Sometimes I think a mad-house would be a tranquil living environment compared to our NEN. Arlene Foster made a speech yesterday where she explained that unionism “stands for pluralism and multi-culturism”, whereas nationalism is “by its nature narrow and exclusive.” You might think that having dismissed nationalism as worse than worthlessl the DUP would leave […]
May, 2018
Brexit and the state of the union: who’s sorry now?
I have a suspicious mind. Which may be the reason I think the DUP are feeling very uncomfortable about having tied themselves to the Brexiteer camp. Like all of us, the Brexiteers didn’t think they’d win, so it was like the dog chasing the bus: now it’s caught it, what does it do with it? […]
Saturday Pics of the week
Snaps 1-3 are by Perkin Warbeck Snap 1 (twist your neck) Snap 2 Snap 3 WARNING : CONTAINS FLASH HARRY PHOTOGRAPHY One is pleased to humbly announce that one has received a thoroughly deserved invitation to […]
Is it human? The answer tells you how you should vote
Pregnancy video of o 10-14-week-old foetus/baby: https://www.babycenter.ca/v1027478/weeks-10-14-inside-pregnancy-video In a week’s time it’ll all be over. The Irish people south of the border will have decided whether they want to have legislation that will allow abortion for any reason up until 12 weeks of pregnancy. As someone living north of the border I […]
Simon Coveney and standing up strong on Brexit
OK – let me be honest: I’ve always felt a bit iffy about Simon Coveney. He comes from one of the big merchant families of Cork. His brother Patrick is chief executive of Greencore, the largest sandwich manufacturer in the world. He attended Clongowes Wood College in Co Kildare which charges some £15,000 a year […]
Saturday nuptials: will you be watching?
Saturday, my weather app tells me, is going to be breezy and partly cloudy. But that won’t stop lots of people from having a party on their street or in their back yard. Who wouldn’t want to join in the celebrations of two young(ish) people committing their lives to each other? Well, actually, me for […]
Karen: cough up the criteria, please
The cliché is that Brexit has changed everything. Indeed. But you could have knocked me down with a q-tip this morning, when I heard Malachi O’Doherty announce that he would be open to the possibility of voting for a united Ireland because of Brexit. On the same radio programme, Declan Kearney of Sinn Féin said […]
Fear and loathing in Gaza
There was considerable comment from a number of Israeli sources yesterday, explaining the reason why Israeli troops killed 55 Palestinians and wounded thousands of others. The explanation that went straight into my brain and stayed there was the claim that “We acted as any state would do in the circumstances”. Among all the Israeli statements, this […]
Dreaming and digging
Do dreams come true? I had one last night. I was standing at the edge of a crater about 10-foot deep, with a group of people peering down into it and occasionally stopping to pump the air and shout “We are the people!” When I gazed down myself I realized there was a man down […]
The British system of justice
One step forward, one step back. The British Prime Minister this week lamented that only elderly British soldiers and members of the ‘security’ forces were being investigated for their actions forty and more years ago. Karen Bradley, the British secretary of state for NEN backed her up. That’s the backward step, or as we political commentators […]