Topics

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General discussion / Things people do on TV / in films that never happen in real life

« on: February 07, 2019, 12:19:26 AM »

Getting into the shower and then turning on the water without testing the temperature with their finger first.

Driving for long periods without looking at the road without crashing.

Hanging up the phone without so much as a goodbye.

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General discussion / Motion to ban Dolph1

« on: December 26, 2018, 04:31:54 PM »

Dolph1 is a sock puppet who raised his ugly head as soon as Foxkkkommander was banned. His sole purpose is to wind people up with extremist alt-right talking points. Ban him.

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General discussion / Tautologies

« on: December 05, 2018, 05:05:24 PM »

ATM Machine.

Or better still, Automatic ATM Teller Machine.

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General discussion / Pivotal "Riverdance" moments and positive memories

« on: August 10, 2018, 09:44:48 PM »

I don't know what people think of Riverdance nowadays but I distinctly remember at the time how ground-breaking it was. When Flatley came bounding across the stage with his arms lifted up and not welded to his sides I knew immediately that this was a radical departure from traditional Irish dance and was going to be something special.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0v_pu6miJ8

This was before the Euro, the property bubble and the banking shenanigans. I remember there being a positive atmosphere about the place, it was a country on the up, leaving behind the poverty of the past. Riverdance captured the spirit of that time beautifully.

There have been other positive moments in the national mindset too. Free from the usual cynicism and begrudgery, it's nice when something positive happens and people can celebrate something.

During the World Cup I was looking back at old YouTube clips from Italia 90, and the "nation holds its breath" moment in the Ireland v Romania match really jumped out at me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0LR0fmN3gM

Others include the Croke Park fireworks of 2009, an underrated cultural moment in my opinion - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLRS8w5ehfk

Any others you can think of?

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General discussion / The beating of that girl in Bangor

« on: April 25, 2018, 07:15:37 PM »

Anyone see the video? Mad stuff. She was lucky to walk away alive from that pounding. The perps are being charged with GBH but I'm wondering why it's not attempted murder. There must be a high bar to proving that charge.

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General discussion / Formula 1

« on: March 07, 2018, 12:27:17 AM »

Any fans on here?

I thought it was a bit dull during the Schumacher years, and the year when the Mercedes Silver Arrows were ahead of the pack was a bit predictable. Seems to be a bit tighter now though. Merc and Ferrari are a bit closer in standard. Will be interesting to see if Red Bull can close the gap. McLaren has gone to the dogs but there's hope of a comeback this year. Hamilton and Vettel seem to have a nice little rivalry going.

I think I might pay it a bit of attention. Could be a better use of time than watching pro cycling where the result is always in doubt even years after the fact because of doping.

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General discussion / Bob Geldof

« on: November 14, 2017, 12:05:04 AM »

Deserves a thread of its own, I think.

Am I being a begrudger or is he really an insufferable West Brit bollox?

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General discussion / Sexual harassment/assault allegations

« on: November 10, 2017, 10:32:14 PM »

Bit of a tsunami underway now. Women starting to speak up and a lot of high profile people are getting implicated.

Louis CK and Steven "every film I make is a great big self-indulgent w***-fest about how tough I am" Seagal were hitting the headlines this morning.

I see now that Sepp Blatter has been accused by Hope Solo. Every day seems to be a case of "which high profile celebrity is going to be de-throned today"?

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General discussion / Ibrahim Halawa

« on: October 24, 2017, 06:05:44 PM »

After four years in Egypt jail, Ibrahim Halawa is home

An Irishman who was detained in Egypt for more than four years has finally returned home after being acquitted in September.

Ibrahim Halawa, arrested at the age of 17 as part of a deadly crackdown on protests in Cairo, had faced the death penalty.

He flew into Dublin Airport on Tuesday to a welcoming party, having travelled on the plane with Sean O Regan, ambassador of Ireland to Egypt.

Imagine going on a family holiday as a 17 year-old only to be arrested, tortured and facing the prospect of being sentenced to death. Seems like the Irish government deserves some credit for working on this case and getting him out. Fair play to them and shame on the Egyptian authorities for dragging their heels on this. 4 years is a long time to be locked up for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

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GAA Discussion / Does the GAA's amateur status work against working class players?

« on: October 12, 2017, 05:56:32 PM »

Splitting off from the Paraic Duffy thread because I think this deserves a discussion of its own.

(5) Another new evolution in GAA has been the amount of time involved in playing intercounty, which in turn means that whole swathes of people are ruled out, purely because their employers aren't able to be as flexible. And yes, that feeds into elitism, because it means that if you have a Tesco employee in Kinlough, playing for Melvin Gaels, and another five miles down the road in Bundoran, playing for Realt na Mara, and they are both potential county players - the county with the far greater level of funding (in this case Donegal) has a far better chance of getting their player a handy job that's compatible with playing county, while the guy in Leitrim has no option but to keep his job with all the weekend and evening hours that are incompatible with joining a county panel.

This is a great point. For all the talk about "elitism" regarding anything that looks professional, there are advantages and disadvantages to the amateur status. One of the biggest disadvantages is that people in certain types of job who may be good potential players cannot rise to the top because of work commitments. Public sector employees with very understanding bosses and long summer holidays are at a huge advantage over labourers and the self-employed who lose a day's pay for every day they don't work.

Sports like soccer and rugby used to be "gentleman's" pastimes, i.e. a hobby for the upper class only. The only way the working man had access to playing the games in front of big crowds was if the clubs compensated them for time lost at work. This evolved into pay-for-play. The powers-that-be resisted the encroachment of pay-for-play because they didn't want the working class anywhere near them, but they had to bow to the unstoppable market forces in the end because payments were creeping in regardless of the rules.

