UNINVITED LODGERS

The other day Mrs H, whilst walking up from her studio, looked at the western eave of our cottage and noticed something strange.  

“Come outside and look at this odd looking nest ” she called.

I did and took my camera with me. 

It was large, it was fawn in colour and it buzzed.

Searching on the internet we soon identified it as a wasps’ nest, 

the first that either of us had ever seen.

Steve Butler prepares

to attack.

A quick study of the Golden Pages directory revealed a list of wasp nest removing specialists.

We rang three as I now I refuse to leave messages on answering machines, experience has taught me that very few firms ever reply, so the business went to the first real person who answered.

Mrs H spoke to Steve Butler, who lives in a nearby town, he was very friendly and quoted a reasonable price for ridding us of the threatening stinging menaces.

Steve in attack mode

He was as good as his word and arrived on time, complete with his kit to efficiently destroy the menace of these dreadful stinging insects. 

Although, I have to say this, that when I lived in Somerset, England and used to help a friend to make cider in his barn. There were times when the wasps after feeding on pressed apple juice were so drunk that they would crawl up our arms without stinging us. Never the less, the experience was not pleasant and we avoided flinching just in case their reflex to our movement evoked a sting.

The wasps where the arrows point have a 

coating of Steve's powder & will shortly be dead.

Steve told me not to destroy the nest for a couple of days and to allow the powder that he pumped time to work [kill] any wasp embryos that were in incubation process.
So tomorrow I shall, with help of a long pole and a step ladder, remove all traces of the offending empty nest which will be ceremonially burnt on a garden fire.

Have you any experiences of wasps that you would like to share ?

No Apologies

Grenfill Tower

Conservative corporate criminals 

Patently corrupt all human law

avoided fire recommendations

Cared nothing for Safety

other than a rich salary

or a knighthood, perhaps ?

It was avoidable you know 

those tides of hot dense smoke

flamed a flow of terrible anguish

ceasing as cindered corpses

or as unrecognisable dust.

All of those deaths unnecessary. 

Survivors at your feet mrs may

only wanted words of remorse

care, respect and tenderness.

Your burden. Tory truth prevented

Killed immediate contact silenced

your poisonous tongue. dead.

We know now what was hidden…

Decision to avoid action. 

Take a risk, Save a few pound.

2009 to 2017 was it worthwhile mrs may ?

Not your life gone up in smoke

and none of them your relations.

Callous Conservatives caused

Grenfill Tower deaths.

©MRL 2017

Extract from Irish Examiner 19th June 2017

Ministers in the UK were repeatedly warned that fire regulations were not keeping people safe, the BBC says leaked letters reveal.

The broadcaster said letters show ministers were warned that people living in high rise blocks like Grenfell Tower were "at risk".

The dozen letters, sent by the All-Party Parliamentary Fire Safety and Rescue Group in the aftermath of a 2009 fatal fire in Lakanal House, south London, warned the British Government "could not afford to wait for another tragedy", according to Panorama.

The parliamentary group wrote in March 2014: "Surely ... when you already have credible evidence to justify updating ... the guidance ... which will lead to saving of lives, you don't need to wait another three years in addition to the two already spent since the research findings were updated, in order to take action?

"As there are estimated to be another 4,000 older tower blocks in the UK, without automatic sprinkler protection, can we really afford to wait for another tragedy to occur before we amend this weakness?"

After further correspondence, then government minister Liberal Democrat Stephen Williams, replied: "I have neither seen nor heard anything that would suggest that consideration of these specific potential changes is urgent and I am not willing to disrupt the work of this department by asking that these matters are brought forward."

The group replied: "We're at a loss to understand, how you had concluded that credible and independent evidence which had life safety implications, was NOT considered to be urgent.

"As a consequence the group wishes to point out to you that should a major fire tragedy, with loss of life, occur between now and 2017, in for example, a residential care facility or a purpose built block of flats, where the matters which had been raised here, were found to be contributory to the outcome, then the group would be bound to bring this to others' attention."

