Saturday, May 23, 2009

DON'T BUY A SAT-NAV FROM LIDL!

We were on to them before over this issue but , not only did they not reply to us, they never even acknowledged our correspondence. And , since Sunday May 10th 2009 , we have contacted them four times and have received the same treatment - no 'Thank-You-We'll-Be-In-Touch' , no acknowledgement that they have received our e-mails - nothing!
The reason we have been chasing Lidl since May 10th last is because of a newspaper advertisement which that company ran in some of that days newspapers - in the tabloid we seen it in , it was published in a side-by-side two-page spread , bearing the headline 'PRICE REVOLUTION : ONE COUNTRY - ONE PRICE!' :

Lidl Irish newspaper advertisement claiming 'ONE COUNTRY - ONE PRICE!'

But if you click-on to the Lidl.ie website , you are requested to
'Select Your Country-
Rep. of Ireland
Northern Ireland ' :


Lidl Irish website - 'SELECT YOUR COUNTRY : REP. OF IRELAND / NORTHERN IRELAND' .

From our experience , Lidl doesn't deal with our type of 'customer query' over the internet and the manager of our local Lidl Supermarket is always either "too busy" or "not available just now..." when the nature of our visit is explained to the receptionist/security guard. But we'll keep trying , and will post any update regarding this situation on this blog.
Thanks for reading!
Sharon.






Thursday, May 21, 2009

DUBLIN 1980 : THE GLUE SNIFFERS.
Pictures by Andrew McGlynn. From 'MAGILL' magazine September 1980.

Not a bag of sweets . Glue. Heavy , vaporous adhesive. You put it to your face , inhale through your mouth and nose at the same time . It gets you high , or makes you feel better. It's comforting. You use a plastic bag. After a while your lungs have drawn so much fumes from the bag that the glue becomes dry , soggy , pale brown. You have inhaled the solvent. In about an hour the bag is useless.

The solvent attacks your nasal tract , your lungs , kidneys , liver and brain . Your nose runs , there will be sores around your mouth. You are dizzy , speech slurred , eyes dilated . Your mood changes from tranquility to aggression in the space of minutes .

There are a lot of kids sniffing glue around the city centre , these days and nights. A hard core of three dozen , with others trying it occasionally ; they are mostly travellers' children . They are curious and naive , like all children , gentle and excitable , sometimes aggressive , always with little respect for the future. When told that the glue will damage them , maybe even kill them , they shrug. It's a cheap comforter , a cheap high. It's something to do. Some of the older kids 'graduate' to alcohol .

A social worker gives a weak smile - " They're behaving pretty normally for someone who's totally rejected...."
(MORE LATER).



HOPE IN THE SHADOWS.......

For some Northern nationalists the Anglo-Irish Agreement ('Hillsborough Treaty',1985) only makes their lives more dangerous , for others it offers hope on a road to nowhere. Fionnuala O'Connor visited a (Provisional) Sinn Fein advice centre in the Ardoyne and Seamus Mallon's office in Newry.
From 'MAGILL' magazine, December 1986.

" I had a seat for three terms at Stormont , " said Frank Feely, " and I had no vote. The Unionists never considered anybody from the South could possibly get elected. " Tommy McGrath's political pedigree goes back further - twenty years on the council as an 'Irish Labour Party' representative until the SDLP arrived on the political scene.

They sat there , the two of them , with their freight of election memories from the decades of anti-unionism while in the background among filing cabinets the business of an MP's office carried on : 2,000 cases handled , say the two professionals , since Seamus Mallon took the seat from Official Unionist Jim Nicholson. Clearly the two older men find this new regime impressive though their style is obviously still more a question of meeting people in the street and carrying files in your head .

" These young graduates could tell you more about this than me , " Frank Feely says over his shoulder , " it's a question of confidence , this whole 'Anglo-Irish Agreement' ('Hillsborough Treaty') , it gives hope. Our first interest is solving the constitutional issue and getting to the bottom of it . It holds out the hope of that." ('1169...' Comment : that 1985 Treaty only offered "hope" to those who believed it could be used to brush the whole issue of British involvement in Ireland under the carpet or , at the very least , put a 'new gloss' on it . It was doomed to fail from the start.)
(MORE LATER).



A BATTLE FOR HEARTS AND MINDS.......
A look at issues raised by Liz Curtis' recent book.
From 'IRIS' magazine, August 1984.
Review by Trisha Fox.

Ian Stuttard, the producer of Thames TV's series 'The Troubles', who has consistently striven to avoid emotive rhetoric used by so many reporters - such as 'murderers' and 'terrorists' when referring to the IRA - described the depiction of the crew in 'Acceptable Levels' as " wickedly accurate" (they spend most of their time in the sanctuary of the Europa Hotel indulging in drink , food and chatting up women on expense accounts while they apply for more overtime) .

The strongest part of the film is that it does illustrate powerfully the process of self-censorship practised by people within the media as a semi-conscious act , motivated by self-interest and a class/ideological allegiance to the British establishment.
(MORE LATER).







