Category: Body Politic

Independents must decide: The people or the corrupt political system

 

power-of-the-people-quote-wael-ghonim-revolution-2

By Anthony Sheridan

Despair and extreme anger over the level of political corruption is the only reason Katherine Zappone and members of the Independence Alliance were elected to public office.

They now hold power within that corrupt political system and are facing the exact same dilemma that other political entities faced in the past – to support the corrupt system or to challenge its power and fight to bring it down.

The Progressive Democrats under Des O’Malley and Mary Harney promised the Irish people that they would rid our country of political corruption – They lied and were removed from power by the people.

Labour under Dick Spring promised the Irish people that he would rid our country of political corruption – He lied and was removed from power by the people.

The Green Party under John Gormley promised the Irish people that he would rid our country of political corruption – He lied and was removed from power by the people.

Labour under Eamon Gilmore and Joan Burton promised the Irish people that they would rid our country of political corruption – They lied and were removed from power by the people.

Now Katherine Zappone and members of the Independence Alliance have to make the same decision – the people or the corrupt political system.

If they fail to support the people they too will be removed from power and the fight will go on to rid our country of the disease of political corruption.

Ultimately, the people will win.

Copy to:

Katherine Zappone

Independent Alliance

 

Principle of ‘Innocent until proven guilty’ does not apply universally in Ireland

 

guilty-until-proven-innocent

 

By Anthony Sheridan

There seems to be a great deal of worry amongst Irish establishment figures that the Brazilians may not grant Pat Hickey the protection of the almost universal principle of ‘Innocent until proven guilty’.

Here’s former CEO of the FAI Fran Rooney on RTE yesterday.

It’s a real concern that the men’s presumption of innocence is being ignored… the whole presumption of innocence is a key issue here.

In light of the above comments it will no doubt come as a great shock to barrister Fran Rooney to learn that the ‘Innocent until proven guilty’ principle does not apply universally in Ireland.

It will come as an even greater shock to anxious establishment figures like Rooney to learn that the principal was abandoned to protect the multi-million Euro Mass card monopoly enjoyed by the Catholic Church.

Any Irish citizen who sells (even one) a Mass card without the express permission of a Catholic bishop is guilty of an offence which may result in a ten year prison sentence and/or a fine of €300,000.

This law is even more draconian than that enacted to combat ruthless drug lords. If (Catholic) Brazilian politicians were to enact such a law Irish establishment figures like Ryan Tubridy, for example, would be choking on their breakfast cereal.

To copper-fasten the law and ensure no citizen dares challenge the financial interests of the Catholic Church Irish politicians inserted the following section into the Charities Act 2009:

Section 99:

(2): In proceedings for an offence under this section it shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved on the balance of probabilities, that the sale of the Mass card to which the alleged offence relates was not done pursuant to an arrangement with a recognised person.

So there you have it – in Irish legislation – in black and white – Guilty unless you can prove you are innocent.

Shane Ross: Breaking the rules of his own political class

 

 

austerity

By Anthony Sheridan

The first rule of Irish mainstream media when it comes to corruption is – under no circumstances whatsoever should the issue be actually addressed, analysed or even mentioned.

So we had the usual conservative pro-establishment packed panel on the Marian Finucane Show last Sunday discussing the Olympic ticket corruption scandal.

But, sticking strictly to the rule, the issued of corruption was completely ignored as the panel focused on attacking the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Shane Ross over his handling of the scandal.

The reason for such attacks on Ross is clear. Although he is an establishment insider himself, he has been breaking another golden rule of the ruling elite – he actually investigates and reports on the rampant corruption within his own political/media class.

This is an unforgiveable sin and attracts vicious rants laced with lies from people like former Labour minister for State Aodhan O’Riordan.

The issue here is that anybody who shared the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) with Shane Ross over the last five years know exactly the way he operates. There is no reputation that he is not happy to have a complete go at in order to get five minutes publicity out of, this is the way he has operated for a long time.

Copy to:

Marian Finucane Show

Aodhan O’Riordan

Shane Ross

Minister Donovan: A political moron

 

