Down (and Out) with the Abstract

Video Text This Morning

Tue, 28 Aug 2007 15:26:45 +0100

From my mobile provider: 3 to slash roaming rates by up to 80%. From August 29th…

Hypocrites. The European Parliament slashed the roaming fees. Although, in fairness to 3, they already had a call zone between Ireland and the UK without roaming charges for certain calls.

Still… Anything good out of Europe is claimed by the domestics and anything bad domestically is blamed on Europe if possible.

BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Turkish army issues new warning

Mon, 27 Aug 2007 17:20:06 +0100

BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Turkish army issues new warning:

It’s crunch time in Turkey. And a potential real setback. Further military intervention in the political sphere will put Turkish EU membership back a generation and hand the EU xenophobes such an easy out. Such a pity not to make them work for it.

globeandmail.com: Canada's Arar probe is a model for Europe

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 08:25:33 +0100

globeandmail.com: Canada's Arar probe is a model for Europe:

“The government is not the sole arbiter of what should be regarded as a state secret.”

Dick Marty is one of the few people who has done anything to redeem us for what our governments colluded with in the US Secret Rendition program. It was a most despicable evil and all the more horrifying that it was allowed to happen in Europe.

Because it is impossible to conceive of greater transgressions of what were supposed to be the European ideals than were perpetrated by this program.

And worse, damn it, these European ideals were something to be proud of. Like an American’s patriotic fervour, Europeans could always think themselves not citizens of the most powerful country on earth, but citizens of a country that would never do something like that again. That they belong to a country where human dignity meant something. And that while we may be snobs, we had an entrenched moral position about shit like this that made us entitled to feel superior.

But these sentiments are hollow and meaningless until somebody repairs what we’ve allowed to happen here.

I think Canadians have a lot to be proud of for the way they have handled this scandal. It’s heartening to know that somewhere somebody still has respect for basic humanity.

It’s time for our governments and intelligence services to stop behaving like children and accept responsibility so we may all stop feeling individually ashamed and go back to being the moralising whingebags we so enjoy being.

We have very real and genuine reasons to be afraid of what precedent this sets. It is part of our eternal European penance to see that this shit never becomes possible again. And we spent fifty years building a country where not only did we think it impossible, it was utterly unthinkable.

Except the Secret Rendition program makes it all thinkable again. It’s so evil.

EuroNews - the European News ChannelEuroNews : Hamburgers and hotdogs Bush and Sarkozy

Sun, 12 Aug 2007 14:11:47 +0100

EuroNews - the European News ChannelEuroNews : Hamburgers and hotdogs Bush and Sarkozy:

Way to patch things up with the French: Feed the president hot dogs and hamburgers. Am not surprised Sarkozy’s wife and kids cried off with sore throats.

More Facebook Sponsored Polls

Sun, 12 Aug 2007 12:49:44 +0100

Sometimes I wonder why the universe hates me so much. I mean, I get this the morning after the disaster karaoke:

How good are you at singing? Sponsored Poll

Better than average

About average

Worse than average

Great work, guys. Keep at it with that winning the hearts and...

Sat, 11 Aug 2007 03:21:56 +0100

Great work, guys. Keep at it with that winning the hearts and minds thing.

The first five seconds of this were clipped in Newsnight tonight. And wow it was a powerful clip, full of contradiction and moment. Perhaps a genius piece of brutal political speech, unintentional commentary, and the clearest possible illustration of what an awful fucking mess the US Army was always going to make of Iraq.

Seeing the whole clip though, it’s the worst of ignorant hate. And parallels the whole occupation itself. It’s not thoughtful, it’s not considered, and it appears entirely for the purpose of causing pain.

Alone those first five seconds could possibly have been political speech, offensive certainly, but criticizing a certain form of submission by jamming a potent symbol of that submission. But liberty is not served by this shite. Democracy and freedom only have meaning in the presence of tolerance and respect for otherwise they are merely painted lies for despotism and tyranny.

And context, huh. It’s a curious thing. How a certain five seconds can say one thing, and just thirteen more will say something entirely different. And apart from the pain, the misery, the senseless dying, the cruelty, and the heartbreaking insanity of it all, this is what I’ll remember from the Iraqi War. This, the clip of Iraqis celebrating the occupation of Baghdad which was actually shot in Kansas, and the hanging of Saddam Hussein which turned out afterwards to have been an obscene lynching.

One million Iraqis, though? And for nothing.

Pie Palace · Asperger Test (AQ Test)

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 17:40:33 +0100

Pie Palace · Asperger Test (AQ Test):

Damn, I got 29. That’s annoying.

The 10 Most Caffeinated Diet Drinks

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 17:21:18 +0100

The 10 Most Caffeinated Diet Drinks:

That’s scary. Diet Pepsi Max has always been my dream drink. At least now I know why. I am such an addict.

ireland.com - Families Romanian Ambassador's claims

Mon, 23 Jul 2007 21:58:37 +0100

ireland.com - Families Romanian Ambassador's claims:

Nice country this. A family of Roma gypsies live in squalor on a roundabout and we give the Romanian Ambassador a platform for the usual racism and then serve them with immigration papers. (Deportation is pending, naturally. You don’t think foreigners get fair consideration here?)

