Profile for Smithborough
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Smithborough has commented 76 times (0 in the last month).
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Books
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A flexible library service for the 21st century?
Following Alan’s piece on libraries, I picked this ‘advertorial’ from Google plus this evening… about how a US county library system is cutting costs and improving flexibility in their free at the point of delivery services by enabling the whole library service act as a functioning unit as opposed to the one discrete library… read our review » -
The lost art of reading (or drowning in too much information)…
Here’s a great review of a fascinating book (H/T reader Rory) on how the Internet is destroying our capacity for intelligent, focused and critical thought. It opens thus: …here is the news that Ulin brings in this slim, meandering book: that reading is “an act of contemplation”; that such an act becomes more difficult in [...] read our review »
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…if University education were universally available and availed of, the country would collapse in one generation
The words of Brian O’Nolan, variously Brian Ó Nualláin, Myles na gCopaleen, Myles na Gopaleen and, of course, Flann O’Brien. That O’Nolan was referencing his own dissolute student days at UCD only mildly distracts from the prophetic undertone of his words: I paid no attention whatsoever to books or study and regarded lectures as a [...] read our review »
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Comment on Euro crisis: Back from the brink?
on 23 July 2011 at 2:56 pm
“In the event of the smaller european countries such as Belgium , Netherlands , Austria and economies such as Poland , Czech Republic , Slovakia even Hungary returning to their own currencies it’s not inconceivable that these currencies would be tied into the German Mark much as the Irish pound was tied into sterling for decades .”
Erm, Greenflag: Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary aren’t in the Euro. Neither are Denmark and Sweden.
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Comment on Euro crisis: “everything those leaders have done, after large amounts of dithering, has ended up making the situation worse.”
on 19 July 2011 at 10:24 pm
BTW it’s spelt “Bundeskanzlerin”.
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Comment on John Larkin versus the Human Rights’ Industry: Round 2
on 10 July 2011 at 9:38 pm
Is “Round 1″ (i.e. John Larkin’s speech to the NIHRC conference) online anywhere?
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Comment on Adams obeys the rules, takes an office of profit under the Crown
on 26 January 2011 at 2:07 pm
He is Bailiff of the Manor of Northstaed, not Baron.
I suppose bailiffs usually follow a bankruptcy…
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Comment on Euro breakup – the warning signs
on 16 April 2010 at 3:30 am
JEB,
“You go to bed with Euro 100k and wake up the next morning with Ir £100k which by lunch time is worth Eur 50k !”
Interesting. I suppose this is why German withdrawal form the Euro has become a possible scenario. If German withdraws it is possible that the Germans will find their currency appreciating against the Euro.
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Comment on “the hunt begins for dark matter, new forces, new dimensions and the Higgs boson”
on 31 March 2010 at 1:20 pm
“the hunt begins for dark matter”
Sounds like the headline for another Brendan Hughes story…..
GA better beware the Higgs boson…..
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Comment on United Ireland? Maybe. But first put the horse before the cart.
on 27 March 2010 at 5:18 pm
The main unspoken aspect of the economic disadvantages of a UI is the fact that the current public sector dependent basket case economy in NI is in significant part a consequence of the Provisional IRA campaign.
PIRA drove away existing businesses and inward investment and the UK govt decided to take up the slack by pumping in public money.
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Comment on United Ireland? Maybe. But first put the horse before the cart.
on 27 March 2010 at 5:04 pm
Mack,
Regarding one of your points:
“1. There is a significant duplication of services and state enterprises north and south……Business units from each could be merged or privatised to increase competition and raise cash. These options don’t really exist within the UK.”
Essentially you seem to be saying that much post-UI rationalisation of services will involve sacking Southern workers to keep the very bloated NI public sector in place.
This does not seem very realistic.
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Comment on Healthcare: “We followed the most radical voices and they led us to abject and irreversible defeat”
on 24 March 2010 at 7:06 pm
I don’t agree with Frum at all on this one. The Democrats have a sufficiently large majority that any Republican input into the bill would be quite minor. Most Republican voters IMO are opposed to what they see as “socialized medicine” and are therefore not going to thank their elected representatives for giving credibility to Obama’s healthcare plans.
If, as seems highly likely, Obama’s healthcare reforms do not work out well in practice, Republicans will be well placed to have them repealed in future without the John Kerry tpe embarassment of saying that they voted for it before voting against it.
On the other hand if Obamacare succeeds and becomes poplar, then the Republicans votes against will disappear down the memory hole as quickly as the Democrats’ votes for the Iraq war (cf UK Conservatives and the NHS in the 1950s).
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Comment on “not as independent as many think…”
on 24 March 2010 at 2:08 pm
What next? Will Lady Sylvia revert to her maiden name: “Paisley”?
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