Rosemary MacCabe’s Irish Times blog has generated a bit of excitement but I’m sure that it Rosemary wishes that commentators concentrated on the clothes and not the ethics. Extolling the virtues of Penny’s (Primark) cheap clothing is one thing but professing ignorance of their history of involvement with Asian sweat shops that use child labour is not something one would expect of a journalist employed by a reputable paper.
Rosemary is correct in saying that she’s not writing about business ethics. However, to go on and say that, “cost is not the deciding factor in whether or not a store or designer uses child labour, and that I don’t necessarily think banning child labour outright would be a positive move for anyone involved.” is ignorance in the extreme. While banning child labour is not in Primark’s best interests, to say that exploiting children is a positive because their families have no alternative is quite shocking. Children die, get injured and maimed while working 12 hour, and longer, days. They don’t get enough food, water or sleep, they are brutally beaten and suffer disability.
Maybe Rosemary would do well to do some research into the subject for her next Irish Times piece. She could do worse than look at the website of the International Labour Organization for more information. Primark has signed up to the Ethical Trading Initiative, under which it should, “contribute to policies and programmes which provide for the transition of any child found to be performing child labour to enable her or him to attend and remain in quality education until no longer a child.” However, there is no sign that Primark takes that responsibility seriously.
Last April I ran this - Great Ireland Run - and feeling rather smug with myself I reckoned I would go on and do a couple of half-marathons and then maybe the Dublin Marathon in October. Of course, all I went on to do was sit on the couch, drink beer and fart. My running gear was left in pristine condition at the bottom of some cupboard and my carefully acquired fitness was tossed aside like a Rafa Benitez transfer.
Well, my conscience has finally emerged from the booze induced coma and last night I went out and ran 6k. What a fucking mistake. Today my body is bitching like a Jewish mother-in-law and I’m feeling pain in parts where I didn’t know I had parts. And the worst thing is that I’m going out again tomorrow night. So, in 2010 I can look forward to a paycut, cramp and torn muscles. I’m doing this so I can get fit and live longer – I can’t wait till I’m dead…
Oh, and I’m running the Great Ireland Run again in April for Our Lady’s Hospice in Harold’s Cross. I’m sure they would welcome any donation, no matter how small. If you want to know how a proper athlete prepares, check out Fatmammycat.
From Dermot Ahern’s (Minister for Injustice, Xenophobia and Jail-for-All) website:
There are various reasons why the law on begging needs to be reformed, not least the fact that some vulnerable members of the public are often fearful when approached on the street by individuals begging.
Intimidation and threats of violence are sometimes used by these people and women and the elderly are often fearful for their own personal safety.
At last he’s doing something about politician’s begging canvassing for our votes…
As a glimpse of a post-apocalypic future, The Road, directed by John Hillcoat with a script by Joe Penhall, could yet be regarded as a cinematic cousin of Waiting for Godot. While Vladimir and Estragon wait fruitlessly for a Godot that never arrives, the Man and the Boy set out on a journey “south” that seems to have no end. In both cases the days seem full of endless repetition with only the occasional encounter to enliven proceedings.
The landscape in The Road is beyond bleak, ash falls from the sky thanks to fires that never seem to go out and earthquakes are frequent. There is no vegetation, no animal life and, seemingly, no hope. Yet, through this desolation the Man and the Boy plod, day after depressing day. They pick up what food they can, mostly mouldy, water is heated and sieved through socks. The Man (superb performance by Viggo Mortensen) seems to shrink visibly day-by-day as he tries to steer his son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) from childhood to adult – a retrieved comic gives way to a gun with one bullet and the unmistakable inference that, if he has to, he must use on himself.
While most of the population appears to have died, the father and son manage to meet up with various pieces of detritus, most of whom are hostile, such as the gangs of maraudering cannibals with a taste for young flesh. The Father and Son break into a house that could be the one owned by the family from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, where rounded up survivors are now being farmed for food.
They encounter Ely (Robert Duvall), a typically cantankerous old man of the west who denounces God and clings to life and hope. A thief (Michael K. Williams) steals their pitiful possessions but has the tables turned. In both cases the Boy reminds the Man that just because society has broken down it doesn’t mean that basic humanity can be forgotten. The Son lives up to the ideal that the Father has instilled in him – to carry the fire of hope inside – even as the Father falls into despair.
