Norway Shooting Andres Breivik The New Europe
July 25, 2011
What do you do when the lunatics have taken over the asylum? What do you do when it becomes crystal clear that any criticism of the EU is forbidden. What do you do when freedom of speech no longer exists ? What do you do when you see a European Superstate being created right before your eyes ? What do you do if , having voted NO you are told that you got it wrong ……? What do you do when millions of people simply don’t give a damn either way because they are doing quite well out of it all ? What do you do when you are condemned as racist because you oppose Islamic racism ?
What do you do when words like Racist or homophobic are used to kill even the possibility of political debate? What do you do when intolerance becomes the order of the day ….when the state and media conspire to kill off free speech ? What do you do when they take your vote away and tell you to shut up ?
The only thing left to do is kill. The young labour party members who were killed by Breivik were part of this thuggish intolerant Europe and no doubt would have been quick to tell anyone who did not share their Fascist world view that they were racist or stupid. Breivik is a strange man with some very odd political views but what he did is totally understandable ……People such as these young people have made it clear that democracy is dead and now they are dead. I for one will not shed tears for them.
ADULT TRICYCE DUBLIN WANTED
September 22, 2010
A friend of mine here in Dublin is in need of an adult tricycle cheap or even free. If anyone out there knows of one please let me know. It’s a long shot but I figure there are probably quite a few out there rotting in garden sheds.
JOHN SAMUEL HUMBLE WEARSIDE JACK
August 21, 2010
It’s 12:00 at night and I’m sitting here listening to Nat King Cole on my record deck. I like old vinyl …even the feel of it. Today I bought an old Gene Vincent LP in town and that was my excitement for the day. I go into the record stores every day and wander around…… That’s about all I do. I often feel I should be ‘doing something’ – but what ? It’s strange really , the fact that I don’t know anybody. It is I suppose remarkable…. – It doesn’t bother me , at least no more than anything else but it is rather strange – sort of. But that’s neither here nor there. So what’s all this got to do with John Samuel Humble ? Well , nothing really ….nothing in particular.
He was on TV tonight , a programme about him that is and it got me thinking. He seems a rather tragic figure , a lonely man – a loser , to use a somewhat cruel phrase but for all that his hoax was a great success. If it wasn’t for DNA and modern science they never would have caught him. There was quite a lot of footage of him being interrogated and much of the time he did not look too well , his hands appeared to be shaking ….. His crime of course was serious but he looked more like a victim himself. I do like the man’s name ; John Samuel Humble has a certain ring to it - It would be a great name for a serial killer. He looked defeated , in fact every photo of the man I’ve seen reinforced the idea I have of him as a victim. But the actual hoax , the tape that is , sounded very convincing. Why he did it we just don’t know and it’s likely that he doesn’t know either. He was surprised and even frighted at the success of the whole thing and went so far as to phone the police to warn them that it was in fact a hoax. You could say he was a bit too clever for his own good.
But he’s famous now. He’s immortalised himself. He’s a celebrity of sorts. If he was a different kind of man he could ( when he get’s out of prison) probably make a good living out of being Wearside Jack. As it is a lot of other people will no doubt manage to capitalise on the whole thing. He seems to have had a sad and lonely life and there is no reason to belive that that will change when he gets out. He’ll go down in history as some sort of unfortunate / dimwit / fool …..or worse. There is a Wearside Jack on Facebook but it’s just some rock group ( they’re probably useless). Wearside Jack/ John S. Humble is famous. His name /names will outlive ours. He’s not quite ‘cool’ but he’s made his impression. So – so what. What’s the point ? What does all this prove ?
If all this had happened in the good old days Humble would have become a caution. Parents would be telling their children , ” If you don’t go asleep Wearside Jack will get you” or “If you don’t eat your greens I’ll have to tell Jack”. If it had occurred in the 30′s in the USA someone would probably have written a ballad about the man. Sonia Sutcliffe meanwhile has moved back into the home she shared with Peter Sutcliffe. She’s probably there right now all alone in one of the upstairs bedrooms looking out the window like some latter day Anthony Perkins. It’s strange that she should have become a stress councillor of all things, but there are a lot of strange people out there aren’t there.
STEVE BROOKSTEIN STAR MAN X FACTOR TWITTER
August 16, 2010
Steve Brookstein has given yet another interview this time to the Star. I mentioned Steve’s habit of giving the wrong kind of interviews in my blog a while back but he obviously does not read it…….It ( the Star article) is a short and badly edited thing which serves no purpose other than to remind everyone yet again that Steve is an X Factor has-been. Personally I don’t think he is a has-been or anything like it but interviews like this just make Brookstein come across as some kind of celebrity freak. It’s bad enough that he keeps giving these interviews but the only reason I heard about it in the first place is that he’s tweeting about it on his Twitter page.
