Roger Casement’s life does not fit neatly into one book.  As the child of a mixed marriage his early years are an account of rural Ulster life in the late 19th century.  His encounters with the vicious exploitation of rubber workers in the Belgian Congo and South America are tales of moral courage and physical [...]

In the July 4, 2009, edition of the BBC World Service’s discussion program The Forum, Nobel physics laureate Frank Wilczek, author of The Lightness of Being, gave listeners a succinct description of the nature of the universe:
Close to the core of quantum mechanics is that you learn that seeing is a very active process. There [...]

One of the most encouraging signs in these days of a fractious, fractured Left is the success of a small number of websites devoted to fraternal discussion among socialists. These include Dave’s Part, Socialist Unity, and Liam MacUaid’s web page as well as at least one fan site.
This could surely be a momentous moment for [...]

I want to expand on my thoughts about ‘tough times’ and the rhetoric we’ve heard about how the government has to impose ‘tough measures’, either in cuts in the public sector and services (which, given how small our PS/CS is relative to other states is essentially synonymous in most instances), or impose further taxes. Or [...]

SPOILER ALERT: The following article contains spoilers galore, so it’s best not to read it unless you’ve followed The Wire to the very end.
There have been few television shows that have enjoyed a posthumous fame as great as The Wire. Generally ignored by the public and the Emmys ever since its debut in early 2002, [...]

“The challenge for those who believe art should have real purchase on contemporary debate is always how to write the engaged political poem while still making it artful.”
Siobhán Campbell, MA/MFA Course Leader, Creative Writing, at Kingston University, London.
“Why bother with political poetry, just send me a text,”
A comment made by a radio host recently as [...]

As Garibaldi on Cedar Lounge Revolution has already mentioned, the Sunday Independent contains a unique:
… mixture of arrogance, snobbery, hysteria, ineptitude, and desperation to appear oh so metropolitan and sophisticated while remaining unremittingly provincial.
Like all Irish newspapers it is virulently pro-business, doggedly centre right and socially conservative. However, unlike the Irish Times with its ‘senior [...]

Gilbert Achcar lived in Lebanon for many years. He is now Professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London. He is the author of many books analysing politics and society in the Middle East from a Left perspective, including The Clash of Barbarisms, Eastern Cauldron, The 33-Day War and Perilous Power [...]

“This debate will go on and on. It’s been an interesting discussion and hopefully we’ll come back to it again.” [Miriam O'Callaghan, RTE's Prime Time, 25th November 2008]
Miriam O’Callaghan concluding a recent Prime Time segment ‘Questions raised over global warming’, making the surprising claim that there exists a ‘debate’ over the science of climate change. [...]

Michael Taft’s 10 point plan for addressing the profound problems which face the Irish economy is an excellent starting place for discussion of the response of the left.  Its major strength is that it recognizes that we cannot get beyond the current impasse without a comprehensive list of separate but intimately related changes in the [...]