#come on Micheál

[ardri-na-bpiteog]

Micheál Martin now has the opportunity to do the funniest thing ever

[sayruq]

Spain, Norway and Ireland have announced plans to formally recognize a Palestinian state, in a move that is likely to bolster the global Palestinian cause but strain relations with Israel. Palestinian statehood has been recognized by more than 130 out of 193 member states of the United Nations, according to the Palestine Liberation Organization. “Today, Ireland, Norway and Spain are announcing that we recognize the state of Palestine. Each of us will now undertake whatever national steps are necessary to give effect to that decision,” Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris told a news conference in Dublin. The recognition will come into force in all three countries on May 28, Irish foreign minister Micheál Martin said. Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said the war in Gaza has “made it clear that achieving peace and stability must be predicted on resolving the Palestinian question.” “In the midst of a war, with tens of thousands killed and injured, we must keep alive the only alternative that offers a political solution for Israelis and Palestinians alike: Two states, living side by side, in peace and security,” Støre said. Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said: “We will recognize the state of Palestine for peace, coherence and justice.”

[q-soc-official]

No but seriously imagine it:

You're seeing Fine Gael on a concert. Everyone is having a great time. Fine Gael seems a little excited. "We have a surprise for you guys." Simon Harris says. All of a sudden Fianna Fáil comes out and starts singing "Cost of Living Crisis." When Micheál gets to the chorus, someone else starts singing...

"She got her lipstick on Here I come, da da dum She got her lipstick on Hit and run, then I'm gone".

Lights flash everywhere, and you see Fine Gael singing "cost of living crisis" along with Fianna Fáil, while Jedward is singing "Lipstick". Everyone in the crowd is going wild and crying. Then, if things couldn't get any worse, Leo Varadkar and some Kerry lad walk onto stage and kiss, holding the twink flag.

[haveyoureadthisqueerbook]

books (assuming it’s okay to submit more than one):

Ángeles Vicente, Zezé (1909)

Rosa Guy, Ruby (1976)

Deborah Hautzig, Hey, Dollface (1978)

Samuel R. Delany, Tales of Nevèrÿon (1979)

Elizabeth A. Lynn, Watchtower (1979)

Nancy Garden, Annie on My Mind (1982)

Alice Walker, The Color Purple (1982)

John Preston, Franny, the Queen of Provincetown (1983)

Samuel R. Delany, Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand (1984)

Timothy Findley, Not Wanted on the Voyage (1984)

Jeanette Winterson, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (1985)

Chrystos, Not Vanishing (1988)

Ian Iqbal Rashid, Black Markets, White Boyfriends, and Other Elisions (1991)

Crìsdean Whyte (Christopher Whyte), Uirsgeul / Myth (1991)

Carlos Sanrune, El gladiador de Chueca (1992)

Tom Lennon, When Love Comes to Town (1993)

Fernanda Farias de Albuquerque and Maurizio Jannelli, Princesa (1994)

Qiu Miaojin, Notes of a Crocodile (1994)

Shyam Selvadurai, Funny Boy (1994)

Gregory Maguire, Wicked (1995)

Christos Tsiolkas, Loaded (1995)

Nina Revoyr, The Necessary Hunger (1997)

Lola Van Guardia (Isabel Franc), Con pedigree (1997)

Tom Lennon, Crazy Love (1999)

Micheál Ó Conghaile, Sna Fir (1999)

Laurie J. Marks, Fire Logic (2002)

Nalo Hopkinson, The Salt Roads (2003)

Esdras Parra, Aún no (2004)

Barry McCrea, The First Verse (2005)

Manuel Tzoc, Gay(o) (2010)

Tama Wise, Street Dreams (2012)

Dane Figueroa Edidi, Yemaya’s Daughters (2013)

Jamie Berrout, Otros Valles (2014)

Niviaq Korneliussen, Homo sapienne (2014)

Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, This Accident of Being Lost (2016)

Nathan Niigan Noodin Adler, Wrist (2016)

Trifonia Meliba Obono, La bastarda (2016)

Sofia Samatar, The Winged Histories (2016)

Kai Cheng Thom, Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars (2016)

jia qing wilson-yang, Small Beauty (2016)

Billy-Ray Belcourt, This Wound Is a World (2017)

Elliot Cooper, Rogue Wolf (2017)

Kevin Lambert, Querelle de Roberval (2018)

Joshua Whitehead, Jonny Appleseed (2018)

Masande Ntshanga, Triangulum (2019)

Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies (2020)

Tlotlo Tsamaase, The Silence of the Wilting Skin (2020)

Bendi Barrett, Empire of the Feast (2022)

Simon Jimenez, The Spear Cuts Through Water (2022)

Kōtuku Titihuia Nuttall, Tauhou (2022)

if you’d rather keep it to one book at a time: Samuel R. Delany, Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand (1984).

Thank you so much for this fantastic list! They're all queued.

[dragoneyes618]

Ireland’s relationship with Israel is simply incomprehensible.