And just in case you didn’t know it…..Rowetta has been sending him nasty messages..!!!!! Of course the only reason I know this is that he also mentions this on his Twitter page. I don’t understand all this….Brookstein seems intent on perpetuating this image of himself as some kind of odd ball or malcontent…..or something. The man is incorrigible ….I think his fans may have to take a contract out on him to save him from himself. Just a few weeks ago he was in trouble for something he said about the Jedward twins on his Twitter page. Now that a new season of the X Factor is due to hit our screens there will be no stopping the man….
Mind you , he seems happy enough – and none of us are perfect……But happiness is a transitory thing. A man might smile today and cry tomorrow. He’s married to the jazz singer Eileen Hunter and has a son ……but one of these days he’ll mention the name Simon Cowell once too often and she’ll stand up , give him a venomous glare and say , ” Right ! , Right I have enough……” . She’ll kick the dog , grab the child , slam the door and go to her sisters …… Steve will be left , on his own looking at the walls wondering where it all went wrong – asking himself over and over , ” Was it something I said “? He’ll sit there all alone wondering what to do. He’ll wear the carpet out and give himself a headache going over and over those last few fateful moments — …….he may even shed a tear or two. He’s not made of stone after all. He might take to the drink ! But whatever happens he will cope after a fashion as we all do. Life will go on as it does……He will , in the fullness of time , pull himself together ……
………..and taking the bull by the horns he will do what he does best . He’ll go out and give another interview. Oh yes I can see it all. But God help us it might even be worse than that. She may not leave him at all , instead she might be driven to murder…….She might end up standing in the dock , throwing herself at the mercy of the court while child services drag the poor child to the orphanage….I can see it all….. The papers of course will have a field day and Steve ( good old Steve) will give a few more interviews. Like I said I can see it all.
Life is funny. One thing follows another and before we know where we are we’re lying on our backs wondering where it all went wrong. We all lose in the end. Happiness comes and happiness goes. Time passes. Sometimes we learn from life and sometimes we don’t and sometimes it doesn’t matter either way. Some take the high road and some take the low road…..and others get lost along the way. ( I should have been a philosopher). Little is constant in this life. There are no guarantees. We can be sure of nothing. We cannot tell the future but the future will happen and somewhere in that future there there will be many more Steve Brookstein interviews. He’ll probably give an interview on his death-bed.
Steve is being air brushed out of X Factor history though they claim it’s just a technical issue. No doubt he will explain it all to us in some forthcoming interview ( he he he). HIs activity on Twitter is causing quite a stir but to be honest I find it very hard to figure out the whole twitter thing. All those private/public conversations where everyone seems to know what’s going on except me……But by all accounts there’s great fights going on over there. ‘Better than East Enders so they say. Beer bottles and curses flying all over the place. Great fodder for the tabloids. A bitter old man , that’s what some are calling him. But Steve knows how to handle such people……and we can all follow the drama on Twitter. It’s great , isn’t it. Where would you get it ? – there are people out there who would pay good money for a ringside seat to all this but they’re getting it all for free on Twitter……”You tell ‘em Steve , tell them all to go and have a good f***…..we’ll shout support from the cheap seats. ” Kick their heads in Steve” , “Rip their hearts out” , “yeah , you show ‘em Steve”.
Mind you , I’ve got no interest in such venial stuff …..I’m just remarking on the state of the world , Steve Brookstein’s world that is. Personally I find it all a little uncouth. I have to practically force myself to check his Twitter page. And all this is taking its toll - I’m an emotional wreck ……I might end up back on the Valium. But does Steve care about any of this ? Not on your proverbial Nelly. Is he worried about me and my palpitations ? Not a bit of it. Meanwhile here I am sitting in my gloomy little flat listening to , “40,000 things’ —” It’s all turned out nice again just the way we planned / it’s all good / it worked out in the end” — Indeed ! But who am I to decide what’s the right and wrong in all of this. I am , as they say, a person of no consequence. Some regard me as no better than a common fool but most are indifferent to any opinion I might have about anything. Oh yes , it’s a hard life. I would give a few interviews myself if anyone asked …..but no one is asking. Oh dear , oh dear. Where did I go wrong ?
