The time has come to speak a little “Truth to Power” – to Samantha Power
“Is there nothing you will not lie about? Do you have no shame?” With these moving words passionately spoken, the US ambassador to the UN Samantha Power rounded on her Russian counterpart at the Security Council this week. Her outrage was genuine and compelling. Her words were flashed across the western world. As I watched […]
“Freedom of expression” is one thing; “freedom of anonymous publication” is another thing entirely
There is a current obsession in the Irish media with securing instant online reaction from readers and audiences. I am by no means convinced that online comment by readers of online newspapers adds anything at all to the quality of the journalism or to the enjoyment of the reader. Nor does it add revenue. But […]
Trump is damaged goods and no ally of Irish interests
Let me show a little of my politics on my sleeve. The night that Barack Obama was elected eight years ago, I watched American media through the night. When it became obvious that Obama was a sure thing in the early hours, I was watching alone when, to my utter surprise I started crying – […]
Ireland cannot play an observer role in Brexit matters
Last week, Theresa May has set out her government’s wish-list for its Brexit deal with the EU. Her Lancaster House speech was aspirational rather than specific. The bottom line is that she envisages a post-Brexit relationship in which the UK is no longer part of the EU or of the EU’s single market but is […]
Growing worldwide alienation must be factored into the election of Trump
When the dust settles over the election of Donald Trump and the furore dies down somewhat, those, like me, who spoke and wrote against his candidacy will have to examine the factors that lie behind his success. There is no single, simple explanation. I wrote here in the last few months about some of the […]
A government in office but not in power attracts disastrous outcomes
With typical hype, the pendulum of lazy journalism and that class of corridor-prowlers who feed regular doses of nonsense to silly journalists has swung into action yet again. This time, we are told, that Angela Merkel is “now the leader of the free world”. Assuming that Ireland still remains part of “the free world”, is […]