I'm so angry. Why should the Irish have to clean up other's mess

wilson10

I'm so angry. The country is going down the tubes & I just heard on the news that Michael Martin while out sunning himsel in Sharm El Sheik has decided to give over 2 million euro of our hard earned money to the fund for the rebuilding of Gaza.
Now I have as much sympathy as the next man for the plight of the inhabitants of Gaza but what about the people who caused all this devastation.
Israel is one of the richest nations in the world and against all the pleadings of practically all countries in the world they continued to pound the crap out of the country, doing billions worth of damage to buildings and infrastructure apart from killing many hundreds of innocent men, women & children.
So why do we have to pay?
Lets hope he comes back with some decent contracts for hard pressed Irish contractors & businesses so that we get something back.

mikemac

Over 700 million a year (possibly 900 million?) is given a year in foreign aid.
2 million is but a mere fraction.

As for the devastation while it's terrible that it's the civilians suffer, Hamas brought it on themselves.

AnonoBoy

wilson10 wrote: »

So why do we have to pay?

Because we're nice like that.

Yeah yeah - people can't go on holidays and have to shop in Lidl now but at least we're not having the crap bombed out of us.

wilson10

My point is that the jews did the damage so why don't they fix it. They can well afford it.

dresden8

wilson10 wrote: »

My point is that the jews did the damage so why don't they fix it. They can well afford it.

I think you'll find it's the Israelis who did it.

wilson10

dresden8 wrote: »

I think you'll find it's the Israelis who did it.

So what are they? Catholic.

galwayrush

It would have provided the cervical cancer vaccination to a lot of our young women here.
:mad:

Hazys

wilson10 wrote: »

So what are they? Catholic.

Some of them are Catholic and Muslim too.

Israel = Country
Judaism = Religion

wilson10

Hazys wrote: »

Some of them are Catholic and Muslim too.

Isreal = Country
Judaism = Religion

OK Point taken. Israel is over 80% Jewish, so it's fair to assume that a good number of Jews were involved in the demolition of Gaza.

Daroxtar

mikemac wrote: »

Over 700 million a year (possibly 900 million?) is given a year in foreign aid.

Surely we could stop all foreign aid for a year or 2 and sort our own finances out? I mean,thats close to 1billion of taxpayers money given overseas. Bet we wont hear too much about that cash when the govt are announcing cutbacks and increasing taxes

Fratton Fred

I womder if German tax payers are saying the same thing about a certain island that has ****ed up it's economy?

mikemac

The amount differs every year, it's linked to GDP so naturally it will go down if the economy contracts.

I know they were aiming for 0.7% but they never quite reached that. At it's peak it hit over 900 million in 2007 , not quite sure how much they'll transfer out in 2009.
Irish Aid offices are on O'Connell St Dublin afaik, they'd be the agency dealing with this

cornbb

Overseas aid has already been cut quite a bit. Just because we have serious problems of our own doesn't mean we shouldn't help out those whose problems make our problems seem completely insignificant. 2 million euro is a drop in the ocean in the grand scheme of things. 4 and a half BILLION dollars has been pledged by international donors. So how does Ireland's tiny contribution anger you so much OP?

dresden8

wilson10 wrote: »

So what are they? Catholic.

A lot of Jews are not Zionists and do not shoot and bomb Palestinians.

A lot of Christians fund and support the shooting and bombing of Palestinians.

The Dalai Lama is probably cool though.

Gyalist

The vast majority of foreign aid is actually spent in the donor country.

Don't believe the hype.

Blackjack

Fratton Fred wrote: »

I womder if German tax payers are saying the same thing about a certain island that has ****ed up it's economy?

Britain?.

wilson10

Foreign aid to the victims of natural disasters like drought or sunami is one thing but I have to draw the line at funding the rebuilding of a country deliberately destroyed by a wealthy nation like Israel.

Britain & America put a lot of money into the rebuilding of Germany after WW2.

I haven't heard how much Israel is going to pony up but I bet that it's sweet F all

OPENROAD

Blackjack wrote: »

Britain?.

Nope Ireland, and we are likely to be bailed out by the likes Germany if things continue to get much worse.

Mr Quiet

galwayrush wrote: »

It would have provided the cervical cancer vaccination to a lot of our young women here.
:mad:

Very true

Nodin

galwayrush wrote: »

It would have provided the cervical cancer vaccination to a lot of our young women here.
:mad:

So would the pay off to Sean Fitzpatrick, David Drumm, Dennis Casey, the 500,000 to the FAS 'I'm entitled to 1st class' merchant Molloy, which together probably tops the two million figure in the OP.

