http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/ireland/ en-us Fri, 14 Nov 2008 18:20:19 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2132175/posts Low-cost airline Ryanair has responded to 'anti-fun' opponents of its advertising by sending its raunchy 2009 cabin crew calendar to select Swedish politicians. Top of their mailing list is feminist Liberal Party politician Birgitta Ohlsson, who last month urged consumers to boycott the budget carrier over its “old-fashioned” response to complaints about an advert featuring a young woman in a skimpy school uniform. "We're expecting her usual 'anti-fun' response,' Ryanair spokesman Stephen McNamara told The Local. Entitled 'The Girls of Ryanair', the airline's new 2009 calendar features liberally oiled and scantily clad female cabin crew. "I can't see what the... www.thelocal.se http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2132175/posts#comment Fri, 14 Nov 2008 18:20:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2130325/posts Low-cost airline Ryanair has flown into a storm after its latest charity calendar was branded sexist. A series of glossy photos feature scantily-clad female cabin crew who look more like page three pinups than plane staff. But despite raising money for homeless charity Dublin Simon Community, the calendar has already run into trouble. The Institute for Women in Spain is considering legal action and intends to complain to Irish and EU authorities that the publication is sexist as it only features female models. In a statement, it said: 'It is significant that only women are used, in a sector in... Mail Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2130325/posts#comment Tue, 11 Nov 2008 22:06:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2124957/posts An email from Ireland to all of their brethren in the States…a point to ponder despite your political affiliation: ‘We, in Ireland, can’t figure out why you people are even bothering to hold an election in the United States. On one side, you had a pants wearing female lawyer, married to another lawyer who can’t seem to keep his pants on, who just lost a long and heated primary against a lawyer, who goes to the wrong church, who is married to yet another lawyer, who doesn’t even like the country her husband wants to run ! Now…On the other... Gretawire http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2124957/posts#comment Tue, 4 Nov 2008 20:25:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2111070/posts Barack Obama says he plans to cut taxes for 95 percent of American workers. That sounds terrific, but there are three problems. One, it is meant to draw attention from the real core of the Obama tax plan: proposed increases in every major federal tax. Two, the structure of the cuts will create perverse incentives. And three, many of the people receiving “tax cuts” don’t pay taxes to begin with, meaning they’ll be in effect getting welfare. The first point requires but a simple list. Obama proposes to raise the top two individual income tax rates by 25 percent or... National Review http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2111070/posts#comment Tue, 21 Oct 2008 12:48:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2102834/posts Ryanair on Friday claimed Sweden's Trade Ethical Council against Sexism in Advertising (ERK) was out of touch with the "Britney Spears generation" after the agency accused the discount airline of running a sexist ad campaign. In defending the advertisement, Ryanair questioned whether the ERK accurately reflected the views of most Swedes. “We are sure that the anti-funsters at the ERK do not speak for the majority of the famously liberal and easy going Swedes,” the company said in a statement. “The ad simply reflects the way a lot of young girls like to dress. We hope the old farts at... www.thelocal.se http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2102834/posts#comment Sat, 11 Oct 2008 02:14:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2101390/posts HILL OF TARA, Ireland–It is a battle worthy of the old Irish legends, pitting history against modernity. But as a controversial highway creeps ever closer to the spiritual home of the early Celtic kings, it now appears both sides may lose. For advocates of the twin ribbons of asphalt called the M3 now under construction north of the Irish capital, there is no choice but to live pragmatically with the roar of a commuter corridor in the shadow of the sacred Hill of Tara, because getting to nearby Dublin is a nightmare without it. For opponents, the new toll highway... The Star http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2101390/posts#comment Thu, 9 Oct 2008 15:19:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2094861/posts Financial crisis: French may copy Irish deposit guarantee France is reported to be considering plans to guarantee all national bank deposits after a similar controversial move by Ireland yesterday gained traction across Europe. By Philip Aldrick Last Updated: 3:24PM BST 01 Oct 2008 France's Economy Minister Christine Lagarde reassured savers that their money was safe in the banking system. Photo: REUTERS European regulators are now investigating Ireland for anti-competitive behaviour after the state guaranteed the €400bn (£315bn) of savings and loans held by six of its largest financial institutions in what bankers said was a de facto nationalisation of the... Telegraph http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2094861/posts#comment Wed, 1 Oct 2008 14:49:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2094711/posts Financial crisis: Ireland’s banks are rescued Ireland has launched a full-scale rescue of its financial system, issuing a state guarantee worth €400bn (£316bn) to cover the key liabilities of its biggest banks and mortgage lenders. By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard Last Updated: 6:45AM BST 01 Oct 2008 It is the most dramatic and comprehensive bank bail-out in Europe since the Scandinavian rescues of the early 1990s and may serve as a model for Britain and other countries that so far have been muddling through from one mishap to another with a mish-mash of ad hoc policies. The state guarantee exceeds 200pc of... Telegraph