NO MATTER how grim things may seem at the moment there are millions of people around the world living in conditions that are beyond the comprehension of the majority of people living in this country.

The findings of Britain’s Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs – published in the influential medical journal, The Lancet – suggesting alcohol is more dangerous than highly addictive drugs like heroin or crack cocaine needs to be scrutinised very carefully.

Yesterday’s attack on Health Minister Mary Harney should be roundly deplored.

TWO events this weekend suggest that communities and individuals are beginning to come together to challenge the forces that shape our lives for better or worse.

ANYONE who cares about how Government spends money will wonder why a 24% rent increase for Galway offices used by the state was agreed this year.

ANYONE who loves this country, anyone who takes pride in the idea of being Irish, has had their view of their country, and their place in it, challenged over the last few years.

GERMAN Chancellor Angela Merkel is proving, as if needed to be proven, that there is no such thing as a free lunch but let us all fervently hope that the bill will not include another referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.

OF course the Roscommon abuse report was harrowing, of course it made anyone who ever held a child angry.

FIGURES from the Higher Education Authority showing spectacular third-level student dropout rates — up to 56% in one instance — must sound alarm bells.

POLITICIANS who aspire to the high moral ground as the elected leaders of society frequently end up to their backsides in quicksand — especially in these turbulent times when public patience with the behaviour of the political classes has run out.