Businesspeople are vulgar chancers

tdf7187

Says 'our' president.

How did this absurd dwarf manage to become elected president of my country? He's an embarassment. He also manages to insult 48% of the population of our main ally. What a fecking eejit.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/universities-do-not-exist-to-produce-students-who-are-useful-president-says-1.4190859

bilbot79

tdf7187 wrote: »

Says 'our' president.

How did this absurd dwarf manage to become elected presdident of my country? He's an embarassment.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/universities-do-not-exist-to-produce-students-who-are-useful-president-says-1.4190859

100% with Miggledy on this one sorry.

Do you not watch Tommy Tiernan? Dwarf isn't an acceptable term. It's little person.

Ipso

Coming from the man who brown nosed Castro.

Better Than Christ

He's an embarrassment to idiots who think it's acceptable to use the term 'dwarf' to describe someone who, through no fault of their own, is below average height. Fair enough. Most people think he's great.

anewme

Gotta love Miggeldy.

Very learned man.

He's a great president
Well able to deal with foreign visitors
Knows all about politics
A great scholar
Can debate with everyone
Is brilliant at talking with everyone from every type of background

Never would have voted for him first time round but he's the best we have had for many years

tdf7187

Ipso wrote: »

Coming from the man who brown nosed Castro.

Indeed, he's the type of SJW that makes a joke of the left.

Arghus

That's not what he said. But why bother being accurate when you can be outraged.

President Michael D. Higgins has warned that the capacity of universities to provide a “moral space” for discussion is being eroded at a time of growing political populism.

Mr Higgins, who was opening a celebration of Trinity College Dublin’s College Historical Debating Society, said “universities are not there merely to produce students who are useful”.

“They are there to produce citizens who are respectful of the rights of others to participate and also to be able to participate fully, drawing on a wide range of scholarship,” he said on Monday night.

The President said there is a growing cohort of people who are alienated and “who feel they have lost their attachment to society and decision making”.

He explicitly targeted US president Donald Trump’s political sloganeering, saying these alienated voters “can become available for others who come and say to them ‘I want to be your voice’.”

“This is the background to ‘Make America Great Again’, that nonsense - that’s all it is. [It is] just a wild shout. But it is exploitative of an alienated group.”

Mr Higgins said universities are relied upon “to create that moral space where people will be able to evaluate different suggestions”.

Asked by his interviewer, the broadcaster and historian John Bowman, if he feared that capacity was being eroded, the President said “I do, straight up”.

“We have a fractured society and the university is the place to where you would go for putting things back together in relation to discursive options,” he told a crowd assembled in Trinity’s Examinations Hall.

He said universities and academics had become overly focused on the market, because of a sense that there was “magic happening in the marketplace… when in fact actually what you had was a whole series of vulgar chancers”.

The College Historical Society, or “the Hist”, claims to be the world’s oldest undergraduate society and is running a week-long series of events to mark its 250th anniversary.

Esel

Better to be an absurd person of small stature than a mental midget...

PinkSunset

Arghus wrote: »

That's not what he said. But why bother being accurate when you can be outraged.

I was posting an angry comment when saw yours.
"Universities do not exist ‘to produce students who are useful"
Did he say that for real? I remember my grandmother saying "books will not bring food to your table". Now I'm an adult and that seems to be so stupid

johnmcdnl

PinkSunset wrote: »

I was posting an angry comment when saw yours.
"Universities do not exist ‘to produce students who are useful"
Did he say that for real? I remember my grandmother saying "books will not bring food to your table". Now I'm an adult and that seems to be so stupid

Universities do not exist "merely" to produce students who are useful.
He then elaborates by saying it's also important to learn moral values etc etc.

It's all in the first paragraph if you open the link the OP provided.

Arghus

PinkSunset wrote: »

I was posting an angry comment when saw yours.
"Universities do not exist ‘to produce students who are useful"
Did he say that for real? I remember my grandmother saying "books will not bring food to your table". Now I'm an adult and that seems to be so stupid

It would be stupid to say that, but that is not what he said.

It's all there in the article.

