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EVERY SATURDAY MORNING we take a look at all the best comments left on the site by our readers over the past seven days.
This week there was a lot of talk about the same-sex marriage referendum (obviously), a tragic death and a horrendous case of child sex abuse.
So here are the standout comments from the week that was.
The 5 most popular comments this week
1. The horrendous case of child sex abuse reported on this week led to Annie Howe‘s comment which got 2,682 thumbs up.
Truly horrific. The mother sounds like a right piece of work as well. Hopefully these 3 ladies can now move on with their lives. All the best to them.
2. Ana Hick tragically passed away last weekend. Baz Brock received 2,390 green thumbs for his sympathies.
Nobody expects to go on a night out in town and never come home. Terrible for the family. Rest in peace
3. Dell also got 2,103 thumbs up for his comment on the abuse case mentioned above.
That was one of the most harrowing things I’ve ever read. really upsetting. I hope he dies a painful slow death
4. Keniby Khronicles asks a good question – to 1,959 thumbs up – on a story about Revenue giving details to Irish Water.
Whats the point of having data protection laws if the government can change or ignore them to suit their whims?
5. Deco James Connolly said this – and got 1,611 thumbs of agreement – about Rosanna Davison.
Name one thing she’s ever done that didn’t involve self promotion .
The top 5 articles which received the most comments this week
1. Gay cake row: Bakery GUILTY of discrimination, judge rules (414 comments)
2. We asked Joan Burton to rule out another referendum if this one doesn’t pass (399 comments)
3. My No vote isn’t about faith, it’s about children (396 comments)
4. My wonderful gay family: I was raised by two loving, beautiful lesbian mums (375 comments)
5. Kevin Myers is worried about how same-sex couples are going to consummate their marriages (308 comments)
Standout comments of the week
Dalkey mourned the loss of young Ana Hick after her tragic death last weekend. Her neighbour Mary K wrote:
Just over ten years ago when my First baby was born there was a knock on the door.
Outside was my little neighbour, Ana Hick with her beautiful eyes, dark pigtails and gorgeous smile.
Ana: You had your baby, can I be your babysitter?
Me: What age are you now, Ana?
Ana: Eight and a quarter!
( Ana did not get a babysitting job that day, but today as I saw her white coffin leave Dalkey I remembered her outgoing spirit )
Sweet Ana was full of fun, joy and love. She did not have a bad word about anyone. She was cherished by her mother, her father and family.
I cannot imagine her resting in peace, so may Ana, sing and dance in peace x
Daniel O’Donnell was the toast of Donegal this week. David O’Dowd sums it up.
In fairness to him and all the slagging he gets about his music, he has done more for the people of Donegal than our politicians. He makes numerous appearances at charity events, especially for cancer services in the north west, something the government seems to not give a feck about, only turning up when it suits their campaign agendas.
We don’t know if this is true or apocryphal but we liked it from Middle Class Cork.
The story of the ‘I’d like to buy the world a coke’ ad also includes the coke catch phrase, ‘the real thing’. Bill Bracker and his fellow passengers were accomodated in a hotel which is now called the Dromoland Inn. While sitting in the bar Bracker ordered ‘a coke’. As the barman went to get the order, Bracker said, ‘you do have proper coke?’ To which the barman replied, ‘Yea, sure it’s de real thing’. Bracker wrote on a napkin ‘it’s the real thing’ which he also used in the song.
(Bonus content: an interview with Bracker about the ad).
We also love this image of a mini-march to the polling station from Gill B.
Dropping the kids to school back to the estate to meet the other residents & neighbors to walk the polling station together at 9.20am.Big Fat Yes from over 20 of us !!!
We spoke to a number of people who have Crohn’s this week but Shane McCarrick‘s comment really struck home with a lot of readers.
