54 thoughts on “De Friday Papers

  1. Panty Christ

    How is house prices “crashing” a bad thing. Are some big professional rental companies afraid people will have options?

    1. newsjustin

      I thought that before the last recession (and I didn’t own a house). The economy – and people in it – has a funny way of reacting or overreacting to falling house prices. It immediately makes people feel poorer. So they stop spending. This has an impact on the actual economy.

      Would be good to see a gentle slowing and decrease in house prices. Not a crash. House price crashes don’t happen in a vacuum I guess is what I’m saying.

      1. SOQ

        No but there is a certain ponzi scheme element to it. In reality, for those who don’t own 2nd-3rd-4th homes, it really doesn’t matter how high or low they go because people still have to live somewhere.

        That is not to say there is not money to be made- I know of one seaside village which is near all ex Dubs from before the last crash. Empty nesters who sold up at the right time and retired early on the difference.

  2. Steph Pinker

    Apropos of all or none; the BS comments have reached a low level of cynicism, nastiness, mean-spiritedness, and in some cases obsessiveness/ stalking; the irony is, for those who comment most on the site and purport to love it, they’re the same individuals [with few exceptions] who isolate and make it uncomfortable for others to contribute.

    BS isn’t a nice place to visit anymore, and this comment isn’t a reflection on those who work/ represent it, actually, it’s the opposite. The BS staff do their best as volunteers to provide this forum, but I suppose human nature and its myriad personalities will always find a way to ruin something decent and fun; this is why we can’t have nice things.

    1. Charger Salmons

      Very well put Steph.
      In the relatively short time I’ve been sprinkling my stardust on here I too have noticed a coarsening of the debate.
      One does fear for the future of intellectual discourse when one reads some of the neanderthal and oafish comments from the usual suspects on here.
      The ones that hang around like dung beetles feasting on the droppings of politer and more erudite contributors.
      I’m not sure if it’s spreading from the sewer of social media which thankfully I’ve never joined.
      Or it’s just a stark manifestation of plunging standards in Ireland which sees this country’s higher educational establishments slide down the world ranking’s faster than ordure down a flushing toilet.
      But like the sorry specimens they are it’s the hyena-like shrieking and chattering of the pack when someone elucidates a viewpoint contrary to popular opinion that is most noticeable.
      Sad times indeed.

      1. B9Com From No

        Your execrable goat droppings were foremost in Steph’s mind when she wrote that

      2. Brother Barnabas

        fair’s fair when it happens… that was a genuine laugh-out-loud’er

        was afraid you’d gone to seed – but almost back to your old form

    2. B9Com From No

      On the contrary, as a medium-term reader and commenter, I believe the quality of the site’s content has improved greatly. The art pieces for example are and have always been wonderful and the music sections feel a lot more considered now, and dare I say it, a bit more grown up, since Nick took over ( and I wouldn’t really have been a great fan of his own stuff), reflecting more the profile of the sites readers ( and this is reflected in the mostly favorable feedback he receives).

      In particular the regular serious contributors have developed a following and while two of the politicians/ pr spinners could be halved, occasionally they have some insights that are compelling. I do miss Sibling,Mick Flavin and LCD but you can’t have everything I guess.

      Perhaps your focus is more to the comments- a profoundly subjective view, but again I note that a miner of the more persistent and vindictive gowls have recently, and finally, been remaindered. This has seen a lot more humour and good natured slagging return, which is the only reason most of us visit, maybe you’re looking for a more holistic and quasi-spiritual experience?

    3. Elizabeth Mainwaring

      Dearie, you’re so right. It’s rather dull here too.
      Mind you, there was a Mr Moyestwithexcitement who posted de temps en temps on this site in the past, whose predictability and unpleasantness made Mr Dav pale in comparison. He appears no more, so may be incarcerated.

      1. B9Com From No

        a number of the other worst repeat offenders were recently remaindered as well

        Steph is spaffing

    4. V

      You know
      There’s good days and bad days
      Great threads, boring threads, funny threads, and ignored threads
      Important information, nonsense, any oul’ guff and push pieces
      WUMs, Trolls, Regulars and one off blow-ins

      Across every open forum

      Go with the flow
      Take the good with the bad

      Because it’s necessary to accept all sorts
      Especially in a Democracy

      Although tbh Steph
      You’re no stranger to being a bit catty or running with the trolls yourself
      When it suits like

      Fairs fair

      1. Robert

        This right here. There are one or two forums I frequent where such meta-drivel bemoaning the quality of discourse is frowned upon. It makes for uninteresting reading. There are sites that cater to the more easily bruised, and there is also the option of stepping away from the keyboard and going doing something else if it all becomes a bit much …

    5. milliem

      I find the comments on Broadsheet articles are, in the main, a pleasure to read due to the sensible moderating from Bodger and co who delete and ban the nastier elements in society who occasionally rock up here.

