By Anthony Sheridan
490,500 patients on public hospital waiting list
McAleese, Ahern and Cowen each paid €137, 000 State pensions
Enough said…
Category: The State
Young Irish citizens: Time for revolution
By Anthony Sheridan
Lorraine Courtney is not happy about how the State treats young people.
We are owed a place in society, a voice in politics and the media; jobs created for us; houses built for us and wages that we can live on.
Young people are not apathetic, but we are disaffected. Everyone I talk to has a thousand opinions on the political and economic situation. That’s not apathy. But changing things at a top level seems so unrealistic that we go back to the ground, and it’s impossible to try to change things from there.
So, she lists her entitlements and then states that, really, there’s not much we (young people) can do about the situation.
It’s impossible to try to change things.
Here’s a mad idea.
Do what students/young people have been doing for decades in practically every other Western country when they come up against rotten/corrupt administrations.
Get off your butt. Demand that student unions give up engaging in polite protests against fee hikes and unites to form a radical movement to lead the youth (or even the nation) in a campaign against political corruption.
Come out from your colleges and your parent’s comfortable homes and join the water protesters (made up mostly of children, middle aged and elderly citizens) who have already set the revolution ball rolling.
Then, and only then, will the young and every other citizen get real democracy, accountability and a decent society.
Copy to:
Lorraine Courtney
Afghanistan/Ireland: Same corruption culture
By Anthony Sheridan
There are 167 countries listed on the Corruption Perceptions Index of Transparency International (TI) for 2015.
The least corrupt country (Denmark) comes in at number one. The most corrupt is Somalia at 167.
Ireland is 18 while Afghanistan comes in as the second most corrupt country at 166.
Ireland’s high rating does not come anywhere near reflecting the actual level of corruption in the country.
This can be clearly demonstrated by comparing a special report by TI on corruption in Afghanistan with similar corruption in Ireland.
This article is based on a news report by Al Jazeera on the TI report. I suspect that many Irish citizens would be shocked to learn that Ireland is, in many ways, even more corrupt than Afghanistan.
Afghanistan: The former CEO of Kabul bank Khalilullah Ferozi was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison for his role in stealing 900 million USD.
Ireland: A judge refused to jail two bank directors who were found to have committed a serious crime because the financial regulator had given the green light to the illegal share-buying scheme for which they were convicted.
So, two criminal bankers are effectively set free after being found guilty of a serious crime and, much more seriously, no action whatsoever is taken against the state regulator who gave the go-ahead for the crime.
Afghanistan: With the backing of powerful politicians Ferozi was soon released from jail and signed a multi-million dollar real estate deal with the blessing of government officials.
Ireland: Because of the backing of powerful politicians criminal bankers/property developers never go to jail in the first place. Dodgy and outright criminal deals are not uncommon in the Irish business community, particularly deals involving state funds. Government officials seldom question these deals.
Afghanistan: Corruption still plagues the country despite an investment of hundreds of millions of dollars from the international community to reform the system.
Ireland: Corruption has yet to be even acknowledged as a reality by the state. Despite an almost weekly diet of corrupt revelations the issue itself is never actually discussed or acted upon.
Afghanistan: According to TI the country is still beset by rampant bribery within the police department, a justice department manipulated by politicians and government employees hired on the basis of whom they know.
Ireland: Corruption is rampant within the police force particularly at higher levels. Politicians openly manipulate the justice department, even to the point of sacking a police commissioner for political reasons, and many government employees are hired on the basis of whom they know.
Afghanistan: How do you fight corruption when the Government itself is corrupt?
Ireland: It is not just the government that is corrupt; the state itself is intrinsically corrupt.
Afghanistan: The report calls for a new independent body to fight corruption. An independent commission to train and appoint judges and a new Attorney General with a record of fighting crime.
Ireland: An independent body to fight corruption has never even been proposed never mind actually discussed as a serious idea. There is no independent commission to train and appoint judges. There is a body that advises politicians about the appointment of judges but this is merely a fig leaf to give the impression that there is no direct link between politicians and the appointments of judges.
