Irish Politics, Current Affairs and Magazine Archive - Politico.ie

It was obvious throughout the period when he was Taoiseach and leader of Fianna Fáil that Charles Haughey could not possibly have financed his lifestyle from his official salary. And yet the media and the political establishment did not want to know. By Vincent Browne

Daniel Ellsberg wanted to know why John F Kennedy had increased the number of US troops in Vietnam when it was obvious that their presence there was not the solution. After a two-year stint in Vietnam, Ellsberg was asked to participate in a top-secret US Department of Defence study on Vietnam. This gave him access to documents which proved the American people had been consistently misled by Kennedy and Nixon on Vietnam.

Fears of retaliatory attacks after the recent double murder in Finglas mount as local activist describes the flood of firearms into the area. By Frank Connolly

Papering the cracks
Unknown to most readers, there is a rollicking debate going on within journalism: for how much longer will paid-for printed popular newspapers continue to exist? Five years? Fifteen? Indefinitely?

The substance of Brian Cowen's pre-election budget had been almost universally predicted by media commentators. As the Independent put it, it was “carefully crafted” so that “each interest group emerged better off”. The thinking was simple – give everybody an appreciable rise in their take-home pay and they are more likely to re-elect the current government.

Once again Prime Time Investigates almost makes the licence worth paying. However, Would You Believe disappoints and The Late Late Show is as dull as ever

International Human Rights Day was on 10 December, but it would be a lie to say we celebrated it. Right now, in Darfur,  Amnesty International is receiving reports of villages where  the men have been killed and young girls have been raped by the Janjaweed militia and then abandoned by their own communities. In the Occupied Palestinian Territories, despair about the future is fuelling violence  while the dire economic situation is trapping an entire population in deep poverty. Sim

There was yet another extraordinary blast of outrage this week in the American press over a book that was supposed to be non-fiction. The new issue of Vanity Fair takes a deep swipe at Augusten Burroughs, who wrote the bestselling book Running with Scissors.

Tony Hickey's pick of children's books

Edward O'Hare rounds up the week's book news.

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Almost 50 years after its discovery, scientists are learning startling new things about our planet's magnetosphere – the vast magnetic bubble that protects life on Earth.

During short winter days, suburban walks help to maintain personal fitness. Blackrock is an interesting place for strolling. Sea views, parkland and Georgian and Victorian architecture contrast with modern shopping centres.

(Biorearrach) Anas acuta: One of our most handsome ducks, the Pintail is a widespread winter visitor to larger lakes, estuaries and reservoirs throughout Ireland, also sometimes visiting flooded fields.

Éanna Ní Lamhna on a true Christmas miracle: a hawthorn tree in full bloom in a small French village on St Stephen's day. And, legend has it, it's all thanks to our own patron saint

Much attention has been focused on the Irish hare recently and it is even the subject of an official survey. Is it an Arctic or a Varying hare? Enquiring minds want to know. It is certainly a unique endemic animal. Everywhere else that such hares are found, they turn white in winter, hence the name “Varying”. In Britain, they are called Blue hares, with “blue” meaning a type of white.

It's a silly, silly play, but one which has stood the test of time. Edward O'Hare finds something to laugh at the Abbey's revival of The School for Scandal 

The aptly-titled Deja Vu offers nothing the cinema-goer hasn't seen a million times before , while The Wizard of Oz, remastered and showing in all its big-screen glory, proves that they don't make ‘em like this anymore. By Declan Burke

Hundreds of convictions are at risk following a ‘highly unusual' Supreme Court decision which may invalidate ‘thousands' of regulations made by ministerial orders. By Justine McCarthy

As opposition to the planned new stadium at Lansdowne Road mounts, GAA members have re-ignited debate over the use of Croke Park for rugby and soccer matches, saying the existing Lansdowne grounds should be kept open until the go-ahead for recontruction is given. By Frank Connolly

A round up of the week's stories: Further problems predicted for late, over-budget port tunnel; Young offenders to be housed in €9m ‘temporary' prison; O'Malley profits from sale of mental-health medication; ‘Poorly monitored, rushed, inadequately validated...' ; Dublin City Council agrees to carry out fire risk assessments; Veronica Guerin bursary scheme for DCU; Fall in number of schools with psychological services; 

The Bishop of Cloyne has said that Greencore's failure to implement a redundancy package for its former sugar workers “cannot be morally justified” and Siptu's general secretary accused the company of having “a voracious appetite for greed”. Justine McCarthy profiles Greencore's chief executive, David Dilger