- On March 16th AHEAD are holding a conference on the subject of supporting nursing and midwifery students with disabilities in clinical practice. The keynote speaker is Susan Fleming who was born without a left hand is a nurse, lecturer and clinical instructor in the United States.  Susan works to promote the inclusion of nurses with disabilities in the profession and demonstrates clincial practice issues in videos.

- The Rape Crisis Network in Ireland have launched a new Iphone App which aims to help friends of those who have been sexually assaulted by providing information on a number of issues including

• How can I help if someone tells me about an assault
• Who are the professionals and services that are out there to lend support?
• How can I or my friend contact them?
• What is the law?
• What happens if someone goes to the Gardaí?
• Is there specialist medical care nearby?
• How can you help make it safer for everyone?

Pass Level Politics guides us to a good canvass (He’s a Labour Party canvasser but the advice applies well to all!)

Stephen Spillane has the Diary of a Canvasser – he’s a FG canvasser.

Alex White had a bad hair day.

Adam Maguire  at the RTE Election 2011 site has a feature on women in the Election and how things are getting worse.

NEAR FM have a podcast of an election debate in Dublin North East – it’s 98 minutes long.

Shannonside FM had a debate yesterday with some Longford Candidates.  I have not heard the podcast yet but I know there is a lot of reading from paperwork by candidates in it.  See if you can spot it.

Matt Coopers’ column in Irish Examiner yesterday with 20 thoughts on the election.

RTE’s Eleventh Hour brought us Barry Murphy doing his version of this ad. It was the funniest moment of the week… before Mario Rosenstock brought us Constantin stroking a cat. Ok on second viewing Barry still funnier.

DAA Pride Barry Murphy Parody from Ciaran McCarthy on Vimeo.

- Fintan O’Toole has a new website and campaign for radical political reform.

He was a good choice for MC on Saturday’s march – I’ve still not processed the whole thing, it was like being at a funeral in O’Connell Street. A funeral for the unions or the nation or something. There was a huge non union turn out and someone has to harness that.  But it won’t be the unions probably because they can’t or maybe that should be they shouldn’t.

- Speaking of the unions, I expect to hear strong opposition to this. Crazy stuff when SNA’s and other posts are being done away with.  What’s next? Unpaid Gardai?

- Meet the weather enthusiasts at Irish Weather Online – the best thing I’ve found oh since the last weather incident.  A great twitter account and a good sense of humour predicting the trends and explaining meterological terms.  I now know what Graupel is! Do you?

- The Community Platform commissioned research on their wealth tax idea and unsurprisingly found out that a lot of people agreed with them.

– Abara, the International Disability Film Festival is on this weekend.

- From Liffey Sound 96.4fm

“Liffey Sound 96.4fm, Lucan’s Community Radio Station is making a documentary entitled “Coping, Moping, Hoping”. The subject matter concerns  the manner in which families living in Lucan have been affected by the current economic recession. If you would like to share your own story of how you and your family have been affected we’d love to hear from you.  All names used  will be changed to ensure confidentiality. We intend to broadcast the one hour documentary early in 2011.

Please e-mail studio@liffeysoundfm.ie, or cgrogan1@gmail.com if you think you may be able to help us.

- Outhouse, Dublin’s LGBT Community Centre are recruiting for a Community Worker.

- Ok if you have a spider/insect phobia don’t go here – it seems that the Praying Mantis doesn’t bit the head of her partner after they shag and the research was flawed.

Now aren’t you glad you dropped by for a read?

– There’s a new political party in development, they describe themselves as centrist (which may mean they have not decided what they are.) The Irish Democratic Party are looking for new members and they invite you to find out more about them.

– The Chairperson of Cork South Central Ogra Fianna Fáíl has taken to blogging and writing posts in the third person condeming this and welcoming that. Is she thinking about running for office?

– Speaking of Ogra, you’ve seen their recruitment posters?

– I hear Cllr Laura McGonigle who won best blog by a politician in the Irish Blog Awards 2010 is contesting the Fine Gael Dáil Selection Convention in Cork South Central. Link to the blog post (well written in the first person) announcing it later.

– Lucinda Creighton T.D. wants everyone to put the country first. And that does not mean having an election now – well not with those polls out which might mean she would lose her seat. See Adrian Kavanagh’s excellent post over on PoliticalReform.ie discussing what might happen in terms of estimates of seat numbers in an election.

– Jason O’Mahony on Amateur Opinion Poll Spinners who are nothing like Adrian Kavanagh.

– Sinead O’Shea’s report on Ballydowd, the HSE and childcare in Irleand, recently shown on Al Jazeera. 23 minutes on Ireland and failing our children on Al Jazeera. (H/t Gavinsblog)

• However you could peruse the programme for Stranger than Fiction – this is a documentary film festival taking place in the Irish Film Institute this weekend.  Of note besides Pyjama Girls, is a film on Berlosconi’s hold on the television in Italy – Videocracy, and Oliver Stone’s take on South American Politics – South of the Border.

