Category: General

Did Condilessa Rice vote for Obama? I’d bet a month’s wages on it.

I think it’s likely that the election of Barack Obama will see a positive response from the global market, maybe even the beginning of a recovery.

Young Paddy moved to Roscommon and bought a Donkey from a farmer for €100.00. The farmer agreed to deliver the Donkey the next day.

The next day he drove up and said, ‘Sorry son, but I have some bad news, the donkey died.’

Paddy replied, ‘Well, then just give me my money back.’

The farmer said, ‘Can’t do that. I went and spent it already.’

Paddy said, ‘Ok, then, just bring me the dead donkey.’

The farmer asked, ‘What are ya gonna do with him?

Paddy said, ‘I’m going to raffle him off.’

The farmer said, ‘You can’t raffle off a dead donkey!’

Paddy said, ‘Sure I can. Watch me.. I just won’t tell anybody he’s dead.’

A month later, the farmer met up with Paddy and asked, ‘What happened with that dead donkey?’

Paddy said,’I raffled him off. I sold 500 tickets at two euro’s a piece and made a profit of €898.00.’

The farmer said, ‘Didn’t anyone complain?’

Paddy said, ‘Just the guy who won. So I gave him his two euro’s back.’

Paddy now works for the Irish Government

Congratulation to my nephew Gavin who has just obtained an honours degree in History/Politics at UCC.

Gavin also co-wrote a story in today’s Irish Examiner where he works as a sub editor.

At the moment he’s ‘taking a break’ in Georgia where he hopes to do some reporting on the recent conflict.

I have no problem with rich people. Most of them work hard for their money and so long as they’re not buying politicians or breaking the law in some other way I say – best of luck.

It is, however, ridiculous to hear someone like Jim Mansfield (worth €1.7 billion) declare:

“I have money in property and in this and that, but at the end of the day it means nothing to me really”

Of course it means nothing to him, it’s only people who have feck all that actually worry about money.

It’s even more ridiculous to hear the Mansfield’s of this world claim that they’re just managing to avoid falling into the pit of starvation.

“Money wouldn’t come on my list of priorities at all. All I want is to be able to get a bit of money to eat every week and that’ll keep me going.”

Give us a break, Jim.

Now, where did I stash that tin of beans I was keeping for Sunday dinner?

TDs are on a basic salary of about €100,000. This sum can be almost doubled when expenses and allowances are taken into account. Most expenses are unvouched, in other words, it’s assumed that politicians will not rob the taxpayer. And, of course, most allowances are tax free.

In addition, most Fianna Fail TDs and many from other parties are all on nice little earners chairing committees, sub committees and whatever you’re having yourself. Committee chairpersons get €19,535, vice chairpersons €9,700 and sub committees chairpersons €6,200.

Only a misinformed fool would claim that our politicians are badly paid but on the Marian Finucane Show last Sunday Billy Keane made just such a claim. Here’s what he had to say.

“The decision that they wouldn’t take the pay rises was a crazy one, they should have taken the pay rises because if you look at the head of the bank of Ireland he’s going to get about 20 times a year what the Taoiseach is getting who’s running the biggest company in Ireland – Ireland Inc.

You (addressing Fianna Fail TD Peter Power who was on the panel) should have taken your pay rises and be men and woman enough to stand up and say we’re worth it that in the future if the politicians are properly paid they won’t be in the kind of financial trouble that Bertie found himself in when he was separated.

I have a lot of sympathy for him but he got himself into a mess, he was short of money because he was being paid peanuts and you know the old saying if you pay peanuts you’ll get monkeys and I think they should have had the courage of their convictions and say we’re worth it, we work very long hours, they have to work around the clock.”

Even Peter Power laughed at Keane’s obvious ignorance regarding pay rates for TDs.

To my knowledge Keane is son of the late lamented John B; a man of genius who, I’m sure, would be deeply embarrassed to hear such misinformed nonsense.

This video, exposing MEPs as they sign on for expenses they are not entitled to, is an excellent example of hard hitting, professional journalism in action.

The German reporters ambushed the MEPs as they arrived to sign on for their expenses. Some of the MEPs legged it in embarrassment as soon as they spotted the reporters. The reporters were not shy about challenging these politicians. “It’s seven o’clock in the morning, what are you doing here with your suitcase?”

