The Policy Blender

What I don't understand is how does everyone know what weapons they have? I mean, do they have to declare them on their tax returns?

Maybe they've handed them all over already? Maybe they'll hand a lot over and keep some aside, just in case, and we'll never know.

And Ian Paisley, saying he doesn't believe the words, he wants action. What exactly does an absence of terrorist activity look like? How can you see that something has stopped happening, and it isn't merely a gap between two instances of something? Or was the Rev Paisley merely saying that he'd wait until the end of time before he trusted those filthy catholics?

They haven't handed any weapons over, are refusing to do so and are currently refusing to even provide photos of the weapons being destroyed.

The whole culture of political discussion in Ulster is:

1. Put your gun in the attic.
2. See if you can get your own way at the table.
3. Storm off when you don't get your own way, reminding everyone you have a gun.
4. Wait for better offer than before to come back to the table (then go back to step 1)

Surely you see that we can never make progress with the IRA tooled up and ready to restart violence the moment it decides to throw it's toys out of the pram at the negotiating table.

Of course I see that - I just wonder how they are going to comply in a way that will satisfy everyone. But as one of the US Presidents said, (I forget which and I'm not bothered enough to Google,) you can't please all of the people all of the time.

Doubtless there are Protestant groups involved in all this - I assume they're being somewhat more co-operative. Unless it's really like that Izzard sketch - "The ink is millimetres from the paper" "I'm barely touching the guns, my fingernail is on the guns, if you'd just sign the treaty" "We'll sign the treaty IF you take your finger off the guns" etc.