Monday, December 21, 2009
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Irish people to make you proud
.
And then the wonderful Liam Meehan, who had this printed in the Irish Times
Madam, – I’m a little confused that the Archbishop of Tuam, Dr Michael Neary, is discouraging people from gathering at Knock to witness apparitions which he believes “risk misleading God’s people and undermining faith”.
This is the the same “faith” that believes that a cosmic Jew who was his own father by a virgin can enable you to live forever if you symbolically eat his flesh, drink his blood and telepathically tell him you accept him as your master, so he can remove an evil force from something invisible called your soul that is present because a woman made from a rib was convinced by a talking snake to eat an apple from a magical tree. – Yours, etc,
LIAM MEEHAN,
La Vista Avenue,
Killester, Dublin 5
Credit where it's due, in this case from Paul Newton's perspective, huge credit to both of them, I'm proud of them both.
And then the wonderful Liam Meehan, who had this printed in the Irish Times
Madam, – I’m a little confused that the Archbishop of Tuam, Dr Michael Neary, is discouraging people from gathering at Knock to witness apparitions which he believes “risk misleading God’s people and undermining faith”.
This is the the same “faith” that believes that a cosmic Jew who was his own father by a virgin can enable you to live forever if you symbolically eat his flesh, drink his blood and telepathically tell him you accept him as your master, so he can remove an evil force from something invisible called your soul that is present because a woman made from a rib was convinced by a talking snake to eat an apple from a magical tree. – Yours, etc,
LIAM MEEHAN,
La Vista Avenue,
Killester, Dublin 5
Credit where it's due, in this case from Paul Newton's perspective, huge credit to both of them, I'm proud of them both.
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
and we wonder why?
Just short note on a strange experience that reinforced big time my idea on why the country is fecked.
I'm in a hospital ward visiting my daughter and there are 3 groups of parents and 3 children in the ward, I'm having difficulty communicating with Joy because the TV is so loud, they are all watching a programme called "around the house" but I say nothing about turning down the telly because it's nearing nine and I'm looking forward to hearing the news.
As soon as the news comes on the sound is turned down to an unhearable volume, I'm watching quietly but still saying nothing, and then prime time comes on, and the telly is turned off.
What's important to most Irish people is obvious, feck the facts, we'd rather watch some gobshite called Duncan give his opinions on a house.
GRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrr.
I'm in a hospital ward visiting my daughter and there are 3 groups of parents and 3 children in the ward, I'm having difficulty communicating with Joy because the TV is so loud, they are all watching a programme called "around the house" but I say nothing about turning down the telly because it's nearing nine and I'm looking forward to hearing the news.
As soon as the news comes on the sound is turned down to an unhearable volume, I'm watching quietly but still saying nothing, and then prime time comes on, and the telly is turned off.
What's important to most Irish people is obvious, feck the facts, we'd rather watch some gobshite called Duncan give his opinions on a house.
GRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrr.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Still frustrated.......Grrr.
I've created a visual to describe my frustration!
Like children we simply cannot take any pain.
NAMA is a soother for the whingers and moaners in the banking, development, financial services and construction industries.
The public service cannot take any pain... let's protect their interests, imagine of we had to take some of their permanent pensionable sweets off them? Out on the streets lads, let's throw a tantrum.
And now the bloody Taniste is crying that parts of the McCarthy report "make no sense", is she friggin serious, Mary maybe it's time for a little discipline and self sacrifice, you can't manage that?
This country has allowed itself to become spoilt bloody rotten, and now we are behaving like spoilt children, tantrums all over the place and can't take any possible pain.
It's easier to blame blame blame.."it wasn't me"..."Johnny did it"
we live in a blame anybody but me culture.... let's give them all soothers so we can postpose our pain and pass it over to our children and their children's children....
Grrrrrrr.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
A wondering wondering star!
Maybe I was born under a wondering star, but I just can't seem to stop wondering how selfishness has captured society, I mean it always did, there are many simple examples of people fighting selfish self centered groups who controlled society, the french bourgeoise, the british aristocracy, the irish catholic heirarchy, the ulster unionists, the american republican party, I could go on and on, but am starting to wonder "what's the point"?
I enjoyed watching the farmleigh economic forum stuff at the weekend, it was talking about energy, passion, relationships and the drive to move a society forward, but then after reading and researching a lot, I had a look at the new RTE programme "frontline" and was left wondering and wondering and wondering.
Can we as a society really economically crucify our children and our children's children to satisfy the selfish needs of the inhabitants of the tent at the Galway races, yes indeed if this legislation is enacted into law we will indeed appreciate the horse men, and indeed they are horsemen, the politicians, the bankers, the developers and the corrupt media will indeed become the Four horsemen of the Apocalypse, war (the rise and rise of the right wing) famine (socially and impoverishment), pestilence, (our vital health service will be cut cut cut) and death, or more likely DEBT.
The brilliance of Farmleigh last weekend was simple, and Einstein pointed it our 60 years ago.
I was brought up to believe that the four pillars of democracy were
Legislature
Executive
Judiciary
Press
but a 5th pillar has been added to our understanding, and I'm wondering what we need to change that.
I am somewhat left thinking, a reader of Marx, and have largely been a supporter of social capitalism, we are all witnesses to what happened the ideological theory of communism under the stewardship of Stalin, but now I feel we have also reached an over the top position on Capitalism, it's unfair to bring individuals to take over this, but it's obvious that the politics of Thatcherism and Reaganism became stronger in the Galway Races tent.
There are new possibilities, new people to take the role of running the country, but just throwing a new party into the Dail is no step forward, perhaps trawling the Farmleigh invitees would give us a chance.
I enjoyed watching the farmleigh economic forum stuff at the weekend, it was talking about energy, passion, relationships and the drive to move a society forward, but then after reading and researching a lot, I had a look at the new RTE programme "frontline" and was left wondering and wondering and wondering.
Can we as a society really economically crucify our children and our children's children to satisfy the selfish needs of the inhabitants of the tent at the Galway races, yes indeed if this legislation is enacted into law we will indeed appreciate the horse men, and indeed they are horsemen, the politicians, the bankers, the developers and the corrupt media will indeed become the Four horsemen of the Apocalypse, war (the rise and rise of the right wing) famine (socially and impoverishment), pestilence, (our vital health service will be cut cut cut) and death, or more likely DEBT.
The brilliance of Farmleigh last weekend was simple, and Einstein pointed it our 60 years ago.
I was brought up to believe that the four pillars of democracy were
Legislature
Executive
Judiciary
Press
but a 5th pillar has been added to our understanding, and I'm wondering what we need to change that.
I am somewhat left thinking, a reader of Marx, and have largely been a supporter of social capitalism, we are all witnesses to what happened the ideological theory of communism under the stewardship of Stalin, but now I feel we have also reached an over the top position on Capitalism, it's unfair to bring individuals to take over this, but it's obvious that the politics of Thatcherism and Reaganism became stronger in the Galway Races tent.
There are new possibilities, new people to take the role of running the country, but just throwing a new party into the Dail is no step forward, perhaps trawling the Farmleigh invitees would give us a chance.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Slight guilt.
Ok I have not managed to update this in over a month, I've been absorbed in a project that has taken me over, it's been a month or hopes and dreams, fear and doubt, happiness and serious frustration, but they are the times I enjoy most.
Here's a commercial that I like to think sums me up, I have no idea if my stuff becomes a success or not, but i do know that many people see it as mad and me as slightly crazy, but whatever happens I will not give up, so we'll see which route takes me all the way.
Here's a commercial that I like to think sums me up, I have no idea if my stuff becomes a success or not, but i do know that many people see it as mad and me as slightly crazy, but whatever happens I will not give up, so we'll see which route takes me all the way.
