In Plato’s Republic, Socrates is presented with the cynical argument that the appearance of justice is more important than the reality of it, an idea taken up two millennia later by Machiavelli in The Prince. The General Court of the European Union’s rejection yesterday of the EU Commission’s claim that Ireland had given illegal state…
The biggest debunker of conspiracy theories has to be what the British call 'the thirty year rule' for the declassification of secret documents. It is not that the released documents reveal the truth (the really juicy ones are locked up for far longer); it is, rather, the realization that the behind-the-scenes machinations of government way…
The scene in Disney's Snow White, where the wicked witch entices the heroine with a poisoned apple, has fueled the nightmares of generations of kiddies since it first saw the light of day (or should that be 'the dark of night'?) in 1937. I had double the reason to be terrified as my parents had…
Minister For (sic) Finance, Republic of Ireland June 1, 2013 Mr Seamus Noonan, Boston MA, USA Dear Seamus, Mother Ireland is being crucified once again and she is hurting, to be sure. I was walking past the General Post Office on O'Connell Street yesterday when old Stephen Megan accosted me: " What's all this about Apples, young Michael?" he growled,…
I have always been skeptical about the rave reviews on the covers of books. "I just couldn't put this book down", may have been the first part of a sentence that concluded, "the kitchen sink disposal unit"; "His best novel yet" , could have ended, "which, given his other semi-literate offerings is no great achievement". So,…
Tax Break 