The Darkling Air – Beholding You

Float on.

Based in Bangor, County Down, Michael Keeney and Rachel McCarthy aka The Darkling Air seduce us with this wonderful new video shot by Rachel at Crawfordsburn Country Park near their home.

The song is taken from their album Ancestor.

Globe Lights, another song from the album, features on the ad for RTÉ One’s The Late Late Toy Show.

Michael says:

“As a kid who grew up in Donegal, I’m only too aware of the significance of the Toy Show to families at Christmas and we’re delighted a song we wrote is part of that excitement this year.”

Nick says: Up Down!

The Darkling Air

The paediatric outpatient and urgent care centre at Tallaght University Hospital is contractually scheduled to be completed in February 2021

This morning/afternoon.

Members of National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB) appeared before the joint Oireachtas Health Committee….

In an opening statement David Gunning, chief officer of board, says since the project started the contractors, BAM, have made “hundreds of millions of euros” in extra claims.

This is consuming a significant amount of executive and project-team time

Mr Gunning states: “In December 2018, the Government approved an investment decision of €1.433bn for the project.

He said there are “a number of exceptions” that have always been outside of this investment, and for which there cannot be price certainty at this point, or for the duration of the project.

“These include, for example, national construction inflation in excess of 4pc, any changes in scope resulting from healthcare policy change, statutory changes and the Employment Order.

“The last time the NPHDB was before the Oireachtas Committee on Health, in November 2019, we advised the committee that the main contractor was behind schedule on the construction works.

“At that time, the delay was four months, and it was our view that the main contractor could have made up the time. However, by the time the main contractor closed the site in March as a result of the Covd-19 restrictions, the delay had increased to six months….”

National Children’s hospital delayed again as August 2022 deadline will not be met (Independent.ie)

Meanwhile…

Róisín Shortall TD, co-leader of the Social Democrats, said:

“It was disappointing to hear in the board’s opening statement that there have been hundreds of claims for hundreds of millions of euro in relation to this development.

What was particularly frustrating, however, was the inability of NHPDB to give us a working assumption of both the estimated completion date and estimated total cost of the hospital project.

“Given the evidence we have heard here today, it is not credible for the board to talk about working towards the original completion date. More than nine months of progress has been lost this year alone and who knows what else is going to hold this project up.

“It is concerning that NHPDB cannot provide details of expected cost overruns or a breakdown of the legal fees contained in the €1.433 billion estimate for the project.

Ms Shortall added:

“The board said today it will not be in a position to provide an update on the costs and timeline of the National Children’s Hospital project until the first quarter of 2021. We need to bring NHPDB before the Health Committee again in January to answer pre-set questions that the public and taxpayer are entitled to.

“It is highly unsatisfactory that that board was not able to answer our questions today and it is not an acceptable way for a public body to operate.”

RolingNews

 

This morning.

Phoenix Park, Dublin.

A shuttered Dublin Zoo as management launch a major fundraising drive. The Zoo is facing the prospect of permanent closure, as it incurs huge financial losses due to the rona lockdown.

RollingNews

Update…

Feeding time!!

A very impressive kid-friendly short by German animation graduate Christoph Sarow: the story of a summer in the country with Tom, his aggressive cousin Mattias, simmering envy, an ocean of chickens, a red dog and the Universe.

You’ll see.

animfestzaghreb

This morning.

Berlin, Germany.

Several thousand people have gathered near the Reichstag, banging pans and blowing whistles, to protest Chancellor Angela Merkel and the German government’s push to enforce coronavirus restrictions.

Germany’s lower and upper houses of parliament are due to pass laws this afternoon which could allow the government to impose restrictions on social contact, rules on mask-wearing, drinking alcohol in public, shutting shops and stopping sports events.

Meanwhile…

Reuters

Former Attorney General Marie Whelan is given her warrant of appointment as a judge by President Higgins in July 2017 watched by Seámus Woulfe (standing second right)

This morning/afternoon.

The Dáil at the Convention Centre.

During Leaders’ Questions, Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald raised the Justice Seamus Woulfe controversy and  Minister for Justice Helen McEntee’s refusal to answer questions about the appointment.