Saturday, August 08, 2009
Such a day... Let's hope the delayed verdict goes the right way.
It was fun, but important fun, and the effort put in for the ONE advocacy group was brilliant, so if you want to find out and sign up go to www.one.org
Paul
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Understanding the "recession" from a political perspective.
by NAOMI KLEIN
This article appeared in the February 18, 2008 edition of The Nation.
January 31, 2008
Remember the "ownership society," fixture of major George W. Bush addresses for the first four years of his presidency? "We're creating...an ownership society in this country, where more Americans than ever will be able to open up their door where they live and say, welcome to my house, welcome to my piece of property," Bush said in October 2004. Washington think-tanker Grover Norquist predicted that the ownership society would be Bush's greatest legacy, remembered "long after people can no longer pronounce or spell Fallujah." Yet in Bush's final State of the Union address, the once-ubiquitous phrase was conspicuously absent. And little wonder: rather than its proud father, Bush has turned out to be the ownership society's undertaker.
Well before the ownership society had a neat label, its creation was central to the success of the right-wing economic revolution around the world. The idea was simple: if working-class people owned a small piece of the market--a home mortgage, a stock portfolio, a private pension--they would cease to identify as workers and start to see themselves as owners, with the same interests as their bosses. That meant they could vote for politicians promising to improve stock performance rather than job conditions. Class consciousness would be a relic.
It was always tempting to dismiss the ownership society as an empty slogan--"hokum" as former Labor Secretary Robert Reich put it. But the ownership society was quite real. It was the answer to a roadblock long faced by politicians favoring policies to benefit the wealthy. The problem boiled down to this: people tend to vote their economic interests. Even in the wealthy United States, most people earn less than the average income. That means it is in the interest of the majority to vote for politicians promising to redistribute wealth from the top down.
So what to do? It was Margaret Thatcher who pioneered a solution. The effort centered on Britain's public housing, or council estates, which were filled with die-hard Labour Party supporters. In a bold move, Thatcher offered strong incentives to residents to buy their council estate flats at reduced rates (much as Bush did decades later by promoting subprime mortgages). Those who could afford it became homeowners while those who couldn't faced rents almost twice as high as before, leading to an explosion of homelessness.
As a political strategy, it worked: the renters continued to oppose Thatcher, but polls showed that more than half of the newly minted owners did indeed switch their party affiliation to the Tories. The key was a psychological shift: they now thought like owners, and owners tend to vote Tory. The ownership society as a political project was born.
Across the Atlantic, Reagan ushered in a range of policies that similarly convinced the public that class divisions no longer existed. In 1988 only 26 percent of Americans told pollsters that they lived in a society bifurcated into "haves" and "have-nots"--71 percent rejected the whole idea of class. The real breakthrough, however, came in the 1990s, with the "democratization" of stock ownership, eventually leading to nearly half of American households owning stock. Stock watching became a national pastime, with tickers on TV screens becoming more common than weather forecasts. Main Street, we were told, had stormed the elite enclaves of Wall Street.
Once again, the shift was psychological. Stock ownership made up a relatively minor part of the average American's earnings, but in the era of frenetic downsizing and offshoring, this new class of amateur investor had a distinct shift in consciousness. Whenever a new round of layoffs was announced, sending another stock price soaring, many responded not by identifying with those who had lost their jobs, or by protesting the policies that had led to the layoffs, but by calling their brokers with instructions to buy.
Bush came to office determined to take these trends even further, to deliver Social Security accounts to Wall Street and target minority communities--traditionally out of the Republican Party's reach--for easy homeownership. "Under 50 percent of African Americans and Hispanic Americans own a home," Bush observed in 2002. "That's just too few." He called on Fannie Mae and the private sector "to unlock millions of dollars, to make it available for the purchase of a home"--an important reminder that subprime lenders were taking their cue straight from the top.
Today, the basic promises of the ownership society have been broken. First the dot-com bubble burst; then employees watched their stock-heavy pensions melt away with Enron and WorldCom. Now we have the subprime mortgage crisis, with more than 2 million homeowners facing foreclosure on their homes. Many are raiding their 401(k)s--their piece of the stock market--to pay their mortgage. Wall Street, meanwhile, has fallen out of love with Main Street. To avoid regulatory scrutiny, the new trend is away from publicly traded stocks and toward private equity. In November Nasdaq joined forces with several private banks, including Goldman Sachs, to form Portal Alliance, a private equity stock market open only to investors with assets upward of $100 million. In short order yesterday's ownership society has morphed into today's members-only society.
The mass eviction from the ownership society has profound political implications. According to a September Pew Research poll, 48 percent of Americans say they live in a society carved into haves and have-nots--nearly twice the number of 1988. Only 45 percent see themselves as part of the haves. In other words, we are seeing a return of the very class consciousness that the ownership society was supposed to erase. The free-market ideologues have lost an extremely potent psychological tool--and progressives have gained one. Now that John Edwards is out of the presidential race, the question is, will anyone dare to use it?
This article appeared in the February 18, 2008 edition of The Nation.
January 31, 2008
Remember the "ownership society," fixture of major George W. Bush addresses for the first four years of his presidency? "We're creating...an ownership society in this country, where more Americans than ever will be able to open up their door where they live and say, welcome to my house, welcome to my piece of property," Bush said in October 2004. Washington think-tanker Grover Norquist predicted that the ownership society would be Bush's greatest legacy, remembered "long after people can no longer pronounce or spell Fallujah." Yet in Bush's final State of the Union address, the once-ubiquitous phrase was conspicuously absent. And little wonder: rather than its proud father, Bush has turned out to be the ownership society's undertaker.
Well before the ownership society had a neat label, its creation was central to the success of the right-wing economic revolution around the world. The idea was simple: if working-class people owned a small piece of the market--a home mortgage, a stock portfolio, a private pension--they would cease to identify as workers and start to see themselves as owners, with the same interests as their bosses. That meant they could vote for politicians promising to improve stock performance rather than job conditions. Class consciousness would be a relic.
It was always tempting to dismiss the ownership society as an empty slogan--"hokum" as former Labor Secretary Robert Reich put it. But the ownership society was quite real. It was the answer to a roadblock long faced by politicians favoring policies to benefit the wealthy. The problem boiled down to this: people tend to vote their economic interests. Even in the wealthy United States, most people earn less than the average income. That means it is in the interest of the majority to vote for politicians promising to redistribute wealth from the top down.
So what to do? It was Margaret Thatcher who pioneered a solution. The effort centered on Britain's public housing, or council estates, which were filled with die-hard Labour Party supporters. In a bold move, Thatcher offered strong incentives to residents to buy their council estate flats at reduced rates (much as Bush did decades later by promoting subprime mortgages). Those who could afford it became homeowners while those who couldn't faced rents almost twice as high as before, leading to an explosion of homelessness.
As a political strategy, it worked: the renters continued to oppose Thatcher, but polls showed that more than half of the newly minted owners did indeed switch their party affiliation to the Tories. The key was a psychological shift: they now thought like owners, and owners tend to vote Tory. The ownership society as a political project was born.
Across the Atlantic, Reagan ushered in a range of policies that similarly convinced the public that class divisions no longer existed. In 1988 only 26 percent of Americans told pollsters that they lived in a society bifurcated into "haves" and "have-nots"--71 percent rejected the whole idea of class. The real breakthrough, however, came in the 1990s, with the "democratization" of stock ownership, eventually leading to nearly half of American households owning stock. Stock watching became a national pastime, with tickers on TV screens becoming more common than weather forecasts. Main Street, we were told, had stormed the elite enclaves of Wall Street.
