BS: drunk in charge of a country

Subject: BS: drunk in charge of a country
From: The Sandman
Date: 16 Sep 10 - 06:09 AM

Biffo, the man in charge of Ireland has been accused of conducting a radio interview whilst drunk.
Should he resign?

Subject: RE: BS: drunk in charge of a country
From: catspaw49
Date: 16 Sep 10 - 06:26 AM

Did he puke all over the guy next to him?

Certainly not a first nor even unique amongst the leaders of the world but you kinda' hate to see someone perpetuating an unattractive yet prevalent stereotype. I'd prefer it to some jackass pumping out god-fearing and patriotic bullshit...........

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: drunk in charge of a country
From: The Sandman
Date: 16 Sep 10 - 07:41 AM

well he pumps out bull shit, not so much god fearing, but sort of no alternative bull shit, and propping up banks bull shit, and patriotic bull shit, we must tighten our belts for the sake of the country bullshit, in the style of Charlie Haughey.

Subject: RE: BS: drunk in charge of a country
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 16 Sep 10 - 11:06 AM

You say he's 'been accused.' Was it true?

Subject: RE: BS: drunk in charge of a country
From: GUEST,^&*
Date: 16 Sep 10 - 11:24 AM

Musical connection: at one stage during the long night's socialising, the Taoiseach (prime minister) treated the assembled party hacks to his rendition of "The Lakes of Ponchartrain". Judging by the state of his voice next morning (I heard the interview) he needs to learn some shorter songs!

Subject: RE: BS: drunk in charge of a country
From: Geoff the Duck
Date: 16 Sep 10 - 12:26 PM

Well - the sober ones in charge over in Britain aren't showing any sign of not ballsing it all up again. Perhaps we ought to follow the suggestion of the Bonzo Dog Do Dah Band and Give Booze a Chance!.
Quack!
GtD.

Subject: RE: BS: drunk in charge of a country
From: An Pluiméir Ceolmhar
Date: 16 Sep 10 - 12:42 PM

Hee hee, I've been absent from the Cat for a couple of years, but when I saw this article in the Irish Times, I felt I had to share it with people who would really appreciate it.

The episode has been dubbed "garglegate" and spawned a series of articles about the implications of "social media" for politics.

Subject: RE: BS: drunk in charge of a country
From: Emma B
Date: 16 Sep 10 - 01:03 PM

Thanks for the link - now we just need Cameron and Clegg dueting on Hard Times of Old England :)

Subject: RE: BS: drunk in charge of a country
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 16 Sep 10 - 01:11 PM

I love the tongue-in-cheek but straight-faced style (is that self-contradictory?) of that article.

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: BS: drunk in charge of a country
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 16 Sep 10 - 01:14 PM

Nothing like a little drink to unclog stuck brain gears. Canada could use someone like him.

Subject: RE: BS: drunk in charge of a country
From: Acorn4
Date: 16 Sep 10 - 01:16 PM

..and remember, Hitler was teetotal!

Subject: RE: BS: drunk in charge of a country
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 16 Sep 10 - 02:19 PM

"tighten our belts for the sake of the country" – hey, aren't most politicians and economists saying just the opposite? That to stimulate the economy we've got to spend more? That because citizens aren't spending money fast enough, the government's got to do it? Or, to take another point of view, the government should lower taxes so that the people have more money to spend? Maybe both?

Don't ask me; I only repeat what I hear.

Subject: RE: BS: drunk in charge of a country
From: GUEST,Guest from Sanity
Date: 17 Sep 10 - 01:26 AM

Good Soldier Schweik: "Biffo, the man in charge of Ireland has been accused of conducting a radio interview whilst drunk.
Should he resign?"

Hell NO!!....This was in Ireland....all his listeners were drunk, too!!!!.."When in Rome...."

Wink,
GfS

Subject: RE: BS: drunk in charge of a country
From: Gurney
Date: 17 Sep 10 - 03:17 AM

'..and remember, Hitler was teetotal!'