screen-shot-2015-02-08-at-11-17-23-am

By Anthony Sheridan

Every Irish politician has a simple decision to make when speaking about allegations of corruption.
Speak the truth or sacrifice self-respect by assuming that Irish citizens are idiots.
Minister of State for Tourism and Sport Patrick Donovan chose to assume that Irish citizens are idiots in this interview about the Olympic ticket scandal.
RTE Presenter Richard Crowley: Have you got the facts yet? (A week after the scandal broke).
Donovan: No, we still don’t know what happened. That’s why I asked senior officials in the Dept to write to the Olympic Council of Ireland to seek clarification.
Crowley: What can you tell us about the number of tickets seized by the Brazilian police?
Donovan: I don’t have the exact details. I wouldn’t like to comment on the case specifically.
This is the standard bullshit we get from moronic Irish politicians – I can’t make comment as it might prejudice a court case.
Crowley: Can you tell us how many tickets the international authorities allocate to Ireland?
Donovan: Well this is something we’re also trying to find out.
Any minister for sport who does not know this basic information is a moron.
Crowley: Have the Olympic Council of Ireland not told you that yet?
Donovan: No, what we’ve done is, we’ve written to the Olympic Council of Ireland….blah, blah, blah.
Crowley: Did the Minister (Shane Ross) not ask about these things?
Donovan: I presume he’s trying to establish an open line of communication between the Olympic Council and the Dept which is important because of the reputational damage….blah, blah, blah.
A week after the scandal broke and the moron expects us to believe that he, his senior minister Shane Ross and his Dept. are still trying to establish communications between the Dept. and the Olympic Council of Ireland.
Crowley: But we’re ten days into this and you don’t even have the basic information.
Donovan: No, and the reason we don’t have the basic information is the way investigations are operated in Brazil is different to how they operate in Ireland.
The moron seems to be suggesting that the Brazilians are somehow incompetent when it comes to investigating criminality when in fact it is Irish authorities that are incompetent/corrupt when it comes to investigating these kinds of scandals.
Crowley: You could get this information yourself directly from the Olympic Council of Ireland.
Donovan: That’s why we’ve written to the Olympic Council.
And so, we’re back to writing letters again.  
Crowley: More than a week after the scandal broke?
Donovan: Well in the first instance Richard I was there when the scandal broke and I reacted on behalf of the Government in Rio to what was happening…blah, blah, blah.
The moron did nothing.
Crowley: An inquiry by the Olympic Council of Ireland is entirely unsatisfactory. Can you force them to put an independent person on the inquiry team?
Donovan: No, we can’t but….reputation of Ireland Inc…blah, blah, blah.
Crowley: Is there room for an independent judicial inquiry?
Donovan: It’s too early to say. I was a member of the Oireachtas Committee that looked in detail at the London games…blah, blah, blah.
Just two years ago there were serious problems with the allocation of tickets for the FIFA World Cup held in Brazil
The brazilians, also worried about their country’s reputation, took immediate action that resulted in strict laws governing the allocation of tickets for major events. It was under this law that the Irish corruption was exposed.
To sum up the moron:
I know nothing.
I’m saying nothing

I’ll treat treat Irish citizens like idiots because I don’t have to courage to speak the truth.

I’m waiting for the postman to bring answers – any day now.
Copy to:
Donovan

 

 

Sean Fleming’s PAC: A game of make-believe cowboys

 

quote-disobedience-is-the-true-foundation-of-liberty-the-obedient-must-be-slaves-henry-david-thoreau-184757

By Anthony Sheridan

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is, and has always been, a powerless talking shop, this is no accident. Those who wield the real power in our country would never allow any entity, political or regulatory, to put their interests at risk.

From time to time, however, some members of PAC get a bit uppity, start to stray beyond the limits of the strict rules under which they are forced to operate.

Fianna Fail TD John McGuinness, Sinn Fein TD Mary Lou McDonald and Independent TD Shane Ross are recent examples of this dangerous tendency to actually make the corrupt accountable.

But those who wield real power in our country can rest easy again under the ‘leadership’ of the new chairman of PAC, Fianna Fail TD, Sean Fleming.

Fleming is obediently conforming to strict new rules designed to put his committee firmly back in its box.

Satire is sometimes the only way of responding to such shameful acquiescence.

Here’s my take:

Sean Fleming TD is the new sheriff in town and he’s a mean dude who means business. Sean the Sheriff is the new chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) so watch out all you corrupt bankers, property developers, crooked police officers and misspending civil servants, Sean the Sherriff is a comin ta get ya.

As a member of Fianna Fail, the most notorious criminal gang in the Wild West of Irish politics, Sean will have the lowdown on any critter that tries to put one over on the good folks of his town.

Yessiree, Sean the Sheriff ain’t gonna take any prisoners when it comes to dealing with nasty varmints who try to infect his town with corruption, fraud and gombeenism.

In this report Sean the Sheriff is described as:

An experienced, cautious and eagle-eyed (sheriff) politician.

Will he have any problems speaking up, he was asked.

I guarantee that won’t be a problem. There will be no punches pulled at all.

And to make the point Sean the Sheriff pulled out his massive six-gun and pointed it in a threatening but most impressive manner.

But wait, that’s not a six-gun, it’s…it’s…a water pistol.

Yes, I know, said Sean the Sheriff, despondently. I don’t really have any (fire) power at all; it’s just a game of  make-believe cowboys.

But what about the previous sheriff, John McGuiness? Didn’t he have a cap gun, which, while totally ineffective, did make a bang?

Yes, but he banged (his mouth off) too much which annoyed some very important people so they’ve taken it away and replaced it with this totally silent water pistol.

But surely they should be giving PAC more powers, not less, to fight the ruthlessly corrupt who are armed with such lethal weapons as corrupt politicians, bent lawyers and crooked accountants?

Sean the Sheriff could only reply, as instructed, with this incredibly stupid statement.

Use the powers you have to the best ability without having to use the powers you don’t have.

