Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Cut the pork
Maybe we should have a cut the pork site for Ireland. I could think of a view things the government have wasted money on – Martin Cullen for one.
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Flu vaccine stockpile faces delay
Why does this not surprise me. I suppose I should be grateful they are doing something. The Department of Health is expected to tell the Government’s Working Group on Emergency Planning tomorrow that it will be next year before it has the one million packs of anti-viral drugs which international trends suggest would be best…
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Is a Slimmer Sony Coming?
With the new guy in charge it looks like Sony are trying to get back on an even keel. Few doubt that Sony, a much diminished force and brand, needs some shock therapy to revive itself. After all, its core electronics division, which accounts for 70% of sales, has lost money on an operating basis…
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Church attendance
Here’s an interesting graph from this month’s Foreign Policy. It show church attendance as a percentage of the population attending church at least once a week. As you can see Ireland is way out in front. Do that many Irish people still go to Mass? I really didn’t think the figures were still that high.…
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The Future of Oil
Foreign Policy poses seven questions to Matthew Simmons, a chief proponent of the idea of peak oil. Some of the juicier ones: FP: Youâve written that Saudi Arabia relies on old and overproduced oil fields that are likely to start declining in output. How has Riyadh responded to your analysis? MS: Theyâve said âtrust me,…
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Apple declares war on Nigels
And on the subject of iPod nanos, don’t be called Nigel. As Orlowski notes: Quite so – but popular forenames, too? Is an iPod engraved with a “Nigel” really worth less? The Nigels of the world must unite and stand firm. Or before we know it, Apple will be coming after the Kevins.
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NASA unveils vision for return to Moon
Well hopefully I will see this in my lifetime, to think we have left it so long before going back is strange. But I think there are reasons other than scientific here, space will become a very important place in the next few decades, and controlling it will be pretty important, the US appears to…
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The American Interest
So when I was at the Terrorism and Security Conference in Washington everyone received a copy of the new periodical, The American Interest. It will be published 5 times a year, and judging by the first issue it will make for some hefty reading. The contributors and editorial board are a who’s who of the…
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Asian squirrels
Interesting figures: China has overtaken Japan: it now has the world’s largest foreign-exchange reserves. The combined reserves of the People’s Bank of China and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority stood at $833 billion at the end of June. By now, given their recent rate of growth, they could be nudging $870 billion-worth, most of this…
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The resurrection of Steve Jobs
The Economist have an interesting take on Apple boss Steve Jobs this week: ONE morning, about a year ago, a doctor told Steve Jobs that a cancerous tumour in his pancreas would kill him within months, and that it was time to start saying his goodbyes. Later that night, an endoscopy revealed that the tumour…
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