Bernadette McAliskey

There can be very few people over the past ten days who have not heard or read the widespread comment on the ‘Katie Simpson’ Independent Review. Fewer people will have read all two hundred pages of it. It is not something to digest in one ‘reading.’ It is a horror story of epic proportions that gives rise to deep sorrow and righteous anger, demanding a break for respite and reflection.

Bernadette McAliskey (Image: Bernadette McAliskey) Congratulations to Dungannon Swifts on a great game. Go mbeidh an lá linn an bhlían seo cugainn. (May the day be with us next year). One of the many benefits of speaking two languages is the wider range of words you can ‘lay your hands on’ to verbalise your thoughts, opinions, and emotions.

One more sleep before Santa Claus, better known as Santy in these parts, shows modern technology a thing or two about magic. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is confused about Santa. It reports him as a fictional character. The cheek of it! This, however, is hardly surprising. Those information technology ‘types’ who invented AI seem to be totally wedded to the idea that everything in life is explained by the application of cold logic, repetition, and algorithms.