The war being conducted by Israel in Gaza has dominated the headlines to such an extent in recent months that nobody can reasonably claim ignorance of events in the region.
As a result, there are opinions circulating everywhere when it comes to taking a position on Palestine — from the Eurovision contest ongoing in Malmö to athletes and sporting organisations.
The advent of summer and the recent improvement in the weather are likely to have readers thinking of their holidays, and perhaps a trip abroad for something more long-lasting than just a glimpse of sun.
With that in mind, it may be timely to revisit the ongoing controversy at plane manufacturers Boeing. In January this year, a Boeing plane was forced to land when a cabin panel blew out on a flight in America: Regulators there grounded Boeing planes and inspected the manufacturing facility, which resulted in Boeing chiefs admitting they faced a challenge in restoring trust in their planes.
This issue has obvious repercussions for Irish travellers: Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary spoke in recent weeks about his confidence that Boeing will be able to deliver 40 planes his airline needs ahead of the peak summer season.
If the manufacturer does not provide those planes that may reduce capacity on some routes, though holidaymakers are likely to be far more interested in the safety of their aircraft than in the number of daily flights to their holiday destination of choice.
However, the background to this controversy is now more reminiscent of a Netflix thriller than a straightforward business story. In March, Boeing whistleblower John Barnett was found dead of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound in South Carolina. Last week, Joshua Dean, another Boeing whistleblower, died in Seattle after a short illness. Both men were represented by the same legal firm.
This could be interpreted as simple coincidence, but there was some disquieting testimony heard at US Congress hearings into the Boeing situation last month. Yet another Boeing whistleblower, Sam Salehpour, told politicians that the company was “putting out defective airplanes”, but added that employees who raised safety concerns were “ignored, marginalized, threatened, sidelined and worse”.
Salehpour went on to say he feared “physical violence” because he had made his concerns public.
The questions which face Boeing go far beyond faulty cabin panels, but they must all be answered to restore faith in the company and its products.
Amazon is to launch an Irish website next year, amazon.ie, which will be welcome news to the company’s many aficionados in this country. Up to now, Irish customers had to use Amazon sites based in Britain or other European countries.
The company is already a major employer in Ireland: Amazon employs approximately 6,500 people in Cork, Dublin, and Drogheda, and it has announced that the new website will lead to additional jobs, with details to be announced in the coming months.
Online shopping is becoming more and more popular, but this announcement has serious implications in the real world, implications for independent and smaller businesses all over Ireland, businesses which cannot compete in any way with a company as big as Amazon.
If more of those businesses are forced out of existence by Amazon’s focus on Ireland, then that is not good news for consumers in general — monopolies are never welcome — but it is also a bad omen for our villages, towns and cities.
A range of different businesses in varied locations is vital in ensuring liveable, viable communities across the country. For all its benefits a faceless online behemoth offers nothing to improve the quality of life in the public realm.