US Congress group expresses "concerns" over Govt's OTB
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Post
14 hours ago
- Irish Post
Republican Congress members calls for investigation into Ireland's 'discriminatory' Occupied Territories Bill
A REPUBLICAN Congresswoman is leading calls for an investigation into Ireland's proposed Occupied Territories Bill, which she branded 'discriminatory' and 'dangerous'. Backed by 15 House Republican colleagues, Claudia Tenney sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urging him to investigate whether the legislation violates US anti-boycott law. It says the Bill is part of the broader global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which Tenney says 'seeks to economically isolate Israel'. "Such policies not only promote economic discrimination but also create legal uncertainty for US companies operating in Ireland," the letter states. Despite the opposition, Tánaiste Simon Harris has said that Ireland is committed to enacting the Bill. 'Consequences' If enacted, the Bill would ban trade with the Occupied Palestinian Territory and make it an offence to import goods from Israeli settlements in the region. In a press release, Tenney urged the Department of the Treasury to consider adding Ireland to a list of countries that participate in international boycotts against US allies. It added that the measure could subject Ireland to disclosure and reporting requirements under Section 999 of the Internal Revenue Code, impacting foreign investment and bilateral trade. "Ireland's proposed boycott is a blatant attempt to isolate and delegitimise Israel on the world stage," said Tenney. "This proposed boycott is discriminatory, dangerous, and would violate US law. "The Treasury Department has the duty to enforce the law, protect American businesses, and hold countries accountable when they promote foreign boycotts against our allies. "The United States will not stay silent while our allies are targeted by hostile political agendas." Tenney's letter urged Secretary Bessent to 'send a clear signal that efforts to economically isolate Israel will carry consequences'. 'Genocidal activity' Addressing the letter while speaking to the Press on Friday, Mr Harris reaffirmed the government's commitment to the legislation. "Ireland intends to continue to advance our commitment in relation to the Occupied Territories Bill — the Programme for Government is clear in relation to that," he said. "People in Ireland, people in Europe and people right across the world feel extraordinarily strongly about the genocidal activity that we're seeing in Gaza, about the starving children." He added: "We intend to advance with our legislation. "Of course, we'll continue to engage and explain and never allow our position to be misrepresented." See More: Occupied Territories Bill, Simon Harris
RTÉ News
a day ago
- RTÉ News
Over 200 protest US military use of Irish airspace at Shannon Airport
Over 200 people have staged a protest at Shannon Airport to protest against the US military use of Irish airspace and to stop what they say is the transportation of weapons destined for Israel. The rally was organised by the Limerick branch of Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) and Shannonwatch. "Failing the stopping of American military going through, at the very minimum, the Government should be inspecting the planes to see what's on them and to ensure they're not carrying weapons," said Zoë Lawlor, Chairperson of the IPSC. "We also are demanding sanctions from the government on Israel. I mean, the situation now is catastrophic. They're going to occupy Gaza City, intensifying the genocide. It's going to be even more bloody. "They're deliberately starving people to death, and it is because of the impunity that all states, including Ireland, have granted to Israel that we've gotten to this stage. "We want the full implementation of the Occupied Territories Bill with services included, and we want the Central Bank to stop regulating Israel's war bond." 'Waiting for your own death' Tamara Nijim is a Palestinian woman living in Ireland for the past two years. She has been joined by her sister Marah, whom she managed to here on a scholarship three months ago. Marah addressed the rally on the situation she fled from. "All I can say is it's a nightmare that is not stopping. It's a nightmare we're not walking from it. It's waiting for your own death by seconds, waiting to see yourself as an orphan, waiting to see your home bombed, waiting to lose your friends, waiting to be killed. "That's what I can say. It's worse than a movie. It's the worst thing ever. It's a war. It's genocide." Tamara says it's very difficult for them to leave family behind in Gaza. She moved here one month before the war to finish her studies "We're here at Shannon today because our families are really, really struggling. They're starving and now they can die any minute, and it's very, very difficult. "We're here to object in what is going on. And because this is genocide going in there and we try to stop as much as we can the things that are happening there. Because any rocket, any bomb that could pass, could be the reason for a family death in a couple of seconds, a couple of minutes" Tamara says there is a price for speaking out but she and her sister cannot stand by and say nothing "We're here to talk about what's going on but it's still very difficult, because there's a price for speaking up about the situation, because once you speak up, your name goes all over the internet. "You might also lose your family, but we all have something to lose, and we have to speak for the people of Palestine. We should not be also only thinking about our only family, because everybody in Palestine is our family."
Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Irish Examiner
Colin Sheridan: Stephen Colbert's axing brings to mind the lack of political satire here
To most of us this side of the pond, Stephen Colbert exists as a series of funny clips on social media. Unless you live, or travel regularly to America, it's unlikely his show — The Late Show with Stephen Colbert — is a regular part of your televisual lexicon, especially as it airs at 11.35pm. Still, for all the obscurity of his existence relative to us, one could argue he's never been as popular. President Donald Trump is the gift that never stops giving to monologue makers, and if there's one thing Colbert can deliver with panache, it's a damn good monologue. Perhaps, too good, because his nightly shrine to shot glasses of satire and political punch‑drunk comedy has been abolished. CBS, citing financial woes, has slated the final curtain for May 2026, closing not just Colbert's show but the entire Late Show franchise. It's the end of an era. Since Letterman passed the torch in 2015, Colbert has used that stage as part-sarcastic political commentator, part-sky-high comic helmsman. In the last season alone, he reigned as ratings champ among late‑night talkies, improbably packing more audience than over‑caffeinated hours warrant. So yes, it may have been a 'purely financial' choice, as CBS insists. But that phrase feels about as believable now as our own government saying they intend to pass the Occupied Territories Bill. It comes just after Colbert's attack on a Trump‑Paramount $16 million 'bribe' just days before the axe fell — timing that smells less like coincidence and more like political orchestration. Fellow comic gladiators rushed to his defence. Jon Stewart roared on The Daily Show: 'This is not the moment to give in … you are fucking wrong,' decrying corporate fear over political reprisals. John Oliver lamented the loss of a fertile training ground for future late‑night scribes, calling it 'incredibly sad". What will it mean for our own Late Late Show? For decades, it's been a cross‑population of small‑town sentiment, big‑city celebrity sycophancy, and hushed confessions over talk of tragedies, triumphs, and teddy bears. And every so often it even platforms a proper comedian, albeit one who knows better than to mock a sitting TD. And it's in that vacuum we could all do with a little Colbert. There is little or no political satire on Irish television these days - and doing mediocre impressions does not count. Host Patrick Kielty is a fireman reduced to rescuing kittens from a tree, and it's perhaps because of that that the Late Late Show is weathering whatever storm downed Colbert in the US. Its appeal may lean more cosy than cutting, but the crowds still tune in. Still, you can't help wondering: does Colbert's demise signal the death of the late-night format, or merely the flick‑off of an old lamp? Patrick Kielty's Late Late Show stands as a testament to bland adaptability. File picture: Andres Poveda Streaming platforms, TikTok, 24‑hour news cycles — they're all wedding their viewers to the immediacy of media, stealing them away from the half‑hour a night in front of the TV. CBS isn't the only network hitting budgetary bottom, though it's certainly first to pitch out the stage talent. Even NBC's stalwarts are trimming staff and band members. Attitudes and ad revenue are shifting, fast. But here's the irony: late-night talk shows are vital national psychotherapies. A place where politicians are cut into satire, pop stars unfurl their latest single, and comedians sharpen their wit against the absurd. The loss of Colbert's show leaves a hole — one that's political, comic, and uncomfortably silent. In contrast, The Late Late Show stands as a testament to bland adaptability. It's become more relatable because of, not despite, its softer profile. When guests spill their innermost thoughts or confess shame over missed anniversaries, we nod along, waiting for the former weather girl to tell us how stressful she found Dancing with the Stars. There is little or nothing revolutionary about the formula. RTÉ can point to the Tommy Tiernan Show as a totem of brave programming, but, despite the quality differential, you can be damn sure which darling they'd kill first if given a choice. Which is why the American axing is unlikely to trouble Kielty and co just yet, largely because the Late Late acts like an art project. A loss leader, less about the shining host, more about the cultural heartbeat it captures. Colbert's exit, counterintuitively, does amplify the dearth of political criticism in Ireland, however. How can a nation of storytellers and general smart arses not produce one hour-long piece of satire per week, especially when there has never been more material with which to humorously work? I think I know the answer. And it might be much closer to Trump's America than we like to admit — the politicians would never allow it.
