Irish President, Michael D. Higgins, has others things to do...

Trump to raise concerns about Irish stance on Huawei with Varadkar

In a significant intervention on the eve of Mr Trump's visit, President Michael D Higgins criticised the US president's climate change policy as "regressive and pernicious".

The speech was delivered at the 10th conference of the European Federation of Public Service Unions, held in the RDS, south Dublin yesterday .

"We must now plan for full decarbonisation of our European economies by 2050, encouraging the rest of the world to follow suit, and urging in the strongest possible terms the USA to re-consider its regressive and pernicious decision to leave the global Paris Agreement," he said, a reference to the 2015 Paris accord which set targets for countries to reduce emissions.

Mr Higgins also noted in his speech that those at risk of exclusion from society were "being abandoned to become the prey of xenophobes, homophobes and racists".

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trolloping

Trolloping - action word for what a trollop does. Traveling trollop, whoring around, cruising for sex, trolling for some action, tramping around, hooking.

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I detect delusional comprehension of certain facts. In public discourse excoriating the depraved POTUS and his fashion-challenged spouse, some US allies find impudence rather than affirmation of goddam, god-given Human Rights and World Values.

Surely, Mr Junckers' functionaries demanded, as is the custom among thieves propounding international ahh norms:

a reform of the World Trade Organisation rules to scale back subsidies and the forced transfer of technology to China, as well as the elimination of all market barriers to European investors coming to the country.

Rejoice! The peoples are better together when they recognize that relieving other people of capital and civic duties is a meaningful sacrifice for the greater good--lifting boats TEEMING with waivers, "women and minorities", Uighurs, children, religious, poors, and non-binary beings as if ONE BODY OF LURV AND FREEDOM.


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

Melania-like quality to Leo's sangfroid in face of Trump's witless remarks

Leo Varadkar was a study in statesmanlike serenity, face tilted attentively towards Donald Trump as the US president blithely spouted off-kilter comments about Brexit.

There was almost a Melania-like quality to Leo's sangfroid in the face of Trump's witless remarks comparing the controversy over the border in Ireland to his controversial plans to build a wall between the US and Mexico.

As the home contingent crammed into a small room in Shannon Airport for a press conference with the two leaders, Leo sat stock still and let the words flow over him.

As for the Border: "I think it will work out and it will all work out very well. Also, for you, with your wall, your border. . ."

There was a quiet gasp from the Irish.

"We have a border situation in the United States and you have one over here, but it's going to work out very well. I think it's both going to work out very well."

And that strange noise heard above the Burren Suite was not the sound of an overflying aircraft, but the whoop of joy from Simon Coveney, who was in Belfast thanking his lucky stars that he didn't have to listen to such twaddle. As Trump went on to declare that Brexit could ultimately be "very, very good" for us, Leo maintained that placid smile but his eyes started darting about in his head.

This was after he felt compelled to make a respectful intervention after the Brexit-border talk became too much to take.

"The main thing we want to avoid of course," stammered Leo, with a non-threatening laugh in his voice, "is putting a border or wall between. . . "

"Oh, I think you do. I think you do," interrupted president Trump.

"Both sides," continued Leo, his voice trailing off.

---<snip>---

The Taoiseach ended his day with a Trumpian flourish, making sure to tell everyone that Fine Gael had done very well in the European elections.

"I've got the best elections. Tremendous election. Crystal clear result."

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Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

Donald Trump on tour

A chara, - Kathy Sheridan's piece on Donald Trump's visit to England is a well-written article ("Trump has already reduced Britain to vassal status", Opinion & Analysis, June 5th).

However, coming from a small country well used to humiliation by the greater powers around us, there is not a small amount of schadenfreude associated with seeing the UK similarly abused. One wonders where exactly "taking back control" morphed into becoming a Trump vassal state, with Buckingham Palace used as a helipad for the US embassy and venue for a Trump family Downton Abbey-themed holiday adventure.

The policy content of the visit seems to have been confined to telling the British who should become their next prime minister (Boris Johnson), who should lead their next Brexit negotiations (Nigel Farage), insulting the mayor of London Sadiq Khan as a "stone-cold loser", and telling the British that the promised terrific trade deal with the US would require opening up the NHS to US private venture capital takeover, and the UK food market to chlorinated chickens. Can you imagine the Brexiteer outrage had Jean-Claude Juncker even hinted at such things?

President Michael D Higgins was otherwise engaged criticising Trump's "regressive and pernicious decision to leave the global Paris Agreement" and stating that those at risk of exclusion from society were "being abandoned to become the prey of xenophobes, homophobes and racists". Could there have been a message for Mr Trump in there somewhere? - Yours, etc,

FRANK SCHNITTGER,

Unfortunately they left out a few key words and sentences, but the general sense remains - other than the implication in my letter that the Irish treatment of Trump was far less than the state banquet he was afforded in the UK.

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Seems to me that the plot of every other British novel from the last couple of centuries revolves around a rich, obnoxious American coming over and telling people what to do...

Coveney going North `where there is real work to do' during Trump visit

Tánaiste [Deputy Prime Minister, and Foreign Minister] Simon Coveney will not meet US president Donald Trump today as he is going to Northern Ireland "where there is real work to do".

He will be participating in talks with representatives of the five main political parties in the North along with Northern Secretary Karen Bradley. "We want to get a deal before the marching season," he said.

Mr Coveney told RTÉ Radio One's Morning Ireland that President Michael D Higgins got "the mood of the Irish people quite well" in his comments about Mr Trump's position on climate change.

When asked about Mr Higgins's description of Mr Trump's policy on climate change as "regressive and pernicious", Mr Coveney said he thought the word regressive was a better adjective.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar's main focus during talks with Mr Trump will be on protecting Ireland's interests and the peace process, he said.

"It's no secret that we don't agree with President Trump's views on Brexit. The focus of the talk will be the impact of Brexit on Ireland. Successive US administrations have been supportive of the peace process.

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Could there have been a message for Trump in there somewhere?

Yes, but he's incapable of hearing it, let alone comprehending it.  He's the greatest con man in U.S. history (his only achievement, but admittedly a pretty big one), and all he can hear is himself.  The fact that for four decades he's convinced this country first that he was some kind of business genius and then that he was some kind political genius only shows what a mob of raving morons we are.