Bad beat/Moaning/Venting thread - BabyforV

[AndyFatBastard]

Saw this in the cinema on Saturday.

SPOILER

What a load of shite.

You are broken. Best action movie of this millenium. It doesn't get any better than this:

[6starpool]

Thanks. Where were you flying from when you re entered?

I've found nothing that says you need more than six months to travel through Canada/US/Ireland (Turkey and some other countries specifically say six months, I take that as a positive) only a valid one but I assume it's the airline that might have a problem and both airlines just say valid passport on their websites so I think I should be good. I've emailed both airlines to make sure so I'll see what they say.

I highly doubt I'd get refused at either country if I get to immigration, Irish citizen and permanent resident in Canada.

I was only coming from the UK so it wasn't a big deal, but passport control didn't care anyhow. I'd say you'll be grand given your status in Canada then.

[Lord Sir Banter]

Had some charity mugger knock on the door here at the mots. She was politely going through excuses to get away from him but he was pushy.

I went to help her out and he insisted on shaking my hand, 'I'm Jeff, oh great I can pitch to both of you', pitch, fs.
Ah no we're alright thanks Jeff.

<starts his spiel>
'Eh we're about to have tea, thanks Jeff'
'Am I invited?'
Eh no Jeff.

/door close.

Have a bbq on now, might make a burger for him and see if he is still knocking on doors.

[CHDad]

Had some charity mugger knock on the door here at the mots. She was politely going through excuses to get away from him but he was pushy.

I went to help her out and he insisted on shaking my hand, 'I'm Jeff, oh great I can pitch to both of you', pitch, fs.
Ah no we're alright thanks Jeff.

<starts his spiel>
'Eh we're about to have tea, thanks Jeff'
'Am I invited?'
Eh no Jeff.

/door close.

Have a bbq on now, might make a burger for him and see if he is still knocking on doors.

I always pretend to be retarded to those people which comes quite easily to me.

They feck off pretty quick.

[luckforsome]

Phone was stolen over the weekend, only need something for six months. What's the best android option value wise at the moment?

...You can borrow a phone from me if you like?...

[Lord Sir Banter]

I always pretend to be retarded to those people which comes quite easily to me.

They feck off pretty quick.

Would like to see that. I'd enjoy that.

Having a bud.

[CHDad]

Dogs are better than Cats

Episode 5

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMju23jJEF0

That Dog is better than most humans on the planet.

[darwinatemyhamster]

Has anyone ever travelled on a passport in it's final six months?

Have a wedding back in Ireland I'd like to go to in September and my passport will be into it's final six months by a week at the time of flying. Seems like it takes 12/13 weeks to get it renewed from Canada which is too long.

Could you not get someone from home to do the 2 week post office job, and have it sent on?

[Emmet]

Have you ever done anything like this yourself or are you just comfortable sitting on the fence slagging off people that have actually got off there asses and at least tried ?

I'm happy to be a 'Pretender' if it helps even one orphaned child! The ignorance on here is incredible at times.

no, because that would be immensely hypocritical of me considering the position I have on the voluntourism phenomenon.

Not many charities needing anything I'm particularly well equipped in tbh, so I help via cash. I imagine that the value of sending cash far outstrips what I personally could bring. Can you say the same of the €x spent to participate (of which €y went to airlines etc) ? Consider the statement, not the perceived insult.

http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/voluntourism-is-a-waste-of-time-and-money--and-gappers-are-better-off-working-in-britain-9816837.html

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/feb/13/beware-voluntourists-doing-good

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/apr/16/humanitarian-douchery-volunteering-voluntourism-endhumanitariandouchery

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pippa-biddle/little-white-girls-voluntourism_b_4834574.html

http://www.psmag.com/business-economics/instagrammingafrica-narcissism-global-voluntourism-83838

[hotspur]

Does anyone here suffer with Panic / Anxiety attacks?
I got them back in the 90s and a while ago they reappeared in my life. absolutely scary horrifying shit. I got another one today driving the car, starting to piss me off now. Maybe someone here would have advice. I am presuming medication cant help .

