Immanuel Kant argued that war and hostility is the natural state of man and so peaceful relations have to be established and not assumed. Democracies don’t fight each other since they are instituted to protect their citizens and war benefits rulers and not citizens; when the people are in charge, they wish not to spend their money and blood on war with another nation. This is known as The Democratic Peace. But wars do occur between democracies. Nations, according to Kant, ought to belong to a League of Nations whereby an objective voice can be heard and individual nation-states are dissuaded from thinking that they are always in the right. Kant links the benefits of this super-state coalition to democratic values since a democracy will see that another democracy shares its values and sees the same solutions to common problems. Furthermore, Kant argued that citizens should be allowed to cross borders unmolested to live and work in other countries  as long as they do so peacefully; this would ensure that what is considered right or wrong in one place will also be seen as such everywhere else. Governance results from a pre-existing set of assumptions or principles. The assumption that political murder is wrong led to the rise of democracy: the differences between some Islamic States, for instance, and Western European ones can be explained largely by attitudes to violence. Some practices that were once everyday are now unconscionable, from smoking in classrooms to public hangings. The Civilising Process has ensured that we no longer enjoy the practices or fantasies of our forbears. For instance, the unrestrained violence of burning cats and hanging people in public is truly out of step with today’s sensibilities; Pinker’s argument is that a greater appreciation of the individual,...

Been in college for a couple of weeks now. Been a lot of fun, to be honest. With a lot more free time and an inability to save money to do anything worthwhile, there have been some boring bits. There’s been a lot of good bits as well. I’ve joined several societies since starting college. My favourite is the Japanese Society, where we get to celebrate elements of Japanese culture. Obviously, I love Japanese culture (especially anime and origami) so it’s great to meet like-minded people. They’ll be having an EGM next week and hopefully I’ll be elected as the first year rep for that society. Wahey! What else have I done? Well, I’ve dyed my hair. Finally! Everyone seems really friendly and I’ve made a lot of new friends here. Of course, when you’ve got substances down your throat it’s always a lot easier to be out-going. And the studies themselves have been unreal. We got to see a live-screening of Othello for Drama class. It was my first time at a live-screening and my first time seeing Shakespeare performed. I’m not ashamed to say that I cried at the end of it. Living in the moment. Italian’s the easiest of languages to learn and English is, well, English. We’re studying Beowulf at the moment which is fascinating. So what’s next on the plate? Well, as I said, next week JapSoc will be having its elections. And there’ll be auditions for the play I’m directing. And who knows what the later weeks will have waiting for me. I really do think that college is my...

So, Julian Assange fancies himself as a politician now, does he? The man, locked up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London since June last year, has declared his intention to run for the Australian senate, even going so far as to create a parody music video of his fellow Aussie John Farnham’s The Voice, which it actually compares well against. However, it is obvious he has had  too much free time on his hands. However, in all reality, what really makes Assange think he can win a seat? Australians are gearing up to punish Labour, now led again by Kevin Rudd after the end of his farcical altercations with Julia Gillard. On the flip side, Tony Abbott’s conservative Liberal Party (see, Australian politics is a joke) looks set to gain seats and, ultimately will govern the country. While it is conceivable Assange will pull in a fine amount of votes, ultimately it is more a joke than anything else. Surely the Australians will not be in such a humour? Will they? More bizarre stuff has...

What you were doing this time last year I was in Colaiste an Spioraid Naoimh. (Sean O Toole.)   An unexpected gift One Monday morning, my mum ran into my bedroom with an extraordinary new look on her face and handed me a parcel with a note from an anonymous person. I opened my parcel and there was a pair of gift cards for a thousand euro. I asked my mom where did you get it and she said I got it through the mail. Set your alarm for 3 a.m., wake up, and write the first thing that comes into your mind Why did I try to get up early?! (Ciaran Meers.)   A lie you were told That I’m good at hurling. (John Mackey.)   How to get rich quick Get on Winning Streak and spin the wheel! (Liam O Connor.)   Death of a journalist It was heartbreaking to hear, my favourite journalist found lifeless in a sidestreet alley. I was devastated. Who would write the business section now and as the chief of the newspaper it was my job to find the replacement! (Tadhg O Corrain.)   Being chased by a killer I would probably run like the wind. If it did happen I would defend myself. Haha!   Your favourite hiding place My favourite hiding place to hide is underneath a giant tumbleweed. (Oscar O Corrain.)   Something you’d like to know about I’d like to know was Jimmy Barry Murphy good in school? (Sean Leisk)   The way the sky looks today Very blue with white clouds. (John)   Waking up elsewhere I went to Dublin for New Year’s Eve. We stayed in a hotel. When I woke up I was knocking on the door outside of the hotel...

