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Curious to know how many of ye have a British passport. Obviously this is aimed at those oop North, but isn't exclusive to them.

I thought it might be nice to have a non-pejorative thread title for the subject. And away we go.

Seeing as the only thread on this so far has been about the rivalry between a soccer club and its dead rivals, I thought I'd start one. Seems to be me that Alex Salmond's tactic of a long campaign has worked out as he would have hoped, i.e. to give the maximum opportunity for visibility of the more unpalatable sections of the Unionist camp, most obviously the Tories but also the Protestant supremacists who left Scotland centuries ago, thus driving the waverers into the Yes camp. Even if there is a small majority against independence, the wedge between Scotland and England has been driven ever deeper. Maith an fear, as they say in na h-Eileanan Siar.

It looks like Rangers as we know it are toast. In an ideal Celtic world, what would you like to happen?

MY ARSE

Commonwealth leaders under fire for refusing to publish human rights report
Heads of government slammed as disgraceful and the summit labelled a failure over indifference to recommendations

Nicholas Watt in Perth guardian.co.uk, Saturday 29 October 2011

Sir Malcolm Rifkind said the Commonwealth's indifference to improving human rights put its relevance in question.

Commonwealth leaders have been accused of behaving disgracefullly after they declined to publish an "Eminent Persons Group" (EPG) reportcalling for the 54-nation body to improve its handling of human rights.

The atmosphere at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting (CHOGM) soured on Saturday when leaders were warned that this year's summit would be remembered as a failure.

Tempers rose after Commonwealth leaders bowed to pressure from South Africa and Namibia and declined to publish the EPG report, which proposes the creation of a new commissioner on the rule of law, democracy and human rights.

The southern African nations, whose concerns were shared by India, feared what one Commonwealth source described as the "imperial overtones" in the report's 106 recommendations. The commissioner would be given a mandate to speak out on human rights, unlike the secretary general of the Commonwealth who can only condemn abuses with the approval of foreign ministers.

Sir Malcolm Rifkind, the British member of the group, described the refusal of the leaders to publish the report as a "disgrace". The former foreign secretary, whose group decided to publish the report on its own, told a press conference in Perth: "The Commonwealth faces a very significant problem. It's not a problem of hostility or antagonism, it's more of a problem of indifference. Its purpose is being questioned, its relevance is being questioned and part of that is because its commitment to enforce the values for which it stands is becoming ambiguous in the eyes of many member states.

"The Commonwealth is not a private club of the governments or the secretariat. It belongs to the people of the Commonwealth."

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the former prime minister of Malaysia who chaired the group, warned that the summit would be seen as a failure. "There is no doubt ... that this CHOGM is expected to deliver meaningful reforms of the Commonwealth. If this CHOGM does not deliver such reforms, it is our duty to sound the caution to you that this CHOGM will be remembered not as the triumph it should be, but as a failure."

The members of the group were particularly angry because the leaders had asked the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) to step up its monitoring of human rights. The CMAG, made up of Commonwealth foreign ministers, were asked to intervene when Commonwealth nations fail to observe basic democratic principles.

Badawi said: "The reform arrangements of CMAG, as the chairman of CMAG has indicated, will not fill the gap. After very careful study over 16 months, the EPG is convinced that there is an urgent need for bold initiatives to reform and strengthen the Commonwealth as a beneficial force for the future."

The group argues that the Commonwealth has a reasonable record in ejecting members where an elected government is overthrown in a military coup. But it says the Commonwealth fails to live up to a declaration, signed in Harare, to condemn "severe and persistent violations of democracy and human rights".

British sources indicated that British prime minister David Cameron had joined forces with Julia Gillard, the Australian prime minister, and Stephen Harper, the Canadian prime minister, to press for the publication of the report. But the Commonwealth works by consensus, which means that just one country could block the publication.

One British source said: "We were trying to apply pressure, as were Australia and the Canadians. But it is an organisation that works by consensus."

Harper has voiced his unease about the lack of respect for human rights by saying that he will boycott the next CHOGM summit, which is due to be held in Sri Lanka in 2013. The Sri Lankan government faces allegations of war crimes committed during the country's 26-year civil war.

Senator Hugh Segal of Canada said: "Clearly there are some people at this meeting for whom silence is the best option. Would silence have been a way to bring apartheid to an end?"

Cameron had earlier praised the report by the EPG and said he hoped progress would be made. "The EPG report will strengthen those values, particularly by having a charter setting out the rights, the freedoms, the democracy that we all believe in, and I think that is important," the British prime minister said.

