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Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie

What links Brexit, Samaritans and the Human Genome Project? Bill Clinton gets philosophical at DCU

In case you were wondering why he was strolling around Dublin yesterday – he’s here to pick up an honorary degree.

FORMER US PRESIDENT Bill Clinton tied together topics as diverse as the Human Genome Project, the plight of the Samaritans and the importance of always singing the second verse of Danny Boy as he accepted an honorary degree today at DCU.

Clinton was also due to visit Belfast yesterday to try to help out in the stalled political talks as part of his current Irish visit, but those plans were delayed by the arrival of Storm Ophelia.

The former US leader was spotted walking the streets of the capital yesterday instead – and surprised more than a few Dubliners making their way home to take shelter from the former hurricane.

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The former US President was accepting a degree in philosophy from the college today – and, suitably for the occasion, appeared in philosophical mood as he spoke. The speech didn’t particularly lend itself to soundbites – but as far as broad themes go, the message was about the importance of diversity and agreement in an increasingly divisive world.

He segued into that topic (eventually) with some observations about Danny Boy. A choir had given a performance of the ballad before he spoke – and the song was also referenced by the professor who made Clinton’s introduction.

“I always like it when people sing the second verse of Danny Boy,” he began.

“Most Americans don’t know the second verse of Danny Boy but it’s quite important to sing the second verse because it reminds you that you can be very big, very famous, very rich, very powerful, very able to push other people around – to hold them down or lift them up – but it all amounts to the same place.

And what you have left is wondering if anyone will ever kneel and say that they love you.
I’m pretty sure it has very little to do with power and everything to do with the power of the heart.
I’m fairly sure it has very little to do with what is so special and unique about us and everything to do with how human we are with the gifts we all share.
Why am I saying this? It appears to be almost anti-intellectual… Because the world right now is awash in the very thing that we were trying to get around in the Good Friday accord. And you have been kind enough to give me this degree because I did what I could to make it happen.

He continued:

But it was pretty simple – a raging conflict that had gone on between two communities in Northern Ireland, infesting politics in the Republic and politics in America and everywhere there was a larger Irish diaspora.

The conflict, he said, was based on the “simple proposition” from each community that “what really mattered to their identities was their religious, political and philosophical differences”.

Bringing in another, apparently unconnected topic, he went on to talk (in more than a little depth) about the long-running international scientific effort to determine the sequence of the human genome.

The $3 million of US taxpayer funds dedicated to the Human Genome Project under his presidency was “the best money we ever spent,” Clinton said.

The most important thing for this gathering is that every non-age related difference you can see in this room is contained in one half of one percent of our genome.

In every human on Earth not 100% descended from Sub-Saharan Africa, Clinton said, between 1% and 4% of his or her genome is inherited from our pre-human ancestors – the Neanderthals

As an aside, he told the audience:

I remember reading that one day and going prancing into Hillary expecting to be impressing her with my vast knowledge of life sciences.
To laughter, he continued:
She said she could have told anybody that I was part Neanderthal.

In an interdependent world, he said, one in which you could not get away from “the other”, the “great trick is to own your own identity, embrace your own tribe, but form a community in which what you have in common with those you can’t get away from is more important than your differences”.

Going on to speak specifically about the Northern Ireland peace talks, he asked:

So how did they achieve that in the Good Friday accord?
The agreement said we’ll keep democracy – real democracy, which is not just majority rule, there are minority rights and individual rights, the rule of law and the absence of violence as a tool for political advancement.

People who sought to distance themselves from others because they didn’t regard them as neighbours should be mindful of the parable of the Good Samaritan, said Clinton. During the period of the tale, he said, “the Samaritans were very much not buddies with the tribes of Israel”. He observed that the Samaritans, these days, were one of the world’s endangered religions.

Brexit

Addressing last year’s Brexit vote and recent elections across Europe, he told the audience:

All over the world and here in Europe people are reassessing whether what we have in common is more important than our differences.

Summing up the thought process that led to Brexit he said it amounted to voters saying: ”I’m sorry we can’t stay together we had a disagreement”, but then observing, “Oh my God I didn’t know what it was going to do to all those customs things and to all these economic benefits, why didn’t anyone tell me about that?”

