USA and 'soccer'

Let's be honest, all jokes aside, the USA had a pretty good World Cup tournament. While I might muse that three players- Donovan, Dempsey and Howard- are the entire team, they did infact top the group England called EASY (lol). The USA proved they were a decent team, and seemed to attract the support of the US public, even if it is a sport they call 'soccer' and remain highly suspicious of.

But if the USA ever wonders why the rest of the world refuses to take it seriously in footie terms they might be well advised to avoid printing headlines like this...

The Obama Jacket

I meant to write about this over a month ago but I'm only remembering to do it now. It's interesting so still worth writing about!

When I spotted this ad in Times Square early in January it struck me that something was a little off... Obama looked quite relaxed and casual so it didn't seem like the government had erected this billboard. Closer inspection revealed this billboard was actually an advertisement for a clothing company!

Located at the corner of 41st and 7th Ave in the centre of Times Square this billboard created it's fair share of controversy. The billboard showed a picture of President Obama at the Great Wall during his November 2009 visit to China. He appears to be wearing a Weatherproof jacket, which the company called the 'Obama jacket'.

When this advertisement went up over the door of Red Lobster on January 6th it instantly attracted attention. The main question being: can a company really use the President for advertising purposes? That question doesn't have a definitive answer it seems. The White House commented there is 'a longstanding policy disapproving of the use of the president’s name and likeness for commercial purposes'.

Still the Weatherproof dragged their feet on the matter for a few days, presuming to lap up the ensuing publicity the affair was creating. The New York Times reported Weatherproof President Freddie Stollmack as saying 'not being an attorney — I’m being, really, a designer, merchandiser guy in the apparel business — I would leave that to the attorneys or whatever. We’re not saying President Obama endorses Weatherproof apparel'.

Discussions held the following week resulted in the company agreeing to take the billboard down, as a goodwill gesture to The White House.

However, the ad proved it's worth even in one week and Weatherproof got even more than they'd hoped for. And really it's a publicity stunt even audacious Micheal O'Leary would be proud of.

IRISH TIMES GO SUPPLEMENT 13 FEB 2010

Some advice if you’re heading for New Orleans

HAVING CELEBRATED its first Super Bowl win last weekend, New Orleans is on a high that will make this year’s Mardi Gras even more colourful than usual. This weekend the city will be decked out in the traditional festival colours of gold, purple and green, adding even more vibrancy to the Big Easy, aka Nola and the Crescent City. (Whatever you call it, you should pronounce it Nu Orlins if you want to sound like an authentic southerner.)

The Big Easy is extremely compact, and you’ll likely stay at a hotel within walking distance of everything you will want to see and do. We stayed at the Country Inns Suites, on Magazine Street, and paid a very reasonable $400 for four nights.

Canal Street marks the entry point into the French Quarter for most visitors. It’s also home to a place many visitors will recall: Louisiana Superdome. In the weeks after Hurricane Katrina destroyed the city, in 2005, thousands of locals sought refuge in the arena. Half a decade later it’s clear that New Orleans is making a strong recovery. What’s more, sports such as rugby and lacrosse are growing in popularity, as young people return to the city with skills learned in the places they temporarily relocated to after the devastation.

Your first stop in the Big Easy should be Café du Monde, to taste New Orleans at its best. A stone’s throw from the Mississippi, in the French Market area, this cafe has been serving coffee and beignets since 1862. Served three at a time, beignets – pronounced ben-yay – will tantilise every taste bud. These square doughnuts are reportedly best with milky coffee, but I found hot chocolate a good complement.Visitors to New Orleans will find a lingering urge to revisit Café du Monde, so it’s good to know it’s open around the clock every day except Christmas Day.

The French Market sells everything you might want to own or eat in a Mediterranean setting. The oldest city market in the US, it has been in operation since 1791.

Across the street you’ll find artists lining up their work on the railings of Jackson Square, and if you ask nicely they might even do a piece of work for you while you wait. A statue of Andrew Jackson, seventh president of the United States, is the main focus of this square, which is overlooked by the impressive 18th-century St Louis Cathedral, the oldest continuously active Catholic church in the US.