STEVE BROOKSTEIN FAILURE X FACTOR SIMON COWELL
May 27, 2010
Steve Brookstein is now officially a failure. But Brookstein is no common failure , he is a total failure. He’s famous for it. He’s turned failure into an art form. Brookstein ( better know as , “Steve who?) has failed at just about everything he has put his hand to. Long before we knew there was an X Factor Brookstein was failing. If they gave PHD’s in failure he’d be the best educated man in Britain. Brookstein , who has been described by Louis Walsh as , ‘ looking like a serial killer’ must , at some time in the past , have committed some terrible crime for which God is now punishing him.”" Mr Slick Vegas” , that’s what Sharon Osbourne called him. He’s made enemies , and who needs enemies ?. – not Brookstein for sure , he’s got enough troubles.
Brookstein’s long journey towards failure started well before 2004 when he won first place in the X Factor. It’s a long convoluted story half shrouded in myth and bordering on the absurd. At one point a producer friend of his decided to make a Northern Soul record – and why ? Well he did it just to prove it could still be done. Most people do it for the money but not this guy , HE was just trying to make a point. …..’getting confused ? Don’t let it bother you , I think Steve himself is still trying to figure it out. Let me explain……
The guy , this producer guy ( I can’t remember his name and I’m too lazy to start googling it just now) was, it seems ,a great Northern Soul fan. N.S. fan’s are for the most part sad little people who think that it all began and ended with the golden age of Northern Soul. That age is ended , they will tell you. Elvis is Dead and all that. It’s not that they don’t make records like that any more – they CAN’T make records like that any more. The book is closed , the seals have been sealed …..end of story. So far so good untill that is Steve’s producer friend comes along. He was a genuine lover of Northern Soul , a democratic sort of man who just loved the music and was not intimidated by the legend. He had been arguing for years that yes , yes you could have a NS record today and that it would be just as ‘real’ as ‘valid’ as anything from the golden age , provided the music was good. Like I say , a true democrat. So one day he’s sitting at home watching TV and who’s on the box but our Steve. He hears Steve singing and thinks , “This guy would make a great Norther Soul singer”. To make a long story short he gets Steve into the studio with a few backing singers , records a few track and calls the four man group The Four Vandals. They cut a 45 record and just to make it really ‘authentic’ they dated it 1971 and then aged the few copies (3) that were pressed so that the whole thing looked like a genuine old 70′s record. Part of the ageing process was to drop the disc in a bucket of water…….
By the way , I’m not making this up as I go along , you can check it all out yourself on the WWW. So , here’s this genuine fake and it’s put in the way of a few DJ’s and next thing it becomes a hit on the Norther Soul circuit. Everyone is raving about it. Urban legends start to form around the lead singer (Brookstein). The 45 meanwhile is taking on cult status and starts making it on to the collectors list and before you can say , ’Life is a bitch’ it’s selling for big bucks. Really BIG bucks. Steve is becoming famous in record circles but nobody knows it’s Steve. Norther Soul fanatics are mortgaging their homes to get their hands on a copy. This is record collector history in the making. But like I said , nobody knows it’s Steve and he’s not making a penny……His producer friend is happy , he’s proved everyone wrong but he can’t tell anyone. Meanwhile ……back on planet earth Steve makes a decision…….
He decided to audition for the X Factor. Unfortunately he wins so the whole story of the Four Vandals comes out and there are a lots of angry people who feel they have been had/conned and generally made to look like fools. Steve becomes famous as a fraud or worse still a dupe. While the vinyl experts of the world are trying to figure out what’s going on Steve decides he’s not going to sell his soul with another covers album for Simon Cowell so he becomes famous all over again as the man who walked away or was sacked by Cowell. He becomes , for all practical purposes , blacklisted. There’s no actual conspiracy , Cowell doesn’t start calling people and saying , “Don’t deal with Brookstein” he doesn’t have to. Nobody wants to rock Cowells boat and the rest of the gang don’t trust Brookstein …they’re not sure if he’s a fool or a bad guy and they don’t want to find out either.
