George Lee

potnoodler said:
I believe that our system is fundamentally flawed because of the reasons above, that is why we've morons such as Dempsey and Cullen running the country because of this mentality , it is time for national interests to take forefront
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I'm not sure I 100% agree it's a complete flaw. To some extent they are just glorified councillors, but then people have a right to have their local issues and needs addressed and represented at a national level. Yes this can mean someone without a "bigger picture" view misses out in favour of the perons who's going to fix the pot holes, but then what's the alternative?

The UK has slipped down to this parachute MP route where certain candidates are picked to stand not because they are seen as good politicians rather than coming from the local area. Local issues are largely ignored, but I don't see any dramatic improvement in the running of a national government from cherry picked candidates.

Democracy will always have its flaws, but it really is the best we have.
 
Latrade said:
Democracy will always have its flaws, but it really is the best we have.
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On this point I have a serious Issue. Perhaps it is the best of a bad bunch but it still needs to be awknowledged that its flawed to bits. Democracy is an idea realised by the privaleged in society, not a reality for a majority of people living in Ireland.

Everybody can technically run for election in a democracy. But whether through money or media exposure or family ties, the average Joe Soap (a majority of the country) will already have a bigger mountain to climb to get into power then somebody with these benefits.

Democracy only exists in our heads as an ideal, it doesnt really exist for most of us. .

One could argue that the problem isnt as much the system as the mentality of the Irish Public. I know some people have genuine reasons for believing in Lee and prefer to give the man the benefit of the doubt, I dont have any issues with this. I do think theres a pink elephant over his presence that I wish he would address in depth.

I want to believe there are people out there that can and will make a positive differance on this country FOR THE RIGHT REASONS (as opposed to further their own agenda), but just feel that we, as a nation, are too fickle and easily led for it to happen anytime soon. When I see people jumping to support Lee so quickly without questioning his motives it does remind me of how so many supported Haughy, Bertie etc without asking questions.

Considering the disgraceful behaviour and ignorance thats been the norm for our government for so long, it would be great to see our potential new government be completely transparent. Lee coming out with any skelatons or conflicts of interest that he may of had would be refreshing. The problem is, do the Irish People want to hear the truth, or do they want to hear what they want to hear . . We all know whats happened up until now . .
 
cork said:
During the Celtic Tiger - what did he do to highlight the stupidity with regards to house prices?
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This is a Q&A session from June 2006 that is freely available on the RTE website. I found the points made with regards to Fianna Fail, House Prices, Bankers, the boom et all, illuminating 3 years on. You can make up your own mind.

[broken link removed]

I've seen it stated many times on this site that no one could have seen it coming, arrah shure it's all dem external factors. Look, there were plenty of people shouting stop. Now it's time to clean up the mess. I don't think the people who got us here are the best one's to get us out.
 

Thats fair enough and clear about certain points that you highlighted, but that was then, this is now. Perhaps he hasnt been Anti FF all these years, but when did he decide to go into office, at least tell us that so we know how long he was on RTE canvassing for his new party . . . Such a big life changing decision couldnt of been made lightly or quickly . . He should highlight his alliegances all along, who did he vote for while commenting. Of course hes not obliged to tell us, but it would be a nice change to have a cleancut, honest, transparent politician .

I think its great that somebody got it right about the economy, but booms and busts are part and parcel of capitalism and western economies. He was very prudent and clever when most of us put our heads in the sand, fair play to him, we all should of seen this coming.

Some Economists are predicting a depression (one I listened to recently said Ireland is in a Depression officially) and some are predicting things will even themselves off. The truth is that nobody knows exactly what will happen, its up to us all as individuals to prepare ourselves on how we see fit based on the information out there. The markets around the world have had positive gains for the last month (bank shares up over 1000% on their lowest values). This doesnt mean the world is back to its best but does suggest that we may of seen the markets hit the bottom. This doesnt mean that things wont get worse in this country, but that globally the world economy is starting to at least stop the rot.
 
? On the day of the announcement he was on every radio station and it was the first question asked. I'm sure if you have a dig around you'll find his exact answers. Paraphrasing, he said he made his decision after the Budget in April. He then went on holidays for a week, and when he returned the only stories he worked were non economic.

