It’ s a slightly unnerving image, and it comes from the new website of the Irish Daily Mail’s political anlayst, Richard Waghorne (after some crude and hurried photoshopping from myself). Richard, whom I respect as a writer although our points of view often differ, presents himself as something of a young fogey. Seated in a red leather chair, cufflinks obvious and in conservative charcoal, he seems to be positioning himself at the right hand of … everything.

We butted heads online over the shooting at London’s Stockwell tube station after the 7/7 bombings. He stood his ground stubbornly while I picked away at his position like a true lefty pinko, but the outcome was, I think, a relationship of fairly mutual respect.

He’s hit the nail on the head in today’s article about Justice Minister Michael McDowell scoring an own-goal (again) with his questions to the Taoiseach (over this darling moment).

He’s right sometimes, he’s right-wing most times, and he’s wrong sometimes. Aren’t we all? Worth a read.

It wasn’t a weekend for big surf in Manly, but the faithful still turned out at sunrise in hope that the forecasters got it wrong.

They hadn’t. More pics below the fold.

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As a teenager, my father was caught bunking off school on a sunny day he spent lounging in Stephen’s Green in Dublin. The day broke records for temperature, and a picture of sunbathers, including Dad, graced the front page of the Irish Times. His mother read it the next day.

With new media, come similar, but longer-lasting traps.

“We are living in a transparent age where everything you do is going to leave a digital footprint never to be erased.” Thus spake New York Times journalist Thomas Friedman (author of the Lexus and the Olive Tree and The World is Flat) in an article where he warns his children to be constantly looking over their cyber-shoulder.

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Ireland’s first successful cricket team jetted home empty-handed a while back to find a nation where Ian Paisley smiled and flirted with Gerry across the table, the general populace were warming to the idea of swapping ash for willow wholesale, and preparations were underway to iron out a crease on the half-way line at Croke Park, and embrace the planters like never before. Australia’s cricketers came home to similar fanfare, despite most people forgetting they had left in the first place. (Eight weeks is a long time to be following cricket)

However, when the Aussies got back, they found out they were going to have to add to their batting/throwing/catching skillset. International diplomacy was to be called for from now on. [Read more →]