05.21.07
Posted in Uncategorized at 11:14 am by Sarah
Had a great trip to London. I love London. I love the Tube, the architecture, the buzz. I hate sterling. uuugh.
Niall Quinn was following me for a bit. He and Mark Lawrenson were on the plane. They are both very tall. I knew Quinn was but was surprised at Lawrenson. Anyway, then Quinn showed up in the pub that night. I respected his space and he returned the favour and left me alone. 
We were going over to support the artists in this show, and then took in some other cultural events including the Anthony Gormley at the Hayward which was truly amazing. It starts before you get into the gallery. As you approach the South Bank you see the statues on top of nearby buildings. And the Barbican has two sides covered in grass. Then inside there is a series of installations which I found really exciting. Thoroughly recommend it for anyone visiting London.
After that over to the Tate Modern to see the Seagram Rothko’s. They’ve moved to a brighter smaller room and it was a bit crowded but even still they are breathtaking – portals to Hell, or the other side at least. I’ll go again on a quiet day.
That night we went to see Jessica Lange star in The Glass Menagerie. I thought the first half could’ve had more pace but a wonderful production all the same, and so sad. One top tip though: I booked the tickets from London Theatre Direct. I clicked on seating layout and was shown two levels – stalls and balcony. The stall tickets were £57 and the balcony £22.50. I thought, feck that, sure the balcony will be grand. On arrival we discovered there were two more levels – dress circle and upper circle which the website had neglected to display, so balcony meant “the attic”. I was raging. Fortunately the Gods were on our side and the balcony was closed that night and we got promoted to the Dress Circle. A woman from the Upper Circle stood beside me and argued with the usher that SHE should get promoted and not us grubby balcony people. I was right beside her as she tried to do me out of my upgrade! The nerve. Fortunately the proletarian young man was having nothing to do with her and we got great seats. AND the price on the tickets was only £19.50. So London Theatre Direct is London Trickery. Avoid.
We were cultured out at that stage and confined ourselves to long lunches and Harrods after that.
On the way home there were a LOT Of men on the flight – Cup Final people on the way home. They didn’t look too happy. ManU fans obviously. Personally I was glad Chelsea won. Jose need a break. The dog story was the last straw….
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05.15.07
Posted in Uncategorized at 8:15 pm by Sarah
I avoided the news all day. Didn’t want to feel pukey.
Then caught the 9pm news. Alright, alright, I acknowledge that the personalities of Blair/Ahern blended very well and they developed a fantastic working relationship which had great results for NI.
Here endeth gesture of magnaminity.
Now, bloggers, I am off on the tear to London for a few days. So no blogging and no getting involved in comments. I am going to miss the debate!!! I am raging.
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Posted in Domestic/Relationships at 1:09 pm by Sarah
Hee hee. Ok, Top marks, in fairness, totally neutrally, to the wag in Fine Gael who thought this up…
I voted for Roche even though technically Michael Martin did more damage.
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Posted in Uncategorized at 12:01 pm by Sarah
Dermot Keyes of the Munster Express wrote this feature on RTV etc. He had the excellent sense to ask moi for my opinion. Obviously I am therefore obliged to publish his article here…(format might be screwed up but honestly, can’t be arsed fixing it now)
“For the first time in the history of general elections in this state,
the Internet is being extensively used by individual candidates and
political parties to transmit their message to the electorate.
Once more, young voters have been targeted as an area where gains can
be made, especially in constituencies such as Carlow/Kilkenny, where the
fifth and possibly fourth seats will be savagely contested.
Young adults surf the web in their leisure time more than anyone else,
so it’s no surprise to see politicians and parties double clicking,
podcasting, blogging and the like. After all, it’s cool to be down with
the young folk and all that sort of thing, is it not (or should that be
innit? : Ed).
However, statistics from every previous national poll indicate that the
first time voter demographic traditionally produces the lowest turnout
of all.
And with thousands of students sitting exams across the country on May
24th, many who would like to vote will not be in a position to get home
to do so.
But what about those who are undecided about voting never mind choosing
a candidate? Well, this is where one particular website is aiming to
make its mark.
‘Rock the Vote’ is a campaign based on the American model which has
encouraged young US citizens to exercise their democratic right come
election day. So will it work over here?
The website, www.rockthevote.ie, is encouraging young voters to get out
and do the same in Ireland come May 24th and its organisers are
delighted with the response it has received to date.
Daire Hickey of Rock The Vote Ireland explains how the project came
about.
“The idea came from Patrick Cosgrave, who was a student at Trinity
College Dublin where he studied politics and finished his degree,” Hickey
told The Munster Express.
“Over a few pints, he asked some of his class mates who they’d be
voting for in the election and many of them said that they wouldn’t be
voting at all, which really surprised him.
