I’ve heard it said that Northern Ireland’s economic decline is the result of the Troubles. But they themselves were the result of a rotten political system. And nothing exemplified this more than the office of prime minister of NI. THREAD.👇

Shit like this is what causes people to lose confidence in institutions. To call what PA get up to ‘terrorism’ is a crime against the English language in top of the victims of this undemocratic legislation. What a crushing disappointment Starmer has been.

I hope Spanish hospitals have enough resources to cope with all the racists and xenophobes flooding A&Es with embolisms.

One person who spoiled their vote in Urlingford wrote on the ballot paper: “I would rather vote for Hitler than vote for a Tipperary man.”

So Real Madrid sign Cucurella on the eve of Spain’s Champions opener. Eight years ago they poached Spain’s manager on the eve of the World Cup. Can’t imagine any other club not giving a fuck about the national team’s cohesion and focus in the way Madrid do. Incredible arrogance.

We too easily dismiss unhinged racism and conspiracy theories as ‘social media is not real life’. But I increasingly encounter such extreme views daily, often from highly educated and well-off people. The tsunami of hate unleashed by the tech bros is causing societal damage.

A tweet by a Spanish account with <500 followers has this massive engagement. I wonder what could be boosting it 🤔

I saw vox pops with Scottish fans saying they had spent £4-5k for going over to just the Haiti match. It looked like the stadium was overwhelmingly Scottish. Where do they all get the money?!?

This pitch is poxy. And that’s where the World Cup final is going to be played. Fuck’s sake.

Early days, but Brazil look far from brilliant.

Is Ancelotti on ye olde ozempic?

Amazing vindictiveness. When the Soviets occupied eastern Germany after the war, they deported Walter Nicolai to Moscow, where he died. He was in his 70s and had retired after WWI, when he was the chief military intelligence officer, but had never schemed against the Bolsheviks.

I’ve seen posters by Latvian avant-garde artist Gustav Klutsis in books and magazines, but had never really wondered who he was. Turns out he was executed under Stalin for ‘fascist Latvian nationalism’ at the age of 43 in 1938.

I never knew there was a famine in Scotland in the 1690s, and during which 5-15% of the population died, as high as 25% around Aberdeen.

Tartan Army caused a five fold increase in German tourists coming to Scotland. Scottish First Minister going there, I have no problem with it. It's a rare chance for Scotland to be represented on a world stage as an equal Here's to it becoming normal #IndependenceIsNormal

Absolutely disgusting, what you’d expect in Russia, China or Rajoy’s Spain. Sentenced for crimes they neither committed nor were convicted for.

You can vehemently disagree with Palestine Action activists goals, whilst simultaneously be horrified a judge can decide AFTER a conviction if it was terrorism related amd double a sentence. Being able to class an offense as terrorism AFTER conviction without charging them with terrorism should bother everyone. Any protest action that is now determined as trying to "change government policy" can have this applied. So today it's Palestine Action, but next it'll be immigration protests, farmers protests, NHS, tax etc etc.

Israel is not fighting a ‘defensive war’ in Gaza, Lebanon or Iran. It’s slaughtering as many m as it can. We’ve seen in all three that when it wants to, it can kill leaders and foot soldiers with pinpoint accuracy. Levelling a town/city is just about killing and ethnic cleansing.