Contrary to what many scholars expected back in January 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic did not become China’s Chernobyl moment. Instead, more than a year later, the world has fallen into a collective amnesia that is familiar to Chinese citizens. As Kai Strittmatter pointed out in his book We Have Been Harmonized (2020), although the Chinese government’s cover […]
Fine Gael Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has said that Ireland needs to “build back better” in regards to the climate crisis, echoing the words of the World Economic Forum, US President Joe Biden, and others. Speaking on Wednesday the 19th to the Dublin Climate Dialogues, Donohoe said: “The pandemic has progressed our understanding of the […]
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, […]
This book would be a bargain at any price, but it is free to download from the website of Springer, the publisher of many medical journals: Euthanasia: Searching for the Full Story: Experiences and Insights of Belgian Doctors and Nurses. Euthanasia, though legal in Belgium, is opposed by some healthcare professionals. This collection of essays contains insights and […]
4,941. And rising. This number can only increase or, at best, stay the same. It can never go down. Of all the innovations that governments and media around the world have come up with, seemingly independently of each other, during the ongoing Covid period, perhaps the most insidious is the daily running total of deaths. […]
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 […]
Understanding the pros and cons of energy options from hydro, renewables, fossil fuels, and nuclear, for the world’s diverse population, would be best for the future of society. With some energy literacy, folks may realize that there may not be a silver bullet answer for all of humanity’s energy needs. Whether you ultimately drive an […]
Defence Minister Simon Coveney spent all last week obsessing over a conflict halfway across the world that most people couldn’t find on a map. Meanwhile, our own country was rocked by massive cyber attacks, and he’s been notably less vocal. Although Coveney supposedly fills the role, you’d be forgiven for thinking that we had nobody […]
I was ten in 1974. It was the year that I mainly remember for the fact that Dublin won the All-Ireland and I had been at my first big game – although not my first ever game – in Croke Park, when they beat Cork in the semi-final. The other main memory I have is […]
An extended family sleeping under one roof, eight of the children and two women were killed on Saturday morning in an Israeli airstrike.