Just some Friday mumblinging's

This I read on Damien's blog and is one of the most disturbing stories I have ever read. Please do not read if offended by stories of a graphic nature. Surely there is more that we in a so called "civilized" society can do to help.

In a new Garda report it states that 37% of road deaths can be attributed to alcohol. While it is admirable that they decided to do a report on this what will this lead to? Only one thing in my opinion - the same as usual. They will focus on drink driving. More breath tests, most stopping...most of this during the late evening/night time. What about the 63% of deaths where alcohol may not have been a factor? What happened there? Poor driving is more of a cause than they care to admit. They badly need to do something about the state of some of the driving such as:

- Teaching people the difference between a fast and a slow lane...regardless if you are on a dual carriageway or not
- When to overtake.
- When to use the hard shoulder to let people overtake if you are under the speed limit
- Why its not good to use the hard shoulder to cut corners and then to pull out as a car is overtaking you
- Why its not good to wait and then when a car is close to you pull out in front of them...yes, that's you '05 RN 2332'...f**ker last Sunday in Roscommon.

OK. Just some links now:

Did you ever wonder what happened some of the cast of The A-Team? Find out what happened with Amy Allen (Melinda Culea). The reporter friend of the team in the first 2 series.

Remember Airwolf? No? You will when you see and hear the opening tune.


What about Streethawk?

Songs to keep and learn - No.7

I suppose I better put on my song for this week. This is a fairly recent addition to the Liverpool collection. It has only come into being in the last few years but is a regular song from the stands. It is sung to the tune of "The Fields of Athenry". There is a difference between the one below and what is sung. The below song is the original but we now sing about having Gerrard on the wing as opposed to Heighway.


The Fields of Anfield Road

Outside the Shankly Gates
I heard a Kopite calling :
Shankly they have taken you away
But you left a great eleven
Before you went to heaven
Now it's glory round the Fields of Anfield Road.

All round the Fields of Anfield Road
Where once we watched the King Kenny play (and he could play)
We had Heighway on the wing
We had dreams and songs to sing
Of the glory round the Fields of Anfield Road

Outside the Paisley Gates
I heard a Kopite calling
Paisley they have taken you away..
You led the great 11
Back in Rome in 77
And the redmen they are still playing the same way

All round the Fields of Anfield Road
Where once we watched the King Kenny play (and he could play)
We had Heighway on the wing
We had dreams and songs to sing
Of the glory round the Fields of Anfield Road.

Im not one for bad language but...

....in this case I feel the need to say:

Bord Gais are cunts --> Clicky

CIE are cunts --> Clicky

ESB are cunts --> Clicky

Just some links

Just thought I would post some links today:

World's stupidest burgler

Which celebrity do you look like? Upload your picture and check it out (in one pic I am 60% like the Hoff)

RTE's Road Safety site and watch Jim McDaid talking about his drunk driving.

...and to say how f**kin stoopid are CIE in trying to raise their prices? If they are trying to make use their services less then they are doing a damn fine job of it.

Borat being sued

I'm sure at this stage most of you will have heard this, but Borat is being sued by people from his own movie (which is class and you must go and see...).

First 2 of the frat students from the movie are suing stating that allegedly he got them drunk and tricked them into saying things. Also, apparently they were advised that the movie would not be shown in the US and A.

Also the village that he used in the movie as his own is complaining that they were tricked into it.

Finally the movie may not be released in Russia due to "issues".

F**king Kids

OK, before I start I will say that I am one of those that has benefited from the Celtic Tiger. I was there back at the start of the boom and I am glad to say that it happened.....most of the time.

However, if there is one thing that I do not like that has changed in this country since the beast arrived is that parents are taking less and less responsibility for their children. Kids, in the main, now a days (its sounds old, doesn't it?) have absolutely no manners at all from what I can see. Most parents seem to leave the task of raising their child with the teachers, football trainers or whatever activity that they send their child too. With most parents working two jobs to keep up the "Jones's" life they seem to spend little time with their kids teaching them manners and the basics of life.

