Cork Blogs.com


FAS funds and SIPTU/ICTU via The Story September 4th, 2010 at 10:27

image On the subject of: THE TÁNAISTE Mary Coughlan yesterday sought to play down a controversy with the European Commission that has brought a halt to the claiming of tens of millions of euro in European Social Fund payments. Her department confirmed that a claim for €57 million spent by Fás on training and which was to be repaid by Europe, was withdrawn because of issues raised by European audits. A prominent trade unionist has criticised a call for FAS to be shut down: The Labour Party’s spokesman on education, the former minister for labour Ruairí Quinn, has called for Fás to be “shut down” as a result of this latest blow to its credibility. He said some of its budget should be transferred to educational institutions such as institutes of technology. This sparked an angry...
In Comment, FOIs

Hegarty on Anglo via The Story September 4th, 2010 at 01:17

image Rare that I’d link to a non-economist around these here parts but Shane Hegarty, arts editor of The Irish Times, has a cracking column on Anglo this morning in Weekend Review. On Monday Anglo Irish Bank revealed that its latest half-year losses amounted to roughly the same as it would cost to rent a black hole and throw the country into it. At the same time the bank admitted that it was beginning an internal investigation into the overcharging of customers by as much as €50 million. A few years ago this would have been a lead story, a match to ignite the parliamentary hot air. This week? It was an addendum, an “and finally . . .”, just another pile of cash to throw on the green-tinged pyre. It seemed, in the grand scheme, almost inconsequential. After all, it would amount to a...
In Comment

Steam train to Mallaig via glasseyalley . com September 3rd, 2010 at 21:05

image On The Jacobite heading from Fort William to Mallaig. Pre-set the camera, stuck it out the window and this is the result. Can't say fairer than that....

New Apartment Websites via Irish Accommodation Guide September 3rd, 2010 at 16:03

Have just started work on a few new apartment sites including Apartments in Galway and Cheap Dublin Apartments as well as a couple in the UK. Its early days yet but we expect these sites to become very visible in quick time on Google. Apartments offer a very good alternative to traditional hotel accommodation. Both sites/domains are available for sale....
In Ireland in General, self catering, Apartments

Register Now: The 6th Annual Java@Cork Conference via The it@cork Blog September 3rd, 2010 at 11:52

image Register now for the upcoming 6th Annual Java@Cork Conference.  Exciting line up of speakers including Mark Proctor, Consulting JBoss Engineer at Red Hat…. Details of this upcoming event can be found on www.itcork.ie...
In General

IMG_6965p via Down with my Life by Vic Barry September 3rd, 2010 at 08:55

image IMG_6965p Originally uploaded by vicbarry....

Johnson, Boone, Kinsella via The Story September 3rd, 2010 at 08:14

image In case you missed it yesterday, Peter Boone and Simon Johnson (former IMF chief economist) of Baseline Scenario and The New York Times on Ireland… Until very recently, Ireland was seen as Europe’s poster child of prudent reforms. Mr. Trichet himself highlighted Ireland as an example that Greece and other financially stricken nations should follow. His message was simple: If only Greece, or Portugal or Spain would cut public wages, reduce the budget deficit and make structural reforms as Ireland has done, then growth could occur and default prevented. However, it is now apparent that Ireland has not done enough to stem its march toward further crisis. The ultimate result of Ireland’s bank bailout exercise is obvious: one way or another, the government will have converted the...
In Comment

KENMARE AUG/SEPT 2010 via EYE THROUGH A LENS September 2nd, 2010 at 23:16

image ...
In Landscape, Water

Anglo and Lehman via The Story September 3rd, 2010 at 01:15

image A common refrain heard from representatives of the Government is that Anglo Irish Bank had to be saved in September 2008, else it would have brought the entire banking system down with it. Government ministers consistently and still come on air to tell us that Anglo was systemically important and that we had to save it. Just look at Lehman Brothers, they say, look at the disaster Lehman caused. Yes Lehman collapsed. Is the US better or worse off as a result, two years laters? Ben Beranke, the Fed chairman, has said something rather interesting in the context of Lehman: “I regret not being more straightforward there because clearly that has supported the mistaken impression that, in fact, we could have done something. We could not have done anything.” Bernanke told the...
In finance