Long , long before any of this happened Brookstein had actually made a record which got good reviews but the record was never released. (he’s actually made several record ) He also promoted/managed or produced two acts and even got them record contracts with , I think , Virgin and some other major label. There was a trip to the USA and a 1 million pound/dollar contract for one of the acts but after spending a fortune the acts were dropped. It goes on an on. There’s no end to it. I’ve only scratched the surface here but take it from me , when it come to Steve Brookstein , the truth is far weirder than the strangest of strange fiction. Brookstein is in a lose , lose situation. He’s become famous for being a failure – his last gig was a pub gig with a cover charge that wouldn’t buy a diet coke. In between songs he apparently spent much of the time rambling on about Simon Cowell….punters were wondering if they were witnessing a nervous breakdown live on stage. As one girl put it , ‘It was all very sad’. Like I’ve said , he’s in a lose ,lose situation. He’s so famous now as a failure that even a hint of success would ruin him. The whole thing is a joke. Brookstein is a joke. It’s all hysterically funny……
But the funniest bit of all is that Steve Brookstein is actually a very fine soul singer. He has a distinctive voice that many singers would be quite envious of. He’s good-looking in a ,’ I used to drink but now I’m sober ’, kind of way and has a cheeky chap grin that you love or hate but that you can’t really ignore. He has the good grace and intelligence to be able to laugh at some of the insanity of what he calls his life. He thinks/ knows that he’s good at what he does but understands that others might have a different point of view and is philosophical about it. He’s a good entertainer. He probably has more charisma and raw talent in his little finger than will ever emerge from the X Factor Hall of Fame. Above all Steve Brookstein is an interesting man. While some get paid to bawl out , “I did it my way” Steve has been busy actually doing it his way. He has recorded his own independent album , ’40,000 Things’ , which , while not THE great classic soul album does suggests that the classic album might not be too far down the line. He’s recorded bit’s and pieces in an anarchic fashion over the years and all of it is good , some very good indeed. He’s written/co written what I for one consider to be classic tracks ( a couple of which are on 40.000 Things). All things considered , in spite of all the failures , Brookstein might just be the best soul singer to come out of England. He’ll probably never sell the mega / platinum numbers that are obligatory today for anyone who want’s to be a star but what he does produce will certainly last a lot longer. Ironically , he is a legend and a failure at the same time.
Sometimes , just sometimes when I’m on YouTube and come across Steve Brookstein I find myself wondering what is it that keeps drawing me back to these video clips ….even the X Factor one’s. There’s something about Brookstein , no matter how much I read of flops and failures, in spite of a paucity of albums or anything tangible by the man. In spite of it all I just keep feeling that this man might just be special. But I can’t figure him out……He bloggs , nothing wrong with that , he twitters/tweets too (quite a lot in fact) but no harm in that either. When he’s not on the internet he’s giving interviews , most of which reinforce the failure image…..he’s a busy man and seems easily distracted. He recently completed work on his wife’s album. He has a fixation with Cowell and the X Factor , even his tweets are dominated by it. He seems to spend his life having public conversations that all end up with the big X. He’s obviously has never heard the old adage about holes and digging. If news is slow and your short of copy don’t worry , old Brookstein is always good for a few column inches…He has some sort of amnesia where the word NO is concerned. Maybe it’s a religious thing. He needs a minder – as Simon said , ‘Your going to need a lot of work Steve’. He had no idea just how right he was but neither did Steve. Steve Brookstein would be doing just fine if it wasn’t for Steve Brookstein. And all the time time is moving on. He’s now 40 and according to himself he may have wasted 20 years of that. The butt end of jokes (Steve who?) ha ha ha he just smiles that cheeky smile and then gives another interview. But the joke is wearing thin. He’s turning into a parody of the failed reality star.
I like the old stuff , the good stuff. Charlie Parket , Ellington , Ella Fitzgerald – the classics. They don’t make artists like that any more with the possible exception of Amy Winehouse and Steve Brookstein but both of those seem hell bent on messing things up. He is seen by many as ‘a pub singer who got lucky’ but anyone who thinks that is a musical illiterate. He is his own worst enemy but I can think of a few of the greats who were much the same. A complex man , an insecure man who seems forever to be trying explain himself. Yesterday’s man who somewhere deep down knows he’s better than that but isn’t quite sure what to do about it. You could write a book about this man and some day someone probably will…..
A failure ? Yes , and let’s not get side tracked by empty politeness …..this is not what the man was aiming for when he first wrapped his fist around a microphone. He looks startled , uncertain when under the spotlite. He seems a little surprise to be there in the first place. An innocent abroad. He always wanted to be on the stage , “Look at me Ma , I’m top of the world“. – Ladies and gentleman , put you hands together. Ladies and gentlemen , let’s give him a warm welcome. Ladies and gentlemen , it’s …….MRRRR STEEEEEEVE BROOKSTEEEEEENNNNN.
