Yerra kiss me, amn't I Oirish

Bheul, top of de mornin' to ye my good fella. Would you be buyin' a shamrock off me, wouldya?

Unbelievable right? Tom Cruise in Far and Away that utter piece of shite. Could not believe my ears when I let the News at One overrun to Liveline and was assailed by the whining and moaning of Oirish people objecting to the use of the four leaf clover in place of the shamrock in an ad for a shopping centre. Plastic Paddies the lot of them.

Feeling patriotic now or just ridiculous?

The legend of St Patrick is one to be valued. The coming of Christianity to Ireland and the preservation of the ancient stories by monks has greatly enriched our cultural heritage.

The shamrock was used by St Patrick to demonstrate the Holy Trinity. He could just as well have chosen a three leaf clover. In fact he probably did, considering that it is far more widespread than shamrock. And getting upset about a flour leaf clover is mystifying. It's a pleasant enough plant.

I think the underlying offence was the perceived kowtowing to johnny foreigner and the constant enemy of Political Correctness. In fevered imaginations they are stealing our culture, jobs, money and now they want to take our jingoism. In this imagination, one should be allowed to beat one's wife, send one's children to the parish priest to be raped, send one's daughters to be slaves to hide the shame of her forced pregnancy and worship the bishops as gods. That's not the Ireland I want.

We tore our ancient gods down and turned them into a joke we flaunt on St Patrick's Day. We turned criminals into gods. The green of Patrick's Day is unnatural and jingoistic. Patrick used an image from nature. We laugh at our ancient gods.

Mistakes were made

AIB former chairman disavows any responsibility:

SERIOUS MISTAKES were made in Irish banking in the course of the current crisis, former AIB group chairman Dermot Gleeson SC has told the MacGill Summer School at Glenties, Co Donegal.

... “As a former Chairman of AIB the first thing for me to say in plain and unvarnished language is that some serious mistakes were made in Irish banking and there is absolutely no getting away from that,” Mr Gleeson said.

And who exactly was responsible for making those mistakes? Gleeson evasive language is fooling no one (at least I hope so). Take responsibility man, and admit you fucked up.

On another note: arrests? prosecutions? Where are they?

Gender stereotypes alive and well in the Irish Times

This piece of trash is a cheap shot at gender stereotypes and those who are unemployed.

Women have been insulated from the worst of the carnage since they had already retreated to the home full-time or took the three-day week, convenient safer jobs in the public sector, college, or set up their own low-risk small business: home-catering for one friend, counselling for another, or column-writing in my case.

Oh really? Women have been insulated from the worst part of the recession? Are you referring to women like you Carey? Upper middle class, married, het, cis women presumably. That is not the majority. Way to devalue the work that women do.

Projecting your personal experience on to the backs of other women, is a fucking disgrace, Carey. It's insulting and in error.

I think it is telling that someone with the economic privilege to work part time at column-writing during the recession is generalising her experiences. She has no idea how the rest of us live. I doubt she was one of the 200 people to line up on Grafton Street to interview for a cashier's position in Londis. I doubt she understands that money worries pervade every aspect of your life, when you don't have any. There is no "joy of autonomy" in unemployment during a recession.

Anyway, here’s our dirty little secret – whether down-shifting or opting out – life is great. We are masters of our universe. Whether working from home or in the home, women have discovered the joys of autonomy. Not completely of course – bills still have to be paid, deadlines obeyed and the insatiable needs of children to be met. But there are no tortuous Monday morning management meetings, no hellish commutes, no power point presentations and no angry clients.

Now it’s all been ruined with these husbands hanging around at home. Leaving aside the financial strain, an alien creature has invaded the house. It reminds one of the soaring divorce rate among older couples in Japan where a retired husband shows up and a 30-year marriage ends. Ireland’s unemployed husbands may not be facing abandonment but are finding their wives aren’t exactly thrilled about unlimited quality time.

I hate the chatty "between us girls" tone of this article. Carey assumes that all of us girls agree with this point of view and that all readers are the straightest straight people in the world. Another bloody hetero-nomative assumption.

Since when do the "joys of autonomy" include taking care of children and cleaning the house. It remains me of those fundie freaks that believe that housework is empowering. A big, fuck you to that.

Welcome to the 21st century, Carey. There are different family groups, sexual orientations and negotiations between partners. This article plays on the "men do not contribute to the housework" trope. It's tired and frankly pathetic.

Death throes of our Gov

I do not understand what the government is up to. Are they flinging mud on the wall and hoping some of it sticks or are they floundering around like wounded porpoises?

The government is reducing the penalties for selling cigarettes to kids. I think most would agree that it's better that kids don't smoke and that those who sell them cigarettes should be penalised. From the IT:

OPPOSITION TDs have expressed grave concern that the Government is being “hoodwinked’ by the tobacco industry as legislation was passed in the Dáil yesterday, reducing the penalties for shopkeepers who sell cigarettes to children.

Yeah that makes sense.

The ridiculous blasphemy bill is another death throe of this government. Enshrining blasphemy in law, with a fine of €25 000, is the antithesis of a modern secular government. By protecting the ill defined religious blasphemy is state is aligning itself with religious groups rather than delicately tiptoeing away from those who ruled with an iron fist. Besides, hate speech is already prohibited so the blasphemy bill is doubly ridiculous.

Up next is the Arts Council, taking a leaf out of American society and "protecting" children by wrapping them up in cotton wool. Yesterday children were "protected" from art because it contained the word "rape".

A spokesman for the Arts Council said: “The Arts Council absolutely stands by artists’ right to freedom of expression. In this case, our Child Protection and Welfare guidelines would suggest the proposals from Dunamaise Arts Centre represent simply responsible venue management.”

But Mr Flynn said: “Child protection is about protecting children from harm not from truth.”

Apart from the truth in Flynn's statement, perhaps the Arts Council might consider that one in four children will experience sexual abuse and/or rape before they are 18. If they have a name and an explanation of rape, it might be possible for some of them to seek help earlier. Having the right word is powerful.

And finally, the gov decide that three months of holidays is appropriate. Sweary Mary defends.

TÁNAISTE MARY Coughlan has staunchly defended the Government and the nine weeks’ Dáil summer recess in the face of repeated Opposition criticism, describing the Cabinet as “lean, mean” and “very fit for purpose”.

To cheers and heckles, Ms Coughlan also suggested to Labour leader Eamon Gilmore that “you could always be enticed outside to prove it, but I don’t think we’ll do that”.

Seriously Coughlan, what age are you? I thought challenging people to fisticuffs around the back of the school, ended in primary school. Am I reading this right? Couglan offered Gilmore to have a fight outside.

As for the gov being “lean, mean and very fit for purpose”, all I can say is that I do not think those words mean what you think they mean.

I can haz new gov now plz?

Dear Drivers

For your information, the fast lane is for going fast. 60kph in a 120kph fast lane is not acceptable.

Also learn to signal at roundabouts.

And today's FAIL is by Brenda Power

 

for her spectacular lack of research and display of straight privilege.

And this guy is in charge of our finances?

"You're just inciting dislike of politicians here"

Fucking moron.

Lisbon part 2

This the perfect image to encapsulate the issue of the Lisbon treaty.

Yesterday, I was listening to the Last Word (mp3 here) and listening to the "pundit" from the No to Lisbon campaign. I was forced to agree with the FFer and yell at the misinformation that this guy was vomiting over the airwaves.

Read the fucking text of the treaty. It's available free here. Then decide how to vote. It's not rocket science people.

If that seems like too much effort read Jason's Spoofer Guide.