Blogging from the Bog

   There are some often used phrases that are conveniently employed by us instead of excuses, explanations or downright uninterest.  One of my favorites is "leave it with me…", which is most commonly used to end a conversation by the person being asked for some out of the ordinary item or unanswerable question, or Heaven forbid a committment to action.  More often than not what they would like to say is "leave me alone about this will ya?"

   If confronted by these words: leave it with me, you can soon expect to experience the meaning of another well worn phrase: "the long finger". This is where a promise, project, or an idea gets put by someone who has no interest whatsoever in following through with the original agenda.  The long finger is of course the middle one and it strikes me as appropriate.  Like one of the pics in the collage of photos on The Swearing Lady’s blog page, whenever I hear the phrase "Leave it with me",  I automatically visualize the speaker using the same erect and vertical hand signal showing the asker what exactly they can expect.

   These are of course euphemistic expressions for the word procrastination, which is an abbreviated form of the auld Oirish phrase: "Problems create an arse scratchin’ situation", used by many in days gone by to stall the pace of the conversation until a way out could be conjured up without causing embarassment to the asker or a committment from the askee, because we all know the object of the game is to "take it handy".

   Taking it handy is getting the easy way out.  Should you be in a work environment and your gaffer suspects you of procr-arse-scratchin’ the situation on his time you may expect a high pitched keening scream of "Get the finger out!" which may be answered by the brave with a two-fingered salute.  Some cute hoor way back when decided to camoflague and disquise the one fingered salute with this one.  In addition to the middle finger, which bears the message, the pointing finger is also held up (both rather limply) towards their intended target, in this case the boss.  If a confrontation ensues yer man can always use the excuse that he only meant he’d be along in two minutes.

   In the two months I’ve been blogging there have been many occasions where topics have included classic examples of "the long finger" approach to settling a discussion and I thought it might be interesting to set up a "Long Finger Award" to give credit where credit is due.  We’ll start with only three.  The first, in chronological order, would be the Galway Water Crisis where no solution has yet been found after 100 days and our third largest city still goes without drinkable water.  Next would be the internal investigation being (or maybe not being) conducted by the Mater Hospital over the Easter resurrection scandal and finally the longest example to date (nearly 30 years) of successive governments giving the two-fingered salute to the European Parliament over directives  handed down for compliance, which, if the government "acts the ostrich" and continues to ignore the inevitable will result in large fines.  Maybe with the salute they are saying, "two more years"?

   This, anyway, is the kickoff announcement for "The Long Finger Awards" and we’ll see where it takes us.  If you have any other examples of this behaviour and candidates you would like to nominate for this award please send them along and we will add them to the list.  If all goes well we may have many choices to publish and different categories to vote on!  Leave it with me. 

   The power of blogging and the scope of it’s reach is being demonstrated here in Ireland by the reaction received by Damien Mulley over his blog about the mishandling of his luggage during a trip through Cork Airport. 

   His article, written on June 4th, was critical of the baggage handling and elicited responses from many sympathetic to his plight and by some who had similar experiences.  But, what is making this news today is the invasion of his privacy seemingly conducted through a Sky Handling Partners company computer.  It appears they used the Internet to try to harass, embarass, and cause harm to Mr. Mulley’s reputation by using his personal information on various websites after requesting that he remove his post from the popular site.

   In a show of comraderie bloggers are backing Mulley in his battle with the baggers with comments of support, stories and links to this and other related articles on the subject.  It is overloading some websites and getting the ire up with a battalion of bloggers who have both an opportunity to see one of our own get justice and to witness a healthy respect for the power of blogs in general.

   Give ‘em hell Damien!

   Without a doubt the only political issue that seems to be gender specific must be the abortion question.  All the other issues I can think of pertain to both sexes equally in some manner or form in this country.  Here in Ireland women can vote, they have access to all educational facilities, women can join the military, drive cars and own property.  We have women in politics (though not enough), we have world class female athletes, and we are blessed with women professionals in business, law and medicine.  These achievements are not available in every modern country in the world; but, the problem is: Irish women do not have the Right of Choice when it comes to their own bodies.

   Well, let me clarify that, they can make the choice to have an abortion but they must also be prepared to travel outside the country to have the procedure.  The numbers of those who are making the journey these days are down, according to the IFPA, to just over a 100 per week!  Also in the report is the startling fact that over 117,000 women have gone to Britain (not to mention other countries which are not monitored) between the years 1980-2004 to follow through with their decision to abort a pregnancy.  For an objective article and the story concerning Rhonda K of Dublin, we can see how hypocritical our system is.  The laws, as they stand, are letting the women of Ireland down in a very grievous way.

