"Q: What do you say to those people who are unhappy but are pulled the other way by feelings of loyalty?

A: Examine their consciences. Take a good look at what is going on. If they agree - ok. If not then speak out." - Fourthwrite interview with Brendan Hughes 


Gerard Hodgins speaks to the Guardian's Ireland correspondent, Henry McDonald, about ongoing armed republicanism. The interview initially featured in the Guardian on 28 January 2014.


Irish dissident groups 'thwarted by surveillance technology'

Gerard Hodgins
Former IRA hunger striker Gerard Hodgins says British have 'permanent eyes and ears' inside terror organisations

A former IRA hunger striker who has been a vocal critic of the Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams has warned armed republican dissident groups that advances in surveillance have given the British state "permanent eyes and ears" inside their organisations.

Gerard Hodgins, who has called on the New IRA, Continuity IRA and Óghlaigh na hÉireann (ONH) to declare ceasefires, said dissident bomb attacks did the opposite to what hardline republicans intended – and delivered more votes for Sinn Féin.

In an interview with the Guardian, Hodgins, who is a former prison comrade of the IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands, said the use of surveillance technology made conventional guerrilla warfare "exceedingly difficult". He said: 'The widespread use of this technology gives the British almost permanent eyes and ears in places the dissidents would frequent.'

Directly addressing the anti-Good Friday Agreement armed republican groups, Hodgins pointed out that the level of British infiltration of the Provisional IRA, long before the peace process, had been "colossal and fatal" for the "armed struggle".

Hodgins said the spate of New IRA and ONH bombings across Northern Ireland over the plast 18 months "played into Sinn Féin's agenda". He said: 'Sinn Féin will use the fear factor to appeal to voters. So the occasional dissident bomb in Belfast city centre makes sure everybody votes according to tribal camp.'

His call for a dissident republican ceasefire is echoed by the website Pensive Quill, a site of republicans who are critical of Sinn Féin but opposed to any return to violence.

Hodgins, from west Belfast, last year publicly called on Adams to resign from the Bobby Sands Trust and accused him of lying about his relationship with his brother, the convicted paedophile Liam Adams.

The trust controls all of Bobby Sands's written material. The late hunger striker's family has been involved in a legal battle to wrest control of it from leading Sinn Féin figures.

Hodgins, like the dissidents, believes Sinn Féin's peace strategy has solidified the unionist veto over constitutional change in Northern Ireland but, unlike them, he opposes a return to violence.

Urging the dissidents to call off their violent campaign, Hodgins said:

The tactics and strategy they are trying to develop are tactics and strategy that we tried, but which failed: the British can deal with these frames of reference. There is also no popular support for armed insurrection and, without a support base, armed insurrection is irresponsible.

Hodgins is a former Sinn Féin press officer who spent 20 days on hunger strike with other Irish republican prisoners in 1981.

While deeply critical of Adams, Martin McGuinness and other Sinn Féin leaders, Hodgins said continuing the "armed struggle" today was a futile exercise. He said the republican dissidents should learn from the failure of the Provisional IRA to force Britain to issue a declaration of withdrawal from Northern Ireland.

'The infiltration was undoubtedly colossal and fatal. The British were regularly one step ahead of us on the ground, making life difficult,' he said. '

Squads were being captured, dumps compromised, [IRA] volunteers executed; even the Eksund [an IRA smuggling ship intercepted in the 1980s] was never intended to make it to Ireland.

The British penetrated the Provos at every level and put their agents and spies in place to ruin us from within and deliver us to precisely where the British state wanted us.

Add to this the success of the British in pioneering agent recruitment and handling, where they delivered one of the most resilient guerrilla armies, the IRA, to just where they wanted us and I don't for one moment doubt the security agencies have agents in place amongst the dissidents today.

He added that he was friendly with many, but not all, of the dissidents and vehemently denied any role in directing the hardline republican campaigns.

Following Hodgins's outspoken attack on Adams, he has faced stories in the media alleging links to leaders of the New IRA and ONH. However, reliable republican sources, as well as sources in the security forces, accept that Hodgins, while a political opponent of Sinn Féin, is a trenchant critic of the ongoing "armed struggle" and not involved in their armed campaigns.

