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Spectator
an hour ago
- Spectator
Deluded Americans are descending on Ireland
The American girl was listing her reasons for moving to Ireland in protest at Donald Trump. 'I cannot stay in a country where Roe vs Wade has been overturned. Did you know abortion is restricted in a lot of states? Oh no, I cannot wait to live in Ireland.' We are becoming used to Americans staying at our B&B while they are house-hunting in Ireland during a fit of pique. We let it all go over our heads. But the question remains. Why are these migrating anti-Trumpers so daft? They are flouncing out of America to come to Ireland in a reverse ferret of how the journey across the Atlantic has been done for centuries. When they explain their reasoning, they couldn't bark up a wronger tree if they tried. Although I would say, in their defence, the way Ireland markets itself is very misleading, with all the rainbow Pride flags and Palestinian embassies. But liberal Americans don't seem to understand that this is the image, tailored for tourism and EU grants, I suspect. The practical reality is very different. As wonderful as the Emerald Isle is, they're going the wrong way across the Atlantic. 'From Galway to Graceland' is the song title. There is no song entitled 'From California to Carlow'. Or Cork. Or Kerry. No young person living in New York or Los Angeles has ever dreamed of leaving the lights, the shops, the theatres and the endless opportunities to get on a boat to Rosslare to begin working on a cattle farm and going down the chipper for their dinner. But a whole load of overprivileged Yanks are descending on Ireland in a huff, invoking their Irish ancestry and sitting in the rain declaring 'This will show Trump!' – while Trump is enjoying White House room service and sunning himself in Palm Beach. I call it the Rosie O'Donnell syndrome. The actress and comedian makes no sense when explaining why she has moved from New York and Hollywood to Dublin, allegedly because she doesn't 'feel safe' surrounded by people who voted for Trump. I often amuse myself during the long, dark West Cork summer evenings by imagining Ms O'Donnell trying to call out a plumber. 'I wonder if she's had a blocked loo yet, or an overflowing gutter,' I remark to the builder boyfriend. 'No bother!' says the BB, impersonating a plumber who is not going to turn up. Ms O'Donnell keeps insisting it's all fantastic. Maybe the locals are saying 'Top of the morning to you, Rosie!' to amuse themselves. But at some point she's going to have someone say the following to her, very impatiently: 'So do you want to go on the waiting list for a call-out for a quote for a new bathroom in six months' time or not?' When the two girls from California came to stay at our B&B, they burst through the kitchen doors as we were eating our dinner and launched into a gushing speech about how much they loved Ireland and felt at home in Ireland, having been here a day. Yeah, all right, I thought. We don't tend to get five-star reviews from people who've just landed that morning. We get five-star reviews from people who've been on the road a week or two, and who fall into our red-hot, full pressure showers with a gratitude that's bordering hysteria. These two were at the idealistic stage. It only took them two minutes to get on to Trump and a pro-choice rant which we could have done without, for we were eating a plate of linguine. One girl stood outside smoking and asked if we had any weed, while the other girl made herself comfortable on the kitchen sofa and started explaining what happens to women in southern US states where abortion is restricted. She could not live in that kind of country. She wanted to live in a society where there was completely unfettered freedom for women in the pro-choice arena. That's why they were in Ireland on a mission to investigate relocating here… The BB looked at me, pausing the forking of linguine into his mouth. 'Er,' I said. And I put my fork down. 'Are you sure we can't offer you some pasta?' No, they said, they had just had pizza. 'Ice cream?' I said. 'Go on. Have some ice cream.' They said that would be nice. So I got five flavours of ice cream out of the freezer and set them on the table with bowls and spoons and the girls sat down at the table. I said: 'You do know Ireland is Catholic, don't you?' They looked blank, then started gushing again. 'We just love it here! We feel right at home, don't we?' 'We do! The people are wonderful! So welcoming! We're going to be so happy here!' While one puffed on a vape and the other ate ice cream, they told us how much they despaired for their country. They said there was some hope for women's rights and liberal ideology, though, because of the nice Muslim Democratic candidate being lined up for mayor of New York. By now, the BB and I were sitting there with our mouths slightly ajar, saying nothing. What was spilling out of their brains made no more sense than if they'd told us they were going to put the raspberry ripple in the oven to keep it frozen. They finished slagging off America, then went to bed saying they had to be up at 7.30 a.m. to go to Blarney Castle. The next day they came down at noon and said they might give the Blarney Stone a miss. They were going just to get in the car and drive and see where the road took them. 'That sounds like an excellent plan,' I said, wondering if the road would be so good as to take them back to the airport.
