Brian Greene

I was in the local library this morning and the place was buzzing with pre leaving cert study groups. What struck me was that the groups were exclusively female. Are girls taking these exams more seriously than the boys?

Year after year girls outperform boys in the results. Census figures show that more girls reach the leaving cert than boys, at 18 years of age 75 per cent of females and only 60% of males are in full time education. Also figures show that girls are more inclined to take the higher grade papers and still outperform their male counterparts.

All of this might point to the rat race of points system not suiting boys, that grinds play a major role in the top marks and that xbox and playstation are not of the curriculum yet. In my day it was the common refrain that I would not be sitting a paper in the leaving cert on pirate radio.

Next time you need a tradesman/woman, think of the points system, the lack of apprenticeships and the narrow focus of our ‘excellent’ education system, which at the moment is failing to place the high achieving girls on IT courses.

After the leaving cert I trained in FÁS Tallaght the best career move I ever made, if I ever need to switch jobs I can fall back on the 9 months training and 8 years experience I have in concrete and steel detailing.

there is one TD in the Dail on a workers wage, and it gets me thinking why should TDs get fast tracked to Broadband? they like the rest of us should be in touch with reality, (the reality of how slow it is to get broadband in your area) then things might change in this country.
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The Houses of the Oireachtas have put out a tender seeking more than 200 broadband connections for the homes and constituency offices of TDs in order to facilitate remote access. Tenders are being invited to upgrade existing connections to broadband. At present access is provided by ISDN circuits and Lucent ISDN routers, which will become redundant.
[sourced: SiliconRepublic.com]

while researching DVB-H I found this.
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Espoo, Finland – Nokia Corporation announced today (25/05) that it allows all its patents to be used in the further development of the Linux Kernel. Nokia believes that open source software communities, like open standards, foster innovation and make an important contribution to the creation and rapid adaptation of technologies.
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Nokia also believes that a party should not enjoy use of Nokia’s patents and at the same time threaten the development of the Linux Kernel by assertion of its own patents. Therefore, Nokia’s commitment shall not apply with regard to any party asserting its patents against any Linux Kernel.

By issuing the Patent Statement, Nokia wishes to encourage others to follow in order to foster the open development model and innovation for the benefit of developers and users alike.

Ryanair have struck out this weekend in Italy
Confirmed Cancellations – Italian Strike 28.05.05
Closure of Bari Airport – Sunday 29th May 2005
Closure of Rome Ciampino Airport 31st May, 1st & 2nd June

I can just imagine the bosses in Ryanair wondering, what?s a strike? Workers of the world, what? While they cannot be blamed for the strike or Pope Benedict XVI doing a trip to Bari, the Ciampino 3 day air show might have been on the calendar.

people heading for Ciampino 15KM south of rome will now be landing in Fiumicino 32KM west of rome. Flying further to get you there. If the French vote non on Dimanche they might make their airspace a no fly zone.

some points
1. the gardai were in a camper van outside overnight
2. gardai were inside the post office before the robbers (as i understand it, as the hammer was been put to the glass the gardai were on the inside with the post office staff)
3. this was not part of anvil operation (so Bertie’s ‘weak kneed’ comment is out of place, it would be in place if it were anvil, the comment seems to be a response to people who were asking for a garda response to the increased gun crime in dublin west and dublin city, the govt. response was anvil.)
4. gardai had prior intell but it was not possible to warn postal staff and customers in advance (they could have provided proxy staff, also if they were on the inside, then the staff did know, this point needs further probing)
5. a firearm was recovered at the scene
6. no news was reported that the armed robbers discharged any shots
7. the gardai have appointed a garda chief superintendent to investigate
8. Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, said that “while any loss of life was to be regretted, members of the gardaí must take whatever measures necessary to deal with armed gangs” (you mean within the law Michael, only last week McDowell told a Dail committee that he would like to hear the cock and bull stories of asylum-seekers at the airport and he wishes he did not have to afford asylum-seekers due process but had to under international convention)

whatever measures necessary is unqualified. I hope we don?t see death squads dealing with these armed gangs. “An Garda Siochana regrets the loss of life in any circumstances and conveys its condolences to the families of those who have died.”

perhaps McDowell should think about the following post office robbery in relation to his revolving new airport terminal for the fast track deportation of cock and bull , or as Planet Potato very badly put it Black Refugee attacks Irishman

May 6th – robbery foiled when a customer tackled the raider. A man from the Congo, who was in the queue at the post office on Botanic Road in Glasnevin in Dublin, suffered head injuries when he fell through the front window of the post office while tackling the armed man yesterday morning.

