Free-to-air Rugby; Is Sharing Really Caring?
June 26, 2010
As Ireland prepare to take on the Aussies in the Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane on Saturday, many rugby fans will be heading to their local watering hole or scrambling through the internet to find a decent live stream. Some, however, will watch the game live in their living room, having succumbe...
Twitter's World Cup own goal
June 23, 2010
It's standard practice now for all blogs to mention popular things in order to rank high on search results and that's the only reason I'm talking about the World Cup right now.
Read moreFrench collapse highlights missed opportunity
June 21, 2010
The very public and humiliating meltdown endured by the French squad in the past few days calls to mind our own World Cup watershed in Saipan, 2002. Luckily for us, the events in Saipan took place a week before the tournament began and the incident appeared to galvanise the team. No s...
Aer Lingus, Enda, Irish Coffee and Mallow International Airport
June 16, 2010
It's been a bad week for the west of Ireland. Not because Enda Kenny will probably never now be Taoiseach. His travails may have grabbed all the headlines but the real reason it has been a bad week is that Aer Lingus quietly announced (as the eyes of the nation were firmly fixed on the shenanigans in and around the Dail) that it was cancelling it's winter transatlantic schedule out of Shannon.
Of course, anyone who has followed the slow quiet death of Shannon Airport will know that this is just the latest nail in its coffin. Long gone are the days when movie stars sipped Irish coffees in its transit lounge before splashing out on some Waterford Crystal in the brand new duty free shop. Unfortunately this country's aviation policy was for too long stuck back in that mythical airport bar. Only a transport minister drunk on Irish coffees could ever believe that the now defunct Shannon stopover was a good thing.
But in fairness to various transport ministers, they were probably well aware that the stopover held back the development of Irish aviation for decades. Their hands were tied because of the parish pump nature of Irish politics. And this is where the travails of Shannon intersect with the travails of Enda. Many of the strongest advocates for his continued leadership of Fine Gael will be found in the west and they see his impending downfall as some sort of a Dublin plot.
And they are probably right to want one of their own as Taoiseach. Such is the deplorable mess of a system under which we are governed that it can only be a good thing to have the leader of the country or at least a minister hailing from your parish.
While Enda as Taoiseach probably would not get away with reinstating the Shannon stopover, chances are if he thought he could he would. Just as Brian Cowen would probably build an airport in Clara if he thought he could get away with it and Bertie Ahern did build (or at least gave the go ahead for) a children's hospital near Drumcondra.
That is the problem with Irish politics. It is all local. Shannon would have been closed long ago if aviation experts were calling the shots. Cork airport would have been too. Both would have been sold off when land prices were good and the money used to build a state-of-the-art, small but easily expandable airport somewhere between the cities of Cork and Limerick, next to a motorway and a high speed rail link from Cork through Limerick and on to Galway (scrapping one of the numerous motorways through Co. Meath could have paid for that).
Culture of accountability?
June 15, 2010
Last week could have been a watershed in Irish political life. Two reports were released that examined the causes of the banking meltdown and the attendant regulatory malfunctions. These reports were commissioned by the Government to look into the role senior members of this government, and in particular the Taoiseach, played in stoking the boom-bust cycle. That both of these reports were free of political interference is possibly a first in the history of the State.
Read moreEurope needs to be saved from itself
June 15, 2010
Swallows, ice-cream and the business end of the Leinster Championship.
June 15, 2010
What are the signs of summer for you? Is it that first swallow? Is it the tinkling tones of the ice-cream van? For me, summer hasn’t arrived until the men in sky blue take the field in Croke Park. An optimistic ice cream vendor has been circling my estate since late February and the swallow’s arr...
E3 2010: Gaming's mecca
June 14, 2010
The E3 conference is underway in Los Angeles this week, sadly without this journalist present.
Read moreMaradona sets out on a most excellent adventure
June 11, 2010
World Cup fever has arrived! It has taken a little longer than usual to find its foothold in our consciousness here, the demons of Paris not yet entirely exorcised but it is here nonetheless. This is live theatre at its best, the greatest show on earth and it has been made all the more exciting by one of the most bizarre stories in World Cup history. Diego Armando Maradona is managing (yes, managing) Argentina.
The image of the quintessential football manager has evolved since the days of Clough and Shankly. Men like Arsene Wenger have brought a measured intelligence to the role. He may not be your cup of tea but who would you prefer to take the reigns of your national team? An experienced and successful manager who looks more like an accountant than a coach, or an ex-cocaine addict who has fired an air rifle at a journalist and recently promised to streak down his capital city should he bring home the trophy! Of course, we would take any manager if it meant actually being there (apart maybe from Stan).
Maradona is the greatest player I have ever seen. 1986 was the first tournament I can remember and he is the reason I remember it. His second goal against England in the quarter final will forever live in football folklore as perhaps the greatest goal ever scored. It was almost equalled by his second against Belgium in the semi-final. It was his World Cup and it was our privilege to witness it. However, great players don’t always make great managers. At least not players like Maradona. Franz Beckenbauer is regarded as one of the best players of all time. As manager, he took West Germany to the final in ’86 and brought a reunified Germany all the way four years later. On the pitch he led by example with strength and measured elegance. There were no individual blazing runs. There was no ‘Hand of God’ and no ephedrine scandal. In short, Beckenbauer was no Maradona.
The beneficiaries of this story may yet prove to be Argentina. What a story it would be. Diego Maradona is a folk hero, revered by every man, woman and child in his country. But for pure theatrical pleasure, the real winners are us, the armchair participants. Argentina’s journey will be either be the most excellent adventure since Bill and Ted, or a tragic comedy to rival Shakespeare’s finest. Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats as the performance is about to begin…
Weighing up the new iPhone
June 10, 2010
After all the hoopla of what was a decidedly meak iPhone launch - dampened by the accuracy of pre-launch leaks - the dust is settling and people are beginning to look at the phone outside of Steve Jobs' legendary Reality Distortion Field.
Read moreReports that bite
June 09, 2010
The contents of the two reports released today into the banking crisis have been well trailed but still pack a huge punch. The main highlights of both reports can be found on B&F’s homepage. The first thing that has to be said is that both of these reports say in no uncertain terms what needs...
Tablet overdose
June 04, 2010
From the moment rumours about an Apple tablet computer started in late 2009 the entire tech world knew what was coming. A tsunami of copy-cats, rivals and genuine challengers which would clog up the tech talking points of 2010.
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