The film is not quite relentlessly depressing. The Man has flashbacks to a happier time with his pregnant Wife (Charlize Theron) just before the world turns bad. But as the Father and Son travel down the road the flashbacks get darker until the fateful day that sets them out on their epic journey. The real uplift comes from the relationship between the Man and the Boy as they struggle to survive in an uncompromising world. Their love for each other is truly unconditional and mutually dependent. The film explores how this relationship is created, strengthened and ultimately tested. The scene in the house of cannibals, with the Father prepared to shoot the Son rather than let him become a victim, is both deeply moving and deeply disturbing.
Smit-McPhee has real ability, he is able to portray some strong emotional bonds without sliding into saccharine cliché. Mortensen is the strong, watchful and practical leader it is around the Boy that the film revolves. While the outdoor fires rage and ash falls it is the fire of hope that the Boy carries within that is the ultimate theme of The Road.There is a compelling scene where he asks a father (Guy Pearce) if he, too, has the fire inside.
The film is by no means perfect. Smit-McPhee is a little too clean and his teeth a little too perfect for someone who has grown up knowing nothing but a lack of food and clean water. The music, by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, is appropriately melancholic but it is overused, a complaint that applies to most modern film compositions. Equally, the episodic nature of the narrative may not be to everyone’s taste. But these are minor quibbles. This is a film to witness on the big screen but there will be rewards from repeated viewing when the DVD is released.
Jim Flavin must be laughing up his very expensive designer shirt sleeves today. The state regulator on all things corporate, the ODCE (Only Dickheads Can Enter), has decided that Flavin is a model upright citizen and a shining example to us all. In 2008 Paul Appelby, head of the ODCE (Our Directors Completely Exonerated), had established an investigation into Jimbo and his mates in DCC (Duping Cretinous Counsel) led by an SC (Superior Carrion) Bill Shipsey.
Obviously Shipsey’s report must come as some surprise to the five judges of the Supreme Court who ruled that the Fyffe’s trading information that Jimbo held was price sensitive and would have a negative effect on Fyffe’s share price. For more background, Ireland.com has a timeline of the important events.
apparently, Shipsey based his findings on a cosy wee chat with Jimbo and found him to be an extremely nice man, kind to animals and good with children. Indeed, Jimbo didn’t realise the information he possessed was price sensitive or would have an effect on Fyffe’s shares. And who could doubt that finding? After all, Jimbo has only a mere thirty-odd years share dealing experience and wouldn’t know all the finickity little laws around directors’ responsibilities and could hardly spell insider dealing. In fact, it’s a wonder that the ODCE (Organising Dances: Creating Enjoyment) would even make a fuss about a ensuring our corporate laws were upheld, sure its only the Supreme Court that was bothered about this little matter in the first place.
Now that Jimbo has been given a gold star, expect him to be named as the head of the banking inquiry.
When Grandad comes down from the mountain to speak, you better bloody listen. Following an idea by English Mum, Grandad reckons that we bloggers could be doing something useful for the people of Haiti. There has been a lot of writing and twittering about the devastation, the relative culpability of France and the US in reducing Haitians to a below poverty level existence and the complete lack of tact of some cruise line operators.
Courtesy of http://gapingvoid.com/
The rise and impact of social media has enabled stories like this to be instantly shared around the world. While this impact and influence has shown itself in relatively minor episodes, such as the condemnation of Jan Moir’s bitchfest against Stephen Gately there have been few significant examples of social media actually achieving something worthwhile. Well now is the chance for all us bloggers, facebookers, beboists, mySpacers and twitters to take our hands off our keyboards and put them to good use.
Support the organisations like Shelterbox that are bringing life-saving supplies to Haiti. Once you’ve done this tell everyone else you’re connected with to do the same. Lets see what a global network can really achieve. Yesterday was Martin Luther King Day in the US, the epitome of inclusiveness, justice and action. Don’t let his ideals down.
