71 Comments

• Cranleigh | Aug 18, 2012, 11:47 AM EDT

  WoundedKnee, I think Romney was getting donations from American citizens in Israel. And I don't think we Irish are in any position to criticize the USA in this regard, given that so many of our richest citizens are tax exiles while still living in IRELAND for all practical purposes. It's an absurd and humiliating situation. Anyway, how ya like those Olympics now, Mitt?

• cabocla | Aug 13, 2012, 10:57 AM EDT

  How about the REAL BIG GAFFE that Obama committed in Poland, calling Poland a Holocaust Place!!!! The Liberal Media did not even mentioned that.

• Belphagor | Jul 31, 2012, 02:38 PM EDT

  KatieMurphy what planet do you live on sweetheart? Grow up and move on.

• Sparklet | Jul 31, 2012, 02:24 PM EDT

  Lol, that's true. And made me smile. (Must sort out that life insurance policy....)

• hancock | Jul 31, 2012, 01:53 PM EDT

  We already act like we've been married twenty years.

• Sparklet | Jul 31, 2012, 01:11 PM EDT

  Hancock - does this mean we're engaged? ;)

• hancock | Jul 31, 2012, 12:40 PM EDT

  I totally agree, people don't care about dictators unless the price of gas goes up.

• Sparklet | Jul 31, 2012, 12:27 PM EDT

  Hancock, on that we agree, and that's especially true today. Mugabe might have been taken out years ago if there'd be something in it for the US or the UK. Are the people of Zimbabwe less deserving of liberation than those of Iraq? Politicians are hypocrites.

• hancock | Jul 31, 2012, 12:07 PM EDT

  Whether Hitler was a threat to humanity doesn't mean that the US in 1939 were going to get involved in another bloody European war. He was same threat in 1938 I presume and England saw fit to sell the Czhechs down the river. I don't blame them by the way. When he went a step to far with Poland theY were forced to declare war due to previous pacts and to save face and potentially their empire. So save they were saving humanity routine. England , like all powerful countries, do what's best for themselves.

• WoundedKnee | Jul 31, 2012, 11:23 AM EDT

  I see that Romney has been "fund-raising" in Israel. Don't we have laws to prohibit foreigners influencing our elections?

• Sparklet | Jul 31, 2012, 11:06 AM EDT

  WW2 was a valid war, if war can ever be termed as such. These days, America is quick to involve itself in wars that are invalid - Iraq as an example. There are countless dictators around the globe. Some appear to be fair game, others not so. America and Britain are both self-serving. It's all well and fine to talk about freeing people from dictatorships, but it's actually more about oil, and what's in the interest of the USA or the UK. If there's nothing in it for them, they do nothing. Hancock talks about WW2 as though Hitler wasn't a threat to humanity.

• Sparklet | Jul 31, 2012, 10:07 AM EDT

  I rarely agree with Wounded Knee and his alter ego GeorgeDillon but I do agree with regard to the use of our military abroad. We never seem to learn from history. Vietnam was the most tragic misadventure in American history. A ten year blood and treasure sacrifice to no avail ... and yes, 58,700 young Americans (average age 19)did die for nothing, along with 2.5 million Vietnamese. Iraq ll and Afghanistan more recent misadventures lasting 9 to 10 years, thousands of young lives and trillions in cost, now being wound down by Obama. Yet the Republicans are ready for more. Next stop Syria - where we know that at least some of the opposition despise the U.S. and where a large minority of Christians, long protected by both Assad regimes, face slaughter should the regime fall, witness Egypt and Iraq. Our Republicans friends are now itching for a brawl with Iran, in support of our ally, Israel. Talk about the tail wagging the dog here! Note: Afghanistan should have been a short war. We accomplished our mission in destroying Al-Qaeda there but then, alas, "mission creep" crept in - as it does everywhere we go. We never learn.

• hancock | Jul 31, 2012, 09:49 AM EDT

  The question of Scottish independence is a slow drift away from union. Regional assembly, Devo max, eventually it will happen. Sooner than many of you think. I t may come from the English, who rightly or wrongly don't aprreciate what they perceive as the ungrateful people from the north. As far as the U.S. in WW2, why should they have gotten involved in another bloody European war, esspecially when the country was vastly against it. You're lucky their neutrality was in name only and they were supporting you with the civilian and war material you needed to survive.

