EVERY SATURDAY MORNING we like to take a look at all the best comments left on the site by you lot over the past week.

The past seven days has been dominated by that groggy post-Christmas feeling which seems to have lasted extra long this year. There’s been a lot of comments on articles about Christmas – particularly the Stephen’s Day sales and any good news stories associated with Christmas – as well as on Michael Noonan’s comments about people being able to afford the household charge,  a petition to have Piers Morgan deported from the United States, and the potential gap for a new political party.

So here, in no particular order, are the standout comments from the week that was.

First up – how was your Christmas? Good? Quiet?  Alan Conroy had a bone to pick with Santa:

Still no sign of the bike, how does Santa make the same mistake 34 years running????

Caroline Phelan had the most popular suggestion for things that you’ll always hear over an Irish Christmas…:

Oh that’s it now after Christmas..I’m cutting out all the junk and going walking/swimming/cycling etc.

… while Nun on Yokes came a close second with this universal observation:

“Curly Wurlys are gettin smaller”.

(Image: Schoko-Riegel.com/Flickr/Creative Commons)

Almost 90,000 people have signed a petition calling for Piers Morgan to be deported from the United States over his strong anti-gun comments after the Newtown tragedy. Everlast McCarthy got 850 thumbs up for this:

In reply, 3 million people in the UK have signed a petition asking that he stay over in the US…

As Jake Behan pointed out on a separate article though, there may be flaws in the logic of those who signed the petition:

Ironically, having him deported is an attack by gun advocates on their First Amendment

Should the 30-year rule on releasing State documents be relaxed? David McCann was one of several historians who commented on why the current rule is too restrictive:

I have lost count the amount of times-I have seen a file [...] which has a interesting description only to get it and find 80% of it redacted. This is where a researcher’s hart sinks and usually five mins of despair usually follows.

However when we look at files today-we do see a lot of interesting information tendered by civil servants, politicians etc. They give it largely because they know it will be locked away for 30 years and most will likely be dead when it is released. If you lower the 30 yr rule, you just run the risk just creating a situation of government by post-it notes-where we eventually find out nothing.

Also the Nat Archives are unlikely to release anything sensitive over a person that is still alive.

Newsweek published its final ever print edition this week, featuring a Twitter hashtag on its front page to signal its shift online. Little Jim hinted at some of the problems facing print publications:

I bought a newspaper today.
Read an article I disagreed with and zoomed straight down to the end of the page where my thumb was hovering in midair, waiting to strike.
“What is this arcane chicanery!” I cried.
True story.

TheJournal.ie’s office cat Steve ended Christmas Day by er, showing us his rear. Thanks for that Steve. This exchange between Geraldine Lawlor and Paul Kelly amused us:

Looks like our cat Jerry that went missing over 18 mths ago

You can tell that by looking at his arsehole?

Lots of commenters shared their tips and experiences on the subtle ploys used by shops to get shoppers to buy more things. Brian Henshaw‘s advice proved the most popular:

If you ever have to ‘pop’ into one of those giant Tesco stores for a sliced pan and a carton of milk, make sure to wear comfortable footwear and bring a bottle of water for the long journey, bread, the most commonly purchased item on a daily bases is placed at the furthest possible position from the point of entry, ensuring the customer has to by pass everything else on offer in the store before they arrive at the bread. Very annoying when you work beside a Tesco and there’s no other shop around selling bread! Now that I got that moan off my chest, I must get up and bring the dog for a walk.

Tributes were paid this week to poet and essayist Dennis O’Driscoll who died suddenly aged 58 after being rushed to hospital on Christmas Eve. Felix Larkin knew Dennis:

I have known Dennis for many years – through the National Library but also because he was (like me) a public servant and (like me) took advantage of the early retirement scheme to get out and concentrate on his writing. I was at the launch of his latest volume of poems in May, and we didn’t manage to have a chat then unfortunately – but, typical of him, he sent me a postcard afterwards thanking me for attending and for my support. He was a real gentleman, and I feel very sad this morning to read of his passing.

This video of a dad’s ecstatic reaction to his Christmas present went viral this week, racking up more than 6 million views in less than five days. AdeleM got almost 300 thumbs up for this:

Aw that’s fab!! Best part is how happy he was with just the hat!

(Video: Daniel Buckhannan/YouTube)