Pat on the back here, everyone involved. You are disgusting human beings.

There You Go, I'm Special

Sat, 14 Jul 2007 02:35:10 +0100

Your Personality is the Rarest (INFJ)

Your personality type is introspective, principled, self critical, and sensitive.

Only about 2% of all people have your personality - including 3% of all women and around 1% of all men.

You are Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, and Judging.
How Rare Is Your Personality?

Now I’d really like everything bad in the world to please fuck off. Thank you.

Bought Two CDs Today

Fri, 13 Jul 2007 17:41:37 +0100

Like an idiot, it seems, and paid €40 for them. Can’t wait for the commercial music industry to be buried now. Here’s a hint as to why CD sales keep falling, f*ckers. It ain’t because of internet piracy. I’m getting my music from iTunes in future and I hope Steve Jobs continues screwing the music companies into the wall.

That said, The Best of the Frank and Walters is fantastic.

"Al Gore III, 24, was stopped by police as he sped at 100mph (160km/h) in his low-emission hybrid car..."

Fri, 06 Jul 2007 15:33:24 +0100

“Al Gore III, 24, was stopped by police as he sped at 100mph (160km/h) in his low-emission hybrid car in California.”

- BBC NEWS | Americas | Al Gore’s son in ‘drug treatment’

VFM Report 51: Development of Human Resource Management System for the Health Service (PPARS) - Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General - Ireland

Fri, 06 Jul 2007 15:22:02 +0100

VFM Report 51: Development of Human Resource Management System for the Health Service (PPARS) - Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General - Ireland:

Gotta read this. PPARS was not really the HSE’s fault. I mean they screwed up a lot but they basically did the sensible thing and tried to find someone else to do it for them.

The fact that this other party didn’t have a clue what they were doing and were screwing money out of the HSE left, right, centre, left-right, right-left, right a bit, and left a bit, probably isn’t so cool, though.

Frankly, the software works fine and is suitable. It’s an industry standard package. But there is so much else out there to kill a software project dead. Like the nutcase payment schemes in the health service. Some 3000 different ways of paying people!?! And probably half of them illegal.

Or the politicking and lack of buy in. What were the project management firm doing? They should have been on top of this. Because well… you know… they are supposed to be project managers.

No wait, they’re just consultants. But then, it’s pretty implicit these jokers aren’t going to get another contract out of the government for years. So, net win for the taxpayer really.

And don’t forget we have licence rights to that IBM software. Which is why the new proposal will use the same software. They’re only doing over the bit the project manager firm screwed up.

Great reading.

Dail Eireann Fight (via inialation) “You won’t say...

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 18:05:38 +0100

Dail Eireann Fight (via inialation)

“You won’t say quiet to me, Sir!”

John o donoghue loses it (via johnpruddy) Better than the news...

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 15:34:36 +0100

John o donoghue loses it (via johnpruddy)

Better than the news clip last night! That Enda Kenny has a vicious tongue sometimes. Too bad he keeps it under wraps.

“Well I’m sure you want to know what Healy-Rae got as well.”

Magic… absolute magic.

India Club review - Restaurants - Time Out London

Sun, 17 Jun 2007 20:08:00 +0100

India Club review - Restaurants - Time Out London:

I like this restaurant. Fun memories of dinner company dying against hot peppers just so as not to let the chef win one over on them.

Blender Pocket

Wed, 13 Jun 2007 16:30:15 +0100

Blender Pocket:

How? No, why? No, how? Definitely how. Am in awe at this idea. And wondering about OpenGL on my PDA. Wondering too much.

Cork Midsummer Festival Site

Wed, 13 Jun 2007 03:51:43 +0100

Cork Midsummer Festival Site

Cork Midsummer Festivaling 2007

Wed, 13 Jun 2007 03:50:23 +0100

Anyone interested in joining me at any of these?

Tuesday 19

The Art of Swimming 8pm Half Moon €15

Wednesday 20

Latin American Lunchtime Carnival 1pm Spiegeltent Free
Guests of the Nation 6.30pm Everyman €15
Thailand - What’s Love Got to Do With It? 8pm Quad €12

Thursday 21

Half Nelson 2pm Kino €5.50
Snatch Comedy 7pm Spiegeltent €16

Friday 22

College of Art Degree Show 6pm College of Art Free
The Frank and Walters 9.30pm Spiegeltent €21

Wednesday 27

Meat 7.30pm Granary €15

Thursday 28

They Never Froze Walt Disney 1pm Unitarian Church €10
The Four Faced Liar 5pm Bodega Free
The Threat of Humour 9pm CAT Club €15

Friday 29

The Sultans of Ping 9.30pm Spiegeltent €22.50

Complexification

Sun, 10 Jun 2007 05:05:10 +0100

Complexification:

Love Jared Tarbell’s processing work in this gallery. Especially love it as my linux screensaver.