While both Dublin and Jerusalem are democracies and share common historical experiences with British colonialism—the British Mandate in Palestine and the Irish struggle for independence—Ireland today is the most viciously anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian member of the European Union. Ireland leads the European nations in anti-Israel, pro-BDS campaigns. 

Sinn Féin, the political arm of the former terrorist Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), is now Dublin’s leading political party. The IRA received training supported by the Soviet Union in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley together with the Palestinian terrorists in the 1960s and 1970s. There exists a counterbalance to Dublin’s intensely pro-Palestinian sympathies; the Ulster Protestants in Northern Ireland, who are the most pro-Israel members of the British Parliament. Brian Kingston, a member of the Legislative Assembly of Northern Ireland and a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician, remarked in a recent interview: “The unionist community in Northern Ireland has a long-standing affinity and affiliation to the cause of Israel.”

The IRA played a role during World War II in supporting German Nazis. Although the government of Ireland was officially neutral, the IRA collaborated with the Nazi military intelligence. Adolf Hitler sent money, transmitters and spies to Ireland. Moreover, the IRA provided the Nazis with targeting information on British installations in Belfast. After Hitler committed suicide in April 1945, Ireland’s wartime leaders—President Douglas Hyde and Prime Minister Éamon de Valera—offered official condolences to the Nazi envoy in Dublin.

More recently, the Hezbollah terror group’s unprovoked attacks on Israeli communities in northern Israel, which began on Oct. 8, 2023—one day after the Hamas terrorist attacks in southern Israel—did not stir Ireland’s peacekeepers in the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to try and stop the shelling attacks nor did they call to impose the U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701. Passage of that resolution came in the wake of the summer 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel, and called for the disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon—in particular, Hezbollah’s disarmament. Resolution 1701 established that no armed forces, other than UNIFIL and the Lebanese Armed Forces, could be south of the Litani River in Lebanon. Yet Hezbollah remained.

The Israel Defense Forces, in response to Hezbollah’s attacks during the last year, have moved from an aerial campaign to ground operations in Southern Lebanon to clear out Hezbollah forces. Israel has requested that the Irish contingent and all of UNIFIL move out of harm’s way. Ireland’s deputy premier and minister for defense and foreign affairs, Micheál Martin, responded by saying that he “strongly condemns” the IDF targeting and firing on the UNIFIL positions. Israel has repeatedly stated that it has no quarrel with the Lebanese people and certainly not with any of the UNIFIL peacekeepers.

This new dispute regarding the Irish peacekeepers comes after Ireland, Norway and Spain unilaterally recognized Palestinian statehood in May, essentially rewarding the Palestinians for the massacre of 1,200 Israelis by Hamas and the kidnapping of 250 others as hostages on Oct. 7, 2023.

The tensions aren���t just in the political arena. Members of an Irish women’s basketball team refused to shake hands with their Israeli counterparts during a pregame meeting in February’s FIBA EuroLeague Women’s tournament. The Israeli team ended up defeating the Irish team, 87-57. The behavior of the Irish national team was the same as the Islamic Republic of Iran’s team and teams from Israel’s Arab enemies in other tournaments.

Ireland was the first member of the European Economic Community (EEC)—the precursor of the European Union—to declare in 1980 their support for Palestinian statehood. Additionally, Ireland didn’t establish diplomatic relations with Israel until 1975 and first opened its embassy in Tel Aviv in 1996, long after other Western European nations.

When Israel retaliated against missile attacks launched from Gaza by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in May 2021 during an 11-day conflict, the Irish government was the first E.U. state to condemn Israel, alleging the de facto “annexation of Palestinian land.” The issue propelling this condemnation was the decision by the Israeli Supreme Court affirming Jewish ownership of homes in the eastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. It was an example of brazen Irish interference in an Israeli legal matter that had nothing to do with annexation.

Ireland has transformed from being an intensely Catholic state to an equally intense secular one. While the young Irish have moved away from their church, they are eagerly accommodating Islamists who seek to undermine and destroy the Judeo-Christian way of life. Ultimately, they will learn that Islamists seek to destroy their Irish culture as well.

The Catholic Church in Ireland had an antisemitic past but with Ireland becoming increasingly secular, the antisemitism of today is no longer of the religious variety. It has the marking of a leftist, ideologically driven hatred dressed as anti-colonialism. Dublin has adopted the Palestinian narrative without questioning or searching for the truth. Arab-Islamic colonialism is rarely if ever discussed, and Palestinian terrorism is largely excused. The fact that the Palestinians have rejected every opportunity for self-determination and statehood does not bother the Irish government. What the Palestinians want is the disappearance of Israel and the Jews. It seems that Dublin is OK with that.

Relations between Ireland and Israel have been strained for years and with Sinn Féin growing power in Dublin, the relationship isn’t likely to improve and may only get worse.

[itsawhumpsideblog]

The New York Volunteers Masterpost

Summary: Micheál and Patrick emigrate from Ireland to New York City shortly before the American Civil War. They enlist in the Union Army and fight with the 69th New York, part of the famous Irish Brigade. There, they make friends with tentmates Jack, Ted, and Rory, forming a found family that will stick together through everything.

