Comreg do a thing - does it matter?

Comreg have directed (directed no less) Eircom to reduce what they charge to other operators by 65% for the proverbial last mile.

Will this have much of an effect or has the broadband horse bolted for other distribution means at this stage? The drop - in pounds and pennies, sort of - is from €8.41 to €2.94. Of course, Eircom have 28 days to appeal the decision to the High Court.

Who is missing from social partnership?

As IBEC and the unions go toe to toe as a prelude to the opening and hard bargaining of the partnership talks, it is interesting to consider who doesn't get to be represented at the partnership talks. You! if you work in the private sector.

For the most part people in the private sector aren't members of unions (for reasons both negative and positive) and people in such positions get absolutely no say at all in this process. This is entirely a discussion by unions on behalf of those working in the public sector, employers - which includes the government - and the social partners and the state about how to manage the money that is generated from the productive endeavour of others and which is collected by means of the taxes they levy on these productive sectors of the economy i.e. those who make things that people buy and small businesses who sell their services locally. Makes you wonder doesn't it? We're baking the pie but the people above are deciding how it is sliced up and how big a slice we get.

Can't someone just shoot Mugabe

I do wonder sometimes at human beings. We have our professed respect for human life raised to such a level that no one but no one will state the obvious and suggest that the primary blockage to people not being killed in Zimbabwe is one man. If some governments were to outline a path out of the chaos that is Zimbabwe today and that if someone will just take an opportunity and shoot Mugabe dead and take him out of the picture that they will be looked after. This is not the idea that if you remove the head the rest will wilt. Instead that if you remove the head and offer an alternative that is attractive and more certain that people might choose it to the benefit of all.

We could have done the same with Saddam, outline publicly to the upper levels of the Ba'ath party that we wanted a 1/2 year transition to democracy and that they could leave Iraq with some mild pilfering of the state coffers. If they didn't comply we would shoot them all and leave their families penniless after an invasion. If they shot Saddam and did what we asked them we might not like it but it would have better than what we have now.

Welcome to the Dollhouse

A trailer for the new Whedonverse show featuring Eliza Dushku - daddy likes!

Clicky - clicky

It been out a while I think but I missed it and so might you have.

Back from Waterville unWebbed '08

Lots done, lots happened, lots to write!