The spate of suicide and suicide/murders which has taken place in Ireland over the past decade is truly frightening.These tragedies are running parallel with our increase in affluance due to the Celtic Tiger.The 'era'of the Celtic Tiger has brought about genuine and general significant improvement in the lives of all of us.Why then the increase in suicides?At this stage none of us would be arrogant or ignorant enough to say that we have the answer to this dilemma.
There are many people in our society who quietly and bravely get on with their lives despite being very unhappy because of substance abuse,clinical depression or simply hitting a down-spot in their lives.None of these causes are necessarily connected to affluance or lack of it.But in pre-Celtic Tiger days relations,friends and neighbours had more time to stop and notice the change in their demeanor.The over- burdened Health Service were able to provide a more hands-on service to those who were in physciatric care.
But there still are many heroes in our society who provide ongoing care and support for people who are being passed over by the rest of us .The Alone organisation for example and Meals-on Wheels are just two such groups.There are many others out there,who on an individual basis and in their own quiet way will stop to chat to a person who may look upset or lost .Just a smile or a nod or a brief handshake may be enough for a lonely proud person on the fringes of their own percieved despair to enable them to open-up and share their troubles.
When we think of heroes,we usually think of people such as (in my time anyway)those characters portrayed by John Wayne or Gary Cooper ,in the films,or the Super-Heroes.......Superman,Batman,Spiderman or Captain Marvel(by the way whatever happened to Captain Marvel ,Billy Batson,or the Great ''Shazam'' for that matter,all the others have been resurrected?)
Real heroes are with us all the time,we may not notice them because their motives are not social attention or material reward.They do not attract attention but are an invaluable asset in our society particularly now when materialism is at its peak...the surprising thing is that we can all become real heroes,without donning a cape or shouting a magic word...all we have to do to is to give a nod ,a smile or a handshake to someone we might have other wise passed by .....now what was I going to moan about today.........??/
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Monday, July 30, 2007
Time travel
Stephen Hawkings believes that we will eventually be able to travel backwards of forwards in time.What causes him to ,slightly, doubt this eventuality, is the fact that we do not appear to be coming across visitors from the future presently.So are we being visited by people from the future in some guise that prevents us from realising who they are ?
If we could travel into the past we could wonder which of our senses would be overwhelmed the most. We could travel back to the middle ages, for example,seeing people as they actually were ,not just actors in film,or on T.V.Would they be courtous to one another ,or agressive or servile to the better dressed,would their clothing be drab or colourful?
Our hearing would surely be assaulted, loud voices ,unfamiliar accents,animal noises,etc.And then our sense of touch,would we recoil from any physical contact with these dirty strangers,invading, what we now refer to as, our 'personal space?
But probably the sense affected most of all would be our sense of smell.Nowadays we have all sorts of perfumes and potions used privately and publicly to cover up or eliminate smells and the causes of smells .So to travel back to a time when no-one was even conscious of their 'body odour'would definitely take our breath away.
What are we talking about??Even if we went back only 50 years I am sure our sense of smell would be assaulted...As a matter of fact I can remember a little cinema in Rathmines, in the late 40's or early 50's,called'' The Princess''....but on second thoughts ..lets not go there ..ever again...
But suppose someone had travelled forward from the 50's to the present day ...what would they see?..People walking along the street ,apparently ,holding chocolate bars up to their ears...or staring at the palms of their hands ,smiling quietly to themselves.The person from the past,would probably have returned to the 50's(smelly cinemas and all ) and advised all who would listen....''The Future?!Don't ever go there !!They have all gone stark staring....MAD...
If we could travel into the past we could wonder which of our senses would be overwhelmed the most. We could travel back to the middle ages, for example,seeing people as they actually were ,not just actors in film,or on T.V.Would they be courtous to one another ,or agressive or servile to the better dressed,would their clothing be drab or colourful?
Our hearing would surely be assaulted, loud voices ,unfamiliar accents,animal noises,etc.And then our sense of touch,would we recoil from any physical contact with these dirty strangers,invading, what we now refer to as, our 'personal space?
But probably the sense affected most of all would be our sense of smell.Nowadays we have all sorts of perfumes and potions used privately and publicly to cover up or eliminate smells and the causes of smells .So to travel back to a time when no-one was even conscious of their 'body odour'would definitely take our breath away.
What are we talking about??Even if we went back only 50 years I am sure our sense of smell would be assaulted...As a matter of fact I can remember a little cinema in Rathmines, in the late 40's or early 50's,called'' The Princess''....but on second thoughts ..lets not go there ..ever again...
But suppose someone had travelled forward from the 50's to the present day ...what would they see?..People walking along the street ,apparently ,holding chocolate bars up to their ears...or staring at the palms of their hands ,smiling quietly to themselves.The person from the past,would probably have returned to the 50's(smelly cinemas and all ) and advised all who would listen....''The Future?!Don't ever go there !!They have all gone stark staring....MAD...