These novels were a NaNoWriMo project over the course of several years and written quite a while ago. They were read by one or two of my friends, but I liked the idea of sharing them and they are pretty whumpy.

Author's notes

The characters are each based on a Civil War-era song and when relevant, chapters will come with links to the music that goes with them.

Content Warnings for the series overall are: violence, guns, major injury, character death (it's set during a war, so expect the kinds of things that the setting will necessarily entail), physical abuse of a child (but there's Comfort as well as Hurt). Other content warnings will be included by chapter.

Click here to head Back to the Library!

Book 1:

Prologue

To America Sailed O'er

For America's Bright Starry Banner

In The Ranks Of Death You Will Find Him

And Guide Their Way Home

Mister, Here's Your Mule

Soon With Angels I'll Be Marching

In The Prison Cell I Sit

I'd Rather My Son As He Used To Be

Be It Ever So Humble

Shall We Never More Behold Thee?

Historical note: Despite the time and place, there's no racism or sexism in this story and thus no warnings for either. Although both would be historically present, this was a for-fun project I did and frankly, writing racist and sexist characters isn't very fun. There is eventually a single Confederate character who is portrayed sympathetically as an individual, but his cause is not portrayed sympathetically. Since this is the internet and you don't know me, I want it on record that I do not condone anything that the Confederacy stood for.

[landoverwater]

For anyone in GB who's been wondering why the Tories have been working so hard to get out of the ECHR... Chickens are coming home to roost.

[weaversweek]

37 "Indian" - Eg and Alice

Written by Eg White

Eg and Alice have just recorded an album in Eg's kitchen for WEA. Their first single, "Indian", is about and for outcasts everywhere. There is no video, no remix and no team of crack session players, no name producers, female backing singers or troop of baggy trousered military drilled dancers.

Part of the UncoolTwo50 project, marking the best singles from 1977-99.

Way back in 1986, Eg White had been a founder member of Brother Beyond, co-writing "How many times" and "Can you keep a secret". He left in early 1988, before the 'Yond bought a recording session with Stock Aitken and Waterman, and had their fifteen months of fame.

Instead, Eg worked with BMX champion Alice Temple on the album 24 Years of Hunger; "Indian" was the lead single, and released to rave reviews.

The sound was very, very different from your average 1991 tune. None of the loud ravey beats, no raucous hair-metal guitars, or scuzzy grimy noise. No promotion, no slot on The 8-15 from Manchester, no tie-in with Maid Marion The Merry Movie, not even a promo picture beyond the single cover.

"Indian" was a clean song, laidback, relaxed. It was in the style of Joni Mitchell, Curtis Mayfield, perhaps in the minimalist ambience of classical composers Michael Nyman and Steve Reich In The Afternoon.

It's a song of undefined heartache, a love that perhaps isn't socially popular but completely heartfelt. Eg would go on to become a top songwriter, he did "Leave right now" with Will Young, and we can imagine Will singing this querulous, uncertain number to his crush of undefined gender.

In the event, "Indian" was swept away in the mush. Sold 4400 copies in early autumn 1991, never rose above number 102 in the weekly chart, but remembered - in hushed and reverent tones - by anyone who ever heard it.

Brother Beyond songs on my 500-song longlist: "Can you keep a secret", "Be my twin", and "Drive on"; the last could have made the top 100 but there's already too much from 1989.

This is about as close as I get to classical crossover music in the top 50. Other works I considered: "Caribbean blue" the pick of Enya's singles; "Adiemus" from Karl Jenkins' Adiemus project; "Chasing sheep is best left to shepherds" from Michael Nyman; "Nessun dorma" by Luciano Pavarotti. All were dropped in the longlist. "Principia" by Steve Martland wasn't released as a single, and ain't eligible.

"Lumen" by Micheál Ó Súilleabháin was in my Uncool50 two years ago, dropped here because I want to concentrate on more sizeable hits. "Indian" is the second of just three complete stiffs in the 50, and the last comes very soon...

[newstfionline]

Wednesday, May 29, 2024

The U.S. is facing pressure to approve attacks in Russia (NYT) Ukraine is preparing for a Russian offensive from the northeast, where Ukrainian officials say Russia has amassed some 10,000 troops near the border. The situation there has prompted several Western leaders to call for the U.S. to allow Ukraine to use American weapons to strike within Russia. Without that power, the Ukrainians say their hands are tied. The Biden administration has debated taking such a step but has feared escalating the war. Vladimir Putin warned today that Western countries helping Ukraine strike inside Russia should be aware of “what they’re playing with.”

In a north Texas county, dazed residents sift through homes mangled by a tornado (AP) The dazed residents of a north Texas county sifted through their mangled homes on Sunday after seven people there were killed when a tornado ripped through the remote region near the tiny community of Valley View. Cooke County Sheriff Ray Sappington said there’s “just a trail of debris left” in the area bordering Oklahoma where the dead included two children, ages 2 and 5, in Valley View, a town where barely 800 people live. The county bore the brunt of powerful weekend storms that left 15 people dead across Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. Tens of thousands of residents were without power across the three states.

