07.21.08
Ireland is hugely proud, says President
Ireland is hugely proud, says President, The Irish Times, July 21st
2008
02.19.08
When criticism gets in the way of government……
Senior politicians in Leinster House could learn from Ian Paisley Jnr’s resignation as junior minister from the Northern Ireland Assembly yesterday.
We have always known that Westminster politicians have resigned when mere questions are even raised over their credibility. Many in Britain even moaned at how long it took Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Peter Hain to resign over a investigation into the funding of his deputy leadership campaign. Not one to quote Conservative leader David Cameron, he said, ‘This is the right decision, but it should not have happened in this way….. Instead we have had this long delay - when one of our most important departments in our country has been left without proper leadership and that’s just wrong.’
When this happens it seems like there’s a wink and a nod reaction here. ‘Sure those fellas over the water have awful high moral authority, they’re gas. Sure why would politicians over here retire sure we’d soon run out of them if they resigned over every whiff of scandal………except of course if someone paints your house for free’ (Callely).
But what to think when the high moral ground comes from the fledgling assembly in Northern Ireland? The assembly brokered by Bertie Ahern, the assembly where ex-hardliners try their hand at governing but don’t yet even have policing powers. Surely there is blushing among some Dáil faces to realise that on this very island, in they very parliament we helped come into being, politicians are resigning over media allegations about links to a developer.
The validity of allegations against Mr Paisley Jnr is not the issue however. ‘I can’t express strongly enough that I am not going because of some hidden or some revealed wrongdoing,’ he said. In fact he has even been cleared of breaking any assembly rules ‘Personal criticism, unfounded allegations, innuendo and attacks on me personally (have been) followed by ombudsman’s reports that have cleared me.’
This is the line of Mr Paisley Jnr’s resignation speech that Cabinet members need to listen to very carefully…. ‘The criticism has been a distraction and has got in the way of the activities of this government and importantly it has gotten in the way of the activities of my political party.’
Days of Dáil time, hundreds of pages of newspapers and hours of prime time TV and radio, have been distracted by questions raised over an Taoiseach by the Mahon Tribunal. There has even been Opposition criticism of the number of bills published in the last term . Have any Fianna Fail ministers and rising politicians not spent a night on Questions and Answers defending their Taoiseach. See last night’s Questions and Answers for one.
Would this happen in Westminster or now Stormont? Do we need to do more than revise our ethics legislation?To paraphrase Mr Paisley Jnr, could one say the criticism of Mr Ahern has been a distraction and has got in the way of the activities of the Irish government and importantly it has gotten in the way of the activities of Fianna Fáil?
02.05.08
If only Obama was a woman…..
It is exactly 90 years tomorrow since Irish women (over 30 yrs) were granted the right to vote in 1918. Tonight the US will decide whether to pick the first woman Democratic nominee or the first African-American nominee.
So are women obliged to vote for Hillary just because we fought so long for all of this?
Oprah was talking about this conflict at an Obama rally yesterday.
As a feminist I feel really guilty for being an Obama fan. I find Clinton’s campaign so spun and orchestrated. Obama seems so passionate and intelligent and really does have the ability to make people feel hopeful.
While a victory for a woman or an African-American would provide some inspiration and a role model for people in these power-deprived groups, it would not mean equality.
Until he dropped out I was a guilty fan of John Edwards the only white man left in the democratic bunch. He had a vision of tackling poverty and corporations and power imbalance. These are the issues that impact on so many minorities and so many women. He could possibly have created a much more equal society than Obama or Clinton.
Race or gender should not be an issue. Race or gender should not matter…. But it does in this contest anyway.
01.02.08
Desperately seeking bargains
Somebody think of the city centre dwellers and rid us of these pesky Christmas shoppers. They have thronged the city streets since the bonfires were extinguished on halloween eve, bringing tidings of pushing and shoving to Henry street, which is bathed in a christmassy? hue of blue and pink lights (how much would it have cost to buy the old ones from Grafton street??).
