The following post is an extract from Exhibit Alexandra written by Natasha Bell, it features in the book as a thesis written by the main character called “Are Aesthetic Emotions More or Less ‘Real’ Than Those Experienced in Life? Or, I Miss Tony Soprano??”

Over a period of months last year, my husband and I watched the box set, series 1 to 6, of The Sopranos. Like other across the globe, the characters infiltrated our lives like friends and enemies. We spoke about their motivations and predicaments, debated their options and futures. Then they were gone.

With an unsettlingly abrupt final episode and the last depression of our player’s eject button, they were out of our lives. We discussed the ending for a few days, then moved on to American Horror Story. Now, twelve months later, I still miss the character of Tony Soprano. I miss he presence in my conscious psyche; I miss knowing I can return to his world at the end of a long day.

I also miss my father, who gave up after a long fight with cancer a decade ago. I miss those sweets that tasted like soap, which I was only allowed on holiday when I was a child. I miss my daughters when they’re at school and I miss my student days, when I felt I could achieve anything. I miss being able to read Jane Austen for the first time and fall in love with the characters afresh. I miss Father Christmas and vampires, unicorns and digital watches.

I miss dozens of things, real and imagined, to varying degrees and with no or a full desire to have them returned to me. But are some of these emotions of a different class? Of differing importance?

Ed S. Tan distinguishes between A- and R- emotions. Aesthetic and Real Emotions. In other word, Art-world and Life-world emotions. He goes on to discuss the difference between emotions related to actual artworks and those related to the things represented within the artworks. I’ll call these A- and A2- emotions. Missing Tony Soprano, who is not a real person an whom I have never met, is an A2 emotion, while mourning the end of the HBO series, which was a feature in my real life, is an A-emotion.

All very amusing, but why are both sets of A-emotions considered less worthy than their R- counterparts? Sure, it doesn’t have a truly physical impact on my life if the final blackout ending of The Sopranos means Tony Soprano was shot, whereas my world would spin into turmoil if one of my close friends was hit by a bullet while eating dinner in a restaurant with his family. But is crying during your favourite soap opera really any more ridiculous than shedding tears while reading a tragic story in the newspaper?

‘Real’ is a judgement label, which I blame for some of the value imbalance between R- and A- emotions, but I think it goes deeper. It’s ingrained in our social constructs that, whatever job we choose, religion we sign up to or life philosophy we decide to pursue, we should expect to live essentially like our neighbours: in cookie-cutter moulds of birth-to-death cycles. Perhaps, it’s a product of capitalism or something more innate. Either way, I’d argue that there’s something quite absurd about holding R- emotions so high above A-s when the R-s are only those that everyone else experiences. On the whole, you and I and the kids down the road will all fall in love, be let down, feel rejected by someone we care about, achieve something we wanted, bury our parents, hold our children, question our god .... and so on.

There is a finite number of R- emotions – a very large finite number, but a finite number nonetheless – from which each of us will lucky-dip only a tiny percentage. But the A-s are different. Artists have been working for millennia to manipulate our emotional responses to their work: to create a whole new pool of emotions and feelings, and to seek original thought and unique experiences. Surely, for that reason alone, the A-s should have a higher place on the shelf of worth. I’m not saying that R-s do not hurt and sting and make your flesh ache with longing, but why must we cling to them when they have been felt over and over for centuries with no evolution?

Would it not be more sensible to pursue the unknown? To seek the edge of human experience, experiment with manipulating and controlling emotions rather than sitting back and waiting for the world to tell us what too feel? The artist who makes me cry shows far more talent, far more skill, than the boyfriend who dumps me. One has thought, with precision about her product, considered its impact on me, the viewer, rehearsing and tweaking her performance, while the other has simply followed some gut instinct. Some evolutionary impulse to cut his losses and flee.
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And while the inadvertently Darwinian of the two might crush my heart and seem like the most tragic thing in the world for some miniscule moment in my trivial existence, the artist and her art, should it be of suitable worth, will live on beyond my heartbreak and beyond her own lifetime, framed in galleries, reperformed for decades, ore merely played on the screens across the globe. Sad as the implications about individual human worth might be, I’d hazard a guess that more people miss Tony Soprano than my dad. 

Ever wonder how you can change the world without changing the way you live?

