the very recent past. that is the question mark should have asked but didn't: if you can't tell the truth about your own life mr adams why should we believe any political promises you make?
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and here's another link:
http://www.breakingnews.ie/archives/2003/1117/ireland/mcguinness-predicts-united-ireland-by-2016-121794.html
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Is it not about time that we in Northern Ireland start looking at the true politics. History is very interesting but it will not take us out of the downward spiral we are currently in. It is for us and us alone to stand up and be counted. It is no good looking to Westminster or Dublin for the answer they both are bankrupt. The days of a free lunch are quickly coming to an end and I find it amazing that none of our politicans are willing to accept this. No matter who gets elected in the election there will be Government cut backs. These cut backs are bound to affect us and to think anything else is just delusional. So unless we start to look to the future and break the cycle of reliance on the Government / public sector we are set for a long slow death.
What we need is an assembly that stands for private sector growth and encourages both inward investment and home grown entrepreneurs. There is little evidence of this to date and I for one think that if we are expecting Invest NI to deliver we will be waiting a long time.
We need an end to tribal politics and to go forward with politicians who are passionate about our country and developing our economy.
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truthteller Well it is not 2016 yet so who knows what will happen between now and then. On your point of getting to the truth about the past, if you had pointed out the failure of the majority of parties who were involved in the past conflict to tell the truth about their own pasts your comments could be taken seriously. Like the Unionist politicians connections with loyalist paramilitaries and their involvement in the creation of those paramilitary groups. The British Governments involvement in controlling and directing them, and their (British Governments) unlawful actions that included the murder of unarmed civilians, Saville report, Finucane Inquiry, Stevens inquiry, Hamill Inquiry, Stalker report, Cory inquiry and its only a matter of time before there is a specific inquiry into the RUC special branch's involvement in dozens of murders carried out by the Mount Vernon UVF. Even though all these inquiries have been carried out we have not seen them yet - why not? Indeed Matt Baggott the Chief Constable has just recently refused John Leckey the most senior NI coroner access to police files in relation to controversial murders of Nationalists by loyalists - Why? So why should Nationalist, Sinn Fein or anyone else believe a word that comes from The British Government or Unionism either.
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Jimmy Cricket, truthteller, DisgustedinDERRY, rhinestonecowboy Etc Etc Etc
So what are you going to achieve, what are you going to improve, how many jobs will you create, none, you can throw all the dirt you like about what has happened and you will change nothing. What we need now is change for good. Stop living in the past and start living in the future, tribal politics will and never has got us anywhere.
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Chris London I'm not living in any past but while we're on it "Experience is a wonderful thing. It enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again". We learn from our past mistakes. Anyway how can we get away from it with the same corrupt parasites they put up for election every year?. How many jobs are Sinn Fein,SDLP, The DUP, The UUP/Tory alliance and the TUV going to create - None, they are only interested in their own pockets. What can 1 single person achieve when everything around him is corrupt, from the government to the banks, the politicains, the police, the courts and even the church. I know tribal politics will get us no-where but how can you get away from that when those politicians you ask us to vote for think that the religion I was brought up with is evil, that its religious leader is the antichrist, that my identity and my expression of it is a concession.
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typical sinn fein response, jimmy cricket. when you can't answer the question then change the question. the issue is not what will happen between now and 2016 but why gerry adams is denying what he and his deputy martin mcguinness both clearly and undeniably said, in 2000 and 2003 respectively. they both predicted a united ireland by 2016 and now gerry adams says he never said that, just like he says he was never in the ira. that's the issue you are avoiding mr cricket!
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I am not a Sinn Fein supporter there is no chance I would ever vote or support anyone who shielded peadophiles or child rapists, in fact I would not vote nor support any politicain or political party that is involved in politics in this country. Did you not make the statement below and I answered you that he wasn't the only one.
"not telling the truth about the past seems to extend not just to the years of the worst ira violence, in the early 1970's, but to the very recent past. that is the question mark should have asked but didn't: if you can't tell the truth about your own life mr adams why should we believe any political promises you make"
It is your own view of history and bias that is blinding you to the untruths and broken promises of the other parties who were also involved in keeping this conflict going for so long.
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From small acorns do mighty oak trees grow. It starts with 1 person then two and so on. I would agree that the current politicans are lacking on a number of fronts but it is us that need to hold them to account. Challenge them to deliver on the big picture and stop looking to try and hit the populist notes. All the parties are on the record of saying they will fight our corner in Westminster to maintain or increase our funding. None are looking to go out and get business up and running. So come on let us all hold these people to account and get them actually delivering what is important, a vibrant private sector.....
Remember we get what we deserve and I think we deserve a lot better than what we are currently getting..
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Chris while I agree with you on the actual points you are making I disagree that "fighting our corner in Westminister" will get us anything or anywhere. Isn't it the truth that British intelligence controlled and directed both sides in the conflict here from the beginning. Wasn't it those same people that fooled and lied to their own people into going to war in Iraq and Afganistan. Did they care that the majority of their people disagreed with it, No, in fact their leader at the time Tony Blair has now made millions from his contracts in Iraq. All western democracies and governments are now controlled by the global elite, the very same institutions and financial organisations that were behind Hitler during the second world war. The only way we are going to survive is by cutting the apron strings from the so called mother parliament, westminister, and uniting with the rest of Ireland. At least then we could have an identity that is respected around the world for its integrity and courage.
We do deserve better but we wont get it at Westminister or by being tarnished by Britains reputation around the world for callousness and modern day colonialism.
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Sorry but you have lost me - you see looking back is not taking us forward. It is for US to decide on our future and that needs to be with top drawer, forward thinking politicans. And we will only get them if we take an active role in challenging them to ensure that they are delivering what is needed. Worrying about tarnished reputations is not going to deliver one job. Reducing corporation tax will. Cutting the number of civil servants will reduce our assemblies budget which in turn can be spent on developing a vibrant economic society for Northern Ireland and all of its population.
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The time is not right for Sinn Fein to have one Ireland, they may be a big fish in a small pond now, but in the Dail they would be a minor grouping. There would also be no need for them as the work in uniting Ireland would be done, they have to change their politics with social and economic as their main thrust, can they do this by 2016?
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Chris you see the problem is that why would anyone who regards themselves as Irish want to have anything to do with Westminister, why would Irishmen/women give alligience to a government who mearly tolerates their identity, refuses to recognise their language and considers their celebration of their patron saint (St Patrick)as a threat to their identity. Unfortunately looking back propels us forward because we learn from our mistakes, where would emerging democracies, technology and mankind be if they didn't look back and learn from the past.
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Chris London,
What have you achieved?
How are you going to improve?
How many jobs have you created?
I do agree that tribal politics will and never get us anywhere.
The cowboy!
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Chris London,
What are you going to achieve?
What are you going to improve?
How many jobs will you create?
I do agree that tribal politics will never get us anywhere.
The cowboy!
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