I am sitting here with this book in front of me Mastery of your Anxiety and Panic.

Now I don't know if you have panic disorder or you are just experiencing some panic attacks. You can look up what panic disorder is to see. If you are experiencing that then I recommend a properly qualified CBT therapist if you can afford it.

I don't know this woman, but she's the only properly accredited CBT therapist listed in your neck of the woods: http://www.laois-cbt.com/ .

[SatNav]

I am sitting here with this book in front of me Mastery of your Anxiety and Panic.

Now I don't know if you have panic disorder or you are just experiencing some panic attacks. You can look up what panic disorder is to see. If you are experiencing that then I recommend a properly qualified CBT therapist if you can afford it.

I don't know this woman, but she's the only properly accredited CBT therapist listed in your neck of the woods: http://www.laois-cbt.com/ .

Thanks for that, was gonna go to the doc in the next few days . feel like someone is lying on my chest all day. it just wont go. dunno wtf is up with me.

[darwinatemyhamster]

Thanks for that, was gonna go to the doc in the next few days . feel like someone is lying on my chest all day. it just wont go. dunno wtf is up with me.

Don't put off going to the doc, go in the morning. There is medication that they can prescribe to help you in the short term, namely beta blockers. They work almost instantly but are not a long term solution.

Cut down the booze and caffeine and get plenty of excercise, give the CBT a spin as well as Hotspur recommended. Yoga can be of great benefit as well.

There's loads you can do to aliviate it, just don't put it off any longer.

[Lao Lao]

Nice Start to the weekend. Lunch in Sophie's. Drinks in the shelbourne. Drinks and meat and cheese plate in the Fitzwilliam. Wife driving us home. Might stop off for a nice Bottle of red and watch the golf.

How was the food in Sophie's?

I've been there for drinks a few times. Always a great buzz about the place and the rooftop terrace is brilliant but have heard very mixed reports about the food so haven't tried it myself yet

[hotspur]

Thanks for that, was gonna go to the doc in the next few days . feel like someone is lying on my chest all day. it just wont go. dunno wtf is up with me.

Hmm, well in that case we cannot rule out a malevolent faerie.

[SatNav]

Hmm, well in that case we cannot rule out a malevolent faerie.

whats that mean?

[ComradeCollie]

Hmm, well in that case we cannot rule out a malevolent faerie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTbgsoHDc24

[dobby]

Hmm, well in that case we cannot rule out a malevolent faerie.

whats that mean?

I know that phrase to be about Fairies in Irish folklore. So he may be yanking your chain. Or else it's a genuine thing that's gone over my head.

[hotspur]

whats that mean?

Really it means I have become mildly obsessed with the show Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell on BBC, and am listening to the audiobook now in bed. It has a faerie in it who is a bit evil.

Now I'm not saying that you definitely have been enchanted by a troublesome faerie, or a meddling hobgoblin, but it would be professionally remiss of me not to point out the possibility of it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4L-fKOZ9Zs

[dobby]

Woohoo. Something hotspur said that I actually got for a change

[elbows]

How was the food in Sophie's?

I've been there for drinks a few times. Always a great buzz about the place and the rooftop terrace is brilliant but have heard very mixed reports about the food so haven't tried it myself yet

Had heard the same so wasn't expecting much. Food was decent and not too pricey. Great setting. Good service. Nice wines by the glass.

[oleras]

I quiet enjoyed the first episode of True Detective,

SPOILER

its laying the groundwork very well for a fairly intricate plot and intertwining characters it seems. Very enjoyable.

[CHDad]

Dogs are better than Cats is on a mid season break so I will give you facts.

Cats have never won Britain's got talent. Dogs have, twice.

[Opr]

I quiet enjoyed the first episode of True Detective,

SPOILER

its laying the groundwork very well for a fairly intricate plot and intertwining characters it seems. Very enjoyable.