A walk back towards the Mississippi will bring you to the waterfront area. The steamboat Natchez stands in its red and white finery at the nearby dock. The oldest original vessel of its type on the Mississippi, it now offers lunch and dinner cruises. Having taken the $64.50 (€47) dinner jazz cruise, I would guess that the lunchtime cruise, at $24.50 (€18) – and an extra $10 for lunch – is likely to give you more bang for your buck.

In New Orleans you need to think more about what to eat than where to eat. Besides beignets, seafood dishes abound, as does Creole cuisine. Dishes you’re likely to see on menus include thick, spicy étouffée stew, gumbo seafood stews and po’boy sandwiches. If you’ve space left, try bananas Foster; the fruit is fried in butter, brown sugar, dark rum and banana liqueur, then topped with vanilla ice cream. Good stuff.

As New Orleans is the home of jazz, you should catch one of the free performances in the French Market. The jazz scene is just one aspect of the city’s vibrant nightlife; Bourbon Street throbs with revellers on weekend nights. Make sure to try a strong, fruity hurricane cocktail – first mixed in Pat O’Brien’s French Quarter bar.

I’m not normally a fan of guidebooks’ further-afield pages, but just a few minutes outside New Orleans lie the natural wonders of the bayou. We took a Grey Line tour with an experienced guide who pointed out alligators, turtles and raccoons from the safety of our flat- bottomed metal boat. I won’t spoil it by revealing the guide’s final card, but let’s just say you get a chance to experience the creatures of the bayou up close and personal by the end of the tour.

Go there

Aer Lingus (aerlingus.com), with its partner jetBlue, flies to New Orleans from Dublin and Shannon via New York. Delta (delta.com) flies via Atlanta from Dublin. Its Shannon routes opens in May.
mardigrasneworleans.com

To tell us where you’ve been, e-mail go@irishtimes.com

(my own photo is above, a different photo was used in the supplement)

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/travel/2010/0213/1224264307022.html

Bye Coco... it's been great

Conan O'Brien has ended his run as host of The Tonight Show, after a mere seven months in the hotseat. O'Brien took over the role of host in the summer of 2009 when Jay Leno stepped down and took an earlier slot with his 'Jay Leno Show'. But ratings soon began to slip for both the Tonight Show and the Jay Leno Show.

Rumblings of problems within NBC became public several weeks back, with a nasty battle airing all over the airwaves. The issue of O'Brien's hosting of the Tonight Show emerged following rumours that NBC affilates were threatening to pull the Jay Leno show from their schedules, due to the dismal ratings. Feeling trapped, NBC apparently decided to throw the decision to the public and allowed the nasty tit for tat battle to work itself out in the US media. Ironically though, both Leno and O'Brien remained professional throughout the mess, preferring to take shots at NBC rather than each other. However, it became increasingly clear as the weeks progressed that O'Brien was not going to emerge as the winner.

O'Brien agreed an exit deal with NBC on Thursday, gaining $30 million in his back pocket for this straining experience. His also made sure that his production team were well compensated. O'Brien was reportedly concerned his staff should be well compensated given that they had all moved themselves and their families from New York to LA just seven months ago. His deal paved the way for $12 million dollars to be divided between his 200 strong team.

Despite the ongoing negotiations this week, the Tonight Show proceeded, but with a sense that the end was very near. Celebs dropped to show support, but there was the added backdrop of the disastrous situation in Haiti as symbolic of 'real problems' outside of this entertainment bubble. Nonetheless O'Brien, Leno and guests of the shows have thrown a fair few jibes NBC's way. Thursday night guest Robin Williams got in on the act, telling O'Brien, "You've only been host for seven months, It's an annulment. Except you got screwed."

