Russia’s forceful return to the global stage means that the Pope’s grandchildren face a more uncertain future than their parents did.
The Pope’s Children are reproducing. The Irish birth rate has, for the first time, surpassed that of 1980,whenwe responded to Pope John Paul’s message on chastity with an orgy of fornication.
More than 72,000 babies were born in the country over the past 12 months. It has taken us nearly three decades, but we are now back to late-1970s birth rates.
The fact that the birth rate has soared 28 years after the last baby boom should not come as a surprise to anyone. Today’s babies are the demographic echo of the Pope’s Children; they are the Pope’s grandchildren. The average age for an Irishwoman to have her first child is 27, so it’s hardly a revelation that we are now seeing the baby boomers of the early 1980s having their own kids.
The real question is: given the changes we have seen in this generation, what sort of world will the Pope’s grandchildren be born into? With emigration on the rise, economic growth slowing, inflation on the up and firms closing, one could be forgiven for thinking we are back to where we started in 1980. However, we know that such comparisons are wrong.
Back then, our government was one of the most indebted in the world; now that accolade goes to us – the plain people of Ireland. Back then, our current account deficit was 6 per cent of GDP, today it is also 6 per cent. Back then, our budget was in significant deficit, as it is today. Back then, house prices, which had risen dramatically in the 1970s, were about to go into a ten-year decline. Okay, let’s stop before we get a little depressed.
There is a significant difference between the Pope’s Children and the baby boom of 2008.Today, Ireland is a rich country going backward. Back then, it was a poor country going, hesitantly, forward. More importantly, back then the world was beginning to open up, as was Ireland.
Ideologically, the 1980s was the era of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. The era of globalization was about to begin and, most significantly, the Pope’s Children grew up in a world free of communism. The Pope and Bin Laden’s mujahedin led the charge against the Soviet Union and, with its collapse in 1989, the world changed profoundly.
More importantly for us, these global changes constituted the background noise for Ireland’s recovery in the 1990s. Without argument, had the 1990s not belonged to the Americans (who dominated an emasculated EU and a dramatically weakened Russia), Ireland would not have seen such huge US investment. The Pope’s Children were born into an American hegemony and they profited substantially from the Pax Americana.
In contrast, their children are born into a dramatically altered world. The main reason is that Russia – after 20 years in the doldrums – is back. The sight of columns of Russian tanks rolling into a country which the Russians classify as part of their ‘‘near abroad’’ is a new one for the Pope’s Children, but an eerily familiar one for those old enough to have lived through the Cold War.
Yet, whether the reaction to the invasion of Georgia was one of déjà vu, shock or even denial, at the end of the day, it is clear that the world order has changed.
That has implications for pretty much everyone, everywhere. All over the world, people are beginning to realise that there is an alternative to the US. Not the USSR, but rather Russia: a revisionist-imperialist entity with aggressive intentions, but without the communist ideological pretensions of the USSR, ready to block, thwart and undermine the US at every turn.
This will probably be most notable in the Middle East, where America’s enemies – Iran and Syria in particular – will welcome the resurgent Russia. Russia is their main supplier of sophisticated weapons and, increasingly, their main diplomatic protector. For other countries in the region, the return of Russia to the global and regional arena offers the prospect of an alternative to American support and protection, which have been tied to ‘subversive’ notions such as democracy and human rights.
For everyone, the period of American supremacy that stemmed from the collapse of the Soviet Union has ended. Any number of scenarios are on offer as to how the new round of rivalry might play out in Europe, the Caucasus, the Middle East and beyond, but the bottom line in all of them is that every area of ethnic, national or religious tension, from Kosovo to Kashmir, will become more problematic and less amenable to diplomatic resolution.
China and India – fresh from their scuppering of the WTO – will also realise that Russia, in its crudest form, is back and will thwart the US wherever it can. This will greatly change the balance of global power, because a renewed Russia will embolden others.
Who knows? This might be a good thing. However, for Ireland, the end of the era of unchallenged US power is not a positive prospect. The US is our largest trading partner and is the biggest foreign investor in the country.