Hodgins, who was first imprisoned when he was 17 years old, sounded cautious about any of the disparate dissident republican groups heeding his call for a ceasefire:

The dissident world is fractured over many groups, ranging from some misguided patriots to agents of the state to outright rogues who are abusing my community rather than protecting it. But it is important to highlight the futility of pursuing a failed strategy..

Republican groups still at "war"

The New IRA: The largest of the anti-ceasefire republican forces, which formed into an alliance between the Real IRA, Republican Action Against Drugs in Derry and independent armed republican units in east Tyrone in late summer 2012. It has been responsible for a series of bomb attacks from its main base in Derry, but the Guardian has learned that there has at least been some debate within the movement about the ongoing efficacy of its "armed struggle".

Óglaigh na hÉireann: A small hardline faction with a base in north Belfast, which has been behind recent bomb attempts in the city centre, including, it is thought, a firebomb incident that resulted in the activist setting himself on fire just before Christmas. ONH does speak to critics of continual "armed struggle" based around  The Pensive Quill, but as yet shows no signs of moving towards a cessation of violence.

The Continuity IRA: The oldest and most ideologically rigid of the three main republican factions. CIRA is politically aligned to Republican Sinn Féin, which broke away from the mainstream Sinn Féin movement as far back as 1986 over Gerry Adams and his allies' plans to recognise the legitimacy of the Irish Republic parliament. While its political allies are mainly based in the Republic, CIRA maintains a small but troublesome presence in the Craigavon/Lurgan area of north Armagh. Responsible for the 2009 murder of the first PSNI officer, Constable Stephen Carroll, CIRA are the least likely of any of the anti-ceasefire groups to listen to any calls for an end to their armed campaign.

Gerard Hodgins Interview: Thwarted by Surveillance Technology


"Q: What do you say to those people who are unhappy but are pulled the other way by feelings of loyalty?

A: Examine their consciences. Take a good look at what is going on. If they agree - ok. If not then speak out." - Fourthwrite interview with Brendan Hughes 


Gerard Hodgins speaks to the Guardian's Ireland correspondent, Henry McDonald, about ongoing armed republicanism. The interview initially featured in the Guardian on 28 January 2014.


Irish dissident groups 'thwarted by surveillance technology'

Gerard Hodgins
Former IRA hunger striker Gerard Hodgins says British have 'permanent eyes and ears' inside terror organisations

A former IRA hunger striker who has been a vocal critic of the Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams has warned armed republican dissident groups that advances in surveillance have given the British state "permanent eyes and ears" inside their organisations.

Gerard Hodgins, who has called on the New IRA, Continuity IRA and Óghlaigh na hÉireann (ONH) to declare ceasefires, said dissident bomb attacks did the opposite to what hardline republicans intended – and delivered more votes for Sinn Féin.

In an interview with the Guardian, Hodgins, who is a former prison comrade of the IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands, said the use of surveillance technology made conventional guerrilla warfare "exceedingly difficult". He said: 'The widespread use of this technology gives the British almost permanent eyes and ears in places the dissidents would frequent.'

Directly addressing the anti-Good Friday Agreement armed republican groups, Hodgins pointed out that the level of British infiltration of the Provisional IRA, long before the peace process, had been "colossal and fatal" for the "armed struggle".

Hodgins said the spate of New IRA and ONH bombings across Northern Ireland over the plast 18 months "played into Sinn Féin's agenda". He said: 'Sinn Féin will use the fear factor to appeal to voters. So the occasional dissident bomb in Belfast city centre makes sure everybody votes according to tribal camp.'

His call for a dissident republican ceasefire is echoed by the website Pensive Quill, a site of republicans who are critical of Sinn Féin but opposed to any return to violence.

Hodgins, from west Belfast, last year publicly called on Adams to resign from the Bobby Sands Trust and accused him of lying about his relationship with his brother, the convicted paedophile Liam Adams.

The trust controls all of Bobby Sands's written material. The late hunger striker's family has been involved in a legal battle to wrest control of it from leading Sinn Féin figures.

