The Giving Lens

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Love thy neighbour?

Arnt humans lovely? They rape, murder, destroy, lie, cheat and steal. In fact, we are the only species on this planet who cause harm to others just for fun. I'm bored and I want something to do. I know, I'll go out and shoot something or I might even rape a baby. A dead baby! (Only species to fuck our own dead aswel.) But I must be home early, I've got church in the morning!

I just watched a video that accompanied a story about a man in Nigeria (according to comments, the people in the video are speaking Nigerian) who is set upon by a gang, in the middle of the day, on a busy street, and is kicked, punched, beaten with makeshift weapons and then set on fire to die in the street. All the while the local towns folk just stand idly by with their camera phones recording and taking pictures. The reason for this insane cruelty and apathy, according to self proclaimed Nigerian speakers, is that the victim is a thief and or murderer. Original claims that the man was gay and was thus set upon is most likely the reason this video was released online but in case, sexual orientation is irrelevent.

How is it that people can just treat another human as if they were an inanimate object? What does it say about that particular country's attitude to life? What exactly is wrong with us as a species? Seriously. Religious or not, how can anyone justify what happened to that man, and countless others?

I look at the world how it is and I both marvel and cry. Capable of such beautiful dreams and such horrible nightmares, people everywhere need to fuckin cop on. There was a warning before the video saying extremely graphic and that you wouldnt be able to watch the whole thing. I was aprehensive for the first minute or so and then I just kinda became numb. I think i'm so used to how people treat each other, not even an act or pure, sadistic, public cruelty like that could really phase me.

Fuck the world and everyone it,
We squander our potential,
We dont deserve any of it.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Your Free Astrological Reading....

....100% True and Accurate!*





AQUARIUS
Today you will wake up after having a nice sleep and think to yourself "Hmm...I might do that thing I said I would do if I got the chance" but upon reflection, you will scratch yourself and spend most of the afternoon not wearing pants.















PISCES
Ah, the fish. Sleek, wet Ninja's of the deep. Not at all like you. If you were a fish, you'd be the sturgeon, but a lot uglier. On the plus side though, that guy in the office you like has just gone through a painful divorce and so his standards have dropped immensely. Get him drunk enough and he may just feel you up at the next office party while he cries into his beer.
(This does not apply to my beautiful girlfriend who is amazing in every way :) x)













ARIES

The Moon is in your Uranus this weekend. Which makes a change from all that cock. You may be a slut, but my god are you good at it! Shine on, you crazy diamond!















TAURUS
Dont look now, but you have serious camel toe and you smell like the inside of a Whale's vagina. Your lucky number is 7. Someone will offer you a promotion in whatever dull, soul sucking job that you are wasting away in.














GEMINI
The most awesome star sign. You ooze sex appeal and awesomeness. Men want to be you and women want to be on you. Start every morning by demanding that everyone "come see how good you look". It will make them feel less like the miserable ingrates they are. I promise.













CANCER

Haha, you're named after a life threatening illness and your sign is a crab. God hates you.














LEO

You will do the followings this week: Sleep, eat, shower, check facebook. How am I so good at what I do? Being a psychic is like being awesome...it just flows through my veins, baby.













VIRGO

The "Virgin" HAHAAHAHAAHAAHAHAA, you? No, seriously.... only way you could be a virgin is if you're a 24 year old ginger dude, with Seven of Nine pj's who sits in his mother's basement, wearing his Cape of Kahoondor (+7 Dexterity), furiously masterbating to the un-realeased piolt to the re-booted Wonder Woman tv show.

...Oh, Oh I see....well then...... carry on.










LIBRA

You will have to make a difficult decision today.















SCORPIO

Things have been pretty boring lately. To spice things up, why not surprise your partner by dressing up in a naughty school girl outfit or sexy nurse uniform. You too, ladies.













SAGGITARIUS

This seemed like a funnier idea when I started. What? Oh right, the bullshit. Eh..... you will do something today that will make you...something something. I dont know. It involves a horse. Probebly.













CAPRICORN

You have no friends. It's because you're a dick.
















*everything I have just said is bollox. Just like all astrological readings/psychics and your face.

Pot. Kettle. Black.

US senator John McCain on the death of Gaddafi -

"The United States, along with our European allies and Arab partners, must now deepen our support for the Libyan people, as they work to make the next phase of their democratic revolution as successful as the fight to free their country."