Ireland has never appointed an Attorney General with a record of fighting corruption.
Afghanistan: Government response to the TI report:
We’re in the process of overhauling the whole system of fighting corruption.
Ireland: Politicians, government officials, police and most of the media have yet to even acknowledge that there is a need to create, never mind overhaul, a system to fight corruption.
Afghanistan: The president of Afghanistan finds himself in a very delicate position. If he’s not serious about fighting corruption he risks losing credibility and pubic trust. If he is serious he risks going toe to toe with some of the country’s most powerful people.
Ireland: This choice presents no problem for mainstream Irish politicians. For decades they have blatantly sided with the corrupt and still do even though a large percentage of the people have lost trust in the system.
Afghanistan: It was the backing of powerful people that helped convicted embezzler Ferozi to get out of jail to sign the real estate deal. It was only when Afghans became outraged that the president voided the agreement and pushed prosecutors to send Ferozi back to prison.
Ireland: Embezzlers who are friendly with politicians never go to jail in the first place. Irish citizens who express anger about the very close links between politicians and corrupt businessmen are likely to find themselves questioned by the police.
Afghanistan: Perhaps a glimmer of hope (the sending of Ferozi back to prison) in a crisis that has cost this country billions of dollars and public trust that’s impossible to measure.
Ireland: There is no glimmer of hope from the mainstream parties or from so-called law enforcement agencies. But there is great hope from the rapidly growing bottom-up movement of ordinary people who have rejected the culture of corruption that has inflicted so much suffering.
Copy to:
Transparency International
Fergus Finlay: Living in the cave of shadows
We have betrayed one of our fellow citizens. We need to feel a sense of shame about that.
This is the opinion expressed by Fergus Finlay in an article about a woman who suffered unspeakable and degrading cruelty at the hands of the state.
On the assumption that the ‘we’ Mr. Finlay speaks of includes me I want to make my position crystal clear.
I am in no way responsible for the horrors inflicted on this woman by the state.
I strongly believe, however, that Mr. Finlay is responsible, at least to some extent, for what happened to her and that he should indeed hang his head in shame for the part he has played in her suffering.
I am in no way responsible because I have been campaigning against political/administrative corruption in Ireland since 1982 when I first realised that I lived in an intrinsically corrupt state.
If influential political operators/opinion makers like Mr. Finlay arrived at the same conclusion at the same time it is highly likely that this woman would never have suffered because she would have been living in a functional democracy where justice and accountability were an ingrained aspect of governance.
But this woman did not and does not live in a functional democracy.
She lives in a state where politicians can be filmed openly asking for bribes and not only are they not arrested and charged but are allowed to continue in office. Political corruption is to blame for this.
She lives in a country where corrupt politicians are allowed to sit in our parliament as if they were individuals of principle and integrity. Political corruption is to blame for this.
She lives in a country where politicians regularly manipulate the law to help their friends or spy on journalists and ordinary citizens to protect their own corrupt interests. Political corruption is to blame for this.
She lives in a country where bankers, property developers and other powerful groups receive massive financial, political and legal support at the expense of the state and its people. Political corruption is to blame for this.
But most of all she lives in a country where the state frequently intervenes, sometimes illegally, to protect the powerful and the corrupt. Political corruption is to blame for this.
Mr. Finlay is, of course, in no way corrupt himself. Indeed, he is a man of passionate anger when it comes to the many injustices that are frequently exposed in our state. But in addition to anger Mr. Finlay frequently expresses puzzlement about the endless stream of corruption that has blighted our country since independence.
Here’s why he is puzzled.
Mr. Finlay lives in Plato’s cave of shadows. He firmly believes that the mainstream political parties are real. Trapped within his cave he does not see that they are merely shadows masquerading as democratic entities.
He does not see that Ireland, unique among Western democracies, is ruled by a single political class made up principally of Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Labour. He does not see that these fake entities play a game of election musical chairs as each in turn, or together in coalition, plunder the nation’s resources.
