THE CASTING OF THE DYE

NOEL FARRELL

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FLUCTUATIONS
DECEMBER 2, 2011

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A few hours ago I couldn't see twenty feet in front of me such was the denseness in the fog that wrapped itself around the night. Its lifted now, a clear view restored of the thing that reminds me most of still being in Ireland - a nearby church. It does have a certain character. I may photograph it if Santa is kind this year. I see huge potential in it as a movie location. Imagine, a little village, in the middle of no-where, the Indie film capital of.... I've been writing and editing furiously this past 10 days or so. The bitter parting of the ways with the Euro that might come sends a shudder down my spine and the only way out of it is to really become self-sufficient - even if that means working for others while one figures how to make leaving a reality. The only way out of Irelands mess now is to open up the ECB like Herman Cain's zipper and create a Federal Reserve of Europe. Something like the Fed in the USA. Nations with currency controlled outside of politics. It's getting so bad now that even a monetary alliance of some sort might come about. Say like the Fed throwing in 50% along with the ECB and capitalizing from the debt gathered from that made up money. Who knows, maybe the Russians and the Chinese could also get in on 'the action.' Even Dave Cameron. Fortunes continue to be made under this cloud that hangs darker with each passing day. Of course the mainstream portray it all so differently. Yes, they have no problem with the fear factor and inflicting it on those who really can't take much more of it. But going out and showing the cost in real time - that appears to be off the agenda. With them all. Everywhere. But then, we could live in some forsaken place in the world that even God has long abandoned. So a little perspective can be important every now and again. Ethical people do remain. Dublin North East TD, Tom Broughan was expelled from the Labour Party today after voting against the bank guarantee remaining in place for a further year. It's a mighty relief for some, particularly speculators and those who have savings, but it does goes against labour's pre-election promises and marks a 100% U-E on the way they voted on the same measure when it last came up for 'debate.' Seems to be becoming a party policy. About turns. Labour are now being played the way the Failers played the Greens. Mr. Broughan saw the deceit in that today and acted accordingly and losing the privilege of being whipped for the foreseeable future. It didn't stop the motion being carried by 99-30, so no sweat to government there. I can't see anyone outing Tommy from being TD of the week for this week. And it's only Thursday. Not only are we paying representatives to go against what we gave them mandate to do, but they don't even have to turn up when the issue is up for debate. Not that they have any choices anyway, as they will point out at length to the 'terms of memorandum' they are all tied to their IMF buddies with. Which kind of makes them insignificant. No? 2

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Bigger question. If the Euro does fall, or we are faced with a Lisbon 3 scenario, will fear be the important factor. If by some devilish chance we are forced to break ties one way or another with Frankfurt and Paris, then who do we trust to lead us forward given none of them can be trusted to do what they tell us they will do. It won't be any of the Eurocrats that lead and that's for sure. Or the parties that led us down that wayward path. Because that would mean we are terminally dumb - as I feel there is no such thing as terminal nativity. Life bites to hard right now. That pretty much rules them all out at the ballot box should the worst come to the worst. Which begs another question - who is fit to govern us and moreover, who's qualified? I wonder if a low 30% turnout at the next seizure could deliver the final blow to the systems of governance that sees us stray further away from the ideals on which Ireland was founded.