• Sparklet | Jul 31, 2012, 04:21 AM EDT

  So Britain need the help of the US during WW2? I'm not sure what the point is here. Has anyone looked at the size of the UK compared to Germany? Instead of crowing about the US having to wade in and help them out, shouldn't they have been in from the start, or is fighting dictators just a new fad? I'm not an Anglophile and I don't hate Americans, but I know enough about WW2 to know that Hitler was a nutjob who had to be stopped. I despise English history in Ireland, despise the fact that they allowed the gerrymandering and inequality to thrive in NI. But I'm an optimist. I believe in reunification and think it will happen, but peacefully. Enough people have died, and reading the hate ridden diatribes on here is sickening, especially when they're obviously made by people who don't have a clue about the feelings of the majority, either in the 26 or the 6.

• SAirish | Jul 31, 2012, 03:15 AM EDT

  Hancock's posting that soon the Scots will be independent is typical of his limited knowledge. Opinion polls in Scotland held recently indicate 32% to 35% of people in favor of independence. Yes, there are two years to go before the referendum, but if the SNP does not gain ground within the next year it stands no chance of winning. Alex Salmond of the SNP has been the First Minister for 5 years, but support for independence has stood at a third for the last 40 years. When the SNP stood at the Scottish regional elections, independence was hardly mentioned because it was a vote looser. People voted for the SNP because it was perceived to be a better party for regional government. An article in the Guardian Newspaper recently revealed that the leaders of the SNP are privately disapointed that they have not gained any ground.

• curtisjohnson | Jul 30, 2012, 09:53 PM EDT

  hancock, excellent post. @realist " The U.K. stood alone for almost 3 years." This is ludicrous - the Germans forces were severely diluted eastward against the massive Soviet war maching beginning in 1941.

• sparklemagic | Jul 30, 2012, 08:55 PM EDT

  Mitt Romney is in over his head.

• hancock | Jul 30, 2012, 08:03 PM EDT

  The US bailed out the English from start to finish with material and after their entrance in 1941 when they led their junior partner. England was under paid under sexed and under Eisenhower. When the UK was alone they got their ass kicked. Gordon Brown was a Scot, I know that. Soon the Scots will be independent, even the English would vote for that. No love lost there. The nationalist Irish were opressed in Ireland right up until and after Stormont was taken down in 1972. Even the English were too embarrassed at that point. You remind me of an old man pining for empire and still mad at the Irish for being the first to start tearing it down. P.s. WHEN ARE THE PARAS GOING ON TRIAL?

• Realist | Jul 30, 2012, 07:34 PM EDT

  hancock: Lol....Dunkirk was in June 1940.....the United States was not active in the European theatre of operations until early 1942. The U.K. stood alone for almost 3 years. All aid advanced to the U.K. from the U.S. was paid for, in full, with interest (check the records). I know you hate the British to the point of not being able to use their name (I remember laughing at you describing Gordon Brown as English, but in retrospect, I think you really don't know the difference), but facts are facts. You remind me of the Free State Irish who stoned the British and American Embassies on VE Day (7th May 1945), 2 weeks after their premier became the only World leader to prostrate his condolences to the Nazi ambassador on the suicide of Adolf Hitler.....disappointed by the liberation of Bergen-Belsen perhaps.

• Realist | Jul 30, 2012, 07:16 PM EDT

  hancock: Lol....who is "oppressed in Ireland"? Can't wait to read this.

• hancock | Jul 30, 2012, 05:58 PM EDT

  No, you sound juvenile when you don't agree with something then decide that in a nutshell thats why they're hated. I never whined about America. America isn't perfect and they've taken some lumps. Ireland certainly seems to have moved on, too bad they left a sixth of their country behind. Good thing there's the Palestinians to worry/ whine about.

• Sparklet | Jul 30, 2012, 05:12 PM EDT

  Haven't got an anti-American attitude. Am anti Americans who are hypocritical. How many people in NI do you think would swap places with a Palestinian? Calling me juvenile sounds just like a whiny American who doesn't like the truth to me. But of course, your outdated anti Brit rants aren't juvenile. Ireland has moved on and is generally embarrassed by Americans whose roots are in the past, and don't have a clue about the country today.

