Feargal O'Connell
@feargalll.bsky.social
Do as much as you can
For as many as you can
For as long as you can
https://www.linkedin.com/in/feargal-o-connell-391b376/
For as many as you can
For as long as you can
https://www.linkedin.com/in/feargal-o-connell-391b376/
Beautiful mediation on the enduring impact of childhood friendship even when it ends far too soon.
It is 22 years ago today that my best friend, Nick Everton, died. He was 17 years old. Not much time to leave a mark on the world you would think.
But those of us who knew him came away irreversibly altered by even the short time we shared together....
🧵
But those of us who knew him came away irreversibly altered by even the short time we shared together....
🧵
June 14, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Beautiful mediation on the enduring impact of childhood friendship even when it ends far too soon.
“Mr. Gorbachev, I love this wall!
Trump: "Russia fought with us in WWII and everybody hates them. And Germany and Japan, they're fine — some day somebody will explain that...Everybody hates Russia and they love Germany and Japan...It's a strange world."
June 12, 2025 at 6:05 PM
“Mr. Gorbachev, I love this wall!
I’m in Terenure and can hear Born Slippy word for word at Forbidden Fruit in Kilmainham. Thoughts and prayers for the hearing of everyone attending.
June 1, 2025 at 9:36 PM
I’m in Terenure and can hear Born Slippy word for word at Forbidden Fruit in Kilmainham. Thoughts and prayers for the hearing of everyone attending.
@alexmassie.bsky.social Hi Alex. Could you follow me back so I can DM you please?
May 28, 2025 at 7:57 AM
@alexmassie.bsky.social Hi Alex. Could you follow me back so I can DM you please?
@mchshe.bsky.social Hello Mr. Sheen, please respond by DM if you’re up for this. Thanks.
www.theguardian.com/film/2003/au...
www.theguardian.com/film/2003/au...
May 24, 2025 at 9:15 PM
@mchshe.bsky.social Hello Mr. Sheen, please respond by DM if you’re up for this. Thanks.
www.theguardian.com/film/2003/au...
www.theguardian.com/film/2003/au...
The problem with the US in a nutshell: story on the left is the top story on foxnews.com; the story on the right is only found after *much* scrolling. Who’s telling Trump supporters their retirement savings are taking a battering?
April 3, 2025 at 6:01 PM
The problem with the US in a nutshell: story on the left is the top story on foxnews.com; the story on the right is only found after *much* scrolling. Who’s telling Trump supporters their retirement savings are taking a battering?
To add to Jeremy’s points - this doesn’t happen in a vacuum. To counter disease outbreaks you want strong health, education, water and sanitation, food and nutrition systems. Gutting of foreign assistance/ODA budgets isn’t only morally wrong, it’s not very smart.
So - I've actually led Ebola outbreak response at USAID.
This is bunk from Elon. They have laid off most of the experts, they're bankrupting most of the partner orgs, have withdrawn from WHO, and muzzled CDC.
What's left is a fig-leaf effort to cover their asses politically.
This is bunk from Elon. They have laid off most of the experts, they're bankrupting most of the partner orgs, have withdrawn from WHO, and muzzled CDC.
What's left is a fig-leaf effort to cover their asses politically.
Elon Musk: "We will make mistakes. We won't be perfect ... so for example, with USAID, one of the things we accidentally canceled very briefly was ebola prevention."
February 27, 2025 at 9:35 AM
To add to Jeremy’s points - this doesn’t happen in a vacuum. To counter disease outbreaks you want strong health, education, water and sanitation, food and nutrition systems. Gutting of foreign assistance/ODA budgets isn’t only morally wrong, it’s not very smart.
Under His Eye.
Fellow NSA - National Security Agency veterans. Look at what’s happened at the National Cryptologic Museum. They covered up with brown paper the photos of Women in American Cryptology. All in response to President Trump’s anti-diversity executive order.
February 2, 2025 at 12:32 PM
Under His Eye.
The NY Times finishes 'The Daily' podcast with "Here's what else you need to know today" and they give a round up of major headlines. Yesterday they simply could have said "US hegemony is over and the republic is in peril".
January 29, 2025 at 12:16 PM
The NY Times finishes 'The Daily' podcast with "Here's what else you need to know today" and they give a round up of major headlines. Yesterday they simply could have said "US hegemony is over and the republic is in peril".
Harrowing thread from Jeremy on the devastating impact of the US foreign assistance pause.
I’d add that the global architecture that plans, prioritises & coordinates the delivery of all global humanitarian & development assistance is hugely dependent on US funding.
The system itself is at risk.
I’d add that the global architecture that plans, prioritises & coordinates the delivery of all global humanitarian & development assistance is hugely dependent on US funding.
The system itself is at risk.
A global stop-work order on foreign aid will cost many, many lives if kept in place.
As written, it halts ALL ongoing humanitarian relief activities, except food aid, in places like Syria, Sudan, Gaza.
Also halts all global health programs.
What this will mean in human terms:
🧵
t.co/1nCjZFfBdS
As written, it halts ALL ongoing humanitarian relief activities, except food aid, in places like Syria, Sudan, Gaza.
Also halts all global health programs.
What this will mean in human terms:
🧵
t.co/1nCjZFfBdS
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-pause-applies-all-foreign-aid-israel-egypt-get-waiver-says-state-dept-memo-2025-01-24/
t.co
January 25, 2025 at 1:23 PM
Harrowing thread from Jeremy on the devastating impact of the US foreign assistance pause.
