Maman Poulet

The Love That Dares To Speak Its Name

by James Kirkup

As they took him from the cross
I, the centurion, took him in my arms-
the tough lean body
of a man no longer young,
beardless, breathless,
but well hung.

He was still warm.
While they prepared the tomb
I kept guard over him.
His mother and the Magdalen
had gone to fetch clean linen
to shroud his nakedness.

I was alone with him.
For the last time
I kissed his mouth. My tongue
found his, bitter with death.
I licked his wound-
the blood was harsh

For the last time
I laid my lips around the tip
of that great cock, the instrument
of our salvation, our eternal joy.
The shaft, still throbbed, anointed
with death’s final ejaculation.

I knew he’d had it off with other men-
with Herod’s guards, with Pontius Pilate,
With John the Baptist, with Paul of Tarsus
with foxy Judas, a great kisser, with
the rest of the Twelve, together and apart.
He loved all men, body, soul and spirit – even me.

So now I took off my uniform, and, naked,
lay together with him in his desolation,
caressing every shadow of his cooling flesh,
hugging him and trying to warm him back to life.
Slowly the fire in his thighs went out,
while I grew hotter with unearthly love.

It was the only way I knew to speak our love’s proud name,
to tell him of my long devotion, my desire, my dread-
something we had never talked about. My spear, wet with blood,
his dear, broken body all open wounds,
and in each wound his side, his back,
his mouth – I came and came and came

as if each coming was my last.
And then the miracle possessed us.
I felt him enter into me, and fiercely spend
his spirit’s final seed within my hole, my soul,
pulse upon pulse, unto the ends of the earth-
he crucified me with him into kingdom come.

This is the passionate and blissful crucifixion
same-sex lovers suffer, patiently and gladly.
They inflict these loving injuries of joy and grace
one upon the other, till they die of lust and pain
within the horny paradise of one another’s limbs,
with one voice cry to heaven in a last divine release.

Then lie long together, peacefully entwined, with hope
of resurrection, as we did, on that green hill far away.
But before we rose again, they came and took him from me.
They knew what we had done, but felt
no shame or anger. Rather they were glad for us,
and blessed us, as would he, who loved all men.

And after three long, lonely days, like years,
in which I roamed the gardens of my grief
seeking for him, my one friend who had gone from me,
he rose from sleep, at dawn, and showed himself to me before
all others. And took me to him with the love that now forever dares to speak its name.

Oops I think Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern will feel I’d be breaking the law he wishes to introduce!

In 1976 the poem above was published in the UK in Gay News and the paper was convicted of blasphemous libel for publishing it. The editor Denis Lemon was fined £500 and sentenced to nine months in prison suspended for 18 months. Dermot Ahern obviously wants to empower Irish Mary Whitehouses, and Pat Rabbitte ridiculously enough seems to agree with him albeit with less of a smack on the wrist.

Well friends send me your blasphemy – the queerer the better. I may even publish it…

And read Carol Coulter’s column on why the proposal is a load of rubbish.

(My friend the poet can close her mouth now – and maybe write a poem about the immaculate conception and the role of lesbian crones or something!)

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Mannix Flynn is a writer, actor, survivor, artist, and speaker out against bullshit. (My description)

He’s running as an independent candidate in Dublin South East Inner City.

He’s originally from York Street, lives in Kerry and I hope there are more videos of singing and speaking out in the weeks to come.

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When I heard about the HSE briefing opportunities for key media informers I was mildly impressed. Ok so I wasn’t too keen on Gerald Kean, but I  think that it is a good idea for people who ‘talk’ about issues on the media to be informed about the issues and many companies and private lobby groups do this all the time.  Listening to radio and watching television discussion programmes I am frequently enraged by the amount of bullshit key commentators come out with on health service issues.

I was impressed this morning by the HSE strategy because most of the people who talk about the HSE and how terrible it is wouldn’t know a waiting list or a public hospital ward or public health nurse. They are far more likely to be private health care consumers and would not know much about the way in which public health services are delivered to the 50% of the population (including yours truly) who wait for treatment and share resources or are sick.