Having heard of the ‘Rock The Vote’ model adopted on Stateside,
Cosgrave (founder and CEO of Rock The Vote Ireland) successfully sought
approval from its American founders to use the title here.
The website features a host of videos featuring well-known Irish
personalities, including Bosco, encouraging young citizens to make their way
to a polling station come election day.
Rock The Vote’s serious work began last November in advance of the
election campaign and getting celebrities and media bodies to echo its
message certainly hasn’t done the campaign any harm when it comes to
publicity.
“We’ve been so happy with all the people that we’ve got on board,”
Daire Hickey continued. “We got Colin Farrell for an hour and a half, which
was fantastic; it was great for the campaign and hopefully will help
our message to get out there.
“I think that Rock The Vote is subtle in getting its message out there
and will hopefully lead many young people to see voting as being
something which is very important for them to do.”
But can campaigns like this succeed in making politics hip with young
adults?
“Hmmmmmmm,” typed Sarah Carey in an email last Thursday. As one of the
country’s best known bloggers, the Sunday Times columnist is better
placed than most when commenting on matters online.
“To me, RTV looks like its trying really hard to be cool, and sometimes
that’s not cool,” began the author of GUBU (www.sarahcarey.ie).
“But me and cool have always been distant cousins so what would I know?
Still, someone’s trying. So I guess it’s worthy. You’ll have to ask a
teenager to get a qualified answer!”
Sarah shared the contention that Election ’07 marks a new departure
when it comes to our political parties embracing a more comprehensive use
of the internet during the campaign.
“All the parties’ websites have clearly had a lot of money spent on
them! Voters can check out policies, candidates and all the day’s press
releases on each site. It’s a fantastically calm and considered way to
examine each party’s policies on the issues that matter to you.
Added Carey: “However, I think the parties still see the Internet in
purely inbound terms- i.e. voters going to their websites. They should be
working harder on their outbound strategies – viral and social
networking marketing skills.
“The Green Party sends me regular press releases and invited bloggers
to their national conference. They were the only party to do this.”
While political online efforts have greatly intensified since 2002 with
local candidates including Councillor Paudie Coffey and Senator John
Paul Phelan creating pages on youth networking site Bebo, nothing is
likely to eclipse pressing the flesh.
Research indicates that voters are more likely to vote for someone they
talk to on their doorstep than by any other means.
Yet in this age of longer working hours, many candidates may not get
the chance to set out their stall to those voters who spend much of their
working day in front of a computer.
So have politicians, mindful of citizens’ decreasing levels of domestic
downtime at home, brought their message to the web in an intensive,
intimate manner?
“Well, only as part of the usual marketing mix,” Sarah Carey reflected.
“Online to a politician will always be a poor relation to doorstepping,
and I can see why…
“However, a wise politician will devote more resources and time to the
online part of their campaign. This is especially so in affluent urban
areas where the middle classes like to do their research online.
However, as I said above, think outbound, not inbound. Don’t expect them all
to come to you.”
Rock The Vote also offers www.mycandidate.ie in which all candidates
have been invited to post their credentials and main policy positions.
Looking at the Waterford page, only one of the 11 candidates has
offered a reply for the ‘Interesting Fact’ slot, so take a bow Brian O’Shea.
For the record, that fact states: “On one occasion Brian managed to win
a seat on three local authorities – Tramore Town Commissioners,
Waterford Corporation and Waterford County Council.”
Indeed, a cursory glance across all the candidates’ contributions
indicated that Deputy O’Shea spent the most time of all in filling out the
fact sheet provided by the site to all election candidates.
“The website has got huge hits so far,” said Daire Hickey. “We’ve had
300-odd responses from 400-odd candidates and we’re hopeful that some of
the candidates in Waterford might take some time between now and the
election to say something more on their pages.”
The six major political party leaders all have blogs on Rock the Vote,
again a first in Irish election history.
“Ideally, the leaders will update their blogs each Tuesday, but that’s
up to each of the party leaders to honour that,” he continued.
“You can make comments as well on the blog, each of which are being
written with young people in mind.
“When you look at a lot of the newspaper, television and radio coverage
of the election, very little of it is directed at 18 to 24-year-olds,
so we hope that we’re rowing against the media tide in that respect.”
While the Internet will never present politicians with babies to kiss
or a host of other clichéd election photo opportunities, it’s clear that
the web is being embraced by those in power as well as those who covet
it. Who’d have thought that a mouse on your work desk could affect the
future of the country? “
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Posted in Domestic/Relationships at 9:54 am by Sarah
on Morning Ireland…
good and bad.. I only came in half way through. He scored one point well regarding the mobile phones etc in Portlaoise. McD was banging on about personal responsibility ie blaming the prison officers. Downes asked him why the personal responsibility didn’t apply to him and reminded him of what’d say were he in opposition. So a few points there.