• hancock | Jul 30, 2012, 04:10 PM EDT

  Stupid only to a person willing to worry about Arabs over Irishmen and women. If you read carefully I was referring to the last 40 years in the 6 counties. Many of which weren't pleasant to the I rish nationalist population. You anti- American attitude is juvenile to the extreme. Are you also willing to excuse terror against other countries if they don't agree with your nutshell opinions?

• Sparklet | Jul 30, 2012, 03:57 PM EDT

  Stupid post, hancock - there's no comparison between the way people live in Palestine and the way they live in Northern Ireland. The Irish situation is being addressed and people are moving on - the majority of people there are happy with what they've got, or are happy to wait for reunification. Do you seriously think that their way of life is comparable to that of the Palestinians. And there it is in a nutshell folks..why America is a target for terrorism. A complete and utter disregard for the plight of a nation. Pity the Palestinians don't have power or oil.

• hancock | Jul 30, 2012, 03:44 PM EDT

  English interference and oppression at the expense of the Irish in their own country is the root cause of terrorism in the last 40 years. Isn't it ironic that there is vocal support of Palestinians and their cause and not the opressed people in there own country.

• lecorri | Jul 30, 2012, 02:04 PM EDT

  Wounded Knee, from where did you get that info on Romney and did he mean calling them on ALL decisions or just on ones that directly affect Israel? I have searched and not found it and would like to see for myself.

• Sparklet | Jul 30, 2012, 02:00 PM EDT

  Western support for Israel at the expense of the Palestinians is the root cause of the problems we have with terrorism today. Or is it fighting back, and the whiny Americans don't like it? Sorry, some whiny Americans. It's not right to generalise. Isn't it ironic though that there is vocal support for the IRA because of their cause, but not for the Islamic terrorists.

• WoundedKnee | Jul 30, 2012, 12:39 PM EDT

  I see Romney is continuing his fatuous progress, this time in Israel. The fool said that the reason the Israelis had a better GNP than the Palestinians was because Israeli culture was superior. Did this idiot ever think of the effect of six decades of occupation on the Palestinians? Of regular raids by the Israeli military, bombing and destroying infrastructure, and killing thousands of people? Of control by the Izzies of Palestinian electricity, water, all imports and exports? Of Izzie control even of which Palestinian young men and women could be allowed go abroad to study? What an utter fool is this Romney. He'd be a very dangerous president, the same gang that got us into the Iraq invasion would be back calling the shots. I'm very disappointed with Obama, but when I read about Romney I even rethink my decision not to vote for the president.

• PhlutiePhan | Jul 30, 2012, 11:09 AM EDT

  @lokonline: Obama is straight out of the 1917 Russian Revolution. Romney has his faults but what he said in Britania is "much ado about nothing". That is from Shakespeare and not from the media handbook written by Joseph Goebbels.

• hancock | Jul 30, 2012, 10:46 AM EDT

  England was and is Americas biggest aircraft carrier. England took on Hitler after he snatched half of Europe and then were forced to after Poland. Remember the Czhechs? As usual England was worried about England's empire. The Germans kicked your ass across from Dunkirk and the U.S. bailed you out. Sorry if that sticks in your stiff upper lip.

• lokionline | Jul 30, 2012, 10:12 AM EDT

  What we are seeing in Mr. Willard M. Romney's stiff and awkward demeanor is a direct result of his cultural background and upbringing.
  
  Mitt belongs in the black and white world of 'Pleasentville' he is outside of his cultural time-frame here in the 21st century.

• bignevermo | Jul 30, 2012, 07:59 AM EDT

  Romney would NOT have called anyone MR. Leader in America!! It just aint so...he forgot the guys name...unless the persons name was "Leader" we dont use that term for a leader of a party...WRONG!

• IrelandNorth | Jul 30, 2012, 05:42 AM EDT

  Anglo-Irish author and playwright George Bernard Shaw once described Britain and the US as two countries seperated by a common language. Trouble is, much gets lost in translation. One speaks English, the other American. Such linguistic difficulties are further exacerbated by characteristic Anglo-Saxon emotional anal-retentiveness, and stereotypical US brashness and forthrightness. All Americans should appreciate that neither the English in particular nor the British generally, (and alas the Irish too), can handle the truth. We're an emotionally repressed peoples - much of which is a byproduct of colonialism!

