Author Archives: Bodger

This morning

After 10 years,, brilliant satirical news hub Waterford Whispers News (WWN) is starting a new fan subscription service.

To wit:

Creator Colm Williamson and his team of two writers are launching a fan-led subscription service to help WWN survive and thrive in the face of legal threats, restrictions imposed by social media giants and the realities of shrinking online advertising revenue for all publishers.

The fan-led subscription service is launching on Monday, November 4 and will cost just €5 per month. Those signing up to support WWN will gain access to bonus content aplenty while keeping the site itself free and accessible to all.

Satire fans and all-round comedy junkies can access behind the scenes bonus content from WWN, personality-driven interviews, exclusive offers and discounts, along with exciting projects planned for the near future.

Colm Williamson writes:

“We’re joining the likes of Blindboy Boatclub, Second Captains and An Irishman Abroad among others, and looking to our fans who enjoy and value our work to help provide the best foundation for keeping the WWN train on the tracks.

After a lot of research and deliberation, we see this model as the best way to ensure WWN can continue its journey and produce satire that continues to make headlines and enemies around the world.

“Some of the legal threats we’ve received were designed to shut us up and ruin us financially. We’ve received the odd death threat or ten. The restrictions and suppression of some of our work by big online platforms has been chilling and doesn’t bode well for the future of satire and artistic expression online.”

“It puts us in a precarious position, but with support from our loyal readers, who have always been such huge megaphones for WWN, we’re looking to afford ourselves the freedom to challenge, offend and call out eejits in power as well as make the odd fart joke along the way.”

Colm added:

“No, this announcement isn’t Fake f**king News”.

WWN’s fan subscription here

Waterford Whispers News

Head of Forecasting at Met Éireann Evelyn Cusack

Yesterday.

Met Éireann launched its 2019/2020 Be Winter Ready campaign.

During a report on the launch on Virgin Media One last night, Met Éireann’s Head of Forecasting Evelyn Cusack said:

“So because of social media now, there can be some very scary and misleading headlines.

“And you know that does concern Met Éireann, that the citizen or people are actually worried unnecessarily and I want to reassure them and assure them that Met Éireann has all the data, has the best predictions for Ireland and we only issue warnings based on the best predictions.

“So please listen in to Met Éireann’s warnings and not to be too frightened by just general noise on social media.”

Oh.

Watch the report in full here

Yesterday: Mellow Yellow

This morning.

Kildare Street, Dublin 2.

A fake Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg outside Leinster House this morning calling on TDs to ‘Correct the Record’, part of a worldwide campaign disinformation on the social media giant.

Rollingnews

Meanwhile…

Today.

In the Seanad.

Fine Gael TD Hildergarde Naughton (second pic above) is charing a hearing of the International Grand Committee of Fake News and Disinformation.

The committee will hear from a number of senior executives from Google, Facebook and Twitter and the Data Protection Commissioner.

Experts speaking to the committee this morning included (from top) Ben Nimmo, Senior Fellow for Information Defense at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab; Carole Cadwalladr, British author and investigative journalist; Roger McNamee, investor and author; and Karlin Lillington, columnist at The Irish Times.

The committee hearings can be watched live in link above.

Politicians from across the world meet in Dublin to quiz tech giants on ‘fake news’ (The Irish Times)

Oh.

Slightly Bemused writes:

I thought this might be of longer term interest. Given the current boil water notice in Kildare where drinking the water may cause stomach problems, I found it amusing to get this letter in my door today where they are looking to fix the sewerage network in my town. While this work does need to be done, the timing is very funny.

To be fair, it is good to see that they are addressing the known problems. But it also means that just as I got my back garden under control after the last time they dug it up, it is likely to be dug up again…

Earlier: Go To The Source

CEO of Ryanair Michael O’ Leary in front of one of his company’s Boeing 737-800 NGs aircraft after delivery of the first of 180 new 737-800 NGs in September, 2014

This afternoon.

Via RTÉ:

Ryanair has confirmed that some 737NG planes have been taken out of service due to cracks, a problem that has grounded dozens of the jets globally.

In a statement to RTÉ News, Ryanair said Boeing is carrying out repairs on behalf of the airline after an inspection of more than 70 of its oldest aircraft in full compliance with the Airworthiness Directive.

But the carrier dismissed reports [see below] that some of its Boeing 737NGs have been affected by the ‘pickle fork’ issue. Pickle forks are components that attach the wings and the aircraft’s body.

Ryanair confirms some 737 planes being repaired for crack (RTÉ)

Earlier…

At least three Ryanair Boeing 737s have been grounded due to cracks between the wing and fuselage but this was not disclosed to the public, the Guardian can reveal.

The budget Irish airline is the latest to be affected by faults in the “pickle fork” structure, which has sparked an urgent grounding of 50 planes globally since 3 October.

Boeing 737 cracks: Ryanair grounds three planes due to cracking between wing and fuselage (The Guardian)

Rollingnews

This afternoon.

Kildare Street, Dublin 2

A kissing protest has taken place outside the Dail to highlight “the lack of hate-crime legislation”. The ‘Shift The Hate Away’ demonstration follows attacks on two gay men in Dublin in recent weeks.

Yesterday: Ctrl + Shift

Leah Farrell/RollingNews

1989.

Gay.

On Gay.

Jack Jones writes:

Gay being interviewed on his own show while still presenter to promote his own book by Deidre Purcell (his co-author) and Andy O’Mahoney….

Good times.

Earlier: The Late Wake

Above from left: Anthony Owens, Director of Industrial Relations, IMO, Dr Mathew Sadlier past president of the IMO, Doctor Clive Killgallen, Chair Consultant committee IMO and Dr Anthony O’Connor,a member of the IMO consultant community

Um.

This afternoon.

Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin 2

A press briefing by the Irish medical organisation (IMO)in advance of a National Meeting of Consultants and Non-Consultant Hospital Doctors (NCHDs) to decide on whether to proceed to ballot for industrial action over a consultant ‘recruitment crisis’.

Go diversity (while you’re at it).

IMO to decide on ballot of members on strike action (RTÉ)

Leah Farrell/RollingNews