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The Saker
A bird's eye view of the vineyard

offsite link Alternative Copy of thesaker.is site is available Thu May 25, 2023 14:38 | Ice-Saker-V6bKu3nz
Alternative site: https://thesaker.si/saker-a... Site was created using the downloads provided Regards Herb

offsite link The Saker blog is now frozen Tue Feb 28, 2023 23:55 | The Saker
Dear friends As I have previously announced, we are now “freezing” the blog.? We are also making archives of the blog available for free download in various formats (see below).?

offsite link What do you make of the Russia and China Partnership? Tue Feb 28, 2023 16:26 | The Saker
by Mr. Allen for the Saker blog Over the last few years, we hear leaders from both Russia and China pronouncing that they have formed a relationship where there are

offsite link Moveable Feast Cafe 2023/02/27 ? Open Thread Mon Feb 27, 2023 19:00 | cafe-uploader
2023/02/27 19:00:02Welcome to the ‘Moveable Feast Cafe’. The ‘Moveable Feast’ is an open thread where readers can post wide ranging observations, articles, rants, off topic and have animate discussions of

offsite link The stage is set for Hybrid World War III Mon Feb 27, 2023 15:50 | The Saker
Pepe Escobar for the Saker blog A powerful feeling rhythms your skin and drums up your soul as you?re immersed in a long walk under persistent snow flurries, pinpointed by

The Saker >>

Public Inquiry
Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005

offsite link RTEs Sarah McInerney ? Fianna Fail?supporter? Anthony

offsite link Joe Duffy is dishonest and untrustworthy Anthony

offsite link Robert Watt complaint: Time for decision by SIPO Anthony

offsite link RTE in breach of its own editorial principles Anthony

offsite link Waiting for SIPO Anthony

Public Inquiry >>

Human Rights in Ireland
Promoting Human Rights in Ireland

Human Rights in Ireland >>

Lockdown Skeptics

The Daily Sceptic

offsite link News Round-Up Tue Dec 10, 2024 01:01 | Richard Eldred
A summary of the most interesting stories in the past 24 hours that challenge the prevailing orthodoxy about the ?climate emergency?, public health ?crises? and the supposed moral defects of Western civilisation.
The post News Round-Up appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Thousands of Police Officers Face Losing Their Job Mon Dec 09, 2024 19:00 | Richard Eldred
Police chiefs have shot down Labour's push for tougher crime targets, warning that a ?300 million funding gap could lead to deep cuts in officer numbers.
The post Thousands of Police Officers Face Losing Their Job appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Subsidies Galore! Mon Dec 09, 2024 17:00 | David Turver
A staggering ?328 billion has been poured into a chaotic government merry-go-round of subsidies in a botched attempt to fix the madness of our energy policy, reveals David Turver.
The post Subsidies Galore! appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link U.K. Faces Rising Divide and Declining Trust, Warns Report Mon Dec 09, 2024 15:00 | Richard Eldred
A new report reveals that after the Southport murders, those seeing Muslims as having "completely different" values rose from 38% to 44%, while 80% of Jews now feel less safe since the October 7th Hamas terror attack.
The post U.K. Faces Rising Divide and Declining Trust, Warns Report appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link HIV Is an Immigration Rather Than a Health Issue. Why Can?t Starmer Admit This? Mon Dec 09, 2024 13:00 | Nick Rendell
Keir Starmer's pledge to end new HIV cases by 2030 glosses over a crucial truth: it is immigration, not just health, that is driving up HIV infections in the UK, says Nick Rendell.
The post HIV Is an Immigration Rather Than a Health Issue. Why Can?t Starmer Admit This? appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Lockdown Skeptics >>

"The claim of a successful Irish programme is complete rubbish."

category national | eu | other press author Sunday December 15, 2013 22:52author by O. O'C. - The Peoples' Movement Report this post to the editors

For those who don’t wish to be economical with the truth, and those who are bearing the burden, let’s look at some numbers:

• Number of people employed: Down by 13 per cent since January 2008.

• Number of people unemployed: Up from 107,000 in January 2008 to 296,300 today.

• Annualised domestic growth rate: –1.2 per cent.

• Net emigration: The number of people leaving the country is higher than the number coming in by 35,000. Gross emigration was more than 80,000 last year alone. In six years it went from the highest net immigration level in Europe to the highest emigration, overtaking the Baltic states and Kosovo. Meanwhile a group of students and other young people in Dublin has launched a campaign called “We’re not leaving” after the Government sent out letters encouraging young people to seek jobs abroad.

• Government deficit as a proportion of GDP: 7.3 per cent.

• Public debt: 121 per cent of GDP in 2013, up from 91 per cent in 2010 and 105 per cent in 2011.

• Household debt: 200 per cent of GDP. There are people living on €50 per week or less after paying their bills. We have had eight austerity budgets since 2008; in the community sector there have been cuts of 35 to 40 per cent.

• Value of assets underpinning household debt: –56 per cent since the crisis began.

•Mortgages in arrears for more than six months: 17 per cent of all mortgages.

(Read the whole thing at Blog An Phobail - http://www.irishreferendum.org/ )

The claim of a successful Irish programme is complete rubbish. The government has got its interest rate down through a mix of Troika-ECB backing and confidence in the government’s ability to follow the rules; but all the underlying economic problems are still there, and will not go away. The Irish debt-to-GDP ratio will continue to rise in the foreseeable future.

Since the 1980s Ireland has tried to run its economic policy essentially by appealing to the rest of the world—that is, by “sucking up.” Whatever everyone else is saying, the Irish government will do with gusto. Mix this with a little bit of clever behind-the-scenes diplomacy and you have Irish economic policy.

After the crisis the Fine Gael and Labour Party government essentially followed the formula that is supposed to have worked so well in the 1990s and 2000s. So when the Troika said, Get your bond yields down through compliance ... the government did exactly that.

There is a widespread belief that this will automatically lead to economic growth. This belief is entirely irrational, but that matters little. The politicians have convinced us that, as long as they achieve this target, all else will be well.

There is a profound sense of injustice but also a feeling that we can’t do anything about it: that we’re a small country on the periphery of the EU, powerless against the EU Commission, the ECB, and the IMF. And as long as we avoid the fundamental questions of membership of the euro and our continuing relationship with the EU, it will remain so.

A national debate on these issues would be a first but necessary step to empowering the Irish people once again...

Related Link: http://www.people.ie/news/PN-95.pdf
author by Riarorr - napublication date Thu Dec 26, 2013 22:57author address author phone Report this post to the editors

I like the way you slipped in that all this is because Ireland is a member of the EU.
Unfortunately you miss the point that what you descibe is simply class war and this will
continue whether Ireland is a member of the EU or not. The fact is that a class of private
bondholders and developers suceeded in transferring their debts onto the state and the state is
collecting this money from the people throught cutbacks in spending and additional direct taxes and a sizeable proportion of the electorate fell for FF guff prior to the 'crash' and have fallen for FG\Lab guff
before the last election. The leaders of Ireland are in full agreement with the leaders of the EU
on who has to pay the debts of the property boom.

Will these leaders pull out of EU. No. The entire political landscape would have to change. 90% of
current Dail.

 
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