80,000 marched in Ireland Saturday against water privatization & then this happened…

[Donkees]

[dhill926]

1. K & R...

love it. Good for them...

[OnDoutside]

15. It wasn't 80,000. It was more like 20,000.

Three separate marches began at Connolly Station, Heuston Station and Sir John Rodgerson Quay.


Organisers claimed 80,000 people took to the streets, while other estimates put the crowd at less than 20,000. The gardai (police) estimated less than 10,000 attended.

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/thousands-take-to-streets-calling-for-full-abolition-of-water-charges-35056986.html

[Angry Dragon]

24. I counted them and it was 83,238 people

[OnDoutside]

26. That's because they had 4 heads each.

[Angry Dragon]

27. I find your statement very distasteful

[OnDoutside]

28. In what way ?

[Angry Dragon]

30. the people did not have four heads

[OnDoutside]

31. It's as true as saying there were 83,238 people there :)

[Angry Dragon]

32. Just show me one photo of a person with four heads

[OnDoutside]

33. Right after you show me a pic of the 83,238 !

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

2. A new age is dawning

are you with us?

[Donkees]

3. I've been ready since 1969 :)

[dflprincess]

12. A few years ago I saw a cartoon

2 middle aged businessmen sitting on a bench and one is saying "I don't get it. The moon was in the 7th house and Jupiter aligned with Mars...So what went wrong?"

Maybe it's just taken a little longer than we thought it would.

[KT2000]

4. we can learn fro Ireland

They get people to turn out!

[liberalla]

5. wonderful! thank you Ireland!

the message is clear and growing ever stronger... i don't see how anyone can be against it

[TryLogic]

6. Thank you Ireland.You are setting a great example.

[OnDoutside]

14. No we are NOT. We're falling into the exact same trap as those voting for Trump in the US are. It's

flim flam.

This an example of political chicanery that would make the Republicans proud. Fianna Fail (who put in weak financial regulators in the years leading up to the crash), Sinn Fein (who flip flopped on the charges) and Far Lefties (seriously, Bernie would be a moderate compared to this lot, most would be Trotskyists) jumped on the band wagon without a care for the bigger picture. The Shinners and the Trotskyists made hay during the Economic collapse and preached the stuff that the ordinary hurting person wants to hear - THEY can fix it. With lots of money we don't have. It's the type of nonsense people here are supposedly against in the US !

We have a water pipe system that is in many cases, dating from the days of Queen Victoria, and it will cost billions to fix. There are many places where raw sewage is literally pumped into rivers, if it isn't pumped out to sea. There isn't that sort of money available to fix the problems, so there's a choice : either charge for the supply of water services (helps to conserve water and pay for the service)or increase the taxes on those who already pay so much tax. People outside the cities have always paid for the treatment of their well water and sewage, so this No Way we won't Pay, is bogus flim flam.

Aside from all of that, if we don't start implementing water charges soon, Ireland will be heavily fined by the EU.

[Granny M]

17. Agreed.

Just saying NO to everything is not a policy. I haven't heard any anti-water charge people offer a solution to fix the problems. They just say, "we're already paying for water". Not to say that Irish Water is anything less than a disaster in its present form.

[OnDoutside]

19. Yes that's exactly the problem. As a PAYE worker, I'll be paying for water one way or another but to

lump it on to wages as extra tax, is highly regressive and does nothing for water conservation. Ironically, it allows their bête-noir, Denis O'Brien, fill his swimming pool and every one else is paying it ! The likes of Murphy/Boyd Barrett/Ogle are varying degrees of Trots and are more interested in bringing the system down, instead of offering any solutions. I can understand people are hurting, but as we know, anger is not a policy. There is no direction to it, and perhaps only the current rise in the economy can reduce the anger, but some have been given in a new lease in life in being angry.

I completely agree that the Government made a compete mess of setting up IW, though that wasn't helped by the non-payment campaign. Phil Hogan was like a pig dropping a big turd and walking off to Europe.

[Ghost Dog]

29. Does the Catholic Church pay any taxes on its properties

& commercial income in Ireland?

Can large corporations not pay more taxes in Ireland?

What are the top marginal work income & investment income tax rates in Ireland? Can the rich not pay more?

[Fast Walker 52]

7. People power for good! Love it!

[eppur_se_muova]

8. When they say "Sacred Water of Life", do they mean ...

whiskey (n.)

1715, from Gaelic uisge beatha "whisky," literally "water of life," from Old Irish uisce "water" (from PIE *ud-skio-, from root *wed- (1) "water, wet;" see water (n.1)) + bethu "life" (from PIE *gwi-wo-tut-, suffixed form of *gwi-wo-, from root *gweie- (1) "to live;" see bio-).

According to Barnhart, the Gaelic is probably a loan-translation of Medieval Latin aqua vitae, which had been applied to intoxicating drinks since early 14c. (compare French eau de vie "brandy&quot . Other early spellings in English include usquebea (1706) and iskie bae (1580s). In Ireland and Scotland obtained from malt; in the U.S. commonly made from corn or rye. Spelling distinction between Scotch whisky and Irish and American whiskey is a 19c. innovation. Whisky sour is recorded from 1889.

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=whiskey

[virgogal]

9. Yikes-not much diversity in Ireland.

[Wednesdays]

11. Your point being...?

[awoke_in_2003]

13. A lot

of Irish live there.

[tazkcmo]

21. lol

Maybe they should import some dark skinned Africans as did America?

[NaturalHigh]

25. Cool story there, virgogal.

[dae]

10. Erin Go Bragh & Standing Rock too!

[nationalize the fed]

16. TD Clare Daly on Irish Water

Apr 27, 2016: Clare on the Fianna Fail/Fine Gael deal on Irish Water: 'We shouldn't be here discussing a fudge. The mandate of this House, and this election, and the majority of TDs is for the abolition of Irish Water, for the ending of water charges as a direct charge, and for the enshrining of water as a public service funded from central taxation as part of our Constitution.'

TD Clare Daly
http://claredaly.ie/

[OnDoutside]

20. Red Clare and her blond boyfriend beside her are opportunists. Mick Wallace cheated on his taxes

from his company, and had to pay the Irish Revenue service about $2.5-$3m in back tax and penalties. He owes banks about $25m, yet has an Italian Vineyard put into his brother's name. He also admitted to threatening to hire a hitman for $30,000 to recover money from a building firm who owed him money.

[lillypaddle]

18. The Choctaw Nation contributed

significantly to Ireland during the potato famine. They probably have a soft spot in their hearts for Native Americans.

[LuvNewcastle]

22. That has been said to be the case.

I saw a post yesterday that explained what happened back then when the Choctaw felt sorry for the Irish and collected money for them to help during the famine. It's a beautiful story, and I wish more people were aware of it. They have apparently not forgotten in Ireland.

[lillypaddle]

23. At the airport in Ireland (I think it's Shannon?)

There are murals of the Choctaw on the walls. I didn't know, until I read the inscribed plaques, what had happened. It IS a beautiful story.