Remote Control
With a bit of luck the Government will miss Gabon’s reform of Civil Service lunch breaks. It’s interesting that in what is supposed to be a knowledge economy that there is such a reluctance to have Civil Servants avail of teleworking. The Department of Finance claims that it is too expensive to equip our homes with office furniture and that there are health and safety issues (our houses become more deadly if we work there, apparently). And there is also a concern about remote linking to Departmental computer systems. However, if we really want a flexible work force equipped to deal with the demands of a fast changing society then we need to look at this type of working. Taking the last few days into account I wonder how many civil and public servants availed of annual or flexi leave to avoid battling the elements to work. At least if they had the option of teleworking they would have been productive.
End Credits
It’s always sad when people who we respect have to take their leave but the last week saw two of my particular (and peculiar) favourites take their final bow. Michael Dwyer has been one of the more interesting and knowledgeable film critics of the past 25 years or so. I remember coming across him first in the In Dublin magazine many years ago and when he established the Dublin Film Festival with Myles Dungan. While I might not have agreed with everything he wrote I did admire his style of writing and the way he supported the film industry in Ireland. He was particularly good at interviewing film makers and the last time I saw him was at the 2007 Dublin International Film Festival when he presented Gabriel Byrne with a Volta and the following interview was fascinating. Dwyer set the bar for critics and he will be sadly missed although Daniel Day-Lewis said during his eulogy that he was relieved that Michael Dwyer never got round to seeing ‘Nine‘.
Another who turned his last sod was the landscape gardener John Cushnie. Cushnie had been part of Gardeners’ Question Time on BBC Radio 4 for the last fifteen years. GQT is a typically English institution, combining wisdom with wit and eccentricity. Cushnie could be forthright in his opinions but he had a wicked sense of humour and wasn’t afraid to send himself or his fellow panelists up. As a working gardener he had a real insight into the struggles of the (extremely) amateur genus.
Bow the Knee Biffo is a creationist. He’s also a master of spin – at a time when we are dramatically cutting our aid to Africa he is patting himself on the back about the work we are going to do to help prevent climate change in the third world. We would have been better served if Biffo had pointed out the inadequacies of the Pope’s response to the Ryan and Murphy reports of 2009. In fact we would have been better served if Biffo had just kept his big mouth shut.
We are all individuals
Bit of a kerfuffle over at Twenty.
One story that the Government tried to bury on Christmas Eve eve looks like growing legs. The decision to reverse the pay cut given to top civil servants is up there with John Bonham having one more for the road. The idea that these well paid servants of the people had been hard done by in having their bonuses removed last year is laughable.
For a start, I don’t recall any of these mandarins not receiving a bonus, certainly all the top management in my Department always got their bonuses regardless of output of their various Divisions. As well as that, the bonus was supposed to be performance related but I don’t recall any criteria being applied by which performance could be measured. I’m sure there is a Department of Finance circular detailing the criteria but life is too short to be reading their bullshit.
The mainstream media is slowly turning its attention to the story. Scary Carey in the Times had an unusually well-written piece that actually addressed the issue and managed not to mention any of her auctioneer/county council family members – a first for her, I think.She hits the nail on the head when she says that this is all to do with saving the pension arrangements of the top rank in our public service. And who could bet against the Government reversing their own pay cuts when the Dail finally gets round to reforming politicians expenses?
What the reversal actually boils down to is that the top management of civil servants will take a pay cut of about 4 per cent. That is almost half of what I am being hit with (6.5% from this week). Yet, I will be expected to do more work this year due to the amount of people who have retired in the past four months (my Department will lose 20% of its staff) while our top management will not have any extra burden on their shoulders.
There isn’t much public support for civil or public servants at the moment but over the next few months we are going to witness a considerable reduction in the level of service delivery from the public sector. This will not be our fault but you can be sure that Cowen and Co will spin it, with the cooperation of most of the media, that we are the ones to blame, yet again. It’s just a shame that we aren’t more militant in this country, otherwise that shower of inept wankers in the Dail would be cowering like dust mites in front of a Dyson.
@abigailrieley Think new series is supposed to follow on from original first series don't know how successful it is. Must get dvd of 70s one 10 hours ago