Edit: To be fair the headline of the article is misleading. It does quote him as saying: "Universities do not exist ‘to produce students who are useful". It's pretty amazing that they have done that, because the omission of the key word of "merely" from the selected headline quote changes the entire meaning of the point he was making. It's clickbaity and dishonest, to be frank.

He said universities are not there to produce students who are merely useful. As in universities should aim to foster student's abilities to think critically, debate and discuss: to be fully rounded individuals, with the capacity to think for themselves, as well as being "merely" useful for the workplace.

Deja Boo

tdf7187 wrote: »

Says 'our' president.

How did this absurd dwarf manage to become elected president of my country? He's an embarassment. He also manages to insult 48% of the population of our main ally. What a fecking eejit.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/universities-do-not-exist-to-produce-students-who-are-useful-president-says-1.4190859

Read your first few sentences and assumed you were [perfectly] describing the Dumpster Trumpster.

Read your article, and....

kowloon

Deja Boo wrote: »

Read your first few sentences and assumed you were [perfectly] describing the Dumpster Trumpster.

Read your article, and....

But I'm angry with the left! They want to force us all into gay marriages with immigrants! :eek:

Deja Boo

kowloon wrote: »

But I'm angry with the left! They want to force us all into gay marriages with immigrants! :eek:

And that's why one must always read the fine print before voting

kowloon

Deja Boo wrote: »

And that's why one must always read the fine print before voting

It's not all bad, I suppose. Dick is a bit of an acquired taste, but the house is spotless.

skooterblue2

Great thoughts, Who does he think pays for his campaigns and his lavish life style away from the great unwashed masses. I doubt he has ever done a days work in his life.

Raconteuse

skooterblue2 wrote: »

Who does he think pays for his campaigns and his lavish life style away from the great unwashed masses.

Indeed, but...

I doubt he has ever done a days work in his life.

We know that's not true.

Greyfox

tdf7187 wrote: »

How did this absurd dwarf manage to become elected president of my country? He's an embarassment. He also manages to insult 48% of the population of our main ally. What a fecking eejit.

Well 100% of the Irish population would prefer he was president instead of you

JohnnyFlash

Raconteuse wrote: »

Indeed, but...

We know that's not true.

When Michael D was Minister his civil servants noted how relaxed he was to work. I think he’s a man who works hard on cultivating an image and bolstering his already extremely impressive ego. His increasingly bizarre use of the rolling R when speaking is one noticeable example of this.

El Weirdo

bubblypop wrote: »

He's a great president
Well able to deal with foreign visitors
Knows all about politics
A great scholar
Can debate with everyone
Is brilliant at talking with everyone from every type of background

Never would have voted for him first time round but he's the best we have had for many years

And he called Michael Graham a wanker on live radio. Which is always nice to be reminded of.

ohnonotgmail

One of these days we will have an OP that demonstrates they have read past the headline. Today is not that day.

_Brian

Overall a great President whim I feel is well in touch with society and the problems it faces.

For me, if this man calls someone out in their behaviour, I’d be fairly certain he’s right.

Hoop66

All this "read the actual article" nonsense is playing havoc with my pitchfork supply business.

Deja Boo

tdf7187 wrote: »

Says 'our' president.

How did this absurd dwarf manage to become elected president of my country? He's an embarassment. He also manages to insult 48% of the population of our main ally. What a fecking eejit.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/universities-do-not-exist-to-produce-students-who-are-useful-president-says-1.4190859

and what does misquoting and misjudging him say about you?

super_furry

Deja Boo wrote: »

and what does misquoting and misjudging him say about you?

It says that he's so desperate to be outraged and offended by something that he doesn't actually care about the truth.

Feisar

skooterblue2 wrote: »

Great thoughts, Who does he think pays for his campaigns and his lavish life style away from the great unwashed masses. I doubt he has ever done a days work in his life.

As my father would say, "that lad never felt the weight of a spade".

