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JUSTICE MINISTER ALAN Shatter has just released this statement:
There is predictably a grossly misleading headline in today’s Irish Independent. It quotes me as saying that “I refuse to reveal if I met Lowry”. In fact in reply to a query from the journalist concerned, as reported in the body of the story, he was informed that “As Minister for Justice I am not participating in Independent Newspapers agenda.”This is an agenda that has been in play for some time. As Minister for Justice it is my obligation to uphold the rule of law. The Garda Commissioner is consulting with the Director of Public Prosecutions as to whether aspects of the Moriarty Report may be pursued from a criminal point of view and as Minister for Justice I am determined to ensure that I neither do nor say anything that could prejudice matters. This is entirely consistent with my contribution in the Dáil to the debate on the Moriarty Report.
The loaded question posed by the Independent journalist is designed to elicit a response that facilitates the publication of a story that either condemns Michael Lowry or implies guilt by association or both. I am unwilling to engage in an unethical media project of compiling a blacklist of elected TDs that Ministers should not meet on legitimate official business and also with whom no conversations should ever take place.It is worth asking in this context, in addition to Michael Lowry, who from Sinn Féin, Fianna Fáil and TDs from smaller parties and none should be included in such list? Should Ministers only legitimately engage with those TDs with whose words and deeds, both past and present, they agree or with those approved by the media?This is a slippery slope we should not slide down nor encourage. It has echoes of the discredited McCarthy era of the 1950s in US politics. We should not allow such an approach to gain even a foothold in a robust constitutional democracy that takes political elective office and constituency representation seriously.
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It’s turns out that internet misinformation is far more deadly than anyone had imagined. Critical thinking should be taught at all schools from a young age.
@Simon Power: unfortunately it doesn’t matter if they teach it in schools , what they learn at home will super seed it
@Simon Power: Yes, but in America there are additional cultural, ideological, political and religious factors leading to citizens refusing the vaccines. It’s not a nation. It’s a collection of sub-societies each with their own identities.
@Simon Power: Having the internet without being able to think critically, is like having the university library without having the university, or having a Ferrari bit not knowing how to drive. The once quaint “Educated in the university of life… ” cliche is turning out to be the nightmare very few could.have envisaged.
@Simon Power: the terrible irony here is that critical thinking has been actively discouraged by the likes of you, critical thinking does not mean blind obedience to whatever the government says.
If you’re suggesting that people who refuse the vaccine are incapable of critical thinking but assert that those who took the vaccine have demonstrated critical thinking, then you are a lost cause.
We’ve had almost 2 years of this and instead of solely relying on a vaccine, we could have gotten our house in order, poor nutrition and obesity are huge contributors to covid deaths….a nationwide campaign for obese people to lose weight and everyone else to just eat better would have been a great idea.
@Dan Broderick: The type of “critical thinking” you’re talking about is the same kind of critical thinking that lead to climate change denial. Proper critical thinking allows people to evaluate what they do know as apart from what they don’t. It also tells us that there are people better placed than ourselves to make these highly specialised judgements. Your type of critical thinking is all about speculation and trawling the web for the lone voice in a thousand that agrees with your speculation. That’s not critical thinking. It’s not even logical thinking.
@Vonvonic: I clearly have too much free time today if I’m responding to you but you’re demonstrating willful ignorance here.
I recommend a multi faceted approach to dealing with Covid, a physically fit person who eats a healthy and varied diet and gets out in nature daily but declines the vaccine for whatever reason, is doing more to help themselves than an obese person who continues to eat crap, watches TV 15 hours a day but gets the vaccine.
If you’re going to ridicule a healthy person for declining the vaccine and accepting their increased risk of getting ill with Covid, then why not ridicule every fat person for actively choosing ill health through negligence?
It’s all about personal responsibility!
@Dan Broderick: Ridicule?. You don’t need to get precious Dan. We’re all grown ups on here. If you dish it, you can surely take it. Critical thinking would tell us that the vaccination program has been a huge success. It also tells us that vaccinaton is the reason we’re able to open society next week. As for diet. Everyone knows that a healthy lifestyle and a good diet are beneficial for good health outcomes. You don’t need to be an expert for that. In one breath you’re saying the government should be promoting better lifestyles and diets. On the other you’re saying that we shouldn’t believe everything the government tells us. That’s some paradox
@Simon Power: aside from misinformation you’d wonder how many of those 70 million would be taking it if it was the orange lad pushing it instead of sleepy joe. A lot, I’d wager, despite the republicans shiting on ad nauseum about the Democrats politicising the virus.
Biden really hasn’t got a handle on this at all.
@LaoisWeather: Very hard to fix stoopid
@LaoisWeather: What’s he going to do? Going around and personally vaccinated every conservative who refuses to be vaccinated? His grasp of the situation is leaps and bounds better than Trump.
The most problematic states are states with a Republican majority. They have the lowest vaccinate rates.
@LaoisWeather: far better than the mango m0r0n . Remember him? Over 500,000 died on his watch in a year. The rate of people dying has obviously slowed down!
So Biden is going at about the same death rate as Trump was.
@bread of heaven: I’d suggest looking at the political history of the deceased. There is a distinct over representation of republicans.
@bread of heaven:
Unvaccinated people are dying at the same rate as they always were.
Pity there’s no vaccine for stoopidity.
@bread of heaven: eh, no! Trump had over half a million in a year! Biden ain’t gonna get close to that.
have your say