• The UK election campaign is a week old (already!) and if you are interested in women’s issues in this campaign you might have a look at the ‘What about Women?’ project that is being facilitated by the Fawcett Society.

• I’m doing some reading at the moment for a workshop on disability hate crime and disability rights and came across this article by Tom Shakespeare in the Guardian on hate crime. There have been a number of incidents in the UK in the past few months but it’s not an issue I remember spoken about much in Ireland?

• Mark Coughlan on some forgotten elements of the Terence Wheelock case – and bizarre but not unbelievable issues re the Gardai.

• Stand Up! if you have not come across it already is a awareness campaign creating positive understanding of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender young people and their issues which is underway in youth services across the country (I even noted at weekend there is a photo exhibition in Letterkenny!) It’s organised by the consistently brilliant and ground breaking BeLonG To. (Psst. You could donate them some cash if you have some to spare – and no this mention has nowt to do with that letter in GCN this month – I don’t think the author really read the column I wrote.)

• You can find out more about the campaign here. There is a series of videos released during the week . Here’s one to be getting on with.

You’ve met Slanket Enda?

The Iona Institute’s David Quinn is now blogging for the Irish Catholic.  He is opposing the campaign to rename Archbishop Ryan Park in Merrion Square as Oscar Wilde Park.  He even wants the statue of Oscar removed!   If you like me favour the renaming you’ll find more information here.

Last chance to see Ireland’s Biggest Hits - it goes off the RTE Player on Friday.  (Yes I know …the Daily Mail)

Senator Fidelma Healy Eames thinks about finding guys for her single female friends.

Nominations for the Irish Blog Awards 2010 are open

Obama’s first tweet

Surely the most ridiculous product launch of late – ”My Pink Button’ – a dye for down there.

Paschal Sheehy’s Hat - the must have accessory for RTE reporters this winter is a hat.

Voluntary Service Overseas need primary teachers. They’ve decided this ad might get them a few new recruits.  You think?

The 50 most important lesbians and gay men in British Politics Go on I dare you – name 5 such endangered species in Ireland?

Obama told the UN yesterday that he will support a statement on lesbian and gay rights.

The United States supports the UN Statement on “Human Rights, Sexual Orientation, and Gender Identity,�? and is pleased to join the other 66 UN member states who have declared their support of this Statement that condemns human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity wherever they occur.

Damien gives his take on the whole watching television and reacting on internet thing that RTE can’t ignore any more. Was talking to a few people at weekend about this and I’m definitely decided it’s not all about a group hug thing.

Labour local election candidate in Stillorgan, Richard Humphrey’s takes to film reviewing on his blog. I fell asleep during that movie!

Fast Company profile another one of Obama’s internet men. I wonder which right of centre European political party’s money he’ll be taking shortly! It’s now a must have in political communications – an Obama internet man.

Image via Wikipedia

Back from Brussels where I took part in a press trip organised by the European Commission representation in Ireland.*

You’ll be reading a lot in the coming days about a Financial Stimulus package proposed by the European Commission after a request for same from the Council of Ministers last month. Details of the package on how the EU intends to save itself and individual member states from ruin were leaked yesterday and work is still going on – it seems it will be announced on Wednesday. However we were given information by the Secretary General of the European Commission, Irish woman Catherine Day, and President Barroso seems to be talking about it also.

The package will be all about the three T’s – ‘Timely, Targeted and Temporary’. It will include proposals for tax cuts, fast tracking of Structural Funds to stimulate growth, and a percentage of GDP (maybe 1% or maybe not) from member states. There will also be consideration of the budget deficit problems that Member states find themselves (a bit of slippage, sliding, etc. but not much more tolerance for that on the Irish side of the house and that’s where the T in Temporary might come in.) Whether cuts, savings or spending already proposed by governments (I’m thinking the ‘subprime’ lending scheme in the budget last month) will be seen to contribute to the member state’s contributions remains to be seen.

Other messages of the day were ‘look at Iceland and the mess they are in’ and ‘Denmark who don’t have the Euro and have high interest rates’. I was aware that there is a lack of discourse in Ireland on the importance of the Euro to Ireland’s future financial stability – though I’m not sure who now will be doing the talking on that and would actually be listened to!

It was very interesting to hear spokesperson after spokesperson talk about the issues presented by Lisbon and Ireland’s non (or not yet) ratification. Lots of talk about the commissioner issue – how Ireland could have a commissioner if we voted yes – Lisbon might allow us to keep the Commissioner whereas when the Nice Treaty kicks in next year it actually decreases/limits the numbers of commissioners.

It might have been more useful to debate if having an Irish Commissioner is really of any use at all – the work of the Permanent Representative’s Office in Brussels seems to be more important in analysing how Irish interests are represented. 

