Moo Cows

TWO COWS ~{Matthias Varga}

SOCIALISM

You have 2 cows.

You give one to your neighbour

COMMUNISM

You have 2 cows.

The State takes both and gives you some milk

FASCISM

You have 2 cows.

The State takes both and sells you some milk

NAZISM

You have 2 cows.

The State takes both and shoots you

BUREAUCRATISM

You have 2 cows.

The State takes both, shoots one, milks the other, and then

throws the milk away

TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM

You have two cows.

You sell one and buy a bull.

Your herd multiplies, and the economy

grows.

You sell them and retire on the income

ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND (VENTURE) CAPITALISM

You have two cows.

You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters of credit opened

by

your brother-in-law at the bank, then execute a debt/equity swap with an associated

general offer so that you get all four cows back, with a tax exemption

for five cows.

The milk rights of the six cows are transferred via an intermediary to a Cayman

Island Company secretly owned by the majority shareholder who sells the rights to

all seven cows back to your listed company.

The annual report says the company owns eight cows, with an option on one more.

You sell one cow to buy a new president of the United States , leaving you with nine

cows. No balance sheet provided with the release.

The public then buys your bull.

SURREALISM

You have two giraffes.

The government requires you to take harmonica lessons.

AN AMERICAN CORPORATION

You have two cows.

You sell one, and force the other to

produce the milk of four cows.

Later, you hire a consultant to analyse why

the cow has dropped dead.

A GREEK CORPORATION

You have two cows. You borrow lots of euros to build barns, milking sheds, hay stores,

feed sheds,

dairies, cold stores, abattoir, cheese unit and packing sheds.

You still only have two cows.

A FRENCH CORPORATION

You have two cows.

You go on strike, organise a riot, and block the roads, because you want three

cows.

A JAPANESE CORPORATION

You have two cows.

You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce

twenty times the milk.

You then create a clever cow cartoon image called a Cowkimona and

market it worldwide.

AN ITALIAN CORPORATION

You have two cows,

but you don't know where they are.

You decide to have lunch.

A SWISS CORPORATION

You have 5000 cows. None of them belong to you.

You charge the owners for storing them.

A CHINESE CORPORATION

You have two cows.

You have 300 people milking them.

You claim that you have full employment, and high bovine productivity.

You arrest the newsman who reported the real situation.

AN INDIAN CORPORATION

You have two cows.

You worship them.

A BRITISH CORPORATION

You have two cows.

Both are mad.

AN IRAQI CORPORATION

Everyone thinks you have lots of cows.

You tell them that you have none.

No-one believes you, so they bomb the ** out of you and invade your country.

You still have no cows, but at least you are now a Democracy.

AN AUSTRALIAN CORPORATION

You have two cows.

Business seems pretty good.

You close the office and go for a few beers to celebrate.

A NEW ZEALAND CORPORATION

You have two cows.

The one on the left looks very attractive...

Direct Democracy - Mahon Tribunal

IN IRELAND TODAY, there is a culture which lets certain powerful people do whatever they want. This was shown most recently by the findings of the Mahon Tribunal
, but it is something the ordinary folk have known about for decades.

The chance of this kind of abuse occurring will be cut by introducing “direct democracy” into our Constitution.

The final Mahon Tribunal report was published last week.
What is ‘direct democracy’?

Among other things, direct democracy will let the people call their own referendums whenever they choose – about matters of genuine importance to them, instead of the type of nonsense debate currently taking place at the moment around abolishing the Seanad
. Abolishing the Seanad, which has some of Ireland’s most outspoken independent politicians, is nothing to do with real reform, but is instead a cynical power grab by Enda Kenny, Pat Rabbitte and Alan Shatter to concentrate power into a politburo of their own choosing. Direct democracy would eliminate or seriously reduce the possibility of this kind of fiasco happening.

