I see that Sinn F�in decided to hold an al fresco recruitment drive today in Dublin.(Actually, they can probably kiss goodbye to increasing their seats in the next election if the memory of this carry-on remains fresh in the voters’ memory.)
This post is a straightforward lift from the current issue of Nie (the by-line is “MB”), but it is irresistible so here goes: in the district of Jarocin the balance of power on the 19-strong district council is held by a dead man. Until the sudden death four months ago of a councillor Mieloszyk the […]
Luca Coscioni, at one point in his life, was known as an Economics professor and enthusiastic marathon runner. During the 1990s though, his life changed radically as he was diagnosed with Amyotropic Lateral Sclerosis (also known variously as Lou Gehrig’s disease or Motor Neurone Disease). The disease left him paralysed and unable to speak without […]
Luca Coscioni, at one point in his life, was known as an Economics professor and enthusiastic marathon runner. During the 1990s though, his life changed radically as he was diagnosed with Amyotropic Lateral Sclerosis (also known variously as Lou Gehrig’s disease or Motor Neurone Disease). The disease left him paralysed and unable to speak without […]
Following in the footsteps of Teresa Lubińska (kicked out of the ministry of finance for speaking the unspeakable) comes Stanisława Okularczyk, until recently the deputy minister for agriculture. While down in southern Poland she had the audacity to tell her voters: The Warsaw set is laughing at you. Minister Jurgiel [her boss] does not understand […]
On Monday night RTE broadcast an unusual documentary, perhaps the hoity-toity term “sound collage” might be more appropriate, that ostensibly addresses my father’s latest business project. However, it’s far more than that, as my Dad, with his indefatigable storytelling skills, covers such issues as the etymology of the word “gnatting,” Singapore dance girls, the cabling […]
In events that received scant attention from the English language press, last week protests in Libya against those cartoons resulted in rioting, an attack on an Italian consulate, the death of up to 11 protesters (shot by police). The fallout in Italy led to the resignation of a high-profile minister in Berlusconi’s government. Enough column […]
The weekend’s Rzeczpospolita, a serious Polish broadsheet, has a front page story headlined “How much will the Cheap State Cost?” It is a reference to the nearly-ruling party’s pre-election promise to cut costs. The paper estimates that the planned nationalisation of banks and insurers will cost 30 billion zloties, new unemployment benefits will cost 10 […]
They say that supposedly “idle” time is vital to creative people. Although it might appear that the “artist” is slumped on the couch, the remote control in one paw and a mug of cooling tea in the other, this apparent inactivity is actually masking the delicate gestation of an aesthetic concept.This rather self-serving concept (you […]