Auditor #9 wrote:

A guillotine for them I say- Ard Taoiseach has the right philiosophy - f*ck 'em through a window - NO MERCY.

I'm glad we agree Boss.

Ard-Taoiseach wrote:

Slim Buddha wrote:

Ard Taoiseach so I can give him an extremely detailed description of the Swiss cantonal taxation system and its role in economic development.

I'd be fascinated by that Slim Buddha, and I can share with you on a personal level why I remain optimistic about the future of the Irish economy and its ability to become the richest in the world.

The potential may be there but our political structure and participating parties of of such low quality as to make this impossible. Allied to that our dependence on anglo-saxon models and markets, the outlook is poor. Finally, we are still in thrall to the neo-liberal economis model which is by now a proven failure.

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Oh, and cookie to wean him off the Reagan thing......

And I'll be on hand to wean him back on!

Why? Reagan was a stepping stone on the way to the destruction of the American middle class and the breaking of the US economy. His presidency, when reassessed, will be proven to be neutral at best, a failure at worst. Even Nixon was a better president.

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But seriously, there is nobody on this site I would leave a bar on account of........... unlike the "other" site where the nutter ratio is getting dangerously out of control.

A worrying portent. Es ist wirklich eine Schade.

Indeed. Too many neo.-con nutters, right wing survivalist cheeseburger brains, dingbag headcases who dont believe Harney is right-wing enough. Political illiterates who know absolutely nothing except dumb-ass soundbytes. Seriously thinking of giving up on it.........

However would you manage without a daily dose of Future Taiseach and NotDevsSon?

I've split the end off this thread to make a new thread called "Safeguarding Ethics in Public Life"

Slim Buddha wrote:

The potential may be there but our political structure and participating parties of of such low quality as to make this impossible. Allied to that our dependence on anglo-saxon models and markets, the outlook is poor. Finally, we are still in thrall to the neo-liberal economis model which is by now a proven failure.

Au contraire Slim Buddha. Look at how much we've achieved over the past twenty years! We've increased GDP per capita in leaps and bounds, our productivity leads the world, the number of people in our labour force with third-level qualifications is astonishing, the amount of infrastructure we're putting into place is great as can be seen in the recent surge in broadband availability and the building of so much that we need. If we can do that from the basis we were at, we can do anything.

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Why? Reagan was a stepping stone on the way to the destruction of the American middle class and the breaking of the US economy. His presidency, when reassessed, will be proven to be neutral at best, a failure at worst. Even Nixon was a better president.

I was only messing there, hence the little emoticon. cookie only puts that up to annoy people and to counter Audi's avatar.

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Indeed. Too many neo.-con nutters, right wing survivalist cheeseburger brains, dingbag headcases who dont believe Harney is right-wing enough. Political illiterates who know absolutely nothing except dumb-ass soundbytes. Seriously thinking of giving up on it.........

A succinct summation of the situation.

I'm anybody's this evening - take me for a drink who dares...working all weekend, tired and emotional and the brownies aren't ready yet. Grrrr.

Kate P wrote:

I'm anybody's this evening - take me for a drink who dares...working all weekend, tired and emotional and the brownies aren't ready yet. Grrrr.

Kate P, breathe in while imagining all the things annoying you and then breathe out pushing these things away. Do this a few times and you'll feel better and more equable. I do this any time I'm stressed and put-upon.

A nice little Shirley Temple for you Kate P.
That's good advice, Ard Taoiseach.
Going for a walk is good too, even a little one.

cactus flower wrote:

However would you manage without a daily dose of Future Taiseach and NotDevsSon?

Very well indeed.

cactus flower wrote:

That's good advice, Ard Taoiseach.

Thanks very much cactus. It gets me through stressful and fearful situations. It combines the rhythmic physical act of breathing with a distractant and a mental way of visualising what it is you are worried about and providing you with a mental way with which to deal with it. Anytime I've been bothered about things in life it helps avoid the panic and the wailing and the gnashing of the teeth.

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Going for a walk is good too, even a little one.

