With no added preservatives
Posted on | October 12, 2009 | 160 Comments
The Greens staying in government is the greatest act of self-preservation since Walt Disney had his corpse frozen.
This morning the Irish Times reports that a ‘senior’ Fianna Fail source told them they expect full support for the budget in December from Gormley and his motley crew of power-hungry fuckwits who have deluded themselves into thinking they have the slightest influence over government policy.
So remember that when the budget comes. When social welfare is cut, when taxes are raised, when new levies are introduced, when property taxes and fees for breathing are brought in, remember that all this is possible thanks to our good old friends in the Green Party.
When the budget arrives and you’re living on gruel while TDs still claim unvouched expenses and fleece us every day of the week, give the Greens the credit they deserve.
Still, the country’s widespread anger and outrage that minks are farmed will be quenched and that’s the most important thing. No more mink farming. Hurrah. I believe the Greens have also won concessions from the government to stop Ireland’s whaling industry, the annual Connemara seal cull will not take place and a sanctuary for giant pandas is being built in Leitrim.
They must be ever so proud of themselves.
Whatever way you want to look at it, either from the perspective of a Green Party member who knows this is their last hurrah, or someone who thinks the Greens are a pack of spineless, amoral cunts, they, with Gormley at the helm, will be remembered as the party who have propped up and enabled the worst administration in Irish history. They’ll be remembered as the cunts who could have saved us from NAMA but chose to lie down with devil.
What a legacy.
I hope they get blown up like the Rainbow Warrior.
Similar posts
Comments
160 Responses to “With no added preservatives”
Leave a Reply
October 12th, 2009 @ 9:44 am
You spelt government wrong.
In my opinion: One good thing that the Greens have done is plant their heels over college fees.
October 12th, 2009 @ 9:48 am
They had the chance to save us from NAMA and they blew it. Well, they blew Fianna Fail. Now we’re stuck with them and FF until the next election in two years. That’s just too long for the country to stomach.
October 12th, 2009 @ 9:48 am
From what I was listening to yesterday Gormley said he had no influence over the re-introduction of college fees and that there’s likely to be an increase in the college registration fees in the budget.
October 12th, 2009 @ 9:50 am
HM – if they don’t sort out their expenses and the litany of perks and benefits they get just for going to fucking work then they’re going to find it difficult to introduce the kind of budget they’d like without some kind riot.
Because I will not pay another fucking penny to the cunts if they get their own house in order first.
October 12th, 2009 @ 9:52 am
The government won’t be introducing college fees, but universities will still have power over registration fees, which have always existed – as long as I can remember. Registration can cost about €1500 – if those extra fees had come in, alot of working class people such as myself wouldn’t have been able to afford even thinking about going onto third level.
October 12th, 2009 @ 9:57 am
Maybe if they paid lecturers and staff wages more in line with the rest of the world re-introducing college fees wouldn’t be an issue.
October 12th, 2009 @ 9:57 am
Nice blog concept, btw. There’s a wealth of stuff there for you.
October 12th, 2009 @ 10:00 am
“In my opinion: One good thing that the Greens have done is plant their heels over college fees.”- it’s the least they could do for allowing the most corrupt, inept, corpulent group of cunthooks in the history of the free state to remain in power, against the wishes of the vast majority of electorate. In years to come, they’ll be even more despised than fianna fail. I predict (and fervently) hope, that after the next election the green party will simply cease to exist.
October 12th, 2009 @ 10:01 am
Yea – some of our lecturers get paid insane money. There also doesn’t seem to be any system that makes sure lecturers attend class. We had one lecturer who showed up every now and again and did absolutely nothing. We’re talking about 30-60 for one lecture. Ridiculous. Our director spent over 100 grand on his office. 30000 on curtains.
Sure don’t I know Twenty. I think I’m going to end up starving to death or something trying to get through it all. If I end up in a mental home, I’ll only have myself to blame.
October 12th, 2009 @ 10:09 am
Tomo – I’d reckon so. It seems to be the fate of any small party that decides to become pals with FF.
October 12th, 2009 @ 10:15 am
Yup, the greens are going to be eliminated next time.
The spineless fucking losers.
By the way i think social welfare should be cut.
perhaps halved, although some sort of scheme should be put in place so people can work a half day with the council or something to get a bit of extra cash.
October 12th, 2009 @ 10:17 am
You should not be able to live off social welfare forever.
October 12th, 2009 @ 10:19 am
Walt Disney had his corpse frozen?
Unbelievable.
October 12th, 2009 @ 10:30 am
You should not be able to live off social welfare forever.
They should really do it the spanish way, if you’ve been working for a long time then you get full welfare for a while, then if you still don’t get a job it reduces over time until you only get a bare minimum.
Do you remember the closure of Cappoquin Chickens in Waterford? The place stayed open under new management but all the basic workers got a pay-cut, apparently for working a full 40 hour week, after taxes etc they come out with about 40 euro more than the dole. and then they have to pay for transport, doctors etc.
Something seriously wrong there.
October 12th, 2009 @ 10:40 am
I think the Spanish stop it altogether after a while, morgor. Not 100% on that but I think there’s a time limit.
October 12th, 2009 @ 10:41 am
I think the Spanish stop it altogether after a while, morgor.
That rings true alright.
October 12th, 2009 @ 10:50 am
But it’s gone on for too long already. It’s become a lifestyle, and it’s not going to go away until something more attractive is put in it’s place.
You can’t just take it away. That would cause civil war.
October 12th, 2009 @ 11:05 am
“I hope they get blown up like the Rainbow Warrior.”
hahahahaha
ah fun times…
October 12th, 2009 @ 11:15 am
Students are cunts. And often greens as well.
Reintroduce conscription and invade somewhere pointless like Iceland or Matalan.
October 12th, 2009 @ 11:18 am
But it’s gone on for too long already. It’s become a lifestyle, and it’s not going to go away until something more attractive is put in it’s place.
You mean for the politicians?
October 12th, 2009 @ 11:27 am
“Reintroduce conscription and invade somewhere pointless like Iceland or Matalan.”,
It’d have to be Matalan, Iceland’s broke.
October 12th, 2009 @ 11:31 am
yeah….that’s all very well but -
We can now bring our bikes onto trains and buses!
pp 29
http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/1010/programme.pdf
That’ll be eh, great for the country.