Peru prosecutors file graft complaint against president (Reuters) Peru’s attorney general’s office on Monday presented a so-called constitutional complaint against President Dina Boluarte in an alleged corruption case involving her use of luxury watches, a national scandal that could lead to removal proceedings. The formal accusation comes as the leader’s popularity has sunk to a new low, according to polls. The complaint accuses Boluarte of receiving a bribe. If Congress moves forward on it, the accusation could lead to Boluarte’s ouster.

Spain and Norway formally recognize a Palestinian state as EU rift with Israel widens (AP) Spain and Norway moved to formally recognize a Palestinian state with Ireland to follow suit on Tuesday in a coordinated effort by the three western European nations. Israel slammed the diplomatic move that will have no immediate impact on its grinding war in Gaza but adds to international pressure on Tel Aviv to soften its devastating response to last year’s Hamas-led attack. Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz lashed out at Spain on X, saying Sánchez’s government was “being complicit in inciting genocide against Jews and war crimes.” Relations between the EU and Israel nosedived Monday, with Madrid insisting that the EU should take measures against Israel for its continued deadly attacks in southern Gaza’s city of Rafah. After Monday’s meeting of EU foreign ministers, Irish Foreign Minister Micheál Martin said “for the first time at an EU meeting, in a real way, I have seen a significant discussion on sanctions” for Israel.

A proxy war (NYT) Over the last few weeks, a Russian blitz has claimed more than a dozen villages in northeast Ukraine, near the country’s second-largest city. This summer, Russia will likely continue its offensive push in the country’s east. Russia’s ability to carry out these attacks is in some ways surprising. War is expensive. And Russia’s economy is limited by steep sanctions from some of the richest countries in the world. Yet Moscow has managed to keep paying for its war machine. How? U.S. officials point to China. China has vowed not to send weapons to Russia. But it has supported Russia’s economy by buying oil and expanding other kinds of trade. Russia uses the revenue from that trade to manufacture weapons. It has also bought parts for these weapons from China, according to U.S. officials. Of course, Washington and its allies have also provided support, including actual weapons, to Ukraine. From that angle, the war looks more like part of the broader contest between the U.S. and China—what some analysts call a new cold war — than a one-off conflict. “We are headed into 30 or 40 years of superpower competition and confrontation,” said my colleague David Sanger. Ukraine is just the current front.

Spying Arrests Send Chill Through Britain’s Thriving Hong Kong Community (NYT) Simon Cheng still visibly tenses when he describes his detention in China. In 2019, Mr. Cheng, a pro-democracy activist from Hong Kong and a former employee of Britain’s Consulate there, was arrested after a business trip to mainland China. For 15 days, he was questioned and tortured, according to his account. Beijing confirmed his detention but denied he was mistreated. When he was finally released, he no longer felt safe in Hong Kong, and in early 2020, he fled to Britain and claimed asylum. His activism—and China’s pursuit of him—did not end once he moved to London. Last year, the Hong Kong authorities put a bounty on Mr. Cheng and other activists, offering $128,000 for information leading to their arrest. Still, like many Hong Kong activists living in self-imposed exile in Britain, he hoped his newfound distance from the Chinese authorities put him far from their reach. This month, three men were charged in London with gathering intelligence for Hong Kong and forcing entry into a British residence. While the men have not yet been found innocent or guilty—the trial will not begin until February—the news of the arrests threw a spotlight on many activists’ existing concerns about China’s ability to surveil and harass its citizens abroad, particularly those who have been critical of the government.

Papua New Guinea Landslide Has Buried 2,000 People, Officials Say (NYT) More than 2,000 people were buried alive in the landslide that smothered a Papua New Guinea village and work camp on Friday in the country’s remote northern highlands, the authorities told the United Nations on Monday. Government officials visited the disaster site on Sunday. And even as the official death toll jumped from a few dozen to 670, they warned that far more victims than expected appeared to still be caught under the rubble.

Typhoon leaves at least seven people dead and thousands displaced in the Philippines (AP) A typhoon has finally moved away from the Philippines, leaving at least seven people dead, mostly due to floods or toppled trees, and forcing the closures of several seaports, stranding thousands of passengers, officials said Tuesday. Typhoon Ewiniar crept by the country’s eastern coast late Friday night and lingered over the Philippine islands for several days, before shifting northeastward away from the archipelago. All storm warnings were lifted Tuesday. The typhoon’s shift in direction spared the densely populated capital, Manila, from a potentially damaging hit.

Iran and nuclear weapons (The Atlantic) In a sharp departure from a years-long policy, Iran’s leading officials are now openly threatening to build and test a nuclear bomb. Earlier this month, Kamal Kharazi, a former foreign minister, said that Tehran had the capacity to build a bomb and that, if it faced existential threats, it could “change its nuclear doctrine.” “When Israel threatens other countries, they can’t sit silent,” he said in an interview with Al-Jazeera Arabic on May 9. To emphasize that this wasn’t a gaffe, he reiterated the position a few days later when he addressed an Iranian Arab conference in Tehran. Kharazi isn’t just any old diplomat. He heads a foreign-policy advisory body that reports directly to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He would not have spoken without Khamenei’s blessing. For Iranian officials to openly acknowledge the possibility that Iran could pursue a nuclear weapon is a momentous change and marks the collapse of a previous taboo.

