Author Archives: Bodger

This afternoon.

Kildare Street, Dublin 2.

Activists from Carrick-on-Suir alongside Tipp independent TD Mattie McGrath gather outside Leinster House to save St Brigid’s Hospital, Tipperary and protest the closure of respite and palliative care services. The Save St Brigid’s Action Group delivered a 11,000-signature petition calling for the retention of services, to the Oireachtas Public Petitions Committee.

Sam Boal/RollingNews

Sadly, yes.

This morning.

Griffith Avenue, Grace Park, Dublin 9.

Dublin Fire Brigade District Officer John Mc Nally lights the fuse of a banger on the hand of a dummy – we shall call ‘Nigel’ –  with horrific consequences during the launch of a Halloween fireworks danger awareness campaign at the Dublin Fire Brigade Training Centre.

He’ll never play the violin again.

Sam Boal/RollingNews

A vaccination centre in Berlin, Germany on Monday night

This afternoon.

Via Reuters:

Germany will stop paying compensation to unvaccinated workers who are forced into quarantine by coronavirus measures as it is unfair to ask taxpayers to subsidise those who refuse to get inoculated, Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Wednesday.

The rules, which will be implemented by the governments of Germany’s 16 federal states, will take effect by Oct. 11 at the latest, Spahn said, confirming the details of a draft document seen earlier by Reuters.

…..Critics have said such rules would be equivalent to a mandate for COVID-19 vaccinations because many workers cannot afford to stay at home without pay.

*begins building wall*

Germany to end quarantine pay for those without vaccinations (Reuters)

Pic: Reuters

Edwin Poots

This morning.

“People are listening to the biggest load of rubbish, and someone said to me the other day that everybody who has taken the vaccination will all be dead in three years, and this is the sort of nonsense that has been spread amongst a small cadre of people.

“But the outworking of that is that people who need cancer care in hospital and other major surgeries, life-saving surgeries, cannot get it because those beds are full of people who haven’t been vaccinated – the intensive care units are full of people not vaccinated.

“People need to catch themselves on and go and get the vaccination.

“It is not going to be some new world order thing, it’s something that has been worked out by hundreds of different scientists from different institutions across the world, and we need the vaccination to be rolled out to as many as possible.”

Edwin Poots, Northern Ireland Agriculture Minister and former DUP Leader.

Bout ye.

Vaccine conspiracy theorists should ‘catch themselves on’ – Poots (RTÉ)

Previously: No New World order, Says New World Order

RollingNews

Meanwhile…

Um.

This morning.

Foscad.

It could win an Oscadr

Deirdre Ní Choistín writes:

TG4 is delighted to announce that The Irish Film & Television Academy has selected an Irish-Language Feature Foscadh (Shelter) as Ireland’s entry for the Oscars®’ Best International Feature Film category (formerly Best Foreign Language category) at the upcoming 94th annual Academy Awards. This is the second year in a row that an Irish Language film has been selected, Arracht was last year’s selection.

Foscadh is part of the Cine 4 scheme, which is supported by Fís Éireann / Screen Ireland, the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, and TG4, an initiative set up in 2017 to develop original feature films in the Irish language.

In fairness.

TG4

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson with US president Joe Biden in The White House last night

“We’re going to talk a little bit about trade today and we’re going to have to work that through.

“But on the (Northern Ireland) protocols I feel very strongly on those.

“We spent an enormous amount of time and effort, the United States, it was a major bipartisan effort made.

“And I would not at all like to see, nor I might add would many of my Republican colleagues like to see, a change in the Irish accords, the end result having a closed border in Ireland.”

US President Joe Biden

Biden: No change to ‘Irish accords’ that results in ‘closed border’ (RTÉ)

Getty

This morning.

And yet…

Bloody students.

Get out of bed.

Last night.

PBS Newshour.

Judy Woodruff spoke to Bill Gates about ‘vaccine equity’, climate change and his meetings with deceased  financier and underage sex offender Jeffrey Epstein (@10.54). From the interview:

Woodruff: “You had a number of meetings with Jeffrey Epstein, who – when you met him 10 years ago – he was convicted of soliciting prostitution from minors. What did you know about him when you were meeting with him, as you’ve said yourself, in the hopes of raising money?”

Gates:  “Uh, you know, I had dinner with him. I regret doing that. He had relationships with people he said, you know, would give to global health, which is an interest I have. Not nearly enough philanthropy goes in that direction. Those meetings were a mistake,” he added. “They didn’t result in what he purported, and I cut them off. You know, that goes back a long time ago now. There’s – you know, so there’s nothing new on that.”

Woodruff: “It was reported that you met with him over several years, in other words a number of meetings What did you do when you found out about his background?”

Gates: “Well, you know, I’ve said I’ve regretted having those dinners, and there’s absolutely nothing new on that.”

Woodruff: “Is there a lesson for you or anyone else looking at this?”

Gates: “Well, he’s dead, so, uh, in general, you always have to be careful, uh, and, you know, I’m very proud of what we’ve done and very proud of the work of the foundation. That’s what I get up every day and focus on.”

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation part funds the PBS Newshour.

Bill Gates Gets Really Awkward When Asked About His Ties To Jeffrey Epstein (Huffington Post UK)