He does not see that this corrupt political class has spread the disease of corruption throughout the land but particularly within the civil and public service where loyalty to the state and its people has been, largely, abandoned.
He does not seem to be aware that since the catastrophe of 2008 this corrupt political regime has been engaged in a life or death struggle with a significant and growing percentage of the population who have been politically radicalised and are determined to rid their country of the disease of political corruption.
Mr. Finlay does not see all this because he lives in the cave with the shadows. All he sees are shadows posing as democratic politicians, shadows that pose as law enforcement agencies, shadows that pose as accountable government departments but in reality are nothing more than obedient lapdogs to their corrupt political masters.
Blinding flashes of truth from outside the cave increasingly encroach on Mr. Finlay’s comfortable existence in the cave of shadows. His anger and puzzlement continues to grow as he witnesses the ever increasing incidence of abuse and corruption
The recent brutal treatment of Grace by the state is just one of countless cases of abuse and corruption that has triggered his anger over many, many years.
And yet, Mr. Finlay has never once stopped to take a hard look at the shadows and ask the most obvious question – are they real, have I been wasting my entire life shouting at shadows?
I have never lived in the cave of shadows. That’s why I could see I was living in an intrinsically corrupt state in 1982. That’s why I’m not to blame for the horror visited upon Grace by the state.
My anger is, and has always been, directed at the true source of Grace’s suffering, the corrupt political/administrative system that continues to inflict so much damage and suffering on the people of our state.
I’m sure Mr. Finlay will strongly disagree with my analysis but to do so with any credibility he must answer the following question.
Why is it that decade after decade after decade we witness the same horrors, the same corruption originating from the same political/administrative system without ever witnessing accountability or justice?
How many more Grace’s have to suffer unspeakable cruelty before Mr. Finlay walks out of the cave of shadows into the light of reality?
I hope it’s not too many.
Copy to:
Fergus Finlay
Free speech under state attack in Ireland
I do not agree with the water charges protester who called President Higgins a midget parasite.
I do, however, totally and unconditionally support the quote attributed to the French philosopher Voltaire.
I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.
Neither does the writer Salman Rushdie pull his punches on this issue.
Nobody has the right to not be offended. That right doesn’t exist in any declaration I have ever read. If you are offended it is your problem, and frankly lots of things offend lots of people.
The Irish state, probably under instructions from the current government, does not tolerate such freedom of speech.
This contempt for the universal concept of freedom of speech is most clearly demonstrated by the charging of four citizens with the allegation that they insulted the president as his convoy sped past.
Specifically, they are facing a charge of:
Using threatening, insulting or abusive language.
Let me be absolutely clear about what’s going on here:
It is nothing less than state oppression. It is an abuse of the law and manipulation of state agencies in order to inflict political punishment against those who disagree with government policy.
Another quote from Voltaire makes the point:
It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
In a functional democracy every citizen should have the right to call the president or any other citizen a midget parasite. In a robust, functional democracy nobody has the right not to be offended.
In a dysfunctional democracy like Ireland, where the corrupt political/administrative system is facing a serious challenge from disaffected citizens, such freedoms are curtailed or withdrawn completely.
An almost identical incident occurred in South Africa in 2010 when a student, Chumani Maxwele, was arrested for allegedly insulting the president as his convoy sped past.
In stark contrast to the Irish incident, where the protesters were the target of almost universal media condemnation, the South African media strongly condemned the state for its abuse of free speech.
An investigation by the Centre for Constitutional Rights found that Maxwele’s rights of human dignity, security of person and freedom of expression and peaceful/unarmed demonstration had been violated.
One media commentator wrote the following:
(A concern is) that when a private citizen is arrested for ‘insulting the president’…the Government and the ANC take one step closer to assuming the comical status of the typical African tin-pot dictatorship.
Citizens of our tin-pot democracy do not enjoy the protection of a Centre for Constitutional Rights. Neither can citizens who participate in democratic, non-violent protests expect much support from a media that is overwhelmingly pro government/establishment.
A media that does not see free speech as a fundamental human right, no matter who it offends, but rather as a conditional right confined within very narrow parameters.
