Buy Nothing Day

Today is Buy Nothing Day. Sounds odd? Well it's pretty simple really, just try to not buy anything today. According to organisers today is a 'day where you challenge yourself to switch off from shopping and tune into life; the rules are simple, for 24 hours you will detox from consumerism and live without shopping. Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spending!'

I quite like this concept of getting away from consumerism just for a day. The Celtic Tiger has made us into these possesion hungry spending maniacs. But now with the downturn (I dislike that R word) will we actually spend any less? It sounds easy in theory but can it be done? I suppose with a bit of advance planning it could be done. But I've already failed having purchased two bus trips, a half pint of milk, a newspaper and a bagel today. And it's only 2pm!

The concept of Buy Nothing Day appears to be cemented into the American psyche as the day after Thanksgiving (always a Friday). Presumably we use the nearest Saturday instead to capture it's full effect. Having just caught a snippet of the 2pm news, it would appear that the people sitting on the M1 just outside Newry in two hour tailbacks are not too excited about Buy Nothing Day.

Our economy needs us to spend every day right?!?! Check out the website at http://www.buynothingday.co.uk/

Palin keeps the show going

She just can't help herself can she? It's been 24 days since the US election was won by Barack Obama and yet Ms Sarah Palin keeps her comedy show on the road. Since loosing the election with John McCain nearly a month ago, Palin has managed to stay on our screens to an admirable degree. She's even threatening to run for President next time round. We'll look forward to that Sarah!

But now the Telegraph in the UK reports that she did a TV interview whilst Thanksgiving turkeys were being killed right behind her. This will certainly help to support the mad woman impression she gave off throughout the month of October. She's obviously not going to fade into the snowy background. The video from her local TV station has ended up on YouTube and shows her casually chatting to a reporter about Thanksgiving, whilst turkeys are being slaughtered literally behind her. The man doing the slaughtering appears to be quite delighted at this media attention also. His trousers and the ground beneath him look like they are covered in blood.

Now it's not the slaughtering of the turkeys that I have the problem with, it's more the fact that she didn't seem to even notice this was going on behind her. Either that or she did notice and didn't see the problem. In a typical Palin statement, when asked what she will be doing on Thanksgiving Palin responds 'I'll be in charge of the turkey...I'm where I need to be today to prepare for that'.

You can view the video for yourself at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-kjM1asH-8. You'll need to watch it twice, once to watch the background, and once to figure out what exactly Palin is talking about....

The 2008 Toy Show

The annual Irish fest that is the Late Late toy show is over for another year. It appears to have gone quite well, with less mechanical failures (of toys) than previous years. However some of the children performing looked considerably depressed, a worrying trend. Kenny seemed in good form, having separated himself from the toy show tickets fiasco with Cork woman Barbara Heavey last week (she by the way spent last night in the Merrion Hotel as per the prize with her elderly mother).

The highlight of the show had to be the appearance from Nicky of Westlife who dropped in with his twin sons, the famous Jay and Rocco, who are nineteen months to speak with a girl who is undergoing treatment in Tallaght Hospital. The Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, also made an appearance later in the show to discuss books with Pat and the kids.

Top toys for this year seem to be the same as ever- book and gadgets, but anything related to Hannah Montana or the Wii also seems to be a winner.

The audience came away with an armful of gifts this year also. The silly hats and costumes were optional I think.

The Unpatriotic Shopping Debate Rumbles On

Comedian Des Bishop argued on the Late Late show a few weeks ago that he had never seen a country who was happier to be in recession. He claimed that we were happier to be poor and right ('I told you it would end but you wouldn't listen would you!) than happy and rich. We laughed at that suggestion. But he's dead right really. We love to play ourselves down. The Celtic Tiger made us get above ourselves really.