SPOILER

Just finished watching it. I thought it was quite good and will probably be far better than most stuff on TV this year but it did seem to suffer from being in the shadow of his predecessor. Almost every scene seemed to have some foreshadowing dark music playing over it which wasn't in keeping with many of the scenes and became quite tiresome. Lots of the dialogue was quite clunky in what seemed an attempt to make everything deep and meaningful. I'm probably being quite harsh as it did draw me in and am looking forward to watching more.

Opr

[Charlie Sheen]

Could you not get someone from home to do the 2 week post office job, and have it sent on?

I was thinking of doing that but would have to get someone to sign it etc

[CHDad]

I quiet enjoyed the first episode of True Detective,

SPOILER

its laying the groundwork very well for a fairly intricate plot and intertwining characters it seems. Very enjoyable.

SPOILER

Just finished watching it. I thought it was quite good and will probably be far better than most stuff on TV this year but it did seem to suffer from being in the shadow of his predecessor. Almost every scene seemed to have some foreshadowing dark music playing over it which wasn't in keeping with many of the scenes and became quite tiresome. Lots of the dialogue was quite clunky in what seemed an attempt to make everything deep and meaningful. I'm probably being quite harsh as it did draw me in and am looking forward to watching more.

Opr

SPOILER

First off, this is a brand new show despite it being a second season.

You are both reading too far into this. Give it a few episodes before judging it, the first season must have taught you that.

Opr, you are already comparing it to its predecessor when you shouldnt be. Wait til 3 episodes in and stop doing drugs.

[Hitchhiker's Guide To...]

...

[RichieM]

Have you ever done anything like this yourself or are you just comfortable sitting on the fence slagging off people that have actually got off there asses and at least tried ?

I'm happy to be a 'Pretender' if it helps even one orphaned child! The ignorance on here is incredible at times.

I have donated money to people heading to Africa but have not gone myself. I would be useless and sunburnt out there but still require food, water, security etc so over all a drain.

2 of my sisters went out - opticians and said the work load was in real and were up unreal early and there was people walking for days to come see them and when they stopped for the night they would just sleep in a que outside the practice rooms.

They worked like fuck, saw none of the country, climbed no mountains and hardly got any sun as they were inside all the time.

This is quite different to when mccanns send their law grads over in a big herd so that they can say they care on the corporate website, get some shots of them climbing a big hill and generally arse around using up the resources they brought with them. Again food, water, security, housing , transport etc

If you cannot see how one is better than the other than I don't know what I can say. Obviously when peoe say they are collecting for each I sponsor but what impact my cash has definitely depends on who they are sending. our best and brightest is not who is most useful when it comes to digging foundations or plastering.

[darwinatemyhamster]

I was thinking of doing that but would have to get someone to sign it etc

Get form sent to you, sign it and post it back. Seems pretty simple, not sure what you''re worrying about.

[Wombatman]

True Detective - Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose

[mocata]

Citibank moving operations to Ireland apparently, am sure other banks will be watching this closely.

[Emmet]

The True Detective S2 theme is utter dogshit though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJJfe1k9CeE

[Loopz]

Get form sent to you, sign it and post it back. Seems pretty simple, not sure what you''re worrying about.

You need to be at garda station to sign your photos

[ArmaniJeans]

Who was it here that had a friend who kept a blog of his African charity trip and talked about bringing 'the gift of hope'?

[Raoul Duke III]

Citibank moving operations to Ireland apparently, am sure other banks will be watching this closely.

What operations? Moar deets plz

[PokerPiper]

no, because that would be immensely hypocritical of me considering the position I have on the voluntourism phenomenon.

Not many charities needing anything I'm particularly well equipped in tbh, so I help via cash. I imagine that the value of sending cash far outstrips what I personally could bring. Can you say the same of the €x spent to participate (of which €y went to airlines etc) ? Consider the statement, not the perceived insult.

http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/voluntourism-is-a-waste-of-time-and-money--and-gappers-are-better-off-working-in-britain-9816837.html

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/feb/13/beware-voluntourists-doing-good

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/apr/16/humanitarian-douchery-volunteering-voluntourism-endhumanitariandouchery

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pippa-biddle/little-white-girls-voluntourism_b_4834574.html

http://www.psmag.com/business-econom...ntourism-83838

100% of the cash I raised went to the charity. I paid for my own flights & costs.

