An Irish filmmaker has spotted what he thinks is a woman talking on a mobile/cell phone in 1928 - could she be a time travelling man in drag?
Ps - if they mastered time travelling, why not go handsfree on the mobile?
Friday, October 29, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Haunting Ireland - Ghost Estates
Nothing captures the despair and destruction left behind by the bursting of Ireland’s property bubble better than photos like this one.
And there are thousands upon thousands of others.
A website has been created, www.ghostestates.com, which reveals the complete scale of the disaster. It’s a Google-map of Ireland with red pins marking the locations of abandoned building sites. Click on the pin, and you will see a photograph of the estate or site concerned. The map of Ireland is covered with red pins – every province, every county, almost every town is represented.
The website was the work of ordinary citizens, but last week an official State study was published which put exact numbers and locations on the problem. The Department of Environment study confirmed there are more than 2,800 ghost estates in Ireland. Building has started on 120,000 homes in these estates, but only 77,000 are complete and lived in. That means there are 33,000 empty, vacant, unsold or incomplete houses and apartments across the country.
Ten thousand of these houses are in the early stages of construction and have been completely abandoned. In fact, builders are only continuing to work in one-in-six of the ghost estates. The report breaks down the figures, county-by-county. Worst affected are Carlow, Leitrim, Roscommon, Sligo and Longford. Cork has the most unsold homes with 3,427.
Real Victims - Phase 1 buyers of overpriced homes
But it’s not just the empty or abandoned houses that are the problem – the real victims are those who bought houses or apartments in Phase 1 of the developments. In many cases, homeowners who live on estates where building work has ceased have also been abandoned and left without essential services. Sewers have been left open on the sites, water is contaminated and security lax. Thousands of homes are not served by roads, paths and public lighting – many of these essentials would be “finishing touches”, undertaken by developers when the entire estate was completed.
An expert group has now been set up to look at how to deal with the problem. It comprises, among others, local authorities, NAMA (the agency set up to take over non-performing loans from banks and pursue developers – it will end up owning many of these estates), representatives of the Construction Industry and health and safety authorities. The choices they face are stark.
Awful Truth: Bulldozers
Experts say it could cost up to one billion euro to complete all the estates on which work has begun. There is simply no money to do this, nor is there a market for all the houses if completed. A portion of the houses will be taken over by NAMA, and completed and sold for as much as they can get. Others will be allocated to social housing – good news for those on waiting lists, but perhaps not what many of those who bought houses in these estates for inflated prices were expecting when they took out their massive mortgages. There has been talk of converting some ghost estates that are near completion into hospice or nursing home communities.
But the awful truth is that hundreds if not thousands of these properties will be simply bulldozed to the ground – symbols of the foolishness and recklessness that has brought Ireland to its knees.
One NAMA for the rich, and Bananas for everyone else:
The property companies who built these estates, are for the most part, insolvent. They borrowed heavily to finance the developments, and now in a collapsed market, will never to be able to afford to pay them back. But the men who set them up, are often far from insolvent. Intricate corporate structures, and transfers of asset ownership to family members means that even when the company goes kaput, they can walk away comfortably leaving massive debts behind.
The foolish banks who lent them money in the first place without adequate collateral must surely take the hit? No - of course, not. Banks are systemically important. Their books are so filled with these worthless never-to-be-repaid loans, that they need to be bailed out. So the citizens of Ireland, through the government they elected, say "we'll buy these loans off you". Enter NAMA, a "bad" bank who will buy that €100m loan-which-will-never-be-repaid for €40m. (Reports put the average haircut or discount for loans taken over by NAMA at 60%). Of course, even that €40m in most cases will never be repaid - the property company is kaput, remember - so NAMA will take over the assets behind the loans. For that read hundreds of ghost estates.
Now in order for NAMA to work, it must make as much money as it can from selling these houses. Even if that means selling them at fire sale prices. So the market gets flooded with more apartments and houses at a lower price. Guess what that does to the value of the house owned by our Phase 1 buyers? Correct, it drives it down even further.