Tom Hanks, Neil Young and Will Ferrell joined O'Brien on his last night as host of the Tonight Show. Steve Carell of the Office joined O'Brien for an 'exit interview'. A clearly emotional Conan gave these parting words as the show closed at 12.30pm EST on Friday night;

'Making this choice has been enormously difficult.. I do not regret one second of anything'. Despite the extremely difficult time O'Brien has had at the hands of NBC in recent weeks he remained upstanding and professional, and most of all genuine;

'I've worked with NBC for over twenty years... I'm enormously proud of the work we've done together and want to thank NBC for making that possible'. He continued "this is the best job in the world, I absolutely love doing it ... I did it my way, with people I love and I do not regret a second. I've had more good fortune than anyone I know."

Getting increasingly emotional he urged fans of the show, especially younger viewers, not to be cynical stating 'Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you’re kind, amazing things will happen'.

Will Ferrell closed out the show with a singing/comedic performance, as Conan and the house band accompanied. Leno will resume hosting of the Tonight Show on March 1st. O'Brien is free to begin work at any network from September 1st, and early reports suggest he may move to Fox.

It remains to be seen whether NBC can recover from the disastrous publicity it brought on itself in recent weeks. While it's often said any publicity is good publicity, this might just prove to be the exception to the rule.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Avatar and UP win at the Globes

8.02pm
The 67th Golden Globes are officially underway in Los Angeles, in the international ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Unusually for LA, rain has been plentiful on the red carpet tonight. Ricky Gervais, creator of the Office is hosting tonight's festivities! He's just pointed out that Steve Carell gets all his ideas from Gervais ideas. The NBC fiasco of late has already been mentioned by the not so subtle wit of Gervais 'let's get on with the show before NBC replace me with Jay Leno').

8.07pm
Nicole Kidman presented BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE, it goes to... Mo'Nique, for Precious... who said 'thank you God for this amazing ride'

8.11pm
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES, COMEDY OR MUSICAL goes to...
Toni Collette, for United States of Tara

8.20pm
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION goes to...
John Lithgow, for Dexter

8.22pm
'Animation is not just for children, it's for adults who take drugs' says Paul McCartney as he presents the award BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM... it goes to...
UP

8.33pm
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES, DRAMA goes to...
Michael C. Hall, Dexter (seriously competitive category; the other nominees were Simon Baker for The Mentalist, Jon Hamm for Mad Men, Hugh Laurie for House and Bill Paxton for Big Love).

8.37pm
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES, DRAMA goes to...
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife (her first win, but previously nominated six times for roles including her long run as Nurse Hathaway in ER)

8.42pm
Harrison Ford (looking decidedly uncomfortable) introduces Up in the Air

8.45pm
Cher and Christina Aguilera present the award for BEST ORIGINAL SONG.. it goes to...
"The Weary Kind," Music & Lyrics by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett (Crazy Heart)

8.48pm
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE goes to...
Michael Giacchino, Up

8.55pm
BEST MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION goes to...
Grey Gardens

8.58pm
Tom Hanks introduces Julie and Julia... and makes a jibe at Meryl Streep, Stanley Tucci and Alec Baldwin and then says 'hey everybody can take a joke!'

9.00pm
The lovely Colin Farrell presents the award for BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE, COMEDY OR MUSICAL, it goes to...
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia (she was also nominated in this category for It's Complicated)

9.10pm
Helen Mirren introduces 'Precious'

9.12pm
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION goes to...
Kevin Bacon, Taking Chance

9.13pm
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Drew Barrymore, Grey Gardens (she was seriously flustered- acting maybe?!?!?!)

9.21pm
Cameron Diaz introduces It's Complicated

9.24pm
Gerard Butler and Jennifer Aniston present the award for BEST SCREENPLAY... it goes to... Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner, Up in the Air

9.26pm
Ashton Kucher and Jennifer Gardner present the award for BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES, COMEDY OR MUSICAL.. it goes to...
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock (not present to collect award)

9.36pm
Samuel L Jackson introduces Sophia Loren (who gets a standing ovation). She presents the award for BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM which goes to...
The White Ribbon (Germany)

9.37pm
BEST TELEVISION SERIES, DRAMA goes to...
Mad Men

9.45pm
Taylor Lautner introduces the most realistic movie of all time '500 Days of Summer'

