Features
The recently released controversial psychological thriller ‘Joker’ has perturbed movie critics who decry it as dangerous and irresponsible, yet its message has found almost universal acclaim among audiences. Gerard Stewart takes a look at the social commentary behind the origin story of fiction’s arch villain: Joker. Set in 1981,
Features
It is world mental health day and the Health Department in the North have unveiled a new strategy, but according to Gerard Stewart, it will take much more than sticking plaster to address the societal causes of of mental ill-health. The North of Ireland has the highest prevalence of
Features
Capita has been widely criticised due their role in our draconian welfare system. Gerard Stewart takes a look at the background of the company, and their increasing encroachment into public services. Capita is the largest provider of business process outsourcing (BPO) across local and national government services in the UK,
Features
Ireland’s Direct Provision system has been widely condemned by human rights organisations, but a network of private companies continue to make millions from the detention of asylum seekers. Gerard Stewart takes a look at the murky world of profiteering that lies behind Direct Provision. The recent revelation of the
Features
Two decades on from the Good Friday Agreement, politics in the North is stuck in a rut. Gerard Stewart suggests that the origins of this Long Good Friday of division are at the heart of the Agreement itself, arguing the time has arrived to go beyond its institutionalised sectarianism. This
Features
This week marks the anniversary of the death of Marek Edelman – a Jew who survived the Warsaw ghetto, but who the Israeli state would rather erase from historical recognition. Gerard Stewart looks back at the legacy of the holocaust resistance hero. A youth activist of the General Jewish Labour Bund,