Close to 80 per cent of Irish exports come from US multinationals and, for those who doubt the significance of the US in Ireland, consider the following: the combined output in Ireland of Dell, Microsoft and Intel amounts to 20 per cent of Irish GDP.
Ireland benefits hugely from a strong US. When the US is confident, it invests abroad and we get a disproportionate amount of this loot. For example, since the end of the Cold War, Ireland has received twice as much US investment as India and China combined.
Unfortunately, our new babies will be born into a world where Russia will contest America’s hegemony all over Europe. By implication, the EU – which could expand into the east under the unchallenged umbrella of America’s Nato – will be hampered. (Ironically, the Lisbon Treaty’s biggest enemy is Moscow, not Dublin.)
As a result, the 72,300 babies born in Ireland in the past 12 months face a much more uncertain global (and domestic) future than their parents, the Pope’s Children.
I will admit that I have goaded a few here. I do still hold the view that savaging each other anonymously and still electing people that don’t work in the public interest is counterproductive and a bit Irish.
I will not release my first name as it is a red rag to any bigot to call me something that I am not. I was born with my name and it is difficult to get any coherent discussion without being accused of all sorts of crimes against Irishness in spite of being Irish and traceable as Irish going back as far as recorded history allows.
What I am trying to say is that I have got a nasty whip from “True Irishmen” for having the name I have and the same patriots will sit down in front of TG4 and watch my distant relations with the gaelic version of my name and think they are the salt of the earth. Galway and Sligo is full of people with my surname.
I am sure this is abstract to most people and a lot don’t really care but I have had to live with the prejudice of it since primary school and may be a reason for my views.
If you don’t like the way the country is run elect someone who does what you ask. The world is bigger than you think and immigrants have more than one reason for coming here. They are not here to sponge. And as for who is more Irish than the next guy. Get over it. Its old.
I suppose I should just get out and leave the true Irishhmen in their heavenly paradise with its well organised public services, traffic free roads and tolerant people.
What we see now – is key moment in history.
NATO admitted that they cannot fight with small enemies, because structure of NATO created against Soviet Union. NATO is loosing war in Afghanistan. Iraq was biggest mistake for US military machine.
So they want to create one big enemy again, unify all their enemies around Russia and deal directly with Russia.
NATO has orchestrated this war in Georgia. Russia warned Georgia that it will protect Ossetians 10 of July in UN. US knew that Russia will respond very hard, but they gave green light to Saakashvili to start attack, because they wanted Russia involved into this conflict. An everything, what is happening now only confirm this theory. South Ossetia and Abhkazia are not first countries annexed by big neighbour. Northen Cyprus is exactly in the same position as South Ossetia, but nobody is declaring Cold War with Turkey.
Next step will be pushing all enemies of NATO under control of Moscow and then we back into “old good times” of Cold War. US and NATO can always blame Russia in everything, even their own faults. Russia will reply very strongly. But everything will be on order, except that world is one step closer to nuclear war….
Without getting into geopolitics of who – did what – is right or wrong. The fact is there is a very new map emerging and Russia’s attempt to stop or change that map or if you like revert back to old Soviet times/states is an obvious indication of the power Russia feels it has lost and entitled to reclaim.
Apart from the behavior of the west – which leaves quite a lot to be desired – Russia is from my point of view a disgrace in light of their people who have been betrayed by Russia’s so called turn to democracy. All Russia has done is change the name from Ministry to oligarchy, and anyone who does not toe the line ends up dead or in prison on the obvious tax evasion. That’s a laugh, and even funnier being refused parole for not taking part in sowing classes. Tax evasion. Does that mean not paying your debts I wonder like the Russian government owes to America who lent and funded Russia’s turn to Democracy. Ha!!
I’m glad Russia put its foot in it and has brought on the cold war that never really went away. They think it’s pay back time but they certainly got the wrong key and picker the wrong door at the very wrong time.
Britain has a bone to pick with you, and they’ll pick it clean with full backing from America, and NATO.
