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The Citizen
4 days ago
- Sport
- The Citizen
Development players gear up for the big leagues
Development players gear up for the big leagues The historic CMR Golf Club hosted the latest round of the Big Easy Golf Tour from August 5 to 7. The Big Easy Tour was founded in 2011 as a developmental leg of the iconic Sunshine Tour, South Africa's most prestigious golfing event. The name alludes to legendary South African golf player Ernie Els. According to club president Winston Smith, what makes this year's tour special is the fact that seven former development players, who had their start at CMR, are part of the tournament. 'We're very proud as a club for our continued focus on development,' he says. 'These players started as children at CMR, receiving training through our partnership with the South African Golf Development Board. 'They eventually became fully-fledged members of the club and are now playing at a professional level.' He adds that CMR is the only golf club that offers free membership to its juniors. 'Our programme exposes the young players to the various local, provincial, and national leagues.' 'It is part of our initiative to encourage young talented players to join the sport, and it is bearing fruit. These young players who fought their way up the ranks are now vying for a place in the top tournament in the country.' Out of the seven former CMR juniors that took part, three are playing in the amateur league, looking to move up in the rankings and turn professional, and four are playing on a professional level, trying to qualify for the Sunshine Tour. 'We look forward to seeing big things from these players in the future,' he concludes.
Irish Times
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Official documents are quietly disappearing from departmental websites. Why?
In George Orwell's 1984, Winston's job is making awkward documents and reports disappear down the 'memory hole': 'Day by day and almost minute by minute, the past was brought up to date. In this way every prediction made by the Party could be shown by documentary evidence to have been correct…' The Irish Civil Service appears to be implementing the suitably Orwellian practice of 'unpublishing'. The past is being 'brought up to date' through the disappearance – deliberate or otherwise – of official documents from departmental websites. Why? Could it be because they provide information that could be used to hold those departments (and their political masters) to account for failing to deliver their plans? Last week, when writing here about the figures that show shocking numbers of Irish children going to bed hungry, I was looking for the research on food poverty commissioned by the Department of Social Protection in 2024. Under ' The Action Plan on Food Poverty and the associated research report are available ', the site said 'Item was unpublished or removed'. READ MORE That column was published last Tuesday. In the afternoon, I checked the site again and, remarkably the 'unpublished' bit had itself disappeared. The documents had been, to venture further into Newspeak, un-unpublished – in effect, restored. This tells us that the availability or otherwise of public policy and research documents can be deliberately manipulated. Shining a dim torch down the memory hole, here is a sample of purposefully disappeared evidence. 1. In 2017, the then minister for housing published a crucial online map showing, as the press release headlined, 'Over 2,000 hectares of land suitable for housing in State/semi-State ownership' with 'potential for up to 50,000 new-build homes on these lands'. The link now goes merely to the home page of the Housing for All website. There is no map of these sites. 2. That map was part of Rebuilding Ireland, the grand housing strategy published by the government in 2016. The redoubtable housing policy analyst Lorcan Sirr tells me: 'It looks like nearly all the Rebuilding Ireland policy information and documents have been taken down from the Department of Housing's website.' 3. The Department of Health's link to the Project Ireland 2040 infrastructure plan, launched with great fanfare in 2019, now reads: ' Item was unpublished or removed is the government's overarching policy initiative to make Ireland a better country for all of us, a country that reflects the best of who we are and what we aspire to be.' Screenshot of the text which now greets readers. 4. The Department of Public Expenditure's announcement of updates to the same plan now reads: 'The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Michael McGrath TD, has today launched an updated Item was unpublished or removed … This suite of material underlines the steady progress being made in the implementation of Item was unpublished or removed .' Screenshot of the website text as now presented to the public. 5. The unveiling of the 2022 white paper on the transition to a decarbonised economy now tells us that the relevant ministers 'have launched the Item was unpublished or removed which was approved by Government today'. 6. The plug has been pulled on the Government's policy statement 'to ensure security of electricity supply to 2.4 million homes and businesses throughout Ireland', issued by Eamon Ryan in 2021. 'The Policy Statement can be accessed/viewed Item was unpublished or removed' . 7. The announcement of the then government's plan on artificial intelligence now says: 'The Minister for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation Dara Calleary today published the Item was unpublished or removed … A number of key achievements have been delivered so far including: delivering the Item was unpublished or removed in October 2022'. 8. The Department of Education's link to the Report of the Expert Group on Student Participation, launched by Norma Foley just last year, now reads: 'The full report and detail can be found at Item was unpublished or removed'. 