Former cabinet minister Eric Pickles received a letter about fire regulations from the parliamentary group in February 2014, according to the BBC.

In December 2015, the all-party group wrote to the former Conservative minister James Wharton, and warned about the risk of fires spreading on the outside of buildings with cladding.

"Today's buildings have a much higher content of readily-available combustible material. Examples are timber and polystyrene mixes in structure, cladding and insulation.

"This fire hazard results in many fires because adequate recommendations to developers simply do not exist. There is little or no requirement to mitigate external fire spread."

"This fire hazard results in many fires because adequate recommendations to developers simply do not exist. There is little or no requirement to mitigate external fire spread."

Former Conservative minister Gavin Barwell, who was recently appointed British Prime Minister Theresa May's chief of staff, received further calls for action in September last year.

In November 2016 Mr Barwell replied to say his department had been looking at the regulations, and would make a statement "in due course".

In April 2017 Mr Barwell wrote to say he did "acknowledge that producing a statement on building regulations has taken longer than I had envisaged", 

LIAR, LIAR !

A SONG about Tory leader Theresa May has reached the Top 10 in the download chart but the official chart shows on radio stations Capital FM and Heart have refused to play Liar, Liar GE2017, supporters have complained.

Click here: http://www.thepeoplesassembly.org.uk/she_s_a_liar_liar to download for £1 or less to help give Theresa May an election day present she really doesn’t want.

All money spent on downloads of the track up to 8 June will be split between food banks and the People’s Assembly Against Austerity.

Performed and produced by the band Captain Ska and promoted by campaign organisation the People’s Assembly Against Austerity, the song features various speeches and news interviews from Prime Minister Theresa May followed by a chorus of: “She’s a liar, liar . . . You can’t trust her . . . no, no, no, no.”

The song attacks the Conservative Party’s record in office over the NHS crisis, education and levels of poverty. “When there’s nurses going hungry and schools in decline I don’t recognise this broken country of mine,” goes one of the lyrics.

The song has been available for download from last Friday (26 May) and has been rising up in the iTunes charts, reaching Number 10 at the weekend.

The Chart Show this week did announce that the track had reached Number 10 but instead of playing it went straight onto playing Number 9. Now it has gone to Number 7 and could even be a chart topper by polling day.

Jake from Captain Ska said:

“This can only be seen as an attempt by the media owners to undermine public opinion. Thousands of people have downloaded this track and we demand that it is aired as any other song would be.

“We've written Liar, Liar GE2017 for this general election because we want to do all we can to expose the horrific effects Tory policy has had on ordinary people.

“Theresa May lies her way through interview after interview without addressing the real issues. We’re sick of her and her party of millionaires privatising and cutting our public services while the rest of the country faces deteriorating living standards and poverty. The money is there to improve the lives of the majority but it’s in the hands of the wrong people.”

http://www.culturematters.org.uk/index.php/itemlist/user/738-jake

The above article is by JOHN HEDGES

AN PHOBLACHT EDITOR

http://www.anphoblacht.com/contents/26905

A GAS TIME !

About month ago our twenty-three year old gas cooker finally gave up the ghost and died. It was no real surprise to us for the grill stopped working last year. We were not too bothered at the time because the oven and the top burners were still working efficiently. 

Sooner or later we would need a new cooker so we visited various retailers to find a good replacement.

In the middle of January we made our choice.

I particularly told the shop to ensure that the cooker was fitted with burner jets suitable for LPG  bottled gas (Butane) which is used here in the countryside as there is no piped gas supply.

I was informed that all of their cookers ran on ‘country gas’ and we arranged the delivery date.

The New Gas COOKER

The new cooker arrived, the defunct cooker was taken away to be scrapped and all that remained was to make the connection to the gas bottle. I had done this a great many times in the past and it had not been an obstacle.  I intended to do the same again, to the chagrin of the retailer, who said I needed a gas fitter to obtain a certificate. 

