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THE CAPTAIN OF the shipwrecked Costa Concordia cruise ship has been was convicted of multiple charges of manslaughter and sentenced to 16 years in prison, Italian court officials said.
Francesco Schettino was convicted of manslaughter over the deaths of 32 passengers and crew in the January 2012 capsizing.
He was also convicted of causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship while many of the 4,200 passengers and crew were still on the ship.
The verdict and sentencing brought an end to a trial that has been running since July 2013. Prosecutors had insisted Schettino was a “reckless idiot” and asked the court to sentence him to 26 years and three months in prison.
Schettino wasn’t present when Judge Giovanni Puliatti read out the verdict this evening, but the former captain told the court earlier he was being “sacrificed” to safeguard the economic interests of his employer. He then broke down in sobs immediately before the panel began deliberating.
“That’s enough,” Schettino said, unable to finish his statement to the three-judge panel.
Testimony put the spotlight on errors by other crew and equipment malfunctions after the Concordia smashed into a jagged reef when Schettino steered the ship close to the Tuscan island’s shoreline while passengers were having supper in the main dining room.
The reef gashed the hull, seawater rushed in, and the Concordia listed badly, finally ending up on its side outside Giglio’s port. Autopsies determined that victims drowned aboard ship or in the sea after either falling or jumping off the ship during a chaotic, delayed evacuation.
Schettino said he was “a few hours from a verdict that should have involved an entire organization and instead sees me as the only defendant.”
“My head was sacrificed to serve economic interests,” the 54-year-old Neapolitan seaman told the court.
Solicitors for many of the survivors and victims’ families have attached civil suits to the criminal trial to press the court to order Costa Crociere SpA, the Italian cruise company, to pay hefty damages.
While insisting Schettino deserves conviction and a stiff prison sentence, the plaintiffs’ lawyers have lamented to the court that no one from the cruise company’s upper echelons was put on trial.
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Jaysus it didn’t take long for the handbags to come out did it?
Someone’s out for a bit of self-publicity. Again.
Unfortunately its now Ruth Coppinger V Paul Donnelly for Dublin west when it should be Copping + Donnelly V Leo Varadkar + Joan Burton
The “left love fest” didn’t even last until the “wedding” I gave it 6 months AFTER the election, and got red thumbed to death. Similarly I predicted last year that the same crew (who I dont particularly like) will win again and see no reason to change that opinion.
Who are you quoting?
Putting SF, AAA-PBP and a bunch of Independents in the same room would be like a political version of Lord of the Flies.
To be fair policies arent a world apart, the Right 2 Change principles were more detailed than the media would have you believe. Take water charges for example, both AAA-PBP & SF want to abolish, both want to replace with progressive taxation & to have it properly funded unlike generations of FF/FG governments before them. I think SF – AAA-PBP are closer together policy wise than Labour/Fine Gael were prior to the last GE
Here is one of the many principles as an example: Water is a human right, essential for life and for all our
human needs. As such, water provision and sanitation
should not be subject to the profit motive or the free
market and should be made available to all, free at the
point of use, and on the basis of need, not means.
‘Irish Water PLC’ and domestic water charges will be
abolished within the first 100 days of a Government
endorsing this policy.
‘Irish Water PLC’ will be replaced with a single national
water and sanitation board which will be solely
responsible for the provision, transmission, sanitation,
management and operation of the public water and
sanitation supply in the public interest.
This policy will see a full referendum to enshrine a
new Article in Bunreacht Na h’Eireann. The date of this
referendum would coincide with the establishment of
the new national water board.
Article 28 Section 4:2:1:
“The Government shall be collectively responsible for
the protection, management and maintenance of the
public water system. The Government shall ensure in
the public interest that this resource remains in public
ownership and management.”
This policy will provide for an end to water meter
installation and ensuing costs.
This policy will see conservation measures legislated
for including mandatory planning permission
requirements, incentivised and subsidised water
saving devices, and a public education campaign.
Our water infrastructure is in desperate need of
investment in order to upgrade the system and repair
leaks. This policy provides for an investment of
between €6 and €7 billion to be provided through a
progressive taxation model, details of which will be
published on June 13th 2015.
Funding our water services through progressive
taxation measures will ensure citizens always have
access to water based on their needs without the
possibility of water shut-offs due to unpaid bills in
the future. This policy will ensure Ireland remains with
zero water poverty.
Irish water plc doesn’t exist
It will exist if FG gets reelected to Government.
