A personal message from News Letter editor Ben Lowry

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Subscribe              I N S I D E R           Nov 11, 2023             Ben Lowry Editor The satellite shows it to be gloriously sunny across Northern Ireland, and it certainly is where I write this, and is set to be so all morning, as we pass the 105th anniversary of the guns falling silent in the horror of the Great War.   There are three days of events. Yesterday, when institutions that mark the day on a weekday held services,  today which is actually Armistice Day, and tomorrow, which is Remembrance Sunday.     There had been talk of a provocatively timed 11am anti Israeli event at Belfast City Hall, at just the time silence is observed at the cenotaph, but that seems not to be happening. Last week, that long-time scourge of terrorism the academic Liam Kennedy bravely, and alone, highlighted Iran collusion with Hamas terrorism at a pro Palestinian gathering in the city Here he writes a letter criticising 600 Irish academics who described the Hamas slaughter of Jews as a mere "incursion by Palestinian armed groups"  The mild weather partly explains why oil prices are at their lowest point in NI since the summer, despite the Middle East war  But for all the mild weather, some people are still suffering badly from recent floods    Once again, the excellent economist Dr Esmond Birnie on our pages is an almost lone voice in pointing out the impact of, and fallout from, the Irish Sea border, amidst all the voices who, for various reasons, are pushing the new arrangements  And of course, amidst such one-sided coverage across the media, and calls for unionists to be optimistic (ie say all is fine) Owen Polley always points out the blunt fact of the new border too    We lead the paper with the highly respected Canon Ian Ellis asking why the Church of Ireland is not letting him delve deeply into bishops' expenses? And we ask why he is not getting support from other Anglicans?   Jon Boutcher was appointed PSNI chief constable to gushing praise but some unionists point out that he has yet to prove himself    Michelle O'Neill lost a libel case this week.  We ask, if she was as the judge in effect says wasting court time for being too thin skinned, why was she not ordered to pay all costs?    Pat Jennings was my hero! Not only did I get his autograph aged 10 when he was the Northern Ireland goalie hero in the 1982 world cup, I was an Arsenal fan. How wonderful to see a statue to the great man    -- Ben Lowry Editor             Concern over 'disturbing' Church of Ireland approach to addressing questions around bishops' expenses   Read more +     Ben Lowry: Remembering the dead of the world wars, including that of a relative in 1917   Read more +           Inspirational guardsman will remember the fallen - and give thanks for the much-needed veterans' supporters                     Read more +     Subscribe today             Full access   Subscribe for unlimited access to all our articles, 70% fewer ads, daily puzzles and our desktop & mobile app. Your first month free . Cancel anytime.     Find out more     Gift access   Give someone a subscription for a year's unlimited access to all our articles, 70% fewer ads, daily puzzles and our desktop and mobile app. From just £94.90 for 12 months.    Find out more

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