04.28.04
Posted in Uncategorized at 12:46 pm by
Various
1. Funny website here devoted to debunking ‘Euromyths’ in the British press.
2. Am taking it easy today after frantic day shopping yesterday. Recommended reading for women of child bearing years is The Red Tent, a historical novel about Dinah, one of Jacob’s daughters. It’s an amazing story – details here. Anyway, one of the interesting things is that Jacob prospers because his several wives are extremely industrious. He has sheep; but they spin the wool; they grow food; they make clothes: they are always producing. In our more recent agricultural-based society – up to the 1970’s anyway – women were also busy; they might have sold eggs from the few hens they kept, made bread, kept a kitchen garden or knitted jumpers: they were always adding to the revenue of the house in some way.
Today’s housewives, freed from subsistence, don’t produce anything – they just consume. They occupy their minds thinking of things they need to buy and spend hours hunting for real or imagined bargains. So instead of writing pulitzer prize winning articles I went out and bought a steamer yesterday. Which I must say was a great purchase. I steamed the pototoes on one level (best ever spuds) and salmon steaks on the next level (gorgeous – wrapped in silver paper with some lemon, celery, butter and black pepper). Definitely the way to cook and I felt triumphant. Now, feeling triumphant about cooking a lovely, healthy, economic meal is not the worst thing in the world. But it shouldn’t really constitute the pinnacle of one’s week.
Or should it? Is the drive to add value an unworthy goal implanted in my head through a combination of capitalist indoctrination and catholic guilt? What is the evolved attitude? Is there a Budddhist position on this? I was clearly taught in primary school during religion class that if you had a talent and didn’t use it, that was a ’sin’. In fact, there’s a bible story about this in which the word talent is used altho’ it meant money, which is worse. Its place in the Gospels always perplexed me but it’s clearly a heavenly endorsement of investment and profit; somewhat at odds with the trashing of the traders in the temple. Is one required to fulfil one’s “life work” (say in my case, presenting the Late Late) or is it ok to relax and devote oneself to one’s family? Perhaps the steamer was a bad example. There were many more hours spent trying on summer clothes (the sun came out – always sparks a wardrobe crisis). Apart from the fact that I realised I am going to have to lose some weight, I was acutely aware that I was in a compulsive purchase zone, which is not a comforting state of mind.
I suppose, like everything else, it’s all about balance. However, one conclusion is clear: a life devoted to consumption is an unhappy one. Whether driven by economic necessity or self-actualization great satisfaction is derived from production. Maybe that’s why blogs are so popular? Hmmm……
I didn’t buy the clothes. I am going for some long walks and made a pact with myself not to buy anything until June 1st. 24 hours hasn’t passed and I feel slightly panicky but am hoping liberation will follow soon.
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04.26.04
Posted in Domestic/Relationships, Feminism, Uncategorized at 11:32 pm by
Show off Ministers
So Ireland has the presidency of the European Union. Our main function in this capacity is to tolerate daily calvacades of important looking cars speeding around accompanied by motorcycled gardai in body hugging leather. Even if you can’t see them you can hear the sirens screaming – just in case you forget. Our esteemed cabinet decided that nothing impresses consituents more than seeing their representatives whizzing by, in not one, but preferably 10, black mercs followed by hacks on junkets in white executive minivans. They came up with the stroke of conducting the meetings of the various European ministers in each of their home towns. Charlie McCreevy brought at all the Finance Ministers to Punchestown and Brian Cowen, Minister for Foreign Affairs, brought his counterparts to Tullamore.
To get to Tullamore from Dublin one passes through Enfield. Or rather, one by-passes Enfield; on the new €11m by-pass, built presumably with some finance from German taxpayers. Except, what’s the point in being in a garda escorted high speed multi-vehicle cavalcade if no one sees you? So the LAST thing you’d want to do is take the by-pass. Noooooo. If you have stuff to show off you have to someone to show off to. So that’s right. Don’t take the by-pass. Drive straight into the village…halt all the locals going about their business…stop all the traffic….its Friday morning…pensioners are out getting their money at the Post Office. The country market is on..HUGE audience. Scare the life out of all them. Maximum exposure. OBVIOUSLY you’re going to ignore the fancy new road. OBVIOUSLY you’re going to tear through the town to SHOW-OFF. What’s the point otherwise?
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Posted in Uncategorized at 9:36 am by
More Bush
Worth quoting from Maureen Dowd in today’s NYT:
In Bushworld, our troops go to war and get killed, but you never see the bodies coming home.
In Bushworld, flag-draped remains of the fallen are important to revere and show the nation, but only in political ads hawking the president’s leadership against terror.