RUSSIA YOU’RE SCREWED!
Cyrano what exactly are you expecting England to do in this situation, throw tea and crumpets at the Russian army? And England is only a mid-rate power, which it always was despite having a fluke of an empire. The only reason England ever looked strong was because the annexed small, weak nations like Ireland, Scotland, Wales etc, and backarsed stone aged tribes in the jungles of Africa and Asia, who had to face guns with sticks and stones (literally). Also England had the Channel seperating it from the continent- another fluke given that only a navy, and not millions of soliders could invade. The only problem is that England spawn the United States is pushing its weight around- and will hopefully meet the same end as its so called “mother country” (lol how lame). In fact I can’t wait for the United States and England to withdraw and stop fu*king the rest of us around for there own big fat wallets.
Mr B may I ask why you are putting yourself on the cross, and crucifying yourself before us all? Self-pity perhaps? I have soar and irratible bones and a kidney bladder infection, do you here me whinging?
Backarsed stone aged tribes is a slur on Asia. The British wouldn’t have had the guns to fight with without Chinese invented black powder.
All I have ever heard from Dave 22 and you other names is whinging. No facts just broad xenophobic rants based on a little tiny bit of knowledge.
It is laughable that translating my surname into Irish and throwing on an Aran sweater makes me Irish but in English it is thought of as an English name. Half of Conamara has the same last name as me.
The point I am trying to make is that prejudice towards fellow Irishmen like myself because of my name has made me see the bigotry and hatred shown towards other people. I see through you because I was discriminated against in my own country because it was thought I was from somewhere else. Pure bigoted hatred. And I have no time for that or its leaders.
Sure, continue the rants and the personalised comments. The next step will be to get your IP address through your ISP and get you prosecuted through the Prohibition of Incitement To Hatred Act, 1989. It is very easily done.
In the economist this week, I read that Russia’s GDP is 10 times less than that of the USA. The USA’s population is increased year on year while Russia’s is declining by 800,000 each year. Russia, unless they do something about its populations’ health, education level and civil liberties, they’ll never be a superpower again. The reawakening of the great Russian bear my ass, its more like a last sting of a dying wasp.
As for the new Irish, I think the key problem is that immigrants have the comparative advantage over native Irish people when it comes to competing for low skill work because immigrants, by and large, are very young and have no dependents which enables them to work for much less than some low skilled Irish workers. I’d imagine that there will be a lot of racial tensions if the tough economic times get any worse.
However, I think the influx of immigrants has had a largely positive impact on this country. It has broadened out outlook, it has helped keep spiraling business costs down by enlarging the labour force and has increased our population. Also, most hospitals are dependent on immigrants. Plus, Irish people aren’t particularly attractive so we could use a more diverse gene pool. As for people’s fears about the dilution of our culture, firstly, like someone else has said already, the USA is an extremely proud and patriotic nation and it almost entirely composed of immigrants.
But is this blind, unthinking loyalty to one’s nation entirely rational? Nationalism has caused the world nothing but problems. The current emasculated Russia is flexing it’s muscles largely to restore some of it’s lost prestige. I struggle to think of a positive aspect of Irish culture anyway. When trying to some up Irish culture, the words that conjure up are as follows: alcoholism, mindless adherence to Catholicism, our mediocre national sport, gaelic football(although hurling has it’s merits), conservatism, narrow mindedness, oneupmanship, begrudgery, anti-intellectualism, boy racers, Fianna Fail, girls with awful fake tans. I’m sure I could go on all day. Anyway, the basic point I am making is that a total cultural transformation in this country would not necessarily be a bad thing.
The difficulty I have with nationalism is that it is really the result, so to speak, of history up to today. For most, ethnic, racial, and nationalistic, antagonisms tend to go back to some favourite, particular, moment in history, and no further. People select their history to suit their emotions. The French, depending on their bent, select the birth of one of the republics, or one of the later kings; the Germans, well, they have to perform a very pretty little dance with anything earlier than 1945, but always have the option to hark back to the pre-Bismarck days; and so on. Even the Americans have options; some select the pre-Cuba/Philippines days, while others start when they entered WW1 (1917). It all seems to depend on how you want to feel about where you feel is your home country.