there are about 1,400 sub post offices around Ireland down 600 in the last 10 years, perhaps we could employ security guards at each one, perhaps we should ask the have a go hero preacher from the Congo if he knows anybody that would like to have a full time job in a semi state company. It would beat handing out paper towels for tips in Irish nite club toilets.

isn’t it about time the smart dicks in the Dáil turned off their mobile phones, you see they are not supposed to have them turned on so they put them on silent; but if they are speaking and the phone is reaching for a cell or taking in a call or sending a txt and the microphone nearby is red (on) the whack of electro magnetic radiation hits the audio cables of the mic and is recorded for Oireachtais Report or broadcast live on Dáil Beo (TG4)

If you see your TD is speaking live, call their mobile to see if its silent. Then txt them and ask them to turn it off. or write to the Ceann Comhairle and ask him to amend standing orders to ban the use of mobiles in the committee rooms and chambers.

The Tánaiste and Minister for Health, Mary Harney, has said private hospitals will be used to allow people waiting a long period for public outpatient appointments with consultants, to be seen faster.

Private hospitals like St. X in Dublin 13 are taking patients from Public Hospital (10 minutes away) to carry out year old operations.

What?s wrong with that! OK, St. X isn’t exactly full today or yesterday, you can bet Public Hospital is a trolley park of misery. St X is owned by Doctors, and Doctors should know best how to run hospitals !

But what if the private hospital 10 minutes away from the publicly run hospital with a years back log purchase scheme beds to fill is owned by the same doctors that can’t see the patients in Public Hospital. I’m sure they welcome today?s news.

RTE NEWS says: The National Treatment Purchase Fund has been asked to run a pilot scheme allowing 5,000 patients at 14 hospitals awaiting outpatient consultations to be assessed for treatment by doctors at private hospitals.

‘assessed for treatment by doctors at private hospitals’ NO NEED MARY HARNEY, these same doctors saw the same patients over a year ago before letting them rot on the waiting list your government said it would abolish.

So get this; we are paying as tax payers as of today an extra €2.5 million of the €64 million Treatment Purchase budget, for Doctors in Irish public hospitals not to see their own patients in the public hospital but to allow the distressed patients go up the road to the same Doctor’s private clinic.

What would be better: fund the more cost effective solution, the public hospital. If that hospital needs extra resources, take over the privately run clinics. And study the following; how much of the waiting list backlog is due to Doctors moonlighting in their private clinics?

Now extend this scheme indefinitely; what have you got? Privatized public health from the neo liberal master privatizers the PD’s

I hope this doesn’t make you sick. but if it does… you know where to go.

While shopping at Tesco this morning I noticed a Tesco own brand 16 piece dinner set for £6.97 or €13.99. £6.97 equals €10.14, that is €3.85 less than the listed price.

I fully respect Tesco’s right to set prices, its rare we see the differential at all, good to note the price hike. I chose not to buy it.

If I lived near the border I could buy this item for €3.85 less. Whats with the markup? Its their own brand and not subject to RRP from manufacturer. Tesco customer care is due to call me and explain.

Every Little (hidden markup) Helps!

from the Tesco web site,

“Our Value own label range offers over 1,000 products in every section of the store, including fruit and vegetables, meat, groceries, drinks, cleaning products and clothing. It represents the best value low price range of groceries available to consumers in Ireland.”

“Our sustained price cutting campaign has helped bring down Ireland’s national inflation figures – food price inflation has consistently run below the overall inflation rate.”

“Tesco Ireland is committed to conducting business in an ethical and socially responsible manner.”

This takes me back to my youth, no l’m not old enough to remember big L first time round, but 1980’s caroline + laser558 I do remember. So when I left for work on tuesday @ 10am I was tuned to newstalk106, when I turned on the radio at 1.50am wanting to tune in 909khz I switched to AM but was halted in turning the dial by not the sound of the five live boys but the sound of the five lamp boys, boomtown rats, rat trap[1978#1]

DJ bex marshall is on air. The sound is mixing with french jazz station every 3 minutes for 20 seconds. Otherwise its classic radio under the blanket, rats sabath police bruce & stones all played in the last 20 minutes. Podcasting is fun but dx’ing still beats it! Big L is now on air 11 days, its also on $ky digital epg, DRM Big L would be nice
73’s bhg

[blogged on ppc ms-word to gmail to blogger email input]

Turkish workers have rejected the LRC proposal to return to work to allow further discussion on unpaid overtime wages from the construction company GAMA.

The workers claim that the group of 85 strikers would be scattered around the country on different GAMA sites and would be subjected to intimidation to give up their claim for unpaid overtime.

RTE NEWS quotes Socialist Party TD, Joe Higgins, “it was incumbent upon the State to put in place a mechanism to investigate the mens claims within days, not weeks.”

The labour court has the power to investigate the claims.