Reality is light years away for some bishops

From the Irish Times

The Catholic Bishop of Elphin, Christopher Jones, has accused the media of being “unfair and unjust” to his Church through a concentration on the handling by Church authorities of the clerical child sex abuse issue.

"Could I just say with all this emphasis on cover-up, the cover-up has gone on for centuries, not just in the Church….It’s going on today in families, in communities, in societies, Why are you singling out the Church?,” he asked at a press conference in Maynooth today where the Irish Episcopal Conference was concluding its three-day Spring meeting.

“I object to the way the Church is being isolated and the focus on the Church,” he said “We know we’ve made mistakes. Of course we’ve made mistakes but why this huge isolation of the Church and this huge focus on cover-up in the Church when it has been going on for centuries.”

Nasty media. It hurts us precious.



Douchebag

Gormley's green expenses

Gormless defends his limo bill on the grounds that Hay-on-Wye is in the middle of nowhere. I suppose that it never occurred to him to take the train. Both European and American government members transport themselves by train. Is Gormless too good for it? Is he better than Joe Biden?

I think someone should lend him a dictionary because he doesn't seem to understand the meaning of expenses, excess or green.

Greens are not green

The Green parliamentary party don't care about the environment. They are a bunch of middle-class Dubs who have never let their designer loofers come in contact with an actual farm.

Trevor Sargent resigned on a point of principle and I respect him for that. Ryan's gone over to the part side. Gormley is a lapdog with no political sense

They are in a government that abolished the Rural Environment Protection Scheme (REPS) without protest. Abolishing hunting is counter-productive to the environment becuae hunters maintain the hedgerows and animal life but the Greens are as sophisticated about cute animals as children. What about protecting the rats? Or the mosquitoes? Or the thousands of dogs are put down every year.

They claim credit for reversing the cuts in education but they were in the government that implemented those cuts. How can they take credit for that? Oh yeah I forgot, they don't care about the country. They are a load of power-hungry assholes.

Bloody "eurocracts"

I am sick to the teeth of hearing about Brussels elite and eurocracts. Do people who reduce the EU to the evil empire really believe it? Do they do any fucking research? Do they believe the utter untruths spouted by Coir and others?



The so-called elite is made up of international civil servants from all over the EU including Ireland. Yes there are Irish employees among the "elites".

If you want out of the EU that's fine but you've more of a chance of succeeding if you vote yes. This is because it organises the EU coherently.


moar funny pictures

You know it should be really called the Dublin Treaty because the vast majority was negotiated in Dublin by Irish civil servants.

"Mothers are selfish bitches" according to Jane Kirby of the Sindo

Isn't it amazing in this modern 21st century world that mothers still bear total responsibility for raising children. Those working hussies should feel guilty for abandoning their children, according to Irish Independent reporter Jane Kirby:

Mothers who work raise unhealthier children than those who stay at home, researchers said yesterday

Mothers not parents. What about the other parent? Fathers caring for children is not taken into account. Despite the increasing number of fathers who take the primary caregiving role, and the equal caregiving by both parents, the Sindo decides to take a blast from the past and attempt to shame working mothers. It is an old tactic but pulls nicely on the Catholic guilt that most schools succeed in infusing in their charges.

Do men have no influence or responsibility for their offspring? How about children of a gay couple or a poly couple or any other non traditional family unit? Should single mothers give up work, draw social welfare, require social housing and basically become the stimatised straw dole-queen that middle class conservatives have railed against for decades?

Won't somebody please think of the children?



And the British Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health considers this a mother's responsibility, not a parent's responsibility. As usual, total heteronormative bullshit.

Mothers who worked full-time had the unhealthiest children, followed by those who worked part-time. They typically worked 21 hours per week (with a range of 16 to 30 hours) and for 45 months (with a range of 25 to 55 months). Overall, many children had habits that could lead to them becoming overweight. For example, 37pc of children mostly ate crisps or sweets between meals and 41pc mostly drank sweetened drinks.A total of 61pc watched television or used the computer for at least two hours a day.