Once again, the shift was psychological. Stock ownership made up a relatively minor part of the average American's earnings, but in the era of frenetic downsizing and offshoring, this new class of amateur investor had a distinct shift in consciousness. Whenever a new round of layoffs was announced, sending another stock price soaring, many responded not by identifying with those who had lost their jobs, or by protesting the policies that had led to the layoffs, but by calling their brokers with instructions to buy.
Bush came to office determined to take these trends even further, to deliver Social Security accounts to Wall Street and target minority communities--traditionally out of the Republican Party's reach--for easy homeownership. "Under 50 percent of African Americans and Hispanic Americans own a home," Bush observed in 2002. "That's just too few." He called on Fannie Mae and the private sector "to unlock millions of dollars, to make it available for the purchase of a home"--an important reminder that subprime lenders were taking their cue straight from the top.
Today, the basic promises of the ownership society have been broken. First the dot-com bubble burst; then employees watched their stock-heavy pensions melt away with Enron and WorldCom. Now we have the subprime mortgage crisis, with more than 2 million homeowners facing foreclosure on their homes. Many are raiding their 401(k)s--their piece of the stock market--to pay their mortgage. Wall Street, meanwhile, has fallen out of love with Main Street. To avoid regulatory scrutiny, the new trend is away from publicly traded stocks and toward private equity. In November Nasdaq joined forces with several private banks, including Goldman Sachs, to form Portal Alliance, a private equity stock market open only to investors with assets upward of $100 million. In short order yesterday's ownership society has morphed into today's members-only society.
The mass eviction from the ownership society has profound political implications. According to a September Pew Research poll, 48 percent of Americans say they live in a society carved into haves and have-nots--nearly twice the number of 1988. Only 45 percent see themselves as part of the haves. In other words, we are seeing a return of the very class consciousness that the ownership society was supposed to erase. The free-market ideologues have lost an extremely potent psychological tool--and progressives have gained one. Now that John Edwards is out of the presidential race, the question is, will anyone dare to use it?
Thursday, July 09, 2009
Totally believable!
This is our new pride and joy in Limerick, you gotta hand it to the people behind Knock, Lourdes and Medjourdwhateveryacallit.
This stuff is as good for business as a beach full of Pamela Anderson's in red swimsuits, I'm just a little disappointed that Michael O'Leary has not figured out how to put one close to the funny airports an hour from every European city.
Now here's a few you may not have seen
.
.
The Nun bun.
.
Oh and I can't find the cheese on toast one... I know I left it somewhere.
And the images won't go up right, it must be a sign...... lol
Monday, July 06, 2009
Magnificent Lily!
.
oh pure credit to Lily, I'd love to be seeing her at Oxygen this weekend, but Roscommon are playing and hey... needs must.
This is a brilliant take on all the world had become pre recession, she produced it in April 2008, Lots of interesting things happened that month, but to write and produce this work of art was totally fabulous, she explains how the "fear" had worked and what people wanted in modern society, and how simply fucked up and ridiculous it all was.
So Hat's off to Lily Allen, she was the first artist to explain the consumption bullshit that had taken over society, I was amazed when one day my daughter had 2 friends in the car and I played the song, and the other girls did not know Lily was takin the piss, they thought she really did want those things... I wish people would just pay attention to the lyrics, which is why I've printed them here.
I want to be rich and I want lots of money
I don’t care about clever I don’t care about funny
I want loads of clothes and i want fuckloads of diamonds
I heard people die while they are trying to find them
And i’ll take my clothes off and it will be shameless
Cuz everyone knows that’s how you get famous
I’ll look at the sun and I’ll look in the mirror
I’m on the right track yeah I’m on to a winner
[Chorus]
I don’t know what’s right and what’s real anymore
I don’t know how I’m meant to feel anymore
When do you think it will all become clear?
‘Cuz I’m being taken over by The Fear
Life’s about film stars and less about mothers -
It’s all about fast cars concussing each other
But it doesn’t matter cause I’m packing plastic
and that’s what makes my life so fucking fantastic
And I am a weapon of massive consumption
And its not my fault it’s how I’m programmed to function
I’ll look at the sun and I’ll look in the mirror
I’m on the right track yeah we're on to a winner
Chorus
I don’t know what’s right and what’s real anymore
I don’t know how I’m meant to feel anymore
When do you think it will all become clear?
‘Cuz I’m being taken over by The Fear
[Bridge]
Forget about guns and forget ammunition
Cause I’m killing them all on my own little mission
Now I’m not a saint but I’m not a sinner
Now everything's cool as long as I’m gettin thinner
[Chorus]
I don’t know what’s right and what’s real anymore
I don’t know how I’m meant to feel anymore
When do you think it will all become clear?
‘Cause I’m being taken over by fear
Brilliant!!!!
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
I really did LOL
It's not often I crack up at a joke, but this one I loved, maybe Einstein's theory of Relativity did have common practical applications after all
Sunday, June 28, 2009
A pure favourite.
Those who know me fairly well will know that I have far too many interests in life, too many hobbies, one the tricks in life is to spend time doing things you love, and you have to eat too.
So this winter I'm going to combine many interests in a fun way, philosophy, psychology, comedy and magic should be fun together, it's doubtful if I can be within an asses roar of Steve Martin, but sure you never know
So this winter I'm going to combine many interests in a fun way, philosophy, psychology, comedy and magic should be fun together, it's doubtful if I can be within an asses roar of Steve Martin, but sure you never know
Thursday, June 25, 2009
The only real failure in life is the failure to get back up.
I love this video, it hurts me to think of the way people get treated by society, the lack of understanding that people have for setbacks and dilemmas.
It hurts me because I have experienced setbacks in the last 14 months, I was fortunate enough to be able to get back up, I also had friends who did not get the opportunity to get back up, they had real difficulties which ended in death, mine did not, not because of me, but because fortune shone on me and allowed me to do what was needed to get back on my feet.
It was challenging because I was taken away for a while, my survival was assisted by machines, by the medics, but they also drugged me to the extent that I temporarily ceased to exist, and as Rene Descartes would say, “I think, therefore I am”
In my life for a short while I was not allowed to think. In subsequent setbacks there have been further attempts to “control” my life, inferring that I am not capable of thinking and others should do the thinking for me, perhaps I have interpreted Descartes to mean “I drink, therefore I am”. I don’t think so, but others limited opinions on my life seem to be more important than mine, inferring that the dilemmas were all my fault, and that their opinions can protect me from any sort of setback in the future,
Perhaps we should pay more attention to the philosophy of Winston Churchill.
“When you are going through hell - Keep going”
Social armour can be important, it can protect us from genuine dangers and threats, but society nowadays has embraced fear, control, health and safety to the extent that social armour has grown so cumbersome that it is restrictive, people are not allowed to live their own lives outside the social norms, and are not acceptable unless they don the required social armour. (first time I ever felt the need to adapt a post, but apologies to all concerned)
Well I am not buying it, and I sure as hell am not wearing it.
It hurts me because I have experienced setbacks in the last 14 months, I was fortunate enough to be able to get back up, I also had friends who did not get the opportunity to get back up, they had real difficulties which ended in death, mine did not, not because of me, but because fortune shone on me and allowed me to do what was needed to get back on my feet.
It was challenging because I was taken away for a while, my survival was assisted by machines, by the medics, but they also drugged me to the extent that I temporarily ceased to exist, and as Rene Descartes would say, “I think, therefore I am”
In my life for a short while I was not allowed to think. In subsequent setbacks there have been further attempts to “control” my life, inferring that I am not capable of thinking and others should do the thinking for me, perhaps I have interpreted Descartes to mean “I drink, therefore I am”. I don’t think so, but others limited opinions on my life seem to be more important than mine, inferring that the dilemmas were all my fault, and that their opinions can protect me from any sort of setback in the future,
Perhaps we should pay more attention to the philosophy of Winston Churchill.
