TheCity

Tag: United States

  • Covid-19 Abroad: how the pandemic has impacted the college experience in the US

    Covid-19 Abroad: how the pandemic has impacted the college experience in the US

    The first reported case of Covid-19 in the US was identified on 20 January 2020. It wasn’t until late March, however, that certain states began implementing restrictions – shutting down businesses and imposing stay-at-home orders.

    Watch Niamh Alexander interview Ella McGettigan about the Covid-19 crisis a year on in the United States

    Donald Trump’s reaction to an almost certain pandemic was to downplay the risks, lulling his supporters into a false sense of security. 

    “Trump just kept belittling the situation and he was saying ‘there is nothing to be worried about, it’s not going to affect us.’ When we got our first case, it was like it was no big deal,” says student Ella McGettigan, speaking to The City from her dorm room in Quinnipiac University, Connecticut.

    A shot of Trump Tower. Photo by Priya Karkare on Pexels

    “If you practised proper social distancing, you were just a diehard liberal and if you were anti-mask then you were just a diehard Trump fan”

    Ella McGettigan

    “If [he] had stated that the coronavirus was something that was dangerous and threatening us, then we would be in a completely different situation right now,” she says.

    Trump’s attitude to the pandemic created a huge divide in the country, causing confusion among red and blue states when it came to the level of restrictions.

    “If you believed in coronavirus, if you practised proper social distancing, you were just a diehard liberal and if you were anti-mask then you were just a diehard Trump fan,” says McGettigan. 

    The divide is also evident in the way colleges in the US have handled restrictions.

    McGettigan mentions that some colleges are stricter than others, with students in some areas free to throw parties during the day without any consequences.

    Pictured: Covid-19 vaccine vials by Simon Torsten on Pixabay

    At Quinnipiac University, however, weekly testing is mandatory and gatherings of more than two people are strictly prohibited.

    “It’s hard because I’m in the Greek [i.e. sorority/fraternity] community and we usually do a lot of philanthropic events and fundraisers and obviously we can’t do that, so everything has just been on Zoom,” says McGettigan.

    “But down south, people are holding formals with no masks.” 

    Contrary to expectations, the US’s vaccine rollout has been a success so far – President Biden surpassed his goal of delivering 100 million vaccines by his 100th day as president on his 59th day in office.

    With doses administered currently averaging at 2.5 million per day, the successful rollout will be a point of positivity for a country that had such a rocky initial response to the pandemic.

  • Deflector Trump struggling to keep a lid on ties with the Kremlin

    Deflector Trump struggling to keep a lid on ties with the Kremlin

    While Donald Trump sounded more presidential at his recent address to Congress, the issue of Russian connections still lingers for team Trump. What does this all mean for the president, and for the Irish as the Patrick’s Day shamrock approaches? James Carroll reports.

    (more…)

  • Dubliners protest Trump in rain, wind and zeitgeist

    Dubliners protest Trump in rain, wind and zeitgeist

    Zuzia Whelan takes to the streets of Dublin alongside crowds protesting President Trump’s travel ban.

    (more…)

  • Black Friday

    Black Friday

    As Black Friday hit America by storm for another year, Ireland jumped on the bandwagon. It crashed onto our isle on waves of insanity as shoppers took to the streets in droves to avail of the discounts on offer.

    Black Friday began as a shopping day in the States in the early 2000s. It takes place the day after Thanksgiving. It became a ritual for shops to open their doors at 6.00am, offering massive discounts for one day only. Now shops are beginning to open their doors as early as 4.00am for the hungry shoppers. What probably began as a brilliant business initiative has now become a global joke, as television programmes such as South Park belittle the day as nothing more than an excuse for temporary insanity and greedy consumerism.

    This ideology of commercialism and “more, more, more” has been leaking into European culture steadily in the last few years. It seemed to start off with the January sales; people would queue and shop for hours, saving whatever they could spare during Christmas to be able to buy the practical items that they couldn’t afford otherwise. With shops like Boots, Argos and Easons offering incredible percentages off their products, it seemed to be a great success this weekend. We must keep in mind though those who had to work in these retail shops during the madness; what did they think of everything?