Good god; did none of you read the document? It’s not worth the paper it’s printed on to be honest.
As a Green voter; I’m sticking my head in my environmentally friendly oven. Bring down the government.
October 12th, 2009 @ 11:33 am
test
crap
where’s my cool, insightful witty comment?
October 12th, 2009 @ 11:34 am
Got caught in the spam filter. Fixed now.
October 12th, 2009 @ 11:35 am
I can’t be arsed saying what I said again so in a nutshell
pp29 of the manifesto; pp32 on the pdf states that we are nowe all allowed bring out bikes onto buses and trains
so there.
fucking hell
http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/1010/programme.pdf
October 12th, 2009 @ 11:36 am
We should have military service. One year before or after college where you learn to be a useful capable person, able to work in a team and not just think about yourself all the time. I’d love to see useless knackers getting up at 6am and washing out their jacks. I’d love to see some spoilt little southside brats doing it too. I can see it now, Ugg boots and Adidas being confiscated and replaced with black army boots that’d cut the heel off you.
October 12th, 2009 @ 11:40 am
And let’s nor forget HM, Liverpool is Ireland’s Sudetenland
October 12th, 2009 @ 11:45 am
These FF-loving Kulaks are cunts as well
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2009/1012/breaking31.htm
It’s one of those days when everybody looks cuntish to me.
October 12th, 2009 @ 11:53 am
Fucking cunts, why does making thousands of regular workers spend an extra half an hour getting back from work help their cause?
People should “peacefully” block their tractorade by parking their cars in front of their farm gates so they can’t get out with their tractors.
Fuck them the cunts.
October 12th, 2009 @ 11:56 am
There’ll be uproar if social welfare is cut yet it should be. By at least 10 or 15 euro a week. How much would that save? A good bit I’d say
October 12th, 2009 @ 11:58 am
Stalin, a Kerry man on his mother’s side, had the right idea morgor.
October 12th, 2009 @ 11:58 am
I don’t really mind the farmers having a go. In fairness it’s mostly the smaller farmers who are being fucked by the EU.
October 12th, 2009 @ 12:22 pm
One problem with eliminating/reducing social welfare payments that came to mind there is that there’s so many newly unemployed people out there now, people who’ve worked solidly for years and now find themselves suddenly back in the 1980s. It can be very difficult getting back into the workforce if you’re in your 40s or 50s and not necessarily weighed down with diplomas and shite. It’s not just skangers bleeding us dry, loike.
Although I know quite a few of them too, and they’re utter cunts. Here, lemme pay for you to have four kids and live in your sitting room drinking Huzzar! Ah do!
Anyway, the Greens. It’s like they’ve never heard the term “Progressive Democrats”. Silly bastards.
October 12th, 2009 @ 12:26 pm
It’s the long term scroungers who need a good kicking not the people who are suddenly on the dole and trying to get off it.
October 12th, 2009 @ 12:28 pm
kill the poor
October 12th, 2009 @ 12:30 pm
Memories of days gone by – when times are hard export the Poor to the UK.
October 12th, 2009 @ 12:34 pm
I don’t really mind the farmers having a go
yes, but they should have a go against their local politicians rather than normal folk.
Itchy has an interesting solution to the problem though.
October 12th, 2009 @ 12:44 pm
I don’t mean that; I’m just being a bollix; it’s an old Dead Kennedy’s song.
Kill, kill, kill, kill the poor,
Kill, kill, kill, kill the poor,
Kill, kill, kill kill the poor toniiiight.
You’d be surprised at how blinkered FF voters are now that the shit has hit the fan. It’s the unemployed’s fault; it’s Fine Gaels fault, it’s Lehmans fault. Nothing to with FF. Horrible cunts.
I do have some more urban-guerilla anti-ff campaigns up my sleeve though. specifically to do with a buk, a big dump on said buk, my camera and A1 posters.
watch this smelly, shitty space.
October 12th, 2009 @ 12:54 pm
So that was Joihn Gormley’s arm up Lenihan’s colon when he mouthed the promise, “No more taxes” after the FF get together in Mullingar. And Green Party health policy is the same as Mary Harney’s – 2 tier, i) shite, ii) money will buy you a publicly subsidised private health service – otherwise why is she still Min for Health?
Oh, btw, what are the Greens going to do about the mink from the farms they’re closing down? They’re a non-native pest species that is already decimating wild life and fish stocks. I suggest Ryan, Gormley and pals are each put in a room with ten hungry mink. The mink will win.
October 12th, 2009 @ 1:11 pm
Keep the poor , Kill the licnsed vintners, Rotarians, civil servants, Politicians, tree-huggers, estate agents and property “developers” – I hate that euphemism.
October 12th, 2009 @ 1:13 pm
The first snow of the tear is falling outside.
Snow.
Bloody Fucking Hell.
Still not as depressing as the news from Ireland.
The Greens would probably tax it if they could.
October 12th, 2009 @ 1:14 pm
tear = year
October 12th, 2009 @ 1:17 pm
I farking hate John Gormley, he is a dirty back peddler. I’d rather see Walt Disneys frozen corpes leading the greens than that plank. Its hard to make head nor tale of NAMA, I cannot understand how the tax payer is geting so little in return. At the very least why aren’t we getting the banks assets? Eventually the banks would have to buy them back from us. Are members of the Dept. of Finance going to be on the board of these banks? I don’t think voting against NAMA was an option for the snotsers but they surely could have negociated a higher return for the tax payer.
Also, can I ask a question that has nothing to do with this? I have asked everybody else I don’t want to leave anybody out?
October 12th, 2009 @ 1:25 pm
nonny Says:
October 12th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
Also, can I ask a question that has nothing to do with this? I have asked everybody else I don’t want to leave anybody out?
Of course. If it’s about my availability; yep; I can hook up witn you on saturday night. friday night. In fact; mon, tues….
October 12th, 2009 @ 1:31 pm
er, grand thanks itchy, my question if you please gentlemen, would you take a job that pays quite a bit less but you have less working hours or do you think in the current climate one should stay put?
October 12th, 2009 @ 1:38 pm
When you look closely at the supposed concessions the fucking Greens achieved during their deliberations you will notice all they got for all the supposed effort was a stop on the reintroduction of college fees.
As for the extra teachers, they didn’t even get the pupil teacher ratio back to 1/27 and this is what they had set out for reportedly, back to Sept 2008 levels.