Hodgins, like the dissidents, believes Sinn Féin's peace strategy has solidified the unionist veto over constitutional change in Northern Ireland but, unlike them, he opposes a return to violence.

Urging the dissidents to call off their violent campaign, Hodgins said:

The tactics and strategy they are trying to develop are tactics and strategy that we tried, but which failed: the British can deal with these frames of reference. There is also no popular support for armed insurrection and, without a support base, armed insurrection is irresponsible.

Hodgins is a former Sinn Féin press officer who spent 20 days on hunger strike with other Irish republican prisoners in 1981.

While deeply critical of Adams, Martin McGuinness and other Sinn Féin leaders, Hodgins said continuing the "armed struggle" today was a futile exercise. He said the republican dissidents should learn from the failure of the Provisional IRA to force Britain to issue a declaration of withdrawal from Northern Ireland.

'The infiltration was undoubtedly colossal and fatal. The British were regularly one step ahead of us on the ground, making life difficult,' he said. '

Squads were being captured, dumps compromised, [IRA] volunteers executed; even the Eksund [an IRA smuggling ship intercepted in the 1980s] was never intended to make it to Ireland.

The British penetrated the Provos at every level and put their agents and spies in place to ruin us from within and deliver us to precisely where the British state wanted us.

Add to this the success of the British in pioneering agent recruitment and handling, where they delivered one of the most resilient guerrilla armies, the IRA, to just where they wanted us and I don't for one moment doubt the security agencies have agents in place amongst the dissidents today.

He added that he was friendly with many, but not all, of the dissidents and vehemently denied any role in directing the hardline republican campaigns.

Following Hodgins's outspoken attack on Adams, he has faced stories in the media alleging links to leaders of the New IRA and ONH. However, reliable republican sources, as well as sources in the security forces, accept that Hodgins, while a political opponent of Sinn Féin, is a trenchant critic of the ongoing "armed struggle" and not involved in their armed campaigns.

Hodgins, who was first imprisoned when he was 17 years old, sounded cautious about any of the disparate dissident republican groups heeding his call for a ceasefire:

The dissident world is fractured over many groups, ranging from some misguided patriots to agents of the state to outright rogues who are abusing my community rather than protecting it. But it is important to highlight the futility of pursuing a failed strategy..

Republican groups still at "war"

The New IRA: The largest of the anti-ceasefire republican forces, which formed into an alliance between the Real IRA, Republican Action Against Drugs in Derry and independent armed republican units in east Tyrone in late summer 2012. It has been responsible for a series of bomb attacks from its main base in Derry, but the Guardian has learned that there has at least been some debate within the movement about the ongoing efficacy of its "armed struggle".

Óglaigh na hÉireann: A small hardline faction with a base in north Belfast, which has been behind recent bomb attempts in the city centre, including, it is thought, a firebomb incident that resulted in the activist setting himself on fire just before Christmas. ONH does speak to critics of continual "armed struggle" based around  The Pensive Quill, but as yet shows no signs of moving towards a cessation of violence.

The Continuity IRA: The oldest and most ideologically rigid of the three main republican factions. CIRA is politically aligned to Republican Sinn Féin, which broke away from the mainstream Sinn Féin movement as far back as 1986 over Gerry Adams and his allies' plans to recognise the legitimacy of the Irish Republic parliament. While its political allies are mainly based in the Republic, CIRA maintains a small but troublesome presence in the Craigavon/Lurgan area of north Armagh. Responsible for the 2009 murder of the first PSNI officer, Constable Stephen Carroll, CIRA are the least likely of any of the anti-ceasefire groups to listen to any calls for an end to their armed campaign.

21 comments:

  1. Gerard Hodgins

    Out of curiosity is the Guardian 'approved' dissident reading? I suspect your views will be blown off as were the News Letter articles.

    While your appeal for Dissidents to consider their self preservation as a factor but fears of surveillance is unlikely to dissuade armchair generals from fighting to the last drop of everyone else's blood. Closer to home; dissidents own communities are watching them and do not support dissident violence and they pay no heed to that.

    If dissidents do not listen to their own community, former blanketmen and hunger-strikers, they burn books and newspapers then they are truly no more than sporadic bands of renegades and mavericks.

