http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/outsidein Just another irishtimes.com weblog Thu, 20 Nov 2008 12:48:50 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en One of my favourite books is Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. The basic premise of the book, I think, is that at the end of the day, provided people are sufficiently distracted, they couldn’t care less about their governance. Two striking examples of this come to mind. The first is Zimbabwe. ... http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/outsidein/2008/11/20/brave-new-world/ I understand the outrage about HPV vaccines being dropped to save costs. But that’s just a symptom, I think, of a much larger problem. Think about it, a full blown screening program was floated at about the same time as the vaccine. Many dirt poor countries in the developing world ... http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/outsidein/2008/11/18/hse-chain-saw-massacre/ Two words have snuck into my vocabulary over the last few months. In my defence, that sort of thing can’t be helped when you are a full time student and actually do a little studying every now and again. Because I fall into that category, and particularly enjoy political science ... http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/outsidein/2008/11/17/two-new-words/ When you don't have anything worth saying, maybe it's not a bad idea to keep quiet and listen to someone who does? Assuming that's true, let me hand you over to a lady who is very dear to me. Maya Angelou.[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqOqo50LSZ0[/youtube]Share This http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/outsidein/2008/11/14/video-of-the-week/ Carl O’Brien writes in today’s newspaper, “Older people need to mobilise to ensure the Government does not attempt to further undermine the entitlements of senior citizens, a conference of retired Siptu members heard yesterday.” I am not the least bit surprised. A few weeks ago, the elderly came out en masse ... http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/outsidein/2008/11/13/another-revolt/ Sarah Carey has a brilliant opinion piece in today’s newspaper. In it, she looks at the winding down of state sponsored bodies responsible for ‘integration’ and the work of a grassroots group called Fáilte Isteach. The gist of her article is that National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism (NCCRI) and ... http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/outsidein/2008/11/12/grassroots-approach-to-integration-proves-effective/ I need to start this post by expressing my condolences to Shane Geoghegan’s family. He was senselessly killed in Limerick a couple days ago because the killers mistook him for a member of a rival gang. His was the 14th killing since 2000 resulting from a feud in the city. The ... http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/outsidein/2008/11/11/senseless/ My wife is sick of hearing about the American elections. And the truth is that it’s probably time to move on. But because I really like it, and Will.I.am for that matter; because it’s such a positive way to start the week, I figured I’d kick off this Monday with ... http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/outsidein/2008/11/10/a-thought-6/ President-elect Barack Obama waves to the crowd after his acceptance speech at Grant Park in Chicago on Tuesday night. Photograph: David Guttenfelder Share This http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/outsidein/2008/11/08/picture-of-the-week-16/ OPINION: A FEW hours after Barack Obama's acceptance speech, my wife jokingly said to me: "You do realise that he is going to be the president of America don't you? America, not the rest of the world!" I am not American, and Obama's functional role in the future matters little to ... http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/outsidein/2008/11/07/ripple-effect-of-obamas-rich-inspiration/