Even the term Voluntourist is a fckn insult to people who in some cases spend up to 6 months training & preparing. How dare anybody brand them in this way unless they have taken the time & effort to go and try it themselves. The Celeb stuff on TV is cringeworthy for lots of reasons but theres a lot of good being done that people simply aren't aware of. Rantover.

[mocata]

http://www.irishexaminer.com/busines...in-338093.html

Got a letter from them saying change to T&C's, funds would now be guaranteed by Irish gov instead of UK. Keep calm etc

[Emmet]

100% of the cash I raised went to the charity. I paid for my own flights & costs.

Fair play. I'd just have sent the raised money and the flight costs. Surely far more optimal.

Even the term Voluntourist is a fckn insult to people who in some cases spend up to 6 months training & preparing. How dare anybody brand them in this way unless they have taken the time & effort to go and try it themselves.

As I said, if you're bringing skills, then that's fine, otherwise you're only fooling yourself. I think maybe you're reading something that's not there. Go back to my original sentence that you took issue with.

Unless you're going out there to offer services that you are a master at, fuck off pretending you're really helping imo.

Perhaps 'really helping' reads a bit harsh; 'doing the best you could have by the people you think you're helping' is possibly fairer and more PC.

The Celeb stuff on TV is cringeworthy for lots of reasons but theres a lot of good being done that people simply aren't aware of. Rantover.

And there's a lot of inefficiency of usage of resources, time and cash by people who simply aren't aware of it either. Imagine being a builder in a third world country and a guy floats in for 2 weeks and does your job (well/badly) for free, how do you eat? Did you read any of the links? There is a voluntourism industry. Think about that. Why does that exist?

Kayroo's thought experiment was spot on. If I offered to double your sponsorship and go in your place, would you have taken my offer?

[nicnicnic]

TD

SPOILER

looked very david lynch, Mulholland drive and lost highway

[Denny Crane]

Who was it here that had a friend who kept a blog of his African charity trip and talked about bringing 'the gift of hope'?

It's eh quite something

SPOILER

Freedom to Dream

Whenever you come back from a trip, charity or not, you always find yourself being asked the inevitable question, "did you have a good time". This was the type of question which on the way home from Ghana I was dreading, dreading that no answer could be given to this question which could give my trip to Ghana the justice it deserved. No words can truly describe my 10 day experience in West Africa. Having said that I will attempt to share just a little of the life changing experience all 21 of us on the trip went through.

4.15am March 10th 2011 myself and 20 other university students met in Dublin airport, many of us having never met each other before, yet were all just about to fly to Ghana together to volunteer with the international charity, Global Brigades. Standing in the airport I wondered what it was going to be like, would it be dangerous, would the people be welcoming, would I hate every minute of it or was this going to be the best 10 days of my life. All of my questions luckily enough would be answered within 24 hours.

From the minute we stepped off the plane I fell in love, the weather, scenery and overly friendly and welcoming people. Although I knew we would be having lovely weather and I guessed myself that due to the fact we were in Africa the scenery would be spectacular, I was not ready for the reaction from the public. Sadly enough this preconception came from the words of a few people before my trip, who unfortunately knew nothing about Ghana or the culture there. Many people told me I was mad heading off to Ghana, a "dangerous" country it was described as more than once. To these people I will now say, "have you ever been there, have you ever been invited into a Ghanaian's houses to talk about what type of farm they run, how many children they have or what their hopes for the future were, have you ever had a child hold your hand just to feel special, or ask you your name, in the hope that you will return the question?" These are all things that happened to me most days during my experience in Ghana.