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  2. We can only reiterate that which Gerard says,and hope that eventually the message gets listened to,at the moment the only thing militant republicanism is achieving is subsidising an extremely lucrative security industry,nothing would give a lot of us greater pleasure than seeing the brits being evicted out of this country in a Vietnam style exit, but that is not going to happen , nor is there any chance of the current military activity forcing the brits to the negotiating table, quislings north and south have helped secure the limpet like hold the brits have on this place ,they turned the provisional republican movement in the same manner as catholic church,in a buy of the PRM got to play big boys up in Stormont acting the part of micro ministers,the catholic church got Maynooth and free reign to screw the people literally,we are being hampered in highlighting the total hyporcisy that Stormont and the gfa really is by armed actions and one really wonders is that really what these actions are all about .

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  3. The critique of these armed groups coming those advocating a ‘socialist alternative’ politically is strange in that they recognise the merits of economies of scale in this respect, but not others.Additionally, that monolithic structure is what allowed the Provisionals to be ‘delivered’ more or less wholly in the first place.Whilst most are not privvy to machinations of the IRA with Gerry and Martin at the helm (Ed Moloneys book has some details), we might infer from their political path that many strategic military mistakes were made too (and perhaps deliberately made). How would you weight the negative of a lack of public support, against the positive of a lack of those two in leadership positions (within the current armed groups)?

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  4. If there had been a different leadership things could certainly have panned out a lot differently if you ask me. When the army developed the ability to detonate the truck-bombs at the heart of Britain's financial, system without compromising the personnel involved bear in mind, they had never at any stage posed a more serious threat to Britain's national security. Yet instead of stepping up the pressure inexplicably from a strategic point of view the strategy was toned down. You'd have to wonder at who's request but it don't take a genius to work it out. Their sacred 'process' was already being prioritised over and above everything - even a serious shout at some form of military victory itself. In the context if the disgraceful lies told in the Mansion House in '86 we can only view this as treachery

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  5. DaithiD

    That would be part of the problem facing militant republicanism as there was no critical examination of what went wrong or right during the PIRA/INLA campaign.
    If nothing else they just took the old Provo rule book and kicked off from there believing that would be enough to motivate support on a large scale.

    Adapting something that failed and ultimately conditionally surrendered would raise the big question mark as to why they decided to continue with that which failed.
    Certainly now we can look back and get an understanding of how British counter intelligence plagued the PIRA/INLA networks but to what extent we might never know.
    It would be safe and fair to assume they were riddled almost to capacity with British agents and this was apparently enough to persuade both factions to agree to the peace terms whatever other incentives offered are up for debate.
    Though it was definitely enough to bring them to the bargaining table and there they were merely fools dancing with intellectuals.

    They left with far less than they entered with which is no surprise as Adams probably had a hand in the persuasion and thought himself powerful enough that he could take SF on a political road with or without the Provo blessing.
    Either way Adams had forged his dirty deal and the people went along with it by the time the euphoria had passed all the people got was another British party.

    I don’t see why advice coming from experience is viewed as negative MI5 are firmly entrenched in the north the British are far from a foolish adversary they might be all smiles for the camera but they certainly understand the nature of the beast when it comes to the north.

    The pacification of the PIRA/INLA removed the only viable threat to them. They are far ahead in the game and understand the strengths and weaknesses of militant republicanism.
    Make no mistake any anti-treaty-republican is still a threat whether they are for armed struggle or not MI5 would make little distinction and would go to any lengths to ensure anti-treaty-republicans don’t develop a unified voice as that would change their rules by adding an unstable factor into their stable political arena.
    For now they are happy to encourage division as it suits their purpose and position they don’t fear the Irish using the gun and bomb what they do fear is when the Irish will use their minds.

    Political unity is the strongest weapon anti-treaty-republicans could possess without it there is no challenge to the status quo and ultimately no challenge to British rule.