Was it anger at crappy sales that caused people to push me out of the way like a pigeon as I made my way to my local cafe?
Here’s some of the ‘deals’ in the January sales:
Boots ‘landfill loving’ gift sets - PreChristmas 3 for 2, post christmas half price (but no 3 for 2).
Fallon and Byrne - organic chocolate santys - pack of 10- pre-christmas 6.95ish post christmas 4.95 ish …..Arnotts/ Debenhams 10% off - but 20% off before Christmas on a lot more
So go home suburban dwellers - no bargains to be had in the city.
12.14.07
Save the ears of Ireland this Christmas for only 99c
Sick of sappy X-Factor drivel polluting the airwaves at Christmas.
Force the DJs to play something with soul, something which reflects what Christmas is really like.
Download Tom Waits’ ‘Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis’ from iTunes or eircom.net and make it number one in Ireland this Christmas.
This campaign was started by the below blog
http://waitsforchristmas.blogspot.com
and now been backed up by Phantom and The Ticket and all the people in this facebook group
Still not convinced? Just read the lyrics
and tell me it’s not fantastic! Go Download it now
hey Charley I’m pregnant
and living on 9-th street
right above a dirty bookstore
off cuclid avenue
and I stopped taking dope
and I quit drinking whiskey
and my old man plays the trombone
and works out at the track.
and he says that he loves me
even though its not his baby
and he says that he’ll raise him up
like he would his own son
and he gave me a ring
that was worn by his mother
and he takes me out dancin
every saturday nite.
and hey Charley I think about you
everytime I pass a fillin’ station
on account of all the grease
you used to wear in your hair
and I still have that record
of little anthony & the imperials
but someone stole my record player
how do you like that?
hey Charley I almost went crazy
after mario got busted
so I went back to omaha to
live with my folks
but everyone I used to know
was either dead or in prison
so I came back in minneapolis
this time I think I’m gonna stay.
hey Charley I think I’m happy
for the first time since my accident
and I wish I had all the money
that we used to spend on dope
I’d buy me a used car lot
and I wouldn’t sell any of em
I’d just drive a different car
every day dependin on how
I feel.
hey Charley
for chrissakes
do you want to know
the truth of it?
I don’t have a husband
he don’t play the trombone
and I need to borrow money
to pay this lawyer
and Charley, hey
I’ll be eligible for parole
come valentines day.
11.08.07
The Hollywood hoax
The real talent behind the talk has been exposed by the 12,000 striking Hollywood writers.
The cancellation of prime time talk shows like ‘The Tonight Show with Jay Leno‘ and ‘Late Show with David Letterman’ may leave the viewing public asking questions like: how can mere writers cancel Jay’s show? surely for such supreme professional as Letterman the show must always go on?
This undressing of the Emperors must surely add a wry smile to the mouths of every hard-working producer, researcher and writer in the world of TV and radio. Those workers who ask every day as the on-screen/on-air talent reads their perfectly penned script word for word, whether the audience loves the well-paid talent’s delivery or the poorly paid writer’s words.
In Ireland, even such legends as Gay Byrne had his scriptwriters. They learned to write the Gaybo way right down to the, ‘alright alright hello hello, roll it their roisin’
Writers - you are the unsung talent of broadcasting and of course you deserve better pay. But please come back before we’re driven to drink with even more re-runs of Friends and Everybody Loves Raymond.
08.15.07
King of Rock and Roll or Father of Fat?
Elvis Aaron Presley died 30 years ago tomorrow, August 16th 1977. Remembered as the king of rock and roll, but in his death did he actually leave his mark at the father of fat?
His death is the most disputed. While Elvis enthusiasts the world over dispute it theories include
ELVIS IS IN THE WITNESS PROTECTION PROGRAM
ELVIS’ NAME IS MISSPELLED ON HIS TOMB.
PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE CORPSE DON’T RESEMBLE ELVIS
THE COFFIN WAS TOO HEAVY
Official records say that Elvis died of heart failure. A combination of drugs and obesity.
At the peak of his career Elvis weighed 165 pounds but by the time of his death he weighed about 260 pounds (18 half stone). Not so big now in a world where fat men who are carried away like whales are our new circus freak shows. But big for 1977…
Thirty years later 1/6 of our world is overweight (OECD) . The obesity epidemic is the new war (replacing smoking Did all those reformed smokers just start to eat? )
And as rock and roll is replaced the world over by r and b…what is Elvis’s legacy?
King of Rock and Roll or Father of Fat?
Leaving Cert and Lemons
Leaving cert results time. Their ripple affect not only to determine the careers, the friends, the lives the loves of many 18 year olds. It lays the ground open for every damp-infested-dump of a flat owning landlord to sell their wares, it plugs a hole for every media outlet as the silly season drags on and feeds the media cliche machine, it puts complete hatred into the hearts of every adult who hears about the 8 A student who is apparently well adjusted with friends and not the sick maniac we all hoped they were, and it reminds us of what was, what is and what might have been. Enough of that.
The myth of university level education raised it’s ugly head once again in the paper of record. An opinion piece by David Pierce with a headline that pulled out all the cliched metaphors Leaving Certificate is not a finishing line but a gateway
I take issue with the link between education and earnings.
As they begin to think about their choices we would point out to students that OECD research shows that the average difference in earnings in Ireland between someone who left education after secondary school and someone with a third-level degree is in the region of 63 per cent.
These figures are clearly skewed by the professions for they do not apply to the majority of undergraduates. Who earns the money in this country - the builders, plasterers, plumbers, electricians, property developers. Millionaire sociology graduates?……..uh uh.
OF course we should encourage the school-leavers to go and learn all they can. But to convince them that education will earn them more than their not-so-successful fellow leavers - will just leave them sucking lemons.
07.17.07
Bertieisms
Homer Simpson will be remembered for his homerisms….D’oh is even in the dictionary
Homer: Here’s to alcohol, the cause of—and solution to—all life’s problems.
Homer: I’m normally not a praying man, but if you’re up there, please save me Superman.
Homer: Kids, you tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is, never try.
Bush has his bushism poster lining the walls of liberal college students
He has so many it’s hard to pick one:
Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.” —Washington, D.C., Aug. 5, 2004
Now Bertie Ahern has given one more reason to justify a collection of Bertieisms.
After the Mahon ruling on Sunday that they would go ahead with investigating the Taoiseach’s personal finances he said something like :
You can see the full interview on the report by Brian Dowling.
Does this beat his Bertieism on Shannon - when he got assurances from George W that Shannon was not being used for rendition:
Any other great Berti-isms out there??
The scourge of the Irish Male Guitarman
For a number of years now I’ve been so snore bored by the plethora of Irish male acoustic poppy rhymy singer songwriters, whose great success, rather than being a testimony to their greatness, was a further mystery. Come on you know who I’m talking about.
The Mercury Music Nominations announced today features the album of Wicklow singer Fionn Regan. Along with Duke Special, he gives some hope that the soul depth and darkness is back in the Irish male solo singer.
04.30.07
The Hot Potato
The political hot potato may just be upon us. The issue which blatently exposes the different ethos of both the FF/PD and FG/Labour coalitions is in the courts on day 2 of campaigning. The issue that divides Ireland from the rest of the modern world and which has the potential to show the backward celtic sheep underneath our shiny tiger’s coat, abortion.
The case exposing this is the 17 year old girl, who is under the care of the HSE and who has been refused leave to travel for an abortion (which she wants as her baby is likely to die within a few days of being born).
Ireland’s stance on abortion is like many other things in this little island - turn a blind eye, pretend it isn’t an issue until we are hit on the head with it.
Fine Gael say they will not legislate for abortion, while the Labour party is committed to legislating for it. While liberal values have been the unspoken division between FF/PD. They will be hiding their heads tonight and hoping for the storm to leave them undamaged.
