Household Charge - Just and Necessary

Household charge €100, Consultant p.a. €200,000 (as if) Job Seeker €188

from Seanie in the Tankard;

There I was contemplating the creamy head on my pint when a vision appeared to me, just like at Lourdes.

What does €100 mean to a person's weekly income? See above.

Sure it's only €100, everyone can manage that. Why it's only a night out. It's what the country needs right now. Maybe you could get a loan from the bank and pay the €100 charge over the counter at your local (as if) Post Office.

Just sayin.

Kill a man. Go home. Don't do it again.

from paudie in skelper quanes blennerville;

And so we have the justice system showing that it can be blind - blind to justice that is. Anne Burke took a hammer and battered her husband, who was in bed at the time to death - hitting him 23 times. She was a battered woman, of that there is no doubt. She was a drinker of substance - no doubt about that either. He, the husband Patrick, was also a drinker and a woman beater. Again, no doubt about that there.

But a human being was killed. And not by a car accident.

Temporary insanity. Yes, I find it insane to have a hammer in the bedroom. Walked free. March 2010.

Caroline Brennan stabbed her brother to death. Walked free. February 2010.

If justice was really blind, and did not know of the gender of either party in the case, what would have been the result? If Eamon Lillis was Mary Lillis and Celine Cawley John Cawley, what would the outcome have been? Indeed what arguments would the defence team have used?

This is not a mysogynist talking. What concerns me is the fact that a person can be murdered, killed, executed and that the perpetrator receive no apparent sanction for it. Unless the defendant happens to be a man.

The "Battered Wife Syndrome" is gradually being accepted in various jurisdictions. There is no such thing as "Battered Husband Syndrome". For a dissertation on this, go to this article.

This is only a blog entry, so I keep my argument short.

For some excellent reading on this read Emer O'Kelly at Independent.ie. Sheer brilliance from Brenda Power at TimesOnline. See also the Tribune.

Cartoon at Alex Gerson.

Passport Office Dummies

from seanie in doheny & nesbitts;
It’s the battle of the small people. Or is it? The unions, through the likes of Blair Horan of CPSU (salary €120,000) maintain that the current wave of action is in support of lower paid workers in the public (civil) service. My eye. The people who are actually fighting the cuts are, apparently, those self-same lower paid workers. Withdrawal of counter service, no phone answering, not using your mobile, are all weapons in the current war. How many managers, middle, senior and uber-senior managers actually man the counters in social welfare offices? Take a guess. You are right. The doorman at the passport office – what do you think his salary is?


Union leaders have taken no cuts. Blair Horan has been asked on many occasion what was the goal of the action to row back the pay cuts. He will not answer directly, but refers to ‘ongoing discussions’. I wonder what his real agenda is.

It’s not just the union heads and union middle management (who have their own battle with falling members and falling union dues) who are using the low paid for their own ends.

If low paid workers get any rise it follows as night follows day that relativities will be the next hurdle. How many middle managers would countenance overseeing staff who earn almost the same as them? Senior civil servants have already managed to have their putative cuts reversed. As far as they are concerned it’s the lower orders sorting themselves out.

Needless to say the government is quite happy to have all these idiots fighting among themselves.

And, as usual, the common man is the loser. And always will be.

Losing a Son

from the editor at his desk;

What a day. Death is in the air. Every sight and every sound.

Bridie Dwyer lost a son. Also by suicide. He was tormented because of the actions of one Bill Carney. See Newstalk and BBC. She carries on with such strength. She is an individual.

Marie Osmond loses a son. One day after her son's funeral, she does a stage show with Donny. I cannot make any rational comment on this. We are all individuals. We are part of society.

I lost a son. Today is his anniversary. He was eight in 1993. Only son. Only child.

People shouting in the dail. Resignation. Off with his head. Off with her head. They shouted last year, ten years ago, twenty even. People shouting on the radio. Banks. Jail them. Tax them. People in safe jobs want more money. Shout it out. Pensioners with gas bills. Talk to Duffy. Let's drink on Good Friday. Let's not drink. Shout it out.

This country is, and nearly always was, a self-serving, I'm all right community.

If as much energy was expended in making this country a good place to leave to our chldren as is spent on arguing and fighting one's corner, then we would reap the rewards.

Shout it out. It only works if we all shout together. But we won't.

We are all individuals.

You must learn to cry before you can see.

Mary Harney + 4 Live it up for Paddy's Day

The Historic Meeting Place

from stockie in the coachman's;

It's amazing how high the life Mary Harney leads. Herself, the hubby and three (3) lackeys will live it up down under. Finger food and an open bar in New Zealand. Let the teachers strike. Mary will eat fried chicken.

The press release in full;
Recent years have seen the Irish Government rein in spending so we have not seen a visit from a Government Minister for sometime. However, this year, the Consul General has successfully negotiated such a visit .

As a result, Minister Mary Harney T.D., Minister for Health and Children, will be visiting the Hutt Valley Irish Society on Monday 15th March between 6.30pm and 8.00pm.