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  6. on the money there, some argue they had us where they wanted us by truce in 75, its only now thanks to Net we have an idea of how sinister and overwhelmingly powerful the British intelligence services were/are. if the militants dont want to learn anything well then they are truly a lost cause, the genuine ones will keep getting locked up and the scumbags will be kept on on the outside. if they are still around in 2016, thats a total of 47 years. what a drag. personally i think all of us who want them to stop should get in their faces more about it, too much to loose now as this country seems to be breaking down at all levels and has no vision, some people in the south are getting interested in republicanism but as long as the militants are at their 'war' these people wont even go to 1916 clubs.hope all the blanketmen and others who threw everything they had into the struggle get some website or something like that to appeal to the militants to have a serious rethink in light of the state of this island now. its a craphole and getting worse rapidly and armed struggle is a millstone around republicanism now. seriously, how many people are holding republicanism back, 40-50 at the most i imagine. sad. maybe us irish are our own worst enemies.

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  7. Sean,

    In hindsight striking at the Achilles heel would have been effective if they had persisted without doubt the Brits would have countered with a ring of steel around their financial heart.
    The damage would have been done and the common folk would not have been happy about being stopped and searched coming and going.

    The RA would have the upper hand as they wouldn’t need to actually bomb the place just the threat alone would have scared off foreign investors.
    It seemed when the RA were at their pinnacle the Jennie was placed back in the bottle.
    Looking back the bombing of the financial district might have been a mistake as it certainly sped up the peace process which was hastily compiled and implemented with all its faults.

    Even at that I wonder why SF held the Provo card and could have used it to gain a lot more than they did as basically all they got is republican disunity and sucked into the vortex of British rule.
    Effectively making the armed struggle a joke as they could have spared a lot of death and misery by going to the bargaining table a great deal earlier as that is what Adams envisioned all along.

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  8. Grouch,

    I doubt getting in their faces would solve the problem it boils down to them providing answers for continuation and others providing reason for discontinuing.

    It would make sense to cease sit back and come up with a new political strategy.
    The Brits will continue to encourage the militants and cut them off as they do, SF will continue to exploit the militants regardless of the cost to Irish republicanism.

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  9. Sean,
    I think that is what Gerry meant by “leaderless resistance” !
    Tain Bo,
    On the lack of unity issue, it seems to me the cause is that people are unwilling to compromise on what they want to see replace the current regimes in the north and south (a socialist republic, a N/S confederation, cambodia-lite, an east-america trade zone etc). Any normal society will compose of competing strains of all these, as such does what follows need to be decided beforehand, if this decision is what prevents any movement on the restoration of sovereignty from building?
    Indeed, starting out from such a narrow view cannot broaden anti-treaty participation, as its exclusive and doesn’t require input from other republicans beyond them nodding in agreement with you. If people are holding out to wear the crown in the future, they should recognise the millstone it has become at present.

    ReplyDelete
  10. tain bo, eire nua was and still is a good political stategy, can we come up with, or any body come up with something better, if they do ill back it all the way. maybe im an optimist but other things could happen in this fast changing world now too - like the english waking up and chopping the heads of the aristocrats, monarchists and city of london vermin whov abused them for centuries now too. stranger things hav happened. optimistic or wha

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  11. Grouch,

    I don’t think it is a case of reinventing the wheel the only difficulty is finding something that is agreeable and workable that will encourage unity.

    I doubt the English will wake up the Left there seem to suffer from the same problems of personality and no cohesive voice.
    The working class grumble and the Labour party want more for themselves as they enjoy the cushy life.

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  12. DaithiD

    I would think common sense would have to come into play talking about changing regimes is one thing but getting people motivated for change is another.
    There is no serious appetite north or south for change.
    The next few years will be interesting with the 1916 anniversary nearing both the British and Irish governments will tone it down as neither want to address Irish national sovereignty.

    Anti-treaty-republicans should be wise enough by now that any debate or disagreement can be worked through.
    The latest debate being the pros and cons of armed struggle those that are for it are seldom heard and usually they get a mention in the paper after an attack or attempted attack barring that it is just backroom whispers.

    Those opposed simply see it going nowhere and understand that we can’t surrender the same thing twice it becomes a case of getting past the sellout and salvage what is left and build from there.