So now that the fools who borrowed to build, and the chancers that recklessly lent to them are bailed out, the biggest victim of all turns out to be the young couple who just wanted to buy a home to live in. They paid hundreds of thousands of euro to live in an unfinished estate, in a house now worth half of what they paid for it only a few years ago, in an economy wrecked by the very people who overcharged them and are now being bailed out.
Families: as systemic as banks?
Which brings me to the key point. Isn't it time to at least talk about a Nama for "the little people"? Call me bananas, but if the banks are will to sell loans to NAMA for 40% of their original value because the builder has walked away from it, why won't someone give a haircut to those now in negative equity? If we can borrow to buy bad loans off the banks to make sure they don't go bust, can we not do something to make sure families don't go bust? Are families not as systemic to our society as banks? Don't we own most of these banks now anyway?
Personally, I don't own one of these houses, and while I know some people in negative equity, thankfully they are not living in a ghost estate. But many people my age bought houses in areas they didn't really want to live in, and towns that didn't exist ten years ago, just because it was all they could afford. Now, they are trapped.
They have no road or footpath in the estate, youngsters are hanging out in the abandoned building site near their homes, and their new neighbours are likely to be either pensioners from retirement homes or welfare recipients - that's if the bulldozers don't get there first. Their jobs are far from safe, their pay has been cut, their taxes are about to rise, their childcare costs are still high, and they have to work two jobs to pay a mortgage back to a bank that managed to get it's loans taken off its hands.
I'm not an economist. But people live in a society, not an economy. I understand that our budget structural deficit is completely unrelated to the NAMA project and bank bailout (which makes it even scarier). But the tough medicine that is about to be administered, would not taste as bad, if it was tempered with some recognition that there is one group left waiting for their bailout - ordinary citizens.
When the ship is steadied, and the current fire is put out, there are a few "finishing touches" to be made to our approach to the bursting of the property bubble. In the meantime, can we get some paths, roads and lighting to those poor people trapped in our ghost estates, and please tell me we don't have to wait for an "expert group" to report back to tell us that is what they need.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Robinson congratulates Hume on "Ireland's Greatest" at launch of UN report
- Robinson congratulates Hume on Ireland’s Greatest
- Former president says debate on gender quotas in Irish politics should be reopened
- Equality Minister Mary White is considering a proposal whereby State funding could be cut for any political party without a fair proportion of women candidates
Former President Mary Robinson has congratulated John Hume on being named Ireland’s Greatest in an RTE vote, in which she finished in third place.
“I’m very happy that John Hume got the recognition he so richly deserves,” she told me, “For him, for his wife Pat and the family. It’s a very good way for the Irish people to recognise the huge contribution he has made.”
She was speaking at the office of Ireland’s UN Mission in New York last night, where she helped launch a new report into women’s participation in politics, which was co-authored by Ireland.
Mrs Robinson, who was Ireland’s first ever female President, said she had not had yet the opportunity to watch any of the five documentaries in the series - including the one in which economist David McWilliams championed her case.
“My family certainly felt it was a good documentary,” she said, “And I heard that people in the west of Ireland, at least, also agreed. But I will catch up on it soon.”
She said she was glad to been a little distant from the process, and was now happy that “the rest of us can fade into a nice comfortable obscurity again”.
The UN report – which was co authored by Ireland, Northern Ireland, Liberia and Timor Leste (East Timor) – made a number of recommendations on improving women’s participation in formal politics.
These included more family friendly working arrangements for politicians, the engagement of men in support of women candidates and political structures like a women’s caucus in parliament once elected.
One of its key findings was that gender quotas in politics do work, and should not be dismissed as token gestures.
It cautions against viewing them as negative and said they should instead be a key strategy in helping women to enter formal politics.
Mrs Robinson said she believed it was “appropriate” for the issue to be re-examined in Ireland.
“The countries around the world that have been willing to have quotas have made much more rapid progress,” the former president said, “It is up to every country, and some, Ireland among them, feel we don’t need quotas.
“But maybe they should think: how is it that we still have a very small percentage of women? How can we ensure that we get closer to the 50/50? Do we even have the ambition to get close to the 50/50?”
Equality Minister Mary White of the Green Party, who represented the government at the event, said quotas would be considered as part of a wider package of reforms aimed at increasing female participation in politics in Ireland.
