2012

NILT for 2012 suggests passion for constitutional issues is dropping fast…

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Headline findings from the 2012  Life and Times survey includes some mixed news, and some fascinating snippets. Ive added emphasis to highlight some of the more intriguing findings: percentage believing that a United Ireland is very unlikely has now risen to 41%. proportion of Catholics expecting Irish unity remains less than among Protestants. a marked rise in the percentage of people describing their national identity as Irish, up from 26% in 2010 to 32% in 2012 a fall in the …

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Happy New Year!

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Wishing you all a happy, healthy and prosperous new year! Your captions are welcome. Brian SpencerBrian is a writer, artist, political cartoonist and legal blogger. Actively tweeting from @brianjohnspencr. More information here: http://www.brianjohnspencer.com/ www.brianjohnspencer.com/

Looking back at 2012, and forward to 2013

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Doing some homework before taking part in a political review of the year on Lisburn’s 98FM community radio, I looked back at posts over the last twelve months. While there were lots of other significant political events during the year, below are some of the posts that caught my eye. Back in January, the DUP and Sinn Féin agreed to drop the Department of Employment and Learning. It hasn’t gone away you know! Aged 85, Lord Bannside stepped down from …

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Who’s up and who’s down in 2012: Micheál Martin, Rory McIlroy, Nigel Farage…

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Always a dodgey thing to do, but I thought it might lend a little perspective at what is a pretty frenetic end of year. I know not everyone will agree, but rather than calling me on my bias or agenda, why not get your back by offering your own sets of winners and losers? Okay, first up in British politics it is almost impossible to work out who is up and who is down. Labour are riding high in the …

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US election may be tight but probably not tight enough to change the guard…

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You have to congratulate Mitt Romney for running a more than decent campaign. He took on the run that few others in the GOP fancied has made a good job of it. The most exciting moment was the first debate, when he literally cleaned the floor with a sitting President who’s minders has not remotely prepped him for a proper fight. As noted in Slugger’s US panel on Google Plus, it was probably the only time policy raised its head. …

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Can’t keep water from leaking into the news – this time it’s a late pool

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Artist's impression of interior of Bangor's planned Olympic-sized swimming pool

At long last, construction is due to start on the beleaguered plan to build an Olympic sized swimming pool in Bangor, providing a training facility the right length for talented and ambitious local swimmers. News outlets this morning were awash with details that Farrans had won the £38m contract, which includes £15m from the water-themed Executive. The BBC report that “construction on the new facility is due to begin before the end of August. It is expected to open by …

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