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Big Time Crime vs Small Time Crime: Speed Limits and Killing people!

Written by Joerg Steegmueller
Big Time Crime vs Small Time Crime: Speed Limits and Killing people!

I got caught breaking the law! Yes, it is hard to admit (especially for a German :-) ), but I did break the law (unintentionally) and I got caught AND paid for it. A few weeks ago, I drove home on a very quiet Sunday evening on a well built and well lit street in Dublin. Hardly any traffic, no pedestrians or cyclists and I was not distracted by mobile phone or anything else. All was well…

…until about two weeks later when a letter arrived, telling me that I was recklessly breaking the law. What a bad boy! I know! I drove 59 km/h in a 50 km/h zone. I had to pay EUR 80 and will be punished for three years due to the 3 points I also got.

Interestingly, if I had driven 120km/h in a 50km/h zone, I would have been punished in the EXACT same way. Odd!!!

Then on Tuesday, I heard about the shooting of another gang member of the two feuding Dublin criminal gangs. We might think, that it is not the worst if they terminate each other, but keep in mind that in every killing one side will win over the other and it will give that “winning” side more power, which is never a good thing when you talk about criminals. These ongoing killings are a bad bad thing on another level. As we have seen, the risk for random bystanders is significant, because these killers seem to have trouble at times knowing who they really want to get and also because they are getting more and more ruthless.

So how does my speeding tickets link to the gang war in Dublin? — It doesn’t really! I am not the type of person who complains that the police should spend their time on hunting down the big criminals and let the small criminals go. I broke the law and got punished, which is annoying but fair. But when it comes to fairness, it seems that bigger criminals get away with a lot more.

For Friday of this week a big “clampdown” on speeding has been announced. It’s easy!! Put up a few vans around the country in locations that are not really accident hotspots and then just send the tickets by post. You will get lots of money back and have a nice Press Release about the success and the catching of the criminals.

At the same time, the gangs, make millions through drugs and from their HUGE amount of properties that most likely were bought from drug money as well. Clampdown? Not much!

Is it resources? I don’t think so! It is just easier to get honest people to own up and pay up for their small crimes than to get criminals to own up to their big crimes. It not wrong to punish the small time criminals, but it is wrong to let the big time criminals get away with as much as they do.

Justice, Society, Traffic,

Food Fads or Food Trends or just unexplainable crazes? – The Doughnut and more

Written by Joerg Steegmueller
Food Fads or Food Trends or just unexplainable crazes? – The Doughnut and more

A “fad” is “an intense and widely shared enthusiasm for something, especially one that is short-lived”. A “trend” is a “general direction in which something is developing or changing” and a “craze” is quite similar to a “fad”, but craze has also a level of insanity or out of control-ness to it.

I would call the food fads in Dublin “crazes” and definitely not trends, but what am I talking about?

Well it is the appearance of a “new” food that everyone raves about, which then leads to the sudden opening of a mad amount of restaurants and eateries, followed by a short period of “being everyhwere” and then the similarly sudden disappearance of nearly all of these eateries again.

A good few years ago it was ….. Sushi! It started with one or two restaurants and suddenly lots of places appeared like mushrooms over night. Some restaurants are still there today, but many are long gone. After Sushi followed Burritos. From one day to another, every corner of Dublin had a burrito take away. Interestingly a surprisingly large amount of them are still there. But are people still mad about Burritos? I haven’t heard anybody talking about them. Maybe they just became normal food like many many decades ago the Fish & Chips.

The next food craze was Milkshakes! At one point there were at least 5 or 6 milk shake places in the City Centre. One of them even got money on Dragon’s Den. I loved the Oreo milkshakes and Nutella milkshakes etc. Today? Not a single one of the five places is still open. For milk shake enthusiasts there is however still Eddie Rockets where in some restaurants a dedicated milk shake bar has been added (for example in Stillorgan).

After the milkshakes came the “shredded pork”. I know, it is still around, but, boy, was that a craze at some point. And for “meat for people with no teeth” it is a surprising craze. In other words, it is not that amazing!! But for some reason you HAD to have it.

And the newest madness? That seems to be doughnuts! Not the ones for 5 for 1 Euro that you get in Tescos. Oh no! They have to be different and special doughnuts. For example with crunchy bits on the outside, called Cronuts. Or with different flavours, not just the “cheap old” raspberry jam, no the fancy models come with icing and cherries on top, or with banoffee or with a salted caramel flavour or crispy cream. And one other important feature must be present: The doughnuts have to be totally overpriced!! Only if you pay a crazy price is is really happening! ;-)

This weekend even sees a Doughnut Festival in Camden Street!!! :-O

What will follow? A total wipeout of Doughnut places and a new craze! Definitely! Mad people these Dubliners! ;-)

Odd, Society, ,

EPIC Ireland – The Journey of the People – New Visitor Attraction

Written by Joerg Steegmueller
EPIC Ireland – The Journey of the People – New Visitor Attraction

EPIC Ireland is Dublin’s newest visitor attraction. It is based in the beautiful basement of the CHQ Building at George’s Dock (IFSC) and only opened last week. The exhibition is telling the story of the people of Ireland and you can “travel” with them. Thanks to @DarraghDoyle and the EPIC Ireland management, I got a chance to “travel” through the whole exhibition nearly 3 weeks ago and here are my impressions.

