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for lefties too stubborn to quit
Site URL: cedarlounge.wordpress.com
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Posts: 35
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Another poll, another picture of political stasis
https://cedarlounge.wordpress.com/2026/03/30/another-poll-another-picture-of-political-stasis/
Published: March 30, 2026 10:38
As noted by Paul Culloty in comments, there’s a new poll from the Business Post, but it’s so similar to other recent polling that they might as well have swapped in last months, or the one before. SF 24 (+1) FG 18 (NC) FF 16 (-1) OTHERS/IND 13 (NC) SD 8…
All completely normal: Reform loses its fifth candidate in Scotland in a week
Published: March 30, 2026 09:58
Remarkable, and not in a good way, is the news that Reform in Scotland has run into some difficulty. Actually the same sort of difficulty as its seen elsewhere in the UK, and five instances of it in Scotland: Reform UK’s Holyrood campaign is in meltdown…
Left Archive: The Special Branch (article), Nusight Magazine, November 1968
Published: March 30, 2026 06:12
Please click here to go the Left Archive. To download the above please click here: Many thanks to Sam McGrath who forwarded this to the Archive. This is a short but useful article from the first issue of Nusight magazine, published in 1968. Nusight was…
‘Brothers in Pain’ –New podcast series
https://cedarlounge.wordpress.com/2026/03/29/brothers-in-pain-new-podcast-series/
Published: March 29, 2026 10:00
The Irish War of Independence often conjures images of guerrilla fighters on lonely mountainsides, on the run from the Black and Tans. While that is part of the story, Ireland’s struggle for independence unfolded against the backdrop of a world in total…
Sunday and other stupid statements from this week
https://cedarlounge.wordpress.com/2026/03/29/sunday-and-other-stupid-statements-from-this-week-123/
Published: March 29, 2026 09:08
All contributions welcome. Easy, too easy? Of course, if you have very large constituencies, you have long ballot papers, which might make voting unwieldy. A cap on the number of TDs and standardising the constituencies would be popular and easily pass in…
Licensing laws
https://cedarlounge.wordpress.com/2026/03/28/licensing-laws/
Published: March 28, 2026 11:31
Perhaps it’s a sign of lack of familiarity with pubs in the late evening but this came as a surprise: Reforms to late licensing laws that are aimed at extending opening times of pubs and nightclubs are set to be acted on “in due course”, however there is…
Real, all too real
https://cedarlounge.wordpress.com/2026/03/28/real-all-too-real/
Published: March 28, 2026 10:58
Reading an interesting novel at the moment. When We Were Real by Daryl Gregory it’s an account of a tour by bus (Canterbury Tours no less) across a part of the United States. It’s no spoiler to say that this isn’t quite the U.S. as we know it, since in the…
This Weekend I’ll Mostly Be Listening to… Peace De Résistance
Published: March 28, 2026 07:55
Sometimes listening to music from the 2020s I’m blown away by just how good so much of it is. Creative, insightful and with little sense of fatigue at the sheer weight of other music that has been written in the past four decades or half century. It’s the…
Easter break for the Dáil
https://cedarlounge.wordpress.com/2026/03/27/easter-break-for-the-dail/
Published: March 27, 2026 12:17
Speaking of the Dáil, a long break from yesterday through to the 14th of April!
“He continues to insist Iran has been defeated and yet Iran continues to behave as if it is not.”
Published: March 27, 2026 11:19
This. Sums up everything about the most stupid imperial adventurism (quite some negative achievement in itself) we’ve been inflicted with this last half century.