The left divided??! Whats going on.
SF have not learned the lessons from the capitulation of Syriza. There is no good negotiation strategy with vicious European capitalism which is determined to crush the living standards of the majority for the benefit of elite.
If the working class do not mobilize and fight back we will be ground into the dirt. SF unfortunately are not prepared to help unite and organize the working class and this is why they refuse to call for the boycott of the water charges.
SF aren’t the ones pulling out of the pact, Wally.
@ Scarce 9 Jutro/wesole: “Irish water plc doesn’t exist”
“Irish Water. Private Company Limited by Shares. Registered Office Colvill House, 24-26 Talbot Street, Dublin 1. Registered in Ireland. Registered No. 530363″
PLC stands for public limited company that is a company whose shares are traded on the stock exchange.
Apologies Brian, misread the original post. Fireworks, smartphones and looking after kids on a sugar rush is a bad combo….
FC, step away from the toffee apple.
Jamie, the pact never existed so it’s not possible to pull out of it.
This departure was widely publicised Wally and Ruth has attempted to tear a hole in it. I just hope that people vote and transfer wisely. Be very interesting how a left leaning govt might look here for a change. Just to see if the sky does fall in.
Fair play to Coppinger… recognising that SF has flip flopped on a multitude of issues such as the bank guarantee (initially backed it), corporation tax (initially wanted to raise it) and now water tax.
She has principles, until populist opportunistic Shinner spoofers.
Jamie, the sky won’t fall in with a left leaning government but nor will that government make any fundamental advance for the majority. I’ve explained below why the AAA have taken the position we have while understanding people’s desire for left unity.
SF = bandwagon jumpers.
SF set up very nicely as the future in Ireland. Look after the people, and the people will look after you.
the Shinner and a bandwagon – well i never :D
in fairness its like a few bald lads fighting over a comb :D
serious facepalm for the shinners :D
Cool. Now could you please simply explain how a business could run without the desire to make a profit?
That’s for Wally by the way.
the left have a complete meltdown on Halloween- you couldnt make it up
it really is like watching lemmings walk off a cliff :D
Our democracy has been reduced, like many others, to a sad competition between the haves and have little, The bile and sputum poured upon SF is as much from the thought that the third car or fourth holiday may be lost if they were ever in government. You say Maria Cahill, but you worry about the lost ivory back scratcher. You own the media. you own the property. You own the professions. At what point do you stop lashing out at any threat. You have it all.
AAA dont even go far enough. Refuse to contract with Irish Water Limited -a private company limited by shares. Charges are charges from a private company. No contract . No consent Return to sender all correspondence without opening. Do not sign for any registered mail as your signature can be taken as evidence of contract. Keep photographic evidence of all actions taken. Place notices on inside of house windows in a visible position stating “No CONTRACT -No CONSENT to installation of water meters or any tampering with existing stopcock. This is your right. The Gardai will ensure your common law rights are respected.
Can’t stand Coppinger, heard her on Vincent Brown slagging off people who pray with rosary beads, looks like tolerance and equality is subject to terms and conditions…………..
She’s an idiot. Inarticulate, hysterical, and will be mauled in any TV/radio debates if she comes up against the heavy hitters in any other party, including SF.
I’m more interested in the policies than in the personalities.
Just as well Fiona – cause Coppinger most certainly doesn’t have one.
Shinners now attacking the very people they claimed were soulmates.
Laughable.
This is hilarious, and not a brain cell between them :D
I hope that comment is not directed at me monkey man. If it is have you a link to where I said it? As for Coppinger the incompetent, she is all mouth and no substance and without an original thought of her own. Every time she appears on a current affairs programme she proves she is not up to the job and makes an idiot of herself. As a I said earlier, she’s a Clare Daly wannabe but sadly for her never will be. She’s a one election wonder in my opinion.
she is a lot like the shinners in many ways i.e. completely braindead
Fantastic stuff, as usual the left are gonna tear themselves to shreds, ill get the popcorn
It certainly does a big favour to Lab/FG/FF/Renua knowing that the left are too selfish to put minor differences aside
If SF and Right2Change umbrella candidates form part of the next government the AAA will support them if they are dismantling Austerity e.g. (reversing the vicious cuts to health and education) but if they are attacking the working class by maintaining or managing austerity then we will oppose them.
