Timeswatch 12.12.2006

Dreadful result this week. Not a single shop out of three carried a full copy of the newspaper, and none had either the "Public Agenda" or Law supplements !

To be fair, all did have the "Times 2" supplement. This is, I think, a "first", and may be a sign of better things to come.

An unqualified improvement was that in one shop, as soon as I pointed out that the newspaper was being sold incomplete, the lady immediately withdrew all copies from sale. This is definitely a first; even a challenge has not resulted in this action in some outlets.

Hats off then to "J R Porters" at Rory Gallagher Square !

(For history of this saga, see here)

Timeswatch

This week's result: one shop with no supplements, one with Times 2 only, and one with Public Agenda/Law (and no Times 2).

I protested at the lack of Times 2 in the latter establishment; I was told to take it or leave it. I took it.

I suggested that it was improper to continue to display an incomplete copy for sale. This was not well-received and did not result in any change.

Then, over lunch, I read my Law supplement and find no cartoon ! Again ! And no "Lawyer of the Week.

Sigh.

The Times: Good News and Bad News

The good news is that none of the paper-shops that I visited this morning had incomplete copies of the newspaper.

The bad news is that this is because they had no copies of it at all.

George Galloway's visit to Cork #1

You may recall my previous post anticipating this some weeks ago. I have had great difficulty in acquiring digitised material to share with you about it, but here is his main host's "take":

Well, it was a very interesting evening indeed...George Galloway ended up storming out of the Philosoph debate last night

In front of 500 people in Boole 4, Mr. Galloway spoke of the role of the United States in supporting Israeli actions in Palestine, while Mr. Gregg spoke of the history of the USSR in comparison to the United States. However, controversy arose when Mr. Gregg made several allegations against Mr. Galloway regarding his links with Saddam Hussein's regime, allegations to which Mr. Galloway took exception, demanding that Mr. Gregg withdraw the remarks.

The debate continued when Mr. Gregg refused, but controversy erupted again when Mr. Gregg repeated his allegations, prompting Mr. Galloway to walk out of the debate, criticising the Auditor for failing to intervene as well as threatening legal action against Mr. Gregg over his remarks. Between 150-200 of the audience walked out of the debate with Mr. Galloway, who returned to the UK early this morning. Mr. Gregg stood over his remarks last night, stating that he was willing to defend all his comments in court should Mr. Galloway take further action.

Following the walk-out, the debate continued with up to 300 people remaining, while the motion was defeated when put to the floor.

As I've said in the thread in the Soapbox, the Philosoph treats all of its guests with equal courtesy, and allows them all the same opportunity to speak and to reply to any points made in the debate or indeed, accusations made against them by other members or guests. This is the extent of the protection that we offer to people who wish to speak in the house, as it is, first and foremost, a forum for free speech. However, we recognise that on this occasion, some people were very offended by the events of last night, as Mr. Gregg overstepped the bounds of the debate by engaging in personal attacks on Mr. Galloway. For that, we apologise.

_________________

Gwen Boyle

Public Relations Officer

UCC Philosophical Society 157th Session

For another view of the Gregg approach, see Eamon McCann here. (It is preceded by stuff about SBC; my apologies if the scatology offends you even more than it did me).

The Times: a modest success

The saga (history here) continues.

This week, I was only able to try two shops in Cork City as I had a lunchtime engagement near the western suburb of Ballincollig.

Neither city shop had the Law supplement (or Public Agenda, within which it is enclosed) and one did not even have Times 2.(Sigh).

However, I did - first time in four weeks - find a full copy of the newspaper in Ballincollig. Take a bow (and not just for this) Quish's Supervalu !

When I got to read it some hours later,though, it was somewhat disappointing: barely three pages of content and - quel horreur !- no cartoon.

Someone else in cyberspace has noticed that Murdoch is slipping: Nick Holmes has a different angle, but it is all coming together.

Need I mention the O.J. Simpson story ?

Why is Cork's airport owned by Dublin ?

Two years ago, the Government persuaded the Oireachtas to get rid of the airports' authority, Aer Rianta, as part of its plan to establish the three airports owned by Aer Rianta as autonomous bodies, free to compete with each other (!).

What has in fact happened ?

Aer Rianta, a national company, has been replaced by Dublin Airports Authority plc, a very Dublin-centric organisation, and as far as Cork's promised autonomy is concerned, the position today is that Cork airport is less independent than before.

Park and Ride

I have added a link to the Park and Ride timetablehere

So, What's so bad about BertieGate ?

"If you have enough money and are savvy about how you distribute it, today you can buy the legislation you desire, and you can seat the judges who will interpret that legislation and other laws"

The quote is from the Balkinisation blawg - would somebody please suggest a less ugly word ? - which I recommend to you (but it carries a blood-pressure warning). It refers to the position in the U.S.

Park and Ride

I have become a regular user of the City Council's Park & Ride service from Black Ash near the Magic Roundabout - more properly the Kinsale Road Roundabout - on the City Link road. It is a purpose built facility with waiting room and toilets and plenty of parking space. The service costs €5 per day for a car and up to 4 passengers, though as it happens there is no charge this week for some worthy reason that I cannot recall. Buses depart roughly every 15 minutes - more often at peak times - and make the journey in about 5 minutes, except at peak times.

The exception is important.

At peak times, the buses can be very crowded and can be considerably delayed by traffic.

By carefully choosing times, though, it can be a most impressively quick service for commuters.

I especially like the fact that I can use the N25 ring road to access it but dodge across Tramore Road/Pouladuff and down to Jail Cross if conditions or my needs so indicate. (The N25 is very prone to congestion at peak times, and I live a long way from it anyway).