THE war of words over the axing of funding for an English-Irish placename project is another depressing example of the determination of unionism to keep scoring petty points that delight their staunchest followers but mean a drearily familiar round of division and anger that exhausts and dispirits the rest of us.
For sure, Saturday night's bombing took place outside the largely redundant Dunmurry police station but for anyone watching the machinations of dissident republicans, it's clear the real target was Sinn Féin not the PSNI.
IF only staunch unionists put the same amount of effort and passion into making this place work for all as they do obsessing on the Irish language.
BELFAST’S not renowned for its large farming community, and since the protests that took place across the north this week consisted almost entirely of farm vehicles, disruption in the city was kept to a minimum. Sydenham in East Belfast saw a small convoy of tractors cause disruption around the City Airport, but not only was the Westlink kept open, even the usual rush-hour traffic jam failed to materialise.
Back in 2015, the late Pope Francis, upbraiding US politicians, insisted that "there is no social or moral justification, no justification whatsoever, for the lack of housing".
WE’RE off again – and it’s still only March. The crazy flags, marches and bonfire season is well and truly under way and in the time since the last one nothing has been done to suggest that things are about to change any time soon.
It was an open goal for deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly in Washington DC this week.
With every passing day, the evidence of two diverging economies on the island becomes all the clearer - a Southern Government awash in money looming over a Northern Executive which is effectively bust.
WE don't know as much about St Patrick as one might think considering he is our national saint.
THE White House will once again have a peculiarly unionist feel on St Patrick’s Day as the DUP and UUP cross the pond to accept a bowl of shamrock from President Donald Trump in a green tie.
IT'S a striking reflection of this era of misinformation, disinformation and non-information, that, in their reporting of the death of the Reverend Jesse Jackson, none of our mainstream media reported on several consequential visits he made to this benighted backwater.
BUILDING the infrastructure of bias and discrimination which continues to permeate every aspect of our lives was the work of several generations of unionist and British administrations. It stands to reason, therefore, that undoing the damage wrought by countless decisions made by blinkered mandarins and bigoted ministers will also take time.
WHEN news filtered through on Tuesday that Queen's University had cut all links with an American politician of international renown, it's fair to say that many folks in these parts thought, “About time they dismissed Hillary Clinton.”
COMPLAINTS this week from some of the biggest hospitality operators in town over soaring rates bills are easy to dismiss as more whining from the usual quarters.
AS FORMER senior PSNI officer Jon Burrows prepares to take over the leadership of the UUP uncontested, he will be fully aware of the huge challenges that face him. Or at least we think he will be, because Mr Burrows is so fond of an arresting soundbite and accompanying picture that it is sometimes hard to tell what lies beneath the bluster and blow.