Comments on The Pensive Quill: Oh Paddy, dear, and did ye hear

Christopher Thanks for your comment. No, I don’t...

2010-12-05T19:38:05.699Z

Christopher

Thanks for your comment.

No, I don’t see how SF can be good for now. They will shaft the country and abandon whatever beliefs they profess to have. Is there anybody who watches the thing seriously believe SF would default oR chase the IMF? Not a chance of it.

‘To my mind, they have the distinct advantage of not having been in government.’

What is the distinct advantage in that?

Labour is probably the least worse to vote for. We have an idea of what they will do. Although as Mise Eire says the people of Fatima Mansion had it right –there are none of them worth a vote. The amount of dishonesty SF would introduce into public life plus censorship would militate against any understanding of our situation. If the Socialist Party, People Before Profit or Eirigi run in this constituency I will vote for them.

At the moment I see no grand solution and am wary of those who advocate them. The recovery will be slow if at all. We don’t know what will come up to thwart and retard it in the coming years. Capitalism on past form will come through this but at a terrible cost to the most disadvantaged.

The servers hosting this wikileak got hacked and r...

2010-12-04T21:06:09.053Z

The servers hosting this wikileak got hacked and remain nonhosting...heres an excerpt of cable leaked on Shannon Airport.
U.S. military access to Shannon Airport in western
Ireland is among the most tangible benefits of traditionally
strong U.S.-Irish relations. For the United States,
geography makes Shannon a key transit point for military
flights and military contract flights carrying personnel and
materiel to Iraq and the Middle East/Gulf theater in the
global war on terror, as well as to Europe and Africa. In
2005, roughly 340,000 U.S. troops passed through Shannon on
nearly 2,500 contract carrier flights; about 450
equipment-related/distinguished-visitor transit milair
flights and thousands of airspace overflights also took
place. Approximately 220,000 troops have transited to date
this year. For Ireland, U.S. military transits not only
demonstrate bilateral cooperation in support of U.S.
objectives in the Gulf/Middle East, but also generate
significant revenue for Shannon Airport and the regional
economy. In 2005, the airport turned a euro 2.9 million
profit after earning roughly euro 10.3 million from services
for transit flights, including landing, parking, catering,
and fuel. The economic gains for the Shannon area are less
easily calculated, but would include, at a minimum, payments
for hotels, food/beverages, transportation, and cultural
activities that come with 8-10 overnight stops per year for
roughly 200 soldiers each time. (Revenues may fall in 2006,
as World Airways, a DOD-contract carrier, has begun to
transfer operations from Shannon to its Leipzig hub for
internal logistical reasons.)
¶4. (SBU) For segments of the Irish public, however, the
visibility of U.S. troops at Shannon has made the airport a
symbol of Irish complicity in perceived U.S. wrongdoing in
the Gulf/Middle East. This popular sentiment was manifest in
the July 25 jury decision to acquit the “Shannon Five,” a
group of anti-war protesters who damaged a U.S. naval
aircraft at the airport in 2003 in the belief that they would
prevent loss of life in Iraq (ref A). Members of the Shannon
Five have subsequently called for a mass demonstration in
Dublin on September 23 (capitalizing on publicity for the
September 21-24 Ryder Cup tournament and the return of
university students) as part of a campaign to “demilitarize”
the airport. Although it is by no means clear that any
protest will reach “mass” proportions, participation in the
planned protest will likely draw from a vocal anti-war lobby
that has demonstrated against U.S. use of Shannon from the
start of the Iraq War up through the recent Lebanon conflict.

tráthnóna mhaith, The timing of this document is e...

2010-12-01T17:13:15.215Z

tráthnóna mhaith,
The timing of this document is exquisite...
http://www.thejournal.ie/the-first-irish-wikileak-the-full-contents-2010-12/

never mind the masses, they just want their fictit...

2010-12-01T14:49:59.133Z

never mind the masses, they just want their fictitious house prices reinstated.
cowan, adams, mcguinness, any one of the dail or stormont not worth a moment of anyones time. The centuries of struggle was just to let irish fat bastards rob us even more than english ones. let the german banks have a go, at least the nazis hav a rep for efficiency.
this nation is unable to manage itself. GET OVER IT.

Could the master like the pope,may not be a paedo....

2010-12-01T10:12:04.748Z

Could the master like the pope,may not be a paedo.. be a faclitator

Mickeyboy are you saying that there is more than o...

2010-12-01T10:06:53.873Z

Mickeyboy are you saying that there is more than one of you .....oh f##k!

Michaelhenry, I knew you would get the joke. Pro...

