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Messages - Kickham csc

#31
General discussion / Re: The Many Faces of US Politics...
November 04, 2021, 01:21:24 PM
Quote from: Jell 0 Biafra on November 04, 2021, 01:21:50 AM
Critical Race Theory, as an academic discipline, focuses on how racism endures in society regardless of whether people personally embrace racist attitudes.  As such, it is the opposite of making people feel guilty because of slavery. 

As an example of critical race theory in action take the question of why a lower percentage of black people own their own homes today in the US? 

This is, in large part, because of decisions made by banks, and municipalities about who would get loans and who could live where.  Certain districts on Long Island, for example, had written into their regulations, that blacks couldn't own homes there, and we're talking mid-twentieth century here.  That's changed of course, but what it meant was that white families have hundreds of thousands of dollars in equity that black families were never allowed to amass.  So black families, on average, have less wealth, because of institutionalized racist policies. 

Such policies have the effect that black families are at a disadvantage with respect to white families in terms of wealth.  Given how schools work in the US, that means that kids in poor areas (disproportionately black) attend schools with significantly less resources, and thus significantly worse outcomes.

All this happens whether or not white people have racist thoughts "in their hearts". 

This is all common sense to anyone with a modicum of common sense and knowledge of US history.  So, why is everyone up in arms about Critical Race Theory? 

Here's why:

https://twitter.com/realchrisrufo/status/1371540368714428416?lang=en

Republican strategists have seized on this as a culture war issue, and are attempting to make every attempt to discuss race and justice seem like an attempt to make white people feel guilty.

Yes, some activists might be trying to do make white people feel guilty, but that is decidedly not what critical race theory is about.

If CRT is to become a staple piece in the education program, should the democratic party / education officials need to do a better job in communicating with parents about CRT, objectives, and teaching style to shut this down as an issue. As I've said previously, I'm a left of center democrat, but I've no idea if and how CRT is incorporated into the education system.

For example;

What is an academic discipline?

Should critical race theory be a policy within a schools academic program, or a subset of the academic program?

Is it ok to set different scoring scales for different ethnic groupings in standardized testing due to the american education system was set up to  enforce "white supremacy" (De Blasio NYC specialist high school program)

Should it be taught in a civics class or history class or should it have its own stand alone class?

Should it be taught along with other social constructs; eg Marxism, socialism, capitalism, fascism, colonialism CRT etc

How it's taught; is it ok to separate white and non white kids into separate classes to teach the subject,  are there guidelines in place to not assert white guilt onto young children

Why are the democrats not doing a better job of explaining CRT if it is so important to their program.

And until they do, parents have a 100% right to challenge the school boards until they get clarity what is going on.
#32
Quote from: Fear Bun Na Sceilpe on November 02, 2021, 11:24:47 PM
Quote from: RadioGAAGAA on November 02, 2021, 09:31:55 PM
Anyone in the Ulster Council that still believes a 35k all-seat, all-covered stadium in Andytown is what the GAA needs, needs their head examined.

[and if they aren't elected - booted out the door for having insufficient intelligence for the job.]


Its alright a few clowns on here drooling over a big new shiny stadium. But the top officials of the province are there to think with their heads, not day dream over a proverbial dick waving contest with the other sports.

100 percent

They are looking to build a revenue generator; Conference center, concert venue, big matches etc

Ulster needed a big venue in the NE of the province, aswell as one for the west (Omagh). Clones covers the south, Celtic Park covers the north pretty well.

However, as previously stated, if option B gets approved, then the need for this might be eliminated
#33
General discussion / Re: The Many Faces of US Politics...
November 03, 2021, 04:00:16 PM
The Democrats (I am a left of center democrat voter...usually), are screwing up due to an increasing trend to focus on left leaning identity politics and not concentrating on bread and butter issues.

The "defund the police" movement was embraced by the squad until they realized it was election kryptonite,
McAuliffe's gaff on parents should not be involved in education was shocking, and election kryptonite
Murphy's gaff on if taxes are your issue then NJ is not the state for you was shocking, and election kryptonite
Joe's fossil fuel strategy is long term correct, but short term election kryptonite (high gas prices impact poor democrat voters more than "well off republicians)

Increasingly the democrats look like a party who are out of touch of the constituent's bread and butter issues.

Policing is an issue and needs to be fixed, but needs to be done with the police. Crime rates in democrat run city's needs to be solved and alienating the police is not smart politics. The party's image has been manipulated to an extent that they care more for criminal rights than for law abiding citizens and that they are handcuffing police's ability to get in control of crime

Education standards needs to be improved, focusing on political indoctrination is not the solution ( I am 100% behind teaching US history warts and all, and if CRT delivered that then I would be fully supportive, but if it also assigns white guilt to children then no way, f**k off. Why should my children have white guilt assigned to them when their mothers family moved to the states in the 80's and I moved in the early 00's. They have nothing to be ashamed about.

