44 thoughts on “Monday’s Papers

    1. Rosette of Sirius

      BIG TIME…..! I’ve had a rather good Christmas from a crypto perspective! LiteCoin too making some moves….. Worth a punt as Bitcoin surges.

    2. Charger Salmons

      Polls eh ?
      Deltapoll’s latest poll taken from 26-30 December has shown the Tories leap ahead of Labour, gaining 6 points to hit 43%, just 0.6% below the share the party won in its stonking 2019 80-seat election victory.
      Boris brings home the bacon.
      https://twitter.com/BritainElects/status/1346101605758881797

      Let’s hear from all the expert BS psephologists.
      Take your time lads …

  1. ReproBertie

    “I just want to find 11,780 votes”

    I don’t know about the rest of you but listening to the only US president to lose the popular vote twice repeat conspiracy theories in vain and beg and plead for Georgia to “recalculate” the results amuses me greatly.

    1. Junkface

      I’m sure everyone who was deeply concerned about voter fraud will immediately turn their backs on Trump and realise what a scumbag, cheating conman he is….. oh wait, I forgot. Its a cult!

      Anything that exposes Trump and his deranged mind is pretty funny.

    2. newsjustin

      We can only hope now that he digs in and refuses to leave the White House. That’s the only way this can get more amusing. He’s really raised the bar for pathetic, loser babies.

      1. paul

        I prophesise one of two outcomes 1. he flees in the night, mid-January, tweeting all the way and gets stopped at the airport or 2. he genuinely digs in and has to be physically dragged out.

        That said, both of those outcomes would lead to guns in the street, so hopefully he’ll just vanish like a fart on a windy day.

    3. Cian

      Even if they did “find” 11,780 votes in Georgia… he would still be trailing Biden by 248 Electoral College votes to 290

      1. ReproBertie

        Only having a tape from Georgia does not mean he has not called other states.

        One the tape he says “These numbers are going to be repeated on Monday night, along with others that we’re going to have by that time which are much more substantial even.”

        This could lead one to believe he has made other calls or intended to.

  2. GiggidyGoo

    RTE
    Varadkar
    Gardai

    All three preaching to us about having to remain at home, under threat.

    So – Anyone in RTE charged yet?
    Was Leo’s Lark In The Park party night legal, in his hired house? Any investigation?
    Any Gardai been charged yet in connection with the lockdown rules?

    Because – if there’s no justice seen to be done to those above, then what hope of plebs getting into line?

  3. Ger

    All those nurses and doctors who “answered Irelands call” were not offered employment now we are in trouble again.

    2 interesting facts
    1. We have less icu beds now than in 2009
    2. There are 200 less nurses employed by the hse now compared to March 2020.

    The blame for this crisis lies with the incompetent public servants we handsomely pay; government and nphet. Both groups unqualified, unprepared and incompetent.

    1. paul

      I would agree on the government part (and add in the HSE) but NPHET can only offer advice, it’s up to the government to follow or ignore that advice. The fact that NPHET can make their own public statements isn’t the best idea, it just pits people against each other if the government decide on a different track.

    2. Brother Barnabas

      in a way, its fitting and appropriate that FF and FG are in a coalition government now so that they can jointly suffer the sh1tshow they jointly created through successive administrations’ incompetent and feckless management of the health service

  4. Brother Barnabas

    i wonder what bill gates will get up to today – his first day in control of the brain and will of brian pinker (82), who just got the astra-zeneca jab

  5. Ger

    Take a look at the members of nphet, all career civil servants.

    One prominent member has spent his entire careerin academia and has no experience in the field of expertise he continually speaks about, this lack of experience is throughout nphet

    Its a shambles and the public is not to blame.

    1. Cú Chulainn

      Have to agree with you on this Ger. They are incompetent with everything else they do, so why should this be any different. We need a radical shake up of our entire government/public/civil service. Sadly, as we continually produce trough feeders, from PBP to SF to Lab to FFG, that’s unlikely to happen.

