The corrupt, vicious and illegal military junta that has Burma in its stranglehold for many years now is deliberately killing thousands of Burmese civilians by refusing to let the International Community distribute aid to the survivors of the recent cyclone. It makes me sick to think that such brutal selfishness still exists on such a massive scale on our world. Watch the video appeal for help from the Burmese Monks.

Stand with Tibet - Support the Dalai Lama.

For what it’s worth (I remain skeptical of the efficacy of online petitions, but I feel so strongly for Tibet that I signed this one anyway) here’s the link:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/tibet_end_the_violence/

What the Chinese have done to Tibet and its culture and people since their illegal invasion all of 50 years ago is outrageous, but has been studiously ignored by the rest of the World for selfish economic reasons. Tibet has even been removed from atlases as a country and merged with China.

Thanks to Bernie English for bringing this U-Tube video on what the Shannon-Heathrow slots mean to the Mid- and South-West of Ireland - have a look at it here and give it a good rating if you care at all about this part of Ireland.

Lots of kudos to Andy who made the video during his holiday time.

Halle-*%$*-luya! What a pleasure it was to turn on the radio this morning and not hear the idiotic squabbling of moronic politicians! What a relief to have the normal news back!

I must say I’m singularly unimpressed by the behaviour and attitude of the majority of politicians during the so-called election campaign. I think they don’t deserve the huge salaries they receive at our expense because they do NOT work for the benefit of the citizens or the country. They should all be fired, and ordinary intelligent citizens with a modicum of sense and a wealth of experience such as ourselves be given the job of running the country. You can be sure we would do a damn sight better than the present shower.

Anybody who wants to be a politician shouldn’t be allowed within a hundred kilometres of it because they’re the very ones who will mess it up. High office should be given to ordinary decent honest citizens who know what it is to struggle with living in today’s society and understand all its myriad challenges and complexities in the flesh. Our present so-called democratic system of government is a farce - all the political parties care about is getting into power and staying there, and feathering their nests and the nests of their friends while they’re in power. They don’t give two hoots about us the citizens who pay their exhorbitant wages and over-the-top expenses. Our present so-called democratic system needs urgent and radical reform. We are suffering under a system of government dreamt up by our erstwhile oppressors, the British, all of 9 decades ago. The world and our country and society has changed out of all recognition since then. This system of government no longer serves us and needs to be replaced forthwith. It is time for a revolution!

Being partial to a cup of good strong flavoursome coffee, I treat myself to a coffee of the capuccino or expresso variety once or twice a week in Ennis. Up to a few months ago there was only one place that served really good coffee and that was O’Brien’s. With the opening of Hughes and Hughes Bookshop on the bridge and the addition of Costa Coffee downstairs with direct access from the bookshop, there are now two.

Up to recently a “regular” capuccino would have set you back 2.40 euro in O’Brien’s, but that has now jumped to 2.90 something euro. The price of a cappuccino primo (small cappuccino) in Costa Coffee is currently 2.80 euro. This, to my mind, is completely overpriced. How can they justify these ridiculous prices? In particular, how can O’Brien’s justify a rise of nearly 50cents for a cup of coffee? The expresso is similarly overpriced coming in at around 2.35 euro.

Compare that to prices in Lisbon, Portugal - which is a sophisticated European capital city: price for an expresso at a coffee counter anywhere in the city was 50-60 cents - yes, you read right cents. In an upmarket cafe, you won’t pay more than 1 euro for the same thing. That’s less than half the price we are being charged here in Ennis, Co. Clare.

When in Portugal last summer, I went into probably the best-known cafe in the whole of Portugal - A Brasileira in the Chiado district of downtown Lisboa - which boasts the best coffee on the planet. I had a cappuccino and it set me back the princely sum of 1.50 euro. That’s right - almost half the price it is here in Ennis.

This is completely and utterly unacceptable. I’m so fed up with the situation that I’m going to boycott both O’Brien’s and Costa Coffee because they’re ripping me off. I’ll bring it in a flask in future and to hell with them!

Now I’m not a fan of the Premier League, or even a convinced soccer fan, but I do watch the occasional chunk of Champions League or UEFA Cup. So tonight I tuned into the Sevilla vs. Tottenham Hotspur UEFA clash partly because there was nothing else that remotely interested me on the other three channels we currently have (our satellite is still out of commission 3 months after requesting Urlan to fix it, but more of that anon), and partly because I have a certain interest in seeing both sides for different reasons.

