PROFESSOR Edward of the University of Limerick has opened a debate that is long overdue on a subject the liberal forces prefer not to hear — the same forces that are tearing society apart.

WE condemn the hounds of hell that tore apart Beslan’s innocent children and comfort ourselves that it couldn’t happen here. How naive we are.

NONE of us, especially us ex-policemen, take any satisfaction from the sorry mess that besets the Garda force in Donegal these days but the phrase “I told you so” comes to mind.

THE arrogance of the Minister for the Environment, Martin Cullen, in response to the very real concerns expressed by many of us at his introduction of electronic voting is breathtaking but only to be expected from this master of stealth taxes.

THERE should be no surprise at the defiance of the criminal justice system by criminal gangs, now par for the course throughout the country, not just in Limerick and Dublin, although Limerick is now the most extreme example.

IF A picture is worth more than a thousand words, then two pictures in the Irish Examiner on July 4 speak volumes about the insanity that has been visited on this sorry country.

AS THE Government celebrates the success of the second Nice referendum, could I suggest that Foreign Minister Brian Cowen contact Saddam Hussein with a view to having Ireland twinned with Iraq since both countries share a very similar voting system.