    Sara Hanly, who worked in the Dundrum Shopping Centre during the first Irish Black Friday said; “I’ve been working in Dundrum shopping centre for 4 years and absolutely dread “events” like Black Friday. So many customers get crammed into the shops that it becomes a highly stressful environment. Customers are aggravated because it’s too crowed to reach the clothes they want and there’s such long queues.” When it comes to the behaviour of the shoppers Sara said: “Some customers are rude but I think it’s more to do with the stress of the crowds. Sometimes I’m rude to customers myself just because of the pressure, and sales assistants are under a lot of pressure trying to tidy the floor while endlessly running up and down to the stockroom for customers. I finished my shift early on Friday and on my way home a Dundrum security guard asked me if I wasn’t going to do some discount shopping for myself. I said no way, I don’t see the appeal of it at all. He answered “greed”. Kind of summed it up for me ”

    Shops all over the City Centre advertise their discounts to entice eager shoppers into their place of business
    Shops all over the City Centre advertise their discounts to entice eager shoppers into their place of business

    The residents of Dundrum were not too impressed either with the events of the weekend. Many residents said that it was “madness” and that they felt like their weekend was stressful, as they tried to go about their business amongst the crowds. Jane O’ Donoghue, who lives opposite the shopping centre said that there should have been warnings given out. “It would have been nice if they gave some type of warning. It might have been good if they even dropped a leaflet in the post box to say it was going to be on and expect traffic! That’s been the most annoying thing! It’s the whole way around the place which is very annoying when you’re just trying to get home and not trying to shop.”

    However it didn’t seem to be doom and gloom for everyone working the day. Taxi driver Ronan states that sales days like these are the best for taxi drivers. “You see the thing is, no one wants to be carrying all that shopping on the bus. And some of them can’t even lift all their shopping, they’ve gone and bought so much! It’s a great boost in fares for us, we just drive through town or stay in the Dundrum area and there’s always gonna be someone flagging you down. I’ve been working about eight hours now today and I have definately seen a massive difference in the amount of people I’ve picked up today in comparason to an ordinary day. It’s like Paddy’s Day.”

    Henry Street calming down after a crazy weekend of Black Friday
    Henry Street calming down after a crazy weekend of Black Friday

    You could think of this as a harmless day, a great day for those who might not have enough money to afford the finer things in life without these discounts. Unfortunately, the truth is that this day in shopper’s heaven has become nothing more than a violent, animalistic event that shows us how the need to consume more and more has taken over our brains. Sadly, in 2008, a person working in a shop on Black Friday died, having been crushed in a stampede in Long Island. This is not the only case of death that has been reported during Black Friday, with another person in 2011 suffering a heart attack as people stepped over him.

    During the most recent Black Friday in the UK, police forces were called in all over the country to deal with assaults, threats by shoppers, traffic issues and crowd control. Consumers showed behaviour that one would expect to happen in a political riot. UK police were seen to be quoted all over the newspapers  stating that the crowds behaviour was disgraceful. They also commented that the chaos was “predictable” and that retailers should have been more prepared for the frenzy that ensued. One paper claimed that a Tesco store had to be closed 36 minutes into opening as crowds became out of control.

    As Dylan Moran put it so wonderfully: “The other thing that we seem to have bought into in a big way is consumerism. That’s what people use to fill the void. The stuff… All the stuff all the time, that you can’t get away from… You walk around the house looking for a pen or a piece of paper, you cant find anything useful like that but you can always put your hands on a purple furry cube with the number six on the side and rubber legs underneath and you pick it up and you go ‘What is this? Why is it in the house?!’ Because you bought it that’s why! Like all the other useless crap you never use!”

  • Coleman and McCarthy recalled for Ireland’s November fixtures

    Coleman and McCarthy recalled for Ireland’s November fixtures

    Republic of Ireland boss Martin O’Neill has announced a 36-man provisional squad for the Republic of Ireland’s forthcoming Euro 2016 qualifier against Scotland in Glasgow on November 14. This squad will also play a friendly fixture against the United States in Dublin on November 18.

    Martin O'Neill addresses reporters at the FAI Headquarters in Abbotstown. Photo: James Hopper
    Martin O’Neill addresses reporters at the FAI Headquarters in Abbotstown. Photo: James Hopper

    O’Neill has included the Everton duo of James McCarthy and Séamus Coleman in his squad after both missed the matches against Gibraltar and Germany in early October.

