Sunday, 7 August 2011
Television Saturday night review
The Saturday Game, Rte 2, Miriam meets Rte1, Love -Hate, Rte 1.
Having recently come to the sudden realisation that writing is the pursuit of poverty, I found myself penniless in front of Saorview, for those of you who are not familiar with the name it is Rte's new digital service and very good it is too. Rte two is broadcast in Hd, and all the home channels are available with an extra bonus news channel which re- broadcasts the six one and the 9 o' clock news so as one can always catch up. They also have Rte junior and Rte one + one which is also handy.
I settled in to watch Dublin play Tyrone, having taken the pragmatic decision that Gaa may put in a lot of hours over what is left of the summer. The match itself was most entertaining and I found myself warming to the game itself after over forty years of Gaa hating wherever that came from, as children we played soccer as it was a street game, and it was unlikely that many neighbours windows would get smashed as we kept the ball on the ground. We played Gaa at school but I was never much good at gaelic football and worse still at hurling.
I marvelled at the levels of fitness on display and the speed at which the game was played at, Dublin took the game to Tyrone and were very impressive, looking like they could score at will for most of the first half, but also they were resolute in defence, one could see the pain etched on the faces of the Tyrone forwards as another attack broke down.
The half time analysis was most entertaining with Michael Lyster coming across as an easy chairman who's love of the game surpasses any personal agenda he may have, Pat Spillane the Kerry Eamonn Dunphy is entertaining as he tries to bring us outside the parallell so to speak, but he is nothing if not passionate, Colm O' Rourke could do with a rub of passion as I suspect the floor manager has to shake him after the ad break just so he will appear awake, however in fairness to Colm he does have all the terminology like when he says the word football, he always says it the Gaa way. Joe Brolly came across as been entirely sinister, I expected Michael Lyster to ask him could he confirm as to when the hostages might be released. When Pat Spillane spoke Joe thought it was alright to laugh no matter what Pat might be saying, then when it came back to Joe I was certain he said something like on the hour every hour, unless you meet our demands.
The second half was even better for Dublin and they should have scored a few goals, but to Tyrone's credit they did try to the end, but their effort faded to an inevitable defeat by a fitter and physically stronger Dublin outfit. Our panel spoke of humiliation, and end of era's, naming a few players who had passed their sell by dates. Joe laughed again every time Pat spoke, and Colm said football the Gaa way a few times, until Michael looking nervously at Joe closed the show.
Miriam O' Callaghan was on after the news, she started her show with a miniature horse, she was out and about on a mock stable like set with straw and all of that. She interviewed the breeder of the miniature horse, she came across as a nice person well meaning, and her husband who was also nice and full of enthusiasm for their chosen hobby or full time living? I never found out as Miriam was more taken with the horse than listening to the answers to the bland questions she asked. For example she seemed totally uninterested in the ethics of this type of breeding, like in human terms would we be happy with growing to say four feet. Anyhow she moved on asking more bland questions of another guest, before entirely frustrating a bee keeper chap, who kept giving her very interesting facts about bees, and the keeping of same. Miriam was more concerned about the horse who was poised near a rather delicate area. She kept telling the poor bee keeper how she was so afraid of bee's and not to dare and open the hive.
Her show continued with the usual silly greed prize, which is akin to buying a late lotto holiday ticket, and she then tried to get serious talking to the poor brave Tipperary woman that featured with her handicapped son on a recent Prime Time programme. We were told at the start that we need not worry as a rich benefactor had donated money to pay for the boy's treatment. Miriam has this infuriating ability to act amazed no matter what answers her guest gives to her questions, and she was duly amazed as the poor lady from Tipperary described her boy's treatment and also with the generous contribution from the consultant surgeon who treated the child.
Then she said it 'It is a pity we have ro rely on charity but we do,' and she let it go there and the audience were quiet. Somehow I was nearly hoping the bee keeper had left his hive open.
I think love-hate is really good, in fact it is the best drama I have ever seen on Rte. The atmosphere is claustrophobic one would think Dublin was just a tiny village, the acting is superb all round male and female what talent we have. The direction is crisp smooth and imaginative and the script is tight, meaningful but never preachy. I loved the wedding scene when they entered the church and marched to the altar with the dead sound of rap, and the groom doing a hand stand. I also liked the way the dancing at the wedding went suddenly from classical to popular dance music. This shows me that we have a great future in film making in Ireland if only we allow artists to write and make the films they want to make. Small points, I thought the two bad guys turning up at the wedding out of their heads on coke was a little far fetched, and why would Darren go see his arch rival to square things up unprotected and on foot? Small points indeed but when you write novels everything checks out.
Having recently come to the sudden realisation that writing is the pursuit of poverty, I found myself penniless in front of Saorview, for those of you who are not familiar with the name it is Rte's new digital service and very good it is too. Rte two is broadcast in Hd, and all the home channels are available with an extra bonus news channel which re- broadcasts the six one and the 9 o' clock news so as one can always catch up. They also have Rte junior and Rte one + one which is also handy.
