Why I hate the Progressive Democrats... (1 Viewer)

[Scientician 0.8]

I got our local free rag the other day. It had a supplement called the Dublin Democrat (I think). It was an advertorial for the PDs. Pricks. One of the articles described how they want to bring in mandatory ID cards, but only for non-EU immigrants. These cards can be asked for by your friendly neighbourhood Garda or an Immigration officer. The article then says that Irish citizens and other EU citizens won't have to carry this ID card. What the article don't explain is how the aforementioned Garda or Immigration officer is supposed to distinguish between people who must carry the card and those who don't have to. That's not the only reason why I hate the PDs but it is added to my list.

 

[nlgbbbblth]

such a move on the ID cards issue would not be considered very progressive. Or democratic.

 

[c0De_n1NjA]

fucking Prog dems and their 20 minute organ solos

 

[Denny Oubidoux]

What the article don't explain is how the aforementioned Garda or Immigration officer is supposed to distinguish between people who must carry the card and those who don't have to.

i think they mean coloureds and people not speaking irish properly

 

[Owen]

Is'nt there or wasn't there some regulation where anyone under 21 could expect to be asked for 18's ID in Pubs or Off Licences? "Yes, I'm over 21, now where's my pint?"

 

[Scientician 0.8]

Yep Owen. If you're under 21 you have to prove you're over 18. If you're over 21...

 

[Bunny]

I hate de politik

 

[rettucs]

I look foreign.

thats me fucked so

 

[zebra heart attack]

If you're under 21 you have to prove you're over 18. If you're over 21...

i tried to explain this in aldi when they wouldn't sell me wine because i had an out of date passport! idiots. finally got a garda id which took six months to arrive.

 

[Scientician 0.8]

i tried to explain this in aldi when they wouldn't sell me wine because i had an out of date passport! idiots. finally got a garda id which took six months to arrive.

Well with the new ID system you can play them at their own game.

Remember though in the USofA they're rather strict about the auld drink ID. Some people there don't accept a passport as ID though. So when suits ya for a visit?

 

[jane]

Well, if you're interested, they already do make us filthy aliens carry cards, complete with little computerised chips in them. Technically, we are legally required to carry these everywhere with us. We are required to alert the gardai if we move house. In May, they brought in a 100 euro charge, per person, each time you register. They didn't tell anyone about it, it was just hurried in overnight. Because as good as we might be for the economy, they certainly don't want to spend any of the precious revenue we bring in on processing paperwork that may or may not be a violation of international human rights law.

One of the problems is that while everyone bitches and moans about foreigners, whether it's being racist or bitching about the racists, there remains no way to immigrate to Ireland without ending up in a form of indentured servitude. My eight years here do not count for shit -- not a single day of my time here counts because being a student, I have very few rights apart from basic human ones. When I finish, if I can manage to stay, I'll have to start over again from scratch, and spend three years under someone else's authority before being legally resident. Unless, of course, I start a company that brings in more than 300,000 euro a year in taxes, or work for a major corporation in a management position. That's why the government is bullshit. While the Irish government is over in the US trying to legalise the illegal IRish, saying that they should be allowed to stay because they've made lives for themselves, they turn around to those of us who would really like to stay and continue with the lives we've made, and tell us to fuck off.

Oh, and those free fees for university? They aren't free. They're paid by foreign students, who pay at least double what the basic tuition is. We pay for your educations, and then we get fucked out of the place. In fairness, the Small Firms Association and other advisory people have submitted proposals to the government that those people who want to live here on a more permanent basis and actually contribute something -- i.e., not just corporate folks -- should be given the right to do so, to start small businesses (which will keep the economy going after the big companies pull out) and to be full participants in society, not just someone's indentured servant. We'll see if they listen.

One of the problems is that it really is up to Irish people to lobby for it. We can do all the lobbying and talking we want, but we can't vote, and some of us don't have big money to wave around.

Anyway, in case you were wondering how they cleverly skirt around the fact that identity cards may be a human rights violation, here you go:



Not an identity card, folks. Nosirreeeeee. What is it, then? A pipe?



I've got me own microchip!

 

[Scientician 0.8]

Sorry to hear about all the shit you have to go through Jane, I wasn't aware that such a system existed already, pardon my ignorance. Have you ever been asked for your "not an identity card" identity card? That is as you say alot of bullshit. My girlfriend is from the United States and wants to move here at some stage in the future. It seems it would be much easier for me to move over there.

While the Irish government is over in the US trying to legalise the illegal Irish, saying that they should be allowed to stay because they've made lives for themselves, they turn around to those of us who would really like to stay and continue with the lives we've made, and tell us to fuck off.