Friday, July 27, 2007
Who the h**l was H.L.Mencken?
Journalism must be a very difficult profession.I don't mean the Sunday newspaper silly- article scribblers,I mean those who have the daily or weekly task of writing something thats newsworthy ,interesting ,memorable and maybe even profound enough to get their readers animated,either pro or con their article.
Some journalists are campaigners and get genuinely caught-up in what they write about.But if they become campaigners,say against big business or political corruption they not only have to please their readers,but also their editors and no matter how much protesting the newspaper owners do to the contrary ,those owners will be prepared to reign-in,however subtly,a journalist they consider to be a 'maverick.
However we look at it .those newspaper owners,who, we choose to call magnates,such as William Randolph Hearst,Lord Beaverbrook or nowadays Rupert Murdock and of course our own Sir Anthony O'Reilly all weilded or currently do weild tremendous influence ,either direct or implied over even the most professional or dedicated journalist on their newspaper(or for that matter any other news medium.)
In short it still comes down to an employer employee situation.In fact the better a journalist is and the bigger his/her salary ,the more he /she becomes dependent on the man who signs the paycheque.
The journalists' loyalties should always be to their readers.As far as I know, journalism or reporting began when the British House of Commons first allowed reporters in, to record the happenings of the House to the public at large.In fact I think that is where the expression the Fourth Estate was first applied ,in a jeering way ,to members of the press(at that time the three estates were ,the leaders of the church ,the nobility, and of course the ordinary people(or the lords spiritual,the lords temporal and the commoners).
The reporters,or journalists were there to keep the 3rd estate informed on the doings of the other 2 estates.
Does this still happen?Could a journalist ,in any medium , who is getting paid ,say a million a year not be very conscious of what the man who pays his salary wants him to say ?
So who the h**l was H.L.(Henry Louis)Mencken ?He was , of course,first and foremost a journalist.He was from Baltimore(I believe it is pronounced Bawlamer,by those who live there).He was editor at one time ,I think ,of the Baltimore Sun.He always spoke his mind through his writings no matter who he upset.At one time not very popular but eventually through his writings had a great influence on American literature.He was referred to as America's Bernard Shaw and called the Sage of Baltimore.Severly mentally disabled in the latter part of his life .he died in his seventies in about 1956.
Why should he be remembered?A piece of advice he gave an up and coming journalist,''Never accept a free ticket from a theatre manager ,a free ride from the chamber of commerce,or a favour from a politician''.
.By the way with the Irish Independent now at €1.70 and the Irish Daily Mail costing only .70c is the information gleaned from the I.I.worth an extra €6 per week?I have heard of the economies of scale of newspaper production ,but surely this is nothing short of greed....
Some journalists are campaigners and get genuinely caught-up in what they write about.But if they become campaigners,say against big business or political corruption they not only have to please their readers,but also their editors and no matter how much protesting the newspaper owners do to the contrary ,those owners will be prepared to reign-in,however subtly,a journalist they consider to be a 'maverick.
However we look at it .those newspaper owners,who, we choose to call magnates,such as William Randolph Hearst,Lord Beaverbrook or nowadays Rupert Murdock and of course our own Sir Anthony O'Reilly all weilded or currently do weild tremendous influence ,either direct or implied over even the most professional or dedicated journalist on their newspaper(or for that matter any other news medium.)
In short it still comes down to an employer employee situation.In fact the better a journalist is and the bigger his/her salary ,the more he /she becomes dependent on the man who signs the paycheque.
The journalists' loyalties should always be to their readers.As far as I know, journalism or reporting began when the British House of Commons first allowed reporters in, to record the happenings of the House to the public at large.In fact I think that is where the expression the Fourth Estate was first applied ,in a jeering way ,to members of the press(at that time the three estates were ,the leaders of the church ,the nobility, and of course the ordinary people(or the lords spiritual,the lords temporal and the commoners).
The reporters,or journalists were there to keep the 3rd estate informed on the doings of the other 2 estates.
Does this still happen?Could a journalist ,in any medium , who is getting paid ,say a million a year not be very conscious of what the man who pays his salary wants him to say ?
So who the h**l was H.L.(Henry Louis)Mencken ?He was , of course,first and foremost a journalist.He was from Baltimore(I believe it is pronounced Bawlamer,by those who live there).He was editor at one time ,I think ,of the Baltimore Sun.He always spoke his mind through his writings no matter who he upset.At one time not very popular but eventually through his writings had a great influence on American literature.He was referred to as America's Bernard Shaw and called the Sage of Baltimore.Severly mentally disabled in the latter part of his life .he died in his seventies in about 1956.
Why should he be remembered?A piece of advice he gave an up and coming journalist,''Never accept a free ticket from a theatre manager ,a free ride from the chamber of commerce,or a favour from a politician''.
.By the way with the Irish Independent now at €1.70 and the Irish Daily Mail costing only .70c is the information gleaned from the I.I.worth an extra €6 per week?I have heard of the economies of scale of newspaper production ,but surely this is nothing short of greed....
