Willie O'Dea Posing With Firearms

spitfier

How in God's name can anyone be offended by the Minister For Defence posing with with a gun? If he's not allowed do it, who is? The cameramen asked him to pose with the gun. This issue has all been exaggerated for no other reason then to make a stab at the government. I'm not an especially pro-govt supporter but surely no one can logically argue that the minister did anything wrong?

eoin_ie

I think it's got less to do with the fact that he posed with guns and rather that he aimed one at the camera with a moronic grin on his face.

johnnyrotten

Yeah, It was really blown out of proportion. Opposition A~#eholes having their daily dig at the Government

johnnyrotten

Anyone able to post the pic here?

Guy:Incognito

This has been blown completely out of proportion. The media is going on about him doing this in the current environment of the drugs killings. It's hardly similar isit. It's the armies weapons for christs sake, amd he's the minister of defence. Have these hacks nothing better to do?

RuggieBear

http://www.ireland.com/ITImage/urlpicture_id_1130406954162_20051116/makemyday,2.jpg

Agent Smith

johnnyrotten

Looks Ok to me! Hes the Defence Minister at a celebration of the Rangers Anniversary. Hes hardly going to assasinate a drug dealer or hold up a bank.

spitfier

eoin_ie wrote:

I think it's got less to do with the fact that he posed with guns and rather that he aimed one at the camera with a moronic grin on his face.

Moron or not, it doesn't make the action of pointing the gun at the camera wrong.

Zombrex

a lot of gun smoke (ahem) over nothing ...

he was clearly sending up a hollywood style "You talking to me" pose .. I personally don't have much time for O'Dea, but jesus TDs are allowed have a sense of humour too ... if anyone thinks Willie O'Dea is going to make gun crime glamourous they clearly haven't seen the photo (I can see 50 Cent shaking in his boots now)

If he dressed up as Ali G and started "pretending" to smoke crack, now that wouldn't be funny ... it would be fecking hilarious!!

johnnyrotten

Wicknight wrote:

If he dressed up as Ali G and started "pretending" to smoke crack, now that wouldn't be funny ... it would be fecking hilarious!!

Ray777

spitfier wrote:

I'm not an especially pro-govt supporter but surely no one can logically argue that the minister did anything wrong?

The Defence Minister poses, grinning and pointing a gun towards a camera. It's nothing more than a stupid error of judgement, but if that happened in Britain, he'd probably have been sacked or forced to resign by now.

Guy:Incognito

Wicknight wrote:

a lot of gun smoke (ahem) over nothing ...

he was clearly sending up a hollywood style "You talking to me" pose .. I personally don't have much time for O'Dea, but jesus TDs are allowed have a sense of humour too ... if anyone thinks Willie O'Dea is going to make gun crime glamourous they clearly haven't seen the photo (I can see 50 Cent shaking in his boots now)

If he dressed up as Ali G and started "pretending" to smoke crack, now that wouldn't be funny ... it would be fecking hilarious!!

Even Richard Madely (nearly) pulled that one off.

mike65

Willie O'Dea for not spoting a photo-op best avoided or the fusspots in the Dail (Joe Higgins apart, he caught the moment well). Pat Rabbitte was particularly culpable if he were any more windy and pompus he'd have blown himself out onto the street. As for Trevor Seargent...tsk. Still at least no Shinner stood up to pontificate!

Why cant politicans see when they are being used by the media, I thought they all went through the Bunny Carr school of communications these days. I'd want my money back.

Mike.

deise boy

I agree, its no huge deal really. I didnt know it was the rangers anniversary? Its just Pat Rabbit creating a storm in a tea cup as usual.

mickd

mike65 wrote:

Willie O'Dea for not spoting a photo-op best avoided or the fusspots in the Dail (Joe Higgins apart, he caught the moment well). Pat Rabbitte was particularly culpable if he were any more windy and pompus he'd have blown himself out onto the street. As for Trevor Seargent...tsk. Still at least no Shinner stood up to pontificate!
Mike.

"Pat Rabbitte would drown in his own pomposity. Pat Rabbitte approches issues with his mouth open, permanently in awe of his own cleverness. Pat Rabbitte should get a life" Willie O'Dea on the News at One.