    There is no call-up however for Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish who was tipped to make his debut in the USA friendly at the Aviva Stadium. Stoke’s Glenn Whelan is included despite a broken leg suffered in the Germany game but there is no place for Wes Hoolahan of Norwich, who damaged ankle ligaments with his club after returning from international duty.

    Midfielder Whelan sustained a leg fracture in the 1-1 draw against Germany in Gelsenkirchen on October 14 and was all but ruled out of the Group D showdown against Scotland in Celtic’s Parkhead Stadium by his Stoke City boss Mark Hughes.

    However, O’Neill says that Whelan’s injury is “clearing up” after naming him in his initial squad of 36. “Glenn’s in the squad at this moment,” O’Neill said. “Initially, I thought he was going to be out for some time and while he is still struggling, the injury itself is actually clearing up and he’s giving himself every possible chance.

    “He’s getting better by the day, he’s still not weight-bearing but I’ll give him every opportunity. Even if I hadn’t included him in the squad here today, if he had felt he would be able to play, I would have reinstated him,” O’Neill added.

    Former Cork City defender Brian Lenihan has also made his way into the squad after impressing in training in the lead up to the qualifiers against Gibraltar and Germany in October. However, the uncapped fullback is unlikely to remain in the squad when the panel is trimmed down to a suitable size on November 10.

    “I thought for a young lad coming in with senior players he might have been a little bit nervous but he didn’t show it in the little games we played – in fact he did very, very well,” said O’Neill.

    “It was always going to be an ask for him to be playing in those games [Gibraltar and Germany] and while he may be a natural right-back where David Meyler isn’t, we needed some experience down that side, particularly out in Germany.”

    O’Neill went on to say, “It would have been harsh to have put him in there for that game [against world champions Germany], but he impressed enough to warrant being put in the squad at this minute. Obviously when we cut it down, we’ll see how it develops but he impressed everyone.”

    With November’s clash against Scotland proving to be a significant fixture, O’Neill is hoping that his players’ boosted confidence thanks to their result against Germany will help them secure a potentially pivotal result against their Group D rivals.

    “To score in the last minute of the game and get something from the world champions on their own pitch was really just fantastic. The players have naturally gained confidence from that.”

    “Scotland will not be easy – absolutely not. They’re flying at the moment, Gordon Strachan has them playing very well and they had a great result out in Poland. If nothing else, we must go there with some confidence.”

    Ireland currently sit in second place in Group D on seven points, three points ahead of Scotland.

  • Chicago J1 could be a thing of the past

    Chicago J1 could be a thing of the past

    Irish J-1 visitors to Chicago could become a thing of the past as leading programme-provider USIT has advised students against travelling to the Windy City in 2014.

    In an email circulated to US work and travel participants, the company cites “a lack of suitable accommodation and job offers” in the city, traditionally a mainstay for the Irish expat community, which may make their J-1 more difficult as the reason behind the announcement.

    The call comes in the aftermath of a turbulent couple of years for J-1 visitors to Chicago, with the unruly behaviour of such young people causing landlords and employers to turn their backs on temporary visa holders.

    According to Chicago Irish Immigrant Support, as many as 2,300 such travellers ended up in the Mid-Western hub in 2012 as opposed to the usual 700 or so, an increase which resulted in dozens of hospitalisations as well as a number of arrests.

    Image courtesy Al Foran
    Image courtesy Al Foran

    Despite a reduction in this year’s number, where Chicago’s J-1 community accounted for just only 1,000 of 8,000 such visitors to the States overall, USIT says it was prompted to make the unprecedented call in light of numerous complaints from clients last year over the lack of suitable jobs and accommodation.

    The announcement has been met with derision by members of the city’s large Irish-American community, with local business owner Dan O’Donnell, a cult figure for many J-1 students having voluntarily helped thousands find safe work and housing since 1997, labelling it a “stupid” decision.

    “I sent out emails and letters last year to college newspapers in Ireland encouraging a sensible amount of students to come out to Chicago so we could manage the situation better, and it worked as evidenced by last summer. We want to encourage them to come over and enjoy American cities, not discourage it,” said Mr. O’Donnell.

    The revelation, which comes after the Irish Government lobbied successfully earlier this year to protect the J-1 programme in its current format, will cause many future J-1ers to reassess the wisdom of travelling to Illinois next summer.