“I have said all along that quotas on their own won’t work – we need a strong supportive package,” she said.
She said in recent weeks her team had received responses from all the political parties to a detailed questionnaire on the issue.
She said she is working on a proposal, some of which could be implemented as part of electoral and Dail reform.
These include a change to working hours in Dail Eireann to make them more family friendly, and more women nominees to State boards.
One potentially controversial proposal under consideration is the linking of the State funding of political parties to their gender representations.
“I’ll be looking at the issue of party funding if parties didn’t actually run (women) candidates,” said Minster White, “and maybe having a sliding scale.
“So if you had 20% (female candidates) you lose a certain percentage of your state funding, 25% you’d lose less, and the more you go up in terms of having women on the ballot paper, the more money the party would have.”
Ireland is currently ranked 84th in the world for female representation in politics – just 23 TDS are women (14%) which puts us behind Sierra Leone.
Several high-profile female TDs, including Olwyn Enright (FG), Liz McManus and Mary Upton (Lab), indicated during the summer that they don’t intend to contest the next election.
“There is no question about it,” said Minister White, “Our parliament is not balanced.”
The UN study was presented to the head of UN women Michele Bachelet.
The Irish-hosted event was also attended by Ministers from Liberia, Timor Leste and several senior international and UN diplomats.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
The Daily Show with John Stewart
We’re missing out on Justin Timberlake by one day, but no-one in the queue seems to mind. Not the Jersey teenager who came with his dad, not the young bank worker, who came straight from work in his suit, and not the retired helicopter pilot from Canada who is here with his wife.
And certainly not yours truly.
The pop star is due to appear on the Daily Show tomorrow night to promote his new movie – tonight we have some unknown author of some unknown book. In other words, zero celebrity factor. But those of us queuing on a damp autumn day outside a relatively shabby-looking building on the west side of Manhattan don’t really care. Because, the only person fans of the Daily Show really care about seeing is its sharp-witted presenter John Stewart.
Some claim that more people in the US get their news from John Stewart than anywhere else. That may be stretching the truth a little. Stewart’s satire can only work, for the most part, if his audience is already aware of and clued-in to the news stories and personalities at which he takes aim. But even if they are not getting their news from him, he is the moral compass for many. Stewart commands a vitally important place in the political discourse in the most powerful country in the world. His nightly show on Comedy Central not only targets political hypocrisy, it also punctures the hype of an, at times, incredibly-partisan media. He highlights inconsistencies, hyperbole and stands up for simple common sense.
At the end of this month, Mr Stewart, and Stephen Colbert, (another hilarious political satirist whose spin-off show follows Stewart’s on Comedy Central) will hold a rally in Washington DC - Stewart is calling it the “Rally to Restore Sanity”. He says it’s for the “busy majority” – those who are too busy to go to rallies, who actually have lives and families and jobs, or who are looking for jobs. It’s clearly a counter-culture statement to the right-wing Tea Party favourite and Fox news contributor Glenn Beck, who held a rally in August attended by around 80,000 people. And thousands are expected to attend.
He is undoubtedly a figurehead for left-leaning politically aware young people. But he is also hugely respected, even among those on the right, as being intelligent, fair and above all – funny. That’s why tickets to recordings of The Daily Show are among the hottest in town each day. They are totally free – but timing and luck have to be on your side to get them.
Tickets are available only through the show’s website, and are often snapped up within minutes of going online. Others are released just days before the filming, so while it can be tough to get your hands on them, it’s not impossible. If you are hoping to catch a taping while you are on holiday in New York, then you will need to keep a regular eye on the website from about two weeks before the desired date. I’m told Friday night is an especially good time to try for tickets – but there are no guarantees.
In fact, even if you are lucky enough to reserve tickets to the show, that still does not guarantee you entry. The show’s producers deliberately oversubscribe every show, to ensure that all seats are full even if some ticket holders don’t turn up. That’s why people start queuing outside the building - which is located just around the corner from the Irish Arts Centre - from about 2.30pm onwards – even though the taping itself does not take place until a time closer to 5.30pm.