Pentagon suspends aid deliveries via Gaza pier after repeated mishaps (Washington Post) The Pentagon said Tuesday that it has suspended the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza via its floating pier after mishaps in which four U.S. military vessels were beached, one U.S. service member was critically injured, and sections of the structure were ripped free in bad weather. The damage will require the U.S. military, with Israeli assistance, to disassemble pieces of the pier attached to the Gazan shore, rebuild them in the nearby Israeli port of Ashdod, then transport them back to the Gazan shore and reconnect them, said Sabrina Singh, a Pentagon spokeswoman. That process will take at least a week, temporarily eliminating the pier as an option to deliver humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza aid as Israel continues its months-long military campaign against the militant group Hamas.

‘We have nothing.’ (AP) The tent camps stretch for more than 16 kilometers (10 miles) along Gaza’s coast, filling the beach and sprawling into empty lots, fields and town streets. Families dig trenches to use as toilets. Fathers search for food and water, while children look through garbage and wrecked buildings for scraps of wood or cardboard for their mothers to burn for cooking. Over the past three weeks, Israel’s offensive in Rafah has sent nearly a million Palestinians fleeing the southern Gaza city and scattering across a wide area. Most have already been displaced multiple times during Israel’s nearly 8-month-old war in Gaza, which is aimed at destroying Hamas but has devastated the territory and caused what the United Nations says is a near-famine. The situation has been worsened by a dramatic plunge in the amount of food, fuel and other supplies reaching the U.N. and other aid groups to distribute to the population. Palestinians have largely been on their own to resettle their families and find the basics for survival. “The situation is tragic. You have 20 people in the tent, with no clean water, no electricity. We have nothing,” said Mohammad Abu Radwan, a schoolteacher in a tent with his wife, six children, and other extended family.

Uganda tackles yellow fever with new travel requirement, vaccination campaign for millions (AP) Uganda has rolled out a nationwide yellow fever vaccination campaign to help safeguard its population against the mosquito-borne disease that has long posed a threat. By the end of April, Ugandan authorities had vaccinated 12.2 million of the 14 million people targeted, said Dr. Michael Baganizi, an official in charge of immunization at the health ministry. Uganda will now require everyone traveling to and from the country to have a yellow fever vaccination card as an international health regulation, Baganizi said.

South Africa’s election could bring the biggest political shift since it became a democracy in 1994 (AP) South Africans will vote Wednesday to decide whether their country will take its most significant political step since the moment 30 years ago when it brought down apartheid and achieved democracy. Then, Nelson Mandela led the African National Congress party to victory as Black South Africans who were the majority were allowed to vote for the first time. But while the ANC still governs in 2024, it is amid rising discontent caused largely by high levels of unemployment and poverty. That could result in a majority of South Africans choosing another party this week over the one that led them to freedom. “Thirty years of South African democracy does not mean we should endure an eternity under the ANC,” John Steenhuisen, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Alliance party, said in the run-up to the election.

The Good Old Days (Washington Post) What you consider the peak of culture, music and fashion really does depend on what you thought was cool in middle school. Analysis of a YouGov survey that asked respondents which decade had the best and worst music, economy, movies, etc., shows that for most respondents, regardless of when they grew up, the best economy, movies and television happened when they were around 12 to 15 years old. The best fashion, sports and music period comes a little later, around age 16 to 19.

[fandom-geek]

As one of the most pro-Palestine countries in the European Union, Ireland has long signalled that it would, at some point, formally recognise the State of Palestine. The Government had made it clear that it was its intention to do so, even before the latest phase of the conflict in Gaza had broken out. In September, weeks before the 7 October Hamas attack, Tánaiste Micheál Martin met Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian Authority, at the Muqata'a presidential compound in Ramallah. He told him that Ireland supported formal recognition of Palestinian statehood. That was no great surprise to anyone. After all, the programme for government included a firm commitment to recognising the State of Palestine. Ultimately, the Tánaiste told Mr Abbas that Ireland hoped to push for greater consensus in the EU before doing so, believing that such a move would have greater impetus if multiple EU member states moved together on the issue. That idea has long frustrated activists, many of whom believe Ireland should have recognised Palestine years ago - with or without its EU partners. But there was some merit to waiting. Norway, Spain and Ireland moving in lockstep on this issue has already garnered international headlines. And it's likely that Slovenia, and potentially others, will follow suit in the coming days.

[the-haylien]

What I've Been Watching On Netflix

Big Bug

Big Bug is a fairly good series full of robots acting badly. It's a Sci-Fi black comedy from France.

Godzilla: King of Monsters

I watched these out of order, so I almost turned it off. But I'm glad I stayed through the end. It was worth the watch. Rogue scientists race to reset the balance of humanity by awakening monsters. Godzilla rises to fend off the Titans.