04.29.07
Poster Boys and Girls
All around the city on this sunny Sunday the spotty young supporters of every party climbed lamposts and stopped traffic to get their posters up and in prime position.
Bertie all around the city - advertising for Team Bertie. Demonstrating that despite the manchester payments ‘debacle’ this man is Fianna Fail’s trump card.
Somebody managed to get McDowell to smile in his picture making him look like a school boy. While his PD party-mate Liz O’Donnell looks like a well brushed model in a lipstick ad, her posters won’t last long in the vicinity of UCD.
Mary Lou is back with her winning smile in Dublin Central……
Which got me thinking - how many people base their vote on the posters. How many people just don’t care about the candidates till polling day? Considering our low voter turnout surely this level of apathy is possible among those who do vote.
What can you tell from a poster - age, gender, happy/sad looking, party affiliation, how rich the party is (quality of poster), how much support they have (how many posters and canvassers do they have), if they are a Cllr or TD etc. In a superficial, product-based society - are these posters key to our democratic process?
Bertie’s busy weekend……
Bertie’s long awaited announcement came in the wee hours of Sunday morning.
No doubt many revelers returning home from a late Saturday night saw his car (with the man of the people in the front seat as always) make its way from Drumcondra to the Aras and blearily wondered if this was the moment we’d been waiting for.
The timing, on the eave of the last of the SSIAs maturing, really gave the Bert the upper hand.
How powerful it makes him look, to catch everyone off guard. Something sexy and clandestine about the early hour, summoning the President from her pre-US packing. Did Enda have time to even put Brylcream in his hair when he caught his helicopter from Mayo to Dublin on hearing the news? Poor Pat lost his last chance to have his say in the Dail chambers. And do you think Trevor had a chance to eat a full bowl of meusli this morning?
The Fianna Fail troops had clearly been up early - claiming the best and highest spots on the lamposts all over the city. In my Dublin central letterbox this morning, already, was “Central News” - The official voice of Fianna Fail in Central Dublin.
Game on.
03.20.07
Bertie’s campaign kicks off
Paddy ‘the Plaster’ Reilly has clearly been taking his new appointment as Director of Organisation in the Dublin Central constituency seriously.
I live in an apartment in that constituency and received a letter today from the Taoiseach - telling me of his intention to visit my apartment complex as many times as possible over the next few weeks. However it reads “Due to the current level of security in your complex, it is not always possible to meet each and every apartment dweller”.
Can you picture the scene? Bertie and his Drumcondra mafia at the gates of my apartment building trying to get in - but people won’t let him in why? Because they think he’s going to rob the place, play loud music and football in the communal areas or simply organise a whiparound?
But Bert in keeping with his “man of the people” image - signs his letter simply “Bertie”. No high brow email address for him like taoiseach@ … gov.ie etc nope it’s “bahern at iol.ie”
He can knock all he likes he aint getting my vote.
03.12.07
Fatal Distraction
The environment is the media issue de jour, both here and in the UK. It seems it is the issue that every “passionate” journalist should be throwing themselves behind, should be focusing on. Two years ago it was “making poverty history”. Both noble causes, both flawed campaigns. These campaigns have the illusion of being led by the people, the activists, the media, for the good of all mankind. In fact they are led by politicians and based on governement rhetoric which results in very little change, but does make people and the media feel that they have the power and that they are bringing about change for the greater good. …….
More importantly these issues distract from the real stories, the real injustice and inhumanity happening now. Thankfully there are some media outlets which remind the rest of us what is really important and show us what journalism really is.
The main story in the evening’s Channel 4 news was a powerful report on the growing Iraqi refugee crisis and the failure of the “coalition of the willing” to live up to this. The was report from Jordan, a country of five million with one million Iraqi refugees. The personal stories of the women who lives with her family and injured child in a hovel and the three Barbers of Baghdad are haunting. Watch it.