I think that the HSE need to look at who they are talking to and talk to some bloggers! And I think they need to do some listening!  First in the queue would be someone like Steph from The Biopsy Report – an ‘expert by experience’ who is the most knowledgeable person blogging on the health service and health policy in the Republic.

The HSE said today it talks to patient advocacy groups also – but I’m one of the people that would be first to say that they are very last century  in terms of their reach and remit.  Instead it’s time to talk to Red Mum about the cervical cancer vaccine issue and the thousands of people she gathered together on Facebook.

Many other people blog about health and the health of their children – they have audiences and they have ideas. There are online spaces including boards.ie, facebook groups etc. which the HSE need to monitor and listen to and give people the chance to ask questions and become informed about health policy and health service delivery.

These are the spaces which are the most active whereas I belive the patient advocacy groups are small confined and closed spaces providing a few people with jobs claiming to represent others.  The new media are the new key informers and the communications officers in the HSE need to catch up fast in informing and being informed by those who are experts in experience as service users and commentators online.

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The economy may be in its boots throughout the world and the country in a big big mess (reading the ESRI report today is not for the queasy). However Bertie Ahern and his Office of the Iar Taoiseach are still finding invites to talk about the economic miracle that he (says he) was responsible for and the peace process. The Bertie Earner is back!

Last week Bertie was near the Niger Delta in Nigeria attending a South-South Economic Summit holding at the Tinapa Business and Resort Centre, Calabar.  He was invited there by politicians and media  to enrich discussions on two fronts –

sharing his experience of rapid economic development and job creation under his watch in Ireland as well as the peace process he negotiated along with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair to bring about lasting solution to the Northern Ireland political crisis.

But Bertie was not resolved at merely remembering times past! Ah No!

The Prime Minister of Ireland from 1997 to 2008, Hon. Bertie Ahern has recommended the strategy used in resolving the three- decade long Northern Ireland conflict between the nationalist and unionist communities in the European country, for resolving the Niger Delta crisis.

Ahern made the suggestion at a luncheon sponsored by THISDAY Newspapers during the first South-South Regional Economic Summit which ended in Calabar, Cross River State yesterday.

But one of the Nigerian State Governors in attendance at the summit was not really on for the peace strategy outlined by Mr. Ahern -

He was busy outlining the death penalty he was going to organise for those militants captured….

…as Ahern was offering solutions to the Niger Delta crisis, Governor Akpabio vowed to kill all suspected militants in his state, stressing that they were mere criminals parading as militants in the state.

…”I have submitted a bill for the death sentence for anyone that carries a gun to terrorize another citizen. I am going to kill them. We have to put everything in place to safeguard the future of our children.

As for the economy well Bertie Ahern went into sean-nos mode remembering of the lore which is Irish fiscal rectitude!

“It’s a great achievement for our people that we went beyond what was probable to what was possible by taking our destiny in our hands.

The best way to maximise benefits in a society is to encourage people to produce more. Ireland’s competitiveness is underpinned by the fact there was consistent investment in infrastructure.”

Ahern stressed that it’s important for the government to allow the private sector take the lead in driving the economy.

No mention of pension and income levies or the hit he will take if his ministerial pension is removed while he remains a TD.

And like his last Bertie Earner, The Iar Taoiseach hightailed it back to Dublin in time for a special event which this time was the Fianna Fáil Commemoration at Arbour Hill and as Miriam Lord notes today he was voting in the Dáil last night.

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You can read Cian’s ‘analysis’ of Deirdre de Burca and the arrival of the pantsuit in Irish Electoral politcs on IrishElection.com

But I’m reeling from the fact that I got a mention in a Green Party press release and it was a nice one! I still can’t figure out how pointing to some very slight similarity to a campaign of a candidate from another party in another constituency is a goer but hey it’s election season (can you tell I’m getting excited!) and anything goes seemingly.

By all means keep pointing to FineGael.ie and how much it not only looks like the BBC website but also how Irish bloggers nailed the party and it’s cogging and hope the story will disappear – unlike the website which is as boring now as it was when launched.

PS: Green Party HQ what press lists am I on with you anyway? Am I not signed up to the lot – I never got the press release I actually starred in! If you could fix it that I hear all utterances I’d be most grateful

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When word went out earlier that Jim Corr was going to be on the Last Word on Todayfm you could hear radio switches click and kettles boil in anticipation. It is nearly a year since we were all agog listening to Jim’s intervention into the Lisbon Treaty Campaign.