I’ve had Crohn’s for over 30 years- and whenever I’m out and about have to carry a change of underwear and/or clothes with me- just incase I don’t get to a loo on time. People don’t see that there is anything wrong with you- and don’t make allowances. I got given out to by one woman in Liffey Valley when I had to use a disabled loo last weekend. Its not even that she was disabled and needed to use it- because I didn’t look ill- I was being evil for using it. Sometimes you really just want to curl up in a ball and cry.I’m one of the lucky ones who manages to hold down a job- though I have deliberately tailored the posts I’ve gone for to try to make the most of my abilities- without my health being adversely affected. But even when you’re more than capable of doing a job- you still have to put up with work colleagues who makes a massive deal about having some extra clothes hidden away for emergencies (along with shower gear etc). It doesn’t need to affect them- but ‘no way are you entitled to anything that isn’t available to me’. So- you end up giving up the cupboard you had been offered- simply to shut them up. That its now used to store a few boxes of envelopes that aren’t going to be used until next August, is irrelevant- you aren’t being given an accommodation that someone else who knows best doesn’t think you need.The manner in which you don’t look ill- even though you may be taking painkillers that would anaesthesise a horse alongside steroids at a level that would ban you from any competitive sport for life- means you are constantly apologising for your existence. I actually feel sad rather than annoyed when I get well meaning comments along the lines of- ‘Well, you’re out of hospital and you look fine again- isn’t it great that you’re cured’. I could launch into an explanation- a very true but graphic explanation- but when the person is actually well-meaning- and despite the fact that you’re in pain to the extent that you can’t stand up straight- its easier to simply agree- yes, I feel a lot better than I did last week (without adding- a blood transfusion and a week on IV Cortisone- has helped- and I’ll be going back for more blood transfusions in a week or two).The unseen nature of Crohn’s and Colitis- and the reticence among people to acknowledge the issues- because unfortunately they are graphic in nature- means- along with having a physical disease- most sufferers are also forced to suffer in silence- alongside the ridiculous comments we constantly get from those around us- many relating to dietary advice (if I had tuppence for every person who told me I’d be fine if I avoided gluten, or dairy, or ate more vegetables, or went on the Atkins diet- or whatever the current fad du jour might be- I’d be a wealthy person).Life is hard enough- without suffering in silence- and silence is what most people with Crohn’s and Colitis are confined to- they are the diseases that dare not be spoken of. Its good that we have had a few articles on Crohn’s and Colitis in the Journal in the last week. If they help even one person not make an inappropriate or nasty comment to a sufferer- they’ll have been well worthwhile.
It emerged this week that Jay Z and Beyonce bailed protesters out after the Ferguson and Baltimore protests. Egg Head sums it up:
I got 99 problems, and regrettably an institutionally racist police force is one of them.
We found out that Oscar the Grouch has spent many a Christmas in Ireland. Gene Parmesan said:
Ashford Castle, The G and Adare Manor. I guess you save up a lot of money living in a dustbin for the rest of the year!
See any good comments? Send them on to sinead@thejournal.ie
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These savages are only getting warmed up. They will sooner or later get their hands on high grade explosives and it will a whole different ball game. The open door policy is going to crush Europe.
No complex causes, these people are ffing mental so keep them out of Ireland simple
But who’s going to be the first to release the yard dogs and fight fire with fire.
The tragedy in this is the innocent Europeans who will be murdered due to Europe’s insane immigration policies!
Interesting take: the symptoms are the issue not the decease
Yes so right but before we can stop this skum a lot more will die.
Merkel policy
@Boganity: complete disregard for the those who bury their dead in Berlin tonight. Funny how little focus on the 12 who died
No shìt, Sherlock.
Ditto, you got there before me. No shit Dr. Sherlock.
Now please now tell us which government/EU policies should be amended for future harm reduction. Or is that outside your field of expertise?
The problem is this. Look at the problem and the problem is there. Let’s discuss the problem. Can you see the problem from all sides now? The problem will grow without solutions. That is another problem. I don’t have solutions but the problem of not having solutions is not the problem at hand. That’s someone else’s problem. Every solution will have potential new problems but we like this problem now. It is a juicy fat problem. Let’s not deal with this problem first before we get ahead of ourselves and try to see the new problems that action or inaction on this problem may precipitate.
Deceit masked by bureaucracy. The modus operandi of this post-truth neo-liberal establishment.