I competently made the connection without any leaks. Next job was to  the plug cooker into the electricity supply for the oven illumination and the six igniters.

Then came the first test, igniting the rings.

There were long yellow tips to the flames and the same phenomena also occurred in the oven.

Very clearly there was a problem. The burner jets were for the piped natural gas which is supplied to cities and towns.

Next morning I rang my supplier and informed him of my discovery. 

As I listened to his utter nonsense he tried to blind me with suggestions such as having fitted a bottle of ‘dirty gas’ which I totally refuted. Finally I was informed that the cooker had a kit with alternative burner jets, so I agreed to engage a Gas Fitter to replace them. 

 TOP OFF

The fitter arrived and then the real fun started. I don’t think he had ever changed burner jets before or even remove the various cooker parts, such as the top and front access panels. I ended up working alongside him, sometimes advising him on how to do his job. 

FRONT PANEL - OFF

Re-assembly was even more humorous than taking it apart. We did achieve a sense of order eventually and used all of the screws that we had removed without having any left over. 

Then came the first test. Yes, the four top rings had blue coloured flames, as did the oven.

BACK PANEL - OFF

We then ignited the grill. Damn and blast! 

The igniter worked, we could see it sparking. The gas was coming through, we could smell it. But no ignition, we had a banjaxed grill.

I said “ Xxxk it !..... Disconnect the xxxxing thing! ........ The retailer can have it back.”

Our gas fitter was with us for three and half hours, a job that should only have taken an hour.

One week later (last week) a replacement stove arrived along with the Gas Fitter.

More fun ensued, a lot more fun this time. There were gas leaks at the connection and he was mystified. I explained that at the pipe connection union, where there was a fibre washer it had a tapered thread and that it did not need any PTFE tape. So he stripped off the tape and guess what ?  No leakage of gas - Heron was right. I did though ask him for a certificate of worthiness and it is my belief that I had earned it!

BE VERY AWARE !

Fore warned is fore armed is an old proverb and so today you are warned to read the small print on food labels.

European Commission -
Daily News 22 / 07 / 2016

EU Commission authorised three genetically modified soybeans for food/feed uses.

The Commission authorised three GMOs for food/feed uses (soybean MON 87708 x MON 89788, soybean MON 87705 x MON 89788 and soybean FG 72), all of which have gone through a comprehensive authorisation procedure, including a favourable scientific assessment by EFSA. The authorisation decisions do not cover cultivation. The GMOs approved today had received "no opinion" votes from the Member States in both the Standing and Appeal Committees and the Commission adopted the pending decisions. The authorisations are valid for 10 years, and any products produced from these GMOs will be subject to the EU's strict labelling and traceability rules. For more information see here. (For more information: Daniel Rosario – Tel.: + 32 229 56185; Iris Petsa - Tel.: +32 229 93321)
also read these two links
https://www.rt.com/news/352942-eu-approves-monsanto-soybeans

http://www.nationalobserver.com/2016/07/04/opinion/last-roundup

ELECTIONITUS

Electionitus is a serious condition that afflicts most of the adult population at election times. The symptoms range from acute lethargy to fanaticism. What I was unaware of was that many of the election candidates suffer from an egoistical condition which described in great detail by Gerry Adams in his blog Leargas.  http://leargas.blogspot.ie

I have an extract below where he explains the condition:

"Every candidate and everyone else should be mindful of the particular and peculiar stresses and strains that comes with being a candidate. It’s a form of ailment called Candidatitis. It begins with the candidate coming to believe – with a certainty known only to the prophets of old – that they are going to win.

This syndrome is capable of moving even the most rational aspirant or shy wallflower into a state of extreme self belief. It strikes without warning, is no respecter of gender, and can infect the lowly municipal hopeful, the aspiring Parliamentarian, as well as the lofty presidential wannabe.

