The Omagh families have succeeded in turning the tables on the terrorists by humanising their plight while dehumanising the Real IRA. The perpetrators were unable to paint their opponents in court as large oppressive forces hostile to humanity, or even civil liberties for that matter

In the last election when asked what he had ever done, Kenny had little to say while Bertie Ahern could point to his achievements on the world stage. Next time, Kenny will be able to say that at least he didn’t screw up the economy. Previously always the nearly man, Kenny is growing in stature almost by the day

The European expenses scandal is just symptomatic of a much wider malaise, of course. For 14 years, the EU’s own auditors have refused to sign off on the accounts, so uncertain are they about their reliability. So why, having listed just some of the EU’s many obvious flaws, should you make the effort on Friday?

There is a crucial difference between talking to terrorists who are on the crest of wave, who believe they have momentum on their side, and those who have been made to believe their strategic commitment to violence is hindering their political aims

Germany, the traditional engine of the European economy, is contracting more than even Italy, never the healthiest of plants at the best of times. The banking bailouts are largely Anglophone phenomena but the Eurozone has been hit harder by the global downturn. Japan’s industrial production is down severely too

Yes, there is public feeling about the Palestinians and their rotten deal. I’ve never heard Chechnya being discussed on the DART, whereas I have heard Israel being trashed on buses as well as at smart dinner parties. Besides, who’s ever heard of a “Sri Lanka out of Tamil Eelam” march through Cork or calls for a boycott of Russia?

If Jesus were in Ireland today, under the new law, wouldn’t he be one of its first victims, held in Portlaoise, perhaps, while lawyers debated whether he should be deported to Israel, or the Palestinian Authority, or tried here? Muslims might find their mosques under close inspection, too

The very need to popularise the concept of a pandemic reflects our exhaustion with mere epidemics, be they of obesity, bullying or binge-drinking. A new term is required to achieve the level of anxiety that the doom-mongers seek to foster around flu

The trouble with the web — apart from it being home to all sorts of bigotry, hatred and aggression — is that you have to pan through a lot of tedious material to find the interesting nuggets. Anyone can blog, true enough, but the flipside of being free is being free to be boring. Who cares what anyone else had for breakfast?

WITH his slim features, impeccable manners and winning smile, 44-year-old Abhisit Vejjajiva appeared like a boy sent to do a man’s job. The Thai prime minister was passing through Europe last month trying to reassure international investors and I was asked along to hear him speak.