Now there's this argument about patriotism and how apparently according to Brian Cowen shopping in the North is unpatriotic. He said 'when you shop in Northern Ireland, you’re paying Her Majesty’s taxes, you’re not paying taxes to the state that you live in'. Hmmm. I posted on this topic a few days ago and concluded 'that shopping over the Border hurts the Irish economy. €300 spent in Sainsburys in Newry is stimulating the UK economy and generates VAT for the British Exchequer. Meanwhile Revenue has lost the VAT from your €300 shop that it would have gotten if you had shopped in Superquinn. Loss in VAT returns significantly hurts the Irish economy. The effect on society is less money to fund schools and hospitals'. And my thoughts on this so far haven't changed.


But now politicians in the North are getting involved in this debate too, arguing that Northern motorists went across the Border to the South for years to buy cheaper petrol giving taxes to Revenue. Stormont junior minister Jeffrey Donaldson has been urging Southern shoppers to bring their Euro across the Border in order to get a good deal. But more importantly it has to be said that he is looking after NI's self interest and hoping to bolster the NI economy.


Added to this unpatriotic nonsense that's been floating about, is Donaldson's comment that Irish government ministers support a united Ireland (do they?) but don't support the Irish shopping in the North. Whilst I like the brashness of this argument, I fail to see the connection. Surely regardless of politics, loss of VAT to the Irish Revenue Commissioners is a major problem to our government, and thus to us.


But it's interesting to listen to this debate rumble on nonetheless.

(photo from Guardian.co.uk)

Superquinn Fights Back!

Superquinn have almost a full page advert in the Irish Times today which directly aims to stem the flow of shoppers to Newry. The ad actually says' Turn back to Superquinn this weekend, cheaper than Newry prices'

Bravo to Superquinn for tackling the challenge head on!

Christmas parties and bonuses- Bah Humbug

No not another rant about the anti Christmas sentiment of cancelling Christmas parties. The opposite in fact....

Nasty companies are cancelling Christmas parties. And employees are unhappy about it. Well I think there's only one way to look at that- at least you have a Christmas party (not) to attend! That's right, at least you have a job. Plenty of people don't this Christmas. And whilst I don't want to over-exaggerate job losses, they are happening to lots of people. So really is a Christmas party that important in the scale of the bigger problems of today? So you don't get a chance to embarrass yourself in front of workmates, kiss someone you shouldn't or be thrown out for disorderliness. Sounds like a good plan really.

Some people are getting bonuses this Christmas who really don't deserve to get them (in my opinion). Top of the list are bankers. Why are high level executives in the major banks getting bonuses this Christmas for work that they a) didn't do or b) did badly. How can we condone giving bonuses to people who stood by policies which loaned out huge sums of money to people who could not afford it? Bonuses aside, many are getting huge salaries anyway, and those should probably be cut too. Is a bonus meant to be paid when a job is well done? Or just done? Executives at our country's main banks have presided over a year where ill-advised mortgages have come back to roost, share prices have floored and people are loosing their homes. Are there no repercussions for encouraging bad practice? Surely there has to be.

I'm not sure what the answer is, but many people should not be getting their bonuses this Christmas.

Overheard in Dublin

If you're looking for a laugh, then hit on overheardindublin.com. It's a forum for Dubs to post anecdotes about other Dubs. Most of the stories come from conversations or comments overheard on the Capital's buses, trains, luas and streets. All of the stories are hilarious, but some are just side-splitting. Take this one for example:

''Was walking through Dunnes Stores with my 3 year old daughter last week and you could see the child was bored shopping with me. Suddenly she stopped in the middle of the store and said "Oh my god will you just buy something before I have a nervous breakdown!" Everyone started laughing at her so she got more annoyed and stormed out of the shop with me trailing after her''.

Check it out, it'll make you appreciate the wit of your fellow Dubs!

John Thompson Scholarship Presentation

Last Monday I was awarded a John Thompson scholarship at a small event in DCU. The scholarships aim to promote connections between journalism and marketing and are in memory of Mr John Thompson, media mogul, who died in 2006. Two scholarships were available; one for a media graduate to study Marketing and one for a business graduate to study Journalism at DCU. This scholarships intend to reflect a deeply held belief of John Thompson that the two disciplines are critical and reinforce each other.

These scholarships were awarded by Mr Lee Thompson, son of the late John Thompson and former Managing Director of Metro. The scholarships are to the value of €9000 each and it is the intention they will be offered for many years to come to business and journalism final year students who wish to do postgraduate study.

