Take action to end female genital mutilation

Every day 8,000 young girls are subject to the horrors of female genital mutilation (FGM), in Africa, Asia and Europe.
END FGM IN EUROPE, a campaign run by Amnesty International Ireland, calls upon individuals, MEPs and organisations to support this initiative.

http://www.amnesty.ie/amnesty/live/irish/action/default.asp?page=29741&rec=20&pos=1

Pilot who paused to pray in emergency gets 10 years

A Tunisian pilot who paused to pray instead of taking emergency measures before crash-landing his plane, killing 16 people, has been sentenced to 10 years in jail by an Italian court along with his co-pilot.
The 2005 crash at sea off Sicily left survivors swimming for their lives, some clinging to a piece of the fuselage that remained floating after the ATR turbo-prop aircraft splintered upon impact.
A fuel-gauge malfunction was partly to blame but prosecutors also said the pilot succumbed to panic, praying out loud instead of following emergency procedures and then opting to crash-land the plane instead trying to reach a nearby airport.
Another five employees of Tuninter, a subsidiary of Tunisair, were sentenced to between eight and nine years in jail by the court, in a verdict handed down yesterday.
The seven accused, who were not in court, will not spend time in jail until the appeals process has been exhausted.

(Irishtimes)

What Everyone Should Know About Their Own Minds: 6 Introspective Insights From Psychology

Interesting read over on PsyBlog.

http://www.spring.org.uk/2008/01/what-everyone-should-know-about-their.php

Bloomin work...

It is very hard to work when the street outside is full of tourists who have started the Patricks Day celebrations already!!

Happy Paddy's Day

Happy Paddys day in advance of tomorrow, when I plan to be too drunk to type anything at all...

This is starting to feel personal...

It looks like the emergancy budget will put €2 on a packet of smokes, and the price of drink will go up also...fair enough but between the pension levy, the promised increases in tax and this it is starting to feel like the government have got together and planned how best to get as much tax as possible out of me personally...

I mean, its unlikely that I'll actually stop smoking... I've tried it before and it didn't work for me... I'll be surrendering any small element of sanity I have left if I can't afford to smoke or drink anymore... at least meet me halfway here lads!

€3,000 hike for TDs as workers' pay is cut

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/83643000-hike-for-tds-as--workers-pay-is-cut-1669838.html

Honestly what the hell do they think they are playing at????

Joke my Brother told me... it made me laugh

An American doctor, an English doctor and an Irish doctor are sitting in a bar.

The American doctor, showing off, says
"We are so medically advanced in America that we took the heart our of a thirty year old man, put it in a 70 year old man and two months later he was out looking for a job."

The English doctor, not to be outdone, says
"That's nothing, in England we took the brain out of a 25 year old man, out it into a 75 year old man and one month later he was out looking for a job."

The Irish doctor laughed and said,
"You think that's impressive? In Ireland we took an arsehole out of Offaly, put him in Dáil Éireann and two weeks later half the country was out looking for a job."

Irish Prayer

Our Taoiseach,
who art in Dail Eireann,
what on Earth's thy game?
Thy taxes come,
our economy's done,
from Cork to Sligo to Dublin.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our mortgages,
as you forgave banks who trespassed against us.
Lead us not into depression,
but deliver us from bankruptcy.
Amen.

Pension Levy

Pretty much the first bunch of weekly paid staff were hit with the pension levy today, we recieved detailed information about this levy and a few points stuck out with me.

'Other than the President of Ireland and members of the Judiciary, the legislation does
not stipulate any exemptions.'

'Unlike the Income Tax Levy, the Act does not provide for any exemptions to be
made from the PRD should an individual hold a Medical Card.' (medical cards are means tested, so even those on lower incomes will have to pay the so called levy - but lets be honest and call it an additional tax)

'All remuneration will be subject to the PRD – regardless of whether or not this income is deemed pensionable or non-pensionable. This includes, but is not limited to, all overtime payments, “acting up” payments and allowances (pensionable or non-pensionable) that are payable.'

The unfairness of taxing one section of society is obvious to everyone, the fact that even those on lower incomes will be hit by this tax is unfair.

At the moment, in the current climate, many people are already struggling to make ends meet and this tax will only add to the stresses and difficulties that they are facing, this will certainly have a knock-on effect throughout soceity.

The Government is attepting to pit public sector against private sector in a bid to take attention from their own inept decisions in the past, we need to ensure that they are not successful.

Ireland has, under a FF goverenment, experienced dramatic economic growth in recent years, but no provision was made 'for a rainy day'

The current Taoiseach was previously the Minister for Finance, so there is no one that he can pass blame too.

Once again, those who work for this country in the public sector are being punished for governmental mistakes.

So what are we going to do about it?

International Womens Day

Happy International Womens Day everyone!!!

http://www.internationalwomensday.com/about.asp

Speaking with a purpose

'Speaking with a purpose' came up as a feed on my RSS on the Dawkins website, http://richarddawkins.net/article,3629,n,n

Strangley enough, in my slightly hung over brain I read this as 'Speaking with a porpoise'... which would be a very different article altogether.

Slightly dissappointed to tell the truth, but it is still worth a read, despite the absence of small cetaceans.