Ireland News & Analysis

It was not even a year ago that former Mossad chief, Meir Dagan, stated that the idea of Israel bombing Iranian nuclear facilities was, "the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard.”

Ireland’s recent Quarterly National Household Survey may be evidence that happiness and economic hardship are not always mutually exclusive. The survey demonstrates that despite the deepening recession, record unemployment, and falling living standards; as many as four out of five Irish respondents answered to be happy all or most of the time. This brings to mind other countries’ growing interest in quantifying populations’ overall wellbeing.

As NATO enters its 7th decade, serious questions of its relevancy persist, culminating in the greatest existential threat faced by the military alliance.