Well some very bright young Trinity graduates might have just come up with the solution by creating a loyalty card for charity.

“While studying at Trinity Conor Leen became more aware of the issue of inequality and how as a society, not enough is being done to tackle issues like food poverty. To address the problem of world hunger and to make a positive impact on society Connor and 5 of his fellow Trinity classmates set up the social enterprise Stampify.” @collegetimesct

“Stampify is a social initiative that allows users to donate meals to help fight world hunger by completing a Stampify loyalty card with loyalty stamps from partner businesses,” CEO and founder @ConorLeen

These “partner businesses” are basically coffee shops and they’re everywhere. This is a social movement that can make a difference and any barista can sign up. Basically if you fancy feeling like Bob Geldof and George Clooney at the same time make sure your coffee comes with a Stampify card.  

To use Stampify, you simply pick up a Stampify loyalty card next time you get a coffee and start collecting stamps on it. It’s better than putting a stamp on those regular selfish “freebie for me” cards that you eventually end up using as a filter for your rollies anyway.  

“Chances are that if many of us emptied out our wallets, out will fall three or four half-filled loyalty cards.” @JOEdotie

The main benefit is that you can then mix-and-match loyalty stamps from different cafes to complete the card, before returning it to any of them, feed a child for a week, and feel like Bob Clooney for the rest of the day.

“To provide meals to fight world hunger, we have partnered with international aid charity Mary’s Meals. For every completed card, partners make a donation to Mary’s Meals which is used to feed a child for a week.” @stampifyireland

“For every completed card, a child will be fed for a week in their place of education in some of the world's most deprived countries .... For now the initiative is aiding children in countries such as Zambia, India and Malawi.” @Independent_ie

This all began because one third of our bee species are now threatened with extinction. This is because we have drastically reduced the amount of food (flowers) and safe nesting sites in our landscapes. The All-Ireland Pollinator Plan is about all of us, from farmers to local authorities, to schools, gardeners and businesses, coming together to try to create an Ireland where pollinators can survive and thrive.

Without the pollination service freely provided by our bees and hoverflies, it would be increasingly difficult and expensive for farmers to produce some crops at current scales, and could result in a loss of consumer choice for Irish grown products. The beauty of the Irish landscape would also be affected without pollinators to maintain the diversity of our wild plants and support healthy ecosystems.

To give this some context, the annual value of pollinators for human food crops has been estimated at €153 billion world-wide and at least €53 million in the Republic of Ireland.

The real economic value of pollinators to the Irish economy is likely to be greater than currently estimated. Current evaluations don’t take into account the value of pollinators to forage crops (clovers), in pest control (e.g.,the role of hoverflies in protecting winter wheat crops), or their value to private gardeners and communities who grow a wide range of pollinator-dependent fruits and vegetables.

Maintaining biodiversity in the farm system future-proofs how the land can be used for generations to come. It is important to accept that if wild pollinator species were to be lost from the Irish landscape, they could not be replaced, regardless of monetary input.

So unless you want to live in a Blackmirror episode go out there and make your garden grow, and write to your recently elected local councilor to tell them you love the bees and want to see a pollinator patch in your park.
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This Plan was initiated by Úna FitzPatrick (National Biodiversity Data Centre) and Jane Stout (Trinity College Dublin), and then developed by a fifteen member All-Ireland steering group. For more info check out their website pollinators.ie

I figure there’s no better time than the 4th of July to acknowledge that Trump has finally crossed the line, into North Korea that is, a country as well known for being a cartoon villain as it is for its humanitarian abuses and nuclear missile testing.

A site I like to visit from time to time is the Human Rights Watch page to look through their annual review of human rights across the globe. Here is what they have to say about North Korea:

“North Korea remains one of the world’s most repressive states. In his seventh year in power, Kim Jong-un—who serves as chairman of the States Affairs Commission and head of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea—continues to exercise almost total political control. The government restricts all civil and political liberties, including freedom of expression, assembly, association, and religion. It also prohibits all organized political opposition, independent media, civil society, and trade unions.”

On Trumps visit into North Korea The New Yorker reported:
President Donald Trump praised that nation’s dictator, Kim Jong Un, for his efforts on immigration, telling Kim, “No one is trying to get into your country.”

