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WHAT’S THE STORY?
1. Test results have confirmed that the body of a man who was discovered in Donegal yesterday morning – has tested negative for Ebola. Dessie Quinn had recently travelled to a part of Africa where Ebola had hit.
2. A two day strike at Irish Rail is set to inconvenience thousands of GAA fans travelling to Croke Park on Sunday- the first day of the industrial action. Irish Rail has described it as ‘insanity’.
Let’s hope the supporters find some way of getting to the game so Croker doesn’t end up looking like this…
3. The funeral of Albert Reynolds will take place in Donnybrook on Monday morning. His body will lie in repose at the Dublin’s Mansion House tomorrow.
4. The family of journalist James Foley, who was beheaded by Islamic State militants this week, has agreed to release an email sent to his parents from their son’s captors.
Here it is in full:
5. The case of a woman who was denied an abortion under recent legislation has again brought up a debate on the 8th Amendment to the Constitution – which gives an unborn child an equal right to life as that of its mother.
During the week Minister Charlie Flanagan said that there was “no appetite” for another referendum surrounding the 8th Amendment. Today we asked you if you think we should have a referendum on the 8th Amendment and your response has been pretty clear.
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I don’t for a single moment believe the Labour Party is institutionally antisemitic. The campaign to label it as such is merely part of the ongoing campaign to smear and de-legitimise all and any criticism of Israel – a campaign which has already succeeded in the US.
On the other hand, Corbyn has fulfilled all the worst expectations of those who feared that once he installed as Labour leader, he and the hard-left cabal that surrounds him would forget their promises to consult with Labour parliamentarians in implementing policy.
The fact is that Labour under Corbyn, unless the SNP implodes, cannot win a general election. The electoral math is remorseless in that regard.
@Peter O’Muiri: I hope your right. If Jeremy Corbyn ever spoofs his way into No. 10, he’s getting a phonecall from Uncle Samuel at 9am on Day #1 telling him he is miles off-script re: Israel and that he will need to get in line.
@Peter O’Muiri:
‘In a Facebook post in 2012, Corbyn offered his backing to Los Angeles-based street artist Mear One, whose mural, featuring several known antisemitic tropes, was due to be removed after complaints.
‘Mear One said on his Facebook page: “Tomorrow they want to buff my mural Freedom of Expression. London Calling, Public art.”
‘Corbyn replied: “Why? You are in good company. Rockerfeller [sic] destroyed Diego Viera’s [sic] mural because it includes a picture of Lenin.”
The Guardian, March 2018
@Peter O’Muiri: Labour in the UK are increasingly Relying on the votes of Muslims due to native British people turning to the Conservative party as they become more wealthy. Since more Islamic people become more involved in the party the instances of antisemitism had gone up.
@The Quare Fella: I defend the apologists for the actions of the Israeli Government in the Occupied Territories, the lobbyists for that government, and the toxic Zionism its supporters pursue, to express their opinions. It doesn’t necessarily mean I agree with those policies or views.
@Peter O’Muiri:
I think you got this one right… Corbyn views just spell disaster… If Labour had a moderate left leader right now they could have huge gains. I keep thinking David Miliband.
@Peter O’Muiri: correct
Ah yes, anti-Semitism…when you take issue with Palestinian children being used for sniper practice.
@The Risen: So your denying the holocaust ever happened? (I came to that conclusion because you mentioned Palestinian children being shot)
@The Risen: You seem to have a problem with J e w s
@The Risen: unrelated to the story really. This MP had to have bodyguards at the Labour Party conference. Her own Party conference and in her own constituency.
I don’t agree with Israel’s actions, but you can’t deny there is a faction on the left that are too obsessed with the Israel-Palestine conflict. Considering there are other conflicts ie Yemen that have much more bloodshed in recent times.
@The Risen: these are two separate issues and neither should be denied or mitigated. There is absolutely an anti-Semitic surge within the Labour Party, which has become far more vociferous under Corbyn.
@Manbackonboard: the Holocaust happened all right but despite that fact the Israeli treat the Palestinian people in a criminal way. Did they learn nothing from Jewish suffering.
