Irish Economic Crisis. The X Factor Factor.
October 28, 2008
Now that the Irish economic crisis is beginning to make itself felt our new Irish middle class are intent on showing us what they are made of. And that is of course the same sterling strength of character we see displayed on our television screens weekly on the likes of the X Factor where contestant after contestant inform us ( with great shedding of tears ) that life for them and their children would be meaningless and unbearable without the wealth and fame that comes with winning. Most people are I think repulsed by this distortion of values and the underlying selfishness of it all but for all that it speaks volumes about the society we live in. We now hear much the same waling and gnashing of teeth from this Irish middle class when faced with the prospect of being told to live within their means. Having grown rich on the back of cheap imported labour (with no regard for those who have to pay the real price for this ) and having performed the moral and intellectual gymnastics that go hand in hand with the new ideology of greed they now find themselves having to face a new and harsh reality. The penny may not have dropped yet , indeed the shock of it all , the possibility of having to reach into their own pockets has been such that it has rendered them incapable of even thinking straight. “The noise of the mob is it’s imagination” and these folks have a great imagination. They feel , are convinced in fact , that their relatively modest taxes can actually pay for all the things they have come to take for granted. And this in spite of the million or more euros that we are borrowing daily just to stop the whole show grinding to a permanent halt.
The Irish economy is fundamentally a parasitic one. We produce nothing or next to nothing. Our industry, such as it was , no longer exists. We may talk whatever nonsense we wish about I.T. economics in a pathetic attempt to flatter our distorted egos but deep down inside we know that no one ever started a war over it. Wars are fought for control of steel and shipping lanes , for things of real and true value. There is no inherent value to the nation in home ownership and even less in the ‘buy to let’ market and yet this it is the whole basis of our economy. The easy wealth of landlord-ism is not conducive to Enterprise in spite of what the new bourgeoisie and their media might wish us to believe. The protectionism of a single European currency while beneficial in many ways also has it’s dangers in it’s ability to insulate us to some of life’s realities. Our Enterprise Culture has little to do with real enterprise. Borrowed capital , cheap labour , globalisation and all the rest of it can create great wealth for some but it is a parasitic form of wealth with little if any real substance to it. To blame our situation on the global downturn ignores the fact that we helped to create this downturn in the first place.
Too much credit and a subsequent credit crisis are not the causes of our present problems in spite of what you may hear on the TV. Rather they are a symptom of a much more serious problems inherent within Globalisation itself. Everything has it’s price. Bio fuel production may yet lead to global food wars. Economics devoid of social responsibility. The working class of Kimmage and Crumlin bought their houses cheap and saw the potential. They live well on their rents. Students and business people only ( no unemployed need apply ). “We worked hard for our money “. Did you indeed!. “We worked hard for our money”. But we know what the subtext is here , we understand it well. The landlord and sheriff…….our history is full of it. But they are quick to forget history when there’s money to be made. Their children and grand children don’t play in the street and it not for fear of paedophiles. It’s about class and upward mobility. “We worked hard for our money”. A house ( maybe two or three ), children at university , several holidays abroad each year , a career - a good life by any standards with money in the bank. “But it’s OUR money , and we WORKED for it”…….Like spoiled greedy children they stamp their feet…..”It’s our money ” …..”We worked hard for it all our lives”….The X Factor ……we NEED this wealth , we can’t live without it……It’s OURS….
