The Butler Report

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News  Commentary

 Report claims €400m allotted for secret war in Iran
Even in America $600 million is a lot of cash. Yes, I know we lost $12 billion in Iraq, but still. With that price tag I
can safely say with a great deal of certainty that we are most probably going to to war with Iran. For more on this
read the Editorial Blog "Iran Plays Russian Roulette"

 Scientists: Nothing to fear from atom-smasher
We're dead as soon as they hit the switch.

 Child prostitutes sell themselves on Craigslist
Unfortunately these children also sell themselves in the newspaper personals, street corners and bars. It's not Craig's
fault; his listing just happens to be free. The upside is that the Craigslist tie-in brought the problems of these children to
the attention of the main news today.

Envisioning a world of $200-a-barrel oil
Get a bike. Move to Florida.

Ryanair and Aer Lingus 'facing €1.5bn oil shock'
My opinion only here: I think Ryanair isn't fessing up to the elephant in the living room. Their big mistake?  They didn't hedge against fuel cost increases and as a result are paying full market price per liter (according to an article in the Irish Independent two weeks ago). Aer Lingus ripped us off for three decades and they get no pity from me. High prices, rude self-entitled staff, government subsidized for too long. They let Willie Walsh, the Ghandi of the airline industry, leave them for British Airways because they and the Irish government knew better. They'll be part of Ryanair soon enough.
Idiots all. Except for Willie. To give our Irish readers a quick giggle I'm going to say that I'm fond of Willie. There, I said it.

 Ireland teetering towards recession as bubble bursts
You know for a population of 4.5 million (and falling again) Ireland gets a lot of press. The country woke up recently and found that the Celtic Tiger had shagged off to India. Now they're in a pickle. Property prices could drop by 50% in the next year. Unemployment could reach 12%. I'm one of the most optimistic guys you'll ever meet but after examining the facts about the Irish economy the sky is most definitely falling in the Emerald Isle. Let me quote a friend who is the Managing Director of a large firm in Dublin when I asked him about his firm's prospects recently - his response, "we're f*cked."

Ireland has no hedge - no insurance, no Plan "B" -  against the dragon of unemployment.  The powers that be (or were) never developed the best natural resource Ireland has - tourism. Instead they chased international companies attempting to industrialize the country while keeping the Irish college-educated, intellectually-challenged, Euro-types happy as they tried, oh G-d they tied, to emulate the sophistication of mainland Europe.

That whole industrialization concept hinges on the EU allowing Ireland the privilege of offering these companies a low corporate tax rate to get the business needed. That's the same EU that Ireland gave the finger to a couple of weeks ago over the Lisbon Treaty which has now ground to a halt despite being ratified by 490 million (pissed off) other Europeans.
Anyhow, when you hear the sound of a toilet flush you'll know that's Ireland gone.

 'The Irish Times' free online at irishtimes.com from Monday
Great news - this paper ranks in the world's top ten with the ButlerReport, London Times, International Herald Tribune,
LA Times, Drudge, Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal. Did I mention the ButlerReport?

 Plane soars past destination as pilots doze
Can you imagine?

Thousands of Newgrange visitors get lost as signage report gathers dust
And that explains Ireland in a nutshell.

Editorial Blog: Iran plays Russian Roulette
Brilliantly written, genius, etc.

Feedback: editor@goldcoastmedia.net

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