Times and characters that they are, a comical and frustratingly farcical debate is raging in the US over Healthcare reform. Today whilst germanely (is that a proper use?) listening to a podcast of Irish History in which the topic is Health Care Reform in the 1940's and 1950's, I was struck by the parallels. Despite inadequate care and a high infant mortality rate the Irish Catholic Church's ArchBishop McQuaid (not of the Dennis type) abhorently opposed a 1950 government health proposal called 'The Mother and Child Scheme' to give free maternity care for all mothers and free healthcare for all children up to the age of 16, regardless of income. Wait a minute buster, I thought the Catholic Church would support such a system, well not so, they controlled all the hospitals in the relatively new Free State. Read on. The political meanderings and arguments against the reform cast a deja-vu over todays US debate. So long ago so forgotten, so many false arguments, so many obfuscations. So much B.S.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
China Motors BMW X5 knockoff
Isn't that just a common sight these day? Cruising along the freeway and a BMW X5 flies by on the inside lane, but wait take another look, this is a China Motors car, a complete knockoff design of the BMW X5. This photo was taken by my buddy Brian while he was recently in China on a business trip. He said even the light clusters were indistinguishable from the real thing. Wow can you believe that? Well get used to it.
A bottle of your '43 Chateau LaFeet please?
Handy trick to open a corked Wine Bottle without a corkscrew but with a SHOE! demonstrated by a someone who has had a few already.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Dad has taken up oil painting in his endless days. I am impressed. He has a unique talent here. One of them is patience, you would know that if you ever tried any painting atall. I have and so far to no avail. 'What to paint?' ' how to frame the scene?'Then again it's Oil painting. This requires even more patience as the painting can't be completed in one sitting, it has to dry.
Here he shows us what the Skerries windmill looks like through his impressionist eyes, and then what the little Guinness gazebo at the pond in St. Annes would look like without the obligatory social commentary graffitti or cans of BUD floating in the water. Me likes.
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