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Astrology vs Religion

Thursday, May 5th, 2005

Professor Reville of UCC has an interesting article in today’s Irish Times on the subject of astrology.

After analyzing the practice he reaches the following conclusion:

Astrology makes large claims that are extremely improbable from a scientific viewpoint. In order to take these claims seriously it would be necessary to have extraordinarily strong evidence. On the contrary, the evidence is very weak. In the absence of extraordinary evidence to support extraordinary claims, the only sensible course is to treat astrology as seriously as you would treat an amusing party game.

That sounds like a perfect definition of religion to my mind.

Anthony Sheridan

Posted in Religion | 6 Comments »

Sunday bits

Monday, April 18th, 2005

Cork County Council deserves high praise for their decision to buy and restore Blackrock Castle in Cork harbour.

The most amazing aspect of the project is the installation of a high-tech robotic observatory. It will feature two high-power telescopes, optical and radio. It will also include a fully equipped operations room that will be linked with other observatories around the world. I must admit when I read this report I checked the date to see if it was an April Fools. Such vision from a local authority is indeed rare in Ireland.

In today’s Sunday Independent Fr. Eoghan Haughey of that infamous family is talking about so-called loyalty at the funeral mass of his sister. Irish citizens will continue to suffer for many more decades because of the loyalty shown by Haughey to himself and his rich friends at the expense of his country.

Here’s the funniest quote I’ve read in a long time:

“Insulting? Please! We have done everything to please women. We even designed parking with especially wide spaces.” A male director of Tel Aviv shopping mall accused of insulting women with sexist advertising was noted to have said.

Anthony Sheridan

Posted in Irish Politics | No Comments »

Fallen angels

Tuesday, April 12th, 2005

In my opinion religion has only two positive consequences. Firstly, in times of trouble, like the death of someone close, it can be of great comfort. Secondly, religion can be useful in maintaining stability in society in general. Every other aspect of religious belief is negative. War, death and destruction, unnecessary guilt, discrimination, stunting of mental creativity, massive waste of resources (on temples and priestly castes), brain-washing of innocent children – the list goes on.

Furthermore, I believe that the tendency to believe in a god is an evolutionary development necessary for the survival of early humans and that given enough time, the need will evolve out of existence.

For the above reasons religion should be taken seriously but at the same time robustly challenged. But there are times when a religious opinion/belief needs to be totally rejected, to be laughed out of court, to be derided as an idiotic imbecilic notion.

Such a case appears in the Irish Catholic newspaper The Voice Today dated 31st March. The author of this idiotic article is none other than George Weigel the biographer of the late Pope described on the internet as a Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a Roman Catholic theologian and one of America’s leading commentators on issues of religion and public life.

Weigel apparently believes that the Tsunami disaster was caused by fallen angels.

Here is a sampler:

Creation is ‘groaning’ because creation has not experienced the finality of redemption….And when creation ‘groans’, its travail can have devastating effects. In the Biblical view of things, nature is not unsullied and innocent; nature suffers from the after-effects of the angelic fall; nature awaits its final redemption. Until that happens, nature is capable of, and will do, terrible things.

This harebrained notion is a deep insult to the hundreds of thousands of people who died in the disaster, it’s an insult to the intelligence of human beings in general, it’s a notion so stupid that it deserves the contempt of all rational humans.

Here’s my interpretation of events according to George:

The Devil calls a meeting of his fellow fallen angels.

Lucifer: “Right you fuckers, I want some suggestions and I want them quickly. Things have gone from bad to worse ‘topside’. Humans have been making all the running lately, wars, disease, environmental damage, George Bush, global terrorism, Charlie Haughey. We devils have been almost forgotten, we’re not taken seriously anymore and we’ve got to do something about that.”

Fallen angels:“How about killing the Pope, oh evil one?”

Lucifer:“Bollix! We sent an apprentice devil to do that in 1981 and the bastard missed. And with the state of JP’s health he’s due to join us shortly anyway.”

Fallen angels:“We could arrange for an asteroid to strike and vaporise the whole shebang”

Lucifer:“Jesus, save me from stupid devils, if we vaporise, who will be left to suffer, who will be left to agonise over the existence or not of ‘Mr. oh so fucking holy’ above in heaven?”

