Is Ireland goin downhill fast?

[mountielad]

The website: http://www.iseverythingshit.co.uk/index.htm pretty much sums up the cultural state of neo-liberal affairs that Ireland, UK, US have adopted. Through globalisation other states are jumping on the band wagon. As a 24 year old the future we're inheiting is bleak to say the least. Yes, there's jobs in Ireland, but do people feel a real sense of attachment toward them? Is our economic up turn one of sustaibaility with social needs met in accordance with our new found wealth?
That's why projects such as Ubuntu are really interesting and provide a non-profit community based system of being! Based on freedom but derived from a communicative ethos, I've told my friends about it! I'm fed up with the commercial privatisation of Irish society and the internet. I recently purchased a Dell laptop with XP and if I see another pop-up, 'install now now or continue what you were doing', initialising [crap] or reminders to buy the latest update I'm gonna fling the thing out of the window! Hence by tomorrow I will have installed Ubuntu.

http://www.iseverythingshit.co.uk/index.htm

[JanusGeminus]

Originally Posted by mountielad pretty much sums up the cultural state of neo-liberal affairs that Ireland, UK, US have adopted. Through globalisation other states are jumping on the band wagon. As a 24 year old the future we're inheiting is bleak to say the least. Yes, there's jobs in Ireland, but do people feel a real sense of attachment toward them? Is our economic up turn one of sustaibaility with social needs met in accordance with our new found wealth? That's why projects such as Ubuntu are really interesting and provide a non-profit community based system of being! Based on freedom but derived from a communicative ethos, I've told my friends about it! I'm fed up with the commercial privatisation of Irish society and the internet. I recently purchased a Dell laptop with XP and if I see another pop-up, 'install now now or continue what you were doing', initialising [crap] or reminders to buy the latest update I'm gonna fling the thing out of the window! Hence by tomorrow I will have installed Ubuntu.

It's all pretty pointless though to even consider it as it just gets all too depressing. I only occasionally watch RTÉ news but did so yesterday and when "Market slump" is a big story you know there is a problem. Nobody but the rich actually care a bit about market slumps and indeed thats not the only problem. indeed I must say that this country needs to wake up an realise that we have a social future in Europe and it's time to drop the money fanatics act.

[jimod]

Of course Ireland's not going down hill fast. I lived in Dublin about 15 years ago and it was (with apologies to Dubliners) the absolute pits with derelict building everywhere. A year ago I came back to live in the North West and it's great. My father used to tell me stories about the days when children had no shoes because of poverty.
And if you go to England, IMHO that's going downhill REALLY fast.......

[H.E. Pennypacker]

Thank God I live in the United States! The economy is doing pretty well, and it looks like President Bush is taking care of us nicely. Once President Bush is done here in a year or so, you guys can have him (he'll help fix up the Irish economy).

As Capo Status, aka Jim Jones said, "I am doing good, *******."

[kvonb]

I know nothing about Ireland, but from reading some of the posts here I can say that you're not alone!

The entire "western world" is starting to eat itself.

Here in Australia I have witnessed the complete change in society and social values over the last 10 years. We have changed from being a socially responsible and caring society, into being a money worshipping self-centred pseudo-America.

This is all a product of globalisation and corporatism, their goal is to disspell any feelings of Nationalism, national pride, and even international borders.

Destroy the cohesion of society by the age old "divide and conquer" method.

Turn the people against each other by making their existence depend on something other than helping their fellow man, ie remove the rights and guarantees that our fathers fought for, such as unfair dismissal laws, severance pay, unions (not that I'm a fan), human rights, citizens rights.

What these corporations want is to have a whole world of happy consumers, working hard in order to make money to buy "things", useless trinkets like gucci handbags and DVDs.

Change your beliefs, re-write history by putting subtle anachronistic changes into movies, change your values, and ultimately replace your God with money worship.

I seem to remember a passage from a very old book warning about worshipping false Gods .

It makes me sick seeing all these actors and singers being worshipped as Gods, when the vast majority of the worlds population is starving to death, or dying of a hideous disease that could be cured for less than the cost of a burger!

But you can ease any remains of your conscience by donating a small tax deductible amount of money to a "charity". Sure 99% of it goes on "administrative expenses", I mean the director NEEDS that Mercedes to drive around in, and the board needs compensating for the time that they are so graciously giving freely. Plus they really NEED to fly all the "charity" founders to these less fortunate countries (business class of course!), in order to make sure that the money is getting to the people!!!!

Economy before People!

We all see this happening, and we have 2 choices: Ignore it and join them to lead a happy carefree conscienceless life, or see it for what it really is and be miserable, depressed, and ultimately do something about it!

It's your choice .

[SeanONe]

You should have been around here in the eighties.

"Thank God I live in the United States! The economy is doing pretty well, and it looks like President Bush is taking care of us nicely."
Nice flamebait. I don't know if the next year and a half is going to be a constant degrading humiliation for the Bush criminals or if he's just going to go mad dog and blow another decade of human progress into the weeds. America is ruined either way, you can actually see the walled compounds going up all over the place.

Well if Ireland is scuppered there are a few things which could help us all out.

In an election year those power mad little besuited people will knock on your door upsetting your digestion. If a few hundred people tell them the same thing over and over again, they might smell votes. The little people love a pot of golden votes. Get your parents and kids and neighbours to mention the broadband to the suitdummies when they come a knocking.

Ireland has the worst broadband in, oh lets say the entire planet. I'm probably only off by 10 countries or so. Canadian hilbillies on minimum wage have cheap reliable 10Mbit connections. Aussies in the middle of the outback can crack along at speeds in the 30Mbit range, again for peanuts. Bulldog in engerland offer unlimited downloads at 16 Mbit upspeed of 1 Mbit with a static IP for 32 quid, compare that to the garbage available here at insane prices.

