The Dossing Times » Politics

Are you afraid yet?

simon — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 20:49:01 +0000

I always liked Halloween as a child we used to play bobbing for coins, apples on a string, wear masks and try and frighten the disinterested cat, go down to the neighbours bomb fire that me and my friends had carefully built from random bits of wood from around their farm. It was always fun. But once I remember walking up at about 1 in the morning. I went down to the Kitchen to get a drink of water. No one else was awake in the house so I decided to turn on the TV. Of course being Halloween a horror movie was on, a serial killer was running around murdering people. In one scene he hid under a person

Loyalty to Israel

ck — Wed, 27 May 2009 21:54:53 +0000

The varying coalitions which have governed Israel, lobbyists for the cause of a Jewish State and defenders of the rights of Israeli people

Frugal Food Blogs

ck — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 15:57:06 +0000

Cheapeats.ie is now part of my daily browsing routine. The sorry state of affairs is that I don’t even have the budget to fill a frugal storecupboard at the moment but the recipes and price watches they offer are excellent. They have been included amongst a list of the top 100 frugal food blogs. Read the remainder of the entries here. The list is not just confined to Ireland.

Whats in a name?

ck — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 09:39:17 +0000

So we should get some extra detail today with the legislation for the pension levy being published. I have made my piece with it, moreso because I want to be a good citizen, but also because I really have no leverage with people losing jobs and having their homes under threat. Immediately, the title of the proposed Act cant but raise of a smirk – originally called the Public Service (Financial Contributions) Bill, it has now been renamed the Financial Emergency (Measures in the Public Interest) Bill. I really feel this title should have been saved up from something that was actually going to solve the problem comprehensively and actually represent a package of measures as opposed to this one provision.

Who’s to Blame.

simon — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 09:20:15 +0000

We all like someone to blame. Bock wrote a post yesterday expressing his anger at the the current situation. Blaming a multitude of sources some of it is correct

Nor will we be blaming these same politicians who presided year by year over unprecedented exchequer returns, and who refused to acknowledge the reality of the bubble these returns were based on

Thoughts of a Public Sector Worker

ck — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 12:22:52 +0000

To begin, I am the pen pusher that has been lambasted for months now in the press and the scapegoat for the state of the economy. My job is not a straightforward role to explain, in a state agency very few people have heard of – I am not a nurse, or fireman or carer who went to work a 12 hour shift last night having learned they will be called upon to fork over more of the money which in no way matches the way their jobs own their lives. The news of the pension levy/new tax is not welcomed, I honestly thought people in the lower income brackets would be spared, it turns out people earning half the amount I am are to be effected.

The statements in the Dail yesterday from Cowen and the opposition were the outcome of weeks of negotiations, and marked the outright failure of all parties to manage and try to cohere a position in such difficult times. Its starkly real how this is impacting on us all, we seem to be quite literally in a spiral. There were job losses of 1, 500 a day in the month of January. Thats an overwhelming figure. The pension levy is to contribute 1.4bn of the 2bn savings target set. Yet there is no sense of confidence this morning we are anywhere nearer a stable position. The country is borrowing to run basic day-to-day services. Its an absolute misery.

This post is going to be me feeling sorry for myself, though there I will leave it. I’m budgeting and I am determined to get out of my own financial slump, with some peace of mind I have happy memories creating the debt. That said I want everyone to suffer and will not relent on the injustice of people earning so far below the average industrial wage being effected and also why people providing the essential services we dont value are being punished. I do not understand the point put forward by Sarah Carey in todays Times:

The problem is that social partnership has turned thousands of public servants into rich men and women in expensive coats while the porter rots on his

Obama gives the world Cause for concern

simon — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 09:31:33 +0000

He was herald as the new messiah with world leaders all trying to compare themselves to him. Now however under a month in power the world and especially the EU seems worried about what he is doing. From RTE

The EU and Canada have warned that US President Barack Obama’s economic recovery plan could set a dangerous precedent.

EU Ambassador to Washington John Bruton has said that a ‘Buy American’ clause in the package, which seeks to ensure that only US iron, steel and other goods are used in construction work funded by the bill, could promote protectionism if approved.

We need to learn from History. In the 1930s we had the great depression but it started with the wall street crash. However this did not turn the crash into a depression many believe that is was the

Marks and Spencer Lunch Deal

ck — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 11:44:21 +0000

Now I have mixed feelings towards M&S, mostly because work mates of mine go there, and only there, for purely image focused reasons and couldnt be seen inside the door of a Spar at lunchtime for fear their veils of superiority would fall. Also I might add that for all the sushi they like to buy to present an air of a refined palate the fish in M&S sushi is cooked, so for god sake, get over yourselves. Generally though there is an interesting range of food on offer – though realistically there are any number of ethnic stores, particularly in the vicinity of the Jervis St branch that offer these foods at cheaper prices. The packaging just isn’t as pretty.

Today though a sticker on their window caught my eye – the offer of a selected M&S brand sandwich, bag of crisps and bottled drink for

Cheapeats.ie

ck — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 20:54:59 +0000

Frugal shopping and economic eating habits – the topic of many blog posts, cookery books filling out shelves and news articles – a blog on the topic that I’ve come across makes for some good reading and information, if like me you spend components of your evening reading food blogs.

White House Blog

ck — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 10:18:42 +0000

Simon sent me on the link to the White House Blog