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Marking change in women's lives
The first comprehensive opinion poll of the behaviour and attitudes of Irish women today, published in The Irish Times , finds that reports of the death of feminism have been greatly exaggerated. Almost 80 per cent see equality of the sexes as very or quite important. Contrary to common perceptions, younger women value feminism most. Irish women give the highest priority in their lives to financial independence, remembering, perhaps, a time when money was almost exclusively controlled by men. Overall, the social poll suggests that, if the women's movement seems to matter less these days, it is only because its basic ideals of equality and independence are now common property. p
Positive Ageing Week
Age Action Ireland is continuing its gutsy advocacy on behalf of older people with another Positive Ageing Week. The event - which began yesterday - and the agency's other activities aim to make Ireland the best place in which to grow old. Positive Ageing Week seeks to rekindle respect for elderly people which may have diminished in the hurly-burly of modern living. It stresses, too, that contrary to some perceptions, positive living does not end at pension age; that for many people it can be a new beginning. p
Opinion
Ahern's authority slipping as Cowen grows in stature
Inside Politics: The Dáil debate on the motion of confidence in the Taoiseach and the Government's close shave in a vote on Shannon the following day have provided some valuable clues about the shape of politics to come in the years ahead, writes Stephen Collins . It is already clear that the atmosphere in the 30th Dáil is going to be very different from the one that prevailed for the past five years. pNight of the generals as Burmese army cracks down
The struggle unfolding in Burma is unequal. Only one side is equipped to win, the side that murdered 3,000 people the last time they sought their freedom. Sandy Barron reports from Bangkok pA struggle against political tyranny
In December 1991, Alexander Aris, the son of Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese democracy activist imprisoned by the junta in Rangoon, accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf. Awarded the prize by the Norwegian Nobel Committee "for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights", she was unable to accept it in person. The following are excerpts from what Alexander said: pCrisis in Burma sparks shift in Asean stance
WorldView : The Burmese crisis has catapulted that country on to the international agenda this week. A watching world made vividly aware of the courage and heroism involved in the protests by new communications technology is also having to learn rapidly about the political, military/security, regional and economic realities behind them. pA great injustice to Catholic primary schools
Watching the calm, dignified protest of the Buddhist monks in Burma this week, and the bloody repression that followed, it was impossible not to be moved by their courage writes Breda O'Brien . pEnglish lessons will unlock migrants' skills
Helping immigrants to gain a facility in English is important not only in order to facilitate their integration into our society but also so as to ensure that inadequate command of English does not prevent them from deploying the full range of their talents here - to our advantage as well as theirs, writes Garret FitzGerald . pWith peace and prosperity comes new political agenda
Somewhat inevitably, the Dáil spent most of the day and a half for which it sat this week dealing with the two issues which had dominated political coverage during the summer recess - the Aer Lingus decision to cease flights from Shannon to Heathrow and the Taoiseach's appearance at the Mahon tribunal, writes Noel Whelan . pThis Week They Said
In Iran, we don't have homosexuals like in your country. In Iran, we do not have this phenomenon. I do not know who has told you we have it. Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad tells a US audience there are no gays in Iran. p
An Irishman's Diary
There was something about Hadrian's Wall that had long fascinated me, writes Desmond Fennell . In those ancient times, when the fastest communication was by horse, the idea of "Rome" had sufficient force to hold Roman officers to their duty on that bleak, cold and wet northern frontier of the Empire. p