Also in the Minister's party will be:


* Mr Brian Geoghegan, husband of the Minister
* Dr Philip Crowley, Deputy Chief Medical Officer
* Ms Patricia Ryan, Special Advisor to the Minister
* Mr Darragh Scully, Private Secretary to the Minister
Rodney Walshe, Honorary Consul General of Ireland, will accompany the Minister and her party.
We extend an invitation to all our members and friends to join us in welcoming Minister Harney and her party to the HVIS and to take the chance to meet the Minister. We will be serving finger food and, of course, the bar will be open.
Minister Harney's biography can be viewed by at www.dohc.ie/about_us/ministers/
Slan go foille
Bryan Mulligan
Secretary, Hutt valley Irish Society

Women's Day, Soviet Style

from agnes in paudies bar;

So this is where it comes from. A translation for you; "8th of March is the day of rebellion of the working women against kitchen slavery" and "Down with the oppression and narrow-mindedness of household work!"

Who could disagree.

International Women's Day, Again.

from stockie chillin in fabric;

International Women's Day. 2010. What's new? Does Katie Price wear a burka? Too much to talk about and I cannot multi-task, I'm told. So talk among yourselves.

Video by way of LinkTV

IRA Car bomb damages N. Ireland courthouse

from seanie in parker's kilflynn;

Not my headline - but from MSNBC ticker. The full story here. Obviously the locals in Newry and Northern Island should be concerned.

But what of Sinn Fein ? How many thousands of Irish in the US think of Gerry Adams/Martin McGuinness as IRA people? They must surely be pissed off with MSNBC and their headline writers. And if they are pissed off with MSNBC, how accomodating are they to 'dissidents'?

Make up the rest yourself.

Ireland is Dead.

from agnes abroad in the coachman's inn;

Mary Coughlan, Tanaiste and minister for jobs. Qualification? Educated Ursuline Convent, Sligo and UCD (B.Soc.Sci). Full time public representative and former social worker; source FF. That's it. Social Worker. Plenty of work for social workers in North Dublin.

Her favourite quote? "'Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centres of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance". Maybe the sentence is too long for her to read.

Willie O'Dea, Minister for forgetting. Qualification? UCD and Kings Inns and the Institute of Certified Accountants (BCL, LLM, BL, Certified Accountant). Are lawyers and accountants people we can rely on? Could just as well be a qualified Bishop. Lies, Lies, Lies.

Brian Cowen, Top Dog. Qualification? They also serve who stand and wait.

Kiss my ring - as gaeilge

from agnes in church sol y sombra killorglin;

So the bishops kiss the pope's ring.

Pog mo thoin, kiss my ring.

Nuff said.

Let's Tax Al Qaeda

€5? not bad..

from sean ban in the public bar at ballyseede castle;

Now here's an idea for our cash strapped beaurocrats - why not charge illegal organisations a licence fee? You don't believe it can't be done?

Check out South Carolina's Subversive Registration Act. The ruling is "every member of a subversive organization, or an organization subject to foreign control, every foreign agent and every person who advocates, teaches, advises or practices the duty, necessity or propriety of controlling, conducting, seizing or overthrowing the government of the United States ... shall register with the Secretary of State."  It cost $5 to register. You can download the PDF application form here.

Of course the troubles are now over. Aren't they?

Northern Ireland, Who Cares?

from seanie at the bar in freddies, caherdaniel;

Ulster's Funny Stuff is a podcast available from the BBC. It is also surely an oxymoron. I have not downloaded it but I'm sure it's a very short piece.

Irish Unity on the Agenda? Who is Sinn Fein kidding? No-one in the 'South' gives a toss or cares about the 'North'. Unless of course 'Southerners' go up to stock up on Dutch Gold or whatever it is plebeians drink nowadays.

But if the 'North' did not exist, then of course Sainsbury's would not be there.

So there you have it. Ulster's Funny Stuff will be on show in London on 20th February 2010.

George Lee More Popular than Haiti

Marshall McLuhan

from seanie in glenduff house tralee;

Well that's it. Haiti gone from the populist media. 212,00 people dead. More to come. But we worry about George Lee and Charlie Bird. How many George Lees and Charlie Birds lie under the ruins of Haiti? Some village Hamlet......

Of course we are told that the media only tell the stories that the people want. But Ireland has reached a truly obnoxious level of naval gazing. 2 newspeople, 2 journalists are the story.

Truly the medium is now the message.

Eamonn Lillis Murder Lessons

Why get a divorce in Ireland? It takes far too long. We can learn a lot from the Eamonn Lillis trial. Why not invest in a bit of decking and leave a brick or two around. You will find that it will take only 5 years to be rid of your wife (7 years less time off).

So you want to be legal? Well first off you have the year or so leading up to the 'we should take some time out' stage. The you have to try mediation. And the law states "At the date of the commencement of the proceedings, the spouses have lived apart for four out of the five previous years"

So.