Barely containing his envy, Trump continued, “Of course, you don’t have Congress to deal with, like I do. They’ve caused all the problems I’ve had on immigration. You’ve got a much better deal. You want to build a wall, you build a wall. No one can tell you you can’t.”

But how exactly would North Korea build such a wall, let’s jump back into the HRW report to find out:
“The government routinely uses arbitrary arrest and punishment of crimes, torture in custody, and executions to maintain fear and control over the population. The government and security agencies systematically extract forced, unpaid labour from its citizens— including women, children, detainees, and prisoners—to build infrastructure, implement projects, and carry out activities and events extolling the ruling Kim family and the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK).”

“The government uses forced labour from ordinary citizens, including children, to control its people and sustain its economy. A significant majority of North Koreans must perform unpaid labour at some point in their lives.

Ordinary North Korean workers are not free to choose their own job. The government assigns jobs to both men and unmarried women from cities and rural areas. In many cases, these enterprises do not compensate them, forcing them to find other jobs to survive and pay bribes to be absent at their assigned workplace. Failing to show up for work without permission is a crime punishable by three to six months in forced labour training camps (rodong dallyeondae).”

The report also highlights while North Korea might not have trouble with people trying to get into the country it has significant difficulty with people trying to get out:
“Kim Jong-un’s government bolstered efforts to prevent people from leaving North Korea without permission by increasing the number of border guards, CCTV cameras, and barbed wire fences on its border with China. Other tactics included jamming Chinese mobile phone services at the border and targeting for arrest those communicating with people outside the country.”

“The Ministry of People’s Security considers defection to be a crime of “treachery against the nation.” Harsh punishments apply to North Koreans forcibly returned by China. The severity of punishment depends on authorities’ assessments of what returnees did while in China. North Koreans caught working or living in China are sent to long term ordinary prisons (kyohwaso) or short-term detention facilities (rodong danryeonda). Those discovered trying to reach South Korea are treated more harshly and may be sent to North Korea’s horrific political prison camp system (kwanliso), where prisoners face torture, sexual violence, forced labour, and other inhuman treatment.”

Seems like Trump has really got his finger on the pulse when it comes to how well North Korea is doing. It’s also downright bizarre that Trump would legitimise the North Korean dictator when the country reacts so heavy handed towards its neighbours in the South, who remain an ally of the US.
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If Trump gets a second term New America will probably end up doing a trade deal with North Korea and Human Rights Violations will not only be ignored but become the norm in the MAGA Empire. The world should be shocked by Trump crossing the line and American voters should be alarmed at the course their country is on, because whether you’re drinking out of toilets at the border or making flip flops in a concentration camp in North Korea, New America is sending a message that it doesn’t care about Human Rights. 

Luke Flanagan hosted a talk on PESCO in NUI Galway on 08/11/2018. Speakers at the event, titled "Are we heading towards an EU Army”, included Luke Flanagan, Clare Daly, Mick Wallace, Thomas Pringle, Catherine Connolly, Karen Devine, Roger Cole, & Claudia Haydt.

Luke introduces the discussion by quoting Commissioner Frederica Mogherini selling PESCO as “Using weapons in the European Way”

“No need to worry”, Luke quips, “Cuddly bullets and the like”.

In his own words Luke describes PESCO with an analogy, “People say this is not an army, but that’s a bit like me saying I’m not married to my wife, I’m in a permanent structured co-operation agreement with her”.

Luke puts it in plain terms when he suggests that “We need to use the right language, to describe PESCO as anything other than a European army is denying reality.”

Of course most of the time we’re not that interested about what goes on in Europe, it seems arduous to spend time on European politics when we’re such a small fish in a big pond, but I think credit is due to Luke Flanagan for giving us a voice in Europe and reintroducing European politics to the people of Ireland, and letting us know that we can make a difference.

What might have been considered a low key event, as it didn’t get a lot of attention in the media, but I guarantee you this talk is worth a watch, as it’s more worthwhile than listening to Claire Byrne Live, The Tonight Show, or The Cutting Edge, or whatever else passes for public information/debate these days.