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Pat Carey/Irish Independent/etc
Our new Junior Minister for Drugs Pat Carey seems to have upset a number of people because of his proposal to have all mobile phones registered with, a view to curbing the activities of the drug dealers using the anonymous pay-as- you- go mobile phone system for their rotten business.His senior Civil Servants were first out of the traps,telling him that the proposal was unworkable,and then we had Kevin Myers of the Irish Independent ridiculing him.I must say, straight away ,that I believe Bertie Ahearn' s ploy in increasing the number of Junior Ministeries to 20 (there were only 3, allowed for, originally in our constitution)to allow him more leeway when handing out jobs-for-boys,was ,even for him,a very cynical move. But a minister ,having been legally(?) appointed should be given an opportunity to, at least try, to do something,before his suggestions are strangled at birth by the opinion-formers in our society-allowed to make his own mistakes ,if you like.
The Minister is the person who will be blamed if nothing is done,or if things go wrong in that area,not the Senior Civil Servants or for that matter Kevin Myers or other hurlers-on- the-ditch.
Lets talk about the Senior Civil Servants,the real permanent Government,or the''Sir Humpries'',as they seem to enjoy being called.They are the people who came up with the cunning plan ,now known as 'Benchmarking',under which increases were given(during the Dot-com boom) to bring Civil Servants' (and all other public servants')salaries to the level of private companies employees.
No records of this exercise were ever kept(to ensure confidentiality apparently),but nevertheless the result was...Civil Servants,and in particular Senior Civil Servants were ...deemed to be underpaid in comparison with the dot-com boys,(incidentally many of whom suffered a drop in salary or loss of jobs when the dot-com boom ended).But the S.C.S's go from strenght to strenght salarywise(including ''benchmarked'' pensions that continue to increase in line with the rate for the JOB ,even years after retirement,an arrangement devoutly to be wished by all outside the public service)
The same S.C.S. seem to be able to nobble a new minister but still retain an anonymity and unaccountability in the eyes of the taxpaying public.
And Kevin Myers?A good and, for the most part ,interesting journalist,but recently,like many of his colleagues in Independent Newspapers,he is beginning to pall,particularly his confusing and hyperbolic attempts at humour.
Our criticism of Government Ministers should be severe but also we should retain a capacity for seperating the man(or woman) from the job.
An example....a good few years ago on a family holiday in Ballycastle,Co. Mayo,listening to the local news one morning ,I heard a report,that local politician Pee Flynn was giving up his job as a primary school teacher.Now ,this man had been a T.D. for many years,A Junior Minister ,a Senior Minister in various ministeries, an M.E.P.,and was at that time a European Commissioner.On hearing this I immediately started moaning(real moaners NEVER go on holidays) to my long-suffering wife about the greed of politicians holding on to their teaching jobs and pensions long after there was any material need to do so and denying some young graduate an opportunity for a permanent position.
Later on that morning we were in Ballina for the Salmon Festival and happened to meet the aforementioned Pee Flynn out and about with his family.Handshakes and greetings were exchanged and we all moved on...but my wife kept muttering something out of the corner of her mouth about me being a hypocrite,how I was able to make all those comments about him behind closed doors but too cowardly to say it to his face.In my defence I could only say that I could not say what I thought on front of his family but that in the proper forum I could(and have said) say what I felt.....I obviously would not make a good politician..../etc
The Minister is the person who will be blamed if nothing is done,or if things go wrong in that area,not the Senior Civil Servants or for that matter Kevin Myers or other hurlers-on- the-ditch.
Lets talk about the Senior Civil Servants,the real permanent Government,or the''Sir Humpries'',as they seem to enjoy being called.They are the people who came up with the cunning plan ,now known as 'Benchmarking',under which increases were given(during the Dot-com boom) to bring Civil Servants' (and all other public servants')salaries to the level of private companies employees.
No records of this exercise were ever kept(to ensure confidentiality apparently),but nevertheless the result was...Civil Servants,and in particular Senior Civil Servants were ...deemed to be underpaid in comparison with the dot-com boys,(incidentally many of whom suffered a drop in salary or loss of jobs when the dot-com boom ended).But the S.C.S's go from strenght to strenght salarywise(including ''benchmarked'' pensions that continue to increase in line with the rate for the JOB ,even years after retirement,an arrangement devoutly to be wished by all outside the public service)
The same S.C.S. seem to be able to nobble a new minister but still retain an anonymity and unaccountability in the eyes of the taxpaying public.
And Kevin Myers?A good and, for the most part ,interesting journalist,but recently,like many of his colleagues in Independent Newspapers,he is beginning to pall,particularly his confusing and hyperbolic attempts at humour.
Our criticism of Government Ministers should be severe but also we should retain a capacity for seperating the man(or woman) from the job.
An example....a good few years ago on a family holiday in Ballycastle,Co. Mayo,listening to the local news one morning ,I heard a report,that local politician Pee Flynn was giving up his job as a primary school teacher.Now ,this man had been a T.D. for many years,A Junior Minister ,a Senior Minister in various ministeries, an M.E.P.,and was at that time a European Commissioner.On hearing this I immediately started moaning(real moaners NEVER go on holidays) to my long-suffering wife about the greed of politicians holding on to their teaching jobs and pensions long after there was any material need to do so and denying some young graduate an opportunity for a permanent position.
Later on that morning we were in Ballina for the Salmon Festival and happened to meet the aforementioned Pee Flynn out and about with his family.Handshakes and greetings were exchanged and we all moved on...but my wife kept muttering something out of the corner of her mouth about me being a hypocrite,how I was able to make all those comments about him behind closed doors but too cowardly to say it to his face.In my defence I could only say that I could not say what I thought on front of his family but that in the proper forum I could(and have said) say what I felt.....I obviously would not make a good politician..../etc
Monday, July 23, 2007
The Irish Senate
The results of yet another example of Irish ''democracy'' will be available shortly.That is assuming that, the powers -that -be, bother to let us, the citizens, know at all .
Yes , we may be informed in the next few days of the results of the Irish senatorial ''election''.We have vaguely heard over the past few weeks, about the little political spats over the doling out of these seats in what is laughingly called 'our Upper House.
For those among the Irish citizenry who have not being paying attention closely;we do have an Upper House.It consists of 60 seats.The 'electorate'are,T.D.'s and local councillars, (43 seats)and graduates of our main Universities (U.C.D.,Trinity) (6 seats) and thats about it ......hold-on ..wait...that only totals 49 seats,Joe...Oh yes I forgot to tell you the balance of 11 seats are filled on the whim of our Taoiseach (you know the same man who is leading the party that are ''running the country'' on 41% of the votes cast in our recent General Election.)We have had the usual jokes about Caligua appointimg his horse to the Senate in Rome,but we must assume that that was not a serious appointment.But here in Ireland in 2007 almost anyone can be appointed by our Taoiseach.
The the Senate is being used cynically by politicians as a waiting -room or a departure lounge for up-and -coming politicians or for those who were unable get elected by the proper proportional representation democratic election. People such as myself who did not graduate from either of the above -mentioned Universities,but who have cast their vote in every single general election since coming of age ,people who have a deep ,genuine interest in how this country is run ,have no say in how the Senate is made-up.
The, now practically extinct, Progressive Democrats set out originally to abolish the Senate .They are now using that institution as a political breathing-hole ,to keep them alive for a littlewhile longer.How can anybody,who is not gaining materially in some way from this body,continue to approve its existence?
Some have suggested ''changes'' or ''adjustments'' or even''radical overhaul'' or some other political tinkering.I say ABOLISH it completly.Whatever Eamon DeValera had in mind ,devious and all as he was ,I am quite sure he would turn in his gravy if he could see what it has become.......
Yes , we may be informed in the next few days of the results of the Irish senatorial ''election''.We have vaguely heard over the past few weeks, about the little political spats over the doling out of these seats in what is laughingly called 'our Upper House.
For those among the Irish citizenry who have not being paying attention closely;we do have an Upper House.It consists of 60 seats.The 'electorate'are,T.D.'s and local councillars, (43 seats)and graduates of our main Universities (U.C.D.,Trinity) (6 seats) and thats about it ......hold-on ..wait...that only totals 49 seats,Joe...Oh yes I forgot to tell you the balance of 11 seats are filled on the whim of our Taoiseach (you know the same man who is leading the party that are ''running the country'' on 41% of the votes cast in our recent General Election.)We have had the usual jokes about Caligua appointimg his horse to the Senate in Rome,but we must assume that that was not a serious appointment.But here in Ireland in 2007 almost anyone can be appointed by our Taoiseach.
The the Senate is being used cynically by politicians as a waiting -room or a departure lounge for up-and -coming politicians or for those who were unable get elected by the proper proportional representation democratic election. People such as myself who did not graduate from either of the above -mentioned Universities,but who have cast their vote in every single general election since coming of age ,people who have a deep ,genuine interest in how this country is run ,have no say in how the Senate is made-up.
The, now practically extinct, Progressive Democrats set out originally to abolish the Senate .They are now using that institution as a political breathing-hole ,to keep them alive for a littlewhile longer.How can anybody,who is not gaining materially in some way from this body,continue to approve its existence?
Some have suggested ''changes'' or ''adjustments'' or even''radical overhaul'' or some other political tinkering.I say ABOLISH it completly.Whatever Eamon DeValera had in mind ,devious and all as he was ,I am quite sure he would turn in his gravy if he could see what it has become.......
