Category: The State

Israelis take to the streets: Irish remain docile and obedient

At least a quarter of a million Israelis, fed up with the mounting cost of living, have taken to the streets to demand action from the government.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, seen by many middle class Israelis as too friendly to big business, is under increasing pressure to break up business monopolies and cartels.

The protests started three weeks ago when a few young people pitched a tent encampment on a posh Tel Aviv street shouting ‘social justice for the people’ and ‘Revolution’.

Popular mass demonstrations against government as opposed to protests from self-interested groups?

Young people on the streets calling for revolution?

Middle class demanding that the government act against mafia type big business?

Meanwhile in Ireland, Joe Higgins, leader of the most ‘revolutionary’ party in the country, has warned that protests against the €100 household tax are being planned – sometime next year.

The Government must be quaking in its boots?

The usual bullshit from the HSE

There was an item on Morning Ireland discussing the serious neglect of children because of a lack of resources.

During the discussion Catherine Chent, a solicitor specializing in children’s rights told us that the HSE buys in an incredible amount of private services, sometimes at twice the cost as that paid in England.

I wonder who benefits from this strategy.

As usual, there was no representative from the HSE but this out of control organization did deign to provide a ‘statement’ (Number three) on the matter.

The HSE is developing a changed strategy over the next three years with high level goals.

I can just imagine the scene in the relevant office when the RTE request for a spokesperson arrived.

John, I think it’s your turn to talk bullshit to the nation.

It is not George, I was on last week and anyway, I’m checking out holiday destinations on the internet.

Ok, look, why don’t we just issue a statement.

Great idea, but which one?

Well, number two, five and seven have all being used recently. Let’s see, what about number three?

Yeah, whatever.

I was thinking of Bermuda this year George, what do you think?

Judge Kelly caves in to state pressure

On 19th July last I asked the question – Will Judge Kelly fold under state pressure?

Sadly, and all too predictably, the judge folded.

Judge Kelly had strongly challenged the state regarding the never ending investigation into Anglo Irish Bank.

Throwing down the gauntlet he said the requested six months extension to the investigation would not be granted unless the following demands were met.

Much more progress achieved.

Much more detailed information provided.

Progress in respect of the material sent to the DPP in December 2010.

More accurate estimates of time as to the completion of the various investigations than have been furnished to date.

This is what he got:

There are five parts to the investigation with one part substantially complete.

A formal decision on charges will not be made until all aspects of the investigation are complete because many issues in the five parts overlap.

Some aspects of the investigation will not be complete until end of this year.

Some transactions are more extensive and more complex than originally thought.

Judge Kelly responded:

Due to the additional information he had received and the fleshing out of the picture in relation to the DPP, he would grant a further extension of six months to the Director of Corporate Enforcement to continue his investigation.

Additional information, fleshing out of the picture? – rubbish.

All the judge got was a load of meaningless waffle accompanied by a very clear message.

Get back in your box and keep your mouth shut. We’ll call you when we next need your rubber stamp.

It is reasonable to conclude that the public dressing down of Judge Kelly by the DPP has had the desired effect.

'Democracy now' protester brought to justice

I see the demonstrator who blocked former Government minister Mary Hanafin’s state car and shouted ‘Democracy now’ has been fined €150.

So, about eight months from ‘crime’ to justice. State law enforcement agencies like the police and courts working smoothly to ensure this ‘threat to the state’ was dealt with quickly and efficiently.

Meanwhile, those who actually destroyed the state are still walking around, enjoying the high life on bloated pensions and golden pay offs.

Apparently these vermin can’t be touched because of something to do with complexity and mounds of documents.

And what about former minister Hanafin, a member of the most corrupt political party in the country, the party principally responsible for allowing the vermin to destroy our country.

Well, she’s enjoying a lifetime guarantee of financial security partly paid for by the demonstrator who was hauled before the courts for demanding democracy.

The iceberg effect

There’s been a good deal of comment lately that the Euro/European crisis is good for Ireland.

This is principally based on the view that the crisis will result in a reduction of Ireland’s interest rate.

This view, I think, is a bit like a steerage passenger on Titanic expressing delight on being upgraded to first class minutes after the iceberg changed everything.

There’s a definite benefit but it won’t last too long.

Will judge Kelly fold under state pressure?

Last May a very disturbing event occurred in this country which went almost completely unnoticed by the media.

The Director of Public Prosecutions, James Hamilton, publicly rebuked a High Court judge.

Some weeks earlier the judge in question, Mr. Justice Peter Kelly, had strongly criticised the long delay in the Anglo Irish Bank investigation.

The judge was angrily responding to an application from the ODCE for yet another extension of the investigation, this time for six months.

In his judgement, judge Kelly did not mince his words: (This short judgement is worth reading in full).