If you want to find people more Greek than the Greeks, or more Irish than the Irish, we all know that you head to the USA. They feel their historical grievances more than the current nationals.
I am English, in the sense that my family is an agglomeration of people who fled Ireland rather than starve, Germany because they were too Jewish, and Scotland because their homes vanished.
I had relations who were not Jewish enough to be accepted as Jews by Jews in Germany, but perfectly Jewish enough to be rounded up and given a free train ticket to some place that reckoned that ‘Work will set you free’. A single ticket, that is.
Britain, as most people know, is very proud of being multi-cultural, and I know this because people tell me all the time that we’re very proud of being so multicultural. I have no real idea what it means, and I’ve never heard any descriptions which do anything more than simply use different words to say the same thing.
Sit on a bus in London (the way we poor people travel) and there’s a very good chance that the people near you will be speaking a non-English language, and I don’t just mean American.
There has been, for a few years now, a great debate about ‘Britishness’. What it means to be British. Of course it’s just an excuse for everyone to vent their spleens about people, and groups, they don’t like. There’s absolutely no possible way of defining ‘Britishness’, the whole idea of this debate is completely absurd. It’s so absurd that he government’s published a little booklet all about ‘Britishness’. Most ‘British’ things were invented by the Victorians, much in the same way so much of Scottishness was invented by Victorian Ladies. The British are not a very nice people, something that was spotted by the Victorians pretty early on, who promptly invented the ‘stiff upper lip’, which simply means ‘whatever you’re thinking, don’t say it’.
Yet no one would deny that Britishness exists. My view of what nationalism really means is, as I see it, practical. It explains why people who feel the need to wave flags, make up silly names like ‘TeamGB’, and get so excited about things that relate directly to their nation (e.g. whether their sports teams win), are actually displaying a worrying level of social insecurity, and providing evidence that they don’t really feel part of any ‘nation’ at all.
Here’s a view: A Nation is a group of people who have deep similarities in all forms of communication including, but especially beyond, words: Body language, intonation, nuance, and the rest of it – i.e. the other 90% of human communication after words.
Walk into a room filled with people from your nation, and you understand what’s happening around you, you feel sort of ‘in tune’. It could be part of the reason why travelling to foreign places is fun, because it’s exciting to be somewhere where you have much less feel for what’s happening, and the more foreign the better, to an extent. Walk into a village in Tibet, and all your social instincts and what-have-you are completely, and utterly, useless, or worse, misleading.
I’ll call this “Dynamic Social Discombobulation”, or ‘DSD’.
On the assumption that there’s something to this argument, racist feelings are therefore explicable (I did not say understandable), to some extent.
So, following this thesis, the question about immigration comes down to the different ways that different people, at different times, respond to their perceptions of volatility in DSD:
People who get a warm feeling inside when they think about immigration are reacting positively to their DSD, whereas those who get a cold (opposite of warm) feeling are uncomfortable with their DSD.
Therefore, if you ask someone why they don’t like immigration you only really do so because you know that there is no way of explaining. In truth, explanations you get from people who do like immigration are as misleading as those you get from those who don’t – clothes, food, music, and work ethic, seems to about cover it, i.e. fashion and work. Were that the case, those who don’t like it would be perfectly reasonable when they said that they didn’t like the fashion and a lot of them don’t work much. Clearly, neither are true, they are just efforts to express the inexpressible.
There are of course economic arguments regarding immigration. Unfortunately, any effort to consider these is generally ruined by the fact that no one ever seems to have a full set of reliable numbers, and what’s more, they are not much use even when you can find some, because DSD quotients obviously vary wildly between all sorts of different immigrant groups, their ages, reasons for leaving wherever they’re from, and so on, and so on, and so on. Economic arguments based on the ‘So-and-so country has had, or hasn’t had, lots of immigration and their economy has done well” (e.g.USA and Japan) usually ignore the fact that over the past 50 years, almost all developed economies have done well – all boats rise with the tide.