In a follow-up article I will analyse an Irish Times editorial on this issue which reflects a disturbing blindness within Irish media to the frequent abuse by the state of citizens rights.
Copy to:
President Higgins
Government
Atheist Ireland banned while Iona Institute enjoys full access to schools
A Dublin-based Dominican girl’s secondary school has cancelled a formal invitation to Atheist Ireland chairperson Michael Nugent to speak to a group of final year students.
The comprehensive response by Atheist Ireland to the disgraceful and cowardly decision can be seen here.
This refusal to allow Atheist Ireland address students is in stark contrast to the apparent unrestricted access to students afforded to religious militants like David Quinn.
Last April Mr. Quinn, who is director and founder of the Iona Institute, a Catholic pressure group, wrote in triumph about how he lectured students regarding the alleged weaknesses of science when compared to the so-called strengths of his religion.
Here’s his opening paragraphs:
By David Quinn
April 3, 2014
Irish CatholicThe question of the origin of the universe isn’t a scientific one at all, but a philosophical and religious one, writes David Quinn
I was in a school a few days ago addressing a group of fifth and sixth years about ‘the new atheism’. There is actually very little that’s new about the new atheism because it hasn’t developed any new killer arguments in favour of atheism. The only thing that’s new about it is that it is newly in vogue thanks to best-selling writers like the scientist, Richard Dawkins.
I made a formal complaint to the Department of Education regarding Mr. Quinn’s biased and dishonest lecture.
I am reproducing the article I wrote on the issue including the correspondence between the department and me.
Is the Iona Institute guilty of intellectually abusing schoolchildren?
Posted on 17th July 2014
Last April, religious militant and director of the Iona Institute David Quinn, delivered a lecture to fifth and sixth year students falsely informing them that the origin of the universe had nothing to do with science but was strictly a matter for religion/philosophy (See full article here).
There is an abundance of scientific evidence relating to the origin of the universe. Scientific discoveries such as background radiation, inflation and the recently discovered gravitational waves are all scientific facts supporting the idea that the origin of the universe is scientific.
In stark contrast, Mr. Quinn’s claim that the origin of the universe is a philosophical and religious one has no basis in fact whatsoever.
Despite centuries of philosophical and religious debate on the question of the origin of the universe not a single fact has been produced to confirm the myriad of speculative opinions emanating from that quarter.
What is really disturbing about this incident is the fact that Mr. Quinn and the Iona Institute appear to have unrestricted access to propagate what is effectively, religious propaganda to innocent students.
It is obvious from reading Mr. Quinn’s article that his lecture had nothing to do with genuine education, that it was not designed to inform students about the pros and cons in the debate between science and religion.
In addition to the lie concerning the origin of the universe Mr. Quinn’s lecture seems to have been nothing more than a vicious attack on New Atheism and in particular on Richard Dawkins.
Mr. Quinn regularly makes such attacks across various media outlets and, while rationally obnoxious, he is entitled to hold and express those views.
But what is not acceptable and what is deeply disturbing, is the apparent freedom extended to the Iona Institute to effectively intellectually abuse innocent schoolchildren.I made a formal complaint on the matter to the Department of Education.
The response, while entirely predictable, was nevertheless shocking.
Effectively, the Department said – Nothing to do with us, it’s the responsibility of the boards of management and the patron of each school (See below for my formal complaint, reply from Dept. of Education and my response).
This is the same irresponsible response by the Dept/Government as that taken in the Louise O’Keeffe scandal.
Ms. O’Keeffe, who had been sexually abused by a teacher as a schoolgirl in the 1970s, lost her case for justice in the Irish High and Supreme Courts but finally found justice when the decision of the Irish courts was overturned by the European Court of Human Rights.
Although disgusting in the extreme it seems that this ‘legal arrangement’ is proving very useful to politicians and civil servants as a means of abdicating any responsibility whatsoever towards protecting children from abuse whether physical, sexual or intellectual.