If you want to see just how charming this man can be check out this interview he did with Paul Morley. If you should happen to meet him in the street give him a good clip around the ear and tell him to get back in the studio. He’s made a bit of money (more than I’ve ever made) and he’s done some interesting things ( far more than I’ve done). He’s had his 5 minutes of fame (several times). He’s has achieved more than many of his critics will ever achieve. He’s lived his dream which is something most of us just don’t have the wit , courage or ability to do. Let’s face it , the guy has been on the X Factor……! He is probably the best soul singer since Otis Redding and might be even better. But I can’t go into HMV and order his new cd because he hasn’t got around to recording it yet. Yesterday I bought an Amy Winehouse Blu Ray disc and would have bought the Steve Brookstein one but there IS no Brookstein Blu Ray disc. I would kill to get a copy of his Collected Songs but that doesn’t exist either. I’d crawl over dead bodies to lay my hands on a copy of his Unreleased Outtakes but there’s no such album. Meanwhile he’s off giving another interview about his life as a ( failed) reality star. As we say in Ireland , ” Your a terrible man Steve “. If it wasn’t for the fact that he’s bigger than me and living in another country I would give him a good wallop around the ear myself.
CHILD ABUSE REPORT HA HA HA STANISLAUS KENNEDY
November 27, 2009
You really have to laugh. Yet another Child Abuse Report and every RTE journalist is tripping over themselves trying to explain how all this could happen. Just two weeks ago one of these journalists , Mirriam O’Callaghan interviewed the notorious Sisters of Charity nun Stanislaus Kennedy and more or less portrayed her as a saint. Nothing has ever been proved in a court of law against Kennedy but the proverbial ‘dogs in the street’ have known for over 30 years that this woman has a lot of questions to answer. I have been saying for years now that this woman should be put in a cage where she belongs…..somewhere where she cannot hurt people as she has done over and over for years now. She will never be held to account. She will die in her bed and probably be afforded something close to a state funeral. The people she hurt will get little relief and no justice either way. Like I said , you’ve got to laugh….
Update Sunday 29 Nov. 09.
This morning on RTE Radio Diarmuid Martin ( a man of no small intellectual ability ) when asked if Bishops and auxiliary Bishops should resign talked about ‘slippage’ and ‘public opinion’ . If you’re wondering what ‘slippage’ is you will have to listen to the Podcast. Needless to say the man didn’t really say anything but managed at the same time to create a degree of moral and intellectual ambiguity……..if your a fool that is. Reasonable people will understand exactly what Martin was saying. This Podcast really has to be listened to. There is a rather long run-in with adverts and news summary but it’s well worth the trouble.
……another update 30 Nov. 09.
…….This afternoon on the Joe Duffy Show on RTE Radio yet another priest praised the ‘bravery’ of Mr Martin !!!! Duffy is a bit of a creeping Jesus himself but it’s not just Duffy that shows a particular deference to such apologists for criminals but every RTE and media person. If it was you or me who had been acting in the manner of the clergy they would of course crucify us all out of hand as they do every other day when they feel the urge to condemn some working class person as ‘racist’ if they express an opinion on immigration. You can listen to the whole programme here on Podcast. In the programme this priest says that he knew nothing about any abuse which is a blatant lie. He may well not have known particular details about what was going on in his own back yard but he must have known of the allegation that had been constantly made for half a century. He must have know about the Magdalen Laundries where poor children were treated like dirt while just up the road the exact same order of nuns were giving a classical education to the children of the rich. …….My mother used to say that you can judge people by the company they keep and she was right.
Yet another update 1 Dec 09.
Mari Collins has been on the Joe Duffy show just now more or less saying that she’s had enough of the church and that she can’t handle it any more but ….surprise , surprise she felt the need to praise the priest who lied on the show just yesterday. This is no real surprise as she issued a joint statement with Mr. Martin a short while ago. There’s no fool like an old fool and in the long run you get the religious you deserve. Mari Collins is just as responsible as any abuser ….she , like all the rest continues to insist on the myth of the ‘good religious’ . Her need for a religious crutch is more important than facing the very obvious truth…..
LISBON EUROPE NAZI CONNECTION HOLOCAUST DENIAL
September 30, 2009
I was born in 1946 and started studying European History at the age on 9. Even at that early age it was clear to me that the then proposed Steel and Coal Community ( forerunner of the EU) was simply a means of building up those industries and private interests that had been the financial base/backbone of Nazi Germany. In my early teens I found myself reading of the men who were creating this New Europe but I was perplexed by the fact that I already knew (through the exact same media) that many of these men were in fact war criminals. I would find myself staring at photographs of Albert Speer surrounded by men who now ( late 50′s) were being paraded as the ‘light of Europe’. These men who , with Speer , plotted to turn the entire population of the Soviet Union into slave labour were literally a few years later being held up as Messiahs of a new peaceful and prosperous Europe. All of this is recorded historical fact. It’s in the history books for all to see.