2010-12-01T10:05:16.968Z

Michaelhenry,

I knew you would get the joke. Problem is it is not a family story but a societal one. It is about the very unconvincing explanation of a politician in relation to the promotion and cover up of a man he believed to be child rapist. I find his account totally unbelievable. It is also about the role of the police in not moving on it when they had the information. A raped infant was sacrificed here for political expediency and society has a right to know why.

AM- Im glad to see the barricades come down in th...

2010-12-01T09:49:02.780Z

AM-

Im glad to see the barricades come
down in the six counties because of
the peoples peace process- im sure most of the people of louth have noticed the change-

if my brother wrote something wrong
to the pensive Quill would you
ridicule me- or my brother
i get the joke but its a family story.

Michaelhenry, It could be worse. It could be Lia...

2010-12-01T00:06:32.967Z

Michaelhenry,

It could be worse. It could be Liam saying 'I'm a coming'. Just watch the barricades going up in the schools then.

Aye Alfie and a nice 150k for a handshake plus a n...

2010-11-30T21:58:46.007Z

Aye Alfie and a nice 150k for a handshake plus a nice pension,a nice reward for helping to f##k the country!!! Glass coffins! will they be a success?.....remains to be seen!!!!

GERRY ADAMS says to louth im a comming the suppose...

2010-11-30T21:42:30.171Z

GERRY ADAMS says to louth im a
comming
the supposed big names there start
running

its the new west belfast-
who will oppose the leader of the
peoples 32 county party.

So Dermot Ahern is retiring. I suppose it is fitti...

2010-11-30T21:15:48.043Z

So Dermot Ahern is retiring. I suppose it is fitting that just as one colossal prick arrives on the Louth political landscape, another one leaves...

Christopher beannachtaí “To my mind, they have th...

2010-11-30T20:13:40.647Z

Christopher beannachtaí

“To my mind, they have the distinct advantage of not having been in government”

I would think that should be enough to at least make people pause rather than react with a protest vote for an infant party with no real governmental experience.
The soothsayer cometh with his magical political elixir in reality it’s the equivalent of dousing a fire with petrol.
Even if he wins he will definitely be leading from the back that is back in west Belfast.

Dia duit Anthony, other readers - Just want to sa...

2010-11-30T14:49:44.702Z

Dia duit Anthony, other readers -

Just want to say I think this is a great blog, not simply for the fact that it offers a perspective sorely lacking in most other places, but also the high quality of the content. I do enjoy your writing; I loved your previous article about dissidents being equated to supporters of armed force, one and all. But, to be topical:

I've been waiting to hear your take on the financial crisis. I can't shake the notion that it's landlords 2.0. I share your antipathy towards Sinn Féin, but I have something of a naive question:

Would they not be good for now? I certainly can't see any of the other parties doing anything worthwhile. Maybe to turn Fionnula's question on its head:

Can we seriously believe [Sinn Féin] can be any less credible than any other party in the South? To my mind, they have the distinct advantage of not having been in government. I know their economic policies are often laughable, reminding me more of the results of a school debating club, rather than a party policy, but they'll be lucky to get seven seats in the Dáil and so will not be able to drive government policy. I find them somewhat attractive as a protest, because they're making the right noises, and even if their policies are hollow, they'd never get implemented anyway.

Assuming my poorly framed thoughts are dismantled, who is worth voting for? Is there a big picture for Ireland anymore, or is it simply shambling from crisis to crisis, day to day? If there is a big picture, who will provide the vision?

Whats the difference between a wife and a prostitu...

2010-11-30T14:26:33.334Z

Whats the difference between a wife and a prostitute.....ones a contract. ones pay as you go!

Anthony ! Nuala ! oh ye of little faith an imagina...

2010-11-30T14:23:32.580Z

Anthony ! Nuala ! oh ye of little faith an imagination shame on ye! the master can work wonders for the south....He knows how to make people dissapear!!!that means more Indian corn for the rest of us ,caus bejaysusss we,re gonna need it,I heard the IMF were demanding that the Irish walked upsidedown just to make sure that noone had any spare cash on them!but really the master and psf will be as usefull to the republic as he was in Belfast.Thats worse than f##king useless!

Nuala, not a sausage of it

2010-11-30T12:27:25.966Z

Nuala,

not a sausage of it

The South can refuse the bail out money, Big Percy...

2010-11-30T12:01:20.904Z

The South can refuse the bail out money, Big Percy is giving all sorts of advice on how to sort the economic down turn, is there no end to the mans talents.
First he provides new hope to the masses in the North. Only it apparently was not a novel idea, actually what Sinn Fein proposed had been re-hashed and developed by other parties.
Economic forecasters said, 'too little too late, other political parties said, 'heard it all before'
while financial forecasters claimed,
'Sinn Fein's taxation policies would actually translate into more hardship for the consumer.'
Can we seriously believe this man can deliver anything credible in the South?