Tuesday, May 19, 2009

TURNCOATS , PLACE-SEEKERS , COLLABORATORS and TRAITORS ...
(UPDATE : we can add 'Treason' to the above list as well - "The betrayal of a trust or confidence; breach of faith; treachery." One such example of political treason can be read in this excellent post. Those political criminals should be properly dealth with , and you can make of that statement what you want to make of it , so long as they are not able to simply walk away after their punishment...)

Leinster House, Kildare Street , Dublin.

"John Sadlier, Solicitor, Banker and M.P. for the borough of Carlow, and William Keogh, Barrister-at-law, and M. P. for Athlone, fought the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill at every stage, and were acclaimed great Popular heroes. They were prominent figures at the "aggregate meeting" held in the Rotunda on the 22nd August, 1851, to protest against the. Bill, which had been passed, and to take measures for Catholic defence. The chair was occupied by the Archbishop of Armagh (Dr. Cullen), in a short time to be Archbishop of Dublin.

Keogh raised the gathering to the highest pitch of enthusiasm by giving the Chairman his territorial title, and promising that he and his friends would have the Act repealed if the people of Ireland would but send them a few
"more Parliamentary colleagues. We will make no terms," he declared: "with any Minister, no matter who he may be, untill he repeals that Act of Parliament".
In his own constituency, where he was entertained to a public banquet on the 28th October, 1851, Keogh declared, in the presence of Archbishop McHale : "I will not support any party which does not make it the first ingredient of their political existence to repeal the, Ecclesiastical Titles Act..." Again, in Cork on the 8th March, 1852, he declared : "So help me God, no matter who the Minister may be, no matter who the party in power may be, I will support neither that minister nor that party, unless he comes into power prepared to carry the measures which ,universal popular Ireland demands."

The sequel to these pledges is well known to the Student of history. In a few months Keogh and Sadlier became brazen pledge-breakers and accepted office under the Government - Keogh as Solicitor-General for Ireland, and Sadlier as Lord of the Treasury..."
(From here.)

John Sadlier and William Keogh are but two foul figures in a long list of foul curs that have not only failed to deliver that which they promised but have , in most cases , done the complete opposite. Here are a few photographs, with captions, of some others that belong in that particular camp -

Vichy collaborators, France.

Gerry Adams and Hugh Orde , Head of the British paramilitary 'police' in the Occupied Six Counties.

And finally - three new posters which were sent to this blog by supporters of Irish Republicanism (and which inspired this post!) :

Working for Westminster!

British administrators want Republicans to inform on their colleagues.

Irish 'Republicans' in the service of the British Crown.

Thanks for reading!
Sharon.






Sunday, May 17, 2009

(NOTICE: we have been contacted by a number of our regular readers who have informed us that the links in the posted articles are not working for them - if you have this trouble , please use the '(Mirror site here)' link in the top right-hand corner of this page to visit our 'Sister' site , where those same links are working. We believe it's a 'Blogger' issue , as our 'Junior' has examined the code etc on this blog and found no fault. Thanks!)

CABHAIR TESTIMONIAL FUNCTION , SATURDAY 16th MAY 2009 : REPORT AND PICTURES.

CABHAIR Testimonial Brochure 2009.

We had , as usual , a fantastic time last night (and during the early hours of this morning !) at the CABHAIR Testimonial Dinner and Reunion in the Morrison Hotel on Ormond Quay in Dublin city centre. More than ninty people turned-up for the meal , with approximately another dozen friends arriving after the meal and staying for the presentations and speeches etc . The hotel was beautifully laid-out for us , with a bright and fresh Ballroom manicured to within an inch of its life by an extremely capable , friendly and professional staff ,who stayed with us for the full duration of the event , fussing after and assisting us!
The food was simply to die for - cooked , presented and served to perfection by professionals , who looked after each attendee as if they were family!
We had a great chat with the Honorees - Peig and Paddy King (chosen by Republicans in Leinster), Pádraig Ó Baoighill (Ulster) , Frank Quinn (Connacht) , Liam Cotter (Munster) , Don Hurley (USA) and Michael Kennedy (Galway and London) , we met old and new colleagues with whom we shared the evening and with whom we enjoyed the party atmosphere.
The CABHAIR group are to be fully congratulated for organising this successful event , the Honorees are to be congratulated for staying true to the Republican principles that have sustained them and the Movement they support and the Morrison Hotel are to be congratulated for their sheer professionalism - very well done to all concerned ; it was our pleasure to share this occasion with you all!
We publish with this post five photographs in all , with another five published on our 'Sister' site - click on the supplied link at the end of this post -

Josephine and Róisín at the Check-In desk.

Presentation plaques , Republican calendars and 'SAOIRSE' newspapers.

One of the Honoree Plaques.

CABHAIR 'Shop' - steady sales all night!

More pics on our 'Sister' site , here. Thanks for reading!
Sharon.