Stepping Out to a Cold Irish Welcome

[GreenPartyVoter]

Smiling and waving, George Bush glided down the steps of Air Force One at Shannon airport last night, seemingly unfazed by his tag as the most unwelcome American ever to set foot on Irish soil.

The president and his wife, Laura, were spared the sight of thousands of Irish protesters at the airport entrance and whisked off in an armoured Cadillac to the 16th century Dromoland castle in County Clare. Mr Bush enjoyed a rather military-looking walk around the expansive grounds with the Irish prime minister, Bertie Ahern, but was expected to retire early to his £900-a night presidential suite, which the castle promotes as the authentic "landed gentry" experience.

The president will use today's US-EU summit to try to heal the transatlantic rifts over Iraq before the Nato summit in Turkey.

Pretzels are off the menu at his working lunch with European statesmen. Only the finest Irish seafood and lamb will grace the table as the conversation turns to the Middle East and famine in Sudan. The French wine-list will serve as a reminder of the difficult task at hand.

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0626-01.htm

[Sweetpea]

1. Bush is now sayin the bitter difference is now over between

the US and the EU over the war. Now he is telling people what to feel.

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. Yeah, he is the master of revisionist history. Was he wearing

a hypnotizing tie while telling the folks over there what to think and feel?

[Fenris]

3. A cold welcome for the descendant of Orangemen.

IIRC, Bush claimed at one time to have Irish blood and the Irish, in an attempt to dissociate themselves with him, did some research. Turns out he is the descendant of Orangemen.

That makes me smile.:)

[GreenPartyVoter]

4. I am the descendant of Scots-Irish, but

I've always been sympathetic to the cause of a whole, sovereign Ireland.

[Fenris]

5. Again, IIRC...

He is the descendant of Protestant (English) landowners in Ireland.

[Padraig18]

7. Why am I not surprised?

:puke:

[Bridget Burke]

8. Weren't the United Irishmen founded by "Orangemen"?

They wanted to unite Ulster (Nonconformist) Protestants, Church of Ireland (the "landed gentry") and Roman Catholics to make a better Ireland, with inspiration from the French Revolution. But the rebellion of 1798 was unsuccessful & led to Union with Great Britain.

The English learned to encourage the narrower, sectarian elements in order to keep the people divided. During this period, many of the smarter Ulster Protestants (Scots-Irish) decided to leave for the New World.

[GreenPartyVoter]

9. My G-Grandfather left Port Rush early in the 20th C, but my nana

said he never really talked about Ireland much, short of telling her that he learned to swim when his brothers threw him off the Giant's Causeway. (Not sure that's really true, though.)

[MoonRiver]

6. Of course they're "spared the sight" of protestors.

LET THEM EAT CAKE.