Meanwhile, in New York...



Thursday, September 29, 2011

Primetime: Meet the Presidential Candidates.

So I Just watched Primetime's interviews of the Presidential candidates. I took a few notes on them while I watched. Notes that represent my instant reactions to who they are and what they said.

Michael D.Higgins: Respectable. Bit old but good 1st impression

Gay Mitchel: Twonk. Party Line parrot.

Martin McGuinness: Up himself. Terrorist.

Mary Davis: Pink Jacket. Do we really need another woman president? We have a Mayo toaiseach. That's enough.

Dana: Timmoy!!! Jesus, she actually sounds like a Stepford Wife. Her only weakness is crying. Apparently.

David Norris: Huge respect for the man. I was delighted when he announced when he was running. Pissed off that he was turfed out of the race. Its great that he got back in. C'mon, David. Sad that the whole interview was based around the feckin letters. Thats all it was. Everyone else got various questions. Another media attempt to assasinate Norris' character.

Sean Gallagher: Bald. Fianna Fail. Doesnt have a chance as far as I can see.


I hope to fuck that this campaign isnt yet another opportunity for RTE and the tabloids to drown Norris in horseshit.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Media coverage of the English Riots

BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Sky News, Twitter, Youtube, Blogs, RT, Aljazeera, etc etc. Where ever you have been following the footage of the riots around England, one thing has me questioning the agenda of these media outlets. In the past few hours, Twitter exploded talking about a tv channel that seemed to have just appeared out of nowhere. This channel is Sanghat TV. It can be found on Sky Channel 847 and online via blogs/Ustream feeds. This channel only has, or at least tonight only had 2 reporters, 2 cameras 1 van and a small crew to do everything. More than two hours ago, (around 03.40 am GMT) Upinder Randhawa, one of the journalists for this channel, broke the story that 3 men had been severly injured in a 'traffic collision' and were subsequently rushed to hospital in Dudley, Birmingham.

Reporting live outside the hospital amid a crowd of people, Upinder asked why he and his team seemed to be the only people reporting about this and other events in and around Birmingham during the day. Where were the mainstream media? He was alone at the hospital. The users of Twitter (I care not for ridiculous names such as the twitterati ect)were asking the same questions and let the likes of the BBC and Sky News know how they felt about it. Live footage at the time on Sangat TV showed the reaction of a brother of one or more of the victims (I could be wrong about the man's connection to the victims as I couldnt verify that)when he had recieved word that two of the 3 men had indeed died. It was intense and a bit hard to watch.

For the next hour, twitter users, myself included, were asking why the mainstream media seemed totally in the dark about this. The Sangat TV people are un-paid volunteers. Surely the might of Sy News, a 24 hour, 7 day a week, world wide news organisation could have verified and reported this in a very short time. And thats just Sky News. There are hundreds of news agencies that pride themselves on 'Breaking News'. As I sit here writting this, Sky News have indeed reported this story ( A mere one hour + after the fact) and as it turns out, according to an eye witness Sky News interviewed live via telephone, the 3 victims were apparently run down deliberatly by unidentified assailants. A murder investigation is now underway, according to Local Police. While Uphinder, at the scene, and the man interviewed on Sky both claim that the 3rd victim has also died, Sky News cannot confirm this at the present time.

My question? Was this simply a story that the mainstream news media decided to ignore for a certain period of time? While Twitter was ablaze with this story, and various stories during the day based on the reporting of Sangat Tv, both the BBC and Sky continuely reported the same stories over and over and over again, frustrating many. Keep in mind, Sky News used footage from Sangat Tv in its own broadcasts today several times and according to Uphinder, both the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and even CNN approached them in order to use their footage so obviously they were worthy enough and good enough reporters if the likes of those mentioned wanted to use their stuff. A possible reason for this apparent media blackout? Wait long enough to report this story so as to reduce any kind of possible reprisals? That opens up many more questions in my opinion. When we watch these so called 'Breaking News' Channels, are we really getting 'Breaking News'? Is it drip fed to us only after its been edited to suit the agenda of the the people broadcasting it? Endless, instant footage comes of the destruction happening in various cities around the world and indeed England these last few days. The majority of it negative and fearful. What I saw tonight, while sad, was real. It showed Muslims and Sikhs in a very positive light I must say and Upinder himself spent the night delivering very positive and passionate points of view in regards to the situation all the people of England have found themselves in.