Time Out
2 hours ago
- Time Out
78% of New Yorkers want to be able to Airbnb out their apartments, says new poll
New Yorkers love rules—until those rules start messing with their side hustle. A new poll commissioned by the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, first shared with amNewYork, finds that 78-percent of NYC residents think the city's ban on short-term rentals like Airbnb should be revisited or are open to changing it, with a growing number citing affordability and flexibility as top concerns. The survey, which canvassed 503 adults across the five boroughs, paints a picture of a city fed up with laws that don't reflect economic reality. Passed in 2023, Local Law 18 all but outlawed short-term rentals unless the host was physically present, essentially killing the market for private apartment Airbnbs. City officials say the law is necessary to protect long-term housing stock, but New Yorkers aren't so sure. A whopping 82-percent say the law hasn't made housing more affordable, while 95-percent agree that residents need 'flexible ways' to make ends meet. 'Our poll data shows that residents are demanding practical solutions that look to build more housing to scale,' said Randy Peers, president and CEO of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce. 'New Yorkers also recognize that significantly restricting homeowners from activating their space for short-term rentals is not a solution to the growing problem, and in fact, hurts the local economy more than it helps.' Those outer boroughs—where hotel options are slim and tourists once leaned on Airbnb—are particularly concerned. More than 75-percent of residents say fewer visitors to those neighborhoods is a valid reason to revisit the law, with support highest in the Bronx and Staten Island. Meanwhile, reform is already on the table. A City Council bill introduced by Councilmember Farrah Louis and backed by Speaker Adrienne Adams would loosen some of Local Law 18's strictest rules, like the host-present requirement. Airbnb's PAC, Affordable New York, has thrown its weight behind the measure, pouring more than $1.1 million into campaigns for the bill's co-sponsors. Not everyone is on board. 'Tenants not Tourists,' a coalition of housing and civil rights groups, argues that more Airbnb rentals mean fewer homes. Mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani has echoed that view, saying New York can't spare any housing while vacancy rates remain low. Still, with 76-percent supporting the idea of renting out their home while away and 85-percent saying families should be allowed to stay together in STRs, the momentum to rethink the law is building fast.
Scottish Sun
3 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Trump's top US intelligence chief says she believes in aliens and vows to ‘share the truth' on UFOs
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THE US intelligence chief has vowed to "share the truth" on UFOs after saying she believes in aliens and that extraterrestrials are real. Tulsi Gabbard, the Director of National Intelligence in Donald Trump's administration, hinted that she has a lot of classified information on aliens but is forced to remain tight-lipped due to her job. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 5 The US Department of Defense released footage of one UFO caught by an aircraft Credit: AFP 5 UFOs were spotted hovering over top-secret military bases and flying near aircraft, according to the US Navy (computer-generated image) Credit: Getty 5 Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has hinted that she has a lot of classified information on aliens Credit: The Mega Agency Speaking with Pod Force One podcast host Miranda Devine, Gabbard was asked if "there could be aliens". The US intel chief replied: "I have my own views and opinions. In this role, I have to be careful with what I share." Devine then asked Gabbard if she believes aliens and UFOs are real, to which she replied: "Yes." She said that right now she has "nothing to share with the public about aliens and UFOs today". read more on UFOs UFO DECLASSIFIED First ever bombshell vid of infamous 'Mosul orb' UFO is released But she vowed to reveal the truth when the time comes. "We're continuing to look for the truth and share that truth with the American people," Gabbard told the New York Post podcast host. Americans are curious and fascinated about aliens more than ever. One Pentagon whistleblower who claims UFOs are real presented his bombshell testimony at a major "alien" hearing before the US Congress last year. Former counterintelligence officer Luis Elizondo, who is said to have investigated UFO cases while at the Department of Defence, claimed America is in "possession of UAP technologies". In Elizondo's written testimony, the former defence expert said many "advanced technologies" that do not belong to the US or any other government exist around the world. First ever bombshell vid of infamous 'Mosul orb' UFO is released Trump has long pushed for more transparency on UFOs and ET life. He vowed last year to reveal exclusive UFO footage if he was elected back to the White House. The MAGA prez said he would push the Pentagon to declassify the alleged UFO sighting videos in a sensational interview. He told popular American podcaster Lex Fridman that he would "surely" make secret footage of alleged UFO sightings public. During the chat, Fridman asked Trump: "Will you help push the Pentagon to release more footage, which a lot of people claim is available?" To which Trump readily agreed and said: "Oh yeah, sure, I'll do that. I would do that. I'd love to do that. I have to do that." The Republican leader also claimed he had faced pressure to declassify previous records of alien encounters as he admitted "there could be life on other planets". 5 Donald Trump vowed to declassify footage of alleged UFO sightings Credit: AP 5 A whistleblower came forward with bombshell allegations that the US has a secret UFO retrieval program Credit: Getty He added: "People begged me not to do it but I'll be doing that very early on." It comes after the first-ever bombshell footage of the infamous "Mosul orb" UFO captured by a US spy plane in Iraq has now been released. The declassified video, filmed in 2016 by a US MC-12 surveillance aircraft, shows a mysterious metallic spherical object flying over the city of Mosul. Interestingly, the four-second footage shows the UFO flying at a constant speed without dropping altitude. The object appeared suddenly and moved erratically in and out of the camera's view. The clip was obtained by Dustin Slaughter, a leading UFO investigator, through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request - and was shown to the public by UFO podcaster Jeremy Corbell. It comes two years after the first still image from the video was declassified by the Pentagon. Meanwhile, another declassified UFO footage showed a similar mystery metal orb soaring above the ground - leaving US officials puzzled. In 2023, A testimony was heard at Capitol Hill, Washington DC, as the Pentagon's All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office revealed the shocking clips. The videos released in the declassified cases are said to have been observed by US military drones. The footage showed a mystery "metal orb" as it hovered and flew across open airspace. The incidents were believed to have been recorded in the Middle East and South Asia.