How much of her 448,000 for the last few years (per year) of her employ will Gill Bowler have to fork out to compensate for her failure to regulate the bank under her supervision, or indeed any of the rest of them, including the non-regulating regulator? Not a fvckin bean. So whats the bigger disgrace, two million to people with barely a pot to piss in, or two million per 4-5 members of a corrupt layer of society?

wilson10

cornbb wrote: »

Overseas aid has already been cut quite a bit. Just because we have serious problems of our own doesn't mean we shouldn't help out those whose problems make our problems seem completely insignificant. 2 million euro is a drop in the ocean in the grand scheme of things. 4 and a half BILLION dollars has been pledged by international donors. So how does Ireland's tiny contribution anger you so much OP?

Confucius say "Many drops make an ocean"

cornbb

wilson10 wrote: »

Confucius say "Many drops make an ocean"

By that logic, surely we can spare one drop out of our ocean of money in order to help the people of a war-torn country.

OPENROAD

wilson10 wrote: »

Confucius say "Many drops make an ocean"

True but I would be more angry about not only the wastage in spending that took place here over recent years and the inefficiencies in spending not only then but that are still taking place in this country. Now that really makes me mad.

cornbb

OPENROAD wrote: »

True but I would be more angry about not only the wastage in spending that took place here over the years and the inefficiencies in spending that are still in place in this country. Now that really makes me mad.

Yes, we should be looking at tightening the belt and removing the many inefficiencies from public spending rather than consider draconian, headline-grabbing measures like completely getting rid of overseas aid.

wilson10

OPENROAD wrote: »

True but I would be more angry about not only the wastage in spending that took place here over the years and the inefficiencies in spending that are still in place in this country. Now that really makes me mad.

Agree 100% on that score.

Blackjack

OPENROAD wrote: »

Nope Ireland, and we are likely to be bailed out by the likes Germany if things continue to get much worse.

Potentially, we're still a good ways off that just yet though, lets not talk ourselves into having to be bailed out.

I suppose Britain will just use printing more money Quantative easing to resolve their own issues.

wilson10

Blackjack wrote: »

Potentially, we're still a good ways off that just yet though, lets not talk ourselves into having to be bailed out.

I suppose Britain will just use printing more money Quantative easing to resolve their own issues.

That sounds like a builder friend of mine who, 18 months or so ago was saying "That f***er George Lee is talking us into a recession". I say to him now "Why don't you ring George Lee and ask him to talk us out of the recession". If only talk would do it.

OPENROAD

Blackjack wrote: »

Potentially, we're still a good ways off that just yet though, lets not talk ourselves into having to be bailed out.

Hope you are right but certainly we are in a very bad position certainly compared to other EU countries and indeed I would say even the UK. Time will tell.

Pepe LeFrits

In addition in ruining the German economy, I think you'll find we also caused the collapse of Lehman Brothers, AIG, GM, Chrysler, the Icelandic government, the Twin Towers, the Third Reich, the Roman Empire and Sirius B.

Gimme a break.

Oh and foreign aid is one of the few things our government does that is right.

OPENROAD

Pepe LeFrits wrote: »

In addition in ruining the German economy, I think you'll find we also caused the collapse of Lehman Brothers, AIG, GM, Chrysler, the Icelandic government, the Twin Towers, the Third Reich, the Roman Empire and Sirius B.

Gimme a break.

Who said we did?

nobodythere

"What need you, being come to sense, But fumble in a greasy till" - Yeats 1913, some things never change

nobodythere

wilson10 wrote: »

OK Point taken. Israel is over 80% Jewish, so it's fair to assume that a good number of Jews were involved in the demolition of Gaza.

You're right we should probably use the money to build some sort of gas chamber for them yes?

Boskowski

Fratton Fred wrote: »

I wonder if German tax payers are saying the same thing about a certain island that has ****ed up it's economy?

Agreed.
Funny thing with a lot of the opinions here and also with a lot of what I hear in the news programs and the political magazines and from the politicians themselves is that for some strange reason they seem to assume that people outside Ireland actually give a ****. I don't mean this in any way patronizing or anything but I think it's time for a reality check.

cornbb

realcam wrote: »

Funny thing with a lot of the opinions here and also with a lot of what I hear in the news programs and the political magazines and from the politicians themselves is that for some strange reason they seem to assume that people outside Ireland actually give a ****. I don't mean this in any way patronizing or anything but I think it's time for a reality check.