Copy to:
Department of Education
Iona Institute
All political parties
Formal complaint: 10 April 2014
For attention of Minister for Education Ruairi Quinn
This is a formal complaint regarding a lecture delivered by the director of the Iona Institute David Quinn to a group of fifth and sixth year students earlier this month.
Mr. Quinn wrote about his lecture in an article in the Irish Catholic newspaper of 3 April last. The title of the article, which is provided in full below, is:
The atheist’s act of faith
The question of the origin of the universe isn’t a scientific one at all, but a philosophical and religious one.
My complaint is as follows:
Mr. Quinn’s lecture is based entirely on a falsehood; namely that the origin of the universe is not a scientific one at all but rather a philosophical and religious one.
There is an abundance of scientific evidence relating to the origin of the universe. Scientific discoveries such as background radiation, inflation and the recently discovered gravitational waves are all factual events that give the lie to Mr. Quinn’s claim that the question of the origin of the universe is not scientific.
Furthermore, Mr. Quinn’s claim that the question of the origin of the universe is a philosophical and religious one has no basis in fact whatsoever.
Despite centuries of philosophical and religious debate on the question of the origin of the universe not a single fact has been produced to confirm the myriad of speculative opinions emanating from that quarter.
In effect, Mr. Quinn was permitted to encourage students to ignore established scientific facts regarding the origin of the universe and instead accept that his Christian god created the universe.
It is unacceptable and indeed disturbing that somebody with a very strong religious bias like Mr. Quinn would be granted apparent unrestricted access to students to promote a religious viewpoint based on a falsehood.
It is unacceptable and indeed disturbing that any outside influence would be permitted apparent unrestricted access to students to promote a particular view without the long established safeguards of independent/objective supervision and the right to hear an opposing argument.
According to legislation the Board of Management of schools are accountable to the patron and to the Minister. This complaint is addressed to the Minister in this context.
Yours sincerely
Anthony Sheridan
Response from Department of Education:
Dear Mr Sheridan
I refer to your letter addressed to the Minister for Education and Skills.
While this Department sets out the constitution of Boards of Management and rules of procedure it is not directly involved in the management of schools. Under the provisions of the Education Act, 1998, the Board of Management is the body charged with the direct governance of a school. The schools Board of Management is accountable to the school Patron.
Accordingly, whereas the Department provides funding and policy direction for schools, the Department does not have the power to instruct schools to follow a particular course of direction with regard to individual complaint cases.
Religious Education is one of 33 Leaving Certificate subjects available to schools. The selection of text books and classroom resources to support the implementation of the curriculum is made by schools, rather than by the Department of Education and Skills or the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment.
The Office of the Ombudsman for Children may independently investigate complaints relating to the administrative actions of a school recognised by the Department of Education and Skills, provided the complainant has firstly and fully followed the school’s complaints procedures. The key criterion for any intervention by the Ombudsman for Children is that the administrative actions of a school has, or may have, adversely affected the child. The office can be contacted at: Ombudsman for Children’s Office, Millennium House, 52-56 Great Strand Street, Dublin 1; tel. 1800 20 20 40 or (01) 865 6800 or email oco@oco.ie.
I hope the information that provided is of assistance to you.
Yours sincerely,
My response to the Department of Education
28 May 2014
To Whom It May Concern:
Your response to my formal complaint concerning a lecture delivered to fifth and six-year students by the director of the Iona Institute David Quinn is a disgrace for the following reasons.
One: Apart from issuing meaningless bureaucratic waffle, the decision to do nothing will almost certainly result in some degree of damage to innocent children.
After decades of horrific child abuse the very least we could expect of officialdom is to make some enquiries into the matter. Given the history of child abuse in Ireland it is highly likely that the Iona Institute is not the only organisation that enjoys unrestricted access to preach religious and other damaging propaganda to children.
Two: Your indifferent response is a further disturbing reflection of how unprofessional civil servants have become. Scandal after scandal, on an almost weekly basis, gives witness to this decay of professionalism right across all departments.
