Whatever next? NAMA, the biggest scam ever to be pulled on the the Irish people.
The simple story is this; Irish Banks (with the blessing of the Irish government and their own shareholders) went into the international market place and borrowed money like kids in a candy store. They re-lent it out to the Irish people with an almost abandonment of risk. That is to say that every Tom, Dick and Harry in the country was lined up and money pressed into his pocket. In the case of property developers it was millions and for the ordinary Joe Soap, it was thousands. The money was basically spent on property and its derivatives; a useful little industry for a while, but one with no real future. Now these Toms et al can't pay back, the banks are bust and the government (essentially us) have to step in to prevent them (and by extension the country) from under.
Now it would be reasonable to think that the people who presided over this mess would feel totally ashamed and would immediately fall on their swords, take their punishment or at least hide their faces. But not our morally bankrupt crowd! The politicans dream up NAMA. This is a scheme whereby the Irish taxpayer will have to pay back all the bad loans over the next 2 or 3 generations, without getting anything in return. (By the way, the Germans will prevent us wiping out those debts with inflation. ) The Irish banks, free of their bad loans, will become profitable again and their value rise. Qui bono? Why none other than the bank shareholders, who of course are closely related to the politicans. They will sit back and see their share price rise once again!
All those happy- go- lucky graduates now coming out out of college will soon realise that they have been ripped off and have another 30 or 40 years of this to face. They will not be happy campers. Worrying?
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Bring back the Brits.
God what a country we have. The one single thing that the stands out from the Ryan Report is that we are no better at running our affairs in the present than we were in the past.
When the British left in 1921 and handed the country over to the IRA, it was a very sad day for Ireland. The clock was turned back and we immediately became a quasi third world country. The British did a good job when they were here; the Irish were reasonably well off by the early part of the twentieth century. By the standards of the time, they lived a good life in a well ordered society. But all that was reversed withing a decade or so.
Our new leaders of state solved their problems by hiding them; we exported our youth, and we brutally locked away our unfortunate and dispossessed. We recruited volunteers to run our education and health systems; basically the priests, the nuns and the brothers. And some of these volunteers got mightily pissed off with their lot in life and turned into savages.
And through those dreadful years from the 1930's onwards, the dogs in the street knew what was going on in the institutions of the new found Irish State. Nobody cared and nobody was prepared to stand up and say that this was wrong. The IRA were so inept at what they were doing. that everyone was totally preoccupied with keeping the wolf from the door. There was no time the less fortunate in life. Is it any wonder that the Unionists had the horrors about joining up with us.
And what is the reaction of modern Ireland? Well true to our hypocritical nature we refuse to accept our guilt and immediately turn our ire towards the remnants of the Religious Orders; the last few remaining men and women who dedicated their lives to Ireland, now in their latter years and lacking the energy to defend themselves. The cowardly Irish, it would make you sick.
We are in a lot of trouble in this dear little country of ours right now. For the past 10 to 15 years we have behaved like children let loose in a candy store, with the result that we are much less fit to face the difficulties of this world than we should be. We can no more control ourselves today than we could in the past. There is only one solution, bring back the Brits!
When the British left in 1921 and handed the country over to the IRA, it was a very sad day for Ireland. The clock was turned back and we immediately became a quasi third world country. The British did a good job when they were here; the Irish were reasonably well off by the early part of the twentieth century. By the standards of the time, they lived a good life in a well ordered society. But all that was reversed withing a decade or so.
Our new leaders of state solved their problems by hiding them; we exported our youth, and we brutally locked away our unfortunate and dispossessed. We recruited volunteers to run our education and health systems; basically the priests, the nuns and the brothers. And some of these volunteers got mightily pissed off with their lot in life and turned into savages.
And through those dreadful years from the 1930's onwards, the dogs in the street knew what was going on in the institutions of the new found Irish State. Nobody cared and nobody was prepared to stand up and say that this was wrong. The IRA were so inept at what they were doing. that everyone was totally preoccupied with keeping the wolf from the door. There was no time the less fortunate in life. Is it any wonder that the Unionists had the horrors about joining up with us.
And what is the reaction of modern Ireland? Well true to our hypocritical nature we refuse to accept our guilt and immediately turn our ire towards the remnants of the Religious Orders; the last few remaining men and women who dedicated their lives to Ireland, now in their latter years and lacking the energy to defend themselves. The cowardly Irish, it would make you sick.
We are in a lot of trouble in this dear little country of ours right now. For the past 10 to 15 years we have behaved like children let loose in a candy store, with the result that we are much less fit to face the difficulties of this world than we should be. We can no more control ourselves today than we could in the past. There is only one solution, bring back the Brits!
Monday, April 13, 2009
Shopping
Where have all the shoppers gone? I walked around the men's dept. in BT's last Thursday evening and the staff where doing nothing but twiddling their thumbs. They didn't even have to put the shirts back on the rails because there was nobody there to try them on in the first place. Driving into town during the middle of the day on Holy Saturday was like driving in on Easter Sunday morning. There were no cars on the streets. And there were no shoppers in the shops either.
