After a few weeks in the background, controversial Dutch right-wing politician Geert Wilders, frontman of the Partij voor de Vrijheid (PVV, Party for Freedom), is back in the spotlight again. Inter alia this somewhat notorious party is known for its Euroscepticism, ferocious anti-immigrant and anti-Islam stance. This time he made headlines by starting up a website meant for filing complaints about Middle and Eastern Europeans living and working in the Netherlands (http://www.meldpuntmiddenenoosteuropeanen.nl, reporting point Central and Eastern Europeans).

According to Wilders, this initiative was necessary following the great influx of Polish immigrants, which has been going on since the Dutch labor market opened up for people from Middle and Eastern European countries on May 1^st, 2007. In his opinion, this has led to a host of problems associated with these new immigrants. Among them are misbehavior, pollution, decreased labor chances for the native Dutch, social integration and housing problems.

The website has aroused a lot of discussion in Dutch and European political, and academical, circles. For example, the European Commission condemned the reporting point, stating it runs counter to the European principle of freedom of movement: “We call on all citizens of the Netherlands not to follow this intolerance. Citizens should instead clearly state on the PVV’s website that Europe is a place of freedom” EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding commented.

Other then spelling out the complete controversy in full, what really catches the eye and also personally worries me, is that the opinion polls conducted following the controversy show a sharp rise in popularity for the PVV. This is not to say that it was a minor party before there was word of the reporting point. With its 24 out of a total of 150 seats at the latest elections in 2010, the PVV agreed on supporting the minority government of Prime Minister Mark Rutte, without delegating any ministers for this coalition. Next to this, up until now the aforementioned Rutte hasn’t distanced himself from Wilders’ initiative. Considering other immigrant unfriendly measures the Dutch government is contemplating, most notable the idea to ban the burka, you could argue this all adds up to another blow to ‘traditional’ Dutch principles like liberal tolerance and freedom of choice, and to the Dutch image in the international community. In this sense, the Dutch maybe should turn to cultural diplomacy more often.

When Britain official declared dominion over Ireland there was great difficulty in enforcing control outside of a small area around Dublin known as ‘the Pale’. To increase their control over the nation of Ireland, the British government sanctioned a number of waves of plantation where protestant settlers loyal to the British Crown would be brought to Ireland to support British interests. By far the most successful of these plantations occurred in the northern province of Ulster. The success of the Ulster planation created a cultural and religious dichotomy on the island of Ireland, with the number of Protestants in Ulster nearly equally the number of Catholics.

This split between Ulster and the rest of the country became apparent when the Republic of Ireland gained independence from the United Kingdom while Northern Ireland chose to remain part of the union. Within a couple of decades, the tensions between the Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland descended into violence. Protestant and Catholic groups supporting a peaceful resolution to the problems lost ground to extremists began to dominate the situation.

The IRA and the UVF fought a protracted and bloody turf war where both communities were subjected to fear and intimidation. The Peace Walls that were erected in Belfast during this period highlight the divided nature of the city. It seemed that there could be no resolution as both sides had moved to far to the extremes and discussion and agreement would not be possible. But, over time the nature of the conflict changed. The people of Belfast had had enough of the violence and the support for the groups using terrorist tactics eroded. Both the Catholic and Protestant extremists began to build up political parties and gradually accepted the need for discussion and compromise.

On 10 April 1998, the breakthrough moment in the peace process came with the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. Protestant and Catholic groups that had been in a state of war for decades were able to set aside their arms and reach an agreement and achieved a stable and lasting peace. The Northern Ireland Peace Process, just like the Civil rights movement in the United States, is an example of how humans can set aside their differences and reach a peaceful agreement. It is, in essence, one of the best examples of successful diplomacy.

The interns watching a promotional tourist video about Slovakia.