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STATE OF THE NATION

December 4, 2011

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There's a chapter in Booker's World titled, Be Gorrah, We Can - a dream from the mind of Booker surrounding a speech given by extaoiseach Brian Clown to the people of Ireland back in 2009. Things didn't work out quite the way Brian or Booker had hoped they would since the time of writing, but then again, many could say that. I'd love to say the book is worth reading for that chapter alone, but I was buoyed by two excellent critiques I received this week from people who remarked on it in the ways I had hoped people may. So perhaps it has a future somewhere. For the first time in 30 years a sitting taoiseach went before the nation to address its citizens. Last time out Charley Haughey told those who tuned in that they were living beyond their means. No such luck this time. Living has stopped. Well for many anyway. There was nothing in Enda's speech that stirred any emotion. It was bland, delivered with little or no passion and weak on content. I'm not sure why the taoiseach felt it necessary to tell the population what they already know. That we, a nation so young, are at sea in more ways than the island status we have. And it's going to get worse before it gets better. Not what anybody wants to hear especially someone who has been unemployed since the summer of 2008. Enda lost me almost from the start when he declared that he wanted To create the environment to sustain jobs, and to look after the most vulnerable people in our society. That reads to me like this. That the environment still has to be created, and even when it is, it will only be capable of sustaining jobs. So you have a chance if you have a job of keeping it, but if your already without one? Later Enda in his wisdom told the Irish people that they ''are not responsible for the crisis.'' He offered little or no insight into who was responsible, or why the Irish people are being made to pay. But thanks for letting us know it wasn't our fault. Makes it all seem a little more easier to bare. Later he said he was 'very positive' for the future. Like he could say anything else? Come on, Enda. Is that the best you got? He finished off near the end with an old election slogan - ''I want to make this the best small country in the world in which to do business, in which to raise a family and in which to grow old with dignity and respect.'' I'd have thought his writers could have extended them a little better instead of having to pour back over and re-hash their old scribblings. Weak at best. All this from a leader who went against his own pay-cap to reward his advisor, Ciaran Conlon, with a few extra bob. With just makes me want to ask one question. Whats Mr. Conlon advising on? Let's hope it's not your speech writers. I'm afraid Enda - despite his best intentions - just doesn't measure up to the job. Tonight won't have done him any harm, but not much good either. Tomorrow and Tuesday sees the third, or is it the fourth austerity budget in a row. I know there was an emergency one squeezed in there somewhere. Next year, even if the Euro survives, Ireland will be the subject to possible default. The VAT hike will see a further retraction in the economy. Tax receipts last week were down nearly half a billion. That hasn't even been factored in yet.

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Enda offered nothing tonight and that's the fact of the truth. The merry dance continues. But no-one wants to dance. Still it should be an 'entertaining' week. With the budget over two days this year and then the saving of the Euro - or its collapse. Unless they start printing money soon, its over. They might - but whatever definition you have of your country, if its not Germany or France, then prepare to lose that definition. They call the shots now. We are in the political era of likeitorlumpitism. So maybe politics has to finish, for it has led us no-where. It should admit to its failure and give people back their freedom. Cause, did you sign up for this shit? I certainly didnt.

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BUDGET 2012 EIN REGNERISCHER TAG December 5, 2011

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It's a bitterly cold night. Last year, The Curious Case of the Fuel Allowance gave this blog its one moment of glory. The glory was short lived - in fact it wasn't lived at all. But it did brighten up some cold sitting rooms as Mother Nature threatened the elderly and those in poverty with death. Today Brendan Howlin took the said fuel allowance from people for an extra six weeks of the year - turning last years single act of kindness into profit for that most awful of words... unkindness. It was just one in a series of measures which take from the living standards of every individual in this country. Unless you are established - of course. Fairness and equality are firmly out the window as Ireland drives her citizens away in search of a better life once more. With budgets like this, it's safe to say your elected representative is not working for you. Here's the main highlights. (for more see elsewhere)




Reduction in maintenance grants and increase in third-level fees. (protests)
Reduction in capital grants to schools by 2 per cent. (poorer education)

Rent supplement changes will save 55 million. (Homeless) Changes to one parent payments. (discriminatory)
A standard rate of child benefit for all children will save 43million.

Fuel season reduced from 32 to 26 weeks. (unkindness)

On the upbeat side

There will be a new labour market fund which will target long term unemployment. (I'm here) 50 to fund implementation of the Programme for Government commitments on mental health and access to GP care.

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All in all it's another miserable day for the Irish trapped on the island. Nooner rises tomorrow to screw us all a little more. He must be loving the center stage less than ten years after he nearly led Fine Gael into a Fianna Fil abyss. Many will say it is required medicine. They are the self serving among us. Tied to what's established in this country. Those that budgets have little impact on. It's a royal heist. The casino where you never lose. Admittance reserved for political door-knockers. The opposition said little of any consequence in response. Just the same old, same old. It also sounds bad coming from the mouth the Michael Martin as he attempts to lead his party back from the abyss. Will be the masterstroke of all time if they do it with Martin at the helm. But with little or no opposition when it comes to organizational power and Sinn Fin perhaps not making a significant impact with Gerry Adams at the helm, who's to say The Failers won't be back at the helm within a decade - or even sooner. Lots of talk and talk of anger. But the conversation is one-dimensional. Those up top protect what they got - us down here - I guess we get what we deserve at this stage. Let's not forget either that although this is the fourth one in a row there is 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 to come as well. By then oil should be twice what it cost now. Not that half the country will care. You can't burn oil in tents! Aye, a fine day for ducks indeed. Image