“When you are going through hell - Keep going”
Social armour can be important, it can protect us from genuine dangers and threats, but society nowadays has embraced fear, control, health and safety to the extent that social armour has grown so cumbersome that it is restrictive, people are not allowed to live their own lives outside the social norms, and are not acceptable unless they don the required social armour. (first time I ever felt the need to adapt a post, but apologies to all concerned)
Well I am not buying it, and I sure as hell am not wearing it.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
A happy happy Sunday!
Brilliant day, an achievement which has been worked towards for a long time, and by a lot of people, to see the happiness on children's faces is well worth all the time and effort.
But nothing is never totally finished or complete in life, as the Beautiful South so wonderfully explain in this video, and the amazing thing is that the beautiful vocalist Jacqui Abbot was stacking shelves in supermarket in the north of England until Paul Heaton heard her doing Karaoke in a pub and asked her to join up, that was 15 years ago.
She stayed until 2000, and then departed, maybe she did find a man who was not happy to stay married to whoever and wanted to "cluck her"
But nothing is never totally finished or complete in life, as the Beautiful South so wonderfully explain in this video, and the amazing thing is that the beautiful vocalist Jacqui Abbot was stacking shelves in supermarket in the north of England until Paul Heaton heard her doing Karaoke in a pub and asked her to join up, that was 15 years ago.
She stayed until 2000, and then departed, maybe she did find a man who was not happy to stay married to whoever and wanted to "cluck her"
Friday, June 19, 2009
Feck Fridays
I have an old habit of posting quotes and amusing (to me anyway) stuff on a Friday, but today I just don't feel like it, so instead you get something which to me is really bloody important.... so watch this and maybe you can re-evaluate the rubbish that commonly passes for "happiness' in modern society.
Paul
Paul
Friday, June 12, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
A "slight" interest in sport?
What a brilliant day in Edinburgh, Leinster win and it was unbelievable to be in the in Murrayfield at the finish to savour the moment. There are so many swept up in sport for entertainment, but thanks to my late father I have a huge appreciation for sport as a very important way of life. My dad did not really have a preference for one sport over any other, he was there working with children and adults, at training, at matches, at celebrations and post mortems regardless of whether it was athletics, boxing, rugby, soccer, gaelic, basketball, darts or anything else.
So many people ask for your background in their particular sport, if they are Sligo rovers fans, Munster rugby fans, English cricket fans or many more, but thanks to my father and many experiences in life I'm fortunate to have a background in many sports, my lack of deciding to concentrate on one possibly cost me fame for any of them, so i did not make myself exclusive to athletics, darts, gaelic football, rugby, soccer, basketball or cricket, but what i did get was an enjoyment from them all, and an appreciation of them all, a huge appreciation of them all as part of life.
A few pics from the past will show how many sports and clubs I've fallen for over the years, due to a variety of factors and I have gained so many friends from each one that I consider myself a very fortunate boy.
I have many pics that still need to be scanned in, we had no digital stuff back then except a company in Galway that went bust.
1976, an 11 year old get a national athletics award from Leinster's sponsors.
1981, a fifteen year old (white shirt, no bird) has had a coaching session with his friends and Ollie Campbell and Mike Gibson, organised from our club East Connacht.
1991. A newly married man, now 26, standing in the old paradise, I was there yesterday too, some traditions never leave ya.
1996. a 31 year old and now a dad of 2 beauts (Maggie and baby Cathy are behind the posts) scores for St. Mary's on the way to a county championship, and people wonder why Mary's is so important to me?
I am happy to try to replicate my dad's input by passing on my love of sport, it's brilliant that my gorgeous wife is the manager of the girls under 12 team, that one of the beauts (Joy) is a coach, and the other (Cathy) is a player but is also in the county community games final as a shot putter, which I was in the first picture, some traditions never end.
So many people ask for your background in their particular sport, if they are Sligo rovers fans, Munster rugby fans, English cricket fans or many more, but thanks to my father and many experiences in life I'm fortunate to have a background in many sports, my lack of deciding to concentrate on one possibly cost me fame for any of them, so i did not make myself exclusive to athletics, darts, gaelic football, rugby, soccer, basketball or cricket, but what i did get was an enjoyment from them all, and an appreciation of them all, a huge appreciation of them all as part of life.
A few pics from the past will show how many sports and clubs I've fallen for over the years, due to a variety of factors and I have gained so many friends from each one that I consider myself a very fortunate boy.
I have many pics that still need to be scanned in, we had no digital stuff back then except a company in Galway that went bust.
1976, an 11 year old get a national athletics award from Leinster's sponsors.
1981, a fifteen year old (white shirt, no bird) has had a coaching session with his friends and Ollie Campbell and Mike Gibson, organised from our club East Connacht.
1991. A newly married man, now 26, standing in the old paradise, I was there yesterday too, some traditions never leave ya.
1996. a 31 year old and now a dad of 2 beauts (Maggie and baby Cathy are behind the posts) scores for St. Mary's on the way to a county championship, and people wonder why Mary's is so important to me?
I am happy to try to replicate my dad's input by passing on my love of sport, it's brilliant that my gorgeous wife is the manager of the girls under 12 team, that one of the beauts (Joy) is a coach, and the other (Cathy) is a player but is also in the county community games final as a shot putter, which I was in the first picture, some traditions never end.
Saturday, May 09, 2009
and it's not just Susan Boyle....
Oh I often wonder why sport releases emotions in me that are largely absent most of the time.
There are several causes of nervousness at the moment, first today is a vital day for my club St. Mary's, it's celebrating 125 years of the GAA, but more importantly it gives us a chance to connect those who have played and worked for the club with those younger ones who have never heard of them never mind know them, it's a huge chance to celebrate community which is vital to me, so let's hope it goes well.
Then it's may 9th 2009, the 11th anniversary of the day Celtic stopped the rot and overcame an arrogant and wealthy Rangers to put us back after 9 seasons of being nearly men, and of course today I will often think of my friend Ger, he has now passed on, but our conversations and passion coming up to the day I celebrated in paradise will always be with me.
and I really hope Hull win today, my friend of 32 years was always a bit weird in the 70's by being a Hull City supporter, and for him I hope their win today will avoid a trip away from the arrogant and wealthy Drogba's Renaldo's and Ferguson's of the premiership.
And finally.... Cetic's year will be largely decided by 90 minutes at Ibrox today, so nervousness has been going on all morning, no more than many peoples doubt over Liam supporting Hull all those years ago, I constantly have to put up with ill informed and under educated people who tell me that Scottish football is dire, rank, and a few more adjectives, so let's show them as we did to Leeds Utd, Man United, Blackburn Rovers and Liverpool FC over the years, hey Scotland's got talent.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
So brilliant to see.......
So many young people enjoying themselves and being magic at whatever they choose to do, last night was my daughter Joy's first big night on the stage, and herself, her friends and her classmates put on a great night of entertainment, singing, dancing, acting and generally showing the enthusiasm that I often only experience on the sports field. Maggie was brilliant at this too, and Cathy plays the piano and is starting to write songs.
I'd be proud of them all, with so much moaning in the world, last night I did not hear a word from two hundred people except admiration and encouragement for the efforts of the brilliant next generation.
My daughters tell me I'm too old to use the word, but this was MINT!
