There has been much talk about the anticipated fuel protests today. Junior was very excited last night at the possibility of school being cancelled, but I had to explain to him that, as we walk to school every day, I don’t think any protests will be affecting us. So far, the only activity seems to be some tractors stopping on the M3 – Sydenham Bypass city-bound. Another video from social – tractors stopped. pic.twitter.com/g77tuTdehi — Kevin Scott (@Kscott_94) April 14, …
All change in Hungary following the defeat of Viktor Orbán, but this particular story caught my attention. Peter Magyar, during his international press conference, confirmed that Szijjarto, Orbán’s foreign minister, has barricaded himself with some of his closest colleagues and is destroying and shredding evidence about his treason (documents about the sanctions against russians). Peter Magyar, during his international press conference, confirmed that Szijjarto, Orbán's foreign minister, has barricaded himself with some of his closest colleagues and is destroying and …
The war in Ukraine will be seen as a turning point for the world and likely not for the better. The creativity and ingenuity of Ukraine have shown how a small country can fend off and hopefully defeat a much larger invader. Unfortunately, it looks like they’ve also unleashed an obsolete Pandora’s box of new, cheap, easily made drones and other technological advances that will likely be used by future armies and also terrorists around the world. ZELENSKYY: For the …
Council Watch is a group of concerned locals holding Newry, Mourne & Down District Council accountable When Newry, Mourne and Down District Council’s proposed gondola up Slieve Donard collapsed, you might have expected some form of reckoning. A project tied to £30 million of Belfast Region City Deal money was redirected from Thomas’s Quarry to Kilbroney Forest Park, where it also ran into serious difficulties, and then approved by the BRCD Executive Board before the landowner’s permission had been obtained. …
The Great Orange One has turned his ire on the pontiff. Posting on Truth Social the following: Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy. He talks about “fear” of the Trump Administration, but doesn’t mention the FEAR that the Catholic Church, and all other Christian Organizations, had during COVID when they were arresting priests, ministers, and everybody else, for holding Church Services, even when going outside, and being ten and even twenty feet apart. I like …
I was expecting to write this post later tonight rather than you seeing it this Monday morning. Whilst all the polling had suggested that Viktor Orbán was heading for a massive defeat, there was a possibility that his Fidesz party was laying the groundwork to contest the election and that the end result would be exceptionally messy. So whilst I was pretty sure, based on reporting, that he was going to lose, I was surprised to see that late last …
Suspect Device They take away our freedom In the name of liberty Why can’t they all just clear off Why can’t they let us be My favourite anti war lyrics from any song; ever. As a 16 year old I should have been studying for my Inter Certificate Examination in Clones Co. Monaghan, but in 1978 these boys from Belfast, Stiff Little Fingers had a rawness that was paradoxically fresh. A bona fide distraction from textbooks. I played their debut …
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 …
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 …
There is a death cult running America, one that claims to believe in eternal life. I remember laughing as Donald Trump, on his first go round, claiming the Bible was his favourite book, so much his favourite in fact, that he couldn’t pick out a single verse for discission. ‘The Bible means a lot to me,’ he said, with a presumably full heart, ‘but I don’t want to get into specifics.’ Back then, in the now Edenic early days of …
Ray Bassett is a former senior Irish diplomat. This post was originally published on the Irish border poll website, and we have reproduced it here with their kind permission. The current Government in Dublin has built its Northern policy around the Shared Island Initiative. It claims that its approach is anchored in the Good Friday Agreement (GFA). Certainly, on reading through that Agreement, it is difficult to understand how an entire Irish Government approach to the North could be based …
The Americans like to remind us that they saved Britain twice during two world wars, but do not like to be reminded that they only joined the war against Hitler after they were attacked by Japan at Pearl Harbour. Their perception that the world should be more grateful to America is clouding their thinking. Several times recently, Marco Rubio (see here) has talked about the idea of pulling American troops out of their bases across Europe because the Europeans had not supported …
An interesting report in the Irish News this morning as politics correspondent John Manley informs us that ‘Revenue raising by Stormont ranks lowest in the developed world’ and that is according to an Assembly research paper… The briefing document also highlights how the devolved administration is almost £1bn worse off in the current financial year due to a shortfall of £400m and the ending of the so-called stabilisation funding worth £520m that the Executive received after its restoration in February 2024. The …
Reuters reports on the ‘holy war’ against Iran: “It’s the same language as the crusades of the Middle Ages. You know, we must stop the infidel, we must defeat the wicked,” said John Fea, a history professor at Messiah University who has written extensively about evangelicals and politics. “We’ve never seen anything like this in American history.” The prominent evangelist Franklin Graham has praised the strikes on Iran in biblical terms and likened Trump to the biblical figure of Esther, …
A needle and syringe exchange service (NSES) can bring its challenges with the stereotypical drug-addled vagrant seeking “gear” for his next hit, annoying customers and lowering the tone of the neighbourhood as fellow-travellers congregate outside to “deal” in the street. The reality is nothing like this. Those injecting narcotics, and who have indeed pretty chaotic lives, are generally respectful and informed and normally come and go without any hassle or disruption. This is also down to how the service is …
Well humanity survives for another day. I am sure I am not the only one who went to bed last night wondering if they would wake up in the morning. But wake up I did and to the nwws of a two-week ceasefire. Is this another case of Trump Always Chickens Out or did the self-proclaimed ‘Master of the Deal’ manage to to pull it off? Sources on Twitter are saying the 1o point plan is: 1) Security Guarantees: A …
Fuel price inflation and volatility in Northern Ireland are unlikely to ease following Donald Trump’s latest announcement that the war with Iran could end within the next two to three weeks. The recent increases at local petrol and diesel pumps already demonstrate the scale of the issue. Oil prices have surged by 70% since the start of the conflict, and there is little sign of them falling unless the Strait of Hormuz fully reopens to global tanker traffic. Concerns that the Houthis in …
Northern Ireland’s hospitality sector is in genuine difficulty. But between a political class performing concern over taxes it doesn’t control and an industry body lobbying against the very reforms that would help, accountability seems to be in short supply. A BBC report by Maria McCann on the VAT gap between Northern Ireland and the Republic makes points that are difficult to dismiss; until you stop and consider the powers Stormont already has and consistently fails to use. It brings to …
A few hours ago, President Donald Trump posted the following message on his Truth Social website. A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will. However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS? We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex …
Last year’s ARINS/Irish Times polling found that the vast majority of Northern Ireland’s voters are reconciled to living in a future that most of them would prefer not to happen. In essence, reconciliation has been achieved. However, reunification appears stuck. Since 2022, the last 13 polls have averaged 58-42 in favour of remaining in the UK, excluding undecideds. The high point in the polls for reunification was in 2020-21, though still 54-46 pro-Remain. (Graph 1, below. I wrote an article …