I had the lovely experience last night of having two nine or ten year olds have a go at me in my local shop. While waiting at the cash machine on the way to pay football they decided to have a go at me. I was wearing a Liverpool jersey and so nowadays that's a signal for any child to start having a go at anyone.

"Jesus, he's gay"
"Yeh, a fuckin gay...Liverpool are shit and were fuckin' mauled"
"Hey, gay, Liverpool are shit"

I ignored, didn't look in their direction. The girl at the cash register was also looking to see if there was a reaction but nothing. She was uneasy with this.

Now the few things that I have issue with here are:

1) Why are 10 year olds out at 8.30pm alone - to me that is highly irresponsible from the parents
2) Where are the manners? Growing up I was taught to respect adults, to talk when spoken to and most of all swearing was a total no-no
3) They were buying ice-creams..what sort of parents let their kids eat the rubbish late at night. Its not wonder obesity is on the rise in this country.

All I can say is that those young ones need to be careful. In my eyes if kids want to act all adult and try to be one, they they will suffer like one. One day someone wont ignore them and give them a good hiding - what they deserve and obviously there is nothing coming from the parents. It could have easily been me last night as once they were out of the shop and around the corner, no-one would have seen a thing.

But when are parents going to act like parents? Just because you buy everything for your child, pay for a good education and give them more pocket money that is really needed, doesn't mean you have raised your child well. There are too many smart alec kids out there who will learn the hard way about how to talk and deal with people and also about respecting people.

Anthem and stuff

Learn the Kazakhstan National Anthem...according to Borat

Speech to the Kazakstan Embassy

Go see the moviefilm or Borat be execute

Songs to keep and learn - No.6

This song is one of my personal favourites I have to say. I saw this on the back of "The Kop" fanzine before Liverpool's Champions League match with Chavski last season. I'm not sure if it was sung yet at the away matches but would love to know if it was.

Its about Fat Frank who allegedly plays for Chavski.

"Malcolm's Millions or Romans Roubles?
No thanks
5 Euro's Rafa por favor"

One man went to lift,
Went to lift Fat Lampard
One man couldn't lift
Couldn't lift Fat Lampard

Two men went to lift,
Went to lift Fat Lampard
Two men couldn't lift
Couldn't lift Fat Lampard

Three men went to lift,
Went to lift Fat Lampard
Three men couldn't lift
Couldn't lift Fat Lampard

Four men went to lift,
Went to lift Fat Lampard
Four men couldn't lift
Couldn't lift Fat Lampard

Five men went to lift,
Went to lift Fat Lampard
Five men couldn't lift
Couldn't lift Fat Lampard

Six men went to lift,
Went to lift Fat Lampard
Six men couldn't lift
Couldn't lift Fat Lampard

Seven men went to lift,
Went to lift Fat Lampard
Seven men couldn't lift
Couldn't lift Fat Lampard

Eight men went to lift,
Went to lift Fat Lampard
Eight men couldn't lift
Couldn't lift Fat Lampard

Nine men went to lift,
Went to lift Fat Lampard
Nine men couldn't lift
Couldn't lift Fat Lampard

Ten men went to lift,
Went to lift Fat Lampard
Ten men couldn't lift
Couldn't lift Fat Lampard

Ten men, nine men, eight men, seven men, six men,
five men, four men, three men, two men, one man
Couldn't lift Fat Lampard.

Road Safety - Its everyones responsibility

I found a link to this website Cllr Damien Blake from Damien Mulley's blog. I missed the original "Stop this Carnage Week" but felt the need to air my views. This is also an area for which I believe that lots can be done and not just from the government side. Everyone these days seems to be saying that its all drink driving and speed that kills. Something that I was told on my first driving lesson was, and still is, very relevant and I think about it most times I drive.

