Der Geisterleser

Wading through an unread pile of books, one book at a time*

*may actually be more than one book at a time.

[Eilis O'Hanlon @OHanlonEilis]

RTE manages to discuss the Garvaghy Road stand off without speaking to a single unionist, in violation of its own editorial guidelines. Have written about it here. https://t.co/cbzZKQUBP9

[Christopher Howarth @CJCHowarth]

Christopher Howarth, “The UK would have to pay tens of billions into the EU every year if it rejoined, accept EU laws and regulations, hand over its fish, drop all its own trade agreements and potentially join the euro. France, meanwhile, is engulfed with riots and is teetering on the edge of a financial crisis big enough to sink the euro. It’s no surprise France would now like to invite the UK to share in its mess.”
https://t.co/E1r3LLa0hE

[Ayaan Hirsi Ali @Ayaan]

Why Ireland Boycotts Israel but Not Qatar or Afghanistan

[Der Geisterleser @TheTeddyKing]

@DerSchwarzBaron And the gloomy old wet and cold winters here are depressing at best. Have similar plans once I reach retirement or if I reach it. Just dont know where yet. Greece seems like itd be too hot for me over the summer. Nice mild sunny winters though would be perfect.

[Al @aikial1977]

@peadar500 @DerSchwarzBaron The thread is all about the sectarian-hatred faced by the minority Protestant population in the 26 insurgent counties. That bigotry has been fomented at a government & societal level. The "horrendous path" in the south requires clarity, truth & admission. Not denial.

[Andrew @McKinleyAn]

Devolution means that people like Hargey are elected to do the thinking on how to spend the executive’s lavish budget.

[Belfast Books @BelfastBooks]

Still waiting for any journalist to contact me about this...

Or any politician.

Or the PSNI to do anything about it.

Or the PPS to do anything about it.

[Máiría Cahill @cahillbooks]

I hope in the interests of balance, that a @RTELateLateShow invite has been extended to @little_pengelly as well as Michelle O'Neill, who has already been on several times.

I also hope that, rather than a propaganda exercise from @PatricKielty , that the latter is asked fair questions about why protesters were bussed in to Garvaghy from republican clubs in west Belfast before a court had even ruled, why they were directed through megaphone by a former IRA man Martin Lynch, why groups sang IRA songs like My Old Mans a Provo, and how we ever sort this place out and tell citizens not to break the law when the most senior politician here says it's ok to do it if you think it's right.

It is so febrile that a deliberate soft soap propaganda exercise now, would be irresponsible broadcasting. Let's see.

[Paddy Shanks @PaddyShanks]

"People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones."
"Howard Beckett a senior official who quit one of the UK's largest trade unions amid a police probe was being investigated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).
He is qualified solicitor, friend of Jeremy Corbyn was Unite the Union's assistant general secretary and head of legal until his suspension in August 2022.
The issue was around a project of a vastly over budget Birmingham hotel which is being investigated by the Serious Fraud Office, was originally estimated to cost £7m but £112m was eventually spent.
An independent valuation later concluded the finished building was worth only £29m.
2025-Police raided the union's London headquarters as part of an investigation into alleged bribery, fraud and money-laundering. Court documents show Mr Beckett's homes in London and the Wirral were also raided."
https://t.co/Egv7zufs9Q

[Der Geisterleser @TheTeddyKing]

@McKinleyAn That doesnt seem right, was Burrows not co-opted?

[Der Geisterleser @TheTeddyKing]

I dont call myself a footballer after not playing in 20+ years. If they were describing themselves as "from a protestant background" fair enough.

[Der Geisterleser @TheTeddyKing]

However the "as a protestant" types I see commenting, specifically with that caveat, I roll eyes at, particularly with this example where he or she have went once in the past year and not for a primary religious milestone. I take exception with that label not being accurate

[Melissa Chen @MsMelChen]

Finally, someone nailed the aesthetics to convey the civilizational stake of our present age.

Standing before the acropolis as the sun bathed its marble in warm tones, Rubio makes the case for the grandeur and virtues of Western civilization in all its splendor. Empires have risen and vanished beneath that ridge, and the stones remain, indifferent to the fashion of the hour.

Rare to hear a Western leader use vocabulary that modern education has largely purged - sacrifice, duty, inheritance, the debt owed to those who built before us.

The men who raised those columns did not do so under the illusion of permanent safety. They understood what separates glory and ruin, and that the only lasting answer to ruin is the deliberate transmission of daring and courage.

It's a glorious speech, truly one for the ages.

[Jon Burrows MLA @JonBurrowsMLA]

Be careful what you wish for.

[Der Geisterleser @TheTeddyKing]

@Erudite4Unity @naomi_long The colleagues are part of the same cult.

[Der Geisterleser @TheTeddyKing]

@JohnONeillqevd @lilyhilbo @BelfastBooks “Embrace your Irishness” gives the game away. You’re not defending anyone’s identity; you’re telling someone else what theirs ought to be. Belfast Agreement settled this neatly: British, Irish or both, as the individual chooses. Carson was entitled to his identity. So am I.

[Der Geisterleser @TheTeddyKing]

@JohnONeillqevd @BelfastBooks @lilyhilbo @EnochBurke “There is none” is certainly an interesting response to being shown an example of it. Denial does save you the inconvenience of having to address the evidence.

[Der Geisterleser @TheTeddyKing]

@toal_gmicko @Eddieisback2 @SimonCatRiley @DerSchwarzBaron Consider what you have written please. Are you advocating that instead of breaking the law that Garvaghy Road residents write to their elected representatives instead?