The knowledge of the various speakers, and the opportunity to hear them speak on this topic is unrivaled, meaning this is the one video you should watch if you want to educate yourself on PESCO and Ireland’s involvement in a European army.
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Enjoy :)

Dave Murphy is the press officer for the Solidarity party, principal writer for the party’s newsletter, and described by Phoenix Magazine as the most dangerous man in Ireland. He’s recently written about the Pope’s visit to Ireland, growing inequality, abortion legislation, and mass evictions by Landlords.

Even if you’re not a fan of the party or its politics the newsletter is a good place to view real issues facing real people in your community. A recent entry called “Rainy Day Fund? More Like A New Bank Bailout Fund!” is one of the only articles you’ll find criticising the government’s budget in plain language. Whenever I hear someone propose the government spends more money on social services someone always goes; “Where are we going to get the money for that, who’s going to pay for it?”  I wonder how closely people actually look at the budget or if people know what our country's finances are like. 

The fact is we’re a very wealthy country, we’ve sold off and leased some of our best assets, and on top of this rainy day fund there have been massive budget cuts two years in a row by a government desperate to maintain support. Murphy’s article takes a jab at the Rainy Day Fund and questions its real purpose.

Solidarity TD Paul Murphy responded to reports that Minister Paschal Donohoe intends to take €1.5 Billion from the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund to establish the fund, alongside a portion of corporation tax income, to establish the 'rainy day fund'.

Paul Murphy TD, member of the Finance Committee, said:
“The establishment of a so-called ‘rainy day fund’ by Fine Gael and agreed by Fianna Fail is another example of how out of touch they are with reality. For the hundreds of thousands of people affected by the many crises in society – be it housing or health – every day is a rainy day, it's monsoon season.

“People will remember what happened the National Pension Reserve Fund, which was raided to pay for the bank bailouts. That is in reality what this fund is being established for again – it will be a new bank bailout fund. The 'expenditure benchmark' fiscal rule will effectively prevent it being used for necessary public investment. It will only be allowed to be spent in cases of ‘external shocks’, which in reality means when banks inevitably fail again.

“Solidarity has called for the funds in the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund and NAMA to be brought together and used to tackle the housing crisis. Instead, the government plans to siphon off cash to create a safety net for bankers.

“A radically different approach is needed – one which breaks with the neo-liberal orthodoxy and treats the budget as an opportunity to address the housing and public services crises. That means an end to the reliance on the free market to resolve these crises and the implementation of socialist policies based on public investment and democratic public ownership of the key sectors of the economy, including banking, instead. In that way, the wealth in society could deliver a decent life for all and economically and environmentally sustainable growth could be planned for.”
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(Picture from McGoughart)

​RTÉ  shocked audiences with a recent report that gay and transgender people in Tanzania have gone into hiding after Paul Makonda (a senior government official) called on the public to report suspected homosexuals so that they could be arrested from early next week.
 
Makonda was anticipating backlash from people who lived outside Tanzania, but said that he would “prefer to anger those countries than to anger God.”
 
Makonda said the goal is to eradicate prostitution and homosexuality. He said in a press conference Wednesday that the public sent police the names of more than 200 people and he announced the names of some who were frequently named. He said some people had been accused of being homosexual because their walking style was deemed "gay."
 
Tanzania has had a reputation for being more tolerant than its neighbour Uganda but since President John Magufuli came to power three years ago campaigners say the little protection, representation and freedom LGBT people have is being slowly eroded. In June last year Magufuli said that "even cows" disapprove of homosexuality.

A government taskforce will now begin hunting down and arresting people who are, or are perceived to be lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender and inter-sex (LGBTI), detainee’s face a prison sentence of 30 years. Under British colonial-era laws homosexuality is illegal in Tanzania, with same-sex acts between men punishable by a maximum life sentence. Tanzania is one of 37 previously colonized Commonwealth nations that still uphold colonial sodomy laws.
 
Tanzania has a poor record of respecting and protecting the rights of LGBTI people. The government has in the past raided organizations working on health issues for men who have sex with men, threatening to close them down.
 
In October 2016, a Ministry of Health directive suspended provision of HIV/AIDS services and ordered the closure of AIDS clinics for providing services to LGBTI people. In that clamp-down, the authorities arrested and prosecuted people for same-sex relations, subjecting them to forced anal examinations, a form of cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment that can amount to torture.
 