Friday, April 24, 2009
So long
Typical of me when life gets really interesting and really busy, have not blogged for weeks and have let the 5th anniversary of this blog pass by without a mention, and still to busy to write anything decent, simple to say a friend of mine, told me about a piece another friend had done for the RTE news, so I watched it and thought..... bloody brilliant Eileen, I always knew you were a serious professional on the broadcast journalism end.... just never realised you were this bloody funny.
so here it is
Another brilliant cat... there are almost too many of them
so here it is
Another brilliant cat... there are almost too many of them
Thursday, April 16, 2009
It's my 5th birthday.......
Strangely Saturday will be my 5th blogging birthday, and I will mark the occasion in Paradise, that's Celtic Park to the uninitiated.
So here's a photo of Maggie and Charlie Nicholas from 1991, Ok I'd been traveling over for 10 years before that, but what type of a man ends up in Paradise on his honeymoon, Ok maybe most do, but not the real paradise!
C'mon the hoops.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Cold feet
It's strange how life evolves and changes, I used to love this programme on the telly as it seemed to give an interesting insight into how life could be, the ups and downs.
Today I went to Cavan to see Roscommon (the first chance I've had in ages) and in truth they were well beaten, it was just interesting to listen to peoples views afterwards and realise the people are either supportive or dismissive of something that is ongoing and important. It was strange how much i actually enjoyed being there, if all you get are the good moments, then you take them for granted and it means little really, sometimes you have to go through the bad times in order to appreciate the good times.
In Cardiff last week it was lovely to remember all the games I'd been to where we lost, even the half time cigarette with John O'Shea and Gerry Thornley at the New Zealand game last November, when they were giving out about this and that (Gerry some players and John the referee) because days like that made the final grand slam day special. I'm niot great at taking photographs, but this is where I watched the game from.... special....as Radiohead put it in "creep" so fuckin special.
Ok, can't get the photo, this new 17" macbook pro is beautiful, but like all new stuff it will take a bit of getting used too.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
oh here we go.....
Typical me, I just don't like hotel's much, so when I decided it might be the biggest day in Rugby sporting history I looked around and found a lighthouse, it's only a small one, but it has a hot tub, where i can while away five minutes on the roof......
My other problem was the Welsh National Anthem, which is always sung in welsh, and to me it's a lovely but largely undecipherable language, so my research threw up an english version written by a Swansea poet years ago, it's largely taking the mick, but it sounds just the same and if you can sing it with a straight face they'll think it's in Welsh, so my bluffing party piece is ready for the weekend.
Here is a video and the words, try them out and see if they work for you.
My hen laid a haddock, one hand oiled a flea,
Glad farts and centurions threw dogs in the sea,
I could stew a hare here and brandish Dan's flan,
Don's ruddy bog's blocked up with sand.
Dad! Dad! Why don't you oil Auntie Glad?
Can whores appear in beer bottle pies,
O butter the hens as they fly!
Enjoy the weekend, I'm sure Maggie and I will.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Oh my, the penny is finally dropping!
Oh look, people may be finally getting the connection between Chelsea & Glasgow Rangers!
Nothing to do with myself and Maurice having to run like hell from our hotel 10 years ago because some of the Chelsea "firms" were in town for the Scottish cup final, and they did not sing too many Celtic songs, mostly stuff to do with Fenian Ssum and Irish bastards if i remember.
Oh how surprising that some Chelsea "fans" were in Manchester for the UEFA cup final, it's a good job it was before the Champions League final or Moscow would have had to handle busloads of Rangers "fans".
Those two clubs have a tighter connection that Celtic and Liverpool, we like to sing "you'll never walk alone" together, but Chelsea & Rangers fans prefer to sing "you'll never walk again".
Hail Hail
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Oh my god...... unbelievable.......
I literally could not believe finding this tonight, it's truly amazing, on facebook a friend called Barry Guckian had posted a 9 minute video of footage shot by a leaving cert student in 1978, and although I was only a first year that time, and 13 years old, I can still remember most of the faces in this low quality video... totally amazing..although it's all senior's sport and I was in first year so I'm not in any of the sporting footage, but was still amazed to spot myself briefly at the same age my youngest daughter is now... you'll spot me from 5.00 to 5.03 I'm the guy in the Arsenal scarf who even then did not like the media and turns away from the camera... wow... but before that I spotted my father, my God... almost 30 years before he died, he's the big guy you'll spot from 4.52 to 4.56 and finally you may recognise the best teacher I've ever encountered in my whole life.. Her name was Frankie Watson, and she was my english teacher, and was so interesting she managed to give me a love of reading and writing that has stayed with me ever since.... you'll see Frankie from 5.37 to 5.40 (and of course I had a crush on her), but then she introduced me to McGahern, and I got thrown out of school for sneaking "The Barracks" into geography class and reading it while pretending to read geography....
God and why do I wonder why I'm really only interested in Interesting people...
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
I love it when people make the best of themselves!
Don't you just love it to see people doing different things and doing them with loads of energy and enthusiasm, these are 4 of the lad's I enjoy coaching in gaelic football, and we have more who do brilliantly at different things, like today some of our lads were unlucky to lose the Connacht schools final in rugby with Sligo Grammar School, I have such an interest in these lads doing their best than of course I was at the talent show and drove to Galway today to watch the rugby, it's not that important what code people excel at, but it is so important that they are open to new and bigger experiences.
SO of course I'd love to see BLTN going from strength to strength, we do have a bit of tradition as most of westlife played underage for clubs in Sligo including Cian Egan who played for our club St. Mary's and we now have his younger brother Colm as a super member of our squad.
I do have a problem with ageism, i encounter it myself because people think I'm too old to be going to nightclubs and playing competitive gaelic, soccer or basketball (cricket too in the summer) and some people also think these guys are too young to be great at football, singing or rugby. enough with the ageism, it's not about whether you're old enough or young enough, it's about whether you're good enough or courageous enough to give things a go.
Oh and if you do watch the video, have a listen to what Tabby Callaghan (another of X Factor fame) who was a judge on the night, says at the end, when talking about the recession and the economic situation he says "
"We could do with a bit of that energy in the country right now, there might not be many jobs, but there's plenty of talent"
Hat's off Tabby, and hats off to all the young people in our club who make us proud as hell to know them.
Slumdog Millionaire maybe!
Hugely enjoyable movie, but the lesson for me is how people are shaped by their circumstances and experiences and the impact of co-incidence or chance in the lives of human beings, you might be married and have a family with someone because they happened to be at the next desk at work or in the next seat during a lecture once, but for me it's not about IQ or physical beauty, it has more to do with how we are shaped rather than how we are created.
I often get into trouble for what people consider my strange political views, and I am simply letting people know how I became shaped by circumstances to form those views, even though I am somewhat disillusioned by politics these days because I find the party I always supported now stand for nothing, I thought they stood for civil rights and social equality but now they are against Lisbon and appear to stand for nothing at all except whinging and complaining about everything.
I was 6 years old when I saw a NEWSFLASH on BBC ran out to get my mum and dad, they came indoors and I will always remember my mother in tears as she watched people she lived close to (and knew some) carried away wrapped in sheets with blood pouring from their bodies.
I was 15 and laid up for 4 months with a fractured femur (football surprisingly enough) when Bobby Sands and his 9 comrades died at the intransigent hands of Margaret Thatcher.