These are the stories that are forgotten in the rush to cover the issue of the moment. There is only room on the mainstream media agenda for one such campaign. Iraqi refugees, genocide in Darfur and repression in Zimbabwe, are the casualties of this fatal distraction
03.08.07
The Great Paddy’s Day Scandal
This old chestnut of what the government do for our national holiday is unbeliveably raising its head again.
Are the opposition really showing desparation in resurrecting this one again. One opposition politician even expressed concern that members of the government might go to horse races over their week off. It’s Cheltenham have a punt, it’s Paddy’s day, have a pint.
Are Paddy Power taking bets on the likelyhood of the “Bertie presenting Bush with an obligatory useless bowl of shamrock” photo being on the front of the Irish times over the Paddy’s day weekend.
I look forward to the litany of newspaper articles giving out about where the ministers are going. This year no doubt the environmental angle, or carbon footprint of the expeditions will be in vogue with hungry journalists enraged because the Dail is closed and they have no news factory to feed them..
Democrats or Dinosaurs?
The proposed reform of the house of Lords (as voted in UK commons) an elected house of Lords, begs the question, what about the Seanad?
Our Senate is modelled on the unelected House of Lords but unlike the house of Lords, they don’t have the power to veto bills, but can delay them. The majority of the senate is “elected” by sitting politicians and 6 senators are elected by the universities.
This raises a number of questions?
1. Is the election of the Independent Senators by the universities actually an undemocratic way of giving more power to the middle classes?
Yeah it is. But would you like to see a political system without the provoking voices of Independent Senators David Norris and Senator Shane Ross?
2. Does the appointment of senators by other politicians mean that it is unlikely to ever oppose the sitting government making it a nice retirement village for older politicians?
Sure it does. But they have no power anyway and it is a good way to keep the voices of provocative politicians in the public domain after their Dail careers (e.g. Senator Mary O’Rourke).
3. If they have no power, should it be abolished altogether?
There are strong arguments for this - with the cost of running the senate, paying the senators (Salaries of €65,000, expenses of up to €90,000 ). But the role of fleshing out ideas, questioning and provoking debate is an important one - and perhaps there is something to be said for politicians who aren’t as concerned with short-term re-election strategies?
In the end, any forum for public debate, any room for alternative voices and another outlet for the democratic process is valuable and worthwhile. But should it be democratic? Maybe we’ll watch how far this one gets across the pond………….
In the RED
Appeasing middle-class/western world/white…guilt is one the many functions of charitable organisations.
No other charity fulfills this more than RED, the charity spearheaded by Bono.
On an individual level it appeases regular guilt and then goes on to justify our consumer habits. Sure I’m buying a €200 T-Shirt made in a sweat-shop by some child who has lost their sight and feeling in their fingers- but if I use my RED american express I can contribute €2 to help fight aids in africa.
On a corporate level it is like a confessional absolution of sins. Take runner-maker Converse, who support the RED campaign by giving 15% of the sales of product red shoes only to the campaign. Does this clean up the damage done elsewhere by Converse’s parent company, the all singing, all dancing, sweat-shop using NIKE?
This campaign benefits corporations and shoppers only.
Today’s story that in fact the charity has spent £52 million on marketing and raised only £9 million , just adds weight to this argument.
And don’t get me started on the celebrities…..
02.24.07
Politics and Passion
I caught the end of John Gormley’s speech at the Green Party conference
So rare to hear passion, ideas, excitement in a politician.
Too much it all is bitterness, pointscoring and illusion.
I went to see Bobby last week, the election speeches for the democratic presidential nomination were so passionate and hopeful they made me cry. It partly made me cry for the pretentiousness in Irish politics and for the lack of leaders, politicians who make you hope and believe and follow.
I’m not saying Gormley is Bobby Kennedy. Sure there were faults in his ideas…..read tomorrow’s papers for these.
But for today he made me feel, yes this could actually matter, things could change. For that I am grateful.