Who let the K Club become yet another outpost of the US?

TomGunn

FORGET about golf, the Ryder Cup is starting to give us some inkling of what it's like to be an American: specifically, the tight security restrictions they operate under which they appear to view as normal. So normal they're determined to impose them on the rest of us.

Businesses have been tripping over themselves to pay tens of thousands of euro for space at the tournament, the better to roll out their corporate hospitality. But the welcome lost some of its gloss when companies were obliged to ask guests for their passport numbers and dates of birth for security vetting.

Firms using the event to drum up trade are embarrassed, naturally, but prefer to shrug it off: "That's the world we live in," they say. Actually, no, it's the world Americans live in - they've brought it here with them.

Roads are being closed, security cordons put in place, locals called to account for themselves and their visitors; to all intents and purposes, a sizeable chunk of Kildare is under US jurisdiction for the tournament.

We've heard the jokes about SWAT teams on the course but would anyone really be surprised to see Mission Impossible types shimmy down ropes in the middle of play?

You get the impression that twitchy security personnel would be happier if they could slice off the county and stitch it to Massachusetts, the better to lay down the law. They'd give Kildare back afterwards, though; they have enough undocumented Irish on their hands.

US foreign policy may not strike most of us as relevant to our daily lives but, like it or not, we're affected by it. Heavy-handed security at the Ryder Cup (on Irish soil, in case anyone has forgotten) is only the tip of the iceberg.

Consider this. Two days ago I overheard the following conversation in a Dublin barber's shop, waiting for a friend.

The Ugandan barber, chatting as he snipped, remarked that he'd been four years in Ireland and found it increasingly expensive. "That's down to inflation," said his customer. "Why does inflation keep going up?" asked the barber. "Oil prices keep rising. That means everything is dearer, from transport to fuel bills, and there are knock-on costs across every sphere."

The barber wondered why oil prices were increasing. "Basically, American intervention in the Middle East has destabilised the oil-producing region. Most of those countries are in chaos, between war and civil war. America's either the source of the conflict or has added fuel to the flames."

The barber was silent for at least five minutes while he digested this. "So America's messed it up for everyone," he said finally. The customer nodded and paid.

Yet we've invited America to Ireland for the Ryder Cup, and where America goes it brings its pumped-up security operatives with their crew-cuts and ear-pieces.

The tournament has been presented to us as a gilt-edged opportunity to showcase our great little country and reap a tourism dividend (despite the greedy hotelier,s whose price hikes must be a deterrent).

Meanwhile, intensive security is the norm in a decontamination zone around Straffan, with householders required to vouch for guests due to stay in their homes (passport numbers and car registrations noted), while the K Club was closed "for health and safety issues" during the US team's two-day reconnaissance trip this week.

But we don't mind - we're closer to Boston than Berlin, after all. Mary Harney says so. And that's fabulous, isn't it? Except if it's so fabulous, why is every American with a granny called Bridget in the family tree suddenly applying for an Irish passport? Could a US passport be a drawback in some parts of the world?

A number of countries view America as Public Enemy Number One because of its persistent pattern of meddling in their affairs - usually with disastrous consequences. US involvement in Iraq has been a debacle - far from bringing democracy, there's civil war in the region, while the power vacuum created by a destabilised Iraq has allowed Iran to become dominant. That's enough to send a shiver down anyone's spine.

The Taliban is still in Afghanistan and as for Israel invading Lebanon and massacring the civilian population: that was carried out with the tacit sanction of the US.

The fruits of US foreign policy are a Muslim world progressively hardening into an anti-Western stance - and we're all lumped in. It's not just America which is a target. Ask Bali.

The Ryder Cup showcases not Ireland but our supine willingness to kowtow to the US. Mind you, we had proof of that when US warplanes refuelled at Shannon. Our pro-American position may have something to do with the fact 100,000 of us work for US companies such as Hewlett Packard, Intel and Pfizer. This means they have a significant impact on our economy.

Speaking of the economy, we're told the Ryder Cup will be good for Ireland - although it's not even available on free-to-air TV, so many of us won't be able to watch it. Now I can easily see how it's good for the K Club and its owner Michael Smurfit, who's not resident here for tax purposes, incidentally. But as for the rest of us, frankly I'm struggling to find the golden goose. All I can distinguish is an over-egged pudding.:mad:

Villain

Drove by the K club the Last 2 mornings and there was no security outside at all and road works seem to be winding down no roads closed around Straffan this morning.

baztard

Thats a nice little anti american rant you got going there. Your missing out on a few things though. What exactly does the government of the US and their foreign policy have to do with a bunch of golfers playing sport (not politics) in Ireland? This is an international golf tournament not a US army operation. The security around Straffen may be excessive I agree, but you cant forget that this is the second biggest watched sporting event in the world this year. Its going to attract a lot of attention, both good and bad.

toomevara

TomGunn, Really impressed by the way in which you've manged to link ryder cup golf, with Iraq, Afganistan, American foreign Policy, Israel, the taliban and..... oh wait is that Osama hiding in the bunker on the 18th?? Very impressive....really what lackeys of the fascistic American imperial power we are for having the temerity to stage a prestigious international golfing event on our sacred soil and then having the cheek to implement the concomitant security measures required of such an event....

Green inkery of the first water.....

Sesshoumaru

Muslims were seething and hardening their attitudes against us infidels long before the US was even a country. But really impressive how you tied all these seemingly unconnected world events to a golf tournament. Although you forgot the CIA mind control satellites they've got pointed at Kildare.

TomGunn

TomGunn wrote:

FORGET about golf, the Ryder Cup is starting to give us some inkling of what it's like to be an American:

What? You mean they got whopping breakfasts with eggs cooked 56 different ways, Californian girls dancing to Seattle grunge, and the freedom to do whatever anyone likes without fear of incarceration in some gulag or stoning to death. I must get me some of that action.

Dagnir Glaurung

Thanks for reposting Martina Devlin's article from today's independent Tom :rolleyes:

toomevara

Dagnir Glaurung wrote:

Thanks for reposting Martina Devlin's article from today's independent Tom :rolleyes:

,
Outrageous carry on, bleedin ballwallah......

muletide

Dagnir Glaurung wrote:

Thanks for reposting Martina Devlin's article from today's independent Tom :rolleyes:

Ha Ha CLEANED good find Dagnir

toomevara

muletide wrote:

Ha Ha CLEANED good find Dagnir

Yep, he done got served...whats the punishment for that sort of behaviour, apart from the fact that everyone knows the individual involved is a shameless plagiarist? Surely, standards need to be maintained.....

sceptre

Dagnir Glaurung wrote:

Thanks for reposting Martina Devlin's article from today's independent Tom :rolleyes:

Ah, thought the paragraphing looked familiar.

Tom, bad and all as it is to just reprint someone else's work it's worse to do so without bothering to credit it. That's just plain rude. Thread locked for not including a comment.

Having said that I'm not impressed with the article itself either. It's going so much every which way it reminds me of a pre-breakfast no-prior-thought-conversation with me in execution, albeit not in sentiment. And trust me, that's not meant as a compliment.