Jude Collins

There is something almost touching about the confidence with which Donald Trump assumes he can shop for a new leader of Iran the way one might browse kitchen tiles. Apparently, somewhere between golf rounds and late-night social media posts, the President has decided that selecting Iran’s next supreme leader is simply another executive function—like choosing […]

By Joe McVeigh       It is hard to find words to describe the evil that is going on in the world today – words like Madness/ Wreckless/ Genocide are the words that come to mind! And worst of all when you hear the political leaders in America say they are doing it in […]

              RSH.The Daffodils.By Randall Stephen Hall.Plus Free track, THE BOATYARDListen to _9 THE BOATYARD By Randall Stephen Hall by Randall Stephen Hall on #SoundCloudhttps://on.soundcloud.com/uhRgjqhxE8jp8iKxQXTHE DAFFODILSThe daffodils are comingAnd things are looking up.Donald’s in his heavenAnd things are getting rough.Kristi’s gotten crispy.She’s fried and turned to toast.We are lookin’ up […]

The arrival of Mark Carney on the international stage as a voice of economic and geopolitical sobriety has been widely welcomed. Few figures combine such credibility in finance with a clear-eyed understanding of the shifting global order. His emphasis on strengthening ties between countries like Canada, India, and Australia is particularly encouraging. These are large […]

Imagine the global reaction if Vladimir Putin had woken up one morning, dispatched commandos into Ukraine, kidnapped Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his wife from Kyiv, and then—just to round off the afternoon—launched a heavy bombardment of Poland. The response would be instantaneous and volcanic. Emergency meetings at the United Nations would run so late diplomats would […]

Electronic tagging for offenders is one of those ideas that sounds so sensible you wonder why it hasn’t happened already—rather like seatbelts, online banking, or remembering where you parked the car. In fact, Ireland’s justice system has been “about to introduce it” for so long that the technology itself is probably starting to feel self-conscious. […]

Electronic tagging for offenders is one of those ideas that sounds so sensible you wonder why it hasn’t happened already—rather like seatbelts, online banking, or remembering where you parked the car. In fact, Ireland’s justice system has been “about to introduce it” for so long that the technology itself is probably starting to feel self-conscious. […]

George Monbiot got it right about Donald Trump’s attack on Iran for a simple reason: he looked past the noise and asked the one question that matters in war—why? His answer was brutal in its clarity: “The real reason for this attack is spectacle.”  That diagnosis has aged well in the space of about five […]

In theory, the PSNI is the most balanced police force on the island. In practice, it still struggles to recruit Catholics in numbers that match the demography of NEI. Only about one in five applicants comes from a Catholic background. Which raises an awkward question: if the police are for everyone, why do so many people politely […]

THEATRE OF THE ABSURD IN GLASGOW AND WASHINGTON  By John Patton     THEATRE OF THE ABSURD IN GLASGOW AND WASHINGTON   By John Patton on 05/03/2026  A much appreciated birthday gift from my son, saw us both at a new production of “Waiting For Godot” at the recently refurbished, Glasgow Citizens’ Theatre. The curtain rose on […]