Also, the democrats in DC have a blind spot in their obsession with Trump and the Jan insurrection. Let the FBI handle the investigation, but FFS, they should be obsessed with getting things approved to demonstrate they can actually govern while in power and at the minute they are failing terribly. 
#34
Antrim / Re: Belfast GAA is dying...
October 29, 2021, 05:38:01 PM
Back in the day, the Ulster final was rotated between Clones, Belfast and Omagh, basically  splitting the province into 3; West, East, South.

Actually very smart.

Clones has become a tradition, but..... out of the way for the majority of fans,
#35
Antrim / Re: Antrim Football Thread
October 26, 2021, 04:32:47 PM
The big problem in Antrim is that hurling and football is seriously promoted in both clubs and the county. That's a big problem.

Creggan, Tir na Nog, Ahoghill, Rasharkin, Ballymena, Dunloy, Glenravel, St Johns, Rossa, Sarsfields, St Galls, Gort na Mona, etc will all have dual players trying to win both championships.

This is a major challenge to the county on how to run championships for football and hurling in a tight window.

One solution is direct knockout to free up the weeks etc, but if you have county players only coming back in July / August, you minght only see your county players play one game in the year

It is a tough problem to crack
#36
GAA Discussion / Re: Congress
October 25, 2021, 04:41:30 PM
Quote from: seafoid on October 25, 2021, 11:47:09 AM
https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/gaelic-games/promise-to-reform-flawed-option-b-later-not-enough-for-congress-1.4709560

How did the GAA end up rejecting the one vehicle for change on the table?
For a start the body that devised it, the Calendar Fixtures Task Force, had effectively been disbanded and in any case divided over what it wanted. Having started two years ago with two more or less equal proposals, the task force saw motion 18, their Option A - four eight-county, provincial based groups - fall without a word being spoken either for or against.
Lacking a coherent sponsor, the surviving reform lacked energy apart from the campaign mounted by the Gaelic Players Association in more recent weeks.
Yet listening to the debate with its 22 speakers - split 13-9 against the motion - it was impossible not to be struck by how well the proposition was presenting the case. From the start when former president John Horan took to the podium, the advocacy of those supporting change was persuasive.
Horan set out his feelings of disappointment that the Calendar Fixtures Task Force, which he had appointed, had split into camps and addressed perceived issues with the proposal, saying that he didn't, "think the financial worry that's out there for people is what it's portrayed to be".

Thematically the basic argument was made by Cork Central Council delegate Tracey Kennedy. "Fears and concerns about change are absolutely natural but if we look in our hearts nobody can say that the current structure is serving the majority of counties well."

"Our footballers told us in no uncertain terms that if something doesn't change you won't see us again. That's the reality. They left Castlebar in despair. Talking about crowds attending games, as county secretary I was dealing with ticket allocations for that game. Family members weren't even there to support them. That's how lonely it was. That's what the current system is providing for the footballers of Leitrim. It's now time to be brave," - Leitrim secretary Declan Bohan

Because the alternative had major flaws. You can't propose changes and expect people to close their eyes and jump knowing that their is flaws in what your proposing. If it happened in business you'd be shown the door.

Regarding Ulster counties reluctance to change... we have a great championship, why would Ulster counties vote to remove a championship that both fans and players love simply because other provincial championships are failing. Since 2009 - All nine Ulster counties got to a final, 4 counties have won it, and Armagh and Derry seem poised to challenge again in the next couple of years.

It was noticeable that the hurling recommendations kept the Leinster and Munster championships in tact and kept them meaningful.

Also, there a number of changes that were due to come into effect for the 2022 season. Changes that hadn't been implemented yet. It's like a shit show where there seem no logical thinking behind this.

There are two major issues at the moment, Dublin's dominance in Leinster, and Kerry's in Munster and the impact on other counties.

I thought their was a proposal a couple years back to play the championships during the league, so the weaker counties still had something to play for right up to the end of the intercounty season. Did it die a death too? That would have kept all counties playing competitive football up to the end of the season


#37
Antrim / Re: Antrim Football Thread
October 25, 2021, 04:13:33 PM
Quote from: rogercasement on October 25, 2021, 03:03:21 PM
Any hurlers from pg1 play for Ahoghill, in round toome creggan.

