Enough damage, you're fired, get out.

"More than enough done, only one thing left to do."

No, you may not have a national consensus government to bide time while you cover up more of the connections between your buddies and the mismanagement of the banking and building bubbles.

No, you may not continue to fudge the problems, while you lie to us, throw good money after bad, and build an Ireland where the prospects for our children looks far worse than it did for us.

No. You are not fooling us with saying it was all "international factors". It wasn't international factors that got the overpaid financial regulator to engage in light touch regulation of your banking buddies, gave tax breaks to an overheating construction sector filled with more of your buddies, and led thousands of people into a trap by talking up the economy while they were burdening themselves with crippling debt.

Fake Feminism for pro-war purposes

We are currently seeing a renewed effort to rebrand Afghanistan as a war for Human Rights, and in particular Women's rights.

The current issue of TIME Magazine has a front cover photo of an 18 year old Afghan woman called Aisha whose nose has been cut off and the headline "What happens if we leave Afghanistan".
The Editorial and other stories and interviews go on to tell us all about the horrific treatment of women by the Taliban. And I have no reason to doubt any of the claims of brutal oppression. What I don't believe is the Editorial assertion that "We do not run this story or show this image either in support of the U.S. war effort or in opposition to it."

lies about torture, and uncomfortable truths about a kidnapping case in Iraq,

I remember reading a few cases of torture where the detainees where forced to sign false confessions.

There is the case of the the Tipton Three, British Muslims, who the US said were in Afghanistan with Al Qaeda in 2000. The problem with that is, their passports, travel records, employers, all show that they didn't leave the UK in 2000. MI5 actually backs up their story.

Another example is the case of Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi. He was tortured by the Egyptians (one of the CIA's favourite places to 'outsource' torture).
He signed documents that were used the sole source to "prove" a link between Iraq and Al Qaeda. This was then used in a speech by Bush in 2002 to persuade Congress to get behind the invasion of Iraq, then just a few months away. Powell also repeated the same garbage at the UN.

He later said, it was false, and he signed it so they would stop torturing him.
He claimed that his interrogators staged a mock burial, locking him in a box for 17 hours, and after they let him back up, they punched and beat him until he agreed to sign the detailed confession.

The only people who benefited from this torture, were the ones who wanted a convincing argument to attack Iraq, and didn't care that the argument was a work of fiction.

Torture is terrorism. It's politically motivated and has nothing to do with saving lives.

Wikileaks criticised by the White House.

Wikileaks releases over 90,000 classified reports from Afghanistan, a war that's being going badly (as EVERY attempt in history to occupy that country has done) and where the media reports are about as open and informative as the burkas some of the women are forced to wear by local fanatics.

The cables paint a picture of a different war from the re-assurances we've been spoon-fed. Some hints of the reality came out from McChrystal's statements about civilian casualties and some of his staff remarks that they are 'losing this f*c&ing thing'.
Reports available from Wikileaks and the Guardian Newspaper contain accounts of Polish troops raining mortars on a wedding party, of British troops killing civilians, of collusion between the ISI and Taliban, of the Taliban shooting down helicopters with anti-aircraft missiles, and of US troops killing and maiming the locals. In one case, it gives a report of an American base that was over-run by insurgents, abandoned by the surviving soldiers.

New Dictionary definitions thanks to NAMA and FF

Dictionary of NAMA.

Bailout (verb, noun)

1. To remove water from a flooded area, such as Cork or Galway after a river breaks its banks.

2. To put taxpayers money into a bank after it has been broken by unregulated greed.

Chuggers - Charity Muggers. No thanks.

"Chuggers. " Either sounds like a theme bar or an insult. I'm sure you've met them. The practiced smile, extended hand and polished sales pitch.
"Hey, you look like a decent person, you wouldn't refuse to help (orphans, AIDS victims, the blind... etc)"
Usually young and energetic, and dressed in a bright uniform, with a clipboard full of forms ready to take your bank details.
Now, I've worked for charities AND I've worked for banks, and I would not give someone a form that contained all my banking details AND my signature. The potential for fraud is too high.
One Chugger tried to reassure me by saying there's the same info on a cheque. Well, that's why I don't have a cheque book.
I ask them to give me the form so I can set it up myself. Nope. I figure they're working on commission. Well, if they care more about their commission than the people they're supposed to be helping, they can take their fake 'buddy smile' somewhere else. I'll donate without their 'help'.

Mayor Kiely does it again. Jail the beggars!!!!

According to the front page of this week's Limerick Chronicle, our fearless Mayor is jumping to our rescue from another great peril.
He wants new laws brought in to give powers to Gardaí to stop people begging on the streets of Limerick City. He has the backing of the manager of Brown Thomas!
The mayor says that he had been approached by three beggars and found them "a complete annoyance to shoppers and it is time something was done about them".

I'd also prefer if there were no beggars so what's the wonderful cure, Mayor?
Mayor Kiely intends talking to the city manager and the Gardaí to see if new bye-laws can be brought in to prevent begging, and urges the TDs to see if legislation is needed.

Really? To do what? Tell them it's illegal, move on or be arrested? So that they can end up in court and prison (costing over 300 /day and being around criminals and drugs in our already overcrowded prison system).

In Limerick city, we have beggars, some are simply homeless, some are Romanian gypsies, begging while selling old copies of Big Issues, others are homeless because they are addicted to alcohol or another drug.

Secret Banking Inquiry? Shows how obedient we are that they even propose it.

So, Fianna Fáil wants to hold the Bank Inquiry in secret?
Of course they do. Not for any decent reason (to get more evidence)
but the usual formula;

• to control what is made available to the public
• as an excuse not to answer questions ("that's under review by the inquiry, I wouldn't like to prejudice that process")
• and when the whitewash is done, to point at the conclusions that there were systemic faults but no personal blame can be attached to anyone, unless they've already been laid low enough to be used as sacrificial lambs.
  

And the Irish public will probably let them do it too.

Never mind that the 'Financial Regulator' didn't do his job -

• he carried out less than 25% of the checks he should have
• he didn't check that the banks were being prudent (and before being regulator, he worked in the prudence section of the Central Bank)

He got a lovely big payoff when he retired, rather than being fired for incompetence and lack of productivity. Was it hush money?
Obviously the Minister for Finance and the Government allowed this situation to go on, because in the short term it created jobs, and grasping politicians always think in the short term. Let the next govt deal with the burst bubble, and we'll blame it on 'external factors'.
We know it wasn't just external factors.