Soapbox.

The 2 photos are of 2 shops in Capel St.
The possibly last pawnbrokers in Dublin and the new Polish bakery.
Polish people say your bread is so bad. Polish bread is really good and so it is.
Pawnbrokers were such a part of life in the 60's and 70's. Suits pawned on Mondays only to be redeemed on Saturdays for Sunday mass.
Still everything changes and still it remains the same.

Forgive me if I stand up on my soapbox and vent my anger at the law for a few minutes.

A taxi driver raped 4 girls after giving them drugs.
A friend of mine who works in the prison told me that in his 20 years of prison service he had never met such a viscous and depraved person.
He got something like 8 years .
He has had it appealed and has had his sentence halved.

No wonder Joe public have ideas of what they expect taxi drivers to be like.

A taxi driver could be put out of work for a few speeding offences, putting his family on the breadline.

A guy brakes into a house and rapes a woman who is living there. She did not scream in case he harmed her children who were asleep.
He pleads not guilty.
The victim has to come to court to give evidence .
Her life and sexual history are brought up in court during cross examination.

The judge then decides that the man is from a good family so he gives him a 2 year suspended sentence. They go back to their homes on the same train.
As the victim is walking towards the exit the rapist flicked his cigarette butt in her direction!

Are you paying attention.

A guy rapes a 75 year old woman while robbing her house.
He was out on bail for other offenses.
When found guilty thumps the the jury box and threatens the family.
"This is not over yet"
The sentence?

15 years.

Out in 6?

An unfortunate Chinese woman had to sit through a trial where her only son was killed with a butchers knife during a robbery of his home.
Derek Wade had been given a 7 year sentence in 1999 for killing someone else.

His next victim was in 2005.

The mother told the court that she cried every day of the loss of their only child.
but in her country a person like this would have to loose their own life.
Seems fair to me.

I can expect him to be sitting in a cab beside me in a few years time.

Had a guy this morning just out after 4 years for armed robbery and he was looking forward to spending StPatricks day with his daughter. She has waited a long time to have a day out with her daddy he said.

A judge had to apologise for saying that if anyone broke into his house he would blow their brains out with a shotgun. The case he was dealing was straight theft. No breaking in or violence used.

Man faces 75 years for graffiti.

Well this is in Thailand where you could buy a child to "deflower"for around e100.

Girls are sold into prostitution and no one gives a damn.

But put a bit of graffiti on a portrait of the leader King Bhumibol Adulyadej
and your looking at 75 years.

The Thai people that I have met are fantastic people.
But this aspect of sex tourism is repugnant to me and which they have a blind spot.

Look Sorry for blowing out like this.
But for evil to prosper the good must remain silent..

Look PERHAPS I am just tired , so I will go to bed.

I met a beautiful girl today from Brazil( they all are).
After she told me where she came from I asked .
What team do you play football for?

I once shook the hand that shook the hand of Ronnie Biggs the famous great train robber.
The lady in question lives in Chapelozed and she met him Rio where she lived.


www.stpatricksfestival.ie