Who the hell does Brian think he's kidding with his Budget? Money's falling everywhere except in the wages of the civil servants and the costs of public services. Imagine 3euro to park for an hour in the center of Dublin? People know that the Budget was a fake, despite its severity.
Its not just Brian who lacks the bottle to tackle 'the problem'; no politican is ready to go near this one. And for the life of me I can't understand why? There is a political vacuum opening up in this country, and sooner or later its going to find expression. Personally I think that point will come (and in the not too distant future either) when the government pay and welfare cheques will start to bounce. It would be far better for us all if some group would get ahead of this event and be there, ready to take control and restore order when it happens. Because one this is sure, all hell is going to break loose at that point. Its a gift horse for any politician but for now all they can do is stare into its face.
Who the hell does Brian think he's kidding with his Budget? Money's falling everywhere except in the wages of the civil servants and the costs of public services. Imagine 3euro to park for an hour in the center of Dublin? People know that the Budget was a fake, despite its severity.
Its not just Brian who lacks the bottle to tackle 'the problem'; no politican is ready to go near this one. And for the life of me I can't understand why? There is a political vacuum opening up in this country, and sooner or later its going to find expression. Personally I think that point will come (and in the not too distant future either) when the government pay and welfare cheques will start to bounce. It would be far better for us all if some group would get ahead of this event and be there, ready to take control and restore order when it happens. Because one this is sure, all hell is going to break loose at that point. Its a gift horse for any politician but for now all they can do is stare into its face.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Posh and Becks.
I was watching Barrack and Michelle on Sky News getting out of AF1 last week in some European country or other. By the time they were half way down the aircraft steps I had to flick them off the tv. What I saw nearly made me sick; they have become the new Posh and Becks!
This could be funny enough if it wasn't so serious. Right now Barrack Obama has a really unbelievable difficult job to do. I'm not sure he's up to the task, but I won't know until he at least makes a start. But he hasn't started yet and he won't either until he gets rid of Michelle. Now of course I don’t mean get rid of her in that way, but he has to put her back in the box. He has to tell her that celebrity is finished and that it's only proving to be a distraction for him. George Bush was not everybody's cup of tea. But one thing that was absolutely perfect about him was that he had a perfect wife. She was that good at her job that I can hardly even remember her name now. Michelle, I want to completely forget about you too!
This could be funny enough if it wasn't so serious. Right now Barrack Obama has a really unbelievable difficult job to do. I'm not sure he's up to the task, but I won't know until he at least makes a start. But he hasn't started yet and he won't either until he gets rid of Michelle. Now of course I don’t mean get rid of her in that way, but he has to put her back in the box. He has to tell her that celebrity is finished and that it's only proving to be a distraction for him. George Bush was not everybody's cup of tea. But one thing that was absolutely perfect about him was that he had a perfect wife. She was that good at her job that I can hardly even remember her name now. Michelle, I want to completely forget about you too!
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Bank Raid
As we head towards B-day, it must be increasingly tempting for Brian and his advisers to follow the actions of our cousins on the other side of the Atlantic. No not those cousins, but our South American relatives! When they get in trouble, they just hold-up the banks and help themselves to loads of free dosh. After all Brian and his men have the perfect excuse. He's guaranteeing over 400 billion free of charge. Nobody gets free car insurance, why should they get free deposit insurance? A 1% levy would yield a nice 4 billion. Hmmm...
Brian's men are very worried. Not about us of course, but about themselves. The top civil service bosses are increasingly anxious about the future availability of their neat lump-sums and tidy pensions. Most of them will be collecting this over the next 4 or 5 years. But Brian's ability to act in the real economy is disappearing fast. So it could be time to don the balaclavas and saw off the shot guns. Git down on the floor, before I blow youse your fuckin heads off!
Brian's men are very worried. Not about us of course, but about themselves. The top civil service bosses are increasingly anxious about the future availability of their neat lump-sums and tidy pensions. Most of them will be collecting this over the next 4 or 5 years. But Brian's ability to act in the real economy is disappearing fast. So it could be time to don the balaclavas and saw off the shot guns. Git down on the floor, before I blow youse your fuckin heads off!
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
The New Crowd
Bring back the Celtic Tiger quickly! While we all had to put up with all the dreadful people it spawned , its demise has pushed a whole new set into our faces. Fintan O'Toole! He's popping up all over the shop. On Pat Kenny this morning with his taxing on the margins etc etc. Whst the hell does he know? And then there the most annoying voice on the airwaves, Joan Burton. The sound of it shoots me instantly back to my school-days with the screech of finger-nails on the blackboard. But these two are not alone, there are many, many more. God help us all.
Friday, March 13, 2009
The Blitz
At last the time has come, and all the shenanigans of the past 15 years here in Ireland will come tumbling out of the wash. God helps us all! But at least we are going to see an end to all the bullshit. But of course the way the world works is that no sooner have you done away with one crowd, than a new batch appear; Fintan o Toole, he just keeps cropping up all the time now on the box. And who was on last night with not a hair on his head and non-dressed in a stripped Penneys T, but Eamon McCann. At least the shinners present themselves half decently.
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