      Heck, I can even put up with Mr. Salmons from time to time because he can be quite funny and tongue in cheek as he has shown with his comment on this article. Let’s face it the guy’s just look for a few bites because I doubt if he truly believes in half the guff he comes out with.

      1. B9Com From No

        +1

        At the end of the day it’s a very thinly moderated online forum. Bodger and co are generally fair

  3. eoin

    Two days after the the govt gave us a 117-page document detailing what would happen in a no deal Brexit, we finally get the blindingly obvious prediction that house prices will fall.

    https://www.centralbank.ie/docs/default-source/publications/financial-stability-review/financial-stability-review-2019-i.pdf?sfvrsn=7

    But what everyone wants to know is, how much? And the Central Bank isn’t brave enough to put an estimate together.

    In the UK, they say their prices may fall by up to 35% in a no deal Brexit.

    Could prices fall by the same here? 35% on a €350,000 home in Dublin is €120,000.

    What FG want is to avoid is scaring the horses. They did it with the border question in January. They’re doing it with house prices today. Because if you think house prices are going to drop, then, for many people, they’ll defer a purchase. And FG are desperate to avoid that.

    1. Cian

      Perhaps the central bank has no idea of how much they will drop. By it’s nature a crash is chaotic – and defies prediction. The BOE are picking a number out of thin air – should the central bank do likewise?

      Yesterday you berate the government for not releasing house price predictions. Today you berate the CB for not putting a figure on it. Classic hurler on the ditch stuff – you should become an opposition TD.

      1. Robert

        By definition an expert can always make a better prediction than a non expert. Perform a monte carlo analysis and give us the worst figure its not tat hard. If it turns out to be off we’ll all be pleasantly surprised. Who remembers the soft landing brigade vs morgan kelly and mcwilliams there 10 or ao years ago? This, after all is what we supposedly pay these people for …

  4. eoin

    [Bodger, I won’t blame you if you delete this….]

    Anything good in this week’s issue of Private Eye? Oh yes!

    In a story titled“The Irish Buck Stop”, it reports on the contempt proceedings by the Irish criminal courts against the publishers of the Irish Daily Mail and its editor Sebastian Hamilton for reporting in May about the Lucan child murder trial.

    The Eye writes

    “The [Central Criminal] court also heard that Snaggles [the nickname for Sebastian Hamilton] was worried that a criminal conviction might affect his application for Irish citizenship”

    Oh dear! Because, as we now know, he was convicted of contempt, despite denying it, and was fined €4,500, earning him a criminal conviction.

    To add insult to it, the Eye further reports

    “Judge Paul McDermott seemed unimpressed asking whether an editor could be absolved of all responsibilities merely “because he’s gone home for his tea”. “

    1. V

      It’s important
      Vitally important
      In my opinion anyway
      That we should be informed a convicted criminal is working in a senior position in the Irish Media
      So thank you Eoin

      As to the man’s application for Irish Citizen
      I trust the authorities will act appropriately

      1. eoin

        Thanks V, the Irish Times did report “He [barrister for Daily Mail and Sebastian Hamilton] further told the court that Mr Hamilton is applying for citizenship and is concerned about how this could effect [sic] him.”

        So, it was kinda in the public domain but many will have missed it.

        The Eye line “Judge Paul McDermott seemed unimpressed asking whether an editor could be absolved of all responsibilities merely “because he’s gone home for his tea”” doesn’t appear to have been reported at all in the Irish media.

        1. V

          gone home for his tea

          Imagine me saying that infront of Judge Linnane or Judge (S) Ryan
          I’d be skinned alive

          1. B9Com From No

            Depends!

