January 2005 Archives

Now, this is interesting...

According to a breaking news feature on the Indo, a new public watchdog, which is privately funded, has been established in order to provide tenacious journos with the readies to investigate the Ray Burke's and Michael Lowry's of our fine nation.

It will be called The Centre for Public Inquiry. The executive director is journalist Frank Connolly and the chairman will be - wait for it - Justice Fergus Flood, the former chairman of the Planning Tribunal

They

"It's an investigative journalist project, it's independent and it is being funded by an international foundation which has put something in the order of �600 million in the university sector in Ireland over the past decade or more."

"They have given us the funding for first five years."

So, who's paying for all of this? Well, it seems that the benefactors are Atlantic philanthropies, who according to their website, are a group dedicated to 'bring(ing) about lasting changes in the lives of disadvantaged and vulnerable people.' says Connolly.

So who are they? Well, some of the members include well-known, heavyweight academics and buisnessfolk from both sides of the Irish-American community. Take a look at the Directors page of their website for a detailed list. The organisation has offices globally: London, Bermuda, Belfast, New York and at Tara House, 32 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin.

We'll get more on this as it arrives.

Atlantic philathrophies website

Irish Independent (free subscription access)

This is it. This is the blog that I never thought I would write. Ever. The blog where I actually stand up and say that I admire the behaviour of my Government. Frankly, i thought I would find myself in bed with Angelina Jolie and Famke Jamsen before I wrote this one...

So, why all of a sudden have I turned coat? Well, truth be told, I haven't. I still despise them with every inch of my little, black heart, but, I do have to say this: the Government's tactics in dealing with the Sinn Fein/northern bank robbery have been flawless.

by the throat

Quite simply, Ahern, Harney and notably McDowell have had Sinn Fein by the throat for over a week now and show no signs of letting go. The rhetoric aside, one incredibly important statement was forthcoming from the Taoiseach yesterday after the meeting between the Government and Sinn Fein:

"There must be absolute clarity. We cannot continue with criminality being the order of the day, whether that be the Northern Bank robbery or anything else. We cannot have those issues affecting the peace process all the time - and they are."

I've been waiting for about five years to hear Ahern say that.

whoa nelly...

Now, before anyone gets carried away and accuses this blog of being hijacked by a Fianna Failure activist, let's remind ourselves of a few other stories in the media today....

� Ray Burke (appointed by Bertie) goes to jail
� Hundreds lying in hospital trolleys due to lack of beds
� Council of Europe's report says that drug use in Ireland is among the world's worst
� 320 jobs lost at Greencore
� Clare Co. Council rejects a plan for a wind farm just in case it threatens the performance of jet planes which burn unquantifiable masses of fuel and fill our sky with filth...