People sometimes ask me about a given political situation – a collapsed Executive, an election, an arrest: “What do you think is going to happen?” These are people who don’t know me very well, because if they knew me they’d know that, like nearly all political commentators, I don’t have a crystal ball. (That’ll […]
February, 2018
Saturday pics of the week
Pics 1-4 are by Perkin Warbeck Pic 1 Pic 2 Pic 3 Pic 4 DOLMEN, DULL MEN and DÁIL MEN. Back in the day, in fact the Fifties in the Free Southern Stateen, the Dolmen was considered every bit as Irish as Darby O Gill. Hence the surprise of […]
The DUP and a date with destruction
Train vs. Car in Slow-mo! byu/SimonSays_ ingifs Sometimes I wonder if people haven’t gone total screeching mad. I don’t mean eccentric, I don’t mean erratic, I mean bonkers. With a strong streak of masochism tossed in . I find these gloomy thoughts elbowing into my head as I look away from the layer of snow on […]
Leo Varadkar to Mary Lou: With me it’s all er nuthin’/ Is it all er nuthin’ with you?
Leo Varadkar’s congratulation of Mary Lou McDonald in becoming President of Sinn Féin reminded me of Seb Coe’s congratulation of Steve Ovett, when Ovett beat him into second place in the 800 metres at the Moscow Olympics. As they shook hands on the podium, the TV critic Clive James said, Coe “looked like he’d just […]
Sammy, Nigel and Ian: their impact on the House of Commons
The British House of Commons is an interesting place. Its atmosphere is very important, so important that it’s going to get a makeover that’ll cost taxpayers billions. Like judges in wigs and barristers in gowns, the idea of the décor in the House of Commons is to intimidate newcomers with its sense of gravitas, history, […]
Paedophile hunting: why stop with paedophiles?
Who could be more public-spirited than paedophile hunters? They are concerned that little kids could be abused by paedophiles, so they give of their free time to organize themselves in groups and go hunt these heinous creatures down. Occasionally they do this online by posing as a vulnerable youngster. Then when the paedophile shows interest, […]
Why was the Civil Rights movement overwhelmingly Catholic?
I didn’t hear the whinny of a unicorn outside my kitchen door this morning, but as I munched my Rice Krispies I heard something almost as startling: the sound of a Raidio Uladh/Radio Ulster reporter asking someone “Was there discrimination fifty years ago?” Mercifully the response was “Yes”, and so the cat lives to miaow […]
Gerry Kelly and that wheel-clamp: life imitating art?
There are times when the only viable reaction to an event is to punch the air and yell “Wooo- hoooo!” Or alternatively, “Gwan, ya boy ya!” This is one of those times. I’m referring, of course, to the response of Gerry Kelly MLA when he emerged from an early morning gym session to find his […]
Ben, elderly soldiers and disputed killings
My dear friend Ben Lowry of The News Letter is worried again, I see. He’s concerned about legacy. Welcome to the club, Ben. There are people here who were worrying about legacy before you were born. Ben’s main thing, need I say, is that “elderly soldiers are [being] tried late in life for disputed single […]
Bombardier : some turbulence
If you were a Bombardier worker last week and even if you weren’t, you’re probably still exhaling and saying “That was a close one.” On Friday of last week, just about all the experts as well as those employed by Bombardier in Belfast were bracing themselves for the worst. With the Trump administration slapping duties […]