I was 17 when I got my copy of U2's "war" album and heard a song about peace and how talk changes everything, but like Cork players, the British Govt and Paisley's DUP were simply interested in preserving the Status Quo (we have the power) and would talk to no one.. And the only way to get them to the table was through the means of bombs and guns... and it worked, ( if you don't believe me read the story of Nelson Mandela, or remember Gaza this Christmas) but it also explains why the Omagh and Antrim and Armagh occurances in the last few years are just WRONG, I have no idea what these blackguards and thugs are really trying to achieve, but I do know that when Hugh Orde invited the MI5 specialist surv unit of British soldiers back into this country, he legitimised the Real thugs and gave them an excuse to carry out acts that the majority of this country despise and thought were in our past, and yes it is in our past, and why Hugh Orde and the real thugs could not leave it there, and felt compelled to resurrect the troubles I have no idea, but hell it is frustrating, we all thought the nationalist community had achieved civil rights and social equality, but it's obvious that the Real IRA and the PSNI (via Hugh Orde) don't think that those 10 years of ceasefire and talks meant anything.
It's sad really, but hopefully the Martin McGuinness's and Peter Robinson's of this world will engage and help sort this out, it's only a small thing in history, but 3 lives are gone and many children will lack a fathers.......
Let's follow the words of Bono and the Edge..... listen up Real IRA and listen up Hugh Orde....... NO MORE!
I often get into trouble for what people consider my strange political views, and I am simply letting people know how I became shaped by circumstances to form those views, even though I am somewhat disillusioned by politics these days because I find the party I always supported now stand for nothing, I thought they stood for civil rights and social equality but now they are against Lisbon and appear to stand for nothing at all except whinging and complaining about everything.
I was 6 years old when I saw a NEWSFLASH on BBC ran out to get my mum and dad, they came indoors and I will always remember my mother in tears as she watched people she lived close to (and knew some) carried away wrapped in sheets with blood pouring from their bodies.
I was 15 and laid up for 4 months with a fractured femur (football surprisingly enough) when Bobby Sands and his 9 comrades died at the intransigent hands of Margaret Thatcher.
I was 17 when I got my copy of U2's "war" album and heard a song about peace and how talk changes everything, but like Cork players, the British Govt and Paisley's DUP were simply interested in preserving the Status Quo (we have the power) and would talk to no one.. And the only way to get them to the table was through the means of bombs and guns... and it worked, ( if you don't believe me read the story of Nelson Mandela, or remember Gaza this Christmas) but it also explains why the Omagh and Antrim and Armagh occurances in the last few years are just WRONG, I have no idea what these blackguards and thugs are really trying to achieve, but I do know that when Hugh Orde invited the MI5 specialist surv unit of British soldiers back into this country, he legitimised the Real thugs and gave them an excuse to carry out acts that the majority of this country despise and thought were in our past, and yes it is in our past, and why Hugh Orde and the real thugs could not leave it there, and felt compelled to resurrect the troubles I have no idea, but hell it is frustrating, we all thought the nationalist community had achieved civil rights and social equality, but it's obvious that the Real IRA and the PSNI (via Hugh Orde) don't think that those 10 years of ceasefire and talks meant anything.
It's sad really, but hopefully the Martin McGuinness's and Peter Robinson's of this world will engage and help sort this out, it's only a small thing in history, but 3 lives are gone and many children will lack a fathers.......
Let's follow the words of Bono and the Edge..... listen up Real IRA and listen up Hugh Orde....... NO MORE!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Oh I like this a lot
oh I'm sorry for boring you with two many video's, but I like this one so much.
Goes to show you a lot about how religion work's, and although it's about the Church of England, I wish they did one for the Catholic Church too.
Goes to show you a lot about how religion work's, and although it's about the Church of England, I wish they did one for the Catholic Church too.
Monday, March 09, 2009
Were you ever just "blown away"?
I already told you about going to Scotland for football, but wow do I remember the first time I saw this movie, I was 20 years old and highly impressionable, and yes it did just "blow me away"
Set in Edinburgh which remains one of my favourite cities on the planet, it's brilliant about some ordinary guys with boring lives who chase a dream and become the Robin Hood bandits.
It just ticked all my boxes, you'll find it on DVD online, one of my top 5 movies ever and an amazing soundtrack by Big County.
This scene with the police chase is brilliant, but in fairness I did fancy the head off the guide on the tourist coaches, Teri Lally (I wonder where she is now?).
Nostalgia is becoming a big part of everyone's lives now that we appear to be economically returning to the 80's, but the Terri Lally's and Claire Grogan's of the world are still gorgeous in my head, dunno what Terri is up to now, but Claire is still a complete babe, she was the lovliest girl in the lovely girls episode where she played the (Sinead O"Connor piss take) Niamh Connolly, now you watch that here and try and tell me she's not still an actress and not still a walkin babe.
http://www.blinkx.com/video/father-ted-rock-a-hula-ted-aka-lovely-girls/jsfZeG4LOUuScaVDRKgOiQ
Friday, March 06, 2009
Back 400 years to 1609.
Sonnet 29 When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes
When, in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes,
I all alone beweep my outcast state
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries
And look upon myself and curse my fate,
Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,
Featured like him, like him with friends possess'd,
Desiring this man's art and that man's scope,
With what I most enjoy contented least;
Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,
Haply I think on thee, and then my state,
Like to the lark at break of day arising
From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven's gate;
For thy sweet love remember'd such wealth brings
That then I scorn to change my state with kings.
I have heard of several suicides of the last number of weeks involving men who were "in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes"
it's so saddening that society has shaped itself to admire fortune and celebrity more than anything else, My hope is that thing's are going to change back to appreciation of what's really important, relationships, family, caring and service.
I'm just lucky that I have almost always "scorned to change my state with kings" and we know that society has new kings now, so "I scorn to change my state with" Renaldo, Gordon Ramsey or Will Smith either.
It would be wonderful if people returned to being their best selves, rather than trying to replicate flawed models.
Monday, March 02, 2009
Specially for Danielle
Ok those who know me will understand my daft love of brilliant advertising, I do have an auld degree in it, and I'm currently doing a project which will bring the best stuff over the years to the world.
First, possibly the best piece of work ever, the world sexiest woman (that's just my opinion) takes on the world's most powerful ass, and you'll hear the brilliant Joy Division playing "she's lost control"
Well into the my top ten, slight "my fair lady" reference to the sloane rangers, brilliant!
The cleverest punchline of all (apart from Ronseal maybe) mind you this ad does do "exactly what it says on the tin... ask frank to try it out and see?
and finally, what a superb piece of work, those of you who are old enough will easily spot the princess Diana reference, wow if only everything was as dependable as a golf.
ing
First, possibly the best piece of work ever, the world sexiest woman (that's just my opinion) takes on the world's most powerful ass, and you'll hear the brilliant Joy Division playing "she's lost control"
Well into the my top ten, slight "my fair lady" reference to the sloane rangers, brilliant!
The cleverest punchline of all (apart from Ronseal maybe) mind you this ad does do "exactly what it says on the tin... ask frank to try it out and see?
and finally, what a superb piece of work, those of you who are old enough will easily spot the princess Diana reference, wow if only everything was as dependable as a golf.
ing
Saturday, February 28, 2009
"This is it boys, boot, bollock and bite"
Massive sporting occasions are thin on the ground, but I have that amazing stomach feeling right now, after 25 years of going to internationals (not em all, I'm not an addict) Myself and Maggie are heading to croker in a wee while for the England game, I so hope we win, not because it's against the old Sassanach enemy, but because HISTORY may be set up today.
Ireland have taken a grand slam once in the long history of rugby, in 1948, after wins in paris and twickers the legendary team took in Wales in Ravenhill on March 13th 1948, captained by Karl Mullen who became famous for the "boot, bollock and bite" exhortation to his team before games, led by apparently the best Irish player of all time, the incredible Jackie Kyle, Ireland beat Wales 2 tries to 1 (that meant 6-3 in those days) and took the triple crown and the grand slam.
I have no connection with that team, except a brief little one, I did meet the amazing Corkonian Bertie O'Hanlon about 13 years ago in Strandhill where he was attending a retirement do for my brilliant boss Finbarr Hegarty, and I did speak with him and told him that the 1948 team would forever be legendary to Irish sportspeople.
