Ciaran Buckley

Love in a Cold Climate - Evolution of Germany's Eastern Policy

2012-02-07T01:11:00.000-08:00

Interesting analysis of German foreign policy from The Economist, but still comes down to which of the Germans or Russians the Poles trust least.

http://www.economist.com/node/21546066?fsrc=scn/tw/te/ar/loveinacoldclimate

The opinions in this blog are those of the author and do not reflect those of his employers. In fact, they regard him as being more than just a little bit odd.

Digital Education Opportunities, PhD and FETAC Major Awards

2012-01-23T06:32:00.000-08:00

Two interesting courses that have come across my desk. The first is the Digital Arts and Humanities (DAH) a PhD level programme launched jointly by NUIG, NUI Maynooth, RIA, TCD, UCC, Queens University Belfast and University of Ulster. The arts strand will look at drama, film and music; the humanities strand will look at research, editorial and management practices.
I also see that Ballsbridge College of Further Education is offering a Major FETAC Award in Digital Marketing. Most of the diplomas in digital marketing are part-time minor FETAC awards, so this is an innovative move by an accessible and state-funded college.

The opinions in this blog are those of the author and do not reflect those of his employers. In fact, they regard him as being more than just a little bit odd.

Research from Cipherion on the Demand for Multilingual Websites and SEM

2011-12-02T06:49:00.000-08:00

Interesting research from Cipherion on the demand for multilingual website translation and search engine marketing.
Given the increased emphasis on e-commerce enabled exports, multi-lingual websites should be commonplace. However, many web developers treat multiple languages as an add-on, when it really needs to be included in the early stage planning of the website.
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The opinions in this blog are those of the author and do not reflect those of his employers. In fact, they regard him as being more than just a little bit odd.

Poll Software - twtpoll.com

2011-10-27T06:55:00.001-07:00

Oh hello, just saw this one on Twitter ... twtpoll.com.

Seems to offer features that surveymonkey.com expects you to pay for.

Nothing wrong with that of course.

Sinn Fein's Long-Term Strategy

2011-10-01T11:59:00.001-07:00

I couldn't figure out why Martin McGuinness's presidential election
poster photograph is so unflattering. Why would he choose this
picture? No more stern jawline. In fact he's kind of red-faced and
jowly. I've reckon that it's a new departure, a long-term strategy to
turn Martin into Santa Claus.

Vincent Browne would have a field day.

Vincent Browne: Martin McGuinness, surely, surely it is utterly
ludicrous to suggest that a man of your political pedigree could
fulfill the role of Santa Claus.
Martin McGuinness: This kind of negative innuendo is typical of the
26-county anti-Sinn Fein media agenda.
Vincent Browne: Are you seriously suggesting, is it not astonishing,
to suggest that you can travel around the world giving toys to all of
the children in the world, in a single night?
Martin McGuinness: This is the negativity of the Free State
establishment, which has tried to deny, tried to cover up the
corruption and greed of the banking and political classes.

Ho. Ho. Ho.

Limerick Milk Market - Gerry Andrews | AIPF Photographer

2011-07-19T05:29:00.001-07:00

Some cool stories and top-quality shots from the old Limerick Milk Market.

http://www.gerryandrews.com/limerick-milk-market/

Stimulating Economic Growth and Innovation Through Co-operatives

2011-06-21T04:25:00.001-07:00

A good piece from Constantin Gurdgiev on the possibities for co-operatives in stimulating economic growth and innovation:

http://trueeconomics.blogspot.com/2011/06/20062011-two-good-news-from-minister.html

Daniel goldman on the creative moment

2011-06-17T13:57:00.001-07:00

Daniel Goleman video on the creative process http://youtu.be/fZmTY8d9Jy4

Luchadora - Appalachian surf

2011-06-10T16:19:00.001-07:00

my college roommate and his band Luchadora. I have been touched by greatness.

The uke player is called Yaz.

http://youtu.be/RTXsdbM8uOM

They call it Appalachian surf. It's part of that great Scottish-Irish-Appalachian-Hawaiian cultural continuum.

An Archbishop Burns While Rome Fiddles - NYTimes.com

2011-06-05T04:10:00.001-07:00

An excellent piece on an unrepentant church ... From the NYT

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/05/opinion/05dowd.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Fwd: YouTube - Barack gets car stuck at Dublin Embassy May 23rd 2011

2011-05-23T07:03:00.001-07:00

I was there, Obama's car got stuck coming out the gate of the US
embassy in Dublin. It was some kind of security device to ensure that
terrorists who are leaving the embassy car park in a limo after
committing a dastardly deed get stuck on a metal bar.