Murder the wife. 5 years.

Divorce her. At least 7 years. And she is still around.

picture from here

FF Minister's Advice

with grateful thanks to our Man in Portugal

Anti-Abortionists to Support the Big Match ?

from agnes in charlies in kerins o'rahillys;

Croke Park has a big match coming up - and a Rugby match at that. But the GAA will not have international rugby or soccer matches for much longer. Alternative sources of income will have to be found.

Why not have the Pro-Life Lobby sponsor the half-time entertainment? The idea comes to me because CBS have allowed an anti-abortionist group to advertise during the Super-Bowl. Such an ad costs millions of dollars. It features a wonderful athlete Tim Tebow, god love him. The doctors wanted his mum to have an abortion, but she didn't - hence Tim. Read all about this wonderful piece of mankind here.

So, I fully recommend that Youth Defence get in there quick - imagine the half time show we could have! It's not as if the GAA has too many scruples when it comes to sponsorship.

Enjoy Drinking Non-Sensibly. It's Better That Way

Really Flushing Euros Down the Toilet

from stockie in blind piper caherdaniel;

Imagine you are in charge of a town of 3,393 souls, all with bladders. Also imagine that the town has over 85 pubs, 2 hotels, many restaurants. Lots of places to relieve oneself. A town with surely enough toilets, all public, to cope.

Not if you are in charge of Listowel.

The good councillors installed a public toilet that will cost €600,000 in total. In 2008 toilet cost €37,950.

It earned €1,500.

Listowel Council, a mirror image to the Government.

3,393 people wouldn't piss enough to make a few bob for the council. Perhaps Nama could help by taking on the town's debt. After all there are supposed to be many speculators left with no pot to piss in

Dublin Speed Limit is the Bleedin Limit

from agnes in ashes, camp;

The amount of money spent on denying people to use cars is unbelievable - €40 million on the Road Safety Authority - see previous note. And now town and city councils are getting in on the spending. How much of Garda expenditure is car related? Not counting other Government departments.

For fuck's sake. If people are being injured and killed in towns and cities it's because;

a) Pedestrians Jay walk.

b) Pedestrians get pissed.

c) Pedestrians don't look.

d) Pedestrians ignore traffic lights

e) Pedestrians ignore zebra crossing rules.

f) Pedestrians don't use footpaths.

g) Pedestrians don't wear hi-vis clothing.

h) Pedestrians are soft and don't have built-in air bags (politicians excepted).

But who get's the blame? Motorists. Because Motorists are seen as a never ending source of revenue.

Vote Vote Vote.

Protest. Protest. Protest.

Joycean Defamation, A Blogger Apologises

Mr Joyce, money and Ireland

from sean ban in the thatch bar lisselton;

So now I must be very careful with every word printed here. I haven't got a spare €100k lying around. I wonder does it matter if this blog is not based in Ireland? If it is, can I defame a citizen of the United States? I don't know. What am I taking about? - check out the 'defamation' case suffered by the blog Ardmayle. The story is in an old Independent article. The participants in the affair are Niall O'Donnchu and Laura Barnes. If you really want to know more about this fearless couple - just google it. Come to think of it, could Google have been sued for carrying the alleged defamation? One wonders about the relative sizes of the defence bank accounts of Google and Ardmayle.

Of course we will now hear from the John Waters of the this country mouthing off about nameless bloggers. He always appears to imply that all bloggers are dim-witted playstation weilding dullards without education, living off coke (both kinds) and pizza. Though that sounds like a few journos I know. And yes, I am nameless. Just like many journalists I can think of, Mr Waters.

Why, the Irish Times even has Backbencher. Surely it counts as a blog? And is not one John Healy a Waters icon?


yours insincerely,

Kerryview

Suicide is Cheaper than Death by Car Crash

I make no apologies

from stockie in spillanes in the maharees;

This country really needs a shake-up. Take driving (you could take smoking if you wish - see grandad). We can't drink, phone, speed, go slow. We pay road tax, VRT, VAT, duty and god knows what else. We have insurance, NCT tests.
We have the RSA, the Road Safety Authority.

How many deaths on the roads in 2008?

279

How much did we spend on the RSA?

€40,421,757.00

Road safety is easy. And it is a revenue earner - big big time revenue earner for the lazy state.

Let's look at suicide. Here we have NOSP - National Office for Suicide Prevention. You will note that this is an Office. Not an Authority.

How many (known) suicides in 2008?

424

How much did we spend on the NOSP?

€5,097,601.00

Either we put the NOSP in charge of road safety and save both both money and lives, or we just leave Gaybo alone. In any case I will be accused of playing with figures and not understanding the complexity of the situation.

I don't give a flying fuck. People, especially men, are killing themselves. On a grand scale.

But there is no financial return in investment in suicide prevention. It's also not sexy.

In the meantime rural pubs are dying. Customers are kiling themselves. All very dramatic.

Depression is a cruel master.