Unfortunately the reality is that Austerity can’t be fundamentally challenged from within the confines of the EU rules (e.g. the Fiscal compact) which are designed to enrich capital owners at the expense of the majority labour class. Syriza and the Greek people found this to their great cost a few months ago. SF will encounter the same immovable object if they insist on remaining within the current capitalist system.
Therefore the AAA can’t support all of the Right2Change policy principles e.g. (eliminate the deficit by 2020) which seeks to work within the neo liberal straitjacket imposed by the EU and the Irish state and is inherently anti working class.
A real movement to represent the working class needs a fundamental break with unjust EU rules (e.g. repudiation of the illegitimate banking debt) and Right2Change or Sinn Fein unfortunately do not offer this so there can’t be a pre-election pact between the AAA and SF under the Right2Change umbrella.
On a deeper level, there are divisions between the philosophy of the AAA and SF which can’t simply be bridged by the vague general principles put forward by Right2Change. Neither can we give people the false impression that there is an easy fix to the systemic problems we face which can be resolved by simply electing a “Left” government.
The problems run to the core of our society and are largely the result of the all pervasive socioeconomic system of capitalism. The capitalist elite and the establishment which supports them are vastly powerful and will not relinquish their position of extreme privilege without a titanic struggle. The façade of democracy is soon dispensed with when capitalist interests are threatened as we see in Portugal currently and so it’s never enough to vote in a Left government and hope for the best.
The AAA does not accept the dysfunctional logic of capitalism which results in obscene wealth accumulation for the few at the expense of the majority as is clearly shown in the data.
We are trying to mobilize the working class, the vast majority to replace the capitalist system with a socialist model where the economy is organized on the basis of need rather than profit. The AAA and Socialists generally want to build a society which protects and enhances human life instead of exploiting it as capitalism does.
SF are in contrast want to work within the capitalist model and reform it from the inside as the Labour Party and Syriza in Greece for example have tried and failed to do. This is why we see SF refusing to rule out coalition with the establishment parties like Fianna Fail and Labour. The AAA will never form a coalition with any of the austerity parties FF, FG or Labour who always ultimately serve the interests of capital at the expense of ordinary people as demonstrated starkly in the bank bailout.
The only force capable of achieving the necessary radical transformation of society is the working class who are vast majority and produce all of the wealth in society through their labour. The working class also operates and controls most of the infrastructure of society (e.g. energy, transport, communications, public sector, etc) and so are an irresistible force when we act together in solidarity. Therefore Socialists are always trying to unite the working class irrespective of nationality, religion, race, gender etc . SF do not share this position as seen in the North and play into the hands of the capitalist establishment who understand that a united working class is the only force capable of defeating them.
The system is preserved in large part by keeping the working class divided and fighting over the scraps so that we never look up and see who the real enemy is dining royally at our expense. They set us at each others throats under a variety of guises including religion, nationality, gender, race, working vs unemployed, public vs private sector, etc etc etc as they understand perfectly that a united working class means the end of their domination.
Neither do SF believe the working class is a force capable of changing society as we see in their tactics adopted in the Water Charges campaign. SF are refusing to call for a mass boycott of the charge and when it is precisely this mass civil disobedience of the working class which is defeating the state in it’s efforts to impose this latest hated banker tax. Without the boycott, Irish water would be a fait accompli fully established and financed and so extremely difficult to remove and would certainly remain if FF or FG lead the next government which appears to be the most likely outcome unfortunately.
The AAA want to be part of government but only if it’s a genuinely Left government which will take the necessary radical steps to transform society and crucially which is supported in this struggle by a mobilized working class actively fighting our exploitation .
Don’t you know there is a huge difference between the Judaen People’s Front and the People’s Front of Judaea.
Wally has really outdone him/herself with that TLDR
Waffler, you know no-one reads beyond the first sentence of these diatribes, right?
The king of cut and paste
I just red thumbed you wally. Couldn’t be ar$ed reading a comment that long.
Thats a lovely wall of text
Hilarious stuff Wadler. If SF and Right2change are part of the next govt….ha.
You do realise you need a majority of seats to get into power, as in more than 50%. Please walk me through how SF (~15%), Right2change (~0%) are going to get there?
Also interesting to see Brendan Ogle join forces with his Republican mates. Birds of a feather.
Wally as with everyone else who could be bothered reading something so long?
“SF are refusing to call for a mass boycott of the charge a”
Sure gerry & Co only decided to boycott it themselves when they could smell a few votes up for grabs.
