Casualties of causality
Nick Robinson (Photo credit: Matito) The flag protests in Belfast have been a great opportunity for ‘experts’ to come up with various ’causes’ of the street protests/riots. The media – especially the...
View ArticleBugger the Union: Official DUP Policy
Nigel Dodds demands that the rest of the Union should have less money so the NI Executive can waste more. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) The DUP has today demanded a reduction in spending by the Treasury...
View ArticleBlock Grants and the Nolan Show
William Crawley hosts Nolan Show this morning I’m on the Nolan Show this morning on Radio Ulster – hosted by William Crawley. I’m on at the top of the show at 9.00ish. The discussion relates to my last...
View ArticleIrish Nationalism and Ulster Unionism are Near-Dead
Given the amount of noise created by Sinn Fein one could be forgiven for believing that they might have some type of political point to make. Along with their brothers in arms they used to condone...
View ArticleUnionism: No Policy Needed
Mike Nesbitt doesn’t think the voters of Northern Ireland want any policies.(Photo credit: Wikipedia) In what, surely, must be one of the most depressing reads, Sam McBride’s interview of UUP “leader”...
View ArticlePro-Union and Progressive
I very much welcome the announcement from Basil McCrea and John McCallister that they are to establish a new pro-Union and progressive political party. Choice is good. And it’s good that the voters of...
View ArticleNolan Show: Water Charges
I was on the Nolan Show earlier discussing the fact that the Assembly has agreed to (again) defer water charges – preferring to absorb the cost into the DRD budget – and failing to (once again) make...
View ArticleUKIP and Punctuation
UKIP Lagan Valley recently started following me on Twitter. This provoked me to have a look at the Party’s local web site. Sad, I know. But I was just being curious. The UKIP NI copy-writer doesn’t...
View ArticleMiscarriage: The God Abortion?
How many babies are killed by the Pro-Lifers’ God? Edwin Poots and his “Pro-Life” campaigner friends make a very big issue of the fact that Northern Ireland has a near-consensus on abortion. Yesterday...
View ArticleUlster’s Tribal Elders Do Rio
Peter and Marty do really, really important business stuff in Brazil. So Peter and Marty are now on an ‘economic development’ trip to Rio – after visiting Sao Paulo and Brasilia. This is the latest...
View ArticleShared Future Dystopia
education (Photo credit: Sean MacEntee) The recent report on ‘shared education’ was more of a tirade against academic selection. I blogged about that a few days ago. However, I wanted to address the...
View ArticleIntegrated Education: Where are the Disabled?
Integrated Education? Not applicable to disabled children. A Guest post by Bernie Drayne Let’s talk about integrated education – Northern Ireland style. Shared future, shared education – yes these are...
View ArticleRip-Off Quantified: Peter and Marty’s Rio Trip
The Pete & Marty spendfest started in São Paulo, Brazil (Photo credit: Wikipedia) I blogged a few weeks ago about the likely extent of the squandering of public money represented by Peter and...
View ArticleCentre of Peace?
Does Jeffrey Donaldson seriously think a Peace Centre on the site of a notorious prison is a good idea? (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Jeffrey Donaldson, the Jesus-fish wearing DUP MP for Lagan Valley,...
View ArticleLeast Contentious Parades: No Parades
So…more riots, drunken yobs, water cannon and MLAs knocked unconscious with hurled bricks. There’s an easy way to avoid this. Let’s not have “parades”. None. Nada. For as long as I’ve had the ability...
View ArticleJohn Lewis Buys Bow Street Mall?
John Lewis taking over Bow Street Mall? (Photo credit: Wikipedia) There’s a rumour flying around that John Lewis – thwarted in its attempt to develop a major store at Sprucefield because of Northern...
View ArticleStupid and Stupider
Alex Kane summed it up pretty well in less than 140 characters in a Twitter post: Loyalist rioters on Friday in Belfast. IRA celebrants in Castlederg on Sunday. Both stupid. Both offensive. And both...
View ArticleYellow Bellied Bastard
Ken (Lord) Maginnis has a foul temper. But, today, he paid the price for that temper and was found guilty of assaulting a motorist in a road-rage incident. The Peer of the Realm admitted to swearing...
View ArticlePeace Leeches and the Haass Talks
Meghan O’Sullivan – Jeane Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School and Head of the Belfer Center’s Geopolitics of Energy Project They abound. Peace...
View ArticleMy Debate with Sammy Wilson
So is it a good idea that the government is helping low-income families to get onto the property ladder? Or is Help-to-Buy going to cause a new property bubble? Listen to this debate between me and...
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