The Alt-Right invented post truth not the liberals
Solutions. Now there’s a Utopian ideal! People who offer actual solutions are dangerous and should be avoided. They are usually “free thinkers” and may have “notions” that scare us. We have words for these people. They are called fascists. What they propose is too radical. They suggest things like undoing the Laws that allowed problems to get so big. They propose looking at the most effective ways of disentangling the mess that was created. They want to apportion blame to the correct institutions. They want to stop the leak in their pipe before waiting for a fix for whole water infrastructure. How dangerous?
Who told you that? Was it RTÉ or one of Dennis O’Brien’s rags?
That’s some sh!t you’re smoking today Hugh.
Ah now. I’m like this all the time.
@Boganity:
Perhaps you might look at the origins of “post truth” with a more impartial mindset.
Anyone entering Europe should be forced to swear an oath of allegiance on the Bible.
@Alex Falcone: chuckling. Yeah, that would really scare off intending
@Alex Falcone: Anyone moving to Europe should have skills our labour market lacks and undergo a stringent background check. Otherwise, no room at the inn.
The open border madness must cease.
@Alex Falcone your an anti-Semitic then ?
@Boganity:
Obviously you’ve never read the Old Testament.
This is an encouraging sign. We can only Trump plays along with it. You cannot fund and train Jihadist head hackers on the one hand and simultaneously hope to protect innocent civilians in Europe from those same terrorists.
“Tulsi Gabbard Introduces Bill to Stop US Government Funding and Arming Jihadist Terrorists in Syria
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard said, “Under U.S. law it is illegal for any American to provide money or assistance to al-Qaeda, ISIS or other terrorist groups. If you or I gave money, weapons or support to al-Qaeda or ISIS, we would be thrown in jail. Yet the U.S. government has been violating this law for years, quietly supporting allies and partners of al-Qaeda, ISIL, Jabhat Fateh al Sham and other terrorist groups with money, weapons, and intelligence support, in their fight to overthrow the Syrian government.[i]>\”
http://21stcenturywire.com/2016/12/14/tulsi-gabbard-introduces-bill-to-stop-us-government-funding-and-arming-jihadist-terrorists-in-syria/
There was a practice when Japan first started trading with the west like this. They disliked and mistrusted Christians exceedingly and had a practice of getting potential traders to trample on a cross as a sign that they weren’t Christian.
” this is also the aim of Islamic State – to foment civil strife and racism in Europe, to provoke conflict and a clash of cultures that would give momentum to their so-called global jihad.”
That is not the aim of Islamic State as you no doubt are well aware. Their aim is the establishment of a global caliphate ruled by sharia. They have spelled this out over and over and over again. They’re not kidding. Really. Fomenting civil strife in Europe is one strategy in one small region of the world by which they hope to achieve that goal. One strategy among many.
How does a so-called security expert fail to make the distinction between goals and strategies? It’s a deliberate attempt to try to stop the ignorant plebs from forming their own views on such a ‘complex’ problem. That strategy is backfiring badly and you know what the definition of insanity is? Try some honesty – people can handle it far better than they handle being lied to.
@Marlowemallow: “Their aim is the establishment of a global caliphate ruled by sharia.” Right. And my aim is to win the lottery. Let’s get real, ok?
Their is no possibility of a ‘global caliphate’. They know that, I know that, and hopefully you know that. They can say it all they like, it’s not a possibility. Just like the IRA could never actually defeat the British Army. So, what’s left? Like all terror organisations, it’s about making a mark, making a statement, getting attention, getting followers. Let’s call it ‘extreme trolling’.
So, civil strife in Europe would do nicely. And it’s so easy to do. Look at all the people on this page jumping to do their bidding! Stir up hatred, provoke over-reaction, gain attention for themselves. Classic stuff. And we’re all falling for it. Hook, line, sinker.
Look at the IRA in the 70s: provoke Britain to overreact, create martyrs, gather recruits. Our memories are so short.
Great to see someone keeping track of some of the smaller attacks that are barely reported in the Irish media. But this nonsense needs to stop:
“mobilised the rhetoric of groups such as Islamic State in order to give some sort of twisted legitimacy to his horrific attack.”
This is pseudo-academic guff. Only westerners who just don’t get religion could come out with it. Religion is an independent motivating force in some human beings’ lives. Always has been and always will be. It is not a post-hoc rationalization, justification or attempt to seek social approval – legitimacy.