The late Screaming Lord Sutch, or his Irish equivalent, who stands just for the craic, can fall victim to candidatitis as much as the most committed and earnest political activist. I believe this is due to two factors. First of all most people standing for election see little point in telling the voters that they are not going to win. That just wouldn’t make sense. Of course not. So they say they are going to win.

Listen to Joan Burton the Labour leader. Does she admit that Labour is going to lose seats. Not a chance. Or does Micheál Martin admit that his refusal to consider going into coalition with Fine Gael or Sinn Féin (not that there’s much chance of that) means that Fianna Fáil will not be in government after this election? Not on your nelly. He spent five minutes vainly trying to convince listeners to RTE that Fianna Fáil can be in government. Even though they are clearly not running enough candidates.

That's when Candidatitis starts. As the 'we are going to win' is repeated time and time again it starts to have a hypnotic effect on the person intoning the mantra. By this time it’s too late."

A good example of the affliction see below:

On Thursday 6th Ms Burton said "I'm very confident as ever of our chances. It's a good time for an election"

On Monday 8th Joan Burton said "No seat is safe in this election for any party", but when asked if her own seat was safe, she replied: “Absolutely!"

Today Thursday16th: Tánaiste Joan Burton is facing a massive battle to save her own political career!

A poll result in her constituency shows

According to herself she gave the pensioners a generous increase of €3 per week after having stood by and allowed them to face Water Charges and Property Tax and cuts in their Winter Fuel allowance. The lady is falling in popularity I wonder why ?

TTIP last chance to sign

The one-year deadline for signing the European Citizens' Initiative against TTIP & CETA is tomorrow. Dear Mel, Today, the European petition against the dangerous trade deals TTIP & CETA broke the 3 million mark, making it the largest ECI petition ever. [1] What a powerful message to send those hoping to push the deal through in secret. This enormous petition will be hand-delivered to the European Commission this Wednesday, leaving us with just one day to add as many signatures as possible. Mel, we can double our impact if each of us gets one friend to sign the petition by tomorrow evening. Can you share the petition with your friends and family on Facebook or Twitter?  Share  Tweet In the past year, politicians across Europe have been taken aback by the strength of people powered action against TTIP and CETA. Let’s keep them on their toes by making this huge petition even bigger. If you don’t use social media, there’s an email below that you can forward to friends and family. More power to you, Anne Marie and the Uplift team PS: If you haven't signed the petition, you can add your name here: https://uplift.ie/2015/ttip/european-citizens-initiative-stop-ttip/ PPS: Uplift is a member of the Europe wide STOP TTIP campaign: https://stop-ttip.org/supporting-organisations/  [1] http://www.globaljustice.org.uk/news/2015/oct/5/three-million-people-across-europe-call-ttip-be-scrapped and https://stop-ttip.org/about-the-eci-campaign/ Dear friends, I just signed a petition against a secret trade deal being worked out between the US and the EU. It’s called TTIP and it’s the biggest corporate grab ever to be agreed. TTIP would allow corporations sue governments if they make decisions which could harm their future profits. For Ireland, it means that our water could be privatised and GMO foods and fracking could be allowed. Our beef and agriculture sectors will be hit hard and workers rights put at risk. But millions of people across Europe are saying NO to TTIP. On Wednesday a petition will be hand-delivered to the European Commission. It has over 3 million signatures from people across Europe. We have one day left to add as many names as possible. Can you sign the petition too? Politicians are beginning to realise that public opposition to TTIP is growing and this petition is getting a lot of notice. Let’s make it as big as possible before Wednesday. Here’s the link: https://uplift.ie/2015/ttip/european-citizens-initiative-stop-ttip/ Thanks,

UPLIFT | 37 Dame St, Dublin 2 | Tel: 01 513 3043 | Email: theteam@uplift.ie  Company No. 544851 Unsubscribe | Donate

Hunger Strike & Political Policing

Derek Byrne

on hunger strike at Wheatfield Prison.