They got 500 extra teachers – So fucking what, FF will just give longer term contracts to 500 of the temporary teachers alraedy being paid in the system covering maternity and sick leave, so no extra expense there then.
The thing is though, FF have already come out and said they will have to raise the revenue to cover the Green concessions elsewhere, i.e More Taxes or Levies to pay for NOTHING..
The Greens are now actually worse than Fianna Fail, Being Self Serving CUNTS(FF) is bad but facilitating the CUNTS & allowing them Loot the country to bail out themselves and their Cuntbag cronies is Unforgivable .. I only wish I lived in an area / constituency with a green TD so I could start a hate campaign.
Their support of this Govenment is now Criminal, Mink farms my Fucking Ring.
October 12th, 2009 @ 1:48 pm
nonny Says:
October 12th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
er, grand thanks itchy, my question if you please gentlemen, would you take a job that pays quite a bit less but you have less working hours or do you think in the current climate one should stay put?
It depends on 2 things
1 – Do you have to leave your current job due to the fact that the people you work with are cunts? i.e. for your own mental health
2- is the job offer as secure as the one you currently havr
If the answer to both is yes; take the new job
I can meet to discuss!
*scratch
October 12th, 2009 @ 2:03 pm
thanks itchy I laughed at the first one. Have you worked for them too?? I just have a pain in my arse with the hours. I work for myself so it is kinda like contract work, so yeah I guess they are both as secure. I am so bad at making my mind up.
October 12th, 2009 @ 2:23 pm
I caught a brief snippet of someone saying the mink farming was going to cost an absolute fortune to bring to an end. Didn’t hear enough of it though to get the figures.
Anyone?
October 12th, 2009 @ 2:37 pm
All you to do to bring mink farming to an end is to bomb Monte Carlo and Moscow.
October 12th, 2009 @ 2:48 pm
Sorry..can’t help on the mink front. But -
I did just hear on Joe Duffy that there’s a few ant-eaters being brought for walks around Dublin. And they sleep with their owners pet dogs. Mondo bizarro.
October 12th, 2009 @ 3:42 pm
Hello, everyone.
Ant eaters, eh?
Fabulous.
I wonder if they’re the giant ones, they can hug you to death. Scarier than pitbulls.
October 12th, 2009 @ 4:06 pm
Hey Jo,its been a while..
Hugged to death,it doesnt sound like a bad way to go.. then again..
October 12th, 2009 @ 4:26 pm
Ok nonny, the answer is “yes”, when do I start?
October 12th, 2009 @ 5:00 pm
I can’t believe I only got two answers, all the abuse I gave you people over the years and thats how you thank me. You are an ungrateful shower of shites.
October 12th, 2009 @ 5:09 pm
It might just be that nobody gives a shit, nonny.
Just throwin’ it out there.
October 12th, 2009 @ 5:12 pm
maybe….em maybe. I thought you would have gave me a well thought out answer. I’m quite suprised to be honest.
October 12th, 2009 @ 5:14 pm
Who am I to advise anyone about such a decision? You don’t strike me as indecisive anyway.
October 12th, 2009 @ 5:24 pm
I am very much so, eternal procrastination of the uselesss mind I would say. I wasn’t holding out for expertise it was more a case of having an even number on my pro’s and con’s list. I have about 50 mins left to decide, this is bad.
October 12th, 2009 @ 5:30 pm
Fancy a shag nonny ?
October 12th, 2009 @ 5:38 pm
Maggot, she’d be chatting away all the time though. Do you talk during sex nonny?
October 12th, 2009 @ 5:42 pm
More to the point, do you stay on topic?
October 12th, 2009 @ 5:43 pm
I’m a Kitkat Chunky man meself.
October 12th, 2009 @ 5:45 pm
Never warmed to the KitKat chunky have to say. I’m partial to a Double Decker. Maybe Nonny would fancy an old Double Decker.
October 12th, 2009 @ 5:46 pm
Toblerone are worth a try.
October 12th, 2009 @ 5:48 pm
The Toblerone is a gateway bar.
October 12th, 2009 @ 5:50 pm
I’m happily married(ish) ehhh thank you Maggot.
And Holemaster how does fuck off sound?
you are shit helpers
October 12th, 2009 @ 5:51 pm
just trying a zen distraction technique to help you make your decision nonny, honest.
October 12th, 2009 @ 5:52 pm
Toblerones are a bit sharp, she could injure herself.
That is what we’re talking about, right?
October 12th, 2009 @ 5:54 pm
nonny is a classy bird so I see her with Galaxy or a Flake.
October 12th, 2009 @ 5:54 pm
Heh Peadar. Chocolate beads?
Ah Nonny, we’re only playing with you. You’re looking radiant today. Is that a new dress?
October 12th, 2009 @ 5:55 pm
I’ll bet Twenty is a Yorkie man, possibly peanuts one.
October 12th, 2009 @ 6:00 pm
Ah, nonny, you fell into the trap of thinking they were human underneath.
They’ll warm to questions of tech support, that’s all.
Just go with what you WANT to do, you may as well. There don’t seem to be any certainties at the moment.
October 12th, 2009 @ 6:01 pm
What is your favourite confectionary item Jo ?
October 12th, 2009 @ 6:05 pm
Ah Nonny, we’re only playing with you. You’re looking radiant today. Is that a new dress?
I think she may have lost weight too Holemaster.
In answer to your question, it depends.
When you say quite a bit less money, does this still leave you rather comfortable or would you have trouble making ends meet?
If you are still financially comfortable despite the drop in wages and the job is just as stable, then i would advise changing.
October 12th, 2009 @ 6:10 pm
They’ll warm to questions of tech support, that’s all.
Porn and other forms of filth ?
October 12th, 2009 @ 6:10 pm
Inviromentalists, Greens and others of their ilk get their support from people in cities and other urban areas. People whose knowldge of animals comes from pictures and toys. These dumb fucks are conned into supporting Greenw because they see all animals as cuddly critters equal to, or better than, human beings. All the Greens have to do to get their support is to refer to the expoitation of those cuddly critters that would eat them if given the chance. These voters are the same dummies that climb over fences to get into cages to pet the big pussy cat or hug the teddy bear. People who live among wild animals do the right thing — they shoot and eat them.