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BUDGET 2012
Machtpolitik
December 7, 2011

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Wohoo. The double screw. I should have been ranting last night. Couldn't bring myself to do it. I decided to hold off for 24 hours. Let it sit with me for a while. Show a bit of that old maturity that stains a certain age. I probably would be saying it's a young persons world, but given the heist that's taking place here and elsewhere, getting out into that world is going to prove pretty difficult for some. With no apparent turnaround of fortunes on the cards, I sometimes wonder how the younger generation choose to spend those great years of wildness before most settle down to life serving the man. Can't say I had it bad. Did my living. Seen a bit of the world. Drank my fill. Varying consequence. Like us all. One thing that should be made clear. Budget 2012 was not on based on improving the prospects for the unemployed to get a job and it certainly wasnt based on any sense of equality within society. Here's a point to note. Low paid workers are worse off than high earners as a result of this budget. It's fact. The gulf widens once again as Enda pleads poverty down the tubes of RTE to a dumbed down masses - many saying 'Ah sure, he's doing the best he can.' With a borrowed intellect from someone down the local supermarket, or betting shop no doubt. That exact parish pump school of thought is the very reason ordinary decent people have been screwed up and down this island for the best part of three years now - and that's just the brutal side of things, for the screwing has been going on a lot longer than that. A long list of people who robbed this state. Most of them still doing very well to. From Ray Burke to... you name them. You won't fall short. There are plenty. This budget was savage and make no mistake about it. People think they were saved in certain payments and tax amnesties guised under a plan to create jobs, but they were 'got' in a multitude of other ways. It borders beyond the unbelievable really. All we hear is the big picture, but the detail is in the small print. Banks have been using similar tactics from the time small print came into fashion. So tightly knitted they are, they spin a picture that isn't so bad to the global watchers with the help of paid writing and broadcasting patsies - themselves caught in the fear game of protecting what they got. There are exceptions - like there is to most of the rules, but the likes of Enda Kenny, Brendan Howlin, Joan Burton, Mickey Noonan and every other TD who voted for this budget should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves. For those saying we don't have any choice - put on your slippers and go to bed - they offer little to any equation worth a fiddler's elbow moving forward. The politician of today in the higher echelons shame anyone not sycophantic - you know, crumb pickers, and the like. Labour may pray for a spectacular change in fortunes in this country to come soon, or they will be ruined. Fine Gael have them in their pockets. Some know that and are acting accordingly. Barely six weeks a TD, Patrick Nulty was chucked from the Labour Party after weighing up his conscious and saying he would be voting against the budget. I have always like people who strayed from the crowd. We need more like him. Many many more.

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I'm confident this budget will have no positive impact on societal Ireland and that's the desperate picture as Ireland moves forward growing increasing from the side of the head of a European State in meltdown. You reap what you sow, I guess. Im dismayed at the severe lack of thinking in government ranks and I got to say the opposition is disappointing. Where are Ireland's options? Who is starting the conversation? Forget Fianna Fil, best they can do going forward is be populous. Any short term fix will have long term consequence with them involved. Unfortunately their party history over the past 30 years serves to say they excel in that department. Politics unfortunately is full of parish golden boys. We need our politicians to be qualified in what they do. Berlin baby. They own us. And be sure about this. They do for the considerable future. And who gave them such power. We did. The second time. Here's the lo-lights of Day 2, Budget 2012Increase in Motor Tax Cigarettes up 25 cent VAT increased from 21 per cent to 23 per cent DIRT is up 27 per cent to 30 per cent Carbon Tax up. And the highlights Increased mortgage interest relief to 30% for first time buyers between 2004-08 gives a small piece of respite to people still able to pay the mortgages on their over inflated prices properties. Token gesture for those unfortunate enough to buy into Bertie's shite talk and now paying for it for the best years of their life. They should have handed the keys back!

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Tax breaks for companies who invest in the BRIC countries. (Brazil, Russia, India and China) I'm sure this is serving someone pretty damn nicely. And just as a huge chunk of cheap property comes available from NAMA, the Bank of Ireland disclose that they are making 1-5 billion available to property buyers. Somebodys going to do well. Property has already collapsed 60% in some parts of the country. Nice time to be a speculator. And all this, for what? To pay for gamblers who can't lose. To save the established order. Do remember this as it is easy to get so confused - The Partys that voted against austerity last time out - they just screwed you this time. Did you really think they wouldn't? Mutton dressed as lamb. Serving the sheeple.