In October 2017, 13 health and human rights activists, including two South Africans and one Ugandan, were arrested and detained by Tanzanian authorities for ‘promoting homosexuality’ in Tanzania.
 
The news highlights the prevalence of anti-gay laws in Africa, where 34 countries ban gay sexual relations.

So I went to a feminist rally last night called "Find Your Power" but it wasn't the Soros funded coven you'd imagine, there were no goat sacrifices, no candle light homages to their godesss Taylor Swift, and only one minor plot to overthrow Ben Affleck as the current godfather of the patriarchy. 

Instead the feminists sat down drinking wine and beer like normal people, talked about politics, shared a few jokes, listened to some poetry readings, occasionally sang some songs, and then they even invented an impromptu dating game called "The Three Michaels". 

In what has to be the highlight of the podcast festival Deborah Frances White, the most famous Deborah in the world, brought her sold out show "The Guilty Feminist" to Dublin for one night only. Co-hosted by comedian Alison Spittle the audience were brought to their knees with laughter and to their feet by poet Sarah Cahill performing “Ar An Imeall”.

Later in the night Tara Flynn and Senator Lynn Ruane joined the hosts to share stories with the audience on how they found their power. In what was a thoroughly enjoyable and inspirational event that not only lived up to expectations but created fond memories and hope for the future, I would encourage everyone to check out their live and unfiltered show. Hopefully they make their way back to Dublin (or Limerick) soon. 

Luckily for anyone not present to witness the event, or the interval feminist occupation of the male bathrooms, the podcast is available online at:
www.guiltyfeminist.com/episodes/ The Dublin show is episode 119. 

 "Ar An Imeall" is available to hear and view on Sarah Cahill's website:
https://ragairetheatre.wixsite.com/sarahcahill

Sarah is an Irish playwright, spoken word artist, actor & activist with the London-Irish Abortion Rights Campaign. She founded Ragaire Theatre Company in 2016. Her most recent play Welcome Home ran at the Old Red Lion Theatre to a four star review by London Pub Theatres who called it "... consistently funny, with a sharp wit that is as smart as it is cruel." ​

Radical political action is required to force the Government to roll out a major, public building programme to deal with the urgent need for social and affordable housing, according to SIPTU General Secretary Joe O’Flynn.
 
He has called on SIPTU members, their families and friends to join the ‘Raise the Roof’ rally to be held outside Leinster House on Wednesday, 3rd October. The rally organised by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, the National Homeless and Housing Coalition, the National Womens’ Council and the Union of Students in Ireland is timed to coincide with a Dáil motion on the housing crisis.
 
The motion calls for the immediate construction of quality, affordable public housing, an end to evictions and the inclusion of the right to housing in the Irish Constitution. It is supported by opposition parties including Sinn Féin, the Labour Party, People Before Profit/Solidarity, the Social Democrats, the Green Party and Independents4Change.
 
Trade union members and other campaigners have been lobbying Fianna Fáil deputies and senators over recent months to support the call for a massive, publicly led, social and affordable housing programme. They will seek to have the party support the motion to be tabled by the other opposition parties.
 
“It is no exaggeration to say that the housing crisis is damaging the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and their families. As with any crisis it is working people, those on low and average incomes, who suffer the most,” Joe O’Flynn said.
 
“Buying your own home is now beyond reach for a generation of young people. The shortage of public, social and affordable housing means that tens of thousands are forced into the rental sector”
 
“Rents are increasing, as landlords take advantage of the shortfall in supply. Young workers and students find it almost impossible to find decent accommodation at affordable prices, particularly when they work in low paid, precarious employment,” the SIPTU General Secretary told Liberty.
 
“More and more families are forced into homelessness because rents are too high or because they cannot meet their mortgage repayments due to financial difficulty. They are then forced into unsuitable accommodation in hotels or emergency hubs. A generation of children will grow up without knowing what a normal home is like.”
 
“It is important that we come out in large numbers to support this call for immediate action that puts the public interest ahead of those who are profiting from the lack of social and affordable housing which makes life a misery for so many families across the country,” he said.
 
The SIPTU Dublin District Council is co-ordinating the union’s participation in the
rally. It is calling on all members to stand together on the 3rd of October.
 
This article is from the front cover of SIPTU’s free online paper “Liberty”, also available in print, written by SIPTU Head of Communications Frank Connolly.