"That was good old fashioned abuse, I will not deal with the runt of the cabinet litter"
Pat Rabbitte responding on The Last Word

HybridTech

mike65 wrote:

at least no Shinner stood up to pontificate!

Storm in a tea cup!! If that's the only exposure we have to weapons in this country...GREAT!!!

Sparks

A few years back, when he was the Minister of State in the Dept. of Justice, we (the National Target Shooting Association, the national governing body for Olympic target shooting) met with him to discuss pistol licences for people to compete in the Olympics (a third of the shooting events in the Games are shot with pistols - .22 calibre and air pistols). We were turned down because they were supposed to be far too dangerous for ordinary people to have them. And now he's breaking the first rule of firearms safety on the front page of the Irish Times as if it's some great big joke (the day after a series of gangland murders in residential areas) and you wonder why some of us are ticked off?

Ajnag

As for Trevor Seargent

Tell me about it :rolleyes:
Disappearing up ones own orifice is a sad sign of things to come imo.

One thing however did catch my eye, O'Dea did nothing for gun safety in the way he handled those weapons. He had his finger on the trigger for half the pose's :eek:
And thats also a good inditment on our td's that not one even noticed. And then they'll tell us about safety....gimme a break.

HybridTech

D'you think he'd have been allowed get anywhere near them, never mind handle them if there was anything up the breech or in the magazine?

Sparks

First rule in the army HT is that there is no such thing as an unloaded gun. Mainly because soldiers are always being shot with "unloaded" guns.

Tell you what, you look at that photo again and tell me how you know there's nothing in the breech of that pistol?

HybridTech

Agreed Sparks, no way of knowing. Like i said, d'you really think he would have been handed a live weapon, or allowed pick one from the table?

Sparks

That's the point HT, that because you don't have a way of knowing, you don't joke about. Senses of humour and firearms are best kept a good distance apart...

HybridTech

I'm not joking!! Where did I joke about it? OK, the Shinners reply! Fair enough! Still, I say storm in a tea-cup, for the simple reason of my last two posts.

lostexpectation

has to go to Higgens who took it in good humour

Mr. J. Higgins (Socialist Party): As a matter of Dáil security, did the Tánaiste require the Minister for Defence to leave his weapon at the door this morning?

(Interruptions).

An Ceann Comhairle: That does not arise on the Order of Business.

Mr. S. Power (FF): He left it besides Deputy Joe Higgins's handcuffs (reference to Joe's recent incarceration for refusing to bend the knee to the Man).

Mr. O'Dea (FF): Trotsky was big into weapons.

Mr. McDowell (Right Wing, I mean Progressive Democrats): Where was the ice-pick left?

Mr. J. Higgins (SP): If not, I was going to ask Deputy Ferris (Sinn Féin) to go over and disarm him.

"As we all know, weaponry is not a laughing matter, but we do sometimes have to undermine the increasing pomposity of Government ministers."

walshb

It's a well known rule that you never ever point a gun at anybody loaded or not, he made a bad call, even though he was asked to do it. I saw the clown, he was like a kid in a sweet shop....out and out idiot

Heinrich

Could you imagine the pose if the Irish Navy had an aircraft carrier?

Hagar

Apart from the politics of the issue..

A) Treat every weapon as if it's loaded regardless of what anyone else has told you
You never point a weapon at a person unless you intend to fire at that person
C) You never put your finger on the trigger of a weapon until it is pointed at your target and you are prepared to fire

Apart from that it was just buffoonery for the camera

Dave!

Obviously blown completely out of proportion to take a cheap shot (ptp)

Mighty_Mouse

Storm in a teacup. Opposition speciality these days as opposed to being able to construct any publicly interesting and valid arguments against the major failings of the current administration.

Pat Rabbitte approches issues with his mouth open

I heard it and i thought he said "Pat Rabitte approaches every issue with an open mouth". (as opposed to open-mind!)

I thought it was fecking hilarious. Must of been the delivery!

tba

I have to get a credit card someday...
http://tinyurl.com/arr2n