Have I been caught up in the drama of it all? Perhaps. I do realise that a professional news agency needs to have if not all, then most of the facts before commiting to a story, but you and I would both be niieve in thinking everything we see in the mainstream news media is true and unbiased.

I just thought this was a very interesting development. While Sky News and the BBC spent hours replaying the same footage of Manchester and Liverpool and covering and recapping the same stories and interviews, Upinder and the Sangat team provided live, on the ground coverage almost uninterupted.

The lesson from all of this, if there is one, I guess is this: dont rely on just one or two sources for your information. Get out there, Search for as much as you can from as many sources as you can in order to build a fuller picture. The analogy of Plato's Cave comes to mind more and more.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Blergs

Just sitting here thinking "D'ya know, I used to really like watching The Outer Limits when I was younger. I wonder what happened to that show?" I'm talking about the revived series, not the 1965 black and white one. Anyway, one quick google search later and I find out that it ran from 1995 til 2001 on Showtime (in the States) and probebly on Sky 1 over here. That's a decent enough run, eh? I also discovered that it ran one more year on another channel after that before it was cancelled. That channel? The retardly re-named SyFy channel. Yet again, the bastards over there on the dipshit network took something I enjoyed and killed it.

Fuck SyFy.

End of Line.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

The Universe

Though I dont always understand it, I enjoy reading and watching videos about the universe, cosmology and things to do with QED, String Theory and stuff of that kind. I read a book a few months ago called 13 things that dont make sense. Tis a great read and i'd certainly recommend it. One particular thing that keeps popping up in my merry jaunts around these topics is that the Universe is not only expanding but the expansion is getting faster. Let that one roll around your brain pan for a second. Imagine throwing a pebble into a pond and seeing the ripples it causes getting faster the more they emminate from the epicenter. It doesnt make sense. Thus the way I try to reconcile this in my head is that the universe is shaped like some kind of steep hill or a surf board standing verticaly. The Big Bang started at the summit and the Universe has been rolling down the incline like a ball, getting faster and faster. The thought I just had while watching a talk on TED.com is this: Will this increase in speed ever reach terminal velocity or not?

It's times like this I wish I knew some astro physicists. Anyone have Neil deGrasse Tyson's number?

This brief musing has been brought to you by the number 3.14, the colour fuscia and TED.com Ideas Worth Sharing.

Monday, May 30, 2011

Brief thoughts about Senator David Norris

So after listening to an excerpt of 'Liveline with Joe Duffy' today (May 30th, 2011) I was prompted to give my two cents on the matter of Senator David Norris, possible, and hopefully next President of Ireland. You can listen to the show here:

http://www.rte.ie/radio1/podcast/podcast_liveline.xml.

Basically, a journalist called Lucy Burke hopped up on her soapbox, for reasons she believed valid and claimed David would'nt and indeed shouldnt be a presidential candidate based on an interview she conducted with the Senator back in 2002. Said article can be found here:

http://sites.google.com/site/norrisarticle/.

After listening to the callers on Liveline, (always a bizzare bunch if you ask me. One lad even stated Senator Norris should be locked up for what the article attributes to him)and reading both the article in question and the Senator's rebuttal,

(found here:http://www.norrisforpresident.ie/askdavid/magill-magazine-2002)

I have this to say:

I would like to believe there are enough intelligent people in Ireland that can see the difference between an honest discussion and tabloid, ignorant sensationalism. The article by Lucy Burke clearly took the conversation out of context in my opinion. The fact that there are sections highlighted in bold print just reeks of tabloid hackery. I actually agree with what Senetor Norris said in the article. While not gay, I can understand the alluring idea of being brought into the sexual world by someone who is older than you. It goes without saying (something Ms Burke didnt seem to realise) that obviously, there is zero support for underage sex. At least of the kind that she aluded to. Who in there right mind, when aged between, say, 14-16 would pass up an opportunity to fool around with a slightly older prospective lover of say 16-18? When I was 16, I would’ve loved the chance to fool around with an older girl. I’m sure gay teenagers of both sexes have the similar ideas/fantasies.