Fallen angels:“I have it, oh master of darkness, we could impose Irish political standards on every government in the world.”

Lucifer:“Fuck, even I’m not that evil. No my son, you have great potential for causing suffering and destruction, but while we want something terrible we also want to give humanity some hope of survival.”

Fallen angels:“I have it, oh prince of all that is perfidious, pestiferous and putrid. An underground earthquake in the Indian Ocean topped with a massive tsunami and finished off with a thick coating of dead humanity.”

Lucifer:“Brilliant, brilliant, but how will we convince the humans that it was our handiwork?

Fallen angels:“We could use George, your evilness, you know? George Weigel, one of your most successful creations, designed so that humans see an intelligent, philosopher/theologian when in fact you scraped him from the bottom of the barrel in the deepest pit of slime and stupidity.”

Lucifer:“Yes, yes I knew George would prove useful some day. Make it so, you bastards, get out there and create mayhem. You, minion, Get me George on the line now!”

Anthony Sheridan

Posted in Religion | 4 Comments »

De demon drink smuggling

Thursday, April 7th, 2005

A couple of hours out to sea from Tel Aviv, on a hot Mediterranean night in the 1980′s, I carefully picked my way towards the armoured personnel carrier secured on the afterdeck. My job was to remove a HiFi and a 12-bottle box of spirits hidden beneath the troop seating section of the vehicle

The items had been placed there by a friend serving with the United Nations in the Lebanon (UNIFIL). It was my task to take them to my cabin and deliver them to certain persons on my return to Ireland. On gaining access to the vehicle, which was being returned to Ireland for repair, I was dismayed to find that someone had the bright idea of storing a large number of engine parts, also for repair, around the seating area. After a number of sweaty hours I finally managed to extract the HiFi and by literally tearing the cardboard box to pieces, the 12 bottles of spirits.

This kind of petty smuggling was common on the regular trips that the Irish navy made to Israel to re-supply the troops in Lebanon during the 80′s and 90′s. Customs always met the ship on return to the naval base at Haulbowline, made a cursory check of selected areas much as they do at civilian ports and airports and that was that. This time, however, it was different.

Waiting on the quay wall to meet us was a large team of very determined looking customs officers with full equipment, including cutting gear. To my astonishment, they discovered and removed crate after crate of spirits from every nook and cranny of the armoured car and was even more astonished when they cut open the fuel tank and it too was full to the ‘gills’ with spirits. Obviously, and without the knowledge of the crew, someone in the Lebanon had gone to a great deal of trouble to organise this smuggling operation.

The naval authorities were, as you can imagine, not too happy with this huge embarrassment to the good name of the Navy. It ‘became known’ that I had taken some items from the vehicle and I was brought before the Captain. There wasn’t much he could do really as everybody had a few bottles secreted away in their cabins, including officers. So, I was told to either slip the bottles over the side or drink them on board, but under no circumstances were they to be brought ashore.

I donated some of them to the NCOs mess and gave away the rest. A week later I got a phone call from the person who ‘owned’ the haul, but to this day he doesn’t believe that I didn’t keep the drink for myself.

The big question was – who squealed to customs? The general consensus was that somebody, angered by being excluded, made a quick phone call. There was little sympathy for those who lost out as it was believed officers, who had become too greedy, were the organisers of the operation.

Anthony Sheridan

Posted in History | 1 Comment »

Dress down to save Japan, PM says

Friday, April 1st, 2005

I have to hand it to them, it is a good idea.

Japan’s prime minister plans to dress down this summer, and wants millions of Japanese office workers to do the same. Junichiro Koizumi is asking workers to cast off their collars and ties in a national effort to use less energy on air conditioning. To show how serious he is, Mr Koizumi has ordered government ministers to shed their suits to set an example. Japan often endures hot, humid summers, forcing offices and bars to ramp up air-conditioning systems.

Posted in Economics, Science | 5 Comments »

Fuckity fuck fuck

Thursday, March 31st, 2005

F**k, F**k, F**k.

How did you read the first three words of this post? Of course, you read ‘Fuck, Fuck, Fuck’. So what is the point of putting in the gobblies ‘**’ in order to somehow disguise the word and its meaning?

