Churchill in Belfast

Apparently churchill came to Belfast to speak in favour of Home rule. It was exactly 100 years ago; So a Talk and dramatic reconstruction took place yesterday. The speaker was Eamonn Phoenix, my old history teacher, a celebrity because of his wonderful knowledge of history and ability to make it come alive. A very enjoyable night.

Greeks pass bailout vote - but do they pass go?

The Greek parliament has voted for the government to not yet be taken out into public squares and flogged. But will it be enough to keep the Euro on track?

The papers are full of talk about what it all means, no-one seeing a solution that avoids an eventual default, short of trains carrying money from Berlin to Athens.

I feel the confusion is because people can't picture a finite amount of money, as they could with time, say. But the money must be bought by peoples' work, somewhere, so if we consider the extra work that Greeks would need to do to make such sums, we would quickly understand whether such extra hours could be found. Unless the retirement age can rise and rise without end, there is a limit to the hours! This approach would bring clarity.

Amulet, Old Croghan Man, 362-175 BC

Amulet, Old Croghan Man, 362-175 BC sees Fintan O'Toole explain that killing a king for failure was the old way of doing things in Ireland.

I could see this catching on again, such is the public mood. Seanie Fitz would be sacrificed in Grafton Street if they had a hold of him (rather than just the old motor).

Weights for women

Weights empower women - but the piece rings true for all, I'd say.

Idle rich

They have to do with, and this is why they're interesting ... they have too many choices. Which means that they never have to commit to anything. Whether it's a profession or wife or place of residence or a group of friends. They can always check out when the going gets a little difficult and not suffer any consequences for it. And in fact give themselves the illusion that they're lighting out for the territories. ... That sort of vast buffet of options is what keeps them uneasy, unproductive, and by and large focused on the one promise of wealth that this country understands, which is freedom.

More here: http://www.slate.com/id/1007248/

Playwrights on the case of the missing millions?

Fintan O'Toole is asking if Irish playwrights are up to the task of making sense of the financial crisis, and has a programme on RTE tonight asking the same.

Anyway, I won't be able to watch it - it's only available in Ireland on the RTEplayer. That's the way it goes for the majority of their programmes (but not all), filtered by IP address.

Psycho-spotting

'Psychopaths rule the world'

What else is new?