Ray Palmer

When I went to college my class time was 35 hours a week and about 20 hours additional work I was studying civil engineering in a technical college. There was no moral and philosophical discussion and no reason for it. Micky D here just showed how clueless he is about what college is like for other people in different colleges to him.
Yeah art students have time and it is part if their studies to debate principles. An engineering student doesn't debate the size of a brick or the tensile strength of concrete.

mikhail

Hoop66 wrote: »

All this "read the actual article" nonsense is playing havoc with my pitchfork supply business.

Yep, a real glut of supply here. You'd miss the days when we could just get everyone to burn the witch based on a wilfully ignorant opinion.

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mikhail

Ray Palmer wrote: »

When I went to college my class time was 35 hours a week and about 20 hours additional work I was studying civil engineering in a technical college. There was no moral and philosophical discussion and no reason for it. Micky D here just showed how clueless he is about what college is like for other people in different colleges to him.
Yeah art students have time and it is part if their studies to debate principles. An engineering student doesn't debate the size of a brick or the tensile strength of concrete.

Me too. There's a sprinkling of ethics dusted into most engineering courses these days. No harm really.

Engineers design a lot of things. I've never studied the ethics of electronics design, but folks with similar skills to me work for BAE designing **** that kills people. There is certainly a place for ethics in engineering.

I see sheep

A legend, man of the people. Should be president of the world.

nkl12xtw5goz70

"President Michael D. Higgins has warned that the capacity of universities to provide a “moral space” for discussion is being eroded at a time of growing political populism."

He's right, for once, but not in the way he thinks. In universities across the world, populist political correctness is shutting down discussion so that only approved perspectives are represented. The university has become a "safe space," free from supposedly dangerous opinions, as opposed to a "moral space for discussion" where all perspectives can be represented.

Mr Higgins said universities are relied upon “to create that moral space where people will be able to evaluate different suggestions”.

Again, people can't "evaluate different suggestions" as long as the only acceptable suggestions on a university campus are those coming from the ideological left.

kowloon

Ray Palmer wrote: »

When I went to college my class time was 35 hours a week and about 20 hours additional work I was studying civil engineering in a technical college. There was no moral and philosophical discussion and no reason for it. Micky D here just showed how clueless he is about what college is like for other people in different colleges to him.
Yeah art students have time and it is part if their studies to debate principles. An engineering student doesn't debate the size of a brick or the tensile strength of concrete.

I've studied a subject like yourself that was effectively a full-time job. At the same time, I had friends doing courses that involved only a few hours of contact time a week. Having gone back to study a far less practical subject since then I no longer look down on the humanities students. I think more education, in general, is what is needed and it's all positive. Just don't expect the big money out of a degree in Irish literature.

Gloomtastic!

Why has the OP been given a yellow card? Free thinking/speech not allowed on here anymore? :mad:

Like all socialists in a position of power, he's never done a hard days work in his life but uses his ability to bull**** to rise above his comrades. €200k a year, all expenses paid with gold-plated pension to come, all courtesy of others.

Dyr

Better Than Christ wrote: »

He's an embarrassment to idiots who think it's acceptable to use the term 'dwarf' to describe someone who, through no fault of their own, is below average height. Fair enough. Most people think he's great.

Is it his fault that his circumference is greater than his height?

Fat little twerp.

Raconteuse

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

Why has the OP been given a yellow card? Free thinking/speech not allowed on here anymore? :mad:.

- "absurd dwarf"
- lying (the title of the thread and the opening post are bullsh1t)
- there has never been free speech on Boards (or anywhere) particularly when it comes to insults/lying.

People can think what they like though.

Plenty of others are criticising MDH here without resorting to misleading.

skooterblue2

Raconteuse wrote: »

We know that's not true.

What has he worked at out side of University?
Doctor of Sociology is no a real place in the world.
It is not comparable to industry, commerce or the greater real world. It just requires you to sit in a room and wonder if the lower class. It doesnt have to turn a profit. Poetry is an obtuse idea for intellectuals who are either well fed or use hunger for creative purposes.

nkl12xtw5goz70

bubblypop wrote: »

He's a great president
Well able to deal with foreign visitors
Knows all about politics
A great scholar
Can debate with everyone
Is brilliant at talking with everyone from every type of background

Does a great job of extolling the virtues of deceased totalitarian dictators, such as Fidel Castro, whom he called "a giant among global leaders," and Hugo Chávez, who allegedly "achieved a great deal during his term in office" (including overthrowing the constitution and destroying the Venezuelan economy).