F-U-C-K as four separate letters has no meaning other than they are just four letters of the alphabet. But when put together they can have any number of meanings. For instance, “Fuck off� expressed with appropriate nuance leaves you in no doubt as to what is meant. “Fuck me� can express great surprise (like you’ve just won a million on the Lotto) or even indicate an invitation to become ‘extremely’ intimate.

So, you have an editor sitting at their keyboard doing what editors do, deciding what is the best word, phrase or sentence to convey a particular meaning or message. When considering the ‘F’ word they have three choices – use ‘fuck’, ‘f**k’ or leave it out altogether. The principal concern, I imagine, is how the reader will react.

Let’s say, for example, that it’s an Irish Times writer, very respectable paper, very establishment, but with a whiff of rebellion about it, a bit of “we can be dangerously liberal if pushedâ€? attitude. The writer decides to use ‘fuck’ for impact, but to reduce that impact (in case any retired archbishops are reading) by substituting the letters ‘uc’ with the gobblies ‘**’.

This choice and mindset is, of course, bullshit. Everybody, including the retired archbishop instinctively and without even considering the meaning immediately sees ‘fuck’. So why bother trying to utilise the impact of the word ‘fuck’ and at the same time try to conceal the word – it’s hypocritical. Either use the word in its full glory ‘fuck’ or use another word like ‘feck’, ‘bejasus’, or ‘by golly’.

Just this week I read the word ‘c**t’ in a newspaper article. I wonder what that word could be? Perhaps ‘cant’, ‘cart’, or maybe ‘cast’? No my friends, the word intended was ‘cunt’. So why couldn’t the paper just say so or use what it might consider to be a more acceptable word (unless they are quoting)? Obviously, the paper wanted to use the word for its impact but did not want to accept responsibility for its generally accepted meaning, so the word is disguised and in so doing attempts to transfer the use and real meaning of the word to the reader. The reader then becomes responsible for any negative interpretations of the gobblied word. “Hey, we just published some gobblies bracketed by two letters, if you automatically interpret them as ‘fuck’, ‘cunt’, ‘shit’, well… you know… it’s not our fault.”

What do you think reader? Am I right? Is it really just a case of editorial cowardice or am I just plain wrong? If you think I am then ‘fuck’ you. ;-)

Anthony Sheridan

Posted in Media and Journalism | 23 Comments »

NI madness

Thursday, March 24th, 2005

Last Sunday, the number one item on RTE’s flagship news programme, This Week, informed the nation that the McCartney sisters were back in Ireland and would later travel on to Belfast. The next day, another RTE headline informed us that a Belfast fireman had been hit on the elbow with a stone. There are many who would think that these events were of feck all importance but when it comes to reporting on Northern Ireland, RTE should never be underestimated.

Now before I go on let me make it perfectly clear that I am interested in the evolution of events in Northern Ireland. The peace process is vital for everybody on these islands and it should be reported on and analysed in depth. No, what I’m talking about here is the obsession RTE news has of giving NI events top priority, no matter how trivial, at the expense of news in the Republic and the wider world . Let me give you a few examples.

A few years ago a helicopter crashed in Kerry and the pilot was tragically killed. The incident got second billing on the main evening news with an RTE reporter reporting by phone, as they do from Outer Mongolia. Meanwhile, top billing was given to a funeral in Belfast complete with a full report by an outside broadcasting unit. In February of 2004 there was a terrible tragedy in Dublin city when a bus killed five people and injured several more. This, the worst accident ever involving a CIE bus was introduced as follows on the This Week programme. “We’ll come back to the Dublin bus tragedy, but first to Northern Ireland…� Again in Dublin, on St Patrick’s Day 2004, there were serious riots, racist attacks, intimidation, drunkenness and public sex by two teenagers in broad daylight. RTE news wasn’t interested. In fact, we were informed that the situation in Belfast was much worse. Some teenagers were spotted with six packs and Shane McGowan appeared on stage in a drunken state. There followed a lengthy interview with the Lord Mayor of Belfast on the possible consequences of such an outrageous public act. (Yes, I know what you’re thinking, Shane McGowan on stage drunk? Shane appearing on stage sober would have been much more newsworthy).