We did have a few play for us but not too many. James Laverty was a good we hurler, and played on the team that won the NA indoor league - Div , always wore his Cargin shorts and socks  ;D

Ciaran O'Neill played for a couple of seasons,
#38
GAA Discussion / Re: Congress
October 23, 2021, 04:23:46 AM
Quote from: lenny on October 22, 2021, 11:14:48 PM
https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/arid-40727532.html


Great article here which gives a player's point of view along with an administrators. Both have really thought about and raise some very interesting points. It's really a complex issue and the impact on club football would be huge. On balance I'd be sympathetic to Mickey Quinn.

I am sympathetic to Mickey Quinn, but the two paragraphs that stand out for me are from Baker
1 - "In Ulster, we had the Dr McKenna Cup, with at least three matches there, sometimes more. You had seven National League matches and then you had at least two championship matches.

You don't have any more games in this system. You possibly have a round robin Ulster Championship which is three matches along with your seven league matches. Some will not have a knockout game. So there aren't any more matches.

2 "We have had 137 years of the provincial championships which we are saying is broken. So why are we changing that with another flawed system?"

Baker lists a number of serious challenges, these really do need to be thought out and war gamed to try and iron out the major flaws
#39
Antrim / Re: Antrim Football Thread
October 20, 2021, 07:43:55 PM
Quote from: Jack O on October 19, 2021, 06:59:28 PM
Creggan mingie bugger,£1.20 for the Irish news,just go and buy it,worse than a Cavan man

;D don't like giving my details out to the establishment  ;D
#40
GAA Discussion / Re: Congress
October 20, 2021, 07:16:16 PM
Quote from: Hound on October 20, 2021, 05:31:19 PM
Quote from: Kickham csc on October 20, 2021, 04:07:34 PM

So lets be honest about the proposals and what they will establish. This will result in the cementing of a small number of counties to elite status.

Small / weaker counties will just have to focus on a secondary competition that will not generate any fanfare, unless you boot the minor final away from All Ireland final day and have the "A & B " final on the same day. But will that help the development of the games?

Lets also be clear, that one of the core foundations that drove the popularity of the GAA is over, the provincial championships. In time, we will lose the days out in Clones, the Derry - Tyrone, Armagh - Down, Armagh -Tyrone derby games will be lessened  and we will have one less meaningful competition to play for.

Lastly, county football is representative elite level sport. If your not up to the standard, then its up to the county board to fix it.

I see noting wrong with a ranking system, based on 1 - League, 2 provincial championships. Range the teams from 1 to 32, with play offs with the lower ranked teams to get the 32'nd spot. Then have an all ireland championship, straight knockout, no backdoor.

It will provide the div 1 teams the benefit of playing in the higher league, and the weaker teams still have a shot of playing the big boys in an knockout.

FA cup works well, and the smaller teams all focus on getting to the 4th or 5th round when the big teams join. NCAA basket ball works well when the smaller colleges get a shot at the big boys in March madness.

Anything where the competition is ring fenced to the strong counties, will create problems down the road, just as the backdoor system did
Have you read Proposal B?
You seem to completely misunderstand it.
For example, Leitrim who have no chance of winning Connacht, now have a realistic chance of getting to the All Ireland knockout stages by winning Div 4, or even Div 3 with a bit of progression. They still get to play Connacht, albeit they'll still get beaten out the gate, but after that they'll get 7 competitive summer games against similar level opponents and at least the opportunity for progression. There's no system that makes Leitrim All Ireland challengers, but at least Proposal B gives their players a reason to play. Hence the reason Leitrim management and players are strongly in favour.

I have read it, and the inclusion of this feature is basically an acknowledgement that there is a major problem with the proposal in regards to excluding the weaker counties from proper championship against the bigger counties. Throw them a bone and they'll vote for it.

Can someone please point out a situation in any other sport where the top 5 of Div 1 would qualify for a knockout, but the remaining 3 don't, but teams from a lower leagues will qualify.  And how long would this situation last.

Also 2 teams will qulify for the preliminary play offs, but 14 teams wont. That's the point. And what are the odds on having the same 2-3 teams winning the Div 3 or Div 4 leagues. Too weak for the higher league but too strong for the lower.

Also, how are the teams who finish 6,7,8 in Div 1 and 4,5,6,7,8, in Div two feel. They wont have any knockout championship football after the league.

I'm sorry, but the proposals are too fecking messy, and even a blind man can see future issues arising
#41
GAA Discussion / Re: Congress
October 20, 2021, 04:07:34 PM
Quote from: thewobbler on October 19, 2021, 03:15:29 PM
Kickham, the problem with all of the above is that you would seem to be completely mental.

I mean let's be absolutely clear about something.

