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Book recommendations thread

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Comments

  • #332
    Shield
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators, Help & Feedback Category Moderators Posts: 9,639 CMod ✭✭✭✭Shield


    We do have a forum dedicated for those who are conducting research for whatever reason. It can be found HERE.


  • #333
    OnDaFence
    Registered Users Posts: 4 ✭OnDaFence


    Thanks Shield.
    Appreciate the recommendation, but think I can get some good feedback here as I appreciate that its an emotive subject, but the audience here will give a candid and overall realistic perspective.
    I also want to get the real view and input of the broader population and this a a great forum for same.
    However if I am breaking rules please let me know and I will revert to wherever you advise in this forum as I'm purely trying to garner input and don't want to piss anyone off on the way.

    NIMAN, Thats the view that I want to explore. The view that the normal Joe Soap PS worker is loaded....is that true? is it really widely held? and if so, why?
    Does the local Garda or Teacher struggle with the bills? or do they struggle with the bills for the house in Carrick and the one in Costa Brava?

    Again, talking about those in the job > 10 years. The new entrants have been hit with a torrent (rising costs, reduced pay etc)..Unions have apparently said screw the newbies, we'll buy them in later with promises of utopia...thats another conversation and will be part of my study, but not core.

    Again, this is not a Garda or PS hunt, just a data hunt and I appreciate any input you may have be it hard or soft that I can follow up.

    Thanks


  • #334
    shanered
    Registered Users Posts: 1,117 ✭✭✭shanered


    Interesting subject.
    I would guess it will be very hard to ever get the figure you seem to be after, the best bet you may have is the census, but I'm unsure if profession to home ownership figure are available, bar that I think your thesis will have to rely on heresay and word of mouth that is never really good enough for complete conclusions.
    Please keep thread updated with findings
    Regards!


  • #335
    NIMAN
    Registered Users Posts: 32,972 ✭✭✭✭NIMAN


    I think there is a lot of data bandied around the media these days to make headlines and which you would need to be careful with when making judgements, and I am sure you will consider this when looking at the data you get for your thesis.

    A recent example we have been told is the Credit Union survey that 1.6 million people have less than €50 to spend when the bills are paid? These surveys make good headlines but there was a thread about it on this site, and as many point out, there is no quantifying what 'the bills' are. For some the bills will be the bare essentials such as food, housing, lighting, heating. For others the bills may also be the satellite TV, the broadband, the 3 mobile phone contracts, and for the other extreme the bills may be the 2 mortgages, the 2 cars, the holiday home in Bulgaria, the interest on the 4 max'd out credit cards etc etc. You get what I'm hinting at. Headlines don't always tell the full story. The one thing I have learned from this recession is not to look at someone in a good paying job and think they are comfortable financially. The person earning €150k may have less disposable income than the one earning €50k, depending on their debts and commitments.

    But would be interested to read of your findings, please keep us updated.


  • #336
    dixiefly
    Registered Users Posts: 2,947 ✭✭✭dixiefly


    NIMAN wrote: »
    I have no data to give you, but your post/thread is interesting, as I had never heard of the phenomenon of the 'Garda landlord' and your figures surprise me.

    I guess that during the Tiger years many people got caught up in buying additional properties to rent out, and its maybe understandable that many Guards would have decided to get on to this, plus the fact that they would have been attractive to the banks to loan money to i.e. they had a safe, well paying public service job. By this reckoning I would guess that there are probably as many 'teacher landlords' as Gardai ones?

    As for the whole thing about some of them struggling, we that's a whole different argument that will divide opinion wildly. You would often hear people on Joe Duffy's Liveline complaining about not being able to pay their mortgages on their 4 rental properties, despite the fact that they are taxi drivers and have overall mortgage debt of €700,000!! Many will say "well thats a risk they decided to take". I suppose few will have any sympathy for any Guards who took the risk of being professional landlords and now it has backfired on them. But as I say, a different thread.
    I have heard anecdotally over the years about Gardai owning 2nd homes and double jobbing but don't know of enough instances to say whether it is fact or begrudgery.