I settled in to watch Dublin play Tyrone, having taken the pragmatic decision that Gaa may put in a lot of hours over what is left of the summer. The match itself was most entertaining and I found myself warming to the game itself after over forty years of Gaa hating wherever that came from, as children we played soccer as it was a street game, and it was unlikely that many neighbours windows would get smashed as we kept the ball on the ground. We played Gaa at school but I was never much good at gaelic football and worse still at hurling.
I marvelled at the levels of fitness on display and the speed at which the game was played at, Dublin took the game to Tyrone and were very impressive, looking like they could score at will for most of the first half, but also they were resolute in defence, one could see the pain etched on the faces of the Tyrone forwards as another attack broke down.
The half time analysis was most entertaining with Michael Lyster coming across as an easy chairman who's love of the game surpasses any personal agenda he may have, Pat Spillane the Kerry Eamonn Dunphy is entertaining as he tries to bring us outside the parallell so to speak, but he is nothing if not passionate, Colm O' Rourke could do with a rub of passion as I suspect the floor manager has to shake him after the ad break just so he will appear awake, however in fairness to Colm he does have all the terminology like when he says the word football, he always says it the Gaa way. Joe Brolly came across as been entirely sinister, I expected Michael Lyster to ask him could he confirm as to when the hostages might be released. When Pat Spillane spoke Joe thought it was alright to laugh no matter what Pat might be saying, then when it came back to Joe I was certain he said something like on the hour every hour, unless you meet our demands.
The second half was even better for Dublin and they should have scored a few goals, but to Tyrone's credit they did try to the end, but their effort faded to an inevitable defeat by a fitter and physically stronger Dublin outfit. Our panel spoke of humiliation, and end of era's, naming a few players who had passed their sell by dates. Joe laughed again every time Pat spoke, and Colm said football the Gaa way a few times, until Michael looking nervously at Joe closed the show.
Miriam O' Callaghan was on after the news, she started her show with a miniature horse, she was out and about on a mock stable like set with straw and all of that. She interviewed the breeder of the miniature horse, she came across as a nice person well meaning, and her husband who was also nice and full of enthusiasm for their chosen hobby or full time living? I never found out as Miriam was more taken with the horse than listening to the answers to the bland questions she asked. For example she seemed totally uninterested in the ethics of this type of breeding, like in human terms would we be happy with growing to say four feet. Anyhow she moved on asking more bland questions of another guest, before entirely frustrating a bee keeper chap, who kept giving her very interesting facts about bees, and the keeping of same. Miriam was more concerned about the horse who was poised near a rather delicate area. She kept telling the poor bee keeper how she was so afraid of bee's and not to dare and open the hive.
Her show continued with the usual silly greed prize, which is akin to buying a late lotto holiday ticket, and she then tried to get serious talking to the poor brave Tipperary woman that featured with her handicapped son on a recent Prime Time programme. We were told at the start that we need not worry as a rich benefactor had donated money to pay for the boy's treatment. Miriam has this infuriating ability to act amazed no matter what answers her guest gives to her questions, and she was duly amazed as the poor lady from Tipperary described her boy's treatment and also with the generous contribution from the consultant surgeon who treated the child.
Then she said it 'It is a pity we have ro rely on charity but we do,' and she let it go there and the audience were quiet. Somehow I was nearly hoping the bee keeper had left his hive open.
I think love-hate is really good, in fact it is the best drama I have ever seen on Rte. The atmosphere is claustrophobic one would think Dublin was just a tiny village, the acting is superb all round male and female what talent we have. The direction is crisp smooth and imaginative and the script is tight, meaningful but never preachy. I loved the wedding scene when they entered the church and marched to the altar with the dead sound of rap, and the groom doing a hand stand. I also liked the way the dancing at the wedding went suddenly from classical to popular dance music. This shows me that we have a great future in film making in Ireland if only we allow artists to write and make the films they want to make. Small points, I thought the two bad guys turning up at the wedding out of their heads on coke was a little far fetched, and why would Darren go see his arch rival to square things up unprotected and on foot? Small points indeed but when you write novels everything checks out.
Thursday, 4 August 2011
David Norris and the Christian Right
Over two years ago I was book signing in the Sirius arts centre in Cobh, it was bright summers day and the liner 'Independence of the sea,' was visiting. People came from far and wide to view it, in all its splendour moored alongside the deep water berth beside Cobh's heritage centre. The arts centre was busy with people sauntering in to view the photographic exhibition, the building also houses the tourist information office, that too was busy with people buying souvenirs and asking touristy questions.
I chatted to a few interested Americans telling them all about my novel, and wondering would they take to it if they bought it, then in walked an escorted Senator David Norris passing by me and on into the tourist office, I had never met him in the flesh before but he was true to his television imagine, he walked gracefully with a beaming genuine smile.
I greeted him warmly on his way back out and his escort a local man allowed him stop for a chat, he was very interested in my novel and he pronounced the title perfectly, 'Viaréggio,' I went on to give him a short synopsis and he listened intently, I then told him of the reference in my work to Shelley, and the beach in Viaréggio. David was impressed he had not heard of my Shelley story before, 'Do you know he came to Dublin?' David asked me, which I openly admitted to not knowing, 'he was sympathetic to irish nationalism.' David said, I presented him with a signed copy free of charge, he thanked me profusely and he was on his way.