I am not, however, prepared to grant an extension of six further months as sought. I will grant an extension until Thursday, 28th July, 2011.

On that occasion, I expect much progress to have been achieved.

If a further extension is to be sought, I expect to be furnished with much more detailed information as to the progress of the investigation of these various issues.

In particular, I will require to know what progress has been made in respect of the material sent to the D.P.P. in December 2010.

I will also expect more accurate estimates of time as to the completion of these investigations than have been furnished to date.

Two years investigation without any appreciable result was not at all satisfactory, I am not a rubber stamp, said the judge.

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Mr. James Hamilton, and by extension, the State, was not at all happy with this upbraiding by an upstart judge.

In a clear reference to Judge Kelly’s remarks the DPP said that there were some ‘current misunderstandings’ regarding how the Anglo case was being handled.

In our system, investigators investigate and prosecutors decide whether to prosecute.

The prosecutor does not direct the investigation and, except in minor cases delegated to them, the investigators do not decide whether to prosecute. Only the prosecutor has this function.

Following the completion of an investigation, the prosecutor prosecuted, the defence defended and the judge adjudicated between the parties.

The message to Judge Kelly is crystal clear: Get back in your box and keep your mouth shut. We’ll call you when we next need your rubber stamp.

Mr. Appleby (ODCE) must have been greatly relieved by this ‘timely’ intervention by such a powerful officer of the state.

While agreeing with Judge Kelly’s demand for a report by the end of July Mr. Appleby said that he would be looking for yet another extension of time.

Clearly, Mr. Appleby is confident, after the DPPs intervention, of getting his extension.

If granted, it will be the 8th extension to the Anglo Irish Bank investigation.

So, let’s be clear about what’s going on here.

The state is, apparently, employing one of its most effective strategies in response to allegations of white collar crime – delay, delay, delay until the entire matter becomes historical and irrelevant.

The intervention by judge Kelly cannot be tolerated as it could force the state to actually take effective action, for the first time, against suspected white collar criminals.

The big question is – will judge Kelly fold under state pressure?

We’ll know next week.

Copy to:
DPP
ODCE

Scumbag priests are safe in our corrupt state

Letter in today’s Irish Times.

The last paragraph, which I have highlighted, is the crucial question.

Why aren’t the scumbags at the highest level of the vile Catholic Church, who have clearly perverted the course of justice, prosecuted?

The answer, as I wrote in a recent article, is simple.

Bishops, Cardinals and other senior priests are part of the ruling elite of our corrupt state and are therefore automatically immune from any kind of prosecution whatsoever.

Sir,

I am pleased to see that our Government is beginning to take seriously the unfriendly and aggressive activities of a foreign state on Irish soil.

The Government should make a statement to clarify that canon law is meaningless under Irish law. It has no bearing whatsoever on whether a person’s behaviour was legal or justified.

Referring to compliance with canon law is about as relevant as referring to a company handbook as justification for breaking the law of the land. What matters is Irish law, and no one should be under any illusion about the exclusivity of Irish law over human behaviour in this State.

It is important to note that the value in the proposed law will be that it will impose criminal liability on people who don’t report suspected abuse.

However, what has happened here and in other jurisdictions is that people have deliberately acted to hide crimes, by moving abusers around, and the like.

This is categorically different from simply not reporting, and it needs no new law to impose criminal liability.

Anyone who acts to pervert the course of justice can be prosecuted for doing so. The evidence that this was done on a wide scale is in the public domain.

For the life of me, I cannot see why people are not prosecuted for this.

Yours, etc.

Cormac MacGowan,
Minaun Crinnage,
Craughwell,
Co Galway.

Michael D under pressure from 'peasant'

Presidential hopeful, Michael D Higgins, was on radio today (Friday) answering questions from listeners.

Early on Mr. Higgins made his position clear regarding transparency.

It’s very important in this debate we’re going to have for the Presidency that people be absolutely straight about what the President can and cannot do.

These high ideals took a bit of a tumble when a listener made the suggestion that if elected Mr. Higgins should fulfil his role as President on an honorary basis. That he should accept no salary and instead live on his various pensions.

This is an excellent suggestion because, as president, Mr. Higgins will incur no costs whatsoever, no rent, transport, entertainment, laundry, not even a television or dog licence.

Any cost he did incur, and I can’t think of a single example, could easily be paid for from one of his many generous state pensions.

Such example would, I’m sure, inspire the oppressed and desperate people of Ireland and convince them that at least one member of the ruling elite is feelilng their pain.

Alas, Michael D, in common with most Irish political ‘leaders’, is strong on bullshit rhetoric but very squeamish when it comes to giving up his ‘entitlements’.

I do not intend to draw my pensions from the Oireachtas, Ministry or whatever while I am President.

That ‘whatever’ seems to suggest that Mr. Higgins is not quite sure just how many pensions he’s in receipt of.

Neither does he make clear whether his numerous pensions will be accumulating while he is President, just that he won’t be drawing them while in the job.

The listener ignored this non answer and persisted with his original question.

The current president took a voluntary cut in her salary?

She did, agreed Mr. Higgins, but went on;

Frankly, I think that one should respect the division between the Oireachtas, Government and the Presidency.

One should, of course, especially when ‘disrespect’ could result in a loss of income.

I wonder what herself up in the park would think of Michael Ds accusation that her voluntary salary cut was a disrespectful act against the State, not amused one would imagine.

The listener was not to be diverted.

You could decide that the salary was over generous.

Mr. Higgins, growing ever more uncomfortable;

Well, I think it is capable of being reduced but I’ll tell you why I don’t like this notion of doing it (the job) on an honorary basis – It reminds me of landlordism.

What???

It reminds me of previous centuries when only those who could afford out of their munificence and riches to preside over what were regarded as the peasants who weren’t rich enough to participate.

We have now entered the dark depths of Irish political logic where, in order to protect monetary ‘entitlements’, reality is frequently turned on its head.

Mr. Higgins feels that to accept a cut in the massive salary and expenses enjoyed by the President would somehow offend ordinary ‘peasants’ who are struggling to put food on the table for their children.

The pesky listener just wouldn’t let go of the issue.

You could draw your pensions and live on them?

But Mr. Higgins had reached the end of his patience with this annoying peasant.

I haven’t thought that out to be quite honest with you. I haven’t been considering the financial aspect but (regal tone adopted) I will bear all these suggestions that come forward.

Now, away with you, you dirty peasant said Higgins as he gave orders for the listener to be arrested and beheaded at dawn.

Ah no, that last sentence is only a joke.

Frank Daly, CEO of NAMA, is not to be trusted

Frank Daly heaved a great sigh of relief as he slumped into his favourite armchair after a hard days work as chairman of the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA).

His wife, reading the signs, was sympathetic.

Hard day at the office dear?

Yes, replied Frank, even harder than usual.

You poor dear, was it some nasty blogger asking awkward questions again?

No, even worse, I had to tell the Taoiseach what he was thinking.

My goodness, Frank, your mind reading powers never fail to astonish me. What was going on in our silly Taoiseach’s mind this time?

Somehow he got the idea that NAMA was doing something dodgy, maybe even illegal.

No, Frank, how could he possibly think such a nasty thought?

You wouldn’t understand dear but after taking a look around his brain I quickly realized that what he really meant to say was something dodgy could happen and that he was asking NAMA to make sure it didn’t happen.

Of course that’s the situation Frank. Did our silly Taoiseach accept that his mouth was saying words that weren’t in his brain at all?

Oh yes, he knows his place, he knows who’s in charge of NAMA.

This, of course, is fictional except for the part where Frank Daly tells our Prime Minister that what he’s saying is not what he’s thinking which saw Kenny tuck his tail between his legs and run home.

I first heard of the alleged dodgy dealings within NAMA last February when then Fianna Fail Senator, Mark Daly made a series of very serious allegations on live radio.

I felt the allegations were so serious that I reproduced and published the entire interview and sent a copy to the National Assets Management Agency (NAMA), the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), the Dept. of Finance and to the Office of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE).

It’s not that I was expecting any of these agencies to actually act on the allegations, that’s not going to happen until we get a new republic.

It was more to make sure that at least they were aware of the allegations.

And what about Mr. Daly, the mind reader? Can the people of Ireland believe this man when he says there are no dodgy dealings going on within NAMA?

The answer is no, this man cannot be trusted.

He’s just one of a long list of senior civil servants whose actions and decisions almost always seem to benefit powerful people and institutions at the expense of Ireland and its citizens.

An incredible report in the Irish Times of Feb 6th 2004 on bogus non-resident accounts, when Mr. Daly was chairman of the Revenue, will make the point.

In the report Revenue claimed they could find no evidence that banks had encouraged customers to set up bogus non-resident accounts.

This, of course, is a blatant lie. There was, and still is, overwhelming evidence that the banks did encourage customers to break the law.

When Daly was asked about the matter by the Public Accounts Committee he said:

The banks would have brought the shutters down if Revenue had pursued officials aggressively. We had to go about this in a pragmatic way.

So here is a man who refused to act against widespread and well known wrong doing within the banking sector telling us not to worry about the very serious allegations made against the organization he presently controls.

Given his disgraceful decision not to pursue the banks on the bogus non-resident accounts scandal can the people of Ireland trust Frank Daly to act in their interests rather than taking the ‘pragmatic’ route?

In my opinion the answer is no, Frank Daly is not a man that can be trusted.

Copy to:

Frank Daly
NAMA
NTMA
ODCE
Dept of Finance
Taoiseach