If the mink farmers have to sell off their animals and go into raising chickens, the Greens will try to put a stop to that as well. They want all people to become vegans, fuckin vegans. The solution: exterminate the Greens. Throw them into the cages with the polar and grizzly bears, lions,tigers, crocs, gators and African wild dogs. Sell tickets to the public to view the spectacle. The money collected can go to paying off the national debt.
October 12th, 2009 @ 6:11 pm
Haven’t we been here before maggot?
To be honest I think I’d rather just eat it, the thought of the mess and the effort of the other… nah…
Though Midgetwrangler once gave a tip of putting the Mars Bars in the freezer first. Keeps ‘em solid longer.
In answer to your innocent question, though, Mint Aeros or Cadbury’s Caramels with King crisps.
And I am also admirer of the KitKat Chunky. I like its… chunkiness…
October 12th, 2009 @ 6:12 pm
Have you tried the new Kitkat Caramel Chunky ?
October 12th, 2009 @ 6:17 pm
I like it’s Kittyness
October 12th, 2009 @ 6:17 pm
easter eggs probably aren’t sturdy enough for anything apart from eating are they … perhaps if they were supported on the inside.
or indeed filled with . . . concrete.
October 12th, 2009 @ 6:18 pm
Easter Egg edible bra, morgor.
Maggot, yes, but meh.
October 12th, 2009 @ 6:23 pm
My God Jo – edible bra? Britney boobs in chocolate, I feel faint!
October 12th, 2009 @ 6:24 pm
I think she may have lost weight too Holemaster.
yeah but in fairness she kinda needed to
October 12th, 2009 @ 6:24 pm
You’d send her spiralling into a junk food relapse though, maggot.
October 12th, 2009 @ 6:27 pm
Life is cruel Jo. Dammit, why am I on a different continent ?
October 12th, 2009 @ 6:29 pm
Thank you Morgor!
October 12th, 2009 @ 6:35 pm
That’s the problem alright, maggot. Continence.
October 12th, 2009 @ 6:39 pm
jesus christ
October 12th, 2009 @ 6:44 pm
I make my own Yoghurt Jo so I’m going to try out Chocolate Yoghurt pudding!
October 12th, 2009 @ 6:49 pm
Er, I’m sure you are, maggot. Enjoy.
I’m sure you’ll all be rushing to purchase this:
http://www.lulu.com/content/4956212
heheheheh
October 12th, 2009 @ 6:52 pm
JO! I’m SHOCKED!
October 12th, 2009 @ 6:53 pm
That’s a fairly thick post. Every specific point you make is bullshit.
You criticise social welfare cuts and tax increases in the same sentence, when the two are mutually exclusive. (Unless, of course, there’s a Twenty Major money tree I’m not aware of.)
You criticise unvouched expenses of TDs, whereas if he had bothered to read page 33 of the programme, he’d have seen that expenses will be vouched from now on, which was something the Greens argued for.
You point to the end of fur farming as if it’s some big win for the party, when not a single mention of it has been made unprompted by a Green spokesman. You make it seems as if it’s the main thrust of the document, yet it’s literally only six words of forty-three page document, the biggest sections of which deal with the economy, jobs, public sector reform and political reform.
The three specific issues you mention are firstly contradictory, secondly ignorant (because you didn’t read the bloody document) and thirdly irrelevant, since it was only a small reference for a small issue. The rest of the post is just rhetoric and waffley bullshit.
October 12th, 2009 @ 6:58 pm
fight fight fight
October 12th, 2009 @ 7:07 pm
Is there going to be mud wrestling?
I don’t like mud wrestling.
October 12th, 2009 @ 7:13 pm
Melt up the Easter Eggs, so.
Or get some of maggot’s pudding.
Heheheheh.
October 12th, 2009 @ 7:15 pm
Pidge didn’t deal with the mink issue and therefore must have volunteered to take them all home and keep them as cuddly widdle pets.
October 12th, 2009 @ 7:16 pm
Mink are cunts
October 12th, 2009 @ 7:20 pm
I hate Yorkies. Rather partial to a Star Bar.
October 12th, 2009 @ 7:22 pm
You criticise unvouched expenses of TDs, whereas if he had bothered to read page 33 of the programme, he’d have seen that expenses will be vouched from now on, which was something the Greens argued for.
I’ll believe that when I see it.
They’ve been talking about reforming the expenses system for years now.
October 12th, 2009 @ 7:23 pm
@Conan Drumm. I did deal with it. It’s that bit about fur farming. The Programme for Govt doesn’t even refer to mink specifically, it just refers to fur in general. I couldn’t care less about fur farming, to be honest, but it’s not even a big issue in the document. Have a read yourself here, if you want. http://short.ie/pfg09 The bit about fur farming is on page 28.
October 12th, 2009 @ 7:24 pm
Indeed they are Maggot, the vicious little fuckers don’t belong here and nothing preys on them. I can see the film – ‘Mink on a Plane’ – in which insufferably self-righteous Green Party aparatchiks try to return a cargo full of mink to their natural environment only to find themselves being slaughtered by them over the Atlantic.
October 12th, 2009 @ 7:25 pm
Any political allegiance you wish to declare, Pidge?
October 12th, 2009 @ 7:25 pm
I’ll believe that when I see it.
They’ve been talking about reforming the expenses system for years now.
Yeah, they have. And they’ve never come up with a concrete answer, or government agreement about what should be done. As a result of that, they’ve done feck all.
This is a government agreement, backed up by a party which – unlike before – now has the power to collapse the government. The commitment to it being done is there, and the exact implementation of it will occur within twelve months.
October 12th, 2009 @ 7:27 pm
Their only use could be to amuse and distract the mob in a FF-built Amphitheatre – when Knackers armed with Green party manifestos could be thrown to squadrons of unfed mink.
October 12th, 2009 @ 7:29 pm
Twelve months? Fuck off. What a load of shit. If it’s not done before the next budget then there’ll be problems.
And if the Greens had the slightest interest in what is best for the people of Ireland they’d have grown a set and collapsed the government this weekend.
But, I suppose, everyone’s desperate for their 15 minutes.
October 12th, 2009 @ 7:29 pm
Oh, sorry, sure. I’m a member of the Greens. Been involved since end of 2006, as far as I can remember. Should’ve mentioned that!
