Tag Archives: Ireland

News

Ireland considers bill to criminalize dissent from same-sex civil unions

4 Comments

From Life Site News.

Excerpt:

While Irish legislators prepare to pass civil partnership legislation, the country’s Catholic bishops conference has issued a last minute call for a halt to the plans. Failing that, they said, parliament must allow for “greater recognition of the proper autonomy of Churches and the right to social and civil freedom in religious matters.”

“This includes the right of individuals to the free exercise of conscience,” they said.

The planned legislation includes a provision to force civil marriage registrars to comply with requests from homosexual partners. Under the bill, a civil registrar who conscientiously refuses to carry out such a ceremony will face criminal prosecution, a possible fine and up to 6 months in prison. Similar penalties will be meted out for anyone refusing for reasons of conscience to rent meeting facilities for homosexual partnership ceremonies.

[…]In Britain and other jurisdictions where “gay marriage” or homosexual civil partnerships have been created, legal conflicts have immediately emerged over the rights of religious objectors. The UK has seen a flurry of cases in which Christians in many public roles have been silenced or sacked for refusing to accommodate the homosexualist ideologies.

Comments will be strictly monitored in accordance with Obama laws restricting free speech on controversial topics.

News

Government-run health care: Ireland cancels scheduled surgeries to cut costs

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Story from Irish Central. (H/T Secondhand Smoke via ECM)

Excerpt:

Three Irish surgeons have revealed that they are being paid a whopping $350,000 to do nothing. The three orthopedic consultants at Letterkenny General HospitalCounty Donegal have revealed that the Irish Health Service is paying them to “sit around doing nothing” while operating theaters are empty. Senior consultant and team leader, Peter O’Rourke said he is “frustrated and depressed” about the current working climate in Letterkenny General Hospital. The surgeon claims there is little or no work for his team in the busy hospital despite massive waiting lists for essential knee and hip surgeries known as elective surgeries. The health service has put such surgeries on hold until next year as the “elective” budget has overrun by $3.3 million.

It might be a good time to check out Thomas Sowell’s four-part series on the economics of health care cost-cutting in a government-run system. This story from Ireland shows how the government “cuts costs” in a government-run system. They ration health care services and products for the elderly, who have paid into the system their whole lives.

As I’ve said before, government-run health care is about equalizing life outcomes regardless of personal health and lifestyle decisions. It’s about giving some people health based on need because of their own choices, including sex changes, drug needles, in vitro fertilization, abortions, etc. And the care is paid for by people who avoided those costly behaviors, but have their incomes garnished in order to pay for the decisions of others who engage in costly behaviors.

“From each according to his ability, to each according to his need” – Karl Marx. This is Obama’s worldview, in my opinion, and the worldview of all those who voted for him.

 

News

Jennifer Lynch flies to Ireland to ask lawyers to help her to crush free speech

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Story from the Vancouver Sun. (H/T Big Blue Wave)

Jennifer Lynch is the Chief Censor at the Canadian Human Rights Commission. She flew off to Dublin, Ireland on the Canadian taxpayer’s dime to tell the lawyers of the left-wing Canadian Bar Association that she needed their help. I guess that suppressing the free speech of ordinary Canadians is hard work, and people are so mean to her – always complaining about her travel expenses and the six figure legal fees they have to pay when they are put on trial for hurting the feelings of thin-skinned Canadian leftists.

Excerpt:

Jennifer Lynch, head of the Canadian Human Rights Commission since 2007, told the Canadian Bar Association’s annual meeting that opponents of rights bodies have successfully created a “chill” that makes it difficult for anyone to defend those bodies without also becoming a target…

She urged them to write “letters to correct misinformation,” encourage other experts to participate in the debate and promote public education of the role of rights commissions and tribunals in the justice system.

How Human Rights Commissions hurt religious liberty

Learn more about the Canadian free speech crisis

Link round-up

Blazing Cat Fur has a round-up of links here:

Ezra Levant: They’re laughing at you in Dublin Jennifer
Mark Steyn: Jennifer Lynch- please send reinforcements
Freedom Through Truth: Fire When Ready
Deborah Gyapong: Jennifer Lynch’s Dublin whine tour
Moose & Squirrel: Lynching the help of lawyers
Ferreras J Dissenting: Jennifer Lynch isn’t just a Cry Baby
Jay Currie: Jennifer Lynch is Pathetic
Scaramouche – Lynch Looks to Lawyers
Denyse O’Leary: Give the CHRCs something worthwhile to do
Five Feet of Fury: Make the life of Canada’s Censor in Chief miserable
Dr. Roy: Lynch calls for lawyers to defend thought police
Scary Fundamentalist: Late to the Party

Here is a breakdown of some of the costs of her globe-hopping from Miss Nixon. (H/T Blazing Cat Fur)