that example you gave isn't smuggling- its piracy and theft.
Is anyone else supposed to feel sorry for people who make millions from piracy and theft?
hmm, let me get this straight christopher, people are selling stolen, smuggled and counterfeit goods illegally in Jonesborough. The proceeds of which go to an illegal organisation yet when the police go in to do their job and enforce the law, somehow they are in the wrong and "harassing" local people by confiscating their stolen produce? My heart bleeds.
.
And to think republicans used to have the cheek to complain about being 'criminalised'...
Chris: Are you condoning piracy/thieft and allsorts of criminality?. How does this fit in with An Ireland of Equals? There must be, "A Better Way to a Better Ireland". Maybe its not a crime if republicans do it!!
Is anyone else supposed to feel sorry for people who make millions from piracy and theft?
I don't think anyone feels sorry for them
people are selling stolen, smuggled and counterfeit goods illegally in Jonesborough
I didn't say that
The proceeds of which go to an illegal organisation
The proceeds go to them, no one else
when the police go in to do their job and enforce the law, somehow they are in the wrong and "harassing" local people by confiscating their stolen produce?
Did I say that?
You presume a little too much Rebecca!
And to think republicans used to have the cheek to complain about being 'criminalised'...
Who said it was Republicans who are smuggling?
Chris: Are you condoning piracy/thieft and allsorts of criminality?.
No
How does this fit in with An Ireland of Equals?
It doesn't but I would remind you that while we have Partition we will never have an Ireland of Equals. If you wish to end smuggling end Partition.
How does this fit in with An Ireland of Equals?
It doesn't but I would remind you that while we have Partition we will never have an Ireland of Equals. If you wish to end smuggling end Partition.
so piracy, fraud and theft are due to partition ? end partition, end fraud and theft ?
are you naive or stupid ? or do you think we are ? no-one's going to swallow that poorly linked nonsense. even for this website that's an incredible leap .
so piracy, fraud and theft are due to partition ?
Where did I say that?
end partition, end fraud and theft ?
I didn't say that, I suggest you learn ro read what is written and not what you wish had been written.
are you naive or stupid ?
No
or do you think we are ?
Who is this we you refer to?
I only know of one being who is made up of more than one person and it isn't you.
I do believe that you are stupid as is ably demonstrated by your last post.
See a doctor mate, you are starting to see things that aren't there
Kevin
I have a feeling me and you need a wee chat!
Don't try and impersonate me again
you euphamistaically refer to fraud and theft as smuggling . you call it one thing , I call it by it's name . however let's use your word. so you're saying end partition end smuggling ? (you can insert my naive/stupid question here).
"we" is the plural of I . I think others (read all the posts above) believe that this sort of fraud/theft is wrong as I do. I collectively used the word we in the context of the comments to this post. Was that too difficult for you to work out ? You seem reasonably (though not particularly) intelligent. As for the "mate" - don't think so. My mates are a bit more intelligent than you. You wouldn't qualify .
BM
As for the "mate" - don't think so. My mates are a bit more intelligent than you. You wouldn't qualify
When you manage to remove your head from your anus pay attention!
you euphamistaically refer to fraud and theft as smuggling
I think the word you were looking for was euphemistically
Hoisted by your own petard!
ROFL!!
I don't bother with a spellchecker and I don't type well - it's called dyslexia - I see words differently to how I type them. big deal. but make fun fun of that if you want. still, if you think intelligence and spelling words correctly is the same thing ...
I see now that I've used your word (smuggling) you have no response. That and your mockery of my spelling speaks volumes about you, does it not? Of course I could pick over your incorrect grammar in your post above but that would be purile (look it up) since I know what you meant.
Were you bullied badly at school ?
BM
I make mistakes with spelling and grammar the same as the next man. The only reason I pointed it out was your "up your own arse" comment about the level of you and your friends intelligence.
If you do not wish your own foibles to be presented to you then don't question my intelligence in a puerile way.
Were you bullied badly at school ?
LOL
If you went to school with me then you would know why I find that question funny.
I was not bullied no, I detest bullies
I will of course answer your other comments on smuggling if you are going to debate in a mature and an adult manner. If you are planning on continuing this silly practice of questioning my intelligence then I will not because I don’t have time for puerile crap.
1. dyslexia isn't a "foible" .
I catch most of my errors through a technique of scan reading alternately with 1 eye at a time - some get through, especially longer words and words with a lot of vowels.
2. it should be clear to you from previous comments on this entry what was meant but you've chosen to go off at a tangent rather than answer the question.
it was you who said "learn to read" and later patronisingly referred to me as your "mate" prompting my "you don't qualify" statement . you cannot lecture me on behaving in a mature and
adult manner (more patronage) based on your comments in this entry.
