1 – Copy and paste the email below into your mail client or Gmail or whatever. Feel free to add your own stuff.

2 – Send it to Ceann.Comhairle@oireachtas.ie, and if you could be bothered, to ceann.comhairle@gmail.com.

3 – Oh yeah, and forward it to everyone you know, or at least anyone you think gives a crap.

If you don’t know the context, check out http://tinyurl.com/ceanncomhairle.

Dear Ceann Comhairle,

YOUR NAME

Thanks!

Jeez, I am sick of Facebook.

• It’s the endless “hug me” or “bite him/her” requests

• It’s the virtual teddy bears (I don’t even like real teddy bears) and beers (has anyone here actually ever bought me a real beer? If not, sod off with the virtual ones).

• It’s the Walls vs Superwalls vs Funwalls vs Graffiti vs Notes bull so you don’t know where anyone’s messages are ‘cos it’s all so muddled.

• It’s the incessant chainmails with the “send this to 20 of your friends or something terrible will happen!” message.

• It’s the rubbish design: the tiny message area you have to type into; the lack of pimpability; the narrowness of the content (just in case you want to run Facebook on your 800×600 monitor from 1997).

• It’s the stupid games – “Dare John to run around the office with his boxers over his trousers!” And what have you.

• It’s the showoffy “Look how many countries I’ve been to” or “Look how much I know about music or movies and how high my IQ is” crap people insist on putting up.

• It’s the fact that, allegedly, I look like the drummer from Queen (bleaurgh!)

• It’s the fact that Facebook know more about me and you than I know about myself.

So I say, forget Facebook. If you wanna talk to me, call me. If you’re my friend, you’ll have my number. Or drop me an email. If you know my name, you can find it on the web.

If you agree with me, put this on your Superwall, send it to 20 of your friends along with a $1 teddybear, a Superpoke, and a vampire-bite, or else you’ll be dared to put your fly down all day and make like you prefer it that way if anyone points it out to you. Or some such nonsense.

Dear Friends,

Yesterday, the leading candidates for the next President of the United States became clear. They are Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain, and the winner will decide whether the nightmare of the Bush foreign policy is reversed or continued for another 4 years.

US citizens will choose their president, but global public opinion matters to them–they know that US respect in the world has plummeted under Bush, and they want a President who can deliver change. In the next few days, our uniquely global community has a real chance to influence the finalist candidates as they develop their campaign strategy. Click below to read and endorse our letter to the candidates. We’ll publish it in US newspapers and deliver it personally to the Clinton, Obama and McCain campaigns–we need at least 100,000 people to sign it this week – so please sign and forward this email to friends right away:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/us_change_course/11.php

The message of the letter is simple: we are all in this together. The world is ready to partner with the US, but we need to see a real change of course from the Bush years. The letter is based on a poll of the Avaaz community, which found that our top 3 requests for change in US policy are:
1. Help the world stop global warming
2. Respect universal human rights
3. Use diplomacy to prevent war and resolve conflict
There is a real chance that the candidates could adopt this simple agenda for change, but every day brings more risk that they will commit to another direction. Sign below and forward this email to all your friends and family:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/us_change_course/11.php

American power is declining in the world, but it still has enormous ability to do good or do harm. It will take decades to undo the global harm done by George Bush’s disastrous Presidency. Let’s help make sure America’s next leader takes a different path.

With Hope,

Ricken, Iain, Pascal, Ben, Galit, Graziela and the whole Avaaz team.