They had this exchange:

Micheal Martin: “I have taken questions on this issue as Taoiseach. I took them yesterday and I’m taking it right now. You’re asking questions about this and I’m going to take the questions. And I thought your question was very interesting and I want to say one thing at the outset. Your assertion that there is horse trading involved, in the context of the appointment of Paul Gallagher, as Attorney General, and some connection to the appointment of Justice Woulfe to the Supreme Court is an untruth and a false assertion, and you should withdraw it because it impugns the integrity and the ability of the present Attorney General who has had nothing to do with that.

“It is historic precedent that an Attorney General is appointed by the Taoiseach of the day and it’s always been the position. And there’s always an important relationship between the Taoiseach and Attorney General in any Cabinet.”

Later…

“I don’t believe politicians should be involved in terms of negotiations about who should be a judge or who should not be a judge. I don’t actually think that’s the function of a politician. And when I learn that the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board, chaired by the chief justice Frank Clarke and the presidents of the other four courts, in addition to representatives of the Law Society and the Bar Council, when I learn that they deemed Justice Woulfe suitable to be a Supreme Court judge, that was good enough for me.

“I have no interest in embroiling myself any further. The minister of the day, the notifications may be sent in, representations may be made by judges to the effect that they would like to be considered for particular positions. The Minister for Justice of the day brings one name to Cabinet. As far as I was concerned, the fact that the JAAB, or the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board, was satisfied that Justice Woulfe was a suitable candidate for the Supreme Court, as far as I was concerned that satisfied me and I wasn’t going to second guess it.”

Later, in response…

Mary Lou McDonald: “The Taoiseach’s response is incoherent gibberish and he knows it. TheTaoiseach has changed his tune from whence he sat on the Opposition benches and correctly challenged the Government of the day to give an account if itself and the Justice Minister to give an account of the process by which a selection for judicial appointment was made. And the standards then, Ceann Comhairle, are the standards now.

“And the responsibility of the Oireachtas, to hold the Government to account, remains. And remains paramount. You reach for the JAAB process, even though you know that that was one of two channels to which names came forth. So please, don’t rehearse that nonsense again.

“That there was horse trading around the position of Attorney General, is not only truthful, it’s a verifiable truth. It played out in the media, Taoiseach, between yourselves, Fine Gael and, let it be said, the Green Party.

“But I hear that you don’t wish to be further embroiled in these questions so the straightfoward and correct and proper thing Ceann Comhairle, to happen, is that the Minister for Justice presents herself and gives an account of those three weeks, between the 27th of June and the 16th of July and sets out, for the satisfaction of this Oireachtas, the process by which four names became one, four applicants became Seamus Woulfe. That is what this Oireachtas demands and deserves.”

Martin: “Sinn Féin has a habit of keep on repeating the above and then asserting that it’s the truth. It’s an untruth, deputy, what you’ve just said. It’s not verifiably true that there was horse trading involving the position of the Attorney General, not verifiably true and stop misleading the House in that regard and deliberately, in my view, creating a story that has no foundation in fact.

“And I do think you should withdraw it. Because I know. Ok? I know that there’s absolutely no relationship between the appointment of the Attorney General Paul Gallagher and the appointment of Justice Woulfe. None.”

Anyone?

Earlier: Unprecedented

Meanwhile…

Hmm.

Meanwhile…

Oh.

Meanwhile…

During the lengthy political foreplay preceding government formation, Martin let it be known to Leo Varadkar that he was not demanding the choice of justice minister. This was a dual message, indicating firstly that [Jim] O’Callaghan was not going to be in cabinet – justice minister was the logical post for the barrister if he was going to be in cabinet at all.

Secondly, it meant that, if Martin was not going to select a party member as justice minister, he would have the choice of attorney general and he had already determined that [Paul] Gallagher was his man.

The AG’s role is supposed to be legal rather than political, but this simplistic dividing line can become moveable or blurred, with legalistic arguments and interpretations becoming very political and divisive. Martin knows that Gallagher is daunting when faced with difficult arguments from stroppy ministers and their officials and he also knows that Gallagher is his AG – not Varadkar’s.

