RTE.ie told me last night, just so as to bring me back down again from my post Project Catwalk giddiness, that
Punishing criminals! I'm all for it! I'm more for rehabilitating them to the greatest possible extent so's they don't just get out of the slammer and start straight back to nibbling on convention, but sure there you go; tis hard to look beyond your nose when someone's waving a broken bottle in your face. Still, a few thoughts...
If you get caught with half a million yoyos worth of illegal drugs (I presume it's illegal drugs RTE are on about, otherwise the lads at Pfizer are in even more trouble than we thought), then yeah, you probably deserve to be put away. Because either you're a big shot importer with the ruthlessness fostered to gobble that far up the hierarchy, or you're the thickest twenty-year-old gobshite that ever tried the "they're not mine, Mammy, I'm minding them for someone" line. If you find yourself babysitting that amount of the ould narcotics for someone else, you're cowed far too young, bucko. I see no future for you in Ireland's new UpstairsDownstairs society.
But wait! Define half a million euro's worth. Because last time I checked, and I checked rather thoroughly, the ould Gardaì haven't really a ghost of a notion how much drugs are worth, street value, like. Last time someone in Ireland got done for being in possession of a large amount of yokes, it turned out he'd have to have the strength and tenacity of the Iron Giant to be able to carry them around Clondalkin as reported. I presume we're on about street value, here. If you get caught with half a million euros worth of illegal drugs wholesale, congratulations, you are Columbia!
Anyway, that's a mandatory ten-year-stretch. This time, though, there will be no discretion allowed to judges, which on paper looks like an awful idea, seeing as they're supposed to know more about criminal justice than anyone else in the country; in reality, it's not such a bad idea, seeing as they're all a bunch of moronic overpaid eejits, and isn't our Justice Minister great for telling them that in no uncertain terms?
Still, what if you get caught with half a million euros worth of drugs and you had... I don't know, Down's Syndrome? The more vulnerable the mule, the better, y'know? I'm sure there are provisos for people who may not have been able, emotionally or mentally, to... like, responsibly make the decision to cart around €500k's worth of illegal drugs. Mules with Down's, then, are safe from the long arm of the law. What of those with mental illnesses, though; schizophrenia, depression, bipolar I? Mandatory ten years, too? It's difficult to debate something which leaves you no room to debate. I suppose my advice to wannabe dealers would be: please don't get involved in this industry if you're in any way unstable or impressionable... er...
Jayz, I'm defeating the purpose already. Forget I said that, future dealer types!
As well as vaguely scary mentions of things like changing the right to remain silent and stuff on gang-related offences (thank God Charlie Haughey's dead), there's something about electronic tagging for those charged with serious offences and then released on the bail they're going to change as well. Which, of course, changes the notion of people being innocent til proven guilty into being cattle til proven human, but we can't get all Amnesty International in the New Ireland, where you can't even watch Crimeline without getting shot in a drive-by. What puzzles me is Fine Gael's take on it. Fine Gael, now, not the Campaign For Free Galilee. Thought I should point that out.
"We thought of it first!" says their Justice Spokesperson, Jim O'Keeffe, pointing out that his party had suggested such a policy five years ago and that thousands of crimes could have been prevented if it had been adopted then.
This is interesting. If you're electronically tagged, how does that prevent you committing crimes? Is it like that movie where your collar blows up if you get within forty yards of cocaine? Coz if that's the case, a person charged with criminal activity is as well offstaying inside killing himself.
Still. I'm not the Minister For Justice, am I? I'm just someone who squeezes every last sarky drop of inspiration out of everything he says.
the text of the new Criminal Justice Bill has been circulated to Opposition parties, and is due to be formally published within the next day or two.
It is understood the Bill will include a provision that anyone convicted of possessing more than €500,000 worth of drugs will receive a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years, with no discretion allowed to judges in such cases.
Other measures to be covered include changes to bail rules, the right to silence, DNA and fingerprint samples, and various new gang-related offences.
It is understood the Bill will include a provision that anyone convicted of possessing more than €500,000 worth of drugs will receive a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years, with no discretion allowed to judges in such cases.
Other measures to be covered include changes to bail rules, the right to silence, DNA and fingerprint samples, and various new gang-related offences.
Punishing criminals! I'm all for it! I'm more for rehabilitating them to the greatest possible extent so's they don't just get out of the slammer and start straight back to nibbling on convention, but sure there you go; tis hard to look beyond your nose when someone's waving a broken bottle in your face. Still, a few thoughts...