What does all this mean, if anything? It means, to me, that trying to convince someone to be for, or against, immigration is rather like trying to convince them to stop being a Chelsea supporter, and to start being a Spurs supporter. I’m not referring to the importance of the decision, just to the sort of change you are asking of someone to make in themselves.
I get a warm feeling regard immigration, in general, but it does concern me somewhat that I really have no convincingly expressible idea why.
Mr B what is this name that you are constantly rattling on about? Just tell us all the bloody name and see what we care. The name David is Jewish/Hebrew and my mothers maiden name Savage is Scottish- do you here any of us giving out. Nobody has ever said anthing about this, because despite what you seem to think people DON’T CARE about names. There are PLENTY of surnames from the Celts, Vikings, Normans, English, Welsh, Scottish names in Ireland (in fact did the feckin Celts even have surnames!?). I think you just love feeling persucted- so the rest of us feel guilty about arguing points or debates with you.
“The British are not a very nice people, something that was spotted by the Victorians pretty early on, who promptly invented the ’stiff upper lip’, which simply means ‘whatever you’re thinking, don’t say it’.”
So this explains the sun newspaper, the destruction of formely sub-tropical beutiful parts of Spain with loud mouth, red chested larger louts roaring lunatics over-running half of Spanish coastal areas. And perhaps this explains that despite the image of the British army as a reserve of grand ould chaps who like to retire to a pipe and blend in with the locals- that they we’re and Are a bunch of scumbags? I say this because my ancesters we’re kicked out of Scotland by a mob (code name British army) and we’re left with nothing, and I also say this because we’re grandmothers farm is, there are old 18th century farm barns sprinkled around the area, one of which was the scene of hanging and pitching (aka tar poured on head and the scalp been ripped off the head) in 1798. And because Irish people are good at keeping stories alive (unlike our useless government and red tape beurocracy), there are tales of women in the area who lived in the area pre-famine (get that over 8 generations ago- and we still remember, thats why we still detest England) been flogged (no not some fetish- actually lashed with a painful instrument) TO FEED HER HUNGRY F*CKING CHILD. With the history I have given you Mr Kenny BOTH from this country and from 19th century Scotland, why the f*ck should we like England or anything about it? After all the English detest the French/Spanish/Germans etc for merely fighting wars with them. As for “Britishness”, there is no such thing because there are in fact three nations in the UK- INCLUDING Scotland and Wales. And btw can you email Whitehall and ask them for once and all to take the cross of Saint patrick off of the Union Jack. Then get the scots to trick them into taking off the flag of Saint Andrew, and they will have that rag of an English flag- while stupidly still thinking the have a union jack.
Your truly- paddy the ape
Davy, Davy it’s a catch 22 with you.
On my fathers side my grandparents (DUNN) were from Derry, and Belfast Scots – planter – Irish.
My mother was Dublin where I was brought up. I marched to the British embassy after BLOODY SUNDAY with rage at the barbarity, and rage on at the barbarity of every murderous act regardless of who carried it out and what for.
“The British are not very nice people.” Who is?
Should we mention (for example) what the Irish did depicted in the movie/film “Soldier Blue” and say the Irish are not very nice people.
People throughout the centauries (to this day) have not been so very nice. You’re just letting yourself off the hook by thinking you can point to a particular race, you can’t. It would make things a whole lot simpler if you could point the finger for then there would simply be an exemplary race, and there’s not.
I consider myself Irish and maybe more than the few who think there is some special ingredients (and only those) We’re all (one) humans born in different places on one world believe it or not it’s one world.
“The Irish birth rate has, for the first time, surpassed that of 1980,when we responded to Pope John Paul’s message on chastity with an orgy of fornication.”
What a cheap line.
Chastity doesn’t mean no sex. And sex doesn’t mean orgy and fornication.
The analysis on this site is not up to much. Doesn’t compare with voluntary bloggers from the US.