Last Thursday was the last working day for our two Slovak interns who completed their three-month internship at the headquarters of the ICD in Berlin. Ivana Ruttkayova and Lenka Zboronova, supported by Lenka Porazikova, the ICD senior manager responsible for human resources, all coming from Slovakia, prepared the presentation of Slovak culture including small snacks, which reminded us of home.

During this presentation we were trying to explain some crucial international issues on politics and the economy; and of course, the never-ending question: is Slovakia the same as Slovenia or where exactly is Czechoslovakia? – never mind that almost 20 years already passed since the split-up of Czechs and Slovaks. We also tried to shed some light on the Slovak–Hungarian question on ongoing tension from both sides. But it was not all about the politics!

There was a big part dedicated to tourism and traditions – everything that makes Slovak culture interesting. Unfortunately, due to the lack of storage in German shops, we did not have a chance to present the original Slovak dish – “bryndzove halusky” – that’s potato dumplings with a sort of cottage cheese. But instead girls baked some homemade cakes and snacks, which were fully appreciated by the attending audience, which consisted mostly of ICD staff and interns.

One could not be mistaken when trying to guess my origin, because I have dedicated special time to promote my hometown Kosice – the capital of culture in 2013. Not only Kosice, but also our beautiful mountains and nature, which is hidden in this little central European state, which was brought to attention of the audience.

To sum up I have to say the whole presentation was a big success; everyone liked it and hopefully was inspired for their upcoming summer or winter holiday destination.

A group of friends celebrate their time volunteering in Rome.

Volunteering encompasses all atruistic activities undertaken by people´s own free will, choice and motivation, and without demand on financial gain. According to the Council of the European Union, voluntary activities “constitute a rich learning experience, enable the development of social skills and competences and contribute to solidarity… Voluntary activities have the potential to contribute to the well-being of individuals and the harmonious development of European societies.”1 Sounds good, doesn´t it? However, these activities are still not common part of our life, although they benefit the individual volunteer, communities and society as a whole, they increase civic participation and enhance civil society. Therefore, in order to foster these activities and promote their conducting all over the EU, the Council of the European Union decided to proclaim the year 2011 for the European Year of Voluntary Activities Promoting Active Citizenship. Moreover, 5th December is celebrated as the International Day of Volunteering already since the adoption of a resolution of the United Nations´ General Assembly in 1982.

I´m a fan of development, harmonious relations between people and solidarity, therefore I decided to enrich my summer holidays 2010 with some kind of voluntary activity. I applied for participation on a two-week-long summer voluntary camp abroad. My steps led to a small Italian village located in the area of Ivrea, between Milan and Torino, characterized by green hills, enchanting lakes and beautiful mountains. I met there 12 other like minded young and dedicated volunteers from 7 different countries. Our working tasks were maintenance and safeguard of the local environment, which basically means that we mainly worked on cleaning the surrounding area and forest tracks, restoring small stone-walls as well as maintaining a local playground. We did all of this in cooperation with local inhabitants and youth. In our free time we made hiking in the nearby Alps Mountains, cycling trip, water sports, we did sightseeing of Ivrea and nearby castle. We also participated on local cultural events from festival and pizza evening to clubbing and goodbye party organized for us by local people.

What I find particularly contributing is the cultural and human dimension of the camp. Although the most of local people did not speak English very well, we were able to overcome the language barrier quite easily. Sometimes words are simply not necessary. It was a good chance to interact with the local people, young as well as older generations, to know their lifestyle, their own environment, experiences and attitudes. Therefore, I find voluntary activity a good tool to improve relations on interpersonal as well as international level. When you get into close contact with certain people and places abroad and bring home with you friendships and cultural traces, you will start feeling familiar and connected with them. They all can help you to enrich your own life and to become a cultural diplomat and an active citizen in the global world. There are many ways how to fulfil your commitment to the world. You can clean a beach, save animals, renovate an ancient castle or teach children. Just to decide, go and experience.