Three: Your response is an insult to my intelligence. It is an obvious fact that the Department of Education is intimately involved in every aspect of education across all levels. It is also a fact that if you wished, you could easily carry out an investigation into this matter.
That you chose not to thus placing children in potential danger is a disgrace on you and your profession.
Yours etc.,
Anthony Sheridan
Political lies cause suffering and death. Enda Kenny is a political liar
Political lies cause suffering and death. Enda Kenny is a political liar.
War is the most obvious and most deadly consequence of political lying. Over the centuries, countless millions have died because politicians lied when they should have told the truth.
But war is not the only cause of death as a result of political lies. There was a massive increase in the suicide rate following the economic collapse in 2008 (Recession directly to blame for up to 566 suicides).
These desperate people died, at least in part, because our politicians lied to them.
In Ireland, alone among Western democracies, political lying has become a fully accepted part of political discourse. It is also common right throughout the civil and public service.
Political lying has become part of Irish political culture principally because lying politicians are rarely challenged by the media.
Here’s Pat Rabbitte casually demonstrating this truth when asked about election promises regarding child benefit:
Sean O’Rourke:
You didn’t go into all that detail before the general election, you kept it really simple – Protect child benefit, vote Labour?
Rabbitte:
Well, I mean, isn’t that what you tend to do during an election?
The criminal politician Haughey lied right through his decades long career, including lying under oath at various tribunals and investigations. Despite the enormous damage done to Ireland and its people by this criminal’s lying he was, largely, fawned upon by large segments of the media and members of the establishment.
Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern almost certainly lied under oath at the Mahon Tribunal. My assertion that lying is the accepted norm in Irish political and administrative goverance is confirmed by the disgraceful fact that no action has been (or ever will be) taken against Ahern by any state authority.
Political lying is the principal cause of the catastrophic economic collapse of 2008 that resulted in thousands of suicides, massive emigration and the horrific destruction of the wealth, hopes and ambitions of hundreds of thousands of Irish citizens.
And yet, a disturbingly large section of the media and most of the establishment appear to be more than happy to live in comfortable denial amidst the wreckage and suffering caused by political lying.
The following is just a sample of various journalists, commentators and politicians who, for whatever reason, cannot or will not make the obvious link between political lying and the infliction of great hardship.
Caroline O’Doherty: Irish Examiner:
Kenny’s lie was:
A fisherman’s tale.
O’Doherty then went to use most of her article to advise Fine Gael on how best to present their (lying) leader to best advantage in the upcoming election campaign.
Caroline O’Doherty is not aware or doesn’t care that political lies cause suffering and death.
Editorial: Irish Examiner:
Kenny was, while dishonest, just a Walter Mitty character using:
Folksy parables.
The editor warned that Kenny must act quickly if he wants to be re-elected and, as always, took the opportuntiy to take a swipe at Gerry Adams/Sinn Fein.
The editor of the Irish Examiner is not aware or doesn’t care that political lies cause suffering and death.
Eilis O’Hanlon: Sunday Independent:
Kenny ruined it by going a ‘a little bit too far’ in attempting to portray himself as the man who saved the country from anarchy and, predictably, O’Hanlon blamed the media:
So why the outcry last week? The media, having got bored with the feel-good narrative which the Government has been pushing since the Budget, saw a chance to put the Taoiseach on the back foot.
Eilis O’Hanlon is not aware or doesn’t care that political lies cause suffering and death.
Michael Lehane: Morning Ireland (RTE):
On being asked did the whole issue matter:
It doesn’t matter but there is a political vacuum there because the Dail isn’t sitting so the focus didn’t come off it (but) it has gone the distance now.
Michael Lehane is not aware or doesn’t care that political lies cause suffering and death.
Pat Rabbitte: Labour TD: (Speaking on RTE):
The Taoiseach makes the point, perhaps in a folksy, homespun way.
Pat Rabbitte is not aware or doesn’t care that political lies cause suffering and death.
Noel Whelan: Irish Times:
Mr. Whelan believes that Kenny is a storyteller whose utterance was no accident.
