There are basically two competing approaches to thinking about the Coronavirus: The first is popular with many policymakers and media observers, and it is to basically accept that the virus is now out of control globally, that most of us will probably get it and survive, and that it’s just a fact of life that […]
This year is a big year for the USA. What happens in 2020 will shape the course of the country for years to come with far-reaching political and economic effects. Of course, I am talking about the decennial census which is being held this year. Although the official “Census Day” (I wonder if they make […]
Poor Pope Francis has had something of a torrid week of it. It began with the announcement that the Pontiff has been struck down by a mystery illness and was confined to bed. It approaches its end with an unwelcome letter in the post from Ireland’s most high profile Catholic. Of course, it seems fairly […]
It’s perfectly understandable if you missed it, because, let’s face it, the news is Coronavirus 24/7 these days, but on Monday the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) released data on new car sales for the first two months of 2020. The figures were, well, not good: New car registrations for February were down […]
“We have no where to live” University authorities are raising the price of accommodation on campus by 12.5% – an increase students say they cannot afford. With housing and accommodation already a major issue in the capital, they say its putting university out of their reach #gript
A report released today from KBC bank indicates that first-time buyers need to be earning nearly €100,000 a year to secure a mortgage for a new home in Dublin. In the real world, that means at least 80% of Irish people are now priced out of the housing market in the capital. KBC’s study noted that the […]
One of the questions arising from our look at the role of cuckoo funds in the Irish property market is whether it is possible for states to curb their power and influence. Are there any countries which have been able to prevent international funds gaining a major foothold within their domestic housing market and pricing […]
The scale of the migrant crisis on the Greek border with Turkey is hard to put into context for an Irish audience. Already there are mumblings and grumblings of discontent in Ireland about the number of Asylum seekers, and controversy about their housing. 10,000 homeless people, when the country hit that milestone figure, was regarded […]
While some commentators believe Biden simply had a brain-freeze, others think the former Vice President, who is campaigning for the Democratic nomination for 2020, did not want to acknowledge God in his remarks.
State hospitals in South Africa have sterilized some pregnant HIV-positive women without their consent, according to a report by the Commission for Gender Equality. One of the 48 documented complainants, Bongekile Msibi, told the BBC that she was only 17 when her uterus was removed after she gave birth to a daughter. It was only 11 years later […]
Cassie Jaye, now 33, was a struggling actress in Hollywood in her late teens and early twenties. Her story sheds light on the Weinstein debacle. She describes how young beautiful actresses have contracts with publicists and now the publicists find them entry-level work with the rich and powerful of Los Angeles. A beautiful young woman […]
When France won the 2018 FIFA World Cup, a running joke developed that it was the African Union that had actually won. This was a tongue-in-cheek reference to the fact that more than half of the French team was made up of players of African heritage. “Not all of those folks look like Gauls to […]