AAA are doing the right thing keeping well away from SF. The AAA are, IMO, considered to be the anti-water charges party more than any really – at least in the public consciousness.
Ye are doing quite well in the polls now all things considered, Waddler. But I don;t thing the majority of people out there can distinguish between the Socialist party, AAA, and people before profit Waddler. Only political anoraks like us lot, and a small minority of the public could draw a firm distinction. And that’s bad news Waddler, as Coppinger is out in front now as one of the leading faces and that couldn;t be worse IMO.
Who even bothers to read your copy & paste nonsense?
Wally verbally abuses those who challenge his comments, including women – ask ‘selfsustainable’.
- Wally advocates the illegal occupation of premises, but only by left-wing activists. If anyone else does so, it’s oppression of the weak by the elite.
- Wally won’t say how he earns a living, despite CONSTANTLY giving out about capitalism, business and employers.
- Wally denigrates employers who strive to make a profit through offering work to employees.
- Wally actually despises the ‘working class’, that is people who work hard, pay tax and have genuine concerns how that tax is spent.
- Wally is all that’s wrong with anti-austerity politics.
Hey Wally, I’m still waiting for an answer to a simple question I posed to you on 29th October 2015:
‘In very simple, basic words, with no long spiel about capitalism etc, can you please explain how ANY business could operate without the ambition of making profit?’
Wally comes out with this statement ‘no organisation employs people without the expectation of profit’ as if it’s one of the most profound utterances ever made – well D’UHHHH Wally!
Another classic is “the money wages workers receive is always less than the value of the goods they produce” – so someone who assembles a €10,000 diamond ring should be paid €10,000?!!
What about the guy who puts the windscreen wipers on a car on an assembly line? Should he be paid €25,000? Should the guy who installs 4 seats be paid more than the guy who puts on two wing mirrors? Do they all get €25,000? But then the car that sells for €25,000 could cost €500,000 to make! Oh dear Wally…dear oh dear oh dear.
We have to be understanding of Wally’s position. In his magical world, keystrokes equal money.
Wally – unfortunately , AAA , despite all the waffle have now lost ALL credibility , as they are clearly not at a maturity level to be able to share in the Leadership of Government .
It’s sad really , but the only groupings that you have assisted by your stupidity and whom you are now aligned with are FG / FF / Labour & Renua – Shame on AAA !!!
I’d love to see Pearse Doherty vs Wally Mooney in an economics waffle-off.
It would fill a stadium for the sheer entertainment value as they try to outfox each other with the insights they have harvested off the internets.
Although not as far to the left as Wally Mooney, I can’t fault his analysis or his conclusions.
The debate should be about policies and objectives but it descends to personalities so quickly.
I’m interested that no one has attempted any rebuttal of any of Wally Mooney’s points.
The straight jacket of the Fiscal Compact is a reasonable point and correct.
@ wally Paul Murphy is going to bring you down, self interest for Murphy. ……. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dublin_South%E2%80%93West_by-election,_2014
I don’t know Wally. I don’t know who Wally really is. He (or she) is probably a perfectly fine individual with many friends.
His / her ideas are plainly ludicrous, at least at first glance, and when these ideas are challenged Wally becomes offensive and demeaning. As for rebuttal, I’ve asked him to clarify certain things but got no response. Rebutting an idea like ‘businesses are inherently exploitative and are bad for workers’ is a bit like having to rebut someone who says they can see dead people walking around.
He knows that he won’t get 900 FG transfers this time Cathal King received 748 more first preference votes, but Paul Murphy took the seat on FG transfers.
These attacks on SF is directed at Dublin South West constituency, as I said self interest only.
So Wally … “If SF and Right2Change umbrella candidates form part of the next government the AAA will support them if they are dismantling Austerity” what you are saying is that if the country is happy with the way SF and R2C are governing the country AAA will be willing to jump on the band wagon – the very thing that they accuse SF of doing. That is they type of behaviour that I expect of Coppinger. The woman hasn’t an original thought of her own. She’s a Clare Daly wannabe.
So why not just say AAA doesn’t support the “Right to Change” charter instead of attacking SF?
Fair play to the looney left and SF for providing us with so much entertainment, im glad we have finally realised their purpose
Jesus Christ I never comment on this but your tired hyperbole makes me sick. Stop reeling off cliches you absolute moron. Do you actually know what any of the things you say mean or are you just copy and pasting them from a poorly written leaflet given out at a water charges protest or something?I’m setting up Anti Amadán Alliance. You’re not some sort of working class hero, you’re just an idiot with too much time on his hands. Give the internet a break please.
