There’s a bail out special on RTE Radio One right now, announcement due around 6.30pm on this bailbollocky.
Conveniently I am immersed in a book about the depression in 1931.
Fantastic turn out at the march yesterday, fair play to the plain people of Ireland on an effin freezing cold day. Powerful stuff. Christy singing to Joe McNamara.
The implications of the bail out for the poor in Ireland are terrifying. Sovereignty was about the only thing protecting them and with that gone it’s open season on social welfare, old age pensions, health, minimum wage, education, students and so on. Before the boom it might surprise people to know that there was a small sense of social conscience from the govt (regardless of political affiliation since I lived there under both Fianna Fail and Fianna Gael govts). There was some understanding of what being poor actually meant and what was a living wage, even a basic one. I’ve a hard time imagining that decisions taken by a non-elected body, who have no experience of living in the country and whose only goal is the recuperation of their billions will have any consideration for these people and what they live with.
Carl O’Brien had a series of moving articles about suicide in The Irish Times this week. Each day another story was told. What came through in all of them was how ill-equipped the mental health system was to help any of these individuals. There was no effective front line response whatsoever when their loved ones sought support for the individual who went on to die by suicide. That was the mental health system under the boom times, add the undoubted savage cuts that are coming to this system and the increase in the suicide rate as people crumble under the stress they’re living with and what will we have then?
The mild mannered Bryan Dobson betrays his (and the country’s) annoyance in questioning a belligerent Brian Lenihan who is like Tufty the Squirrel no icecream truck will ever knock me down, not even if I happen to be driving one into the wall.
Have the IMF already introduced austerity measures on Nob Nation podcasting — we went over there hoping for big time treasure given the endless material all week — and only found the Cork Special with Roy Keane.
Emotions are stirred, indeed. Vin B attempting to Address the slither. (go to 13.32) “A time of great shame and despondency” (on self determination) and on and more. “Shameful, humiliating … the sense of arrogance at the root of what caused this crisis shows no sign of abating… ” ” a sense of delusion among the Fianna Fail leadership … they don’t seem to know the gravity of what’s happening..” “We are inviting the IMF in” … “You guys are completely delusional … this is being forced upon us …”
The unbelievable slime from this FF politician, you couldn’t find such in the largest, most over populated, prone to lack of cleaning fish tank! Audacious slime!
Following this, latter days, has almost proved a full time job. Gratitude to my amigos/amigas on the South side there for keeping me abreast and translating.