Constitutional questions are unlikely to be uppermost in our minds now, when we feel concerned both about those most vulnerable to Covid-19 and about those most severely affected by past and present measures responding to it. In terms of the collateral damage caused by those measures, we think of things like physical and mental health, […]
Among the roadside billboards canvassing votes for political parties and their candidates in New Zealand’s triennial election on October 17 is one announcing starkly: “LETHAL DOSE with NO assessment for coercion required.” Below that it asks: “Is the End of Life Choice Act safe?” It’s the kind of silly question you have to ask when […]
In the eyes of many around the world the COVID experience of Australia and New Zealand has been a relatively benign one. But as I mentioned last week (here and here) New Zealand is going to have to deal with some significant demographic headwinds in the years ahead due to the pandemic. Now, it seems as if […]
Many parents these days find that their family routines have been totally disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In many cases children are “in school” from their homes, and sports and other activities outside the home have been curtailed or canceled altogether. This means more family time together at home, which can be a mixed blessing! […]
As the New Zealand euthanasia referendum approaches, voters could be helped by looking at the experience in other countries before making up their minds on this complex topic. At the end of July, Czechia became the latest country to reject the legalisation of euthanasia following similar rejections in Portugal and Finland. The opposition to the […]
You have to hand it New York Orthodox Jewish community: the Irish Church leadership could learn a lot from them. When the Mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio – taking time off from marching in massive crowds against imagined rascism – decided to weld shut the gates of public parks and close down synagogues, […]
Ten Fine Gael TDs and four from Fianna Fáil joined liberal and left-wing TDs last night to ensure the Assisted Suicide bill passed its second stage in the Dáil by 81 votes to 71. The bill will now go to the Committee Stage for examination. Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, Justice Minister Helen McEntee, Simon Harris and […]
Despite her serial twitter feed attacking Trump and supporting Biden and her hagiography of the loathsome Nancy Pelosi, I thought that Susan Page was a reasonably fair moderator for the Pence/Harris debate. She did frame one question in terms of Trump providing “misleading information” regarding his recent health and a gratuitous and immoderate reference to […]
Eel Fisherman, Seán Doherty of Cheekpoint, Co Waterford dumps thousands of Euro worth of fish in the Waterford Estuary as the state’s total ban on eel fishing continues. The Irish government introduced a total ban on eel fishing in 2010 in an effort to allow the stocks to replenish. Local fishermen say that they are being […]
The policy of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) of eradicating cultural, religious, and linguistic identities is systematic and derives from Xi Jinping’s reflections on the fall of the Soviet Union. Bitter Winter, the magazine on religious liberty and human rights in China, has documented in the last few weeks the escalation of the cultural genocide in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Inner […]
Do you support NPHET’s call for a renewed Level five lockdown in Ireland? VOTE in our Poll below and leave your comments here and on social media.
Suicide is a problem in Ireland. It is one not often spoken of. It is rarely reported in explicit terms that someone has died of suicide, but we learn to read between the lines in the news reports. It is one issue where this is no divide between left and right, progressive or conservative. Everyone […]