More thoughts…
Is it right that the public and the authorities are put on high alert by suspect devices being made and left on the streets in Dublin as a prank, or hoax if you will?
The latest one in Crumlin, last night will only cause temporary panic and hysteria and what happens if the next one is not a hoax? Will we simply not take it seriously and will it be a case of the boy who cried wolf? I cannot even call it a prank as pranks are meant to have some sort of humour behind them…this incident does not.
Wouldn’t it be nice to not have to constantly read about our health system in a negative light? I would like to read some positives from a system that seems to be much maligned, and in most cases rightly so, because of it’s management.
It has often been said that famous people can get away with the things that “normal people” can not. So it was slightly refreshing to see that a three year sentence was handed down to the actor Wesley Snipes for tax evasion.
Prosecutors in the case had stated that Snipes had earned over $38m since 1999 but had not paid any taxes or filed returns for the years 1999 to 2007.
While I have enjoyed some of his films, I do not have any sympathy for someone who appears to have deliberately thumbed his nose to the system which all other Americans have had to abide buy. Death and taxes are the only certainties, so the saying goes, and if you or I avoided paying our taxes we would be charged, so why should Mr Snipes be treated any differently?
Will a tourist tax really change things? Apparently eight million foreign tourists visited the country in 2007, according to the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation, and with Ireland already being a very expensive place to live, work and play already will it really attract more people to come to this country while in the middle of a world credit crunch?
Friday, April 25th, 2008 and is filed under Thoughts & Questions, Views on News.
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