Pushing the envelope to bring peace in our time?
THE letter that Kim Jong-un has sent President Trump seems very large, and surely must contain many warm words and a great number of suggestions on how to become friends, and de-nuclearise the Korean region...
However, the reality is probably, like with Trump’s giant signature, that it’s just an example of a giant ego that may only have a slender grasp of reality. Let’s hope that the largesse shown here is a giant step towards peace and stability. DENNIS FITZGERALD,
Melbourne, Australia.
Give us the information
SWEDEN has had a Freedom of Information Act since 1766, and the Irish attitude that ‘it’s none of your business’ doesn’t exist there. It’s arguable that the Irish attitude to transparency stems from the attitude of the Catholic Church, which is that there should be no transparency and certainly no accountability.
Even now, in 2018, with the latest adoption record abuses, nothing has changed. Instead of the Government immediately introducing legislation to make these records public, it baulks and refers the matter to yet another committee.
There is no reason at all why adoption records are secret, and there is no reason why anyone who is adopted or had a child adopted should keep it secret, or be ashamed or embarrassed about it, or have a veto on that information being made public. There is no reason why any taxpayer should keep their income secret. All those records should be computerised and made public to anyone who wants to see. The same goes for pretty much every single official State document.
Wouldn’t it be great if all the civil groups who have argued their points over the past few years and participated in direct democracy, whatever their stance, were to join together to give Ireland the real culture change she needs – and put the fire to politicians’ feet to introduce proper Freedom of Information legislation opening up the entire State database to the country’s citizens? DESMOND FITZGERALD,
Canary Wharf, London.
Tackle bloodsports
THE success of the Repeal the 8th campaign is a political neon sign blinking at politicians – telling them that parking issues of national interest does not work.
It becomes politically productive to grasp the thistle, endure the short-lived pain and be a catalyst for creating a political legacy.
With the scent of reform in their nostrils, politicians should now tackle the issue of legalised cruelty. For decades politicians have avoided dealing with the bloodsports issue and were content to allow the continuation of animal abuse. Tinkering around the edges doesn’t constitute political action. You cannot legislate for a certain level of legal animal abuse.
The existence of baiting and killing wild animals for entertainment shows that Irish society is still handcuffed to a past decomposing within our midst.
A tragic event in a Galway hospital bed was a driver for politicians to take their finger out of the political dyke and act on the issue of female reproductive health.
Will it take a tragic event on the Irish hunting field for our politicians to finally consign bloodsports to history?
Mortuary politics is not the way to legislate for a country’s moral standards. It seems in Ireland, one has to die to create the climate for political reform. JOHN TIERNEY, Campaigns Director, Association of Hunt
Saboteurs, Dublin 1.
Christian values
THOSE who voted No in the abortion referendum – hold your heads up high and be proud you stood in defence of the innocent.
Do not be ashamed, as the forces of liberalism have taken over the means of controlling and changing society to their liking .
There is no independent press or media (with few exceptions), just a liberal propaganda department, with RTÉ leading the charge.
We do not have any journalists other than the one Repeal mob agenda. The reality of what abortion on demand will entail will be sanitised and hidden.
Ireland lost its principle and soul and a political class showed its callowness. Now, when will conscientious objectors be forced to partake in abortion of innocents or face dismissal?
Ireland has lost its soul and its God, and our values systems are rapidly being erased from our society. It is time for a Christian democratic party to be formed to represent and fight for the Christian people of this country.
PETER MONAHAN, Drogheda.
Justice for Palestine
NO longer can the US pass its self off as an honest peace broker between Israel and Palestine, due to the stance taken by Trump. They’re two of a kind, with Israel.
Other world powers such as the EU should now push independently for a true and lasting peace in that region, and it must be based on justice and an end to the oppression of the Palestinian people right away.
Benjamin Netanyahu may not agree – and why should he when Israel always enjoys impunity over its deeds and policies. Change is needed, and this needs the backing of the European states to bring about a peaceful solution to years of conflict. NOEL HARRINGTON, Kinsale, Co. Cork.