They moved onto economics and McD did a Pat Rabitte as Minister for Finance nightmare scenario of higher taxes. He said, in outraged tones! that Rabitte had ACTUALLY said ON THE RECORD that he “would afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted”. My response to that is, em, what’s wrong with that? Downes was neutral enough here.
However Downes clearly didn’t know his stuff on the next point. He tackled him quite strongly on how competitiveness had decreased during the last 5 years because employer costs had risen 30% and whatever factory they were broadcasting from would close if costs continued to rise. McD went on a side track about the need for competition and stressed energy competition and how the PDs would ensure competition which would see costs decrease. He KEPT talking about energy. Downes clearly didn’t know that the energy regulator has INCREASED prices to make it worthwhile for new entrants into the energy market. Competition has directly resulted in higher prices, not lower. Pity.
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05.14.07
Posted in Domestic/Relationships at 8:50 pm by Sarah
Alright, alright, Karen wrote to me extolling the virtues of the wonderful Mark who, after some brief examination on his myspace site does seem like a worthy chap.
I suppose a transfer after Fergus and Mairead wouldn’t hurt….
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Posted in Uncategorized at 10:39 am by Sarah
Poor John. You wanted to give him a big hug as he reported his devastation on Marian on Sunday morning and fair dues to him he refused to give in to begrudgery about block voting.
I watched the whole show. It was brilliant. Lots of the songs were really really good pop songs and the production was just outstanding. I think it was one of the best shows in recent memory. Its easy to sneer at the get up of the Ukrainians, but that was a good disco song. And so there’s still a lot of heavy metal out there. It rocks! Me and the husband were head banging away, (well, gentle head banging) for the night. Last year’s winners rocked!
The Serbian winning song was great and had a cool lesbian thing going on. Butch lead singer in the suit with dollybird backing singers crowding round her. AND she had the Johnny Logan “uh” (like being in pain uh) factor..its that moment where in order to reach the note and display passion for the lyrics, the singer bends their legs, like they are about to crouch down, and holds the non-microphone hand in a fist, drawing it down from head to chest height. Johnny used it all the time. The sisters and I judge all acts on their ability to replicate this movement.
But there were lots of songs that could have won. The Moldovan was cool. GREAT song and the underwear! She had it all going on. Can’t find a link anywhere, but black leather trousers slashed at the hip….
So what about us? It was embarrasing. It’s not a bad song. In fact, it sounded like plenty of other songs on the night. It was the production. F*cking cringe. All you needed was a leprechaun. Cathy, tripping around the stage with the bowran and the laids not miming very well – one guy had a poloneck. A POLONECK? And she had some stage Irish mock tudor gimmicky dress. The winning song was HUGE, BIG VOICE, MASSIVE production. A traditional Irish band for small venues just didn’t cut it.
If Westlife sang the song it would have been fine.
So can we just put Louis Walsh in charge next year please?
Brits were hilarious though. It was Buck’s Fizz meets, I don’t what…We have them 7 points and put them ahead of us. Spain went with a boyband which was fine but they should’ve sung in English. Big mistake.
Thanks.
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05.13.07
Posted in Domestic/Relationships at 3:07 pm by Sarah
Yes Bertie, everyone can understand that. Anyone who is separated could have found themselves accepting briefcases full of cash in their office which they stash in their girlfriend’s account. You know, I keep waiting for him to use the Fr. Ted line “that money was just RESTING in my account”.
It DOESN’T MATTER WHAT THE MONEY WAS FOR. If he was handing it out to the hungry it doesn’t matter!!!!! He took cash and didn’t declare it and HE WAS THE MINISTER FOR FINANCE………
I’d love to meet Aengus Fanning sometime, but they’ll have to get excavators to rescue him from Bertie’s arsehole at this stage.
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Posted in Domestic/Relationships, Feminism at 3:03 pm by Sarah
I thought I understood the law on abortion until the Miss D case was heard last week. Its complexities left me utterly confused which appeared to place me in the same boat as many fine legal minds. Now that we have Mr Justice Liam McKechnie’s judgement, the law appears to be this: the right to life of the unborn cannot interfere with the right to travel for an abortion.
This means that any pregnant woman, even a teenager in the care of the state must be allowed travel for an abortion regardless of the circumstances. She might need the abortion if her life is at risk, if the baby is unviable or if it was conceived under unfavourable astrological conditions. Not only can she go, but if any agency or officer of the State tries to uphold the right to life of the unborn child by stopping her, they will lose their case in court and get a slap on the wrist from the judge for even trying. Is it official now? Ireland has state sanctioned abortion on demand provided it takes place in England. And whose fault is it? With delicious irony, Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you: the Pro-Life movement.