• Sparklet | Jul 30, 2012, 03:38 AM EDT

  I wasn't around during the war, but I think the UK comes out of it with far more credit than the US. Obviously, the US's help was invaluable and appreciated - without it, as Scrivner says, the UK - and probably Ireland - would have fallen to Germany. But who was it who took on the evil of Hitler? The US would have left Europe to it, it it weren't for the attack on Pearl Harbour. Small countries like Ireland and Switzerland, I could understand being neutral - but America wasn't quite so quick to take on the big boys then, was it. The UK took on a much bigger nation. The US takes on Iraq, Grenada... My best friend is American, I've been to America and loved it, but this constant harping on about how Europe would be German if it wasn't for America is sickening. Give some credit to the Europeans who fought off Hitler for two years without your help. Such self-righteous, self praise, is what contributes to making you unpopular with the rest of the world. Including Ireland.

• allentown | Jul 30, 2012, 12:13 AM EDT

  What can I say to all you Romney bashers except they'll keeps the lights on for you in Greenland after the November election.

• Scrivner | Jul 29, 2012, 11:10 PM EDT

  My dear America bashers, please remember that there has always been an isolationist undertone in U.S. society. From George Washington to Ron Paul there has been an aversion to getting involved with intrigues and plots of bigoted, mean spirited people across the Atlantic. If America had stayed neutral 70 years ago, Brits would be greeting each other with a Gut Tag, Mein Heir and Aussies would be saying Ohio, instead of G'day. Many historians say that if the USA had not withdrawn from active involvement after the Great War (you know, the one to end all wars)the dragon's teeth of Nazism would not have taken root. So keep pushing, then don't bother to call when earthquake, flood or tyrant threaten your Hobbit hole. Dial up China, they're anxious to take on the mantel.

• hancock | Jul 29, 2012, 10:53 PM EDT

  Worry about your English queen, let us worry about America.

• seanomelb | Jul 29, 2012, 09:55 PM EDT

  No the GOP basher from the south, get it right

• hancock | Jul 29, 2012, 08:55 PM EDT

  You should talk, the American basher of the southern hemisphere.

• seanomelb | Jul 29, 2012, 06:25 PM EDT

  Romney put his foot in it again,he spends most of his time defending his faux pait's. God help us if this Dumbo becomes president of the USA. I see Hancock is back with his little pearls of crap

• Sparklet | Jul 29, 2012, 06:14 PM EDT

  Aw, come on Hancock. You don't mean that. Ireland is probably the best loved country on the planet. :) That counts for something.

• Sparklet | Jul 29, 2012, 05:00 PM EDT

  Garbo55 - America might also be the most generous nation in the world, but how many of the nations you help will turn round and stab you in the back afterwards? Do you think Libya will be pro-West any more than it was in the past? Will Syria if the rebels take control. In a word - unlikely. America is hated. Personally I think western nations have done a lot in the past to make that hatred understandable, if not justifiable. My whole point is that a lot of the racists on here are quick to condemn a nation for its actions of the past, but don't recognise that in today's world, the USA is seen in the same light - the Great Satan?

• TheOldPerfessor | Jul 29, 2012, 04:50 PM EDT

  Hi Mitt. Welcome to the rest of the world. Reporters here are not afraid to criticize you for feat of being called the Biased Press. You might have to borrow that secret device from Bush so that people in the spin room can tell you waht to say.

• SherryKay | Jul 29, 2012, 04:21 PM EDT

  So,right on schedule Nitwit Mitt Weird Willard Mittens Romney is Flipping and Flopping like a fish out of water,all the place. Come on Mittens make up your bloody mind,if you even have one,here will you? Good Lord Weird Willard flips flops worse then even former Democrat Presidential Candidate Sen.John Kerry. So,Willard are you for the Olympics or against them here in 2012,you blooming idiot? Mitt is the laughing stock of the world and only a fool like him would be dumb enough to vote for Romney in 2012.