Now, my first thoughts on Ms Burke were those I usually attribute to the Liveline 'guests'. To wit: Potato headed buffon. Yes, i'm judgemental and all that jazz. Bite me. Then after a few minutes I started wondering, like others did, if Ms Burke had some sort of anti-Norris agenda that went further than an obscure interview from the dawn of the century. I can say century, because that is exactly what 2002 was. Ha, awesome. Anywhoo.... genuine concerned, albeit misguided, citizen? Or hack journalist looking to grind her axe? I shall let make up your own minds.


This missive brought to you by the number 37, the colour purple and this picture

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Untitled: The ramblings of a whingy, lazy gobshite

So i'm sat here in my pants, (as is my want. Its feckin warm, lads) and not for the first time over the course of the last few months, I find myself thinking "what is the point of all this?" Now, dont worry, I dont mean in any kind of deep, exsistential 'what is the meaning of life' way, I mean what's the point of me doing any of this university stuff here in Italy? Nothing I have done since I got here has anything at all to do with the degree i'm supposed to be working towards. I've sat in class rooms listening to lecturers waffle on about Fredrick Douglas and Lawrence Sterne. Huck Finn, W.B Yeats, Salman Rushdie and Ghana after colonial rule. Why? Apart from the obvious 'you picked those classes, Adam' reasons. The only reason I picked those classes was because they were taught in English. And a good thing too, because the English to Italian translation class i've been doing is like expecting a 94 year old woman in a wheel chair to become a Parkour champion. This year for me academically has been a complete waste of time if i'm honest. Yes, its partly to do with my lazy, irresponsible attitude towards things I dont like but its also due to the fact that apart from (failing) to learn to speak and understand Italian, nothing i was to do here had any significance at all. My degree, for all its worth, which isnt much I must admit, is Celtic Civilisation. I enjoyed doin that stuff for the most part in the first 2 years of uni. It was fun and engaging.

I didnt apply to college with any aspirations for academic glory. I did it because it was something to do. An idea I had that would both allow me to persue something I thought might be interesting and give me the chance of getting out on my own away from the pit that is Roscrea. Hooray, I thought. Midway through my 2nd year of uni I began thinking that perhaps I could make more of this further education lark. Well, I can state with almost certainty now, that is no longer the case. Erasmus has been hugely beneficial for me from a personal stand point. My self awareness has grown, meeting people from all over the globe has been educational, living in a forign culture and all that jazz has been a great experience. Academicaly though, as I have said, basically pointless. I'll never again have to wonder what so and so is trying to say in some part of some book I'd never even heard of. I dont care if Gulliver's travels is a political satire of 18th century life. Tell me, why would I need to know that Milan is pronounced Millin in Shakespear's 'The Tempest'? How is any of what I have done these last several months going to be useful to me in an exam or essay based on why Cú Chulainn is such a badass? Hmm? What the hell was the point in me spending 9 months in university that has zero, nothing, utter fuck all to do with what i've done the last two years and what I am meant to do for 1 more year? And why is it seen as a such a privilige?

I suppose i'm just having a whinge cus I'm just not arsed with this anymore. A couple of the classes i've done were interesting and entertaining (Something I look for) but the others bored me to tears. I dont think i was cut out for this lark at all. I enjoyed it back in Ireland cus it was fun, but I dont take it seriously enough. I feel guilty for complaining in a way since the students here have to fight for Erasmus places, and can only go if they can afford it. I was lucky financially and feel bad for whinging about how shitty the uni is here. I was pretty much told though that I HAD to go on Erasmus. Basically I HAD to go to Italy. I would've had to fight for a place in either Wales or Scotland I guess; but compared to Italy, why would I? It was either work in Italy for 3 months and pay your own way, I was told, or go to Uni. Which is kind of unfair since it says in the damn handbook that you must take courses in your degree subjects while abroad. Hey, guess what? I couldnt. They dont do my dgree subject in this country. So as much as I have enjoyed the personal experience and am very greatful for the opportunity, after 2 years of enjoying university more and more, I'm now sick to death of pointless bullshit, boredom and ridiculous bureaucracy.