Do you realise that if we approached families the way we approached this debate all over the world people would run fleeing from their homes the minute parents gave them an instruction they didn’t like?

Said Clinton:

All partnerships that are community-based are held together not because everybody agrees with everybody else, not because we don’t all still have our different identities – they are because cooperation is better than conflict or isolation in any environment in which you must be in touch with others.

It was, he said, a simple proposition, “but we’re re-litigating it now in elections in France and Germany and the Netherlands and Austria”.

In each election, he said, there was a nationalist party which said “the others are dragging us down – we can’t accommodate all of this diversity”.

So the world is now in a conflict between whether we should stop our mingling with others at the tribal level or whether communities are better, whether diverse groups make better decisions and create more wealth and life and opportunity or homogeneous ones do because they don’t push us so hard and we feel more secure.

Scientific evidence overwhelmingly showed the former was the case, Clinton said. “But more important – we can’t get away from each other and so [we shouldn't] look at our neighbours without regarding their rights.”

I don’t think we should agree with each other all the time. I don’t think anybody should be right all the time – but that we should encounter each other as people and find ways to be together.
That’s really what the Good Friday accord is about. Majority rule, minority rights, shared economic benefits, shared social participation in the community, shared political participation, and a special relationship with the Irish Republic as well as the UK.

All over the world, he reiterated, people want to “re-litigate” the basic concept behind such agreements.

“In my country there are even people who think it’s okay to disenfranchise people they say are community-oriented rather than tribe-oriented.

“The world is now revisiting this.”

As he concluded, the former president said:

You don’t have to give up your tribal identity to respect the larger humanity without which our world will not continue to thrive.

How we think about this issue, Clinton insisted, would will determine how humanity dealt with everything else facing the planet – from economic inequality and cyber-terrorism to climate change.

Focus Ireland founder Sister Stanislaus Kennedy and businessman Martin Naughton of Glen Dimplex were also honoured at today’s event. The audience included former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Communicorp owner Denis O’Brien.

Clinton also said in his speech that he had met current Taoiseach Leo Varadkar yesterday (which partly explains why he was seen strolling around the city so much). He described him as a “very impressive man”.

Clinton’s storm-delayed visit to Belfast went ahead this afternoon. He met DUP leader Arlene Foster and was scheduled to meet separately with Sinn Féin.

Read: ‘A small town in a big moment in time’ – How Ballybunion got a statue of Bill Clinton >

Read: Bill Clinton dropped in to say hello to Enda Kenny today >

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    Mute Rob Poonmeister
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    Oct 17th 2017, 3:51 PM

    Clinton- Good. Weinstein- Bad. The unprincipled far left. Gotta love ‘em.

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    Mute DarkHorse
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    Oct 17th 2017, 3:54 PM

    @Rob Poonmeister:

    Did Clinton rape someone?

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    Mute Polly Dolan
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    Oct 17th 2017, 4:31 PM

    @Rob Poonmeister: left-right! Lumping people into opposing positions is a familiar ploy used to stifle debate by extremists. Bill to my knowledge hasn’t been accused or charged with rape. Sure he cheated on his wife but that’s the end of the comparison. So your comment only serves to massage your tiny ego.

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    Mute Tweed Cap
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    Oct 17th 2017, 4:35 PM

    @Rob Poonmeister:
    He did not have sexual relations with that woman. It was a just a todger massage.
    Besides, she took the payoff.

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    Mute JimmyMc
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    Oct 17th 2017, 4:37 PM
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    Mute Aldric Montague
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    Oct 17th 2017, 4:38 PM

    @Polly Dolan: Juanita Broaddrick has for decades said Bill Clinton beat and brutally raped her.

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    Mute Malachi
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    Oct 17th 2017, 4:38 PM

    @Polly Dolan: B

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    Mute Malachi
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    Oct 17th 2017, 4:39 PM

    @Polly Dolan: Was going to point out that indeed Clinton has been accused of rape, sexual assault and harassment by three different women – but I think most people know that.

