General Irish politics discussion thread

Quote where she blamed them for the specific hospital bombing in that speech. Israel have destroyed Gaza's infrastructure, the medical one included, they had already attacked this hospital by bomb injuring people and told them to evacuate it just before the incident.

They previously bombed the hospital and other medical infrastructure. That is verified fact. They have also lied previously and have had to own up to things they did.

There are no independently verified facts about the specific bombing. Biden supports Israel as an ally in the region. His opinion is no more trustworthy than theirs.

Go properly research this.

None of the above addresses the point made about our role as supposed neutrals. We should at the very least be ensuring that a country that has already broken international law multiple times is not allowed to get away with it again when it explicitly says it is going to do it and when millions of innocent lives depend on somebody being a voice for them.

Because Taoiseach Leo and MM were a bit more balanced in their comments....we are still the outliers in the western world, when you see buildings like main government buildings in other western countries eg Effiel tower, White house, lit up in Israeli flag colours.

In contrast, the SF leader said "Israels carpet bombing devasted Gaza's medical infrastructure, ". She does not even have any proof Israel caused the explosion in the car park, and it seams it was not made by Israel. There was no crater caused by a missile. Yes there was scorch marks and some burnt cars in a car park.

She said " Yet Israel believes that it has the right to bomb hospitals".

Does she know what carpet bombing was or is? As pointed out already, she should know what bombing was, as the military wing of the then SF planted most, probably well over 99%, of the 16,200 bombs during the troubles. Just one of those for example, the Bishopsgate bomb, caused £350 million worth of damage (equivalent to about £700 million in 2023) - would she call that carpet bombing? Yet she calls a scorch marks and half a dozen burnt out cars in a car park carpet bombing?

Does she really think the seemingly stray Hamas Missile ( they made and fired hundreds towards Israel ) , and which she blames Israel for, has "crippled the ability of Palestinians to help the injured, the sick and the dying?"

Has she condemned the hundreds of missiles Hamas has fired in to Israel, plus many unprovoked before the present hostilities? Does she realise that Hamas places it command structures and missile launch sites beside or under schools and hospitals?

On her facebook page, she still has up her speech starting with ""Israels carpet bombing devasted Gaza's medical infrastructure" in relation to the scorch marks and few burnt out cars in the hospital car park.

Incredible she is the leader of SF and does not know what what carpet bombing was or is, and has not apologised for same.

You are wrong, and I would have expected you, as well as your leader Mary Lou, to know what carpet bombing was.

Carpet bombing, also known as saturation bombing, is defined in one dictionary as " to drop a large number of bombs onto every part of an area"

https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/carpet-bomb

Wiki defines it as a large area bombardment done in a progressive manner to inflict damage in every part of a selected area of land. Does she think the explosion in a car park and a handful of burnt out cars is carpet bombing?

Mary Lou claimed in her speech that "Israels carpet bombing devasted Gaza's medical infrastructure, ". She does not even have any proof Israel caused the explosion in the car park. There is no missile crater. Her pal Biden and other western countries have a lot more satellites and intel and does not think it was Israel.

The 3 ft wide hole, about a foot deep maximum, is consistent with one of Hamas rockets. A misfired rocket launched by a Palestinian faction in Gaza was likely responsible for the al-Ahli hospital blast, according to a European military source.

https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20231020-gaza-hospital-blast-was-caused-by-misfired-rocket-says-european-military-source

An isrraeli missile would have done a lot more damage.

She (Mary Lou) said " Yet Israel believes that it has the right to bomb hospitals". There was no crater (to speak of) caused by a missile. Yes there were some burnt cars etc in a car park.

It is inconceivable that Mary Lou McD /SF did or do not know what carper bombing is. After all, the military wing of SF planted most, probably well over 99%, of the 16,200 bombs during the troubles. Just one of those for example, the Bishopsgate bomb, caused £350 million worth of damage (equivalent to about £700 million in 2023) - would she call that carpet bombing? Yes or no?

So why did she call a scorch mark on a car par in Gaza , and a handful of burnt cars, as carpet bombing, in her speech? It is even on her facebook page. Incredibly, she has not apologised for her mistake / ignorance yet.

