Berlïn cyclist🚴‍♂️... 💙+💛= 💚

@DavQuinn This is Junior Cert-level political commentary. The contrast is not subtle, but neither is it very surprising or even all that striking. Politico balances its message with the sub-headline, making its overall message not all that different from the Irish Times.

Significantly different headlines in The Irish Times (left) and Politico (right) about the same local election results in France. Shows how headlines can shape perceptions.

@StPatri88801243 @DavQuinn @CourierClicks Apart altogether from the fact that it's utterly irrelevant ... except to the extent that your beloved Church was effectively running the State during most of the relevant period.

@DavQuinn @CourierClicks They won't because it doesn't suit the narrative.

Disparaging our Catholic history has become a cheap parlour game that almost totally ignores the positive side of the ledger. If you know only the negative side and none of the positive side, then you really need to do some reading. #StPatricksDay

@DavQuinn @CourierClicks More whataboutery. And singularly weird whataboutery at that, as it was your ugly lot who were effectively running the State for such an immensely long time.

@CourierClicks Now try the same thing on the State which is guilty of many crimes.

@DavQuinn @TalksWild Whataboutery. Look at them! What they're doing is wrong and therefore what we were doing is somehow less wrong. This comment is as illogical as it is morally illiterate.

@TalksWild No cosy relationships between the State and various third party organisations today?

@DavQuinn @Liamo10858 He isn't. I was a pupil at Blackrock College. I'm only finding out now from my fellow pupils that it was far worse than I imagined at the time. I'm 60.

@Liamo10858 I'm only a bit younger than you and you are wildly exaggerating .

@DavQuinn There is only one answer to this bizarre comment: When people have found out against powerful odds that you've been raping & abusing children and actively facilitating & covering up child rape & abuse, those people aren't inclined to look at the positive side of the ledger.

@DavQuinn @CatholicBishops Three words at best: dead cat bounce

Great piece on that new report from @CatholicBishops showing early signs of a new openness to religion among some Gen Zers. Featured is Mahon McCann on how he went from atheism to Catholicism.

@MaryKenny4 You're not doing your readers of X a favour, as O'Connor's article is behind a paywall. And if you're not paraphrasing O'Connor accurately, you're not doing him any favours either. Especially as the article is behind a paywall. You should quote him honestly and in context.

@aggressie A tweet is often a resumee or commentary on a text. I’m doing Mr O’Connor a favour by encouraging people to read the original!

Dublin's Archbishop John Charles McQuaid was as bad as the Ayatollah Khomeini, suggests Brendan O'Connor in the Sunday Independent. I don't recall McQuaid hanging homosexuals from cranes, but the Irish do love to claim worse victimhood!

@DavQuinn A country run by a religious establishment is a theocracy, by no matter what mechanisms it exercises that control, David. It's quite obvious that during the 50s and 60s the clerics had far more than just informal "influence". They ran the place.

In his piece in the Sindo today, Brendan O'Connor confuses a religious society with a theocratic one. There's a big difference. Clerics had no formal power here, only informal influence, which ended as soon as we no longer wanted it.

@DavQuinn @CatholicBishops Dog food manufacturer says dog food is popular.

RTE reports today on a new report commissioned by @CatholicBishops which takes the religious pulse of Ireland. It's stronger than you think, and there are signs of a 'quiet revival' among some 18-24-year-olds.

@ChadimirPoutine The burden of proof is firmly on you. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.

Ukraine started the war. Prove me wrong.

@ricwe123 George Kennan clearly had extremely low expectations of Russian behaviour. The reason NATO expanded was because sovereign nations felt they had reason to fear Russian aggression. And boy were they proved right in their fear!

George Kennan warned NATO expansion would provoke Russia and spark a new war, and he was completely right. Expanding into former Soviet territories wasn’t just unnecessary; it was reckless, guaranteed to anger Moscow and push Russian policy in dangerous directions. History has proven Kennan’s prediction dead-on. Ignoring his warning wasn’t a mistake,it was a disaster we’re still living with.

@54JohnBull You're not expected to believe the truth. On the contrary. Nevertheless, it is the truth, whatever you clearly consciously choose to believe.

This post has to be about the most absurd claim of the Ukraine war. Russia has dominance in FAB's, drones, missiles and artillery. For over a year they have physically handed over 17,500 bodies for exchange at a rate of around 28 Ukrainians to 1 Russian. We are expected to believe though that Ukraine's army is killing up to 25 Russians for each soldier they lose. Do you take us for fools @memphisbarker ?

@steve_hanke In volume, that might even be true. In terms of value, it certainly isn't, and in terms of profitability even less so. By. A. Mile.

Is Russia exporting more oil now that it was before the Russo-Ukrainian war? Contrary to Western propaganda, the answer is YES. Russian crude export volumes are 6% above ‌pre-invasion levels. SANCTIONS = NEVER WORK.

@BrowderBil93666 @Muhamma34808633 @rinalu_ That's just a mixture of paranoia and self-serving propaganda. Europe had nothing at all against Russia until Putin made Russia a threat to it.

@Muhamma34808633 @rinalu_ Not true. We can mask it in flowery talk but Europeans hate Russia.

These are the Brandenburg Gate. Berlin, Germany. Germans, how did it come to this?

@Muhamma34808633 @rinalu_ I'm passionately in favour of Russia. That's why Putin has to go. And Putin's calamitous and murderous war against Ukraine has to stop. For Russia's sake as much as for Ukraine. Putin's amorality and mistakes are eating up his country as well as his neighbour.

@rinalu_ Majority of German , French people are not against Russia . It is the corrupt politicians representing vested interests that are unsuccessfully fanning anti Russian sentiments

@StefanWeidenba2 @rinalu_ You should have.

@rinalu_ Don’t blame me, I didn’t vote for this!

@rinalu_ Nice contrast, eh? From evil to defending against evil. Even the colours contrast nicely.

@RussianEmbassy Get yourself an honest job, your Excellency. That offer to polish up your resumé for you is still open.

💬 Ambassador Kelin: The Ukraine conflict has escalated due to Western European involvement. They provide weapons, money, economic assistance and political support. But we can see that this support is running out and will come to an end sooner or later. youtu.be/MPF5fk3XQvI