Coppingers mouth is going to provide pre-election nightmares for Paul Murphy. The woman has no clue.
Most people couldnt care less whether they are voting “Right” or “Left”, that’s never been an issue. We want stuff fixed and we tend to vote for whoever tells us convincingly that they will fix stuff.
Coppinger wants to change everything about the way we live. That’s why her constituents should put her in the electoral bin.
God help her if she comes up against Michael Martin on the abortion issue at some point. He’ll leave her for dead.
She doesn’t believe in compromising any little bit. You can’t run a country like that.
Compromise needed for any coalition government. All left parties must realise this reality.
You think FG understood compromise when the reality of the IW rejection became known?
They called a pussy whipping in Europe a seismic shift…
If that’s what you call compromise then bring on SF government. The most important thing we need is change. At any cost.
As in parties need to meet at 50% – 50% for a programme for government to be found, or in Labours case 10% – 90% Fine Gael
Paul,
This isn’t a solo run by Ruth Coppinger. Her statement above reflects the AAA and Paul Murphy’s position on the election pact with SF.
The Right won’t fix stuff for the majority as their objective is to protects the interests of capital which is done largely at the expense of the majority as starkly demonstrated in the catastrophic bank bailout.
Sinn Fein – a “Left” party? Good grief.
Wally, I’d be you ideological twin in many ways, but I know what a serious strategic error looks like and Ruth has made one bigtime.
We’ll have to disagree on this one FC. The AAA will always protect the interests of the working class. The same cannot be said of SF.
Shinners only care about their repulsive “movement”.
Everything else is secondary.
A few idiots having a row, its best to just sit back and laugh :D
Ruth Coppinger is the biggest clown in the dáil or will I be accused of sexism if I say that?
I accuse you of a being very vague & dismissive but sexist? Why?
I disagree with Ruth Coppinger but I also respect those who voted for her & her intention are certainly just.
Wanting to nationalise Dell, slamming people who choose to pray with rosary beads, shouting down proposals at every turn while offering no real credible solutions. Don’t get me wrong, I’m just as angry at this government as anyone else, but I’m realistic enough to know that shouting screaming and harassing is not the way to go about it. I made the point about sexism, because in today’s modern society you cannot criticise a woman at all, without being accused of being a sexist.
True there is PC issue with regard to being critical of women, gender quotas have led to some parties not democratically electing candidates. I find some of the AAA solutions credible like using nama to build social housing or their bills to repeal the 8th, yes they have said some silly things like nationalising dell but I think it does nobody any use reducing the debate to calling people clowns.
That’s not sexist, she only beats out Paul Murphy by a slim margin….
well that didnt take long for the loony left to explode :D
Silly comment there by Ruth. Any ‘power’ on offer will be decided by the voter at the general election.
Personally, I’ll be voting for PBP and SF, in no small part due to their signing up to the principle of the Right2Change movement.
I do think principles need to go along side support but that being said there is certainly room for AAA/SF to find middle ground, this is more about the fact Ruth Coppinger (Dublin W) & Paul Muprhy (Dub SW) have awful local relations to SF due to last hotly contested by elections.
Vote Left Ireland, the AAA/PBP are an joke, even they got a chance to rule they would turn it down as they are a protest rump and nothing more. They are a laughing stock who will do no good outside of urban working class areas. This comes from someone who would consider myself left of centre but I could never vote for the AAA/PBP.
Dunn Fein hijacking a cause.. Well I never… Some mates of theirs were good at other types of hijacking ;-)
Sorry now pjm, PBP signed up fully to R2C & separately signed up to a broad left pact. They have shown they are willing to govern. They are running nearly half their candidates in rural areas this time so now that theyve grown & matured maybe you will reconsider that vote, or at the very least a preference.
*Sinn
Have they not joined up with the AAA though?
Ahahahahah Fc. Only 2 days ago you were extolling the virtues of Coppinger. 48 hours is all ye got out of it. Hahahahahaha. This is comical.
I don’t know much about Sinn Fein but I would presume their actual members wouldn’t be too keen to go into government with any of those established parties.
No they just merged party name for increasing transfers, they still hold separate selection conventions and policy meetings. Mary Troll McSpam it is very clear Sinn Fein have done the exact opposite of hijacking a cause, they brought the cause to the next level by offering transfers even if they don’t return the favour. Yes it makes smaller parties look bad because some wont return the favour but why not? What do they have to loose?
