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An operating Facebook social media account belonging to a group that continues to spread Covid-19 misinformation and idiotic conspiracy theories, has more than doubled their number of interactions it got in the first six months of 2021. This is despite a promise by Facebook to tackle all false virus pandemic claims.
A report published today by the United Kingdom founded Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) condemns Facebook’s efforts in tackling false information related to COVID-19 and vaccines on its platform. In particular they have failed by analysing the presence of a group called the World Doctors Alliance, whose members have spread various false and conspiratorial claims about the Covid pandemic, over the past 16 months.
Viewed more than 21.1 million times; the World Doctors Alliance (WDA), co-founded by former UCD Professor Dolores Cahill, now have more than half a million followers on their Facebook pages; a 13,000% increase since the start of this Covid-19 pandemic.
According to the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, Facebook is failing in its commitment to prohibit and remove false claims about COVID-19. The report also exposes major gaps in the efficacy of Facebook’s fact-checking program in languages outside of English and demonstrates that the platform is seriously failing to use the knowledge of these fact-checking organisations to take meaningful action against the grossly misinformed group.
Dolores Cahill, a former member of the minor right-wing, hard Eurosceptic political party in Ireland, which call, themselves (God help us),‘The Irish Freedom Party’; was one of 11 candidates to contest the 2020 Irish General Election, held on Saturday February 8th, 2020, with none of their candidates being successfully elected. Dolores Cahill, claiming to represent Tipperary came second-last in the Tipperary constituency, with a miserable 521 first preference votes. Following this election failure her agents ceased to function, in the removal of her election posters, for almost one year.
Note: Any posters in place before or after the stipulated election time-frame is deemed to be in breach of the legislation and are subject to an on-the-spot litter fine of €150 per week. Which begs the question did Tipperary Municipal District Council or Tipperary County Council exact their legally entitled dues?
Halloween is coming to Holycross with an extra special “Holycross Pumpkin Fest” taking place on October 30th.
A host of spooky and spectacular events promise to entertain young and old and guarantee the very best in family fun.
For strong and skilled conker fighters, participants are sought for a “Conker Championship” with a trophy and prizes for the winners.
Ruadhán Gormally, the incredibly talented Galway born puppet maker, who was recently featured on the Ryan Tubridy Show, will be there on the day, to entertain and delight with a collection of his best puppets. Not to be missed kids.
On October 30th, there will be an extended opening time from 1:00pm to 4:00pm, with lots of extra music, tricks, treats and other shenanigans for children and adults, in honour of this truly Irish tradition.
Yes, that’s right! Halloween, is an Irish tradition, owing its origins to the Celts and first celebrated over 2000 years ago.
The Celts celebrated the end of Harvest on the last day of October as part of a holiday called Samhain. They believed that on this day, spirits came and killed their crops.
To keep the spirits happy and at bay, the Celts left out food to treat the spirits and danced and dressed up wearing masks and costumes to keep the spirits entertained.
When Christianity arrived in Ireland, this tradition evolved. ‘All Souls’ Day‘ begun to be celebrated on November 2nd to honour the dead. November 1st became a day to honour the Saints or All Saints Day, also known as, All Hallow’s Day. October 31st became All Hallow’s Eve, which eventually morphed into the word Halloween.
Hundreds of years later, Halloween is celebrated all around the world, with children and adults alike, still dressing up, enjoying treats and telling ghost stories, and they owe it all to the Irish.
“Remarkable” project officially launched in Thurles, Co Tipperary.
A €1.7m “Remarkable” project has been proposed by the development unit at Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest (TUS) and is to be funded by the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme.
Ireland’s newest technological university is leading a collaborative project that will aim to address the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, as set out in the EU’s Green Deal.
Partners from a mix of universities, government and energy agencies involving Austria, Croatia, France, Sweden, Slovenia and Spain travelled to Tipperary recently to officially launch the project here in Thurles, Co Tipperary.
Mr Seamus Hoyne, (Dean of flexible learning and work-based learning) at TUS, stated that the project is particularly timely with the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference, which is being held in Glasgow within the next three weeks; thus placing the climate crisis “to the very forefront of everyone’s agenda”.