If you get caught with half a million yoyos worth of illegal drugs (I presume it's illegal drugs RTE are on about, otherwise the lads at Pfizer are in even more trouble than we thought), then yeah, you probably deserve to be put away. Because either you're a big shot importer with the ruthlessness fostered to gobble that far up the hierarchy, or you're the thickest twenty-year-old gobshite that ever tried the "they're not mine, Mammy, I'm minding them for someone" line. If you find yourself babysitting that amount of the ould narcotics for someone else, you're cowed far too young, bucko. I see no future for you in Ireland's new UpstairsDownstairs society.
But wait! Define half a million euro's worth. Because last time I checked, and I checked rather thoroughly, the ould Gardaì haven't really a ghost of a notion how much drugs are worth, street value, like. Last time someone in Ireland got done for being in possession of a large amount of yokes, it turned out he'd have to have the strength and tenacity of the Iron Giant to be able to carry them around Clondalkin as reported. I presume we're on about street value, here. If you get caught with half a million euros worth of illegal drugs wholesale, congratulations, you are Columbia!
Anyway, that's a mandatory ten-year-stretch. This time, though, there will be no discretion allowed to judges, which on paper looks like an awful idea, seeing as they're supposed to know more about criminal justice than anyone else in the country; in reality, it's not such a bad idea, seeing as they're all a bunch of moronic overpaid eejits, and isn't our Justice Minister great for telling them that in no uncertain terms?
Still, what if you get caught with half a million euros worth of drugs and you had... I don't know, Down's Syndrome? The more vulnerable the mule, the better, y'know? I'm sure there are provisos for people who may not have been able, emotionally or mentally, to... like, responsibly make the decision to cart around €500k's worth of illegal drugs. Mules with Down's, then, are safe from the long arm of the law. What of those with mental illnesses, though; schizophrenia, depression, bipolar I? Mandatory ten years, too? It's difficult to debate something which leaves you no room to debate. I suppose my advice to wannabe dealers would be: please don't get involved in this industry if you're in any way unstable or impressionable... er...
Jayz, I'm defeating the purpose already. Forget I said that, future dealer types!
As well as vaguely scary mentions of things like changing the right to remain silent and stuff on gang-related offences (thank God Charlie Haughey's dead), there's something about electronic tagging for those charged with serious offences and then released on the bail they're going to change as well. Which, of course, changes the notion of people being innocent til proven guilty into being cattle til proven human, but we can't get all Amnesty International in the New Ireland, where you can't even watch Crimeline without getting shot in a drive-by. What puzzles me is Fine Gael's take on it. Fine Gael, now, not the Campaign For Free Galilee. Thought I should point that out.
"We thought of it first!" says their Justice Spokesperson, Jim O'Keeffe, pointing out that his party had suggested such a policy five years ago and that thousands of crimes could have been prevented if it had been adopted then.
This is interesting. If you're electronically tagged, how does that prevent you committing crimes? Is it like that movie where your collar blows up if you get within forty yards of cocaine? Coz if that's the case, a person charged with criminal activity is as well off
Still. I'm not the Minister For Justice, am I? I'm just someone who squeezes every last sarky drop of inspiration out of everything he says.
23 comments:
Are you a dealer, Sweary? You do a lot of drug defending ... is the family in the trade?
Oh, I am, yeah!
Dealing is probably the absolute stupidest thing you could do for a living. The problem is there's a lot of very deperate and stupid kids out there.
Anyway, I'm not defending! tis hard to look beyond your nose when someone's waving a broken bottle in your face... I'm serious, there. It's impossible to be all liberally conscious about issues like this when there are people getting hurt.
Where are they getting hurt, though? What parts of Ireland? See, that's what annoys me...
That's "desperate", by the way. I don' hav a lispspsps
I'd venture the opinion that the emphasis is more on stupid than desperate...
Also - to what extent are the desperate and stupid kids the product of desperate and stupid parents?
We could use the Irish definition of desperate, if that makes it easier. Ah but Jaysus, tis desperate!
But yes, stupidity is the key. Like I said, the "I was minding them for someone else, Mammy" excuse is just not going to float the policeboat. Bless.
Parents? Don't know. Can we blame the parents? Should we? Or should we just blame the eejit who got in too deep all by his ownsome?
