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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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science minister began by defending the gig as a favour to a friend, then the story went away when the invitation was withdrawn.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 …
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 …
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 …