9.47pm
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION goes to...
Chloe Sevigny, Big Love

9.51pm
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

10.04pm
Leo DiCaprio and Robert DiNiro present Martin Scorsese with the Cecil B Demille Award

10.13pm
Jodi Foster introduces the Hurt Locker

10.15pm
Ricky Gervais 'I like a drink as much as the next man, unless the next man is Mel Gibson'
Mel Gibson presents BEST DIRECTOR
James Cameron, Avatar

10.20pm
BEST TELEVISION SERIES, COMEDY OR MUSICAL goes to
Glee

10.25pm... The Hangover boys and Mike Tyson introduce The Hangover

10.27pm... Reese Witherspoon presents the award for BEST MOTION PICTURE, COMEDY OR MUSICAL... it goes to...
The Hangover

10.33pm
Arnie introduces Avatar

10.36pm
Mickey Rourke presents BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA... it goes to...
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side

10.40pm
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE, COMEDY OR MUSICAL goes to...
Robert Downey Jr., Sherlock Holmes

10.48pm
Kate Winslet presents BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA... it goes to..
Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart

10.57pm
Julia Roberts presents the big one - BEST MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA - it goes to...
Avatar

James Cameron 'this is the best job in the world, give it up for yourselves, we make entertainment for a global audience, that's what the Golden Globes mean'.... 'Avatar tells us all human beings are connected to each other, and we are all connected to the earth'

Spotted:
The Edge, Justin Long, Pierce Brosnan, Joshua Jackson,

Funny how some people are rushed off the stage in seconds, and others (like Meryl Streep) can ramble for as long as they want! Equality but much!!!

NOW TO THE OSCARS!!!!!!!!!

Devastation in Haiti

Many New Yorkers have been left reeling from this morning's earthquake in Haiti. Some sources estimate there are 122,000 Haitian's living in New York City alone. New Yorkers have been attempting to contact relatives in Haiti, but reports say telephone coverage has all but been wiped out due to destroyed phone towers.

The earthquake, measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale, hit about 10 miles southwest of the capital Port au Prince at 5pm on Tuesday. It was followed by a series of strong 4.5 aftershocks. The quake was the worst to hit the region in 200 years with initial reports suggest thousands have died with no upper limit on the potential loss of life.

Trusted and reliable organisations that spring into action are being challenged in the face of this disaster. The UN's office in Haiti was destroyed in the earthquake, with up to 140 staff missing and others confirmed dead. Among the confirmed dead are chief of the UN mission, Hédi Annabi.

This video was aired by CBS news this evening and shows the aftermath through amateur video



Doctors Without Borders have said their and other medical facilities are badly damaged and non functioning. Make shift clinics have been set up to cope with the surging demand for medical care. MSF's Stefano Zannini, on the ground in Haiti, said 'I visited five medical centers, including a major hospital, and most of them were not functioning. Many are damaged and I saw a distressing number of dead bodies. Some parts of the city are without electricity and people have gathered outside, lighting fires in the street and trying to help and comfort each other'.

Meanwhile Denis O'Brien owned Digicel, which provides mobile telephone services in the Carribean island, has pledged $5 million towards NGO's involved in rescue and relief efforts.



(map from New York Times)

How to Rest in Peace

CSI, Law and Order, Criminal Minds etc are all extremely popular shows on Irish and American television. This is a really great documentary from NPR in Chicago which was aired as part of This American Life in 2007. It tells the story of people for whom murder has been all too real in their lives. Well worth a listen.

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?sched=1331

Security in the Skies

While every headline in Europe talks about the disastrous winter, American headlines have tended to reference recent episodes of trouble in the skies or trouble at airports.

I watched with astonishment this week as the story of how explosives ended up on a plane to Dublin unravelled. But more about that later. Following the Christmas Day attempt to blow up a Detroit bound plane,Americans are clearly rattled and panic stations are engaged again. Stories of planes turning back due to 'disruptive passengers' keep surfacing and notably, most of these 'disruptive' passengers are just ones who refuse to come out of the bathroom (probably for a good natural reason!).

But the story of the week here centered on a weekend security breach at Newark airport, in New Jersey. It's hard to tell who exactly should be scolded in this story.. the guy who went into an area he knew he shouldn't or the security guard who left his post and facilitated the man in doing so. Here's the video so you can see for yourself what happened-



It wasn't spotted on the Port Authority's airport camera's at the time, but Continental Airlines camera's did pick it up. Clearly someone in a control room saw it on a camera because within minutes Newark airport was shut down as every cop in the tri-state area was dragged in to find this man. Everyone who was sitting on a plane waiting to pull away from the gate and everyone who was air side was sent back outside security and told to go through it all again. News channels here were suggesting 10,000 people were affected by that move, and television pictures of thousands queuing seemed to suggest that was true.

News came Friday night that after days of searching for the person in the video footage, a man named Haison Jiang, 28, has been arrested and now faces a charge of defiant trespass. It's really a pretty harmless incident, and there's no question of any malicious intent on Jiang's part. But one thing is for certain; it's pretty embarrassing to have someone stroll air-side so easily when the US government is arguing 24/7 that full body scanners are essential. It really makes me think that there's no need for all this equipment if people working in airports were really watching people's behaviour.

Given the reaction to this incident in the US the Slovakian government should thank their luck that the misplaced explosives ended up on a flight to Dublin and not New York....

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Happiness in a Cup in NYC

Anyone who knows me will know how much I enjoy an Insomnia hot chocolate. The drink is made with Lily O Brien chocolate so it truly is scrumptious. Wandering around mid-town Manhattan yesterday I was delighted to spot a Lily O'Briens cafe right by Bryant Park on 42nd Street. And what do they serve there? You guessed it! A version of the amazing Lily's hot chocolate served at Insomnia. YUMMY. Made my day to get one of those bad boys, and although not quite as good as the Insomnia one, it's probably the best hot chocolate in NYC. It's steep at $6 per cup but that includes a Lily's chocolate!

Depression Linked to Sleep?

I've just read an interesting article on BBC on the links between depression and amount of sleep.

In a study of 15,500 teens between the ages of 12-18 years, those who got less than five hours sleep per night were 71% more likely to suffer from depression.Of the 15,500 studied, those who went to bed after midnight were 24% more likely to have depression than those who went before 10pm.

Worse still, those who had less than five hours sleep a night were thought to have a 48% higher risk of suicidal thoughts compared with those who had eight hours of sleep.

The study published in the Sleep journal, was conducted by researchers from Columbia University Medical Center in New York and looked at data collected in the 1990s.

Chaos in the North American skies

North American airports once again possess the tension filled atmosphere only felt before in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. Long security lines and cancelled flights greeted holidaymakers at airports around North America today. Traditionally a day for post Christmas getaways and flights back to reality, today was not a good day to be an airline passenger.

Security has increased dramatically, fueled by the Christmas Day incident on board a KLM flight from Amsterdam to Detroit in which a man tried to detonate an explosive device. Security officials appeared to be unsure exactly what rules are now in place, suggesting at one point that no wheelie suitcase were permitted, leaving to a mass check-in of cabin sized suitcases. The new rules so far apply mainly to flights bound for the US. Despite the pressures on staff and passengers, everyone appeared to be in good spirits and willing to co-operate.

The scene in Terminal 1 at Pearson Airport in Toronto was reminiscent of this chaos. Flying to the US means that technically you enter the US in Toronto airport, which brings a host of security issues. Every passenger was patted down, hair inspected, laptops checked for explosives traces on the spot, shoes and coats off, feet checked, one carry-on bag only.... etc. While I waited a long time to make my connection, I spoke to other people who, beginning their journey in Toronto, had spent up to 6 hours checking in and doing security. As a result almost every flight on the board was either delayed or cancelled.

Going on standby for a later flight is further complicated by the requirement to exit the air side area, collect baggage and do the security procedure again.

Flying is certainly not going to be an enjoyable experience for the foreseeable future.

Working Hard to Stay Poor?

Last summer I produced a documentary entitled Working Hard to Stay Poor. It charts the success and failures of our social welfare system in terms of incentives to work, poverty traps and helping those who need it.

The documentary aired on Sunday night on Newstalk and will be repeated this Sunday night at 9pm also.

The podcast is available here



(pic from rte.ie)

Ryanair passenger + non allocated seating = lack of common sense

Ryanair seems to provide me with endless blogging opportunities. But it's neither madman CEO Micheal O'Leary nor the airline itself that's the topic here; rather Ryanair's passengers. Flying back from Spain last weekend I was struck, yet again, at the complete lack of rational behaviour of people who fly Ryanair. Or rather people when they fly Ryanair. The behaviour that just wouldn't be acceptable on Aer Lingus seems par for the course on Ryanair! But it happens before you even get on the plane.

So after arriving 45 minutes before boarding time to ensure three seats together, we queued nicely behind 25 or so people at the gate. Over the next thirty minutes, the queue grew, but not behind us as one would hope. No no, the majority of the other passengers felt queuing from the side would be more appropriate. So by the time the plane boarded (late I might add) a nice T shaped queue had developed. Some overly nice people towards the front of the queue decided to 'be nice' and allow these people go ahead. RESULT: the first 10-30 people in the queue were last to board. And Ryanair staff were not even remotely bothered by it.

Having watched the behaviour of passengers on Ryanair over recent years it seems clear to me that people do whatever they like on the pretense of 'getting a seat', forgetting that this is not a bus, and everyone does in fact have a seat!

Ryanair still insist that non allocated seating is the fastest way to board a plane, a stance which I question, given the chaos that reigns at the gate and on board.

Now I may be a cynic, but could it be that Ryanair loves this chaos as it may prompt you to buy priority boarding next time???

Happy rail times

Have taken a few trips with Irish Rail down the country recently I must confess that I'm very impressed with the whole affair. The €10 fares are an absolute steal when compared with the regular (over-priced) fares, but it seems to me that not many people are in fact taking advantage of the cheap fares available.... This observation is based on the fact that online booking gives you a seat allocation which is marked by a name tag on board the train. And I didn't see THAT many of those name tags to suggest people are getting the knockdown fares.

(I've been scolded by my friends for asking a little old lady to move out of my pre-booked seat, but I did in fact want my forward facing window seat. So did she evidently...)

The newer trains are so comfortable, with good snack and bathroom facilities. Certainly when cheap fares are on offer, I don't think many people would choose sitting in the car on a motorway for hours if they could sit, relax and enjoy the passing countryside on the train. The trains I have taken left exactly on time, and dare I say even arrived a few minutes early one time.

It seems Iarnrod Eireann are getting the hang of it. If we could extend these cheaper fares to most daily services (ie also peak travel) it would seem more plausible that we could encourage people on to public transport a bit more. After all, the Luas runs a highly efficient profit making system so why can't we do it for all other systems?

Common sense prevails for Crumlin

I'm thrilled to see that proposed ward closures at Crumlin hospital have been scrapped. But why does the government only cave in when the media creates some uproar? Surely closing childrens wards over a €10 million funding shortfall is ridiculous regardless of whether it angers the public or not.

Under the proposed plan several wards and theatres were to be closed, with resources cut for 7,000 fewer outpatient attendances.

In this day and age, banks are taking money left right and centre from the government, and taxpayers are forking out income levy payments week after week to keep the Exchequer afloat. So why does the government find it so hard to consider €10 million to keep the State's biggest childrens hospital at full capacity a worthy cause?

The government seems to be chipping away at small expenditure rather than tackling the big expensive issues like public service pay and social welfare expenditure.

Having spent many periods of time as a patient in Crumlin myself, I know the great work that is done there and in other hospitals around the country. Closing wards is not, and has never been, an answer to cutting costs. The concept that people waiting to be treated get sicker, therefore costing the health service more in the long term, seems to be lost on the HSE and government.