It does indeed. It helps get the fury out in a physical manner, it also provides you with fresh air which is very good and it gives you time alone to thrash out the problem. It also means you can kick things in your way to get more stress out!

Ard-Taoiseach wrote:

Kate P wrote:

I'm anybody's this evening - take me for a drink who dares...working all weekend, tired and emotional and the brownies aren't ready yet. Grrrr.

Kate P, breathe in while imagining all the things annoying you and then breathe out pushing these things away. Do this a few times and you'll feel better and more equable. I do this any time I'm stressed and put-upon.

Thanks Ard T. I wasn't particularly stressed - just tired after a long weekend of work and play that I haven't gotten over yet (must be really getting old now, when three nights out in a row leaves me shattered).

I got a lovely home made knitted scarf last Christmas - mmmmmmmmmm

I split the PS3 nonsense as it was disrupting the theme of this thread.

It is .....eh.. elsewhere now.

EvotingMachine0197 wrote:

I split the PS3 nonsense as it was disrupting the theme of this thread.

It is .....eh.. elsewhere now.

It has been cast to the most distant and forbidding wilds of the Machine National realm!

Kate P wrote:

Ard-Taoiseach wrote:

Kate P wrote:

I'm anybody's this evening - take me for a drink who dares...working all weekend, tired and emotional and the brownies aren't ready yet. Grrrr.

Kate P, breathe in while imagining all the things annoying you and then breathe out pushing these things away. Do this a few times and you'll feel better and more equable. I do this any time I'm stressed and put-upon.

Thanks Ard T. I wasn't particularly stressed - just tired after a long weekend of work and play that I haven't gotten over yet (must be really getting old now, when three nights out in a row leaves me shattered).

Not at all. You've yet to reach the stage where one night out in a row leaves you shattered.

ibis wrote:

Kate P wrote:

Ard-Taoiseach wrote:

Kate P wrote:

I'm anybody's this evening - take me for a drink who dares...working all weekend, tired and emotional and the brownies aren't ready yet. Grrrr.

Kate P, breathe in while imagining all the things annoying you and then breathe out pushing these things away. Do this a few times and you'll feel better and more equable. I do this any time I'm stressed and put-upon.

Thanks Ard T. I wasn't particularly stressed - just tired after a long weekend of work and play that I haven't gotten over yet (must be really getting old now, when three nights out in a row leaves me shattered).

Not at all. You've yet to reach the stage where one night out in a row leaves you shattered.

Admit it, you can't stay out for the whole night anymore can you? Lucky sob if you can...

One night is worse than three; at least with three you get to build up some momentum and feel like you have a life. One night makes you (or me, if I'm honest), all the more confident that I don't have a life and should get out more.

Kate P wrote:

One night is worse than three; at least with three you get to build up some momentum and feel like you have a life. One night makes you (or me, if I'm honest), all the more confident that I don't have a life and should get out more.

I think you're right. I spent a few days in the Wesht last year, out drinking from lunchtime onwards. We kept that up for nearly a week and it did us the world of good. I can barely manage a night now without getting depressed.

I get depressed before I even go out, by having to find something to wear to go out because I'm not 21, leggy or auditioning for a job in the playboy mansion, the Office or Keeping Up Appearances. Three nights was a nightmare; on one of them I wore my gardening jeans (resplendent with threadbare bits) with a dressy top because I couldn't cope with doing any more thinking. And I love those jeans and miss them.

There was a time when having to choose something to wear would be enough to keep me at home.

905 wrote:

Kate P wrote:

One night is worse than three; at least with three you get to build up some momentum and feel like you have a life. One night makes you (or me, if I'm honest), all the more confident that I don't have a life and should get out more.

I think you're right. I spent a few days in the Wesht last year, out drinking from lunchtime onwards. We kept that up for nearly a week and it did us the world of good. I can barely manage a night now without getting depressed.

Ah, all day drinking...how I miss it. I spent a week once on a small Scottish island with about 8 friends (and friends of friends) - the breakfast setting was a bowl of porridge, a large joint, and a beer (or gin and tonic). Happy happy days - never before or since have I had triple vision and auditory hallucinations.