@The Risen: No, Anti-Semitism – where some people make ridiculous and ignorant comparisons with the Nazis for example. Like you and some in the Labor Party. At least Corbyn himself called out this stupidity and also acknowledged that there was a real issue with Anti-Semitism in his party.
You can legitimately excoriate Israel, its policies and its politicians without resorting to anything like that. But you knew that already and couldn’t resist – the ignorance is going strong.
@The Risen: Describing antisemitism as nothing more then a smokescreen for killing Palestinian children is bigotry in it’s purest form. Hardly surprising considering the race baiting fascist you have as your avatar.
@Patricia Mcnamara: Of course they did, they learned that if they are to prevent another Holocaust in the future they must be really strong as a nation and that they cannot depend on anyone but themselves.
Just about every nation surrounding Israel (all Islamic theocracies) have vowed to destroy the country.
@Will: if someone murders my brother does that mean I can kill other people’s brother
@Manbackonboard: I think you have put your finger on what is actually going on (I presume you are being ironic)
If you criticise Israel and the policies of the Israeli regime and its lobbyists, you will now find yourself targeted with accusations of holocause-denial, denying Israel’s right to exist, and of course, anti-semitism.
@Will: Preventing a repeat of the Holocause doesnt require the stealing of the home of non-Jews, nor does it require the burning of the olive-trees of Palestinians in the Occupied Territories. The stealing and burning are moral choices whose perpetrators have chosen. No one forced them, and they have nothing to do with defence or security, or “preventing another holocaust.
@Mushy Peas: Isn’t it interesting that you need to compare the actions of Israel with some of the worst human-rights abusers in the Middle East when you attempt to de-legitimise critics of Israel – a country that goes on ad-infinitum claiming it is “a liberal-democracy” and “just like us”.
Israel is not a liberal democracy, nor is it anything like one, and it would attract less opproprium if is didn’t insult the liberal-democracies by claiming to be one.
@Manbackonboard: Big reach there, my man.
I’m anti lsraeli does that make me anti semetic?
@Patricia Mcnamara: depends on what level and for what reason you are anti-Israel, but being anti-Israel does not make you automatically anti-Semitic.
@Darius Guppy: I detest what the Israeli are doing.to the Palestinians. Israeli speak of their historical home being Israel. I believe if the USA give America back to The First Nations Australia to the aborigines and new Zealand back to.the Maori ireland.to the Irish etc, etc
Then we can talk about Israeli rights to Israel.
@Darius Guppy: being anti state of Israel doesn’t make you anti-Semitic, one is a nation the other a religion. It’s comparable with being a supporter of a united Ireland and being accused of being anti English. You can absolutely be one without being the other….
@Darius Guppy: Criticising the policies of the Israeli government, its lobbyists, and its toxic interpretation of the ethno-nationalist doctrine of Zionism, is not anti-semitism. Neither is it anti-semitism to question why Israel (and its government personnel) is the only country in thw world engaged in territorial-aggrandisement not subject to economic sanctions or travel-restrictions.
@ℝ: did I say anything to the contrary? Nope.
@Darius Guppy: Sometimes people will agree with you and expand on your point, just because they are replying to you doesn’t mean they’re disagreeing with you.
@Patricia Mcnamara: It certainly does not improve your spelling skills.
@Patricia Mcnamara: Not necessarily. Probably means that you’re anti Zionist which is totally different. The main reason that some groups are afraid to speak out against Israel is the fear of being accused of being anti semetic & this gives Israel a free hand to continue with their blatant oppression & murder if Palestinians.
@Pablo Rojas Coppari: I am 72 and have osteo arthritis. I am grateful I can one finger type at all
Yes I do not deliberately but end up with many errors it is too tiring to correct myself constantly. So a little understanding would go a long way.
Expect several Brexiteers to break away from the Conservative Party before the end of 2019. Mrs. Berger has said that British politics is broken. It’s broken in several ways – regionally, nationally, ethno-socially. There is a widespread English chauvinism among traditional Labour and Conservative voters at loggerheads with the longstanding liberal cosmopolitanism of suburban professionals in academia, the media, education and the public service. Political scientists and sociologists are living in interesting times.