They. Believe. It. They believe their god requires them to do these things. They believe it will wipe out previous sins and get them and their families to heaven. Why is this so difficult for people to understand? It’s not all that many centuries since most Europeans believed in the literal reality of heaven, hell and a god that gives orders.
They still believe in curses in Mayo! Catholic priest curses no less.
@Hugh Mannatee: And as far as I recall a majority of Irish people believe in the existence of angels. So why they find it so difficult to apply the same idea to Islam I don’t know.
I suspect it’s the influence of the daft New Age idea that at the core of all religions is one unifying concept about Love/Peace/Fluffy Bunnies/Unicorns etc. So they impose that ridiculous idea on a religion they refuse to learn anything about.
And under that there seems to be a fear that if they did learn the contents of Islam they might be unable to stop themselves from becoming unfairly intolerant. They fundamentally don’t trust themselves. It’s odd but I’ve heard some of them say that in so many words.
They seem to inhabit a binary universe where it’s either the status quo of doing precisely nothing to counter Islamic fundamentalism vs. gas chambers. So they busy themselves avoid that false choice. Our human ability to reason is rickety at best.
Bang on.
Have our government’s here in Europe not got a legal obligation to protect the citizens of their Countries ? So if we take in 1000 refugees and only 10% are radicals that is still 100 nutters being let loose to murder men,women & children of the countries they & their families were born & reared in ! When is this madness going to stop ?
No. Fitzgerald/zappone/fg policy is 2 bring em in on full social welfare etc
They should kill each and everyone of them a life for a life
Tom Clonan is the voice of doom, always on after a terrorist outrage and mongering as much doom as he can muster.
As opposed to an narcissistic Islamo apologist like yourself OLainn.
@Dain Bramage: These attacks damage the Muslim population as much, if not more than the no Muslim populations. The backlash, and ostracisation of the majority peaceful Muslims, is driving them into the hands of the extremists. This must never be forgotten.
@Dave Doyle: Yes, Muslims are the real victims here. Not the dead Europeans.
You Islamic apologists are absolutely deluded.
@Sean O’Connor: I never made any difference. The point i made is never considered, and it’s as important as any other.
Gender quotas cause rapes. Men feel ostracised by laws brought in to make women more equitable and then begin to sympathise with men that really hate women. They begin listening to the dehumanising language and eventually, through no fault of their own and as a direct consequence of Gender Quotas begin raping women. Is this another “fact” I just made up?
@Dave Doyle: Your point most certainly has been considered. It is trotted out reliable after every single jihadist attack and has been for some time. What you don’t seem to have noticed is that it’s extremely offensive to muslims. What you’re saying is that normal, peaceful, tolerant people will become violent jihadists who’ll drive trucks through markets if they feel ostracized. Or they’ll support someone else in their community who will do it. Think about that for a minute.
@Marlowemallow: I have done more than think about it. I have Muslim friends living in London. They have lived there for generations They tell me that in the communities they live in things are getting bad for them. Neighbours who would have spoken to them before any of this started, shun them. They feel ostracised, unwelcome where they have been for generations. They say that the extremists are influencing the Muslim youth in the area. And they can point to the shunning, the ostracisation, the suspicion, the talking behind backs that goes along with all of this.
I’m not saying that normal peaceful Muslims are going to drive trucks through markets. They are afraid that’s what will happen to them. Muslims, the ordinary everyday ones are no different to you or me. We all have the same struggles, wishes and aspirations. All want to simply get on with their lives without any trouble.
I worked with these people in London 20yrs ago, kept in contact, we have visited each other since then. It’s their kids they fear for. Every incident brings more trouble on their heads. Many have given up trying to communicate with their neighbours.
@David, are you saying that non fundamentalist Muslin families think that if their children are shunned and ostracised by bigots that they one day might walk into a crowd of people one day and blow themselves up?
@Dave Doyle: “extremists are influencing the Muslim youth in the area. And they can point to the shunning, the ostracisation, the suspicion, the talking behind backs that goes along with all of this…”
You’re trying to link the two without proving causation. Look, I don’t agree with shunning muslims. But people all over the world throughout history have experienced much worse than shunning and ostracization and not become ‘influenced by extremists’ – by which you mean ‘sympathetic to violent jihadism’.