Him and her. We see them on The Property Show as they talk of their flat in Romania. They are in their late 50’s and no doubt would tell us that they ‘worked hard all their lives’……but the body language says otherwise…..they have done well , really well and have no intention of tightening their belts……….”But , we worked hard all our lives”. They are comfortable with the notion that they deserve all this reward…..The new landlord class…God and the constitution ( no welfare checks accepted )…..they have come a long way and forgotten much (deliberately). And like any common landlord thug the veneer of civilisation will drop in an instance if they feel threatened…..Make no mistake these good people will if necessary kill to protect what’s theirs……..In the meantime they take to the streets to protest. They make much of the tax they paid but didn’t we all pay tax. They want to live at the expense of the public purse regardless of the cost…..they want you and I to subsidise their latter years of good living ( the little tax they paid could never cover that). They take some comfort in the hope that , if things get really bad , their property portfolio will protect them from the worst. They may be right. But they may also be wrong. They are happy that social housing is a thing of the past. If the situation demands it they will be even happy to take welfare cheques for rent . But as dole ques grow and the need for rent allowance increases there will in turn be less and less money to pay for it. How long can any government afford to ignore the economics of buy to rent. Who could have predicted the smoking ban or the deregulating of the taxi service ? Lobbies that seemed to be untouchable , that could make or brake any politician were brought to heel…..and no quarter shown. In the new Corporate Europe nothing is impossible. This new middle class was quick (and happy) to turn it’s back on the trade union movement. They welcomed the ‘free market’ but may yet need protection from it. They will probably vote no to Europe next time round and not from any principled stand but out of fear and greed. This X Factor generation only knows the gospel of self interest and personal gain. Public emotion and shallow values. Atavistic greed and an inbred insecurity. A jealous eye watching a neighbours field.
A venial people. A shallow people. They know the value of money (and property). A four wheel drive and a son or daughter at business school……a minimum wage immigrant to carry out the necessary menial tasks. And a warped psuedo ideology to justify it all……conservatives parading themselves as liberals…..they will be the first to vote for some racist candidate. A pox on them all. And if they are not happy then let them emigrate. After all there are no shortage of immigrants who can fill the gap. Young healthy immigrants who will not be a drain on the economy. So by all means emigrate. Go to your natural environment , your spiritual homeland. Vote for McCainn and low taxes…..and live off your own resources. Join the NRA , get yourself a ‘45. Watch the blacks kill themselves in the ghetto from your all white neighbourhood. Isn’t that what the Irish in America have always done ?……A pox and a double pox on the lot of you.
Fiscal rectitude can work in much the same way as a laxative. It can help us flush out anything injurious to the system. Regular healthy bowel movements are essential to our personal well being and this is no less true when it comes to the economy. So let us have one big collective crap. Let’s flush this contaminant down the drain where it belongs…..
Autumn in Dublin. Two views of Dublin. Ringsend.
October 26, 2008
Two autumn views from outside my flat in Ringsend in Dublin. Ten minutes from Dublin city centre and another ten minutes from Sandymount Strand and the beach. Having this just a few paces from my front door helps to keep me sane.
Medical Card Protest Dublin
October 22, 2008
As I walked into the city this morning I joined the crowds as they spilled out of Westland Row railway station on their way to the medical card protest outside Dail Eireann. Apart from the sheer numbers what struck me most was the fact that this was an affluent middle class crowd. And when I eventually got to the protest itself this was really brought home to me. If you didn’t know what was going on you would never have made the mistake of thinking that this might be an unemployment demonstration or something like that. The sense of smugness combined with ill disguised rage was sickening.
So let us be quite clear about this ….This is about greed and has nothing to do with social justice. It’s about a group of quite wealthy people who having “worked hard all their lives and saved a handsome amount of money for the proverbial rainy day ” are determined to hang on to their wealth now that the rainy day has come. Irish people , and the new Irish middle class in paticular are amongst the wealthiest people in the world (and indeed were quick to boast of this wealth up to just a few weeks ago). The fact that we as a nation can no longer afford free medical services for all regardless of wealth is not something that they are interested in or care about. “What we have we hold” and these nice people do indeed have it.
These quite affluent people are not negatively affected by mass immigration or it’s consequences but if they were we know what their reaction would be. They would be the first to shout of “Ireland for the Irish”……and they would not hesitate to demand the wholesale deportation of all immigrants if they thought that would protect their own selfish interests. These people did not take to the streets in solidarity with the homeless or the marginalised….they were probably too busy collecting their rents so they could send their sons and daughters to some good Catholic university while they had yet another holiday in their overseas second home. The rights or wrongs of means testing is not the issue here..
“We worked hard for what we have” Yes and as I have said they most certainly have it. “It’s about the economy stupid “ Yes , it’s about money and has nothing to do with ethics or the greater social good. “You cannot serve two masters…..” ‘Never a truer word. Oh yes and yes indeed , they could have taken to the streets , the whole 15,000 of them for some great cause but chose instead to march to protect their own self interest. Greed , greed and more greed.
