Poet Paul Durcan: 1916: Not to be commemorated

The poet Paul Durcan read out the following poem on Today with Sean O’Rouke. It’s a very accurate assessment of 1916 v 2016, of what Ireland has become.

Durcan also read a poem on RTEs weather women, well worth a listen.

1916: Not to be commemorated

The Irish Government has announced that 1916 is not to be commemorated in 2016 on account of their 150% rollback of the principles and ideals of the 1916 rebels.

The authorities wish to proclaim that they not cherish all the children of the nation equally:

That the people have no right to the ownership of Ireland:

That the people have no God given right to freedom:

That the nutrition of good government is inhumanity and rapine:

That the testosterone of proper administration is the pylon and the wind turbine:

That the people have no right to speak other than in celebrity cliché, media jargon, smart speak:

That all forms of humane speech are to be outlawed in the light of the disgustingly visionary utterances of the poets Pearse, MacDonagh and Plunkett and the gay causal words of the feckless McBride:

That liberty, equality and fraternity are prohibited substances in Ireland:

In 2016 anybody caught proclaiming 1916 values will be sentenced to solitary imprisonment for life in a windowless room in a ghost estate:

The 2016 logo, a brand Ireland will be in fake high-end Celtic calligraphy – fugg off.

Signed on behalf of the provisional government; the old hag of Beare.

Michael O’Regan: A captured journalist?

Three conservative, establishment journalists had a cosy chat on RTEs News at One yesterday on the latest scandal involving rape allegations against a former member of the IRA.

RTE journalist and presenter of the show Aine Lawlor raised the suspicions of many that there is a media conspiracy against Sinn Finn.

Irish Times journalist Michael O’Regan laughed at the idea.

It’s nonsense…there is no media conspiracy against Sinn Fein, there’s reportage and analysis of issues.

RTE journalist Martina Fitzgerald agreed with O’Regan.

O’Regan’s dismissal of a media conspiracy against Sinn Fein tells us more about the (Leinster House) bubble in which he operates.

Those of us outside that bubble are in no doubt whatsoever that there is, at the very least, an extremely strong bias across most of the media against Sinn Fein. This bias is directly proportional to the growing political power of the party.

Because O’Regan spends most of his working life interacting with politicians and government officials he is unlikely to even consider the suggestion that he may be a captured journalist.

The secret diaries of Clinton and Rabbitte

I see Hilary Clinton is in trouble about whether she fully complied with federal laws requiring government officials to preserve written communications involving official business.

Once again we see how real politicians in real democracies take regulations and laws seriously. Clinton is being put under great pressure to explain her actions.

Compare the American response with our system.

When Pat Rabbitte was a minister he casually admitted that he kept a secret diary to circumvent FOI law.

Nobody raised an eyebrow, no State agency asked any questions. The fact that Irish politicians can so casually bypass laws/regulations with arrogant impunity tells us what kind of ‘democracy’ we live in.

Irish Water not talking to Denis O’Brien’s radio station

Newstalk broadcasters Ivan Yates and Chris O’Donoghue were lamenting the fact this morning (Part two; 7.06) that Irish Water are operating a complete ban on speaking to them because, apparently, Ivan gave the CEO of Irish Water a hard time about a year and a half ago.

Now, there are some bad people, I mean really bad people out there who might say – isn’t that mighty convenient.

One of the most listened to/influential programmes on Denis O’Brien’s radio station doesn’t have have to ask any more hard questions of Irish Water.

Some people might say the whole thing was arranged but not me.

No, I just couldn’t bring myself to believe that Denis O’Brien’s radio station would stoop to such underhand tactics, I mean, the very thought.

No, the lads are genuinely aghast at the ban, they would genuinely love to have the Irish Water CEO in, to tear him to shreds but, alas, it’s not possible.

So, the lads wonder…what to do…..I know says Ivan, let’s do a another piece on evil Sinn Fein or perhaps the violent Trotskyite water protesters.

Yes, agrees Chris, they really need to be asked some very hard questions.

Economist Dan O’Brien: A seriously confused man

Economist Dan O’Brien is a seriously confused man.

On the one hand he believes Ireland is heading toward a state of ungovernability because of a very serious lack of trust in institutions like government, business, media and NGOs.

There is no other country among the 27 covered in the world-wide survey in which people have less trust in their nation’s politics and civil society institutions.

