QuoteDrummed up outrage at Ahern? Exucse me?
Love the drummed up outrage on Joe Duffy. Bertie called, among other things, a parasite etc. It's brilliant to see how our country is thoroughly Anglicised. 6.06 how are ya!
Drummed up outrage at Ahern? Exucse me?
He belittled a woman who had a go at him while he was being interviewed on the News at One. I don't think it's mock outrage tbh - he came across awful on that clip. Never mind that, his biggest regret of his entire political career is no National Stadium! WTF.Originally Posted by jebus
If you attack me with stupidity, I'll be forced to defend myself with sarcasm.
I think he recognised her, she is from the People before Profit Group thats why he reacted the way he did but he should have had the cop on to say nothing. Also to say that the 'Bertie Bowl 'not happening was his biggest regret is crazy, what about the collapse of the economy which he played a large part in.
At first I rolled my eyes at Bertie's stupidity for answering her in the first place and for venting his obvious frustration. I turned off Joe Duffy as soon as the woman called it and proved the point Bertie was making - she's from PBF/ULA and was deliberately jumping into an interview to get some airtime, no problem there, it was just wrong to let it be wound up that she was a normal woman walking by and giving out. The Irish media is playing games, from JD to VB it's unreliable and unbelievable.
The point about the Bertie Bowl opened up too many cans of worms, Eircom Park for a start. However the idea was sound, to have a central sports complex for all sports, I'm for that, it was just the way in which FF and their allies behaved so badly over the whole affair.
I turned off JD after the woman was outed. In fairness she never claimed anything other than who she is, it suited RTE and the circus to leave her as unknown as possible. Sure she soon had the Kilkenny mob for company!
My arse did he recognise the woman. Convenient how he only remembered that after it had been revealed on Liveline rather than say it at the time.
The point about the Bertie Bowl isn't the merits of the stadium, it's that it's his biggest regret after leading the Government that pursued the policies that have bankrupted the state. He could've said not finishing the M4 the whole way to Sligo - it wasn't about what it was, it was about what it wasn't.
If you attack me with stupidity, I'll be forced to defend myself with sarcasm.
Macy, he didn't say anything about recognising her - a poster on here did. Besides, it would have been obvious, she was there at a planned protest, walked over from it and heckled him, then walked away. He was right in what he said - that she did it to get on the airwaves. She was right to do it, why not, and of course RTE could have lessened the impact but big Joe made sure to play an endless loop of it. Of course the callers lined up to say - poor woman just walking by. Which made the situation worse, she came and cleared it up, but the truth didn't matter.
With a media like ours we deserve the politicians we get!
I agree that his point of view on what was his regret, however only when we get the full tape of the interview will we know the context. However that doesn't suit the agenda and won't grab viewers, especially after the tv ringmaster VB is stealing the thunder!
Did I read some where today (net or print I cant recall) Bertie also wishes someone had told him about the "pending" meltown? The sheeeck of these coonts is something shocking.
I remember xmas 1999 lying in bed with the flue listening to the radio when "The last Word" did the best bits of 1999. Anyway, the radio piece was about 2 mins long and was E Dunphy reading a letter from a listener.
The listener was male, mid twenties I guess and was recounting growing up in the 80s. His father was a panel beater, spray painter, and was paying 60% of his wages in tax. The listener recounted how his Dad worked long hours and provided for his family and it was a nice up bringing. They used to look forward to thursday nights when his Dad got paid becuase he always brought home chip-shop-chips for them to have with the dinner carefuly prepared by their stay at home mom. They didn't take family hols etc...the usual stuff really and how most of us here remember the 1980s.
Anyway, towards then of the letter the auther was getting to the point of how his Dad was now suffering with a lung disease (now doubt due to the fumes of spray painting as he put it) and his parents should have been in the Autumn of their lives but their savings were being erored by inflation. Meanwhile Haughy was been driven up to MAhon / Flood or what ever was going on then in state mercs and two grand shirts. Through Dunphy (now in tears) the Auther said it was the job of the able bodied to march the streets up to the dail and not rest until "these *******s were made to pay".
I often thought of this piece of Radio, even during the good times, and would love to hear it again. It is so relevent today nearly 12 years on from when it was written but also 25 years on from when the Auther was refering.
I know Bertie is someones son, brother, father and grand father. He was also our prime minister, who liked his pint, a bit o' craic and a Dubs match. He signed blank cheques, held no bank accounts for a period and took "loans " from friends. He won huges sums on the horses it seems.
I hate the picrk, and I consider him a lying bsatrad. ( mis spelt so as not to be censored!)
In defence of Bertie....
Everything Fr. Damo says is true. I'm not going to try to justify any of it. All I can say in his defence is that he was one of the people who came together at the same time in history, and brought peace to this country. Without any one of Bertie Ahern, Gerry Adams, John Hume, Tony Blair, Bill Clinton, or latterly Ian Paisley, I don't think that peace would have stuck as it has.
Ahern certainly has serious flaws in his character, but the only one of those people whose legacy is untainted is John Hume. Perhaps that weakness in their makeup was needed to allow them to make the compromise on moral absolutes that were needed. I'm not going to question it much further than that. Nor am I going to tell anyone they should think anything of him at all. But for me it isn't black and white. I can't judge the man on the corruption and cronyism, without wondering what my life would have been like if John Bruton or Enda Kenny had been in the job instead.
Thank God they weren't.
Bring Back Belfast Celtic F.C.
@Damo I hate to be cynical, but if the guy was paying 60% tax, he was earning a LOT of money. I'm not saying he didn't work hard, but the money had to go somewhere. I can't see it all going on medical expenses if he was earning that much for any length of time.
@backtowalsall The peace process would have gone just fine without Bertie. There's this image of Bertie as a lovable chancer that speaks his mind, but it's nonsense. Bertie did for Bertie, and there's very little doubt in my mind that any of the other party leaders, if in power, would have achieved the same end. SF being the obvious probable exception. And Biffo, obviously.
Last edited by dahamsta; 28/01/2011 at 6:43 PM.
Jesus
Ever hear of Albert?
A valid point, though he was badly hamstrung by having to deal with John Major. But in a roundabout way, it kind of illustrates my point. Without any one of them the whole thing falls over.
I also omitted Mo Mowlam, Gusty Spence and David Ervine. There is also a list of people, who by accident or design, held the whole thing back. John Bruton, Dick Spring, John Major, David Trimble, Jeffrey Donaldson, Peter Mandleson, a few furry faces without names who knocked off banks and stabbed people in back entries, and a few uniforms without names who did their best to sabotage the peace process from within the Northern Security establishment.
Adam, I can't see things would have worked out the same with one of the other party leaders in charge. It was Dick Spring who first uttered the word 'Decommissioning', ushering in a decade of ****ing about, and the ceasefire was resumed in the aftermath of the Rainbow coalition falling in Dublin rather than the Tories falling in Dublin. Northern Nationalist/Republican opinion simply didn't trust 'John Unionist' not to sell us out, and he was "sick of answering questions about the ****ing peace process." Ahern threw himself into the project, and the levels of enthusiasm shown by Ahern and Blair were essential to the signing of the GFA, and keeping this on track when a bump in the road was encountered.
Enda Kenny has never been enthusiastic about anything as far as I'm aware
Bring Back Belfast Celtic F.C.
It must have been a body double during this debate! http://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2006-06-21.4.0
If you attack me with stupidity, I'll be forced to defend myself with sarcasm.
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