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POLITICAL LEADERS NEED to act on the latest assault on public transport and provide dedicated transport police before “something even more serious happens”, according to the union for bus and rail.
A 26-year-old man was hospitalised with serious facial injuries after an unprovoked homophobic assault on a Dublin Bus in the early hours of Sunday morning while he was returning from a night out.
Mark Sheehan, 26, had his earphones kicked out of his hands before being headbutted by a man having got on the bus with his friends shortly before 4am.
Responding to the assault, Dermot O’Leary, general secretary of the National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU), told The Journal it was time for TDs who support a transport police unit to “turn their words into some action” and deliver legislation enacting the specialist group.
“Mark Sheehan was minding his own business. He wanted to go home peacefully and wasn’t left do that. He had the bravery to come out and tell people about what happened and I can only but admire him for having the bravery.
“But I am really frustrated because this has been raised again and again. I hope Mark Sheehan makes a full recovery but it’s a disgrace that a person can’t get onto a bus in Dublin or anywhere across the country – and it is happening across the country – and not have to put up with thuggery.”
A photo posted by Mark Sheehan following the assault
Gardaí have confirmed they are investigating the incident which took place on Firhouse Road.
“There are politicians who sit on the back benches of government parties in Fianna Fáil and the Greens who are supporting calls for a educated transport unit, but it’s in their gift to legislate,” he said.
“The reality is Mark Sheehan’ss assault last Sunday morning will be followed by another assault. My message is, are you waiting for something a lot more serious before you do the right thing by the travelling public?”
Yesterday, Sinn Féin’s justice spokesman Martin Kenny said that when he raised the issue previously, the was told the National Transport Authority and the Department of Justice “feel there is no requirement for a unit of An Garda Síochána” to be dedicated to transport policing.
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O’Leary said another aspect that shows the need for making public transport safer was the government’s climate targets.
“We’re trying to encourage people to migrate from the motorcar to public transport.
“By the government’s own targets, we need to increase journeys by 500,000 daily by 2030 - how is that going to happen unless people can be assured that the journeys are safe.”
He added: “Whether we like it or not the future in this country has to be public transport.”
If a violent incident is taking place during a journey, bus drivers are not to intervene according to the NBRU.
“A bus driver does what it says on the tin: they drive a bus. It’s job that’s difficult enough as it is and a bus driver is not a bouncer and is not a guard,” O’Leary said.
“Our drivers can alert Central Control but even if they were to intervene, they do not have powers of arrest, powers to sanction and cannot bring people into court.”
Speaking this afternoon, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar condemned the attack and said people are entitled to feel safe on public transport.
However, he said the decision on a dedicated Garda unit for public transport “would be better” left to the Garda Commissioner.
“You want to encourage people to use public transport. It’s important that men and women and children feel safe and doing so,” he told reporters in Monaghan.
“Obviously any decision on whether there’d be a dedicated transport police would be better for the Garda Commissioner rather than the government.
“But I think we can all agree that what we’d like to see as an increase greater presence on public transport at most and train stations and also increased security provided by the companies as well. I think everyone can agree on that and that should be done.”
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@ObsidianShine: Sanders will never get elected in USA. He may be popular with some young leftists but most of the americans see him as dangerous socialist.
@Darren: he’s not supported by all democrats, for the last 50 years the democrats and republicans have been 2 sides of the same coin, much like FG and FF here. But there’s a new progressive side to he democrats known as the Justice Democrats, with AOC, illhan omar, Rashida tlaib Ayanna Presley etc. These are the real opposition to Trump and the Republicans not the clintons or the bidens. Bernie Sanders is the man to beat Trump
@Pseudonym: If the Democrats don’t pull any stunts at the convention like they did last time, he has a chance of running, and then he would beat Trump.
The fact he’s supposedly the most likely to beat Trumpy says so much about the US. the man can’t keep his foot out of his mouth and while he may not “be playing with a full deck” he’s got a full suit or more than Trumpy.
@Darren: in isolation could be taken as racist but more likely a idiotic slip of the tongue. Nothing definitive but Joes history of foot in mouth makes me lean more towards the latter. Trumpys extensive racist history would make me lean more towards the former. That said well aware my own bias could be a factor too.