What I love most about working at the ICD is all the life experiences that I listen to  every day. Each time you talk to an intern you learn something new about their lives, their culture and their experience abroad. Almost all of us have lived in a foreign country at least once in our life; we are world citizens. In most cases, our future plans are to find a job overseas and discover the world. However, what happens when you don’t want to leave your motherland but you have to do it? I ask myself that question because of what is happening in Spain. The spanish youth are becoming cosmopolitan by force.

During The Civil War and during Francoism, Spain was an emigrant country. When democracy arrived things changed and immigrants started to arrive. With the economic downturn and the highest rates of youth unemployment in Europe, we are coming back to the past. Our immigrants are leaving and we need to emigrate again.

Emigrants in Spain used to be men and women carrying a small suitcase and scant belongings, trying to save money for their families or running away from a dictatorial regime. Nevertheless, “the times, they are-a-changing” and our emigrants are not the same. I’m part of this new wave of emigrants. We are young, we don’t run away, we have a family who support us, we have an academic degree in our back pocket and we travel with a big suitcase full of personal effects and new technology. However, there is one thing that we have in common, the broken illusions.

Don’t misinterpret me; leaving your home can be the most enriching experience ever. The problem is when you don’t have a ticket to come back, when you are leaving because you lost the faith in your country, because there are no jobs and because to stay is not an option anymore.

There are not official statistics because as I mentioned before we don’t fit the typical profile of an immigrant, but each time we are the ones who decide to leave. Spain is losing its most prepared generation. In theory, the generation that will save the country from the economic, cultural and scientific delay that the downturn is causing. We are entering in a vicious circle, Spain is going to be deprived of its best talents for a long time and the situation can only get worse.

After I lived for one year in The Netherlands and three months during a winter in Berlin I can say that I’m lucky to be born in a sunny place. Definitely, nice weather means quality of life and as we say in Spain “como aqui no se vive en ninguna otra parte”. I hope that all the members of the Spanish Lost Generation would be able to have their sun again.

]]> http://theicdinternsvoice.wordpress.com/2012/01/23/the-lost-generation/feed/ 2 especial15m giuseppecolucci especial15m http://theicdinternsvoice.wordpress.com/2012/01/17/freedom-of-the-press-in-russia-politkovskajas-case/ http://theicdinternsvoice.wordpress.com/2012/01/17/freedom-of-the-press-in-russia-politkovskajas-case/#comments Tue, 17 Jan 2012 10:14:00 +0000 giuseppecolucci http://theicdinternsvoice.wordpress.com/?p=1793 Continue reading »]]> By Rodica Ciochina

History

1990s and before

The process of democratization of the totalitarian Soviet Union started with the policy of Glasnost, meaning openness or freedom of speech. As stated by Gil-Robles, that policy is still regarded within the Russian society as one of the most precious achievements of Perestroika.
The contemporary state of media freedom follows on from the proactive policy pursued by the Russian authorities at the beginning of the 1990s. During the 1990s the Russian society went through a period of rapid development of the traditional media.

2000s

Mass media in Russia continued to develop in 2000s, as the number of periodicals, broadcasting companies and electronic media has more than doubled from 1997 to 2006. Even so, some worrying trends have emerged in recent years. According to international journalists’ associations, the situation is taking a turn for the worse. A number of laws and provisions adopted in the general context of combating terrorism restrict freedom of speech and do away with the guarantees that are vital to the work of journalists in a democracy. This regrettable development has not been without victims, with a number of television companies, radio channels and newspapers being closed down. In addition, ownership changes for some media have brought them under the control of the State or of companies in which the State is the main shareholder. Finally, Russia counts amongst the countries in which attacks and acts of violence against journalists have noticeable risen in recent years.

Legal position

Freedom of the press is provided by the Constitution of Russia. The Constitutional speech freedom norm guarantees the freedom of ideas and speech for everyone, as well as the right “to freely look for, receive, transmit, produce and distribute information by any legal way”. With that, the propaganda instigating social, racial, national or religious hatred or supremacy is banned. The Constitutional norm provides for the freedom of mass communication, while Censorship is banned.