http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2094711/posts#comment Wed, 1 Oct 2008 10:23:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2083321/posts Irish In Protest At Gers Chant Sep 16 2008 By Paul Drury AN IRISH diplomat has raised a complaint with the Scottish government over a song sung by Rangers fans at an Old Firm game. They were heard singing "The Famine Song" during the match at Ibrox a fortnight ago. It includes the line: "The famine is over, why don't you go home?", and refers to the Irish potato famine of 1845-49, in which more than a million people died. A Celtic fan protested to the Irish Embassy in London and Consul General Cliona Manahan raised the issue with... The Daily Record (UK) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2083321/posts#comment Tue, 16 Sep 2008 08:02:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2081810/posts August 30, 2008 Categories: John McCain Palin's travels Sarah Palin's abrupt appearance on the national stage sparked an enormous array of questions, one of which is: Has she ever traveled abroad? I asked her new spokeswoman, Maria Comella, who noted that Palin visited Germany and Kuwait in 2007 to visit Alaska National Guard troops. Comella said she'd also visited one other country: Ireland. Politico http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2081810/posts#comment Sat, 13 Sep 2008 22:17:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2079786/posts Ireland rejected the European Lisbon treaty comprehensively in a referendum this year. Now Irish and European politicians and are gearing up for another referendum or simply go over the voters heads and legislate this unreadable document into existence. Bendybananas http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2079786/posts#comment Thu, 11 Sep 2008 10:22:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2071394/posts I thought of “Sweetness” last week. He was the Drum Major of the Yale Band, back when ice covered the Earth and I was in college. I’m not saying that the Yale Band was inadequate. But they did run onto the field like a rabble, rather than march. The Co-op Book Store did have a card which said on the front, “Today, in your honor, the Yale Band will play....” Inside, it said, “... in tune.” But one part of that organization was absolutely perfect. That was George Levendis, a 6-foot 4-inch Drum Major who bent over backwards until the... Special to FreeRepublic http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2071394/posts#comment Sat, 30 Aug 2008 20:15:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2069877/posts Barack Obama’s decision to consider whether a special US envoy to Northern Ireland was still necessary puts progress in the North “at risk”, his Republican rival John McCain’s campaign has said. Mr McCain said the move showed the Democrat’s “total lack of experience and profoundly poor judgment on matters of foreign policy” and was further evidence that the Illinois senator was “simply not ready to lead”. Mr Obama said he would review whether an envoy or senior administration official would be most effective 10 years after the Good Friday peace agreement enshrined political power-sharing in the North. Brian Rogers, a... PA via The Irish Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2069877/posts#comment Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:02:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2055031/posts Pentagon Makes Fighting Extremism Top Priority Seven years after the Sept. 11 attacks, the Pentagon on Thursday officially named "the long war" against global extremism as its top priority and pledged to avert any conventional military threat from China or Russia through dialogue. The Defense Department, in a new national defense strategy, also emphasized the need to subordinate military operations to "soft power" initiatives to undermine Islamist militancy by promoting economic, political and social development in vulnerable corners of the world. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he hoped the change would help establish permanent institutional support for counterinsurgency skills... Previous Thread http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2055031/posts#comment Fri, 1 Aug 2008 19:17:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2060995/posts BLIMEY! BONNIE PRINCE CHARLEY DOTH FEAR HUNGER! Prince Charles Philip Arthur George Windsor, aka His Royal Highness, Prince of Wales, aka Prince of Rothesay, aka Duke of Cornwall, Prince of Perv, next in line to the throne of Great Britain, (when Mom Elizabeth, finally surrenders that throne and/or loses her mind), hath spoken: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/08/12/eacharles112.xml. The Bonnie Prince, perhaps best known for having his man servant hold the specimen cup while he peed in it and for expressing his written wish that he could be his mistress’, Camilla Parker Bowles, Dutchess of Cornwall’s tampon, has expressed his fear that genetically modified... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2060995/posts#comment Wed, 13 Aug 2008 06:10:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2057668/posts Draconian rules imposed by the Chinese authorities mean that flags of any non-competing nation are likely to be confiscated from fans, who could be barred from venues if they refuse to comply. Athletes could even be disqualified from competing if they break the rules. Because Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland are not individually represented at the games, only the Union Flag of Great Britain will be allowed inside the stadiums. The regulation is widely believed to be aimed at preventing supporters of an independent Tibet from making political statements by waving its flag, but it will be enforced... The Telegraph (U.K.) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2057668/posts#comment Wed, 6 Aug 2008 22:26:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2056337/posts Cremated bones thought to date from around 3,500BC to 2,000BC have been unearthed by archaeologists during a dig near Lough Fea. A team of four archaeologists came across a mound of stones, known as a cairn which often points to a burial site, at the Creagh Concrete plant near Blackwater Bridge. The find was unearthed when workers from Creagh Concrete were extracting gravel earlier this week. An archaeologist is always present on site when work of this nature is being carried out. Following excavation of the site, the archaeologists discovered two small cist burials, one octagonal in shape, around 45... Mid Ulster Mail http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2056337/posts#comment Mon, 4 Aug 2008 18:22:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2052882/posts The possibility of a Palaeolithic human presence in Ireland has once again presented itself. A flaked flint dating to about 200,000 years ago found in Co Down is certainly of human workmanship, but its ultimate origin remains uncertain. Discovered at Ballycullen, ten miles east of Belfast, the flake is 68mm long and wide and 31mm thick. Its originally dark surface is heavily patinated to a yellowish shade, and the lack of sharpness in its edges suggests that it has been rolled around by water or ice, Jon Stirland reports in Archaeology Ireland. Dr Farina Sternke has identified it as a... Times Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2052882/posts#comment Tue, 29 Jul 2008 02:24:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2040058/posts Al-Qaeda Draws New Recruits Via Internet Al-Qaeda is using the Internet to recruit vulnerable young people to its terrorist network, according to a programme aired on Saudi Arabian TV late on Tuesday. Umm Osama, the founder of al-Qaeda's first women-only website, al-Khansa, joined several others on the programme to discuss how they renounced jihadist ideology. Among those who sought a response to this question was an imam from the Medina mosque, Saleh Ibn Awad al-Mudamsi, and the father of a young al-Qaeda suspect held in an Iraqi prison. Read More Qaeda Targets U.S. Oil Interests in North Africa U.S.... Previous Thread http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2040058/posts#comment Thu, 3 Jul 2008 02:02:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047327/posts It has become fashionable to look to the lessons of the peace process in Northern Ireland as holding insights for other areas of conflict in the world. However, this has been done in an uncritical way, often more focused on contemporary agendas than on the core realities unique to the region, which do not necessarily translate elsewhere. In some instances, the willingness of a state to negotiate might encourage the terrorists to believe that their opponents are ready to concede – even when this is not the case. In June-July 1972, for example, top IRA operatives were flown to... Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047327/posts#comment Fri, 18 Jul 2008 04:51:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2044047/posts July 11 Rabbi David Dalin His latest book, Icon of Evil: Hitler’s Mufti & the Rise of Radical Islam and Ambassador John Bruton Former Prime Minister of Ireland and the current EU Ambassador to the United States EWTN http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2044047/posts#comment Fri, 11 Jul 2008 17:57:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2038729/posts The original Bill to punish anyone who might decide to set off nuclear weapons in Ireland was not exactly overly harsh on offenders. It provided a humble district court judge the power to impose a €5,000 fine and a 12-month jail term. Critics said the proposed punishment structure would have made Ireland a laughing stock. But the authorities have moved to considerably strengthen the penalties on any person building or worse, detonating, a thermonuclear bomb in this country. Now offenders -- including any would-be Dr Strangegloves -- would see their trial going forward to the Central Criminal Court, where sentences... Independient.ie http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2038729/posts#comment Mon, 30 Jun 2008 19:30:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2036404/posts The words were clear: "Europe has powerful enemies on the other side of the Atlantic, gifted with considerable financial means." The speaker was France's Europe Minister Jean-Pierre Jouyet, addressing a pro-European rally in Lyon at the weekend. He was putting the blame for the Irish rejection of the Lisbon Treaty on some surprising shoulders: neoconservatives in the United States. "The role of the American neocons was very important in the victory of the 'no,'" he said. ... One of the most powerful groups campaigning against the treaty was Libertas... There has been much speculation about where exactly the Libertas funding... spiegel.de http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2036404/posts#comment Wed, 25 Jun 2008 22:02:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2035180/posts Today’s Illegals ‘Not Different, Just Newer’ by: Melinda Zosh, June 23, 2008 In 1750, Benjamin Franklin feared that German immigrants would de-Anglicize America. And 250 years later, in a nation where one in six young people under 18 are Hispanic, some politicians fear that Mexicans pose the same threat. But one man says today’s immigrants aren’t “different, they’re just newer.” Jason Riley, author of The Case for Open Borders, spoke at the CATO Institute on June 18 about letting more immigrants into the country. His research shows that Irish and German immigrants faced the same problems as today’s Mexicans. “Franklin... Campus Report http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2035180/posts#comment Mon, 23 Jun 2008 18:31:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2034898/posts A Muslim asylum seeker lost out on an award for volunteer work after indicating that he would not shake hands with the woman who was to present him with the prize. Alinoor Ahmed Sheikh, a Somali based in an asylum hostel in Tralee, was to have been honoured for his work raising funds for Amnesty International at a ceremony last Thursday organised by the Africa Centre in Dublin. The event was designed to highlight the positive work done by refugees and asylum seekers in Irish communities. Five minutes before Benedicta Attoh, a member of the National Consultative Committee on Racism... Timesonline.co.uk http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2034898/posts#comment Mon, 23 Jun 2008 01:42:50 GMT