http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/4053479.stm In spite of the recent thaw in relations between Ian Paisley and the Dublin government, the Democratic Unionist leader remains wary about accepting Irish hospitality. And so when Dublin's Prime Minister, Bertie Ahern, invited him to breakfast at the Irish Embassy in London last week, he insisted on having two hard-boiled eggs, which he could break open himself. This, he explained to Mr Ahern, was to ensure that he couldn't be poisoned. The Reverend Ian Paisley took great delight in telling this story to his congregation at Martyrs Memorial Church in south Belfast on Sunday morning. He was laughing about it, so we can assume that the unionist leader was simply having a joke at Mr Ahern's expense. But making assumptions about Ian Paisley at the moment is a dangerous game. In the next few days, history could be turned on its head. It's just possible that the man whose catchphrase is "never, never, never" may say "yes" to power-sharing, "yes" to north-south co-operation and "yes" to working with Sinn Fein. That's the deal the British and Irish governments are encouraging him to do. What they - and everyone else - do not know, is whether the 78-year-old preacher-cum-politician will be prepared to do it. The congregation at Martyrs Memorial were given few clues. "Things are happening, things are moving," confided Dr Paisley, but he offered nothing definitive. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ A poisonous man, full of hatred, who preaches hatred, just to keep himself in a position of power. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/4053585.stm DUP leader Ian Paisley has met the prime minister to discuss his party's response to British-Irish proposals designed to restore power-sharing in Northern Ireland. Afterwards, Mr Paisley said that they were moving in the right direction but that the issue of IRA arms decommissioning remained a stumbling block. Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams is also due to meet Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in Dublin. Tuesday's meetings form part of intense talks aimed at reviving devolved government in Northern Ireland. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The only true stumbling block has been and always will be men of Paisley's ilk.
He looks truly awful and for those of you doing the ghoul pool I recommend you include him. He survived an assination attempt before when he was shot in the head .... they missed his brain by three feet!