As asked before, has she condemned the hundreds of missiles Hamas has fired in to Israel, plus many unprovoked before the present hostilities? Does she realise that Hamas places it command structures and missile launch sites beside or under schools and hospitals?

If Mary Lou thinks a 3 foot wide by one foot deep hole ( you would hardly bury a dog in such a size hole ) is "carpet bombing" , which "devasted Gaza's medical infrastructure", what has Mary Lou / SF to say about IRA bombings such as the series of larger IRA bombs on Bloody Friday, or the IRA Bishopsgate bomb which done 700 million pounds worth of damage?

If the Israelis wanted to carpet bomb, there would be a lot more damage that the explosion Mary Lou talked about and named in her speech, which in reality turned out to be less than a meter wide and only a foot deep at most.

According to some reports, in the 11 days preceding the explosion at the Al-Ahli Hospital, 450 rockets fired by Palestinian militant organizations landed inside Gaza. Before the explosion, there was a history of Palestinian militant groups firing rockets from beside Hospitals / schools within the Gaza Strip that fell short of their target, resulting in property damage and casualties among Palestinians.

Back to the point, Mary Lou started he infamous speech with the phrase " "Israels carpet bombing devasted Gaza's medical infrastructure, ".

How could the explosion she talked about, which turned out to leave a crater 3 feet by one feet maximum , "cripple the ability of Palestinians to help the injured, the sick and the dying", as she claimed in her speech?  

She said " Yet Israel believes that it has the right to bomb hospitals". What proof has she of that, as all evidence points to the fact it was a Hamas missile and not a Israeli missile, which would have left a much bigger crater?

It is bad enough she seemingly does not know what carpet bombings it, ( given that the military wing of SF planted most, probably well over 99%, of the 16,200 bombs during the troubles. Just one of those for example, the Bishopsgate bomb, caused £350 million worth of damage (equivalent to about £700 million in 2023). She is making matters even more embarrassing for herself by not admitting to her mistake on her facebook page.  

If you and Mary Lou think a 3 foot wide by one foot deep hole she referenced and named is "carpet bombing" , what have you and Mary Lou / SF to say about IRA bombings such as the series of larger IRA bombs on Bloody Friday, or the IRA Bishopsgate bomb which done 700 million pounds worth of damage?

Was that - much worse bombing - not carpet bombing too ????????????

Could anyone be bothered emailing Mary Lou McD - much more interesting to see how long she takes to correct herself on her facebook page, and apologise for her mistake, if she will at all.

In her speech of 4 days ago, still up on her facebook page, she referred to the explosion at the hospital as "carpet bombing" killing hundreds. That was simply not true.

As asked before, how could the explosion she talked about, which turned out to leave a crater 3 feet by one feet maximum , "cripple the ability of Palestinians to help the injured, the sick and the dying", as she claimed in her speech?  

She said " Yet Israel believes that it has the right to bomb hospitals". What proof has she of that, as all evidence points to the fact it was a Hamas missile and not a Israeli missile, which would have left a much bigger crater?

You have posted over 50,000 posts backing SF positions: do you think a 3 foot wide by one foot deep hole she referenced and named is "carpet bombing" , what have you to say about IRA bombings such as the series of larger IRA bombs on Bloody Friday, or the IRA Bishopsgate bomb which done 700 million pounds worth of damage - would you call that carpet bombing too? After all, carpet bombing, also known as saturation bombing, can be defined as a large area bombardment done in a progressive manner to inflict damage in every part of a selected area of land. Surely the PIRA bombing done a lot more damage than the explosion in the car park Mary Lou referred to in her speech and are closer to the definition of carpet bombing, certainly they done a lot more damage?

Not the point. What was being discussed here for the past number of posts was Mary lou McD's huge mistake in trying to lecture the rest of us in the type of bombing the hospital bombing was. You still have not listened to her speech, have you ? It is on her facebook page, look it up.

She still has not corrected herself or apologized for it.

As said before, most of world leaders have taken a balanced approach bearing in mind everything. What is very worrying but not surprising is SF's determination to blame one side only...it was quite telling to see her jumping with enthusiasm to condemn and demolish Israel, with no effort at all to establish all the facts. After her 5 minute speech condemning Israel for the missile strike on the hospital, has she apologised when she found out it was not an Israeli missile, there was no demolished hospital, only some scorch marks in its car park with some burnt cars?