In Bushworld, we can create an exciting Iraqi democracy as long as it doesn’t control its own military, pass any laws or have any power.
In Bushworld, we can win over Falluja by bulldozing it.
In Bushworld, it was worth going to war so Iraqis can express their feelings (”Down With America!”) without having their tongues cut out, although we cannot yet allow them to express intemperate feelings in newspapers (”Down With America!”) without shutting them down.
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04.24.04
Posted in Uncategorized at 3:08 pm by
Side effects of pregnancy
Despite all the ante-natal classes, web surfing and reading there are some well kept secrets about pregnancy. Like attempting your first bowel movement..but I won’t go into that. Today’s post declares that for the first time in about a year I wore a bra which a) fitted me b)was comfortable and c) made me look uplifted. At the risk of unnecessarily titillating (bad pun I know) my less sophisticated readers I think I should detail the serious changes a body goes through in order to produce another human being. The day I got married I wore a 30D size bra. During the pregnancy I had to keep upgrading until by the time I was due I was wearing a 36C. For the uninitiated in the bra sizing department, the number refers to the circumference of the rib cage just underneath one’s boobs. That means my rib cage had expanded 6inches throughout the pregnancy. Once the baby is born and there’s breasfeeding going on the size of the actual boob fluctuates wildly depending on time of day and general supply. At the start of the day a bra can be squeezing you and by the end of the day the material is puckered because they’ve shrunk. Anyway, I seem to have stabilised at 34D.
However, the side effects of this side effect are:
1. I had to go through my underwear drawer and fish out all the old 30D/32C perfectly good premium label bras and give them to the Vincent de Paul. About €800’s worth of lingerie which will never fit me again. That hurt.
2. I’ve still got the medium priced plain ones in the 34C/36C category which I have to hang on to for possible future use but which annoy me every time I see them.
3. Despite the fact that I’ve had to buy about 10 bras in the last year I only have 2 (one black one white) which fit me at the moment.
The investment involved here is quite considerable and is absolutely necessary. Maybe there should be a bra-subsidy for child bearing women? It’s like the VAT on tampons argument. If I’m minister I’d abolish that.
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04.22.04
Posted in Uncategorized at 10:08 pm by
Who needs a referendum?
Heard Colm MacEochaidh on the Last Word today, which I must say is pretty good these days. Anyway McEochaidh pointed out that when McDowell was AG in 2001, he advised the government to introduce legislation saying that children born to diplomats in Ireland were not automatically citizens. If he can introduce a law qualifying citizenship for one group of children born in the country why can’t he do it for another group?
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Posted in Uncategorized at 9:50 am by
Dail debates
Great craic in the Dail yesterday. From today’s IT:
Mr McDowell accused the Opposition of being “pathetic”, “petulant”, while the Labour party whip, Mr Emmet Stagg, claimed the Minister had a “unique record of being wrong on constitutional matters”, to which Mr McDowell said Deputy Stagg “has a unique combination of nastiness and unruliness”.
The Minister said the proposal had been criticised as racist, but it was “scaremongering” and “wide of the mark” to say that holding the referendum on the same day as the local and European elections would bring out racist elements in the electorate. Mr McDowell introduced the 27th Amendment to the Constitution Bill, insisting it was a “very simple” proposal.
When he said it was “important on occasion to remind Members who talk about citizenship that loyalty to this State, which has only one army, is a fundamental political duty of all citizens”, Mr Higgins retorted: “Tell that to the tax exiles as well.”
McDowell does have a terrible record on what’s constitutional and what’s not. Must compile a list.
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04.21.04
Posted in Uncategorized at 7:23 pm by
Great reasons to vote FG (not)
A bad day. First, I turn on the news to see that FG have decided to support the government’s citizenship referendum. How pathetic. There are some good arguments for sorting out our immigration problems but screwing with the constitution is not a solution. Then, I receive an email from one of our esteemed MEP’s. I had written to him asking him to explain why he had voted for the new IP patent enforcement bill in the EU. Justin monitors the situation.
So here’s the mail:
Dear Sarah,
Many thanks for your email. The vote on computer patentability took place on the 24th September 2003, this was the day that I announced by retirement from the European Parliament, so as you can imagine, it was an exceptionally busy day. Secondly, this was an area that I am not an expert on. In such a case, I ususally follow the EPP group voting line.
Best wishes,
John Cushnahan MEP
Here’s my response:
Dear John
Thanks for your reply which I will forward to my contacts in the software community. I am sure they will be impressed at the considered approach to this issue by Fine Gael. Coupled with FG’s decision to go along with Herr McDowell’s referendum its great to have such compelling reasons to vote Fine Gael.
