The peace process must now largely be seen as military capitulation disguised as a political transformation
In an intriguing recent radio discussion on BBC last week, John Ware, presenter of a Panorama programme on Stakeknife and Kieran Conway, a self-described former Provo intelligence officer and author of “Southside Provo”, discussed the significance of the now accepted belief that Fred Scappaticci was simultaneously a British spy and the IRA’s chief counter-intelligence interrogator, […]
Theresa May has condemned the North to a political no-man’s land
In case you missed it, Theresa May indicated almost complete contempt for the people of Northern Ireland and their interests when she decided on her snap election for June 8th. Orthodox analysis of her decision features the weakness of Corbyn-led Labour, the need to free herself from the grip of Tory Eurosceptic wild men (the […]
Wholehearted commitment by a “coalition of the willing” needed on Brexit – let’s do it
When it comes to brass necks, Theresa May must be in the front rank. She called her snap election in the full knowledge that the EU 27 were in the process of developing negotiating guidelines in relation to the terms of Brexit. She even justified the election by reference to the “need” for her to […]
When you see life-saving surgery denied over cost, tax residency for sale is a gamble Ireland can ill afford
At the height of the financial crisis, we changed our tax laws to provide for a domicile levy on certain Irish citizens whose worldwide income exceeded €1 million, whose property in Ireland was greater in value than €5 million, and whose liability to Irish income tax in a relevant tax year was less then €200,000. […]
Is Mark Zuckerberg the most modern of the evangelists?
In an IT age I suppose it is almost inevitable that a somewhat binary perspective on reality should suggest itself to Mark Zuckerberg, who has just published his Facebook manifesto, as a vision of a better world. The “either or” or “1 and zero” underpinning of the software programmer’s language is almost bound to translate […]
Leadership contests and the strong, silent coalition against reform
Maybe all is not lost for President Trump. A column in the latest edition of the well-produced, deeply conservative Irish fortnightly newspaper, The Catholic Voice, is calling on all its readers to pray for Donald Trump so that he may not be deflected by the wave of criticism from anti-Christian media from pursuing his policies. […]