I'm not sure what you want - for him to call round to your house, hold your hand and tell you his life story?
 
Howitzer said:
I'm not sure what you want - for him to call round to your house, hold your hand and tell you his life story?
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For somebody who appears to put so much faith in what is said by a media personality with obvious conflicts of interests , its surprising that you have problems trusting people with vested interests in other areas of discussion . .
 
I take them on a case by case basis.

The question was asked, he gave his answer. Whether you choose to take that answer at face value is up to you. But I don't know what more can be asked or said on the subject.
 
Howitzer said:
I take them on a case by case basis.

The question was asked, he gave his answer. Whether you choose to take that answer at face value is up to you. But I don't know what more can be asked or said on the subject.
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It does say that he was going to run for FG in 2002 before deciding not to, but does not disclose reasons why.That means, he had thought of running with FG before which does raise questions over impartiality. Whether the guy is honest or not, thats a fact that cannot be ignored or easily hidden under the carpet (unless you are in FF and arent we trying to get away from da kind of stuff).

I dont trust anything politics related (I know goes against my PMA opinions) because its simply a differant beast from everything else in life and deserves to be judged on a totally differant level.

The truth is I dont really care that Lee is running. I actually agree with alot of what he says about FF and the economy and do welcome his decision (as I dont think he can do much worse then those already in the Dail).

I just find it odd that people say he deserves to be believed about his impartiality simply because of what hes told us, when something obvious points to something else. The fact that he was going to run for FG in 2002 suggests that he was always a FGer, thats fine, just come out and say it . ."Im George Lee and I have always been a Fine Gaeler" . . Now, was that so hard, he already has one honesty chip up on a majority of those in politics in that he wasnt afraid to make an honest statement that could potentially hinder his chances (highly unlikely though). . .
 
 
 
NorthDrum said:
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That's the quote from the writter of the article rather than from George Lee himself (my highlight). Speculation that he was going to run and a declaration from himself are 2 different things.

I'd like to see clarity on that myself but there is a distinct difference.
 
I know its going off the point a bit but I totally agree with whats above. The reality is that a huge number of people will go 'thats yer man off the telly - I'll vote for him'. Most people don't take the time to find out about what parties stand for and a lot of people don't even bother to vote....most are too busy getting on with life and although the government of the day will greatly impact their lives they don't seem to associate this with voting, the democratic process etc...
I think that a lot of honest, hard working people who could be very good in government are put off by the 'politics' of it all! Too much back stabbing, greasing palms etc.
We need to make it more attractive for out best people to take the top jobs. People complain about the high salaries of out politicians..I say make them higher....but more results driven and great transparency around this. CEOs of most companies are paid a lot more than Brian Cowen yet the fate of our country is in his hands....we need a new system
 

Agreed. If we all voted for a reputable hard working, honest individual (after much deliberation) instead of the guy we saw getting financial aids from a big party with a very friendly demeanour (or the guy we saw on telly) this country might not be in the mess its in . .

That's the quote from the writter of the article rather than from George Lee himself (my highlight). Speculation that he was going to run and a declaration from himself are 2 different things.
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Yes it is speculation, but in politics seldom is their smoke without fire. but like you said he should at least clarify it.

I know what would solve all this bickering, everybody going into politics has to do a lie detector test . . Imagine had Bertie done one, dont think wearing no underwear and crossing his legs would of hidden his lies like it did for Sharon Stone . .
 
NorthDrum said:
I know what would solve all this bickering, everybody going into politics has to do a lie detector test . . Imagine had Bertie done one, dont think wearing no underwear and crossing his legs would of hidden his lies like it did for Sharon Stone . .
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Don't you dare ever make me visualise anything like that again. You are a bad person!
 
Sunny said:
And FF picking Seamus Brennan's son to run for them wasn't cynical? What does he bring to the table apart from the Brennan name?
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From the FF point of view, he is disposable. He is in there to take the bullet, so that their real candidate (Maria Corrigan) can go into the next general election without a disaster on her record. I'm not an FF fan, but they generally ain't stupid.
 
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