Hurling-Babs Keating and Tony Considine lash critics

There were interesting comments from ex hurling managers Tony Considine and Babs Keating on RTE radio this morning. In a riveting interview with Rachael English both were quite trenchant in their comments.

Tony Considine said “I had not just to be careful of the opposition…..I had to watch my back.” Considine was deposed as manager of Clare at a County Board meeting this week on a vote of 45 to 6. He stated that delegates were instructed on how to vote. There were major differences between Tony Considine and a senior official on the Clare Co. Board. He has not been informed officially of his removal. The news was broken to him by a journalist.
Babs Keating outlined the long hours involved. He regularly left Dublin at 3/4 o’clock and arrived home after training at 11.30/12.30. He attended club matches and U-21 games also in Tipperary. He said “I have never been as low as I have been in the last 3/4 weeks.” Apparently there has been strong criticism of Babs and his fellow selectors. He said that they were criticised by 4/5 journalists who would not know one end of a hurley from the other. He did not blame all journalists . He praised Vincent Hogan.
Both managers stated categorically that they received expenses only. Tony Considine argued for professionalism.
John Maughan and Tommy Lyons later joined the debate.

Babs Keating once stated that a kick in the backside is not far from a pat in the back. How true.

Afghanistan-Two Korean hostages released by the Taliban return home

By Jack Kim SEOUL, Aug 17 -Reuters : "Two weary-looking South Koreans held hostage for about a month by the Taliban in Afghanistan returned home on Friday, hoping for the safe return of 19 others who remain captive.

The Taliban freed the two women on Monday, the first captives to be released since insurgents seized 23 Koreans from a bus in Ghazni province on the main road south from the capital Kabul last month."I only hope for the release of the others," Kim Ji-na, a 32-year-old animation instructor, said just after arriving at Incheon airport, which serves Seoul.Looking tense and tired, and with their heads held low, the two showed no signs of joy or relief......"



Unfortunately this hostage crisis drags on and on. Last weekend it appeared that the Taliban were about to release all remaining hostages having already murdered two of the original 23 seized. The Taliban have threatened to kill the hostages, most of whom are young women, if their demand to free insurgent prisoners is not met. The Afghan Government has steadfastly refuse exchange prisoners for the hostages.
Largely the world stands by. There is very little coverage on the world media with some honourable exceptions. Is it not time for Saudi Arabia to use its influence to secure the release of the hostages? The Saudis and Taliban are mainly Sunni Moslems.

Ireland-Willie O'Dea backs down on Shannon issue.

Willie O'Dea reminds me of the Grand Old Duke of York. He marched them up to the top of the hill and he marched them down again. Mr O'Dea said he would prefer that airline management would change its decision before what he called 'the armageddon situation' of an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders.
Over the last forty eight hours Willie's spin machine has been in overdrive. An all action Minister will stop at nothing to restore the Shannon to Heathrow route.
Mr Mannion, who met with Defence Minister Willie O'Dea this morning told Shannon politicians and business leaders that the decision to cut Heathrow services will not be changed.

Willie O'Dea has now announced that he has no intention of resigning from the cabinet. If FF TDs in the Mid West were really serious about protecting the Shannon to Heathrow route, they would band together as a group and issue an ultimatum to the Government. Restore the route or we will vote against the Government in a no confidence motion. And they would actually mean it. This would avert armageddon. Their bluff has been called by the Government. They have been hung out to dry.

US-Overkill on illegal immigration could cost GOP the Presidency

According to the Washington Times Mitt Romney and Mayor Giuliani are adopting a very tough stance on illegal immigration. Exchanges are becoming increasingly sharp. It is time for Republican candidates to take stock.

"Two other potential Republican candidates, former Sen. Fred Thompson and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, also have stepped up their emphasis on the issue. Mr. Thompson penned a Web column calling for stricter enforcement, and Mr. Gingrich tossed his prepared speech to the Iowa Republican straw poll this weekend to instead deliver remarks calling on the president to force through Congress a bill to end sanctuary cities that protect illegal aliens.

The Republican Party's national chairman scolded his party's two top presidential candidates this week for their tough stance on illegal immigration, even as both men moved to try to one-up each other in calling for stricter enforcement.
Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida, President Bush's handpicked choice for party chairman, chided former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani for opposing and mischaracterizing the Senate immigration bill Mr. Martinez helped craft.
"It's about leading on the tough issues," Mr. Martinez told the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce in comments first reported in yesterday's St. Petersburg Times. "It was easy to say, 'This wasn't good enough, this isn't right, I don't agree with Martinez.' ... But at the end of the day, what is your answer? How would you solve this?"

It is necessary for the US to stamp out illegal immigration. Unprotected borders provide a gateway not just for poor Latinos but also for terrorists. Terrorists from countries with known al-Qaeda connections are changing their Islamic surnames to Hispanic-sounding names and assuming false Hispanic identities. They are learning to speak Spanish and pretending to be Hispanic immigrants. GOP candidates are correct to emphasise the necessity to stamp out illegal immigration. However their tone is often too strident and can be interpreted by law abiding Hispanics as an attack on them. There are approximately 44 million Hispanics in the US. This is a powerful voting block. The GOP must win a large slice of this support. GOP candidates must be cognisant of the fact that it is pointless winning the nomination on the illegal immigration issue if the whole Hispanic community is galvanised to support Hillary Clinton.

