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It’s always been a thing for as long as I remember. Anti-social kids or wee spides, as we call them in Belfast. They do tend to have the same look: the skinny body drowned in an oversized tracksuit, that side-shade haircut, the deathly pallor that looks like they’ve never eaten a vegetable in their lives. But recently it does seem like things are getting worse especially with the advent of electric scooters and bikes that they have taken to it …

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Early house pubs tend to be mythologised in Irish culture as what could be better than drinking a pint at 7 in the morning? I joke, of course, anyone drinking at 7 in the morning these days needs to question their life choices. This archived video below from RTÉ is a sobering watch, behind the jovial atmosphere there is an immense sadness amongst many of the men who are out of work, lonely, or just feel utterly useless. A reminder …

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When unresolved tensions and collapsing relationships in the Executive reached boiling point, the very last thing that was needed was for the DUP Communities Minister Paul Givan to push things over the edge by withdrawing funding related to the the Líofa bursary, a scheme designed to support young people study the Irish Language at the Gaeltacht. Whilst not the sole cause of what was to follow, that single petty act proved to be the point of no return as the …

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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. Brian O'NeillManaging Editor of Slugger O’Toole. I help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism; I am not a member of any political party. When not …

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In addition to our normal open Sunday, we have a politics-free post to give you all a break. So discuss what you like here, but no politics. Comments will close at 12 pm on Monday. Brian O'NeillManaging Editor of Slugger O’Toole. I help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism; I am not a member of any …

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The past Autumn and Winter were dark, wet and cold and the cold in particular had seemed to linger long past its welcome. So I think most people will agree that the recent spell of good weather has been nothing but welcome. Being able to go for a walk in the afternoon without having to put on a thick coat and to look up into blue sky was almost a novelty again! It’s not all good news. The good weather …

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A miserable Sunday afternoon, hailstones bounced off the single glazed windows like crystal bismuth, the house colder than a Cavan-man’s wallet. The coal supply exhausted mid month. We had burned the last of the orange crates taken from the supermarket we were working in. A week away from a payslip, in pecuniary despair, living on cornflakes, beans on toast and Lyons Tea. We stared at the rented TV screen as Alison Moyet empathised with us, emerging barefoot out of a …

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The Springhill Inquest delivered its findings yesterday. As per the BBC article by Kelly Bonner, Hayley Halpin and Claire Quinn… An inquest into the shooting of five people in west Belfast in 1972 has found that the Army “lost control” in a number of cases and “overreacted to a perceived threat”. Fr Noel Fitzpatrick, 42, father-of-six Patrick Butler, 37, 15-year-old David McCafferty and 16-year-old John Dougal were killed by the same soldier in the Springhill estate on 9 July 1972. …

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The Irish News reports on disharmony in the notoriously competitive arena of international sheep dog trials: The International Sheep Dog Society (ISDS) has become embroiled in flags row that has sparked deep division among members of its Irish section. The society, which was established in 1906 and is a registered charity, oversees the sheepdog trials in Ireland and Britain. Unionist MPs at Westminster have signed a letter written to the ISDS urging the organisation to scrap the practice of using …

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Amazon have added a new feature that absolutely no one ever asked for. It’s where they use AI to create a fake podcast-style interview with ‘presenters’ where they discuss the product. You can even customise it by asking your own questions and the ‘presenters’ will answer your question. Watch the video below to embrace the full hellishness. Finally, the AI feature we all wanted and needed: Amazon now creates an AI “podcast” about products where two AI “hosts” discuss the …

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From the BBC: Smart electricity meters will be rolled out in Northern Ireland from 2028, according to the Department for the Economy. Smart meters are widely used in the rest of the UK and in Ireland, providing real-time information to energy suppliers while giving households information on their electricity usage and costs. The rollout is set to cost more than £500m, with the regulator expecting IT costs expected to increase that total to the “late hundreds of millions”. Economy Minister …

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King Charles’ presence in the White House at a sensitive moment is just the moment to recall a very different visit to the iconic building only a few years after its construction – the burning of the White House by Major General Robert Ross in the war of 1812.  Trust Ulster thranness to erect a splendid obelisk monument to the distinguished local boy at his eponymous home village,  Rostrevor co Down, to be seen wide and far on both sides …

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It’s been almost weeks since we have had a call to collapse the Assembly. It’s no secret that Brian Feeney is not a fan of our beleaguered ruling class. Writing in today’s Irish News, he has this to say: Michelle O’Neill said Sinn Féin is up for reform of the structures, but the DUP will block any reform, which anyway couldn’t happen before next year’s election. Do you seriously believe the DUP would cooperate with any reform? Fundamentally, Sinn Féin …

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It seems we are not immune from the global demographic time bomb. From the Irish News: The latest Population Projections for Northern Ireland, published by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA), show that by mid-2027 the over-65 population will overtake the number of children in the north. By 2030, the number of deaths will outnumber births. The overall population is set to peak at 1.94 million in mid-2031 before going into long-term decline, falling to 1.91 million by …

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The American relationship with Cuba over the past century and a bit could charitably be described as complicated. The island was ‘liberated’ from Spanish control following the Spanish-American War of 1898 though in reality the United States heavily circumscribed Cuban independence under the terms of the Platt Amendments (which allowed the US to intervene in Cuba if it so chose), turning the island into a de facto vassal. All of this was in keeping with the Monroe Doctrine and the …

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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. Brian O'NeillManaging Editor of Slugger O’Toole. I help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism; I am not a member of any political party. When not …

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In addition to our normal open Sunday, we have a politics-free post to give you all a break. So discuss what you like here, but no politics. Comments will close at 12 pm on Monday. Brian O'NeillManaging Editor of Slugger O’Toole. I help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism; I am not a member of any …

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‘Will you finish off the hoovering of that room of yours? I haven’t any more time. I’m away to work’. It must have been a rhetorical question as my wife Carole didn’t wait for an answer. I had recently converted the large living room into a home cinema replete with an 84 inch screen, Panasonic projector with six permanent Java speakers. The concept was perfected using blacked out curtains to create the darkness. On this occasion I chose to binge …

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