Two years later I tweeted him re-his campaign and I also asked him what he thought of 'Viaréggio,' Shelley and all of that? I never received a reply, so I surmised that perhaps he never read it, or he did read it and didn't like it, or indeed he found one or two scenes a little graphic. I will explain this, in my novel a former Mi5 agent in flashback to his days during the war in North of Ireland, forces a young informant to wear a wig and lipstick, before engaging in oral sex with him. In the present this intelligence agent hires a male prostitute who is a transvestite to have oral sex also, so in my silly little mind I wondered would David be uncomfortable with this as he was running for president, and that he may not want to be associated with literature of this nature.
Of course events soon overshadowed my petty little world, and the Christian right tried to bury him with their age of consent slur, fair enough people say that Senator Norris handled all this poorly, but how does one handle it? He is appealing to the middle-classes to elect him, and most of these people live in a world that is media driven,they sleep with opinion polls, and form their views based on the middle-class agenda that is spouted on Rte radio and television, not to mention our cosy little print media.
You cannot argue a case re- the age of consent, as the issue is not up for discussion, then of course they came back for the kill with the revelation that his former lover the plumber and human rights activist Ezra Yizhak Nawi had sex with a fifteen year old boy, and that Senator Norris intervened on his behalf using Seanad notepaper. What failed to come to light however was that Ezra Yizhak Nawi claimed his innocence at all times, he says the boy assured him he was sixteen, he has also denied that he is a paedophile.
Ezra Yizhak Nawi is a well known human rights activist and therefore is hardly the darling of the Israeli government, he has had many previous brushes with the law mostly to do with his human rights agenda, also he has incurred some nebulous drug offences. At the time of the Norris letter they were lovers, so here was a man that David Norris loved deeply who in his eyes was wrongly accused of statutory rape, and a person whom quite possibly the Israeli authorities wanted to put away, is it any surprise that Senator Norris wrote the letter?
So the Christian right have had their way, and the Irish people have been denied the opportunity to have Senator Norris stand as a presidential candidate, it is now deemed by those who follow the middle-class agenda, that this man is so vile, he cannot be allowed to go before the electorate. They have in essence crucified David Norris for having different views on sexuality to their main stream victorian like values, this man who has never pushed his ideas on society, but only dared to bring them to the table for discussion, has been informed that the door is permanently locked to his kind.
The novel 'Viaréggio,' is available on Amazon, or through Easons!
I chatted to a few interested Americans telling them all about my novel, and wondering would they take to it if they bought it, then in walked an escorted Senator David Norris passing by me and on into the tourist office, I had never met him in the flesh before but he was true to his television imagine, he walked gracefully with a beaming genuine smile.
I greeted him warmly on his way back out and his escort a local man allowed him stop for a chat, he was very interested in my novel and he pronounced the title perfectly, 'Viaréggio,' I went on to give him a short synopsis and he listened intently, I then told him of the reference in my work to Shelley, and the beach in Viaréggio. David was impressed he had not heard of my Shelley story before, 'Do you know he came to Dublin?' David asked me, which I openly admitted to not knowing, 'he was sympathetic to irish nationalism.' David said, I presented him with a signed copy free of charge, he thanked me profusely and he was on his way.
Two years later I tweeted him re-his campaign and I also asked him what he thought of 'Viaréggio,' Shelley and all of that? I never received a reply, so I surmised that perhaps he never read it, or he did read it and didn't like it, or indeed he found one or two scenes a little graphic. I will explain this, in my novel a former Mi5 agent in flashback to his days during the war in North of Ireland, forces a young informant to wear a wig and lipstick, before engaging in oral sex with him. In the present this intelligence agent hires a male prostitute who is a transvestite to have oral sex also, so in my silly little mind I wondered would David be uncomfortable with this as he was running for president, and that he may not want to be associated with literature of this nature.
Of course events soon overshadowed my petty little world, and the Christian right tried to bury him with their age of consent slur, fair enough people say that Senator Norris handled all this poorly, but how does one handle it? He is appealing to the middle-classes to elect him, and most of these people live in a world that is media driven,they sleep with opinion polls, and form their views based on the middle-class agenda that is spouted on Rte radio and television, not to mention our cosy little print media.
You cannot argue a case re- the age of consent, as the issue is not up for discussion, then of course they came back for the kill with the revelation that his former lover the plumber and human rights activist Ezra Yizhak Nawi had sex with a fifteen year old boy, and that Senator Norris intervened on his behalf using Seanad notepaper. What failed to come to light however was that Ezra Yizhak Nawi claimed his innocence at all times, he says the boy assured him he was sixteen, he has also denied that he is a paedophile.
Ezra Yizhak Nawi is a well known human rights activist and therefore is hardly the darling of the Israeli government, he has had many previous brushes with the law mostly to do with his human rights agenda, also he has incurred some nebulous drug offences. At the time of the Norris letter they were lovers, so here was a man that David Norris loved deeply who in his eyes was wrongly accused of statutory rape, and a person whom quite possibly the Israeli authorities wanted to put away, is it any surprise that Senator Norris wrote the letter?
So the Christian right have had their way, and the Irish people have been denied the opportunity to have Senator Norris stand as a presidential candidate, it is now deemed by those who follow the middle-class agenda, that this man is so vile, he cannot be allowed to go before the electorate. They have in essence crucified David Norris for having different views on sexuality to their main stream victorian like values, this man who has never pushed his ideas on society, but only dared to bring them to the table for discussion, has been informed that the door is permanently locked to his kind.
The novel 'Viaréggio,' is available on Amazon, or through Easons!
Monday, 4 July 2011
What will the Catholic Church do now? Update
The Catholic church has taken some beating in the last ten years with news of scandal after scandal. Even the most fervent of believers are struggling to explain the disgrace of their church. Often it is like what happens when one meets a Fianna Fail supporter they just go quiet and sit in the corner muttering to themselves.
Its a harsh world we live in full of people who will not only throw stones but might run you down with a steam roller whilst their at it. I wonder does the comparison to Fianna Fail really stand up? Well at least Fianna Fail have mentioned somewhat unconvincingly mind you but they have said it you know the word 'radical'. That dangerous word that can mean just about anything and in Fianna Fail's case it could be anything from Marx-to Hitler but let us leave them alone.
Now the idea I now have of the Catholic church is simple. There has been a change like a small change in the way they do business. The practise of moving serial child rapists from one parish to another is now gone. These offenders will now be handed over to the civil power for trial and punishment if convicted. Very good and what else is new? Well priests are very thin on the ground and in rural areas one priest may have to serve two or three parishes and a couple of off-shore Islands to boot. Good people empathise with may good hard working priest's because by association they are tarred with the stigma of child abuse and cover ups etc.
The Vatican who oversee our clergy have been strangely silent about the demise of our once flourishing national religion. I suspect we are but a drop in the ocean and they have bigger fish to fry in far off third world countries. In these places the church if still flourishing due to low standards of education and indeed deep poverty. So little fat recession plagued Ireland will be allowed to plod along with its ageing clergy. Perhaps as they die off they will be replaced by foreign priests who will eventually customise themselves to this society a bad plan maybe but this must be the Vatican's plan as they have not offered anything else.
What do you suggest I hear my readers ask I mean the church is doomed, doomed I say and many would say good riddance. Alright so just for a moment pretend that I am some big noise ecclesiastical nut who has total freedom to reform the Irish Catholic church what would I do? Right let us address the issues in order with simple ones first, on the issue of ageing priests etc one has to come up with the obvious. Priests must be allowed to marry. Also we will welcome applications from women with open arms as you will see this is a total radical manifesto. Now I would hope that the inclusion of women and married clergy would openly invite some lapsed Catholics back into the fold. There is more, my new church would take up a position like a political position. No more will the emphasis be on liturgy and doctrine but on the political welfare of the flock. I explain one of the main duties of my new Catholicism will be to educate people on the effects that politics has on their daily lives. It goes without saying of course that my churches new found radical politics would put Karl Marx to shame. We will insist that our flock should understand this. Well you see they need to understand what kind of battle is raging now. It is not like in the past when it concerned people's souls and hell and brimstone an all of that.
Today the problems are different entirely people need to know that they are living in a capitalistic fantasy. This world in which inequality thrives the battle is for your heart more so than your soul. People are born into a consumer spending stupor- that is fed by media and business interests. This stupor convinces us individuals that there is no place for equality. That the state and society is without responsibility to its citizen's, never mind it having a moral duty to its weakest.
There could be a few votes in this if the church was willing to grab this radical approach. After all for once the church would be teaching the true message of the greatest socialist of all Jesus Christ. Perhaps if they adopted his radical plan the true message of Catholicism might live on.
Its a harsh world we live in full of people who will not only throw stones but might run you down with a steam roller whilst their at it. I wonder does the comparison to Fianna Fail really stand up? Well at least Fianna Fail have mentioned somewhat unconvincingly mind you but they have said it you know the word 'radical'. That dangerous word that can mean just about anything and in Fianna Fail's case it could be anything from Marx-to Hitler but let us leave them alone.
Now the idea I now have of the Catholic church is simple. There has been a change like a small change in the way they do business. The practise of moving serial child rapists from one parish to another is now gone. These offenders will now be handed over to the civil power for trial and punishment if convicted. Very good and what else is new? Well priests are very thin on the ground and in rural areas one priest may have to serve two or three parishes and a couple of off-shore Islands to boot. Good people empathise with may good hard working priest's because by association they are tarred with the stigma of child abuse and cover ups etc.
The Vatican who oversee our clergy have been strangely silent about the demise of our once flourishing national religion. I suspect we are but a drop in the ocean and they have bigger fish to fry in far off third world countries. In these places the church if still flourishing due to low standards of education and indeed deep poverty. So little fat recession plagued Ireland will be allowed to plod along with its ageing clergy. Perhaps as they die off they will be replaced by foreign priests who will eventually customise themselves to this society a bad plan maybe but this must be the Vatican's plan as they have not offered anything else.