Last August Bill and Hillary visited the place. Hillary made sure she gave fulsome praise of how important this little piece of Irish bog was to the future of the world. I quote, and this is not a joke. “Peace needs to be secured in the North to help stop the advancement of global terrorism�, and commenting on the importance of restoring the Stormont power-sharing executive she said “It is a signal event in the unfolding challenge we confront around this world today�

Now of course this is waffle aimed at Hillary’s career rather than any importance NI may have on world events. After all the vast majority of the 6.6 billion people on earth have never heard of Ireland. But the citizens of NI lapped it up, here was yet another world leader confirming their vital importance in the great scheme of world history. Alas, the Clintons made a major mistake. They left Enniskillen without saying goodbye to a crowd of people that had gathered to hear how important they were. It was reported that the crowd ‘groaned’ as the Clintons sped off with one teenager shouting “Don’t come back.�

We are also constantly reminded that the NI peace process is a shining example for all the trouble spots around the globe. Well, putting aside the 800 years it took to get rid of the invader from about two thirds of the country, let’s analyse this claim. For about fifty years after the entity was created the Unionists abused their dominant position. This eventually led to war in 1969, and what a long drawn out goddamned war it was. Thirty years – about the same time it took the Europeans to fight the First World War, take a rest for twenty years, and finish the slaughter in WW11.

And then there’s the Peace Process, ten years now and counting with no end in sight. (Look carefully at the faces of BBC reporters and newsreaders when the next ‘historic’ summit takes place, yawns of total boredom are barely suppressed) So, in total we’re talking about nine hundred years of this blight on humanity with not a hope of it being resolved before the thousandth anniversary. Some example?

And speaking of the next summit/crisis, the following is how I imagine the ultimate RTE report. “Here is the news. NASA has confirmed that an asteroid will strike earth next week completely vaporising the planet. We’ll have more on that story later, but first to Northern Ireland where a dispute on whether the colour of underwear for the PSNI should be orange or green is threatening to undermine the peace process for the 78th time…� In my madness, before retiring to bed I regularly scan the night sky, hoping, just hoping for deliverance…..

Anthony Sheridan

Posted in Media and Journalism | 3 Comments »

Inept ‘authorities’

Tuesday, March 15th, 2005

The following statement was taken from the Competition Authority’s website.

When does the Competition Authority take action?

Anti-competitive behaviour occurs when firms agree to fix prices, limit output, divide business between them or abuse their market power, with no benefits to consumers. In these situations the Competition Authority will use its enforcement powers to act promptly and rigorously to protect the interests of Irish consumers and overall economic welfare. The Competition Act sets out the basic competition rules, give the Competition Authority the power to investigate breaches of the law and where necessary to bring civil and criminal prosecutions.

Strong language, with no room for any misunderstanding of intention.

Here are some extracts from a report in the Irish Times concerning an investigation by the Competition Authority into the insurance industry.

Insurers are protecting historically high profits and premiums by locking out potential competitors from the Irish market, according to a new Competition Authority report. It is illegal for businesses to abuse a dominant position in a given market. But Mr Fingleton said he did not believe that prosecutions could address the problems in the Irish insurance market.

So, on the one hand the Authority is determined to prosecute and protect Irish citizens but on the other the man in charge states that ‘prosecutions are not the solution’. Here’s another bit:

The authority last year pointed out that insurance brokers’ commissions were growing at a faster rate than premiums. The report shows that between 2000 and 2003, premiums increased by 120 per cent and intermediaries’ earnings grew by 184 per cent. Mr Fingleton said that there was no clear explanation for this.

The reason, of course, is obvious. As we all know, the function of a broker is to get the best and cheapest deal for his client. The problem in Ireland is that brokers are paid a percentage of the premium on every deal, so naturally they will try to maximize the premium – it’s not rocket science.

On Vincent Browne (Tuesday, 8th March) last week, Mr John Hogan of the Professional Brokers Association had the neck to actually defend this practice. Vincent, in his usual cutting and entertaining way, took him to pieces .

But here’s the strangest aspect of this report:

The authority expects that the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority will be able to implement many of its recommendations.