Surely such a highly educated bunch of people can come up with more innovative and effective ways to cut costs? The HSE suffers from over demand and under supply despite the huge amount of funding that is put into it. Bureaucratic issues aside, the HSE needs more money. How about charging medical card holders a small fee to use their medical card at the A&E department? And increasing that charge if the patient hasn't been referred by a GP?

The A&E is clogged on a daily basis by people who could be getting help elsewhere, from their GP or pharmacist for instance. Minor ailments have no place in the A&E, and we need to discourage people from using the A&E for this purpose.

Our Lady's Children's Hospital Crumlin is an acute paediatric teaching hospital with 248 beds, employing over 1,500 staff. It is Ireland's largest paediatric hospital and is responsible for the provision of the majority of tertiary care service for children including the national centre for cardiac surgery and haematology/oncology, major burns, medical genetics and medical research for childhood illnesses.

(Photograph Dara Mac Dónaill/The Irish Times)

Ryanair offers a break to heartbroken Munster fans

Who says Micheal O'Leary doesn't have a heart? Sure Ryanair may charge you for everything and play irratating bingo adverts mid-air but it seems Ryanair does have a softer side after all.

Ryanair is offering a losers refund to Munster fans who booked a flight to Scotland to watch the Heineken Cup final on May 23rd. After Leinster's shock crushing of Munster last weekend, it seems certain that many Munster fans were left with travel plans they no longer wanted.

Ryanair is offering up to a €100 refund per return flight (or a full refund of the return airfare if less than €100) to people who booked on to certain match time flights.

A full list of applicable flights is available at http://www.ryanair.com/site/IE/notices.php?notice=gops&code=090506-munster-refund-6may-GB

Just this morning, Ryanair announced that it would not implement a fat tax voted in by customers. Over 16,000 passengers voted in an online poll recently to identify how the airline should charge larger passengers.

Ryanair’s Stephen McNamara said 'over 30,000 Ryanair passengers called for a ‘fat tax’ for very large passengers. However, as all passengers will soon be checking in online we have no way of collecting a ‘fat tax’ without disrupting our un-rivalled punctuality and our 25 minute turnarounds'.

The Script to rock tonight's Trinity Ball

Dublin City Centre will be awash with tuxedos and party dresses tonight as thousands of students descend on Trinity for the 50th Trinity Ball.

The event is a staple in the social diary of Trinity students, with tickets available to students, graduates and staff of the college only. 8000 tickets were secured on the first day of sales on April 1st with all available tickets paid and secured within two days.

Ticketholders will be treated to a fantastic line up this year with performances from top Irish band The Script, Calvin Harris, Ladyhawke, Vitalic and Fight Like Apes amongst others. Headline band The Script are the hugely successful Irish band who will support Take That at Croke Park next month. The Script play the main stage at 12.10am.

Entry to the ball is between 10pm and midnight. Doors will close as usual at midnight. This year's ball will end at 5am.

Obama appears on The Tonight Show

President Barack Obama appeared on the Tonight Show last night and in doing so became the first sitting president to appear on a late night talk show. The Tonight Show, hosted by Jay Leno, is better known for interviewing film and music stars. But last night, Obama took to the couch to talk about the economy and his new life.

Early in the interview, Leno asks Obama to explain the problem with executives giving themselves generous bonuses in these times of economic strife. Obama easily explains the situation with regard to insurance giant AIG; and it makes you think how Bush might have hmmed and hawwed his way to a non responsive answer.

Presumably part of this appearance was designed to reach out to Americans who don't always watch the news, so it's hard to see how this couldn't be a success. But you can't please everyone as one quote I found online demonstrates;

'Does anyone care about how much of the tax payers money was used for Obama - his family and secret service - to take a trip to the Leno show? Doesn't he have anything better to do??? Great use of our money...'

If nothing else this appearance might make the American public see the value of getting politicians and leaders in front of TV cameras without the PR smokescreen of the White House Press Room. In other countries, leaders are routinely called to answer on television but this is largely something that has never caught on in the US. This is perhaps how GW Bush managed to blunder his way through two terms in the Oval Office without anyone really coming down on him.

