Advertise
-
Books
-
Hearing the Other Voice from the Grave: Why Should we Listen to David Ervine’s Stories?
Ed Moloney’s Voices from the Grave: Two Men’s War in Ireland has received considerable attention in the press and in the public realm since its publication earlier this year. Although the book relates the experiences of the Provisional IRA’s Brendan Hughes and the PUP/UVF’s David Ervine, much of the discussion has focused on Hughes’ stories [...] read our review » -
Help me with the West Wing: Essential viewing or Party Political Broadcast?
Having somehow managed to avoid watching a single episode of the widely praised West Wing TV series I was delighted to discover the entire Box set in my Christmas stocking – and with enough spare time over the holidays to give it a good lash. But with 10 episodes of the first series under my [...] read our review »
-
Of the Old North and other Vanished Kingdoms..
I’m currently trawling through Norman Davies’s fabulous new tome – “Vanished Kingdoms” – Five stars in the (London) Telegraph’s review from Ben Wilson: All the nations that have ever lived have left their footsteps in the sand,” writes Norman Davies. “The traces fade with every tide, the echoes grow faint, the images are fractured, the human [...] read our review »
-
Comment on Euro crisis: When “earth’s proud empires pass away”…
on 21 May 2012 at 12:03 pm
I have yet to hear an intelligible or credible explanation of why
(a) the EEC/EU was so recklessly, heedlessly, disingenuously extended to 25+ members,
and
(b) the original criteria for euro membership, specifically <3% current account deficits wasn't enforced – only Germany came within spitting distance of that, the French never less than twice that and the Latins just laughed.
It was obvious, ten years ago, to anyone still capable of doing basic arithmetic almost free money would be wasted and that it would never be repaid.
The pretence that we can vote YES to the Fiscal treaty and indenture future generations to pay for the decadelong party thrown by relatively few speaks to massive hubris.
Which will inevitably be followed by Nemesis.
Go to comment
Comment on Would the legalisation of cannibis help reduce the drug problem in Derry (and elsewhere)?
on 15 May 2012 at 9:32 pm
The dangers of skunk intoxication are a pure meeja beat up – it hasn’t half the THC of decent hash – but the real problem is the chemicals used to grow it, hydroponically, indoors to evade detection, coz it’s illegal.
If it weren’t, anyone could grow a fine bush with the praties and the entire network of crime, corruption & infringement of civil liberties would cease overnight.
It should also be noted that ”stop & search” became the norm in the UK in the late 60s to “solely to counteract the drug menace”… and hasn’t been abused or extended at all.
Go to comment
Comment on #EUREF: Heart saying ‘no’; but will the head say otherwise?
on 12 May 2012 at 11:49 pm
Tank “think” sez a NO means 20 yrs of austerity which sounds dire until one realises that a YES ensures at least that long and likely much long, assuming that enough young people remain unemigrated to keep making the payments.
Can we at least get one thing straight – the nation Ireland, ie people, did not go bust through over borrowing. Debt, private & public, was high but nothing untoward or even comparable to the neighbours across.
The “crisis” came about entirely as a result of the undertaking given by Biffo & Co that the State would guarantee the losses incurred by a corrupt bunch of gombeens & shysters at Anglo. There was no general banking crisis.
Had there been, a government guarantee of depositors’ funds would have assured the citizens, prevented a “run” and left the guilty to face bankruptcy.
Go to comment
Comment on London mayoral race: BOJO still king of City Hall
on 6 May 2012 at 12:08 pm
MalcolmRed – poor exposition on my part – I meant that PR had been rejected in the protracted Woy Jenkins committee which finally, after much kicking & screaming, offered the sop of AV+.
Elections for the European Parliament are conducted according to PR, hence outliers like Hannan & LaFarge.
The reference to Electoral College was specifically about the amerikan system – it actually has the final say in law, not the popular vote although it hasn’t countermanded it for the last hundred years. It is even less democratic than our Seanad in selection of its members.
Go to comment
Comment on London mayoral race: BOJO still king of City Hall
on 5 May 2012 at 12:05 pm
The British electoral system is rooted in the 19thC of simple majority, aka First past the Post. They had the chance last year to move to AV, aka transferable preference as in most of Europe, but rejected it, along with Proportional Representation, thus ensuring that it remains a two horse race, with Klegg the irritating, blood sucking insect as per his oop north dialect namesake.
America is the only other major country I can think of (Canada keeps fiddling so am not sure of the current system – perhaps JoeCanuck might enlighten me) that has FptP, with the added obscenity of the Electoral College in case the voters get it wrong and don’t pick one of the wholly owned corporate subsidiaries.
Go to comment
Comment on Anti-Semite defeated by cartoon character
on 5 May 2012 at 11:55 am
Pity they didn’t do something worthwhile and choose the Green.
Go to comment
Comment on Snap, Craickle and Pop: The Controversy of Popular Gaelicisation
on 5 May 2012 at 11:23 am
A ruined pile of stone was, within the last 50yrs, a “wee shop” in my townland. The widow would sell twists of tea, sugar, baccy and cups of flour to the neighbours from her slightly larger stock, acquired from the far off village, two miles away over a bog road.
Even 20yrs ago a minibus carried the mountainy men into said village for bru day – now they all have their own cars, though how much longer that will continue is debatable.
Go to comment
Comment on Snap, Craickle and Pop: The Controversy of Popular Gaelicisation
on 3 May 2012 at 10:23 am
I always assumed that the 19thC ozism “larrikan” – meaning a wide boy or smart arse – had oirish origins, like hooligan, but have never been able to verify it, dictionaries just give “origin unknown”..
Go to comment
Comment on Euro crisis: April is the cruellest month…
on 1 May 2012 at 10:44 am
Mick – any chance of a sip of that Kool-Aid? The ESM is to protect those inside?! Well yeh, if by inside you mean within the Rhine, Elbe-Niess & Danube Flussen?
Ireland is going to (continue to) cop it in the neck, courtesy of our own Quisling/Vichy grovellers.
And a default (such a negative term – how about ‘shove it’?) will leave the ‘senior’ (who the hell are the ‘juniors’ – not that I give a flying..) bondholders scratching about for a crust NOT.
The soi disant Irish debt was a result of a corrupt/cretinous/culpable (not that these terms are exclusionary) decision by the government of the day to guarantee, not the deposits of the citizenry, but the DEBTS of a bunch of shysters, gombeens and chancers, specifically Angloirish.
It was NOT a bank (hands up those who paid in their savings over the counter.. assuming that anyone not ‘connected’ could find it) but a clearing house for ECB euros at 1% shovelled into the wheelbarrows of those who would otherwise have been fortunate to have a day start with a shovel & their own wellies.
If you want to talk about “UGLY”, try imagining, 5, 10, 20 years down the track, with the population still being squeezed to pay for the caviar of the Continentals.
Don’t think so, die on your feet or live on your knees.
Go to comment
Comment on Government take down partial speeches from government website…
on 28 April 2012 at 10:17 am
IOW, as weebuns pointed out in an earlier thread, it was (i) illegal, (ii) dishonest and (iii) cute hoorism.
And they had to be shamed by the minority parties to do so, not the establishment running dogs, aka churnalists., with the honourable exception, as always, of Fintan O’T.
When MrB finishes, or falls off the twig, can we co-opt Fintan to stand?
Go to comment