I would like to thank the Thompson family and other contributors for this opportunity.

UK VAT cut could push more shoppers North

The UK government's decision to cut the VAT rate from 17.5% to 15% could send even more Irish shoppers across the border into Newry. The move came today as Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling announced a £20 billion package to help stimulate the British economy. The new rate will come into effect next Monday.

Meanwhile, VAT in the Republic is set to rise by 0.5% to 21.5%. That's a 6.5% difference in VAT rates between the two regions. Then take into account the healthy Sterling exchange rate plus price differentials and you have a major incentive to go North. Recent months have seen major traffic jams in Newry as it's shopping centres fill with Southern registered cars. Those cars return across the border with cheaper alcohol, clothing and various other items.

It's true that bargains are to be had in Newry- for some reason goods appear to be significantly cheaper in the North despite the distance being so small. I recently clocked a price differential of €51 to £30 for a handbag (£30 is €36- so where is the rest gone?). Sure there's chatter about increased labour and VAT rates but that's still a huge difference.

Some of the media have been asking whether going North for shopping is unpatriotic.... that argument is truly madness in my opinion. How can we honestly be asking people to overpay in the South in the justification of keeping Irish jobs safe? Surely the government should be concentrating on addressing the situation rather than pointing the finger at frustrated consumers who are shopping with their pockets. We're in a downturn in case the government hasn't noticed.... so of course people are going to go where value is best. If that means over the border then so be it.

But the fact remains that shopping over the Border hurts the Irish economy. €300 spent in Sainsburys in Newry is stimulating the UK economy and generates VAT for the British Exchequer. Meanwhile Revenue has lost the VAT from your €300 shop that it would have gotten if you had shopped in Superquinn. Loss in VAT returns significantly hurts the Irish economy. The effect on society is less money to fund schools and hospitals. So where does that leave us? It leaves us with quite the dilemma- the choice between value in the North and personal monetary savings, or being ripped off in the South by greedy retailers but supporting the Irish economy. Oh dear.

Ultimately the government needs to take some responsibility for this issue, whether it is through cutting our VAT rate so that there's no reason to go North or finally tackling profiteering in Rip-Off Ireland.

Someone has to take responsibility for this, but consumers shouldn't be forced to choose between patriotism and value for money.

(photo from Irishnews.com)

Posthumous Oscar for Ledger?

The Herald Sun in Australia yesterday reported that Warner Brothers Studios has launched a campaign to secure a posthumous Academy Award for late actor Heath Ledger. Ledger excelled in his portrayal of the Joker in Christopher Nolan's 2008 film 'the Dark Knight'. Tragically, Ledger died in January of an accidental prescription drug overdose in his New York apartment. Ledger, a native of Perth, Australia had lived in the US for many years and had his first claim to fame with the 1999 teen flick 'Ten Things I Hate About You' alongside Julia Stiles.

After Ledger's tragic death on January 22nd 2008, people around the world began to excitedly anticipate the release of the Dark Knight. Rumours of Ledger's remarkable turn as the Joker were circulating by Spring. When the film was released in July 2008 amidst much hype, some critics labelled his performance over-rated. However, the majority of critics and fans lapped up his magical performance. Having not seen the prequel, Batman Begins, I expected to be a little lost whilst watching the film. But this was impossible. Ledger's performance as the psychopathic Joker intent on destroying all that is good in Gotham City was mesmorising. To say he owned the room is the understatement of the century. His performance swung from painfully funny (in particular the Hospital scene) to truly terrifying. The character seen on screen was completely unidentifiable as Ledger. He appeared that he had literally become the Joker.

The film industry and fans around the world were shocked at Ledger's tragic death. At just 28 years old, it appeared Ledger had a serious amount of performance left in him. Perhaps his most famous role was that of cowboy Ennis Del mar in 2005's Brokeback Mountain, which earned him Oscar and BAFTA nominations. The film also starred Jake Gyllenhaal. The passion evident in both actors in their roles made it impossible for even the most 'I'm not interested' moviegoer to turn away from Brokeback. It was in this film that Ledger met his future fiancee Michelle Williams. They welcomed a daughter named Matilda Rose in October 2005. Shortly before his death, Ledger broke off the engagement and was reportedly renting the apartment (in which he died) from Mary Kate Olsen.