When you arrive you get a passport that shows you the stations on your travels through the exhibition and you can get a stamp in every room. But then it starts quite gloomy, because the Irish history wasn’t a happy story for long stretches. Emigration, unemployment, poverty and even death were everywhere. But luckily the fog lifts soon and EPIC Ireland celebrates the successes, the Irish people that made it, for example the scientists that had an impact on the world. It also celebrates Irish culture (Music, Sport and Pubs, but also literature, film, TV etc) and there are rooms for every aspect of culture. One of the most impressive one is a library, where you can move some books in the shelves and you hear then a reading of a section of that book.

The whole exhibition is heavily built around multi-media presentations. Many of them are interactive, which means that you are not only a passive viewer, but can experience the exhibition to a degree. There are very few panels that you have to read as you find them in traditional museums, but there are also quite few real exhibits. So you wouldn’t call EPIC Ireland a museum, instead it is a show. A multimedia show that uses more (touch) screens than you have ever seen before in one place.

After 1.5 hours travelling with the Irish people I came to the “finish line” (I rushed it a bit and could have spent at least another 30-45 minutes there) and at that point I had to think about my opinion of the overall experience. Not easy because it is so different.

EPIC Ireland was built by the same people that are behind the Titanic Experience in Belfast, but I have never been there. So for me this was the first FULL ON multimedia (not-)museum show and it was TOO much multimedia for me. I like slowing down sometimes and reading something or looking at exhibits, at EPIC Ireland one show element was immediately followed by the next as you walked through the rooms and at times I couldn’t keep up. However, this is just my preference, so what should I tell you?

After thinking a bit about it, I came to a definite conclusion: If you are Irish or have some Irish roots, you should definitely go to EPIC Ireland. It won’t cover all, there are many gaps in the story, but you should go nevertheless. You will probably only go once, but when you go, give yourself at least 1.5 hours, better 2 hours.

So should everybody go? I think, that if you are not Irish or have no Irish roots, but are just in Ireland because you like the landscape or Irish music or you just work here and don’t care too much about the history of Ireland, then this show is not for you. Foreign tourists should definitely go to the National Museum, but unless they feel (partially) Irish, EPIC Ireland might not be for them. In other words: American tourists with Irish roots HAVE to go :-) , but Spanish, French, German etc etc tourists can live without it.

The show elements and the work behind it is absolutely impressive and while I missed a few elements about today’s Ireland (Music, TV, Film and Politics and Science & Technology) I am ok with the fact that even the historical parts are in many areas only skimming the surface. EPIC Ireland is not a comprehensive historic treatment of Ireland, but it is an EXPERIENCE of Ireland.

So, go when you can get a chance and if you can afford it and build your own opinion! I mentioned it here and in general left it until last: EPIC Ireland is, together with the Guinness Storehouse, the Wax Museum and also the 1916 Experience in the GPO part of the newer and costly visitor attractions. In the past Ireland was the country where the museums are free, but these good times are behind us. EPIC Ireland costs EUR 16 for an adult and EUR 8 for a child, but unlike in the Guinness Storehouse, there is no pint of beer waiting for you at the exit. ;-) So at that price, it is not something that many would go to without thinking. With the amount of work to create this show and the vast amount of flat screens (I am still not over that! ;-) ) I can see how the price is justified, but I also have to admit that I still find it very high.

Should you still go? Yes! Save for a little if you have to and then go. Spend all the time there that you need, because you will most likely not come back, but do it once!

Opening times are 7 days a week from 09:00-19:00. Tickets can be bought and more information can be found on www.epicirelandchq.com/

Dublin, Events, Society, Tourism,

Suicide is sad, but NO shameful act!! – Only openness helps!

Written by Joerg Steegmueller
Suicide is sad, but NO shameful act!! – Only openness helps!

It REALLY makes me angry how mental health is dealt with in Ireland. It is a serious serious problem and everybody who is listened to by the media says “We need to talk more openly about mental health!” and the media happily publishes these contributions, but when it comes to it, they are as useless as everybody else.

On Friday morning, while looking for events and news, I had a quick look at the thejournal.ie website and saw an article entitled “Body of missing teenager located”. A 17 year old girl that went missing on Tuesday was found dead. VERY sad!!