AI justice?
https://cedarlounge.wordpress.com/2026/03/27/ai-justice/
Published: March 27, 2026 10:59
The latest news from the justice system: AI is being trialled to replace human stenographers in courts, but models are “falling foul” of bias. The Courts Service has told the Oireachtas Committee on Artificial Intelligence that the technology is being…
Signs of Hope – A continuing series
https://cedarlounge.wordpress.com/2026/03/27/signs-of-hope-a-continuing-series-387/
Published: March 27, 2026 10:49
Gewerkschaftler suggested this a while back and it’s as good an idea now as it was then. Whatever else those of us on the left need some hope, need some tangible achievements to hold on to, something that gives a sense of how things can be made better: “I…
A 185 TD Dáil?
https://cedarlounge.wordpress.com/2026/03/27/a-185-td-dail/
Published: March 27, 2026 10:10
Some are fretting about the size of the Dáil. Again. The number of TDs could increase to 185 at the next general election based on Ireland’s projected population growth, the Seanad has heard, as a call was made for a referendum to limit the numbers.…
Don’t lash yourself too closely to Trump
https://cedarlounge.wordpress.com/2026/03/26/dont-lash-yourself-too-closely-to-trump/
Published: March 26, 2026 12:58
Seems to be what this piece suggests: The Rassemblement National is not invincible. A year out from a make-or-break presidential vote, that might be the main lesson (though there are others, which may prove more significant) from last weekend’s local…
That Danish SD winning electoral formula
https://cedarlounge.wordpress.com/2026/03/26/that-danish-sd-winning-electoral-formula/
Published: March 26, 2026 10:50
There was much made in the last few years of how the Danish Social Democrats hard-line approach to immigration had garnered them political strength, and yet, given the narrowness of their partial victory and the centrality of the political centre to their…
Investment in defence companies without Cabinet oversight?
Published: March 26, 2026 09:46
For
The least surprising political news ever
https://cedarlounge.wordpress.com/2026/03/25/the-least-surprising-political-news-ever/
Published: March 25, 2026 11:06
…must be this (as noted in comments by Banjoe): Lord Mayor of Dublin Ray McAdam has been selected by Fine Gael as its candidate in the Dublin Central byelection. The party held its selection convention in the Ashling Hotel on Monday night but the outcome…
Spoiled votes
https://cedarlounge.wordpress.com/2026/03/25/spoiled-votes-2/
Published: March 25, 2026 09:18
There was a curious piece in the Independent earlier in the month about spoiled votes. It sought to present the situation at the last Presidential in the following terms: The Electoral Commission published valuable research last week on the huge number of…
What you want to say – 25th March 2026
https://cedarlounge.wordpress.com/2026/03/25/what-you-want-to-say-25th-march-2026/
Published: March 25, 2026 06:41
As always, following on Dr. X’s suggestion, it’s all yours, “announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose”, feel free.
An unnecessary question
https://cedarlounge.wordpress.com/2026/03/24/an-unnecessary-question/
Published: March 24, 2026 09:43
From the National, an observation about the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg: LAURA Kuenssberg asked a UK Government minister “why would Israel say something that is not true” after he contradicted the country’s claim that Iran has missiles capable of hitting…
Elections for Scotland
https://cedarlounge.wordpress.com/2026/03/24/elections-for-scotland/
Published: March 24, 2026 09:04
Good point made here:
Citizen pollsters?
https://cedarlounge.wordpress.com/2026/03/24/citizen-pollsters/
Published: March 24, 2026 09:01
First there were ‘citizen journalist’. Now – what’s this? An attempt by a Wexford man to conduct his own exit poll at his local polling station on the day of a referendum proved to be illegal. Appearing before the Circuit Court was Darren McGovern (49) of…
What’s that now? US administration officials living on military bases?