According to the Sun Herald report, Warner Brothers have rolled out an Oscar specific ad, namely a 'For Your Consideration' poster. This is aimed at members of the Academy as well as voters of the key lead-in award ceremonies, the Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild and Directors Guild of America.

Great performances and films have gone unrewarded at the Oscars in the past but here's hoping Ledger will be rewarded after death for his inspirational performance.

Here's a clip of a youthful Ledger in Home and Away years ago http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=240896&cl=6066850&ch=&src=y7tv

Mark Shields Speaks to DCU audience on the politics of the US 2008 election

Barack Obama will face the most difficult Presidency yet according to US political commentator Mark Shields. Shields spoke to an audience of around 500 people on the politics of the recent US election at the Helix in DCU last night. Seventy one year old Shields has been on the political scene for decades; he worked for Robert F. Kennedy’s Presidential campaign in 1968. In 1979 he joined the editorial team of the Washington Post and began writing a political column which is now syndicated by an online company. He has been making television appearances since the 1980s and is now a regular panelist on CNN's ‘Capital Gang’ and the award-winning PBS produced ‘NewsHour With Jim Lehrer’ show. Shields was invited to Dublin by the Washington Ireland programme in collaboration with DCU Educational Trust.

Fellow American and DCU Professor Steven Knowlton introduced Mr. Shields to the audience and commented that he is ‘one of the most astute political observers on the US political scene’ today. Mr Shields took to the stage in the Mahony Hall of the Helix commenting ‘it’s a lot easier to be an American abroad since November 4th’. This theme of change would set the tone for the remainder of the thirty minute speech. Shields began by acknowledging that the November 4th election of Barack Obama was symbolic and historic in many ways. In particular he pointed to the fact that when Mr. Obama was born, his mother and father’s marriage was illegal in many states. One of those states was Virginia, a state which Obama won by over 9 percentage points just over forty years later. Shields attributed Obama’s win to the fact that he called out to ‘disaffected and uninvolved voters’, made excellent use of the internet to build his campaign from the bottom up and crucially he started ‘a revolution amongst young voters’. But Mr Shields was quick to acknowledge the serious challenges that lie ahead for the President elect. Obama will need to deal with a deepening economic crisis in addition to the many foreign policy issues such as the continuing Iraqi war. He commented that Obama’s first and foremost challenge will be getting a grip on the economy, and ensuring Americans keep their homes and their jobs. He commented that two things drive politics in the US; that is Americans are very optimistic and highly practical. ‘When the economy is bad, that’s all that matters’ he added.

Shields spoke openly about his thoughts on the losing party in this election also. Commenting that the Democratic candidate had successfully engaged young voters, Hispanic voters and African American voters the speaker pointed to the success of McCain in attracting votes from the over 65 age group. Using an analogy which provoked laughter from the audience; Shields remarked that Democratic voters were moving from rooms to apartments to houses, while Republican voters were moving from houses to rooms in nursing homes to funeral homes. He reflected on this generational problem as the ‘reality of election 2008’ for the Republican Party.

A question from the floor queried America’s lessening place in the world, referred to as the Post America Era. Shields stated that Obama is the transition to a new place, one where America can cooperate with other countries to achieve a consensus. He commented the reality of the ongoing situation in Iraq has made Americans realise that there is no ‘American solution’ and added that it was certainly ‘not found at the end of the barrel of a gun’.

Wrapping up, Mr Shields remarked that the November 4th election authorized him to feel good about his country adding that it allowed America to put ‘its saddest and most shameful chapter’ of its history behind it. ‘The psychological change will be enormous’ he concluded.

Joke

A joke from an unnamed blogger...

What do you call a dinosaur with a very large vocabulary?

