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Not sure if his trial is getting much attention in Ireland and the UK but it isn't getting much here and I thought that was both shocking and sad.
Kermit Gosnell is an unlicensed "doctor" who performed 100s if not 1000s of late term abortions on the vulnerable women of our society. There is a documentary available online for those who have the stomach to watch but more info can be read online : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kermit_Gosnell
He had unlicensed nurses act as anesthesiologists. Labour was induced beyond 20 weeks and babies were delivered, at which point Gosnell would sever their spine or cut their throats.
Body parts from these babies were discovered on display in jars throughout the clinics and offices.

At an early count he could be responsible for the murder of more people than any other mass murdered in the history of the USA, yet there is minimal news coverage.
Most pregnancies are 40 weeks. For those parents out there who have seen the 12 week ultra sound and the 18 week ultrasound we can all afree we're not talking about clumps of cells at 20 weeks and beyond. My own brother was born premature at 27 weeks and survived. Gosnell didn't give the same hope to the ones he delivered.....

So we are moving house and trying to get rid of some of our stuff and give some away before we leave.
We've been using Craiglist (like GumTree) to find worthy homes for some things.
So I responded to a post asking for unwanted PS2 stuff and I offered a console and games with controllers and the like. The guy "Jay" was very happy to here from me.
Anyways his name showed up on his email response and I googled him, as you do to not get scammed, and he came up as a registered sex offender, same age as he said he was and within 5 miles of the town he said he lived in. John Carawan, Mount Holly, NJ.

Anyways I couldn't be sure it was him so I decided to call him up this morning and ask him. Awkward conversation of the year award goes to.....

On phone he said it wasn't him and it was a weird conversation
Later he emailed me to say he didn't want the system and included a quote from the Bible: Judge not or you will be judged.
So is it him do you think or is it not???

I am concerned he may have used the system to lure young children. Or even have children kidnapped? Who the frig knows these days?!!?

Do I call the cops and if so what the heck do I tell them?

So many posters on here claim to be Atheist, so I wanted to know about Naturalism and what it all means.
If a subscriber to the belief system could explain it and what it means to people today perhaps that would be helpful. If you want questions then here are some to begin with:

What is Naturalism?
What does it say about humans, where we came from and why we're all here?

I'd like to get real answers to the questions rather than "this is what we don't believe"......

The majority of people in the developed world (I guess Ireland can be included in that list) would seem to have health problems. There is increasing obesity, more fat people than ever. I myself, although I am not overweight, have very high cholesterol and triglycerides which could lead to a heart attack.

From what I understand this is a result of our lifestyles changing and getting easier but our diets remaining the same. Our fathers and grandfathers probably ate as much as us but they did a days hard work in the fields or wherever, whereas most of us our sitting on our arses most of the time.

I watched a documentary recently called Fat Sick and Nearly Dead about an Australian guy who consumes only Juice for 60 days. He juices large quantities of fruit and vegetables, getting calories and nutrients. No solid food allowed.

Has anyone seen it? Any thoughts on it?

He proposes a 10 day Juice fast/feast for a reboot of your system. I'm currently on Day 2.

Does any have in their possession or have a link to a good photograph of the Sklyine / Silhouette of Armagh City?

Was hoping to paint up a canvas of the same but need something to work from.  Have searched online but there is nothing great.

Any help appreciated.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/election_2010/england/8663681.stm
What do folks make of this? Is retaliation to spitting in the face counted as self defense?

I think its a fantastic idea and hope it spreads around the world.

http://www.arkhq.com/

Take a look and see what yous think.  It was started by a lad in Belfast.

Lads,
I am looking into setting up a (legit) business at home and was wondering if anyone was involved with any of the cross border initiatives offering grants/funding for business start up or had contacts at any of the funding bodies.  The business will be primarily an export business.
Thanks in advance for any help.

The Red Legs of Barbados were a group of Irish Slaves whose descendants survive today in horrible conditions in Barbados.  Interesting article below if you have time to read it and a documentary on TV soon....

I WAS DELIGHTED that Caroline Walsh focused on the plight of Ireland's lost tribe, the Red Legs, in her article a couple of weeks ago on Barbados. This group, made up of the descendants of 50,000 Irish men and women who were sold into the white slave trade between 1652 and 1659, have been largely ignored, apart from in Seán O'Callaghan's wonderful To Hell or Barbados: The Ethnic Cleansing of Ireland , published almost 20 years ago.

They were innocent Irish people who were rounded up from across the country by teams of Oliver Cromwell's "man-catchers", bound in chains and shipped to Barbados to work on sugar plantations.

Their descendants are still there today – some of them in absolute poverty – isolated, unassimilated and uneducated. It is about time we acknowledge them, our beleaguered kinsmen, innocent victims first of British injustice, then of landlord cruelty and now of our lack of interest.

I've wanted to go out and visit them for a long time, and perhaps make a documentary about them, but I was warned off by O'Callaghan's stories of outsiders being driven away with hoes and pitchforks from the isolated, rundown settlements in which they live.

Thankfully, a braver group, Moondance Films, has made a documentary, which will be aired on TG4 soon. I'll be intrigued to find out what it learned. So little known is about the Red Legs. Like any oppressed people, they were too focused on survival to have had the luxury of documenting their history. Their connection with Ireland was cut off many centuries ago; their surnames were taken from them and they were forbidden to practise their faith. Perhaps all that remains is their red hair, freckles and blue eyes.

Most accounts refer to their arrogance and alcoholism. One describes them as "lazy, worthless drunks of unworthy Irish/Scots origin, who have neither ambition nor intelligence, yet are white and proud. They believe they are a cursed people."