Meanwhile the economy slows down ……..( I’ll write of this in the next few days )…..Back in the real world……Property developers close their doors and Irish bank shares drop this very day… yet again.
But for all of this they nevertheless feel reasonably secure. “Sure , didn’t we get into property at the right time and yes prices are down but isn’t property the best investment in the long run ?” I’m alright Jack. ……..
A property owning democracy. We have never had it so good. And we hold what’s ours. They are up in Dublin for the day , but only for the day. ( best not to leave the property unattended )…..They no doubt pride themselves on not being racist but nevertheless are worried about itinerants wandering the land ( and no one to keep an eyes on the property). Degenerates and moral retards. If you ask them how their son or daughter is doing they will tell you about the great job or new house…….it’s all about money. It’s about money and nothing else. And this I suppose makes sense for if they didn’t have the money what would they have ? If they had more of it they would no doubt do a Bono . Oh dear Oh dear.
THE GARDEN OF IZZIE KLINGELS
September 28, 2008
I’ve never met Izzie Klingels but I have a great fondness for Garden. In fact if it wasn’t for dear Izzie I wouldn’t even be aware of Garden. It was she who brought me ‘into the garden’….I’m listening to Agnes Bernelle as I write this , she’s spinning around on my record deck and it seems appropriate that I should be listening to her when writing of Izzie…
I am , I suppose , what might be best described as a sad old man with no friends….that’s not self pity just simple plain fact. I live on my own and sleep on the floor of a one room flat here in Dublin. I have better things to do with my money than buy a bed and apart from that I have not got the room for one and so I sleep on the floor…..and I sleep like an innocent……
When I get out of bed every morning , which is to say when I get up off the floor and have my morning coffee I find that I have nothing to do so I wander out my front door and head for the record shops of Dublin.. If it wasn’t for the record shops I would go mad…. I put one foot in front of the other and eventually end up in one of the few vinyl emporiums left in this city. I’m an old time record collector….My hair is grey and as the song has it ,” I ache in the places where I used to play”. My clothes are all worn and shabby as all my spare money goes on vinyl and I am I suppose well known in these shops…..and I’m always on my own. But then again , who needs friends when you’ve got the vinyl ? But who cares about any of this…
To get to what I wanted to tell you…There is a shop in Dublin called Road Records which specalises in independant (!!) record labels and I was in there one day about a year ago ( I’m in there every day of course ). It’s a small shop which sells a lot of unremarkable modern music. And it sells this to unremarkable people. People who live in modern apartment blocks on the river. You know the sort I mean. No lost rebels here . No rebels without a cause or otherwise. The economy is doing well (even with the recession) and so are they….they all want to be just like daddy ( and they are , they are ).
Well , like I say , I was in there one day looking for something special. I was leafing through the shelves of Indie (!!!!!) vinyl as I had done a thousand times when I came acrosss this 12 inch ep by someone called Garden. It was the cover that caught my attention of course. I held it in my hand. I turned it around and looked at it from different angles. I put it down and then picked it up……and then I looked at it again.
I bought the record needless to say. Four hippy/psych type songs that might have been THE hippy anthem if the record had been made 40 years ago. It’s a gem. A classic of the first order. Four wonderfull songs with titles like , Yew Tree and Dandelions…..
” I am the yew tree
I am the yew tree
I am the yew tree
yes.”
I play it over and over. And when I’m not actually playing it I’m holding it in my hand , wondering who that girl is. She has her back to us and yet seems somehow sad…… She’s the child , the brainchild of Izzie Klingels. She came out of Izzie Klingels head. How long was she there ? And how did she get there in the first place ? When Izzie was going about her business , standing in the supermarket checkout , chatting with her facebook friends , was this little girl locked up in her head all the time. And late at night when Izzie was asleep and all was dark and quiet was the little girl gently tapping , tapping … “Let me out , let me out “
And why Izzie , why do you abandon your children in indie record shops. There is a myspace and web site but these tell us nothing. Why have you sent this sad garden child out into such a cruel cruel world ?
TUBBY HAYES LONDON JAZZ QUARTET TEMPO/EMBER VINYL LP
September 25, 2008
This LP was originally released on the Tempo Label. This then is a reissue on the Ember Label. There is no date on this reissue but it would have been pressed within a few years of the original probably in the late sixties. I picked this up on Ebay just a few weeks ago but I have forgotten what I paid for it (I buy a lot of LP’s) but I’m sure I handed out a little over 100 euros.
