Some people in Ireland might have raised their eyes when France laboured to change the phrase "undistorted competition" in the text the European treaty. The French president was merely playing to the home gallery.
Political prisoners continue to be held in conditions condemned as unfit as sections of Portlaoise prison have been described as unfit to hold inmates yet men are still being placed there.
On 8 May 2007, three members of éirígí were assaulted and arrested outside Stormont Castle in Belfast.
With great relief we can say good bye to frankly the worst leader the world has ever seen. Tony Blair has spun so much; he has crashed out of the game. He thought he could change the world, well he has done - for the worse.
The entry of the Green Party into government provides an opportunity to inject fresh thinking into the heart of government. I hope that opportunity can be realised. It is important that environmental and sustainability questions are not seen as marginal matters. Instead, ecological and social sustainability must be recognised as key economic questions. The "business as usual" approach is simply no longer viable in the medium-term because of the need to confront peak oil and climate change.
It is well that the maximum number of senior ministers is specified in our constitution. If that were not so, I have absolutely no doubt that Bertie Ahern would swell the ranks of senior positions in order to placate a bigger group of his FF deputies.
We are carving out hills to support mortgages in major acts of denial involving our historic inheritances, and our futures, whilst existing in a stressful present.
Speaking on the Last Word programme on Today FM on 19 June Republican Sinn Féin Vice President Des Dalton said that Republicans would oppose any visit to the 26-Counties by the Queen of England.
Right-wing commentators, (and some lefties), have used variations of the "contented middle class majority" argument to explain the recent election result. Many people however, want genuine change, (protecting the environment, investment in health and services for people with disabilities, opposition to the Iraq war etc).
On 5 May, John Gormley TD released a press statement about the Progressive Democrats threatening to pull out of government. Asking the question, "If the PDs pull the plug, who exactly can they go into Government with?" he then answers the question with "the Green Party won't touch those opportunists with a barge pole". This I presumed at the time meant that his party would not go into government with the PDs.