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CASTING DYE
December 14, 2011

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The dye is cast for Ireland in the new year. As the new fiscal treaty is drawn up now, it will go two ways. It will be worded in a way which won't require constitutional change hence avoiding the need to ask the people (heaven forbid) or it will be sold to the people in fearful ways, and let's face it, they won't have to try to hard here in Ireland. Nonner may lose that smile hes acquired for a while.

In the event of going solo, the stark reality is -under present conditions- we'd be pretty screwed. We'd be free, but with our political system it wouldn't be worth a damn. It's what all this integration will do is what worries me most. To what and to whose end does it serve? There has to be a danger in a superstate where the superstate is formed against the will of the people it is supposed to serve. Never mind the historical elements involved. The thinking is we have to be bigger to compete - to compete with third world countries who seek first world economies. That also spells a certain finality, does it not? The unemployed become societies bums and low paid workers pay higher taxes, charges, and levies, just as the cost of living reaches unaffordable rates. Some in Ireland would say we benefited greatly from being in Europe. But these are new days. Technology is strong. How about we start benefiting ourselves for a damn change instead of waving it all away to be part of something that may go terribly wrong someday. It's new pages in history books Ireland should be writing.

It seems to be more editing and developing new ideas at the moment. The two don't mix well most of the time. There is a lot of 'what the fuck is happening' out there, but it seems that voice is being marginalized somewhat. There is not enough being done. I laugh at the way they talk of an unemployment crisis. There's been one for years now. 1 Year is now called long-term. Wonder what that makes me? Nearly down there with the lifers? Still at least there is a possible referendum to look forward. Dress up as a commie and hit Dame Street for the occupation. I might be asked where the hell I was all Winter by those stronger soldiers of life who reside outside the central bank up in Dublin. Maybe I'm better staying where I am.

Let's hope for the most part the wind down to 2012 starts about now. 2012 could be a bumpy ride. But as Bill Hicks used to say, 'It's all a ride.'

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JUNGED
December 19, 2011

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Barring a surge of luck from the cosmos, I should be able to put 2011 down alongside those other vintage years of Booker's life as pretty much a non-event. That's how she cuts, hey! It wasn't by any means the worst year ever. The feeling of social exclusion in a depressed country being fed back to happiness on a diet of austerity and bad press can wear a fella thin at times. But with a middle aged gut to contend with, maybe that's not a bad thing. The spread of pain diminishes somewhat, the higher you find yourself in the class structure of the country. Top of the class and you're made. Up there you even have the law on your side. It's a phenomenon not exclusive to dear ol' Ireland either. It's widespread - driven by a sick Social Darwinism where even those swept forth from some decent ideal is quickly whipped into believing that if you are not fit, you will not survive. One or two of them should take a bit more care of their own gut. And with Ireland's lower classes being mangled the most, I dare anyone of sound mind to argue against societies direction in 2011 as being totally one of inequality, which, for me anyway, does much dis-service to some of the words of the Irish constitution. We shouldn't forget where we came from. And equally careful of where we go. To the 'unattached' observer, it stops at nothing short of the greatest heist ever undertaken at the expense of the nation's people - and there have been a few. An ineffective government being submissively held to ransom by German Banks, the IMF, as well as being held here at home by unions. The opposition is weak. Hard core lefties with big expense accounts? Less hard core lefties unable to escape their past. And the Failers. Hardly instills a feeling of confidence, does it? My guess is one of two things are going to happen in 2012. The Euro will collapse or Ireland will default. I simply can not see us rejecting the new treaty now currently getting meat added to its skeletal totalitarian outline, if put to us in a referendum. Many will feel the need to stick with the great European project. Might be worth it short term, but what are the long term repercussions for Ireland if it all goes fubar? 2012 will be a good year for opinion. To bad the majority of it is either ignored or comes in various shades of brown... As another year prepares to die, a few notables fell from the conveyor belt of life this week. British writer Christopher Hitchens lost his battle with cancer at 62. Regarded by many as one of the world's leading intellects, the antitheist rose to worldwide prominence for his proIraq War stance during that debacle. Hitchens was fearless in all matters concerning society and leaves behind a rich body of work from future generations to ponder over. Vaclav Havel, BE, the former President of the Czech Republic died yesterday aged 75, also from cancer. The dissident playwright lead the peaceful 'Velvet' uprising which brought the fall of communism in Czechoslovakia in 1989. Also renowned as an intellect, Havel is one of the few politicians on the world stage to be held in high regard for the fearless life he chose to lead both as a writer and also as a leader when his country called on him. 17