            If you wear a nice suit, smell good and wink at the judge and have the right accent …

            Watching the wheels of justice spin can be sobering

          2. V

            lemme tell ya
            neither of those two ladies would be taken in by accent, appearance or whatever else you’ve got

          3. B9Com From No

            Well that’s good to hear
            Thankful that I don’t have to go in there much!
            I was just amazed at the theatrical elements on those occasions when I did have to attend

  5. eoin

    For those of you who’ve followed the editorial coverage by Jonny Harmsworth’s Daily Mail of Brexit, which in my opinion has echoes of hate-mongering towards migrants, you’ll be struck by the irony of a Brit convicted criminal seeking Irish citizenship.

    Sebastian has tried his best to portray a business-as-usual attitude towards the criminal conviction and he was accommodated on the VMTV show the day right after his conviction, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s pestering Marian as we speak to be allowed onto the Sunday show, because a platform on Marian must trump a criminal conviction, right?

    1. V

      As mentioned above

      It’s important to be informed that a convicted criminal is in a senior position in the Irish Media
      I’m sure the producers of VMTV made the appropriate disclosure to their viewers when he was introduced

      Transparency matters

  6. eoin

    It’s a good job we 100% trust the character of Leo, Richard Bruton and his predecessor, Denis Naughten. Through a FOI request, the Shinners have uncovered the fact the govt is being lobbied once a fortnight by the oil and gas industry “regarding new drilling and exploration licences.” After defence and mobile phone licences, oil and gas must be one of the most corruption-prone sectors out there across the globe, and drilling licences are worth 10s if not 100s of millions. But it must be assumed the frequent lobbying by the oil and gas industry with the Irish govt (and its Independent TD ministers!) has been all above board.

    What’s weird is, FG is now trumpeting its green credentials, yet it’s still granting drilling licences and it has just squashed a Bill to ban drilling by demanding a “money message”, a feasibility study of the move on the Exchequer, and the Opposition are up in arms saying that’s just undemocratic.

    1. B9Com From No

      my limited understanding is that previously uncommercial potential oil fields off Ireland may now be commercial or become more so in the future

  7. eoin

    Several papers report the conviction of the alleged #2 in the Kinahan drug trafficking organisation. He was arrested in a joint Garda/UK police operation at Birmingham airport in January. So, what was he convicted for? Drug trafficking? Murder? Money laundering? No, possession of a €10 stun gun that was found in a follow-up search. Under Britain’s offensive weapons laws, Kavanagh faces a mandatory 5 years in prison. He may face further charges but at this stage, it looks like the Garda element of the operation in January was a complete dud.

    And elsewhere, the Mirror reports “Cartel godfather Christy ‘Dapper Don’ Kinahan, 60, passed on control of the gang to his boxing promoter son Daniel, 41, several years ago. The pair fled Ireland and now live in Dubai with other family members protected by ex-Russian special forces bodyguards.”

    Why doesn’t our brave media ever tackle the dictator of Dubai for providing a base to the Kinahan DTO? If they’re interested, he’s due in court in London in three weeks in a messy divorce battle where the missus has claimed she’s “run for her life”.

  8. eoin

    Why isn’t our brave media making it clear the British oil tanker which was approached by Iranian boats in the Gulf was in disputed waters around a small island in the Hormuz gulf, not international waters. Why don’t the Brits stick to agreed international waters and shipping lanes. Weren’t the Brits just provoking the Iranians? And now RTE is doing the war mongering on behalf of the UK and US.

    1. V

      D’ya know what

      There’s absolutely no one in charge in the UK
      Or anyone capable of leadership presenting even an iota of caring wtf the Brits are at outside Westminster
      Or even prepared to accept responsibility

      This careless sh__
      Like in the Gulf
      Is going to happen again
      Lads running amok
      And being a law on to themselves

      This won’t be the last of it
      Not by a long shot
      The UK have passed the stage of behaving with even the slightest nod to Diplomacy or International Treaties and established agreements
      Or giving any one other International protocol the slightest token of respect
      Look at the carry on of Farage n’ the gang in Brussels – turning their ars__ to another recognised International Anthem
      Ignorant rude brats
      Every single one of them

        1. martco

          yep & they don’t even need to be clever anymore…just read up a bit on Blair/Bush, copy n paste that, job done

          need to get the oul arms & army sales going again would be my guess

    1. Robert

      Very interesting thanks for sharing. JC continues to talk sense I really cant see what the problem is. Bit racialist calling the interviewer ali-g tho innit

  9. B9Com From No

    Irvin, the Gibney book guy was on Today SOR now
    I tried to find that thread to post it there but couldn’t locate it. I thought you guys will like to know

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