‘sup?

Earlier this month, David Grimes sent in a video of a dig in Loughcrew, County Meath that unearthed a ponty-beaked head in the earth (above).

Much debate ensued.

Suggestions ranged from the Egyptian statue “of either Thoth or Horus” to it being the last resting place of Cyrano de Bergerac.

Nothing remotely plausible.

Until this afternoon. when seriously hilary re-tweeted the following:

Mystery solved?

YOU decide.

Previously: What is It?

Pro-life group Love Both’s campaign to keep the Eighth Amendment

 

The claim that 90 per cent of babies diagnosed with Down’s Syndrome in Britain are aborted is not inaccurate but it is rather misleading.

What it leaves out is the very large number of women – between 30 and 40 per cent – who choose not to be screened for DS because they have already decided that even if the test were positive they would continue with the pregnancy anyway.

In Holland, only 35 per cent of women choose to be screened. Prof Eva Pajkrt, co-author of a Dutch study, told the Oireachtas committee on the Eighth Amendment:

“We asked women their reasons. One reason was that many women in the Netherlands felt that Down syndrome was not something we should screen for. I think that reflects our way of counselling women and giving them their own choice. Our healthcare is based on patient autonomy and what women want.”

Choice operates both ways – some women choose abortion, some choose to raise a child with DS.

…The choice to continue with a DS pregnancy is made, not in the abstract, but in real life. Anti-abortion campaigners claim that the Eighth Amendment has made Ireland a lovely place to have a DS child.

Love Both’s pamphlet says of DS that “we have a culture of equality and inclusion that we can be proud of”. Senator Rónán Mullen claims, “We have a tradition here in Ireland where children with Down syndrome are perhaps more cherished than in many other countries.”

That would be the DS children who wait two years for a wheelchair or three years for language therapy. That would be Ireland whose grand total of DS clinical nurse specialists is precisely one – and she’s paid by a charity, not by the State.

Fintan O’Toole in yesterday’s Irish Times

Child with Down syndrome will be face of anti-abortion campaign (Fintan O’Toole, irish Times)

Alternatively…

Charlie Fien is a UK-based Down’s Syndrome activist.


From top Taoiseach and Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar with Michelle Hennessy (left) and Roseanne RooBeek from Reuters and being interviewed by Axel Threfall on Reuters media about Ireland’s economy and our global presence at Davos, Switzerland.

This morning.

World Economic Forum, Davos, Switzerland

Mr Varadkar said he hoped that the ultimate [UK/EU] free trade arrangement could resemble “Norway Plus”, but that it would have to be a “specific” agreement.

The kind of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) envisaged has generally been regarded as following a spectrum between the EU-Canada agreement, which reduces tariffs but has little by way of services, and the EU-Norway arrangement, where Norway has virtually full access to the Single Market, but has to abide by all EU rules and pay into the EU budget.

However, speaking on Bloomberg TV during his first full day at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort, Mr Varadkar said that neither Norway nor Canada were appropriate models.

‘Norway plus’ model for UK may be possible, Taoiseach says (Tony Connelly, RTÉ)

Paddy Cosgrave

On The Late Late Show…

Gareth Naughton writes:


Amy Huberman and Maria Doyle Kennedy will join host Ryan Tubridy to discuss filming together on the hit drama Striking Out.

Former Ireland scrum-half Peter Stringer will be in studio to chat about twenty years of top flight rugby including achieving Grand Slam glory with Ireland

Web Summit founder Paddy Cosgrave will be on the Late Late couch. He’ll be discussing everything from the controversial decision to pull the Web Summit from Ireland to his solutions to our property crisis.

The Late Late Show will feature a panel discussion on smart phone safety. Child psychologist David Coleman, CyberSafeIreland’s Cliona Curley, and Irish Daily Mail editor Sebastian Hamilton will discuss the dangers facing children using social media apps…

Plus music from the upcoming TradFest with Martha Wainwright and JP & The Seeger Session Band.

*removes cathode ray tube from telly*

The Late Late Show, RTÉ One tomorrow at 9.35pm

Rollingnews

Broadsheet.ie