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North Korea's favourite son, Kim-Jung, took ill on his state train while out on a jaunt and died of a heart attack. The reclusive leader of a country named as one of the 'axis of evil' by that other great 21st century intellect, George W. Bush Jr, died on Saturday. His death was announced to a grief stricken nation this morning after being kept secret for nearly 48 hours in secret spy tests being carried out by ill's favorite son, Kim Jung Un, on how much intellect the CIA have at their disposal at present. It's being seen as a minor victory for the new Supreme Ultra-sapian in North Korea's War on American Paranoia - and its impact on global affairs. Did you know Kim Jung Il once had South Korea's best film director kidnapped in an attempt to build a North Korean film industry. Pity the noted film buff wasn't Irish. The 'mad as a bag of hammers' leader was also supposedly Asia's largest drinker of Hennessy Cognac between 1992 and 1994. Of course, Kim Jung will be remembered for the deaths of millions of his own people that starved to death in the 1990's famine when the economy collapsed due to failed national policies and natural disasters brought about crop failure. I guess that's the trouble with legacies. They last.

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HUNKERED
December 26, 2011

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Well that's another one over. Belated Christmas wishes and success in abundance for the new year - if your a banker or a politician that is. It's only Boxing/St. Stephens day and already the hounds from hell, the IMF are calling 'depression.' Yep, that's right!' The recession is over. Long live the depression. Really shouldn't be writing this today. It being the season to be jolly and all that la, la, la, la, la...la, la,...la,la,la. A time to build up the body's energy reserves for a Warren Buffet type start to the New Year. A 7-Point Plan to Save the Globe. An ebook by Larry Mulligan. An ebook by a dead taxidermist, part time politician and medical marijuana suffragette is causing global markets to tremble as investors began pulling their money from hedge funds, banks and stock and shares portfolio's to invest in a network of cross continental 'Save the Species' business start-ups which refuse to deal in the open market. Sorry about that! I tend to drift at Christmas. I often wonder how Lar would deal with the current crisis. Larry wouldn't be one for rounding up all the politicians and royalty and sending them to the islands. He never bought into Leon's ethos that 'islands were for the insane.' 2011 was the year a movement split the populous into two groups - the 1% and the 99% - drawing a line firmly between those that scourge humanity by playing with people, and those scourged, who just have had enough. If it was the other way around and we only have 1% being scourged, let's be honest, the world would be a far better place. Larry would have suggested some radical thinking. Popular, peaceful people uprising's, in artful tandem with one another - a new way of thinking in the ideal of nation building. A global takeover, where the wealth of the 99, means 99. It would make money pretty obsolete, wouldn't it? A bag of spuds for a Renoir. That wouldn't work though. The 1% would sooner lay the planet to waste than give up prestige. Larry would suggest the ECB lend individuals a sum equal to their debt (plus a grand for a party) at an interest rate of 1.5% over a term mutually agreed between the parties. Individual pays off sum total of debt to all its creditors, has the party, and promises not to be so naive as to wander into the Venus debt-trap again. Planetary sanity restored - as well as confidence - the individual goes about paying back the ECB, in secure state employment, because let's admit it - there is plenty to be done about the place. Of course individuals can run the gauntlet in the private sector. But no more collusion. You go down, you stay down. No bailout. The ECB could in turn invest all profits into various 'Save the Species' projects - mainly in Ireland, of course. Ah Larry - forever the dreamer.

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Nice and mild for the time of year, wasn't it? No need to juggle with the back roads this Christmas. I've even seen a few roads around here receive a re-surface. Good job too. Either things aren't that bad, or someone has some sway. Who knows where we'll be this time next year. A secluded piece of the land down under would suit me fine. It's a pity I wasn't around a few hundred years ago. I'd nick a sheep for a boat ride down there. Bit of Steve McQueen and who knows where an entrepreneur could land. A piece of vineyard in vine country. Write a few books on the side. Invest in S.t.S. Live the life. Write away - and pray! My new year motto - in case I don't win the lotto. There could be a christian ebook in there somewhere. Get Fr. Harney in on the act. I think he dabbles in Haiku - and philosophy. If only the bishops knew...