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    Mute Rob Poonmeister
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    Oct 17th 2017, 4:42 PM

    @Polly Dolan: Yeah I’m going to lump people who like bill clinton into the category of far left. Crazy I know. Folks like myself who are left of centre and everyone on the right just love old Billy boy.

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    Mute Ben McArthur
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    Oct 17th 2017, 5:14 PM

    @Rob Poonmeister: However, Clinton did pay $1M to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit by Paula Jones. It must be stressed that he did so without admitting liability and purely to avoid litigation. The fact that he had already won the litigation on a procedural issue, and was paying more money than was demanded, should not be construed as any kind of stain on his character.

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    Mute Rob Poonmeister
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    Oct 17th 2017, 5:25 PM

    @Ben McArthur: *snicker* stain….

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    Mute nick mullen
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    Oct 17th 2017, 11:19 PM

    @DarkHorse: no of course not!!

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    Mute nick mullen
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    Oct 17th 2017, 11:22 PM

    @Tweed Cap: all she did wall knell on the floor to pick up bills handkerchief

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    Mute Aldric Montague
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    Oct 17th 2017, 4:00 PM

    It is understandable to see why victims of sexual assault would stay silent when they see perpetrators like Clinton celebrated and bestowed with great praise and honours.

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    Mute Rob Poonmeister
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    Oct 17th 2017, 4:16 PM

    @Aldric Montague: Excellent point

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    Mute Ryan Carroll
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    Oct 17th 2017, 3:57 PM

    This is the President who deregulated the banks in 2000 for any who don’t know, which triggered Europe doing the same and led to the kind of drunken gambling and scam houses of cards that crashed the global economy in 2008 and because those regulations erased the wall between depository and investment banking that’s why bailouts were needed.

    He signed a criminal law bill that’s pretty much directly led to the kind of mass incarceration for things as trivial as possession of pot which is common place today in the US and the time limits he put on welfare condemned millions to poverty in the crash his deregulation bill created and he never met a brib–sorry ‘fee for speaking engagement’ he didn’t like. Don’t let the contrast of him to Trump make you think he was lovely.

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    Mute Malachi
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    Oct 17th 2017, 4:14 PM

    @Ryan Carroll: The President that stalled on intervening in the Bosnian genocide because his wife didn’t want her healthcare bill to be overshadowed.

    Thousands of preventable innocent deaths because he wanted to appease Hillary and his advisors. He broke his campaign promise to help end the conflict and instead stood by and watched as thousands were slaughtered.

    The President that then turned a blind eye to Rwanda when he was fully aware of the genocide taking place there too, and forbade his administration from using the term ‘genocide’ because he knew that would mandate action.

    Honorary doctorates are regularly given out to people whose political records are less than impressive – defeats the point, doesn’t it?

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    Mute JimmyMc
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    Oct 17th 2017, 4:43 PM

    @Malachi: They’ve also ‘misappropriated’ billions from the Haitian Disaster Funds. Even their old buddy DOB has profited from it.

    http://www.nationalreview.com/article/437883/hillarys-america-secret-history-democratic-party-dinesh-dsouza-clinton-foundation

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    Mute Michael Heery
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    Oct 17th 2017, 10:04 PM

    @Ryan Carroll: god he was an awful man , why is he in ireland. does anyone know any good about him..

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    Mute Michael Heery
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    Oct 17th 2017, 10:06 PM

    @Malachi: he did apologixe and regrets the rwanda problems..

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    Mute Malachi
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    Oct 18th 2017, 12:54 AM

    @Michael Heery: Apologies don’t bring back hundreds of thousands of dead, sadly.

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    Mute Simon O'Connor
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    Oct 17th 2017, 4:17 PM

    The Clinton Foundation has refused to return the $250k that was donated by Wankstein.

    They should no longer be given any platform to discuss philosophical or ethical matters

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    Mute Ben McArthur
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    Oct 17th 2017, 5:23 PM

    @Simon O’Connor: What good would that do? He’ll spend it on some 6* resort pretending to be rehab, or defence lawyers. Whereas the Clinton Foundation will spend it on useful stuff like private jet charter or Denis O’Brien’s cell towers.

