Alexia Blogs

Photo owned by inyucho (cc)

And McCreevy’s at it again! The Irish Times this morning is reporting (paywall link) that the EU Commissioner Charlie McCreevy said yesterday at a meeting hosted by the European Commission that “no sane, sensible person” would read the Lisbon Treaty and that he hadn’t either. The Referendum Commission’s consolidated information is apparently fine for people to read who value their sanity.

It’s extraordinary to note that while McCreevy describes people who read the Treaty from start to finish as insane, he still has the gall to go out canvassing in Kildare with the Taoiseach. Right, so you are convincing us to vote yes but you are publicly saying that you don’t know what you are voting for? Sane people apparently vote for things they don’t understand, the rest of the electorate are probably reading legislation in padded rooms.

Oh, and apparently a vote resulting in a Yes is just a formality. More From IT piece:

He [McCreevy] described the treaty as a “tidying up exercise” which might make it a harder sell for the Yes side. “There is not a big point that one can build a campaign around.”

How the hell can he say that the treaty is a formality, mere EU housekeeping when he has said he hasn’t read the text? Those pesky Terms and Conditions. I wonder does he get screwed when he signs agreements too, as it seems he doesn’t care for fine print.

Is there anything more powderkeg than a prominent voice of the European project patronising the electorate that hold the final yea or nay on the bill? Gaff McCreevy really has a deft touch. It’s something I miss about his isolated secondment out to Europe. More like the naughty boys corner. Maybe he’d do best to stay in the corner and count bricks.

I haven’t decided which way to vote yet, but I know I’m off this weekend to solidify my reputation as insane by reading the whole document and making up my own mind. Are you?

Who knew that dropping “fuckers” in the Dáil could be one the smartest yoof moves that Cowen could have done, a few wet weeks into his tenure as Taoiseach? “He’s not such a dryballs after all”.

Hmm. Deliberate? I don’t think so. Connecting with more young people than Ógra Fianna Fáil? Quite possibly. Now, what could Enda do to top this?

Heard of Wikipedia? How about McCainpedia? Nope? The Democratic National Committee have gone all Web 2.0 and have built a Wikipedia clone stuffed full of anti-McCain spin. At least they’ve grasped the web, the Republicans are probably still sending telegrams.

It’s closed for updating. Pity that. I thought the spirit of Web 2.0 was all about opening up content systems for user submission. Here’s their spiel:

McCainpedia.org is a wiki run by the DNC’s Research, Communications, and Internet teams. The goal is to centralize research material, allowing the general public to use it as they see fit. Unlike some wikis, McCainpedia is read-only and can’t be edited by the public. This allows us to fully validate all of the information that appears, ensuring accuracy and reliability.

A read-only wiki? Love it. Now that’s not very Democratic, is it?

The Democrat love of wikis doesn’t stop there. Obama supporters have jumped on the bandwagon and created Obamapedia. Hey these guys are more democratic that the DNC web team. You can actually update some pages - Undecided Voters and Barak Obama Supporters. Two pages. Let’s jump up and down.Where is Hillarypedia in this ruck?

.. but that’s only if you are a student and you produce what they deem as the best minute-long video for the Yes To Lisbon campaign.

As well as being a neat idea and a cheap and effective piece of PR, it’s a good way to get kids to read about the Treaty. Secondary and Third-Level students need only apply. The deadline is June 1st. Via Seamus Ryan’s blog.

Photo owned by Zyllan (cc)

Socialism is great. It’s a political movement that stays true to its homespun roots.

• Forget about the sexual objectification of Miley Cyrus in Vanity Fair, think about Disney running adverts with girls in bras in China.
• Cuban citizens finally get the opportunity to buy mobiles legally. I find this just a little sad, why so long? It took a change of Castro for this to happen. Especially since over 300,000 cagey Cubans have grey accounts with foreign operators. Just over 7,000 Cubans have signed up with the official operator ETECSA to an insanely expensive package. Small steps, but still sad.
• Russia’s nouveau riche will save the British luxury car industry.

I don’t know about Bertie, but I’m blushing at the tributes fellow politicians are paying him. Ass kissing time. Here’s a few choice words that Enda has for Bertie: 

He is popular not because he draws attention to himself by being entertaining, anecdotal or great craic, but because he draws attention away from himself. He is always and everywhere focused on others. He is an absorber of other people’s hopes, dreams and problems. He is a silent supportive listener, rather than the life and soul of the party. He is a mirror of other people’s needs.

…

It is tough to relinquish power, and particularly tragic in some cases, for people who love either protocol or vanity and who suffer from pride. The Taoiseach has none of these problems. I do not believe you have any personal vanity.

…

When people ask me whether I ever was jealous of Bertie Ahern, I reply that I never was. However, I suffered from envy on the odd occasion, one of which took place at Croke Park when Mayo played Dublin. The Taoiseach went onto the pitch and the band played the Taoiseach’s salute.

Right, Enda. Just jealous of going out on the Croker with Mayo. Jesus, I’d be worried how ambitious Enda is. So, Enda would rather be out on Croker than comfortably ensconced in the Taoiseach’s office? Ooops. 
Labour’s Eamon Gilmore joined the slurp party congratulating Ahern on his contribution to the peace process in Northern Ireland. He got a few digs in an economic growth though: 

The Taoiseach enjoyed office during a time of rapid and sustained economic growth, conditions that would have been the envy of any of his ten predecessors who had the honour to lead an independent Irish Government. You did many positive things in your time in office that will remain as a monument to you. There was a great growth in personal wealth, for some at least. There was a huge increase in the number of people in employment. You showed a great commitment to the social partnership process and delivered a period of almost unprecedented industrial peace. While there were other things we believe you could and should have done, that analysis can be left for another day.