Yep. It should be borne in mind that Ireland is not more than an adorable little sideshow to most of the rest of the world.

anonymous_joe

cornbb wrote: »

Yep. It should be borne in mind that Ireland is not more than an adorable little sideshow to most of the rest of the world.

Well...

We've given the world a global culture of a style of pub, and one brand of beer basically. Go us.... :pac:

Mal-Adjusted

cornbb wrote: »

Yep. It should be borne in mind that Ireland is not more than an adorable little sideshow to most of the rest of the world.

thank you! what so little seem to realise it that, globally, we're not important...at all. yet we think we're the top-dogs of Europe. there's a big hoo-ha about Bertie adressing the u.s. senate and us bieng "at the heart of Europe" whatever the heck that means. if Ireland were to crumble into the Atlantic, nobody would really care, or notice. the only thing that would be diffirent is that Britain would have worse weather along it's west coast.

Riddle101

TBH I think it's stupid that they have this devolopment fund for Gaza, I mean it's not going to make a difference. Gaza will be demolished again another year or so and then they'll have another fund. It's best to keep the money for ourselves

Capt'n Midnight

wilson10 wrote:

Britain & America put a lot of money into the rebuilding of Germany after WW2.

Most of it was US money , the UK were rationing into the the 1950's and the US screwed the UK over with a loan that was only paid off at the end of 1999

We are giving €2m to people living in the most densely populated area on the planet.
The golden shower each, got many, many times that.

It's a drop in the ocean compared to the trade we do with Israel. If the boarders were open we'd probably do more trade with Palestine than we are donating , but this is one of those situations where the "trade not aid" argument can't be used.

994

Pepe LeFrits wrote: »

In addition in ruining the German economy, I think you'll find we also caused the collapse of Lehman Brothers, AIG, GM, Chrysler, the Icelandic government, the Twin Towers, the Third Reich, the Roman Empire and Sirius B.

Do you mean, we the Irish ... or we the JEWS! Don't deny it!

OPENROAD wrote: »

True but I would be more angry about not only the wastage in spending that took place here over recent years and the inefficiencies in spending not only then but that are still taking place in this country. Now that really makes me mad.

Yes, but are you going to take any steps to prevent its reoccurrence? Thought not.

thebman

wilson10 wrote: »

I'm so angry. The country is going down the tubes & I just heard on the news that Michael Martin while out sunning himsel in Sharm El Sheik has decided to give over 2 million euro of our hard earned money to the fund for the rebuilding of Gaza.
Now I have as much sympathy as the next man for the plight of the inhabitants of Gaza but what about the people who caused all this devastation.
Israel is one of the richest nations in the world and against all the pleadings of practically all countries in the world they continued to pound the crap out of the country, doing billions worth of damage to buildings and infrastructure apart from killing many hundreds of innocent men, women & children.
So why do we have to pay?
Lets hope he comes back with some decent contracts for hard pressed Irish contractors & businesses so that we get something back.

Well how about you pray Europe doesn't ask the same question when they are most likely bailing us out later this year or next year because of all thoses houses people bought on debt they couldn't afford.

OPENROAD

994 wrote: »

Yes, but are you going to take any steps to prevent its reoccurrence? Thought not.

What do you suggest? a one man protest? The only real opportunity is the ballot box and to write to our representatives for all the good that will do, but I'm open to suggestions from you.

hurdehur

OPENROAD wrote: »

What do you suggest? a one man protest? The only real opportunity is the ballot box and to write to our representatives for all the good that will do, but I'm open to suggestions from you.

One person can always make a difference. The trick is to influence those around you to come around to your way of thinking and get them to influence people they know and so on. That's how elections are won and lost and how ideologies and religions gain credence.

And here are a few snazzy quotes which basically say the same but maybe not so obviously!

"One person of integrity can make a difference." - Elie Wiesel

“One person can make a difference and every person should try.” -John F Kennedy

“The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing”. -Albert Einstein

So get out there and influence some people today!

Ass

wilson10 wrote: »

My point is that the jews did the damage so why don't they fix it. They can well afford it.

No no no. Gaza was the Israelis. Jews were 9/11.