“No they just merged party name for increasing transfers”
And no-one agreed to transfer back to SF as having a mention of SF on your election poster will make 84% of the population run a mile.
“there is certainly room for AAA/SF to find middle ground”
The middle ground is something which AAA/SF have alienated, which they will find out to their cost in the next election.
SF in 2011 got 9.9%
AAA/PBP in 2011 got 2.2%
Average of last 3 polls have SF on 18% and AAA/PBP on 5%
I think a double in size shows quite clear that these parties are growing. In that time AAA/PBP have increased their councillors 3 fold, SF have taken 4 MEP seats on this island & considering Independents are at historic highs along with new parties such as Soc Dems, Renua, NCM, DDI etc.. I think they are doing perfect. I can tell you Fine Gael will have more doors slammed in their face than Sinn Fein.
It looks like Coppinger and Murphy have already effectively ended their Political careers, through their lack of common sense , immaturity and veracity !
They are effectively working in The FG / Labour Camps now !
Such strange bedfellows FG / AAA / Lab / FF !!!
Such fun ahead , in the coming General Election !
16% in the MRBI and even if it is 18%, it certainly will be nowhere near it come election day. SF are in decline. You were up at close to 25% at one point 2 years ago. You picked up anti-government support but people are not stupid enough to actually give you a vote.
Without transfers you can kiss another few contested seats goodbye too as happened last time out.
FF will climb, there’s no doubt about that now. People will want a counterbalance to FG and FF is the only realistic option. It’s not a nice prospect but it’s written on the wall.
Sinn Fein are alot more transfer friendly this time around than they were last, PBP transfer pact will help both parties and they have done perfectly in crippling Labour support down to single digits. It is all well and good maybe for you to brand large sectors of the electorate stupid. I don’t think one is stupid for voting Fine Gael but I would challenge Fine Gael policy and happily provide a better policy to replace it. FG / FF historically take 80% of the vote, they will be lucky to get 50% this time around, the times they are a changing so best not to brand it all stupid.
Eddie, you must be awarded the prize for being first off the marks to knife your pact comrades in the back when it wasn’t going according to Sinn Fein’s plan.
Dangerous bedfellows the lot of you.
Would Sinn Fein get on as counterproductively with coalition partners in the Republic as they do with undermining their government partners in Stormont and sponsors in Westminster?
To be fair most SF supporters on here have been fairly gracious about it but Ed couldn’t hold back.
in fairness what else would you expect from such idiots?
Let’s be really clear Ruth Coppinger. The 3 questions asked by R2C were answered by Sinn Fein. Question 3 asks what will you do to bring about a progressive left government. Sinn Fein answered this by saying that they will “encourage transfers to all left parties, regardless of whether they return the favour”. That statement is it, that’s all they did. This means that while you are attacking Sinn Fein they are going around encouraging more support for you. I support all on the left but simply cannot fathom this division, both parties have good housing policies, solutions to homeless, agree water needs to be progressively funded, both agree with 3rd tax rate, wealth tax, financial transactions tax etc… They are closer than they think.
We will still support all left parties via https://www.facebook.com/VoteLeftEire/ & https://twitter.com/VoteLeftIreland
RightToChange would be good name for campaign against the abolition of the 1 and 2 cent coins
They’re all trying like fcuk to disassociate themselves from SF as you can be damn full sure those Independents have been inundated with their own supporters and constituents voicing concerns by email and face to face.
Its not about the toxicity of SF, its about having 5 years of building social housing, making our tax system fair, getting our society back on track re education, health, services etc…
‘Back on track’? by voting in the most secretive, clandestine party in the country? SF have a place in opposition. They need to get used to it, and continue doing the occasional good work like they did in the Snowden case. That’s how you win over moderates.
You win people over with consistent & sustainable policies, policies supported by the majority and proving you are ready to govern.
SF and consistent in the same sentence?
They have 16% support and falling. in the last election they had 10%. A 6% increase in 4 years despite years of austerity and FG backtracking and lies?
What does that tell you? It should tell you people do not consider them a credible political force, I think they’ll fall to 12%. They’ll do better than the last election, marginally. All of their bluster and theatrics just doesn’t wash. They have no credibility.
“Sinn Féin were “paving the way” for Fianna Fáil to be returned to government, Coppinger says”"
She’s right about that. Instead of constantly defending SF, shinners need to wake up to the reality that they need to start criticising their own party – for once – then, people may take them seriously.