Well Jim was back today to tell Matt Cooper he was right and the world is imploding – and we’ll end up with a world government, world currency and some sort of global domination and control freakery. You can listen to it here.

Now this interview was only one part of my audio feast today because as I slumbered this morning I happened to wake up to the Northside tones of one Royston Brady on Newstalk with Ger and Claire. (No sign of Ivan yet thank goddess, Ger Gilroy is bravely battling on – more about eh, Ivan, eh soon!)

Now if you think a Corr Brother is a bit off the wall well a Brady Brother is not too far behind if you listen to this assessment (file embedded below). McCreevy is wanted back for a start, and Royston likes New Labour (whoever they were) if Fianna Fáil won’t have him back. (I noted that Ger or Claire tweeted that Royston was being very indiscreet off air – he continued on air in such a manner also. Actually I wonder if Royston is looking to be the tabloid Noel Whelan!)

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Amidst the hype on the junior minister resignations/sackings you may have missed a number of other news stories and spats at the Dáil returned from it’s Easter break.

Questions to Justice, Equality and Law Reform Minister Dermot Ahern (he who hogged Questions and Answers on Monday night last..) yesterday in the Dáil continued to focus on the the Equality Authority. Regular readers of the blog will know that this is a subject I return to on a regular basis.

At the Green Party Conference last month party Leader and Minister for the Enviroment John Gormley made a big issue about saving the Authority and I reported on the matter the night of his annoucement and asked a number of questions.

Yesterday members of the Opposition asked about he announcement made by Minister Gormley and if any jobs had actually been moved back to Dublin or stopped from moving to Roscrea. Pat Rabbitte also refers to the length of time it is taking to appoint a new CEO and that the Minister for Justice is looking for a safe person for the job.  (The verbal questions are follow ups to written questions asked late last month by Deputy Aengus O’Snodaigh (SF) where I questioned if the Green Party had been had.)

Charles Flanagan from Fine Gael also asked about the claim that Minister Gormley made to have had the cuts to the Authority’s budget (43%) reversed.  Dermot Ahern does not seem to have answered if his cabinet colleague was correct and was the saviour?

You have a read of the exchanges and see if you can deduce if the coalition partners were let up a garden path. Whilst the Minister says there will be no more staff moved and the budget would be reviewed there are already reviews undertaken which have not been published – possibly because they don’t appeal to the Ministers sensibilities?

72. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his policy in respect of the Equality Authority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14376/09]

76. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will confirm that the planned decentralisation of staff of the Equality Authority has been cancelled; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14246/09]

99. Deputy Arthur Morgan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if, further to Parliamentary Question No. 539 of 24 March 2009, he will confirm the statement (details supplied) that an independent review of the Equality Authority’s budget will be conducted; if so the make-up, form and timeframe of that review; if he will offer a guarantee that the 43% budget cut will be reversed and the extent to which it will be reversed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14196/09]

110. Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if, in regard to the speech (details supplied) he will outline those changes to the Equality Authority that have been reversed; the person by whom the review of funding of the Equality Authority will be carried out; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15585/09]

Deputy Dermot Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 72, 76, 99 and 110 together.

I am pleased to indicate that in launching its new strategic plan on 4 April 2009 for the period 2009 to 2011 entitled, Equality for All in a Time of Change, the Equality Authority fully reaffirmed its determination to continue its important work, while fully acknowledging the changed financial circumstances in which all public bodies operate. I extended my support for the policy contained in the strategic plan when I met the authority on the day of the launch of its plan. The plan highlights the positive contribution that an environment free from discrimination can make to competitiveness and economic recovery. The plan obliges the authority to participate actively in initiatives to promote policy for economic development and competitiveness through enhanced diversity and equality.

For the information of the House I can also state that, notwithstanding the general moratorium on the filling of public service vacancies, the recruitment of a new CEO for the authority is going ahead under the auspices of a public competition being organised by the Public Appointments Service. I am advised that there is a considerable level of interest in the post and therefore it will be some weeks yet before a candidate is selected for appointment under the normal statutory procedures.

