Editorial
Dara Molloy comments on the issue of sexuality within the Catholic church in the context of the latest scandals in Ireland.
Tess Harper comments on the war on terror and the psychological complexes that lie behind it on both sides.
Inner World
We have had the tsunami, hurricane Katrina, and the earthquake in Kashmir in recent times ... all of them raising questions that are probably unanswerable. Those with monotheistic beliefs have sought answers in God or Allah. Austin Kenny analyses some of the answers given and finds them wanting.
by Austin Kenny
Social Analysis
Those who oppose George Bush and his administration often struggle to understand his mentality. This article shows that this mentality is prevalent throughout the U.S. and is based on a fundamentalist biblical theology that separates the world into good and evil. War is always central as it looks forward to the ultimate victory of God’s chosen people at Armageddon.
by Jaume Botey Vallès
Archaeology of Ideas
This is an extract from Gordon Strachan’s book The Bible’s Hidden Cosmology. Contemporary in its approach, it confronts the apocalyptic cosmology of George Bush and his associates, and shows the Bible’s true cosmology to be about symbolic numbers, sacred geometry, harmonic theory and cosmic orientation.
by Gordon Strachan
Lifestyle
Homosexual relationships is an issue that won’t go away. Societies have to deal with it and churches have to deal with it, whether they like it or not. This article looks at the theological and cultural roots of the problem and finds their source in monotheism.
by Dara Molloy
Energy
Peak Oil is now a term in common use throughout the Western world as oil prices increase. These price hikes are likely to continue into the foreseeable future, as increasing demand and decreasing supply move further and further apart. It is in everybody’s interest that we reduce our oil dependency by changing our lifestyles, becoming more energy efficient and developing environmentally friendly alternatives to oil.
by Coling J. Campbell and Jean H. Laherrère
Nature
Author of the book The Spell of the Sensuous, David Abram in this article invites us to respect and listen to what our senses are telling us. We have become too intellectual and have been taught by science to ignore our senses. Our senses are the vital connectors to the vibrant and dynamic world around us.
by David Abram
Live Issues...9/11
Former chief economist for the Department of Labor during President
George W. Bush's first term Morgan Reynolds writes that the official story about the collapse of the WTC is "bogus" and that it is more likely that a controlled demolition destroyed the Twin Towers and adjacent Building No. 7.
by Morgan Reynolds
Live Issues...Debt
the Big Headlines
Campaigning works - the recent G8 debt deal marks a small breakthrough on debt cancellation. For the first time there is an agreement to write off 100% of debt owed to the IMF and World Bank. However, the G8 has not agreed to write off 100% of the debt of all the poorest countries.
by Irish Debt and Development Coalition
World Trade
Against Poverty
Normally tax is based on income – the more you earn the more you pay. However, international tariffs work the other way round. Poorer countries pay more than wealthier countries to get their products across borders. This is the perversity of the present system of world trade.
by Gonzalo Fanjul Suárez
Sustainability
A Tale of Two Ecovillages
Resisting the global economy is not an easy task. Buying locally produced food is a start. But going further than that - using a local currency, generating energy locally, creating employment that serves the local community rather than the global corporations, requires a community to work together towards a common vision. Ecovillages are showing the way.
by Jonathan Dawson
Waste
Showing The Way
You may think its a hassle having to sort your waste into 4 or 5 categories – paper, plastic, glass, cans, and so on. Well, this article shows you where we are heading. The Japanese town of Kamikatsu has now raised its number of waste categories to 44. Their longterm aim is to reduce landfill/incinerator waste to zero.
by Norimitsu Onishi
Personality Profile
John Seymour, who lived in Wexford, Ireland, died on September 14th 2004, at the age of 90. John is best known as the author of The Complete Book of Self Sufficiency, first published in 1975. More recently he has been a popular TV commentator and an outspoken environmental campaigner.
by Will Sutherland
Indigenous Peoples
Indigenous peoples everywhere in the world have been under threat for many centuries from the forces of globalisation. Most have been wiped out or absorbed into the global culture. Those that remain are hugely vulnerable. The Kankuamo of Colombia are one such people who are determined to resist.
by Rachel Dempsey
Creative Writing
This piece of writing, although very personal, has echoes of the problems that arise between western development projects and the lands of indigenous peoples. For nearly all of us, there is some aspect of our landscape or our natural environment that is sacred to us.
by Kevin Fahy
Celtic Roots
The dominant view for many decades has been that the Celts lived only in the area of southern Germany and Switzerland. But, with the discovery of a monumental sacred site comparable with Brú na Bóinne at Hessen, it has now been established that there was a Celtic homeland even as far north as Frankfurt.
by Juergen and Angelika Gawend
As Gaeilge
The map of Europe showing the influence of Irish monks in the early medieval period is most dense in the area which today corresponds to north-eastern France and Belgium. This chapter of Tomás Ó Fiaich’s book sketches the stories of the most illustrious of the Irish monks who worked in this area during this period.
by Tomás Ó Fiaich
As Gaeilge
The poem concludes with The Fair Lady casting judgement on Brian for remaining
single with so many women seeking a husband. He is to be beaten and flayed, and
no mercy spared.
by Brian Merriman
Humour
The Parrot
by Alan Cleere
Poetry
Poems
A Nation Rocked to Sleep
by Carly Sheehan
A
Potential Lover and
Imagine Lovers
by Patricia Lynn Reilly
by Tito Martin
by Jim Doran
Bookshelf
A selection of seven books, most of them hot off the press.
Letters
Lots of excitement about the new e-Aisling. Some problems. A few reflective letters also.
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