UN Human Rights Charter invoked in Croke Park objection

*fumes*

I simply cannot express my hatered for that organisation adequately. Suffices to say they have yet again lived up to the title "Grab All Association"

I see begrudgery is alive and well.

Using Human Rights legislation to object to flood lighting in a major stadium really belittles the plight of people for whom that legislation is intended. I'm all for dark skies, the darker the better, but do you really think that objecting to flood lighting in Croke Park advances the cause? It makes a laughing stock out of all of us interested in the appreciation of the night sky, and firmly puts us in the luddite, anti-everything brigade. Every major stadium, world wide, has flood lighting. Lets pick a fight we can win.

Albert, when you say you hate the organsation, do you hate it's members' who tirelessly, promote sport week in, week out, for tens if not hundreds of thousands of children, for no financial reward, but out of communitarian spirit? I suppose they all have a "Grab All" mentality. The fact is the GAA fights it's corner as best it can, as every organisation does. Their success is to their credit, and invites the jealousy and begrudgery of those less successful. If the Astronomy lobby was half as successful, I would be a happy man.

James

Humble Stargazer
Avid GAA Player, Mentor, Coach.

Way OT...

Albert, when you say you hate the organsation, do you hate it's members' who tirelessly, promote sport week in, week out, for tens if not hundreds of thousands of children, for no financial reward, but out of communitarian spirit? I suppose they all have a "Grab All" mentality. The fact is the GAA fights it's corner as best it can, as every organisation does. Their success is to their credit, and invites the jealousy and begrudgery of those less successful. If the Astronomy lobby was half as successful, I would be a happy man.

James

Humble Stargazer
Avid GAA Player, Mentor, Coach.

When did I say that I hate them exactly? You might want to reread this thread and direct your comment at Bart

I've nothing aginst the genuine sporting members of the GAA. The bigots running Thomas Davis CLG in Tallaght are another matter...

Vaguely back on topic... As for the lights it seems that local residents were lied to several times by the GAA about the whole thing and having government funding for the whole project is salt in the wounds. I doubt the lighting wil be the most non polluting that can be purchased. But yea, I cringed when I say the convention being brought into it. Still your argument of saving the convention for those who need it is a dangerous one as you then set uorself up as deciding who is and is not entitled to the same rights.

I see begrudgery is alive and well.

Nope, just a hatered of curruption and cronyism. When I see Croke park it makes me angry to think of the amount of public money that went into it. But rather than respecting the fact that the nation paid for vast swaths of their very nice statium the GAA only begrudgingly let "foreign" games be played and then have the gall to charge a fortune for the use of a publicly funded building. The tax payers have paid to line the GAAs over-deep pockets. Add to that the rampant cronyism at local level (at least in rural Ireland) and the sickeningly overt political nature of the thing and you have a shinning monument to the worst things in Ireland. Apparently it's some form of sporting organisation too but that always seems to play second fiddle, at least it did during each encounter I've been unfortunate enough to have with that organisation and it's members. Oh and it's a haven for homophobic biggots too which is also a pretty big reason for my disgust at the organisation.

Anyhow, closer to the topic, I don't for one minute think it is a good idea to abuse the UN charter of human rights like this but that doesn't make the GAA even the tiniest bit right. By all accounts they have treated the locals like crap but hey, they're the GAA, they can do what ever the hell they want and Bertie will even pay for it with our money!

Bart.

Well done Bart for having the honesty to identify yourself as an unadulterated anti-GAA bigot. Identifying homophobia as a peculiarly GAA phenomenon is really low; you should be ashamed of yourself. It's a distasteful prejudice common to all sporting and non-sporting bodies, and indeed all walks of life. Why don't you go the whole hog and blame the cocaine epidemic on the GAA too? Frankly, you've lost the plot, and your prejudices stand revealed to all.

Are you aware that the net cost of Croke Park public funding is almost zero, if you take into account income tax, PRSI and VAT returned to the Exchequer during construction? The tax payer would have been barely worse off if Croker had not been redeveloped at all. Tax payer funding as a proportion of overall costs will be a lot higher for the reconstruction of Lansdowne. Fair play to the FAI and IRFU; they negotiated a better deal than the GAA.

Is this an Astronomy thread or a GAA bashing thread? My starting point is that this is a Dark Skies thread and that every major stadium in the world has flood lighting. Do you think the residents near Old Trafford, or Giants Stadium, or Stade de France love the flood-lighting there, where there are a hell of a lot more night games played than will ever be played at Croker; of course not, but they don't incessantly whinge about it. Guess what, living next to a major stadium involves disruption. Get used to it. The sporting public want night games. Move on.

I really enjoyed the flood-lit rugby game between Leinster and Agen last weekend at Lansdowne. My sympathy goes to the locals who have to put up with this gross violation of their human rights, but at the same time I want to see more of these great spectacles.

Now can we get back to a sensible debate on how to progress the dark sky agenda, and leave the other nonsense to the Adrian Kennedy show.

Is mise,

James

Albert

Sincerest apologies for mistaking you for Bart. :oops: This really is a gross violation of your human rights. I am deeply regretful for this error, and cannot begin to understand the pain and suffering caused.

James