But it doesn’t stop there! If something like that happens, we all want (and need) to know why. Was it an accident or a crime or something else? We WANT to know, because we need to deal with our own feelings about news like that. Many of us are (hopefully) not yet so insensitive that we just ignore it and move on. In addition, the “need to know” is a form of self protection: If it was a crime, maybe I have to be more careful or have to watch out better over my own loved ones. If it was an accident, maybe I can learn something from it as well. Either way, we really shouldn’t ignore the cause of death,

BUT, the media AND the police AND many normal people absolutely want to ignore it if the cause was the unspeakable SUICIDE and it really makes me furious.

The article said “A garda spokesperson told TheJournal.ie that the teenager’s death is being treated as a tragedy.” Does that translate to anything else but suicide? I don’t think so! But why can it not be said? Why is the fact sooo shameful that you can not reveal the S-word?

There was a 17 year old girl with a potentially great future and huge opportunities ahead of her, but sadly she didn’t see the alternatives and nobody in her life was able to show or convince her that there ARE alternatives to ending your life. Whatever stressed her seemingly was so big that she didn’t see any alternatives and didn’t want to endure the pain any longer. Yes, it is a tragedy, but by making it a secret, we will help nobody.

Many people experience that and the suicide rate in Ireland is shockingly high, but unless we talk about it openly, it will get worse.

I would claim that nearly everyone thought about ending his or her life at some stage. Maybe it was as a 10 year old after your parents were telling you off or maybe it was much later after a separation from a partner or after any other significant life event or just because you intermittently go through dark periods in your life where continuing the struggle makes no sense anymore. So it affects us all, either directly or indirectly.

Suicide is a problem solver for everybody who considers it or who carries it out. The big issue is, however, that the majority of problems that we feel and experience could become temporary problems if we approach them with help and support, but suicide is final. Hence the phrase: Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. (A phrase that makes sense when you are not suicidal, but is not very helpful when you don’t see any alternatives.)

We need to talk about all aspects of mental health, including suicide to make sure that everyone understands that it is not a shame to feel so bad that you are considering it. And at the same time to offer help and support.

But why can we not talk about suicide? For starters it is seen by some in society still as a failure. A failure to cope. A failure to deal with the stuff life throws at us. And then there is the stigma caused by the Catholic Church, that says suicide is a sin. And if the parents of someone who died from suicide live in a largely catholic Ireland, they will definitely feel that they should see as their failure but maybe even that their son or daughter did some condemnable act. It is neither! And parents or other family members should never feel guilty in the context of suicide.
But there is also a very odd taboo-isation that comes from a false sense of “Political Correctness”. Many feel that it is discriminating to use some words. That’s rubbish! The word is not offensive, but the meaning might be. You can absolutely say that someone is “black” or “g ay” even if some of us feel very uneasy using these words because we are frightened into a political correctness thinking. “Suicide” is also NOT a forbidden word!
And finally, there is the thinking in some people that if we talk about suicide, we make it “normal” and then give others the idea that it is ok to harm themselves. Nonsense!! You talk about breakins and lots of other crimes for many many years and it hasn’t become the norm either!

Please talk openly about mental health including suicide! Only then you can get others who need your help to understand that you might be someone they can turn to if they are looking for help!

Other, Society,

The new government IS a Fine Gael – Fianna Fail coalition!

Written by Joerg Steegmueller
The new government IS a Fine Gael – Fianna Fail coalition!

So they made it!! After 70 days finally a new government has been elected when on Friday Enda Kenny (Fine Gael) was re-elected as the Taoiseach.

It is called a “minority government” that is tolerated by Fianna Fail and supported by some of the Independent TDs. When the Taoiseach got elected, the Fianna Fail TDs abstained and therefore a handful of Independents was enough for Enda Kenny to get the majority.

Odd that Micheal Martin didn’t want to be in power since it was offered to him to be part of the government through a coalition. But the reason why Micheal Martin’s Fianna Fail didn’t want to get involved and form a Grand Coalition between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail is because they were worried that the electors would punish them for it in the next elections. In recent elections the smaller coalition partner (i.e. Greens and Labour) was always blamed more for a screw up of the government than the dominating party and Micheal Martin didn’t want to risk that.

So the solution was a to tolerate a minority Fine Gael government. But does that REALLY change the situation?

Is Fianna Fail now NOT part of the government and will they by innocent if Enda Kenny does a bad job?? Actually NOT AT ALL!! This is really a coalition between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, just with the odd configuration that Fianna Fail will not contribute in a positive way in the day to day running of the country.

Why do I call it a coalition? Well, if you sit down with the other party for days and negotiate a “deal” that will last for three years, during which Fianna Fail will support whatever Fine Gael does then you can’t claim anymore that you are innocent! It is like standing next to someone who commits a criminal act and not doing anything. You will NOT get away with your “I had nothing to do with it!” claim.

So this new government is a Grand Coalition, just not by name! And if Enda Kenny screws up and Fianna Fail won’t stop him because they promised to support him for 3 years, then Fianna Fail will also have to be appropriately punished for it! Don’t fall for Micheal Martin’s trick!

Elections, Politics, Society, , , , , , ,
 
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