Tanorganic: 100% Natural Bullshit via Riemann's Cut September 3rd, 2010 at 01:03

I saw this shite on Dragon's Cock a few months back. "Whatever" I thought, "fools want to smear fake tan on their cracks, more power to you for making money out of it." I thought no more of it until I saw a link to the TV ad for the product on bigmentaldisease.com, but it was only when I saw the ad on TV during an ad-break did the stupidity of the advertising hit me. The use of the term "natural" has always irked me. Irked me in the same way that people think "drugs" are some kind of alien substance that bare no relation to anything else on the planet. Everything we see around us is "natural". Nothing is unnatural, for nature dictates it's own defintion of itself and the universe. Is it natural to mastrubate? What about sticking a finger up ones own bottom? Are...

Oireachtas attendance records (March 2010) via The Story September 2nd, 2010 at 23:44

image Attendance Records 01-03-2010 to 12-03-2010 Senators...
In FOIs

Two via glasseyalley . com September 2nd, 2010 at 21:05

image Taken during the Visit Dublin photowalk a couple of weekends back. The start of the processing that needs to be done for this batch....

Tweet Tweet dives into the past via Holy Shmoly! September 2nd, 2010 at 15:25

image I overhauled my Tweet Tweet plugin for WordPress yesterday so it would work with the new Twitter OAuth mechanism. This morning I made it possible to download your older tweets, up to the max limit of 3,200 tweets that Twitter allows. It’s still a work in progress but I want to get a new release out as soon as I can for current users who are using the basic auth that doesn’t work any more. If you’re feeling adventurous give the development version on the download page a go and tell me what you think! 99% of the OAuth code was ripped from Alex King’s Twitter Tools which in turn uses Abraham Williams’ twitteroauth.php library and OAuth.php from oauth.net. Thank you all for doing the heavy lifting required! Related PostsTweet TweetTweet Tweet 0.1 for...
In Wordpress, tweet tweet

RESTAURANTS via Munster Pubs September 1st, 2010 at 21:46

Munsterpubs will soon be reviewing restaurants predominantly in the Cork area. Our new recruit Jason will be taking on the task and many reviews to come hopefully over the next......
In Announcements, Restaurant Reviews

The Ballydowd facility for troubled teens via The Story September 2nd, 2010 at 01:30

image In the 1994 the courts declared that disruptive children had a constitutional right to be cared for by the State to a suitable standard. By 1999 a High Court judge, Mr Justice Kelly, found that “culpable time-wasting” in the department of health and children had resulted in this care remaining unavailable. He said the problems of accommodating such children had daily become more acute. At that point the department had plans to bring a 24 bed custom-built unit on stream by early 2000. It was to be the first in the history of the state. The health-board run facility located in Ballydowd, Lucan, opened in mid-2000 but with only at one-third of its 24 bed capacity, due to difficulties with sub-contractors and recruiting suitable staff. 12 months later and the problems remained....
In Comment

Fuck Brochures, have a comic via Damien Mulley September 2nd, 2010 at 00:31

image Instead of doing a traditional brochure for the dayjob I decided to have a bit of fun, at my expense mostly and commissioned Tommie Kelly to make a comic for Mulley Communications. The result is pretty damned good. (Biased) I posted it out to a few people and yesterday there were a good number of tweets about it giving good feedback. I fired some ideas to Tommie, he took them and created the comic. It was a quick and painless process. He’s taking commissions too if you want him to do something as fun for your company. It gets in my penchant for trains, use of colourful language and that red shirt that so many dislike. Me as Willy Wonka was his idea, really. The cover image comes from this photo by Phil. What I like is that in the digital world where I do most of my business it is...
In Ireland, irishblogs, business

Sunset over Plage de Longchamps - Saint Lunaire. via Despod's photo and comment blog. September 1st, 2010 at 17:13

image Sunset over Plage de Longchamps - Saint Lunaire.Originally uploaded by...

Frederik Chopin in St Malo via Despod's photo and comment blog. September 1st, 2010 at 17:16

image Frederik Chopin in St MaloOriginally uploaded by...

Pont Aven approaching Roscoff on a summer’s evening. via Despod's photo and comment blog. September 1st, 2010 at 17:19

image Pont Aven approaching Roscoff on a summer's evening.Originally uploaded by...