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    Mute Michael Heery
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    Oct 17th 2017, 10:08 PM

    @Simon O’Connor: why not get the IRISH THIEVES/bankers/developers/politicians to return their ill got gains before commenting on america.

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    Mute Aldric Montague
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    Oct 17th 2017, 3:59 PM

    In a post Harvey Weinstein society is it really appropriate for Irish universities to be honouring a man like Clinton given his own chequered past when it comes to sexual assault?

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    Mute Bairéid Rísteard
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    Oct 17th 2017, 11:04 PM

    @James Connolly: When was weinstein convcited?

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    Mute Stephen
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    Oct 17th 2017, 3:49 PM

    The Clintons are the gift that keeps on giving at the moment

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    Mute Rob Poonmeister
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    Oct 17th 2017, 3:58 PM

    @Stephen: Yeah like herpes

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    Mute Aldric Montague
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    Oct 17th 2017, 4:21 PM

    @Stephen: looks like the Clintons were on the take from Russia before the election:

    “FBI uncovered Russian bribery plot before Obama administration approved controversial nuclear deal with Moscow”

    http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/355749-fbi-uncovered-russian-bribery-plot-before-obama-administration

    Unlikely to feature in Irish press.

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    Mute JimmyMc
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    Oct 17th 2017, 6:03 PM

    @Aldric Montague: It’s unlikely to feature in most US press either. FBI documents revealing that the Obama administration had knowledge of illegal bribery, extortion and money laundering schemes by Russia to get a foothold in the atomic energy business in the U.S. before signing off on a deal that handed them 20% of America’s uranium reserves and resulted in a windfall of donations to the Clinton Foundation, is far less interesting than $1,00,000 worth Facebook ads allegedly purchased by Russian spies in 2016 to influence the presidential election.

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    Mute nick mullen
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    Oct 17th 2017, 11:24 PM

    @Aldric Montague: VERY UNLIKELY

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    Mute Trevor Hayden
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    Oct 17th 2017, 4:21 PM

    Will this clown ever p€ss off, I think he considers himself another Kennedy, not far off with the affairs.
    Is there a tournament in the k club/NO
    Politician died/NO.
    Ohhh, honourary doctorate, for what?
    Jesus, the opening of a letter pops to mind.

    56
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    Mute Shane Dunne
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    Oct 17th 2017, 3:50 PM

    Are they sure it’s a degree? Will they have to check with Leo’s office to find out?

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    Mute Tomas
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    Oct 17th 2017, 4:12 PM

    No wonder the city was locked down yesterday,storm was actully not that bad.

    18
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    Mute John003
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    Oct 17th 2017, 4:36 PM

    President Clinton was good president…Did not start any regime change wars or nation building in Middle East unlike Presidents Bush and Obama…..

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    Mute Malachi
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    Oct 17th 2017, 4:49 PM

    @John003: Aye, he just launched cruise missiles at a pharmaceutical factory in Khartoum, coinciding nicely with Monica Lewinsky’s testimony to a grand-jury within the same news cycle. Then his administration blocked independent UN investigations of the site to determine whether or not chemical weapons were actually being made there.

    But hey, somebody in DCU likes him.

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    Mute Rob Poonmeister
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    Oct 17th 2017, 4:43 PM

    Who is the spooky wizard in the photo and where is his hat?

    15
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    Mute femo
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    Oct 17th 2017, 11:35 PM

    DCU must give Hon PHD to Monica as well.
    Next year will be WBush and following year by Barry in 2020 Will be Trump

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    Mute nick mullen
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    Oct 17th 2017, 11:19 PM

    Bill and Hillary why don’t you retire gracefully, play golf, bowls, religion, health spa’s, baby sit grandchildren, chess, poker (maybe not bill) your not exactly scraping by on a state pension, enjoy your twilight years and let the younger generation have an opportunity to follow up in your great achievements!

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    Mute mr non snowflake
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    Oct 18th 2017, 5:43 AM

    Corrupt as fu…k.
    Wall street lackey….

    3
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