@Garreth Byrne: I don’t think so, if anything the pro-Remain Conservatives will leave the Party.
Don’t see why Tory Brexiteers would leave the party considering Brexit looks likely to happen on the 29th of March and if you’re a Brexiteer in the Tory party you have a sizable number of colleagues with your viewpoint (approx. 80). Strength in numbers.
@Mushy Peas: At any rate, you concur with the impression that the Conservative Party will lose some MPs before the end of the year. British politics is broken.
@Garreth Byrne: yes. And they should lose votes too, as they have conducted this whole process like a bunch of headless chickens.
Great to see. It’s good to see politicians banding together and walking away if they don’t believe in the party line – not just staying put to keep the wages coming in.
However, these are all backbenchers, nothing like when the 4 Labour ministers left to form the Social Democratic Party – which failed.
@Mushy Peas: They’re still getting their MP wages … as independents. Had there been bi elections, they mightn’t have been so quick to move.
The have been actively working against the party for the last number of years if the had put half the effort into getting the Tories out as the have into undermining the party at every opportunity then we might be on a different place regarding Brexit .
@Airwave81: The only way an election will stop Brexit is if the Lib Dems and SNP hold the balance of power, or the majority centrist MPs in both major parties face down the extremists on the left of Labour and the right of the Conservatives.
Maybe Tories will split too, they are even more divided. If not, this Labour split will mean Tories will win next election and what these Labour Mps have done is handed power to the Tories for many years to come and once again given the elite even more power with the weakest in society once again being hammered by the most powerful in society.
@GO GREEN: This group of MPs is an irrelevance in terms of Labour’s electoral prospects. The electoral math is remorseless. Labour under Corbyn is unelectable. The fact is that while the SNP remain dominant in the former Scottish stronghold of Labour, Labour cannot win a general election without capturing the centre-ground in England and Wales. They cannot do this with Corbyn as leader. (Labour congratulated itself for its exceptional and unexpected success in the last general election – an election in which the party ended up 80 MPs short of a majority, and which returned a Conservative/DUP government. It pretty sums up how hopeless are Labour’s prospects unless it changes leader)
@Peter O’Muiri: You fail to grasp the reality that the centre ground no longer is the winning side – from US to all over Europe it is the populist right and the left that are gaining traction and winning. That is why Corbyn did so well in last election and could still win if Labour got its act together.
@Peter O’Muiri: Furthermore SNP have lost their mojo and are likely to loose seats to Labour in next election, Tories may split too, Farage new party if it starts up could also take seat from Tories. All in all you should not write off Labour, who could still win the election.
@GO GREEN: the extreme right and left might create the soundbites, but in strictly number terms the majority are middle ground. Its why the elderly sections of society, who traditionally aren’t on either extreme ends of the political spectrum often define elections.
@Shane McGettrick: No you are talking about the past – in the real world -The far right are on track to gain one third of EU parliament seats in European elections enough to bring the whole show to a standstill and undermine it from within.
@GO GREEN: you mean the populist alt-right, not the far right. Time will tell. Getting back to the point at hand, labour can’t form a government without a significant number of Scottish seats, which will never happen under Corbyn
@GO GREEN: Corbyn did indeed exceed all expectations in the last general election – with Labour showing much higher support in the polls than it currently enjoys – and still ended up with far far fewer MPs than the Conservatives. Note, May and not Corbyn, is PM, even though by all accounts the former had a totally uninspiring election-campaign.
No, the centre exists in England and Wales, and Labour needs to win it to win an election. Under Corbyn it can’t. The math is clear and remorseless. There are too few marginals left where Labour are within striking-distance of a majority.
@GO GREEN: Wrong. The centre-ground defines all the liberal democries, and whichever party captures the greater part of it wins elections. With the exception of the Blair years, the party that has been best at reflecting the values and aspirations of the centre has been the Tories.
Ireland is an extreme example of this truth. More than 65% of the electorate supports centrist politicians and parties. The extreme right hardly exists, and the far-left in all its manifestations attracts about 5% support.