   We all would love to think that the news of every pregnancy is a welcomed moment of joy for the expectant mother; but, only the naive believe this must be true in every case. What is needed here is a new referendum to be included in the next election.  Since this is entirely a  womens issue the ballot paper for this referendum should be a separate page and handed to women only at the polling place.  Ultimately it is the mothers perogative and responsibility and we should respect and support that here in Ireland and be the first to show that women here are capable of making their own decisions for their own bodies.

   Now that there is a sitting coalition in government guess what?  There is Opposition!  No sooner had Bertie bought off the Independents and placated the Greens than Dublin Labour MEP Proinsias De Rossa published a condemnation of the handling of the shellfish directive handed down by the EU in 1979!

   As noted earlier in the blog Much Ado… it is incumbent upon the politicians to avoid some of these heavy fines coming down the road at us.  In the statement published on the 14th of June De Rossa accuses the government of prevarication, procrastination might be a better choice of word as this and some of the other directives were levelled at Ireland as many as a dozen years ago, in it’s inability to get the finger out on the issue. 

   In addition to the shellfish directive there are other outstanding violations in the areas of dairy quotas, water pollution, animal testing, and illegal fishing to list a few totalling costs in fines of over €40 billion!  With other legal actions concerning the environment, farming and the construction industry the total in fines could be doubled if some resolutions are not found soon!

   The headline of Wednesday’s Daily Mail reads "Cult Killed My Brother" and above in smaller print, "Suicide note full of references to damnation, family tell inquest".  Written by Shane Phelan, he goes on to say, that a controversial religious cult named as the International Church of Christ has been blamed, presumably by the family, for a 40 year old member of the sect throwing himself in front of a speeding train.

   Indeed, the International Church of Christ (ICOC) aka the "Boston Movement", has come under great criticism for their tactics, and former member Steve Rausch relates his experience with them and describes their methods.  There are many branches of this group headed by different individuals so only by comparing their philosophies and modus operandi can it be confirmed that an identical group has been formed in Dublin.

   Cult is a word usually used to describe a small, close-knit, group of people with a great veneration for a person, ideal, philosophy or thing.  It was the horrible events of Charles Manson’s "family" murders and Jim Jones’ "Peoples Temple" mass suicides that gave the word it’s derogatory and inflammatory connotation.  Today it’s meaning can be considered slanderous and offensive by some organisations.

   Apparently there are enough of these groups within Ireland to command a symposium on the legalities of the term’s usage in the media, and ways in which they can combat that label from being attributed to them through the judicial system.  A few years ago Tom McEnaney reported about this in the Sunday Times.  Are there that many organisations out there worried about being labelled CULTS?  It would appear so!

   Not all of these dysfunctional groups need be of a religious persuasion but most of the attention grabbers are.  JL Pagano wrote in one of his blogs entitled Scientology and Him that he was "absolutely amazed" at their carry on.  The Irish Mirror printed an article (with photos) as far back as May 1998 about a Dublin Church of Christ, is this the same group named in Wednesday’s Irish Daily Mail ?  Makes you wonder.

   Another husband and wife team who started a new religion in the east Galway town of Tuam were exposed in 2004 in Ireland on Sunday by reporter Nicola Byrne which ultimately drove them underground.  In the article Nicola writes, "Mary Sheridan, the woman behind the Tuam based cult, King of Kings, insisted this weekend that her sect will survive despite facing accusations of fraud, brainwashing, and destroying marriages."  Ms. Byrne continues, "Mary and Ossie Sheridan have said on numerous occasions that God has given them Tuam and this sudden media attention is called persecution.  She doesn’t accept any responsibility for the emotional, mental, or spiritual abuse that ex-members have endured and that her husband has permitted."   Mary and Ossie Sheridan

   What kind of people join these types of groups?  Are you a candidate?  Have a look at this information on cults to find out what characteristics the usual victims posses.  There are over 5,000 different cults operating in the US today, most of which keep a low profile.

   The established media, beginning with print journalism, seems to be very lazy in their reporting.  Often times you’ll see the same photos dominating the front pages of competing newspapers with nearly the same messages from these hacks.  Then every channel on the radio news regurgitates it over and over and then the talk shows have a go, and finally it ends up on the Six O’clock.  Whether correctly or incorrectly reported in the first instance, it is a license to chin wag all day long because in the end the paper will take the hit for error, because everyone else just re-tells what’s in the papers today. 

   How droll and mundane.  The only news that gets reported are the stories that come to the papers, there are no journalists anymore that go out looking for news.  The importance of blogging during the recent election was mooted by Damien Mulley and that idea could be developed further into all news reporting.  Why shouldn’t bloggers get the scoops?

   There is plenty of news out there to go around I should think, though it would take some looking and digging unless you happened upon it by chance.  Not every story would be headlined on the evening news but I suspect there are more enthusiastic bloggers out there than reporters.

