Search Results for 'North Korea'

Time to peer into that crystal ball again. No, not the one in the Treasure Chest window. Here’s a taste of what we can expect in the year ahead.

SINGER, SONGWRITER, spoken-word artist, publisher, radio DJ, actor, globetrotter, TV documentarist and social campaigner; not for nothing has Henry Rollins being described as a ‘post-punk renaissance man’.

A “dictator” is a head of state who exercises arbitrary authority over the lives of his citizens and who cannot be removed from power through legal means. Kim Jong-Il of North Korea, Than Shew of Burma and Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe are all dictators. They rule not because they have the approval of their citizens but because they want to rule. Brian Cowen’s democratic credentials are becoming increasingly suspect in this regard. This is a worrying development because the Taoiseach should be committed to democracy by its definition and not just on his own terms.

This week the country has been rocked by how much more than originally estimated it is actually going to cost the taxpayer to bail out Anglo Irish Bank. The National Asset Management Agency has started taking over toxic loans for half their original value. Quinn Insurance is under financial investigation and the company have warned that 5,500 Irish jobs are being threatened by the appointment of administrators, and the numbers on the live register crept up again in March after a slight fall in February. On a brighter note, public sector management and unions have reached an agreement in relation to public sector pay cuts with no further cuts promised until after 2014 provided certain cost-saving measures are met. Actually, it’s not so bright after all because teaching unions, and more than likely a few others, look set to reject the deal. Imagine the mess the country would be in if private sector workers had the same mechanisms to reject pay cuts which were thrust upon them. They took it on the chin and realised they were lucky to have a job when friends and colleagues were being made redundant.