I’m not paid to be a member, or to work for the party or anything like that, if that’s what you mean. If I thought this agreement was bullshit, I’d either be quiet, say it loudly, or just leave the party. I think it’s quite a good deal (not great, but sure it’s FF we’re dealing with), and I reckon that I’d think that regardless of whether I joined up or not.
October 12th, 2009 @ 7:32 pm
Pidge, the fur farming phase out over three years is a sop to the 100+ animal welfare activists who joined the GP over the last two years. Does this remind anyone of Militant Tendency and the Labour Party? It’s bullshit, and the Scottish animal welfare legislation that’s been cited is a barrier to species re-introduction, a process vital to restoring ecological balance. Part of which would involve the systematic trapping and extermination of mink in the wild in Ireland.
October 12th, 2009 @ 7:33 pm
Did you honestly join the Green Party to be part of a corrupt, inept administration led by a harem of gangster, spoofers, cheats, liars and thieves?
While I can kind of understand your position now that you’re there, can’t you see the damage this coalition has done to the Greens?
October 12th, 2009 @ 7:35 pm
Here Twenty, maybe you should actually flick through the document, and all this won’t keep coming at you as a surprise.
Anyway, regardless of what you think, the commitment’s there, and I think it’s fair to say that the public will’s there for politicians’ payments to be overhauled. If you don’t think that it’s going to happen, then that’s fine, but it almost certainly will.
If you want a general election over politician’s expenses, then maybe you should take a look at 2002 and 2007 manifestos. By my reckoning (and I’m open to correction on this) the Greens were the only ones to call for receipted expenses in both those elections in their manifestos. Can’t find a reference in any other manifestos.
October 12th, 2009 @ 7:38 pm
@Conan. Nah, you’re wrong on that. Personally, I couldn’t give a shit about animal rights, but it’s always been a Green thing. It’s not as if it’s only become an issue for the party since 2007, which is the impression some people were putting out on the radio. If you remember from before this process started, Gormley tried to hold back on issuing the licenses for stag hunting, but was struck down by the courts. It’s not a sop to any militant tendency or anything like that – it’s been Green policy for a good few years, probably since the international movement started.
October 12th, 2009 @ 7:39 pm
So, Pidge, why do you think the GP have done nothing about expenses for two years?
And why do you think John Gormley trains and ferries out of Ireland and then hops in the costly limo like the rest of the shysters? (and that’s not counting the carbon cost)
October 12th, 2009 @ 7:40 pm
If you don’t think that it’s going to happen, then that’s fine, but it almost certainly will.
Almost certainly.
It’s an absolute necessity. The people of Ireland cannot sit back and allow people who have proven themselves to be fundamentally dishonest to lead the country any more. It is unfair of this administration to ask more of the people in terms of taxes and cutbacks until they put their own house in order.
You’d know better than I about the Green manifestos and if they called for receipted expenses then good for them. If they cared that deeply about it though maybe they’d set a trail and publish expenses anyway, like Varadkar and I think Ned O’Keefe did.
Put pressure on others to be transparent. Set an example instead of just putting in a document that most people will never read.
As for bringing the government down over expenses, that’s fatuous, and I think you know that. There’s a litany of reasons that this government should fall, but most of all because they no longer have the confidence of the vast majority of the electorate to make the decisions that have to be made.
October 12th, 2009 @ 7:42 pm
Pidge, the Greens should have collapsed the Government. You don’t have a mandate anymore. This government is the worst since the founding of the State.
If the government does not resign very soon, there will be severe unrest.
October 12th, 2009 @ 7:43 pm
“@Conan. Nah, you’re wrong on that”
Eh no, I’m not wrong about any of that. And I’m not suggesting you have any particular interest in animal welfare issues. The programme is only a list of aspirations written down on paper. That’s all.
October 12th, 2009 @ 7:45 pm
Did you honestly join the Green Party to be part of a corrupt, inept administration led by a harem of gangster, spoofers, cheats, liars and thieves?
No. Jesus no. I bloody hate Fianna Fail. But what else are we supposed to do? Say that we’ll never go in with them? If we do that, then we’re tied to the only-slightly-less-shite Fine Gael forever, and they can do whatever the Hell they want to us, since they know we’ll never go in with them. It’s really, really shite, but the only choice a party has in this country (thanks to the stupid pricks who keep voting FF) is to go into government with them. If they don’t do that, they don’t get to change a fucking thing – and then what’s the point of being in power? FF are mostly shit, as are FG, but it’s only by wading through the shit that we get anything done. Labour have done and will do the same thing. Dem Left did it, the PDs did, and they’ve all long since gone, but Christ, at least they changed something. Otherwise, what’s the point?
While I can kind of understand your position now that you’re there, can’t you see the damage this coalition has done to the Greens?
Yeah, of course. In some ways it’s caused us to grow up a bit. Accusations of being “flakey” have largely been replaced with “sellout”, so at least we’re been taken somewhat seriously now as a party. That might help in the long term.
In the short term, though, we’re electorally fucked. We know that, the TDs know that, the councillors knew that. You’ll probably think I’m being naive or holier-than-thou, but everyone’s been talking about how that’s okay, so long as we affect actual change. (I’m almost certain you won’t believe it, but it is true.) I don’t think that the Greens will disappear like the PDs, though. It started life as a tiny party, and I’m sure that it can continue as that.
At least with this deal we’ll have fucking done something, and that’s a whole bunch more than any party who hasn’t been in government can say.
October 12th, 2009 @ 7:46 pm
But what will have done beyond allowing FF to foist NAMA on the country?
October 12th, 2009 @ 7:48 pm
“At least with this deal we’ll have fucking done something”
That’s true, you foisted NAMA on the citizens of this country. And that is all you’ve done, aside from the aspirations.
October 12th, 2009 @ 7:50 pm
I’m off fer me tea…
October 12th, 2009 @ 7:51 pm
Great minds. Or something.
October 12th, 2009 @ 7:56 pm
@Conan. Sorry if there’s confusion. I was referring specifically to your claim that the animal rights thing was a sop to new members who joined recently. My point was that animal rights has (unfortunately, in my view) been a Green thing for years. I can’t find the link now, but research by the Dept of Politics in TCD found that Programmes for Govt in Ireland tend to be implemented almost completely. The Programme may be just a piece of paper for most people, but it’s historically and currently a blueprint for the government’s legislative agenda.