Questions remain unanswered. In her speech of 4 days ago, still up on her facebook page, she referred to the explosion at the hospital as "carpet bombing" killing hundreds. That was simply not true. As asked before, how could the explosion she talked about, which turned out to leave a crater 3 feet by one feet maximum , "cripple the ability of Palestinians to help the injured, the sick and the dying", as she claimed in her speech?  

As she seems to be a self proclaimed expert on "carpet bombing", as what turned out to be a 3 foot wide by one foot deep hole she referenced and named is "carpet bombing" (see the photos, easily googled by all ) , I wonder what would she have to say about IRA bombings such as the series of larger IRA bombs on Bloody Friday, or the IRA Bishopsgate bomb which done 700 million pounds worth of damage - would she not call that carpet bombing too?  After all, that damage was a lot worse that the relatively little explosion in the car park in the Christian ( Anglican) hospital in Gaza?

You want to discuss MLMD.

Work away.

Not the topic I brought up.

Again, good to see this response from government. The Israeli Ambassador was totally out of line and he should be asked to apologise.

Reports indicate the ambadassador Dana Erlich told the Sunday Independent that she "was frustrated at what she said was "misinformation" shared by President Higgins in relation to whether Israel had breached international law."

Ms Erlich also said that Ireland was not a neutral country in relation to Israel-Palestine.

"Israel is abiding by international law," she said.

She said "There is a strong feeling in Israel that there is an unconscious bias against Israel in Ireland."

That is certainly true.

Ireland's politicians like Michael D, Mary Lou and Coveney - what g*bshites, all of them - are about as neutral as that infamous founder of the Web Summit who was forced to resign after making his comments about the conflict.

The American multinationals - and even our own "Stripe" company, founded by the genius brothers from Limerick - were quick to boycott / withdraw from his summit.

Google,Meta, Siemens, Intel, Amazon and others have all boycotted over Paddy Cosgroves remarks.

If they boycott the Web summit in a heartbeat, it would not take a genius to work out the risk to Ireland and our economy - very dependent on multinationals - because of our "loose cannon" politicians. Its ok for Michael D and out top politicians ; they have six figure pensions to look forward to.

Let us get one thing straight. Ms Von der Leyen said Israel had a duty to defend itself and protect its people against the “atrocious” acts of Hamas.

President Higgins then described her comments as “thoughtless and even reckless”.

Higgins has no business criticizing EU foreign policy. The President does not have a role in politics. The President is supposed to be apolitical. He should not be meddling in international politics. He could do us all a lot of damage very quickly.

Paddy Cosgrove had no business making comments on the conflict between Israel Hamas either. Not surprising the few comments he did make were perceived as anti Israel, and Google,Meta, Siemens, Intel, Amazon and others - even the Stripe brothers from Limerick - have all boycotted the web summit. He never saw that coming, did he now?

As someone else said, Higgins has " a track record in attacking American foreign policy. I remember back in the day, him pontificating sonorously about the great Satan that is Uncle Sam. He has positioned himrself with that coterie of intellectuals who make their living by tearing strips off the US or damning it with faint praise. Likewise with Nato. We wonder why there aren’t great streams of humans heading out of the States, heading south to Mexico, streaming into Central or to South America. Why are the teeming masses heading north to seek refuge in the reviled United States?"

 President Michael D Higgins even defended his remarks of and praise of Fidel Castro, despite the  Cuban leader's human rights record.

Americans and others are looking carefully at Higgins and Mary Lou and Coveney ....just as they decided in a heartbeat to boycott Cosgrove over his remarks....

We're between a rock and a hard place where on the one side you have a bunch of establishment parties happily selling our our independence to the EU, after having locked us down and injected the country with experimental vaccines, now ignoring the huge excess deaths as a result, and on the other, a bunch of hard left socialists with a terrorist wing that will surely borrow way more, drive investment away and lead to another economic crash.

Do you bother to look at the devastation that the bombing has wrought on gaza or are you just too prejudiced to see it. Over 1200 children have been killed, children, innocent children. I'm sure it's great consolation to their families that they weren't "carpet" bombed.