Max Power1

wilson10 wrote: »

I'm so angry. The country is going down the tubes & I just heard on the news that Michael Martin while out sunning himsel in Sharm El Sheik has decided to give over 2 million euro of our hard earned money to the fund for the rebuilding of Gaza.
Now I have as much sympathy as the next man for the plight of the inhabitants of Gaza but what about the people who caused all this devastation.
Israel is one of the richest nations in the world and against all the pleadings of practically all countries in the world they continued to pound the crap out of the country, doing billions worth of damage to buildings and infrastructure apart from killing many hundreds of innocent men, women & children.
So why do we have to pay?
Lets hope he comes back with some decent contracts for hard pressed Irish contractors & businesses so that we get something back.

agree with you 110% there.. in times of recession you cut back unneccesary spending.. this is ridiculous. Look after our own first, i think we should cut ALL foreign aid until we actually have money to give away. If we keep this up ireland will be taking out loans to donate money!!

jimmy-jazz

wilson10 wrote: »

My point is that the jews did the damage so why don't they fix it. They can well afford it.

are you serious? because their intentions were to destroy the place not to re-decorate it.

and why are we paying? because despite what the country is going through, it is miniscule in comparison to what other people are suffering through.

amacachi

galwayrush wrote: »

It would have provided the cervical cancer vaccination to a lot of our young women here.
:mad:

No it wouldn't. Suppose 5 centres were set up around the country. 3 people involved in each one before ya count the health professionals. There's 15 people who have to be transported. Maybe give them a relocation fee. Then for the vaccine I'm sure we'd have to "put it out to tender" for 6 months.

There's the money gone. Ya gotta remember in this country it costs about 5 times more to get something going than it does to do what was the original purpose.

luckat

So the thugs from two streets away go and burn down a house in the next street, we shouldn't offer some small help to build a new house for those people? We should say "Ah, they brought it on themselves" and "the thugs should pay - they burnt it down"?

I know we're in trouble, but when we say we're too poor to put our hand in our pocket to help someone in shít worse trouble, then we should have no pride in ourselves at all.

walshb

wilson10 wrote: »

I'm so angry. The country is going down the tubes & I just heard on the news that Michael Martin while out sunning himsel in Sharm El Sheik has decided to give over 2 million euro of our hard earned money to the fund for the rebuilding of Gaza.
Now I have as much sympathy as the next man for the plight of the inhabitants of Gaza but what about the people who caused all this devastation.
Israel is one of the richest nations in the world and against all the pleadings of practically all countries in the world they continued to pound the crap out of the country, doing billions worth of damage to buildings and infrastructure apart from killing many hundreds of innocent men, women & children.
So why do we have to pay?
Lets hope he comes back with some decent contracts for hard pressed Irish contractors & businesses so that we get something back.

It's ludicrous. Israel are destroying Palestine and will keep on doing so as long as mugs like US are funding the rebuild. The world is absolutely screwed up with this mentality
.
We are being told to cut this and that and this tax and that tax and job losses etc etc, yet we can afford to blow 2 million to rebuild a place that ISRAEL is destroying with its
weapons.

Then, a few years later, it's destroyed again and again the Irish are JUMPING to throw more money at the ridiculous problem.

I can just see the Israelis: C'mon boys, keep dropping the bombs, don't worry about the devastation, the Irish are going
to foot the bill!

walshb

luckat wrote: »

So the thugs from two streets away go and burn down a house in the next street, we shouldn't offer some small help to build a new house for those people? We should say "Ah, they brought it on themselves" and "the thugs should pay - they burnt it down"?

I know we're in trouble, but when we say we're too poor to put our hand in our pocket to help someone in shít worse trouble, then we should have no pride in ourselves at all.

The point is that US throwing money is ONLY prolonging the problem, it is sending the wrong message to Israel.

It is telling Israel that it's Okay, we, the Irish, will rebuild any sh1t you destroy.

If you feel this is a solution, then I have to completely disagree with you

How about the 'merciful' International community COMPLETELY severing ties with the Israelis.
Now, maybe this would make them think twice about their over kill and over
destruction of another land.

Instead of simply pacifying and allowing the destruction with committed
aid packages for the rebuild

amacachi

walshb wrote: »

I can just see the Israelis: C'mon boys, keep dropping the bombs, don't worry about the devastation, the Irish are going
to foot the bill!

Yup, I'm sure the MASSIVE donation we're making is what all the Israelis will think of.

walshb

amacachi wrote: »

Yup, I'm sure the MASSIVE donation we're making is what all the Israelis will think of.

We are part of the massive donation mate. Now, it's 4 billion, so we aren't the ONLY mugs in this. Israel are takin' the piss with the whole INTERNATIONAL
community.

And for the record, this is NOT the ONLY time we have donated to this
ludicrous 'cause.'

It's been going on for years; the Israelis bomb and destroy and Ireland and the WORLD keep
ignoring and throwing ****ing money at it