The music is not quite typical of Hayes. It’s not driving heavy jazz or anything like that. It’s the sort of music you might have heard on the soundtrack of many British kitchen sink movies of the sixties. If you were not a fan you might brush it aside as library music. All the tracks are arranged by Tony Crombie and as far as I can remember about half are written by him also. The line up is….Tony Crombie , Tubby Hayes , Alan Branscombe and Jack Fallon.
The music is ‘tight’ and very sixties and distinctly British and as I’ve said it’s not unlike British film music of the period….but it’s quality stuff and if you like classic ‘modern’ jazz you will love this. It’s the sort of album that will grow on you. You might feel it’s rather conservative for sixties jazz and that it’s not particularly exciting but you will find yourself putting it on the turntable more and more…..just to try to make up you mind if you like it or not…and it will grow on you in spite of it not being ‘progressive’……
Check out my other posts on Vinyl HERE.
IRISH BANKS CRISIS
September 18, 2008
You could be forgiven for thinking that Irish Banks were in a state of crisis if not meltdown if you happened to be a listener to Joe Duffey on RTE. One after another callers into his radio show described how they were in the process of hotfooting it down to the bank to get their money out before….well before things got completely out of hand. And yes , we know the Irish banking system is quite sound but if Lehmans can go bankrupt having lost literally billions then it’s better to be safe than sorry. So regardless of what you think about all this the fact is that a lot of folks are anxious to put their money just about anywhere rather than in their friendly local bank. And just tonight on RTE TV news there were more reports of ‘concern’ among those lucky enough to have some spare cash in the bank.
So let me ask you this question . Do you have a tidy sum sitting in your local bank? And if the answer is yes then what are you going to do ? What I mean is , are you getting worried …….are you? . The experts are predicting that yet more large US banks will fold so don’t you think you have a right to be worried ? . The US Federal Reserve has released $180 billion dollars to help other US banks and global central banks are doing likewise……the biggest bailout in human history . So let me ask you again. Are you getting worried ?.
UPDATE: (19/9/08) On foot of a ban on short selling and intervention by the US Reserve Bank share prices have rocketed in the last few hours while we are told there is no need to worry as the European Bank has no shortage of cash. But this very volatility is a worry in itself. We are told that Irish banks are not at risk as they were not involved in the sub-prime issue in the first place but that’s simplistic to say the least. The fact is that the banks are facing the biggest crisis in their history…….and it’s not over yet…
And to imagine that Irish banks are somehow immune to all this just because we are in Europe is the stuff of fairy tales..
Cambridge Court Ringsend Dublin City Council
September 17, 2008
Cambridge Court in Ringsend is a housing complex for senior citizens run by Dublin City Council. I moved in there a few months ago as I was in substandard accommodation in the private sector before that and really had to get out.
Cambridge Court is not unlike a prison. My flat ( a one roomed one ) is more like a cell than anything else. It’s small and dark…..and it does not feel like home…. A man calls around to each flat every morning just to check the we are ‘alright’ ( not dead ). I had to almost have a stand up argument with him to get him to stop pounding on my door… At another time someone from the local health service came knocking and demanding to know all my health and medical history…..it took yet another argument to get rid of her. Yes , there is no question about it , if you live in a place like Cambridge Court ( if you can’t afford to own you own property that is ) you are treated like not so much a senior citizen but more like a second class one. It’s the new racism in Ireland based on class rather than colour or creed.
It may look pleasant enough…….you might think I’m almost ungrateful in my attitude but the harsh reality is that you are treated very much as a second class citizen here. You are subject to a regime that no home owner would tolerate for a minute… They call it sheltered housing but it’s no more than a sort of apartheid…..The whole concept of keeping older people segregated from the rest of the community is very much the norm now. In fact everyone seems to want to live in closed estates with gates and walls..but that of course does not make it right or desirable….
Still….It’s better than being homeless….
