Mythbusters’ Adam Savage makes an eloquent case for what many regard as the dangerous double heresies of ‘science’ and ‘fact’ at the Reason Rally in Washington DC on Saturday – the world’s largest gathering of the Secular Movement.
Lest we forget: in this crazy world of ours, reason is not the norm.
Joan Burton in the Dail today on the Mahon and Moriarty tribunals and 42 threatened libel actions.
Forty two.
“The Mahon report is only one of many reports which have uncovered dodgy dealings at the interface between business and politics. Some of these reports merely confirmed what was already reported by journalists, several of whom have been silenced as a result of libel threats from powerful people anxious to avoid a media spotlight on their secretive dealings. I know a bit about this because I have been threatened with 42 libel actions. The purpose of these threats was to threaten, silence and cost journalists and people like me.
The Moriarty tribunal was established in 1997 to investigate the financial affairs of the former Taoiseach, Charles Haughey, and the former Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications, Deputy Lowry. The tribunal’s final report, which was published last year, detailed the investigation into possible links between a businessman, Denis O’Brien, and Deputy Lowry, who awarded the second mobile telephone licence to Mr. O’Brien’s consortium in 1995.
…The report stated: “it is beyond doubt that…Mr. Lowry imparted substantive information to Mr. O’Brien, of significant value and assistance to him in securing the licence.” The report also found that Mr. O’Brien made or facilitated payments to Mr. Lowry of a combined STG£447,000 and support for a loan of £420,000. The Taoiseach stated at the time of the report’s publication that the tribunal had found seriously and serially against Deputy Lowry and others who are major players in Irish business and public life. He rightly referred the report to the Garda Commissioner, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Revenue Commissioners.
There has been considerable public and political unease about the fact that Mr. O’Brien has continued to pop up at various public events, most recently at the New York Stock Exchange. However, the Taoiseach was invited to attend that stock exchange event. The organisers of the event not the Office of the Taoiseach decided who was on the balcony for the bell ringing ceremony. It is perhaps time for the Government to reflect on how it should in future interact with people against whom adverse findings have been made by tribunals.
We do not want to return to the days of, “uno Duce, una voce“, the immortal phrase which the former Fianna Fáil press secretary P.J. Mara, himself a tribunal veteran, used to describe Charles Haughey, nor do we want a Burlusconi style media-political complex with its attendant codes of omertà undermining the principles of transparent democracy. In this regard I welcome the statement by my colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, on the introduction of legislation to deal with the registration of lobbyists, ethics for public representatives and office holders and transparency in public life. We should look back to the 1830s in the United Kingdom and the great reform Acts which were introduced to clean up politics and end the rotten boroughs for election to Parliament.
We live in a Republic and the representation of each citizen should be what counts rather than the amount of money a particular citizen can spend. We can look forward to a period of reform in which this Government will change the political landscape and our capacity to report and hold to account lobbyists.
The Ten Commandments prohibited murder and envy but they did not put an end to sin. Similarly, this House needs to legislate for transparency and accountability from all elected representatives and office holders.”
Blimey.
Previously: Gilmore: “You Can’t Always Choose Who’s In The Photograph.”
(Photocall Ireland)
A mere sample. Full sized infographic after the jump.
Have a look later. Yeah, definitely later.
Sit-in at Game in the ILAC centre, Dublin, this afternoon. Top: Gemmy Cooney (4 years’ service) and second pic, from left, Des Collins (5 years’), Nathaly Artero (2 years’) and Gemma.
Statement from the staff of Game (Ireland).
As of last Monday, GAME has told all employees that they are being made redundant. The company has appointed administrators PricewaterhouseCoopers in the UK to look after the stores that are being closed in the UK but they have failed to appoint an administrator to the business in the Republic of Ireland.
We have only been told to make a claim to the state for our statutory redundancy entitlements, a process which we have not been offered any support with and which we understand will take over a year to complete whilst GAME and PricewaterhouseCoopers walk away from any responsibility or liability in the Republic of Ireland, even whilst they have asked us to remove all company assets back to the UK, which we believe puts them out of reach of any Irish creditors.
We believe GAME and PricewaterhouseCoopers are making us a burden on the Irish state and Irish tax payer, whilst avoiding their responsibilities. Employees have not been given any of the paperwork or information required to claim redundancy from the state. We were instead given information about UK redundancy procedures. We were informed that we would not be paid redundancy or any statutory or contractual notice periods or any outstanding annual leave.
GAME and PricewaterhouseCoopers is still trading as a going concern in the UK and we feel that they should pay us the wages and entitlements we are due including statutory notice and redundancy payments rather than forcing us to spend a year our families do not have claiming our entitlements from the Irish state and taxpayers.
GAME and PricewaterhouseCoopers can expedite these payments and allow staff to pay their mortgages and feed their families without having to wait as much as 16 months for their just entitlements.
We, the employees of Game Ireland, believe the way we are being treated is wholly unfair and unjust. We are now sitting in our stores as a form of protest until GAME and PricewaterhouseCoopers address our concerns.
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Game Ireland Fight (Facebook)
Previously: Occupy Game Street
(Laura Hutton/Photocall Ireland)
Thanks Dermot Bohan
The Dropping Well pub car park, Milltown, Dublin, this lunchtime.
Thanks Jim Redmond
UPDATE: half an hour later in the same spot.
Meet Huug Bosse, a Dutch man who had hip surgery a couple of years ago, and hasn’t stopped laughing since. His wife finds it annoying, his brother and daughter have become exasperated, but all Mr. Bosse can do in response is slap his knee and laugh uncontrollably.
One possible diagnosis of Huug’s uncontrollable laughter is pseudobulbar affect, a neurological disorder sometimes caused by stroke or minor brain damage that causes emotional outbursts.
Dutch Man Can’t Stop Laughing After Hip Surgery He Had 2 Years Ago (Oddity Central)