On the other hand O’Brien is adamant that such institutions are no worse than similar institutions in other countries.

While Irish media, NGOs and businesses have all been guilty of wrongdoing – and it is easy to find examples where each has undermined trust – I simply do not believe that they are all to be distrusted more than their counterparts in almost every other country.

O’Brien was responding to the findings of a world-wide poll taken by a public relations firm late last year which – he concludes;

Suggests that something is seriously awry in Irish society. And not just among those who feel excluded.

And this is where O’Brien is confused.

On the one hand Ireland is no worse than any other country while on the other there is something seriously awry in how our country is governed.

If O’Brien follows the logic of his own thinking then all 27 countries polled are suffering from serious flaws in how they are governed. This, I’m sure he would agree, is not the case.

So why is Ireland different, what is seriously awry in how we are governed?

The answer is as simple as it is stark – Ireland is an intrinsically corrupt state.

Like all countries Ireland has always suffered from a degree of corruption but this all changed in 1979 when the criminal politician Haughey came to power. His corrupting influence infected every level of Irish society but in particular, his corrupt activities transformed the political and financial sectors into little more than co-operating mafia outfits.

It is these two corrupt pillars of Irish society that are directly responsible for the catastrophe that occurred in 2008. Nothing whatsoever has changed since then. The same corrupt political system is still in power, the same financial sector is as corrupt as ever and the same so called regulatory agencies continue to look on with approval.

The Irish people have lost trust in the political system because that system has betrayed them time after time. This is not just opinion, the facts speak for themselves.

In the run up to the 1992 general election the leader of the Labour Party Dick Spring adopted a very strong anti-corruption stance going so far as to accurately describe Haughey as a cancer on the body politic. But once elected, Spring promptly betrayed the trust of the people by abandoning his principles and joining forces with the cancerous Haughey.

Similarly the Progressive Democrats, a party that came into existence in response to Haughey’s corruption, also abandoned their integrity and principles in exchange for power and influence. Once again the people were betrayed.

Then we had the Green Party, full of laudable principles while in opposition but once in government they too abandoned their political integrity in exchange for the benefits of power.

The complete absence of political courage, vision or integrity within the body politic led to the evolvement of a culture where financial institutions, property developers, the legal system and practically every other individual, group or organisation with access to political favour were allowed to indulge in serious criminal activity with total impunity.

The inevitable catastrophe came to pass in 2008 when the whole system collapsed under the sheer weight of its own putrid rottenness.

The 2011 election was the last desperate attempt by the Irish electorate to elect a decent, accountable government but once again their desperate pleas for honest and courageous political leadership was thrown back in their faces.

Rampant political corruption is the reason Irish citizens have lost trust in the political system. Rampant political corruption lies at the heart of all our problems.

Mr. O’Brien is confused because he simply cannot bring himself to believe that reality.

Sadly, for Irish citizens such denial from influential opinion makers will only serve to protect and encourage the corrupt and prolong Ireland’s agony.

Copy to:
Dan O’Brien

‘Journalist’ Jim Cusack: A spineless lackey

Sunday Independent journalist Jim Cusack has claimed several times over the past few weeks that the Provisional IRA is still in existence and operating in the border area.

If true, this could have very serious consequences for the Good Friday Agreement and could, potentially, lead to a return to conflict in Northern Ireland with all the associated death and destruction.

Obviously, no self-respecting journalist would make such a serious claim without strong supporting evidence. Sadly, it appears that Mr. Cusack is no longer the self-respecting journalist he used to be because, as far as I can see from his reports, there is not one shred of evidence to back up his claims.

So why would a previously respected journalist abandon his journalistic principles to peddle a story without any supporting evidence?

I can think of only three reasons:

One: The claim is actually true and Mr. Cusack will eventually produce credible evidence to back up his claims.

Two: He is being fooled by a source that is feeding him false information.

Three: He is being pressurised into making false claims to serve the hidden agenda of some other power.

Let’s deal with these one by one.

If Mr. Cusack’s claims are true then his story has international implications as the Good Friday Agreement involved the hard work and commitment of the United States, the European Union and the UK and Irish governments.

If the claims were true Mr. Cusack and Independent Newspapers would have immediately informed all concerned of this extremely serious reversal in the Peace Process. To my knowledge this has not happened.

