Yearly Archives: 2014

Pieta House, LucanPieta House in Lucan, Co Dublin

Pieta House is a free of charge suicide and self-harm crisis centre which first opened in Lucan in 2006.

It now has nine centres throughout Ireland and has supported and counselled more than 14,000 people, with almost 4,000 of those seeking help in 2013.

Tara Walsh writes:

“Pieta House will host an open day in all of their centres throughout the country this Saturday, September  6 from 2pm to 4pm ahead of Suicide Awareness Week. All are welcome to come take a tour of the counselling rooms, meet the therapists and have questions answered. Centres are located in Dublin, Limerick, Cork, Tuam, Roscrea and Castleisland.”

Pieta House

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The Israeli Embassy, Dublin last month (top) and Ambassador Boaz Modai

“In one of the rallies, which took place near the Israeli embassy a few weeks ago, some foolish people raised a sign saying “Free Gaza”. The last thing Hamas is interested in is freedom as Hamas like ISIS, oppresses Christians, persecutes homosexuals and violates women’s rights. Indeed, it is about time for Gaza to be free – free of Hamas.

….I must say that some of their slogans are familiar to Jews from this very continent only 70 or 80 years ago, while other placards demonstrate only ignorance, an unbalanced approach and a hatred for the only state for the Jews in the world. Others who so proudly call for my expulsion from this country show no respect for democracy, for dialogue and for the hospitality for which this country is so famous.

To those people, who represent a minority – a vocal and hostile group who nevertheless do not represent the people of Ireland – I have nothing to say. They are a shame and a disgrace to this country. These words of mine come from a person who is ready for dialogue at any time and with anyone, since that is what democracy is all about.

Unlike this minority, the majority of the people of Ireland support Israel and the thousands of e-mails, letters and telephone calls of support the embassy received are true evidence of the deep understanding and empathy, which many people in Ireland have towards Israel.”

Boaz Modai, Israeli Ambassador to Ireland to the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade yesterday. 

Transcript via Oireachtas.ie

(Mark Stedman/Photocall Ireland and TCD)

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Nice.

But hardly Phwoar!

Anyone?

Previously: Queuing Around The Block

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Shortly after the telephone was patented in the late 19th century, the early technology required every phone to have its own dedicated connection to the grid. In Sweden, Stockholm’s main telephone exchange – the Telefontornet, built in 1890, was a huge tower in the centre of the city with 5,000 individual lines radiating out across the rooftops.

The typically harsh Swedish winters caused havoc with the system, which was prone to fire and collapse under the weight of hanging ice, but the rapid advance of technology allowed the tower to  be decommissioned in 1913. 40 years later, it caught fire and was demolished.

Hundreds more images at the Tekniska Museet (Museum of Technology) website.

colossal/retronaut

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Abortion rights campaigners use rape alarms and the “format of the Catholic Rosary” to recall the treatment of women by the Irish State and the Catholic Church outside the London Irish Embassy.

Including:

Ann Lovett; the women who received symphysiotomies; Miss X from 1992; the women incarcerated in the Magdalene laundries; the women who gave birth in Mother and Baby Homes and who had their children taken from them, or sold into adoption to raise money for the Catholic church; Miss A, B, C, D; the 12 women a day who travel from Ireland to Britain for abortions; Savita Halappanavar; the women who risk 14 years in jail in Ireland for taking abortion pills; and raped asylum seeker Miss Y, who was denied an abortion and went on hunger strike before being made to have a Caesarean section.

The demonstration was co-organized by Speaking of I.M.E.L.D.A., London Irish Feminist Network, My Belly is Mine and Abortion Rights (UK).

Thanks Imelda

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European Central Bank president Mario Draghi

The Telegraph reports:

As the euro area suffers from low inflation, the currency bloc’s central bank has elected to make cuts to interest rates. The European Central Bank (ECB) has cut its headline rate to 0.05pc, while taking it deposit rate to -0.2pc. Annual eurozone inflation stood at just 0.3pc in August, well below the ECB’s target of just below 2pc. The majority of economists polled by Bloomberg – 51 out of 57 – expected the ECB’s governing council to maintain its key rate at 0.15pc and its deposit rate at -0.1pc.

European Central Bank president Mario Draghi will hold a press conference at 1.30pm.

Lizards be lizarding.

European Central Bank slashes interest rates as eurozone suffers ‘lowflation’ crisis (The Telegraph)

Pic: Telegraph