Lives not like ours

"My best friend Che"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4518213.stm

 

Hog, I suspect that under your hideous right-wing exterior, there's a
left-wing idealist trying to get out.

Remember what Mark Twain said: "A man cannot be comfortable without
his own approval."

Come to the fold.

 

*snort*
Left Wing, Right Wing, when taken to extremes it all turns out about the
same for the average Joe.

In vaguely the same vein I nearly drove over a group of unemployed
single mothers pushing prams down the Holywood road this morning when
the BBC announced the WWII memorial in Moscow. "When several millions of
Russians died". Several *tens* of millions you fuckwits, the largest
single human disaster ever most likely. Current estimate, given the
Ruskies tried to downplay it, 30 million.

"Let the businessfolk of the world run the show"
It worked for the RoI after all. Well slightly.

'Hog

 

well, the whole kill-20%-of-the-Earth's-population thing that Ghengis
Khan managed wasn't a bad effort...

Pity you hadn't posted this link yesterday, as I'd quite like to have
seen this programme...

 

In

15:00 BST on a Monday. Just who do they think they're going to get as an
audience at that time? Why can't they put interesting programmes like this
onto television during the evening?

 

Very likeable - the Che Guevera connection is purely incidental - its a
good story, well told, making an engaging film.

 

Definitely; the "motorcycle" bit is also incidental, and only used
because that's how they started (and intended to continue) travelling.
IIRC, they only use it for about one-third of the film.

 

Bear said:

Definately - a superbly told story of two friends on a journey of
discovery.

 

Bear said:

As good a reason as any - I actually bought it - and didn't feel ripped
off - it's a ripping good yarn.

 

Well, not at all, actually.

 

Hmm what's the turnover of your cross order businesses? Trust me, it
has worked pretty damn well. I've yet to meet a working Irishman who
would like to turn the clock back 20-30 years. They *did* give a few
state assets away rather too cheaply of course.

'Hog

 

You've narrowed the category (`working') to the point where it doesn't
mean much as poverty rates haven't changed.

If you are in work any notional improvement in income has been wiped
out by increased costs, especially housing. There has been no
investment in public services: there are still people dying on
trollies in hospital corridors and children in rat-infested primary
schools. There is a measurable number of returned emigrants who have
turned round and left again.

And there was absolutely no corruption involved in *that*, of course.

 

This is bollocks, they do pretty well for a 2nd going on 1st world
nation.

<shrugs> Eircom was a bit of a debacle but Gov chose not to undo it.
Business is all about finding or building shared interests/goals.

'Hog

 

This is not bollocks. There are schools leaking raw sewage into
classrooms and which are rat-infested. That has not changed in the
last ten or twenty years. Likewise, there are people stuck on trollies
in hospitals. The numbers were reduced by redesignating trollies as
beds. There is no free, comprehensive health service. As for it being
a 2nd going on 1st world nation, that is a cop-out. I've been in
poorer places that worked better.

And bugger the public. The same criminals who were ripping us off in
the seventies are still in place.

 

So how is this different than the UK for instance?
Understand that I am saying that business folk got the RoI commercial
sector up and working again. I am not claiming that the rest of the
government created an equitable society. Clearly they did not but again
it looks much like the UK.
As for the welfare state model in the UK which you claim is not fully
represented in RoI, well I support that.

It's not criminal it's business and self interest. Go for
unreconstructed socialism and you won't have any business. It is so much
work and hassle to get a business up and growing (these days) that it
takes substantial benefit to overcome human nature.

'Hog

 

Having a chat with someone from Cork last year, we agreed that it was
very amusing hearing UKanians complaining about the state of public
services, railways, whatever. At least the UK has them.

If all you are saying is that the RoI commercial sector is up and
running, that's true but limited. The commercial sector did badly in
the 80s but then that's a true in a lot of places. The recovery seems
to have more to do with the world situation and the absorption of EU
aid than anything else.

And combine that with the outright theft of a number of businesses
(banks especially).

There is no major bank in Ireland that has not carried out a major tax
fraud and most of them have (literally) stolen from their customers.

Basic legality would be a start.

 

It's an interesting subject MJ and close to my heart and everyday
business but I don't think we can do it justice here. I do think about a
move South of the border post this last NI election (it's also the only
non UK jurisdiction close to my son in Belfast) but I admit that part of
the thought process is private health care.

Irish but born in England eh! <chuckle> I had the decency to bring my
wife home for a fortnight to birth ;o)

'Hog

 

In fairness, that's not too expensive (properly regulated, see).

The army doesn't normally allow for things like that.

 

Oooh controversial

'Hog