Gary Hansard singing "I Can See God" at Glen Hansard's funeral:
Gerry Arthurs
@gerryarthurs.bsky.social
South East Technological University SETU (Ireland) Lecturer in International Relations & Politics. Views my own.
Interesting move here on Irish defence diplomacy: Irish military officers to fill defence attache posts in Britain, US and France this autumn www.irishtimes.com/politics/202...
Irish military officers to fill defence attache posts in Britain, US and France this autumn
Move hailed by Coalition as ‘significant milestone’ in strengthening international defence engagement
irishtimes.com
Typically astute opinion piece by the great @fromtga.bsky.social in @theguardian.com The 2026 midterms are not about the future of the Democrats, they’re about the future of Democracy in the US www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The Democrats have one last chance to halt the erosion of US democracy – and it’s less than 100 days away | Timothy Garton Ash
American democrats need a Hungarian-style landslide to overwhelm Trump’s attempts to rig November’s midterm elections, says Guardian columnist Timothy Garton Ash
theguardian.com
and they are not dead as long as Trump shrugs off the senate and keeps Blanche in harness to subvert law and facilitate corruption as his “acting” AG
Ron Filipkowski@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 6d agoThe fact that Blanche refused to terminate the slush fund in writing for Trump’s criminal cronies as well as his IRS immunity deal proves that his testimony at his confirmation hearing that these things were “dead” was always a lie. They were dead only until he got confirmed.
christ if that’s not a metaphor for our times
"Blame Elon Musk and Donald Trump for the Out-of-Control Ebola Crisis" Jeremy Konyndyk, who helped lead the U.S. response to the 2014 Ebola outbreak, on the deadly consequences DOGE's dismantling of USAID has had, as Congo struggles to contain the virus.
Blame Elon Musk and Donald Trump for the Out-of-Control Ebola Crisis
Jeremy Konyndyk, who helped lead the U.S. response to the 2014 Ebola outbreak, writes about the deadly consequences DOGE's dismantling of USAID has had, as Congo struggles to contain the virus.
zeteo.com
Meta is spending $600 billion+ to build out its AI model. That model is being aggressively integrated into platforms used by 3.9 billion people. This week, Meta announced its AI will be trained on content from Newsmax, the far-right website with a history of promoting pro-Trump conspiracy theories.
The World Cup without UEFA means no Mbappe, no Bellingham, no Haaland, no Olise, no Yamal It means no England, France, Spain, Germany, Belgium It means no Zidane, Tuchel, Klopp The World Cup this year without Europe would have just been Argentina & Egypt in the final 8 UEFA must hold firm
I'm old enough to remember when polio put my friends into iron lungs. We dutifully lined up at school to get vaccinated. We eradicated the disease. We protected the common good and saved lives. What RFK Jr. is doing to public health in America is a disgrace.
When the president is so dumb the infectious disease doctor touches his own face.
🇬🇧 PM Andy Burnham: Volodymyr, you're first leader I've welcomed in person since taking office, that's no accident. It's intended to send very clear message: We're with Ukraine 100%. I'm with you 100%, and I will honor every commitment this country has made to Ukraine in full.
A new poll shows half of America wants Netanyahu arrested on U.S. soil.
Half of Americans Support Arresting Benjamin Netanyahu: Poll
The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu for war crimes
meidasnews.com
"For me, he will always be everywhere I see a coin spinning into an open guitar case." Bono on Glen Hansard.
Rand Paul--who doesn't believe in evolution--holding a hearing of Dr. Fauci--a retired, life-long public servant-- while we are *actively* in the midst of SEVERAL disease outbreaks due to unnecessary public health cuts and corporate lobbying shows exactly how unserious Republicans are.
"I grew up in Ballymun. I don’t make a big song and dance about it, but I grew up witnessing hardship among friends, family. Ballymun gets a bad rap, but it was an incredible community. There was a great sense of meitheal. My mother didn’t have any money, but she had a great sense of community.”
Here on E Street, we are heartbroken over the death of Glen Hansard. We met in Ireland many years ago and he was always nothing but a great musician, a good friend and a generous and gracious man. Always positive, smiling and ready to sing. God bless him and his loved ones. Bruce
I was privileged to be at Bruce Springsteen in Kilkenny in 2013 when he brought out Glen Hansard to sing Drive All Night. Glen was an exceptional artist, with a soulful voice and an impish sense of humour. What a loss. Rest in peace. www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEls...
Bruce Springsteen - 2013-07-27 Kilkenny - Drive All Night (with Glen Hansard)
YouTube video by Dan French
youtube.com
Dead or alive, Mitch McConnell is on extended medical leave — on your dime. This is the same Mitch McConnell who voted against: paid family and medical leave for everyone else.
Today experienced the 24th day of year hitting 30C in London. For perspective in whole of 1980s we had 21 days.
The Office: Woman Holding 'HOT' Sign
ALT: The Office: Woman Holding 'HOT' Sign
static.klipy.com
i know genai is degrading society in general but this is shameful and can't be normalised
Al Jazeera English@aljazeera.com · last wk.Canadian politician Bill Oliver has gone viral after he appeared to accidentally read AI-generated editing instructions aloud, not once, but twice, during a speech to lawmakers in early June.
Once again the EU's Digital Markets Act helps to protect European consumers, in this case fining Google almost €900 million for infringements of EU rules. More than ever, regulation of Big Tech matters. www.politico.eu/article/eu-f...
EU fines Google €890M for breaching Big Tech rulebook
Brussels orders U.S. search giant to overhaul how it ranks rivals in search results and how it polices its app store — or face further penalties.
politico.eu
This is not a clean bill of health for the Russian owned alumina plant in Aughinish The Government’s inquiry was limited in scope, ran for only weeks, and had no access to Russia. As I said in this Newstalk interview, absence of evidence is not evidence of absence www.newstalk.com/podcasts/hig...
No evidence found of Aughinish exports to Russian weapons plant | Newstalk
The Taoiseach has said that the Government's investigation into Aughinish Alumina has not found d...
newstalk.com
I’m department chair now. Most of my leadership training comes from reading about dictatorships so I’ve got violence, propaganda, and purging or co-opting elites covered. What else should I know?
The President of the United States is threatening to commit war crimes again.
Shipwreck@shipwreck75.bsky.social · 2w agoTrump on SoH:
Larry laid his mouse in front of the press to be photographed. Lest you ask, this is a real photograph via the Press Association.
My op ed argues Bulgaria is fast becoming the new Hungary within the EU, at least where Ukraine policy is concerned. New PM, Rumen Radev, has has set in train a pivot in Bulgarian policy: from strong support for Ukraine to obstruction of EU sanctions. www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2026...
John O'Brennan: Orbán is gone, but the EU has a new headache in Bulgaria
The country’s new administration has made a number of moves that indicate a striking change in its position towards Ukraine, placing it at odds with EU partner states and Ireland
irishtimes.com