Published: March 24, 2026 07:42
Reports this last weekend that drones had been seen over the military base where two senior US administration officials live. Wait, what’s that, they live on a military base? Who would these be? A series of “unidentified” drones have been spotted hovering…
1.5% opt out of organ donation
https://cedarlounge.wordpress.com/2026/03/23/1-5-opt-out-of-organ-donation/
Published: March 23, 2026 10:44
Useful figures on the new organ donation approach – that is an opt-out scheme where if one hasn’t opted out one’s organs will be available for donation. There was quite some social media noise about all this, negative noise it has to be said – so it’s…
A united left front
https://cedarlounge.wordpress.com/2026/03/23/a-united-left-front/
Published: March 23, 2026 09:22
Richard Boyd Barret noted this weekend at the PBP Solidarity annual conference – which included both Solidarity and PBP representatives: that members are strongly advocating for a very public united left front to offer an alternative to what he called the…
Left Archive: Forum, Democratic Left, April 1993
https://cedarlounge.wordpress.com/2026/03/23/left-archive-forum-democratic-left-april-1993/
Published: March 23, 2026 06:39
Please click here to go the Left Archive. To download the above please click on this link: This is a very welcome addition to the Archive, many thanks to the person who scanned and forwarded it to us. This is the first edition of Forum to be included in…
Culture Thread 22/3/2026
https://cedarlounge.wordpress.com/2026/03/22/culture-thread-22-3-2026/
Published: March 22, 2026 10:55
gregtimo proposed in comments some while back the idea of a Culture Thread. It’s a great idea. Currently culture is a bit strange, but people read, listen to music, watch television and film and so on – spread the net wide, sports, activities, interests,…
Sunday and other stupid statements from this week
https://cedarlounge.wordpress.com/2026/03/22/sunday-and-other-stupid-statements-from-this-week-122/
Published: March 22, 2026 10:50
All contributions welcome. After the end of a certain case in London there are no end of people attempting to make a point: Adams was interned again soon after. Once among the hard men of the IRA in the cages, he was reportedly appointed OC (“officer…
In defence of taxi-drivers
https://cedarlounge.wordpress.com/2026/03/21/in-defence-of-taxi-drivers/
Published: March 21, 2026 12:29
There’s a piece in the Guardian on the Wayve driverless taxi’s that are set to go live in London before the end of next year. Waymo and Apollo Go are by far the two largest robotaxi operators in the world: Waymo completes 450,000 rides a week, with Apollo…
Meteor
https://cedarlounge.wordpress.com/2026/03/21/meteor/
Published: March 21, 2026 12:29
Not sure if I experienced this driving along I’d be necessarily delighted. A meteor over Ohio caused a large boom that jolted people as far away as Pennsylvania on Tuesday morning, Nasa has confirmed. The meteor entered the atmosphere at about 9am local…
Fundraiser for Dublin 3 for Neutrality
https://cedarlounge.wordpress.com/2026/03/21/fundraiser-for-dublin-3-for-neutrality/
Published: March 21, 2026 11:00
Join three of the most exciting musical acts ever to be found in Dublin for a special fundraising event. Love Peace / Hate War is the message from the Dublin 3 for Neutrality community group. We can all stand up for Irish Neutrality, strive for a peaceful…
This Weekend I’ll Mostly Be Listening to… Meryl Streek
https://cedarlounge.wordpress.com/2026/03/21/this-weekend-ill-mostly-be-listening-to-meryl-streek/
Published: March 21, 2026 05:39
Dublin based avant-garde punk Meryl Streek has released a number of albums, the anger in many of the lyrics to a wonderful background. “Death to the Landlord” expresses a lot of the despondency with the current and previous Governments , as does “If This…
UK civil lawsuit against Gerry Adams is withdrawn
https://cedarlounge.wordpress.com/2026/03/20/uk-civil-lawsuit-against-gerry-adams-is-withdrawn/
Published: March 20, 2026 12:14
News from RTÉ just now. Breaking: A UK civil lawsuit against former Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams has been withdrawn by the claimants. Not entirely surprising, given the ground the lawsuit was built upon, perhaps the idea was to get the day in court?
Farewell to sport
https://cedarlounge.wordpress.com/2026/03/20/farewell-to-sport/
Published: March 20, 2026 10:59
A column from Eamonn Sweeney on substack who writes about how he has abandoned writing about sport after doing so since 1987, five books and perhaps several million words. It’s an important read.
‘Regime accommodation’
https://cedarlounge.wordpress.com/2026/03/20/regime-accommodation/
Published: March 20, 2026 08:55
Good piece on the Mick Clifford podcast with Scott Lucas, UCD Clinton Institute Professor of International Relations. Lucas points to a new reality: that far from regime change, Trump et al seek *regime accommodation*. They can live with Maduro’s…