    However it is probably an occupation that would lend itself to purchase of additional properties as they are more out and about in the community and need to build a network of contacts which could indirectly lead to opportunities arising. For that reason I would imagine that there would be more Gardai in the investment game.


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  • #337
    K-9
    Registered Users Posts: 43,311 ✭✭✭✭K-9


    Moved to the petitions, surveys etc. thread as we don't allow specific threads on these.

    Mad Men's Don Draper : What you call love was invented by guys like me, to sell nylons.



  • #338
    Tiocfaidh Armani
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 1,335 ✭✭✭Tiocfaidh Armani


    I've been in touch with them and it would be down to me, and others, to set it up with the national organiser assisting. So if any republican in or around the Dublin area would like to join or assist please PM myself. It's a non-party political organisation so is open to anyone, regardless of political party affiliation, so long as you subscribe the ethos of the organisation.

    I think it's a shame that in Dublin, the country's capital, we don't have a 1916 Society so hopefully we can change that and there's some good quality republicans already signed up but I think we need a few more before we could hold an inaugural meeting.

    The website and email address is below for information on the organisation.

    http://www.1916societies.com/

    dublin1916societies@gmail.com


  • #339
    PRAF
    Registered Users Posts: 1,801 ✭✭✭PRAF


    Fancied reading a good book on politics / sociology so popped up to Eason's to have a nose around. I'm normally a little right of centre in terms of my political outlook but I'm always open to new ideas and am particularly drawn to books which are based on research rather than opinion. Was torn between The Price of Inequality by Joseph Stiglitz or The Spirt Level by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett.

    Went with Stiglitz because of his Nobel Prize and a slightly higher rating on Amazon. Hope I made the right choice!

    Anyone read it? Anyone recommend similar books (even if of the opposite viewpoint)?


  • #340
    nesf
    Registered Users Posts: 27,645 ✭✭✭✭nesf


    I haven't read that book but whenever I've read things by Stiglitz in the past (it was a good number of years ago) I found them interesting and well argued, though usually with problems just like any book/piece on politics or political economy. Don't take it as gospel, just as a collection of things to think about and it's fine.


  • #341
    todolist
    Registered Users Posts: 811 ✭✭✭todolist


    Blowfish wrote: »
    marxists.org has a pretty large library. A couple of the seminal works would be Marx's Communist Manifesto and his three volume Das Kapital.

    Of course, If you want to see it from another angle, Von Mises does an excellent job of demolishing a lot of the collectivist arguments in Socialism - An Economic and Sociological Analysis.
    marxist.org.Amazed that Marx has any followers.Famine Ukraine,Famine in China,Famine and despotic rule in North Korea.At least 30 million dead.No holocaust memorial for these victims.


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  • #342
    laoch na mona
    Registered Users Posts: 2,965 ✭✭✭laoch na mona


    todolist wrote: »
    marxist.org.Amazed that Marx has any followers.Famine Ukraine,Famine in China,Famine and despotic rule in North Korea.At least 30 million dead.No holocaust memorial for these victims.

    sorry to go off topic but i do have some books to suggest but first north Korea is about as Marxist as the Vatican, famine was caused by war not ideology and as far as I know neither marx or Engels killed anyone.

    now onto the books
    the wretched of the earth is a great book on post colonialism
    J.S. Mill's on liberty good classic text on liberalism
    Gramsci's writings on Hegemony


  • #343
    Cody Pomeray
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,648 ✭✭✭Cody Pomeray


    I am reading a book called Slow Violence and The Environmentalism of the Poor.

    It's a thought provoking account of the slow degradation of resources and the environment - and indeed human rights -that happens under our noses so slow is its motion. Nixon concentrates on a slow, sneaky corruption of civilization which we allow to happen because it doesn't grab our attention like temporary, fleeting news stories, yet this slow violence is far more catastrophic than anything we could imagine in the here and now.

    Highly recommended.

    http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674049307


  • #344
    dublin 1916society
    Registered Users Posts: 1 ✭dublin 1916society


    On Saturday, May 4th, in Dublin, a collection of republicans convened together to inaugurate a branch of the 1916 Societies. It was decided amongst those present to call the Society in honor of Seán Heuston, a prominent member of the Irish Volunteers and Fianna Eireann, who was executed for his part in the 1916 Rising against British rule in Ireland.