9. The announcement in 2021 of the Department of Health's plan to 'reduce levels of salt, sugar, saturated fats and calories in processed foods' was accompanied by a roadmap for implementation. It is now an announcement that the minister 'today launched Item was unpublished or removed'. 10. The Department of the Environment's plan on cutting pollution from solid fuels now boasts that 'to reduce its effects, we introduced the Item was unpublished or removed in October 2022'. 11. The 'vision to make Shannon Estuary Region a renewable energy powerhouse', published by the Taoiseach and Tánaiste in 2022, has been washed away on the 'unpublished or removed' tide. 12. The name of the financial industry's lobby group that meets regularly with the Government to discuss its plans for the sector has been deleted. The lobby now meets 'on a quarterly basis with the Item was unpublished or removed" . 13. The public submissions on the implementation of the Lobbying Act in 2020 have gone down the memory hole: 'These submissions have been published and can be viewed at Item was unpublished or removed .' 14. The bioeconomy strategy on 'the production of renewable biological resources' has been un-published on the Department of Climate, Energy and Environment site. 15. As a piece de resistance, the public consultation on the review of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act now informs us that 'For more details on the review process, the review roadmap is available at the following link: Item was unpublished or removed'. The range of departments engaged in this disappearing act strongly suggests it is not accidental. These documents are not secret. They could, presumably, all be accessed by using FOI – if you know exactly what you're looking for and can wait for weeks or months. Some can be found elsewhere online. And bear in mind that they represent thousands of hours of work by public servants themselves. The function of the memory hole is to make it harder for citizens, civil society organisations, opposition politicians and journalists to hold ministers and senior civil servants to account for what they have and have not done. Every prediction made by the Party can be shown to have been correct.
Telegraph
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Putting trigger warnings on George Orwell's 1984 is the most stupid, 1984ish thing ever
' Orwell will be turning in his grave,' read one of the online comments posted in response to yesterday's piece about 1984 getting a trigger warning. 'Turning'? I think it's more likely he'll be laughing. What, after all, could be more of a validation, a rubber-stamping, and an 'I told you so' – delivered through a megaphone – than a thoughtcrime conviction for a futuristic cautionary tale… about thoughtcrimes, published 76 years ago? In the introductory essay featured in the new 75th anniversary edition, US novelist Dolen Perkins-Valdez describes the book's protagonist, Winston Smith, as 'problematic'. So much so that it may once have led to her abandoning the book, she admits. Warning modern readers that they may find his views on women 'despicable', she writes: 'For example, we learn of him, 'He disliked nearly all women, and especially the young and pretty ones.'' Whoa, wait a minute, Orwell. There's so much to unpack here. First, that with everything currently going on in the world – you know, the rise of modern totalitarianism, technology spying on us and all that – Winston Smith's view of women should be the main area of focus. Second, that word 'problematic', which almost always precedes something cretinous, but in this context was genuinely baffling. Name one successful novel, TV show or film that doesn't feature a 'problematic' character, and I will show you something I have no interest in reading or watching. Do you know anybody who enjoys reading about nice, blameless people going about their nice, blameless lives? I don't. Also, by all means, find Smith's views of women despicable – when you start reading the book, but not before. If and when you are appalled by his behaviour, let that not be off-putting, but a jumping-off point for meaty discussions; an opening up of your mind to human complexities. Someone who has been eloquent on this subject is the British Museum's brilliant new director, Nicholas Cullinan. Asked recently whether he agreed with the idea of trigger warnings and apologies on museum labels, Cullinan replied: 'Labels should be accurate, not partisan or political or conforming to a contemporary fad.' For me, the most extraordinary aspect of trigger warnings has always been their pomposity: the implicit conviction that in 2025, our view is not only more enlightened than any view that came before, but the final word on the subject. Unlike Orwell's, I suspect that those words will look embarrassingly outdated in just a couple of years.
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Yahoo
Woodbury teen killed in Washington County crash Friday night
A 17-year-old Woodbury teen was killed in a car accident in West Lakeland Township Friday night, according to the Washington County sheriff's office. Shortly after 4 p.m. deputies were called to a two-car crash on Stagecoach Trail North and 10th Street North in West Lakeland Township. Deputies and personnel from the Bayport Fire Department and Lakeview EMS attempted life-saving measures, but one of the drivers, Elizabeth 'Libby' Radecki, died at the scene. The other driver was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries. There were no passengers in either vehicle. The Minnesota State Patrol is helping investigate the crash. Authorities say it appears that weather Friday night was a factor in the crash. Crime & Public Safety | 2021 police shooting of Winston Smith justified, Hennepin County attorney says Crime & Public Safety | St. Paul Neighborhood Safety director sues Met Council over discipline at previous Metro Transit police job Crime & Public Safety | Two men who died in St. Paul garage fire ID'd Crime & Public Safety | Looking for love this Valentine's Day? Don't fall for Instagram romance scams Crime & Public Safety | Washington County to embed crisis telecommunicator in 911 dispatch center