Critical points

The Russian Government has a large media empire, which it uses to influence on media outlets and news content.As stated by the BBC, in recent years, companies with close links to the Government, state-owned Gazprom among them, have bought several of the most influential papers. According to Freedom House, the Russian government owns 60 percent of newspapers, and in whole or in part, all national television stations.

Pressure on independent media

According to the World Press Freedom Review 2008 by International Press Institute, the pressure on Russian independent media outlets and their employees increased considerably since 2007. The government use variety of methods to control of broadcasters, to sideline critical journalists, and to intimidate them into self-censorship.

According to International Press Institute, even bolder publications have to curtail their coverage to avoid problems with the authorities.

Selective use of bureaucratic regulations were employed to inhibit media outlets, vague laws were passed to restrict independent activities, politically motivated criminal investigations against critics were used, independent journalists were imprisoned on trumped-up charges and their media outlets were closed, controlling interests in independent news outlets were purchased, aggressive harassment of journalists by security services took place and the failure to bring justice in the murders of journalists and in other violent attacks against the press prevailed.

To whom belong the papers in Russia?

- The Russian Government media empire and its influence on media outlets

- Companies with close links to the government bought a large number of the most influencial papers

- The remaining papers belong to the powerful oligarchs

The freedom of speech in Putin’s Russia. The Politkovskaja case
“Sometimes people pay with their own lives in order to say what they really think”. Sometimes…and this time it really happened that an Ukrainian journalist, Anna Politkovskaja was her name, famous all over the world for her straightforward stories about the most controversial sides of the post soviet Russia and its “Talk is forbidden”. The author of “Chechnya war, Beslan and Dubrovka theater: Inconvenient truths about Putin’s Russia”, Anna Politkovskaja, has been found dead on the entrance of her house in Moscow the 7th of October 2006, killed by 4 gunshots. Only 3 days after, her new article denouncing Ramzan Kadyrov and his people for the inhuman treatment and torture reserved to the prisoners and presumed Chechen guerrillas.
Anna Politkovskaja was a “Novaja Gazeta” journalist, for whom she started working in 1999. Her job was her passion which led her to listening the requests of the mothers of the vanished soldiers and young people,to denounce the injustice committed on the Chechen and Russian territory and the inquires about the corruptions regularly hidden in Russia.

- Anna Stepanovna Politkovskaya was a Russian journalist, author and human rights activist well known for her opposition to the Chechen conflict and then-President of Russia Vladimir Putin.On 7 October 2006, she was shot dead in the elevator of her apartment building, an unsolved assassination that continues to attract international attention.

- Politkovskaya made her name reporting from Chechnya. Her constant stream of articles after 1999 about conditions in Chechnya were turned into several books but Russian readers’ main access to her investigations and publications was through Novaya gazeta. From 2000 onwards she received numerous prestigious international awards for her work. In 2004 she published a personal account of Putin’s Russia.

- During the trial reguarding her death Stanislav Markelov, a lawyer who had investigated many of the abuses documented by Politkovskaya, was assassinated in Moscow on 19 January 2009, with journalist Anastasia Baburova. Baburova was a freelance contributor to Politkovskaya’s newspaper and Markelov represented Novaya gazeta on many occasions.

The crimes and the wickedness committed by the Russian army in Chechnya, the events of the Beslan school and the Dubrovka, which left the whole world breathless, a quick excursus through today’s Russia, short but enough to show how “legality” in Putin’s government is still an optional were the main issues highlighted by the journalist and which started to scare the Kremlin’s leadership.
Cechnya is a state where such concepts as jurisdiction and justice are still unknown to the authorities, which are actually satellites of the Russian government who rules it.
There still exist mass executions in the small villages of the country, kidnappings by “masked and armed strangers”, as it happened to the young 22 years old Muslim Bubaev, kidnapped in December 2004, very probably not by the federals but by the Chechen themselves.