• garbo55 | Jul 29, 2012, 04:15 PM EDT

  America is the most hated country in the world...Until there is a natural or other type of man made disaster and it is the U.S. that is called on to solve the problem at our own exspence.

• SAirish | Jul 29, 2012, 03:02 PM EDT

  Mitt the Twitt has just issued a statement in Israel describing the Games in London as "Spectacular". On Yahoo US home news, he is being ridiculed for his "U Turn" on all the blogs. Maybe he was instructed to say that by Tel Aviv.

• Mike7571 | Jul 29, 2012, 02:51 PM EDT

  One of the most fair, honest articles I've ever read on this page.

• ePHraimAg | Jul 29, 2012, 02:09 PM EDT

  "Hardly the stuff of espionage thrillers."...but at least Cameron got the assassin under surveillance and npt too canon damaged.

• Sparklet | Jul 29, 2012, 12:59 PM EDT

  CelticQueen, I'm just being realistic. Not voicing my own opinion. America - and the UK - are the most hated countries worldwide. The UK because it's seen as America's puppet.

• WoundedKnee | Jul 29, 2012, 12:19 PM EDT

  " Calling the Israelis before making a move?". Lecorri, you don't believe me? But it was Romney who said this, not me! Try to keep up with the news outlets. But there is one thing about Romney I'd like clarification on, maybe someone can help me. We know that he avoided the draft during the Vietnam era (a typical chickenhawk trick--they like to fight wars where working-class folks do the killing and dying)). But is it true that the reason he gave for dodging the draft was his religion?

• Mickk333 | Jul 29, 2012, 12:11 PM EDT

  What a slanted article. Do you work for Fox 'News'? An uninvited guest walks into your house and says "This is a bad color for a living room. You really need to change it" Do you give them props for 'telling the truth'?

• Cranleigh | Jul 29, 2012, 11:57 AM EDT

  Let's see how much truth he hands out the Israelis. Don't hold your breath.

• Cranleigh | Jul 29, 2012, 11:55 AM EDT

  Romney was a guest on a diplomatic mission. Not a smart guest, not a smart diplomat. Did he win friends? No. Mission failure.

• jamthecat | Jul 29, 2012, 11:52 AM EDT

  So...bad manners are perfectly all right. After all, when a Republican has the poor grace to insult his hosts, he's just being honest and not a politician. Even though he's supposedly over on this trip to prove he IS a politician. But when a Democrat does follow protocol and good manners, he's being a wimp and apologizing for America. Well...it's good to know Emily Post got it all wrong; Americans can act like a**holes all they want, especially when they're members of the GOP. And they can lie about the president to their heart's content, so long as they're Republicans. Showing respect for our allies is so cowardly. We are the exception to the rules. And yet people still wonder why we're so reviled. Way to go, Patrick; you've helped forward the image of this nation as one of childishness and selfishness and clumsiness in all things. You must be grinning like a proud parent every time Mitt spits in the face of those he's supposed to be shaking hands with.

• borefield | Jul 29, 2012, 11:50 AM EDT

  Great Honest Article Patrick Roberts. I am incouraged that IC does have a few common sense journalists. Thank you. Cahir is a waste.

• CelticQueenUSA | Jul 29, 2012, 11:43 AM EDT

  Hey SPARKLET!! America is not the most hated country but the most envied one We don't send out governments agents to quell unrest or kill to be rid of problems. You are off the mark buster.

• Tom Mo | Jul 29, 2012, 11:39 AM EDT

  Solid article by Patrick Roberts and a nice slap at Cahir O'Doherty's diatribe, Romneyshambles. Bravo.

• hermitTalker | Jul 29, 2012, 11:08 AM EDT

  I heard what he said, and then heard the UK man make fun of what he acually said. Mitt was asked - off camera that I saw- and answered with references to the well-publicised news about the security contract and the last-minute averted strike. They were all widely covered in the Brits. own media. The disdain is for the USA - they are still smarting over the Gulf war debacle and of course the media there and in Ireland were rapped for being pro-Obama, as they were so anti-Bush. Obama is digging his own huge hole, esspecially by picking at Romney's successful life. Of course he made mistakes, but Obama has done his share and has done nothing for the US except to promote abortion and same gender unions and take a huge chunk out of the religious rights of the citizens in favour of his questionable health care bill, which has excellent points but may sink the budget as well as upset the centrist block of the people he wants to continue to govern.

