Several Western governments, including Ireland’s, have taken it upon themselves in recent weeks to legally incapacitate a large number of citizens – in Ireland’s case, those unfortunate enough to work in the retail or pub and restaurant sectors – from opening the doors of their businesses. The rationale for such prohibitions is that we must […]
At 11.30pm Irish time, the polls will close in Indiana and Kentucky, and counting will begin in a US Presidential Election that has been ongoing now for 18 months. Joe Biden announced his candidacy for President on April 25th, 2019. Tonight, voters will render a judgement both on him, and on the incumbent President, Donald […]
Nigel Farage, the former leader of the UK Independence Party, and then, latterly, the Brexit Party, has announced in recent days that he will set up a new political party – Reform UK – for the sole purpose of opposing the Coronavirus Lockdown introduced by Boris Johnson’s Government. Reform UK is not a new party, […]
As I write, the news media is reporting that at least 4 people have died and 17 more have been injured as a result of what has been declared to be a terror attack by Islamist terrorists in Vienna last night. This comes after the recent murders of a teacher in Paris and 3 people attending […]
Unlike in Western countries like Australia, traditional Asian cultures place a heavy emphasis on filial piety — the expectation children will support their parents in old age. Historically, filial piety played an important role when families were large, pension schemes unavailable and life expectancy was around 50 years old. Today, however, families in east and […]
The recent spate of head-chopping terrorism in France would appear, at first glance, to be relatively easy to explain: The culprits are a group (it’s popular, but of dubious accuracy, to say “a tiny minority”) of extremists in the French Muslim community who believe themselves to be waging a holy war against the French state […]
The dominance of Islamic culture in France is on full display for those who wish to see.
Leo Varadkar has been finding allies in unusual places, this morning, following last Friday’s publication in Village magazine of allegations that he had acted unlawfully by sharing details of a draft contract for GPs with a rival group of GPs: Former minister for agriculture Barry Cowen has said Leo Varadkar is “entitled to make a […]
Living in Ireland is unusual when following US politics. Our national broadcaster and every national publication is sympathetic towards the Democratic Party and it’s rare if ever you hear a flattering opinion of the Republican Party and especially not of the current President of the United States, Donald Trump. I’m not going to come at […]
With an aging population, and new retirement homes popping up everywhere it seems, caring for the elderly with dignity will continue to be a big issue. A recent report in the Lancet notes: “In 2016, there were 366,000 people working to support 1.2 million older Australians. By 2050, we will need 980,000 workers to care for 7.5 […]
One of the issues that have been exercising people during the Covid-19 panic has been what impact the lockdowns have had on access to essential healthcare for other life-threatening conditions. In particular there is increasing concern about the possible impact that lack of hospital referrals may be having on the long term prospects and mortality […]
I was in Washington DC this time four years ago — a week before the 2016 election. The mood was eerie, not in the least because of all the morbid Halloween decorations. With skeletons hanging from trees, carved pumpkins on porches and fake gravestones littering front yards, the suburban vistas felt strangely like a scene […]