It never occurred to me that this could be repeated until a night in Belfast before Christmas, I was in Belfast for the Ulster-Connacht league game, (I got home a lot quicker this time) and after the game I was introduced to a man called Declan whom I never spoke to before or since, and despite the fact that he was the Irish coach, and in modern sport with media influence such notables are usually hassled and keen to get away as quick as possible, this man stood chatting for 15 mins, despite the fact that I kept standing aside to let him pass, I discovered that whatever about his rugby knowledge or tactical genius (I'll leave that up to Gerry Thornley) that Ireland were being coached by a down to earth and very sound man who would connect with anyone, if he could connect with a tall, loud GAA man, then how could he not connect with the players.
So that evening it did cross my mind that Ireland could be awesome again, just like 61 years ago!
So I'm so looking forward to tonight's game, but a little nervous cos we have 3 huge hurdles to cross on the road to immortality and like all hurdles they need to be jumped one at a time.
I have such a gut feeling that I can't resist, so last night, knowing well that if we win a trip to cardiff will move out of the reach of the financially ordinary fan, I went online and booked my flights to Cardiff (and a beautiful lighthouse B&B in Newport with Maggie) so either way we'll be there for the match, no tickets yet, but i have not asked anyone and i am fortunate to have so many friends, todays tickets came because of a good friend Roisin Henry, She's getting confirmed today (have a great day Roisin) and that meant that her aunt Una who had 2 briefs had to go to Mayo rather than Croker.
Plus I've always been a lucky boy, let's hope Ireland are too.
Now............ shoulder to shoulder......... let's "boot, bollock and bite"
Monday, February 09, 2009
Do yourself a favour
.
If you share my strange interest in philosophy, human lives and the importance of faustian or chaos theory, then please take 3 hours to see this, it's not that you'll find it the best entertainment, or even that you will enjoy it hugely, it's simply that you may question some of your ingrained beliefs and may even gain some insight into who I am and how i work.
The literature of philosophy is strange to some people and the work of Aristotle, Socretes, Plato, Jung, Kant, Russell and even Alan de Button is obscure to many, now there is some access to the mainstream through a medium people are comfortable with.
I hope people watch this on the premise of seeing a good movie, but leave as i did today, with so much internal conversation that they are unable to comment on Brad Pitt (who is wonderful in this) for a while.
It may be the most important use of 3 hours you will ever spend, so please give it a shot!
And remember "nothing is impossible" people count "just as you are" and as I have experienced myself "you never know what's coming for you" so if you really are interested in 3 hours of investment in yourself...... please go see this!
Paul.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Liked this!
Saw this on Sean O'Dowd's site, liked it, maybe he's spot on about the massive benefits of globalisation.
Being Irish is all about driving to the pub in a foreign car, watching English football, then travelling home, grabbing an Indian or Chinese on the way, to sit on Swedish furniture and watch American TV shows on a Japanese TV.
And I thought it was all about the internet!
Being Irish is all about driving to the pub in a foreign car, watching English football, then travelling home, grabbing an Indian or Chinese on the way, to sit on Swedish furniture and watch American TV shows on a Japanese TV.
And I thought it was all about the internet!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
Too much in one day!
Can't seem to get the audio into this blog forum, it's only temporary as it may not be the best idea to put on my business blog, but if you click the business blog link on the left hand side you should get it.
Paul
Paul
oh God I'm so happy!
Tomorrow will see the culmination of something I've controversially lived for over most of the last 40 years, I don't think €10,000,000 could possibly make me any happier, it would not even touch this... and to see 4 Irish guys involved is not only brilliant, but if you want to see something really special, forward the video to 3mins 35 secs and watch the next 30 secs.
Well done Bono, for almost the first time in my life I can genuinely say, " you are a brave and bloody wonderful man"
Thank you.
Well done Bono, for almost the first time in my life I can genuinely say, " you are a brave and bloody wonderful man"
Thank you.
Friday, January 16, 2009
oh wow, here comes a ceasefire!
Oh would you believe it, the Israeli's are now going to be happy with a ceasefire, largely on their terms and of course they will communicate to their cohorts in the media that Hamas are holding it up, and of course Hamas will be the first to break it in time too, let's make an enemy out of them cos guess what, Obama will be President next Tuesday, Jan 20th, and by that time the media will be waiting to nail him for trying to bring any human rights into the scene (cos of course Muslims are apparently not human, more sandniggers to the American establishment). They have already tried to nail him for having a smoke, so if you look at the last entry you will understand that the real purpose of the last 4 weeks of savagery was to tie Obama's hands, and now that this is achieved, at the cost of more than 1100 human lives, we'll suddenly transform into the good guys and the Arabs will be demonised further in the eyes of the World's public.
Yeah, the Zionist media moguls, the Wall St thieves and the right wing political establishment will have won.
Congratulations, but lets hope Article 242 of the United Nations which was adopted unanimously by the UN Security Council on November 22, 1967 will finally be centre stage with Obama, but somehow I doubt he will be able to handle it, I mean what can you handle when the death of 400 children has tied your hands, so the 42 years of ignoring it will most likely stretch to another 8, which will make the 50th anniversary, not bad for a state which was brought into being in 1947, to ignore the United Nations for 50 out of the 70 years is not a bad record, but not a world record.
Sure the Afrikaners, the KKK and the Ulster Loyalists managed it for longer than that.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Don't know what to do?
I am really stuck, by allowing the savagery and lies to go unchallenged we are basically condoning it, People really have to do something, we do understand the Israeli and Zionist dominance of the financial, media and political areas in the USA, the problem is people are actually believing the claptrap which in my opinion can only really have 3 or 4 motivating factors.
1. To moderate and embolden the group who do not want to see the new American President make changes in middle eastern policy, and turn his slogan into "No we can't actually"
2. To deflect interest from the disgraceful behaviour of those who own and control Wall St.
3. To escalate Arab reaction which will be used to influence people's reaction to Anti-Arab sentiment making it easier to enforce anti human rights legislation as they succeeded in doing post 9/11.
4. To demonstrate Israeli (American backed) superiority over their neighbours and especially the United Nations which will continue and copperfasten the 42 year ignoring of article 242.
At this point all I feel I can do is refuse to purchase any product that has any trace of Israel on the packaging, it's like those brave girls from Dunne's Store who refused to handle oranges from South Africa many years ago, and which has helped to produce a nation of equality and some respect for basic human rights, to do so in an area like the middle east is a longer road while the respect for human rights and equality extends to strafing UN humanatrian depots and the slaughter of children in a UN school.
If you have any ideas on how we can affect Irish opinion and help our nation to influence the situation please let me know, we should be breaking trade links, expelling their Ambassador and refusing diplomatic relations which are currently extending our peoples approval of this travesty.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Thought I'd share some feelings!
not sure if I should put this up, because I know people may read too much into it, but it's simply a reply I made to a man called Alun Rees whom I've never met but does interest me because of his blog (linked above) and his emails last year. He commented on the Christmas message on my business website where I used this quote to wish my friends and occasional readers a happy (or Hoopy being a Celtic fan) Christmas, The quote i used is one of my favourites which I think may have been used first by William Arthur Ward in the 50's the quote is
“Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end. Failure is something we can avoid only by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.”
The reply was
Hi Alun, the reason this quote is not attributed is because I'm not sure who wrote it originally either, it tends to be attributed to Denis Waitley or even Zig Ziglar, but understanding this business you will know that many "guru's" approach marketing and recognition like Tony Robbins did with Bandler's NLP by stealing someone else's work, changing a word or two and pretending that it's their own invention (a bit like the music business where they change one note and pretend the same).