The Anti-Austerity Alliance has condemned the jailing of anti-water meter protestors. 

“ The court has jailed these protestors at the behest of the Denis O’Brien owned GMC Sierra, so that they can continue to try to impose water meters on communities which have risen up in peaceful protest against their installation. Once again, the courts have been used to attack the right of people to engage in peaceful protest."

“ The attacks from the state on the campaign against water charges needs to be met with a significant response by the campaign and communities, the protest which has been organised against political policing following the Jobstown arrests on Saturday can be a response in opposition to these attacks. ”

Paul Murphy TD

Anti-Austerity Alliance TD Paul Murphy said “ The jailing of these protestors and the arrests in Tallaght is an attack on the right of communities to protest against the imposition of austerity measures, in this case the water charge and meters, which are being imposed by the government despite the massive opposition to them."

AAA Councillor Michael O’Brien is a councillor for the area and is involved in the protests said: “This is a disgraceful attack on the right of a community to defend itself through mass peaceful protests against the imposition of austerity."

“The protests have been met with organised violence from the state through the Gardaí. The Gardaí have acted as bully boys on behalf of the government and GMC Sierra through physical attacks and harassment of those who have engaged in the protests."

“These jailings will not deter people from protesting against the installation of water meters and will be met with a firm response by the communities and the anti-water charges movement.”

Councillor Michael O’Brien explained that he had dropped by Wheatfield prison on his way back from visiting family in Enfield over the weekend. Most of the protesters had gone but he had the fortune of meeting a member of one of the jailed activist's family. The most disturbing thing about their incarceration is the 23 hour solitary lockdown which is normally reserved as a punishment for infractions committed inside the prison but not in this occasion.

She told him that the governor claimed it wasn't his decision to place them in solitary and permit them only two visits per week. Michael O’Brien said “This stinks of a spiteful political intervention from on high to psychologically break our fellow activists and this no doubt helped provoke Derek and Ollie's decision to go on hunger strike (I hope Derek and Ollie back down on this by the way)."

"Back during the bin tax struggle the overwhelming majority of the twenty something people who were banged up were put in the training unit in Mountjoy which, while being no holiday, allowed for the maximum possible free association, visits, activities and even phone calls from the outside. The few who were put in the regular Mountjoy prison at least had a 'normal' routine of two to a cell and association times etc." 

Paul Murphy TD, Anti Austerity Alliance, said he would seek permission from prison authorities to visit the two protesters today. He said he did not advocate the use of hunger strikes as a tactic but hoped to broker a deal with the authorities which would see the prisoners being moved back to Mountjoy Prison.

Post script

Imprisoned water charges protesters will step up their hunger strike from this morning by refusing fluids in opposition to their transfer to Wheatfield Prison.

Visit link below

https://soundmigration.wordpress.com/2015/02/21/thousands-attend-irishwater-mountjoy-prison-demo/

NOTE !

Historically hunger striking links back to the ancient Celtic practise of Fasting against Injustice.

Plain Crazy

It never ceases to amaze me of how some peoples ridiculous actions can cause so much hurt in the community. Such as the destruction and removal of  a mythological statue of Mannanán Mac Lír over looking  Lough Foyle

It is probable that fundamental christians are to blame for the removal, given that a cross with the words of the first commandment on it was left behind. Shame on their ignorance for there is I believe another commandment about 'stealing'

SILENCE

• 
  

  Ex-editor: 'Silence is the threat'

  Posted at 00:30

  Charlie Hebdo's former editor Philippe Val: "Do you know what threatens democracy the most? Silence. To reduce ourselves to silence means that we will lose all we have gained of liberty, freedom for women, for homosexuals, the freedom to come and go as we please, moral freedom.