The European Union is the spiritual and political heir to Hitlers Third Reich. The European Union has for 50 years now been working towards the building of a New Europe identical to the Europe that Adolph Hitler attempted to build. No matter how ‘extreme’ such a statement may appear the facts , the recorded historical facts cannot be denied. The New Europe has brought with it great wealth. Most Irish people have prospered economically from Irish membership of the EU but this is a side effect of the European Union and not it’s purpose. The long term purpose of the EU is no different from that of the Nazi invasion of Russia - the creation of a huge gigantic market with a huge workforce to service it. In order to achieve all this it was necessary for the EU to convince otherwise good and even liberal people that censorship is necessary and good. Race laws were introduced all across Europe and Ireland to stifle any attempt to criticise an economy built on mass immigration and cheap foreign labour. In those few European countries where the people were permitted to vote on the various stages of this new Europe the population , having voted NO were informed that they had made a ‘mistake’ or just didn’t understand the issues. Even Hitler could never have gotten away with this.
War and holocausts do not just happen to other people. You , you , the person reading this right now are no different to any of the millions and millions that died in the last war. You are no more intelligent than any of those millions. You have no more insight or foresight than any one of those millions. You may think that you somehow know better than those who made mistakes before you but if you believe that then you are an even greater fool than the most foolish of the dead millions. Life is not just some story in a book. Life is real and can , with luck , health and hard work be good. But life can be bad also. Things can and do go wrong in this world with horrific consequence and millions and millions die – and sometimes they ( the dead ) are the lucky ones.
The Rath Health Foundation received the “Relay of light” award from survivors of the Auschwitz concentration camp in recognition of it’s exposure of the criminal past of German oil/ drug cartels and you can read it’s insightful investigation into the history of the EU and the criminals and mass murders behind it. The Rath Foundation has documented the history of the EU and it’s criminal beginnings. Study this website , take time out and read all it says and then think about what you have read. Don’t just accept what it says or just reject it all out of hand. If it’s all lies then you will be a wiser man/women for knowing this ……but if it’s true , if it’s even half true it should change your life. - Unless of course you just don’t care.
The question has often been asked , “How , how on God’s earth did the holocaust happen – how could such a nightmare be allowed to happen ?” Now you have the answer. Some will go to the trouble of reading this website and many , even most will continue in their own comfortable prejudice or indifference – and that’s how the holocaust happened. It happened because of people just like you. Holocaust denial comes in two forms , the lunatic fringe who simple deny by various means the recorded facts of history and those who engage in revisionism as to the architects of the holocaust . These latter would have you believe that those who financed Hitler and built the gas ovens and then went on after the Nuremberg Trials to create the EU were in no way responsible for the holocaust. They would like you to believe these financial backers / bankers of Hitler were somehow forced into doing what they did ….that they had no choice. But the historical record shows that far from being at the mercy of Hitler Hitler was totally at their mercy. The next time you watch some newsreel footage of Hitler’s mass rallies of the early 30′s just ask yourself , “Where did the money to pay all those thousands of SA men come from ?” And why was the company that made the gas ovens one of the first to be compensated after the war by the same people who were engaged in creating the new Europe. People like me were saying exactly what I’m say now about Hitler and his financial backers before WW2 but most Germans didn’t want to know. Most Germans said , “Hitler has been good for us , Hitler has brought jobs / prosperity for us and a future for our children” . People defended their support of Hitler with the same , the very same words as are used today by those who support the European Union. The parallels between Hitler’s Germany and the EU are striking. History repeats itself . Those who voted Hitler into power ( the middle class) condemned all who opposed Hitler as malcontents and agitators. The middle class today who have much to lose if Ireland pulled out of the EU say the same thing about those who are opposed to the EU. Indeed , history does repeat itself.
Those who brought Hitler to power were not , for the most part , bad people , nor were they stupid or blind or deaf or incompetent. They were middle class people just like you. They were decent moral people like most of you. Like many in Ireland today they were just one short step removed from poverty , they were the new middle class and they owed it all to Hitler. They were in fact very like the Irish today who owe their new good life to membership of the EU……They were no different from you …if you don’t understand that then you understand nothing. And at the end of they proverbial day they were wrong and they paid a dreadful price for being wrong….
Their sons and daughters died in their millions…..just like yours will if you get it wrong. – AND JUST LIKE YOU THE WERE TOLD WELL IN ADVANCE WHAT WOULD HAPPEN …..