There are 32 counties in Ireland. Not in the GAA world, London, New York, Warrickshire etc are all counties
The bottom 17 counties in terms of population, together have a smaller population than Dublin. Yep, and how do the proposals fix that. The longer Option B lasts the stronger they will get
The bottom 10 have less than the population of Antrim. Is that the GAA population in Antrim. There's a lot of none GAA population in Antrim.
The biggest 5 counties have a bigger population than the other 27 combined. How long has this existed.... from the start of the GAA. Nothing new now
Only 9 counties have above average population.

Yet you actually imagine that it's possible by an unequal distribution of finance to smaller counties and a series of rules that would drive members out of the association, and by convoluting the fixture calendar into an unholy mess, that these disparities can be resolved. Never said anything of the sort. Your losing the run of yourself here

And anyone who disagrees with you looks like they're about to be portrayed as elitist. Maybe they are if the are supporting a system that will ring fence the strongest counties and set up a system to actually prevent weaker counties competing with them

The GAA is the most unequal of sporting  associations in the world, simply because it is segmented on county lines. There are other sports who have had the same problem, who actually came up with solutions to ensure level playing fields. Look at MLB, NFL in the states. Creative thinking for the good of the whole game not just the powerful few

Everything else is a symptom, not a cause. To think otherwise is batshit crazy. Getting personal again....Playing the man not the ball

Jesus Wobbler, getting personal there, playing the man not the ball!!!

quote]

So lets be honest about the proposals and what they will establish. This will result in the cementing of a small number of counties to elite status.

Small / weaker counties will just have to focus on a secondary competition that will not generate any fanfare, unless you boot the minor final away from All Ireland final day and have the "A & B " final on the same day. But will that help the development of the games?

Lets also be clear, that one of the core foundations that drove the popularity of the GAA is over, the provincial championships. In time, we will lose the days out in Clones, the Derry - Tyrone, Armagh - Down, Armagh -Tyrone derby games will be lessened  and we will have one less meaningful competition to play for.

Lastly, county football is representative elite level sport. If your not up to the standard, then its up to the county board to fix it.

I see noting wrong with a ranking system, based on 1 - League, 2 provincial championships. Range the teams from 1 to 32, with play offs with the lower ranked teams to get the 32'nd spot. Then have an all ireland championship, straight knockout, no backdoor.

It will provide the div 1 teams the benefit of playing in the higher league, and the weaker teams still have a shot of playing the big boys in an knockout.

FA cup works well, and the smaller teams all focus on getting to the 4th or 5th round when the big teams join. NCAA basket ball works well when the smaller colleges get a shot at the big boys in March madness.

Anything where the competition is ring fenced to the strong counties, will create problems down the road, just as the backdoor system did
#42
GAA Discussion / Re: Congress
October 19, 2021, 06:01:07 PM
Quote from: thewobbler on October 19, 2021, 03:15:29 PM
Kickham, the problem with all of the above is that you would seem to be completely mental.

I mean let's be absolutely clear about something.

There are 32 counties in Ireland.
The bottom 17 counties in terms of population, together have a smaller population than Dublin.
The bottom 10 have less than the population of Antrim.
The biggest 5 counties have a bigger population than the other 27 combined.
Only 9 counties have above average population.

Yet you actually imagine that it's possible by an unequal distribution of finance to smaller counties and a series of rules that would drive members out of the association, and by convoluting the fixture calendar into an unholy mess, that these disparities can be resolved.

And anyone who disagrees with you looks like they're about to be portrayed as elitist.

The GAA is the most unequal of sporting  associations in the world, simply because it is segmented on county lines.

Everything else is a symptom, not a cause. To think otherwise is batshit crazy.

So lets be honest about the proposals and what they will establish. This will result in the cementing of a small number of counties to elite status.

Small / weaker counties will just have to focus on a secondary competition that will not generate any fanfare, unless you boot the minor final away from All Ireland final day and have the "A & B " final on the same day. But will that help the development of the games.

Lets also be clear, that one of the core foundations that drove the popularity of the GAA is over, the provincial championships. In time, we will lose the days out in Clones, the Derry - Tyrone, Armagh - Down, Armagh -Tyrone derby games will be lessened  and we will have one less meaningful competition to play for.
#43
Antrim / Re: Antrim Football Thread
October 19, 2021, 05:02:54 PM
Quote from: Belfast GAA man on October 19, 2021, 01:48:16 PM
Irish News today - paid managers are good and club men are cr...ap ! what a lazy article and generalisation - journo needs has pay docked!!!!!!!!!!!1
Are you able to post it
#44
GAA Discussion / Re: Congress
October 19, 2021, 02:40:12 PM
Quote from: thewobbler on October 19, 2021, 07:43:37 AM
I think you're confused about what a breakthrough is.