I can safely say the most overwhelming and breathtaking moment in my life was our first morning driving into the community which we were going to be working in for 10 days. When we pulled into the entrance my heart stopped and a smile quickly formed on my face. Crowds of men, woman and children lined the entrance, waiting eagerly on our arrival. For them this was the arrival of 21 Irish students who would hopefully give them hope and belief within the next 10 days. Sometime which I can safely say we did successfully. For the next few hours, myself and everyone else involved realised the huge impact which our presence was and would continue to make in the community of Ekumfi Ekotzi in Western Africa.

For the next 5 days, the Brigadeers and I met with community members in group meeting and also during one on one talks with people in their homes. The reason for this was to assess what the community as a whole needed in order to improve their lives. Due to the language barrier which we encountered with many community member it was sometimes necessary for us to speak through translators, these were mainly young people just like us, whose English was remarkable. Many strong and lasting relationships were made with these people, one of whom Josephine, was the reason I cried on my last day.

Many things about my trip make me sad, including the fact that many of the young kids who I met, would never get the chance to attend secondary school, never mind university, due to economic restrictions, most of them would also never get the chance to leave Ghana, travelling for most of them just isn't an option. The only thing I have to console myself is the smile that each person had on their face, every time we saw them. These people practically had nothing however I have never met such a welcoming and friendly race. This was something which wasn't only apparent in the community we were working in, this was the same everywhere we went. Whether it was the petty traders selling their goods on the side of the road, children who waved at us in our bus as we drove by, not once during my time in Ghana did I not feel welcome, or in any possible danger. I think I can speak for my group in saying we were all more than happy to hand a kid our cameras to gladly take pictures for you, under the reinforced opinion that it would be handed back before you left.

As the title of this article states this trip had a lot to do with giving people the freedom to dream, something which many people in developing countries are never given the chance or opportunity to do. When we were talking to the individuals in the community we would always ask them what type of things they hopped and wished for. We each found a reoccurring trend when asking this question, all that most people said they wished to do was educate children or grandchildren, afford medical care if they needed it, but also sometimes all they wished for was something as simple as having food to eat. Through our project we invested in two major businesses in the community, one a machine which would make their most harvested crop, the "Cassava" root more profitable and secondly the expansion of honey making co-operative which was established in the community.

During our time in this community we also came to the understanding that crops were continuously failing and peoples livelihoods were being jeopardised by an extreme and many times deadly lack of rain. We therefore came to the conclusion that an irrigation system was a necessity in this community however sadly, this type of a project ended up being something we did not have enough funding to initiate, however we did research and report on the possible future investment in an irrigation system. This "irrigation fund" will now be constantly topped up through renting one of the machines we did buy, to neighbouring communities, the members of the community have also been taught about the importance of irrigation and the way in which saving for future investments works, so now we can just wait in the hope that in the near future they will have saved enough money to purchase this system for themselves.

My trip to Ghana taught me many things, but one of the main things is it taught me is to not take anything for granted. The people who we were helping had nothing in comparison to what we have in Ireland, but I can honestly say while I was there I met some of the most happy, honest and inspiring people I have ever met. This trip changed my life more than I could have ever imagined, and I am positive it will continue to do so for years to come!

[elbows]

TD

SPOILER

looked very david lynch, Mulholland drive and lost highway

SPOILER

It had a David Lynch look but that is where the similarities end. Thought the dialogue was very forced and had no flow to it like the first one. Couldn't really warm to any of the characters bar the hippie dad. Only one episode in but felt a bit all over the place. Some of the scenes were beautifully shot and I will keep watching with open eyes and and a full heart

[Emmet]

Even if they get the deal, how do they get it through their parliament?

http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10323975786436414884004581063913680195924

[ArmaniJeans]

The Pokerstars Greek withholding tax workaround was gloriously Hellenic.
Greek parliament introduced a tax of 15% on daily gambling winnings over €100 with (harshly) no offset for losing days and for a few weeks Pokerstars complied whilst winning Greek players (there are some apparently) cried.

Then some of these players suggested a workaround which initially looked highly unlikely to be legal but upon investigation turned out to be perfectly compliant with the legislation. So now if you are a Greek player and you have a winning day you simply

SPOILER

put your winnings into a range of specially created tournaments ranging from €100 to €5K that have a starting date of sometime next century, this reduces your winnings below the threshold. Then the next day you simply unregister and start from a zero base again.