PS. One point that I should make here is to mention the noise. You would imagine that a complex such as this would , if nothing else , be quiet but in this you would be wrong. One of the reasons that I gave up my previous flat was that I couldn’t stand the noise but now I find myself in a worse position. It’s impossible to have a lie-in in the morning or to just write a letter or simple things like that as the noise from the next door radio or television is likely to be blaring through the wall….I find myself in the position that I have no choice but to spend hours every day just walking the street…..this is something you should consider if you are offered a flat here. There is a distinct possibility that your quality of life will be nonexistent…….So yes, it’s better than being homeless but that about it…..there is not a lot more that can be said for it.
U2 YOU ARE NOW ENTERING THE NORTHSIDE
September 17, 2008
A few weeks ago this poster was put up in Dublin. I have no idea what the point of it might be. Perhaps U2 fans will know…..
Towards Integration. A City Framework
June 23, 2008
The Dublin City Development Board (along with some others) have just launched “Towards Integration. A City Framework” , a plan to aid the integration of immigrants into the wider community of Dublin. What it aims to achieve is however not very clear. Part of this plan is concerned with fighting racism (presumable YOUR racism) and the ignorance from which it stems (YOUR ignorance).
I first became aware of this campaign this morning when I went into Dublin City Council’s offices to pay my rent. Having passed the ample evidence of homelessness on our city street I arrived at the council offices only to be confronted by a whole display of literature on integration but nothing of course on homelessness…in fact the council are , by selling off our housing stock , not only making the homeless situation much worse but of course making things rather difficult for immigrants as many of them need social housing as they cannot afford private rented accommodation. (which is not surprising as many have to work for the minimum wage).
As I say , I saw all this literature and took the trouble to read it but it was all a bit vague ( except the bits about ignorance ,YOURs of course). Is all this to mean that those middle class journalits/politicians who engaged in ‘white flight’ are to be sent back to where they came from? Are the middle classes going to be forced into integrating ? No , of course not. It’s YOU , the ignorant , racist , bigoted working class who must integrate.
But the real question that needs to be asked is what is behind all of this. Why this constant bombardment , why this endless insistence that we must be ever vigilant against racism when the vast majority of immigrants make a point of saying that they have never been subjected to any kind of racism ?. In spite of the propaganda to the contrary the fact is that racism is not common in Ireland nor is it likely to ever be a problem . The working class of Britain , many of whom have been marginalised , who have seen their jobs disappearing , their wages cut , who have often been subjected to the worst kind of racism themselves have never voted in any significant numbers for the National Front. This however can not be said for the middle classes who will vote extreme right wing at the drop of a hat if they feel they are loosing out. It is interesting to note in passing there are very few convictions for racism in Britain where a white indigenous British person is the victim in spite of the fact that there are now many ‘no go’ areas for white people where if for example you are not a Muslim you will not get accommodation or employment and where in many cases you will be asked to leave the neighbourhood….. This is not some racist chant but a serious question that is constantly asked but never answered. Why this constant , endless , relentless attack on working class ‘racism’ and ignorance’ in spite of any real evidence to back it up and much evidence that contradict all this ?. Why this atavistic compulsion to shout “racist’. Indeed , as I have often remarked , the attitude in the media and elsewhere towards the working class is becoming more and more racist itself…
I am not a racist. I say this not as some kind of defence but simple as a statement of fact. It’s just a fact quite independant of what anyone might or might not think. I have never had a racist thought in my head. And no one had ever suggested that I might be one untill quite recently. And most important of all , no one has ever called me a racist to my face. It’s not that I might hit them but more the fact that it would make no sense for anyone who knows or has met me to think , even for a second , that I might be racist. I am not offended by those who call me a racist. Why should I feel offended by someone else’s ignorance ? But if such a person has political power and sets about depriving me of my right to free speech then I have a problem with that. And when such people come togeather and pass right wing laws in the name of ‘human right’ but laws which have more to do with the ‘free movement of labour’ than anything else then I have an even greater problem.
When these same people demand that I respect anti semites I have an even greater problem.
I am called a racist and a fool as I have said by people I’ve never met. Journalist and politician who would not dare to say it to my face. And this has to do with power. They are powerful , strong , while I am weak. Bullies always act from a position of strengtht. Bullies , who let fall from their lips the foulest insults against a whole class , who constantly parade themselves as ‘liberal’ while building an economy on cheap labour and landlord-ism , bullies who condemn a class because they don’t feel assured enough to argue their case face to face , bullies who presume to pass laws to protect you against your own supposed ignorance !!! ……..what can one say of such people ?.