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Alistair Cooke
The renowned journalist/writer/commentator Alistair Cooke,died about four years ago.He was over 90 years old .He had 'retired' from his ''day-job'' less than a year before his death.He had been a journalist all his working life;having spent 60 years presenting his radio-letter ''Letter from America'' in which he managed to inform and entertain his listeners with his news stories .
These stories were able to link local news with national and indeed, international, news .Sometime after his death a story broke about a pharmaceutical company effectivly robbing graves in order to use the bones of the deceased in a manufacturing process.Alistair Cooke's bones were among those taken.
This ,of course, was very upsetting for his and the families of the other departed .
But ,in a way,how wonderfully appropriate that ,the mortal remains of ,probably, the world's longest serving working journalist, should be still making headlines years after his death at the age of 90 plus.
Not directly connected but with a similar appropriatness is the story of our own(?) Micheal MacLiammore and to a lesser extent Hilton Edwards.They lived for the theatre and have left a marvellous legacy of theatrical events.the Gate,Oscar Wilde,and Hilton Edwards' involvement in what is now RTE.(refer to the double biography ''The Boys'').
MacLiammore was seen by his peers as one of the best Irish stage actors ever.We,the non-theatre-going public, did not know, until after both he and Hilton Edwards had died ,that he was not Irish at all.Not only was he not Irish but he was 'very'English(Alfred Willmore)and almost everything about his life and background was invention.
As in the case of Alistair Cooke ,how appropriate that this dedicated actor should have spent all his life in Ireland playing a part,as far as his Irish origins and (for most of us) his sexual -orientation were concerned,on a 24/7 timescale...,and many years after his death we should still be impressed by the fact that an actor named Alfred Willmore convinced us that a man called Michael MacLiammore really existed..
These stories were able to link local news with national and indeed, international, news .Sometime after his death a story broke about a pharmaceutical company effectivly robbing graves in order to use the bones of the deceased in a manufacturing process.Alistair Cooke's bones were among those taken.
This ,of course, was very upsetting for his and the families of the other departed .
But ,in a way,how wonderfully appropriate that ,the mortal remains of ,probably, the world's longest serving working journalist, should be still making headlines years after his death at the age of 90 plus.
Not directly connected but with a similar appropriatness is the story of our own(?) Micheal MacLiammore and to a lesser extent Hilton Edwards.They lived for the theatre and have left a marvellous legacy of theatrical events.the Gate,Oscar Wilde,and Hilton Edwards' involvement in what is now RTE.(refer to the double biography ''The Boys'').
MacLiammore was seen by his peers as one of the best Irish stage actors ever.We,the non-theatre-going public, did not know, until after both he and Hilton Edwards had died ,that he was not Irish at all.Not only was he not Irish but he was 'very'English(Alfred Willmore)and almost everything about his life and background was invention.
As in the case of Alistair Cooke ,how appropriate that this dedicated actor should have spent all his life in Ireland playing a part,as far as his Irish origins and (for most of us) his sexual -orientation were concerned,on a 24/7 timescale...,and many years after his death we should still be impressed by the fact that an actor named Alfred Willmore convinced us that a man called Michael MacLiammore really existed..
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Mary Harney/P.D.'s
Mary Harney has decided to remain as leader of of the Progressive Democrats simply because nobody else wanted the job.It is of course a great pity that a political party such as this should suffer a demise.However,its demise is the fault of Mary Harney herself.She was the person who decided that to privatise Health services in Ireland was the way to go .Of course she put in a lot of work politically over the years and the efficent way in which she abolished 'smokey' coal will be one of her lasting legacies.But Harney's grim determination to privatise Health ,despite serious objections and complaints from the public at large ,was her undoing.
She hasn't gone away ,of course,and presumably the privatisation of our Health service remains.Mary Harney in her previous ministry came up with the mantra 'shop around' when faced with the problem of rising prices.In most instances this advice was a nonsense in practical terms,for example 'shopping around' for groceries was not possible for people who did not have their own transport,or 'shopping around' for petrol in some areas was a non -runner.
The most hippocrital example of this nonsense was when we were told to 'shop around' on telecommunications.A personal example....I was being ripped-off by Eircom,I was unable to even contact a human being in that company who could help me with billing queries....so on Mary Harney's advice I 'shopped around'....and came up with ....Smart Telecom....As we all now know Eircom ,who own the land lines, were allowed to literally pull the plug on Smart.What were Mary and her civil servants doing?????.Nothing...except telling us to 'shop around '(I think the Mary Harney-appointed 'REGULATOR ',having begged O'Reilly(or whoever owned Eircom at the time) scurried off to EUROPE ,to try and get Brussels to intervene.(Good old Eircom....you are all wonderful ...wonderful...wonderful ...people ...allowing me to use the internet like this)
Guess which company I am back with.....?
Another example of the effect of ' 'shop- around- Mary's ''policy was the famous BUPA saga,where once again the poor slobs were advised to s/a...so we moved from VHI to BUPA and all was going well when suddenly it was discovered that to actually ''compete'', BUPA would have to pay their competitors to allow them to compete....