No sign of the Big Two in Munster as Waterford and Clare are in the final for the second year running, and all that despite the back door. It could just as easily been Limerick and Clare but Waterford managed to stagger over the finish line after another epic in Walsh Park last night. You can read about it here

Watching Great British Menu during the week, one of the chefs is called Chris Fearon, pronounced 'Fern'. Is this normal?

Willie Joe wrote about this recently on the Mayo GAA Blog, how his son has chosen the Jackeens ahead of the county of his fathers. Anyone else in the same boat and how do you deal with it?

Those of you with access to BBC iPlayer - let's be honest, that's most of ye - will be able to see a section on hurling on tonight's Countryfile. Matt Baker looks like he could have been half-decent.

Apple are a devious bunch. I was thinking of getting an iPod for Mrs d and have been digitising all our CDs in preparation. It's taking an age so I'm not under any illusions that she doesn't know but we'll keep up the pretence. I was initially drawn to the iPod Classic for about €230. 160GB is overkill so I thought about getting a  model with a lower capacity but they're not available. So that made me look at the iPod Touch but Jesus, even the 32GB costs about €280. So are all the bells and whistles on the Touch worth the extra money?

There seem to be a few lads here who are effectively running their club's website. I look at my own club's website, five years out of date and grind my teeth in frustration. I am acquainted with a man on the commitTEE who would be only delighted for someone to help out. So, fully aware that a lot of these questions are of the how-long-is-a piece-of-string variety, I'd ask:

• Does it take up much of your time?
• Do you have to sit in on the dreaded commitTEE?
• With all the newfangled blogging software out there, I'm assuming the logistics are relatively painless once the initial setup period is out of the way. Is this correct?

Thanking you in anticipation.

We have some guests from France who would like to see some authenic Irish sports. They'll be in Dublin on Saturday so I was wondering what the ticket situation is likely to be. Presumably they'll be available on the day?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQwST-X-W44

Obviously they are his initials, but why not plain old Tony? There must be a story

Incidentally, well done to him on his continued success. A man his height shouldn't be a jockey, let alone the best ever

As the only regular Déisigh here, probably going to be talking to myself but that's never stopped me before, so . . .

It was a lovely day here in Tramore, so I took the laptop out the back and got cracking on a project I've been contemplating since I first saw it on the Mayo blog, Green and Red: an archive of Waterford's inter-county results. I've put together the senior hurlers championship results, shamlessly cogged from Dickie Roche's A Story of Hurling in Waterford, but the real work starts now, i.e. trying to get all the results together, including League, U-21, Minor and Junior / Intermediate. Any information, no matter how trivial it might seem, gratefully accepted. I can be found at the blog, emailing me at deiseach@gmail.com or sending a PM.

Oh, and if I'm duplicating someone else's efforts, please let me know!

[Taste Test: Buckfast Tonic Wine]

I know how popular it is oop north, so people might find this amusing:

Taste Test: Buckfast Tonic Wine

The Rule Of St. Benedict espouses the virtues of obedience, moderation, and humility among its followers. Buckfast Tonic Wine, originally produced by the Benedictine monks who follow these tenets, allegedly promotes civil disobedience, violence, and insolence among its imbibers. Hopefully the Benedictine monks of Buckfast Abbey—who haven't distributed the wine since 1927, but are still credited with its production on the label—have as great an appreciation for irony as they do obedience.

Buckfast has become so notorious in its native Great Britain—particularly Scotland, where it's closely associated with the working-class "Ned" culture—that lawmakers are currently bandying about a bill that would restrict its sale. This is the second time Scotland has proposed such action against "Buckie" in the past five years, and is likely spurred by a recent BBC investigation that links Buckfast to violent crime. According to the BBC, Buckfast is mentioned in crime reports from the Strathclyde Police three times a day; one of those, on average, is a violent crime. The Buckfast bottle was also frequently used as a weapon in these crimes. Sound farfetched? Here's a delightfully accented video from BBC Scotland about the Buckie scourge.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfBaGZD9DlI&feature=player_embedded

Whether the relationship between Buckfast and violence is causal or just associative, its reputation—evidenced by colorful nicknames like "Wreck The Hoose Juice," "Commotion Lotion," and "Liquid Speed"—was more than enough to pique The A.V. Club's curiosity. How could an innocuous bottle of red wine incite so much violence? Wine is supposed to make you sleepy and agreeable, right? Well, not when you pump it full of caffeine, it's not! This is "fortified" wine, in this case bolstered by the equivalent of eight cans of soda in one 750-milliliter bottle. Combine that with its slightly higher alcohol content (15 percent ABV), and it's conceivable that Buckfast could be a potent rage cocktail. Just as conceivable: Its sugary-sweet taste and low price point make it the ideal starter booze for young drinkers, who might be more prone to the hooliganism and "anti-social behavior" that Buckfast has been blamed for.