    On this day, May 8th, the 97th anniversary of Seán Heuston's execution, the branch has dedicated itself to promoting the ideals and principles of the Irish Proclamation of Independence and to supporting the wider organisation of the 1916 Societies.

    It has been agreed that we will initiate the undertaking of a mural in Dublin for each of the seven signatories of the 1916 Proclamation of Independence before the year 2016. It will be a huge undertaking and we will looking for the support of the people of Dublin to make these murals a reality, honoring those who sacrificed their lives for the people of this city and country.

    The 1916 societies are founded on the principles of the 1916 proclamation and is dedicated to their promotion. It is an independent organisation which gives no allegiance or favour to any political organisation. Individual members my favour or indeed be involved with political organisations but the 1916 societies as a collective body will remain independent.

    Membership of the 1916 societies shall be open to any Irish republican regardless of race, age, gender, sexual orientation or ability, except those who endorse British rule and accept the crown forces as a legitimate force in Ireland.

    Anyone interested in helping to promote republicanism and the ideals of the Proclamation, can contact us directly at dublin1916society@gmail.com


  • #345
    zenno
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,377 ✭✭✭zenno


    Did most of you sign this petition ?

    https://optin.stopwatching.us/?r=eff


  • #346
    student1974
    Registered Users Posts: 2 ✭student1974


    Do I understand it correctly that if I want to post a link to a survey then I should do it in this thread?

    I am an undergraduate student am my thesis will be based around analysing attitudes in Ireland to political language and various political language techniques. Part of the study will involve an electronic survey am I am trying to find out if this might be a suitable way of contacting potential participants.

    I know that there is a lot of (understandable) political apathy out there but I am hoping that people might take the time (15-20 mins) to put their feelings and attitudes down on paper.


  • #347
    laoch na mona
    Registered Users Posts: 2,965 ✭✭✭laoch na mona


    have to recommend language resistance and revival by Feargal Mac Ionnrachtaigh. It is a brilliant account of the use of language as a form of resistance by prisoners in the north.It also contains a good analysis of cultural imperialism.


  • #348
    Echoplex
    Registered Users Posts: 77 ✭✭Echoplex


    Yes that's correct, nearly a quarter of a million Euros. More than Dublin or Belfasts' Mayors. More than the Prime Ministers of the majority of countries.
    Plse sign the Petition to get this changed.
    https://www.change.org/petitions/cork-city-council-reduce-the-cost-of-the-lord-mayor


  • #349
    JP 1800
    Registered Users Posts: 322 ✭✭JP 1800


    Well with the local Elections coming up, the easiest solution is not to vote for the current mayor.


  • #350
    Dannyboy83
    Registered Users Posts: 4,236 ✭✭✭Dannyboy83


    No wonder we have no funds to fix the roads in Cork City, eh?

    Couldn't we just set up some charity they can pilfer ?


  • #351
    Annasopra
    Registered Users Posts: 40,787 ✭✭✭✭Annasopra


    JP 1800 wrote: »
    Well with the local Elections coming up, the easiest solution is not to vote for the current mayor.

    Mayors are not directly elected.

    It was so much easier to blame it on Them. It was bleakly depressing to think that They were Us. If it was Them, then nothing was anyone's fault. If it was us, what did that make Me? After all, I'm one of Us. I must be. I've certainly never thought of myself as one of Them. No one ever thinks of themselves as one of Them. We're always one of Us. It's Them that do the bad things.

    Terry Pratchet



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  • #352
    JP 1800
    Registered Users Posts: 322 ✭✭JP 1800


    mango salsa wrote: »
    Mayors are not directly elected.
    Mayors need to be elected as Councillors firstly before the council can elect said Councillor as mayor, ergo not voting for the expense happy candidate should send a message to their cohorts.


  • #353
    thesandeman
    Registered Users Posts: 9,889 ✭✭✭thesandeman


    How the FK did this appear in my followed threads??

    Either I posted here a couple of years ago or DAV got loose again!