I’d add that the global architecture that plans, prioritises & coordinates the delivery of all global humanitarian & development assistance is hugely dependent on US funding.
The system itself is at risk.
I’d add that the global architecture that plans, prioritises & coordinates the delivery of all global humanitarian & development assistance is hugely dependent on US funding.
The system itself is at risk.
The clocks are striking 13.
“The Trump administration, moving quickly to clamp down on health and science agencies, has canceled a string of scientific meetings and instructed federal health officials to refrain from all public communications…”
@nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/22/h...
@nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/22/h...
Trump Administration Temporarily Mutes Federal Health Officials
Scientific meetings were canceled, and research data on the bird flu outbreak was delayed, amid confusion over the directive.
www.nytimes.com
January 24, 2025 at 12:23 PM
The clocks are striking 13.
Two people - no more than human flesh around a skeleton - struck by a two tonnes metal machine traveling at god knows what speed described in @irishtimes.bsky.social as a “crash”
December 26, 2024 at 9:20 PM
Two people - no more than human flesh around a skeleton - struck by a two tonnes metal machine traveling at god knows what speed described in @irishtimes.bsky.social as a “crash”
The other-half nailed this Christmas present. Strong start from @rory-stewart.bsky.social in what I trust will be a brilliant read.
Festive greetings one and all.
🎄🍷📖
Festive greetings one and all.
🎄🍷📖
December 25, 2024 at 7:24 PM
The other-half nailed this Christmas present. Strong start from @rory-stewart.bsky.social in what I trust will be a brilliant read.
Festive greetings one and all.
🎄🍷📖
Festive greetings one and all.
🎄🍷📖
Reposted by Feargal O'Connell
Reposted by Feargal O'Connell
Britain is now world-leading at inflating its foreign-aid generosity by categorising aslyum hotels and other domestic spending as overseas aid.
Aid has fallen from ~0.7% of national income in the 2010s to ~0.35-0.4% today, if you exclude domestic refugee costs.
www.economist.com/britain/2024...
Aid has fallen from ~0.7% of national income in the 2010s to ~0.35-0.4% today, if you exclude domestic refugee costs.
www.economist.com/britain/2024...
December 13, 2024 at 6:29 PM
Britain is now world-leading at inflating its foreign-aid generosity by categorising aslyum hotels and other domestic spending as overseas aid.
Aid has fallen from ~0.7% of national income in the 2010s to ~0.35-0.4% today, if you exclude domestic refugee costs.
www.economist.com/britain/2024...
Aid has fallen from ~0.7% of national income in the 2010s to ~0.35-0.4% today, if you exclude domestic refugee costs.
www.economist.com/britain/2024...
#ITInsidePolitics Why does Irish politics produce short-termism at the expense of long term strategic thinking and society planning (what David McWilliams calls Cathedral thinking)? Are the wrong people affected into politics? Are they too careerist?
December 11, 2024 at 8:05 PM
#ITInsidePolitics Why does Irish politics produce short-termism at the expense of long term strategic thinking and society planning (what David McWilliams calls Cathedral thinking)? Are the wrong people affected into politics? Are they too careerist?
Unless this is going to lead to vaguely accurate weather forecasts in Ireland I’m unimpressed.
#speirgorm
#speirgorm
Google said that it has overcome a key challenge in quantum computing with a new generation of chip, solving a computing problem in five minutes that would take a classical computer more time than the history of the universe.
Google says it has cracked a quantum computing challenge with new chip | CNN Business
Google on Monday said that it has overcome a key challenge in quantum computing with a new generation of chip, solving a computing problem in five minutes that would take a classical computer more tim...
www.cnn.com
December 9, 2024 at 11:07 PM
Unless this is going to lead to vaguely accurate weather forecasts in Ireland I’m unimpressed.
#speirgorm
#speirgorm
Corkscrew. Every time.
You're a burglar, but you only steal things to slightly inconvenience your victims.
What are you stealing?
What are you stealing?
December 3, 2024 at 9:47 PM
Corkscrew. Every time.
Yesterday’s edition of @thenewsagents.com didn’t mention that the only country to border the UK had an election over weekend. This is despite the fact that the outcome of #GE24 could have had implications for Northern Ireland.
December 3, 2024 at 3:47 PM
Yesterday’s edition of @thenewsagents.com didn’t mention that the only country to border the UK had an election over weekend. This is despite the fact that the outcome of #GE24 could have had implications for Northern Ireland.
I didn’t see the full results of #GE24 tabulated like this anywhere else so decided to do it myself. Hopefully someone else on #speirgorm will find it useful. #EandOE
December 3, 2024 at 11:06 AM
I didn’t see the full results of #GE24 tabulated like this anywhere else so decided to do it myself. Hopefully someone else on #speirgorm will find it useful. #EandOE
For every action there is an equal but opposite reaction.
December 3, 2024 at 10:47 AM
For every action there is an equal but opposite reaction.
As we're winding down #GE24 on #speirgorm here's a thread of posts that gave me a chuckle along the way.
Please add your own!
bsky.app/profile/m-ad...
Please add your own!
bsky.app/profile/m-ad...
December 2, 2024 at 8:50 PM
As we're winding down #GE24 on #speirgorm here's a thread of posts that gave me a chuckle along the way.
Please add your own!
bsky.app/profile/m-ad...
Please add your own!
bsky.app/profile/m-ad...
Your transfers matter. Vote as far down the ballot as you can.
December 1, 2024 at 4:05 PM
Your transfers matter. Vote as far down the ballot as you can.