@Graham Wilson / Disco Pants: Interesting that The Journal continue to allow you to refer to another commenter as a ‘mongo’, a slur against people with disability. Stay classy, and enjoy the limelight of impersonating me!
@Graham Wilson: You do what you gotta do Disco Pants! Couldn’t beat me in an argument because of your low-IQ, got annoyed that I didn’t reply to your personal insults, so you got desperate and the last resort you had was to copy my account. So sad, now you spend your days pretending to be me! Where did life go wrong little fella? :)
@ObsidianShine: I’ve reported it 6 times ro The Journal, it goes against multiple sections in their own Comments Policy, but they have chosen to ignore the reports and allow Disco Pants call other commenters a ‘mongo’.
@Graham Wilson: ok how about resurrecting one of the classics then? Remember the great run we had as Open Borders, the Soros troll last year? The humiliation got too much for me in the end though :(
@Graham Wilson: u impersonate another poster but they’re the troll? Words, coherent arguments and even insults with a modicum of wit are hard huh? Better than your real life though?
@GrahamMManning: I know. I’ve reported myself to the journal so many times but they keep ignoring me pet. I have a history of multi accounting and cloning hun.
@Graham Wilson: impersonating another poster is beyond weird. What sort of empty life do some people have? I suppose the original Graham Wilson should take it as a compliment that they have such a big impact on this persons life that they are now imitating him.
WHY are these men running? its bad enough an extremely out of touch, living in his own wee world Trump is in office. I dont care how agiest this sounds, but nobody that age should be allowed to run for the most powerful position in the world. Where are all the younger candidates? why are they all elderly men?
The man is nearly 80 years of age so I’d allow him a slip of the tongue as I don’t believe his intentions weren’t bad.
Also not to sound ageist but an 80 year old has no but in the White House.
@De Zach Same: Youre right. And its not ageist, its just realistic and logical. The person sitting in office should represent the views and aspirations of all age groups, people 70 and over just cant do that
@De Zach Same: interesting how we have an idea at what age people should retire, but one of the most important jobs on the planet seems to be exempt from this…
@Darren: Not at all- Trump has 11000 lies and counting, and a history of bigotry stretching a long way back. You jumping to reply to me because Biden made a racist comment it makes Trumps OK? Maybe you want to say something else but are having trouble articulating it?
Hes starting to make Donald Trump look smart. I bet the makers of the comedy Parks and Recreation are mortified that they had their lead character, a supposedly kind and highly intelligent civil servant, be totally smitten with this old coot
As an OAP myself I just feel that Biden and Sanders are too old now. Its time for the Democrats to skip a generation and blood someone younger. The US & us by extension need someone new with a vision and the energy to bring it to fruition.
@Jane Waters: i agree, Bernie and Joe seem like good people and seem to have served well, but I think the worst thing to compete against Trump is another old white guy, and saying that as an oldish white guy myself too. I would like to see Oprah Winfrey have a go at running :-) . A popular black woman against Trump … he would have no chance. I think Democrats have their eyes off of the ball, at the moment.
What are we going to do about Creepy Uncle Joe Biden?
By Alexandra Petri February 18, 2015 The Washington Post.
When Joe arrives, everyone he knows (Jill, Barack, Michelle, Sasha and Malia, John (Kerry), John (McCain) and several women he recognizes only from having told them, once, in passing “No dates ’til you’re 30!”) is already sitting in his office in a semicircle of folding chairs. He blinks once or twice, startled.
“Where’s the yogurt bar?” he asks. “TCBY, with all the fixins. The e-mail said. Sprinkles!”
“Joe,” President Obama says, as gently as he can, “there is no yogurt bar.”
Joe sits down on a folding chair. His is, oddly enough, facing all the other chairs. He turns it around to face the door. “So,” he says, in the ensuing silence, “who’re we waiting for? Looks like some kind of an intervention. Is it ol’ Speaker Johnny Bone? Orange Julius? I call him Orange Julius because, heh, you get it? I get it.”
“No, Joe,” Michelle says. “This isn’t for –” she grimaces “– Orange Julius.”
“Who’s it for then?” Joe gets up and makes his way around the room, shaking hands and leaning in. “Hey there, hi! No dates ’til you’re 30! Sorry to hear about your ma, God bless her.”
Jill shudders. “You’re right,” she says, turning to President Obama. “It’s just as bad as you said.”
“Joe,” the president says. “We’re here to talk to you. Sit down, please.”
Joe sits. The chair is still facing the wrong way. He sits in it backwards.
“Joe, we all love you,” the president continues. “More or less. We want the best for you. But lately –”
“Not just lately,” Michelle says. “Really for decades now.”
“Lately you’ve gone from America’s Wacky Uncle to America’s Creepy Uncle.”
“It’s the leaning,” Malia says.
“Yeah,” Sasha adds, immediately.
“You need to stop leaning like a creeper,” Malia says.
“Here is a slideshow that New York Magazine’s Daily Intelligencer put together,” Sasha says. “You’re just lucky there isn’t a Tumblr.”
“Joe Biden Looming Creepily Over Uncomfortable Women Dot Tumblr Dot Gov,” Malia suggests.
“Do any of these women look comfortable?” Sasha asks. She produces the most recent picture.
Joe squints at the picture. “Looks pretty comfortable to me,” he says. “Jill, that’s a comfortable face, right? That face says ‘I’m comfortable around this suave man.’”
“No,” Jill says.
“But,” Joe says.
“No,” Jill says. “No, Joe. That is not a comfortable face. That is the face of someone who is trying to get as far away as possible without being rude to the vice president of the United States.”
“You look like you used to be a bird and you’re still getting used to your human form and are trying to perch on her shoulder with your hands,” Malia says.
“Look at this one,” Sasha says.
“You look like you’re auditioning for Dracula, but, like, old creepy hunchback cloak Dracula, not the new Dracula with Luke Evans that nobody saw.”
“I saw it,” John McCain says.
“You look like you’re trying to tempt her to join the Dark Side.”
“You look like a Dementor.”
“You do look a little like a Dementor.”
“Look at this one,” Sasha says, flipping through the slideshow.
“Nothing wrong with that one,” Joe says. “Heh heh. Bikers. Tell your old man I said hello, rest his soul!”
“He doesn’t even know what he’s saying, does he?” Michelle asks, turning to the president. “So sad.”
“Joe,” John Kerry says. “Wacky Uncle is a role to which you are generally well-suited. It’s a series of recognizable tropes. The Onion loves it. You can call the president clean and articulate and people will still willingly spend time with you. But you can’t overplay it. And right now, you keep landing on just the wrong side of the line. Here is a chart.”
“You called that representative your butt buddy,” Sasha says. “Do you even know what that means?” Michelle looks at her. “I don’t, obviously, Mom, but, like, you definitely don’t.”
“It means buddy,” Joe says. “But it’s more fun to say, because in addition to the word buddy, you get to say the word butt, heh heh. Butts. A whole Senate full of ’em!”
“I had no idea it was this bad,” Jill says.
“Do something for me, would you, Joe?” President Obama asks. “Just get up and greet Sasha.”
“Please no,” Sasha says.
“Just do it the way you think it should be done,” President Obama says. “Sorry, Sasha. For this, I’ll let you get Snapchat.”
Joe Biden rises from his chair and goes to stand behind Sasha, leaning over her and whispering, “You know, I have a lot of friends in your community, including a very dear colleague of mine, Barack America.”
“THIS IS THE WORST,” Sasha says. “DAD MAKE HIM STOP.”
“That’s what I’m trying to do!” President Obama says.
Malia has taken a picture. “Look at this,” she says. “Does Sasha look comfortable at all?”
“Yes,” Joe says. “That is the face a young person makes to indicate that she is excited to meet you. It’s like a flesh emoticon. YOLO! Ha ha.”
“Can we lock him up somewhere?” Michelle asks. “Can we just send him to somewhere he won’t do any damage?”
“The vice presidency?” John McCain suggests, laughing to himself because he thinks this is a good joke and feels that the rest of the room is unlikely to appreciate it.
“He’s been spending a lot of time in Iowa,” John Kerry says. “Why don’t we just send him there and tell them not to let him leave?”
The president and first lady exchange a look. “That could work,” Michelle says. “Just keep him off C-SPAN.”
“Right,” President Obama adds. “And come 2016, he’s on his own.”
@Mark Fields: Maybe they feel its relevant who knows. I have no doubt that you reported it, perhaps it hit the nerve but nevertheless it pretty much sums up who Creepy Joe really is.
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