   As an instance, I was struck by the amount of EPA Prosecutions that have occured in Cavan in the last few years.  Both Limited Companies and individuals have been successfully brought to court and have been fined for violations, some are repeat offenders and County Cavan has just over 16% of the total.  What’s up with that?

   On the fifth of February this year Liffey Meats (Cavan) Ltd., who received licensing in April 1998, were successfully prosecuted for the fifth time and the fine this time was for contaminating waterways and cost them €14,987.  Five prosecutions in less than 9 years? is that news worthy?  If you lived in Ballyjamesduff or near Lough Sheelin you might think so, if you drink water from public supplies you might be interested, if water quality is of any concern you may wonder: how bad and where else?  There were 10 violations in Cavan since 2004 out of 61 for the entire country.  What’s going on up there?

   The Irish political scene is in some state, Bertie Ahern, who received 12,734 votes out of a population of 4 million (that translates into about 0.00318%), is negotiating with other parties to set up a coalition government which will re-establish him as Taoiseach (Prime Minister).

   During the Election Campaign of 2007 Bertie announced that we were the richest country in the world and the biggest exporter of technology in Europe.  He also said that he was not guilty of any wrongdoings involving finances during his Ministerial years in the early 1990’s.

  Whatever about the finances (the Mahon Tribunal is investigating these and other matters), it is ludicrous to believe that we are the richest country.  One only needs to look at the Immigration numbers and origins to tell us which countries we are doing better than (Poland, Lithuania, Bulgaria), there are not waiting lists of migrant workers coming from elsewhere in Europe or North America.  As to exporting IT, only Microsoft, taking advantage of cozy tax breaks, is responsible for that and they make sure no monies other than wages and 12.5% of the profits stay here.

   After three generations of Nanny State mentality it seems we are struggling to come "into our own" as regards to our dependency on central government.  The founders of the New State had vision and no money whereas the elected (leaders is an inappropriate term here) of the New Millenium have plenty of money and no brains.  With an opportunity to eradicate many social ills of the nation and to lay the groundwork for future economic growth and security, Fianna Fail(ed).

   In true fact the state of Irish politics suggests cliches like "all smoke and no fire" and a "tempest in a teapot".  In 2007 Europe the job of Irish politicians is to properly manage our resources, keep the peace, provide for the populace, and to avoid getting fined by the EU for being eejits.  End of story.  The major issues will be dealt with and determined by the EU Parliament.

   Real credit for our continuing economic success is due to previous EU investment (to help us "out of the bog"), the Irish business entrepreneurs who took risks during the 80’s and 90’s, the multi-nationals who take advantage of a low corporate tax rate, and most importantly on the people themselves who bear the burden of high prices, inept public services, and incompetent politicians.  I didn’t hear any of them being given any kudos by Bertie this election season did you?

   All the nearby fields around the towns of Ballyghastly and Dunshaggin have been intensively farmed for years.  Over grazing and frequent ploughing combined with heavy fertilizer usage have greatly diminished the variety of what were once common wildflowers.  Some of these fields have now been filled with new homes in this Tiger economy and the plants used for landscaping are getting as monotonous as the architecture they are supposed to enhance.

   I had to re-fence a long stretch of my property bordering on the Bog Mile last year and decided, for posterity, to seed the turned up ground with wildflowers.  The poppies, cornflowers, campion, and others are coming up beautifully these past few weeks and look great growing along with a variety of grasses.  It adds contrasting colours to the roadside and is a joy to the eyes.

   The striking reds and blues really stand out and are attracting all sorts of little flying creatures including bumble and honey bees, hoverflies and butterflies.  These flowers are seldom seen around anymore and it is great to see new ones blossoming daily and brightening the area.

   Little winged creatures are not the only ones noticing the change to the scenary.  Over the past few days I was finding that some of the blooms were missing and that the stalks were shredded.  Being that they are wildflowers they are not bothered by snails or slugs as other plants and flowers introduced to the wild are.  The plants were too tall for the hares to chew off the tops and none were trampled by shifting cattle or driven over by traffic. 

   The cornflowers, which are bright blue, seem to have been the most affected and as these were few in the wildgarden I kept a particularly close eye on the others for any clues.  The plants are tall, over two feet, and have a dozen or so flowers that spray out into a fan like fireworks on thin stems.  One plant was missing tonight when I checked after work.  It had been pulled out by the roots, a big gaping hole in its’ place, and nowhere to be seen.  Now what kind of wild animal could have done that?

   I suppose I could get upset that someone had pulled up the plant and carried it away, it will not live if they try to replant it; but, after some thought I realized that although it’s a shame, it is more of a compliment to the idea of bringing back the much needed wildflowers to our countryside.  Anyway maybe it brought a smile to some girls face to think her man was so thoughtful as to bring her a rare flower.