DUP likely to drop seats but stay top My piece for the News Letter.
(tags: northernireland my media ) The forgotten occupation The broken promise of an independence referendum for Western Sahara.
(tags: westernsahara ) Regarding My 2016 Hugo Award Nomination Tom Mays withdraws his story from 2016 Hugos.
(tags: sf ) Rabid Puppy Finalists’ Reactions ( Read more... )

• On translating Bujold's "The Hallowed Hunt" into Frisian
  Fascinating!
  (tags: languages frisian sf )
• Labour plans to cut benefits for young jobless
  Continuing Tory war on the poor.
  (tags: ukpolitics )
• Seanad row over marking of 750th anniversary of first known Irish parliament
  Very edifying!
  (tags: ireland Seanad )

• Noël Browne on abolishing the Seanad, 1957
  Brilliant stuff.
  (tags: Seanad )
• Hawaiian name won't fit driving licence
  Mrs Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele's problems.
  (tags: languages )
• Virtual atlas of asteroid Vesta
  Small world in detail.
  (tags: asteroids space astronomy )

• The EU's Silent Revolution
  What's really going on in the EU (not available in the UK press). With interesting comment also on Poland.
  (tags: eu )
• Bad writing
  "The carpet was embroiled..."
  (tags: writing )
• New York Review of Science Fiction #300
  Available to download for free!
  (tags: sf )
• 10 Reasons to vote NO to Seanad abolition
  Some of these may be ( Read more... )

Under the single transferable vote system there is every inducement to vote for a crank, and he generally manages to amass a considerable number of late preferences. For most of us are cranks when probed as deep as a ninth or tenth preference.
James Creed Meredith is one of those neglected figures in Irish history who managed to play a important ( Read more... )

The Irish Parliament is in the midst of debating the abolition of its upper house, a proposition apparently supported by almost three quarters of those voters with an opinion on the matter. Some in the political classes are grumbling at the potential removal of dozens of sinecure positions, so I thought I might check the positions of the parties at ( Read more... )

I've been following the debate on reform of the Seanad (the Irish Senate) with great interest; see here, here, here, here and here. Up to now, my position has been very much in favour of abolition. There is only one other small state in the EU with an upper house (Slovenia); the other ten smaller than Austria (which is federal, and has twice ( Read more... )

I've been following up on the debate on reform of the Irish Senate, and came across the Irish Labour Party's proposals for constitutional reform which has an excellent three-page summary at the end of why the Seanad should simply be abolished. A lot of the analysis is also relevant to the British debate on reforming the House of Lords: Why have two ( Read more... )

It seems that Fianna Fáil have suddenly discovered the virtues of abolishing the upper house of the Irish parliament (see today's Irish Times, here and here). Obviously, given my previous post on the subject, I think this is a good idea. However, I also have to agree with the opposition spokespeople quoted in the Irish Times who see the latest ( Read more... )

Enda Kenny, the leader of the opposition in Ireland, has been getting headlines for his pledge yesterday to abolish the upper house of the Irish parliament if he wins the next election (as seems increasingly inevitable ( Read more... )