Whilst our visit was taking place Sweden ratified the treaty – so that’s 24 down, Poland about to sign and 2 states left to ratify . I say not yet because it was clear that the Commission expect another vote, a different campaign and a different result.

There are far more pressing issues on the European Commission agenda in the coming months and while they are waiting for Brian Cowen to appear next month before them with the masterplan, time frame etc. there is a lot more going on. Climate Change and the afore mentioned Financial Stimulus/Economic Recovery plans and continuing EU unity on issues such as Georgia are those which take up most time and energy and they are not all waiting with anxiety on the Irish government and electorate to make up their minds again.

However I don’t think that Commission officials really grasp how unpopular/inept the Irish government is at the moment and how Lisbon is probably a non touchable issue in the months ahead. Competency of the Irish government and other actors on the issues and communicating them is something that I know a lot of bloggers have been talking about recently. (See Simon’s great post on the meeting with Margot Wallstrom last week. And thanks to Alexia for pointing out that Commissioner Wallstrom has blogged her thoughts on the visit also.)

We had briefings from spokespersons from the Economic and Finance Directorate, Agriculture, Institutional Communications. Lunch with Charlie McCreevy was jovial and ‘intimate’ and slightly surreal but off the record – actually there was no commentary on Ireland’s current situation financial or EU institutional issues at all. It was food blogger photo heaven but I’m not a food blogger…

The ghost of commissioners past also made an appearance at the beginning of our trip – Padraig Flynn was staying in the same hotel. No chance to ask him about the remaining houses or his thoughts on stimulus, governmental melt down or finance bill issues (such as will he have to pay a 3% levy!).

So that’s the initial impressions, more posts later from the trip including meanderings on explaining the European Union in the light of the the Oireachtas Sub-Committee on ‘How to solve the Lisbon problem’. I see Coir were throwing their rattles out of the pram yesterday – pity I missed it live. I hear the grumpy old men (Cullen, Hook and Dunphy) were also giving their views to the committee also. That committee has provided the most Oireachtas fun in ages – we should find another crisis for a subcommittee to solve! What you mean the banks are in meltdown, job losses through the roof….

* Full disclosure – the trip was paid for by the European Commission. Many thanks to them for arranging it and continuing to think of new media/citizen journalists in broadening the coverage and keeping us informed. Look out for that disclosure in the old media’s coverage…and send me the flying pig while you are at it!

I’ve been watching a lot of it in the last few months but my addiction goes back to Spitting Image and Not the Nine O’Clock News.

Over the years I caught up on older stuff including TW3 and Halls Pictorial Weekly. Like many in the nation I was glued listening to Scrap Saturday at 10.30 on a Saturday Morning which was never ever matched by anything else in Ireland. Unfortunately I can’t find any of it on Youtube! I was fortunate not to find any clips of RTE’s poor attempts in Bull Island or State of the Nation.

Halls Pictorial Weekly

Spitting Image

Some of the best stuff the US campagin has been from Saturday Night Live – ok has been from Tina Fey!

We’ve had lots more from groups like Public Service Administration.

You can call in or text the show with your best bits and comments on your thoughts on satire in Ireland and elsewhere. I’ll be remembering Political Thicko and a few other web based Irish Satirists and wondering where the rest of ye are!!

• First to a fluffy link refluffied which is the best thing to come out of Irish blogging in months! Lidl Treats is a new blog talking about the things you can buy in Lidl and what you can do with them! It’s very well designed, clearly written and has great pictures/graphics. I am not shy about my affection for Lidl and Aldi and my creativity with the items I purchase there and it’s great to see blogging used in this way to help convert the rest! Kate is putting it up to us today with a €50 a week for 2 shopping challenge!

• Estelle Getty died yesterday - Sophia in the Golden Girls. My sitcom of choice – Fr. Ted and Friends did my head in but Sophia, Dorothy, Blanche and Rose got me through many a difficult evening. Jill at Feministe ponders the Golden Girls and the portrayal of women.

• Senator Clinton (ah yes she’s still around you know – and not doing my head in like Obama is!)guest blogs about the Bush Administration and it’s interference with women’s health (again!) by trying to extend the definition of abortion to include emergency contraception and other contraceptive procedures.

• Temperatures in Drogheda are rising regarding the management of a children’s summer camp – Eastmeath.org tells us more.

• World By Storm over at the Cedars ponders the recent changes in payment procedures announced by the Department of Social and Family Affairs.

• In other recession blogging you might keep an eye to Michael Taft’s Notes from the Front which recently turned into the Recession Diaries – excellent reflections of a political economic nature.

Finally I’m planning something soiree like for the night of the US election (Virgo – obsessive organisational and pre-planning trait) if you want to know more leave a comment. In my perfect world it will be wired up with lovely sofas, lots of space great food, multiple tellies etc. etc.

If you’d like to sponsor it/help organise even better! Contact details are up the top – right hand side.