Easter Monday in Ireland will mark the centenary of a failed rebellion against British rule in Ireland, while April will see the anniversary of the birth of the great Irish poet Seamus Heaney. Two events that, at least for me, are connected and both are essential facets of how I see myself and my country. […]

It is three o’clock at night. Your front door is being knocked on heavily. Not completely awake, you come closer to the door. When you open it, the soldier who breaks in tells you to get prepared to leave the house in 15 minutes. You are not aware that these are your last minutes in […]

Central Banks manipulate the price of money using several different tactics for controlling interest rates. One of those mechanisms is buying assets like bonds. The last easing program that the Federal Reserve conducted ended in Oct. of 2014. Even though interest rates are still at a record low in the United States, the effects of […]

Response to Darryl et al (on LinkedIn) Now we have a conversation going. What started as an idea about a refinery in Alberta is evolving into a discussion of significant importance to Alberta/Canada and for Albertans/Canadians, namely, a Strategic Future Energy Plan compatible with economic aspirations and climate concerns. Let’s get back to the Alberta […]

Western or Eastern, European or Asian, modern or traditional, secular or religious? Having struggled between many opposing sides throughout their history, the Turkish people are struggling on the border of another dilemma nowadays: to go on with the ruling party which has been in charge for the last 13 years or to choose a new party to […]

Canada is gearing up to vote in what many believe will be the most heated election in over a decade. This will be the longest campaign in Canada since 1872, spanning 11 weeks. The election date was announced by Prime Minister Steven Harper at the beginning of August, propelling Canadians to engage in political conversations in grocery stores, […]

Corruption continues to flourish in Africa because of small and selfish elites whose interests are served by such fraudulent dealings. In Africa there is no accountability in the public sector, there are no checks and balances to restrain the various governments and – more importantly – there is a severe shortage of visionary leaders. To be […]

Pressure on the borders of the European Union under the weight of illegal migration from Africa will continue unabated so long as policy makers in both continents do not pay the necessary attention to the issues of democracy, justice, fair trade and the expansion of economic opportunity. Many of Africa’s most enterprising people routinely leave their […]

A few days before the beginning of August vacations, the center-left government of Italy, lead by Matteo Renzi, announced reforms and investments to lunch the economic take off of the regions of the south after long years of stagnation. Following the meeting of the PD party (democratic Party), held on the 7th of august, the […]

This Celtic warrior personifies Ireland Conor McGregor is the white Muhammad Ali. I say this because of what the American boxer represented to his people. He was always cognizant of what his success meant to underprivileged African-Americans in the USA. McGregor embodies something similar: his Irish red beard, ripped UFC torso, his cutting mouth and […]

In a few hours Greece will be heading to the polls to answer the question, “Should the plan of agreement, which was submitted by the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund in the Eurogroup of 25.06.2015 and is comprised of two parts that constitute their unified proposal, be accepted?” The […]

What is the state of lobbying in Europe? How transparent is it? Is there a clear and enforceable code of conduct for lobbying activities? How diverse are the voices affecting decision making? In their latest report Lobbying Europe: Hidden Influence, Privileged Access Transparency International (TI) answers these very questions. The study looks at the practice […]