Ireland-FF difficulties on Shannon issue

More than one hundred FF politicians including Minister for Defence Willie O’Dea attended a meeting at Shannon last night to protest at the Aer Lingus decision to axe the Shannon to Heathrow route.
Interesting questions arise (1) Where were all these politicians when the FF/PD Government privatised Aer Lingus? Not one FF TD voted against privatisation.

(2) How many FF TDs will resign from the party and actually vote to bring down the Government on this issue? Answer none.
This decision of Aer Lingus is the inevitable consequence of privatisation. Willie O’Dea is hoist by his own petard. Communities in the Mid West can see through the empty posturing. Willie amongst others voted for privatisation. Now that the fat is in the fire he is opposed to the inevitable consequences of his vote. No better man than Willie to face east and west simultaneously.

Rugby Union-World Cup Musings

The Irish team -to play Bayonne-announced by Eddie O Sullivan contains no great surprises.

Ireland: 15 Girvan Dempsey, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Brian O'Driscoll (captain), 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Denis Hickie, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 9 Peter Stringer, 8 Denis Leamy, 7 Neil Best, 6 Simon Easterby, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 John Hayes, 2 Rory Best, 1 Marcus Horan. Replacements: 16 Frankie Sheahan, 17 Bryan Young, 18 Malcolm O'Kelly, 19 Alan Quinlan, 20 Eoin Reddan, 21 Paddy Wallace, 22 Geordan Murphy.

The loss of Shane Horgan is a severe blow. Hopefully he can play against Argentina and France in the Group of Death. However I have grave doubts that this injury can withstand the heat of battle. Ireland cannot afford the loss of key players. The ultimate nightmare would be the loss of Ronan O'Gara.

France team manager Jo Maso has strongly defended his pack ahead of the return match against England this weekend. Les Bleus came away from Twickenham on Saturday with a hard-fought 21-15 victory. However England dominated in the line-out and scrums for much of the game.

England probably lack sufficient flair to win the World Cup. However too much cannot be written into the outcome of pre World Cup tests. Players must keep something in reserve for "the real thing". Teams will not demonstrate key moves to opponents.

On balance France is a better bet to win the World Cup than England. French forward power will provide the platform for a dazzling back division to launch a ferocious assault on the Championship. Also home support will drive the French players to greater heights.

Ireland cannot expect realistically to win the World Cup. There is very little cover for players in key positions such as prop and out-half.

It is highly unlikely that Ireland can dominate either France or Argentina in the scrums. Can Ireland emerge with a victory over France or Argentina and escape from The Group of Death to reach the quarter finals?

South Africa scored fifteen tries in their 105-13 victory over Namibia in their RWC warm-up match at Newlands on Wednesday with flanks Juan Smith and Schalk Burger both getting hat-tricks. The Springboks rested most of their key players during the Tri Nations Championship. They fancy their chances. They fear no body. They are dark horses.

Australian preparation is second to none. Nothing is left to chance. However the Australian pack is the Achilles heel of the team. The Wallabies back division has skill power and flair in abundance. The Aussies has mastered the technique of living off scraps and winning. This may not be sufficient on this occasion.

New Zealand is the team of all talents. The All Black selectors rested key players during the Tri Nations Championship. However there is a huge weight of expectation on the players at home. The fact that anything up to eight of the players intend to play for French and English club teams -in the aftermath of the World Cup- may be a distraction.

Hillary's Records as First Lady Sealed Until After '08 Elections

Hillary Clinton's records as first lady, which are currently being held at her husband's presidential library in Little Rock, Ark., will remain sealed until after the 2008 election.The Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday the records - calendars, appointment logs and memos - are in the custody of federal archivists. Some 2 million pages of documents are being held at the library.Though a wealth of documents regarding Clinton's helmsmanship of a health care task force from 1993-94 have been released, more than a 1,000 other pages related to her work on the panel remain concealed.The Times said the records must remain sequestered under the Presidential Records Act because they contain confidential information and consultations from staffers and others involved in the health care task force.........

In 1993, the President appointed his wife to head and be the chairperson of the Task Force on National Health Care Reform. From this evolved the Clinton Health Care Plan. The plan was quickly derided as "Hillarycare" by its opponents, and did not receive enough support for a floor vote in either the House or the Senate, although both chambers were controlled by Democrats. The proposal was dropped in 1994. Republicans made the Clinton health care plan a major campaign issue of the 1994 midterm elections. Republicans won control of both houses.

Luckily for Hillary Clinton key documentation from that period will not be open to public and political scrutiny until after the Presidential Election. Republicans believe that these documents would provide sufficient ammunition to seriously dent her campaign. Many GOP supporters suspect that the documentation would prove conclusively that Hillary was incompetent and has extreme left tendencies. It is probable that disclosure would destroy her prospects of election. Interesting to see her benefiting from this whilst she proclaims regularly the necessity for transparency and accountability in politics. "Hillarycare" will undoubtedly surface in the course of the campaign.

In summary full disclosure of documents is the exocet which would destroy the Clinton campaign ship.