Gee, I hope the entire diasphora doesn't all decide to go back to Northern Ireland. Not to be cynical or anything, but housing prices there are already alarmingly high, and young people can't even afford starter houses. And of course I still want to buy a little beater cottage somewhere and fix it up.
I'm not sure if you were aware that the different Prod factions are absolutely falling apart, with some sort of civil war right in the streets. It seems far from peaceful over there at the moment:
Belfast riots: 40 police injured
Serious rioting in north Belfast amid an on-going loyalist paramilitary feud have resulted in 40 police officers being injured.
The disturbances broke out following the arrest of six men by police investigating a shooting war between the Ulster Volunteer Force and the Loyalist Volunteer Force that has left three men dead.
The trouble flared shortly after 5.30pm yesterday with three cars and a lorry being hijacked and set alight.
Police fired 11 plastic baton rounds during the rioting in the Crumlin Road area.
None of the injuries to the officers was thought to be life-threatening.
A blast bomb was thrown at police lines at around 10pm, while a bus was completely destroyed and 10 other vehicles were damaged. Officers also came under fire from petrol bombs, fireworks and an explosive device.
Eight vehicles were hijacked, including a HGV cab which was driven at police lines.
A crowd of around several hundred were involved in the rioting and police worked with community leaders to defuse the situation.
A police spokesman said the situation was "calm but tense" at about 1am.
Last night Chief Inspector Paul McCormill said police had contained the rioters but there was still the potential for the trouble to escalate.
"We are waiting to see how things develop," he said. "We are working to defuse the situation in negotiation with community representatives. I would appeal to community representatives to use their influence."
The most recent victim of the loyalist feud, Stephen Paul, was gunned down on Saturday night outside Wheatfield Crescent in north Belfast.
He was murdered just streets away from where gunmen shot 20-year-old Craig McCausland three weeks ago.
The UVF is suspected of carrying out both attacks, and detectives believe the same gang may have been involved.
Ballistic tests have been carried out in a bid to establish whether one weapon was used for both killings.
A third man, Jameson Lockhart, 25, was shot dead at the wheel of his lorry in east Belfast last month.
The UVF was also blamed for that attack.
Six new arrests were made yesterday as officers raided a total of 15 homes, nearly all in the north of the city.
The suspects were taken to a serious crime suite at Antrim police station, 20 miles from Belfast. Some were questioned about Mr Paul’s murder.
Before the latest raids in north Belfast, another 72 searches had been carried out.
Police said 14 arrests have been made and seven suspects charged with offences linked to the feud.
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