Villagers: Letter to the editor 2006-08-24
So, many of today's students fail to make the grade in the working world, top business chiefs have claimed. According to them, too many of the so-called text generation have little interest in learning on-the-job, they take no pride in their work and they struggle to turn up on time. This is an appalling and outrageous slur on all young people and I demand that Ibec apologise for, and withdraw, these disgraceful remarks immediately. Maybe if these allegations are true, Ibec should ask theselves why this might be the case. Might it have something to do with the fact that many of these jobs are crappy, low-paid, non-unionised jobs? No wonder young people would have little or no interest in their jobs. Ibec would be better 'employed' making sure no young workers are forced to work in such intolerable conditions and that all young workers are allowed to join a trade union of their choice, rather than making cheap and nasty statements about young people.
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Justice systems on their knees over 'war on drugs'
An ex-drug enforcement police chief from the US has criticised the 'draconian' criminalisation of drugs worldwide, saying these aggressive measures are counter-productive in the long term. By Colin Murphy
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Left won't challenge establishment
Commentators complain about public disengagement from politics, but the holiday antics of the main opposition parties and the equally risible response of the government show all too clearly why people have a point when they say they can't be bothered.
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Fragments 2006-08-24
Could this be Ireland in 2030? One of Ireland's leading young architecture firms, FKL (Fagan, Kelly and Lysaght), thinks so. FKL is curating the Irish entry in the Venice Architecture Biennale and has brought together a group of young Irish architects to predict how Irish cities, suburbs and the countryside might look in 30 years. Amongst the ideas they've come up with are floating cities, seaside holiday villages that are only visible when occupied and, most radically perhaps, a decent national railway infrastructure that would halve commuting times across the country.
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Life's inexplicable rhythms
It was the sort of morning you'd already like to put a curfew on, to say go no further, this is enough, rest your sorry heat here.
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Between two worlds
Kiran Desai's Booker Prize-longlisted novel tells the parallel tales of an orphan girl in India, a 'shadow-class' immigrant in New York and other powerless characters living in the chasm between the modern East and West. By Pankaj Mishra
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Bonebreaker
It is the year 34 AD and Bethan, the blind soothsayer of the settlement in the marshes, foretells an attack by the dreaded Vikings, led by the fearsome warrior nicknamed "The Bonebreaker".
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Insider trading
A Congolese immigrant gets mixed up in the world of gangland crime in Irish flick The Front Line, while in You, Me and Dupree, Owen Wilson just can't get the message that the honeymoon is over. By Declan Burke
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Birds: Magpie (snag breac), pica pica
 One of Ireland's most familiar birds, the magpie needs no introduction. A member of the crow family, it is an exceptionally intelligent bird which, coupled with its ability to eat just about anything and adapt to new surroundings, helps to explain its success.
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Blogging books
Lionel Shriver, the American writer who won the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2005 for We Need to Talk About Kevin, has been complaining on her blog about book covers.
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How to become a podcaster
The key attraction of podcasts is that, with the right tools, they can be created by professionals and amateurs alike. It is important to note that even if you don't earn money from your podcast, you are still subject to copyright law. This means you can't just use music or film clips without permission. There are several good websites with "pod-safe" music available free of charge to podcasters, as long as they give credit to the artist and the website.
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Afraid of Gardai
Recommendations of previous reports of the Morris Tribunal have been ignored. The political establishment is in denial at the scale of corruption and indiscipline there is within the force. Michael McDowell has protected his flank by the publication of a new disciplinary code but he continues to deny the scale of the problem. By Vincent Browne
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Donegal company to sue over gas decision
An Irish consortium has threatened to sue the Government after licences to explore for oil and gas off the coast of Donegal were awarded to Statoil, Shell and other foreign companies. By Frank Connolly
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Mobile news to combat censorship
Google, recently criticised for capitulating to the Chinese government in censoring their content, claims mobile phones will ultimately overcome these restrictions, becoming the primary source for news and information in Asia.
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Mexican standoff
A dramatic turn-around in the Mexican presidential elections in July saw Amlo, 'The Mexican Chávez', narrowly lose out to the conservative, US-friendly, ruling-party candidate. Amlo refuses to recognise the result, claiming vote-rigging and campaign malpractice. Millions of protesters are demanding a recount.
By Michael McCaughan
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The Live Mike
After over 10 years of succesful property dealing and 40 years of broadcasting, Mike Murphy, 65 this year, talks to John Byrne about his successes and his regrets, his memories of Terry Wogan and Dermot Morgan, and the autobiography he wishes he never wrote.
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The one St Patrick forgot
 If our patron saint really did drive out the reptiles, he left one important one behind. Éanna Ní Lamhna on Ireland's native viviparous lizard
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Newspaper Watch: Stemming scepticism
The front pages on Tuesday 22 August announced that British police had charged 11 people with offences relating to the recent alleged bomb plot. The statement issued by the police described the discovery of "bomb-making equipment... chemicals, including hydrogen peroxide, electrical components, documents and other items... a number of video recordings – these are sometimes referred to as martyrdom videos". The statement added: "As well as the bomb-making equipment, we have found more than 400 computers, 200 mobile telephones and 8,000 items of removable storage media such as memory sticks, CDs and DVDs. So far, from the computers alone, we have removed some 6,000 gigabytes of data."
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