Remove Politics From Sport

I am both a big sports fan and a political anorak, but I can not stand it when these two things are combined, as was the case recently when John Howard prevented the Australian cricket team from playing a test series in Zimbabwe. Now don't get me wrong I am not a fan of Mugabe or his regime but at the same time I don't think this is a decision the Australian Prime Minister should be taking. Politics and sport should not be mixed.

A few years back Greece were barred from UEFA competitions because of too much government interference. In addition during the 2003 world cup England were penalised for failing to play in Zimbabwe. As a result I will be interested to see what if any action the ICC will take in relation to this.

Library Opening Hours

It's great to see that Queens will be getting a new library in the coming years, but I for one hope that its not just the building that is changing. One of the biggest bug bears I have had about the library here is its opening hours particularly at weekends. I don't work weekends and as a result its when I get the majority of my studying done but I am often frustrated by the lack of facilities available to me to do this. Admittedly the main library from now until the end of the semester is open late on the weekends but for many students who had coursework to do this is too little to late. Add to this the number of part time post graduate students who need to make use of the facilities at weekends, it truly is unacceptable. During my time at Queens I have fought to have this extended weekend opening hours in place all year round but I have been met with much opposition from Queens, hopefully this new library will bring this to an end

As no doubt most of you aware both myself and Helferty have been involved with RAG this year and what a successful year it has been as we have raised upwards of £10,000 for a range of good causes. As much I would like to, I have to say at this stage that despite chairing the society since the end of January, I can take no credit for this success this year. Instead all the credit has to go to the dedicated team of raggies that have put in so much hard work this year. The society is not what it once was but thanks to their hard work we are in the process of restoring it to former glories. This is just a personal thank you to all those involved and I look forward to building on the success in the coming years.

Me and the Christian Right...

Now I like Christians, most of them (really I do) but if there was ever a group of people for whom I have such as passionate dislike, it has to be the 'Me and my Bible, Fundamentalist, Evangelical, Christian Right'... It's not so much what they stand for (well it is, and I will come on to that in a few seconds) But rather the manner in which they choose to 'spread the message’.

When I read my new testament I read about kindness, forgiveness, tolerance, respect, love and understanding… not words one would often associate with those who hand out condemnation like its theirs to give.

For me the greatest problem with the religious right is their selective use and very selective application of the ‘sinner’ – Gays and lesbians for instance, they live in sin, their sin is so distasteful the Christian right preach day after day after day about how this is ‘an abomination’ (Leviticus 18:22) - no problems there, its in the bible… what then is your problem Ciarnán??? My problem is that the bible say a lot more about sin… A LOT more:

For instance when I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord (Lev. 1:9). The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. How should I deal with this?

I would like to sell my (imaginary) daughter into slavery, as is sanctioned by Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness (Lev. 15:19-24). The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

Lev. 25:44 states that I may buy slaves from the nations that are around us. A friend of mine claims that this applies to the Welsh but not the Scots. Can you clarify, why can’t I own Scottish people?

I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?

A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination (Lev. 10:10), it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this?

Lev. 20:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear prescription glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?

So maybe before these short sighted hypo-Christians start condemning homosexuals to death and damnation they can answer these queries –or maybe they will do what the always have done (and will no doubt continue to do) and remain blissfully ignorant of the sin they themselves are committing ‘let he who is without sin cast the first stone’ (john 8:7)

…although I suspect that won’t happen, as the glass houses in which these people live will quickly come smashing down around them.

Monitored Recycling?

I am a big fan of recycling what I am not a big fan of, is being spied on. For that reason imagine my disgust when I recently discovered an RFID tag in my recycling bin. Such a tag allows for constant monitoring of the bin and consequently what is in the bin (once its been collected). Now don't get me wrong I have nothing to hide but the idea of this disgusts me. A private company monitoring what and when I recycle is just not on. It will be bad enough when Belfast City Council replace my bin with one that contains a similar tag. Worse still when I contacted the company about removing the tag, they said I could but they would not collect the bin anymore. As a result I am going to have to return to the way recycling was done when Pluto was still a planet and make my regular journey to a local recycling centre. Granted not the worst of complaints but I know a number of my friends will not recycle anymore now

I hate the smoking ban

Well somebody has to say it but I hate the smoking ban and I am a non smoker. I hate the ban or at least parts of it for a number of reasons.

Firstly its an erosion of personal freedom. Many of my work collegues work from home. They are all smokers, yet between the hours of 9 and 5 they are banned from smoking in their own home because it is their place of work. The ban makes no allowance for where this home is, who lives there or anything. For me that is too much governmental control.

In addition I drive a company car. For 11.5 months of the year I am the only driver, however for about 2 weeks someone else may drive my car. It is this potential that prevents me from being allowed to smoke in my car. Collegues who also own company cars on the other hand are not prevented because they are the only driver. To me that is just not fair.

So I oppose the smoking ban because I see parts of it as unfair and to controlling, but what does everyone else think?