If you lived through it, you’d have to have been an apathetic stoic with no soul, not to shed a tear at the sight of East Germans flooding into West Berlin on the night of November 9th, 1989. As a (half) native German, it was pivotal moment in my motherland’s history and one I remember […]
Former President Barack Obama last week launched a scathing attack, during an interview on youth activism, on the smug, judgmental attitude of people under the spell of “woke” culture. Obama was responding to the increasing trend of using social media to express outrage, disgust, and moral disapproval toward language and behaviour that is not politically […]
Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan has launched a new public consultation on hate speech with the clear aim of implementing new, stricter laws around hateful speech which he said with certainty on Drivetime RTE a few days ago, “is becoming common in Ireland”. But, is it? Searching for stats on hate crimes in Ireland is surprisingly […]
Mary McAleese in her contribution to a Trinity College conference entitled ‘Women the Vatican Couldn’t Silence’ read from a book by Pope John Paul II, ‘Love and Responsibility’. The book was written by the late Pope in 1960, and was a lengthy treatise on the nature of spousal love that focused on mutual self-giving, consideration […]
Over the years Kanye West proved he was no stranger to public vulgarity. Obscene lyrics and lewd displays were part and parcel of everything he did, from his overly-sexualised music videos, to his open discussion of his favourite porn categories, and even his marriage to Kim Kardashian, whose career was arguably jump-started by her notorious […]
A fascinating tidbit this, unearthed by a friend on twitter: https://twitter.com/scary_biscuits/status/1191868187027148800 The most popular story in the mythology of modern Ireland is the notion that our little country has recently stepped forward, out of the darkness and brutality of the past, to become a happier and more self-confident nation. Nearly everything written about the Ireland […]
Hate crime in England and Wales is defined as, ‘any criminal offence which is perceived, by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice towards someone based on a personal characteristic’. Yes. It is actually that broad and yes, it is actually that vague. The definition was agreed in 2007 […]
A 29-year old man, who is wheel-chair bound, has had charges dropped against him after being arrested for publicly praying at an abortion clinic. Christian Hacking became the first person arrested by UK police for praying in public. Police bodycam footage shows officers accosting Christian Hacking after he was spotted praying quietly on the grass […]
Mary McAleese’s criticism of the Catholic Church (‘Women the Vatican Couldn’t Silence’, Trinity College 2/11/2019) is largely about attacking ‘strawmen’ targets. She had strong words for ‘cowardly’ prelates. Yet, the two she mentioned, according to Patsy McGarry of the Irish Times, could hardly be described as ‘cowardly’. Bishop Alphonsus Cullinan took a bold step against […]
The British general election on December 12 will be held almost 101 years to the day since the 1918 general election in Ireland. The last time there was a democratic vote throughout the island on the same day, the outcome was a decisive victory for Sinn Féin which stood on the platform of Irish independence […]
Charlie Flanagan, the Minister for Justice, is doing a terrible job of balancing the needs of migrants and asylum seekers with the concerns of local communities. The sheer arrogance shown by his Department is extraordinary. They’ve refused to consult with locals before making high-handed announcements about direct provision centres opening in jig time, with everyone […]
Jurisdictions which permit assisted suicide or euthanasia suck all the oxygen out of media coverage of this topic. To put the issue in perspective, assisted suicide or euthanasia is only legal in Canada, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and a handful of American states. Nearly everywhere else, doctors have repudiated it. As a reminder of this, the […]