    2. ( ̄_, ̄ ) AKA Frilly Keane

      This was a pretty healthy discussion one bs.tv on night
      and pretty lengthy here as well back in Nov – no earlier than October anyway

      and Mattie McGrath wasn’t wrong even if he did get ranty btw

      the balance on the NPHET is too heavily weighted by Dept of Health/ HSE employees

      it needs private sector reps ie, SMEs, Childcare Providers, Professional Services, the IFA, Private Transport, Travel Industry, Insurance industry – all sectors

      Decisions are being made by people that have not felt one inch of a pinch
      other than having holidays cancelled and racking up overtime/ flexie by having to work evenings and weekends

      Decisions are being made by people, not just NPHET and in the Oireachtas, but in the wider public services, ie Purchasing Contracts and Supplier contracts
      by people who are just not amongst the rest of us

      utterly unaware of the everyday impact

      1. bisted

        …are you seriously suggesting that members of vested interests replace the members of a public health advisory group…a group that is routinely ignored or overruled by the decision makers…a group that continues to write truth in the sand despite being whipping boy for those same decision makers…it is those same vested interests – the Keeliings, the Meat Industry, Brian Hayes, Tom Parlon, the assorted ratlickers within and outside government who are the problem here…we need less of them, not more…history will show that NPHET are the true heroes to emerge from this pandemic along with the vast majority of ordinary people who just tried to do the right thing…

        1. ( ̄_, ̄ ) AKA Frilly Keane

          Where did I say replace

          not even on the BS.tv segment

          Add to the committee to secure a more wide spread balance

          I’m not interested in indulging those names there, and I don’t know why you would try to put them into my mouth Bisted. Even that expression – ratlcker. I haven’t resorted to that at all.

          and I think my record – despite it being continually thrashed here, on any form of self interest and conflict of interest/ influence and bias, is well established
          If not stay tuned for a Probity 21 feature

          I’m only attempting to suggest that a more mixed and wider industry input would help the NPHET reach more balance in its composition
          and lead to healthier and more independent decisions

          currently the Dept of health/ HSE connections control over 80% of the voting

          Very easy for them to be locking down as a solution to getting some control over the hospitals
          yet they supervised and witnessed the deliberate defunding and mismanagement over the last 25 years

          where is the ownership of the disastrous contract with the private hospitals? you won’t be getting it out of NPHET

          1. bisted

            …last time I looked NPHET stood for National Public Health Emergency Team…they are an advisory body…they do not make decisions…they are concerned only with public health…they are composed of experts who collectively react to the pandemic emergency by supplying relevant health related information to the decision makers.

            You seem to think they have usurped the role of government but their advice has been ignored until the point where their figures and forecasts can no longer be ignored.

            Your solution is to dilute the expertise in NPHET with glorified lobbyists with no interest other than their selfish sectoral interests. You cite the IFA…are you really saying that they didn’t contribute to the nod and wink culture that let Keelings bring in a plane load of horticultural workers or meat factories operate in their petrie dish conditions…you cite the Insurance Industry that plainly operates a cartel and would make lobbying by Brian Hayes on behalf of the bankers look amateur…most of the groups you list have lobbyists with just as good contacts as Tom Parlon…
            Ratlickers, by the way, is a term coined by Daisy Chainsaw to describe that small selfish band of naysayers who congregate on Broadsheet…it is particularly apt and seems to have caught on…
            Thankfully, we have somebody of the calibre of Tony Holohan who will stand up to and speak truth to power…I don’t think he is motivated by any interest other than Public Health…at the end of the day he can only give advice…

          2. ( ̄_, ̄ ) AKA Frilly Keane

            I’m not disputing or discrediting Dr Holohan
            and in fairness, I’m the last person around here that needs a lesson on the likes of what Brian Hayes and Parlon get up to on behalf of their employers

            Point remains that NPHET is entirely composed of personnel that have not felt a single pinch of the impact of lockdown, other than missing holidays or nights out

            I think it would be a better committee if more walks of life were around the room
            and not all benchmarked for life, increment gathering flexi time collecting civil servants

  6. Charger Salmons

    I’ve searched the papers high and low today and I can’t find any coverage about logjams at Ireland’s ports.
    Or in the UK.
    Or France.
    It’s almost like people have been making stuff up about the new customs arrangements between the three.
    Funny dat.

    1. ReproBertie

      It’s almost like traffic has yet to ramp up to normal levels.

      “The first Irish Ferries vessel to dock, the 2.40am Ulysses sailing from the Welsh port which arrived in Dublin at 6am, carried just 15 articulated lorries, one truck, two vans and 15 cars, together with a related number of passengers.

      One of the ship’s deck hands, surveying the vast empty space with capacity for 241 lorries and 1,342 cars as the ship set sail, exclaimed cheerily: “[Sasamach] England – nothing we can do.”

      This may, or may not, be the explanation for the low volume making the early crossing from the UK but Holyhead port officials, and the shipping companies, expect Irish Sea volumes to increase sharply later this week and throughout January when importers, especially supermarkets, seek to replenish their stocks.”

      https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/plain-sailing-at-dublin-port-for-start-of-2021-s-first-working-week-1.4449652

      1. GiggidyGoo

        It’s exactly the explanation. Factories close for Christmas period and 4th January is the first working day back. So if nothing is being manufactured, then obviously nothing is being transported. Bean Savage No. 1 wouldn’t understand that though.