Thesaurus

Nice thought for the day

Google told me this today so I thought why not share its warm and fuzzy words:

'Feel good about yourself. When you feel good, you look good. People are attracted to and feel comfortable with people who respect themselves. Liking yourself and respecting yourself doesn't mean you are conceited, it just shows others that you care about your body. A fun, light personality makes everyone comfortable. Be yourself, be warm to others, and feel great. Soon enough, others are bound to notice'

Wanted: Richard Bruton for Taoiseach

Is Bruton going to be the next Taoiseach?


A poll published on Saturday by the Irish Times/TNS mrbi asked which of the two Fine Gael senior figures, Enda Kenny or Richard Bruton would be a better leader in this economic downturn. Mr Kenny is of course the current leader of Fine Gael but only received 28% of voters first preference. Bruton has emerged as a very competent senior figure in FG in these testing economic times and support for him is clearly evident in the 46% of respondents that opted for him. Some 26% had no opinion either way. Bruton formerely worked as an economist and would therefore have a great deal of knowledge about the economics of a downturn and more importantly would possibly be better equipped to get us out of this horrible mess.


So as support falls rapidly for the current Fianna Fail government a chance for Fine Gael to return to power might be emerging. But now there's this poll result which suggests the public prefer someone who is not leader to be leader. Interesting dilemma huh?


Fine Gael have been terribly quick to quash this one. Amongst Fine Gael voters the balance evens out with 46% support for Bruton and Kenny. Members of the party have spoken out to dispel rumours that a change in leadership might be a possibility. Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South-East) said Fine Gael was doing well in polls stating 'I am very happy with Enda Kenny and his leadership. There is no question of a leadership contest. It is not going to arise for us'


I smell trouble here.... watch this space

Best Obama Front Page Award

I've been looking back over the newspapers I purchased on November 5th- the day after Barack Obama was elected the 44th President of the USA- and have decided my award for 'Best Obama Front Page' goes to the Evening Herald. My criteria was pretty simple - I favoured the newspaper that had the most 'frameable' front page. That translated into a great graphic with a simple headline. Amongst the papers I purchased were Evening Herald, Irish Times, Irish Independent and The Guardian. On Nov 4th there was much fuss in the media about buying that famous front page and keeping it in a safe place.... I was definitely a little disappointed with some front pages on what was an inherently historic day.

Some of the other more traditional broadsheets ran with terribly informative headlines. But that's not really what it was about on Nov 5th. On the morning after an African American (just as much Caucasian really but that's another day's work) is elected to US President, do we really want to see a headline about the mammoth task that lies ahead for him? NO! Personally I was yelling loudly (in my head of course) and emphatically at the stacks of a certain newspaper that ran a cumbersome headline on just that. Not today people, maybe tomorrow!!! November 5th should have been about savouring history in the making, not policy chatter!

The Herald won hands down in my estimation with their entire front page dedicated to Obama's win. A full page image of Obama with the simple words Mr President across the front to match. A great addition to the spread was a well chosen extract from Obama's memorable speech that read 'it's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this date in this election at this defining moment, change has come to America'.

Well done to the folks at the Herald! (And to the greatness that is Barack Obama too). Round two takes place on January 21st so get your game on eds!

Rip Off Ireland

It's definitely alive and well. Despite the media and the public kicking up a fuss about price differentials between Euro and Sterling prices, most notably seen between Dublin and Newry stores, ripoff Ireland roars on. A few weeks ago I purchased a bag in a high street chain which cost me €51. That night I discovered the Sterling price online was just £30. Seems a bit off doesn't it? It's well off! At the time of writing £30 is equal to just €35. So where is the other €16 going? A little bit for the increased labour costs we hear so much about. But that's still a huge price difference. So anyway in defiance of rip off Ireland, I purchased the same bag for £30 in England last week and returned the old one in town tonight. When asked was there anything wrong with the bag or did it just not suit, I simply replied; 'well when I saw it was £30 online I wasn't very impressed' so I'm returning this. To which the assistant replied 'sure that always happens doesn't it' ...... not in my wallet!

So lesson is shop around and convert those prices!

More Lisbon!

