Author Archives: Nick Kelly

This afternoon.

Graham Neary writes:

‘We can now calculate Ireland’s death rates for every age group and for every year up to and including 2021, with the help of freshly released CSO figures and the CSO’s population estimates. I’ve done this. Some interesting results:

‘Firstly, Covid-19 coincided with Ireland’s 85+ population achieving their lowest ever death rates in each of the past two years.

‘An amazing result in the circumstances.

‘The results are only slightly less positive for the grey-haired 65-84 cohort.Three out of the four categories here had a small increase in 2021 over the prior year.

‘But 2021 was still safer for every category in this cohort compared to 2018:

‘As for 45-64 year olds, every category here saw a new all-time low death rate in 2020. However, every category in this bracket also saw an increase in 2021 compared to 2020.

‘But again, each category was still safer in 2021 than it was in 2018.

‘Broadly similar for 25-44 year olds.

‘And as for for 5-24 year olds…

…the world remained extremely safe.’

Anyone?

Previously: It Tolled For Them

Not Adding Up

Meanwhile…

 

Paul Woodfull – Now You Just Text All The Time

OMG!

Legendary musical satirist Paul Woodfull (top) delivers a bittersweet lament that perfectly captures how our modern tech gizmos can really mess with our love lives.

It’s the first of two new singles Paul has released this week: check out too Offhand Way.

Nick says: Let’s talk about texts, baby.

Paul Woodfull

Via Australian Free Independent Press Network:

‘We believed we had logic, love, and truth on our side so it was easy to wish death upon the unvaccinated.

‘Those of us who ridiculed and mocked the non-compliant did it because we were embarrassed by their courage and principles and didn’t think the unvaccinated would make it through unbroken and we turned the holdouts into punching bags.

‘…The mobs, the mask Nazis, and the vaccine disciples have been embarrassed by “betting against” the unvaccinated because mandates only had the power we gave them. It was not compliance that ended domination by Big Pharma Companies, Bill Gates and his many organisations, and the World Economic Forum… It was THANKS to the people we tried to embarrass, ridicule, mock and tear down.

‘We should all try and find some inner gratitude for the unvaccinated as we took the bait by hating them because their perseverance and courage bought us the time to see we were wrong.

‘So if mandates ever return for Covid or any other disease or virus, hopefully, more of us will be awake and see the rising authoritarianism that has no concern for our well-being and is more about power and control. The War on the Unvaccinated was lost and we should all be very thankful for that.

The War on The Unvaccinated Was Lost (Peter Chris, AFIPN)

RollingNews

Meanwhile…

FIGHT!

‘…we have produced experimental data that show that carbon dioxide content in inhaled air rises on average to 13,000 to 13,750 ppm no matter whether children wear a surgical or an FFP2 mask. This is far beyond the level of 2,000 ppm considered the limit of acceptability and beyond the 1,000 ppm that are normal for air in closed rooms.

‘This estimate is rather on the low side, as we only measured this after a short time without physical exertion. Decision makers and law courts should take this into consideration when establishing rules and guidance to fight infections.

Carbon dioxide rises beyond acceptable safety levels in children under nose and mouth covering (Science Direct)

Meanwhile…

Ah here.

Carrie Baxter – You

Keep calm and Carrie on.

London-based Waterford chanteuse Carrie Baxter (top) enchants with a live studio performance of her soul-searching romantic ballad You.

Carrie writes:

“If I could do an alternate version of every track I would, specifically just me and a pianist (my favourite instrument). There’s something about the romance of this song and it needing a piano on this version. The space I have to sing and the words being allowed to breathe is the stuff I live for.

“I love singing live, ultimately it’s what I do it for. I usually try to stick to minimal takes in the studio at all times but this time, luckily or unluckily I was going through a pretty tough time when we recorded this so I trusted myself enough to deliver raw emotion in one take.”

Nick says: Carrie on singing.

Carrie Baxter

Lowli – Epiphany

Ivory power.

It may be the end of the world as we know it, but at least we have Galway’s Lowli aka Roisin Lowry (top) to soften the blow with her elegant and graceful piano pieces.

Here the neo-classical composer is joined by Aisling Bridgeman (violin); Mary Bridgeman (viola); and Rob Campbell (cello) in a performance recorded in Camden Studios, Dublin by Dock Visual.

Nick says: Keys in the songs of life.

Lowli

Taoiseach Micheál Martin with Thomas Byrne, junior minister for European Affairs In Brussels, Belgium this morning

 

 

This morning.

Via RTE News:

Arriving at the second day of an EU summit in Brussels, Mr Martin warned of “rocky territory” in the coming years when it comes to high energy prices.

This was due to a confluence of factors, such as climate change, the war in Ukraine and the EU’s strategic plans to wean Europe off Russian oil and gas, known as RePowerEU.

“We are at a watershed moment in terms of the European Union’s dependency on Russian oil and gas,” the Taoiseach told reporters.

“RePowerEU will bring about a more sustained and fundamental break with that dependency on oil and gas.

“If you dovetail that with our climate change agenda it is a watershed moment for fossil fuels in general, which will make for fairly rocky territory over the next couple of years in terms of pricing around fossil fuels.

“We cannot get away from that,”

Taoiseach warns of ‘new era’ for high energy prices (RTE)

Elizabeth ‘Bess’ Cronin..

Elizabeth Cronin

Etaoin – Cold Blood

Your cheating heart.

London-born Irish newcomer Etaoin (top) pulls no punches confronting a guy with wandering eye.

See also her new collaboration with Tadhg Daly, Not Over You, out now on MADE Records.

Etaoin writes:

“It’s about the different perspectives that come with break ups. Saying you shouldn’t talk but still getting a rush when they call you and picking up regardless. Getting yourself in sticky situationships for no other reason than you’re a blind optimist. It’s about words left unsaid and how sometimes the hardest break ups are the ones where there’s still a huge amount of love there, it just wasn’t strong enough to keep you together.”

Nick says: Breaking up is hard to do.

Etaoin