  7. Junkface

    @Ger
    That sounds like many positions held in Government, we really should have rules about competence and professional experience in specialist positions in these kind of roles. Otherwise things will not improve and we will continue to hop from crisis to crisis.

  8. Charger Salmons

    Yes, it’s like the entire just-in-time supply chain between Ireland, the UK landbridge and the continent takes a holiday for Christmas and all of January.

    1. ReproBertie

      All of January? Did you miss the “expect Irish Sea volumes to increase sharply later this week and throughout January” part of that article?

      Ignoring information to push your agenda as usual.

      1. Charger Salmons

        The new Ireland to Europe ferries won’t last a year.
        The UK landbridge is quicker and cheaper and can handle the huge volume of containers that have always used it.

        1. ReproBertie

          Time will tell.

          “Eoin Gavin, who runs a transport company based in Bunratty .. said that in order to use the landbridge he would need to navigate six different IT systems. Gavin says his clients have insisted that their goods should not be transported via the landbridge.

          “They’re questioning why they should bother with all the extra paperwork involved. If clients refuse to provide us with the necessary invoices and declarations we have no choice but to avoid the UK.”

          This point is reinforced by Aidan Coffey, managing director of DFDS Seaways Ireland.

          “It’s not just hauliers who decide which routes the trucks should take. It’s also the manufacturers and producers who are telling drivers not to travel through the UK,” he says.

          “By using the landbridge, some of them risk being subject to veterinary checks, or even having their products contaminated if the trailers are opened and checked.”

          An added bonus, he says is that “direct sailings also allow drivers to take their rest periods during the 24-hour crossing, rather than when they land in France.”

          Seamus McKeegan, director of Co Antrim firm McKeegan International, says the direct sailings appear to be the best option for hauliers, but would continue to monitor the situation to see how it evolves.”

          https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/brexit/brexit-truckers-arrive-fresh-and-well-fed-after-first-rosslare-dunkirk-sailing-1.4449238

          I’ve no doubt the teething problems around paperwork will be sorted out with time.

          1. ReproBertie

            Funny how your expert is a guy cheerleading in the Irish Times for the service he runs. Of course, if you had read the article I linked to, you’d see that his comments were mentioned and Eoin Gavin’s comments were a direct response to them.

            “The head of the company that operates Irish Ferries, Eamon Rothwell, has insisted that businesses will continue to rely on the landbridge, which he maintains is cheaper, faster and less prone to cancellations caused by bad weather.
            But Eoin Gavin, who runs a transport company based in Bunratty, said he had “three trucks stranded all last week” because Irish Ferries’ services into Cherbourg were fully booked.
            “We’d have been in an awful mess if it hadn’t been for the direct sailings into Dunkirk.”
            Gavin said that in order to use the landbridge he would need to navigate six different IT systems.
            “Would you do all that, without taking into account Covid tests and potential delays, or just drive down to Rosslare and hop onto a direct sailing to France?” he asked.”

            As I said, time will tell. I don’t believe January will be a decent indicator of how things will work out since teething problems and delays are only to be expected with all the extra red tape that the UK has introduced by leaving the EU.

          2. Charger Salmons

            ‘ Funny how your expert is a guy cheerleading in the Irish Times for the service he runs. ‘

            You obviously missed this paragraph in the article …

            “And we’re saying that having invested €150 million in direct services to the continent,” Mr Rothwell added.

            Keep up lad.

        2. scottser

          You might have missed this from today’s Guardian’s Football Rumour Mill, spaffer:

          ‘And finally, having once described Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage as a “forthright, forward-speaking, intelligent man”, the West Brom manager Sam Allardyce has fallen victim to karmic irony and new regulations that came into force following the UK’s recent exit from the European Union. “I have found three players already who were capable of coming here and they’re not allowed,” he said of his January recruitment drive. “It’s a shame.”
          #footballbantz

          1. goldenbrown

            yup
            this it the bit our learned friend there seems to ignore
            Ireland-UK transportation is what it is but for Ireland-EU transportation the likes of the Dublin-Holyhead route is now a clear problem unless ze Brits somehow come up with some amazing startrek method to guarantee previous levels of service for those containers travelling from A to C and it all depends on the very just-in-time nature of the scenario he mentions there…cheaper doesn’t always win out, reliability has as much weight in the equation and right now there are serious question marks about that (and even on those extra costs there’ll be some political EU trough solution for that one, there’s no way EU politicos will want to look like losers here (even if they are losing) in the coming 5 years)

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