The Brit Martin has resigned his position – but he'll still have his snout in the trough.

Here's Richard Littlejohn going through the lot of them for a short cut.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1186217/RICHARD-LITTLEJOHN-Politicians-Pass-machine-gun.html

the notion that poor Michael Martin has been shafted by a bunch of snobs is one that's being peddled by Labour central office desperately trying to disassociate themselves from the governments campaign to nobble freedom of information legislation.

also, i'm not entirely sure why you deride people for looking down on Martin because of his religion?
i thought you didn't care who you offended?
or is this just more salt-of-the-earth, dogs-in-the-street , PC-boogeyman-can't-handle-the-truth schtick?

if you want transparency on expenses and the like you need to look North to the Scottish Parliament.
this shit has a tendency to go away when everything is in the public domain.

Bock, I have to agree with your comment about the Brits, at least in the political sphere. in fairness, though, they've had a bit more practice at this that we have had …

What's really crucial is how we as a country/nation react to the present situation – this will be the first real test of Ireland as a mature social democracy. For instance, I honestly think that we will never again be duped by a proprty bubble (after all it has hit us where it hurts). Now, the real challenge is whether we'll actually go through a political realignment and change thepolitical landscape sufficiently in order to offer a real choice in the fuure. That I'm not so sure about, simply because too many of us have 'invested' in the present set-up with all its faults and built-in entrophy