Messages

Top class rant! Laughed my ass off at that.

I can see your point, but if it's obligatory then it renders the gesture meaningless

Granted. I'd always try to do it myself, especially with the underage teams, and especially if they'd been wailed on, and ensure my team knew it was done, but wouldn't feel it's obligatory by any means.

To the point in hand, if J McG didn't do it, by accident or design, that's his look out. Maybe it's not his practice? Just something else to fire up Mayo with next season I guess?

That's the problem with all that ould shite. If it's a spontaneous gesture, it's an admirable thing to do. If it's a duty, what's the point? Who wants to sit in a losers' dressing room listening to banalities from a man who doesn't want to be there either and who's just mouthing empty platitudes? Scrap it, along with the cúpla focal, the hip-hipping and any other ould nonsense perpetrated on these occasions without any thought for whether it means anything or is just formulaic or, worse, patronising bullshit.

I'm inclined to agree. Surely the honourable thing in sport is for the loser to congratulate the winner? It's easy to give the loser a patronising pat on the head, hard to swallow bitter tears of disappointment and acknowledge you were second best. And we do it not because it easy but because it is hard.

It may come over as patronising, especially if it's just an empty gesture, but I do think there is something in it. A bit like the practice of not running up scores on weak/besaten opponents in the NFL, it's reminder that at some point we're all in the losers dressing room, it's a mark of respect after the battle on the field is over. Just a thought.

I know what your saying but if Terry believes he is innocent he has every right to take it to wherever he wants.

He has the right, no doubt, but the level of pressure applied would ensure it wouldn't happen. His first course of action would be to exhaust the FA appeal system anyway, before CAS would become available to him, I believe.

Terry will probably take the kangaroo court to CAS now.

Would he do that? Aren't UEFA/FIFA very sensitive about these things? Chelsea, if not the league itself, would be put under immense pressure to ensure that didn't happen.

One other thing, I don't think any of them operate a proportional representation system, I think most of them (could be wrong) operate some variant of the list system - less clientelism.

I accept that to a certain extent AZ, but how did those countries which have, by and large, got their sh!t together, manage it? If you look at the early history of democracy in nearly all those countries they went through very similar circumstances to ourselves, but somehow a more civil society has emerged, perhpas it's merely a process of maturity? Granted, one advantage they did have was greater natural resources which at one time or another were in demand. Even given that, the few resources, or advantages, we have we seem to be frittering away.

I think Mexico is more likely to have big problems over the next while.
60,000 people murdered by drugs gangs in less than 10 years.

A bit off-topic, no?

Maybe a bit. But Islam gets all the crap these days. Mexico is a mess and it isn't Muslim.

I wonder why? No one cares what Mexicans do to other Mexicans I guess, largely within their own country? Plus their motivation seem purely financial, not philosophical in any way?

charming

The exact word I'd use to describe it. It's not earth shattering, it's not Father Ted or IT Crowd but I do find myself smiling throughout, probably a lot of it through nostalgia to be honest.

I don't have much issue with increasing income tax and I'd favour the higher paid getting hit harder (a third band for income over say 80,000).

I'd agree in principle. Unfortunately you have a couple of problems selling it to the electorate. Firstly the false illusion sold by FF/PD that a low personal income tax was the be all and end all, when in fact you just ended up paying for primary/child/nursing care out of your after tax income. Secondly there is no faith that increased taxes would be spent on services, rather than bloating the ranks of administrators, and leaving with even more sacred cows protected by public sector unions and so called social partnership.

Having spent a lot of time in the Nordic countries I'd willing pay more income tax if people were provided with free primary care, pre-school education and retirement homes, combining that with low corporate taxation, and where professions are not allowed to self regulate and operate closed shops. Alas it seems a pipe dream....unless you're Swedish of course....

[German Catholics must pay to pray, court rules]

German Catholics must pay to pray, court rules

Germany's top court has ruled that Catholics who opt out of paying religious taxes must automatically leave the church as well.

The court's verdict is a victory for the Catholic Church in Germany, which receives more than €5bn annually from a surcharge of up to 9pc on income tax bills of registered Catholics.

The judges ruled against retired German theologian Hartmut Zapp, who wanted to leave the church as an institution but remain a member of the Catholic community.

Germany's bishops have said that believers who refuse to pay the tax won't be able to receive the sacraments, become godparents or have a religious funeral.

- Elin Gardner, Berlin

http://www.independent.ie/world-news/europe/german-catholics-must-pay-to-pray-court-rules-3242019.html

As for Róisín - in a few years time people will ask Róisín who?

That may be the case, but she's another, along with Willie Penrose, who is massively popular with the Labour grassroots. How many Labour TDs have resigned the whip now, 4 or 5? I think looking down the tracks a lot of their TDs will follow suit in the coming months, especially as poll figures continue to decline. Hoping to maintain their popularity by ensuring no pay cuts or redundancies occur in the public sector coupled with no reductions in social welfare doesn't seem to be paying off for them, those who voted for them in the last election remember promised such as "not one cent". Even those bed rocks of their strategy may prove unsustainable, either that or the troika could assume direct, unambiguous control. A rocky road ahead.

How did Yesil get on?

Decent, header wide, shot on goal, both of which he could have done better with, linked up well, small of stature though, easily pushed off the ball, but that strength will come with time.

I think she has probably won back a little credibility with this move? She looked a fool last week, making a speech more or less condemning her senior minister but still voting confidence in him. It looked churlish, she appeared to be grandstanding as she was not willing to put her money where her mouth was. At that point I thought she was merely being uppity and thought a bit too much of herself. However as this primary care centre site fiasco has developed I could see her reasons for being annoyed, and I think the letter today from Reilly was probably the final straw - apparently it explains the reasons for expanding the list of 20 sites for proposed primary care centres to 35. However, it does not explain the criteria for choosing what 15 locations would be added. In other words Reilly is deliberately dissembling. I have to say that I thought Reilly was a genuine type of guy, that his ineptness as a minister was more down to him being a Doctor than a career politician, but these past few weeks my eyes have been opened. If Fine Gael had ever been genuine about bringing more accountability to Irish politics he would have stepped down, at least until such time as he had cleared up his interests in nursing homes etc. But things have just snowballed from there.

On top of all this we have the bank debt situation today, with Enda and Noonoo apparently living in cloud cuckoo land, swearing black is white. How would anyone take seriously someone who walks into a negotiation discarding some of your key weapons, showing your full hand i.e. no matter what happens we will not renege on debt, we will not burn unsecured bond holders. "We pay our debts"? Sure we fuckin' do, but only when they are our debts!

"meet the new boss - same as the old boss"

The owners are falling over themselves to get a deal done for this weekend, I hope the top refs stuck it to the hoors and gave little up from what they had.

Glad to hear it, had a feeling that would be the case especially after some of the more celebrated franchises (Packers/Pats) came out on the wrong side of crazy decisions.