SF are still a toxic brand to many voters.
Sinn Fein average polling this year is 19%, not really fair to take one single poll you would want an average for a recent period of time. Up from 10% that’s doubling their support, I don’t see how that isn’t SF showing they are a credible political force. Especially when so many new parties have come about like Soc Dems, NCM, DDI, Renua etc.., then you have historic support for independents & a slow recovery for broken Fianna Fail. I think yes Sf are toxic to many, sure Fine Gael are Toxic to 60% of the electorate. Every party has their flaws & mistakes, SF have never crashed the country nor did the recover of the backs of the working & middle classes, wealth in this country have never been in so few hands & that problem is going to get worse as long as people stick the status quo in FF/FG
the tape recording is yet to come out, watch what happens SF then :D
When Sinn Fein declare themselves as “the most successful community movement the country had seen” – what are they referring to exactly?
They refer to R2W/R2C which numbers wise certainly has achieved that feat.
Nope. Sinn Fein are praising themselves:
Sinn Féin TD Peadar Tóibín says… that the party were merely members of “the most successful community movement” the country had seen.
What have their successes been?
Successful in bringing people together, politicising the country and waking people up to some dangerous economic policies from Sinn Fein. Even if it wasn’t a success whats wrong with trying to get people registered and caring about the future of their community?
OTV did you read the article in the IT today about Cooley Community Alert group that released Garda Goldens notes last week? Turns out their treasurer was jailed in the 80s for murdering a Guard while robbing a bank. You couldn’t make it up.
Bringing peace to the north and the Good Friday Agreement. As they have never held power in the 26 counties, how can they have any political success down here? Yes they will have to prove themselves and if elected I firmly believe that will do what is best for the people and not the banks and bondholders. If not then they will end up like the other 3 parties – ie. never getting a vote from me again.
Just look to greece if you want to see what the shin will do. if you only want 60 quid of your own money a day then vote SF
Staying out of a pact that would Ultimately lead to more votes for the AAA.. politics is about negotiating and working together, quite strange to me why they won’t enter one.. Going by her stance she’s wants an over all majority which is the only way you’ll get all of your polices implemented. And that doesn’t happen.
The first thing they’d do with an overall majority is call an election because they wouldn’t know what to do with actual power. Permanent ditch hurlers.
Look at the Dublin sw by-election SN. Had a pact been in place at the time it’s unlikely that Paul Murphy would have been elected. Don’t get me wrong, I like Paul, but the numbers speak for themselves. It took till the 8th count for him to be elected.
Exactly, understandably there’d be a few on the left who would see sinn fein as grabbing and propping themselves up.. What do they expect, they’re a much larger party after all and will obviously benefit them.. A larger vote for sinn fein is a larger vote for AAA, independent etc.. I can still see voters transferring who aren’t stupid and know it can only he a positive, they don’t need someone to tell them who to transfer too.
I can name 8 constituencies where this pact will likely benefit AAA-PBP candidatures, many more where it will help the likes of clare daly & mick wallace who thankfully both have signed up. This is about collectively helping all on the left, I mean when you as a candidate get eliminated do you really want 0 transfers going left, meaning the right get in?
Ultimately this will be benefit ff, FG, labour more.. Ruth hasn’t fully thought it true.
Supernova
Are you admitting in a roundabout way that the SF brand is toxic
No what it’s says is, certain left parties cant be cohesive which is a shame..
No need to admit it, the evidence is there for all to see. Some things simply speak for themselves.
Niall, you really seem to have it in for the Shinners. Is it because they may in time go on to eclipse your beloved FF party, the small print republicans? I don’t think you understand just how despised that party is out there. FG and Labour the same. The people want change, and if they go out and vote for it, cleverly, they may well have their wish. Time will tell.
Beloved FF? Oh Fcuk off. Hype and typecast someone who’ll be bothered with you
its great watching the undesirables alliance implode :D
Who had 5 days in the ‘how long will the new united left front last before it descends into bickering and fighting between the SF and multiple groups both of whom are completely inept to lead’ poll?
I must admit I had my estimate at 48hours… Though we must consider that there is plenty of time for it to re-formed and fall apart again several times before the actual election.
5 days must be a record for them :D
Wise move by AAA/PBP – they can recognise a cuckoo in their nest, jumping on their bandwagon like it was their own.