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JUST GO WITH THE FLOW

December 31, 2011

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Another year passes and another one dawns. Usually a Booker trait would be to usher out the old, glad to see the back of it, while exploiting the thought that sometimes crosses the mind that the coming year is to be THE year. Though for me personally, I could never figure out what THE year actually amounted to, but it always kinda meant racing off into the new days of the year with promises of lifestyle changes, goal achievements, and a lot of laughter along the way. Never seems to work out that way though. I'm expecting little from 2012. Not that I don't want to have a good year, nothing could be further from the truth, but making plans in the hostile economic world we now live in now would be like banking on Red Rum to win his fourth Grand National in April.So it's going to be a 'go with the flow' year and just see what happens. Instead of going in one direction, perhaps it is time to stagger off in other ones and see if things don't come to me for a change. Whenever I think about doing new things I usually get butterflies in my stomach which usually make me feel like getting sick. Not sure why that is. Only answer I have ever found to combating it is just to get the hell on with it and usually that sickly feeling disappears. Face up to all elements that look down usually serves me well. Haven't really found the metal yet to fully realize what that sort of ethos can achieve, but after 2011, I for one certainly feel that metal needs to be found, as more and more people find themselves in that 'land of limbo' with walls closing in on them and with no place to go. This is my fourth year of unemployment. Construction was the first to fall in Ireland, even before the banks. And if feeling serves me right, it will be the last sector to recover, and its looking more and more like it will be well into the next decade. For others though, this may be their first or second year of hardship - measured in an Irish sense, that is. While many may enter this new situation with positivity and see it as an opportunity to expand horizons in other places, many who choose to stay in dear ol' Ireland will be witness to a society bended from the realities by our light touch mainstream media, but down where it matters, in the communities of Ireland, a deeper, sadder story is struggling to emerge. The story of a people sold out by those we chose to lead and the consequence of living in a state governed by the iron fist of outside influences, backed up by our present day 'leaders.' Addiction is on the rise. Depression is on the rise. Suicide is on the rise. All these things branch out into communities and threaten their structure. Our answer : Austerity. The equation simply does not work unless your allegiance is to social Darwinism - and I'm pretty sure the great man did not intend it as such. I don't think the vast majority of humans intend it as such. I'm going to try and use necessity to drive whatever I do this year. No definitive plan. Why have one when the nation doesn't? Kinda doesn't make sense.

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There's no need to review the year. It's all there - month on month. I'm currently spending an hour or two a day serializing the blog. Truth be none, the character of Don Booker wasn't supposed to go past the writing of Booker's World. But the times that were 2011 sort of made him need to stay around. As the year dies, I think he's now part of the Irish furniture. Not that aged mahogany in finer quarters - more that new flat pack stuff from IKEA. Trying to evolve with the times. If for nothing more, maybe someday off in the future, Booker might be a reference of this time for someone looking to know what it was REALLY like, as opposed to the white-washed version the ordinary unknowing people of Ireland get and buy so cheaply, whatever the reasons. That seems important right now, especially once Don Booker resides in Ireland. Best to finish any year off on a high note I reckon. I'm a believer that the Irish are among the best practitioners of humor on the planet and our mindset at times lends credence to the often times quoted 'This is one race of people for whom psychoanalysis is of no use whatsoever' allegedly said by Sigmund Freud about us as a race of people. I'm beginning to think that if that were the case the world over, our planet wouldn't be going fubar. Which beggars the question. Was the first man out of Africa genetically embedded with Irishness? Only further DNA mapping shall tell. I remember Leon asking Larry once if the Irish could save the world? 'They are the only ones who can...' Larry said, before dipping a feather in a quill and working hard on that manifesto of his. Leon seemed happy enough with the answer. And he wasn't even drunk. If 2011 served anything, it sought to capture the mind of ordinary people and make them unite and question the thievery of corporations with government consent the world over. It is a great foundation from which to build - if we are allowed. So without further ado, Booker's end of year awards go to : Political Downfall of 2011 Fianna Fil wins here with ease, ahead of Brian Cowan and the Green Party. As the year ends Fianna Fil remain stagnant in the polls. Big year ahead for them. The new must realise the old hinders them and act accordingly - even if that means a split.

