Fintan O'Toole calls it "clientilism". They're the big guys in the local area who can get things done. So, the local hospitals don't have capacity for cataract operations and… (View Post)

It's a random number of trees at times and places not possible to predict with accuracy in advance. The training overhead seems to be quite high, but relying on contractors entails a long wait b… (View Post)

On Louth, a few things worth noting. It has the greatest number of candidates for any constituency. A veritable horde of Independents, of which I have no idea which of them has any traction, except t… (View Post)

40K might be coming to Amazon soon, but I fear that it takes itself too seriously these days, and it's lost the humour that makes it work. (View Post)

It is, generally, yes, but also forms of address have often been used as an expression of power. Hence, "your Majesty," and all of that. So there can be circumstances where a person wants t… (View Post)