Neither Mr. Cusack nor Independent Newspapers are telling the world about the sensational ‘fact’ that the IRA is still in existence, still operating as a terrorist organisation. He, and Independent Newspapers, are simply treating the story as a local Irish issue.

It is highly unlikely that Mr. Cusack is being fooled by a source feeding him false information. Even the most inexperienced journalist knows that checking information from sources is the first rule of professional journalism.

The third reason is probably the truth. Mr. Cusack seems to have abandoned his journalist integrity because he is willingly or being forced to serve the hidden agenda of somebody who has influence over him.

That agenda seems to have just one aim – to discredit and damage the credibility of Sinn Fein as a legitimate, democratic political party. The motive behind the agenda appears to be the growing fear among the ruling elite of the rise of Sinn Fein’s political popularity.

Sinn Fein, rightly angry over this campaign of black propaganda, contacted the Garda Commissioner on the issue. She replied, in writing, that Mr. Cusack’s claims had no foundation in fact whatsoever. In addition, the Commissioner quoted the conclusion reached by the Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC) that the Provisional IRA had indeed disbanded.

In a recent article Mr. Cusack arrogantly dismissed the word of the Garda Commissioner and the IMC, effectively accusing them of lying or, at least, covering up what he considers to be a fact based on his pathetic conclusion that the IRA is still in existence because the PSNI are (apparently) operating as if the troubles were still in full flow.

Good, professional journalism demands integrity, strong principles and an unwavering dedication to reporting the truth.

Journalists who allow themselves to be manipulated by powerful forces pushing a secret agenda are nothing more than spineless lackeys.

Copy to:

Jim Cusack

RTE: The listeners can wait

It’s 2 pm and I need to access RTEs Late Debate from last night, but, once again, it’s not available – 16 hours after broadcast.

I rang the programme and was told it would be up in an hour or two. I asked why the long delay and was told something about somebody not being in.

I asked about their technology, was it up to date? I mentioned how stations like Newstalk put their shows on archive even as they’re going out live. Pat Kenny, for example, frequently reminds listeners that they can listen to the first part of the show while he’s live on air.

So why can’t RTE do the same? Well, it appears they can, they do have the technology.

It just seems to be a case of – feck the listeners and journalists who may need the service, let them wait.

Vincent Browne: Captured by the bankers

US banking expert Professor Bill Black recently gave evidence at the Oireachtas Banking Inquiry where he pulled no punches.

He effectively stated, correctly, that at the time, Ireland was a country without a financial regulator, governed by a bunch of morons.

Later he appeared on the Tonight with Vincent Browne show where we witnessed a perfect example of the mindset that makes it possible for our country to be governed minus a financial regulator and led by a bunch of morons.

Professor Black was telling us (correctly) that the bankers were lying about the state of their finances in the run-up to the crisis.

Vincent Browne took great exception to this smear on the reputation of bankers.

Wait a minute now, this is quite serious, the insinuation on the bankers who went to see the Government that night is very serious, and I know some of them, and I don’t believe they said something they knew was untrue.

Yes, you heard right; Vincent Browne is saying he believes the bankers told the truth to Brian Cowen and Brian Lenihan on the night that our economic sovereignty was handed over to the Troika.

Even the most ignorant, the most disinterested, the most ill informed Irish citizen knows that the bankers lied through their teeth that night.

So why is it that a journalist who has spent decades investigating and analysing scandal after scandal in the Irish financial sector can mouth such an idiotic comment?

The answer can be found in these six words spoken by Browne:

And I know some of them.

This comment confirms a disturbing trend in Irish journalism. A trend that sees some journalists loses their objectivity after coming ‘to know’ those they are investigating.

And this is not the first time Vincent Browne has lost his professional objectivity as a result of ‘getting to know’ financial/political criminals.

For many years he was a strong critic of the criminal politician Haughey but in Haughey’s latter years Browne enjoyed some great nights out in Abbeyville drinking wine and discussing the old days with the gangster.

Before long he was a great admirer and defender of the traitor/criminal.

Alan Dukes: Tax evasion and corruption at root of Greek problem

Former Fine Gael politician Alan Dukes on Greek debt and recent election of the far-left Syriza party (RTE).

There is in Greece a huge problem of tax evasion and corruption part of which is at the root of the difficulty they have.

If someone were to say to Dukes that the root problem in Greece is exactly the same as the root problem in Ireland they would be met with a blank stare of total incomprehension.