Quick before they take it down.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKym-Zi3mOQ

Michael Lewis - The Man with the Brass Neck.

2011-05-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

Is the man who wrote this in 2007 - "Davos Is for Wimps, Ninnies,
Pointless Skeptics" ...

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aaagOLYMd4yg

... seriously saying this in 2011.

When Irish Eyes Are Crying

http://www.vanityfair.com/business/features/2011/03/michael-lewis-ireland-201103

I have to hand it to him. The man has a nerve.

The Creative District

2010-12-10T07:25:00.000-08:00

Just had a chat with The Creative District - a Dublin based digital marketing company, who do some very professional b2c stuff.

The opinions in this blog are those of the author and do not reflect those of his employers. In fact, they regard him as being more than just a little bit odd.

Dear Brian, Here's How I Would Have Negotiated a Proper EU/IMF Bailout

2010-12-01T03:17:00.001-08:00

Put it to the EU/IMF that:

1. The €100 billion with a 6% interest rate is not any kind of a
bailout. It punitive and unworkable. To use a simple analogy, it's not
a Marshall Plan, it's a Treaty of Versailles. We all know how that
deal ended.

2. You've led our inept and negligent government around by the nose
for the past two years, in an attempt to save British, French and
German bondholders. The bondholders can't be saved. Burn the
bondholders.

3. A "beggar my neighbour" policy in Europe will destroy not just
Ireland, but the entire European project. We all need each other to be
stable and prosperous.

4. We all know that there will eventually have to be debt
restructuring, i.e. debt writeoffs. So let's get straight to that bit.

5. Have roundtable talks with all of the governments in Europe about
*political* restructuring, to put in safeguards so that irresponsible,
negligent and incompetent national governments can't do this again.

Three Card Trick: How the Irish Taxpayer got screwed in six easy steps.

2010-11-20T14:39:00.001-08:00

Let me see if I got this right. For simplicity, let's assume that the Irish banks lost €100 billion through irresponsible loans to an absurdly inflated property market.

1. The banks lost €100 billion, of money that they had borrowed from German, French and British banks.

- The Irish government (and its tax-paying population) had lost nothing.
- The French, German and British banks had lost nothing - yet.
- The European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had lost nothing.

Who's holding the bag? - the Irish banks.

2. The Irish banks don't want to stiff the German, French and British banks, they think it would be bad for their reputations.
The Irish banks convinced the Irish government that they had only lost €1.5 billion.
They then convince the government to give them a bailout so that they can pay back the German, French and British banks.

Who's holding the bag? - the Irish government, even though they think it's a €1.5 billion bag.

3. The Irish government gradually figures out that it's not a €1.5 billion bag, that it's a €100 billion bag.
It considers not bailing out the banks.
The ECB says "Don't let your banks collapse, that would be bad for the Euro, give them an open-ended promise of support and we'll bail you out further down the line."

Who's holding the bag - the Irish government and population, who have now figured out it's a €100 billion bag.

4. The Irish government starts repaying the German, French and British banks.
The Irish population starts feeling the pain through budget cuts and rocketing sovereign debt costs.
Ireland can't borrow money, because no sane person believes they'll ever be able to repay it.
The EU and IMF come in with a plan to bail out Ireland. Except that it's not a bailout, it's a loan.

Who's holding the bag? The Irish government and taxpayer, who are now paying interest on a €100 billion loan

6. The Irish government get fired in an election in 2011.

Who's holding the bag? The Irish taxpayer.

So the net result is:

Who screwed up?: the Irish banks
Who was supposed to suffer as a result of this?: the Irish, German, French and British banks.
Who got bailed out?: The Irish, British, French and German banks.
Who got saddled with crushing debt (under the guise of a "bailout"): The Irish taxpayer.

Is it me or is this just all wrong?

Vote for Liberties Press! - From the Republic of Conscience

2010-11-03T08:39:00.001-07:00

As some of you may know, Liberties Press were recently nominated for Best Irish-Published Book of the Year as part of Bord Gáis Energy's Irish Book Awards.