Duffy the Vampire Slayer

Bailee Fat Peddler wrote: »

Does a great job of extolling the virtues of deceased totalitarian dictators, such as Fidel Castro, whom he called "a giant among global leaders," and Hugo Chávez, who allegedly "achieved a great deal during his term in office" (including overthrowing the constitution and destroying the Venezuelan economy).

Chavez wasn't a totalitarian dictator, whatever else you might want to say about him.

Gloomtastic!

Raconteuse wrote: »

- "absurd dwarf"
- lying (the title of the thread and the opening post are bullsh1t)
- there has never been free speech on Boards (or anywhere) particularly when it comes to insults/lying.

People can think what they like though.

Plenty of others are criticising MDH here without resorting to misleading.

What about parasitic shrimp? No word of a lie there - He’s tiny and he lives off other organisms - us!

nkl12xtw5goz70

Duffy the Vampire Slayer wrote: »

Chavez wasn't a totalitarian dictator, whatever else you might want to say about him.

Do you regard Chávez — whose authoritarian legacy included trampling his country's democratic constitution, dismantling its Supreme Court, seizing control of its media, intimidating and silencing journalists and dissidents, threatening judges, dismantling human rights protections, and destroying the economy to the point of massive humanitarian crisis — as someone the president of Ireland should be praising?

Arghus

And so it begins...

SEPT 23 1989

the windbag wouldnt last two minutes in the real world

Ipso

Bailee Fat Peddler wrote: »

Do you regard Chávez — whose authoritarian legacy included trampling his country's democratic constitution, dismantling its Supreme Court, seizing control of its media, intimidating and silencing journalists and dissidents, threatening judges, dismantling human rights protections, and destroying the economy to the point of massive humanitarian crisis — as someone the president of Ireland should be praising?

Shur it’s it great. Just wouldn’t live there, but it’s great.

Arghus

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

the windbag wouldnt last two minutes in the real world

He seems to have done alright.

Ipso

Arghus wrote: »

He seems to have done alright.

Working for the tax payer.

mikhail

Ipso wrote: »

Working for the tax payer.

He grew up in a tin shack in Clare, and wound up president of the country. What have you done?

Ipso

mikhail wrote: »

He grew up in a tin shack in Clare, and wound up president of the country. What have you done?

I haven’t spouted praise for regimes of failed states as if they’re something to be emulated, while knowing deep down I’d never darken their door step for anything other than a cheap holiday.

mikhail

Ipso wrote: »

I haven’t spouted praise for regimes of failed states as if they’re something to be emulated, while knowing deep down I’d never darken their door step for anything other than a cheap holiday.

So you'd prop up the regimes of these "failed states" (a term you're misusing, by the way) with your tourist money - trading local people's ongoing misery for a cheap thrill? Some paragon of virtue you are.

Raconteuse

skooterblue2 wrote: »

What has he worked at out side of University?
Doctor of Sociology is no a real place in the world.
It is not comparable to industry, commerce or the greater real world. It just requires you to sit in a room and wonder if the lower class. It doesnt have to turn a profit. Poetry is an obtuse idea for intellectuals who are either well fed or use hunger for creative purposes.

I don't disagree with some of the criticisms of him (his praise of Castro is infuriating), I just can't stand dishonesty, and I think irrelevant comments about a person's appearance (including that of Trump) are six-year-old level.

But he worked for ESB and in a factory before entering academia. He came from humble beginnings.

Ipso

mikhail wrote: »

So you'd prop up the regimes of these "failed states" (a term you're misusing, by the way) with your tourist money - trading local people's ongoing misery for a cheap thrill? Some paragon of virtue you are.

No. I never said I’d visit there. More of a reference to people who say it’s great but would never reside there.