@Twenty Sorry, again, I’m typing fairly quickly. Didn’t mean to imply that you wanted an election solely on the basis of expenses. What I meant was that I don’t think it would be fought on as a huge issue, and were it to be, the Greens would be the strongest placed on it for historical reasons.
On the point of publishing expenses, I know that Ciarán Cuffe does that. Again, you’re right that others should too, but I’d much rather see a universal system of vouching, which is what the Greens are delivering.
One thing I’d disagree with, though, is the idea that the PfG is merely something which people will never read. Even if most don’t read it, all that matters is that it’ll be implemented. Most of the earlier 2007 programme was implemented, and it was intended to run for five years, not just two and a half. Vouched expenses for politicians are coming in, and if you don’t believe that, well that’s your right, but I can’t see how the Greens could possibly say anything stronger than what they did:
“Further reform the system of expenses for members of the Oireachtas to ensure
the system is transparent, vouched and open to scrutiny, including the regular
publication of such expenses. This system will be verified and verifiable.” – p.35
October 12th, 2009 @ 7:57 pm
Sorry, I’ve hijacked this. This is the problem of commenting on a blog when you’re doing an essay. I’ll shutup now. Apologies.
October 12th, 2009 @ 8:02 pm
I think the balance is good, Pidge, nothing to apologise for.
October 12th, 2009 @ 8:02 pm
Twenty, http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2009/1012/breaking61.htm
October 12th, 2009 @ 8:04 pm
It’s to your credit that you are prepared to argue your case in a hostile arena Pidge.
October 12th, 2009 @ 8:13 pm
Pidge, your contributions are very welcome.
On the point of publishing expenses, I know that Ciarán Cuffe does that. Again, you’re right that others should too, but I’d much rather see a universal system of vouching, which is what the Greens are delivering.
It’s what the Greens are suggesting. The implementation is entirely down to Lenihan or whoever the Minister for Finance is when they get around to it. Not trying to argue this point over and over but I’m really dubious about the timeframe surrounding this.
And when I meant the documentation that most people wouldn’t read I meant the Green Party manifesto for those years we were talking about. Again not a slur but I think realistic.
Conan – struggling to think of a move obvious candidate. At least Sergent had enough about him to step down from the frontline after the FF deal was made. And better him than another FF lackey.
October 12th, 2009 @ 8:23 pm
Back again. The essay will wait for a moment.
You’re right, Twenty, we hardly want to go around in circles. Basically, I think that something as this in the Programme for Govt will be implemented because that’s what the document’s for, and you don’t. That’s fair enough, but I do know that it matters enough to the party that I think it’s extremely likely for it to go through. (I had a check, and it was mentioned in the 1997 manifesto too. While you’re right, people don’t read those documents, it is indicative of the depth of feeling on the matter, and how important it is to a party which can collapse the govt. Indeed, were we to collapse the govt on a point of politicians’ expenses, I couldn’t think of a better way to enter that election.)
And also, on a side point, I’m fairly sure that reform of politicians’ expenses are handled by the Dept of the Environment, since they have responsibility for running the Oireachtas. Could be wrong on that, though. Either way, so long as there isn’t an utter immovable prick like Dermot Ahern in Finance, I can’t imagine there being many problems, since an iota of FF resistance to the idea would be a not-altogether-awful election campaign basis for the Greens.
October 12th, 2009 @ 8:36 pm
ahhhhh shurrrrup about that shite unless either of you are going to go out protesting or become independent TD’s get over it. I’m sick of listening to people moan about it get off your arses and do something about it.
October 12th, 2009 @ 8:47 pm
I was thinking about becoming an Independent but you have to go on TV and stuff and I’d hate that.
October 12th, 2009 @ 8:49 pm
hey’ll warm to questions of tech support, that’s all. heres 1 how do i put a pic in my profile
October 12th, 2009 @ 8:52 pm
http://en.gravatar.com/
October 12th, 2009 @ 8:56 pm
Go on twenty, you could wear a mask on tv & for all public appearances
October 12th, 2009 @ 8:58 pm
I could wear a Mask mask
October 12th, 2009 @ 9:04 pm
yeah deadly, you could headbutt people who disagreed with you
October 12th, 2009 @ 9:23 pm
Jesus, he’s remarkably like someone who was in college with me.
October 12th, 2009 @ 9:41 pm
The Greens had a chance to say “we can’t suck Brian Cowen’s cocktail sausage any longer” and walked away. They’d have gained huge time with the electorate.
Instead they have gone the way of FF’s last tampon, the PD’s. They will end up the same too … bruised, battered and bloddy and languishing at the bottom of the sanitary bin.
I don’t think they give a shite anyway, they’ve obviously sat down and decided to make hay for the next 2 years until they get kicked out / disbanded.
October 12th, 2009 @ 9:42 pm
eh wtf … “bloddy”? … feckin crap Dell keyboard
October 12th, 2009 @ 9:46 pm
Aren’t people in your line of work disbarred from politics Twenty?
October 12th, 2009 @ 10:24 pm
I’m not sure I want to know what you mean by that, maggot.
October 12th, 2009 @ 10:27 pm
We’ll say no more then!
October 12th, 2009 @ 10:36 pm
Was that PDY for real? Did they ever hear of Spellcheck?
October 12th, 2009 @ 10:37 pm
Damn….meant “PDF”
October 12th, 2009 @ 11:07 pm
Watching Pat Kenny on the Frontline, Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children is being highlighted, or should I say the problems & the waiting lists and funding problems due to budget cuts etc.
I hope every fucking Green Party member cunt is watching, small children are going to die because ye are keeping FF in Govt & Mary Fucking Harney as Health Minister.
I don’t care how many lines in the total manifesto are reserved for fucking Minks and fucking Stags, children’s lives should be prioritised and there are no fucking lines in it about them, all these cunts now make me sick, posturing self serving cunts.
Green party, Fucking Light bulbs & fucking bicycles & fuck all else, Ye have no mandate & are just clinging onto power with your Bastard Fucking Masters Fianna Fail, ye have been tarred with the same brush & now ye should be feathered ye chicken shit CUNTS.
October 12th, 2009 @ 11:08 pm
Ned O’Keefe is a cunt.
Pidge makes good points.
Good enough that I’ll consider giving the greens a secondary vote.