A mess Is made only by the best, For those of us who Detest The jest of the clean and tidy room. The clean And its unfathomable sheen, For those of us who are Keen To be on top by far. The average And its unnoticed heritage – For those of us who Abridge Every task set as an...

Clapboard denizens of Marsh alley clatter together where they overlap and bang in the wind. A fouled sheet of newspaper (tabloid) splats flat and adheres. One end to the other is no more than fifty metres but there’s no metric system chic here; we’re a long way from France or anywhere else worth being. A boxy space inveigles itself into the consciousness and there are soiled pallets and plastic, amorphous wrappings from long-gone industrial times, the era of Stealth Steel and hope in man and future. Now, there’s just threadbare, ashen expectation of more-of-the-same; hump away, you fallen chirpers…hump away....

And there, amidst the houseplants, The clipped and neatened leaves, Variegated velvet: The lifebuoy soap and rubber gloves, Shirts hanging off chairs, Half-ready, humble: There, beside the cutting board, A squared-away, box-shaped tower Of wayward, wayfaring CDs: The tell-tale glitter of a smartened sink And an airiness that heralds A refreshed (for now) and brightened kitchen; There, among the items of measure The wedding ring sits patiently, Awaiting rescue. R.H....

This novel is told in retrospect: we meet an author named Amir who gets an unexpected phonecall from an old friend. This sets the scene for the rest of the story. We learn that, on a particular day far away in the past, an event occured that has shaped Amir’s life ever since. Anyone who’s read it will understand the devastating effect of this incident: it happens on the day of the kite running competition. Amir finally has an opportunity to win his father’s approval. He and his father Baba have an intriguing relationship because Baba, though a powerful man, doesn’t appear to show much affection for his son. The effects of this on Amir are profound. What’s supposed to be a great day marks the beginning of a long, arduous journey toward redemption. He is asked to face his demons but learns that “There is a way to be good again.” The book looks at Afghan culture, the problems with it, family issues, cultural differences between Afghanistan and the U.S., the fraternity shared by Afghans, as well as the discord they suffer, and a whole load of other really interesting facets to life. What Hosseini does best is enter the mind of his central character, Amir, and help the reader to understand his motives and the challenges he faces. He portrays both the good and bad sides to many characters. In this sense, he neither romantises nor demonises any of them. It offers an Afghan’s perspective on politics and the history of Taliban rule while setting the context very well by showing the before and after. One scene in particular of a stoning is quite disturbing  and, like other scenes, can be quite gut-wrenching. Relationships play a crucial role in the story. The...

Recently I had many people telling me World War III will break out and here is my answer: NO, it will not. Just because some psycho threatened this, or some random dude committed suicide because he “foresaw” that, it doesn’t follow that the world will be thrown into chaos. Here are my main reasons why I don’t think it’s going to happen. 1. Russia is nowhere as strong as it used to be. Its weapons are outdated for the most part, and it is only capable of sneaky snake tactics, as shown already in Syria, where it even went as far as to send officers to Syria to train their soldiers in military tactics. Overlooking those huge reasons, I would also like to point out that Russia has no allies of use in a war. 2. The Middle East has much in-fighting and cannot summon the strength to do anything of use against anyone, plus the fact that Israel is acting as cancer, eating at them from the inside. They cannot do anything of significance against anyone since none of the countries have anything powerful, except for oil, which America will suck to the last drop like vampires before the last moment of Dawn. 3. China and North Korea are not a valid threat to America. Sure, China is a superpower and has a strong army, but it cannot compete with America in any sense. North Korea only hopes to threaten America by saying, “We know you will obliterate us, but we can take more punishment than you...

The Woods by Harlan Coban is a book of many surprises I have to say. And, without giving the plot away, has many twists and turns. In some books you have one, rarely two plot twists; this book contains at least three. The story follows not one or two storylines but three, all three of which are very engaging, saddening or shocking. This is the kind of novel that is about uncovering the mysteries of the past. To be honest I never really liked this kind of story; the closest to mystery I read was horror, yet I enjoyed this book nonetheless. Without spoiling too much of the story here is a synopsis: There is an incident at a camp where some teens sneaked into the woods, and some were murdered. Years later one of the supposedly dead teens turns up as a fresh corpse in a mortuary. Two of the teens in the camp that summer (now adults) start investigating separately, then investigation leads them back together. One of those two had a sister who died in the incident, so when there is hope that she is not dead, he goes hot on her trail, clinging to any hope that she is alive. This book is an extraordinary piece of work and deserves 8/10 dancing skeletons. (Note: The measurement unit (Dancing skeleton) is a trademark of www.themuffindungeon.weebly.com You may not use this unit without being a member and asking permission of its leader Matthew Corrigan aka Matt aka Eyetooth aka Eyetooth...