Oireachtas travel costs 2009 via The Story September 1st, 2010 at 17:49

image These are costs related to Irish Parliamentary Association (IPA) travel for 2009. Released by the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission. Spreadsheet These are costs related to Council of Europe, OECD, PACE, Western European Union, EuroMed and EMPA. The total is €108,671.80. The data includes trips by Frank Fahey, Ivor Callely, Pat Breen, Joe O’Reilly, Terry Leyden and Cecilia Keaveney. Spreadsheet...
In expenses, FOIs

Brendan Drumm diary 2008/2009 via The Story September 1st, 2010 at 16:31

image As part of an ongoing process. The appointments diary of then HSE chief executive Brendan Drumm for 2008 and 2009. Drumm Diary...
In Diaries, FOIs

One year old via The Story August 31st, 2010 at 23:21

image Thestory.ie is one year old today. We would like to thank all of our readers for their support....
In Comment

British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly costs 2009 via The Story August 31st, 2010 at 23:41

image This is a breakdown of British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly costs for 2009. It totals at €20,656.41. Spreadsheet...
In FOIs

Lip Pump: Make Your Face Look Like A Dog’s Arse via Riemann's Cut August 31st, 2010 at 15:09

"Get the look of two FABULOUS, blood-swollen leeches crawling across your face for just pennies a day!" "Do you long for your normal lips to look like a giant, glistening swollen anus? There's this new bicycle-pump type device that will scarily inflate your lips in just two minutes, while your terrified child watches on in horror!" [source] [via] [purchase]...

Anglo 2010 interim results via The Story August 31st, 2010 at 11:26

image Interim Report 2010 PDF...
In finance

shit songs with pretentious titles via Riemann's Cut August 30th, 2010 at 23:43

So many shit songs with pretentious titles... but then again, so many shit songs with pretentious messages :) shit songs with pretentious titles by Gammagoblin This was just an eight bar "drilling" exercise I did one day recently. I felt my "Airfix Twins" skills were under developed so I lashed into re-sequencing a Dr Rex loop in Reason. The actual 8 bars of music composed are only heard at the end, repeated twice where everything is in tutti. It sorta evolves from the beginning up to that point so it starts off sounding a bit gangly. The title is something I recently thought would make a good album title. I often come up with a clever name for a song but have no song to put it with, and vice versa, when I struggle to put a name to tune. I had to post the song if just for the...

Bank of Ireland (UK) plc via The Story August 30th, 2010 at 23:25

image In July a statutory instrument (S.I. No. 358/2010) was signed by Finance Minister Brian Lenihan, bringing a company called Bank of Ireland (UK) plc under the Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Act 2008, otherwise known as the bank gurantee scheme. This is curious on a number of levels, and could be entirely innocent, but is nonetheless worth looking a little into. Bank of Ireland (UK) plc was incorporated on September 17, 2009. Richie Boucher was appointed a director in March 2010, and it appears to have commenced business on April 1. Its most recent director appointment was on July 14, 2010, when Laurel Powers Freeling, the former chief executive of Marks and Spencers, was appointed. Five days after the appointment of Freeling and a Robert Walker, Brian Lenihan signed the SI that...
In finance

Print Shopping via glasseyalley . com August 30th, 2010 at 22:38

image Choosing a print from the thousands on display over the weekend....

2010 Irish Organic Week Competition via Organico Bantry August 30th, 2010 at 20:56

Organic is Best Slogan Competition Using one of the following starting points tell us why you think organic is best! (Under 50 words) ‘I love organic because… ‘I eat organic because… ‘Organic food makes sense to me because… The winners will be published on Organico’s website and will receive an Organico Apron (made from Organic Fair Trade cotton) and an Organico bag filled with organic goodies. (All together worth over €55). Closing date 15th September 2010. Our decision is final. All prizes have to be collected from Organico in Bantry unless a special arrangement is made at our discretion. All entries to be emailed to......
In news

Chart of the day – Deposits from Irish private sector 2004 to 2010 via The Story August 30th, 2010 at 19:12

Deposits from Irish Private Sector by category. Central Bank data. Notice the rapid fall in growth of deposits from November to December 2006, and the subsequent rapid fall....
In Spreadsheets
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