    (Feature image courtesy Al Foran)

  • Black Friday comes to Ireland

    Black Friday comes to Ireland

    blackfridayThe largest shopping day in the US calendar is coming to Ireland with several electronic outlets taking the sales to European shores.

    It’s the busiest shopping day of the year, where many people take to the shops after thanksgiving, with many sleeping out over night, to avail of the major sales and discounts offered by retailers all over the country as a means of kickstarting the Christmas shopping rush.

    With the growth of e-commerce, the sales are spreading worldwide. The 3 main players in the sales in Ireland are Apple, Amazon and Gamestop.

    GameStop_logos_Powerwhitered

    Gamestop is coinciding their Black Friday deals with the launch of the Playstation 4, which will probably lead to their busiest day of the sales year.

    Throughout the day via social media, Gamestop will be updating its social media sites with various deals, while some will be outgoing through the coming weeks.

    white-apple-logo-wallpaper

    Prices for all models of the iPad 2 have dropped. The 16GB model now costs €444, the 32GB model costs €534 and the 64GB model costs €624.

    The iPod touch prices have dropped, with prices now starting from €178.

    Prices for the Macbook Air, Macbook Pro and iMac have dropped by €91.

    There are also bargains for peripherals, accessories and gift cards, which can be found on Apple’s website.

    amazon-banner

    Amazon has been running its Black Friday deals all week, which sees major discounts on products throughout each day.

    Deals happen every 15 minutes with products such as books, watches, TVs, toys, and make-up getting huge price reductions.

    Keep an eye on Amazon’s Black Friday deals week page throughout the day to see what you can snap up.

    Adobe-Lightroom-and-Camera-Raw-RC-Update-Available-Supports-New-Cameras-and-Lenses-398616-2

    Adobe is offering a solitary deal for Black Friday bargain-hunters, available until 2 December. During this time frame, customers can sign up to a special Creative Cloud plan offering access to Photoshop CC and Lightroom 5, plus feature updates and upgrades as they are available, 20GB cloud storage for file sharing and collaboration, and a Behance ProSite, all for €12.29 per month.

    Steam

    For the gamers out there, Steam has started its Autumn sale that will be running until December 3rd, just in time for Black Friday. If you’re looking for a bargain on games, Steam changes what’s discounted every few hours, with some games dropping as low as 85%.

    Black Friday has face some major controversy in the US with many shoppers trampling each other to be the first in the door to take advantage of these offers. Over here however, you are just that much luckier with nearly all of these deals taking place online.

  • Should the cannabis bill be puff puff passed?

    Should the cannabis bill be puff puff passed?

    Cannabis has many functional uses besides the most popular form, which is smoking. Image by: mafiosoch
    Cannabis has many functional uses besides the most popular form, which is smoking. Image by: mafiosoch

    American comedian and commentator, Will Rogers, once said of alcohol prohibition in the US that “prohibition is better than no alcohol at all”.

    Although Rogers made his quip as a means of generating humour, he made a very valid point on the purpose of prohibition. It just doesn’t work.

    Alcohol prohibition in the US did not prevent people from drinking alcohol, it just made the process more convoluted. It also made spirits – a form of alcohol that was very rarely acquired prior to prohibition – one of the highest forms of consumed alcohol due to its easy ability to hide and smuggle vast quantities.

    Prior to the 20 US states and the District of Columbia passing laws allowing some degree of medical use of marijuana, and 14 states decriminalizing it to some degree, similar events surrounded the prohibition of cannabis.

    It was still being used heavily throughout the US. And it was wasting precious police time, removing the man hours from being able to focus on more deadly drugs and/or crimes.

    “I don’t smoke weed”, explained Kelley Duffy, a South Dublin mother, “but I know that if I wanted to get my hands on it it could in less than 30 minutes. An hour at max.”

    Mark, a cannabis user, claims, “Sure it might as well be legal, because its not like people can’t get it as it is.”

    He continued to explain. “People who want to smoke it are smoking it. Just because you can’t doesn’t mean it will stop people.

    “Look at alcohol – people under 18 still get their hands on it and still drink. If people want to do it they will do it. Look at the massive increase in heroin use in Ireland. Surely tackling that is more important than some bits of plant.”

    Forbes Magazine calculated that a 15% tax on the estimated 600,000 Coloradans cannabis smokers will generate over $130 million in revenue for the state of Colorado.