I should be studying right now. In fact, I should've been studying for months, but I didnt. I'm a lazy, sick of it all, not bothered, whingy butthole. And I dont actually care! lol. I honestly dont care. How dumb is that? I'm going home to a country with zero jobs, i'll have fuck all money, i'm 28 in a couple weeks and I actually dont give a shit. The ONLY thing that is making me feel guilty is that a lovely family chose me to help out financially. I dont really care that I might not get to finish my degree. That I might have to payback a loan or two. That to me says that I shouldnt and probebly dont deserve to be in University. If I was a lot younger, you could chalk this down to me be immature and childish. Rebelling for the sake of it. And perhaps, that might be somewhat true. But I think im old enough to realise that if this is my attitude, then why should I force myself to continue to do something that clearly, I dont want to do. There are ofcourse things that one HAS to do, regardless of how they feel. They HAVE to shower. They HAVE to obey laws. They HAVE to keep their wobbly bits hidden from view while around small children. But why should we have to do things that have no significance? That bore us to tears and stress us out so much that we get ulcers and wind up making us miserable, lonely worker ants who inevitably explode in a fit of rage? (be it inwardly or the much more fun to watch outwardly)

I didnt particularly write this waffle so people could read it. This kind of rant/stream of conciousness is more a way of voicing my own internal viewpoints I guess. I find its better to write shit down rather than have it fester inside. Also, by doing it this way, you dont have to worry about people telling you to shut up, or pretending to listen haha.

See, I can write pages of this bollox without any problems at all. Why have I had so much trouble in doing stuff this year that I was SUPPOSED to do? Boggles my mind.

Monday, April 18, 2011

I found Jesus...

...on some toast/my window/dish cloth/cock.

Oh c'mon people, for fuck sake!!!! It's 2011. Can we stop all this ridiculous bullshit about seeing Jesus's image on random objects? Please? Also, why is it always Jesus? Why not Apollo or Isis or Ganesh? Now there's something i want to see! Some gormless headed fuck nugget with an IQ in the double digits ranting and raving about seeing an image of the elephant god on his naan bread!

Where is the fairness in these sightings anyway? Why is it always Christians who find these "miraculous" images? I know Muslims dont allow drawings of their number 1 guy, but what if he spontainiously appeared on a pop-tart? Would we even recognise him? (Due to the no drawing thing). In any case, I would pay top dollar for a stick of french bread depicting a scene of Mohammed corn-holing Krishna while Thor and Chalchiuhtlicue jerked each other off. (Aztec God of lakes and streams in case you were wondering) But no, its always the same old shit. Jesus face, Jesus face, Virgin Mary, Jesus face. Change the damn record already! Spice it up a little. Maybe a picture of Jesus surfing or fighting a T-Rex. Mary doing a strip tease, that kinda thing. Actually, since we're on the subject, why is it only pictures we get? This is the computer age. You would think that a being of omnipitent power would be able to conjure up something better than a shitty, smudgey, random grease spot on a towel that a few idiots think looks like that other ridiculous image on a very faded and centuries old towel that they keep locked away in this here fair city of Turin. Oi, JC! Cop the fuck on, man. Show us some of that voodoo that you do so well (apparently). You could turn water into wine, cure disease with a touch and come back from the dead. How about a fucking HD video thats projected onto the clouds, visible from every country on Earth? An interactive hologram that speaks and does card tricks. Get the Japanesse to help you with the techy stuff. They're good at that. Ooooh, better yet, appear in one of them plumes of smoke above the reactors in Fukashima! That'd be a laugh riot!

Just stop with the toast and the windows and the dish cloths. And stop "appearing" to mindless cretains. You did that a few thousand years ago. Dont you ever learn? Dont you want to grow and seek to better yourself?? You're always doing things in secret. Or maybe thats just your dad's schtick. Hmm, I can just imagine the day he decided it would be a good idea to announce his presence to the world: "Yes, the world shall know of me and my powers. That I, Jeff, created all of Time and Space. Now, what will be the best way to announce this? I could appear to everyone at the same time and prove conclusively that I exist. I could do it on a regular basis so nobody gets suspicious and therefor there would be absolutely no doubt! No, no. Too obvious. Oh, I know! I'll tell this man here. This illiterate pesant, in the middle of this desert, in the shit hole of nowhere, during the bronze age and get HIM to tell everyone that i'm real. And I'll only do it the once! I'll never again appear to anyone ever (unless they are totaly whacko thus ensuring no one will ever believe them.) Yes, yes that will be much more efficient and practical."

