They say pain. They are wrong.

I just sent this vid to Cowen, Lenihan and Gormley.


The Watson Institute presents Mark Blyth on Austerity from The Global Conversation on Vimeo.

Won't make a difference I bet but just in case

Green philosophy or future yoyos

It is said that power corrupts but the Green's stated ideals do not apply to Eamon Ryan. He was to keep his ministerial position.

Despite the lofty claims of political philosophy, perhaps every Green TD just wanted a ministerial pension. After all, isn't that why they have clung to power at any cost?

The Sargent Affair

Trevor Sargent resigned over unlawfully contacting the gardaí about a constituent's case. Good. It's right that he resigned - he did wrong. It was corrupt.

He resigned immediately without trying to spread blame or lessen his action. As he did, I remembered a time when I felt respect for the Green party. Of course it was only a memory. Before the U turns on the M3, the Corrib pipeline and REPS. Before the managing of the vote on NAMA and the Programme for Government. Before the Greens demonstrated that it cares for urban voters only. Before the utter ignorance of the light blub saga and putting developed world environmentalism over developing people's lives and the right of women to live in a world free of rape.

Now that memory is gone too. I'm still contemptuous of the Green contribution to Irish politics. I thought Sargent wasn't so bad given that he would not lead the party in a coalition with Fianna Fáil. At least he did not try to insult the people by hanging on by his fingernails. Compare his actions to John O Donoghue or Willie O Dea - The former vindictive and bitter, the latter victimisating his own actions. Contemptible.

The real reason the army is not helping with Ireland's floods

Power corrupts

I've written before on the Shell to the sea campaign and the possible use of terrorist tactics by Shell to control the protesters in Westport. How can a government turn against its people like this, in a democratic country? Watch this



Eamon Ryan used to campaign for Shell to the sea. Now he is overseeing the process. It didn't take him long to sell out his principles when power beckoned.

It's really no wonder that the green parliamentary party manipulated its members into voting their continuing in government. Considering the string of broken promises, expenses revelations, green betrayal and putting their self-interest above the interest of the country, they will never get elected again. Although maybe Ryan will, when he joins the maFFia. Short term gains all. Foolish strategy. Seriously, read The Altruist in Politics or Politics: A Treatise on Government or even a first year text book or buy a clue.

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 don't care about life outside the capital

Gormless is a City Green and clearly has no interest in Ireland's biodiversity or the preservation of living off the land.

Gormley's spokesman said: "This research was on political attitudes in Dublin South East to assist the minister in policy formulation. This expenditure is permissible under the expenditure guidelines and fully receipted."

When forming his policy, Gormless asked his constituents. Apparently, the custodians of the land - the farmers - do not have anything to contribute, nor indeed anybody outside Dublin. Pretty much ensures skewed research that the taxpayer funds.

In the PFG, the Greens got to destroy an industry that employs people living in the country. Not a single Green went to a fur farm to see the conditions. Not a single Green talked to the farmers. No, they just assumed that they knew best and certainly better than some muck savage from outside Dublin.

There are no alternative livelihoods put in place or a plan to deal with the hundreds of thousands of mink currently on the farms. Is there any plan at all, for that matter. Do the Greens want to get rid of mink farms because mink are cute? Are they going to ban all animal farming next? Are cows too ugly to save? After all, leather comes from cows as well as delicious beef.

The Irish Green party is a city party after all. Wouldn't want country folk to start making a fuss. "Farmers don't vote green", is the justification for this attitude. But farmers are some of the greenest people in Ireland. I wouldn't support the greens if I was a farmer. They didn't fight for REPS - the single biggest contribution to biodiversity and care of land in Ireland and the "green" party shot it down. It's just as well that they claim to be an education party because green they ain't.

Amazing the changes of heart the Greens have had since going into coalition with Fianna Fáil! No more opposition to the motorway through Tara and no more support for Shell to Sea.

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.

Dead politicians walking

This is the end, my only friend the end... The future of Ireland contains the debt of banks and it will be decades before the coffers will fill. NAMA is about to awaken - the wolf that will devour our money, healthcare and education systems, pensions and future.

And there was a chance to stop NAMA. Green party members were balloted. They could have voted it down - voted down legislation that Dr Joseph Stiglitz called criminal. But there was no enlightened self-interest at that vote. Instead Fianna Fáil lite voted to ensure that not a single Green will get elected in the next few decades.



Dead politicians walking. In exchange for conceding NAMA, the Greens got nothing but aspirational bullshit. Words like recommend, advise, consider, examine etc. are not hard commitments, they are wishy washy feelgood bullshit to make pretty with the Greens.

They have no idea how to play hardball. Ironically they are both naive and evil. Gormley looks perpetually bewildered. Ryan's gone over to the dark side. Are there any other Greens? Not so as you'd notice.

There is no money in the kitty and there's nothing in the PFG about protecting the vulnerable. The Greens have sold the country out in exchange for power.  It's a poor strategy - short term gain at the expense of the future. Political lilliputians.