What do you suggest I hear my readers ask I mean the church is doomed, doomed I say and many would say good riddance. Alright so just for a moment pretend that I am some big noise ecclesiastical nut who has total freedom to reform the Irish Catholic church what would I do? Right let us address the issues in order with simple ones first, on the issue of ageing priests etc one has to come up with the obvious. Priests must be allowed to marry. Also we will welcome applications from women with open arms as you will see this is a total radical manifesto. Now I would hope that the inclusion of women and married clergy would openly invite some lapsed Catholics back into the fold. There is more, my new church would take up a position like a political position. No more will the emphasis be on liturgy and doctrine but on the political welfare of the flock. I explain one of the main duties of my new Catholicism will be to educate people on the effects that politics has on their daily lives. It goes without saying of course that my churches new found radical politics would put Karl Marx to shame. We will insist that our flock should understand this. Well you see they need to understand what kind of battle is raging now. It is not like in the past when it concerned people's souls and hell and brimstone an all of that.
Today the problems are different entirely people need to know that they are living in a capitalistic fantasy. This world in which inequality thrives the battle is for your heart more so than your soul. People are born into a consumer spending stupor- that is fed by media and business interests. This stupor convinces us individuals that there is no place for equality. That the state and society is without responsibility to its citizen's, never mind it having a moral duty to its weakest.
There could be a few votes in this if the church was willing to grab this radical approach. After all for once the church would be teaching the true message of the greatest socialist of all Jesus Christ. Perhaps if they adopted his radical plan the true message of Catholicism might live on.
Tuesday, 28 June 2011
Where have all the real people gone? Update
Why are we subjected to it to day after day, political show after political show. Countless newspaper articles and the new online super mouth that breaks the news faster than we break.....! The it I refer to is the economy, you know the ECB and the IMF and Fianna Fail and Fianna gael. The whole thing adds up to a bad dream poisoned by the presence of some malignant infection. I guess the sad part of all of this really is that some people get off on it. Media types and political correspondents, bland journalists and university educated producers, this is real time for them and they love every minute of it.
Caught up in all the mayhem is the stark reality that the backbone of this society ie- the voting public elected their peers to deal with the mess, yet all I hear are people cribbing and moaning about austerity and many seem to lack any positives regarding politicians or politics in general. One ends up unable to sleep asking the relentless question who actually did vote for these people, come on hands up. Of course the reality is that if you did vote for any of these middle right parties you more or less deserve everything you get.
The people I feel most sorry for are those who voted for Independents, the left wing alliance, or Sinn Fein, they are most unlikely to see the fruits of their labours within their life time. Now trouble sleeping is one thing but how about waking in a cold sweat trying to come to terms with the actual awful truth that capitalism just doesn't work for the majority of the people. The sudden realisation that we are sold the lines again and again. I will list a few of the lines we here in Ireland are sold every day and evaluate their truth level.
'The Atm's will run out of money and we will have no money to pay our Doctors and nurses!' Verdict: Absolute nonsense- there is no proof to sustain this argument.Can you really imagine the EU allowing this to happen?
'If we higher Corporation tax foreign multi-nationals will leave immediately!' Verdict: Absolute nonsense- Foreign multi-nationals come to Ireland for tax breaks in the main but also for a strategic position to service European and world markets using our highly educated work force etc. They also pay very little taxes here and indeed repatriate most of their profits. If the strategy of inviting and in forming a dependence on foreign multi-nationals works for Ireland how come we have ended up in the trouble we are in. It must also be stated that we pay billions on the bureaucracy we have created with the knock them out with a mallet and bring them to Ireland doctrine.
'All left wing economic thinking is for the birds!' Verdict: Absolute nonsense- Most left wing economic thinking comes from the same area used by the main political parties they all consult economists for example some of the Sinn Fein economic policy in the last election was straight from the David Mc Williams school of economics. In television debates the right wing politicians usually start to shout down their opponent screaming the now standard,'where on earth the money is going to come from?' As soon as answer is attempted they shout down their opponent again.
'Fianna Fail will come up with some radical policies' Verdict: Absolute nonsense- Fianna Fail are fast becoming the rural party- they have a new support comprised of mainly middle aged rural women.Many of these women are from families that have been favoured by association with Fianna Fail. Does this explain the shift to the right since the new leader sat on the throne, lots of anti-social welfare talk in the pubs where I live from people I know to be Fianna Fail supporters.
Now am I glad to get nagging thoughts off my chest so early in the day, I might even sleep better tonight. Before I nod off I promise myself I wont restart the whole bandwagon effect by wondering where have all the real people gone? The people who know we are been hoodwinked- people who know for example Irish people can actually control our natural resources. We can also control health, education, maybe even a bank or two. Hark I hear a voice sweeping over the Atlantic telling me that the dumb Irish are not capable of manufacturing a generic version of Lipitor, or that we cant make Stents for Angioplasty cheaply and supply them to our hospitals. No we need a multi-national to come in and make them sell them into our public health service at enormous cost before eventually going to India or Poland because the labour costs are lower. Verdict total nonsense and I never mentioned Vincent Browne once, the father of the Irish poor will sleep peacefully this night.