[Iago]

Even if they get the deal, how do they get it through their parliament?

http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB103239...63913680195924

Reading this bit

Mr. Chatzilamprou, for instance, is a member of the Communist Organization of Greece, which is an outgrowth of the Organization of Marxist-Leninists of Greece. It is distinct from the Communist Tendency, which has a Trotskyite bent. (Neither should be confused with the Communist Party of Greece, which is outside Syrzia.)

makes some sense out of it, it's just a real life enactment of Life of Brian, no wonder they're being so bonkers!



What have the Europeans ever done for us ehh ehh?

[Wombatman]

NBC's 'Hannibal' cancelled after three seasons.

[Zod]

Dogs are better than Cats is on a mid season break so I will give you facts.

Cats have never won Britain's got talent. Dogs have, twice.

Cats know better than to get involved with the destruction of artistic endeavour that is a Simon Cowell produced show.

[Solskjaer]

Cat Stevens is better than Snoop Dog

[AndyFatBastard]

That was a big database error. Is everyone ok?

[Emmet]

It's eh quite something

SPOILER

Freedom to Dream

Whenever you come back from a trip, charity or not, you always find yourself being asked the inevitable question, "did you have a good time". This was the type of question which on the way home from Ghana I was dreading, dreading that no answer could be given to this question which could give my trip to Ghana the justice it deserved. No words can truly describe my 10 day experience in West Africa. Having said that I will attempt to share just a little of the life changing experience all 21 of us on the trip went through.

4.15am March 10th 2011 myself and 20 other university students met in Dublin airport, many of us having never met each other before, yet were all just about to fly to Ghana together to volunteer with the international charity, Global Brigades. Standing in the airport I wondered what it was going to be like, would it be dangerous, would the people be welcoming, would I hate every minute of it or was this going to be the best 10 days of my life. All of my questions luckily enough would be answered within 24 hours.

From the minute we stepped off the plane I fell in love, the weather, scenery and overly friendly and welcoming people. Although I knew we would be having lovely weather and I guessed myself that due to the fact we were in Africa the scenery would be spectacular, I was not ready for the reaction from the public. Sadly enough this preconception came from the words of a few people before my trip, who unfortunately knew nothing about Ghana or the culture there. Many people told me I was mad heading off to Ghana, a "dangerous" country it was described as more than once. To these people I will now say, "have you ever been there, have you ever been invited into a Ghanaian's houses to talk about what type of farm they run, how many children they have or what their hopes for the future were, have you ever had a child hold your hand just to feel special, or ask you your name, in the hope that you will return the question?" These are all things that happened to me most days during my experience in Ghana.

I can safely say the most overwhelming and breathtaking moment in my life was our first morning driving into the community which we were going to be working in for 10 days. When we pulled into the entrance my heart stopped and a smile quickly formed on my face. Crowds of men, woman and children lined the entrance, waiting eagerly on our arrival. For them this was the arrival of 21 Irish students who would hopefully give them hope and belief within the next 10 days. Sometime which I can safely say we did successfully. For the next few hours, myself and everyone else involved realised the huge impact which our presence was and would continue to make in the community of Ekumfi Ekotzi in Western Africa.

For the next 5 days, the Brigadeers and I met with community members in group meeting and also during one on one talks with people in their homes. The reason for this was to assess what the community as a whole needed in order to improve their lives. Due to the language barrier which we encountered with many community member it was sometimes necessary for us to speak through translators, these were mainly young people just like us, whose English was remarkable. Many strong and lasting relationships were made with these people, one of whom Josephine, was the reason I cried on my last day.