3. even when I used your choice of word (smuggling instead of fraud/theft) no answer was forthcoming (you preferring to ridicule and patronise) and I doubt a fourth attempt will change that. clearly YOU don't wish to debate in the adult manner you refer to.
this is a waste of both your and my time (take a grab at this - I'm holding out a branch, an area we both agree on) as you don't want to answer the question and I don't want to have to educate you on the definition of words . trading insults is not debating and I have no time for it either.
Chris has a valid point regarding smuggling down here. Can anyone rationally explain to me why I should pay £8.50 for 50g of Golden Virginia over the counter in a shop, when I can pick the same thing up for £5.00? What's worse, of course, is that the tobacco is produced in England then sold on the continent for €3-€4 but I'm expected to bolster the British exchequer when I have no desire to belong to the British nation? Whether you agree with it or not, the simple truth is that these goods are a realistic alternative to lower-paid families who don't have the luxury of affording anything else. Also, it bugs me everytime I see these stories that once again everyone labels this as some sort of Republican criminal empire just because it takes place in Jonesborough. Most of these people are in it for themselves and have no allegiances to any grouping but of course, if the PSNI tip off the media then it must be the truth. Funny, they never seem to mention Nutts Corner these days and the possible recipients of the profits up there.
Very valid point Pacman
It's good to see that not everybody suffers from "Malone-Road syndrome"
Why do they suffer if they don't buy Microsoft? I don't get this. If they can afford to buy a computer, then odds are it comes with everything it needs, no need to buy anything.
And if they have some quarrels with capitalist organisations, then they should be principled enough not to steal intellectual property. It is just theft. On the same level that someone doesn't agree with paying for a DVD player, so will take one from someone's home.
There are alternatives to Microsoft, equally (if not more so) powerful, will teach a lot more, give more control over the whole system without being as hard to use a MS.
Smuggling, black market, racketeering has bugger all to do with whatever noble struggle these crooks think they are part of. It is simply illegal lining of pockets at others expense.
The whole 'we-can't-affford-it-really-so-we-get-it-knocked-
off' annoys me. If you can't afford it, you don't steal it. Why do people see buying knocked off software and ciggys as different from when they get broke in to by a junkie who steals to pay for his habit? Oh, wait, it is a victimless crime, isn't it? Absolute bollocks it is.
Farm country, eh? Tell you what, I will buy illegally imported beef, then the farmers will go out of business. What do I care? I have saved cash.
If they (or you, I don't presume) want to change laws and attitudes, propping up ganglords is not the way to do it.
*breathes* I haven't proof read that, but hopefully it makes (some) sense.
Oh, and I for one would be raiding Nutts Corner every week to close down the Hoods. There is a pervasive attitude in Northern Ireland about counterfeit goods. It stinks.
I have worked and continue to work for software companies and have seen a number go out of business because of piracy. Im just wondering Chris how profitable do these companies have to be for it to be excusable to pirate their software?
Is it acceptable to cost people their jobs in order for working class families to have certain luxurys?
Oh and by the way I use neither Windows nor Office (not because of their cost but mainly because their shit) and im also heavily dyslexic.
"Im just wondering Chris how profitable do these companies have to be for it to be excusable to pirate their software?"
A lot of you seem to be placing too much emphasis on my example of Software.
It is just one of many.
David, are you really trying to tell me that Microsoft is going to go bankrupt because of a few blackmarket discs?
I know of Schools who engage in so called software piracy.
No again Chris I wasnt saying Microsoft would go bankrupt I was just wondering were you personally drew the line. If its not wrong to pirate from Microsoft is it wrong to pirate from companies that are not as wealthy?
Chris, what the hell are you whinging about? (first time post!). I was in S.Armagh on sundy as well (Meigh) and saw the activity. But you fully support the Provos and the pacification process. Part of this was surrendering the weaponry that made Jonesboro dangerous to patrol in. An inevitable part of the endgame was the enforecement of TV licenses, drinking laws,raids on the market etc and every other part of British law. If you support the sinners then this was part of the deal which you gladly accepted!
pacman my point is that the poor can't afford to be good
I have to break the law daily in order just to survive in 3 ways:
TV Licence dodging, cheap baccy smuggling and software piracy.
Why?
because I want the telly on whilst having a fag and chatting to you fine people 
It does not make me a criminal.
I will be judged on my attitudes towards others and the way I treat people.
True Frodo, very true
Cigarettes are an addiction, while I do not condone smuggling, I can (possibly) see that one.
Software? No way. If you can't afford to buy it, use something else. Ditch windows, use linux. Then you can still chat.