German Green Party MEP Hiltrud Breyer ran for the lift in a panic but the reporters kept the lift door open and strongly challenged her behaviour.

“Why are you running away, are you ashamed that you wanted to sign the list? Please come out of the lift, what is your problem?”

“Such impertinence.”

“Why is it impertinence? Why are you in such a hurry to get away, why won’t you speak with us, you are a member of the European Parliament.”

“Leave me alone,” she pleaded.

It has been many long years since we witnessed such robust journalism in Ireland. RTE, in particular, has gone soft as a marshmallow when it comes to asking the hard questions. Indeed, the dangerous friendship that has developed between Irish journalists and the body politic has seen some members of the press getting angry when their favourite politician is attacked.

Irish Times journalist, Michael O’Regan, got very angry recently when Fine Gael TD Leo Varadkar attacked Bertie Ahern’s fantasy tales at the Mahon Tribunal.

“I thought that was utterly unfair, I thought the language he used was unfortunate to be quite honest with you and I thought he’d want to get his act together. He’s in the door, he’s wet behind the ears, and he’d want to think before he speaks.”

O’Regan has never displayed such passionate disapproval when reporting on the endless stream of corruption that infects Irish politics and business.

Ignorance and naivety are also common in Irish journalism. Irish Daily Star journalist Catherine Halloran recently (10th July) gave us the ‘benefit’ of her thoughts on Bertie Ahern’s fantasy tales.

“If Ahern had come out at the start and come clean, given the full story and not veered away from that story maybe his legacy would be completely different, maybe he would still be in office.”

Questions were asked on RTE this morning (6th report) as to why Irish troops serving in Chad were wearing dark, heavy jungle fatigues instead of the more appropriate light desert blending uniforms that all other nations wear in such conditions.

An RTE reporter visiting Chad was told:

“The Irish Defence Forces wanted to stand out, they wanted everybody to know who they were and on that basis they would be in some way different. What was unstated was they wanted to be different from the French but for the men and women serving out there it’s going to be very rough indeed.”

It certainly is going to be very rough. South Lebanon is nowhere near as hot as the deserts of Chad but when I served there with the UN we were issued with very light, very comfortable uniforms and were very happy with not having to wear the heavier Irish Defence Forces uniforms.

To wear jungle fatigues in the desert is just as ridiculous as wearing polar uniforms and skis in the jungle and must be deeply embarrassing as well as very uncomfortable for Irish troops.

I’m a definite No voter in the upcoming referendum so it’s interesting to consider what ‘our’ side is up against.

With slight exaggeration – All major Irish political parties, all of Europe, the UN and the Vatican.

Ok, all the governments of Europe, the people weren’t actually asked for their opinion. I know Kofi Annan is no longer Secretary General of the UN but he is generally seen as a UN man. And I’m sure the Pope/Vatican is agreement with the Irish bishops who have effectively urged a Yes vote.

Wouldn’t it be great to give the lot of them the two fingers?

According to a report by the Zoological Society of London and the World Wildlife Fund, between 25 and 33% of the world’s wildlife has been wiped out since 1970.

“We are witnessing one of the worst extinction rates in the history of the Earth. Pollution, urbanisation, farming, hunting and over-fishing are all to blame. The number of land-based species has declined by 25%, while marine life is down by 28% and freshwater species have been reduced by 29%.”

“Mankind is wiping out about 1% of other species of life annually. Even more frightening is the realisation that despite the warning signs, the decline has accelerated over the past decade.”

Here’s how I see it. The planet, all its creatures, plants and eco systems, is in a desperate race for survival against the deadly cancer that is humanity. This malignant cancer, spreading at an alarming rate, is rapidly destroying the very body that it needs for its own survival.

While the brain of this deadly cancer is the most powerful on the planet and is fully aware of what it is doing, it is, unfortunately, not advanced enough to actually prevent the wholesale destruction.

Many individual cancer cells have come together and formed various organisations in an effort to save the planet but their efforts are doomed to failure because they will never convince enough of the other cancer cells to make the necessary adjustments to save the situation.

The best that can be hoped for is that the human cancer will wipe itself out before its activities prove fatal for the whole planet. Once the disease is exterminated the rest of the planet will rapidly recover and carry on as it did for billions of years before it became infected.

PS: Happy Monday.