“Muslims, the ordinary everyday ones are no different to you or me. We all have the same struggles, wishes and aspirations. All want to simply get on with their lives without any trouble.”
That is simply not true. They are different in that they have a religious belief and I, and most non-muslim British people, have none or have different religious beliefs. We do not all have the same wishes – some religious people wish to get to heaven and avoid hell and obey their god. I, and most non-religious people, do not share those aspirations. That makes us different in a way that matters.
But the difference that really matters is that the muslims you describe are not doing anything effective to counter the extremists that they are fully aware are influencing the young people in their voluntary religious community. Instead they try to ‘communicate with their (presumably non-muslim) neighbours’. What is that about? Where is the communication with the extremists?
Ordinary peaceful muslims need to take some responsibility for the religion that they choose to profess and the religiously-motivated behaviour of fellow adherents. They should be out demanding open audits of the mosques they attend, protesting about visas being granted to imams who are banned from preaching in Pakistan, devising anti-extremism education campaigns for Islamic schools and mosques and in prisons.
They should be out confronting these extremists – who are the Islamic version of fascists – on the streets wherever they appear. They’re not doing that. Instead they’re trying to talk to their neighbours. That’s why their neighbours don’t want to listen.
Being a muslim is a free choice in the UK. Raising your children as muslim is a choice you make. And with that choice comes a responsibility to deal with those of your co-religionists who are killing your non-muslim neighbours. If they were doing that effectively none of us would be in the current mess.
@Tuot tuot: No, they think that it’s the children of other non fundamentalist Muslims who might do that. It’s always someone else’s kids who are the potential problem. A blind spot most humans do share:
“the Muslim youth in the area.”
And how many of these attacks will be /allowed or even staged by governments.These will be used as an excuse to pass draconian laws that lock down on the public more problem, reaction, solution.
History is littered with false flags used as an excuse to bring about totalitarian regimes. http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2015/02/x-admitted-false-flag-attacks.html
Just look at how the dominos were positioned all laid out. Using emotional blackmail the west has been flooded with migrants. .This was done against all sense of common sense and against the will of the people. Now events are being orchestrated to bring people in to conflict.
Dublin Living: No, the goal of the IRA was a united Ireland. And defeating the British army was never necessary to achieve that. The British left India without being militarily defeated. All it required is that the British state and people calculated that the costs of their policies outweighed the benefits.
Recruitment is one thing that terrorist groups do. Another thing they do is actually act to further their aims by killing people. Often the same action serves the dual purpose of killing and attracting recruits.
And it is your memory which is short and parochial. They work on a timeline of centuries and millennia. And they’ve achieved the spread of sharia over vast numbers of people over 1400 years. That’s the timescale they work within.
So yes, their goal is perfectly possible over the course of the next few centuries or millenia. Especially when their opponents are so narcissistic as to be largely uninterested in the future their distant descendants may face as a result of their inaction.
@Marlowemallow: You prove my point. If the goal was a united Ireland, they failed. Thus it was unrealistic.
Let’s stick to now rather than millennia. Not even the Roman Empire or the US or the Nazis could even approach global dominance. You’re just being silly. I’m off back to the real world now, come join me instead of doing the work of ISIS for them.
@Dublin Living: Your logic is like a Swiss cheese. Failure to achieve a goal does not prove that it was unrealistic. Failure to achieve a goal over a given time frame is not failure to achieve a goal at all. In case you hadn’t noticed there are still dissidents pursuing the same goal. Changing goals and accepting a compromise is not failure either.
And of course your assessment of the realism or otherwise of their goals is really of no relevance to them you know. They obviously disagree with your assessment and their view is the relevant one if you want to understand them. And in any event, people have been known to be motivated to do extraordinary things in pursuit of goals that even they consider to be unrealistic.
I do feel sorry for the jihadists sometimes. They must get terribly frustrated that no one believes they could possibly mean what they say. That must inspire some rage against the useful idiot infidels.
What happened in Turkey yesterday is Putin everyone on edge.
Don’t quit the day job Sean.
lol
If this Berlin attach had happened in Israel Tom’s analysis might well be it is part of the cycle of violence Israel should reach out to the people who did it
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