Pidge if you can get Gormley to sucker punch Lenihan, the greens will get my number one vote for life. (or as long as i’m in the country)
October 13th, 2009 @ 12:38 am
@Lafsword: Minks and Stags have nothing to do with it, it’s just a slur that anti – Greens ( and there are a lot of them! ) use which has the effect of once again fucking over the wildlife of the country. I don’t know why this is used when there are so many good things to spear the Greens on.
Lol … you’ll have to look long and hard before you’ll find animal rights put above children … or roads … or planning … or money … or anything in this madcap country. Actually it’s never happened. Not torturing animals doesn’t cost money, it’s more a case of attitude, and taking advantage of thousands of years of ( so called ) ‘Civilization’.
Different argument entirely.
October 13th, 2009 @ 12:49 am
Spot the Benny!
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/1012/1224256437842.html?via=mr
October 13th, 2009 @ 1:12 am
A Frenchman, no doubt about it!
October 13th, 2009 @ 5:28 am
I don’t spend a lot of time in Ireland at the moment but I would love to be able to vote from abroad. I’m 30 and currently on my 2nd working holiday visa in Australia. Of the last 10 years I’ve probably been outside Ireland for about 6 of them. I wouldn’t mind moving home now but the prospects of finding a job obviously aren’t too good right now.
When I was last home I tried to get set up to vote from abroad in the future(in particular for the Lisbon referendum) but as far as I could learn from the government website, it’s not possible to do this. Is this true or can somebody please enlighten me on how to do it?
If it is true it is scandalous, since there are a huge amount of Irish citizens living in various parts of the world who would love the chance to participate in anything happening at home. I won’t rant any more about it until it has been confirmed that it actually isn’t possible.
“The Greens had a chance to say “we can’t suck Brian Cowen’s cocktail sausage any longer” and walked away. They’d have gained huge time with the electorate.” – So what? The Irish electorate have demonstrated many times, like all other electorates, that they have the memories of alzheimers riddled goldfish. I think the Greens were right to stay in power and believe they could affect more change from within rather than collapsing the government, moving to the fringes and realising that every twat with a vote in the country would still back FF or whoever they and their family have backed since the beginning of time. The trouble is that 80 to 90% of people are extremely stupid and relying on an electorate to do something smart is akin to opting to having Michael Jackson babysit your kids. As Churchill said, “The biggest argument against democracy is having a chat with the average voter.”
Even if FF were kicked out of government, what is the alternative? I have no confidence in any of the other parties to do anything of worth to fix our current difficulties and I don’t believe it’s fair to blame FF for all the woes we currently face. We have had 15 years of unrivalled and unprecedented economic success and are the role model for many of the newly joined EU member states. Without a doubt, we have massive problems but what country doesn’t?
Having read as much as I can find about the NAMA proposal, I think it’s excellent. If people disagree, I am very interested in hearing the alternatives. What I hate is all this type of ignorant bullshit – “Bailing out developers/mortgaging the country/crushing our children with debt” – which I hear everywhere. The fact is that the country has massive financial difficulties and dealing with them will be difficult. It’s not like we are choosing between either a) NAMA or b) Living in a chocolate world with houses made from marshmallows and rivers that flow with honey.
We are a tiny country with scant resources and have punched well above our weight for a long time. As in any situation where money is plentiful, there will be the scum who cream off the top. We are a young democracy and hopefully our current troubles will force changes to ensure that in the future these things won’t happen again. Other things will happen in their stead and we will deal with them when the time comes. However, if anyone thinks we could have avoided this recession then they have their head in the clouds.
Our boom was based on foreign investment which was always going to up sticks and leave as soon as our own greed, which is a human trait and would have happened in any country, forced our wages too high to match what we could provide for those companies by way of workforce and infrastructure. We were unlucky our bust came at the same time as and was greatly exaggerated by the world financial crisis but hey, life is tough.
Another thing I hate hearing about is all the sympathy and “Oh how can the government do nothing to help them” for the people losing their houses. I say Fuck You to those people. A house is the biggest investment the vast majority of people will ever make. If you were so stupid you took out a 110% mortgage or whatever it was you did that meant you couldn’t make your payments, if you didn’t really research what you were doing and bought the house just ‘cos that’s what all your friends were doing, if you have three cars parked outside your front door then you are exactly the kind of stupid clown that brought the whole thing tumbling down. You are exactly the stupid clown who paid over the odds for a 3 bed semi-detached house made of paper, 2 hours from where you work and in so doing drove up the prices to unaffordable levels for the rest of us, which is why I live abroad.
I want to stress that I am absolutely not affiliated with the current government in any way and hate all this shit about expenses fiddling and everything else that I am hearing. I totally agree with what everyone is saying about the backslapping and brown envelopes and wink wink scratch my back for me bullshit that’s going on. The thing is, I just think it won’t go away anytime soon because they’re all at it and in my opinion it is an endemic part of Irish culture. I think it happens at every level of our society and to be honest, I rather think it it happens at every level of every society whenever people think they can get away with it.
The thing that grates with me when I try to read all the views on Ireland’s current woes and form an objective opinion of my own is that this recession is bringing out a lot of flag waving stupidity with people of the lowest intelligence and total lack of education in regard to banking, finance, economics, politics, even domestic budgeting or anything else, all sitting around debating things like NAMA and the Lisbon Treaty and the other issues of the day when the same people probably struggle to understand the voting dynamics of Big Brother, their favourite show. And that shit just pisses me off.
I want to say fair play to you Pidge because as Maggot said, it’s to your credit that you are prepared to argue your case in a hostile arena. Not only that but you articulately detailed reality. No offence Twenty but it’s obviously much easier to shout “Down with the goverment” and so on and it’s abviously much more highly entertaining to be baying for blood but I’m sure you too understand that reality is far more difficult and complicated than that. If we simply oust the government every time we have a problem with them then we go down the road of one of the revolutionary Latin American countries and I’ve spent enough time there to know that ain’t a good thing.
I definitely do think that posters or any photos of Mary Harney should be banned though, they’re horrible.
October 13th, 2009 @ 6:11 am
Fuckin’ hell!
Must be a full moon tonight or something.
October 13th, 2009 @ 8:24 am
Having read as much as I can find about the NAMA proposal, I think it’s excellent. If people disagree, I am very interested in hearing the alternatives.
How about instead of the government borrowing 54 billion to overpay banks (which have already been given billions and do have assets of their own which they could sell, but don’t want to) for bad loans and letting them fend for themselves and setting up a new national bank which doesn’t gamble on the stock market and only gives out loans to businesses that need it.
