Many years ago, I read a book about the final collapse of the Cain-Kirner government. It was a collection of essays. by then-prominent journalists and academics. Essentially it was a laudatory panegyric by committed Keynesians who saw nothing wrong in the many fiscal and governance failures by Cain-Kirner and their ministers. Instead, they placed the …
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My New Bookcases Used To Be Owned By A Communist!
Let’s face it, there is no political philosophy more obsessed with money and its possession (or lack thereof) than Communism (and its slightly watered down version – Socialism). Karl Marx did invent the term ‘Capitalism’ to describe the existing socio-economic status quo, and he was always obsessed with money – because he had little of …
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Crown Casino Gives Us A Fine Example Of Irony
I am a proud member of Generation X, far more virtuous and responsible than the Baby Boomers, and far less self-entitled than the Millennials (ie Gen Y). I would say that the main flaw with my Generation is that we have a bit of a problem understanding Irony. I will give you two examples. One …
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Taylor Swift IS The Man!
A colleague decided not to attend my giant retirement celebration last Friday because he was licking his wounds after not getting tickets to one of the Taylor Swift concerts which were on sale last week. Oh well, my bar bill was well into the four figures as it was. Much as I enjoy listening to …
Modern Exploration: Thrill-Seeking or Ghoul Tourism for the Mega-Rich?
The men (and it would have almost invariably have been men) who undertook the Haj, the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, prior to the modern era, would have been both rich and brave. Rich to be able to afford to leave their affairs and families unattended for the duration of the journey, and to pay for …
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So this is Retirement, sort of….
I’m not really retired yet, but I have 12 and a half months of extended leave to get used to the idea, and I am not going back to work. I started my leave at lunchtime yesterday, marked with a very large farewell drinks at my Club with about a hundred colleagues and friends. The …
Warrior Nun has been saved!
http://www.joe.ie/movies-tv/netflix-warrior-nun-uncancelled-776838 I am delighted that Warrior Nun has been uncancelled and I look forward to bingeing season 3 on Netflix!!!!
What’s A Few Men? War Callousness and War Crimes
There is a very memorable passage in AB Facey’s beloved memoir A Fortunate Life where an unnamed senior British officer visits the front line at Gallipoli. When he suggests a highly risky and pointless action and is told that they do not want to lose more men needlessly, his callous reply is: “What is a …
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Exorcising the Ghost Of Breaker Morant
American historian SLA Marshall is best known for his study Men Against Fire: The Problem of Battle Command. In this book, he asserted that, in most US Army units in the Second World War, only one in five men actually fired their weapons. In elite units, the ratio was one in four. Of those who …
Dangerfield: Not My Store
To mark the King’s Birthday weekend, hipster clothing store Dangerfield has put up various posters in their store windows with ‘Not My King’ emblazoned across the face of King Charles III. Such frivolous and ignorant posters trivialise the importance of maintaining both civil debate on constitutional matters and careful consideration of the underpinning protections afforded …
Lost For Words! 