Messages

Now we know.  Lucky that RHI became an issue to pull down the Assembly when it was never an issue for the previous year.

It looks like the pulling down of the Assembly was in part due to the inability of the ministers to agree and implement a balanced budget for 2017-18. It appears that it is better to let the British and/or the civil servants to make the unpalatable cuts to key areas hence prevarication about ILA, etc until the budget is set and implemented by civil servants and confirmed by UK government. 

Without an Executive the UK parliament will set the budget and the civil servants have been given permission to go ahead with their planned budget for 2017-18.

Education cut by 2.5%
Infrastructure cut by 1.6%
Justice down by 2%
Agriculture down by 3.7%
Economy down by 3%

Communities up by 9% to pay for welfare payment mitigation decided by Assembly
Health up by 3% (5% inflation in this sector means a cut)
Finance up by 2.9%

The number of jobs to be cut in Education will be highly significant as they are on top of major increases in employers' national insurance and pension contributions.  When inflation is added to 2.5% cash cut then it rises to close to 7%.

How will agriculture deal with such a major cut with Brexit around the corner?

At least A5, A6 and Belfast Transport Hub will continue.

Watch how Brokenshire gets the blame and then it is passed on the civil servants.  There was a fixed amount of funding and the cake has just been sliced and handed out by them.

Top quality. Will be sorely missed.

Very true. If we had 6 of him starting v Down i'd be very confident.

Just the one would be enough for me.

If you can't get a kick out of annoying Brannigan, you're dead inside.

Of course it's private property. It's not owned by the State.
Doesn't matter if it's an individual, a company, Co operative, religious body or whatever.

If someone or organisation owes a considerable sum to the state or anyone, then the court is used to recover the debt, the bailiffs go in and cease the assets to cover the debt.  So, what is stopping the Government doing this with the support of the people and the law.

Surely the government could draft and pass legislation to simply cease the land and properties belonging to the orders to the value they owe and do it now.

[NOT]

OK, we are still waiting for the 2017 championship to begin, so we need something else for amusement this week.

Taking the idea from the video* of Peter Canavan posted by O'Neill in the Top Forwards thread for a new best team survey.

Please list your top 15 players (not from your own county) who have played since the qualifiers were introduced in 2001 as if it could be your fantasy team for the 2017 championship. Here are the rules:

1. Put the name your county at the top of your list

2. Do NOT pick players from your own county (to avoid obvious county bias)

3. List your team of top players from 1 to 15 no subs

4. Please give the full forename and surname of your players to help with the collation of scores

5. Do not list the county of the players in your list

6. Please do not add numbers to your list

7.  Each of the 6 lines will be counted separately to decide on the overall best team

* https://youtu.be/m4Zh0CE-lzA

Try of the competition by Gary Ringrose.

Leinster turn up after HT.

For 42 minutes it didn't look like any Leinster supporters had turned up.

It was arguable whether their team had turned up either.

15-3 at HT

Leinster having a nightmare.  Sin bin, losing line outs with over throws and Carberry at full back all over the place.

Canavan names his top non-Tyrone 15 - https://youtu.be/m4Zh0CE-lzA

Excellent whiteboard writing skills for a PE teacher.

Erin Moran aka Joanie Cunningham from Happy Days aged 56

https://www.yahoo.com/tv/happy-days-star-erin-moran-dies-56-012117080.html

Being famous may be more dangerous than smoking

That is very sad news.

How many child stars of the 70s/80s have ended up in similar circumstances?  V sad.

http://www.ranker.com/list/30-child-actors-who-died-young/celebrity-lists

There are no stand out Irish coaches at this point in time.

Kicking it was the alternative to trying to bash through the middle via Stander but teams have his number now and Saracens had the physicality to negate his drives.  Just don't aimlessly kick it.  Murray wouldn't have been much better on the amount of kicking but it may not have been as pointless. 

The best overseas players have their choice of teams in the NH and Munster has not been seen as a team that on the rise.  it is a bit chicken and egg at this point in time.

Will be interesting to see how Stuart Lancaster's Leinster manage away to Clermont.  Again, I fear they won't be able to cope with the sheer physicality of the French team.

[North Belfast General Election results]

UUP have stated they won't stand in Foyle, North Belfast and West Belfast.

This signals to DUP that they won't do anything to affect their de facto leader, Dodds, and will want a similar arrangement in other seats especially to protect Kinahan in South Antrim and Elliot in FST.

Interesting that they are pointing out they could run Nesbitt in South Belfast and Kennedy in Upper Bann.

There is a need for an agreed anti-Brexit candidate in North Belfast to defeat Dodds which would be a significant blow to the DUP.  No established SF or SDLP candidate would be enough to draw in the Alliance vote needed to win from Dodds.

North Belfast election results 2017
61.8%

DUP   13,309   
UUP   2,418   
PUP   2,053   17,780

AP   3,487 

SF   12,204   
SDLP   5,431   
PBP   1,559   
GP   711   
WP   248        20,153

IND   66   


North Belfast General Election results

2015   
59.20%

DUP   19,096
SF   13,770
SDLP   3,338
APNI   2,941
WP   919
IND   529   
   
2010   
56.50%

DUP   14,812
SF   12,588
SDLP   4,544
UCU-NF   2,837
APNI   1,809
IND   403
   
2005   
57.80%

DUP   13,935
SF   8,747
SDLP   4,950
UUP   2,154
APNI   438
WP   165
IND   151
   
2001   
67.20%

DUP   16,718
SF   10,331
SDLP   8,592
UUP   4,904
WP   253
IND   134

There seems to be a rather one-sided picture of Canavan being painted by some folk. He did receive some awful treatment on the pitch at times, but Canavan was guilty of some cowardly and disgraceful acts himself. Diving, feigning injury, hitting out at people, cynical fouling etc.

This side detracts from how I view him overall. Great footballer but some inexcusable behaviour on the pitch.

OK but ask this about any forward you may choose:

1. Was he a consistent scorer in big games?

2. Did he pose a scoring threat against every team across the country and over a period of time?

3. Was he a match winner on a regular basis and when it really mattered, i.e. could he turn a game around?

4. Did he make his team mates play better than they were as individuals?