See, the other problem is that Irish criminal gangs tend to be... well, Irish criminal families.
As per "freakonomics". The average corner dealer makes less money than a mcdonald's worker and they don't even get free Happy Meals!
See! Desperate situation altogether!
Idn't dat nawful altagether. poor craters. We shud give em some subsidies sha God love em.
Hey, EU funding is EU funding.
Can we blame the parents? Should we? Or should we just blame the eejit who got in too deep all by his ownsome?
Having observed the evolution of the human race in my corner of the Arse End over a few generations at this stage, I've noticed a trend...
Stupid kids grow up to be stupid adults who beget stupid kids who...
By stupid, I do not mean the 'normal' stupidity of youth - we're all entitled to our share of that... But there's always another level of stupidity that stands out... The don't give a shit, arrogant self centred stupidity that believes that you can have it all just by taking it - and fuck everyone else in the process...
It was a bad day for Ireland when criminals took over the drug dealing.
The don't give a shit, arrogant self centred stupidity that believes that you can have it all just by taking it - and fuck everyone else in the process...
Ah, the middle-classes!
Stupid foreigner question: for them to rewrite legislation to focus on drug deals over 500K...???...are there really that many big drug deals going down in Ireland? This is the stuff they don't tell you about in the Discover Ireland travel brochures.
500k drug deals go down in ireland every three seconds. in fact by the time you read the end of this sentence, a minimum of three drug deals will have gone down, meaning a total of 1.5million drugs will have changed hands and 30 years of prison food will not have been handed out.
truth is, no-one knows how often these major drug deals happen.
just as nobody really knows exactly what they are worth - we can only estimate. the answer, of course, is to get more drug dealers involved in the judiciary, then we could put accurate figures to these transactions. it'll never happen though becuase the country is in the hands of a mad mullah mcdowell.
Bock,
Your comment above about the criminals and drug dealing. That is the truest thing said here - I am serious.
"I'm more for rehabilitating them to the greatest possible extent so's they don't just get out of the slammer and start straight back to nibbling on convention, but sure there you go; tis hard to look beyond your nose when someone's waving a broken bottle in your face."
But the rehabilitating stuff takes thinking about what caused the desperation in the first place, and then them in Government would have to admit that some of their policies are shite, and that maybe people could be kept out of the cycle of crime by dealing with the issues that have people in such a mess in the first place. Or bringing back some of the programmes that were run in prisons, but that now there is no resources for. Maybe by investing something in the yuns, they might not have to spend whatever mad amount it takes to keep someone in prison. I don't think it is an answer to all crime, and maybe it is a bit naive; but all that hysteria about crime, and the solution always being to throw people in the slammer just pisses me off.
at a fiver a go for charity,how many days would you spend throwing wet newspapers(rolled up properly into a ball by mary harney)at minister mcdoill?
I'd happily spend a year. Provided the "wet newspaper" is a metaphor for radioactive rocks.
Agreed with Anon two places up. I find I get attacked by people calling me "liberal" if I get too vocal about it, though. Yeah. We're all fucking liberals in the arse end of Ireland. It seems it's easier to think of a poncy Council estate liberal than to think of a Council estate thinker... Ireland would be a better place instantly if people only started asking "WHY?" more often.
The scaremongery annoys me - maybe I'm unbelievably lucky, but I don't know anyone who was a victim of crime. Yes, there are some terrible thing happening in Ireland today, but sometimes it just feels as though people who might fall into the pettier/repeated crime end of things are being demonised - to reassure us that McDoo was right all along about prison sentences and ASBOs and the rest.
Besides, who knows where any of us might've ended up if the circumstances were different, and we were caught in a cycle that is hard to break out of. And kids go from stupid crimes to places where they are destined to continue the cycle. And what's the answer ... hang em high / lock em up! And what has changed when someone in that situation gets out of prison: zilch. Still the same set of circumstances/options that got them into the mess in the first place.
I sound like I want to absolve all crimes, I don't really think that - I just think a lot more could be done to prevent the situation from happening in the first place. And who knows, it might even be cheaper than banging people up - because that's what it's all about, pure and simple: the money. Bah. Bleedin' liberal, who, me?
fair play to yourself and your blog. but please do not insult the deceased.
Best Wishes Always
CMN
This Just In: Hitler was an arsehole.
I can't understand this ruling at all. I just don't get what the judge was thinking with this.
Bugger, wrong post.
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