To be fair, i know very little about economics, but logically it doesn’t make any sense to overpay private companies from the taxpayers pocket. NAMA mightn’t be such a bad idea on a smaller scale, but on this scale it seems it will bankrupt the country. Besides it’s not as if the finance minister has any background in economics either.
This guy however :
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2009/1007/breaking45.htm
The thing is, I just think it won’t go away anytime soon because they’re all at it and in my opinion it is an endemic part of Irish culture Only for as long as the Irish let it happen, so if we all ignore it and say “ah sure, it’s the way things are” it’ll never change. Whereas if people kick up enough of a stink things might change.
October 13th, 2009 @ 8:25 am
(the rest of your points, i’d agree with however)
October 13th, 2009 @ 9:51 am
I’m no expert on economics either and I don’t want to get into a debate on whether NAMA is good or bad, mainly because I don’t think I know enough about it or the other options to convince anyone (myself included) one way or the other. I’ve seen enough “experts” from both sides saying their option is great and the other is terrible to know it’s a complicated issue.
My point was more the fact that, like with the global warming debate, everyone thinks they’re an expert. Every time there’s a new article full of facts everyone is clambering over eachother to throw figures around and feel like they know something the others don’t.
From what I’ve read about NAMA, as a layperson, I think it sounds a very smart move. And I am talking about the actual details of the proposal and how it will work rather than the various opinions people have expressed about it. I absolutely concede that I may be wrong but I think we’re at a point where we need to make a move or we won’t have a move to make. Fannying around until everyone is in agreement will see us all in our graves.
I agree we have to kick up a fuss to bring the necessary changes, I just meant people need to understand that none of the wink wink nod nod stuff is going to change overnight and that I don’t think a change of government now would bring about any difference in that regard.
October 13th, 2009 @ 10:59 am
I agree that Irish should be allowed vote from abroad. I think the reason it is not facilitated is because irish people tend to become more nationalist when abroad and therefore more likely to vote for Sinn Fein.
October 13th, 2009 @ 11:32 am
Fintan O’Toole well worth a read today – http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2009/1013/1224256508922.html
October 13th, 2009 @ 1:49 pm
Excellant Article by O’Toole.
October 13th, 2009 @ 1:58 pm
Yep – and now NAMA.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2009/1013/1224256508947.html
October 13th, 2009 @ 2:03 pm
I think there’s three things which I’d disagree with O’Toole on, although he’s always worth a read.
Firstly, he argues that there’s no mention of the Kenny Report, which we’ve been arguing for since our foundation, in the Programme for Government. I’m not sure if it’s mentioned in the document, but the Greens have already secured its main recommendation (or, at least, the consequence of it) by placing an 80% windfall tax on any profits made by land speculation and development. That ensures – as the Kenny report argued for – that the majority of profit made by land speculation/development accrues to the public, and not to a select group of private people. So I think he’s wrong on his point about the Kenny Report, although he’s absolutely correct on the point about rent reviews.
Secondly, his point about the PfG containing references to a bank windfall tax (or “levy” as these things now seem to be called) is a bit rubbish. If NAMA legislation didn’t call for a bank levy in the future, he’d be the first to mention it. It’s important that when those banks which can be restored are restored, that they foot any potential bill for the cost of that restoration. O’Toole criticises the levy for only kicking in when it wouldn’t force the banks under, but what else would he prefer? Would he prefer a punitive bank levy? That’d defeat the entire purpose of NAMA: why would we rescue banks with tax money only to sink them with tax bills later? Of course a bank levy should take into account their profitability – all this would be a waste of time if it wasn’t.
Thirdly and finally, he claims that all this reform is meaningless when compared with NAMA, which has succumbed to that shite idea that NAMA is somehow the only issue (or even the primary issue) facing the state financially. It’s not. Even if NAMA loses every penny of the €7 billion overpayment, that’s less than a third of what the government is borrowing this year alone.
The real issue of future debt is partially in NAMA, but not wholly so. The overwhelming amount of our debt this year is from state borrowing. The same is likely to be true for at least the next four years. And if the government dares to try and cut public expenditure, you can be sure that O’Toole will be the first to criticise.
It’s not a bad article, but his fixation on NAMA shows, to me anyway, that he’s unwilling to examine other aspects of government debt.
October 13th, 2009 @ 2:05 pm
Your thoughts on Morgan Kelly’s article on NAMA, Pidge?
October 13th, 2009 @ 2:30 pm
That Morgan Kelly piece can leave no doubt. NAMA is a confidence trick, with every shade of meaning that expression conveys.
October 13th, 2009 @ 3:42 pm
@ Mr. Weekend: Leaders are elected to lead. Ours mislead us, so no, not ‘fuck’ those who bought houses.
Inward investment – great for a while but every other economy in the World builds something off the back of it. Our gobshites didn’t. We’re screwed now because we can’t compete with Ndugu on $2 an hour.
Greens = taxing poor people under the guise of ‘enviornment’ to sustain the system. Case in point: the new ‘Motor Tax bands’ of 2008. They already have the bullshit out there about new cars being ‘greener’. They are if you keep them for 30 years ( to offset the pollution caused in making them ). Incidentally, daisys do not grow out the exhaust pipes of new cars.
I agree that there are many stupid cunts out there when it comes to voting. One comedian described it as a ‘DeValera switch on the heart’ which gets triggered in a polling booth.
Thick ( especially rural ) FF cunts are the same as VW and Ford people. They’d always buy one because their father / grandfather bought one, even if they bring out an arsehole on wheels. Same with FF.
Living in Australia you’d know a thing or two about immigration control. Our thick bastards fell asleep for 10 years. I’m all for broadening society, but the level of it here has been disproportionate and unsustainable. The govt. effectively destroyed the unskilled labour market for the benefit of their own greedy shopkeepers / Hoteliers / Publicans etc.
Lisbon my hole. Along with Britain we discriminate against Romanians and Bulgarians ( visa system though they are members ). So, half of Nigeria and China can come here en masse, but when it comes to “fellow europeans” it’s “fuck off please”.
Last but not least, you strayed off the napkin kindly provided as a background by twenty in your reply ( though there are several rumours as to where it has been ). I’m sorry Mr.Weekend, but for this you deserve to be shot.