In the USA torture is now legal. The implications of ‘waterboarding‘ go far beyond the activities of the individuals involved in this dreadful practice. America has inflicted upon itself a moral blow from which it may never recover. When we in Ireland , for whatever reason accept the practice of anti sematism in mosques or cultural centres (out of fear perhaps at being labeled racist) we loose the moral high ground. Words are important. And certain words (racist/homophobic) should not be devalued through misuse or downright abuse. When we devalue words in this way we run the very real risk of devaluing humanity. Recent history has some dreadful examples of this.
IRISH E.U. TREATY REFERENDUM
June 20, 2008
No sooner have the people of Ireland given their verdict on the EU Treaty than they are being told how stupid they are. All day long as the results came in politicians and commentators here in Ireland have been competing with each other in a rush to condemn the ignorance of the Irish voters. We can dress it up any way we like but the bottom line is that if you are one of those who voted “No” then you are being called stupid…..and either way your vote doesn’t count as there will be another referendum in the near future and yet another after that until you eventually manage to get it ‘right’.
But one thing needs to be made clear at this point and that is the reason why exactly people voted “No”. People voted no because they are concerned with the level of immigration and the possible consequences of ‘human rights’ legislation emanating from Europe. They did not of course say this when asked in a recent Irish Times poll but this is not at all surprising as the only response would have been that they were all racists…This is not as fanciful as it might seem….. In fact just today we were being warned that we should not be happy to on the same side as M. Le Pen. And in this great tradition yet another Irish politician in between warning us of the dangers of racism just cannot resist having a go at the British. ….and all of this get more like something from Faulty Towers or Father Ted but there is little to laugh at here. Avril Doyle and those like her have only one concern and that is for their own wallets and purses…Her recent outburst had all the vehemence of a farmer’s land deal gone sour…..Gombeenism as an art form….and memories of the famine in the psyche and a deep insecurity….Gangsters and their mad bitches….like Eichmann demanding more efficiency …..and all for a new Europe. Whole populations on the move like wilderbeast (work will make you free) and an arsenal of words to silence those who dare to protest. All together and one for all. Everyone singing from the same hymn sheet. A united front. History on the march.
As a poet once wrote , “all this might be happening underwater”. Or perhaps Hitler did in fact escape from the bunker and is orchestrating all this from some Argentinian hideaway. But whatever the explanation all I keep thinking of are those old B movies I used to go to as a child. But science fiction has now become reality and the Brave New World is here to stay. Language has been hijacked in it’s service and now words can mean anything. Those who wish to build a new Europe on the labour of millions of the earths poorest inhabitants now call anyone who protests a racist…..
We are told that we do not understand the issues but we understand all too well. We’ve seen it all before…..the corporate state, propaganda and chicken farmers. The political elite were wrong in 1930’s Europe and they are wrong now. Peace , they tell us is the great winner. No wars in today’s new Europe. But why would any modern day land grabber or drug pusher want to start a war when they are getting it all on a plate as it is. We are warned about Le Pen while the white slavers take advantage of open borders under the beneficent eyes of the new Europeans…..Lunatics and asylums and a flexible language , cultural diversity without the culture. Rodge and Podge , vulgarity parading as art with no one to tell the difference. Cultural Centres erected by murders…..Tweedle dum and tweedle dee. All together now , “We’re on the one road , maybe the wrong road , we’re together now who cares”. Jew hating Islamic fanatics made welcome and all in the name of fighting racism…..Gobbles was right , you can tell them anything and it doesn’t even have to make any sense , just keep repeating it over and over. Wear them down…..we’re nearly there….just one more push. “Peace in our time” and “You never had it so good”. An old story and we all know how it ends.
Another referendum?. No means no? What is it that they don’t understand. As thick necked as any Hess and twice as dangerous. A new breed creating a new Europe. Oh yes , and the bankers pulling the strings just as they did in the old days. “What did you do in the war daddy?”. Daddy did nothing you fool , he was too busy fighting for same sex marriage and gay rights. He left you a property portfolio in place of a country. He was a man of his time. He was well though of in his day…..’a good European by all accounts. A YES man and proud of it.