Oh I've had enough....best of luck in the future Mary....
She hasn't gone away ,of course,and presumably the privatisation of our Health service remains.Mary Harney in her previous ministry came up with the mantra 'shop around' when faced with the problem of rising prices.In most instances this advice was a nonsense in practical terms,for example 'shopping around' for groceries was not possible for people who did not have their own transport,or 'shopping around' for petrol in some areas was a non -runner.
The most hippocrital example of this nonsense was when we were told to 'shop around' on telecommunications.A personal example....I was being ripped-off by Eircom,I was unable to even contact a human being in that company who could help me with billing queries....so on Mary Harney's advice I 'shopped around'....and came up with ....Smart Telecom....As we all now know Eircom ,who own the land lines, were allowed to literally pull the plug on Smart.What were Mary and her civil servants doing?????.Nothing...except telling us to 'shop around '(I think the Mary Harney-appointed 'REGULATOR ',having begged O'Reilly(or whoever owned Eircom at the time) scurried off to EUROPE ,to try and get Brussels to intervene.(Good old Eircom....you are all wonderful ...wonderful...wonderful ...people ...allowing me to use the internet like this)
Guess which company I am back with.....?
Another example of the effect of ' 'shop- around- Mary's ''policy was the famous BUPA saga,where once again the poor slobs were advised to s/a...so we moved from VHI to BUPA and all was going well when suddenly it was discovered that to actually ''compete'', BUPA would have to pay their competitors to allow them to compete....
Oh I've had enough....best of luck in the future Mary....
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
A smell of fish
It appears that something decidedly 'fishy' is going on, and has been going on for some time between our Taoiseach and the media,the Irish Independent in particular.Not just concerning his murky financial affairs,but in the media's refusal to take him to task on such issues as ,for example,his recent outrageous remark regarding suicide.
A few weeks ago the Sunday Independent had a glaring lead headline about the C.A.R.I. organisation being 'investigated' by the Mahon Tribunal in relation to Bertie Ahearn's finances.
Clearly this story was intended to add fuel to the ongoing criticism of Mahon.
Sure ,we have headlines referring to the Taoiseach's 'red herring'comment;when an apparent banking error caused Ahearn to refer to a conspiricy,and other headlines mentioning an expected 'grilling'when he is, finally, dragged,kicking and screaming-clinging- to- the- doorposts ,to give his explanations of his financial affairs.
But ...wait...hold-on...just a minnow...isn't this the man who claimed that the Tribunal was on a 'fishing' expedition in relation to their 'trawl' for information and he looking forward to giving his side of the story...?...If so why try to further delay his appearence.
At last will we have the trout,the whole trout and nothing but the trout...?
A few weeks ago the Sunday Independent had a glaring lead headline about the C.A.R.I. organisation being 'investigated' by the Mahon Tribunal in relation to Bertie Ahearn's finances.
Clearly this story was intended to add fuel to the ongoing criticism of Mahon.
Sure ,we have headlines referring to the Taoiseach's 'red herring'comment;when an apparent banking error caused Ahearn to refer to a conspiricy,and other headlines mentioning an expected 'grilling'when he is, finally, dragged,kicking and screaming-clinging- to- the- doorposts ,to give his explanations of his financial affairs.
But ...wait...hold-on...just a minnow...isn't this the man who claimed that the Tribunal was on a 'fishing' expedition in relation to their 'trawl' for information and he looking forward to giving his side of the story...?...If so why try to further delay his appearence.
At last will we have the trout,the whole trout and nothing but the trout...?
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Poker/Rathgar
Texas-hold'em seems to be the current gambling craze;having only, really. played the game, properly ,once, and been the winner on the night ,I suppose I should have a liking for it .My daughter-in-law, who is a true Texan ,and probably learned the game in her crib ,taught me the rules .Somehow I couldn't see how Txhld'm could be better than the real old-fashioned,5 card draw poker which I played when growing-up in Rathgar in the fifties.Our weekly poker -school, in which one person might win anothers weekly payroll on a Friday night,and then the loser borrows, f rom the winner,enough cash to get him through the week,and the next week it all happens again ,probably in reverse....all good fun,had none of the soppy rules of Txhld'm.
First of all, in Texas -hold'em, there is an agreed 'table-stake'(no chance of losing all your wages on the night...softies...)
Then one can 'see' ,with a partial amount, if they haven't enough to match a big bet (that takes care of the courageous big bluffers...wimps)
Finally there can only be a winner- takes -all outcome,which would seem to rule out combining with a pal to fleece a 'pidgeon',who had just been paid a large bonus...cowards...
The rules of Texas Hold'em evolved to enable larger groups of players than the usual 5 or 6 to play with the deck of 52 without having to resort to using the discards,also to avoid the situation of players losing all their cash ,and to block big bluffers from getting away with their bluff....oh for the good old days....;last night I dreamt I went to Rathgar again.....