Sarah Carey
I shall have to take this further.
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Posted in Uncategorized at 4:22 pm by
Bush spin
Here’s a very nice note by Brad de Long on the insidious little ways the spin is spun.
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Posted in Uncategorized at 4:20 pm by
John Negroponte
The brother sends this link to a photo of Johnny (formerly ambassador to Honduras during the death squad era). Note the Fox news microphone and Picasso’s Guernica. How apt.
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04.17.04
Posted in Uncategorized at 11:53 am by
More fathers
Gerry from Dublin writes: (praise omitted as questions are pertinent)
“What is your latest piece about? Absent fathers? Single fathers?…Is this crisis an accepted fact now? I didn’t realise. And why don’t they have positive role models? Are all men now officially crap? And who is poor, men? Why are men poor and not women? …..this is just a stew of feminist cliche, sociological assumptions and knee-jerk prejudices. Why are the kids fat? “
I think it’s fair to say that mid-rant I did mix up two categories. The middle class separated or divorced father and the under-class (a label I’ve decided to use since the term working class is so woefully ironic). I’m primarily referring to the latter where fathers really are absent: the poor areas with high teenage pregnancy rates. Part of the reason teenage pregnancies are so high in poor areas is because motherhood is the only status achievable for young women. It’s either that or shelf stacking. But, thanks to government supports for single mothers (which are not huge, but enough to just about survive on), the men are really only required for conception and sort-of-hanging-around. John Lonergan, the governor of Mountjoy jail will tell you that he is now seeing 3rd generation heroin addicts in his jail.
If you’re born in a certain area of Dublin, chances are you won’t know anyone who has a stable job and if you’re literate when you leave primary school you’ll be lucky. This means that boys grow up not knowing any man who lives in the home, goes out to work, provides a disciplinary force and brings his sons to play sports.
However you can see that this problem is twofold. Firstly, men have been written out of the equation. But that’s because in these same communities, traditional structures like the extended family (destroyed under council relocation programmes e.g. inner city to Tallaght) and religious influence have collapsed. In the absence of a moral force, they (men) simply abandoned their responsibilities, treated the women like shit and left. Women found they could cope quite well without them and over the last 25 years it is quite normal to have a single mother household OR the mother and the granny (who’ll be quite young herself) running the house. Meanwhile the guys are getting pissed in the pub watching The Premiership on Sky. Now, this would not necessarily mean doom for the next generation if the second problem, poverty, was properly tackled by the government. Because it’s poverty which keeps people down and destined to simply form the next generation of the socially excluded. I’ve always argued that it’s so simple to solve this without wasting billions in various social welfare payments. Primary schools. Just pore millions into primary schools. There should be hot breakfasts, lunches, good pupil/teacher ratios, free books, after school supervision, sports facilities. The schools should be havens of excellence and luxury. Instead they are rat infested and neglected while rich people don’t have to pay university fees. Thanks to the Labour party for that one…..
As we all know the reason Dublin is full of middle class successful people with relations in the country is because the peasants got free secondary education and made the best of it.
However, onto the middle classes. The separated/divorced lot. Their treatment of women, whilst not in the beating category, has earned them their isolation. Crippled with status anxiety they earned enough money to keep their wives at home and then lost all respect for them. Took them for granted while they headed for the golf course feeling smug as the women dropped the girls at ballet practice and the boys at soccer in SUVs. Then the equally educated women said, screw this, kicked them out, got jobs, and childcare and the Dad’s show up on Saturday with the latest Playstation and bring the kids to……McDonalds!! If these Dads want to stay Dads they should get out of the office and spend their weekends with their children instead of indulging themselves and snogging their secretaries at Christmas parties.
In conclusion, I think poor men can choose to stay and get a job and rich men can choose to interest themselves in domestic life. And the rich kids are fat because they eat too much and the poor kids are fat because they eat cheap food like chips.
On the teacher front here are some stats:
In the voluntary secondary schools the ratio of male to female principals is two to one.
In the community and comprehensive schools sector 72pc of male teachers hold a promotional post but only 40pc of female teachers do and they are most likely at the lower rungs of the ladder.
Last year 81pc of principalships were held by men, down 4pc on the previous year while 58pc of deputy principalships were held by men, up 2pc.
Figures from the Department also showed that 54pc of assistant principal posts were held by men last year, down 4 pc while the percentage of special duties posts held by men was up 4pc to 46pc.
Last year there were only 17 female principals of community and comprehensive schools, up four in a year. There were 37 deputy female principals, up five.
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