Aontan

Originally posted by: N_O_Body And there you are, a minority situation. The Brits call this a hung parliament. We call this a minority government. quote> And almost every other country in Europe calls it a "normal parliament". Originally posted by: Duke87 I assume the dark green in Northern Ireland is Sinn Fein? quote> Yes, it's Sinn Féin. They're an abstentionist party (they don't take their seats), and they won five seats. This means that, in reality, the actual number of seats is 645, meaning the number for a majority needed is slightly less, at 323.

Originally posted by: Zelgadis Additionally, I notice that American coins are the only coins I've ever seen that do not have numeric values on them. Canadian coins are the same size, shape, etc, but a big difference is that they say things like "25 cents" and "10 cents," whereas American coins say "one quarter" and "one dime." While I was working in the US teaching international students, nearly all of them lamented, "Your coins make no sense!" Does anyone else come from a country where numbers are not part of the coins? In Japan, they're clear and huge, which was nice. Only exception was the 5 yen coin, which used not a number but a kanji instead. I liked that though. It had a nice, old-world feel. ISF quote> I have to agree with you there, anytime I've been in the US I've found it takes me a while to get used to the coins due to lack of numeric values on them, especially considering that the text is so small. Compare them with the Euro coins (the "common side" - every Eurozone country has it's own symbol on the other side):

Originally posted by: warrior Another sad thing is the airlines/ insurance companies who are saying they cannot pay for hotels and accomadation because it is "an act of God". Firstly not everyone is a Christian, secondly there is no proof that God caused this volcano to erupt in combination with the winds that blow the ash over europe, thirdly I bet it is possible that a human could have set off this volcano. I hope they get sued over the answer of "an act of God" because I'm nowhere near a lawyer but I highly doubt that stands up in a court. quote> An "act of God" is merely something that is outside of human control, or that can't be blamed on someone. It's an official legal term, and is used in both contract and tort ("civil wrong") law. That said, I still think it's a bit of a joke that (some) insurance policies are able to use it as a way to get out of paying. edit: Also, the airlines are obliged (under EU law) to provide accommodation, transport (to and from hotels) and food and drink vouchers to delayed passengers. At least that's what they're saying on the news here.

This is pretty interesting: More here. Also, Irish airspace has now been closed until 18:00 on Saturday, after being re-opened yesterday.

All Ryanair (largest European airline) flights to and from Northern Europe have been cancelled until 13:00 UTC on Monday. That said, most Irish airspace has reopened, though pretty much only for transatlantic flights since the ash cloud is blocking the routes to the rest of Europe...

Commercials for prescription drugs are illegal in most countries (except the US and New Zealand, apparently), and rightly so. It should be a health professional that prescribes a person medicine, not marketers. Here's an interesting take on it, albeit from a few years ago.

The media here run stories about the "start of Spring" three times a year. On the Irish calendar, it's 1 February (it places the equinoxes and solstices at the centre of the seasons, rather than the beginning - so midsummer falls on the summer solstice for example). Meteorologically, it's 1 March. Astronomically, it's ~21 March. At least now we've got no confusion, it's definitely Spring! That said, the "signs" of Spring (animals, plants) have been going on for a few weeks here too, after an incredibly harsh winter (by our standards). Roll on Summer 2010...

The first one would be "Tabhair dom beoir eile, le do thoil". Literally "Give me another beer, please".

Lá Fhéile Pádraig Sona Daoibh!

This sounds like an excellent idea.

For people in Europe, don't worry - we have another two weeks to wait before we have to change to "summer time".

Having read through the form, I have to say it's a lot easier than our (Ireland) census forms, which ask far more questions, both about the house (such as sewerage, heating, water supply and internet connectivity) and the people (such as disability, health, employment, and much more). Censuses here are held every five years (last one in 2006, next one in 2011), as well. Here (PDF) is a list of what the questions on next year's census will be about, and two examples of what the forms will look like (they do a micro-census of around 10,000 properties between every census) here and here (both PDFs!). You Americans have it easy in comparison. It's illegal here to give information you know is wrong, same as there. Also, out of curiosity, how are illegal immigrants dealt with on the census? Are they counted, or does it matter?

Another "genius" did something similar today... The Irish Times RTÉ News

In Ireland, Gardaí [police officers] who die in the line of duty get a full state funeral. The President, Taoiseach [Prime Minister] (or their aides-de-camp) and Garda Commisioner [head of the police] attend (local politicians usually attend, too), as do the colleagues of the deceased, who often form a guard of honour after the funeral. Sadly, this happened last month. A news story can be read about it here.

I think we could all appreciate something along the lines of this: