Letters to the Editor: We must stand up to US curbs on judges of the International Criminal Court
Yanis Varoufakis wrote recently about the sanctions imposed by the US on International Criminal Court judge Nicolas Guillou. Picture: iStock
I am appalled to hear of the sanctioning of International Criminal Court (ICC) judges by the US administration.
The extent to which these peopleās lives and work has been disrupted with even being denied access to their own bank accounts in Europe is the stuff of horrors.
Why has Europe not reacted to defend the sanctioned judges who are doing nothing other than their jobs? This is almost beyond belief.Ā
It means we are all at risk of being sanctioned by the US if we say something they donāt like and our governments would stay silent and not protect us. Scary stuff.Ā
Obviously, digital platforms such as Google, Facebook, Twitter (X), etc have become too powerful and itās time to find alternatives. Itās up to the people and they have the power.
Mick Clifford, as has āenfant terribleā Ivan Yates, puts his finger on where it all went wrong for Fianna FĆ”il in the past 12 months (A year since the election, this Government has barely begun, , November 29).
The murky deal with Michael Lowry and speaking rights demanded by his group destroyed the credibility MicheƔl Martin had with the electorate. He has been taking in water ever since.
And that other former Fine Gael minister and now turned pundit put the kybosh into Fianna FĆ”il and Fine Gaelās presidential hopefuls with his āsmear the bejaysusā hot mic comment. You really couldnāt make it up.
Meanwhile, the Government is trying to shift the focus on to its tougher immigration initiatives to mask its housing policy failures.
And then Paschalās safe pair of hands leaves politics behind for a more lucrative position at the World Bank in Washington DC...
Can this sinking ship be rescued?
Billy Kelleher MEP says Fianna FĆ”il is facing a ādemographic cliff-edgeā as it approaches its centenary next year with young people having deserted the party.
No matter what way you analyse this Government it is not looking good and in particular for the man from Turnerās Cross.
Seasonās Greetings to all from the North Pole!
Letters are pouring in from all around the world so I would like to remind all the boys and girls in Ireland to write and post their letters to me as soon as possible.
This is what the boys and girls need should do:
Write their own letter to me
Put it in an envelope, seal it and address it to āSanta Claus, The North Poleā
Write their own name and full postal address (in clear handwriting) on the top left-hand corner on the front of the envelope
Stick a national āNā rate stamp on the top right-hand corner and...
Post it in a green An Post postbox ā thatās important!
My friends in An Post are helping me to reply to as many childrenās letters as possible again this year.
Wishing everyone a very happy and magical Christmas.
Most of us canāt solve war or famine, but we can at least refuse to look away. Iām not rich ā far from it ā but even on a tight income I put a small donation toward the Red Cross this week. It wasnāt much, but it was something.
The problem is simple: People in conflict zones are getting hit from every direction ā violence, hunger, and the collapse of basic services. We can argue politics all day, but meanwhile real families are running out of food, medicine, and safety.
If we claim to care about human dignity, then our moral responsibility isnāt complicated. We help where we can. We give what we can. Even a few euro matters when thousands of small acts add up.
Iām not asking readers to feel guilty. Iām asking them to stay awake to the suffering in front of us, and to remember that compassion only means anything when we act on it.
I am writing this letter in response to the DJ Carey fiasco. To think that someone could pretend they have cancer āitās appalling.Ā
Itās the lowest of the low.
I am thinking of all the people who have cancer. I have a family member who has cancer and is going through chemo. Itās so hard to read this about DJ Carey when other people are suffering.
All we can do is pray for all the people who have cancer that they will recover.
I read with great interest Colin Sheridanās article on the RTĆ documentary about DJ Carey.Ā
I found the article not only very insightful, but also quite courageous.Ā
Reading it I was reminded of how active is the common pattern of persuading ourselves of ābeing holier-than-thouā.
I like to think of myself as an independent woman, I can split my own wood with an axe, forage my own food and successfully boss my husband around (within reason).
With this in mind, one would think that I enjoyed Sarah Harte: Separated and divorced women are free of āmankeepingā at lastā,Ā Irish Examiner, December 3.Ā
But no, I found myself mindfully shouting āmy God, give it a restā.
If I got a euro for the amount of man-hating comments that I read or hear I would no longer need to find a career.
I am married six years and to be honest the start of it was, should we say, ropey and I naturally blamed my husband for this but was it his fault? No.
I and, it would appear, other women have an expectation to be the absolute centre of attention in a relationship. We have deemed ourselves perfect and reduced men to being some sort object that is below human standards.
Before us ladies go blaming men for absolutely everything in our lives we could try reflecting on the fact that no one forced us to do the acts that we eventually grew to hate.
Perhaps then we could give this relentless whingeing a rest.
I read with interest Sean Murrayās article this week in the 'Irish Examiner' relating to brain injuries sustained by e-scooter users. In particular, the reference to injuries caused by falls, accidents, or collisions with these vehicles now being the leading cause of traumatic brain injuries.
From May 20, 2024, the enactment of the Road Traffic Act 2023 legalised the use of e-scooters in a public place without proper publicity of the rules appropriate to the use of such vehicle or a knowledge test on the rules of the road for the users.
The dogs on the street know that the rules for the use of e-scooters are being flouted, furthermore the rules are not being enforced. Regularly we see more than one person being conveyed on these machines. Regularly we see children operating or being carried on them.
Occasionally we see users not wearing head protection. Some users disregard the rules of the road relating to traffic lights, stop signs and yield signs, etc.
In urban areas, you will see users progressing up along the near side of buses and heavy goods vehicles especially at traffic lights, which can be extremely hazardous.
There should be a permit system in place before one of these vehicles can be purchased. The permits could be administered and issued by either the Dept of Transport or the Road Safety Authority, to holders of at least a category A1, A or B driving licence and to others who have passed a sufficient knowledge test on the rules of the road and the legalities surrounding the use of these vehicles. Application of the Road Traffic Act 2024 could be enforced much more effectively on the production of such a permit by the users to an authorised officer (garda and RSA inspector).
Unless action is taken now by the minister, responsible for road safety, by way of regulation under the act and by the enforcement agencies, I agree with Dr Irwin Gill (in the article), quote āwe will continue with devastating results for children and their families across Irelandā.