That is: "Speed doesn't kill - stupidity kills"

If you think about it it makes lots of sense. The clamp down on drink driving is very welcome, don't get me wrong, as is the speeding but often judgment is clouded as to the actual offence. I had a prime example of this last night. As I was heading for the Passage-Cobh ferry a car in front suddenly braked, then started again and then braked and took an immediate right turn - and not an indicator in sight. Luckily I had enough space as to avoid any issue but if something had happened it would have been marked down as a speed issue whereas the person in front just didn't drive properly...and more and more people seem to not use indicators - almost like they have an allergic reaction to them.

I'm not saying I'm a perfect driver by any means but I do believe that if you show respect to others then surely things will improve. I also think that young drivers get a raw deal. While there are far too many deaths of young people lots still drive safely. Probably the real reason for so many young fatalities is that they feel they have nothing to protect - a sort of "I'm young and will enjoy life" attitude. I now have a wife and a lovely life and always want to ensure that I get home to enjoy it. Maybe they don't have anyone or anything to be responsible for and therefore take more risks - its a fact of life that you take more risks when you are young. I take care driving but I cant ensure that some idiot may cause me not to come home some day. I think we need to get down to the bottom of the real reason for deaths. and not just catagorise into speed and drink.

For example, assume the following:
Your driving along and the car in front is driving right on the white line at 70km/ph in a 100km zone.
They are not moving in to let you pass and seem to be completely oblivious to the fact that anything is behind them.
You move to overtake at an overtaking area after being behind them for miles and you deem it to be safe and stay at 100km/ph.
From no-where a car on the other side of the road hits you.

What is the cause? Probably it would be marked down as speeding but if you are doing 100km how could it be? Was the car in front of you driving safely? For me, no. Driving well under the speed limit is also asking for trouble especially if you do not offer a chance to overtake. People should be taught that if there is a hard shoulder they should use it to let others overtake if they are not driving at an acceptable speed (just not on a motorway of course). For me in a 100km zone anything less than 80km could be considered dangerous unless the vehicle is not able to proceed at said speeds (i.e tractors, scooters, loaded-trucks, etc..)

I feel that driver education is severely lacking in this country. Take those people who got licenses back in the 70's (?) without ever sitting a test due to a backlog. How many are safe on the roads now? How many people are driving on our roads without ever sitting a test? I'm not saying that they are all bad drivers but we must ensure that everyone on our roads is at a certain level and that we are all aware of the proper way to drive.

Off course not everything is driver related. Others must take responsibility. Cyclists and motorcyclists, I feel, should be mandated to wear bright clothing at all times. Pedestrians should be mandated the same during certain times of day/night (for example, once the clocks change in October high visibility bands should be worn between 5pm and 8am until the clocks change again in March once you are not in a lit up area). Also pedestrians should be made take more responsbility. Often you can be driving along, heading through a green traffic light and someone will walk in front of you. If you kill them everyone thinks its speeding and you are made feel its your fault.
Are rules of the road taught in schools anymore? I think parents leave far too much responsibility on teachers for this. I walked to Primary school when I was young and we were taught good road manners and the rules of the road. With kids now nearly always driven to school on the days they do walk mostly they dont have an idea...

Overall I think that we all should do more and also take responsibility for our actions. Finally I would just like to add some of my ideas to Cllr Blake's suggestions on things he would like to see:

- Driver re-education. We have introduced over the last number of years roads with slow/fast lanes, dual-carriageways and motorways but never educated those for whom these were not around when they first passed their test. Some people do not know how to operate on these roads. I also feel that workshops should be held and all drivers must attend every 4 years on the anniversary of their test (or as close as possible) to go over good road etiquette and other items introduced into our network.