Ah everything becomes clearer, some children have habits that could led to the dreaded obesity. Apart from the conditionals, the invocation of the sin of fat, and the lack of any sort of empirical research, correlation is not causation.

I have a couple of questions for the Sindo, as they dive into the goldmine that is the "obesity crisis". It sure does sell papers but is devoid of fact.

• Do you know that children need fat and sugar to grow?
• Do you know that the person who invented BMI (standard medical measurement) totally rejected its use to determine health of adults and never for children?
• Do you know that medical insurance companies arbitrarily changed BMI in the 80s and millions became overweight overnight?
• Do you know that BMI has been proved to be bullshit?
  
• Do you know what "overweight" looks like?
• Do you know that being "overweight" makes you more likely to survive a heart attack?
  

You cannot tell the health of a person by looking at them or what they eat. The current obsession with fat as unhealthy is dangerous.

Children know when they are being discussed and the shame gets a hold. I am fat now but I wasn't when I was a kid. Adults told me I was fat and I saw my body as hideous. That is a learned behaviour. I grew up to be fat and healthy. The emotional damage took a lot longer. I visited anorexia and bulimia until I accepted myself as I am through plenty of fat acceptance reading. Publicly worrying about children's weight is dangerous. I was not the only child that was deeply affected by adults' comments to me or about me.

In the second last paragraph of this sexist, heteronormative, homophobic piece of tripe, there is the standard classism. The Sindo says:

But when the researchers took away factors that might influence the results, such as socio-economic background, they found a definite link between a mother working and the child's health.

Yes, those mothers are so selfish as to work when we live in the Irish socialist paradise. Mothers who are the sole earners who consider the "health" of their children and give up their aul jobs.

Forget about the mortgage or rent, food on the table and luxuries like school uniforms or heat. Forget the notion of an equal partnership. Forget about equal responsibility. Forget that the definition of what constitutes a family has changed. Forget the undervaluation of mothers' work. Forget all the progress that women have made to achieve equal rights.

Because the article basically boils down to nuclear two hetero parents, in which Daddy earns and Mummy gets belittled for doing likewise. Stupid bitch, get back in the kitchen and think of the children because you cannot have a life or work outside the home without being accused of selfishness and neglect. It's all your fault for not slaving over a hot stove and feeding your children three home-cooked meals a day.

Jane Kirby is sexist, misogynistic, homophobic, heteronormative, conservative and has written a piece full of hyperbolic sensationalist lies. It's hard to believe that this piece was cleared by three Sindo editors. But then again, what can be expected from a paper that pays and gives an platform to a racist, misogynistic asshole.

Fianna Fáil and resignations

From the Irish Times

Mr Cowen yesterday deflected criticism of Ms Coughlan’s decision to approve a “golden handshake” for Mr Molloy last November, which enhanced the long-term value of his pension by an estimated €1 million.

Course he did. Holy Saint Dermot "Back to the good old days" Ahern defended Sweary Mary on Radio 1 this afternoon. Angling to be Tánaiste that one is.

Fianna Fáil have brass necks. They are unshameable. A quick non-apology and back to business as usual. How many of them have committed firing offenses?

• Batt O'Keeffe for the Magdalanes as employees remark
  
• Brian Lenihan for getting the budget wrong and not reading the necessary documents; for nationalising Anglo Irish Bank to bail out FF grassroots members
  
• John O'Donaghue for his expenses
• Martin Cullen for his expenses, e-voting, abuse of government jet
  
• Mary O' Rourke for racism
• Mary Coughlan for the FÁS and Rody Molly debacle
• Michael Woods for negotiating immunity for child rapists and torturers who were in the church
• Mary Harney for the health system
• Bertie Ahern for, amongst other things, the gas and oil deal with Shell
• Brian Cowen for continuing lack of leadership and allowing corrupt public servants to resign instead of firing them
• Dermot Ahern for amendments to the criminal justice lawand the blasphemy law
  

Right, who have I forgotten?

It's not inspiring to think so many government ministers have said and done things that they should be fired for. Where is the political will, accountability and justice there? The government is supposed to serve the people.

There is a cancer in the body politic when we keep returning these corrupt fuckers. New people need to stand for election but the best and brightest are leaving Ireland because who wants to spend their life paying for these fools' mistakes and not a single person is fired or takes responsibility?

Does it take their blood flowing in the streets to get resignations? I abhor violence but I wonder whether anything short of that will get them out of government.

WTF Ulster Bank

Just heard this on Liveline - Ulster Bank is giving any a voucher for a visit to a lap dancing club when you open a student bank account.

Sexist to say the least. Disgusting, objectifying and more.

Insulting to sex workers.

I have no words except everyone should change accounts.

Now the bank is saying they did not know what was in the fresher bag. I call bullshit.

I will write more later as am in keyboard smash mood.

Those Cóir posters were so irritating that I made a vid

Another epic fail

John Waters fails epically in theIrish Times again today.

RETURNING FROM Italy last Saturday, I took the bus into Dublin and had an opportunity to study the city from a more elevated position than usual. I was shocked by the decrepitude and dilapidation of the inner city: littered, shabby, unpainted, unloved, more like a shantytown of a third world dependency than the capital of a modern democracy after 15 years of prosperity.

No. It. Does. Not.

These are shantytowns.

Kibera

Phnom Penh

Manila

This is Dublin.

Hyperbole like that is counter productive. It's appropriating other people's lived experiences, poverty and oppression to make a point.

The rest of the article is tripe too.

Please remove your head from your ass now.

Stay classy Ryan Tubridy

A new Late Late Show host fumbles the ball. Pat "the plank" Kenny has handled the torch to Ryan "great connections" Tubridy. Isn't he Cathal Goan's cousin or something like that?

Stealing a little style from both David Letterman and Jon Stewert, Tubridy Tonight the new Late Late begins. It was better than dismal but Tubsy was a tad patronising to virtually all his guests and audience.

The interview with Biffo was a mix of great and fail. Bet Biffo's fist was itching to punch Tubsy at the end. But it wouldn't be good considering the FF connection. Biffo's numbers might actually rise though. At least the interview gave us such classic quotes as

"I don't drink too much"
"I rebel against politically correct culture"

I'm sorry did I write classic, I meant mildly interesting. Tubridy did bring up JOD's expenses, Biffo's drinking as well as simpler questions such as do you like being Taoiseach.

I wish I had turned off the telly then and missed Tubridy's infantilising and sexist comments about Sharon Corr. But the worst part was the disgusting interview with Brian McFadden about McFadden's ex wife Kerry Katona. McF was playing the innocent absentee father and both of them were casting Katona into the evil bitch mold. Real classy act there Tubsy - attack a women who is not there to defend herself and egg on her douchebag ex husband to wax lyrical about what a terrible mother / person / creature she is. And bringing on McF's mother to diss Katona is more of the same. It just shows that you had preplanned to tear Katona to shreds. Is there no sure thing as balance on your IKEA-decorated set? Or will Katona be on next week?

McF admitted that he knows nothing except for the tabloid stories. So why the vicious gossip-mongering and bringing on the poor Irish mammy and her son to slut-shame a woman who is not present and about whom no one has had contact? Dragging the Late Late to a new low.

Don't think I'll be tuning in on a regular basis.

Latest blow to civil liberties coming soon to Ireland

Random drug testing on motorists. Nah it's an April July fools joke. That would be in violation of our human rights surely? From the IT

RANDOM DRUG testing of motorists will be a key part of the new anti-drugs strategy to be published in September, said Minister of State John Curran.

Alcohol will also be included in the drugs strategy for the first time, and there will be a designated minister dealing with drugs.

Mr Curran told the Oireachtas committee dealing with community affairs that illegal drug use increased from 5.6 per cent of the population in 2003 to 7.2 per cent in 2007 among the 15-64 age group, although greatest usage was among those under 35.

Right so because of the actions of 7.2% of the population, 100% of the drivers of Ireland have to deal with invasive tests. I don't think there's any breathalyzer for cocaine, hash or heroin. What is proposed? Blood, urine or a hair sample. I, for example, will only give blood if it's taken by a medical professional with my full informed consent. And I don't take illicit drugs!

John Curran, who I presume is responsible for this monumental fuck up, is confused. Mixing legal and illegal drugs in the same legislation is a stupid move because of the status of the outcome. What if a person has smoked a joint with the same intoxication as a glass of wine? Joints are illegal but the test is for intoxication. If the person is not intoxicated do the police just let them go or do they arrest for illicit substances. And that's just one of the problems.

Maybe Curran is just trying to entrap one of his FF colleagues that is a well known coke-head. Maybe this is what the government think is a tough stance on drugs? And maybe they are just wondering how many civil liberties they can take away before the people rise up and say "NO MORE".

Ireland is on a right-wing track and is legislating itself into a police state. Dev would be so proud. It's disgusting.

Corruption most blatant

In yesterday's Irish Times The Ceann Comhairle defends his lavish approach to public money

Commenting on the expenses incurred by John O’Donoghue, former minister for tourism and now Ceann Comhairle of the Dáil, the department said “every effort is made to secure the best possible rates” for Ministers and their delegations. The statement was in response to a Sunday newspaper report that documents released under the Freedom of Information Act showed Mr O’Donoghue, his wife Kate Ann and his private secretary, ran up a travel bill of more than €100,000 over a period of two years.

In addition to the expenses detailed in the article, it is common knowledge that O'Donoghue takes a helicopter to Kerry if he's going home of an evening and has his state car drive down from Dublin to pick him up. Likewise he sends the state car down to Kerry to pick up his wife if she fancies a day in Dublin. All this at the taxpayers expense.

I thought we got rid of a ruling class in this country when Ireland became a republic. The truth is simple. Members's of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party have become the ruling class and try the country as their personal treasure chest. The taxpayers are the peasants, to be disregarded and mocked as the government places taxes and levies that could be likened to pre-revolutionary France. Well France had their revolution and I think the anger of the Irish people won't be contained for long. The streets may not run red with blood but there may be a few grazes.

The success of Fianna Fáil can be explained in part by the Irish Press. Owned by Dev and his family, it was never critical of the FFers or their policies. A perfect little propaganda machine.

Dev killed our economy and impoverished our parents and grandparents. Dev and all the Taoisigh since him permitted the industrial schools to continue despite extensive reports of abuse. In fact, Ministers for Education disappeared complaints and the entire text of the Cussen report from public records. Lenihan Senior was involved in dismissing complaints too.

Think of Haughey. He had a private island, an estate and racehorses all on a TD, Minister or Taoseach's salary. How is such a thing possible. It is not of course but the journalists of the day did not dare to cross the Short Fella.

How many Fianna Fáil TDs have made Irish politics into a hereditary dynasty? Let's list them

• Cowen
• Lenihan
• Coughlan
• O Cuiv
• Kitt
• Andrews
• O Flynn
• Ahern
• Connolly
• Brennan
  

They have been brought up with the arrogance of petty privilege and the perceived entitlement to rule. We the people have bought their line of bullshit but people have become so disillusioned with the state of Irish government that it is easier to emigrate and be a success elsewhere that try and provoke change in this country. Good people will not stand for election because the ruling elites have the money, power and backing of their party.

I was supporting a candidate for the European elections. A bright guy with policies of change. The truth is that it was extremely difficult to get any publicity or to get on or be given any time on The Last Word, The Right Hook, Drive Time, Prime Time, Pat Kenny Show, Morning Ireland or any of the national newspapers or television current affairs programmes. I know because I phoned every day to try and make it happen. Instead the media focused on Ganley, the candidate with the money and the standing MEP's opinions about Ganley. It's easier to serve on the International Criminal Court than to get heard in Ireland without a political party.

People like O'Donaghue are taking advantage of public money because they can. Because they consider themselves elite. Because the people of Ireland are given little choice in the elections. Just consider this:

John O'Donoghue, his wife Kate Ann, and his private secretary Therese O'Connor ran up a travel bill of over €126,000 in the space of just two years.

Among the expenditure were a series of €900-a-night hotels, €7,591 on "airport pick-ups" during a two-day trip to London, €120 for hat rental, €250 for water taxis and €80 to "Indians for moving the luggage".

On one luxurious trip to Venice, the former arts minister, his wife and the civil servant ran up hotel bills of €5,834 at the Albergo San Marco, the Hotel Cipriani and the San Clemente Palace. The ministerial entourage travelled to Italy by government jet, where they were collected by a private airport boat and taken to their luxury accommodation.

He is not even trying to hide the bill padding. And that's what corruption has come to in Ireland. Why bother hiding it when there are no consequences to such spending, never mind the othering of the luggage handlers - "Indians for moving the luggage" indeed.

One of the main contributing factors to our current economic shitstorm is that Lenihan nationalised Anglo Irish Bank. Now he said he did so because the bank was of systemic importance. Of course, he said that he didn't read that part of the report

Brian Lenihan came under intense political pressure last night, following his admission that he only learned about the transfer of €7 billion to Anglo Irish Bank last month, even though his department informed the Financial Regulator about the issue last October.

... Stressing that he only learnt about the issue last month, he said the money transfer was not identified as a risk factor in the 720-page report. “I did not read the report in its entirety but focused on the risk factors outlined therein.”

He added the Taoiseach had not been given a copy of the report. “It was not circulated to the Taoiseach or to other Ministers. I returned any copies I received because I was conscious of the confidential character of the information involved.”

The conclusion is that either Lenihan is criminally incompetent or criminally ignorant. But what if there was another possibility? The real reason why Anglo was nationalised, aside from bailing out Fianna Fáil' developer buddies and getting kickbacks?

Someone I know was serving at a Fianna Fáil banquet two years ago. What is interesting is that all the bills were paid by cheque. What was more interesting is that all but one cheque were drawn on Anglo Irish Bank. And that is the real reason that Anglo was nationalised. The party's money was tied up in the bank. Lenihan, Cowen and Coughlan would be out in a flash if their grassroots supporters lost their money. FF's motto would seem to be party first, developers second and the country in a distant third.

So Anglo was nationalised. And the country is fucked. We bail out the banks, cut social welfare, put levies on the public service, increase taxes, invent new taxes, levies and charges, cut the already mismanaged and incompetent health service, cut education funding among other austerty measures. Now the taxpayer suffers the consequences of the property bubble, the bailout of the Fianna Fáil developer buddies and the choice to put party before country.

The result is that those of us who have children or plan on procreating have to measure whether it is fair to bring them up in Ireland, knowing that they will be paying for Fianna Fáil's failings in their taxes or emigrating because of a stagnant economy. Is it fair on the children to stay in Ireland? Maybe it's just best to leave once the world economy picks up. Or if you stay, will you stand for election? Let's wrest our country back from the special interest groups and loosen the death grip of the FFers.

How to evade responsibility for your actions by giving a non-apology apology

Fr Tom Coonan is a bit of a thicko, to say the least.

He called children sent to Daingean reformatory school unwanted ruffians while saying Sunday's mass. Now aside from the insensitivity required to sermonise about this topic in such a derogatory way only weeks after the publication of Ryan report containing accounts of the rape and torture that happened to the children at Daingean and the proximity of the former prison camp to the church, Coonan believes he eat his words by "not remembering" them.

If he genuinely doesn't remember then perhaps it is time for retirement, to say the least. On the other hand, the more likely scenario, is that he is trying to weasel his way out of a political awkward situation.

It baffles me why Coonan, in common with politicians and other public figures, think that the public believes them for a second. Nah you can't retcon the public. Epic fail.

“And in an aside I said not all the boys sent there were angels. Now if that caused offence to people I regret it and I withdraw. And I totally and utterly condemn all the abuse that happened.”

Then was the unkindest cut of all. Coonan gave a non-apology apology - the ultimate in false rhetoric and refusal to take responsibility for one's actions. It's the rhetorical equivalent of stealing a wallet and saying upon capture, "I'm sorry if you felt you were inconvenienced".



Classic use of the conditional in your apology, father. It gives the perfect tone of insincerity - Now if that caused offence to people I regret it and I withdraw. The use of if puts the responsibility on the offended party rather than on the offending because it implies that the offended party is making a big deal over nothing, being too sensitive, "hysterical" or a special little snowflake. To paraphrase Coonan

"if YOU were offended then I regret that you heard me using that word"

It's mealy-mouthed, dishonest, insincere, shows poor judgment and a lack of sensitivity that is almost beyond belief.

Another classic for the Catholic church!

Do not want

To Wilkinson Sword

This is disgusting. The basic message is "your body is horrible so use our product". No thank you. I am not interested in your product and I do not want to subscribe to your newsletter.

Also bonus for ticking the sexual harassment box too. How many times does a woman have to remove a man's hand from her body before she is taken seriously? Does it not occur to you that she has no cause to look ashamed at the end. The man is the one who savagely overreacted to invisible hair on the legs of the woman he just harassed.

I wrote to them. You can too.

h/t Shapely Prose

"Provoked beyond reason"

David Bourke stabbed his wife to death in front of their children. The Irish Times covers it here.

A MAN who stabbed his wife to death in front of their three children has been given a life sentence for murder.

David Bourke (49) admitted stabbing Jean Gilbert (45) to death in front of their three children at the family home in Laverna Dale, Castleknock, Co Dublin, on August 28th, 2007, but denied murdering her.

He claimed to have been provoked beyond reason by his wife’s affair with English-born musician Robert Campion who had re-entered his wife’s life four months previously.

She had told Bourke that she was going to leave him.

The “last straw” had been the meal that Ms Gilbert had with Mr Campion at the family home two days before she died.

"Provoked beyond reason"? There is nothing provocative about a marriage ending. In Europe, one in every two couples divorces on average. Leaving a partner is a mundane and common, if sad, occurrence. He was not "provoked beyond reason". He chose to murder her. He chose to stab her in front of their children. This is gender based violence. Bourke stabbed his wife because he was angry. He murdered her for leaving him. He murdered her because he could.

Being born a woman is the single biggest risk of violence. Trigger warning on vids.





And for all those who would deny it, yes it happens in Ireland too.

Ireland - In Making the Links (1995), the first ever national research into the prevalence of domestic violence in Ireland, 18% of Irish Women reported they had been abused in relationships with male partners.

Ireland- Since the beginning of 1996, 134 women have been murdered in Ireland. Of those 84 were killed in their own homes. Of the cases which have been resolved, in just under half (49% of the cases, the murder was committed by a partner or ex-partner.

Ireland- In 1999, two out of three women who sought refuge accommodation were refused (1104 women were refused refuge accommodation in the Eastern Regional Health Authority area and 609 women were accommodated - Kelleher 2001)

Ireland- In 2006, 3,132 barring orders were applied for and 1,357 were granted. In the same year 1,221 Safety Orders were granted, 99 were refused and 1,726 struck out/withdrawn. 2,845 protection orders were granted whilst 99 were refused and 193 struck out/withdrawn. (The Courts Services Annual Report, 2006)

Ireland- 4 out of 10 women who had been involved in a sexual relationship with a man experienced violence (Reported frequency of domestic violence; cross sectional survey of women attending general practice, February 20002)

Ireland - Safety and Sanctions, research conducted by Women's Aid into domestic violence and the enforcement of law in Ireland in 1999, showed that children were present in the house or witnessed the violence in a significant amount of cases.

Ireland - A study conducted by the Rotunda Maternity Hospital found that in a sample of 400 pregnant women, 12.5% had experienced abuse while they were pregnant

I'm not denying the existence of violence against men by women but studies have shown that women are seven times more likely to need medical care afterward. Gilbert did not survive the domestic violence Bourke subjected her to.

Bourke was found guilty of murder. It was not a crime of passion. There was no provocation. It was premeditated.

In her closing statement, prosecuting counsel Isobel Kennedy argued that in order for a defense of provocation, there had to be a total loss of self-control. Mr Bourke had known for 10 weeks before Ms Gilbert's death that his wife was going to leave him, she said. He had told gardai that he had wanted to hurt her as she had hurt him, and had sent a text to a colleague on the night before her death saying that he hated her and would have killed her had he not left the house.

It is disgusting that this defense was even considered. It's classic blame-the-victim. Bourke's defense boils down to "she made me do it" and "she was asking for it". Gilbert did not make Bourke stab her four times in front of their children. Gilbert did not ask to be murdered. Gilbert did not ask for her children to be traumatised.

Bourke tried to cowardly free himself from the responsibility of his actions. But the jury has spoken. I'm sure Gilbert didn't ask for Bourke to spend his life in prison either. He has committed murder. It's his responsibility. Gilbert is the victim. Bourke was not "provoked beyond reason".

John Waters misses the point - again

In the Irish Times, John Waters pontificates on the recent #picturegate scandal and misses the point with molelike precision.

...infantile obsession with toilet humour... deep animus towards politicians"... The only amusing thing here is Casby’s deluded belief that he has something to say. His response is typical of a public discourse almost fatally degraded by internet auto-eroticism and an obsession with what is called “comedy”. His works are crude, unfunny, vindictive, without intrinsic content and wholly lacking in artistic merit.

They would never have been heard of had the national broadcaster not misplaced its editorial instincts and, faced with an alternative between soberly reporting a minor crime and engaging in a snide attack on the Taoiseach, chose the latter.

etc etc ranting on artistic merit and violations of national security.

The actual point is government interference in public broadcasting, censorship, freedom of the press and freedom of expression.

Waters may not like Conor Casby's pictures but Casby has the right to caricature public figures.

Just as the Irish Times does each day.

RTE's craven apologies stink of government interference. They are not even willing to stand by their own reports.

Gardaí raided a radio station.

Gardaí said the orders came from the powers that be.

Gardaí confiscated privately owned material.

That's the point and Waters missed it by a mile. Moron.

GUBU squad calling

It's been referred to as Cowengate, GUBU 2 and on twitter as #picturegate but the story of the illegal hanging of two nude paintings of Brian Cowen is what's buzzing on the Irish corner of the net. Is this the best public relations strategy in the history of the FFers or a major fuck up by people such as Michael Kennedy TD, who can only comprehend a situation when it is put in terms that he understands. His wife was kind enough to enlighten him on the grevious nature of l'Affaire Cowen.

But soon enough the smiles were wiped from our faces. Dear Leader's minions were up in arms when RTE had the temerity to report the news story.



God knows that we could do with a bit of a laugh – half the country has lost their jobs and the other half is being losing half their income on taxes. But the FFers have lost all sense of proportion and humour, assuming they had any to start off with.

Then Kennedy, the prince of village idiots, contacted RTE director general Cathal Goan and complained about bias and the obviously neferious ageda of RTE. Instead of telling Kennedy to go shite, RTE relinquished its last smidgen of credibility and apologised.

Let me reiterate that. The national broadcaster apologised to the Government for covering a news story.

The broadcaster received a number of complaints about the item on Monday’s 9pm television news, including one from the Taoiseach’s office. RTÉ had deemed the report to be inappropriate before complaints were received, a spokeswoman said last night. Consequently the report did not run on subsequent bulletins and was taken down from the RTÉ website, she said.

Here is the apology:



An impartial news broadcast on a publicly funded channel requires censorship and apologies? Difficult to believe of course since we allegedly live in a democracy, but it happened. Of course, this is the same government who claimed that dissent was unpatriotic. And this is the same RTE who requested Oliver Callan to ease up criticisms of Cowen on the satirical Nob Nation:

RTE has asked satirist Oliver Callan, of Nob Nation, to "go easy" on the Taoiseach stating that his increasingly controversial portrayal of Brian Cowen as a drunken buffoon "might be perceived to be a bit personal at this stage".

... Supporters of Mr Cowen are known to be upset at the Nob Nation portrayal of him as a hard-drinking and sometimes crude politician surrounded by Cabinet members who are also frequently portrayed in a similar manner.

Rumours which, by the way, are confirmed by the patrons of Doheny and Nesbitt's pub near Government buildings. Oh and by the way, the Government most certainly did not request that RTE censor Nob Nation. I'm sure they're insulted and appalled at the very suggestion. Yeah just like that time Conor Lenihan "assured" me that no one got a particular position through the old boys network. It's time to quote Hamlet, methinks.

So RTE apologies and proceeds to censor "in the national interest". The managers of Ireland Inc. throw their weight around like a pack of rapid rhinos, crushing freedom of the press in the process. Then the gardaí were ordered to the offices of Today FM with the dubious demand for emails and the artist information. “The powers that be want action taken”, Will Hanafin, was told.

At least one broadcaster in this country has the ethics to stand up to government bullying. Today FM refused to release any information without a warrant.

Mr Hanafin told The Irish Times he was “totally shocked” to be confronted by a garda. He said in “no circumstances could this be considered an appropriate use of Garda resources. It seems to me that the powers that be have lost their sense of humour.”

Fine Gael justice spokesman Charlie Flanagan criticised the Garda move. “At a time when the majority of gangland murders remain unsolved, to have gardaí spending their time investigating what amounted to a practical joke that offended the Taoiseach’s ego is a scandalous waste of resources,” he said.

“Today FM has clearly come under pressure to hand over e-mails about this matter, while RTÉ News has obviously been browbeaten into a grovelling apology. The way this matter has been handled is more reminiscent of Russia in the 1930s than Ireland in 2009,” said Mr Flanagan.

Wouldn't the gardaí be better served arresting the bankers, property developers and other criminals rather than persecuting an artist? Are we returning to the normalisation of a stagnant culture where books like "Brave New World" and "Gulliver's Travels" are banned? Are we regressing to the time when the powers that be decided that "Natural Born Killers" or "Clockwork Orange" was too corrupting for the Irish people.

Censorship is the enemy of democracy and with democracy, as with many other system, what is most important is the behaviour during the tough times, the bad times and the ugly times. That RTE is cravenly bowing to the government during this recession is a very bad omen for the future of democracy in this country.

Freedom of the press and freedom of expression are being stifled in this country. What the hell happened to our human rights? What the hell happened to this country where the Dear Leader is covering his government's ass at the expense of the people; where "I didn't read that part of the report" is an acceptable reply to accusations of incompetence; where a bank is nationalised to save one interest group and the Minister for Finance does not even report the report; and where artists are persecuted on trumped up charges?

I call for a general election now. I don't want to wait until Brian "I didn't read the report" Lenihan submits his third budget of the year. Third? Ridiculous doesn't even begin to cover it.

Out, out, out.

Memo to Pat Kenny

Crying is not a feminine characteristic. Crying is not a masculine characteristic.

A man crying is not showing his feminine side. He is having a physical reaction to an emotion.

A woman crying is not showing her feminine side. Se is having a physical reaction to an emotion.

Can you please stop living in the 50s?

Kthanksbai douchebag