Finland-Lutheran Heavy Metal Pastor and His Band Rock Churches

A Lutheran priest in Finland has given up the traditional choir for a heavy metal band which now offers a unique take on the traditional Lutheran church service. Churches in Sweden, Germany and the UK have invited the pastor to participate in services.

Overall the collapse of WTO benefits the Irish economy

The collapse of the WTO talks is on the whole beneficial for the Irish economy. Certainly some Irish manufacturing and service sectors stood to gain from a WTO deal. However its likely benefits were strongly oversold not alone by some big business interests, but also by certain academics and elements in the media.

Irish proponents of the WTO proposals arrogantly dismissed their overall potential negative influences on the Irish economy. Opponents of the WTO proposals were painted as unpatriotic and representative of selfish agricultural interests.
Some big business interests in Ireland claimed to have concern for the poor of the Third World. Of course they were prepared to wrap themselves in a cloak of concern for the poor in an effort to convince a cynical Irish public of the merits of the WTO proposals.

Concessions made by Peter Mandelson at the WTO talks would have put 50,000 farmers out of business and wiped out at least another 50,000 jobs in food processing and services to the agricultural sector in Ireland alone. Agricultural proposals at the WTO would have benefited large ranchers in Australia, Brazil and the US. There were few if any benefits for the poor farmers of the Third World.

The loss in jobs to the Irish economy and devastation of rural Ireland would have far outweighed any potential gains in some industrial and service sectors. Indeed some Irish service jobs are now moving to India-such as Hibernian Insurance. So much for the security of service jobs in the financial sector.

The 100,000 jobs that Ireland stood to lose are based on indigenous natural resources.
We have had too much of the live horse and you will get grass approach-too many half-baked promises. To sacrifice 100,000 jobs would be economic lunacy.
Thankfully Nicolas Sarkozy galvanised opposition to the proposals. Ireland now owes him a huge debt of gratitude.

World trade talks: the reality for Ireland if Mandelson's proposals are accepted

In a myopic article in the Sunday Business Post titled Trade about more than farmers Cliff Taylor swallows the José Manuel Barroso and Peter Mandelson line on the WTO, hook, line and sinker. He blithely glides over the effects on Ireland and gives the impression that only farmers are affected. This is arrant nonsense.

Taylor omitted to state the following:

• At least 50,000 jobs are at stake in agriculture, food processing, agricultural engineering, farm insurance and other services. The last four industries were ignored in his article. These jobs would disappear in the short term.


• Food security would be jettisoned. Have we learned nothing?


• The EU would be flooded with cheap food often lacking traceability. Are not EU consumers entitled to high quality food? It is not acceptable to put consumers health at risk.

He speaks about gains in software, business and financial services. Of course there would be some gains. Nevertheless it would be a case of live horse and you get grass.
These gains would not compensate for losses in agriculture, food processing and services linked to agriculture.
Perhaps Cliiff Taylor might care to view the advertisement from the IFA on page 23 of the Sunday Independent.-Message from Rural Ireland Stop Mandelson WTO Sell-Out. This features the businesses affected. This is not just about farmers. Consumers health,food security and spin off industries linked to agriculture come into the picture.

Obviously Cliff Taylor would prefer to buy a pig in a poke.

Irish Inflation Hits 4.8%

The latest figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the annual rate of inflation has increased to 4.8 per cent in October, up from 4.6 per cent in September. According to Richard Bruton our inflation rate is now growing at a rate 38% faster than in the rest of the Eurozone. Inflation in services is running 110% faster in Ireland than in the rest of the Eurozone.

Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuel prices have risen 17.4 percent since October 2006. The cost of mortgages has risen by 34.6 percent over the past year.
Education costs rose 5.2 percent over the previous 12 months, including a 3.9 percent jump over the past month reflecting the start of a new academic year. Food and nonalcoholic beverage prices rose 4.4 percent, including 1.4 percent in the past month.

Bread, flour, milk, butter, rents, electricity all show price increases of more than 10% in the last 12 months.

The Government has turned an anticipated surplus of €1.8 billion into a deficit of €800 million.
It has failed to control public expenditure. Spending is growing at 17.5% - three times the 5.5% rate of growth of revenue. This ensured its re election. It is a major influence on inflation. The Government has sought to blame external factors. External factors are partially responsible however State services and stealth taxes are also major drivers in the inflation rate.

The high inflation rate is impacting strongly on the competitiveness of manufacturing industry.
Today Waterford Wedgwood confirmed that there would be large job losses at Waterford Crystal. It is anticipated that up to 500 jobs may go. Undoubtedly the weakness of the dollar against the Euro is a major factor also. Today it was announced that the Erin's Food plant at Thurles would close with the loss of 95 jobs. There are fears that between 80 and 100 jobs will be lost at the Boston Scientific plant in Galway.
Much nonsense is spouted by Government Ministers about high-value, knowledge-led jobs as the way forward for Ireland. There is a certain validity in this assumption. However countries such as India and China will increasingly challenge Ireland for such jobs.
The rosy picture of the economy- painted by Government Ministers during the General Election campaign - has quickly dissipated.