First of all, in Texas -hold'em, there is an agreed 'table-stake'(no chance of losing all your wages on the night...softies...)
Then one can 'see' ,with a partial amount, if they haven't enough to match a big bet (that takes care of the courageous big bluffers...wimps)
Finally there can only be a winner- takes -all outcome,which would seem to rule out combining with a pal to fleece a 'pidgeon',who had just been paid a large bonus...cowards...
The rules of Texas Hold'em evolved to enable larger groups of players than the usual 5 or 6 to play with the deck of 52 without having to resort to using the discards,also to avoid the situation of players losing all their cash ,and to block big bluffers from getting away with their bluff....oh for the good old days....;last night I dreamt I went to Rathgar again.....
Monday, July 16, 2007
Arthur C. Clarke
As far as I know the science fiction (?) writer and thinker Arthur C. Clarke is still alive and living in Sri Lanka.In the 1930's he was already thinking and writing about rockets carrying passengers into outer space,even before the first crude rockets were fired on London during the 2nd World War.He had even designed navigational instruments which would be used over 3o years later by American and Russian space crafts.
Clarke's collaboration with the great film director Stanley Kubrick(or was it Kubricks collaboration with Clarke ?)...in the making of the film '2001 Space Odyssey' helped to make that film a classic.Clarke also has ideas on how in the not-too-distant future space-tourism will become a possibility.Already people such as Richard Branso and our own Bill Cullen apparently have'booked'seats on future space flights....of course the cost will be in millions(£ or € ???,does it really matter),but its a start and the price is bound to come down.
Clarke's vision of future space- tourism was a sort of 'stairway to the stars' on which the tourist would travel, in incremental stages, to a space-station in a fixed orbit above the Equator.I certainly don't know whether it is scientifically possible but I would not ignore the vision of a man who as a , humble civil-servant, in the dark days of i930's London, already has his eyes firmly fixed on the stars.
So three cheers for Arthur Charles Clarke,who is 90 years of age this year(assuming he is still alive) hip-hip-hooray.......
Clarke's collaboration with the great film director Stanley Kubrick(or was it Kubricks collaboration with Clarke ?)...in the making of the film '2001 Space Odyssey' helped to make that film a classic.Clarke also has ideas on how in the not-too-distant future space-tourism will become a possibility.Already people such as Richard Branso and our own Bill Cullen apparently have'booked'seats on future space flights....of course the cost will be in millions(£ or € ???,does it really matter),but its a start and the price is bound to come down.
Clarke's vision of future space- tourism was a sort of 'stairway to the stars' on which the tourist would travel, in incremental stages, to a space-station in a fixed orbit above the Equator.I certainly don't know whether it is scientifically possible but I would not ignore the vision of a man who as a , humble civil-servant, in the dark days of i930's London, already has his eyes firmly fixed on the stars.
So three cheers for Arthur Charles Clarke,who is 90 years of age this year(assuming he is still alive) hip-hip-hooray.......
Saturday, July 14, 2007
St.Lukes Hospital
Anyone who knows St.Lukes Cancer Hospital in Rathgar will be aware that the site on which it stands is probably the most exclusive ,discreet area in Dublin City.Unfortunately their visits were probably at a time of sadness or concern for themselves or a relative or friend.
It appears that there is a proposal to close St.Lukes....I think to 'centralise care' is the reason given for this move.
The pretence is that the proposal is Dept.of Health driven,when it appears quite obvious that this is for the benefit of some developer waiting anxiously in the wings....
St.Lukes site bridges the area between Highfield Rd. and Orwell park,the original 'leafy suburbs' of Rathgar, entrance and exit are both on to secluded roads....a developers dream....
We should not let this happen! State owned property such as this should not be allowed to pass quietly into private hands.
It appears that there is a proposal to close St.Lukes....I think to 'centralise care' is the reason given for this move.
The pretence is that the proposal is Dept.of Health driven,when it appears quite obvious that this is for the benefit of some developer waiting anxiously in the wings....
St.Lukes site bridges the area between Highfield Rd. and Orwell park,the original 'leafy suburbs' of Rathgar, entrance and exit are both on to secluded roads....a developers dream....
We should not let this happen! State owned property such as this should not be allowed to pass quietly into private hands.
Friday, July 13, 2007
irish Independent
I've just noticed that the Irish Independent,my favourite newspaper for the past 40 years has increased its price to €1.70,I must somehow have missed that headline....
This increase comes very close to the perceived change in editorial policy in relation to the Taoiseach and his party .This policy seems to have slipped from a balanced journalistic approach,to a pro Bertie/F.F. one.
This is a newspaper which once upon a time, boldly, challenged the greed of the National Toll Roads Company for their sneaky increases.Of course the public have an easier choice as far as the greed of Independent Newspapers is concerned...instead of having to take the long way around,as we would have to do in the case of N.T.R., let us simply stop buying the Indo.;borrow someone elses,buy it once or twice a week or (as a last resort) revert to getting the (cheaper,and much more pretentious),publication known as the Irish Times.....
This increase comes very close to the perceived change in editorial policy in relation to the Taoiseach and his party .This policy seems to have slipped from a balanced journalistic approach,to a pro Bertie/F.F. one.
This is a newspaper which once upon a time, boldly, challenged the greed of the National Toll Roads Company for their sneaky increases.Of course the public have an easier choice as far as the greed of Independent Newspapers is concerned...instead of having to take the long way around,as we would have to do in the case of N.T.R., let us simply stop buying the Indo.;borrow someone elses,buy it once or twice a week or (as a last resort) revert to getting the (cheaper,and much more pretentious),publication known as the Irish Times.....
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Chop In China
Zheng Xiaoyu, the former executive in China responsible for Food/Drug quality, has been executed for corruption, with an estimated value of bribes accepted approx €630,ooo.
This rather extreme measure should, however, cause us in this country to see how casually we have accepted corporate and political corruption over many years.
Some mature journalists and others here seem to be arguing that a senior politician who accepts bribes in thousands should be excused because he wasn't as corrupt as the senior politician who took bribes (?) in millions....
Some of these established journalists are now beginning to lampoon the tribunals with the obvious intention of having them closed down....but the people who will benefit most from closure are the corrupt ones...
Also, considering what happened to ZX above, should our brand new (junior) Minister for Food Quality, Trevor Sargent, be on the look out??
This rather extreme measure should, however, cause us in this country to see how casually we have accepted corporate and political corruption over many years.
Some mature journalists and others here seem to be arguing that a senior politician who accepts bribes in thousands should be excused because he wasn't as corrupt as the senior politician who took bribes (?) in millions....
Some of these established journalists are now beginning to lampoon the tribunals with the obvious intention of having them closed down....but the people who will benefit most from closure are the corrupt ones...
Also, considering what happened to ZX above, should our brand new (junior) Minister for Food Quality, Trevor Sargent, be on the look out??
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Conflict Resolution, or Ahern's Folly
The latest cunning plan from our Minister for Foreign affairs Mr.Ahern to set up a conflict resolution group is very much premature.Surely we should wait at least a year to see if 'the North's'problems have truly been resolved.If the 23million euro annual budget mentioned is burning a hole in the pockets of the Dept.of Finance why not gift the amount to someone such as John O'Shea of Goal ,an organisation with a track record of poverty/suffering resolution worldwide already.....
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Having been a reader of the Irish Independent and Sunday Independent for the past 40 years I have certainly noticed a subtle change in Editorial stance in relation to Bertie Ahern's administration ,in the recent past i.e.since the 'off' was signalled for the latest General Election.While I do not believe that Sir Antony or his editors have been 'got at', I do believe that some shift has taken place in the thinking in Independent Newspapers.
The most obvious about face being that of Eoghan Harris in the Sunday Independent.I certainly enjoy reading most of the S.I.contributers(I am even willing to suffer the dizzy-blonde subjective articles -accompanied by the inevitable large personalised photos-filling the gaps between the decent writers),but now to find this paper becoming an apologist for this latest and (to my mind ) undemocratic administration takes the biscuit.
I appreciate that balance is essential in any newspaper...but truth is more important.Be it Berties finances,or his 'off-the-cuff'comments (e.g. his deliberate reference in a detrimental way to suicide being passed off as a slip of the tongue by some of the contributers) suggests to me that an easy ride is I.N.N.'s new gift to Ahern....WHY?....Gene Kerrigan better look out ....
The most obvious about face being that of Eoghan Harris in the Sunday Independent.I certainly enjoy reading most of the S.I.contributers(I am even willing to suffer the dizzy-blonde subjective articles -accompanied by the inevitable large personalised photos-filling the gaps between the decent writers),but now to find this paper becoming an apologist for this latest and (to my mind ) undemocratic administration takes the biscuit.
I appreciate that balance is essential in any newspaper...but truth is more important.Be it Berties finances,or his 'off-the-cuff'comments (e.g. his deliberate reference in a detrimental way to suicide being passed off as a slip of the tongue by some of the contributers) suggests to me that an easy ride is I.N.N.'s new gift to Ahern....WHY?....Gene Kerrigan better look out ....
Monday, July 9, 2007
The Office of Public Works have apparently bought Castletown with a view to refurbishing it. Good! The people of Celbridge are delighted for their local amenity to be upgraded, now that it at last belongs to us the Taxpayer. As a 35-year resident of Celbrige, I have been able to enjoy this local amenity as have my children and grandchildren. So I thank the OPW for this.
A couple of remarks however. I read last week in the LC some comments made by a spokesperson from the OPW who does not seem to appreciate what Castletown House, Celbridge means to the people of Celbridge.
A couple of remarks however. I read last week in the LC some comments made by a spokesperson from the OPW who does not seem to appreciate what Castletown House, Celbridge means to the people of Celbridge.
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