The Midnight Sky

George Clooney does sci-fi in a slow-moving post-apocalyptic story about a lonely scientist in the Arctic. He works to stop astronauts from returning to a global catastrophe on Earth.

Atypical

I enjoyed this comedy-drama series set in Connecticut. It focuses on 18-year-old Sam Gardner, who is on the autism spectrum. But we get to know the whole family and their various quirks and foibles.

Chimp Empire

An excellent documentary about our cousins' culture.

Prometheus

I didn't know this was the 5th installment of the Alien franchise. I began to suspect as familiar objects appeared and the action progressed. Actually, it was a quite satisfying way to watch it!

The Social Dilemma

Billed as a docudrama, this is about the negative effects of social media. It may be informative if you live under a rock, but I did keep watching to the end.

You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment

I learned that little things in your diet can make a big difference in your health. Our food system is screwed up. You can look slim on the outside and still be fat on the inside. A lot of doctors are still not educated on what a healthy diet consists of. I also lost my appetite for animal protein.

School Spirits

Not another High School series! But I liked it. Maddie investigates her own murder at the local high school. She meets other ghosts from different eras and becomes friends with them. They are all trying to figure out how to move on.

65

Humans discovered Earth 65 million years ago. After a crash landing, an astronaut finds a girl from one of the other ships and works to get her off the dangerous planet. Slow moving, but it works well.

Lift

Heist comedy worth $500B in gold bullion. Exciting. You can see the twist coming.

LIve to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones

Another long drawn-out documentary. Nothing you haven't heard before, except the Blue Zones are shrinking and disappearing. You need to do some work to create your own Blue Zone.

Detective Forst

Polish detective movies are in their own genre: grungy, dark, brutal, complicated, frenetic, blurred lines of right and wrong, survival against the odds.

Cowboys and Aliens

A spaceship arrives in 1873 Arizona. Yeah, okay, good movie. But it begs the question, why are aliens who are smart enough to build an interstellar spacecraft so brutal, running around naked, trying to kill everyone? So they are the advance-testors, but even so.

A Trip to Infinity

A documentary about the concept of infinity filled with enough explanatory moments to give us a brief idea about the endlessness of the universe.

Level 16

A mostly boring, science fiction B-movie. Nothing to see here people. Move along.

The Magicians

Fantasy with depth and young adult angst. I never watched season five, so I watched the whole thing from the beginning again. I also read the novels at least three times. You probably won't believe me when I claim to like hard science fiction better. But you would be correct to say that I love Mr. Grossman's story. I am satisfied with the TV series timeline.

Made in Italy

Starring Liam Neeson and real-life son, Micheál Neeson, this film is about a father and son who travel to Italy to sell a house they inherited. The film examines themes of art, loss, and family.

Queer Eye: Season 8

So nice to have the Fab 5 back on my screen, but oh so short! This season seemed a bit too slick, but I loved it anyway. What am I going to do without them?

Orion and the Dark

This is a kid's animated movie. It's a bit jumpy--maybe that's a reflection of the neurotic kid who's afraid of everything. Just when you're thinking it's over and that was real short, it starts in again.

Rim of the World

Another kid's movie. Not much to see in this poorly developed sci-fi movie. Crudely pasted together: for example, an injured child with vital information is unconscious, then up and running when it is time to go. Lots of running around in circles because there is nothing better to do, and the movie needs to be longer.

Anon

This is future hi-tech criminal noir. How can you get away with murder when everyone records what they see? Great science fiction.

Alexander: the Making of a God

A dramatized documentary. Very enjoyable, but they draw things out. It probably could have been done in half the episodes. I enjoyed hearing the historians interviewed as much as I liked watching the dramatic presentations.

Freaks

Science fiction story. Some humans have new powers and are being discriminated against out of fear. They fight for their life.

Einstein and the Bomb

Another dramatized documentary. All of Einstein's words were taken from real life. A good show for the most part.

Pluto

Anime about strong robots with strong AI.

[maximumwobblerbanditdonut]

Why do so many US presidents like to say ‘I’m Irish’ 🍀

Almost every US President since John F Kennedy claims to come from Irish ancestry - and it's not just the White House. Some 45 million Americans claim Irish heritage, 10 times more than the population in Ireland.

Since John F. Kennedy, every president apart from Gerald Ford has claimed some Irish ancestry, he says, although in Bill Clinton's case, there was not any evidence of a connection. There's not a huge love of Irish tradition, with the possible exception of JFK, Ronald Reagan, and Joe Biden not a huge love of Irish culture, with the possible exception of JFK, Reagan Bill Clinton, and Joe Biden but there's a huge love for Catholic votes and particularly Irish Catholic votes and the power of the Irish-American lobby, past and present, and how any US politician worth their salt knows how important it is to woo them.

Almost every town in Ireland is connected to Americans. Any trip to Ireland is a dive into their own story–discovering their Irish roots. Although Catholicism has long been one of the largest U.S. religious groups, John F. Kennedy and Joe Biden are the only Catholic faith.

