Sep 30
Brian Lenihan said the bank guarantee scheme was “a necessary first step” and “the cheapest bailout in the world so far” compared with bank rescues where “billions and billions of taxpayers’ money are being poured into financial institutions”. “It allows us to move on and examine other questions which may have to be addressed to …
Sep 29
Some time ago, I fretted about the future of OpenOffice, an open source office suite, and my software of choice for writing, spreadsheets and presentations. The problem, put simply, was the lack of interest in OpenOffice from Oracle, it’s new owner. Well, it looks like my worries are over. Meet the Document Foundation, a new …
Sep 25
How much will we owe in 2012? Ireland’s Debt/GDP reached a record low of 25% in 2006. At the end of 2009, it stood at 66%, as the government went on a borrowing spree to bail out banks while tax revenues plummeted. Our gross debt ratio is projected to rise to 84% by end 2010. …
Sep 24
Last week Conor Lenihan planned to launch an anti-science screed. Then the taoiseach had a bad night, and the story died. But I was curious, so I sent an email to every sitting TD. Quoting the Project Steve statement, I asked three questions: Do you agree with the statement? Should evolution be part of the …
Sep 17
A cabinet minster is unable to say whether or not public funds have been awarded to An Smaoineamh Mór, the company behind Your Country Your Call (YCYC), or on what basis they might receive such funds. YCYC, a competition to come up with Ideas To Save Ireland, has previously been mentioned here, mostly because I’m …
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Sep 15
Fianna Fáil is in a spin about twitter. Nothing wrong with that, all political parties spin. You might as well criticise a dog for barking. The Fianna Fáil spin is that the criticism of the taoiseach’s performance on Morning Ireland is a storm in a pint glass, all the fault of Simon Coveney and Fine …
Sep 14
Yesterday, the news cycle covered Conor Lenihan’s proposed launch of a book on creationism. The science minister began by defending the gig as a favour to a friend, then the story went away when the invitation was withdrawn. This afternoon Sean Moncrieff interviewed the author, John J May. Among the tweets in response to the …
Sep 11
There was a time when book burning mattered. Once upon a time, religions enforced dictates by burning books containing the wrong opinions. To be orthodox was, literally, to hold the right opinion. And just in case that didn’t work, heretics were burned at the stake for good measure. At the end of the medieval era, …
Sep 07
I’ve had a long standing interest in the local archaeology of Donegal, which ranges from the neolithic to medieval eras in Gleann Cholm Cille, but I’ve never really had a reference point with which to compare it. Now, having spent the last few days in Brittany, I’ve had the opportunity to see our stone age …
