Archive for February, 2006
Tuesday, February 28th, 2006
Firework Smoke
Originally uploaded by O6scura.
Waking up on Saturday morning - on Illinois time - to news of riots in Dublin was not something I expected. The first hint I got was from fluffy's blog, with of course much more coverage ...
Posted in Prisons and crime | Comments Off on Of riots and politics
Monday, February 27th, 2006
So, tomorrow being Shrove Tuesday, I will as usual be celebrating Pancake Tuesday. And this year it seems IHOP will be joining me (or perhaps I'll be joining them):On February 28, 2006 from 7 AM to 2 PM IHOPs across the country will celebrate National Pancake Day (also known as ...
Posted in Society and culture | Comments Off on Mmm, pancakes…
Friday, February 24th, 2006
Mark Dowling picked up on my coverage of the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform (in the United States) and linked the issue to current debates on immigration in Ireland. I had failed to do so, though I had originally intended to make the connection.
As with so much else I'm somewhat ...
Posted in Citizenship, migration, race, and ethnicity | Comments Off on More on regularizing undocumented Irish emigrants
Friday, February 24th, 2006
Over at An tImeall Conn's posts - audio and text - are always interesting. Recently he has been contemplating the issue of blogging solely in Irish (his existing practice) and the pros and cons of that. In one of his most recent posts he gives a mini 'state of the ...
Posted in Online communication | Comments Off on Blogging in Irish
Friday, February 24th, 2006
I've been a fan of Flann O'Brien since I read The Third Policeman at 15, followed shortly afterwards by At Swim Two Birds. It's heartening, if somewhat perplexing, to learn that sales in the United States have skyrocketed since the book was featured - very briefly - in a recent ...
Posted in Trivia | Comments Off on Is it about a bicycle?
Wednesday, February 22nd, 2006
Interesting to read a story in Foinse about TG4 being slapped on the wrist by the Broadcasting Complaints Commission (BCC) because of airing 'inappropriate' programming at 6pm. The inappropriate show? The O.C., which TG4 have been airing as part of an early evening schedule aimed at teenagers.
Interestingly, I can't remember ...
Posted in Media regulation | Comments Off on Taste and decency on TG4 – the salicious O.C. strikes again
Wednesday, February 22nd, 2006
Amidst the various debates on immigration in the United States, the issue of undocumented Irish immigrants adds an interesting angle. Much contemporary debate focuses on immigration from Latin America, and from the reactionary end is focused on issues such as cultural purity, language use, etc. It's also seen as a ...
Posted in Citizenship, migration, race, and ethnicity | Comments Off on Immigration reform and the Irish
Wednesday, February 22nd, 2006
Regular readers will know that I often like to dip into official statistics as a means of monitoring changes in society and economy, something I picked up during my time working in telecoms. My most recent foray has been taking a look at new figures (PDF) for the trade balance ...
Posted in Income and poverty | Comments Off on Trade and economic performance in the European Union
Wednesday, February 22nd, 2006
I wondered how the Irish government would fare in the Council of Europe's report on rendition in Europe. They weren't among the five countries that failed to respond to the Council's queries, and the responses have not generally yet been released, but Michael D Higgins has released a statement questioning ...
Posted in International Affairs | Comments Off on Ireland, the Council of Europe, and extraordinary rendition
Tuesday, February 21st, 2006
I don't know Mary Finan, who has just been appointed the new Chair of the RTÉ Authority, but I was somewhat annoyed by this description by the Minister, on announcing her appointment:Mary Finan will bring with her a wealth of experience in business generally and communications in particular.Now, Ms. Finan ...
Posted in Public Service Media | Comments Off on New Chair of RTE authority