As I previously indicated to the House, I recently agreed in principle to a request from the chair of the Equality Authority to suspend the transfer of staff from Dublin to Roscrea on the grounds of hardship. I asked my officials to work out the details on a case-by-case basis with the acting chief executive officer of the authority and to review the situation again in 2011 when other aspects of the wider decentralisation programme are due to be reviewed. Pending that review there will be no further increase in the number of staff in the Roscrea office of the authority, which will be 16.

The special group on public service numbers and expenditure programme will undertake an independent analysis of the position relating to the budget, efficiencies and capacity of the Equality Authority to independently and effectively fulfil its statutory functions. There is no predetermined outcome to that review. I expect the group to take the authority’s allocation in 2008 as its starting point given the significant changes that have taken place in the authority in the past 12 months.

Again, as I previously stated in the House, the Government is fully committed to the equality agenda and the ongoing work of the Equality Authority. Since it became fully operational in 1999 more than €45 million has been provided by the State for the activities of the Equality Authority alone. At least another €30 million was provided to other bodies – the Equality Tribunal and the Human Rights Commission – that have been involved in equality related issues in the past six to seven years.

Deputy Charles Flanagan:Will the Minister confirm whether the reply he just gave to the House is official Government policy or is it his policy on the issue? Was his colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy John Gormley, telling the truth at the recent Green Party conference in March when he stated he had succeeded in reversing the cuts to the Equality Authority, and that he had succeeded also in halting the decentralisation of the headquarters of the authority to Roscrea in County Tipperary? Is the Green Party now deciding policy in this issue or is the Minister, Deputy Gormley, being less than frank with the truth?

In respect of the Roscrea situation, are we now going to have two Equality Authority offices, the Minister, Deputy Gormley’s rump in Dublin, which he calls the headquarters and the Minister, Deputy Dermot Ahern’s decentralised offices in Roscrea? This shambles is of the Minister’s making and the sooner it is sorted the better.

Deputy Dermot Ahern: This is not a shambles. It was originally agreed that the majority of the Equality Authority would decentralise to Roscrea and that a core staff would remain in Dublin. The Government made the decision in the context of the tightening budgetary situation last year that we would, in effect, suspend decentralisation for the majority of the projects, especially in those areas where no contracts had been agreed for the construction of buildings.

There were three separate categories. Some were ready to go to contract or contracts were more or less finalised. In the case of others, interim arrangements were in place, such as the Equality Authority, where people had already decentralised to Roscrea and were in situ there – a number of agencies had a dual location. There were others that had not gone to contract and in respect of which people were not in temporary accommodation. The Government decided these would no longer go ahead. With regard to the Equality Authority, there were a number of people in Roscrea and a number in Dublin. There is no difference of opinion between myself and the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley. The fact is—–

Deputy Charles Flanagan: He said the cuts were reversed and that he had succeeded.

Deputy Dermot Ahern: —–that there are 16 people in Roscrea at present and approximately 19 in Dublin. A number of the latter bilocate. That was part of their contract long before there was any row about the Equality Authority.

Deputy Charles Flanagan: The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley, said he had twisted the arm of the Minister, Deputy Dermot Ahern, and that the latter had caved in.

Deputy Dermot Ahern: Quite a number of senior personnel – one or two have already purchased houses in Roscrea – are bilocating between the two locations.

Deputy Pat Rabbitte: Bilocating, God almighty, I cannot get over this. There are now two equality authorities. The Minister tried to destroy the one we had and now has created two. I suppose he will be able to cycle to the one in Dublin but will have to drive to Roscrea. I never heard anything so ridiculous in all my life.

Can I ask my question again? The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley, claims the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform reversed the cuts to the budget of the Equality Authority. Is this true or false? When the latter gutted the Equality Authority and drove out the chief executive in an act of vindictiveness, did he reverse his decision?

I note the Minister is to recruit a new CEO. I suppose that will take a while because he will have to be sure this one is safe. If he ever recruits a CEO who is willing to discharge his functions, he will probably want to drive him out again.