Regular maintenance is essential in every village, town or city. Same enables us to keep our work environment clean, safe and reliable. Inadequate maintenance leads eventually to dangerous situations, near accidents and even serious health problems.
Here in Thurles local political factions are ‘quick off the mark’ to announce something new, whether involved or not, mostly not, each failing to realise that we the taxpayers are paying the bill for what they are announcing. If we raise issues, we are being negative, non-progressive and failing to be positive in our attitudes, as same TD’s and Councillors crowd around waiting to have their photo taken.
As our elected representatives announce “that new something”, they fail to put into place even a smidgen of required maintenance in their thought process. Now, having watched the slide-show above, let us take a look at the undeniable evidence of which I speak about here in Thurles.
Tipperary planning authority granted developers on the new Lidl site, (latter accessed from Slievenamon Road in Thurles), permission to remove 150 meters of mature deciduous Blackthorn (Prunus spinosahe) during the nesting season, same against EU law. They sowed 8 small saplings to replace same. Today 4 of these tree saplings are dead. No maintenance.
All over the town, buildings both public and private display poor quality graffiti, (no evidence of the pseudonymous England-based street artist Banksy so far), now a common site. After weeks of watching the offensive graffiti “Vaccines Kills“, we contacted Thurles Town administrator, Ms Sharon Scully last. Ms Scully immediately replied, “Mr Willoughby, Thank you for your email. I have asked the Town Foreman to remove the graffiti at his earliest convenience”. It was still there today. No maintenance.
Exercise areas beautifully provided in our town park, which was officially opened by Councillor Mr Seamus Hanafin (27th March 2016 only 5 years ago), are now badly vandalised, smashed up over 2 years now.
‘Hedge Bindweed’ (Calystegia sepium) climbs the metal fences.
Here again spray-can graffiti is everywhere.
Bye-laws governing consumption of alcohol are openly flouted.
Some 22 metres, exactly from a public toilet and in an area where children play and adults walk, we have undeniable evidence of human excrement.
Emulsion paint spread over newly dried cement now lies on the ground at the new foot bridge, since last winter. No attempt to sweep it up.
Electric lighting is working day and night on the footbridge and Thomond Road. No maintenance.
Clothing Pods and Glass Pods in Parnell Car-Park and elsewhere is left unattended and regularly overflowing. No maintenance.
River Suir is turned into a cesspit.
A stone embankment beside Barry’s Bridge, built by the late Mr Wilbert Houben and myself, was destroyed over the past 14 days when several ton of sand and other building materials were dropped onto its surface by those employed to repair the underbelly section of the bridge.
A Grundfos stainless steel pump, generously donated by Cantwell Electrical, Gortnahoe, and which airated the river, as a performing fountain, has vanished without a mention. No maintenance.
‘The Source’ building is now the dirtiest looking building in Thurles town. Initially paid for by rate paying local businesses, same is run by Tipperary Co. Council.
Tipperary Co. Co operate this latter complex, plus a gym and swimming pool, in competition with other local restaurants, pubs, hotels and theatres. It greedily eats up massive arts grants not readily available to its competitors.
Alongside ‘The Source’ the 3 wooden tubs have now disintegrated over 3 years ago and their Box hedging contents remain an embarrassment. No maintenance.
Now let us take a look at the Liberty Square upgrade.
First let me say the actual workmanship is very professional, while the design itself is an absolute disaster.
Allow me to explain. The 3 tiny litter bins provided in this area to date overflow by noon every day. An employee armed with a handheld mechanical reach extender (grabber arm, helping hand, trash picker, picker-upper, extended gripper, long arm gripper, extended reach grabber, grabber tool, call it what you like), wanders about grabbing objects that should have found a home in a litter bin.
Some shopkeepers now work on the assumption that they are no longer responsible for the plastic cups, cans, cardboard cups and other disposable item discarded by their customers, same involved in outdoor eating outside their premises, sitting on free furniture paid for by the taxpayer. Should we insist that no further disposable items be used on Liberty Square one wonders?