It was part of a cleverly designed but clumsily implemented strategy from Fine Gael to remind voters of how serious the crisis was so as to talk up its part in turning it around.
Noel Whelan is not aware or doesn’t care that political lies cause suffering and death.
Gerry Adams: Sinn Fein president:
Mr. Adams accused Kenny of being a spoof who tells tall tales. Mr. Adams said he was not accusing the Taoiseach of lying but of just getting carried away with himself.
Gerry Adams is not aware or doesn’t care that political lies cause suffering and death.
Fergus Finlay: Chief Executive of Barnardos and former Labour Party advisor: (Late Debate RTE):
Why are we getting our knickers in a knot about it? Mother of God, this kind of thing happens all the time. It’s a bit of craic, that’s all it is, a bit of political craic and I don’t see how it affects anything other than the gaiety of the nation for a week.
I think it shows that we don’t have a sense of humour. You know, let’s get a grip for heaven’s sake, it’s about nothing.
Fergus Finlay is not aware or doesn’t care that political lies cause suffering and death.
Gary Murphy: Professor of Political Science, DCU (Late Debate RTE).
The Taoiseach does have a habit of self-aggrandisement or over-egging situations. He’s guilty of guilding the lily so to speak.
Professor Murphy is not aware or doesn’t care that political lies cause suffering and death.
Catherine Halloran: Political Correspondent Irish Daily Star: (Ryan Tubridy Show, RTE):
I think it’s his folksy way of trying to relate to people.
It’s better than telling lies. At least we know he has his finger on the pulse he met the man or woman who told him this and I don’t doubt for a second that he has met those people, he’s a politician… The fact that Enda does take the time out to stop and talk to people and listen to their experiences means he’s in a position to make judgement on them.
Catherine Halloran is not aware or doesn’t care that political lies cause suffering and death.
Shaun Connolly: Irish Examiner:
Mr. Connolly believes Kenny was simply caught out telling an over-excited porkie. He was guilty of a slightly embarrassing, but ultimately harmless, comment.
Shaun Connolly is not aware or doesn’t care that political lies cause suffering and death.
Copy to:
Enda Kenny
All individuals quoted
All political parties
Government
Why the State is targetting Sinn Fein
In recent times I have written several articles on the very obvious anti Sinn Fein propaganda campaign being conducted by the mainstream political parties and state agencies aided and abetted by a large segment of the media.
I am aware that writing such articles can be seen as supporting Sinn Fein and, by extension, supporting violence both political and criminal.
This article is to make my position crystal clear.
The core philosophy of this website is that Ireland is an intrinsically corrupt state. By this I mean that, unlike functional democracies, the Irish state actively defends, supports and protects those involved in corruption.
Corruption, to one degree or another is, of course, present in every country on the planet. Corrupt behaviour is an intrinsic aspect of human nature, it will always be with us.
But there is a huge difference between a country that suffers from a degree of corruption and a country that is, in and of itself, intrinscially corrupt.
A state is corrupt when its powers and resources are principally utilised for the benefit of a tiny but very powerful minority of individuals and organisations at the expense of the people and the greater good.
This is overwhemingly and indisputably the case in Ireland.
The corrupt regime is made up, principally, of Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Labour with the unquestioning support of most state agencies and a disturbingly large section of the media.
Family dynasties constitute the core of the corrupt political system. Over the decades the corrupting influence of these families has spread the disease of corruption right through the influential pillars of the state and society such as the legal system, higher civil servants, the police and so on.
At some critical point, which I believe was during the 1980s when the criminal politician Haughey was at the height of his powers, the state flipped from being a democracy with some corruption to a state that that had become corrupt in and of itself.
From that moment right up to today state power does not, for the most part, operate for the good of the people. It works to maintain, protect and enhance the power of the corrupt elite.
This corrupt political/administrative regime is directly and wholly responsible for the economic catastrophe that has wreaked so much damage and loss on Ireland and its people since 2008.
And this is where Sinn Fein enters the picture.
The 2008 economic catastrophe caused serious panic within the corrupt regime. For a short period it was feared that the power, influence and wealth built up over many decades would be lost as the people began to transfer their alligience to political forces outside its power base.