Ireland is the number one backer of software patents in the EU by order of Bill Gates. That's bad. That's like letting CIA planes full of kidnapped people refuel here, or refuelling military planes in Shannon. We should definitely stop backing the software patents ASAP.

[kvonb]

Originally Posted by SeanONe Aussies in the middle of the outback can crack along at speeds in the 30Mbit range, again for peanuts.

Hahaha, no way mate!

I'm 300km from a capital city and before I managed to find a local company who was willing to do it (because of some new government funding), all we could get was 30kbps dialup!

No, not 56kbps, but 30kbps on a really good day! And that would cost you between $30 and $45 a month, plus the $39/month minimum for the phone line.

In my town, we now have fixed-point wireless, accounts starting from $30/month which included 500mb/month downloads @ 256/128 kbps. No where near the mythical 30mb!!!!

The fastest you can get on this system is 2mb/512k, and that gives you a 20gb/20gb (peak/offpeak) traffic quota for $189.95/month!

That is NOT cheap!

We are only just getting ADSL2 in our major cities which goes upto 2mb I believe. But even then you will be limited in downloads AND uploads. Plus you have to be lucky enough to be in a DSL available area, which are very unpredictable.

The US has had unlimited traffic on a 1.5/512 link (DSL) for years, and for that you will pay $39.95! I know that because that's what I had when I lived there in 2002.

So at least you can be happy that you are not alone in the "crappiest internet" stakes

[mountielad]

In response to Kvonb and the other sentiments in this thread I couldn't agree more. The west really is on a path of self destruction through the current neoliberal policies it ensues. Through globalisation it seeks to drag the majority world along with it.

It's all to easy to develop a sense of despair but it's important to do our bit where possible. As mentioned: lobbying politicians, talking with others and becoming involved with civil groups and NGO's in real or virtual space. I've recently enaged with some mini adbusting and putting stickers about the place This is one of the reasons I use Ubuntu! It's alternative and I don't have Dell, microsoft or other companies wanting to upgrade or have a poke around my laptop each time. Already films have generated discourse that questions the current global order: An Inconvenient Truth, Fahrenheit 9/11. One of the most impacting films I've seen in recent years is The Corporation. It can be viewed on youtube, but try to support the creators of the film and buy a copy!

I wouldn't be too harsh on charities, I know some have had a bad track record and may not be as effective as they make out. But there is growing critical aspect to global development. For example should NGO's operating in Chad or Calcutta just enforce the Western idea of development? So little by little people are putting the pieces of the jigsaw together and seeing reality outside this drive for globalisation.

I think many great theorists and authors are out there to help us understand the complexity of this truly peculiar moment in history. Noam Chomsky and David Korten to name but a few!

I have spent a lot of time living outside of Ireland and come back each time to a tacky, commercial copy of americana culture. The idea that Irish culture is unique when the origins of Irish dancing and the St. Patricks Day Parade actually come from the US, is a little bogus. Ireland has an amazing culture though. The world's oldest building, a landscape (when not dotted with white bungalows) and seascape that is incredible, a unique celtic heritage that coudl ahve changed the history of the world! And, most importantly a people that, on the whole, have retained a charm, wit and decency that makes me happy to know I always have a home. We are complaining a lot because our value system is being tarnished by those in political power. And let's face it they are gangsters with a greater role as corporate lobbyists! We can now more easily compare our country to continental European value systems of dignity, human rights and an infrastructure and public serivce system that works beautifully and not handed over to private bodies so quickly.

Of course this is just my two cents. Everyone is different and there's plenty of people who will dispute this or stupidly call me a 'commie' or 'shut up, everything's fine we have so much opportunity and prosperity' (a real quote from a Fine Gael hack at a recent house party. He obviously never heard of alienation!) But it is all our responsibility to at least engage with the issues of globalisation, neoliberalism etc. We really stand on an environmental and social threshold. Do we buy into Margaret Thatcher's idea that 'there is no such thing as society' only private individuals engaging in an eternal pursuit to acquire captial or do we come together as a community and at least think?

David Korten sized things up pretty well:
"The West is now on a similar extremist ideological path [to communism]; the difference is that we are captive to detached and unaccountable corporations rather than to a detached and unaccountable state. It is ironic that the closer the corporate libertarians move us toward their ideological ideal of laissez faire capitalism, the less responsive the economy becomes to the real needs of people and planet."

So stop commodifying and start discussing.

[derby007]

I like some of the sentiments being written:
I remember (the good old days) when neighbour talked to neighbour, you could leave your front door open at night, you could leave your bike or car(with the keys in it) outside on the main road, you could walk to a local shop (in the country) and get anything from petrol to sweets, friends would meet up (i still dont know how we all mannaged to meet up without arranging it, it was like we had a telepathy thing going) in a local field, and we would play football, 20 versus 20 !, etc etc etc….
Now I see families driving around in BIG bmw/volvo jeeps/suv’s, (with an attitude : get outa my way,peasant), they have BIG houses, surrounded by BIG walls/gates/alarms/dogs, their children look sad & depressed (as they don’t interact with ordinary children !) & I’m thinking if I won the lotto, would I end up like them? I pray & hope that I do not………..

[mountielad]

It's unfortunate the way things have gone especially with younger generations (I'm 25 so not a fogey).

Saying that there is still a genuine something special to most Irish people. A decency, charm and wit that very few other nationalities have. Sure there's only one place I'd rather be to have the craic.

I just hope we retain these values, cast off the corrupt, religious indoctrination and move sustainably forward.

Use your vote wisely in the upcoming elections!