In those days it was the amateur status that was the "elitist" mindset. Michael Cusack founded the GAA not just to preserve Ireland's sporting identity, but also because he wanted the working man to have access to sport.

Is the make-up of today's inter-county panels looking increasingly white collar as opposed to blue collar? Are we so dedicated to the amateur status that we're losing sight of Cusack's original vision? Is the GAA's amateur status, however well intentioned, inadvertently squeezing the working man out of top flight hurling and football?

Discuss.

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General discussion / Foxcommander

« on: October 06, 2017, 12:00:48 AM »

There's a list as long as my arm of rules that he's broken, (feuding and personal abuse being the most obvious) but I think Rule 8 is the most interesting:

8. Joining up to cause trouble, or to annoy people.
   Occasionally, some people join the board simply to post something abusive, or to 'flame' the board. These people are generally easy to spot (see the F365 invasion last
   year) and have no real interest in the GAA Board. Also some people, who have been banned permanently, rejoin under different usernames and continue with the
   behaviour that led to the ban. By tracking IPs, behaviour and other items, we can sometimes tell this fairly easily, and these users will be banned again.
   
   Penalty - Immediate Permanent Ban

I've been reporting his racist and abusive tirades to the moderators but a quick check on his profile shows that he has made zero GAA-related contributions all year. With over 2,000 posts to his name, only 58 are on the GAA section. A nausea-inducing trace through his posting history reveals a sustained campaign of racism, far right extremism, and hate-filled name-calling and insults directed against other contributors to this board seemingly for the sole purpose of causing the maximum offense.   

He's obviously not here to talk about the finer points of GAA promotion or the sweeper system.

This sounds to me like fitting the description of "joining the board simply to post something abusive, or to 'flame' the board." I move that Rule 8 be invoked and a permanent ban put in place. All in favour say 'aye.'

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GAA Discussion / Time to merge the LGFA and Camogie Association under the GAA umbrella

« on: October 03, 2017, 07:39:54 PM »

Is it time for the sister sports to come under the GAA's wing? I think it's long past time.

To use a Pat Dalyism, there are economies of scale with being part of a larger organization.

The GAA would gain from having more progressive input since women tend to be more open minded about trying new ideas, hence the sin bin and hooter in ladies football.

The LGFA and CA would gain from having easier access to facilities instead of hoping the GAA can spare their grounds. It'd open the door to mixed-gender double headers. Want to promote ladies football and get a big crowd at the match? Have the opening rounds of the league or championships with the ladies match as the curtain-raiser before the men's game, that way you could potentially have the Armagh and Tyrone ladies playing before the Armagh and Tyrone men. Then you'd be looking at big attendances. With the cameras already there it'd be easier to get TV coverage for the women's game. Same as how women's Olympic events and grand slam tennis matches already get plenty of coverage since they play at the same time as the men when all the media is in place.

There's a boatload of advantages to amalgamation and I think the LGFA and CA are shooting themselves in the foot by holding back on it.

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General discussion / RTE

« on: September 15, 2017, 09:48:58 PM »

Any of you heard about this Secret RTE Producer Twitter account? Some eye-opening stuff in there, employees milking big salaries they'd never get in the private sector, long lunches, endless coffee breaks, 2-man crews on one-man pieces of equipment because the unions say so, 1980s production values, shoddy work, low morale, etc.. RTE's response has been to try to track him down instead of address the stuff he's leaking.

First the cops and now the state broadcaster. What's it going to take to get things working right?

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General discussion / The "PC Brigade" brigade

« on: August 15, 2017, 01:37:14 AM »

This is a gear grinder for me but it deserves a thread of its own.

"Political correctness" is a derogatory term dreamed up by right wingers to denounce every bit of progress we've made in advancing the cause of human dignity.

• Abolish slavery? "Political correctness gone mad!"
• Desegregate races? "Political correctness gone mad!"
• End apartheid? "Political correctness gone mad!"
• Stop being racist? "Political correctness gone mad!"
• Stop being homophobic? "Political correctness gone mad!"
• Marriage equality? "Political correctness gone mad!"
• Be nice to immigrants? "Political correctness gone mad!"
• Prevent refugees from drowning in the Mediterranean? "Political correctness gone mad!"
• Can't smoke around your children? "Political correctness gone mad!"
• Can't smoke in a pub? "Political correctness gone mad!"
• Can't have a few pints before you drive? "Political correctness gone mad!"
• Can't hunt foxes with hounds? "Political correctness gone mad!"
• Can't execute people anymore? "Political correctness gone mad!"
• People upset about the Angelus on RTE? "Political correctness gone mad!"
• Can't force atheists to pray? "Political correctness gone mad!"
• We have to treat women as human beings? "Political correctness gone mad!"

Newsflash: Times change. Values change. Stuff that was tolerated 100, 50, or only 10 years ago isn't tolerated anymore. This is the way of things. You can yap and whinge and cry about it all you like, but you can either change with the times or squeal like a spoiled brat every time we make a bit of progress and build a better society. If we listened to the "PC brigade" brigade we'd still be sending children up chimneys to clean them from the inside and locking single mothers up in Magdalene laundries.

Away and dry your eyes, you whinging shower of apes!

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GAA Discussion / Cork fans flying the confederate flag

« on: August 14, 2017, 06:46:45 PM »

Stop it.