THERE is a modern enough legend with more than a ring of truth to it that serves to highlight our ambiguous attitude towards public transport.

NEXT week Americans vote in an election with by far the greatest global impact. In 2012, when Obama defeated Romney, 129.1m people voted — 53.6% of those entitled to. If that turnout is repeated, then, and if pre-election polls are of any value, more than 50m Americans will vote for Donald Trump. How many more choose to do so will decide the election and who becomes the world’s most powerful person.

THIS year — June 26 — marked the 20th anniversary of the murder of Veronica Guerin by drug criminals. Five years later, in September 2001, another journalist, Martin O’Hagan, was murdered by the Loyalist Volunteer Force. He was the only journalist to be killed in Northern Ireland’s 30 years of tit-for-tat terror, which, compared with the fate of journalists in many of the world’s conflict zones, is pretty remarkable.

THE publication of the report by consultants Deloitte into how the Olympic Council of Ireland goes about its business sadly means the sports body can be added to a depressingly long list of institutions that, after being investigated by an independent agency, have been found to be, if not dysfunctional, then pretty close to that sorry state of disarray.