Ireland & North Korea: We have much in common

You know there’s something wrong when the Gardai are demanding copies of email transcripts without a warrant. It’s clearly a matter of state security that means the wannabe Jack Bauer must get the critical information before the bomb goes off and kills millions.

Except that it’s nothing like that. Instead it reads like the plot for a really bad student movie. It goes like this.

• Artist creates painting featuring Taoiseach Brian Cowen in the nip.
• Painting ends up in the Royal Hibernian Academy.
• It’s taken down but the news features on RTE News in a light-hearted fashion.
• Complaints are received including one from the Taoiseach’s press office and RTE are forced into a grovelling apology.
• Today FM receives a visit from a Garda detective with no warrant demanding that they hand over the contact details of the artist who they had been in contact with.

Somewhere, somehow, the Gardai seem to be forgetting what their job is. We’ve got people being assaulted and murdered with nobody ever charged for these crimes and we’ve got outrageous white collar crime out the wazoo with not one person in prison yet but when it comes to satirising our political leaders, they are happy to crack down like jackbooted fascist thugs.

Priorities please.

Oh and if I can get my hands on higher res versions of the images, I’ll be making sure to post copies in public places. Relevant stuff below!

Cowen holding some toilet paper

Cowen holding his underwear