As for the idiot box, chuck it in the skip. (And it isn't as if the licence is that expensive.)
Poor can't afford to be good. What absolute rubbish. Ack, sure, aren't they oppressed by everyone. So they have to resort to stealing for others' pockets. Obviously 'the poor' have no morals then. (I have mostly always been poor, and I managed to never use pirated software. Then again, I don't do windows.)
These are not victimless crimes. They may look like it to you lot, sitting in your front room with cheap ciggys and ripped-off software. But it most certainly isn't victimless.
By inference, Chris, you are condoning the perpetuation of racketeering. By all means fight against injustice, but resorting to the black market ruins lives you can't see.
And frodo, you may well be judged on your attitude towards others, but your attitude to the livelihood of others stinks. It might not make you a criminal, but it deffo makes you an accessory.
At the root of all this is jealousy, I think. The fact that socialists can't bear to see anyone (or any corporation) make money. Yes, I am aware there are bad practices and immoral companies, and I would get rid of all that. Make it all proper. But I wouldn't stop them making money.
"Chris, you are condoning the perpetuation of racketeering"
If working-class families benefit I don't care what you call it. This time of the year is when they find it almost impossible to do the best for their kids.
Why should a middle-class class kid get everything but a working-class nothing?
As for victimless crime your attitude is attune to that of the legal system.
Punish blue collar "crime" but let the white-collar's do what ever the hell they like.
Ive been talking to Kevin the latest addition to the Balrog team and I have to say that his future input to Balrog sounds very promising indeed. He has some very good ideas on how to make the site a truly 1st class blog site and i can safely say that Balrog bloggers will come to enjoy his future contributions.
Maith thu mo cahara
I imagine mwk, most of Newry are accessories and guess what, we're happy to be. Go ahead and pay your exhorbitant prices if that's what floats your boat but I have better things to do with my cash than pay for the maintenance of NI PLC.
mwk
seems to me you're confusing law with morality.
the law is supposed to have no respect to persons
but as chris pointed out:
"Punish blue collar "crime" but let the white-collar's do what ever the hell they like"
Morality is also about kindness and compassion towards the poor.
Not judging too harshly upon their weaknessess and vicissitudes.
I often say, that a true aristocrat would stop his carriage and help the pregnant beggar-woman on the road; for pity's sake. Whereas the middle classes would drive straight past!
Something's pretty fukt-up.
Is law, like religion a means of social control, directed towards the poor?
Chris there's a dissertation in that one somewhere
Could whoever it is that is imitating me please desist.
"Is law, like religion a means of social control, directed towards the poor?"
Of course!
I was asked something like that the first time I stepped into my law class
Kevin
Stop empersonating my fellow Bloggers, if you wish to blog on Balrog just send me an e-mail or give me a ring.
Here we go again. (But, hey, that sounds snippier than I mean it, this thread is reasonable fun.)
try to do their best for their kids
Doing your best for your kids isn't making sure they have the latest gamebox360station/trainers/ipod. If youse are all good socialists, then youse have bought into the capitalist dream more than you would admit. (As an aisde, because I wasn't well off for years, we used to tell our children that Santa brings them their stocking, and therefore small pressies, and we buy the main one. That way instilling in them the idea that they can't ask for something expensive and expect some benevolent old dude to bring it. As they knew we couldn't afford much.)
As for punishing crime, all crime should be punished, whatever colour of collar it wears.
If the laws are geared towards the elite, and I know a good skreed of them are, then change the bloody things. I don't wish to protect anyone via some cronyism. But I also despise the fact that there are crooks out there selling ripped-off goods.
There is a very skewed sense of honour here, where only the poor are worthy.
Pacman: I don't wish to pay exorborant prices, but hell dudes, supporting this leads to others losing their jobs, keeping the price high, in a niave snapshot of it all.
I don't condone anyone losing their job mwk. But I fail to see the connection with my post above. The tobacco I buy emanates from England for sale on the continent and then is smuggled back to Ireland for sale at a lower price than the same tobacco, made in the same factory but for the British market. I'm not depriving anyone of a job but I'm happily depriving the exchequer of their extortionate percentage of tax on the product.
BTW, Chris is a socialist - I'd be gloriously happy being a millionaire and lording it over everyone else.
A shameful apology for crime by Chris Gaskin.
But what else would we expect from a Provo?
I am not a "Provo" Willow
Then is so much of your blog taken up with material that you write in support and defence of the Provos?
Then is so much of your blog taken up with material that you write in support and defence of the Provos?
Sorry, I don't speak Ulster-Scots, can I have that in English or Irish?
I see you stated in another thread that you had attended PSF meetings with Denis Donaldson. Not a Provo? Aye, right!!
There's no need to lie.
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