  • #354
    nesf
    Registered Users Posts: 27,645 ✭✭✭✭nesf


    Echoplex wrote: »
    Yes that's correct, nearly a quarter of a million Euros. More than Dublin or Belfasts' Mayors. More than the Prime Ministers of the majority of countries.
    Plse sign the Petition to get this changed.
    https://www.change.org/petitions/cork-city-council-reduce-the-cost-of-the-lord-mayor

    Christ that's a bad petition they could at least give the breakdown of where the money is coming from, salary + car + driver + entertainment etc. There's also an implication that it's their salary which is untrue. Though they are by any standard overpaid.


  • #355
    Echoplex
    Registered Users Posts: 77 ✭✭Echoplex


    Google is really useful for finding information. The breakdown of the Cork LM costs have been widely publicised. But to save some little pinkies the work...
    Briefly 110,000 Salary
    80,000 Entertainment Exps, not taxed.
    The other 45K is in other Exps and fees for being on various committees etc. etc.
    The car comes entirely free from now Audi, used to be Ford.
    It's all out there. The claim and petition was specifically COST. Should I have been more explicit, OVERALL or GROSS Cost? One cannot account for misreading this as Salary.
    There is no particular issue with the current incumbent. Despite having in the past a 'tramp' Lord Mayor, Bernie Murphy, and the more recent Sex Offender Lord Mayor, the City Council have repeatedly voted for increases in the money. It is Politics which is in the Dock here. If we could correct this one big ugly wrongdoing it would send a message. Another of many, but that's how things change.


  • #356
    tomasocarthaigh
    Registered Users Posts: 221 ✭✭tomasocarthaigh


    The Anti Austerity Alliance are having a candidate in the Tullamore LEA for the local elections. Birr is to be confirmed, and possibly Edenderry will have one as well.

    Here is one of the leaflets and graphics we will be doing...

    1982289_10202816015055947_1081042421_n.jpg


  • #357
    MRnotlob606
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,642 ✭✭✭MRnotlob606


    I know this is sort of back to basics but I'd recommend "The Prince" By niccolo machiavelli


  • #358
    Black Swan
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 47,223 CMod ✭✭✭✭Black Swan


    MRnotlob606 wrote: »
    I know this is sort of back to basics but I'd recommend "The Prince" By niccolo machiavelli

    If you liked "The Prince," you might also consider reading his "Discourses on the First Ten Books of Titus Livy."


  • #359
    Frank Lee Midere
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,780 ✭✭✭Frank Lee Midere


    laoch na mona wrote: »
    sorry to go off topic but i do have some books to suggest but first north Korea is about as Marxist as the Vatican, famine was caused by war not ideology and as far as I know neither marx or Engels killed anyone.

    now onto the books
    the wretched of the earth is a great book on post colonialism
    J.S. Mill's on liberty good classic text on liberalism
    Gramsci's writings on Hegemony


    The famine in the Ukraine was not caused by war. It was caused by applied Marxism.

    If you want a left wing book which is far superior to Marx's bad philosophy and worse economics but comes to similar conclusions* on capital accumulation using proper empirical methodology try

    Capital in the 21st century by Picketty. Probably the most important book this century.


  • #360
    FREETV
    Registered Users Posts: 1,673 ✭✭✭FREETV


    There is a very important protest being held outside Irish Water in Talbot Street in Dublin on Nov 29.

    https://www.facebook.com/events/372223386276550/?ref=22


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  • #361
    Boulevardier
    Registered Users Posts: 1,375 ✭✭✭Boulevardier


    Labour Values, a newly-established discussion group set up by rank-and-file Labour Party members, will be holding a discussion forum on health policy on Thursday 20th November at 7.30 PM in Unite Headquarters, Middle Abbey Street.

    The principal guest speaker will be Sara Burke, a health analyst and journalist and author of Irish apartheid: healthcare inequality in Ireland.

    The meeting is open to Labour members and supporters, and also to anyone interested in upping the pressure to create a single-tier healthcare system, which the present minister of health appears to have postponed doing indefinitely.

    All are welcome - except those who only wish to rant against the Labour party's betrayal of the working class etc. etc. We've already heard it thanks.


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