As a matter of fact, since Moscow sent Kadyrov and his people to Chechnya, the violent kidnappings ,after which people just vanished, have been committed both by the federals and the kadyrovcy (Kadyrov’s people).
Ramzan Kadyrov is the son of the ex Chechen deputy premier Akhmad Kadyrov, the docile Chechen puppet of Moscow, to whom Politkovskaja dedicated several articles, not at all flattering. Appointed as the governor of Chechnya, after his father was killed, Kadyrov brought an even more fearful and distrustful atmosphere in the region. Thanks to the impeccable publicity campaign run both inside and outside Chechnya, Kadyrov let people think that thanks to him the Chechen situation gained stability and that the country was recovering.

Politkovskaja strongly criticized Putin’s federal presidency, including his pursuit of the Second Chechen War. She accused Putin and the Russian secret service FSB of stifling all civil liberties in order to establish a Soviet-style dictatorship, but admitted that “it is we who are responsible for Putin’s policies”:”Society has shown limitless apathy… As the Chekists have become entrenched in power, we have let them see our fear, and thereby have only intensified their urge to treat us like cattle. The KGB respects only the strong. The weak it devours. We of all people ought to know that.”

She also wrote:
“We are hurtling back into a Soviet abyss, into an information vacuum that spells death from our own ignorance. All we have left is the internet, where information is still freely available. For the rest, if you want to go on working as a journalist, it’s total servility to Putin. Otherwise, it can be death, the bullet, poison, or trial—whatever our special services, Putin’s guard dogs, see fit.”

Nobody got punished for Politkovskaja’s death and the case was closed. This injustice provoked many protests all over the world, the situation of the media in in general of the freedom of speech in Russia though, has not improved.

Except of Politkovskaja there were a lot of murders or murder attempts to journalist in the whole Russian Federation. Here’s a list of some of them:
1. Antonio Russo, a Radio Radicale journalist killed in Georgia in a typical way of the secret services’ use. He was on his way back to Italy with new evidence on the atrocity of the Chechen war.
2.  Ilyas Shurpayev , Dagestan journalist of Channel One responsible on the Caucasic situation.
3. Gaji Abashilov,who worked for the State television of Daghestan, VGTRK, shot in his car.
4. Magomed Yevloyev, owner of Ingushetiya.ru, killed by gunshots in a police car
5. Khabarovsk Konstantin Brovko, a Gubernia television company journalist,killed in Khabarovsk.

These are just a few cases. In 2009 the number was raising to 165 murders,most of which unpunished.
The same year Russia was the 153° out of 175 countries according to the freedom of the press index.

“We have learned to be citizens of the world, members of the human community” (Franklin D. Roosevelt). I came across this quote when I was searching for a definition of what it means to be a citizen. Definitions included “A person owing loyalty to and entitled by birth or naturalization to the potection of a state or nation.” and “A resident of a city or town, especially one entitled to vote and enjoy other privileges there.” Personally, I prefer to think of myself as a citizen of the world, a member of the human community as F. D. Roosevelt so elegantly phrased it. [1]

I hold a german passport, yet I do not feel German. I have spent almost eight years living in Tanzania. I feel at home there. But I am not Tanzanian. I lived in Cameroon until I was five, and have forgotten most of that time so I do not feel that I am from there either. Even though now I am living in Berlin, soon I will be back at University. My University is in Malaysia and I have lived there for the past two years. I am also not Malaysian.

I am from none of these countries and I am from each of them. I have lived, loved, laughed and cried in all of them. I have learned and participated in each country’s culture and history in one way or another. I have learned to love that special kind of “bongo flava” that you can hear on the streets, in the cars, and in the pubs and bars in Tanzania. Today I miss the little “Mamak” stores that you can find on almost every street corner in Malaysia where people go to share a meal with their friends, family and colleagues. For my time in Berlin, I can say that I love that this is a place where I can learn so much about my country’s history… Without walking into a dry museum or sitting in a stuffy lecture hall!