And Churchill most definitely wasn't. To quote from his biography he 'always had some drink in him....'

Subject: RE: BS: drunk in charge of a country
From: Joe Offer
Date: 17 Sep 10 - 03:33 AM

Well, I don't know what he sounds like sober, but he sounds ok during the interview in question - article and audio are here (click).

-Joe-

Subject: RE: BS: drunk in charge of a country
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 17 Sep 10 - 12:00 PM

Thanks, Joe. The article says

"We have the full audio to let you judge for yourself."

Somebody please tell me how anybody can judge, just by listening, if a man is drunk. He could be tired, he could be shy and stammering, he could be ill. The station engineer could have monkeyed with the sound.

There was a restaurant owner on my block who inspired much sad headshaking because he "was an alcoholic." Actually, he suffered from MS.

If you want to know if somebody's drunk, you need to do a breathalyzer or test their blood. (Just think how much money the cops would save if they could just say, "I didn't trust the way he talked judge! Therefore we deem him drunk!")

We need to get over the idea that if someone is accused of something, they are automatically guilty.

Subject: RE: BS: drunk in charge of a country
From: GUEST,999
Date: 17 Sep 10 - 02:33 PM

I think of Sir John A Macdonald. What a man, and what a country.

Subject: RE: BS: drunk in charge of a country
From: The Sandman
Date: 17 Sep 10 - 04:06 PM

to me he sounds not drunk but slurred as if he has had a few drinks, or is still hungover, he confuses the croke park agreement with the good friday agreement, which indicates to me that while not being drunk he was perhaps not at his best.
imo, he should resign, but not because of this interview.

Subject: RE: BS: drunk in charge of a country
From: gnu
Date: 17 Sep 10 - 04:36 PM

Sir John, eh?

Subject: RE: BS: drunk in charge of a country
From: bobad
Date: 17 Sep 10 - 04:52 PM

"I get sick ... not because of drink [but because] I am forced to listen to the ranting of my honourable opponent."

– During the election of 1863, Sir John A. Macdonald threw up during a campaign speech and when his opponent pointed this out, Macdonald shot back with this answer.

Subject: RE: BS: drunk in charge of a country
From: GUEST,999
Date: 17 Sep 10 - 05:00 PM

If it wasn`t for Sir John A we likely wouldn`t HAVE a country.

Subject: RE: BS: drunk in charge of a country
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 17 Sep 10 - 07:30 PM

Was Churchill ever cold stone sober during the war?

I'm sure most decent "Liberal Democrats" must wish they still had Charles Kennedy as their leader.

Subject: RE: BS: drunk in charge of a country
From: EBarnacle
Date: 18 Sep 10 - 12:49 PM

Well, Boris Yeltsin was notoriously a toper also...

Subject: RE: BS: drunk in charge of a country
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 18 Sep 10 - 06:51 PM

But then, being a drunk isn't in itself enough - as Yeltsin demonstrated only too well.

Subject: RE: BS: drunk in charge of a country
From: The Sandman
Date: 19 Sep 10 - 05:16 PM

Well, I don't know what he sounds like sober, but he sounds ok during the interview in question, quote from joe offer.
he sounds ok but ko ed,
time he took Norman Tebbits advice
In the aftermath of urban riots (Handsworth riots and the Brixton riot) in the summer of 1981, Tebbit responded to a suggestion by a Young Conservative (Iain Picton) that rioting was the natural reaction to unemployment:

    I grew up in the '30s with an unemployed father. He didn't riot. He got on his bike and looked for work, and he kept looking 'til he found it.

This exchange was the origin of the attribution to Tebbit of the slogan On yer bike!.

Subject: RE: BS: drunk in charge of a country
From: Little Hawk
Date: 19 Sep 10 - 05:44 PM

"being a drunk isn't in itself enough"

And that is exactly why Chongo has also mastered the use of firearms and other handheld weapons...not to mention bare-knuckle mayhem of every kind imaginable.