Where is the Deloitte audit of effectiveness and value for money in the Equality Authority? Why is the Minister sitting on it and why will he not publish it? Why will he not make it available to us? Will he make it available to an bord snip nua before any decision is made? For how long will the bilocation to which the Minister refers take place? For how long will we have a gutted Equality Authority in Dublin and 16 people located in Roscrea?

Is it any wonder public spending in this country is as it is? It is an unbelievable mess and the Minister and his colleague, Deputy Gormley, have made it worse.

Deputy Dermot Ahern:The issue of having two locations – Roscrea and Dublin – predated any row, any resignation of the—–

Deputy Pat Rabbitte: What row? With whom?

Deputy Charles Flanagan: Was it a row with the Green Party?

Deputy Dermot Ahern: —–predated any resignation of the CEO.

Deputy Pat Rabbitte: Deputy Gormley is a pussycat.

Deputy Dermot Ahern: What I state is absolutely the case; the decision predated the—–

(Interruptions).

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle: Please allow the Minister to reply.

Deputy Dermot Ahern: It was part of the employment contract of a number of people in senior management that they would bilocate between Roscrea and Dublin. That was part of the decision made by the Government when it suspended the decentralisation programme overall. There is absolutely no difference between the Greens and Fianna Fáil in respect of this matter.

Deputy Charles Flanagan: The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley, said he had reversed the decision and had succeeded in twisting the arm of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform.

Deputy Dermot Ahern: We have the one commitment in regard to equality and it speaks for itself. Since 1999, we have invested €45 million in the Equality Authority. Deputy Rabbitte spoke about an equality authority when in Government but did nothing about it.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle: I ask Deputy Rabbitte to be brief. I want to allow Deputy Ó Snodaigh to ask a final question.

Deputy Pat Rabbitte: I apologise to Deputy Ó Snodaigh but this is my fourth attempt to obtain a response. Will the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform state whether the statement by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to the effect that he persuaded him to reverse the cuts in respect of the Equality Authority is true or not?

Deputy Charles Flanagan: That is the net issue.

Deputy Dermot Ahern: The budget for 2009 is the same as was indicated in the last set of Estimates and it amounts to €3.3 million. In the context of the expenditure review, we have asked those involved to examine again the issue of the Equality Authority from the starting point of 2008, which was before any cuts were made for 2009.

Deputy Pat Rabbitte: Therefore, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government was codding us and the members of his party and there is no basis for the remarks members of the Green Party.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle: I ask Deputy Rabbitte to allow Deputy Ó Snodaigh to contribute.

Deputy Dermot Ahern: The decision on whether the authority receives more or less money will be made by the Government in the aftermath of the review.

Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh: Is the Minister aware that the Vice President of the European Court of Human Rights recently criticised Ireland for cutting the budget of the Equality Authority so drastically? Last year the Government made great play of presenting a report to the UN Human Rights Committee, of which Judge Elizabeth Palm was a member.

Deputy Dermot Ahern: When I entered office, I made a decision, particularly in the context of a contracting Exchequer position, that all the areas that were not crime-related had to take a significant hit in view of the fact that I wanted to increase the resources for Operation Anvil and for the Criminal Assets Bureau. I did so to retain the number of gardaí because that is my first priority. I regret other areas in the Department must be subject to a significant cut but that is the position given the restricted resources we now have and will have in the years ahead.

Deputy Charles Flanagan: The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley, says he is calling the shots on this.

Deputy Paul Kehoe: Ministerless Gormley.

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Sunday morning and Fine Gael are still trying to bury the story of their new website and the fact it’s design is unoriginal and actually awful looking and fails to improve on previous offerings except we can now see Enda Kenny’s videos.

Following the ‘launch‘ of the Fianna Fáil website last month the word reached us that Fine Gael were planning a new site. In fact it was Steph (later to become star code investigator!) who found this out when she met Enda Kenny while he was out canvassing with Senator Paschal Donohue. Fine Gael at the time of FF launch criticised the party for their use of services outside the state.

The new Fine Gael Website when we discovered it used the design of the BBC Website – in fact the IT manager of Fine Gael advertised on a freelance recruitment site specifiying what he was looking for.

