It’s a time for questions; answers not so much. Some questions are personal and come more from a sense of entitlement than obvious deprivation. My version of the above might substitute Belgrade for Paris because I have two young grandchildren there and like many grandparents at this time, there is a sense, as weeks grow into […]
Economist, Professor Ray Kinsella, writes that a recent decision by the German constitutional court will finally force the ECB – and the EU – to confront the dire failings of the Euro, which are once again being exposed by Coronavirus. The decision by German Constitutional Court (GCC) sitting in Karlsruhe to challenge the ECJ […]
Every year thousands of people are brought before the Irish courts for failing to pay their TV licence, of which several hundreds are sent to prison – a hugely disproportionate number compared to the UK. In the 1920’s, entertainment-based broadcasters took the first hesitant steps toward the wireless revolution, but nations across the world imposed a […]
It is reported that a woman has been jailed for two years for coughing (‘Woman jailed after coughing at officers’, Sunday Telegraph, May 10, 2020). This punishment may seem a trifle harsh, especially when meted out to a woman; however, last April, 34-year-old Stacey Blackham ‘coughed and spat at police officers after threatening to infect […]
If you think you’re going around the twist at home now, be thankful (for maybe the first time in your life) that you don’t live in sunny California, with its lovely weather and scenery and friendly bears wandering around the place: “Los Angeles County’s stay-at-home orders will “with all certainty” be extended for the next […]
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties is not as uniformly committed to civil liberties as its name suggests. For example, it is, actually, firmly in favour of restricting your civil liberty to speak your mind on a range of controversial subjects with so-called “hate speech” laws. It does not think, for example, that somebody should […]
The porn industry is a deeply misogynistic and exploitative business which uses women to make money, lots of money, mostly for ruthless, creepy men. The same could be said for the abortion industry which profits men, in every sense, by exploiting women in crisis – but which has managed, with the help of financial backing and an […]
This week the name of this place we live in caused a bit of a political stir. The Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar called Belfast members of Fine Gael, “overseas members” and a former Tyrone football player referred to Tyrone as “Up here in the UK”. But the truth is the names used for Ireland do matter […]
Cardinal Henry Edward Manning was a convert from the Anglican church to Catholicism and was ordained Archbishop of Westminster in 1865. He was a strong supporter of social justice within the teachings of the church and was a key influence on the Papal encyclical Rerum Novarum issued by Pope Leo XIII in May 1891. The […]
It’s a relatively slow news day, so it might be worthwhile to attempt an explainer at something that’s probably going to feature a lot in American news over the next few months as we barrel towards the quadrennial carnival of stupidity that is an American Presidential Election: OBAMAGATE makes Watergate look small time! https://t.co/vW19NbYXw6 — […]
Instinctively, there are two things that come to mind with a story like this: First, lock them up and throw away the key. 23 #Buzzards #poisoned with banned neurotoxin #Carbofuran in Co. #Cork. The biggest #WildlifeCrime ever documented in the State. This required a strong and prompt response from the National Parks @josephamadigan @DeptAHG @gardainfo […]
Several health experts have proposed a “herd immunity” strategy for managing the coronavirus pandemic. This would involve allowing the virus to spread in a controlled way so as to achieve population immunity — even though this may expose vulnerable members of the community to an increased risk of infection. While Australia has managed so far […]