Irish politicians have long been amongst the worst sufferers in the world of that great political pandemic: do-something-itis. When ever there is a crisis, something must swiftly be done, to demonstrate to the public that the politicians understand the crisis, and have a plan. Last night, just days after the public outrage about investment funds […]
Imagine, for one fleeting moment, that an eminent scientist who had regularly appeared in the media throughout the pandemic took to social media one day to declare that having considered the matter, he had developed suspicions – without any evidence, mind you – that the Covid vaccines might cause autism in children. Do we think […]
Begun, the wailing and grinding of teeth has, amongst Ireland’s political class. Who the villain is depends on whether you are in Government, or opposition. If you are in Government, the villain is Aer Lingus, as one Limerick Fine Gael TD took to social media yesterday to assert: Devastating decision by @AerLingus to close cabin […]
It is not really the done thing, in Ireland, to criticise Judges. When, in December of 2019, this writer published a piece arguing that it was time to impeach Judge Martin Nolan, and remove him from the bench, legally minded friends warned that the article had gone too far. Judicial discretion and independence, after all, […]
In many ways, this might be the least surprising story of the century. After all, who would be surprised at the idea that a computer nerd, who suddenly finds himself the richest man in the world, might develop a taste for the ladies? The New York Times reports that Gates had at least one affair, […]
Towards the tail end of the Trump Presidency, there was much consternation amongst pro-choice people, and much celebration amongst pro-life people, at Trump’s successful replacement of iconic liberal Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg with star conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Amongst those who watch the Supreme Court, the perception was that the move would […]
See the opposite side of this debate, with Tim Jackson, at this link. To understand the reason why Israel does not tend to listen to Irish criticism of its approach to security, we should go back twenty years or so. In the year 2002, 239 Israelis were killed by Palestinian suicide bombers. Between 2002 and […]
Every time we report one of these polls, the comments on Facebook and Twitter and other social media platforms are the same: “fake poll”, or “they didn’t poll me”, or words to that effect. And that is understandable, nobody likes to be in the minority, or feel the country is against them. Least of all, […]
In fairness, every other left wing hobby horse lobby group in Ireland already gets taxpayer funding, so why should the prostitutes, of all people, be left out? Well, they’re left out no longer. The full, ahem, ins and outs of how the money was channelled from your pockets into the pockets of the campaign to […]
The sheer amount of data held by the HSE on Irish citizens is not something that we think about, most of the time. The information, after all, is held for good reason, and most of us trust our doctors and hospitals. Nonetheless, it is worth considering just how much information hackers can potentially access, if […]
How times change. A week ago, the US Government’s official advice was that children would have to wear masks this summer while engaging in outdoor activities, like playing soccer. There was something of a backlash to that, and now the messaging has changed. And changed quite dramatically, too: Just a few hours ago, the Centers […]
In case you missed it, yesterday morning Ireland was graced with a rather remarkable interview between the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, and Newstalk’s veteran presenter, Pat Kenny, about Antigen testing. Remarkable, for a couple of reasons. Remarkable firstly, because it is the first time in quite a while that an Irish broadcaster has seriously […]