Sinn Fein should never have signed up to water charges on an EU level in Brussels recently. Nobody can take them seriously after that.
They released a report in Europe calling for the right 2 water europe wide, a FG amendment added the water charges motion in so please dont spin it. Its not their bandwagon R2C has everyone involved including AAA/PBP. SF will continue to transfer to the left regardless of whether the favour is returned, nothing wrong with that.
Totally incorrect. Sinn Fein signed up to water charges in Europe. Piece of paper advocating water charging per consumption. Sinn Fein signed it. Simple as that.
That’s a spoof right there. As pointed out by another MEP, Luke Ming Flanagan, they did not sign up to water charges in Europe.
Repeating the same lie over and over does not make it so OTV.
Paragraph 92 in Ms Boylan’s report on the initiative calls on member states to ensure they are “providing for the application of a progressive charge that is proportional to the amount of water used”, which the four Sinn Féin MEPs voted in favour of.
Tell me what is factually incorrect.
Denying something repeatedly doesn’t make it go away. Seems to be SF main strategy for all manner of past activities.
Hmm, independent MEP versus reich-wing shill account on the journal. I know who I eblieve
https://www.facebook.com/Lukemingflanagan/posts/871407716269879?fref=nf
“Included in that Report is the following clause: ‘Calls on the Member States to introduce, in accordance with World Health Organisation guidelines, a pricing policy by the application of a progressive charge that safeguards people’s right to access a minimum quantity of water for living and cracks down on waste.’ That ‘progressive charge’ in Ireland is and must remain a charge taken from general taxation, with those who earn the most paying the most. It does NOT mean the introduction of a separately applied water-charge, something I would never support.”
Oh right, So Ming Flanagan has some sort of magic power to re-write and interpret the clear text European documents as he sees fit, to have a totally different meaning, after they are signed.
You are ridiculous.
In a statement to the Irish Independent earlier this week, a party spokesperson said: “People previously paid for water through a progressive charge, ie, general taxation. Sinn Féin ministers have blocked the introduction of water charges in the North.
It is our commitment that a Sinn Féin-led government in the South would end water charges and return to fund water from progressive general taxation.
Then in a statement this afternoon Boylan said that the wording in paragraph 92 came from another political group.
I did not write it and did not vote in favour of the wording in question during the committee stage and unfortunately Fine Gael have blocked all attempts to remove the wording in the plenary.
Don’t sign something if you don’t agree with it.
Basic common sense.
She voted against it. Basic common sense is after looking at budget proposals, years of debates, dail record, dail voting record, council record & ideology to come to the common sense conclusion that Sinn Fein are clearly against water charges.
Where did she vote against it? What vote was that? ‘Likes’ on Ming’s Facebook page when he rewrote the document she signed?
Jamming, Facebook says so, it’s gotta be true. Does Ming speak for SF now?
Ming is re-interpreting the Good Friday Agreement as we speak. Apparently it never said anything about stopping smuggling, nor a wide range of other criminal activities. If Ming says so, that’s good enough for the Shinners.
When a bill is produced opposition can propose something called “amendments”. Lynn Boylan voted against an amended to her report from fine gael to add this silly line into a fantastic report on the right 2 water.
Total fiction Vote Left. You need to be able to support your arguments with truth. Using lies obviously just discredits everything you say. You should have learned that in childhood.
“Reich wing shill account”
I was wondering when the name-calling would start.
just like the Shinners didnt sign up to the bank guarantee either :D
Its getting tragic now for the bots :D
Forget all the machinations just give ff fg liebour and fgmk2(renua) nothing in the coming election.
Better for the Left to fall apart now rather than attempting to cobble together a government after the election. Nothing but instability would come of this peculiar mix.
R2C movement will change politics ,fg,ff,lab,will suffer in GE.they are very,very worried. Wipe them out in GE.
If the government want to ram home the message that the left will be at each other’s throats, and can’t provide stable government, they should just replay Claire Byrne today. Farcical stuff altogether.
they could do that of just hold up a picture of the left :D
So it isn’t just Hugh saying it as resident Shinnerbots assured us.
Populism will eat itself
I hear Wexford rejected the Right2Small Change!!!!
Political Parties are just private clubs, increasing the power of the State for their own ends, passing anti citizen laws like:- Revenue grabbing tax, irrespective of ability to pay, from citizens pay, pensions and bank accounts.
Bring your brains to the Polling Booths.
A vote for these clowns is a vote for recession
have your say