Waiting for Hillary
Stormont officials are busy preparing for Monday's visit by the US Secretary of State. Hillary Clinton will get to us via London, Dublin and Switzerland. Is she trying to broker peace between those fractious Swiss Germans, Swiss French and Swiss Italians? No, she is witnessing the signing of an accord between the Turks and the Armenians.
Either way it reminded me of the old "Third Man" quote "In Italy, for 30 years under the Borgias, they had warfare, murder and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they have brotherly love. They had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? - the cuckoo clock!"
Maybe one of the potential US investors could set up a cuckoo clock manufacturing plant in our neck of the woods (the Swiss later told Orson Welles they didn't make cuckoo clocks).
On the topic of quotes I noticed a good one in Robert Harris's review of a new book about the former US President called The book quotes Bill Clinton's view as being that "the Middle East is an abscess, Northern Ireland is a scab", and whereas an abscess "inevitably gets worse without Âpainful but cleansing intervention", a scab is best left to "heal with time and simple care".
After inspecting how our scab is healing up, the US Secretary of State will head to Moscow where the main topic of discussion will not be the devolution of justuce, but what to do about Iran's nuclear ambitions.
Before Hillary arrives, I have an "Inside Politics" programme to broadcast. Last night's talks in Downing Street appeared to be fruitful so far as both the First and Deputy First Ministers were concerned. Martin McGuinness told the Letterkenny Chamber of Commerce he now regards the financial negotiation over justice as at an end, and will be recommending Sinn Fein's acceptance of Gordon Brown's latest offer.
On "Inside Politics" I shall hear Peter Robinson's view of the financial offer, and will also talk to live guests Dawn Purvis and Brian Feeney. As usual the programme will be broadcast on Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Radio Ulster on Sunday just after the one o'clock news.
I'm 
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