Caught up in all the mayhem is the stark reality that the backbone of this society ie- the voting public elected their peers to deal with the mess, yet all I hear are people cribbing and moaning about austerity and many seem to lack any positives regarding politicians or politics in general. One ends up unable to sleep asking the relentless question who actually did vote for these people, come on hands up. Of course the reality is that if you did vote for any of these middle right parties you more or less deserve everything you get.
The people I feel most sorry for are those who voted for Independents, the left wing alliance, or Sinn Fein, they are most unlikely to see the fruits of their labours within their life time. Now trouble sleeping is one thing but how about waking in a cold sweat trying to come to terms with the actual awful truth that capitalism just doesn't work for the majority of the people. The sudden realisation that we are sold the lines again and again. I will list a few of the lines we here in Ireland are sold every day and evaluate their truth level.
'The Atm's will run out of money and we will have no money to pay our Doctors and nurses!' Verdict: Absolute nonsense- there is no proof to sustain this argument.Can you really imagine the EU allowing this to happen?
'If we higher Corporation tax foreign multi-nationals will leave immediately!' Verdict: Absolute nonsense- Foreign multi-nationals come to Ireland for tax breaks in the main but also for a strategic position to service European and world markets using our highly educated work force etc. They also pay very little taxes here and indeed repatriate most of their profits. If the strategy of inviting and in forming a dependence on foreign multi-nationals works for Ireland how come we have ended up in the trouble we are in. It must also be stated that we pay billions on the bureaucracy we have created with the knock them out with a mallet and bring them to Ireland doctrine.
'All left wing economic thinking is for the birds!' Verdict: Absolute nonsense- Most left wing economic thinking comes from the same area used by the main political parties they all consult economists for example some of the Sinn Fein economic policy in the last election was straight from the David Mc Williams school of economics. In television debates the right wing politicians usually start to shout down their opponent screaming the now standard,'where on earth the money is going to come from?' As soon as answer is attempted they shout down their opponent again.
'Fianna Fail will come up with some radical policies' Verdict: Absolute nonsense- Fianna Fail are fast becoming the rural party- they have a new support comprised of mainly middle aged rural women.Many of these women are from families that have been favoured by association with Fianna Fail. Does this explain the shift to the right since the new leader sat on the throne, lots of anti-social welfare talk in the pubs where I live from people I know to be Fianna Fail supporters.
Now am I glad to get nagging thoughts off my chest so early in the day, I might even sleep better tonight. Before I nod off I promise myself I wont restart the whole bandwagon effect by wondering where have all the real people gone? The people who know we are been hoodwinked- people who know for example Irish people can actually control our natural resources. We can also control health, education, maybe even a bank or two. Hark I hear a voice sweeping over the Atlantic telling me that the dumb Irish are not capable of manufacturing a generic version of Lipitor, or that we cant make Stents for Angioplasty cheaply and supply them to our hospitals. No we need a multi-national to come in and make them sell them into our public health service at enormous cost before eventually going to India or Poland because the labour costs are lower. Verdict total nonsense and I never mentioned Vincent Browne once, the father of the Irish poor will sleep peacefully this night.
Tuesday, 14 June 2011
'Vincent Brane,' Update
I have decided that this will be my final Vincent Browne [Brane] blog, one could spend a lifetime on him and the various subjects he covers and drops with such abandon, safe to say that the only subject sure to stay on the agenda is anything to do with the economy. I sit up nights worrying about this but I console myself in the knowledge that it is money that makes the world go round and indeed capitalism by it's very nature is the only true ideology befitting a human race that really doesn't care for their fellow time travellers.
You see I find it hard to empathise with people who agree to live in a system which allows limitless potential in return for a small select group hoarding all the wealth, this thesis survives on the notion that those privileged few hold all the power. Does anyone else worry that our sole mission at present is to return to gamblers and bookies in order to regulate our finances, does nobody else care that we are constantly fed lies and inaccuracies in order to retain this system that has served us so badly since the foundation of the state?
This system that has failed the poor and the needy for years it has stifled development where people from working class backgrounds didn't make university and if they had work it was generally manual in nature, so our patriots who fought for Irish freedom gave their lives so that the British upper class left this Island to be replaced with our own merchant class who in effect just continued the working doctrine of our colonists.
Well you may wonder what has Vincent Brane got to do with all of this, the answer just watch his show very carefully and listen and it will become apparent, last night he had three suits discussing a bland interview given by the very smug governor of the central bank Patrick Honohan. The very cheerful Patrick basically told us nothing and revealed only that the then minister of finance Brian Lenihan was disturbed by the whole process and that events eventually wore down his natural enthusiasm and certainly it would appear his naivety. Vincent then discussed this with his panel and introduced a panellist as one of TV3'S innovative new panel of guests which by the way judging from last night still does not trust the working classes.