Not a lot was expected from the Cork senior hurlers this year. An All-Ireland semi-final was a realistic target for most fans. Even before a ball was pucked in this year’s league, this team was being written off by everyone in the county. Very few had expected that we’d be playing in September. Cork beat Tipp and drew with Waterford in the first two matches, a very good start. It all went downhill from there though and at the end of the league, they would be playing Clare in a relegation play-off in Limerick. Clare won by a couple of points and serious questions were being asked of the team. Is the fitness good enough? Is the team strong enough? Are we good enough to compete? Some people were even saying that Cork were the worst team in the Munster Championship; they’ve answered their critics brilliantly. They were drawn against Clare in the Munster semi-final. Clare were on a high after beating Waterford and to add to that, Cork were missing captain Pa Cronin and Lorcán McLoughlin. Clare were red hot favourites. Cork put in a massive second-half and they won 0-22 to 0-15. William Egan, Seamus Harnedy and especially Anthony Nash put in massive performances on the day. Limerick awaited in the Munster final. Limerick had beaten favourites Tipp to reach the final. Cork felt really hard done by at the end of the day because star forward Pat Horgan was wrongly given a straight red card just before half-time. Limerick pulled away in the last ten minutes and won 0-24 to 0-15. Because they lost the Munster final, Cork were drawn against the mighty Kilkenny in the All-Ireland quarter final. Kilkenny always raise their game against Cork, so I gave the team...

The old man was always there upon the path The people stood bewildered guessing at his thoughts It seemed that there he always remained Staring silently at the Almanac His demeanour never changed except at the sight of young whose brimming energy left marks on the stones.   Years passed and people went away, he always remained – The young grew old, the old died but he kept counting the stones Still there at the crossroads on his moss-covered path Where he was reflecting on his thoughts Or so it seemed to the young Where he sat ans stuck to a tree was his Almanac   So the stories passed about the man on the path Staring at the now almost grass-covered stones And there trying to get his attention were the young Passing by every so often to compare their jokes from the Almanac And as he on the path remained Only God himself knew his thoughts.   Nobody knew if he always stayed on the path Or for how long will he count the stones From child to child varied the thoughts About how such a man could have an Almanac? Little things pleased the minds of the young And this was how it always remained   And so the situation stayed on the path For ever subtly counting stones. Endlessly reading the Almanac – He was ignored by the young, So he will always remain: Or so everyone thought   Until that one day on the path When his tear clattered on the Almanac And his body fell on the stones; There gawped the surprised young Looking where the vault of memories and thoughts Rested on the stones and forever remained....

Max Parkman is not a normal sixteen-year-old. He’s got Asperger’s (high-functioning autism) and he’s been accused of murder. His mother, Danielle, will stop at nothing to make sure that he doesn’t end up in jail, or worse. She’ll do anything to save him. No matter what the personal cost… This is the basic outline of Saving Max, a 2010 debut novel written by American author Antoinette van Heugten. I was grocery shopping two Wednesdays ago, not even looking for a book to read, when I found this treasure. Maybe it’s because of the cover or the awesome title or maybe it’s because I came across this book on the Internet a year ago, when I was checking up a list of Aspergers-related books that I should read some time, but something made me pick up this book -and I’m so glad I did. I’ve never read a legal thriller before but I did like the legal thriller in the final season of Depserate Housewives. I also love anything got to do with autistic teenagers (whose brains tick in a totally different way than their relatively boring, neurotypical counterparts) and, as my Bates Motel review shows, I also like things got to do with teenagers who’ve probably caused murder. So I immediately bought this book. It doesn’t disappoint -at all. PLOT I won’t give away the ending of this book, seeing as its success depends on the mystery element, but the plot of this book is well-crafted, surprisingly so for such a novice author. Many stories start off very slowly (anyone who’s tried reading the opening chapters of Stephen King’s The Stand will know exactly what I mean: it starts off slower than the Playstation’s loading-screens) but van Heugten gets to the good stuff right...