Niamh Walsh’s Manifesto
TD wrong to give a Green light to ugly art attacks
GREEN Party Minister Ossian Smyth triggered a storm this week when he told a group of students that recent attacks on famous paintings by climate activists are an effective way to demonstrate.
Speaking in the Seanad, Dún Laoghaire TD Mr Smyth said: ‘I see people throwing tins of beans at paintings with glass on them or whatever, that’s a really effective thing to do, it draws attention.’
When attention was drawn to the minister’s comments he swiftly dialled down the rhetoric saying: ‘During my speech, I referenced how an art work which was covered in glass had food thrown over it by climate activists. While the action undeniably generated debate around climate change, I am in no way advocating that anyone follows this example.’
Now, I am no connoisseur of art. But on wishy-washy doublespeak you can call me an expert.
Mr Smyth clearly said it was his opinion that throwing tins of food at paintings was effective.
He never once qualified that such acts are against the law and can result in a criminal record.
He is very misguided if he thinks the recent spate of food throwers has been influential in uniting people in the climate-change fight.
They are repugnant in nature and have the exact opposite result as they turn people away from advocacy and campaigning groups.
There is also the fact that the art desecrators’ idea of putting themselves on the line is supergluing a glove to a windowpane.
It is hardly comparable to the unknown man who stood in front of a tank in Tiananmen Square.
Nor do I see any activists stand defiantly in front of a bulldozer in the Brazilian rainforests.
Now, I am not in any way, shape or form advocating or calling, or encouraging anyone to put themselves in harm’s way to attract attention to climate change.
I am pointing out that throwing stuff at art is nothing but vacuous virtue-signalling and amounts to little more than a hill of beans in the need to tackle climate change.
TDs crib and moan as troubles multiply
JESUS, MARY AND THE HOLY GHOST. As the country limps through several crises, the Dáil is gearing up to discuss proposals on a public nativity crib next week.
The cost of living, housing, homelessness and heating are all out of control – not to mention the threat of nuclear war – and THIS is what concerns our highly paid leaders.
Dublin’s Lord Mayor rightly stopped the archaic use of live animals as props in the Mansion House nativity scene.
The throngs of children visiting this year were also going to have to stand behind a perspex screen, to protect them from Covid, making a bad situation dire for the donkeys.
Animals that are forced into unnatural situations suffer enormously.
But that is irrelevant to some of our politicians.
Independent TD Michael McNamara wrote to Leas-Ceann Comhairle Catherine Connolly following the ‘daft decision’ to discontinue the live animal crib.
Fine Gael Minister Patrick O’Donovan said: ‘There cannot be a Scrooge-like agenda, from any council, for children at Christmas time.’
Interesting that Mr O’Donovan uses a Scrooge analogy, because the days of using and abusing animals for entertainment should be consigned to the ghost of Christmas past.
Given the dire state of housing, it is as transparent as the ghost of Christmas present that Mary would struggle to find an available shed, never mind a bed to give birth.
And the ghost of Christmas future predicts that our current crop look likely to be crucified come the next election. And as for proposal to move the crib on to the grounds of Leinster House, that would be entirely out of place. There are no shortage of asses in the Dáil, and no chance of finding even three wise men.
Lynsey was a lesson in dignity for us all
THE death of cervical cancer campaigner Lynsey Bennett just two months after she celebrated her 34th birthday is beyond heartbreaking.
Lynsey left behind two beautiful daughters, Zoe, 14, and Hailee, nine, who face life without their beloved mother.
Women in this country have been systematically let down by successive governments. In the aftermath of each and every failure we are led to believe ‘lessons will be learned’. History has shown they rarely, if ever, are.
Lynsey was diagnosed with an invasive form of cervical cancer in 2017, following the alleged misinterpretation of her cervical smear slides. In the last few years of her precious time alive, she campaigned for cancer treatment that is accessible in Europe to be vailable here as a matter of urgency. Her last wishes should be honoured as a tribute to a life that was needlessly cut so tragically short. Her death – as was her life – should be a lesson to us all in
finding dignity, humanity and courage in the most agonising of circumstances.
Save us from Elon’s Messiah complex
ELON MUSK said he bought Twitter, not to make even more money, but to ‘help save humanity’.
This is the same Elon Musk whose workers claim he instills a culture of fear in his factories.
The same Musk who fired countless employees for trying to form a union; called a rescue worker a paedophile, spent billions firing a rocket into space for the hell of it.
The same Musk who, on his wedding day to his first wife, told her ‘I am the alpha in this relationship.’
After many disagreements and his now ex-wife repeatedly saying: ‘I am your wife; not your employee,’ Musk eventually said: ‘If you were my employee, I would fire you.’
So if his Twitter pledge is to be believed, then God save us all.
Spare a thought for Harry’s new book
HURRAH for Prince Harry. For once he’s doing something I can wholeheartedly support. The selfexiled Prince of privacy has announced his massively anticipated release date and title for his autobiography. And he didn’t disappoint, appropriately calling his book Spare. You should really give that a try Harry; Spare us all.