The fact that Robbie Keane is playing tonight (as captain) makes it interesting in itself - it intrigues me how he can be so prolific a scorer for Spurs while missing the simplest chances for the Republic of Ireland. The fact that I lived seven years of my life in Seville makes it even more interesting. Specifically, I supported the other Seville team - Real Betis - because I couldn’t stand the smug self-righteous superior attitude of the sevillistas (Sevilla F.C. supporters). In fact, I gloried in every defeat of Sevilla F.C. as much as in every Real Betis win (Viva er Betis manque pierda!), and mourned every Real Betis defeat (and no, I was not so far gone as to mourn every Sevilla F.C. victory! - fútbol is, after all, a game!).

So you can imagine how happy that 2nd minute goal by one R. Keane tonight made me! Toma! But, after 20 minutes or so, things started going awry for the English team when the Luxemburgish referee made the most unbelievably bad decision of giving a penalty to the home side when clearly it wasn’t a penalty. Not only that but he yellow-carded the Spurs goalkeeper for protesting! Then, in a blatant display of home refereeing, the Luxemburger went on to give frees to the homeside at every opportunity - so much so, I’m wondering how substantial were the contents of the brown (or whatever colour they currently use in that part of the world) envelope he got, if he got one.

I know if I was a Spurs fan I’d be pretty pissed off with the referee! But I’m not, so, in the interest of staying in good humour, I switched the channel.

In fact I’m seriously thinking of boycotting all sporting events, given the raft of blatantly bias decisions by referees and, much more seriously, fourth officials in recent weeks. I refer to the “try” that was awarded to France in the last seconds of their match against Scotland by the TV Official when it was obvious nobody could see the ball being grounded. Now, the rules of Rugby state that a try cannot be given unless the ball can be seen to be legally grounded. The TV official in question haled from Ulster - why the heck couldn’t he have said NO on this occasion when NO was the right option. Better say no more on that!

I also refer to the “try” just on the stroke of half-time by Llanelli against Munster in the Heineken Cup last weekend. The guy who “scored” the “try” clearly made a second movement to ground the ball which makes it not a try. Yet the TV Official gave the “try”. Then there was the first “try” awarded to Biarritz in last year’s Heineken Cup final against Munster, when the “scorer” clearly put his foot several inches in touch on his way to the line. I could go on and on!

Now, you tell me - what the &*%¢#k is the point of having TV Officials when they so blatantly ignore the rules?

At times, it is difficult for referees as they have to make a decision there and then, and don’t always see everything that goes on. For that reason, the referee has umpires to be his eyes - unfortunately these umpires sometimes turn out to be either visually challenged, or turn a blind eye (dare I suggest brown envelopes?). But, it is absolutely inexcusable for a TV Official to make a wrong decision given that he has television footage from all sorts of angles and time to make a decision. So, for that reason I say to the Ulster TV Official at the France-Scotland match, and the TV Official at the Llanelli-Munster match - you’re either bloody cowards or you’re on the take - either way you don’t deserve any respect, so thanks a bunch for nothing.

Therefore, I for one will no longer bother to watch any sport of any kind with anything but indifference. What’s the point when greed, cheating and hypocrisy win out so often?

I’ve just heard today that An Post have closed down our local Post Office. This is terrible news for everybody in the locality. It means that we now have to drive 10 more miles to Ennis to do our business. Not only that but we will have to queue at the Ennis Post Office, as there are nearly always queues there.

I have my own business and am pissed off with An Post, as I will no longer be able to nip down the road to post off invoices, nor purchase stamps. Instead I’ll have to drive to Ennis.

But it’s much worse for pensioners who will now have to travel an extra 10 miles to collect their weekly pension. This is disgraceful. This is yet more proof that the powers that be don’t give a goddamn (never mind two) about the people in this country. All they care about is profit or should I say PROFIT. Profit is the king and is the only thing that matters in this cold-hearted capitalist nihilist globalised world we now live in. People don’t matter any more. We only matter in so far we can be exploited for what money we have in our purses.

Those of us who still live in the countryside are being squeezed more and more, are being actively discriminated against by the Government and all the other big entities (banks, An Post, et al). It’s as if they want to denude the countryside and force us all to live in the increasingly gridlocked overpriced towns and cities where we would have to pay exhorbitant rents and breathe in the increasingly putrid “air”. So much for community, so much for democracy.

I only hope that people remember this when they next go to the ballot box, and even more importantly remember this everytime they buy petrol, or shop at the supermarket.

On this dark dank miserable December day of gales, driving rain, and floods, it warms my heart to see the brutish world order of rampant capitalism being overturned in, of all places, South America. Hugo Chávez’s Revolución Socialista forges ahead in Venezuela after his return to power; Daniel Ortega, former leader of the Revolución Sandinista, has once more been elected to the Presidency in Nicaragua; Lula da Silva has won the presidency of Brazil; Rafael Correa was elected president of Ecuador; Bolivia has an “Indian” for president. All across Central and South America, the people are taking back what is rightfully theirs in the personages of socialist humanist leaders. A ray of light to brighten the planet in these dark days.