I know your father's name probably isnt Jeff, but he must have a name, and if you ask me, he kinda looks like one. How do i know? Why he appeared to me in a vison of course! Just last week in fact. I was snorkling off the coast of Koa Samui and he appeared riding a 20 foot sea horse wearing a pink tutu and a t-shirt that said "No fat chicks". Jeff was just wearing a cowboy hat. Anyway, ive gotten slightly off topic here... Just stop with the face in toast (et al) thing, yeah? If you're gonna put any pictures of anybody, anywhere, make it someone hot like Megan Fox, or Cheryl Cole or someone like that. I wouldnt say no to eating them for breakfast!

(This rant was brought to by the color peridot, the number 11 and this article: http://www.aolnews.com/2011/04/18/british-woman-roisin-mccourt-sees-jesus-in-stained-towel/. I suggest looking at the slide show. Its hilarious.)

Friday, April 15, 2011

The Game is Rigged

I've no need to write anything here. I'll let George say it for me. Only thing I will say is, he's not just talking about America. Listen and learn.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

FEEB! One boiled egg.

When will we be free from the yolk of outdated religious stupidity? See what I did there?

Having been raised a catholic, participated in all the silly rituals and having excaped sodomy while an alter boy (despite wearing hotpants to church), I was about 13 or there abouts when I realised that I was getting a bit old to have an imaginary friend who lived in the sky. Now, as i approach my 28th birthday, I'm still amazed that there are people who still want religion to be a part of the education system in Ireland. I could easily rant for hours about why religion is one of the worlds most destructive forces and has retarded millions of people for centuries, but i wont. I'm far to lazy to write a book. What I will say however is this: If religious educatiu=on is to exist in schools, then it should be just that. Education. Not "taught" by nuns or priests or anyone connected to an organised religion, but by intelligent, rational people who understand the importance of a healthy mind. Discuss the history of the religions of the world. Openly and honestly. How they were founded, how they evolved and the role they play in todays world. Dont sit 30 children down in a class room and tell them that if they be good and pray for nice things that they'll live on after they die. Dont tell them that if they are bad or dont believe in the wrong sky fairy that they will spend all eternity in agony and suffering. Tell them about the horrors commited in the name of God and Allah and whoever else. Tell them about the inherent evilness and hateful bigotry that exists within these organisations. Tell them to read books by Dawkins and Hitchins etc (or at least let them watch debates on youtube and possibly even organise their own debates) Teach them the value of questioning everything. Encourage critical thinking and rational thought. Expose them to all religions, not just the one that is dominant in their own country.

A school is where people go to learn, not to be incolcated into ancient hocus pocus that has no right to be so powerful in this day and age. If you want to raise your children in a specific faith, go right ahead. They're your kids, do what you bloody like. But dont expect that others should conform to your way of thinking. Governments and the educational systems of countries should be, in my view, 100% secular. Not be involved in any way with religion. Personally, If and when I have children of my own, they will be allowed to choose whether or not they want to be religious, but only when they are of an age where they can make that decision for themselves.

This mild, hyperbolic rant was inspired by this article http://www.independent.ie/opinion/letters/religious-education-is-vital-to-our-childrens-development-2609521.html and it got me annoyed. Its potato headed people like that, in my own country that really grind my friggin gears.

Now, for your delictation, a video of one of thee great men alive today. Christopher Hitchens.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Some ramblings about Friday's Election

It's difficult to watch what is happening at home when you are in another country. I have found that for the most part, I have felt that it has been important for me to keep up to date with the political goings on these last few months. Previously I was uninterested in any form of political discussions. They bored me and I really had no time for what I percieved as "grown up" business. I had no idea what NAMA was, nor did I care. Politicians names meant nothing to me and I just carried on with my own interests. I've never voted for anyone and I'm not even registered. That all changed for two reasons. Firstly, I moved here, to Italy and was faced with the prospect of being outside my own country for the longest time I have yet experienced (my longest stay abroad before this was seven days.) The second reason was Ireland pretty much collapsed. I found myself reading news articles online and watching current affairs programs that were previously the reason I left the sitting room when my Dad turned them on. I started to put names to faces, what their agendas were and found out that politics was infinity more boring and fascinating then I had otherwise thought.

