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'We're being asked to sell out our neutrality': Government accused of trying to rush EU defence deal vote

Some argue Pesco is the first step towards an EU army.

TDS FROM NUMEROUS political parties have raised concerns in the Dáil over the last two days that the government is trying to “ram” through a vote on Ireland joining the permanent structured cooperation arrangement (Pesco).

Last week, TDs and senators voiced their concerns about Ireland signing up to the European defence pact after Cabinet gave the go-ahead for Ireland to take part in the EU plan.

The plan has raised concerns here that it could undermine Ireland’s policy of neutrality.

Some argue Pesco is the first step towards an EU army, with its proposals including inclusion in the European medical command, a network of logistic hubs across Europe and a creation of a European crisis response centre, as well as the joint training of military officers.

However, as per the Defence (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, for Ireland to participate in Pesco, a government decision and Dáil approval is required.

The Taoiseach has maintained that signing up to the deal will not challenge Ireland’s neutrality and will not mean Ireland joining a European army.

A heated debated on the issue kicked off two days ago with news the government wants a vote on the issue this week.

A number of TDs said there has not been sufficient debate on the issue and pointed out that the public are unaware of what such a plan could mean for Ireland’s future.

Wexford TD Mick Wallace said he was astonished at the video Europe is using to promote Pesco and was even more shocked that a small country like Ireland would consider signing up to it.

European External Action Service (EEAS) / YouTube

He said the promotional video opens with the line: “In a troubled world, citizens want the EU to offer them more protection.”

Wallace said this is followed by images of fighter jets, drones, Apache helicopters, armed troops running off military transport helicopters, aircraft carriers and warships, “all to the tune of the kind of aspirational and emotive modern classical one would get on an ad for a new Mercedes”.

He said there is no detail as to what exactly it will mean for those who sign up, especially in terms of actual warfare.

The Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he wants Ireland to be involved, stating that it is time that Europe stops relying on the US for its defence.

My view is that a Europe that is worth building is a Europe that is worth defending. For a very long time, all of Europe has relied on the United States to provide for its defence. There are real threats to European security and, over time, rather than relying on the United States to defend Europe and pay for European defence, Europe should provide and pay for its own defence and not be dependent on the United States in the way it has been since 1945.
That is what Pesco and European security and defence co-operation are all about. It is Europe starting to take responsibility for and control over its own defence, not relying on the United States in the way it has done until now.

Ireland has a long-standing tradition of non-alignment and neutrality, he said, adding it is something his government will defend. He said Pesco will be different for Ireland as we can join in an opt-in, opt-out basis.

“We will only opt in to certain programmes and certain parts of Pesco that we want to be involved in, for example, counter-terrorism, given all European countries need to work together to defeat terrorism, and cyber-security and peacekeeping are further examples of areas we are going to opt into, “said Varadkar, adding:

I can assure the Deputy we are not going to be buying aircraft carriers, we are not going to be buying fighter jets and we are not going to be shopping around military trade fairs for any of these things, as that is not in our interest.

Solidarity-PBP’s Richard Boyd Barrett took particular issue with the vote being rushed through the House.

“This is a move to ram through a vote to move towards joining a European Union army while quadrupling military spending,” he said on Tuesday.

“It is deeply cynical. I wonder if the quid pro quo for European support on Brexit negotiations is that we sell out our military neutrality and ramp up military expenditure,” he asked.

Boyd Barrett said he had read the brief on Pesco and said he thought is was “absolutely outrageous” that Cabinet agreed to it when there has been no public consultation.

Rushing a vote

The Dun Laoghaire TD was not the only deputy who had concerns about a vote being rushed through the House.

Independents 4 Change Clare Daly said the government’s move was a “departure beyond anything I have seen”. She said she was assured some weeks ago there would be adequate time to discuss the matter.

“I object to it in the strongest possible terms,” she said.

File Photo You're talking about going to war': TDs concerned EU defence deal could lead to Ireland joining a European army. NUMEROUS TDS and senators have voiced their concerns about Ireland signing up toÊa European defence pact known as Pesco. The plan h Sam Boal Sam Boal

Sinn Féin’s Aengus Ó Snodaigh and Labour’s Brendan Howlin called for the issue to be discussed at the Oireachtas Defence Committee.

Green Party leader Eamon Ryan said the matter should go to committee so that the Defence Forces and the Army Chief of Staff could be invited to make submissions.

“I believe there should be adequate time to debate it in the chamber,” the Taoiseach replied.

Boyd Barrett replied by stating that the issue is as big an issue as Brexit. “I don’t think so,” said the Taoiseach.

The Lisbon Treaty

The Green Party, the Social Democrats and Fianna Fáil all voiced concerns about there not being sufficient time to discuss the issue.

Eamon Ryan said he understands the government intends to sign up to the agreement at the European Council meeting on 11 December.

“Any matter that impinges on defence is a matter of great sensitivity for the members of this House and, more importantly, for the people of this country,” said Brendan Howlin,

If the defeat of the first Lisbon Treaty referendum has taught us anything, he said, it is proper debate on such measures is needed.

Howlin said there is no rush to sign up to the proposals this side of Christmas.

“I understand there is a request to do so, but we may choose to postpone our signing up until after the event. We must have a proper debate, with experts invited in and cross-examined,” he said.

Varadkar said Pesco “is not a new issue” adding that it had not been “dreamt up” in the past couple of months.

90161741_90161741 Lisbon posters on Merrion Street. Eamonn Farrell / Photocall Ireland Eamonn Farrell / Photocall Ireland / Photocall Ireland

“This is in the Lisbon treaty. The treaty was ratified by the Irish people in 2009. There has been ample opportunity for a debate since then. There has been plenty of debate about this matter since the Lisbon treaty was ratified in 2009. There is a time for debate and there is a time for a decision. I do not believe further debate would change anybody’s mind, nor would it allay fears based on any conspiracy theories,” he said.

Boyd Barrett made the point that the public knows nothing about the issues at play.

The Taoiseach replied: “It is the Deputy’s responsibility to inform the public. He had eight years.”

Minister of State at the Department of Defence Paul Kehoe said there are “rumours” being circulated that Pesco will threaten Ireland’s neutrality.

“That could not be further from the truth. Sweden and Austria, which have neutrality policies similar to ours, have already signed up to Pesco,” he said.

The Business Committee reconvened yesterday to sort out the disagreement as to whether a vote on Pesco will proceed this week and whether it will be referred to an Oireachtas committee for further scrutiny.

A motion put down by Boyd Barrett to delay the vote on Pesco until 2018 was defeated by the Dáil yesterday by 73 votes to 49.

However, a government motion agreed to refer the issue to the Oireachtas Defence Committee.

Screenshot 2017-12-06 at 17.08.40

Minister Kehoe said Pesco was not being cooked up by the government in “smoke-filled room” stating that not one politician has come to him in the last few months to voice their concerns about the plan.

He said Ireland plans to partake in six of the 16 projects under Pesco which include being involved in the EU centre for training excellence, the deployment of disaster relief, underwater surveillance schemes, the upgrade of marine surveillance and cyberthreat projects.

The minister said it had nothing to do with an EU army and said that debate was had during the Lisbon Treaty referendum. He said it was important that Ireland sign up before 11 December as it would ensure Ireland would be able to “play its part in some projects” and only those who sign-up will have a say on the progression of Pesco.

A two-hour Dáil debate is due to be held today on the issue before the matter goes to a vote.

Read:‘ You’re talking about going to war’: TDs concerned EU defence deal could lead to Ireland joining a European army>

Read: Taoiseach says Ireland will not be joining a European army>

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    Mute Barry Flanagan
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 4:01 PM

    The ridiculous reporting of this by the media is making the exact point he was trying to make. Just because people have stopped saying n***** in public doesn’t mean racism doesn’t exist anymore. Media is obsessed with that word which I can’t even post here. The point he was making is legitimate and will be missed by dumbed down media outlets who can’t see the wood for the trees.

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    Mute Richard Cynical
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 5:15 PM

    Nice?

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    Mute Dónal Campbell♛
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 5:37 PM

    Exactly. The right-wing media has and continue to use benign occurences to demonise Obama, whatever the context is being used. I do not agree with Obama on every front but he was simply underlying the inherent racism still alive and well all across the US. Of course, that’s not important. Look at Fox News, who reported on this earlier and took pride in ‘bleeping out’ the word to appear a the good guys while calling out Obama’s hypocrisy, yet continuing with their tireless tirade of pretending that everything is alright with racial relations in America, particularly in the south, where ratings are highest for this ‘news outlet’. Don’t listen to this sordid excuse for journalism and interpret everything you hear for yourself

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    Mute VoiceOfVanguard
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 6:09 PM

    “If white people were doing to black people what black people are doing to black people there would be rioting from coast to coast.”

    Black American journalist and columnist Bob Herbert, NY Times, 2006.