Why does Vincent Brane not tell the truth , well if his whole handling of the Brian Lenihan's sad death is to be examined we will see. I for one have great sympathy for Brian Lenihan and his family and even though he was ill he kept up the brave fight, and I have no doubt worked very hard during the financial crisis that led to the bank guarantee and the eventual deal with the IMF and the ECB. However Vincent has made no attempt to discuss or properly analyse Brian Lenihan's role in all of this, instead he has patronisingly referred to the human side of the former minister and felt it un-important that we should get any closer to the truth as to why a sovereign country should sign away it's independence.
Perhaps in years to come the Irish media will examine the truth about this period of Irish history, but the influence of our elitist media will probably dictate that such discussion will be brushed aside so we can eulogise those responsible and seek to lay the blame elsewhere. Am I the only person that actually thinks that Brian Lenihan was out of his depth, if Brian Lenihan was English he would have been at Oxford or Eton, he came from the Irish privileged classes. He was born to govern rather than be governed his people are steeped in political blood. I am hearing that he was one of our brightest and possessed a great intellect, perhaps this is true but he didn't show this in any of the political interviews he gave during this crucial period of negotiations with our overlord's. As I said I have great sympathy for Mr Lenihan and his family on a personal basis but how many lives are affected by the economic mess we find ourselves in, how many people will actually die prematurely because of cutbacks in our health service etc.
I think me and Vincent Brane will part on a sound note, his show is different to the usual spoof journalism practised by RTE, where Miriam O' Callaghan calls people minister in her reverent dart accent, at least Vincent Brane gets at the odd gobshite. In my view he did the people of Dun Laoghaire a great favour by exposing Mary Hanifin as the political reptile she is, in the week of the election thus costing her a seat. Alright Vincent this is the end of the road my final comment will you ever get rid of the solicitor's suit, and learn how to use the autocue, and also will you practise the ending of your show like try to say good night to us all properly.
You see I find it hard to empathise with people who agree to live in a system which allows limitless potential in return for a small select group hoarding all the wealth, this thesis survives on the notion that those privileged few hold all the power. Does anyone else worry that our sole mission at present is to return to gamblers and bookies in order to regulate our finances, does nobody else care that we are constantly fed lies and inaccuracies in order to retain this system that has served us so badly since the foundation of the state?
This system that has failed the poor and the needy for years it has stifled development where people from working class backgrounds didn't make university and if they had work it was generally manual in nature, so our patriots who fought for Irish freedom gave their lives so that the British upper class left this Island to be replaced with our own merchant class who in effect just continued the working doctrine of our colonists.
Well you may wonder what has Vincent Brane got to do with all of this, the answer just watch his show very carefully and listen and it will become apparent, last night he had three suits discussing a bland interview given by the very smug governor of the central bank Patrick Honohan. The very cheerful Patrick basically told us nothing and revealed only that the then minister of finance Brian Lenihan was disturbed by the whole process and that events eventually wore down his natural enthusiasm and certainly it would appear his naivety. Vincent then discussed this with his panel and introduced a panellist as one of TV3'S innovative new panel of guests which by the way judging from last night still does not trust the working classes.
Why does Vincent Brane not tell the truth , well if his whole handling of the Brian Lenihan's sad death is to be examined we will see. I for one have great sympathy for Brian Lenihan and his family and even though he was ill he kept up the brave fight, and I have no doubt worked very hard during the financial crisis that led to the bank guarantee and the eventual deal with the IMF and the ECB. However Vincent has made no attempt to discuss or properly analyse Brian Lenihan's role in all of this, instead he has patronisingly referred to the human side of the former minister and felt it un-important that we should get any closer to the truth as to why a sovereign country should sign away it's independence.
Perhaps in years to come the Irish media will examine the truth about this period of Irish history, but the influence of our elitist media will probably dictate that such discussion will be brushed aside so we can eulogise those responsible and seek to lay the blame elsewhere. Am I the only person that actually thinks that Brian Lenihan was out of his depth, if Brian Lenihan was English he would have been at Oxford or Eton, he came from the Irish privileged classes. He was born to govern rather than be governed his people are steeped in political blood. I am hearing that he was one of our brightest and possessed a great intellect, perhaps this is true but he didn't show this in any of the political interviews he gave during this crucial period of negotiations with our overlord's. As I said I have great sympathy for Mr Lenihan and his family on a personal basis but how many lives are affected by the economic mess we find ourselves in, how many people will actually die prematurely because of cutbacks in our health service etc.
I think me and Vincent Brane will part on a sound note, his show is different to the usual spoof journalism practised by RTE, where Miriam O' Callaghan calls people minister in her reverent dart accent, at least Vincent Brane gets at the odd gobshite. In my view he did the people of Dun Laoghaire a great favour by exposing Mary Hanifin as the political reptile she is, in the week of the election thus costing her a seat. Alright Vincent this is the end of the road my final comment will you ever get rid of the solicitor's suit, and learn how to use the autocue, and also will you practise the ending of your show like try to say good night to us all properly.