But the atmosphere in the queue is fun and friendly, and time does pass relatively quickly. I arrived at 3.20pm and met a friend who had already taken a place in line. There were already around 200 people in line, and it looked like many who did not arrive until after 3.45pm were not lucky enough to make it inside. The good news is that up until 4.30pm, you are allowed to hold a place in line for your friends. Most people, come in groups of four, as that is the maximum number of tickets you can apply for online. So when the two others in our company joined us at around 4.15, there was no issue with them skipping the queue and joining us at our place in the line.
At about 4.30pm, the producers distribute tickets – to those who have their online confirmations printed out, and ID to prove they match the name on them. Tickets are first-come, first-served with those who arrive early getting the best seats, and those who arrive running the risk of being told there are no more left. It’s after 5.15pm by the time we enter the building, through a security check that includes a metal detector similar to what you would find at an airport.
Once inside the studio, the crowd sits excitedly taking in the atmosphere. Many who have never been inside a television studio before notice that the set looks smaller in person that it does on the screen. Within minutes a warm-up comedian is trying to lift our mood. I guess, given that we had been standing in line for over two hours, this can take a bit of work. He chats to a number of audience members.
A middle-aged Jewish couple in the front row provide particular entertainment. The husband says he’d been interviewed for the show on some issue years previously. The wife is knitting a jumper, even as the warm-up comedian does his shtick. “You won’t be able to do that when the recording begins,” he informs her. Even though the audience is never shown on the programme, it would be too much of a distraction to have her knitting one, and purling one right in the front row.
"Stewart questions from the audience for about five minutes – which considering this is a daily show and he has been doing it for more than 11 years is quite extraordinary"
He chats to another man who has almost lost his voice through illness – he turns out to be a former Repo man who had once repossessed Donald Trump’s yacht. This lifted everyone’s mood like nothing else. And so it was time to meet the man himself.
John Stewart is shorter in person than he looks on TV, although he jokes about it on his show so regularly you are prepared for this. He takes questions from the audience for about five minutes – which considering this is a daily show and he has been doing it for more than 11 years is an quite extraordinary demonstration of patience. During this ad-libbed few minutes, his quick wit, and political awareness are wonderfully demonstrated.
“Who would you rather punch in the face – Glenn Beck or Sarah Palin?”one audience member wanted to know. Stewart wasn’t about to rise to that one. “Oh neither,” he said, “I would never punch someone. I don’t want to hit these people. I want to understand them. I want to find out how they come to the opinions that they have...Besides, have you seen Glenn Beck? He’s over six foot tall...” And then once everybody who wanted to ask a question had been given the chance, it was time for the show itself.
The recording was smooth and professional. It’s pretty much identical to what we see at home, with no breaks or interruptions except for commercials. There were no fluffed lines (and no need for second takes) as Stewart mercilessly ripped into a campaign speech delivered by Obama the previous day. He tackled the media for its obsession with whether or not Sarah Palin had been booed during an appearance on Dancing with the Stars (a Strictly-style reality show on which her daughter Bristol is competing). And he excoriated the Democrats for the TV ads they were running for the mid-terms, some of which distanced the candidates from their achievements over the past two years, and others which quoted a Republican opponent completely out of context, while branding him Taliban Dan. It was all sharp, cutting, and very very funny.
The guest, Linda Polman, was author of The Crisis Caravan: What is Wrong with Humanitarian Aid who spoke about corruption in international charities. It was worthy, if in truth, a little dull. And then the mood was made even more sombre as Stewart announced at the end of the programme that his Comedy Central Colleague, comedians Greg Giraldo had died following an overdose. Not the most uplifting end to the show – but a fitting one. Giraldo would have been familiar to many young American comedy fans and Stewart’s tribute was perfect in its tone. The recording lasted just over 30 minutes – and then it was back out into the Manhattan evening.
What?
The Daily Show with John Stewart
Where?
It’s studio on 11 Ave, btw W51st and W52st
How much?
Tickets are free. Available only from Daily Show website. Ticket does not guarantee entry.
Tips
Be prepared to queue for a few hours. Arrive in time. You won’t be able to take pictures once inside the studio, so take photos of the outside awning before you go in.
Conclusion:
Worth the wait to see Stewart in action.
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