    The armed faction will have their say whether people agree with them or not.
    I don’t see anything negative about debating their purpose the British have pacified the north and the majority of the people want it to remain that way even with all its faults.
    It is not a case of censoring the armed factions they do that themselves for self-preservation.
    Even if the BA returned they would be a completely different fighting force complete with valuable experience from Iraq and Afghanistan.
    Toss in the high tech capacities and we can forget about Bandit country that is a thing of the past.

    The only ones smiling are the British as throughout our history with them they rely on our own disagreement and continue to exploit that weakness today.

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  13. tain bo, dont mind the english left, theyr shite, the people mite rise, those losers are holdin them back

    ReplyDelete
  14. Tain Bo,
    Technological advantages should cut both ways (and I dont mean organising anything through Twitter either). Technology should prevent anymore Omaghs, but it should also encourage a move away from the Provisionals unsuccessful tactics too. For example, whats the point of firing an RPG at a security grille, if you can now navigate commercially available ‘drones’ to carry similar loads over and around them?

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  15. DaithiD,

    I sincerely doubt technology will prevent an Omagh type mistake there is no moving away from the Provo handbook that would only happen if militants scrapped their current plans and went deep underground.

    Once a bomb is delivered it is no longer under their control even if adequate warning is given ( if there is such a thing ) British Black Ops would be in almost complete control of what happens next.

    You mention Omagh the timing on that massacre was in the hands of the Brits were they behind it probably so. Will the same dirty kind of operation be passed up by the Brits in the future probably not?
    They are and were dictating much of the armed actions can the already weakened factions withstand the possibility of another Omagh type massacre?

    Highly ambitious to go from planting a homemade bomb to delivering a very sophisticated one by aerial drone not to mention expensive unlike the Brits I doubt that militant’s pockets are that deep.

    I am not an engineer but I would imagine the problems of taking a commercial drone and outfitting it to carry and deliver a payload would be extremely time consuming and involve more error than trial.
    It would take a great understanding of military aerial engineering grandiose thought but the reality is the Brits would definitely not let that one get off the ground literally.

    There is no competing with the British at that level they tolerate the militants as it suits their purpose even if there is slight indication that the militants are growing stronger they will simply use the same tactics that closed the Provo INLA campaign down. Low tech infiltration and that is unavoidable which is already placed and that is the best hard intelligence source.

    It would be wiser to take all that energy and put it to good use rebuilding republicanism and emptying the jails reducing the excuse for extra cops and exploiting that arena.

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  16. Grouch,

    Don’t hold your breath waiting for the underclass to wise up the governments feed us just enough as to not starve us.

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  17. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  18. tain bo, i know what ur sayin but i cant help but hold my breath a bit longer - the truth about their overlords is known and accessible for the first time in centuries, on this amazing net, sad thing is, they are the most cctved, eavesdropped,brainwashed, conditioned people on earth, but i wont give up on some sort of critical mass being reached and our abused neighbours playing a big part in this. great but sad song for you tain bo - the testimony of patience kershaw by the unthanks on youtube. girls as young as 5 workin in coalmines, they had it as bad and worse than any of the children in the empires colonies. song will knock u out i guarantee you.

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  19. DaithiD,

    Honestly never knew there was commercial drones and back in the day I had heard all sorts of odd notions along the same line but using those we remote control planes.
    I would say you would be right about the RA having a field day with that as they did have some solid engineers.
    500 quid would be better spent on prisoner’s families as that back and forth to jail lark, isn’t cheap.

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  20. Grouch,

    You all sound full of energy perhaps I am skeptical and jaded. It is amazing the amount of information we have at the click of a button.
    I think it has to do with the British stiff upper lip caper that overrides commonsense as the workers get shafted and the unemployed drink away any dream of landing a bit of steady work.

    I appreciate the song and you are spot on it did hit where it hurts.
    You are alright in my book and have a way with your comments so I hope you stick around and enjoy having a go or a laugh.

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  21. "futility of pursuing a failed strategy..". "Strategy" is exactly what modern technological systems are programmed for on both National and International levels.
    Modern technology utilizes strategic artificial intelligence mainly for various surveillance applications enabling undetectable infiltration.
    Those who indoctrinate or send these people out, reveals much about them in a very negative sense.

    ReplyDelete