Wednesday, 8 June 2011
How did Vincent Browne get God on his show?
Well Vincent really brought the house down last night, I was expecting the usual bland Tuesday night guests when to my amazement he introduced God as a guest explaining how he had just written this great book about statistics and how he really cared about our attitudes to things.
God came complete with white beard and saintly expression and he informed us that we were much better off in general now than we used to be with women taking their rightful place in society, and that our standards had improved so much since God last checked us out in 1989. However Vincent was only tolerating God in his generalisation of the state of our nation he was far more interested the plight of our travelling community and as he put it more than once, 'they really are the most discriminated people you know.'
Now I have great sympathy for God and am a sucker for statistics but to see my favourite Fianna Fail politician Éamon Ó Cuív lord it archangel like promoting travellers rights was a bit hard to take, as as recently as the last budget this guy wanted to reduce disability benefit and more recently in a snippet from one of those new breed of TV3 shows he explained that if we get the dole cheats we will basically clear the national debt. This man is in favour of travellers rights? Perhaps there may be some votes in this for him but if Vincent can find a more right wing voice from west of the Shannon please let me know.
God sort of faded a little in the discussion once we got the statistics out of the way, and we found ourselves in Vincent territory he is very good on statistics and also he can conjure the odd obscure and even deleted word that nobody in the pub ever uses and more to the point he probably doesn't use himself that often. Vincent spoke and the chap from the travellers group spoke very well and suddenly the Irish audience were not just faced with God but with an articulate traveller.
It all faded out without much of a sting and my friend Éamon reminded us much to Vincent's annoyance about Francis Barrett and the Olympic games, Vincent went on to read some texts and tweets which were offensive but not much more than you hear on the average bar stool, you know when the orator is absolutely sure you agree with him and you don't but are quiet for the sake of peace. Now to the issue of travellers in general, people are wary of the subject as it is one of the no win scenarios common in Irish society, and to my mind it is an issue for which political correctness will not contribute to a solution.
In the main people are people and if some people choose to live a life by the side of the road or moving from place to place well there isn't much I can do about it, and children in Ireland from all backgrounds can suffer, and many from poor and disadvantaged area's are discriminated against all their lives. I sometimes wonder about shows of this nature, the debate will hardly change what is a cultural issue, we are a people who are mortally wounded by chronic indifference this is a society which has lost it's moral soul. I was all set for my my bed when I remembered that God had said that he himself lived with the travellers for a while, then I was reminded of time in my first life when an traveller girl was fitted out for her confirmation by my mother, she called regularly to our door for clothes-and I see her now as a jolly polite girl who thanked my mother profusely for her kindness. She called on us many times but then it stopped abruptly and we never saw her again.
God came complete with white beard and saintly expression and he informed us that we were much better off in general now than we used to be with women taking their rightful place in society, and that our standards had improved so much since God last checked us out in 1989. However Vincent was only tolerating God in his generalisation of the state of our nation he was far more interested the plight of our travelling community and as he put it more than once, 'they really are the most discriminated people you know.'
Now I have great sympathy for God and am a sucker for statistics but to see my favourite Fianna Fail politician Éamon Ó Cuív lord it archangel like promoting travellers rights was a bit hard to take, as as recently as the last budget this guy wanted to reduce disability benefit and more recently in a snippet from one of those new breed of TV3 shows he explained that if we get the dole cheats we will basically clear the national debt. This man is in favour of travellers rights? Perhaps there may be some votes in this for him but if Vincent can find a more right wing voice from west of the Shannon please let me know.
God sort of faded a little in the discussion once we got the statistics out of the way, and we found ourselves in Vincent territory he is very good on statistics and also he can conjure the odd obscure and even deleted word that nobody in the pub ever uses and more to the point he probably doesn't use himself that often. Vincent spoke and the chap from the travellers group spoke very well and suddenly the Irish audience were not just faced with God but with an articulate traveller.
It all faded out without much of a sting and my friend Éamon reminded us much to Vincent's annoyance about Francis Barrett and the Olympic games, Vincent went on to read some texts and tweets which were offensive but not much more than you hear on the average bar stool, you know when the orator is absolutely sure you agree with him and you don't but are quiet for the sake of peace. Now to the issue of travellers in general, people are wary of the subject as it is one of the no win scenarios common in Irish society, and to my mind it is an issue for which political correctness will not contribute to a solution.
In the main people are people and if some people choose to live a life by the side of the road or moving from place to place well there isn't much I can do about it, and children in Ireland from all backgrounds can suffer, and many from poor and disadvantaged area's are discriminated against all their lives. I sometimes wonder about shows of this nature, the debate will hardly change what is a cultural issue, we are a people who are mortally wounded by chronic indifference this is a society which has lost it's moral soul. I was all set for my my bed when I remembered that God had said that he himself lived with the travellers for a while, then I was reminded of time in my first life when an traveller girl was fitted out for her confirmation by my mother, she called regularly to our door for clothes-and I see her now as a jolly polite girl who thanked my mother profusely for her kindness. She called on us many times but then it stopped abruptly and we never saw her again.
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