So I can safely say that I am from all of these places as all of them have, and are, shaping who I am today and who I will be tomorrow.

I hold a German passport, but I do not feel that I am limited to being a citizen of this one country. We engage with different cultures and peoples on a daily basis. Especially in an international environment like ours! Every new country, language or person that I come in contact with teaches me a bit more about myself, “my” country (whether this is the country that I am currently living in, or the country that I have a passport from), and our world.

If being a citizen means “owing loyalty to a state or nation” or even to be “a resident of a city or town”, then I am a citizen of not only Germany but also Cameroon, Tanzania, and Malaysia.

I know that I am not alone when I say that I feel at home in different places on this earth. Not only the city, or country, that I was born in or where my ancestors are from. I feel love and sometimes anger for all of these places and I hope that in my life, I will be lucky enough to find myself a ‘citizen’ of many other places that will teach me just as much as every single one of them.

We are all citizens of the world. We are all “members of the human community”. This is the truth. It is a fact.

A political issue particularly prevalent in the British media in recent times is the popular desire to maintain the freedom of expression.  Freedom of expression is a core aspect of democracy enshrined in legislation in Article 10 of the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA).  It plays a pivotal role in keeping the government in check and freedom of the press in particular ensures the powerful are accountable for their actions.  This is a topical issue because as of January 2012, the High Court ruled that the Justice Secretary was wrong to deny the BBC an interview with terror suspect Babar Ahmad, who has been held since 2004 without trial or prosecution.  The court reached this decision because it was ‘in the public interest’ for such an exceptional circumstance to gain media attention.  However, this is not to say that there is a general positive right to information, since many government actions and investigations can take place behind closed doors. 

The reversal of the Justice Secretary’s original decision to refuse media contact is widely regarded as a victory for human rights activists because otherwise the state could avoid public scrutiny via the press when restricting liberty.  Ultimately, Article 10 should always be upheld in a free society but it can be circumvented if such action is pursuing a legitimate aim such as maintaining national security or upholding the rights of others – such as the right to private, family and home life (Article 8 HRA.)  A high profile case illustrating how other rights can outweigh the freedom of expression is the court action taken by Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones when they sued Hello Magazine for publishing photos of their wedding without permission.  One could argue that the freedom of the press confirmed in the HRA should allow Hello to print the photos in question, but in reality there was no legitimate aim in doing so and the celebrity couples’ right to privacy prevailed.  This can be contrasted to footballer John Terry’s right to privacy being outweighed by the media right to freedom of expression regarding details of an affair because his actions were widely regarded as socially unacceptable.

Evidently, the freedom of expression is being upheld for the time being in the UK, and since signing up to the HRA is a prerequisite for gaining entry into the EU, most of Europe is able to maintain transparency in government because of this.  However, it remains to be seen whether the right to protest which is protected by the freedom of expression, will be allowed to continue without potentially unconstitutional restrictions being put in place.  Outbreaks of violence such as the London Riots in 2011, which had roots in peaceful protest, have the potential to give the government reason to encroach upon the freedom of speech under the guise of national security.  It remains to be seen whether the current British government will attempt to do this – though we only need to look to the likes of Syria where public protest is no longer permitted to understand the damaging consequences of not respecting the freedom of expression.

Every morning, afternoon, evening and possibly every night I have been listening and watching pundits, commentators and speculators analyse the present economic downturn and the recent, I say recent, but in earnest it has been going on for over two years now, Euro crisis.

Each pundit, commentator and economist uses the term “Economic Climate” without explaining exactly what s/he means. But what are we actually saying when we use the term “Economic climate”? I know it is used to describe the current state of an economy; it can be used in a micro or macro context.