IFSRA? That toothless tiger, who, when informed by a whistleblower of the massive theft going on in AIB kept quiet until the same whistleblower told Charlie Bird. And when the full extent of the thievery was revealed, did we see IFSRA initiating prosecutions? No, instead they allowed AIB to carry out its own secret proceedings against the wrongdoers – including any punishments. IFSRA is hopeful that AIB will deign to inform it of any decisions or action taken.

Yes, yes, I know, it’s all very depressing, so I’ll end with a bit of a laugh. To make sure this problem is dealt with in the most competent and efficient manner they have called in…wait for it…

The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Micheál Martin, said yesterday he would be arranging urgently to discuss the recommendations with the relevant Government departments and agencies.

So in 28 years time (The time it took officialdom to admit they were thieving from the elderly) we can expect to see Mick, taking ‘urgent’ action. I mean even for a Banana Republic it can’t get any more bizarre, can it?

Anthony Sheridan

Posted in Irish Politics | 1 Comment »

Titan Wars

Thursday, March 10th, 2005

The above photograph was taken by the first Earthlings to visit Titan after the recent catastrophic nuclear war. As we now know there were no survivors of the horrific conflict. The age old and proud Titan civilization is no more.

At centre left can be seen the ground zero impact point, this had such a devastating affect that it wiped out nearly all signs of the once great Titan capital city of Titanville. Some of the signs that remain include the main highway from the West. (Right of picture). At centre left the remains of the ancient wall that was critical in repelling the invasion of the hated Borg. The remains of the harbour wall can be observed just in front of ground zero. The harbour that once afforded safe anchorage to the great Titan navy, principally responsible for the creation of the all powerful Titan Empire. Ironically, the only building that is in any way recognizable is the Senate house where the decision to go to war was made. (Above the harbour and to the right of ground zero).

Nobody knows exactly what triggered the conflict. However, last year a major study by Earth scientists concluded that although the Titans were well advanced technologically, their intelligence capability had not evolved enough to allow them to see that their focus on short term self-interest could be fatal to their long-term survival.

Anthony Sheridan

Posted in Science | 1 Comment »

Garda corruption or negligence?

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2005

Mary is a single mother. She has ME and suffers from chronic pain. She gets €20 per week from the State. She has a young teenage son who she describes as having the mind of a five year old. He suffers from depression, drinks a lot, does drugs and is generally messed up. He’s in a regular hospital at the moment but they want him to leave. The psychiatric hospital that he was been treated in won’t take him back because of his involvement in drugs and also because he had a relationship with another patient the last time he was there. To top it all he owes a large sum of money to a drugs dealer. Because he couldn’t pay Mary has to cough up. She has already paid €300 and owes a further €600. The following is a transcription of her conversation with Joe Duffy on last Friday’s Liveline where she is explaining her experience with the Gardai.

Joe. How did you pay money to a drug dealer?

Mary. I got a friend to speak to the drug dealer. I asked the police, what should I do, should I pay it and I was told that I should pay it because they would probably find out where we live and come round either to threaten us or break into our home and steal from us.

Joe. The police told you that?

Mary. Yes

Joe. (Puzzled and incredulous) Well, you heard it through a third party. (The suggestion here is that the police couldn’t possibly have said such a thing and the ‘third party’ got it wrong.

Mary. No, I went to the police myself.

Joe. (Raised voice and even more incredulous) And they said ‘pay the drug dealer’

Mary. Yes, yes.

Joe. (Totally incredulous, desperately searching for an explanation as to why a police force would give such advice.) Hang on; hang on Mary, surely they said to you, ‘give us the name and address of the person you are alleging is a drug dealer.

Mary. No, no, they didn’t

Joe. They said, ‘pay the drug dealer or they’ll burn your house’?

Mary. Yes.

Joe. (In a loud and emphatic voice) I don’t believe you Mary.

Mary. Yes, absolutely, I was amazed they didn’t want information or to know who the person was.

Joe. And you were willing to supply that information?

Mary. I was willing to give the information.

The key sentence in this conversation is ‘I don’t belive you Mary’. For Joe Duffy, it is simply unbelievable that the Gardai could behave in such a manner. While Joe obviously accepts that ‘some’ Gardai are corrupt, he cannot even consider the possibility that the organization as a body could be corrupt. This ‘appalling vista’ mindset is common at all levels of Irish society including the media.