Hi out there,

I am looking for a freelancer who is able to do some ground work for a new website.
I will give you a example of what I am looking for:

http://www.bbc.co.uk (only the start page)

I prefer the same kind of functionality:
Users must be able to set their own layout and information.
All displayed content must be PHP + mySql driven

This is more a scripting job as we have our own graphic designers

If you are that person please contact me ASAP!

‘Raincheck’ (later identified as Rick Bisschop, FG IT manager), hired Alexey from Perm State Technical University who completed several jobs for Fine Gael and FG’s IT manager wrote a number of recommendations.

It was a pleasure to work with Alexey. He did a nice js, ajax + php project for me with-in the agreed time frame. Good communications and a very flexible attitude. I will and can highly recommend Alexey as your freelancer. We are continuing our work relationship with new projects. Regards Rick Bisschop IT manager Fine Gael Dublin, Ireland

and another recommendation last week

Again fantastic work, excellent communication skills! I can and will recommend Rulon! – Rating 10 out of 10…

4 hours after the initial revelation that there was BBC code all over the new FG website design Enda sent an email to members and subscribers – 6.26pm in the evening. It was rather hurried as I pointed to when I posted it on Thursday night.

Later that night FG were contacted by David Cochrane from Politics.ie and they denied that the new website was a ‘direct copy’ of the BBC site.  Careful use of the word direct there.  Ciaran Conlon also said that the site found by me and  ‘that some people have viewed at the .org address is not necessarily what people will see tomorrow’.  Not necessarily? Another careful use of terminology.

However by this stage Steph had released examples of code, a video of how it was discovered and closed the case on the fact that the site design was a rip off.

We also had bloggers find links to the advertisements from Fine Gael staff on freelance websites and the fact that someone based in Russia had done work on the new project!

The finegael.org  site was taken down on Thursday night and scrubbed of the BBC code before the ‘official’ launch at 11am on Friday morning.  And the new site on finegael.ie was very much looking the same as the one we saw on finegael.org the previous day minus the bits of code which were blatant lifts from the BBC site (including a reference to the weather!)

Fine Gael when they did reply to queries (to both an email from Steph and the contact from David Cochrane) were busy stating this was an internally handled project and outlining all the features on the site.

This is an organisation that spent over €12million in 2006 and 2007 according to the annual report/Clár which they could not even put on-line for their Árd Fheis and I uploaded for use earlier this month! The new website project seems like a job done on the cheap.

FG say that only 5 percent of the site work was conducted in Russia. If Alexey in Russia did the coding (and not so well it seems!) for the site how much design work remained on the site apart from feeding content in and inserting the pictures and new logo?

I’m wondering what sort of testing the new website has undergone – does it work with screen readers?

Again like the Fianna Fáil website this site was launched without being fully completed. How easy is it to find information including contact information for the organisation or it’s elected officials?

How many non techsavvy people tested the new design out before it was launched and gave their feedback? How open are the party to receiving feedback from web developers and on-line communication experts? (Not very if Page 2 of this mornings Sunday Tribune is to be believed)

This story is no longer about Fine Gael being caught copying BBC code for it’s website design.

Above all this incident is about the second biggest party in the state and another example of it’s lack of serious commitment to on-line engagement with voters in the country,  a lack of faith in Irish based web developers, and no imagination in the excuse making department either!

I know many commentators are fed up listening to Irish politicians invoke Obama when talking about online engagement and voters . We need not worry about Fine Gael – they are so far from Obama’s technological savvy here that they will not be tarred with the brush of Obama Juice seeking.

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It seems that some political parties believe that if caught out with hypocrisy that taking the ostrich position is the only way to go.

I’ll be back over the weekend to the story of the website, the code cogging, the Russian, the denial and the guaranteed Irish campaign which went awry and the spinning machine which only partly spun and got it’s pattern in a twist.

(Mutters to self ….And I just thought I’d got the scoop on FG’s new website before the launch huh? I must continue to learn to never underestimate bloggers especially the non political junkie types. Sometime those employed to communicate on behalf of politicians may soon learn the same lesson!)

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RTE’s Response to the Broadcasting Complaints Commission regarding complaints made about the original report and subsequent apology on #Picturegate.

Too much to do at moment to comment and such myself but thought the many others interested could provide comment and their own posts on it.

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