    TD Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan, who was the man who has put the decriminalization bill to the Dail, estimated that cannabis could raise €300 million in revenue for the country.

    Flanagan’s estimate may be on the optimistic side of the tax scale, but even a tax figure closer to the estimate given by Forbes would be of great benefit to a struggling Irish economy.However Fanagan was correct in saying that cannabis decriminalisation would “free up” garda resources.

    “Even if it is not legal to smoke it, it should be legal for medicinal use”, stated Donna, whose mother suffers from severe arthritis.

    “I use it for recreational use, but my mother takes a very small amount before bed and it helps her to no end.

    “It relieves her pain, allows her to get to sleep. She doesn’t need to take three of her pills, that really don’t agree with her. It works wonders for her and I think that it is a disgrace that people who need it can’t.”

    The bill will be either passed or rejected by the Dail on the 6th of November. The decision of the bill will have great consequences for hundreds of thousands of Irish citizens – many would argue positive, while some will still argue negative.

  • Should cannabis be legalised in Ireland?

    Should cannabis be legalised in Ireland?

    Cannabis has many functional uses besides the most popular form, which is smoking. Image by: mafiosoch
    Cannabis has many functional uses besides the most popular form, which is smoking. Image by: mafiosoch

    Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan – TD for Roscommon/South Leitrim –  has put forward a private members bill in the Dáil for the decriminalisation of cannabis – similar to the line that many U.S states have taken in recent months.

    I took to the streets of Dublin to find out what the general public view on the bill was, and whether they wished to see the law on cannabis amended.

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  • DEBATE: Redskins should keep their name

    DEBATE: Redskins should keep their name

    “We are Redskins Nation and we owe it to our fans and coaches and players, past and present, to preserve that heritage.” That is how Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder closed his recent open letter to fans of his American Football team.

    One of the most talked about stories in the United States at the moment, not just the NFL, is whether or not the Washington Redskins should change their team name.

    Many argue that the term “Redskin” is a derogatory term towards Native Americans.  However, in his letter, Mr Snyder stated that a poll which talked to nearly 1,000 Native Americans concluded that 90 per cent of them did not find the Redskins name to be offensive.

    He also added that an AP poll earlier this year, found 79 per cent of respondents said they didn’t have a problem with the name “Redskins” and that only 11 per cent believed that it should be changed.

    The Washington Redskins in training camp, lead by Quarterback Robert Griffin III (yellow). Image by Keith Allison on flickr
    The Washington Redskins in training camp, lead by Quarterback Robert Griffin III (yellow). Image by Keith Allison on flickr

    In situations like this, all evidence must be considered before forming an opinion.

    The team have been known as the Redskins since 1932, and they’ve been the Washington Redskins since 1937.  In this time, the team have won five world championships, three of which were SuperBowls, the most recent of these coming in 1991.  Changing the team’s name will mean a loss of their history, starting off on a brand new slate.

    After several years in the mire of mediocrity in the NFL, a place no team wants to find themselves, the Redskins are now a marketable franchise again.  According to Forbes, the Redskins are the fifth most valuable team worldwide, in any sport.

    The acquisition of quarterback Robert Griffin III in last year’s draft was crucially important for the revival of the Redskins brand.  Griffin lead the team to the playoffs for the first time since 2007.  His jersey is the fifth best-selling jersey throughout the entire league.  FedEx Field, the Redskins home stadium, which holds 91,704 spectators, is reaching capacity for every home game.  The Redskins currently have a marketability level that very few other NFL teams can compete with, not just in America but internationally as well.

    An American flag sprawled across the pitch at FedEx Field before a Redskins home game. Image by Jeremy Thoel on flickr
    An American flag sprawled across the pitch at FedEx Field before a Redskins home game. Image by Jeremy Thoel on flickr

    Changing the team name means an entire rebranding on all levels.  It is eliminating all possible aspects of growth in income and completely starting anew.  It means having to re-establish sponsorship deals.

    While it is not uncommon for American sports teams to change their name, it is usually only a process carried out by teams who are struggling, both in competition and financially.  While the Redskins may be struggling on the field at the moment, there is still plenty of time for them to turn their season around.  Off the field, the future is very bright for the Redskins. The Washington Redskins, not the Washington (insert possible team name here).