Assange shouldn’t be extradited to America
JULIAN Assange should not be extradited to America.
If he is to be extradited to Sweden there should be a condition attached that they will not hand him over to America.
Also, as a matter of common humanity, any jail sentence he receives there (I do not know that he would receive any) should take into account the time spent in the Ecuadorian embassy where conditions were probably worse than a Swedish jail.
Powerful figures in the US are very hostile to Assange. But as I understand, no evidence has been presented of any intelligence agent or anyone else coming to harm as a result of WikiLeaks revelations, something the Pentagon has acknowledged.
I wonder how many people have seen the ‘collateral murder’ video released by WikiLeaks?
The BBC version leaves out the actual killing. A group of people walking along a street in Baghad were machine-gunned to death. Others who drove up to help them were also killed. That was a war crime in an unjust war and similar crimes were committed all over Iraq and Afghanistan.
BRENDAN O’BRIEN, by email.
Lax vaccinations
HEALTH Minister Simon Harris wants to establish an alliance of doctors, teachers and parents to promote vaccinations (Mail, yesterday) and said at the Oireacthtas Health Committee last week that ‘parents who decide not to vaccinate their children were sending their child into a school or crèche to potentially spread illness around there as well’.
In his own department only one third of nurses have taken up the flu vaccination, yet they are allowed move around our hospitals without a mask or any protective equipment, potentially spreading illness to already vulnerable sick patients who are not allowed the option of being treated only by vaccinated nurses. Perhaps Mr Harris should try and get his own department in order first.
DENIS DENNEHY, Dublin.
Quango chaos
A FEW short years ago when you applied to renew your driving licence, you went to your local council offices and queued for about half an hour, received your licence which carried on from the date your old licence expired.
Now you queue for two hours as I did on April 5 at the National Driver Licence Service (NDLS) in Nenagh, Co. Tipperary. A pleasant and efficient lady took the details as well as taking some photos.
On April 12, I phoned to say my licence had not arrived, and told the person my old licence expired on April 11 and that now I was not covered to drive. The answer was that it takes seven to ten days to arrive. It is now April 15 and still no licence. Not only is the service poor but you also lose a number of days every time you apply, in other words going backwards. This is progress Irish-style, where the quangos rule. Politicians please note and do something about it.
S. O’ROURKE, Galway.
The game is gone
TOM Ryan’s article (Mail, Saturday) on the changes in hurling should have been long-overdue front-page news. Tom was always a straight talker and had a very good track record as a player, coach and manager. His article was spot on. I am delighted somebody finally shouted ‘stop’.
To see very skilful young athletes scoring at will from a distance is fantastic, but the current scientific sporting theory dictating the game is that possession is everything. In the process, however, the game has become predictable, and, dare I say it, boring in many ways. It is following the route taken by soccer, rugby, hockey, Gaelic football and basketball.
Hurling can be a great and exciting game. But this is due to the unexpected outcomes of the fast ground ball, the overhead volley, the clash ball, the action in around the ‘square’. But these strokes no longer exist. The ‘clash of the ash’ is no more and this is a pity. The health and safety people have moved in and sanitised the game, aided and abetted by referees who think, or who are directed by higher authority, that it can be too dangerous. We now have endless and ugly rucks, mauls and scrums, and blocking down a high ball is verboten for fear of accidentally hitting an opponent.
A player might even get a red card if he even touches the helmet of the opposing team. A player going through for a score is hauled down from behind because there is no other way to stop him. If a defender stands his ground he is penalised for charging. In the past a shoulder charge did the job so the ball carrier knew what to expect and went through at his peril. Gaelic football was also a great game until 1972 when Thomond College of Limerick introduced the ‘running and keep possession’ game. Hurling is going the same way.
MICHAEL CREGAN, by email.
Brexit breakdown
A BREXIT parable: a man walks into a car showroom and orders a Rolls-Royce. He waits two-and-ahalf years fruitlessly for delivery before he phones the dealer.
‘Our fault, sir,’ says the manager. ‘We have had a few problems sorting out the paperwork and have had to do a lot of modifications. I’m afraid the best I can now offer you is a second-hand, untaxed Ford Escort van with flat tyres. Take it or leave it.’
BOB WOODLAND, by email.