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    Mute John Byrne
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 6:50 PM

    @Dónal. So criticism of Obama = Racism? He is as “African American” as Michael Haely Rae , he is half Kenyan and half White American, he isn’t descended from slaves and he is as far removed from “African-American” culture as his “cousin” Henry in Moneygall, he is as much black as he is white

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    Mute Mrs Shalakalananaka
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 7:21 PM

    John, his dad’s actually from Africa and his mother’s from America. You could argue he’s more ‘African-American’ than a black person who’s never left the US in their lives, and whose family have been living in America for centuries. ;)

    Totally agree with you Barry, by the way.

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    Mute Dónal Campbell♛
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 11:06 PM

    John, no. I did not mention or even suggest that criticism of Obama equates to automatic racism. It is about context, and this context was used by the centre and far-right media to divert focus away from a worthwhile cause, perhaps to distract the audience away from any real address of the situation, fearing that their thinly veiled racism may be revealed. Look at Obama’s skin colour objectively, without discussing his geneology. It would (in my opinion, of course) be accurate to suggest that he would be subjected to racism should he walk among middle America. He has the requisite locus standi to discuss this and even utter what I consider a vulger word. Please don’t bullshlt a bullshltter.

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    Mute Ryan Ash
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 3:57 PM

    Surely the message he delivers (he is disgusted at Congress for their failure to deliver reform of gun sales after 20 six year old children were murdered) is more important than one word he uses in that message…

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    Mute vv7k7Z3c
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 4:06 PM

    That message about Sandy Hook is certainly important, but it’s not particularly new. Obama’s views on racism and how it’s demonstrated is very current given last week’s murders. I don’t think anyone is criticising his use of the word but it’s noteworthy about how to have an honest discussion.

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    Mute Amy Ni Dhaltuin
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 4:38 PM

    If you arent criticising his use of the word, then why make it the main aspect of your headline? Why not make a headline about how Obama says racism is still within the American DNA? You have taken a decent point made by the man and turned it into clickbait about a word. One word. And this word was used in a context to emphasise a point which your headline makes no reference to. As a journalist you should use your headline to give a summary of the main point of the story you are reporting on. Is that not a basic rule of English/journalism. Instead you choose to use your headline to give your click quota a jump. Sorry, but its very unprofessional.

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    Mute E. O'Leary
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 4:42 PM

    Ouch Amy, that one is gonna leave a mark.

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    Mute Amy Ni Dhaltuin
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 4:46 PM

    Unfortunately, it most likely won’t.

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    Mute vv7k7Z3c
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 4:46 PM

    @Amy. Most people, including Obama I’m sure, would tell you that it’s more than just ‘a word’.

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    Mute Stephen Cassidy
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 5:04 PM

    @rónán, rubbish – in the headline you’re trying to stir something up based on his use of the n-word to illustrate a broader prevalence of the racist issue outside of the use of that single slur. The Indo did the same thing today with their reporting of it. The man literally can do no right when all certain journalists want to do is pull the context of his words apart to focus on a single word. In actual fact, one could say that deliberate misreporting and wretched journalism has been a constant scourge of his overall presidency. @Amy is absolutely right in her assessment of this piece – poor.

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    Mute Amy Ni Dhaltuin
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 5:05 PM

    As with any word in the English language its weight and reason for use depends on the context within which it’s used. You used it as clickbait. You gave no context within your headline. Don’t lie, you know you wrote it in that way to convey the idea that Obama himself was using the word negatively. That was your focus. His message wasn’t what you decided to concentrate on. You ignored his very important context and the reason he used that word in order to make your potential readers click on your article so your click count looks good on a piece of paper. Sorry, but I had to call you on it. You know its wrong, you know why you phrased your headline the way you did, and yes you most likely succeeded in getting a good number of hits out of it, but your professional standard of writing as a journalist visibly suffers as a result. From one person who makes their living out of the English language to another, you should care about that.

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    Mute Carmo Vanderval
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 5:14 PM

    @Ronan. You basically did what Barack was criticising.

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    Mute Morgan Freeman
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 5:24 PM

    Amy, fair play. This kinda stuff should be called out. Page views are a poor way of measuring success.

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    Mute QhpFny3o
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 6:01 PM

    If you think it’s more than a word then you give power to it.

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    Mute Rory Murphy
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 7:14 PM

    Very well stated… Don’t mess with Amy!

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    Mute Barry Flanagan
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 11:53 PM

    Wish I could have put it as well as you did, Amy.

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    Mute Kevin O'Shea
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 3:54 PM

    Oh this is going to make those Barack Obama dubs on YouTube a hell of a lot more interesting.

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    Mute Mrs Shalakalananaka
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 4:16 PM

    I’ve had discussions with Americans online before about racism, and the same thing often comes up, you just can’t say that word, ever(not even allowed to use it here lmfao). Using that word, even when discussing it, is apparently racist.