Paul Gallagher – Profile (The Phoenix, August 13)

This morning.

Via The Guardian:

About half of all Republicans believe President Donald Trump “rightfully won” the US election but that it was stolen from him by widespread voter fraud that favored Democratic President-elect Joe Biden, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll.

Asked why, Republicans were much more concerned than others that state vote counters had tipped the result toward Biden: 68% of Republicans said they were concerned that the election was “rigged”, while only 16% of Democrats and one-third of independents were similarly worried.

Poll: half of Republican voters believe Trump ‘rightfully won’ US election (The Guardian)

Meanwhile…

Chris Krebs was fired last night as Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency

In recent days, Krebs has repeatedly pushed back against false claims that the election was tainted. Earlier on Tuesday, he tweeted a report citing 59 election security experts saying there is no credible evidence of computer fraud in the 2020 election outcome.

Trump fired back on Twitter later in the day. He repeated unsubstantiated claims about the vote and wrote: “Effective immediately, Chris Krebs has been terminated as Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.”

Donald Trump fires cyber-chief who said US election was clean (Al Jazeera)

Meanwhile…

Last night.

Sky News Australia.

Sky News host Alan Jones said he suspects the Trump team is in the process of gathering “irrefutable evidence of criminal collusion” in the fallout of the US election.

He said under an Executive Order of 2018, signed by US President Trump, the government has the power to arrest and seize the assets of any organisation or individual who attempted to alter the result of the 2020 election.

Mr Jones said.

“This Trump Executive Order about rigging elections, which he signed into existence on September 12, 2018, means clearly that the net can be cast very wide,”

Yesterday, US attorney Sidney Powell, who is part of Donald Trump’s legal team said, “this is a massive election fraud” and that she was very concerned it involved “Dominion and its Smartmatic software” used to count votes in the US election.

Yesterday: ‘They Were Built To Do This Very Thing’

Getty

‘sup?

Slightly Bemused writes:

I think I was adopted by a cat.

Every day a black and white male cat wanders through my garden. On several days, an offering is left on my back doorstep. This little fellow has lived around here for a number of years. I remember one time, when he must have been little more than a kitten, watching him try to stalk a number of crows on the green outside where I live. He was really good, low to the ground, stealthy, creeping forward.

But his tail was up, the end twirling gently. And of course the crows knew he was there. As he got close, they simply hopped a little further away. I think between them, it became a game. He was learning to hunt, they were not the hunted. But crows are very smart. They were in no danger, but it was no harm to teach a young hunter to hunt. And so I think it is he who leaves the offerings.

Why is it important to say he is a male cat? Well, recently a female cat has decided to wander my back garden. I watched one day as they passed each other, one coming in, one going out.

They walked very slowly past each other, pretty much keeping eye contact. Until they had passed by, and each just went on about whatever business cats do. Both tails were up, so no aggression intended, but I think they liked each other.

The new lady is a ginger cat, and I think I know who her ultimate father was.

My now sadly departed aunt used come over, and stop off with us. Often she was heading up to the big smoke to visit other relatives, but a haven, and to be honest a bathroom, before making that part of the journey was something she enjoyed. She usually spent at least a night, and my Mum and she would be up all night talking. I often wondered what they could talk about for so long, now I am starting to understand.

But this one time she came, and she asked for help from us young ones. She had her cat in the back – she did not want to leave him alone while she was gone, and intended to ask us to look after him. His name was Teddy. So we all stood along the back of her car as she very gently opened it. She had made a lovely bed for him for the journey, and had made water and food available. And a ginger streak of lightning whizzed out of the back and made for the trees at the front of our garden.

My aunt’s reaction was pretty much ‘Oh no, not again!’ He did not come back, but ever since then there have been a large number of ginger cats in my town where previously there were none.

So I am kind of curious to see what happens between the black and white, and the ginger. Will Teddy’s legacy live on?

And it makes me curious. Which one is actually leaving the offerings?

Slightly Bemused’s column appears here every Wednesday.

Pic posed by model

Broadsheet.ie