Direct democracy works from the ground up in order to engage local people in every area that effects their lives, and gives them a say in how their resources, environment, and finances are utilised for the benefit of the community as a whole. Deals behind closed doors and over the heads of the people cannot happen. Everything has to be open and transparent as the community are part of the political process on an on-going basis.

Fundamental flaw in representative democracy

A fundamental flaw in the current system of representative democracy is that, once a person has voted, they have given away the power to have a say in decisions that could impact hugely on the rest of their lives — and in our case our lives of our children and grandchildren — which at the end of the day isn’t very democratic.

We can see the tragic consequences all around us, and the misery and cost it has brought on our population over and over again. To most people it does not seem very ‘representative’.

With direct democracy, there is great efficiency. One only has to look at Switzerland, which spends almost half of what the Irish government spends on services. While we have little to show it, Switzerland have some of the best in the world. The figures are around 70 per cent of Gross Domestic Product for Ireland and 36 per cent for Switzerland.

We would not be in the position we are in today, with great financial loss and record suicide statistics, if the kind of openness, transparency, accountability, and efficiency that comes with direct democracy were in operation. Representative democracy engenders a helplessness by transferring power into the hands of someone else to make your decisions for you.

Direct democracy engages, informs, empowers and energizes people – and with that makes sure that whoever we vote for to do a job of representing us does exactly that. The real power is in the hands of the people , where it should always be.

Power in the hands of the people

The present system of representative democracy is broken because, once a person has voted, they surrender their right to have a say in decisions that can have a big effect upon their lives. Remember, Brian Cowen became Taoiseach without a general election and, once he was in power, there was no way to remove him until the next election?

During his spell as Taoiseach, Cowen surrounded himself with cronies who wouldn’t disobey him. Cowen showed his contempt for the people by refusing to hold not just one but two by-elections. All the time there was nothing the people could do to remove this failed Taoiseach who would not budge, but at the same time would not govern.

That was neither representative nor democratic.

On the other hand, direct democracy will allow recall votes for failing politicians – this will enable voters to force a by-election against the politician’s choice.

It is time to change our broken political system before it hurts anyone else, and we call on anyone who is shut out of the system and excluded from the loop to support Direct Democracy Ireland
 at the next local, national and European elections. Come along, join in and get involved.

Let’s put an end to tribunals with Direct Democracy.

Raymond Whitehead is a founding member of Direct Democracy Ireland and a photographer.

The New Soviet Union: Cyprus shows how the EU destroys democracy

From ME Syon's Blog 25.03.2013

Here is my Saturday Essay in the Irish Daily Mail. It is a lengthy piece, but then in the countries caught in the eurozone, interest in what is happening in Cyprus is intense. British readers can be happy they are not trapped in the single currency. But they are still trapped in the EU...which is why they may want to read on.

Soviet state emblem wikiBefore I can explain what this Cyprus crisis means to Ireland, I have to dust off some Soviet-era vocabulary: nothing else will do.

First, nomenklatura. This was the name given to the self-propagating Communist Party elite who controlled Soviet government, industry, finance and most of the caviar.

Next, apparatchiks. These were the unquestioning loyal subordinates of a Communist apparat or administrative system.

DIrect Democracy Ireland - Press Release

A Press Release regarding the Ruling by Ms Justice Dunne

by Ben Gilroy


It has been reported today that the coalition government will shortly have a new law ready to deal with a legal loophole preventing banks from repossessing homes. This ‘legal loophole’ refers to a ruling by Ms Justice Dunne in 2011 which made it more difficult for banks to obtain repossession orders against mortgage holders under the Land and Conveyancing Act. Instead the banks are forced to prove their claim to a higher standard under contract law.

Direct Democracy Ireland believe that the current mortgage arrears crisis is in no way the fault of the people now suffering it’s effects, but is a direct result of the illegal act of imposing odious debt upon the people through the bank guarantee. The people of Ireland and especially the media should be asking the following questions: