Niall O'Dowd Update

In a surprise move, Irish Voice editor Niall O'Dowd has endorsed Sen Hillary Clinton as the paper's candidate for the 2008 elections. Not only that, she is, apparently, the Irish American candidate of choice.

Seeing as we're talking about films..Darklight Festival

The Darklight Festival is a festival for filmakers, artists and animators. It currently has a call for entries that will be open till the 14th of March. Those of you who are that way inclined, start getting your submissions together now...

DIFF - Any recommendations?

So, the Dublin International Film Festival website is up and running here,and apart from "the Farreller" opening the festival, I'm not familiar with any of the movies. So does anyone have any ideas on what I should go see? Or, indeed, avoid?

Gig of the week

..the first of a series (which in all probabilty will be infrequent) has American Music Club playing
Whelans on Saturday the 2nd February.

Hear a track from the new album here at the Merge Records website.

Intervention..

...US style courtesy of John Pilger at Guardian Unlimited..

and the Times Online obituary

Fired Up, Hillary

Anyone with an interest in the American elections can probably tell where my allegiances lie (and what sprang to mind when trying desperately to think of a pithy, witty title). And speaking of Hillary in the last post reminded me to perform my public service for the day. So, if you'd like to see tomorrow's mud-slinging today, this is the place go. Lovely title, no?!

Niall O'Dowd

This post is not going to get personal. I do, however, have problems with the ideological stance the editor of The Irish Voice takes on immigration in America, namely the privileging of Irish immigrants above any other country. That topic deserves a whole post of it's own, and will probably get one on another day. Today, however, my problem lies in his dual role as a member of Hillary Clinton's financing committee, and a commentator on the American primaries and caucuses in the Irish media. Now obviously, as a high profile ex-pat, O'Dowd ticks a lot of boxes for the Irish media in terms of someone who can be easily accessed, has a grasp of what's going on, and is a competent communicator. And I have no problem with him being a commentator, or indeed supporting a particular candidate in the afore mentioned race for party nominations. What I do have a problem with is the lack of transparency from both Niall O'Dowd and the Irish media that he appears on or in (RTE, the The Irish Times, and The Star spring readily to mind, and there are more than likely others that I haven't come across). I would have thought it prudent for a commentator/journalist to disclose any information that might compromise their article, however O'Dowd does not appear to follow this belief. Neither does The Star (who consistently omit the information), The Irish Times (who let one column go unchecked, but have subsequently acknowledged his role on Clinton's team) and RTE (who have, to the best of my knowledge never referred to the role when interviewing him). Is this the kind of case that the Press Ombudsman was set up for?

fired up and ready to go gets going

So, I've decided to start a blog. It's either that or Facebook and/or Second Life, and I'm all networked out at this stage. The blog is going to hold posts on various different topics, mainly music and politics and sport I would imagine. I promise there will be no creative writing on my behalf. I promise there will be probably be a shortage of photographs, mainly because I don't have the patience for uploading them. After that, anything goes I guess..