Lisbon Treaty Referendum Vote For Sale Ireland
September 25, 2009
If you live outside Ireland and would like the opportunity to vote in an Irish referendum then here’s your chance. You may vote by proxy on the upcoming Lisbon Treaty Referendum on the 2 October 09 simply by popping over to Ebay. It has been made clear to me that the Irish State has no intention of respecting /honoring my vote so some Ebay bidder may as well have it.
By the way , does anyone out there know just exactly how much Frank Clarke gets paid for services rendered to the state ? I’m guessing he hasn’t sold himself cheap.
BAD BUY MEZZO BIKE BAG RIP- OFF (ripoff)
September 13, 2009
Don’t buy a Mezzo Bike Bag. If you do you’ll lose it and it’s contents in no time. I bought one 2 days ago and when I arrived home today from a 30 minute cycle found it had fallen off my bike , where I don’t know but in the bag were my mobile phone , glasses , 4 day old Krypton ULock which cost 90 E. , sweater and a set of allen keys. I had planned to take some photos today but left my camera behind at the last minute. All in all I suppose I’m 250 E. out of pocket.
The bag has a plastic type bottom with ribs which slot into the carrier. There is also a lycra strip which normally would go around the saddle post but on the Mezzo fits at the front of the carrier. The problem is that the Mezzo has no suspension and 16 inch wheels so there is a certain amount of vibration even on good roads . The bag rattles on the back of the bike no matter how tightly you try to fit it and as a result it inevitable works itself loose and falls off. There is in fact nothing holding the bag on the bike…so you WILL loose it (and of course all your valuables).
There is no click or catch when you slip the bag in place on the carrier so it doesn’t actually lock. The vibration is quite loud and you can hear the bag rattle as you cycle along but you (like me ) might feel it’s alright as the lycra strap will catch the bag if it falls off however if you don’t hear the bag fall/jump off the carrier it will bang along behind you untill it does fall off. As I said , I might have had my camera with me today in which case I would be appx 500 E. out of pocket. If I were a woman I might have popped my purse in the bag for ‘safe keeping’.
Don’t buy the bag. ……and if you already have one don’t , don’t put anything of value in it. PS . I forgot to mention when I first posted this that in the two days I had this bag it fell off my bike 3 times. The first time I felt a bump against the back wheel and the second time I was on a quite side road cycle track and so heard it fall off but this last time I didn’t hear / feel anything so it wasn’t just a bit of bad luck on my part. The bag is a big NO NO.
MEZZO D 10 FOLDING BIKE REVIEW DUBLIN IRELAND BROMPTON
September 6, 2009
A few months ago I bought a Brompton but within weeks it was stolen. I needed another bike so rather than wait the usual 8 weeks when ordering the Brompton I decided to buy the latest model Mezzo , the Mezzo d10. So now that I’ve tried both which is the best ? The simple answer is that neither is best , and I’m not just being diplomatic here. They are both classic bikes and both of them are worth every penny of the 1,000 euros that you might expect to pay for these models ( Brompton m6l / Mezzo d10). They are of course both folders but that’s about it , the rest is chalk and cheese. These are two different , very different bikes.
The Brompton folds quicker , easier and is more compact. They both weigh about the same ( this model Mezzo is lighter than previous ones). However the difference in the fold is not significant. It won’t make any practical difference in time or space , the Mezzo feels lighter to carry. Both bike are classics and if you can afford it I think you should buy both. But as this is a review of the Mezzo d10 lets talk about that….
It feels slow. The first thing that struck me was that it was going too slow. Even when going reasonably fast it felt slow. I have ridden the bike in one gear , the top (fast ) gear only. As I say , it feels slow but after a few journeys I began to realise that it was for the most part getting me to where I wanted to go faster than the Brompton did. When riding it in top gear I found myself constantly flicking the gear lever to pop it into the next highest gear in spite of the fact that I was already in top gear. It’s hard to explain this but all the gears are low , they are not the standard ratio that you are used to. When you first ride the bike its quite frustrating , your peddling marginally faster than you normally would at cruising speed…..as I say , you have this feeling that you should go up one more gear. It took me a couple of trips before I got used to it.
I went out to see a friend last night. I live in south Dublin and she’s in Swords which is a place about 3 miles north of Dublin city. It’s uphill about 90 % of the way and normally the journey knackers me completely. I’ve done it many times on all sorts of bikes including the Brompton and it involves a lot of exertion , sweating and hard peddling but last night on the Mezzo I cycled all the way in top gear and got there a little faster than usual and arrived feeling quite fresh. If you have been playing with the idea of getting an electric bike to help with those long lingering hills then get yourself a Mezzo instead. I was very , very impressed. It feels like a ‘normal’ bike to ride. The Brompton rides in a laid back kind of manner , the Mezzo feels more aggressive.
