LET'S TALK WATCH!
Last evening saw Northern Ireland's version of "Question Time" return. Oh dear! It's called "Let's Talk" but on reflection, it might be better NOT to talk based on the gibberish put across last night.
As ever we had the IRA/Sinn Fein/DUP governing axis represented this time by Michelle Gildernew and Nigel Dodds respectively. We then had celebrity gay protestor Peter Tatchell and Irish writer Mary Kenny.
There was a quite interesting debate about the "Causewaygate" issue. This is the situation which has arisen where a DUP Minister, Arlene Foster, is "minded" to award a major development contract at the Giant's Causeway, to a person who is, entirely coincidentally, a paying member of the DUP. The DUP sees no conflict here, nor would I it to. Snouts in the trough time, folks and don't we all know it? I was pleased to see Peter Tatchell ask some sensible searching questions of the DUP's Nigel Dodds. Michelle Gildernew, by comparison, seemed more concerned to keep private enterprise out of just about everything in which she is involved. Mary Kenny also spoke sensibly on the issue, wondering what is wrong with letting the private sector do things in preference to the State? She even criticised - GASP - Socialism - to the evident horror of the audience whose average age seemed about 10.
Then they discussed the vexed topic of "gay rights"! No one had the bottle, except perhaps Mary Kenny, to tell Tatchell that gays need to stop whingeing and demanding legal rights greater than anyone else. The BBC is avowedly pro-Gay rights and Mark Carruthers seemed very uncomfortable with the idea that anyone could oppose "Hate Crime" legislation. I do oppose this and see no reason to apologise for it. I'm sick of the militant gay lobby thinking it is above criticism. Gays, like the rest of us, can do what they want in the privacy of their own homes but in public they must be subject to the same laws as the rest of the population and so I do not think they require additional legislation. If a hotel owner doesn't want to let a room - HIS property remember, not the States' - to a gay person, that's fine by me! Same applies if it is a black person, a white person, someone with red hair, a Welsh person, a Vulcan, whatever. You see a Hotel is PRIVATE property and people must have the right to decide who they will allow or prohibit from their property. This point was not fully made last night.
All in all - watching "Let's Talk" is a bit like watching a car crash. Awful but fascinating. It's a little love-in these days between the DUP and IRA/Sinn Fein, with window dressing in the form of a mainland British personality and then the token southern Irish personality - a little bit of social engineering by the Beeb.
David Vance
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Reader Comments (11)
I thought the selection of questions was interesting. Not a single one on the problems of violent thuggery in Northern Ireland, as exemplified by the brutal murder of Harry Holland. Obviously that was of less concern to the youthful audience than the issue of gay rights in hotels.
Peter,
So they're more concerned with buggery than thuggery!
Thank you. I'm here all week.
"If a hotel owner doesn't want to let a room - HIS property remember, not the States' - to a gay person, that's fine by me! Same applies if it is a black person, a white person, someone with red hair, a Welsh person, a Vulcan, whatever. You see a Hotel is PRIVATE property and people must have the right to decide who they will allow or prohibit from their property."
I agree with that statement and actually find it refreshing to here someone actually state that people other than a "special" group have rights also...
Of course if you took that stand as you say it above, here in the states you would be breaking the law. If you survived the physical attacks by the Sharpton and Jacksons Mobs The ACLU would then sue you and everyone that even knows you....
William of Orange wouldn't get a room here then. Dodds was good with the Jesus is a fag placard, and made a good point re balance but the DUP are responsible for the law in the first place. Gildernew and all of SF keeps going on about section 75 of the GFA, this is the legislation being used by the likes of McAliskey to bring in countless numbers of immigrants. Mary Kenny made some good points about keeping private lives away from the state. A little bit of balance and rights for everybody. And of course the 'gay terrorist' had to bring in sectarianism and immigration, rather than private liberty.
Dodds was going on about protections of Christians while the DUP overseen the law in the first place. It was good that the Theological union took it to court or Christians would not be free even to express an opinion. Gildernew - as daft as ever, Mary Kenny was worth listening too.
Typhoo,
Here's a thought. Mark Carruthers said that the panel did not know what the questions were going to be be. How did Nigel have the picture? A good guess or a steer from above. When I did this programme myself, I was not told and I thought that was fair enough. But I wonder did the BBC tip off Nigel and Michelle???
David,
I don't think so, it was a reasonable bet it would come up.
I still think Dodd's was pushed. Maybe they'll be forced to change their minds over the causeway.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/television/letstalk/index_causeway.shtml
David perhaps Nigel Dodds heard that P Tatchell would be on so worked out that there was likely to be a question.
Lets Talk was ok but some topics were a little boring.
Typhoo,
He was pushed and he looked like he was pushed!
Howard,
True enough but usually you do not know until the day of the prog. Still, Nigel has his underlings to produce such material and in fairness, he had a sort of point.
David
Well perhaps he just brought it on the 1-in-10 chance there would be a "gay" question? After all the BBC seem to like them.
Also...I thought Mary Kenny was a good contributor. She did stand up to Tatchell quite well in fairness to her - she did bring a more right wing persoective usually lacking in the programme.
Tatchell used to be consistent with his agenda. Nowadays the man who once actually had the balls to write articles pointing out that just maybe Gay Rights advocates should be a tad more concerned with homosexuals being hanged in Iran and buried alive in Afghanistan than whether or not the Tories have enough gay candidates describes British Imams' calls for homosexuals to be executed 'a little disturbing' and is most of the way to being a fully-fledged Truther.
Its what us wingnuts call 'convergence'. Sooner or later all those Leftists adopting an individualistic, principled point of view become sucked into the *entire* meme, like the 'Climate Change' protesters at Heathrow who took time out from saving the planet to vandalise a Jewish-owned warehouse and replace its Israeli flag with a Palestinian one. Tatchell is a particularly good example...
I just read back the 'had the balls' line. No pun intended. Honest.