Raewyn McKenna

[Raewyn McKenna @rmck]

@newforestwx This is the best idea I've seen!

[Raewyn McKenna @rmck]

@spendeeapp @CsarAllende Don't update to 5.4.21! It is completely unusable! It is just a white screen and won't load.

[Dr. Calum Miller @DrCalumMiller]

World Down Syndrome Day is a good day to remind ourselves that in most Western countries, the large majority of babies with Down Syndrome are aborted before birth. In many countries, like the UK, this is legal at any point in the pregnancy, up to and even during birth - even when other children are protected from 24 weeks onwards.

In other countries like Iceland, they boast about “eradicating” Down Syndrome through abortion - genetic cleansing.

This is eugenics. Late-term abortion is unconscionable whether you are pro-life or pro-choice.

It has to stop.

#WorldDownSyndromeDay

[Raewyn McKenna @rmck]

@spendeeapp my app doesn't appear to be working today - it is just a blank white screen and doesn't load. It is version 5.4.21 - it updated to this last night. Have restarted phone but no luck.

[Raewyn McKenna @rmck]

@AIBIreland No. Not clicked at all! Thanks foe your quick response.

[Raewyn McKenna @rmck]

@AIBIreland I received the following message today. Can you confirm whether this is spam? I suspect so, bit don't want to be caught with a blocked card at this time of year!

[Senator Rónán Mullen @RonanMullen]

‘Hate Speech’ Bill - summer rain didn’t wash away the Government’s authoritarian streak

Over three months on and nothing seems to have changed. The ‘Hate Speech’ Bill is still on the agenda. The only people publicly supporting the Bill in its present form are Fine Gael (pointedly ignoring their youth wing), and the few NGOs who were complicit in concocting it.

Those supporting the Bill hide behind its ‘hate crime’ elements, rather than expose their draconian view on what constitutes ‘hate speech’ to the public glare.

Recall what that term currently means to Gardaí: ‘any non-crime incident which is perceived by any person to, in whole or in part, be motivated by hostility or prejudice.’

Is this to be the standard in 2024 for investigating, not to say hassling, citizens who have no intention of stirring up hatred or inciting violence but who, rightly, have every intention of making their views known on issues of controversy?

Of course, keyboard citizens are much easier targets than the real criminals night-prowling on O’Connell St.

This Bill is about silencing certain voices and will be used in that manner. Even if every prosecution is thrown out, people will have to endure the criminal process, including arrest and search, as a price to be paid for freedom of expression. The process becomes the punishment.

Looking at the UK we see the kind of thought-policing that we should not let into our country.

Ms Jennifer Swayne, who describes herself as a feminist activist and is disabled, was arrested in January 2021 following a search of her home  by Gwent Police who removed an "academic book", "hundreds of stickers" and "loads of notes". She had been reported for putting up stickers which were said to be directed at the transgender community.

In 2021 the Crown Office in the UK brought hate crime charges against a gender-critical feminist Marion Millar for sending allegedly homophobic and transphobic tweets. Then there are Caroline Farrow, Kathleen Stock, Jo Phoenix, JK Rowling -  all women suffering legal or professional backlashes for expressing support for biology as it really is, not as some oppressive fantasists would have it.

‘Poor Brits’, you might say. But only last week, parents in Dublin appeared reticent to express their view on a gender-linked classroom politicisation incident, when children in the school were instructed to refer to one of their teachers as ‘they’.

What kind of Ireland do we want?

One where law-abiding citizens are cowed? One where intersectional groups seek to use the law to create more divisions within our society? One where real haters can actually thrive because of an unpopular and oppressive law which may never work properly?

The Garda Commissioner knows and has said that the ‘far right’ cannot grow unless it is given oxygen. Haters exist and, sadly, this Bill, as drafted, will provide that oxygen.

The ‘Hate Speech’ Bill has garnered worldwide attention due to the threat it carries to freedom of expression. It has taken this attention to waken our legacy media up, even if they’re only slightly awake so far.

What could be effective now is a steady groundswell of citizen attention to the issue of free speech and the dangers of this Bill. Please keep talking to and emailing your public representatives and local media to help them see sense. Please let them know that YOU do not want your freedom of expression to be criminalised.

See https://t.co/KtQe8hSvHA for a fuller analysis of the many weaknesses in the Bill.

[Raewyn McKenna @rmck]

@Aine_o_Eire It's so true!

[Raewyn McKenna @rmck]

@gbish @VodafoneIreland @SIROIreland Cheers! Me too! Hooray....

[Raewyn McKenna @rmck]

@gbish @VodafoneIreland @SIROIreland Just received this text message

[Raewyn McKenna @rmck]

@gbish @VodafoneIreland Same here, @gbish ! So it's not just me then?

[Dublin Fire Brigade @DubFireBrigade]

Need to get rid of an old car?

You can donate an end of life car to us for Road Traffic Collision training for new recruits and up-skilling of Firefighters.

We'll arrange collection for free in the Dublin area and issue the appropriate certificate.

See https://t.co/yiW5clEqtD

[Raewyn McKenna @rmck]

Great advice for competitive parents, like me. I should have thought of this earlier.

[Sir Michael @Michael1979]

Am not a parent but here's a handy tip for those of you who are: when playing a game of Catch with your child, throw the ball fast and a few feet above their head. Most children are very short and won't be able to reach it so this should enable you to win easily 👍

[Raewyn McKenna @rmck]

@dpdireland I received an email to pay customs charges on an order from the UK. Who can I speak with to query this, as no customs or VAT should apply to these items?

[Raewyn McKenna @rmck]

@AIBIreland I clicked the link (sorry!) but didn't provide any details. Thanks!

[Raewyn McKenna @rmck]

@AIBIreland I received this message. I did try make an unusually large transaction yesterday, which was declined, so now I'm not sure whether this is real?

[Raewyn McKenna @rmck]

@INPHOjames @Inphosports @PPAI_IRL I was showing my son your photo today and he said "oh, that photo is in my National Geographic Kids". I doubted him, but he was right! Congrats, James!

[Raewyn McKenna @rmck]

@PlatingGrace In Ireland, you don't need yo be a citizen to vote in local elections (e.g. municipal elections) but you need to be prove that you are "resident" in order to vote (e.g. pay tax). https://t.co/Stt3Qcdcg0

[Raewyn McKenna @rmck]

@askryanair Could you please let me know whether children need to wear masks on the plane?

[Raewyn McKenna @rmck]

@TescoIrl OK. Thank for the reply. Good luck in fixing it!