"eg; Leitrim in the 90's, Antrim in the late 90's early 00's, Westmeath in the 00's, Carlow's recent run, Tipperary and Cavan's titles last year."

The commonality between these teams is that none of them made an AI final, and none of them kept it going for more than 2 years.

So what is it that they broke through? And what would the league-based system prevent them from doing?

I think you have an elitist view of what a breakthrough is. They had breakthrough years in the sense that they had good years in the provincial championships from a period of not being competitive. The energy and entertainment from watching your team go toe to toe with the big boys as massive underdogs was electrifying for supporters and the county, and greatly motivating for the players. An opportunity that will be removed with these proposals as the provincial championships will die a Railway cup death if they aren't linked to championship which will result in less experience for the weaker counties playing against the big boys.


If your playing Div 3-4 football, only one or two teams will move up in divisions every year. With teams being relegated from the division above. So you could easily have yo-yo teams getting relegated from Div 1 / Div 2 every year who get promoted the next year. This happens all the time at club level and has a high probability of happening in the inter county scene.  Would that encourage or discourage teams in the lower teams who know they are outsiders for promotion and have not marque championship game to target in the summer.

From a motivating point of view,
Whats the average league attendance for each division?
Whats the average TV coverage time for each division?
Whats the average monetary support from sponsors for each division?
What motivation will minors have if they never get to see their seniors compete against the best?

These proposals are elitist, and will only protect the stronger counties

Antrim v Leitrim / Carlow / Waterford will never generate the same interest as an Antrim v Derry / Tyrone / Down game

Last point. I take a pretty hard line view on teams getting hammered in championship. As Bill Parcells said, "You are what your record says you are". Instead of hiding from this by dressing up competitiveness in a new league / championship format, counties need to be taken to task if they are not supporting football development.

Why are Meath / Kildare/ Offaly not more competitive. Mayo, Kerry, Tyrone have all challenged Dublin in the past decade but fell short until this year. Why are the leinster counties more competitive. Kildare and Meath will have larger playing bases to pick from than Tyrone, why are they not more competitive?

Why are Waterford, Clare, Limerick allowed to get away with token support for the footballers in comparison to hurlers.

Why doesn't the GAA put in place requirements to play in the championship a commitment that all county's provide equal hurling and football support in regards to funding, resources etc?

Why doesn't the GAA set a maximum limit on spending on county teams, and if you go over that the county board will get finned with fine money getting distributed to weaker counties.

But no, lets set up a structure where the strong get stronger and weak weaker
#45
GAA Discussion / Re: Congress
October 19, 2021, 06:13:49 AM
Don't understand how Option B is going to be a success for the weaker counties.

It will result in the unintended consequence of making it even harder for weaker counties to break into the All Ireland championship top table. The top counties will continue getting stronger and the weaker getting weaker and in 10 years the status of inter-county standards will become even more polarized

This option will shut down the potential for real breakthroughs, eg; Leitrim in the 90's, Antrim in the late 90's early 00's, Westmeath in the 00's, Carlow's recent run, Tipperary and Cavan's titles last year. With this proposal it would take a team up to 3-5 years to get up to the top table without a serious provincial championship which would limit the number of years of a breakthrough team to challenge at the top.

So, I think option B will stifle weaker teams development.

Look at hurling, little to no interest in the secondary competitions, and have any "weaker" counties broken into the top table in the past 10-15 years, nope. Antrim made a good stab at it this year, but no county has challenged the establishment.

Also, currently counties have three meaningful titles to play for, league, provincial championship and All Ireland. Take the provincial championship away, and now you have two titles to play for. We have just removed 1 meaningful title to play for. How is this progress.

Everybody will bring up Munster and Leinster championships, but is the answer scrapping them? The GAA invested in Dublin and they created a powerhouse. Why not invest in the other counties to bring them up instead of doing away with the championship.

Additionally, the probably of the Div 4 teams winning the B championship will be better than winning a provincial, not a lot, so realistically, there will be 4 teams in contention for the All Ireland and 4ish for the B.

Lastly, county football is representative football, the fact that a county takes a hammering in a championship, so be it. The only way to reverse this is to develop proper coaching programs, not change to competition.

For me the easy way to do this is rank teams 1-34 (including NY and London) on the previous season. Play the league and re rank at the end of the league. Provincial championships to be run off based on the rankings. After provincials re-rank based on league and championship and have a ranked All Ireland championship. If you don't want a hammering get better league and provincial results.