Used so frequently, the term has become almost apart of each and everyone’s actually being, it has succinctly infiltrated Irish homes, Irish people’s daily lives without a hint of explanation of understanding. The “Economic Climate” is healthy we were told, forecasts are positive we were informed. The current downturn in the “Economic Climate” has brought about a national narrative on Joe and Mary Public’s perceptions of the economic climate.

I disagree with the use of this term. The term “Economic Climate”, more so the word “climate” has connotations of something that is beyond the ordinary person understanding in its real terms. When the public think and discuss the current “Economic Climate” they unconsciously attribute the same characteristics of weather and climate to it. The former is used to refer to the present condition of elements such as temperature, humidity and atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over short periods whilst in contrast climate is used to refer to the measurement of those elements over a longer period.

We understand that it is near impossible to predict the financial market in the next months. In relation to the Euro currency it is quite apparent that we, the public, nor the experts, pundits, commentators nor economists can predict what is to come.

Why? For the simple reason that we are dealing with something economists ignored or discounted in the lead up to the crash: Human nature, its greed, incompetence and ignorance.

The Irish nation was struck by a bout of partial amnesia. A paralysis set in where as a nation we remembered and commemorated convenient selected bits of our history, those neatly wrapped in Republic Green Steel, untarnished and glistening in Celtic Tiger sun that matched our self-perception. Whilst we conveniently forgot, marginalised and ignored the history of the markets, the history of human nature and the absolute uncertainty of the Global markets much to the rubbing of hands in delight by Financial institutions whose interests were and are best served by the “spend and spend more” culture that so enraptured this nation and our people.

Meteorologists have a distinct advantage over those experts, commentators and economists who are inundating every form of media to tell us what is going to happen, creating consistent uncertainty in the bloodied morass that is the current state of the Irish Economy.

Meteorologists and Economists are different. Weather and climate is dictated by natural forces that have created and shaped the physical world which we inhabit today. On the other hand Economics is motivated and driven by human nature whose actions, forces and resulting affects are dictated and driven by people and not by a freak force of nature that is beyond our current comprehension.

When forecasting the weather meteorologists are very careful, diligent researchers. They ensure they are aware of the facts but are also knowledgeable of what happened before, what happened last year, this time two years ago and this time ten years’ ago.

We all have one huge advantage when dealing with climate and weather. If you live, visited or are knowledgeable of Ireland you would know the climate is generally wet, windy and cold in the winter and nice and mild in the summer. We have learned this from years upon years of experience, ditto for other countries.

We know it is going to pour from the heavens in Sri Lanka and India in May because it is monsoon season, in the same way it has been monsoon season for millennia. As Jeremy Paxman stated in an exasperated tone on the BBC programme NewsNight when delivering the weather forecast with a shot of the islands of Britain and Ireland covered in dark rain clouds on our screens, “The forecast, It’s April, what do you expect?”.

By the use of the term “Economic climate” the public are unconsciously tapping in to a false sense of reassurance and of hope. Never mind the weather is always bad this time of year. A Hope that things will improve dissipates and disappears as bleak forecasts and divided commentary from the elite rumble incessantly of future forecasts of downturn, of recession and of gloom.

If you bought a house on a flood plain, if you invested in stock markets, invested in this plan or that plan, if you believed in the future projections without any knowledge of economics then you may feel some solace in believing that the loss of your house and your money was because of some freak act of nature. When in fact you should be concentrating blame, the pangs of self-pity and wrong that have laced most Irish tongues in the past year, bankers this, developers that, at the feet of ourselves the Irish people.

By constantly bleating the same hollowed terms such as “Economic climate” we are missing something intrinsically important in ensuring we as a people and as a nation do not have to penalise the poor and the suffering for our economic woes again. We have to get to the point of responsibility. We have to accept that we as a people and a nation bought into the lifestyle of crassness, of money and bling quiet easily and quiet happily. We have to accept that the weather and climate have nothing to do with our current financial plight and that when they say stocks and shares may fall and rise they mean it. In other words, “The forecast, it’s economics, what did you expect?”