January, 2011

Not once but twice in the last forty-eight hours I’ve heard the idea expressed. Two decent people, both nationalists, both SDLP voters,  saying that the Michaela Harte horror-story could produce good by bringing  the two main communities here closer together. Nice idea, drawn from the Pollyanna school of political thinking.  The analysis is based on […]

Not once but twice in the last forty-eight hours I’ve heard the idea expressed. Two decent people, both nationalists, both SDLP voters,  saying that the Michaela Harte horror-story could produce good by bringing  the two main communities here closer together. Nice idea, drawn from the Pollyanna school of political thinking.  The analysis is based on […]

Unvarnished – that’s the word that characterises Brian Cowen. There’s a rumpled, shovelled-into-his-suit look about An Taoiseach that’s refreshing in this media age when image is, if not everything, then 80% of what counts with voters. Maybe that’s a big reason for Cowen’s standing as a hate figure in the south these days – he’s […]

Unvarnished – that’s the word that characterises Brian Cowen. There’s a rumpled, shovelled-into-his-suit look about An Taoiseach that’s refreshing in this media age when image is, if not everything, then 80% of what counts with voters. Maybe that’s a big reason for Cowen’s standing as a hate figure in the south these days – he’s […]

Yesterday I watched the entire Obama speech at the Tucson memorial service for those who died in the shooting there. He was enormously impressive. The man’s measured language, his timing, his ability to present complexity in a clear, accessible manner is unsurpassed by any politician I can remember. At a few points I felt uncomfortable. […]

Yesterday I watched the entire Obama speech at the Tucson memorial service for those who died in the shooting there. He was enormously impressive. The man’s measured language, his timing, his ability to present complexity in a clear, accessible manner is unsurpassed by any politician I can remember. At a few points I felt uncomfortable. […]

I admire Sarah Palin,  I admire Fox News and I admire the American right. There, I’ve said it. They bring skill, energy and above all a degree of daring to the US political scene that no other source can match. Consider some examples. On Fox News,  presenter Glenn Beck has run a TV feature called […]

I admire Sarah Palin,  I admire Fox News and I admire the American right. There, I’ve said it. They bring skill, energy and above all a degree of daring to the US political scene that no other source can match. Consider some examples. On Fox News,  presenter Glenn Beck has run a TV feature called […]

I’m happy for Miriam O’Reilly this morning, even though I am helping fund her happiness. She’s just had a tribunal rule that the BBC was guilty of ageism when it gave her the boot from its big rural affairs progamme ‘Countryfile’.  She’s likely to get a six-figure damages pay-out.  Bully for her. I know from […]

I’m happy for Miriam O’Reilly this morning, even though I am helping fund her happiness. She’s just had a tribunal rule that the BBC was guilty of ageism when it gave her the boot from its big rural affairs progamme ‘Countryfile’.  She’s likely to get a six-figure damages pay-out.  Bully for her. I know from […]