Archive for February, 2008

Barack Obama is both the symbol and the messenger of the change under way in American — and, indeed, global — politics and society. This change, put most simply, is the swing to the left in socioeconomic policy that has already begun, and that is likely to gather speed quickly, accelerated by the worldwide downturn.

The people who benefit from the spike in the price of oil are the ones who are really in charge of the world economy.

Vesela arched her black eyebrows, dragged deeply on her contraband Marlboro, narrowed her dark eyes, and snarled, “David, Kosovo is Serbia and Serbia is Kosovo”.

While the government may be appealing for a Yes vote on the Lisbon Treaty, it consistently prevents us from benefiting from the common market.

Looking at the global economy, one way to describe the fallout of the last few months is to see the world banking system as having been attacked by a virus.

The US should be running a current account surplus, have a very strong currency, have no debts and enjoy permanently low interest rates, kept down by its huge savings – but the opposite is the case.

There is something so appealing about the candour of Ryanair. On Monday, first Michael O’Leary and then Michael Cawley, mentioned the R word.

Forty-three per cent of Ireland’s exports are dependent on the sexual urges, flabby boobs, thinning lips, laughter lines and crumpled foreheads of America’s millions of insecure baby boomers.