JFK was 100% Irish on both sides of his family, and first Catholic president. The relatives on his father’s side came from County Wexford. On his mother’s side, Kennedy was a Fitzgerald. JFK’s grandfather, Honey Fitz, was a congressman and a colorful, popular mayor of Boston. Traditional Irish family ties, religion, and bold personalities were all part of Kennedy’s personal culture. His wife, Jackie, was Irish on her mother’s side.

Richard Nixon - Both sides of his family hail from County Antrim in Northern Ireland. Although a Quaker, Nixon’s wife, Thelma ‘Pat’ Ryan, was from an Irish-Catholic immigrant family.

Ronald Reagan in Tipperary in 1984. Republican’s great-grandfather was a farmer in Ballyporeen, County Tipperary, until he moved to London where he met his Irish refugee wife. Then they moved to Illinois. He enjoyed his visits to Ireland. His easy charm and wit were 100% Irish in character.

Bill Clinton - Although historian's have been unable to locate documentary evidence of Clinton's ancestors leaving Ireland, he considers himself a very proud Irish American. He contributed greatly to the Northern Ireland peace process. His motivation for which seemed to be out of more than just diplomatic duty according. He visited the North in 1995 and gave a rousing speech in favour of peace. During negotiations of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, he encouraged all parties involved to reach a resolution via several telephone calls. On his visit to Ireland in 2013, Clinton received a hero’s welcome. The golf course in Ballybunnion still erected an nice statute of Bill Clinton.

His mother’s ancestry was mostly English but several of his maternal ancestors came from Moneygall, County Offally. Moneygall is on the road between Dublin and Tipperary, and the town cheered Barack on during his election bid. It must be said, some of the village residents first thought that his last name was O’Bama.

It was really when Barack Obama's visit to his ancestral family home in Moneygall, County Offaly historians were encouraged to take a closer look at the 22 American presidents with roots in Ireland.

Last but not least, Joe Biden the 46th President of the United States a proud Irish-American, has strong Irish roots with family from his mother and father’s side still living in Carlingford, Co Louth, and Ballina in Co Mayo. The Blewitts of County Mayo and Finnegans from County Louth emigrated to the United States around the mid-19th century. At 18 years of age, Biden's great-great grandfather Patrick Blewitt left Irish shores for the US. His great great grandparents Owen and Jean Finnegan also left their home in County Louth around the same time.

Indeed 10 of his 16 great-great-grandparents were Irish-born, all forced to emigrate during the Irish famine.

Joe Biden with Micheál Martin, Tánaiste of Ireland, in County Louth; President John F Kennedy meeting the mayor of Limerick on his visit to Ireland in 1963.Credit: AP

Biden’s trip comes 60 years after John F. Kennedy’s visit. In a visit to Northern Ireland lasting just 18 hours, where a Brexit row has paralysed politics for nearly a year, the US president promised that his country would be a “partner for peace” in a region that marked the end of the “Troubles” conflict 25 years ago this week.

In Belfast on Wednesday, he celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement that ended three decades of conflict and he hailed the UK and EU’s new Brexit deal, the Windsor framework, as key to investment. Biden then spent three days in Ireland, visiting regions his ancestors emigrated from.

Joe Biden takes a selfie outside a pub during his visit to Dundalk © Reuters

The gaffe-prone president did drop a clanger in the Windsor, suggesting that his distant cousin and former rugby star Rob Kearney had trounced “the Black and Tans” — the British police in Ireland’s war of independence. The White House corrected his remarks to “the All Blacks”, the nickname of the New Zealand rugby team Kearney had played against.

… and going the other way…

Eamon De Valera

Ireland’s 3rd President. 1959-1973, who had been Taoiseach or President of Ireland 🇮🇪

A founder of the political party, Fianna Fáil, he’s credited with introducing the first Irish Constitution in 1937. He served two-terms in office and it’s widely believed that his American roots are why he wasn’t sentenced to death for his part in the Easter Rising in 1916. Ireland’s third president was born in Manhattan, New York.

#USpresidents #JohnF.Kennedy #RichardNixon #RonaldReagan #BillClinton #BarackObama #JoeBiden #Ireland #Irish

[endardo]

The Secret Life Of Micheál Martin, Taoiseach

The Secret Life Of Micheál Martin, Taoiseach

“Coming home to Ballinlough,” hummed a tired but contented Meehawl Martin as Garda Pat pulled the sleek State Lexus up outside the sleeping house.  “Your oasis, Taoiseach,” said his driver.  “Oasis?” Chuckled the Taoiseach, “I’m more of a trad man myself, Pat. Goodnight to you.” Two in the morning, and only the crackle of skittish autumn leaves pirouetting on the driveway and a few distant dog…

[blackthxrntree]

I'm sorry but WHAT

In the name of sanity is the most boring man in politics doing posing with the Derry Girls mural as if they wouldnt think hes the driest shite in the world

[speuradair]

I don't know how to make a cool, interesting coming out post but uhhh

Hey I'm trans lmao I use they/he pronouns and my name is Micheál (or Maidhc for short). Mars works too. My url has been changed to remove my old name and I'm working on updating the rest of my blog to reflect that change too

Still love you guys <3 glad to be back ☆

[itsawhumpsideblog]

Prologue, Book 1

No content warnings for the prologue, unless I've done something unintentionally stereotypical in writing Irish characters in which case, mea culpa! The song I quoted at the beginning of the chapter is "Sweet Hills of Cavan", which you can listen to here: https://youtu.be/siwrJ-aLf9E

"The sweet hills of Cavan

Moss covered rocks

And lush meadows green..