Eamon Ryan chimed in. He reminised through teary eyes, I’m sure. Lots of one-person talk too. But Eamon, today isn’t about you! 

I wish to characterise the Taoiseach’s clearest and main legacy. I speak as a member of a party which prides itself on having consensus politics as our foundation and roots. He was good at consensus politics and skilful in applying them to the historic issue we faced on this island in terms of sovereignty. He applied consensus politics to Europe like no other European politician has managed to do. Nobody else has had the same success in pulling people together. I have seen him in action during the 11 months I have been in government and it is interesting to see how he works. Sometimes an issue comes to a head and we do not agree on it or think it will work. He would approach it, let it back out and give it some time before returning to it so that people have the chance to work through words and see if a consensus decision can be found. 

You gotta love Mary Harney: 

You are the only socialist I could say so many nice things about. The former Minister for Finance said there was only one other socialist in the Dáil but he has not told me yet who is that other person - perhaps he has told the Taoiseach. 

Oh, and Brian Cowen chipped in too. But his comments were predictable and boring. The tributes start here. 

Edit: Cleaning up formatting

The Enda Kenny Fan Club might shed a tear given today’s launch of Take Enda With You - why not stop by and give them a hug?

See, they know Enda after all - look here and here. 

So, yesterday was Bertie’s swansong. Journos cried into their notebooks as Bertie announced May 6th as the date of his resignation. Just a day later, and political foodies are at it. Carving up Enda Kenny. God knows with Bertie gone, the political horizons will be a little more grey and cardboardy.

In the spirit of this, Take Enda With You has been launched, so that Bertie can do Irish politics one final act of altruism. And there’s a ‘Bertie, Take Enda With You’ Facebook group too. Damien get out of my links.

Bertie is resigning. From the RTE.ie feed:

“..Recent developments have not motivated my decision..”

“..Never have I put my personal interests before public good..”

“..Never received a corrupt payment..”

He’s tendering his resignation to President McAleese on Tuesday, 6th of May as Taoiseach and Uachtaran of Fianna Fail.

Update: Suzy points us here for the text of Bertie’s speech. Tis slow and SQL is creaking. Be patient.

Update: Loving the Politics.ie Bertie thread. The fun is on Twitter though..

Here’s a post I wrote some time ago on the viewing of ‘Battle in Seattle’ during the Dublin International Film Festival.

Waking up on a Saturday morning is difficult to do. Waking up early on Saturday morning, even more so. How does one generate the sort of energy to oscillate oneself out of their toasty reveries and into the biting Febuary cold? Why with the carrot of an early morning show at the Savoy for the Dublin International Film Festival to see Charlize Theron and erm, Stuart Townsend in the flesh for a post-movie Q&A session, of course.

Sitting in dark, those first few seconds were pregnant with anticipation. My first movie of the festival. Last year’s showing of the ‘The Good German’ let me down, so hopes were high. As the credit rolled up I knew I was in trouble.. Ooo, World Trade Organisation vs. Hippie protesters. Nice. Perhaps I should have read the programme. I barely know where my movies are on (I had that many), not to mind what they’re about.

‘Battle in Seattle’ is set during the WTO meeting in Seattle in the Winter of 1999. It’s a fictionalised account of the protest, primarily told through the eyes of anti-globalisation protesters. I like to think my politics are fairly liberal. I believe in free, open and liberal international trade. I believe in equal rights for all irrespective of gender, religion, race, sexuality or any other label that we use to create taxonomies of people. I also like to believe that these goals are common to all. Aspirations that humanity ought to reach for, right? Apparently, not. If the nanny-stated ‘Battle in Seattle’ is anything to go by, then there are protesters with lots of bleeding hearts that fight the ‘good fight’ and there’s the rest of us.

Oh yes, our heroes are people on the coal-face that like to rile against authority. Lame attempts at humanising police officers fail miserably. In the scene, where we are introduced to the police officers’ in their natural habitat, gearing up in a changing room, we witness the officers getting a bit mad and punching lockers. Harrelson creaks through the picture and gets to play angry cop who beats on protesters.

The point that the movie leaves with me is that those who fight under a banner that is labeled, do little to move on the consensus. Like those anti-globalisation protesters for example, this film is manna for the agenda. Protesters are heroes. People who sacrifice for things they believe in. They are Jesus figures. The film likes to think that the police are misguided by the heavy, yet invisible hand of commercial power-brokers. Monied heads whose lobbyists and political toys sit in the seats of public administration. Absolutely - society and commerce are tied together. Try to unwind one thread and the other wrestles free as well.

The movie was followed with a lengthy Q and A session. I couldn’t be bothered in asking any hard questions. People were undeniably there for one of two reasons: to give more noise to the anti-globalisation movement or to see an Oscar winner. Neither group was going to pressure the actors into answering real questions or interested in anyone with contrary views asking.

Battle.. is the kind of movie that seventeen teenagers called Daisy or Squeak would like. Most probably members of a left leaning political yoof movement like Young Labour or the Greens, that find it easier to braid their hair or stick up posters for yet another public demonstration than get off their arses and impact change in their community. Yes, let’s write letters to save the sea otter instead of visiting your elderly aunt that has problems leaving the house and is desperately lonely. It’s much easier to feel like contributing to a change when press bites congratulate your movement. Yeah, only bleeding hearts need apply. And yes, that brigade did congratulate and whoop at the end of the movie. I felt sad. Sad for society. Charity and change starts at home with the little things, with generosity and doing things invisibly. I wonder will this cadre ever learn that lesson.