Signage is erected too close to narrow lanes of traffic. Same are already bent after just a 3 day exposure. Engineers have learned nothing from previous pedestrian crossing traffic light problems and associated money wasting.
Tyre tracks are already evident on pedestrian areas, as motorists attempt to find parking @ €1.60 per hour.
Will this new granite brickwork be regularly cleaned? Presently there are no plans. No maintenance.
Perhaps our five local elected councillors and two Tipperary elected local TD’s would like to join me for a stroll, before dark some evening. I promise to give each and all of you massive publicity, as I record your lame excuses.
On October 4th last we published that the River Suir walkway here in Thurles would be closed to all pedestrians; starting from the “Swinging Gates” at the junction of Thomond Road and Emmet Street, through to the junction of Slievenamon Road and Clongour Road. We gleaned this information from the Tipperary Co. Council’s own website.
Up to today, Sunday October 10th, the walkway has remained open with thankfully no re-surfacing work undertaken. A social media publication from Councillors Mr Seamus Hanafin (Fianna Fáil) and a live radio communication from Mr Jim Ryan (Non Party), each seeking to enhance future election profiles, had seriously angered those volunteers who for years had kept this area clean and litter free. Latter volunteers had not in any way been consulted about this resurfacing work and felt that the funding acquired should have been better spent on the river itself, now an embarrassing, foul-smelling eyesore, rather than spent on widening the existing walkway with 3meters wide tarmac strips.
The video slide-show, hereunder, further acknowledges and fully recognizes the reality of the public’s desire for a change in how funding was being spent.
No drawings or details have been provided by council officials for this work, with those responsible claiming that this work to resurface the existing path, does not require design drawings. However, a Habitats Directive Assessment Screening Report they claim, has been carried out for the proposed advance works and the local fisheries representative has been consulted.
Most people believe that this threatened upgrade is really to provide a cycling path along the river bank, at the expense of leisurely pedestrian traffic and much badly needed seating areas.
Regrettably, no volunteers have turned up recently to clean this River Walk area, further clarifying remarks made by Thurles.Info that Thurles County Councillors and their officials have deliberately and slowly killed off all local voluntarism.
The result is litter everywhere in the form of bottles, cans, condoms, rotting fish half eaten by feral cats and takeaway boxes; mainly strewn about due to the total absence of appropriate litter bins; which we have continuously highlighted as required for this area.
Here in Thurles town the River Suir exists, running parallel on the west side by the river walk and on the east side by the Thurles town park. Here exists a huge amenity, in both a ‘Blue Way’ and a ‘Green Way’. Blue spaces/ways are areas such as the river Suir, while both banks provide Green ways, and a number of health benefits.
With this in mind, we learn this week, from the Institute for Global Health, that a lack of green spaces has caused nearly 43,000 premature deaths in nearly 900 European cities.
Scientists, with the Institute, confirm that urban parks help to improve air quality, filtering out toxic pollutants that kill scores of people every year.
Researchers state green spaces offer no-cost spaces for people to exercise, helping drive down obesity rates and improve heart and lung health, while improving social interaction.
Same other benefits of green spaces include reduced stress and improved sleep, with other associated studies claiming reduced cognitive decline in the elderly.
Green spaces have also been found to reduce some the negative health impacts of urban living, acting as a filter to both noise and air pollution, latter which are thought to reduce life expectancy by increasing blood pressure.
The academic team claim that these benefits are also good for mental wellbeing and stress levels. The data behind this research is so strong that the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends every home should be within at least 300m of a green space area containing at least half a hectare in size.
Researchers at a United States University [University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)], found that children residing within that state who grew up within a third of a mile of a park or green space were at a lower risk of becoming obese by the age of 18, and were less at-risk from chronic health problems in their later years. They found that regardless of a families wealth, those that lived close to a park or green space or blue space, were less distressed.
One of the studies examined found that nearly 30% more teenagers were inclined to spend an hour or more doing some form of physical activity, five days a week, when they lived near parks and green spaces.
Scientific analysis claim that over 40,000 people in Europe die early, every year, because they do not live in areas with enough green space provided.
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