Brian O’Neill

The destructive power of fame…

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I confess to not knowing many One Direction songs, but it is always sad to hear of someone dying an untimely death. From the Guardian: Liam Payne, a former member of the boyband One Direction, has died aged 31 after …

Brian O’Neill

Be Nice to People on Your Way Up. You’ll Meet Them On Your Way Down…

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The latest fall from grace of some of our local politicians is a case study of the old maxim: Be Nice to People on Your Way Up. You’ll Meet Them On Your Way Down. It turns out that if you …

Brian O’Neill

Weight-loss drugs may help with opioid and alcohol abuse…

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Weight loss jabs are being touted as the modern-day panacea for all our ills. The latest claim is that they could help with drug and alcohol addiction. From the FT: Ozempic and similar products cut opioid and alcohol abuse by …

Brian O’Neill

Controversial Army General, Sir Mike Jackson dies aged 80…

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From the BBC: The death of General Sir Mike Jackson will not be mourned by the families of those killed on Bloody Sunday, the chair of the Bloody Sunday Trust has said. Gen Jackson, who went on to become head …

Frank Schnittger

Annus Horribilis for Hookers and the Ireland squad to take on New Zealand, Argentina, Fiji, and Australia takes shape.

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Hookers have become something of an endangered species in Ireland with all four of Leinster’s hookers, Dan Sheehan, Rónan Kelleher, John McKee, and Lee Barron currently injured and Ulster’s Rob Herring, Tom Stewart yet to male their debut this season. …

Mick Fealty

There’s no magic carpet out of Sinn Féin’s multiplying issues, other than to make some hard choices…

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So Sinn Féin’s troubles continue, this time they are merely deepening in the south. Over the weekend the party lost its second TD in a week to resignation. It wasn’t over the McMonagle case but the result of internal machinations. …

Soapbox

Northern Ireland’s Older Peoples Parliament took place in Stormont last Saturday….

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David Jamison is writing about those items that catch his attention now looking through an older person’s eyes.  He lives in Belfast and since retiring recently he is trying to make sense of a fast-changing world and trying his best …

Brian O’Neill

Anti obesity jabs to get people back to work. Another quick fix government idea doomed to fail?

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First, the good news, Clodagh Rice at the BBC reports on good news for employment figures: The number of people on company payrolls in Northern Ireland in September was 806,700, a rise of 1.5% over the year and the largest …

Brian O’Neill

Sandy Row has 99 problems but the bridge ain’t one…

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Personally, I don’t see what all the fuss is about with the removal of the Boyne Bridge in Belfast. I never gave it a second thought the umpteen times I went over it. It only dates from the 1930s and …

Brian O’Neill

Australian politicians shun King Charles visit…

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From the Independent: King Charles and Queen Camilla are facing an embarrassing snub by leading Australian politicians ahead of their tour of the country. As the couple prepare to kick off their nine day visit Down Under on Friday, every …

Brian O’Neill

Open Sunday – discuss what you like…

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The idea for Open Sunday is to let you discuss what you like. Just two rules. Keep it civil and no man/woman playing. Comments will close at 12 pm on Monday.