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"sparkiest of all" - Sunday Tribune
Answers please Minister!
The US wants to leave Iraq with honour according to Vice President Dick Cheney. In other words the US is conceding defeat.All indications are that the US will be pulling out shortly as Tony Blair is also expected to announce that the UK will be withdrawing its troops from Iraq. Currently, Britain has about 7,100 soldiers there.
Bush views Britain's troop cutbacks as "a sign of success" in Iraq, according to US National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe.
Who do they think they are fooling? Me? You?
What about the rest of Bush's grand alliance? The major partners in the coalition include South Korea (2,300 troops), Poland (900), Georgia (800), Romania (600) and Denmark (460).
Good Riddance I say to the Flight of the Earls, which is to be commemorated by Bertie Ahern in September and he will be announcing details of these ceremonies today.
Speaking in Dublin yesterday as part of his visit to Ireland the Polish President expressed his fears about the entire human race going Gay if the sexual preference was correctly marketed to heterosexuals.
Al Franken, comedian, broadcaster and author has announced that he is to run for the Senate in the state of Minnesota.
Franken, 55, was born in New York City but grew up in the Minneapolis suburb of St. Louis Park. He graduated from Harvard University in 1973, and in 1975 joined the writing staff of "Saturday Night Live" during its first season. He soon began appearing in sketches and remained a fixture on the show well into the 1990s.
In 1996, Franken took his career in a political direction when he wrote "Rush Limbaugh Is A Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations," a broadside against the conservative radio host and other figures on the right. He's since published several other books critical of Republicans.
His chances are as good as anyone else's after all Minnesota elected Jesse Ventura as governor.
Is this the last sting of the dying wasp that is Michael McDowell's political career?
"Too late Austin Powers, I will give the pensioners of Ireland ONE BILLION DOLLARS to vote for me!""No valentines card from Harney-again!"
Pictured here are both of Labour's two Keith Martins. The one on the left is a Westport Town Councillor and the one on the right is Parliamentary Assistant to Ruairi Quinn TD. The photo was taken at the 2007 Labour Party Conference in the Helix, Dublin. Mayo's Labour Candidate Harry Barrett is in the background between the two. Unsure perhaps which one is the real deal? Answers or captions on a postcard or via e-mail. Best one wins a cheap pen!
In Saturday's speech, Pat Rabbitte made a dramatic move on tax committing Labour in Government to cut the standard rate of tax by 2% points in the first two years of Government. For some years now, income tax in Ireland has been structured around two rates. The lower or ‘standard’ rate and the higher rate. In 2007, a single person will pay tax at 20% on income up to €34,000, and tax at 41% on income over €34,000.
In his Budget speech last December, Brian Cowen reduced the higher rate of tax from 42% to 41%. He promised that if returned to Government after the election, Fianna Fáil and the PDs would cut the higher rate again to 40%.
In his conference speech on February 10th, Pat Rabbitte stated that, rather than reducing the higher rate, Labour would cut the standard rate from 20% to 18%.
At present, cutting the top rate of tax only benefits taxpayers who earn more than €34,000 (single person) and those who earn most benefit most. When the standard rate is cut, all taxpayers benefit. Those on lower and middle incomes gain most, as a proportion of their incomes.
For more information on Fairtrade Towns click here.
You can download the above criteria for becoming a Fairtrade Town by just clicking here and it will download as a word document.
Speaking at the joint celebrations in Westport last Thursday Cllr Keith Martin of the Westport Fairtrade Committee which is comprised of Edel Hackett, Mary Walsh, Roisin Moran, Sue Minish, Brian Quinn, Gemma Hennesy, Sheila O’Donnell and Bríd McAuley expressed their thanks to the people of Westport for the town’s achievement in becoming a Fairtrade Town. 
Labour used their 2007 conference to announce a policy for government that will put the "tax and spend" story to bed. Fears that Labour would not reduce tax or might even increase taxes were ended last night when Pat Rabbitte announced that Labour in Government will reduce the standard or Joe Bloggs rate of tax by 2%.
Tell Michael McDowell how good you think he is as Minister for Justice by visiting his website and voting in his poll.
Enda Kenny plans to introduce random drug and alcohol testing in secondary schools if his party is in power following the general election.
In what has to be a huge turnaround for the tribunals a Fianna Fail Senator, the Great Don Lydon, "remembers" taking money from a developer!Fianna Fáil Senator Don Lydon yesterday admitted the existence of a further payment of €2,600 (IR£2000) which he received from property developer Chris Jones in 1993.
Despite this turnabout Senator Lydon was soon back on form with pronouncements like the one that he saw no connection between his role as a councillor having oversight of such rezonings and the payment of money to him by Mr Jones.
The hilarity continued with Don Lydon making comments like "Mr Jones was a very kind and generous man who gave money at different times to various councillors".
Senator Lydon continued: "There was no intention - he didn't say 'I'll give you this if you do that', that never happened at all."
He added, "He was just that kind of fella", and went on to remark that "if he would give me money again I would take it".
The alternative coalitions are polling neck and neck, according to the latest Irish Times /TNS mrbi survey which shows a decline of five percentage points in the combined support for both Government parties since December. Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats are now just one point ahead of the Fine Gael-Labour alternative.
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