Now granted, we're not a particularly aggressive breed here at The A.V. Club: Our eyes and physiques have been weakened by our computer-tethered lifestyle, and a steady diet of sad-bastard indie rock and mumblecore movies has rendered our spirits flaccid and beige-colored. So perhaps we're not the best subjects to evaluate Buckfast's rage-inducing properties. But we do have a lot of experience with curious booze confections, so if anything, we can accurately measure whether Buckfast is any worse than other abominations like Chocovine and bacon vodka. (Spoiler alert: It's not, but just barely.)

Taste: You know how when opened red wine is left out in a warm area for a few days, it turns the brownish-red color of old blood? That's the color of Buckfast fresh out of the bottle. Also contributing to its unappetizing appearance: a decidedly syrupy consistency, more on par with flat cola than wine. Put it this way: Usually we would feel a little trashy drinking wine out paper cups instead of proper glassware, but in this case, even pouring it into a sipping vessel, no matter how humble, seemed like overkill. Buckfast is clearly meant to be guzzled straight out of the bottle, preferably inside a paper bag so as not to offend with its ugly label and sludgy looks. 

It smells as sticky-sweet as it looks, but with a slightly chemically undertone. (Anti-freeze perhaps?) That pretty much goes for the taste as well: It's disgustingly sweet, more like spoiled grape juice than the elixir of Dionysus, with that unpleasant burning sensation of cheap booze. It might be slightly more pleasant if it were chilled or, better yet, carbonated—this is essentially alcopop, after all, as akin to wine as Sparks is to beer. Almost none of us were able to get down more than a sip or two, so it's difficult to say if there was any subsequent increase in rage levels among the tasters. The lone exception was Mark The Finance Guy, who professed a liking for ol' Buckie, right before he chugged the rest, ripped off his shirt, and proceeded to bludgeon everyone in sight with the empty bottle. (Note: Veracity of bludgeoning claims may be overstated.)

Office Reactions:
"This looks exactly like Coke in the cup. But it smells like rubbing alcohol. Possibly with a cigarette butt in it."
"Man, that smells harsh, like it's going to melt the inside of my sinuses if I try to drink it. I feel like doing crimes already just in order to escape it."
"This shit is terrible, even by the low standards of booze that gets you drunk quickly."
"It smells like cough syrup, looks like flat Coke, and tastes like anise (or, to play on words, an anus)."
"Is it supposed to be chilled? Maybe that would help, but I guess this kind of booze isn't supposed to taste good."
"I'm too old and too employed to be drinking this shit."
"I can't decide what it tastes like, except that it tastes like awful. Paint thinner, maybe? The thesis is that people drink this voluntarily?"
"I'm assuming this is what prison wine tastes like. It's really fruity, as though the fruit hasn't entirely fermented and there's just ordinary grape juice in there, but it also has a very sour taste. Like an unsweetened prune juice and rubbing alcohol cocktail."
"Perfect blend between Mad Dog 20/20 + Red Dog + Rage."
"If you really wanted to be a violent British youth, you would snort this."
"Tastes like a more revolting Manishevitz with a hint of once fizzy, but now flat rage. And a little bit like the syrup that hangs out around prunes."
"Fifteen minutes later I have the sudden urge to bludgeon something British."
"I wish I had a more refined palette so I could express the taste more accurately. I wouldn't have known it was carbonated if you guys didn't point it out. Was thick but a bit sweet. Made me feel nice and warm inside. As a matter of fact, I think I'm addicted. I may need a few more sips to evaluate further."

Where to get it: If you're in Britain, apparently you can't get away from it. Here in the U.S., you'll have to get more creative to get your hands on some rageahol: We put out a call via Twitter to help us obtain a bottle, and we were answered by a kind British reader/commenter named Andrew, a.k.a. Epiktistes. All hail Epiktistes!

Just like to say how pleased I am for Chris, legend of Irish soccer that he is. The manner in which he stoically waited while lesser managers came and went until his opportunity arrived, then seized it with both hands, is heartwarming. Good luck to him and Newcastle United in the Premier League next season.

I signed up to the Windows 7 upgrade programme for my new-ish laptop and followed it right to the end where it told me I'd have to cough up €20 shipping. On its own I'd pay that to have a new toy but there's going to be a lot of grief in getting Mrs d on to the new system when she's already set everything up for Vista. Factoring that in, I'm not sure it's worth it. Is Windows 7 sufficiently splendid to make it worth the hassle?

Trying to capture the Zeitgeist . . .