the swine in power, and pork's no good either

In our already recessing economy the Irish government, in it's infinite lack of wisdom, has just managed to lop off an entire node of the Irish economy in one, thoughtless, fell swoop.

Since Saturday night, when the Irish pork recall was announced, this thing has blown wide open and I just can't believe what a fuckup this place really is... I just had to go a post further with the world-wide blanket recall.
Here's what's gone on so far very roughly, and it's by no means over:

A million years ago (last September) some gobdaw decides it's cool to leave the plastic wrapper on the surplus bread loaves that are thrown into industrial pig feed.

At the same time, said gombeen pig feed-maker also decides it's cool to use some sort of oil that is not fit for human consumption in the drying process of afore mentioned pig feed.

Suddenly (as I understand it) Irish pork tested in Belgium shows unacceptably high levels of dioxin in the meat.

Irish Food Safety Authority suddenly, late on a Saturday night (after the sunday papers have gone to bed) calls a press conference and declares that all Irish pork is recalled off the shelves, and if you have any pork products dating back to September, treat it as radioactive (or at least throw it away... which is not what you do when a faulty product is recalled)

Irish media and Irish public freak out, understandably, when told that ALL pork products must not be consumed or sold, even organically raised pork. At this point, I realised it sometimes pays to be disorganised when I saw our neighbours throwing their Christmas ham in the bin.

Irish media and public suddenly realise that the food traceability system is all a scam, a load of empty words and basically doesn't work. That's why the Food Safety Authority has commanded us all to be pork free no matter where the pig came from. They couldn't find a book if they were standing in a library.

Tesco decides not to refund anyone for anything unless it's an own-brand product, even if one is holding a valid receipt. That's how much they value our custom.

Liveline callers are livid. I think Liveline should gain some sort of political function.

Officials from the Agriculture Department (who have been handed the job only because it was time they got some promotion, not because they are in any way qualified) talk in circles on the air and never answer the questions about why the tracability system didn't work.

Pork processors have now laid off 1400 people due to this unnecessary blanket recall. All those people for whom this is usually a big time of year, are now jobless.

Pig farmers are now lousy with pigs because they're breeding all over the place (in 3 days!).

Millstream Power Recycling, who produced the contaminated feed, have not been corrected.

Processors won't start again until the government promises them financial help to get started again.

Brian Cowen (who looks very much like a hog) says he is going to go plead with the EU for help with financial compensation (never mind that Ireland voted NO against the Lisbon treaty and clearly doesn't want to be part of the EU even though this place was built by EU funds, never mind the state of the global economy already).

Irish pig . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brian Cowen

So why am I angry? Well, I'm angry because this encapsulates exactly how the "politicians" (there is no profession of "Politician" here, by the way, just lawyers or bankers, etc. turned politician) never, EVER think about asessing the risks before they act, and they will never, EVER be able to sort their own shit out without running off looking for help. It's was Britain before, it is the EU now, and when they fuck up the relationship with the EU and the EU moves on without them, they'll probably become the 51st State... unless the US looks at their track record and decides that Ireland is too much a liability in it's knack for accidentally chopping off it's limbs.