Japanese Whaling
Posted on November 18, 2007 - Filed Under Environment/Conservation, Politics | Leave a Comment
For the first time in decades humpback whales are to be hunted, but that’s okay, claims that the Japanese government, because it’s all for “scientific research”. This bogus claim is of course to circumvent the 1986 ban on commercial whaling, which Japan has long been seeking to overturn with underhand tactics at the International Whaling [...]
Expanding the EU beyond Europe
Posted on November 16, 2007 - Filed Under Europe, Politics | 1 Comment
The UK’s Foreign Secretary David Miliband has suggested that besides eastern European countries, the EU should also seek to take in North African and Middle Eastern nations, as well as Russia. His reasoning for this is the capacity of the prospect of EU membership to improve behaviour in aspirant nations, and so the further the [...]
King Juan Carlos Tells Chavez to “Shut Up”
Posted on November 11, 2007 - Filed Under Politics | Leave a Comment
About time too.
Not-so-long-story further abridged, the Venezuelan president made some typically idiotic remarks (calling former Spanish PM Jose Maria Aznar a “fascist”) when speaking at the Ibero-American summit in Santiago. When current Spanish PM Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero sought to defend Mr Aznar (and the Spanish electorate), Mr Chavez repeatedly attempted to interrupt him, prompting [...]
Selling Body Parts
Posted on November 6, 2007 - Filed Under Health, Philosophy, Politics | 1 Comment
I have an essay to write on this matter, so I’m interested to hear other views. Do you think it should be legal to sell body parts such as kidneys to people who are willing to pay for them? On the one hand, people do it anyway on the black market, so legalisation would clean [...]
Green Populations under Negligent Governments
Posted on November 5, 2007 - Filed Under Environment/Conservation, Politics | 3 Comments
Essentially, most people support carbon taxes and other such measures in order to curb global warming, even though governments across the globe seem to take the view that their citizens are unwilling to go along with such measures. I hate to sound like a red on this green issue, but is this because of corporate [...]
Kaczynski Defeated in Polish Elections
Posted on October 21, 2007 - Filed Under Europe, Politics | Leave a Comment
One half of the Kaczynski comedy duo has suffered a well-earned thrashing in today’s Polish general election, with his Law and Justice party (31%) coming in well behind of Civic Platform (44%). Perhaps this result will teach Law and Justice politicians to conduct themselves with a bit more civility and decorum on the European stage.
BBC [...]
A Swiss Election-Winning Poster
Posted on October 21, 2007 - Filed Under Europe, Politics | 1 Comment
The Swiss People’s Party (SVP) has won the largest share of the vote in the country’s recent general election, taking about 27%. The election campaign focused on immigration, with the SVP proposing measures such as deporting foreigners who commit crimes and forbidding the construction of minarets. While I think that you can argue for or [...]
Let’s Hear It For George W. Bush
Posted on October 18, 2007 - Filed Under American Politics, China, Funny, International Relations, Politics | 1 Comment
Yes, he may be one of the worst US presidents ever, but he’s the first to have the courage to meet publicly with the Dalai Lama, and this at a time when Sino-American are of unprecedented importance. Of course, some people can’t resist taking shots at him even when he does something good:
Today’s Doonesbury
Posted on October 17, 2007 - Filed Under Funny, Media, Politics | Leave a Comment
I know that I have right at all to do this, but I feel obliged to promote today’s Doonesbury strip given the unfathomably high number of people I know who ritually pass over it in the Irish Times without a second glance.
Have I Got Lulz For You
Posted on October 12, 2007 - Filed Under Funny, Politics | Leave a Comment
The show after erstwhile presenter Angus Deayton’s coke-fuelled high jinks made tabloid headlines.
An interview with Paul Merton about why Angus Deayton had to go.
The first part of a Christmas special hosted by the magnificent Boris Johnson, the next major of London.
A brief clip involving Jeremy Paxman’s approach to presenting the weather.
Immigration Reform
Posted on October 11, 2007 - Filed Under Politics | 7 Comments
I encountered a Kevin Myers article for the first time in over a year yesterday. The topic under discussion was immigration, the lack of public debate on the topic, and the rank abuse that Myers was subjected to during his appearances on the Late Late Show by carefully planted audience members affiliated with various minorities, [...]
Burma
Posted on October 2, 2007 - Filed Under Politics | 5 Comments
Where is the NATO when a country needs liberating? According to some reports, cited here along with other informative links, thousands of Buddhist monks have been killed by the army in recent days and it seems clear, despite the limited reporting, that the whole country is in a wretched state. The word in the Blogosphere [...]
Europe’s Most Photogenic Politician Triumphs in Ukraine
Posted on October 1, 2007 - Filed Under Europe, Politics | 1 Comment
The Economist explains Yulia Tymoshenko’s popularity:
Her speeches are emotional and her message is effective: she promises change to everyone who feels dissatisfied with the Ukrainian authorities, past and present. And that is the vast majority of the population. She promises to rid the country of corruption and offers compensation for the financial losses people have [...]
The Israel Lobby
Posted on September 23, 2007 - Filed Under American Politics, Politics | 2 Comments
This book is causing quite a stir in foreign policy circles, and even further afield. It is basically an expanded essay by two highly regarded international relations theorists, John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt, in which the role of the pro-Israel lobby in US foreign policy formulation is examined and criticised. Mearsheimer and Walt [...]
This Week’s KAL Cartoon
Posted on September 15, 2007 - Filed Under Politics | Leave a Comment
Taken from this week’s Economist.
« go back — keep looking »