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Dickhead of the Year Bill O' Reilly - War-mongering paid propagandist. Song of the Year Tony Don't You Worry - Youth Mass Sports Person of the Year Darren Clarke for winning The Open at the age of 42 in the summer, lending credence to the statement that 'life begins at 42.' Punch of the Year The budget Chancer of the Year Sean Gallagher Uppercut of the Year Martin McGuinness Man of the Year Angela Merkle - * Absolutely no offense intended here. Mrs. Merkle's performance in Europe this year far outweighed the combined efforts of Europe's male elite. The feminist lobby should not round on me on this one as, if Merkle saves the Euro, it lends weight to another of

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Larry's theories about 'a world run by women would appear to run itself.' Who wouldn't want that? Mary-Lou. Lucinda. Joan?Well, maybe not Joan. Evolutionary Move of the Year The Civil Partnership Act Broadcaster of the Year - (3 years in a row) Vincent Browne Unpaid Writer of the Year Don Booker Most Promising Politician Pierce Doherty Political Party of the Year Sinn Fin - Huge year ahead if they have an eye on government. Must come back more to the people. Trying - but more needs doing. Disappointment of 2011 Eamon Gilmore.

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Country of the Year Palestine Discovery of the Year Neutrino speed Falsification of 2011 That the war in Libya was 'just' The Living Brain-Dead Person of 2011 Tim Perry Race of the Year Japanese Footballer of 2011 Robin Van Persie Joke of the Year Herman Cain

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American of the Year Cory Booker Bravery in 2011 Gabby Giffords Actor of 2011 Matt Damon for his narration of Inside Job. Loser of the Year Dave Cameron Eccentric of 2011 Charlie Sheen TV Personal Research Show of the Year Hung Luckiest Person of 2011 Amanda Knox

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Spanner of the Year Kim Kardashian World Leader of 2011 Hugo Chavez for taking back his people's gold. Who'll be most missed in 2012 Pete Postletwaite Who'll be least missed of 2011Osama Bin Laden

************** I think that's it for another year. A collective ' thank fuck' everyone. Thanks to all who drop in apart from the ones who cant help themselves. The potential the internet has to induce change is astronomical. People should fight and fight hard for that freedom - to look for and seek new truths, new ways of living, ways that don't involve beliefs spun to us through the generations, suppressed on us by segments of our society, segments which have failed us over and over again.

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2012 is a critical year in many respects. We go into it almost on the floor. If we manage not to hit it, who knows? If we manage to avoid the economic catastrophes of the last century somehow without the aid of a war to sort it out it will be further definitive proof of a positive aspect of our evolution as a species. The trouble, and it's a huge one, is those who don't want that at all, those among us that joy to profit from human suffering and gross planetary exploitation. 'People' so deluded and empty that they deny its very existence because there is more money in God - but here's the disturbing part, they use it to drive social agenda. Sounds ridiculous, but how sweet it works. More of that will come to crossroads in 2012. What way will it go? Not much else to write about I hope between now and midnight. Best piece of advise I have for 2012 is drop the head, lift the heart, run with the gut. Answer a few questions for yourself, and take it from there. You never know where it'll go. Last thing to do. Drum Roll

The Writing Life & Other Absurdities, Outstanding Humanoid for 2011, is our very own President Michael D. Higgins.

A person deserved of such a bestowment.

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I hope 2012 ! all y# hope it to b$

Wi% & Mayan exception,

of c#rs$

Ha'y New Year.

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Bo o k e r s Wor ld De ce m be r, 2011

The series cover events as they happen through the eyes of the ctional Don Booker, an unemployed recluse as he attempts to write himself through his personal woes and an Ireland in decline. The novel, Booker's World is separate from this series of ebooks, though both worlds do cross at certain juncture as the months go by. An ebook version of the novel is now available. All ebooks in this series may be used for reference and may be distributed freely once adhering to Creative Commons License and crediting the author.
With cuts to depression & addiction services being implemented in Ireland, please consider these when making a charitable donation in the future.

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Also in this series -

Last Daze The Artful Dodger Planet Bonkers 45 Visitors Dead Peasants The Great Gas Giveaway Celtic Whine Murder by State Mr. President

5 Days in September Deathly Quotes November Nightmares Absurdities Purjurious Times Forgetful Directions Chill Dark The Loaded Taoiseach Independence International Mutha-F*ckrz The Cost of Living 33

All available to read or download at www.fbooker.blogspot.com www.scribd.com/don_booker

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Also by Noel Farrell

Novel Bookers World

Sonny Strange

Amazon
or

Free download

Contact :jasepub@gmail.com
Noel Farrell 2012

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