Of course, some Red Leg families thrived when they were eventually emancipated, in 1834, when slavery was abolished. Illustrious island families such as the Mayers

and Goddards proudly trace their lineage back to slave ancestry, but most tend to be poorer than the black population. They farm smallholdings of sugar cane on the arid eastern coast of the island or live in Bridgetown, the capital, drinking in local grog shops or running white brothels for middle-class blacks.

I must stress that all of this is based mostly on rumour and on research done 20 years ago. We will know the truth only when TG4's documentary is aired.

In the meantime what we know is that Cromwell decreed that troublemakers – the poor, the hungry, clergy and Catholic landlords who refused to move to Connacht – be sent to Barbados. They were herded south into holding pens in Cork and Waterford, then crammed into African slave ships in chains. One in five died en route; those who survived were scrubbed in readiness for the slave mart. The women – nuns, soldiers' wives, Catholic gentry and teenagers – were stripped and checked for virginity. Good breeders were sold to studs, to make future slaves and brothel girls. The men were checked for muscle tone and strength of teeth, then branded with their owners' initials.

Ironically, the Irish are now returning to Barbados, the elite of Ireland's post-boom aristocracy – Desmond, Magnier, Smurfit, O'Reilly – converting old plantations into luxury resorts. Who knows how many of our ancestors were whipped to death right on the sites of these new pleasure palaces?

http://bajan.wordpress.com/2009/01/18/red-legs-in-barbados/

Lads I am researching CRM packages for a business venture that is small right now but definitely growing and could have up to c.5000 contacts in the future.
Does anyone have any experience with any good CRM packages? What are the strengths and weaknesses? I am looking at packages in the mid-low price range.

Appreciate any advice.......

http://www.rte.ie/sport/other/features/ufc1.html

See the UFC is now being featured regularly on the RTE Website.  Good enough read there boys for anyone interested in taking a look.

I am a big fan of Cuchulainn and have read up a lot on the subject and ancient Irish legend.  I always loved the old mural of the death scene of Cuchulainn that was in Drumarg in Armagh but sadly it has been painted over. does anyone have a good photo or image of this mural or a good image of the death scene?
Sorry if this is posted in the wrong place - just wondered if anyone could help out - hoping to get this as a tattoo

I worked in a few different bars in my teens and we used to use the ash tray cloth to clean lipstick off the glasses and just rinse the glass under the tap afterwards.

I worked on a Mushroom farm and we used to spray Formaldehyde (a known carcinogen today) on the 3rd and 4th flush mushrooms to make them whiter.

A bar I worked at in Belfast used to pour Vladivar into the Smirnoff bottles - though I'm sure that was a common thing....

Anything go on behind the scenes at your old or current place of work that would change people's opinions?

From BBC website.  Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/7598227.stm

Five teenagers have taken their own lives in Dungannon, County Tyrone, in the last fortnight.

Residents met at a public meeting on Wednesday night to discuss the issue.

Many people at the meeting have been personally affected by suicide, Catherine McBennett lost her 15-year-old daughter two years ago.

"We have been banging on doors to try and get awareness within the community. Instead of hiding the issue under the carpet we need to be more aware."

Gareth Falls, project manager at the Niamh Louise Foundation drop-in centre said the community had been devastated by the recent deaths.

"The impact of suicide in a rural area has a wider influence and its important we tackle that," he said.

"There's going to be another meeting so we can implement suggestions to the Southern Trust as to how we can approach the issue of suicide in the area."

On average, about 195 people take their lives in Northern Ireland each year.

Very sad that these young people have taken their lives.  My thoughts go out to their families and the young people themselves RIP.

I read a book by Malcolm Gladwell called The Tipping Point - he has some interesting theories on teen suicide.

I've been away from home for a while now and my wife commented recently that it is very evident to her that I am more proud of my county than I am of being Irish.
When ever anyone from Ireland goes to another country they tend to wear county or club jerseys before Ireland shirts (soccer, rugby, generic).

I think being from Armagh and my own area defines me more than being Irish.

What do yous think yourselves?

Was just wondering if anyone knew of McGeeney doing any MMA training or wrestling or anything like that?

Was watching a highlight video of the compromised rules in 2006 and he gets into a bit of a tussle with an aussie on the ground.  McGeeney is on his back, performs a prfect sweep to side mount and executes a lovely head crank

Technique is too good to be natural so just wondered if anyone knew?

Its on the 2min 30 mark or so

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he-D4QIrWGk

Just bought a house there about 4 weeks ago.  Been doing a lot of the renovations myself.

Anyway long story short - I have always been handy enough at painting and seen that blue tape on the DIY shows on TV - thought I would give it a try.

Its friggin class.  I painted the ceilings first. Then once they were dry I taped the edges and painted the walls.  Once they were dry I peeled it off and a contractor couldn't have straighter lines! Used it all over the house now - best thing I bought by far

Doesn't take the paint off the surface at all and you can paint over the top of it.  Used on the carpet too when I was painting the skirting boards.

Anyone else ever tried it?  Also found the 5 in 1 tool handy (paint stripper, screw setter, paint tin opener......)

Any other good hints or tips?

Well lads I seen a great picture when i was at home in armagh  - it was a black and white picture of an army land rover burnt out on the ring road  - just above the fly over with Navan terrace and Navan street.  It was taken with the backs of two wee lads in the foreground and the background was the brits and the land rover.

Thought it was a great picture.

Question is does anyone know where I could buy or get something similar  - high resolution - or restored digital black and white images from the troubles?

did some snoopin about the Internet but nothing really showed up

every Dad wants his son to be tough - but would you take it to this level?

I think I will

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vP_HlNGfcR4

UFC just confirmed they are coming to Belfast in June and will showcase an Ultimate Fight Night.
No fighters confirmed at this early stage but should be a good opportunity for Irish Fans to see some decent match-ups and get a taste of the UFC ringside.

Here comes the pain.