Take Vincent Browne for example. In recent times he has been analyzing the evidence coming out of the tribunal investigating Garda corruption in Donegal. He expresses astonishment and genuine puzzlement that the police force of this State could act as they did and nobody seems to be too upset. It is totally beyond these two very experienced journalists to make the connection between what is happening in the police force and Irish society in general. Without exception, whenever the lid is lifted on any organization, Government or private, the smell of corruption is overpowering. It is so entrenched in our culture at this stage that when someone like Joe Duffy is brought face to face with it, he can only reply – I don’t believe you Mary.

Anthony Sheridan

Posted in Irish Politics | 2 Comments »

NIB, Enron and the Banana Republic

Wednesday, February 23rd, 2005

There can only be two reasons for this, either the person involved is incompetent and therefore should lose his job or it was a deliberate act and therefore he will be prosecuted.

This was the angry reaction of a federal investigator after it was revealed that some documents had been shredded by an employee of Arthur Andersen, the accountancy firm for Enron. The Enron corruption was discovered in December 2001. A mere six months later Arthur Andersen was found guilty in a court of law of the shredding charge. Subsequently, Arthur Andersen was totally destroyed because of its involvement with the Enron scandal.

Less than two years after the corruption was discovered Andrew Fastow, a financial officer with Enron was sentenced to ten years in jail, the maximum possible, for his part in the scandal. Several others have subsequently been jailed and the investigation is still strong and ongoing. Keep these facts in mind as you read the rest of this article.

In 1998, the High Court appointed two investigators to look into certain activities at National Irish Bank. Five years later they complete a draft report but cannot make it final because they have made ‘adverse comments’ about some NIB personnel. The draft report is sent to NIB so that these people can read what has been said about them and consider whether it’s appropriate or not.

(A little diversion here – The Gardai bust a major drugs operation and compile a report for the DPP. Before actually sending it to the DPP, they post it off to the drugs gang to see if they are happy with their conclusions, the gang peruse the document, make some changes and return it to the Gardai)

It took nearly a year for NIB to consider the draft report, so, six years after the start of the enquiry we have a report. OK, let’s have prosecutions? Sorry, that could prove very difficult as evidence gathered for the report cannot be used as it was given voluntarily. Figure that one out.

Hang on, I’m having a flashback here, yes, Mary Harney, when asked earlier this month why the investigating officer disagreed with her decision to axe the enquiry into companies associated with the Ansbacher corruption replied

Unfortunately, it’s a criminal offence for me or anyone else to reveal anything that comes to light during these enquiries.

(Who makes all these very convenient laws?)

Anyway, let’s bring things up to date. It is reported in today’s Irish Times that the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE) is in the High Court in an attempt to force the NIB investigators to reveal the names of those who made up NIB’s board audit committee.

What’s going on here? Seven years after the start of the investigation and seventeen years after the criminality at NIB began, a so-called State regulatory body, ODCE has to go to the High Court to force investigators, who were appointed by the High Court, to reveal the names/addresses of some of the people responsible for the criminality. Apparently, according to the investigators, there are points of principle involved in the request for such information. Principles? If so, it will be a first in the Irish corporate world.

Well, you might say, at least ODCE may take prosecutions? No, ODCE is only interested in considering disqualification proceedings against those involved in this major criminality. This means they will be barred from holding directorships, believe me folks, nobody takes this so-called punishment seriously. (By the way ODCE secured TWO prosecutions in 2004 for company law offences, expenditure for the authority was €3.07 million)

Revenue is also considering charges for tax evasion and the DPP is considering charges for fraud. (Please, please, don’t hold your breath).

So, Enron, less than two years after the crime and people are slopping out, NIB, seven years after the investigation began and six months after the bank was found guilty of widespread criminality, we still don’t even know the names of those responsible. Welcome to the (Banana) Republic of Ireland.

Anthony Sheridan

Posted in Irish Politics | 8 Comments »

Theft of body parts

Wednesday, February 23rd, 2005

I see the PDs are at it again. Mary Harney, (The minister for stopping enquiries) has announced that the Dunne enquiry into post-mortem practices in hospitals is to cease in less than six weeks time whether the final report is ready or not.

