Slugger O'Toole

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Latest comments from Irishlassabroad (see all)

Irishlassabroad has commented 9 times (0 in the last month).

1. Comment on ‘New facts’ in abortion debate
   on 8 March 2012 at 10:18 am

   Just wanted to remind you that the first commentor on the blog was a woman of child bearing potential! But yes this blog as most others are male dominated, but then so was my politics class at Queens!

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2. Comment on ‘New facts’ in abortion debate
   on 5 March 2012 at 10:21 am

   Correlation does not always mean causation. I would be interested to explore the underlying reasons why these women felt the abortion was the best answer – potential financial difficulties, abuse etc etc. Abortion is often the last resort for a woman with multiple problems all of which could be risk factors for suicide.

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3. Comment on Six Nations 2012 Prediction Contest
   on 31 January 2012 at 11:07 am

   H, H, H, A, A, H, A, H A, H, H, H, A, A, H. Tommy Bowe and 490.

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4. Comment on Lennon’s Tynecastle attacker sentenced to eight months…
   on 15 September 2011 at 10:36 am

   True but the sentence was backdated and the man has now been freed from prison

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5. Comment on One School of Thought Campaign launch open letter calling for Integrated Education
   on 8 September 2011 at 1:46 pm

   Is there a legal requirement to have any sort of religious education in schools? If not why do we not just not have the subject at all and let any religious instruction be done outside school hours by family or at Sunday schools?

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6. Comment on Thoughts on the saga of Hazel Stewart
   on 24 March 2011 at 1:39 pm

   I am completely biased in my opinion here as I lived across the road from Hazel and Trevor in Omagh. Trevor was a lovely, kind and funny man who did not deserve to be murdered by the woman he loved in his own bed. She may not have done it herself but as noted she did nothing to stop it.

   I do feel sorry for her kids but want her to rot

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7. Comment on Belfast Telegraph interview Catriona Ruane
   on 21 March 2011 at 1:30 pm

   I can still remember my 11+ but mainly because we got to go swimming after it rather than the exam which to me was no big deal, but I also remember some class mates being very stressed by it. I am not a fan of the minister but agree with the central idea that 2 exams at 11 years of age should not determine somone’s future. My old headmaster at School (RIP Mr Thompson) also said that any decent teacher would know if a student was capable or not and that selection should be on continued assessment from a child’s P6 and P7 years. I always thought this sounded a much better idea!

   If she had done away with the 11+ and had a new system with the support of the schools and parents that would be fine but she didn’t and now kids are doing exams for maybe 3 different schools which is much more pressure.

   Northern Irish students consistently outrank students from other parts of the UK. We should be proud of our education system and be striving to make it better for more children, not dismantle it completely for political gain

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8. Comment on The breakdown of health service cuts revealed
   on 23 February 2011 at 10:34 am

   I love that for Belfast Trush the number of nurses being cut is over twice the number of admin staff! When I worked there the number of administrators to admistrate what other administrators were doing was already endemic and from what I hear that has not changed. Don’t get we wrong, I still work for the NHS in Scotland in a clerical role and clerical work is vital to the running of the hospital but not the amount of band 7+ admin staff that there are who are all getting paid more than the nursing staff. Cuts in the NHS as required but not in front line services.

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9. Comment on AV: Yes, No or Meh? What are we being asked?
   on 21 February 2011 at 5:07 pm

   Thanks for this Paul I have been waiting for a good discussion on the pros and cons of AV and the issues surrounding it. I have noticed the no campaign seem to be winning the funding war as I have seen many ads for the no side and nothing from the yes.

   I especially like your point on the framing of the question and the fact people are being given a choice between FPTP and AV which is not a proportional system. Would it not be better for there to be a real choice between AV/AV+/STV etc.

   Whether anything will make the present or any future governments more legitimate in the eyes of the public remains doubtful in my mind at least

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