Feb 27
I sent in this article to several newspapers last week, but none published it. So I’m publishing it here for the record. A sample examination test for trainee primary teachers taking religion as a subject includes questions which require the student to agree that ‘atheist humanism produced the worst horrors history has ever witnessed.’ Another …
Dec 07
It’s been bothering me for a while, but until tonight I never bothered to do any research on it. Here’s Brian Lenihan’s version of it, as paraphrased by The Journal earlier today: “The Finance Minister said Ireland’s taxation system was no longer “fit for purpose”, saying that the upper 8% of taxpayers accounted for 60% …
Nov 19
About a week ago, comedian Morgan C Jones tweeted his intention to stand outside Leinster House next Thursday at midday. He didn’t care if it ended up as a one man, silent protest, he just felt the need to do something. He invited others to come along if they shared his feelings. It was one …
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 …
Apr 18
Sometimes, the internet intrudes on the “real world”. And sometimes, the real world intrudes on cyberspace. The Crystal Swing phenomenon began when they came to the attention of ‘pantibliss’, the blog account of Pantibar, a Dublin gay bar. [Pantibliss in turn gives the credit to Robert Popper]. From there, word spread across twitter, and the …
Apr 11
Way back in September 2008, I wondered what had become of free market philosophy, as the US government scrambled to rescue crumbling banks. Two weeks later, Ireland guaranteed bank deposits and bondholders. A lot has happened since then. Back in 2008, I asked what happened to the belief in creative destruction. I’m still wondering. Capitalism …
Mar 16
With the Blog Awards approaching, it’s time to revist an idea I’ve been toying with for some time. Blogs are fine, but even the finest blog in Ireland has a limited readership. Unless yuou’re lucky, you may never stumble across some of the best writers out there. The result? many well written articles are overlooked. …
Mar 15
In a attempt to appear radical, Fine Gael are pitching a series of constitutional amendments if elected into government. Some are cosmetic. Reducing the president’s term of office from seven to five years, the right to petition the Oireachtas. Some are welcome. More powers to (some) Oireachtas committees. Some are sheer populism. Cut the number …
Jul 07
By all accounts, Eircom has been hacked. The telco has confirmed that there was a domain name server (DNS) outage on its website last night. Internet users throughout Ireland complained they were being redirected to bogus sites. Eircom customers have noticed slowdowns since the beginning of the month, and noticeably since this weekend, due to …
Jun 20
I arrived at Heathrow last night to find someone reading an Irish Independent front page announcing that a ‘Cowen-Brown rift deals blow to key Lisbon talks’. Happily, the impasse (which didn’t even make the inside pages in any British paper I read) was resolved, and the EU agreed a statement that says, in effect, that …