- Driver education - teaching someone to drive is one thing, but teaching them to be good driver is another. I had to take a car at 50km/ph around a few roads, with 2 roundabouts, a few left and right turns, parallel park and a corner turn. That's a load of rubbish. That means I can drive safely in a 50km/ph and then I can go 120km/ph on a motorway with no trouble?? We need to teach people properly. Add into the curriculum night driving, motor-way or dual-carriageway driving, town driving, country driving as well as how to deal with cyclists, pedestrians, roundabouts, traffic lights and also road etiquette (when to let people past, the necessity of using indicators and lights as well as using hazards).

- I agree with the the ban comments. However, I think we need to be careful on the punishments. Someone caught doing 140km in a 80km zone clearly is a danger but what about 55km in a 50km zone? I think that for certain issues we need to have mandatory punishments with penalties and points and no court appearance. However the local councils need to whipped into shape to ensure roads are properly marked with the correct speed limits and also enough warning of the imminent reduction in speeds.

- All drivers on our roads should be made abide by our road rules. I think that with the open European Market and the fact that we can all hop in our cars and head anywhere in Europe we all should be driving the same...and all abide by the rules. If I am caught speeding in Spain then I should be reported to the Irish Gardai and penalized - end of story. If I am from a country outside of the EU and caught speeding in Ireland then I should have the same penalty as an Irish person. Maybe the EU should get together and formulate a standard driving test applicable across all its member states and agreed by all. Any countries then wanting to join would need to implement the scheme within 2 years of joining and also have all drivers in their country resit the test.

- We need more advertisements on TV for driving. I remember growing up and the ad for roundabouts was how I learned to negotiate them. If we put eduacational ads it might just get 5% of people to drive/cycle/walk better and that could reduce deaths.

- Learning to drive needs to stop being about making money and more about driving. In Ireland its nothing other than a money making scheme at the moment. Also, how often are Driving Instructors tested to ensure that they are still capable of teaching?

Please review these links as some of the items listed do not make pleasant reading:
Road Deaths.ie
Map Of Road Deaths
Road Safety Blog

Songs to keep and learn - No.5

Song 5 is originally from the 1960's but was updated in the 80's to include Ian Rush's demolition of our blue neighbours.

The song is about a Liverpudlian who, like lots of others, went to fight for their country (the Spion Kop stand at Anfield is named after a mountain in South Africa where many Liverpudlians died). So, here is Poor Scouser Tommy....

I'll tell you a story of a poor boy
Who was sent far away from his home
To fight for his king and his country
And also the old folks back home
So they put him in the Highland division
Sent him off to a far foreign land
Where the flies swarm around in their thousands
And there's nothing to see but the sand
Well the battle started next morning
Under the Arabian sun
I remember the poor Scouser Tommy
Who was shot by an old Nazi gun
As he lay on the battle field dying (dying dying)
With the blood rushing out of his head (of his head)
As he lay on the battle field dying (dying dying)
These were the last words he said...

Oh... I am a Liverpudlian
I come from the Spion Kop
I like to sing, I like to shoutI go there quite a lot (every week)
We are the team who plays in red
A team that we all know
A team that we call Liverpool
And to glory we will go

We've won the League
We've won the Cup
We've been to Europe too
We played the Toffees for a laugh
And we left them feeling blue

Five Nil !
One two
One two three
One two three four
Five nil !

Rush scored one
Rush scored two
Rush scored three
And Rush scored four
!Na na na na na na na na na!

Songs to keep and learn - No.4

Ok, ok..some i'm a few weeks behind so there will be three songs this week.

If you have any requests feel free to let me know.

And so we are onto song number 4. This is a very common one sung at the matches these days regardless if Stevie G is playing or not. Its fairly obvious what its about so sing along...

(to the tune of Que Sera Sera)
Ste Gerrard, Gerrard
Can pass the ball 40 years
He's big and hes fuckin hard
Ste Gerrard, Gerrard

Ste Gerrard, Gerrard
Can pass the ball 40 years
He's better than Fat Frank Lampard
Ste Gerrard, Gerrard