My best understanding is that the concept was first quoted by William Arthur Ward in the 50's but where his inspiration came from I have no idea.
And thanks for reading, have a happy new year, oh and on the injury issue, all is back to normal now which is good, I'm trying to draw a line under it and move on... from a media perspective I have turned down many offers to do a story for a variety of reasons, one is that I really don't want the publicity or to make more money or kudos from one persons mistake (I'm pleased he was never caught, he did not intend to do any of the temporary damage that accrued), but more importantly being the media they would have to find a coat hanger for the lucky escape, they would be either the exceptional health service, the prayers that were said, or worst of all I would be eulogised as some kind of positive "hero" who had such a fighting and positive spirit that I overcame the adversity, In the past 2 years I have lost 3 good friends to illness, all of them got the finest medical care, all of them were strongly prayed for, and all of them were brilliant positive fighters who were convinced that they could "beat" their adversity, and all of them are now dead and gone, so it does bother me when people have to find and credit specific reasons for everything, so that someone can take the credit or the blame.
It's was more an interesting year than a challenging year, I survived because I was "lucky" it's like when you were young and building a house of cards in a room when someone opened the door, sometimes the whoosh would collapse everything and sometimes the top layer would fall but the structure would stay up, if it fell when we were eight we would blame either the person who opened the door, the cards we used or the way we sloppily built the house, if it stayed up we would credit the amazing aptitude we had for card building, the quality of the cards we used, or credit God for keeping our house safe. I'm still around and back to normal which I do appreciate, but my friends are dead and gone despite the fact that they were all great fighters, got brilliant care and had heaven stormed, the factor to credit is both subtle and largely uncontrollable, I was lucky and my card house stayed up, they were not lucky, their cardhouse fell, there is nothing to credit or blame except the uncontrollable factor called luck, and I know their families are all doing brilliant and I know they are all missed terribly, but the people who try to put their bad luck down to something they did wrong or the people who put my recovery down to something I or others did right do fluster me somewhat, luck, accidents, or lottery wins are not something we can simply change, it's a bit like the weather or even your height, it's there, it's real, you have two choices, do your best with it or whinge, complain and try to change it until you are blue in the face, trying to change your luck, influence the weather, get taller or smaller or trying to transform your personality is a bit like trying to teach a pig to sing, your wasting your time.
As for the benefits that people expect from a near death experience, there are none really, but I did get an underlining of some concepts that I largely believed anyway, the main two being the factors of appreciation and involvement, appreciating the people around you and their lives is very important to me, and I continue in that vein but I was surprised at the scale of it and the wave of reaction from those I spend time with in all aspects of life, I knew I always appreciated and cared very much about them, but was very pleased and encouraged to know that they also appreciated and cared about me!
I do feel that involvement is vital for me and will continue to do that in my life, society had become too individualistic and self centered, and I do hope that the sense of community involvement, volunteering and awareness that others are just as important will return over the next few years as a platform for individuals in Irish and world society.
I also hope that the individualistic guru's who believe that the credit for every advancement and improvement is totally for them will fade into the background and that we recover a society where the best for us all is more important than what's best for an individual or an individuals family.
Finally if I had to pick out a person who's values and strength I admire it would be Fr. Peter McVerry who for 35 years has been putting his own accomplishments in the background and focusing on the homeless and hopeless and working to bring them hope in the future by providing the basics of life and restoring some confidence in themselves.
Sorry for going on so long but felt it was good to tell you my thoughts on the topic, thanks for reading again, and enjoy every hour and day where you still have the chance to make a contribution to other people's lives.
Paul.
If you feel I should take this down please let me know!
“Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end. Failure is something we can avoid only by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.”
The reply was
Hi Alun, the reason this quote is not attributed is because I'm not sure who wrote it originally either, it tends to be attributed to Denis Waitley or even Zig Ziglar, but understanding this business you will know that many "guru's" approach marketing and recognition like Tony Robbins did with Bandler's NLP by stealing someone else's work, changing a word or two and pretending that it's their own invention (a bit like the music business where they change one note and pretend the same).
My best understanding is that the concept was first quoted by William Arthur Ward in the 50's but where his inspiration came from I have no idea.
And thanks for reading, have a happy new year, oh and on the injury issue, all is back to normal now which is good, I'm trying to draw a line under it and move on... from a media perspective I have turned down many offers to do a story for a variety of reasons, one is that I really don't want the publicity or to make more money or kudos from one persons mistake (I'm pleased he was never caught, he did not intend to do any of the temporary damage that accrued), but more importantly being the media they would have to find a coat hanger for the lucky escape, they would be either the exceptional health service, the prayers that were said, or worst of all I would be eulogised as some kind of positive "hero" who had such a fighting and positive spirit that I overcame the adversity, In the past 2 years I have lost 3 good friends to illness, all of them got the finest medical care, all of them were strongly prayed for, and all of them were brilliant positive fighters who were convinced that they could "beat" their adversity, and all of them are now dead and gone, so it does bother me when people have to find and credit specific reasons for everything, so that someone can take the credit or the blame.
It's was more an interesting year than a challenging year, I survived because I was "lucky" it's like when you were young and building a house of cards in a room when someone opened the door, sometimes the whoosh would collapse everything and sometimes the top layer would fall but the structure would stay up, if it fell when we were eight we would blame either the person who opened the door, the cards we used or the way we sloppily built the house, if it stayed up we would credit the amazing aptitude we had for card building, the quality of the cards we used, or credit God for keeping our house safe. I'm still around and back to normal which I do appreciate, but my friends are dead and gone despite the fact that they were all great fighters, got brilliant care and had heaven stormed, the factor to credit is both subtle and largely uncontrollable, I was lucky and my card house stayed up, they were not lucky, their cardhouse fell, there is nothing to credit or blame except the uncontrollable factor called luck, and I know their families are all doing brilliant and I know they are all missed terribly, but the people who try to put their bad luck down to something they did wrong or the people who put my recovery down to something I or others did right do fluster me somewhat, luck, accidents, or lottery wins are not something we can simply change, it's a bit like the weather or even your height, it's there, it's real, you have two choices, do your best with it or whinge, complain and try to change it until you are blue in the face, trying to change your luck, influence the weather, get taller or smaller or trying to transform your personality is a bit like trying to teach a pig to sing, your wasting your time.
As for the benefits that people expect from a near death experience, there are none really, but I did get an underlining of some concepts that I largely believed anyway, the main two being the factors of appreciation and involvement, appreciating the people around you and their lives is very important to me, and I continue in that vein but I was surprised at the scale of it and the wave of reaction from those I spend time with in all aspects of life, I knew I always appreciated and cared very much about them, but was very pleased and encouraged to know that they also appreciated and cared about me!
I do feel that involvement is vital for me and will continue to do that in my life, society had become too individualistic and self centered, and I do hope that the sense of community involvement, volunteering and awareness that others are just as important will return over the next few years as a platform for individuals in Irish and world society.
I also hope that the individualistic guru's who believe that the credit for every advancement and improvement is totally for them will fade into the background and that we recover a society where the best for us all is more important than what's best for an individual or an individuals family.
Finally if I had to pick out a person who's values and strength I admire it would be Fr. Peter McVerry who for 35 years has been putting his own accomplishments in the background and focusing on the homeless and hopeless and working to bring them hope in the future by providing the basics of life and restoring some confidence in themselves.
Sorry for going on so long but felt it was good to tell you my thoughts on the topic, thanks for reading again, and enjoy every hour and day where you still have the chance to make a contribution to other people's lives.
Paul.
If you feel I should take this down please let me know!
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