Will the chatter about the Lisbon treaty rejection ever end? Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheal Martin is reportedly not impressed at the comments of Vaclav Klaus, Czech President. He called Mr Klaus' comments 'inappropriate'. Mr Klaus was in Dublin to meet with Libertas organiser, Declan Ganley, who opposed the Lisbon treaty.

But , do the Irish people care about the Lisbon Treaty anymore? Its arguable that we never did care about it anyway. Is it too much for the Irish people to handle? Or do we just not like the EU taking more control of our affairs? Ultimately, these times are testing the old Boston vs Berlin question- are we really happy to be increasingly enveloped in the gigantic union that is the EU?

Another Innocent Death

Yet another innocent person has been killed by the pointless feuding between gangs in Limerick. It starting to seem like the Film Gangs of New York in this country lately. Shane Geoghegan was killed in a case of mistaken identity as he tried to flee his pursuers on Sunday night in Dooradoyle, Limerick. The 28 year old was shot a number of times before dying in the corner of a back garden. according to the Limerick Leader Geoghegan was a 'well-respected member of his community and a team leader at Garryowen FC who was highly regarded by his teammates'. Shane led the team to victory in the 2007/2008 Gleeson League.

The Government has pledged to provide all resources to stamp out gangland crime in Ireland, but this is the seventh such incident where an innocent life has been claimed by these violent people since 2002. The Irish Independent today reports each victim's tragic death at http://www.independent.ie/national-news/in-the-line-of-fire-innocent-victims-of-gang-slaughter-1532771.html.

Enough...

Beyonce Offers Obama a Song

AP reports Beyonce has offered to sing at Barrack Obama's inauguration in Washington DC on January 20th. Obama will be 44th president of the United States. Beyonce said 'Whatever they want — if they need me to volunteer, they need me to sing, I'm there, and I'm ready'. Clearly a big fan of Obama, she cancelled promotions in Japan scheduled for last Tuesday to witness history in the making. Beyonce gushed 'I've never been so patriotic! I'm just beyond excited'...

Could be a very interesting inauguration!

Has the World Changed Again?

Just over seven years ago we claimed 'the world will never be the same again'. The fall of the twin towers on September 11th 2001 brought a whole new reality to the lives of those living the dream in the developed or so called 'first' world. No longer could we ignore the nastiness that went on in other parts of the world. Terrorist violence was now in our back garden. But more importantly it was now in the American back garden. That garden contained a pool, a jacuzzi, a bbq and certainly no space existed for the harsh reality that arrived that fateful morning. But since last Tuesday's momentus events I've been wondering has the world changed again? The US general public electing an African American to the role of Commander in Chief is one of those historic moments that is likely to never be forgotten. Unlike 9/11 it will be remembered for positive reasons. Hopefully in a decade we will look back and remember it being the start of something amazing.

Obama embodies everything that the world (outside of the US) looks for in a US President. But it took Americans a little longer to catch on to what makes a good leader. It is not someone who tops the 'beer vote' or is like you or me. As a colleague pointed out, do you really want someone just like yourself running a highly powerful country like the US? Hmmm, probably not. 11/04/08 will likely be remembered as the day the wheels started moving. 01/20/09 will be remembered as the day it all began and a new beginning gripped America.

Obama is the man for job, and luckily he appears to have most of the world behind him.

Ryanair Landings

After an emergency landing at Ciampino airport ended flight FR4102's journey today, it seems a good time for me to comment on landings on Ryanair flights. I flew to London Luton on Friday and was appalled at the abrupt landing. It felt like the equivalent of rounding a corner at 80kmph. To add to the danger the runway was very wet and it was windy. As we approached the runway I suspected the landing would be a little on the unstable side but couldn't have expected that everyone on the plane would need to push against the seat in front on landing. Ironically, as we wondered whether the plane would stop before the end of the runway, an annoucement in true Ryanair style boomed 'Thank you for flying Ryanair, you have been on another on-time flight' (we could have dealt with the 15 second delay required for a smoother landing thanks).

Could have been a once off? Well perhaps, but the return flight landing from Luton was of a similarly speedy fashion!