  "But we must not believe that the Muslims who are today outraged by what has happened cannot understand it. They can understand it. They can understand that today, their religion needs to reform. So that it does not in the heart of the democracy where they have chosen to live, create terrorists, terrorism, which is of course opposed by most Muslims, who are victims of it."

Culchies demonstrate in Dublin

This is only part of the demonstrators

This was Novembers Demo the feelings are

even stronger.

They came from all over Ireland: from the North, from Donegal, Down & Louth, from the South as far as Cork & Kerry, from the West, Mayo to Clare, from the East, Wexford & Wicklow and from the Midlands too. People from every county were there for themselves and to represent others unable to travel to Dublin.

They brought their placards, their voices and their determination. They stayed for a day and went away carrying their experiences to pass on to others.

We are proud of them !

Proud to have them as neighbours and to call them our friends.

On reading the newspapers it easy to see that the journalists are lost for words to describe what they witnessed when the ‘culchies’ came to town; unless of course, as I suspect, many of them are suppressed by a secret committee of censors!

Approximately one hundred and fifty thousand people took part in the peaceful,self disciplined demonstration. Out of this number six people were arrested and none of them actually charged. Were they the fifth columnists planted in the crowd? - I don’t know.


There is a new wave of governance flowing through the land. We know it for now as People Power which occurs when the electorate reach within themselves to become enriched with a sense of personal worth and value. Flowing from this comes the empowerment to become Activists who have ability and inner confidence to tell members of the government what they want and do not want.


That is what happened on the streets of Dublin on 10th December 2014 and from this example even larger numbers will be drawn on 31st January 2015 to another demonstration of People Power.

KENNY & CO MUST GO!

Ireland will Rise !

Please listen !

Attempt to cling to power

       Mary Lou McDonald TD & Gerry Adams TD

Gerry Adams: Government's water charge u-turn 'a desperate attempt of Fine Gael and Labour to cling to power'

Saturday, November 22, 2014 - 01:18 PM

Sinn Féin is calling for a mass mobilisation of people to protest against water charges in Dublin next month.

The Right2Water campaign, which is organising the demonstration, says it expects an historic turn-out for its rally at the Dáil on December 10.

Around 100,000 people took part in their last protest.

Organisers of next months demonstration say the protest to abolish water charges will go ahead despite the Government’s new package plan announced earlier this week.

The Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams is calling on people to send a strong message to the government.

“As with every other issue, Fine Gael and Labour have failed to listen to citizens on the water charges,” he said.

“The Government's latest policy is all about giving themselves a lifeline to run their full term. It's not about easing the pressure on those who cannot pay water charges.

“What we got on Wednesday was a PR offensive - a desperate attempt by Fine Gael and Labour to cling to power for the next year.

“Water charges have not been scrapped, the water metering programme will continue, metered charges are coming in, they will only go up, and there is still no constitutional right to water.

“This cynical Government manoeuvre will not work. The people are not stupid. It fails to address the demands of the hundreds of thousands of citizens who have taken to the streets on this issue.

“Sinn Féin is a central part of the Right2Water campaign and I am calling for the maximum possible turnout in protest against Water Charges on December 10 to deliver a strong message that Water Charges must be scrapped.

©IRISH EXAMINER 22-11-2014

Campaigner for the homeless, Fr Peter McVerry, said rent controls are necessary to ensure that the market retains an element of affordability.

New figures show the number of people sleeping rough on the streets of Dublin has trebled in the last five years. 

Fr McVerry challenged the Government to outline just what it is going to do to tackle rising homelessness as we approach the coldest months of the year.

"A lot of people who are becoming homeless today and there are six new people becoming homeless every day, a lot of them are getting kicked out of their private rental accommodation because their rents are going up and they can't afford the increase," he said.

"if the Government are not going to introduce rent controls and if they're not going to increase the rent allowance to allow people to pay the increased rents, then what on Earth are they going to do?"

©IRISH EXAMINER