It’s a big club.
And you ain’t in it.
Any excuse
Yearly Archives: 2013
Get a hanky.
As you may know Irish farmers have just finished sowing their winter cereal crops….including oilseed rape.
Dr Dara Stanley writes:
I wanted to let you know about a study we have been doing In Trinity College Dublin on crop pollination by bees and other pollinators in Ireland.
Our paper [published online today – link below] found that oilseed rape crops produce 27% less seed when not visited by pollinators, which amounts as a benefit of €3.9 million of oilseed rape pollination to Irish Economy.
Oilseed rape flowers that were pollinated only by wind, where bees and other insects were excluded, produced on average 27% less seed than those that were visited by insects”
Fantastic.
G’wan the bee and others.
However, the story is not all good news. A recent EU ban on certain neo-nicotinoid pesticides for use on flowering crops is based on evidence that these pesticides can harm bees; and these pesticides are commonly used in oilseed rape, especially as seed dressings. This indicates a mismatch between the benefits of pollination to the crop and harmful impacts of pesticides on bees.
Thanks, Dr Buzzkill.
Mmf.
Pollinators and pollination of oilseed rape crops (Brassica napus L.) in Ireland: ecological and economic incentives for pollinator conservation (Dr Dara Stanley, Dara A. Stanley, Daryl Gunning, Jane C. Stout
April, 2013
Today
You’ll recall the slab of concrete that was built as a ‘traffic calming measure’ at Dame Street and Lord Edward Street outside Dublin Castle.
It was built without planning permission at a cost of €15,000. In April, The Sunday Times reported it would cost €4,000 to be destroyed.
Wahey.
Previously: Slab City
Via Caroline Kennedy
What you may need to know
1. Will Ferrell produced a TV mini series. Everybody wants a bit of TV action these days.
2. Tobey Maguire! Remember when he was a thing?
3. Kristen Wiig! Refuses to do superfluous Bridesmaids (2011) sequel! WE LOVE HER.
4. @ ’20 – KIILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLMER!
5. @ ’46 it’s Haley Joel Osment, from The Sixth Sense (1999) – no, seriously.
6. Truth be told, this looks kind of awesome.
Release Date: Winter
H/t Baz.
During Leaders’ Questions this morning Independent TD Stephen Donnelly took issue with the cut in Jobseeker’s Allowance for under 25-year-olds, from €144 to €100, while 25-year-olds will get €144 instead of €188.
Stephen Donnelly: “Taoiseach, with respect, there’s only one group of people here today and yesterday who are insulting the motivation of young people and that is the group of people you were saying you need to cut their social protection to get them to work. Because that is the logic that is being used. Minister Howlin came in here yesterday and said, I quote: ‘I am pleased to announce no reduction in the basic rates of social welfare for the people of working age’. He then announced a reduction in the rates of basic social welfare rates for people under 26. Are people under 26 not of working age? I’m confused. And then the Tánaiste on national radio this morning added insult to injury by saying ‘it’s not a cut’. In double speak, worthy of George Orwell, he explained it wasn’t a cut, the Government was simply ‘extending the lower rate to these people’. Extraordinary stuff. Here’s what Aideen Carbery, the chairperson of Labour Youth said about it: ‘It’s fundamentally unfair. It is our opinion that it will cause people to emigrate. We watched on with a sense of sadness and concern I don’t think that the problem with the unemployment crisis in this country is training. The issue is that there are not enough jobs.’ Labour Youth. Most of our young, unemployed are graduates. They are highly-educated and taking low-paid work to make ends meet. Taoiseach, this cut, not only displays a complete misunderstanding of the unemployment challenge faced by our youth. It’s not just bad economics, it’s discriminatory. This, to me, and I mean this most sincerely, this is an issue of human rights. You would not, and none of us would, I hope, come in here and say ‘we are cutting basic social protections to non-whites, to women, to Muslims but that’s exactly what you’ve done. You’ve targeted a group of people based on age. So, Taoiseach, my question to you is this: Do you accept that this cut discriminates based on age? Do you accept that that is not how we should do business in this country? Do you accept that these people are equal citizens in our country? And will you ask Minister Burton to remove this from the Social Protection Bill before it comes before this House? Thank you.”
Watch here
Previously: ‘We’re not cutting their benefits’
Related: Labour Youth condemns cuts in social welfare for young people
Phew.
Not so fast.
Eamon Gilmore went on RTE R1’s Morning Ireland earlier to explain [to presenter Gavin Jennings} the budget cuts stuff that’s happened to benefits to people under 26.
Caution: It gets a bit ORWELLIAN.
Gavin Jennings: “How will cutting a young person’s dole payment incentivise them into work?”
Eamon Gilmore: “It’s not about incentivising them into work. This government believes that young people should be at work, in education or in training. And that is why we have committed to the Youth Guarantee, this is the idea that no young person under the age of 25 should be out of work or out of education or training for more than four months.”
Jennings: “But then why are you cutting their benefits?”
Eamon Gilmore: “We’re not cutting their benefits.”
Jennings: “But you are. From 188 to 144 or 144 to 100 Euros.”
Gilmore: “Those payments are already in place. What we are doing is extending the age at which those payments will apply.”
Jennings: “You’re cutting the payments to people between 22 and 25 this morning. “Just to be clear.
Gilmore: “Well to be clear about it, what this Government is about is ensuring that young people have a job or have education or training. We do not believe, let’s be very clear about it, this government does not believe that somebody should go on to an employment payment at 18 and still be on it continuously at the age of 25 -26.”
Jennings: “Are you saying it is their fault that they’re not taking up places in jobs and you’re going to punish them for it?”
Gilmore: It’s not their fault. It is the Government’s responsibility to ensure that employment and education and training is provided
Jennings: “But you’re punishing them?”
Gilmore: “And that is why in this Budget we have provided for an additional 500 million Euros package to create employment and generate the jobs into which these young people go. But we also know that for young people to take up employment opportunities they have to have the appropriate education and training and that is why too this budget has 740 million Euros in it for the further education and training sector and why we have in addition provided for 14 million additional Euros for the Youth Guarantee Project for which there is matching European funding.”
Listen here
(Photocall Ireland)
Korean artist Doh-Ho Suh’s intricately detailed (and featherlight) models of random items from his Manhattan apartment sculpted in extraordinary detail – right down to the manufacturer’s label – from polyester fabric.
The wireframe pieces form part of an upcoming exhibition entitled Specimen Series at Hong Kong’s Lehmann Maupin gallery.
A pleasing combination of 4-5 second loops stitched together to form papery vehicular dioramas by Dutch VFX artist Pingo van der Brinkloev.
‘Everything is straight out of Cinema 4D’, sez he. Damn. We so wanted it to be paper.