From the Republic of Conscience: Stories Inspired by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the first bound collection of stories and essays by renowned Irish authors published originally in The Irish Times to mark the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Writers include Seamus Heaney, Roddy Doyle, John Boyne, Colm Tóibín, Jennifer Johnston, Maeve Binchy, Frank McCourt, Lara Marlowe, Anne Enright, Hugo Hamilton, and Kevin Barry. The book also features work from such artists as Jim Fitzpatrick, Amelia Stein, Mick O'Dea, Alice Maher, and Robert Ballagh, interspersed with the stories.

Voting is a combination of public votes and a judging panel, but we want to make sure this book has all the votes it can get! It's Irish-published, supporting a great cause, and it would be fantastic to even get a sniff at winning! Voting can be accessed by clicking here and we would all really appreciate if you might take a few minutes to vote for From the Republic of Conscience. Please feel free to pass this along to anyone you think might be interested!

Pimp my Blog, politely called Tweak my Theme

2010-09-23T08:01:00.001-07:00

Theme-tweaking in Wordpress, a badly-needed service to the somewhat (but not altogether) technical:

http://www.tweakmytheme.com/

Digital Media - Keep it Significant and Shareable

2010-07-29T05:44:00.000-07:00

Keep it Significant and Shareable - HBR wisdom on the keys to social media success.

The opinions in this blog are those of the author and do not reflect those of his employers. In fact, they regard him as being more than just a little bit odd.

EventElephant - Turnkey System for Event Organisers

2010-07-27T08:43:00.001-07:00

I was speaking to Una Coleman at the dotconf event about EventElephant (http://www.eventelephant.com) which provides a turnkey solution for people who need to organise events. It even facilitates online payment. I like it.

The opinions in this blog are those of the author and do not reflect those of his employers. In fact, they regard him as being more than just a little bit odd.

Trojan Google Ads through Blog Comments

2010-07-06T01:35:00.001-07:00

Just noticed this on one of our blogs.

You approve a comment, that isn't very insightful, but doesn't appear to be a commercial plug.

Next thing, a GoogleAds banner is displaying ads for *your competition* on your blog.

Then you remember that your site doesn't have an GoogleAds account, so somebody else is using *your* site to make money for *them*.

Then you use the Sonic Screwdriver to mark the comment as Spam and everything goes back to normal.

Still. You'd have to admire the nerve of them.

Slightly Undiplomatic World Cup Telecom Ad ...

2010-06-15T05:20:00.000-07:00

The opinions in this blog are those of the author and do not reflect those of his employers. In fact, they regard him as being more than just a little bit odd.

URL shortening service with a twist

2010-05-21T07:16:00.001-07:00

Via Seth Godin …

"Trick.ly is a url shortener with a twist. You can share a URL but hide it behind a question that only insiders can easily answer.

So, for example, you could tweet, "Here's the source for my world-class chili: http://trick.ly/2L5". Anyone can go there, but only people who can figure out the clue can discover the site you were pointing to.

It's not secure. It's sort of private. Neato."

Krugman Reckons Irish Wages need to fall 20 - 30% relative to Germany.

2010-05-20T07:13:00.001-07:00

OK, he doesn't name Ireland in this article, but he named all of the other PIIGS, so I think it's fair to extrapolate that Ireland and Italy are covered under "etc."

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/17/et-tu-wolfgang/

Say it again Paul:

WAGES IN THE PERIPHERY NEED TO FALL 20-30 PERCENT RELATIVE TO GERMANY.

Scientists Figure out Something that Fathers have known for Centuries ...

2010-04-22T01:09:00.000-07:00

Scientists Figure out Something that Fathers have known for Centuries ... from Discovery News ... carrying a baby around raises your social status ...

The role of police in society

2010-04-09T14:05:00.000-07:00

A paper from a criminology student, who hopes to join the Gardai:

"The primary role of the police is to preserve the status quo in society. In other words, the first task of the police force, of any police force, is to ensure the rule of the state and the rich elite. In practice this means priority is given to concerns of State over that of the population. Guards also do useful work, like investigating genuine crimes such as rape and doing traffic control. Also ensuring that eveyone in the area is safe and feels safe in the neighbourhood."
Sources cited were the Gardai in the Dublin station where she interned and the Garda website.
Now, I know that Vincent Browne has fallen on hard times since Village magazine collapsed, but I didn't realise that he's been reduced to writing web copy for the Gardai... "Surely, surely, these allegations are extraordinary ..."