Letters to the Editor: Politicians must boycott Joe Biden's White House on St Patrick's Day
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Once again, it is that time of the year when Irish people around the world celebrate our national holiday.
Over 30m Americans claim Irish descent and the usual exodus of our politicians from all parties to the US is about to take place.
They will claim that being Irish gives us unique access to the White House and the corridors of power in the US. The phrase “soft power” is mentioned in this context.
They state that we have to send them to represent us to ensure US FDI here. Many US multinationals have been here a lot longer than the four-year term of a US president and not because they were advised by the Oval Office to locate here.
They are here because of sound business reasons, to maximise their profits, and to have access to the EU market.
The presence of Irish politicians in the White House, whether they admit it or not, is to be used as props in US election campaigns for candidates wanting to claim some degree of Irishness. The current US president makes such claims.
The people of Ireland, with a long history of supporting oppressed peoples, are protesting in support of Palestine across the country every week.
Joe Biden, with his unquestioning support of weaponry and financial aid to Israel to propagate genocide in Gaza, has lost the right to call himself Irish.
If any country has influence in the US in massive disproportion to its size, it is Israel, not Ireland.
Time for our politicians to stand up to the US and refuse to participate in sanitising the reputation of Joe Biden.
They should suppress their desire to be liked and boycott the White House this year.
Many people are asking why didn’t the United Nations immediately (no later than October 8), condemn Hamas’ ineffably barbarous attack upon innocent and defenceless Israeli civilians; call for Qatar to expel, and stop shielding evil Hamas’ heinous leadership; demand Hamas leaders (and those sheltering them) face war-crimes in the Hague, and call for an international UN peacekeeping force to administer Gaza?
I will tell you the main reason why the impotent anti-Israel UN simply sat on its hands.
Without US soldiers dying by the tens of thousands, the UN can neither keep the peace between a blind man and his guide dog, nor unite a pair of late adolescent virgin rabbits!
The people of Gaza deserve better than their terrorist masters, Hamas, and the invading Israelis.
They deserve an open democratic system and not the theocratic system that is in place where fear of retribution for not conforming to a religious ideology that is all too palatable in this open prison.
Hamas, it is estimated, has a net worth of over $1bn. It uses a vast complex network of shell companies and businesses, using middlemen, bankers and shady characters, to invest their vast hidden wealth, while the Palestinian people barely eke out a living. This complex matrix of offshore investments includes, as reported, chicken farms, copper mines in Sudan, residential buildings in Turkey, etc.
Since 2007, Hamas has been in charge of Gaza and has had a $3.8bn budget while receiving $360m in import taxes alone and another $100m from Iran. From 1994 to 2020, $40bn in aid has been donated to the Palestinian people. From 2014 to 2020, UN agencies have spent $4.5bn in Gaza alone with over $400m in 2020.
Like many other terrorist organisations worldwide, we see how these organisations create vast wealth for themselves and their leaders while those they subjugate are left with the crumbs and used as human shields. In Gaza, Hamas uses its wealth and much needed aid to build their network of tunnels while at the same time invests much needed funds abroad, not for the benefit of the people they serve, but to serve themselves and to live in lavish surroundings.
So while the many march in support of the Palestinian people, they should also be aware of the organisation that has held them to ransom and has now abandoned them to their fate.
In Australia, there is much excitement about a potential visit from Britain's King Charles, but why?
He has already been here more than a dozen times but, apart from one incident involving a scare where a person ran on stage, I don’t really remember anything of consequence relating to his visits and I might not be the only one uninterested in an expensive visit.
Now that he has the top job there is still plenty for him to do at home and he could do a weekly Zoom call to those here that are interested in his thoughts.
Stay well and stay home.
I salute the idea of allowing asylum seekers to work.
1. They will be able to provide for themselves and their families.
2. It cuts the costs to the Government and the State.
3. More people will pay tax and that’s beneficial to the country.
4. The economy will get a bigger boost.
Members of the tax-paying public are still coming to terms with the so-called ‘exit packages’ paid to RTÉ executives.
Now we hear that six-figure exit packages have been paid to HSE executives.
Once again, more examples of a serious lack of respect for taxpayers’ money.