Many things about my trip make me sad, including the fact that many of the young kids who I met, would never get the chance to attend secondary school, never mind university, due to economic restrictions, most of them would also never get the chance to leave Ghana, travelling for most of them just isn't an option. The only thing I have to console myself is the smile that each person had on their face, every time we saw them. These people practically had nothing however I have never met such a welcoming and friendly race. This was something which wasn't only apparent in the community we were working in, this was the same everywhere we went. Whether it was the petty traders selling their goods on the side of the road, children who waved at us in our bus as we drove by, not once during my time in Ghana did I not feel welcome, or in any possible danger. I think I can speak for my group in saying we were all more than happy to hand a kid our cameras to gladly take pictures for you, under the reinforced opinion that it would be handed back before you left.

As the title of this article states this trip had a lot to do with giving people the freedom to dream, something which many people in developing countries are never given the chance or opportunity to do. When we were talking to the individuals in the community we would always ask them what type of things they hopped and wished for. We each found a reoccurring trend when asking this question, all that most people said they wished to do was educate children or grandchildren, afford medical care if they needed it, but also sometimes all they wished for was something as simple as having food to eat. Through our project we invested in two major businesses in the community, one a machine which would make their most harvested crop, the "Cassava" root more profitable and secondly the expansion of honey making co-operative which was established in the community.

During our time in this community we also came to the understanding that crops were continuously failing and peoples livelihoods were being jeopardised by an extreme and many times deadly lack of rain. We therefore came to the conclusion that an irrigation system was a necessity in this community however sadly, this type of a project ended up being something we did not have enough funding to initiate, however we did research and report on the possible future investment in an irrigation system. This "irrigation fund" will now be constantly topped up through renting one of the machines we did buy, to neighbouring communities, the members of the community have also been taught about the importance of irrigation and the way in which saving for future investments works, so now we can just wait in the hope that in the near future they will have saved enough money to purchase this system for themselves.

My trip to Ghana taught me many things, but one of the main things is it taught me is to not take anything for granted. The people who we were helping had nothing in comparison to what we have in Ireland, but I can honestly say while I was there I met some of the most happy, honest and inspiring people I have ever met. This trip changed my life more than I could have ever imagined, and I am positive it will continue to do so for years to come!

21 students airfares would have gone quite a long way towards providing exactly this...

[AndyFatBastard]

Greece still in the Euro then? I thought yesterday was shit-hitting-fan day?

[Strewelpeter]

I'm somewhere halfway between Tim and Emmett on this charity thing.

Its an absolute minefield.

In all cases what charities are doing is stepping in where the state is for one reason or another failing and donating is simply a way of paying extra tax and routing it t where you want it to go.
Most charities are genuine and well intentioned but the sad fact is that, in the third world, most of those good intentions when implemented are destined to have a negative affect.
I think its a good thing for anyone to visit the third world as long as they are not setting out to do harm.

[Strewelpeter]

Greece still in the Euro then? I thought yesterday was shit-hitting-fan day?

Yesterday and every other Monday since 2009 according to our correspondents

[Lord Sir Banter]

m8s

[AndyFatBastard]

m8s

Hi m8. I have a kitty. She purrs when I nuzzle her.

[Jibzzzz]

Hi m8. I have a kitty. She purrs when I nuzzle her.

Are kitties better than puppies doh?

[shrapnel]

What operations? Moar deets plz

Still at the discussion stage, and not much to talk about yet, but some ops teams (back and middle office) being relocated from London to dublin and others from dublin to Poland.

Not very exciting.

[AndyFatBastard]

Are kitties better than puppies doh?

Subjectively, yes. Objectively, no.

[eamonhonda]

Why do gobshites wait until the very day tickets for an event sell out, then scramble for one! Sure way to pay the top price. Mate of mine insists on doing it for everything, unsure whether to go or not then as soon as it sells out he's in.

[Raoul Duke III]

Greece still in the Euro then? I thought yesterday was shit-hitting-fan day?

the shit has been put on the long finger

[Raoul Duke III]

93% of Greece's proposed 'reforms' are increased taxes

good luck with that Syriza

[Guest]

The public sector is weird.

The gap between points 1 and 2 on the lecturer (above bar) scale here is 10k...the gap between points 5 and 6 is 52 euro.