When RTE's Carole Coleman interviewed George Bush back in 2004 the American media and public savaged her and RTE for essentially 'not being nice' to GWB. Her interview, while possibly slightly heavy handed, was exactly the kind of accountability that is missing in America. The American public took her style of questioning as lacking respect for the President. This was because she often interrupted GWB's incoherent ramblings to bring him back on track. Would we just call that style 'forcing leaders to be accountable'? This interview was like no other for GWB, and he is clearly bewildered by Coleman's approach as you can see here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fze2J2Ve9is

The full twenty five minute Obama/ Leno interview is available at http://www.nbc.com/The_Tonight_Show_with_Jay_Leno/video/clips/president-obama-319/1067541/

Simpsons episode fails to live up to hype

The 'Irish' Simpsons episode aired last night to much fanfare and anticipation. Sky One bagged the rights to air the episode some months back. The episode, the first to premier outside the US, saw the Simpson family take Grampa back to Ireland for a drink in O'Flanagan's pub. Set in the fictional village of Dunkilderry, the Simpsons are shocked to see how forward and modern Ireland has become and end up buying O'Flanagan's pub.

I had very much looked forward to seeing this episode, but like many others I suspect, was left disappointed by the inaccuracy of it all. It seemed that the episode, despite being screened in Europe first, was made completely for American audiences. If Obama is going to attempt to open up America to the rest of the world, this episode didn't help increase the knowledge factor whatsoever.

Some of the major gaffes which stand out as irritating, if not completely inaccurate are:

- Red double decker buses- since we're not in London, surely green or white buses could have been used?
- 'Police' vans- I know Americans wouldn't know what Gardai were but it hardly would have done them any harm to Wikipedia what Gardai are after watching the episode!
- Taco Bell and Bed, Bath and Beyond lookalike stores... we have enough American chains like Starbucks without insinuating others are on our shores too.

Overall, the episode was a disappointment. The effect of inaccuracies like those above were made all the more clear listening to four Americans conversing on the bus last night. The woman in her fifties, appearing well educated, uttered the words 'I was afraid they would all be speaking Gaelic here' to which her younger companion replied ' yeah me too, I think they might teach Gaelic in schools here'.... Ya think?!?

The following conversation in which the younger man attempted to guess what our emergency number was was even more disappointing! Guesses included 911, 987, 932 and 8532.... Oh dear.

Ryanair offer €1000 reward for best anti-passenger suggestion

Ryanair yesterday announced a €1000 reward for the best 'discretionary charge' suggestion. These type of charges have long been part of the Ryanair model with charges implented for airport check-in, checked baggage, food and drink.

Ryanair CEO, Micheal O'Leary, baffled and appalled passengers in recent weeks when he suggested the company was examining ways to charge passengers for using the onboard bathroom. O'Leary even went as far as to suggest he had been in talks with Boeing to explore whether coin operated slots could be placed on bathroom doors. Some days later, O'Leary conceded that the whole thing had been a publicity stunt.

Speaking at a tourism conference in Malahide on the 6th March O'Leary admitted 'It is not likely to happen, but it makes for interesting and very cheap PR'.

This Europe wide competition invites passengers to submit their most ingenious, wacky and creative ideas to Ryanair via the www.ryanair.com website to be in with a chance of winning a €1,000 cash prize.

Launching the competition , Ryanair’s Stephen McNamara said;
'Ryanair is Europe’s largest low fares airline and we plan to continue to reduce costs and fares by stimulating ancillary revenues'

Despite O'Leary's confession last week McNamara added 'since we confirmed that we are considering a toilet charge we have received a huge number of ancillary revenue suggestions from passengers and we want more. We are asking passengers to submit their ideas with the most creative winning €1,000 cash'

Passengers can submit their ideas by email to competition@ryanair.com before the 30th March 2009.

Full details @ http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/news.php?yr=09&month=mar&story=pro-en-120309