They are , as I’ve said , both classics , the Brompton speaks of leisure , the Mezzo , buisneess. They really are quite , quite different bikes. When I rode my turkish green Brompton around the city lots of people looked and smiled ( in a nice way ) but since I started riding the Mezzo I get stares …men in powerful cars stare quite a lot. The peddles are crap , plastic slabs that might not be great in wet greasy conditions and I’m not mad about the handlebars…..I figure I’ll change them in a few months. I mentioned that I ride the bike in top gear …..the rest of the gears are almost redundant , you might use them now and again but not often . I have never , NEVER , ridden in any other than the top (fastest) gear.
If you are a Brompton rider I think you will like this bike and I can well imagine that lots of folk will end up owning both. I intend , when I have the money , to buy another Bromptom myself , they are wonderful bikes. Then I will have two great classic machines. The Brompton has the effect of making you ride in a more mellow manner while the Mezzo is , as I say , a bit more agressive…Both are a pleasure to ride. In ten years time the biker fanatics will be having fist fights on the village green over which is best , which is king of the hill , but the truth is that both are great bikes.
I just now went out for an afternoon spin and did not really enjoy it. As soon as I hit the main road I went to go up a few gears – I didn’t particular want to go fast – I just wanted to get to that ‘natural’ gear we all use but it just wasn’t there. Since coming home I have checked some reviews of the Mezzo again and many remark on it’s speed but I think these people must come from a different planet or something. The gears are low and slow. Once again I rode all the way there and back in first gear (top speed) and felt all the time that I was at least 2 or 3 gears lower than I should have been. Riding against the wind or up hills requires less effort but that’s because of course your permanently in a low gear. Every professional / semi professional review on the Mezzo has expressed dissatisfaction at the gears so it’s not just me. This is really a one single gear bike , and a low one at that. I am , by the way , 63 years of age and have ridden hundreds of all kinds of bikes over the years but I’ve never come across low gears like this before. In the long term they will really have to go. If you come across comments (and you will) in chat rooms or boards where someone is saying how ‘fast’ and ‘nippy’ it is , just ignore them. This is a one gear bike with NO high gears.
The tyres are Mezzo / Kelvar (yellow) puncture resistant so they are quite good but if you do get a puncture then just fold the bike and hop on to a bus because you won’t fix it at the side of the road , especially if it’s getting dark and it is raining. I won’t even try to explain what you have to do to fix a puncture………Simple is not a word you’ll often use in relation to the Mezzo. A classic , yes but a classic with very , very , very low / slow gears…..
One final point….but an important one. The Mezzo may , in time be taken off the market. At least two reviewers described how they went over the handlebars because they had not got the fold quite right. Both reviewers were serious bikers and one went as far as to say that the bike had possible safety issues. I’ve read several amateur reviewers saying the same thing. It’s only a matter of time before someone goes to court in the hope of getting lots of dosh from Mezzo and a judge might well decide that it is in fact dangerous. When you unfold the bike it involves putting the front wheel back on again and that’s not as simple as it sounds. If you apply a fraction less pressure than you should you might just end up dead…. And YES YES YES , I know that YOU can do the job in 5 seconds flat while whistling Dixie and standing on one leg but for an ordinary mortal who might be tired or somehow preoccupied it would be easy to get it wrong.
The Mezzo is a bike that you just can’t ignore. It’s a classic with a touch of genius / madness in the engineering. And by God , and all that’s Holy , it’s SLOW….slow ……slow and you may just get off it in the middle of the road and do a Basil Fawlty on it….If your passing through Dublin and you see this old ejit trying to strangle a bike it will be me…..It’s the slowest thing on wheels I ever been on.(and remember I’m in my sixties …) I’m old and past it but I’m not THAT slow. I’ve done several road tests and it is in fact about 50% faster than a six gear Brompton but feels slower.
A week has passed since writing this review and in that time I have purchased a bike computer so can now confirm that the speed is the same as a Brompton m6l. One other thing I might say here is that I have tested several women folding /unfolding the bike and none could do it. It requires quite a lot of strength to clamp the front wheel shut and hurts my hand when I try it. A child could fold/unfold a Brompton no trouble but no child could do it with the Mezzo. Having had a weeks practice at it my Mezzo is currently sitting against a wall in my small one-roomed bedsit taking up space I can ill afford. It’s just far too much trouble folding it .
14/august/2010 To see an updated review of this bike see my new review here.
By the way …. Don’t Don’t Buy the Mezzo Bike Bag check this link out.