This whole sorry mess started in 1983 when the Garret Fitzgerald led government rejected the Fianna Fail proposed referendum on abortion. Peter Sutherland was the Attorney General who examined the wording and warned Garret and his cabinet that the amendment was flawed on several counts, one of which was that it could actually enshrine the right to an abortion in the constitution. What followed was an extremely bitter debate in which Fine Gael was accused of trying to introduce abortion into Ireland. The fact that the X case proved Sutherland right has become irrelevant. The subsequent referenda on travel and information all follow from this foolish 1983 so-called “pro-life” amendment.
Let’s do a quick summary of the political position today: Labour is the only party willing to commit to legislation for abortion in this country. Fine Gael and Fianna Fail have specifically stated they have no plans to provide legislation. The Progressive Democrats and the Green Party have no policy at all and Sinn Fein has issued a statement which includes key words like “compassion” but says absolutely nothing about their plans to legislate. They say the decision rests with the woman, but given this distinct lack of enthusiasm for legislation the decision appears to incorporate deciding whether to fly Aer Lingus or Ryanair.
And who can blame them? We get the politicians we deserve who work on the issues that we demand. If Irish people really wanted to deal with our dirty linen and sort out abortion once and for all, then politicians would give in to those demands. Instead the political consensus is preservation of the status quo. Here’s what that means: Every year, Irish women in their thousands should buy cheap airline tickets and slip off to England to deal with their unseemly little problems. When they come back they should keep quiet so we can pretend that there’s no abortion in Ireland. And if any complicated cases should come to court, could they please, unlike the uncooperative Miss D, pretend they are suicidal? Then the campaigners on either side can sit back and shriek about the disgrace of it all.
If you’re pro-life it’s a disgrace that judges are bringing in abortion. If you are pro-choice it’s a disgrace that women are forced into court. Everyone else is spared the challenge of working out their own position in a logical manner.
Logic of course, has been a distant relation of the abortion debate. I met a canvasser yesterday who said one woman mentioned it on the doorsteps. She was delighted that Enda Kenny wouldn’t try to introduce abortion into Ireland but that she was worried about Labour. Doesn’t she get it? Are these pro-lifers so blinded by their passion that they cannot see that we have abortion? Do they really believe that taking the life of an unborn child in England rather than Ireland somehow negates the act? But since these hysterics shout loudest then Fianna Fail and Fine Gael are afraid of them.
The time has come for political action and we are all going to have to be sensible about it. Let’s go through the main parties again. Labour’s policy is the one that I favour. They are committed to bringing forward legislation to provide for the termination of pregnancy where there is a risk to the life of the woman, including the risk of suicide; where foetal abnormality is such that the foetus will never be born alive (like Miss D’s case), and where there is a risk of significant injury to the physical health of the mother. The pro-lifers will jump up and down about this but I firmly believe a majority of people in the country would agree to abortion in these circumstances.
Legislating for the circumstances outlined by Labour is sensible and the least that the women of Ireland deserve. Irish women who discover that their baby cannot live or that their own health is dangerously at risk should not have to go to England like criminals in order to have a termination. Their doctors are denied important medical records and the babies don’t get post mortems. In fact, in 2002, the then masters of the three main maternity hospitals agreed that terminations in cases like Miss D should be available in Ireland.
In order for these proposals to have some hope of being passed in the Dail and without the debate descending into hysteria Fianna Fail and Fine Gael must change their positions. Fine Gael will have to get over the hammering they took from their conservative base so many years ago. Perhaps an election win might give them some confidence on the issue. Fianna Fail has been in power for 13 of the 15 years since the X case and refused to bring in legislation. Their policy is to do nothing when in power and oppose legislation when not in power.
It’s easy to blame the HSE for Miss D’s problems, but the truth is if we don’t ask our politicians to provide legislation then her plight is our fault.
There is no point complaining about the trauma Miss D has suffered unless those with a liberal attitude to abortion demand legislation. Thousands of women in Ireland have had abortions. Other woman should be capable of putting themselves in their shoes. All those women have husbands and partners and friends. Where are their voices? Down the pub grumbling about the HSE and Miss D instead of on the streets pushing our politicians off the fence.
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Posted in Uncategorized at 2:59 pm by Sarah
Hurrah! Longford beat Westmeath. Hurrah hurrah hurrah.
Why my interest? Because Longford’s manager Luke Dempsey is my most excellent cousin (in fact, the spit of my brother Edward for anyone who knows him). But MOST particularly because those shits in Westmeath dumped him a few years ago and hired Mr Know it All Paidi O’Shea who dumped them sometime later.
So it was personal, which makes sports so much more exciting.
Now if ONLY Luke would run for FG somewhere….
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