The ESRI found that the number of births to unmarried mothers rose from 5% in 1980 to 32% in 2000. Given that the birth rate was growing throughout this period, the absolute numbers involved would be even greater than the proportions indicate.
Sexually transmitted disease rates for the same period are a little harder to come by, but an interesting one is a 450+% increase between 1972 and 1996.
The problem with fornication research, is that it usually indicates that boys under the age of 16 have had 100+ partners, and the girls – especially if their current boyfriends are in the room at the time – have had none.
Its cold outside and it will be cold inside soon enough. The new energy paradigm that the west faces will make the Irish economy non competitive, as if it wasn’t already. This coupled with carbon taxes will bring Ireland to its knees. This is stacking up to become one of the most expansive global tax grabs in history. Global warming cannot be proved or disproved by the average man on the street. The high priests of science must interpret the stars for the lay man and indulgences must be paid to alleviate or offset the sins of mankind for its indulgence. Big capitalism, arguably the cause of the apparent problem through the push for endless economic expansion, wants to convince us that the only solution is further helpings of the same flawed fundamentalist economics. Emissions trading schemes where the privileged get disproportionate access to a perceived resource, carbon, subsidised by the many, same as it ever was. Then the governments of the world will spend the indulgences, sorry, taxes, to innovate energy efficient technologies and the gods will be sated. Great scheme, one that Gore et al stand to benefit greatly from through their carbon trading derivative platforms.
Back on the ranch Ireland’s ever expanding population is unrelenting. A policy designed by Europe’s financial alchemists to continually erode the value of labour. Couple this with the use of Asia as a cheap source of labour. It is an attempt counter the inflationary effect of the expansionist monetary policy which has been centre stage for the past twenty years.
Don’t be patting yourself on the back for Ireland’s incredible rise up the global wealth ladder. It is just fortuitous that Ireland was willing and able to prostitute itself to corporate America. Ireland benefited from the credit boom, it did not innovation or generate any real wealth. It simply slapped on pretty pink tax rates and walla mutton dressed as lamb. Ireland was used, and cheaper more attractive whores have been found for randy capital to flow into.
Meanwhile the politicians are pushing Lisbon down our necks in an arrogant display of undemocratic terrorism. The politics of fear are being used to convince the financially emaciated Irish populace that we are finished without Europe. It will eject us from the EU if we don’t do what were told, Sarkosy flew in specially to remind us like some kind of Tony Soprano figure. A few things are being overlooked however. Ireland is a signatory to all former treaties up to this point which cannot legally be reversed, hence we are in and cannot be excommunicated. Ireland was a member of the EEC since the 70′s, that wasn’t much help to the Irish economy throughout the 70′s and 80′s. It wasn’t Europe that fixed our corporate tax rates at 12% sparking corporate America’s love affair with the Paddies. If anything the EU would get rid of this quick smart, the Brits certainly would given all their companies are domiciling in Ireland for tax purposes. Our politicians have been disingenuous in their presentation of the Lisbon issue. They have been either been deliberately misrepresenting the implications and content of the treaty or by design misleading the public. Either way none of them have read it, or even attempted to, as some have been forced to admit. This alone is a disgrace, never mind the attempt to bury the Irish Constitution and reduce Irish democracy to a skeleton of its former self, effectively a county council in a federal Europe.
Now to those who might think this is a somewhat paranoid viewpoint, several flies remain in that ointment. Firstly the lack of democratic process available to any other country in the EU with regard to Lisbon. Secondly the arrogance to propose another referendum in Ireland following a clear rejection. Finally the continued ratification of Lisbon throughout the EU in the face of Ireland’s decision. All of these things do not bode well for democracy in Europe, the emperor has no clothes but it seems that the Celtic cubs cannot see the wood for the trees. The cost of freedom is constant vigilance and new Ireland seems to have its eyes firmly fixed on Louis Vuitton accessories regardless of the outcome.
As a young Irish person I have witnessed some of the most incredible hypocrisies in the past decade. The established western view has been discredited through a series of monumental misrepresentations of the truth. WMD, Subprime, Inflationary monetary expansionism, Democracy and Human Rights, the War on Terrorism.
There were no WMD, Saddam did not engineer 911, he did have the worlds second biggest reserves of oil.
War on Terror and civil liberties, sure why not that will keep us safe. Subprime; cheap money for all. House prices never drop this is how to create real wealth; for wall street perhaps.
Drown the world in cheap cash, the Greenspan/ Bernanke put to the rescue, privatise the gains and socialise the losses.
Rapidly increasing house and asset prices were not inflation in action, pull the other one. Inflation is great until it leaks into the real economy and the basic cost of living skyrockets. Blame the greedy merchants for price increases, then and the average Joe for trying to preserve his standard of living. The basic fact is the economies were flooded with cash and currencies were debased. The ultimate hidden tax.
Back to the cold war scenario then. The Russians and Chinese understand all of the above and they see the fragility of the system recognising an opportunity to undermine the west at this time of weakness. I don’t want to end up on the front line in an unnecessary war for empire, part of some crusade by a federalist European superstate with her NATO partners.
Ireland needs to play smart and suit herself, we are a small country with a long painful history, We need to wake up to this and be aware of the threats that an arrogant expansionist Europe now presents. We need to model ourselves on the independent Nordic countries, with free trade agreements and the sovereignty to determine our own peaceful future. I for one do not want to be a part of the current Western hegemon that speaks of democracy and human rights, while supporting authoritarian regimes when the price is right. Georgia is not our problem it is the chess board for the new great game for Eurasian energy reserves between imperialist empires, same as it ever was.
We need to future proof our energy and agricultural infrastructure so we can be independent of global resource politics. At the same we need to maintaining an educated populace that can innovate and be part of the global knowledge economy. We are an ancient and wise people and we must build upon this proud history to chart an independent course into the twenty first century, free of the delusions of our contemporaries.
Johns’ last post was particularly silly, but the standard of the posts does seem to be particularly weak lately. Some points:
“….Ireland needs to play smart and suit herself, we are a small country with a long painful history……”
Ireland is being incredibly smart by being a full and enthusiastic member of the EU. You are quite slow if you don’t realise that the only reason we have had a painful history is that we are a small country beside a large one which controlled the sea around us. By being in the EU we have the best of both worlds, protection from bullying by big countries, access to a huge market with no tarriffs, while still having control over our own affairs.
“We need to model ourselves on the independent Nordic countries…..”
They are all successful members of the EU apart from Norway which is swimming in oil, not much in common with Ireland then.
“…the arrogance to propose another referendum in Ireland following a clear rejection….”
The Lisbon treaty referendum was flawed. People were misled by crazies saying the referendum was about abortion, losing a commissioner etc. Which it wasn’t. FG and Labour refused to campaign for a yes vote to try to hurt FF. In this situation I think it should be rerun along with an educational campaign. There was a very effective education campaign by FF in Sallins and it resulted in a huge yes vote.
“….the continued ratification of Lisbon throughout the EU in the face of Ireland’s decision….”
The treaty cant come into effect without us, however if they want a closer union without us let them go ahead without us. They are all independent countries and can do what they like. The EU is a club not some sort of empire.
“..We need to future proof our energy and agricultural infrastructure so we can be independent of global resource politics..”
So your idea is a future of turf, potatoes and electricity, but only when the when the wind is blowing.
I could go on but life’s to short.
The caucausus region has always been violent and always will be until reasonable sacrifices are made…….
South Ossetians have never felt georgian and would jump at the chance being annexed byt Russia, the same with Abkhazia…………… both populations have russian citizenship awarded to them by Moscow.
However North Ossetia is within Russia and has always been so……….the southern populace possibly moved into georgia during the empire of russia pre & post 1918……. Georgia could just repatriate the ossetians into Russia with the Kremlins co-operation?
Let Abkhazia be free and act as the unrecognised beach-resort republic it has been known as for years.