The scandal involves the taking of children’s organs without permission and selling them to pharmaceutical companies. Dozens of hospitals were involved in the secret practice. The history of the scandal takes the usual route common in a Banana Republic. It was set up on a non-statutory basis. This means that nobody could be compelled to give evidence or provide records and of course several hospitals and personnel have taken advantage of this and told the enquiry to take a run and jump. Parents giving evidence were required to sign a secrecy clause preventing them from going public with their stories. The changes made in the FOI also made the enquiry even more secretive. The enquiry has missed several deadlines because of the volume of work involved. Initially Michael Martin (The Minister for reports) said it would be complete in six months.

So, what are to make of this decision to suppress yet another enquiry? Well, the Government will probably say that it is costing the taxpayer too much – €20 to date. Martin Cullen, evoting and about €60 million will be enough to kill that excuse. Perhaps senior counsel Ms Anne Dunne is incompetent? Don’t be surprised if they roll that one out. Perhaps the real reason is that what has been discovered is of such magnitude that, like the Ansbacher enquiry, it’s time to bury it.

This fits in with the Government’s plan after the enquiry is squashed – The Dept. of Health is to commission a new independent expert to draw up a report based on the information that has been gathered by the existing enquiry. This plan is enough to send shivers down the spine of even the most cynical enquiry/tribunal watchers and raises some questions.

How is this so-called expert expected to produce a report when Ms Dunne and her staff who are deeply intimate with the all the details are unable to produce a report at this time? The Dunne enquiry will cease to exist on the 31st of March; does this mean that Ms Dunne and her staff will have no input into the ‘expert’ report? It seem so. Will the report be published or will Ms Harney use the same excuse for keeping the Ansbacher details secret – Sorry folks, it’s against the law to properly inform citizens.

This is my opinion. The enquiry is being gagged because to allow full disclosure would have too many consequences for too many ‘important’ people. The so-called expert will produce a whitewash. There will be some anger, especially from the parents of the children involved but they will be fobbed off and the usual Banana Republic excuses will be mouthed. Yes, it was terrible but it’s all in the past, things are different now, we must make sure that this never happens again, going forward…, blah blah blah

Ms Harney can then confidently depend on her statement during the Sheedy scandal. “The Irish people will have forgotten all about it within a month� Unfortunately for Ireland, she’s right.

Anthony Sheridan

Posted in Irish Politics | No Comments »

Five photons linked

Monday, August 30th, 2004

Quantum computing another step closer: error correction.

Researchers from the University of Science and Technology of China, the University of Innsbruck in Austria, and the University of Heidelberg in Germany have entangled five photons. “Our experiment demonstrated for the first time the ability to manipulate five-particle entanglement,” said Jianwei Pan, a physics professor at the University of Science and Technology of China and a fellow at the University of Heidelberg in Germany.

Error correction uses mathematical codes to detect when a bit has been accidentally flipped, and is widely used in classical computing because electronic and magnetic bits occasionally switch accidentally from a 1 to a 0 or vice versa. Quantum bits are more delicate and require an error correction method to be feasible.

Quantum computers have the potential to be blazingly fast because a string of quantum bits, or qubits, that store the ones and zeros of computer information can represent all the numbers possible within that string at once. This would make it possible for a quantum computer to check every potential answer to a problem with a single set of operations.

Qubits take advantage of the quantum phenomenon of superposition. A photon can be polarized in one of two orientations, but when it is in superposition it is in a mix of both orientations at once.

The challenge in building computers to take advantage of the phenomenon is that superposition is a fragile condition, and interactions with the environment can knock a particle out of superposition and into one definite state. Interactions with the environment can also have more subtle effects that can result in the equivalent of a qubit being flipped from a 1 to a 0 or vice versa.

Posted in Technology | No Comments »

Being clear about present dangers

Monday, August 30th, 2004

Philip Bobbitt wrote a very good criticism of the current system of terror warnings a couple of weeks back. Have a read.

Posted in Terrorism | 1 Comment »

PBS Frontline

Monday, August 30th, 2004

The PBS program Frontline has linked to my US-EU relations category archive. I am in there with the Dissident Frogman, Iberian Notes and Almost A Diary.

I shall have to start adding more to that archive now.

Posted in Media and Journalism | No Comments »

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