    But isn’t that just getting distracted by something less important? The names aren’t important, it’s the sentiment behind them. That’s how certain words become insults and others get reclaimed. The use of the word by racists isn’t the problem, it’s a symptom. Removing the word from everyday discussion won’t end racism, whereas ending racism will (mostly) remove the word from everyday discussion. Does that even make sense? XD

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    Mute johnr
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 5:28 PM

    Wonder what the Spanish speaking Americans use for the word black?

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    Mute johnr
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 5:31 PM

    Mi coche es de color negro.

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    Mute Mrs Shalakalananaka
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 7:26 PM

    The group I discussed this with actually contained a few Spanish speaking Americans, as well as a few Spanish and Portuguese speaking South Americans. Apparently it’s pronounced differently in all three languages, and you’re generally okay once the context is understood. But it still seems to be a bit dodgy, which is something that annoyed the South Americans, since it’s okay in their culture, and they didn’t see why they should stop using and start being careful of a basic word in their languages to make the Americans happy.

    I dunno though, that might have just been the group I talked to. Still interesting though.

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    Mute Paul Quinlan
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 4:07 PM

    Good to see Obama talking some sense, America’s gun laws and it’s NRA are ludicrous.

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    Mute Amy Wallis
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 4:26 PM

    The point he’s making is that it isn’t about the word, but how and why it’s used. And that point is lost in this article simply by censoring it.

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    Mute Jimmy Jim-Jim
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 4:33 PM

    If he really wanted to stand up to the arms industry then he could have started by not accepting their contributors to his campaign.

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    Mute E. O'Leary
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 4:43 PM

    Not to mention he and his party had total control of both houses for the first 2 years of his term and they didn’t do Jack.

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    Mute Jimmy Jim-Jim
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 5:06 PM

    It’s not really a problem you can throw money at until it goes away, but still seeing as he is so fond of executive orders I thought he might have done something concrete by now.

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    Mute Malcolm McCarthy
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 4:29 PM

    he really should have said weak black coffee

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    Mute Naoimh Ó Murchadha
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 4:53 PM

    Its, truly very sad that the ‘N’ word is used in the filtering system on the Journal.ie. I posted a message about the ‘N’ word and used it but my post vanished into the digital abyss.

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    Mute Naoimh Ó Murchadha
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 4:54 PM

    Seemingly you can post the ‘Knacker’ word though!

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    Mute Naoimh Ó Murchadha
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 4:55 PM

    Which is just as bad in my opinion by the way!

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    Mute Carmo Vanderval
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 5:18 PM

    I gave out to someone on facebook for using the word knacker referring to people who robbed a car. I said you shouldn’t use it because it implies prejudice against travelers. I was roundly told that I was the racist.

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    Mute Jimmy Jim-Jim
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 8:04 PM

    I’m sure they’re very grateful.

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    Mute Naoimh Ó Murchadha
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 4:54 PM

    Seemingly you can post the ‘Knacker’ word though!

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    Mute Andy Kennedy
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 5:41 PM

    You think knacker is the same as n1gger?

    Really?

    That’s pretty sad.

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    Mute Hermes
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 3:57 PM

    I hate it when Tipperary men use the word “Nugger “

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    Mute Ray Farrelly
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 4:03 PM

    Snowflake.

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    Mute Hermes
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 4:20 PM

    Icecube

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    Mute E. O'Leary
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 4:18 PM

    Hussein Obama is a master at politicising tragedies. For Shame.

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    Mute John R
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 4:54 PM

    O’Leary, anyone who begins a post with the words “Hussein Obama” doesn’t deserve to be taken seriously. By anyone. Go and troll on your usual right wing American websites.

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    Mute Steven Woodroffe
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 4:22 PM

    Like oh my god impeachment impeachment. Ohh wait a minute I’ve got over it

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    Mute EM
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 8:00 PM

    People are over sensitive about using the word though it is understandable why. You should be able to use the word if you’re talking about it, as Obama has done, without it been reported all over the world.
    Surely at this stage we all know when/where/how you can/cannot use the word.

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    Mute The Journal TD
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 5:29 PM

    All white people are to bury their heads in the sand to ensure no racism is caused when he says the n word.

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    Mute Carmo Vanderval
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 4:14 PM
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    Mute Carlin Ite
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 7:57 PM

    That’s terrible. White people should not use that word. Even if he is the president.

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    Mute Dave O Keeffe
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    Jun 22nd 2015, 9:21 PM

    which half of the word is he allowed to say though?

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