Paddy, I don’t think you need to justify your Belfast-Scots descent to anyone…….. the scots are from the same cultural (except attitude) and gene pool as the irish…….. any knowledgeable lover of history would accept that.
Art how can you say we will have control over our own affairs when the EU influence over Irish policy is so pervasive. This can only increase as the EU becomes more politically integrated. Why is a free trade zone not enough for people like you. What further benefits can you envisage. Can you picture yourself with a bigger deck, richer than you are already. Although maybe you are not as rich as you were last year now the twenty year credit bubble is deleveraging. Or maybe you were not as rich as you thought you were, perhaps the sky-rocketing asset prices were a symptom of expansionist monetary policy and its inflationary effects.
As for as Ireland having protection from bully countries the days of the British empire are well and truly passed, you can relax on that front. However being a part of a NATO led EU rapid response force involved in resource wars of the 21st century will guarantee young Irish people a prominent position on the front line. As for access to huge markets with no tariffs, the world is globalised and free trade agreements exist between countries as disparate as Australia and South Korea. As the saying goes when goods stop crossing borders armies do. The Eu has functioned in this way for many years you integrate politically. We have all the benefits without the loss of sovereignty.
As far as the Lisbon treaty is concerned I agree it was flawed as was the the EU constitution which was rejected by the French and Dutch. But what is more important than both treaties is respect for the rule of law and respect for democratic decision making. Ireland’s sole democratic input regarding Lisbon is the alarm bell for a European commission with scant regard for the democratic process. It should prompt independent thinking individuals with an eye for history to further erode the decision making powers of this seemingly unaccountable entity.
When you talk of re-education the stories of the Chinese and their re-education of the old women protesters comes to mind during the olympics. You assume that the Irish people who voted no are just ignorant!. Perhaps they have more sense than you. “The EU is a club not some sort of empire”, this is the entire point of the opposition to Lisbon and federalist integration. This entire affair has anti democracy all over it but you appear to blinded to see.
Your ignorance of the need to become energy independent beggars belief. Not only will it become crucial in a carbon constrained global economy it is also the biggest investment theme of the next fifty years. It is also massively important in terms of security in an increasingly volatile world where the majority of fossil energy supplies are under the control of national oil companies. The wind does not need to blow to harness sun, wave, biomass, geothermal and nuclear energy, not to mention the opportunities that exist in upgrading the nations stock of housing to a high energy rating. The conservation benefits would be immense. The days of bananas from Brazil and the three thousand kilometre Caesar salad are probably behind us in the future energy paradigm. So you will probably be glad to eat potatoes and according to David’s latest article the Turf business looks like a better bet than the returns from private equity and hedge funds.The Donkey index is looking promising too. Before you criticise do some research and open your eyes to the changing world around you . T Boon Pickens is putting the family jewels on the line to build the biggest wind farm on the face of the earth, would you bet against a man like that. He obviously thinks the wind is going to blow.
Jonnie,
Thanks for your feedback. I want a strong EU for many reasons some of these are;
- so that we can together stand up to Russia (regarding oil and gas pricing),
- stand up to American companies with their monopolistic tendenices (i.e. Microsoft, GE etc)
- so that pan-European criminals can be tracked and arrested
- so that we can lead the rest of the world in making advances in environmental law and human rights
- to develop eastern Europe economies so that they purchase more goods made in our factories
- etc,
The EU has put manners on our on Government in many areas and I don’t think that’s a bad thing especially on the environmental front. They have been warning us for the past few years about the housing bubble, we ignored them and look where that got us. But the EU is basically a club with very weak powers.
On the environmental front, I am an engineer with an environmental consultancy and from the wide range of data available to us it is my opinion that unfortunately for the foreseeable future the technology is not available to allow us to live without a huge input of fossil energy. Peoples behaviour is also a factor in that they are living in one off houses, driving SUVs etc. there is no appetite for making changes to save energy and there is no political will to force them or make changes in the law. I would predict that in fact the EU will probably have to force us to use greener solutions like they demanded (and paid) for us to stop dischaging raw sewage into rivers and the sea.