• Sparklet | Jul 29, 2012, 11:01 AM EDT

  Duh...meant incursion. Lol. Got my next year's trip to Ireland on the brain.

• Sparklet | Jul 29, 2012, 11:00 AM EDT

  Can't pronounce taco or Billy Joel? Sweet Jaysus. Are you serious? The level of racism on this site is absolutely pathetic, but it probably stops people facing the reality of how the USA is the most hated nation in the world, and maybe it's modern day excursions into other nations business is even worse than those that are centuries old because mankind is supposed to have developed. I presume the only people who will object to this opinion will be the whiney ones.

• johhnyb | Jul 29, 2012, 10:48 AM EDT

  Hi Tom swinford. You note that the British press doesn't think that Romney is ready for prime time. Remember this was the same press which supported and still supports Obama! Enough said?

• lecorri | Jul 29, 2012, 10:46 AM EDT

  Oh for crying out loud! Whinny baby brits, cant even pronouce taco or Billy Joels name correctly and have made MORE than their fair share of gaffs all over the planet and for far longer than any American. And some of the stuff being posted here about Romney, for whom, by the way, I wont be voting. Calling the Israelis before making a move? Really? Were y'all probed by the aliens whos spaceship landed in your backyard? Jeeze!

• johhnyb | Jul 29, 2012, 10:43 AM EDT

  If you check as far back as last Friday you'll find that it was yourselves who were getting all upset about Romney. Now it appears that normal service has been resumed with your hatred of England being greater than your dislike of Romney. Well done.

• handsome68 | Jul 29, 2012, 10:40 AM EDT

  Obama is the empty suit, not Romney. I must admit, though, that Obama promised change, and he delivered. Change for the worse, that is. Talk is cheap, and the sitting President is, as everyone knows, very, very good at talk. Delivery is another story entirely. I mean, he should be working 24/7 to deliver work opportunities rather than criticizing, for example, Republicans.

• susan724 | Jul 29, 2012, 10:20 AM EDT

  Romney's gaffe was not political, it was social and cultural. It is classless to be a guest in one's home and then criticize the host. It shows how little, or no, class Romney has. But, we Americans already know that his tank is half full.

• MichaelMcGrath | Jul 29, 2012, 10:17 AM EDT

  Refreshingly candid, that's Romney, in an era of Political Correctitude. But I still don't know how he's going to present his First Ladies, will they be all First Lady sharing the position, or will they be in order of importance, First lady, Second Lady, Third Lady etc etc etc

• MichaelMcGrath | Jul 29, 2012, 10:12 AM EDT

  Mr. Roberts, surely you jest. It is irrevelant whether Romney was stating facts or not. As the Republican Presidential Nominee, you do not visit the capital of one of our most important allies and repeatedly insult their country. As one prominent republican commentator said, his conduct was "incomprehensible." The British press was unanimous: This guy is definitely not ready for prime time. Romney, of course, will be very careful not to offend the Israelis, unlikely, as his speeches there have already been edited as necessary and pre-approved by Netanyahu. Netanyahu is quite certain that with Romney as president he will have a green light to pre-emptively attack Iran and the U.S. will support Israel, indeed will have no choice but to support Israel, regardless of consequences.

• Sparklet | Jul 29, 2012, 09:54 AM EDT

  I would guess that whether Romney was right or wrong depends on which political party you support. My American democrat friend declared him to be a jerk.

• motamanx | Jul 29, 2012, 09:51 AM EDT

  Romney's an empty suit and totally unfit to be president. He takes his orders from the Koch Brothers.

• hollabackgurl | Jul 29, 2012, 09:04 AM EDT

  Ireland isn't ready to commemorate the 1916 Rising, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney told Ireland’s Prime Minister Enda Kenny at the Irish Embassy in London on Friday. Romney's new 'neo-conservative' home truth tour has been a Euro hit.

• WoundedKnee | Jul 29, 2012, 08:21 AM EDT

  Did Romney get advice from the Israelis before he made these statements? According to Romney himself, he calls Israeli PM Netanyahu before making any foreign policy declarations to make sure's the Israelis are OK with them.