Perhaps this will be resolved with some reciprocal agreement that might benefit you. Fingers crossed.

 

[Scientician 0.8]

Ooops wait. Are you American? If you're not then the last part of my last post doesn't really make sense.

 

[jane]

Ah, yes, I am a yank. It says so on my card. No, I haven't been asked for it except at the airport, where it does actually save the hassle of explaining why it is that my passport is always full up with stamps to and from Ireland.

I doubt the government is going to do anything about it until it reaches crisis, and then it will be damage control, and completely ineffectual. Isn't that how they do everything?

I get a lot of, "Well, your government does such and such..." as if by criticising the way it's handled here, I somehow am giving my tacit approval for the way the US government handles things. And the Kennedy-McCain thing in the US isn't going to work out well for Americans here because the ones who are here with corporations are already looked after. Plus, no offence, but Irish-America has fucking brown stars in its eyes when it comes to Ireland. They'd never dream of asking the Irish government to do anything in return. And even so, I don't think it woudl be fair if only Americans got treated fairly. It has to be for everyone.

It used to be pretty straightforward to get residency through marriage, but now you're still pretty restricted for the first three years. They also brought that in overnight, and without telling anyone. Not that I would do that because I'm one of those corny fuckers that still would like to someday get married for real and for proper. And I won't stay here at all costs, I'd just like to have the choice to stay and make a go of things.

The only way it will change is if the electorate demands it. And I'm not suggesting that people aren't sympathetic to what it's like to know that I can't just leave a job because it means losing everything I've built for myself here and start over from scratch -- it's that everyone thinks that foreigners should do it for themselves. But we can't. We can't vote. I know that, again, I've got it easy. I blend in, and I have even managed to somehow gain at least a small semblance of a voice here, but that's really not enough. Because don't even get me started on how much of a fucking impossibility it is to get a work permit. Unless a company actually recruits you out of your home country, it's extremely difficult. The other way to do things is a work authorisation, which only applies to certain fields, and I'm not sure if it leads to residency/citizenship. You can get a list of professions eligible for it on the OASIS website, I think. If yer lady falls into one of those categories, she's got a much better chance.

 

[Scientician 0.8]

Yeah we've explored some of those avenues. Thanks for the advice.

 

[jane]

Sorry to hear about all the shit you have to go through Jane, I wasn't aware that such a system existed already, pardon my ignorance. Have you ever been asked for your "not an identity card" identity card? That is as you say alot of bullshit. My girlfriend is from the United States and wants to move here at some stage in the future. It seems it would be much easier for me to move over there.



Perhaps this will be resolved with some reciprocal agreement that might benefit you. Fingers crossed.

Oh, and yeah, as much as I do hope that there will be some nice agreement, I'm not optimistic. I also hope you and your lady find some way to be together. It's really unfair that two people who want to be together might have such a hard time. Immigration issues put a very real strain on a relationship, more so than simply the long-distance factor, though as long as you're both aware of it, it's totally manageable.

Sorry if I'm so negative about this shit, I've just had a lot of hassle when it comes to this stuff, and there seems to be nowhere to turn. Because apparently, we're supposed to be so fucking overjoyed at the privilege of contributing to (but not benefitting from) the Celtic Tiger Economy that it hasn't dawned on anyone that the system isn't working. Because there is no system.

People are very well-versed in the rhetoric of 'immigration issues', but there's no actual change coming out of it. As everyone sits around and talks about these issues, the government quietly erodes all the ways that people might be able to stay here, erodes the rights that foreigners had four or five years ago, but do not now.

 

[Osama Van Halen]

fucking Prog dems and their 20 minute organ solos

YES... WHAT A PLAY ON WORDS. I HAD TO RUSH TO THE REP BOX.


MULLAHQUAANNNDO!!!

 

[therealjohnny]

Anyway, in case you were wondering how they cleverly skirt around the fact that identity cards may be a human rights violation, here you go:



Not an identity card, folks. Nosirreeeeee. What is it, then? A pipe?

Unreal- and I just noticed you mentioned a pipe- theryby undermining the smartarseness ofmy posting this

fucking immigant

 

[jane]

Unreal- and I just noticed you mentioned a pipe- theryby undermining the smartarseness ofmy posting this

fucking immigant

If I were really clever, I would have captioned it "Ceci n'est pas une carte d'identitié" but I'm not and I just had to look that up because I don't speak-a de Frenchais.

But it's pretty crazy, isn't it? I also like the implication that it can be used to identify me, but I can't use it as a valid form of ID, even though I paid for it.

 

[Scientician 0.8]

johnnystress I thought you were a yank too non?