It's the loveliest place you've ever seen."

~Hills of Cavan

Patrick Murphy was one of those people for whom nothing ever seemed to go wrong. We grew up together and, as children, it was always I who caught the smack Patrick missed as he dodged the farmer whose fields we had invaded, or I who received the penance for talking during Mass, though it was Patrick who had laughed aloud. I resented him like hell, and sometimes downright hated him. Strange thing was, he was my best friend.

            Now, the other mystery to me is how somebody as purely golden as Patrick was could choose to spend his time with such a Jonah as myself. Where Patrick succeeded, I failed. Where Patrick had good luck, my bad luck was the only luck I had at all. I used to joke that if Patrick ever made it to the end of the rainbow, he would find two pots of the leprechauns' gold but if I made it, I would be bitten by the leprechaun.

            The height of Patrick's good luck came in 1858, early in the year, when his parents decided to move the family to New York. I was out working with my father in his fishing boat and when we docked, Patrick was standing there.

            "Micheál!" he called as the boat docked and when I got out, looking curiously towards him, he blurted out,

            "I'm going to New York!" I stared. It was unlike Patrick to lose composure, but he was shaking with anticipation and wringing his hands. His grin stretched from ear to ear and as I walked back to the village with the day's catch in a net he was dancing down the road beside me.

            "Da's bought the tickets," he explained, "Mother didn't want to tell us until it was sure, but we're going, Micheál. We're really going." He kept telling me all the details, but I tuned him out mentally. Losing Patrick and his parents and siblings, who had lived next door to us my entire life, was not a thought I liked. I guess I had imagined us all growing up and staying in the village forever, though when I gave some thought to the idea it wasn't at all what I would have wanted for my sisters. But Bridget was supposed to grow up to marry Declan, Patrick's brother, and Patrick would go into his father's blacksmithing trade and I would inherit the boats, and we would grow to be old men who sat around our daughters' houses smoking smelly pipes and reliving the old days.

            Instead, Patrick and Declan and Colleen and their parents would be leaving for New York at the end of the month. I wanted to go, too- Patrick had all the luck. I was sick of starving in this green wasteland, I thought to myself. In America, Patrick wouldn't go hungry and his mother and father would be able to find work and his brother and sister could go to school. At 15, it was assumed that neither Patrick or I needed any more schooling and would go off to work, and I envied Patrick his opportunities, for which he needed neither to ask nor to work.

            Patrick was staring off into the distance, running his fingers through his red hair. "You know, Micheál, I'm going to miss you." I nodded glumly. "I wish you could come with us." Of course he knew how I dreamed of America- for all I resented him his good looks and his lucky ways, he was my best friend and we shared everything.

            Patrick left me in peace then and we walked in silence back to town, I carrying my smelly fishing net. We bid each other goodbye at the doors of our cottages and I went inside. Mother had the potatoes off the fire already and we were waiting for Da to get home from the boat.

            "Micheál, did you hear about the Murphys?" my sister Maura asked as I walked in. I nodded. Maura looked at me sympathetically over her sewing. "I'm sorry they're leaving," she said, as though she didn't mean it for my sake. "It'll be right strange, not having them next door. I don't know what we'll do for entertainment if Declan isn't here to be getting himself into mischief." She laughed unconvincingly and turned back to the skirt she was repairing.

            We had a month before Patrick and his family left, and in that month Patrick and I spent as much time together as we possibly could. We had always spent most of our free time in each other's company, but now we began doing chores in tandem, and for me at least every evening parting was tinged with the sick reminder that he would be leaving soon. Boys aren't supposed to feel these things, or talk about them if they do, but I had never lived without Patrick and wasn't sure what I would do when he left.

            At last the day arrived. The Murphys had sold or given away everything they couldn’t take with them and were ready to leave in the morning for the harbor, to sail to New York where Patrick's Aunt and Uncle lived.

            "Micheál?" Patrick said absently as we pulled my boat up out of the water, "Will you write to me?"

            "I'll try," I told him honestly, though I was unsure where I would get the materials. Mother had made sure that her children went to school and so I could write quite well, but paper could be scarce- ink even scarcer. Patrick nodded.

            "I'll write you back," he said. That evening, before we parted, Patrick clapped me on the shoulder and said, his voice unusually thick, "Take care of yourself, lad."

            Instead of going inside, I went around the house and out to the hills in the dark. I wandered around aimlessly until my eyes were no longer red and I could speak without my voice catching. I must not have been out long enough, though, because Mother's and Maura's eyes followed me sympathetically all evening.

            When we woke the next morning, Patrick and his family were gone.

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