It’s never the silly season here. If anyone has a guest post on an issue of interest or campaign in the next month I would welcome publishing it. You know what sort of thing I’m into and that readers might be interested in. (If you don’t just ask!) 6-800 words – email tips @ mamanpoulet.com
Comments Off on Guest Clucks soughtTags:
Blogging on the iPad being away from home is very difficult so no matter how much I want to comment on what is happening to the Norris for President campaign I’m restricted really to twitter and mulling it over in my head. The spelling will be iffy.
Whomever I vote for in the Presidential election they have to deserve my vote, not because they are gay, or have worked with people with disabilites or will bring jobs to the country or initiate conversations. I wasn’t voting for Norris before this. I can’t join in the chorus of this whole thing being an anti gay smear campaign even if it was there and chipping away. This was an incident waiting to happen. I know many young gay people are devastated and it suits to point to the anti gay, anti Palestinian, anti liberal forces. And no, gay candidates don’t have higher bench marks to reach, presidential candidates do. Because this is about character. There was a hush in the LGBT ‘community’ about not dissenting even if there were skeletons.
Norris’s own campaign was poor despite the status he had in the polls. There was a feeling that he deserved it and that Ireland should be able to be grown up and vote for a gay man in the Aras and sure isn’t he funny and eccentric, a great story teller.
When the Magill stuff came out he ran for the hills and hid from the media, when he did appear on the media there were disasters and something felt missing. His local authority campaign was poor with councillors reporting an arrogance and a failure to connect and even properly ask for support. The guilt trip in Leinster House began, ‘deserves to run’ being the phrase du jour, week, month.
Without a party machine and even expertise in running a national election Norris faced a huge disadvantage. Not telling your team the full story and preparing for the problems is fatal. The letter he wrote in defence of Ezra is very David, full of mentions of himself and his thoughts and opinions in a manner where he thought they were of consequence. Some feel that the letter might point to flaws and fears about what he might do if elected – this isn’t important. It’s about whether someone really deserves to be there and what he thinks of himself.
I still feel terribly sorry for David after all this. Because he’s human, hurting and stood up so many times and spoke out. But there now are too many reasons to withdraw and questions about him now and secrets too.
Former Chairman Ahern is off on his travels again. He was a guest of the Chinese government’s Foreign Policy institute in May and now he’s back again to impact his knowledge of things ecological. This weekend he’s been in China attending the Eco Forum Guiyang which is in the South West province of Guizhou. The full programme can be read on the conference website.
Guest of honour (they even had a welcoming reception/courtesy call especially for him) Bertie advised the Chinese about cleaning up dirty industry. Tony Blair only made a video appearance.
China Daily has two reports of his valued (no idea how much) inputs. Firstly Ahern spoke about that dirty industy issue.
“We should work together and make a better and safer society for the next generation,” said former Ireland Prime Minister Bertie Ahern.
He told China Daily it is our responsibility to create a better position for the next generation. He said 20 years ago, there were also some dirty industries in Ireland. “They didn’t come to clean over night,” he said. “It will take time, but you are doing the right job here.”
In this morning’s edition of the paper we are told that Mr. Ahern spoke about eco innovation
Also at the forum, Bertie Ahern, former prime minister of the Republic of Ireland, said eco-innovation is the key to achieving a sustainable world.
Ahern on Saturday urged countries to turn more ideas into economic growth through products that reduce impact on the environment.
Climate change remains an ever-pressing global issue, he said, citing International Energy Agency data that suggests carbon emissions were at their highest in 2010 after a brief dip in 2009 due to the global financial crisis.
The Green Party will be so proud of him! There were other Irish participants at the conference from the Dublin Institute of Technology speaking about the Eco City of Clonburris. Yes I wondered where that was myself.
The Office of Bertie Ahern tells us that Mr. Ahern has recently spoken to the Basque people about creating a lasting peace. This being one of his stock speeches as advised by his agents in the Washington Speakers Bureau who sort the Bertie Earners.
Please go and read Tombuktu’s post on the Cedar Lounge – it is an excellent summary of the problems with the Governments Gender Recognition Advisory Group report which was published yesterday. The post also details the problems with the process and also the reaction which might be expected by the mainstream media who won’t really understand what the issues are and will end up getting some legal professional in to interpret without really getting the offence and dilemmas which will be caused to Trans people if the law is changed in the manner suggested by the report.
By lunchtime yesterday is was clear that at the launch itself that there was trouble and that many attending were extremely unhappy at the the contents and the language used in the report. The Daily Mail’s political correspondent, Niamh Lyons, tweeted that it was the most polite heckling she had ever witnessed. I have to say I have thought twice about writing my response because I’m not Trans and I don’t want to offend so I’ll limit myself and hope that Trans people and their supporters continue to come forward and explain and challenge the assumptions that have been made.
The FF/Green Government formed the Gender Recognition Advisory Group in May 2010 to look at the issues which presented themselves following the Foy case. The group was entirely composed of Civil Servants and even though they received submissions and met with many groups from the rights and LGBT communities it is very evident that they really didn’t get it if an unnamed expert hadn’t told them.
Why was there no Trans rep on committee to at least provide an alternate view if even dissenting one? When the Government formed a group to look at the options for recognition of same sex relationships GLEN got a seat at the table. The ‘Do they take Sugar’ attitude of the GRAG formation works it’s way through the report with the offending terminology used and outcomes delivered. My quick flick through it yesterday led me to one review – it reeks of Civil Servantese.
The report recommends that Trans People applying for their gender to be recognised will have to have a formal diagnosis of Gender Identity Disorder with evidence of medical treatments or will have to have had Gender Reassignment Surgery. This means that one has to have had hormones and mental health treatment and assessment or gender surgery (and hormones and mental health assessment/treatment and everything else). Medical model only cos of course they know what to do eh and make it all go away? An assumption that Gender Recognition is a mental illness or something that can be chopped away. There is no understanding of the issues facing InterSex here at all. (Update- The committee said despite the submissions made the terms of reference did not permit them to examine the issues here, they also felt there was not enough research or expertise – and maybe given the potential outcome from this group Intersex people are lucky.)
The report proposes that there is a panel which people will have to appear before made up of medical and legal representatives and one other where the applicant will will be told if they are a man or woman in the eyes of the state.
I know Trans people who are married and happily so, I know others who are divorced or separated. The report recommends that those applying for Gender Recognition be required to divorce or end their Civil Partnership before they can apply. No ifs, buts or maybes there.
TENI have expressed their deep reservations at the criteria that have to be met. The ICCL comment on the critical flaw ending marriages and civil partnerships. Dearbhail McDonald reports on the launch and responses from some of those present. There will be more to come and Joan Burton can expect more representations to be made in response to the report. Unfortunately I don’t think that the people advising her will be moveable and there will always be a Sir Humphreyesque but to the challenges to the forthcoming bill.
» 10 CommentsTags:
» 1 CommentTags:
