1 October 2009 Edition

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Mála Poist

Cuireann An Phoblacht fáilte roimh litreacha ónár léitheoirí. Scríobh i nGaeilge nó i mBéarla, 200 focal ar a méid. Déantar giorrú ar litreachta más gá. Cuir do litir chuig [email protected]
An Phoblacht welcomes readers’ letters. Write in Irish or English, 200 words maximum. Letters may be edited for brevity. Send your letters to [email protected]. No attachments please

It has to be ‘NO’

So it is finally make-up your mind time on the vexatious dilemma of Lisbon mark two – the Truly Democratic Choice!
And it’s time to look at the factors which will decide Yes or No.
All of the so-called leaders of our society – most politicians, business people, bankers, economists etc, etc,  want us to vote Yes. Going on recent events, can we trust our leaders? Don’t think so. Should we take their advice and hope that this time they are right? With their record?
Thanks to them we may be the first since the fifties to face  the prospect of our children  having poorer lives than ourselves through debt which is imposed on them.
Our children will face climate change, population growth and the gobbling of the earth’s limited resources at a lunatic pace – in which our masters were the prime cheerleaders in a frenzy of overspending. Remember Charlie McCreevy telling us to ‘party on’?
These same leaders have decided to bale out Allied Irish Banks and Bank of Ireland – fair enough I suppose – lots of ordinary people use them – but they insist on also rescuing the developers’ casino – Anglo Irish Bank – at our expense. Taxes should be to fund necessary public services – not to fund a “dig-out” to the banks and builders.
And yet, while loading the ordinary person with debts and taxes and levies the government cannot possibly look again at the lovely deal they gave Shell in Mayo which takes all the gain from the gas away from the Irish citizenry.
All of this results from the actions of the main group who are pushing for a Yes vote. Add to this the pressure from the Commission to let them have their way. Even bribery from Barroso in Limerick!  An EU whose policy is to push privatisation – and we know how that benefits the ordinary citizen, not to mention the planet.
Taking a good, slow, thoughtful look at all of this, I think the answer must be NO!
RICHARD MURPHY,
Mullingar,
County Westmeath.

P.S. There was a great fuss about the forum in Farmleigh. What did all the Government’s guests have in common? None of them pay tax in our country. Just the boys to turn to for advice! Well done, yet again, Mr Cowen.

 

 

EU destruction of our fisheries

I listened to John O Brian from Innisboffin, on RnaG, who is spokesman for Donegal’s island fishermen, speak about the continuing difficulties and uncertain future that he and all other island fishermen face. That tradition has been handed down from father to son from generation to generation but has been severely curtailed to the extent that there are now far more fishing boats left rotting on dry land around the coast of Ireland than there are in use today. What has gone wrong? A large part of the problem is the same people who oversaw the Brussels takeover and decisions that would lead to the decimation of Ireland’s once lucrative fishing industry, are now asking us to trust them again.
John went on to describe how enormous fishing trawlers, some from the port of Killybegs, are now plying their trade off the coast of Africa scooping up huge amounts of fish, of all shapes and sizes. This is all carried out in legal terms, by acquiring licenses from officials of these Third World countries who only see the short term gain in the Euro signs, not the long-term damage that’s being done to their fishing stocks or the traditions of coastal fishermen whose very existence depends on being able to fish. Sounds very familiar doesn’t it?
If Our Lord, appeared at Maharoarty pier and told the fishermen standing looking at their idle boats, to go forth and fill their nets, they’d turn around and tell him he’d have to get permission from EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.
J. WOODS,
Gort a’ Choirce,
Dún na nGall. 

 

 

Women’s health

Women’s issues must be put at the front of policies of the WHO, the UN and governments as their health is the most important issue in family life.  Women are the foundation of the family, which is the basis for communities, which make up nations of our world.  However, in all areas, discrimination against the rights of women continues, even in ‘developed’ countries.
A new study has found discrimination within the health services worldwide.  Women with atrial fibrillation are significantly more likely to have a stroke or die than are men with the heart condition.  Despite this, women with the condition receive less medical attention than men.  Medical researchers reviewed past studies and medical literature and found that women with atrial fibrillation are more likely than men to experience symptomatic attacks and have recurrences, and that women have significantly higher heart rates during atrial fibrillation, which increases the risk for stroke.
The study found that women with atrial fibrillation have a lower quality of life than men with the disease. However, the researchers said that careful assessment and relief of symptoms and adequate control of heart rate or rhythm can make things better.  This shows that the cure of this illness has nothing to do with gender based health.
Gender based discrimination must be eradicated from society.  Women are an equal part of society; however, this has been denied to them by all world leaders, including political leaders in Ireland.  The 26 County government should lead the way forward by outlawing gender based discrimination in all places in society.
MICHAEL ROONEY,
Co. Mayo


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