I envy anyone who is going to vote in Friday's general election. I worked myself up into a fervor and went about seeing if I could register online and vote from here. Americans can do it, I thought, surely I can? But no, I cant. Irony of ironies, now that I want to vote, I'm not allowed because I dont currently reside in Ireland.

I have watched two of the three leader's debates (I didnt bother with the TG4 one due to that hilarious affliction of not being able to speak Irish because i'm Irish.) and I was quite surprised with how I felt after they were finished. Each party made some valid points that i could understand and get behind. FF has obviously wrecked my country and given the chance I wouldnt vote for them If I was paid, but Micheal Martin does seem to be a decent enough chap. Now, that may be because he's the captain of a sinking ship and so has nothing to lose so he can just say what he feels. This is a commodity that a lot of politicians dont have. Gerry Adams and Pearse Doherty made excellent points that unfortunately were hindered by the tarnished reputation of both Sinn Féin and Mr Adams himself. In an election dominated by the economy, SF just doesnt know how to cope. If it wernt for that, they may very well have had a fighting chance. Labour has benifited from FF public disgrace and for that, most likely have a place in the next government. But its FG and Enda Kenny who are finnaly going to have their day.

If this election had've been called for and run before xmas, a vastly different scenario would be looming. Had the Greens and the FF back-benchers had had the stones to actually bring down the government back then, who knows where we would be by now. Maybe thats a good thing that we arnt though. Who can tell. Personally, I think the Dáil should've been disolved before xmas, the budget put on hold until after a new government was elected, but sure, that why i'm not a politician. I have no career to think of. Nothing to worry about if I say things out of turn or things that rub people up the wrong way. Just as well, cus I do that a lot.

I like the Idea of Independents running for office, just so long as they dont turn out to be anything like that Micheal Lowry of Jakie cunt rag Rae. Even the look of that wanker annoys me. Hopefully, after all the promises and speeches and talk of reform, we get rid of people like that from not just the Irish political scene, but Ireland in general. It's people like that who contributed to the rape and plunder of Ireland and they should be punished for it. The only realistic way of punishment I can see if by going out on Friday and not voting Fianna Fail. Let the party be decimated. The reason they stayed in power so long was not just because people voted for them, but because they had always voted for them and so felt a kind of mis-placed loyalty. Its like a bad relationship. You know you should end it, but you've been together for so long that you just dont. They've had their time, now let others have a go. Hopefully they dont get back in straight away either. A rose tinted fondness will no doubt start to shine on FF in years to come. People will either forget or simply forgive what they did. Just like when that bad relationship eventually ends, you cant suddenly say Ah sure, we had some good times. Yeah, we did, but we also had shitty times brought about by fundamental differences, deceit and down right corruption.

Governments work for us. We should tell them what to do, not the other way around. Its my hope that in 4 years time, if whoever is elected on Friday fails to live up to what we want from them, a new party is elected. If something doesnt work, you try something new. You dont keep going back and forth between the same two broken systems. So, I say let FF crumble. Let them go the way of the PD's and dissolve. If in time, they re-group and proove that they have changed for the better, only then should we reward them with another chance.

This bizzare, rambling, self serving rant has ended. Go in peace.


(I was gonna translate this into Italian but fuck that shit! lol)

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Sure fuck it, why not

Allora, decisi a scrivere un blog completemente in Italiano perché sono annoio e anche vorrei vedere se é possibile. Non lo sono securo se é grammaticalmente corretto o se sará comprensibile, ma voglio provare comunque. Dimmi se é sbagliato e lo proveró fare migliore.

Come state, tutti? Bene spero. Io capisco che solo io e non molti altri possiamo leggere questo. Tutta via, devo mettere in pratica il mio Italiano perché non parlo con Italiani. Lo so che avrei dovuto, pero sono molto pigro ed é piú facile per me parlare inglese quindi dovere parlare con gente che non io conosco.

Si, si, lo so che qualche della ragione per Erasmus é conoscere gente differente e di mescolare con la gente, ma sono un misantropo a il migliore dei tempi. Non sono securo che cosa dire prossima.

Ho comprato un DVD di Stargate SG1 ieri. Lo guardo in Italiano con sottotitoli inglese. É utile per formazione i miei i orecchi io penso. Tengo un libro che io scrivo nuovi parole che ho imparato. La mia vita é molto eccitante, no?

Penso che ho finisco per adesso. Dimmi se questo é merda :P grazie

A dopo