No, it’s not an Avatar convention. This girl from the Newari community in Nepal is dressed as a deity for the Yomari Puni parade in Katmandu. It is a festival observed annually on a full moon day where Yomari, a confection of rice flour, is prepared and eaten. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

THINGS WE LEARNED

#1982 STATE PAPERS: We know now a lot more about what was happening in political and social circles 30 years ago, thanks to the release of State papers. TheJournal.ie spent three days sifting through the archives to find that…

• …A government department predicted the Supreme Court ruling to a constitutional right to abortion, and the pro-life amendment’s clash with ECHR.
• …Fidel Castro came to Ireland (and left some cigars for Charlie Haughey)
• …Ireland became embroiled in politics surrounding the Falklands War
• …The then-government was a target of anger for people who believed they weren’t doing enough to stamp out the IRA and their bombing campaign
• …Guinness was (gasp, horror) contemplating cutting the Irish connection
• …it was a horrible year for Irish peacekeepers in Lebanon
• …There was advice being given to the Taoiseach not to pay out compensation to people affected by whooping cough vaccine damage side-effects
• …Charlie Haughey was on a mission against smoking (though not, presumably, Cuban cigars)
• …the Department of Foreign Affairs was tied up in knots over whether to congratulate Diana and Charles on the birth of Prince William
• Keep an eye out for more interesting nuggets from the State Papers on TheJournal.ie this evening and tomorrow at this link.

#DESSIE ELLIS: Meanwhile, the simultaneous release of 30-year-old documents from the British government’s archives revealed an allegation that current Sinn Féin TD Dessie Ellis was involved in 50 murders carried out by the IRA during the Troubles. This was his response when contacted by TheJournal.ie today.

#WILD OUT THERE: Be careful if you’re out and about this evening. It’ll be wild and windy, says Met Éireann. It will also be the last full moon of the year.

#CLUNK: That’s the sound of the last bank payout to unsecured bondholders of 2012. Bank of Ireland paid €37.3m today. You’re welcome, senior bondholders.

#USA: The New York subway has seen its second fatality in a month as another man was pushed in front of a train last night.

#PROPERTY: Residential property prices are still falling. Sorry.

THINGS WE LOVED

• The New York Times had some praise for Ireland today: apparently, our carbon tax regime is a Very Good Thing.

• In honour of the upcoming Steven Spielberg release Lincoln (starring adopted Irishman Daniel Day Lewis), we see this video going viral again today. It’s a year old but it has a point about The Spielberg Face:

via Fandorific/Youtube

• We have no snow this year (so far) so we have been enjoying Simon Beck’s Snow Art from afar. He makes it with snowshoes, of course.

THINGS WE SHARED

• The fake tan binge in Ireland has a lot to answer for. It is the number one most ‘shared’ product by shoplifters at Irish pharmacies.

• Political pictures of the year, anyone? And they are not all of politicians, although this guy does make it in…

(Image: AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

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