And so, as Sean the sheriff reloads his water pistol, the townspeople continue to cower in fear of the corrupt, still waiting for a sheriff with a real gun to ride into town and chase out the baddies.

It could be a long wait.

Coy  to:

All PAC members

John McGuinness

Shane Ross

 

Cameron’s legacy: Irish Times gets it wrong

 

 

 

img

By Anthony Sheridan

 

His legacy will be defined and blighted by how he left office. Above all he will be blamed for Brexit.

The above is how an Irish Times editorial described the resignation of David Cameron.

Let’s try to figure out how the Brexit referendum ‘blighted’ Cameron’s legacy.

He decided to ask the people of the UK if they wanted to remain or leave the European Union. Now, admittedly, he did so under pressure from UKIP but that’s realpolitik for you. From what I observed Cameron conducted the campaign in a statesmanlike and honest fashion. Within hours of losing he delivered an impressive speech announcing his resignation – how does this blight his legacy?

Compare this to Irish politicians when they lose referendums. The democratic will of the people is ignored, the result is not accepted, and there are no resignations. The people are patronisingly told that they must have misunderstood the issue and are forced to vote again. Democracy is, in effect, suspended until the government gets its way.

Now lets compare this ludicrous assessment of Cameron’s legacy with how the legacy of the criminal politician Charles Haughey was assessed by former editor of the Irish Times, Geraldine Kennedy, in 2006.

Keep in mind that Haughey was a national traitor responsible for infecting the body politic with the disease of corruption. He plundered the state’s resources for decades and lived on bribes from rich businessmen who were richly rewarded by the criminal at the expense of Irish citizens. He was a ruthless bully and serial perjurer; he was a man who betrayed his wife and family for decades by openly whoring with every slut that came within range of his sleazy presence.

This was Kennedy’s assessment:

On this day, however, it is worth acknowledging that Charles Haughey was the most charismatic figure in Irish politics in living memory. Though small in stature, he had a great presence. He was an astute parliamentarian. He possessed his own particular sense of nationhood. And for good or ill, Mr. Haughey’s character, ambitions, beliefs and flaws are an integral part of the development of this modern State.

The cesspool that is Irish politics

 

SHITE

By Anthony Sheridan

Former Tanaiste Joan Burton has questioned the contradiction in statements made by the Garda Commissioner surrounding the Garda whistleblower.

Meanwhile, Minister for Housing, Simon Coveney has said people should take the Garda Commissioner at her word.

Here is an irrefutable fact.

If Burton were still in power she would be saying what Coveney is saying and if Coveney were in opposition he would be saying what Burton is saying.

Principles, integrity, honour, respect for democracy play no part whatsoever in the cesspool that is Irish politics.

 

 

Vincent Browne: Blind to what’s coming down the road

 

LT9VD8Py (1)

By Anthony Sheridan

Vincent Browne caused a bit of a stir the other day with his claim that the country is suffering from the worst possible outcome of a general election.

From an establishment point of view this is an accurate assessment. The last thing the old regime parties of Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Labour want is political instability and Browne, as an establishment journalist, is simply reflecting that fear.

From the point of view of those of us who are working to bring down the old corrupt regime, the regime that destroyed our country, the current political instability is great news.

Browne tells us that the first casualty of the election is ‘new politics’; this is hilarious.

There is no new politics emerging from within the old regime. The political system that has misruled our country since independence is hopelessly corrupt and beyond any possibility of redemption or reform.

The fractured outcome of the election is simply the latest and most dramatic indication that the old corrupt regime is crumbling.

The panicked scramble between Fianna Fail and Fine Gael to glue together a patchwork government is nothing more than a stop-gap strategy to hold onto as much power for as long as possible within a political system that’s melting away into history.

And the relentless seeping away of political power from the old regime parties is not a new phenomenon. It has been going on since 1992 when Labour under Dick Spring betrayed its promise to tackle political corruption by going into coalition with the corrupt Haughey.

And Labour’s betrayal is nothing new either. For decades the party has been nothing more than a political prostitute selling its principles to the highest bidder in return for a ticket to plunder the states resources.

Inevitably Fianna Fail and Fine Gael will merge into single right wing party that will find itself under increasing pressure from what is the most dramatic political development since independence – the rise of genuine left wing politics led by ordinary people for the benefit of ordinary people.

This new political movement is visible in the water protests, in the increasing number of independents, in the formation of new parties like the Social Democrats and in the continuing rise of Sinn Fein

The inevitable outcome of this political turbulence will see the replacement of what is, effectively, a one party system comprised of Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Labour, with a genuine Left/Right political divide which is the norm in functional democracies.

The major flaw in Browne’s analysis is his own position in the scheme of things. While he regularly castigates the corruption and injustices of the ruling regime he is, ultimately, a loyal member of that regime.

His analysis therefore will always be that of an insider; will always be that of someone who believes the current political system is sound and not in any serious danger of collapse.

He is, in common with most establishment journalists, blind to what’s coming down the road.

Copy to:

Vincent Browne

Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, Labour