Sinn Fein is being targeted because it poses the greatest threat to the power of the corrupt regime. It is the best organised, best financed, most powerful political force outside the mainstream. It is united, focused and led by a cohort of articulate and committed politicians.
It is for this reason and this reason alone that the corrupt political/administrative system, in cooperation with its many friends in the media, has targeted Sinn Fein.
The corrupt regime knows very well that if Sinn Fein gains power, even partial power in a coalition, the game is up. The cosy golden circle that has abused Irish democracy and its people for the last several decades will no longer hold sway.
People from outside the ruling elite, dangerous people with principles, people who will actually do what’s right for the country rather than vested interests will be exercising power within the corrupt citadel.
It is therefore absolutely crucial, from the corrupt regime’s point of view, that Sinn Fein’s power is destroyed or, at least, damaged to such an extent that it becomes an irrelevant political force.
It is this black propaganda campaign that I write about. It has nothing to do with Sinn Fein’s politics/policies per se but rather to challenge and expose the continuing efforts of a ruthless and diseased political system that will do anything, even commit criminal acts, to preserve its power and influence.
Copy to:
All political parties
Government
Tubridy’s ‘great’ republic
Ryan Tubridy was giving out this morning about a government decision not to allow a public holiday to commerate 1916.
I would love a day off said Tubridy:
To think about this great republic we live in.
I don’t think Tubridy lives in the same ‘republic’ as most Irish citizens.
Independent Newspapers can’t handle the truth regarding political violence
Decommission your tongue, Mr. Adams
This was the headline of a recent editorial in the Sunday Independent in which Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams was taken to task for daring to make a favourable comparison between the violence of the 1916 rebels and those involved in the recent 1968-1998 conflict.
The editor didn’t spare the insults:
Mr. Adams should decommission his tongue preferably for a millennium or two.
The Sinn Fein leader has soared to new heights in self-delusion.
But it is the editor who’s occupying the heights of self-delusion when he tries to argue that the 1916 rebellion was:
Formally and massively endorsed (By the Irish people).
This, of course, is utter rubbish and is based on the ridiculous myth that the violence of 1916, War of Independence and the Civil War was all, in some magical way, different from the violence of the 1968 – 1998 conflict.
The editor goes on to ask:
Had Mr Adams been an IRA man and put himself forward as a car-bombing murderer, does he really believe he would have been handed a mandate?
When the 1916 rebels were being led away after surrendering they were spat upon by the people of Dublin for causing so much death and destruction.
So here’s the obvious retort:
Had Mr. Pearse been an violent rebel and put himself forward as a bringer of massive death and destruction, does he really believe he would have been handed a mandate?
And it is worth noting that the people of Ireland were generally content under British rule in the lead up to 1916 in stark contrast to Catholics/nationalists barely surviving under the exteme Unionist apartheid system prior to the 1968-1998 conflict.
In making the following quote the editor seems to be completely clueless about the obvious parallels between Sinn Fein’s rise to power in the aftermath of 1916 and the party’s current rise to power in the aftermath of the 2008 economic catastrophe.
Legitimacy was conferred on 1916 when Sinn Féin received its mandate in the 1918 general election. It was retrospective, but it was real. The election was the first democratic plebiscite to pass judgment on those events.
The course of today’s political events is an exact parallel with those of 1916.
Prior to 2008 Sinn Fein struggled to achieve significant political traction in the republic. Since 2008 they have become ever more popular principally because citizens are searching for an alternative to a political system that is corrupt to its core.
In other words, Sinn Fein received an overwhelming mandate as a direct result of the brutal response of the British government to the 1916 rising and now the party is receiving a similar democratic mandate as a result of the brutality inflicted on Irish citizens as a direct result of political corruption.
The editor ends with a quote about the truth.
You can rewrite history, but the truth is always the truth.
Indeed, the truth is always the truth. But it has been many years since
‘Independent’ Newspapers practiced truth.
Copy to:
Editor Sunday ‘Independent’