@Peter O’Muiri: Wrong I am not just talking about UK as I mentioned above the right/altright/farright are on course to take one third of EU Parliament seats in next election. As regards Ireland for right wing is well above 5%, only reason that it does manifest itself it that they have no party to represent them.
@GO GREEN: You keep contradicting yourself and affirm the contrary. Even if one were to accept the (highly unlikely) assertion that the extremists of both varieties will get one third of the seats in the next EU Parliament, two-thirds will still be from the centre and centre-right, and centre-left. The latter are far more likely to co-operate with each other in keeping the parliament and its committees out of the hands of the extremists, than disparate far-left and far-right groups.
As for Ireland, the far-right is as electorally irrelevant as its counterpart in the PBP etc. The electorate will never let either near the levers of government.
If they believe the UK party isn’t Conservative enough maybe they could join the Irish Labour Party? Should feel more at home there.
most of those leaving the labour party are blairite / failed tories anyway – good riddance to them – labour needs to get shut of all the ”poor little rich kids ” types and return to its working class roots .
@Eric Davies: And stay in opposition forever. Did you notice how Labour under Corbyn performed brilliantly in the last general election, while May botched it. But May still returned to Parliament as PM and with far more MPs than Labour? And did you notice that Corbyn is now far lower in the polls than he was going into the last general election which he brilliantly and triumphantly lost?
They just can’t get used to Jermy Corbyn as party leader,
It was ok for #Blair to fight an illegal war, but ever since Jermy took over the Labour party they are sniping at him for one simple reason he is a Labour man through & through. The 7mps are more than likely from the Blair side of the labour party, they will get their answer next election, Jermy is not Anti Semi. He will be next PM, they will have to get used to that.
@James Reidy: The only way Corbyn will be the next PM is if invaders from Mars take over the planet and decide too play a big joke on the British people. If Blair had not involved the UK in the Iraq mess, Ed Balls would probably now be PM in a New Labour government because Iraq killed the Blairite project. Its centre-left social and economic policies were popular with the British electorate.
@Peter O’Muiri: If that is the only way Jermy Corbyn could become PM with the help of aliens, how did Trump become POTUS, russian aliens i suppose!
@James Reidy: They certainly helped.
“hard left” “far left” tell me, when did corbyn go from socialist to communist?? When has he advocated for government control of everything and no private enterprise at all. Corbyn is just a traditional left wing politician. It’s politics that has moved far right, just like in the US.
To sort out their mess in the UK they should go PR at the next election.
@Joe Johnson: they have roundly dismissed such an option in a recent referenda.
I have a nuanced position. I am rabidly anti Semitic but am also pro Israeli.
@J.P. Ness: strange position ( my opinion) can or will you explain a little?
@J.P. Ness:
Don’t be too hard on yourself.
Semite
/ˈsiːmʌɪt,ˈsɛmʌɪt/Submit
noun
a member of any of the peoples who speak or spoke a Semitic language, including in particular the Jews and Arabs.
@J.P. Ness: I have a less nuanced position in that I am opposed to Israeli government policies in the Occupied Territories, but otherwise I agree with you.
@J.P. Ness: Palestinians are semites, so it’s possible to be pro-Israel and also anti(Palestinian)semitic.
These seven half in half out brigade, appear to be just like mr Corbyn ,no real principles .they were elected under the labour policies and if they are leaving .do it right, form your own party and go to the electorate.I dont believe for one minute the labour part is anti semetic .Israel stirring the shite as usuall
@Anthony Gallagher: Blame Israel nice one!
Probably needs to happen to both parties.
7??
By Irish standards of political parties comments by Labour members and MP’s not anti Semitic…However in Britian politics parties have more contact with mainstream Israeli parties….They just don’t meet Palestinians when they go to Israel….
@iComment: UK politicians do not meet Palestinians? That is just nonsense.
There are anti-Semites among the Irish left, too.
Angela Smith and her comment about people of a funny tinge, dead before they got going.
And the hits keep coming. They forgot to mention their war crime.
The political system in GB is in turmoil.
have your say