Letters: Mass starvation, multiple child amputees, and still, US politicians stay silent
Jordan's King Abdullah II, speaking at the UN last September, said: 'This Israeli government has killed more children, more journalists, more aid workers and more medical personnel than any other war in recent memory.'
He said Israel's assault in Gaza had led to one of the fastest rates of starvation caused by a war.
The king added that the largest cohort of child amputees from a war are in Gaza.
He said Jordan and countries around the world condemned Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, but Israel's response is unprecedented.
I hope for the war to end this year and Hamas to return all Israeli hostages.
The US is still not strongly pressing Israel's government to end the war in Gaza on women, men, elderly and children weakened from hunger.
It has echoes of the US-Vietnam 1964 to 1975 war when Americans went on marches for years to end a war that dragged on until the US left.
That war was to stop communist north Vietnam taking over the south. Vietnam was unified after the war. In Vietnam they call it 'The American War'.
Few US politicians speak out against the inhumanity of the war in Gaza. The late Tip O'Neill Jr, Speaker of the House in Washington in the 1980s, was fearless in this regard.
Mary Sullivan, College Road, Cork
It's a sorry state of affairs when political correctness is valued over morality
Thanks to modern technology we all see what is happening on a daily basis in Gaza and the West Bank.
Politicians are required to make decisions on moral and ethical standards or political correctness.
My personal experience while with the United Nations is that politicians in general follow the political correctness route.
Michael Moriarty, Rochestown, Cork
Gaelic football aristocrats Kerry go again with push for 39th All-Ireland title
On Sunday, Kerry will be seeking their 39th All-Ireland title. Despite the dominance of the Dubs in recent times, Kerry are still the aristocrats of Gaelic football.
This weekend, Jack O'Connor will be looking for his fifth All-Ireland – quite an achievement.
I believe he is about to join Mick O'Dwyer in the Kerry managerial hall of fame.
An O'Connor trait I have admired is that he knows how to wield the stick and when to offer the carrot. He has also shown he has the bottle to make the tough calls.
Thomas Garvey, Co Mayo
They said abortions would be 'rare', but that's not the case if you look at the data
Abortion is still a controversial topic in Ireland. A third of the people voted against it in 2018; more supported it only in certain very limited situations. But what has actually happened goes way beyond what was predicted by campaigners who said it would be 'rare'.
Last year, well over 10,000 babies were aborted, according to the Government's latest annual report, including 258 babies in Co Wexford.
Clearly, not enough is being done to proactively reduce the abortion rate by providing women in the middle of unplanned pregnancies with the supports they need.
It's worth emphasising that unborn babies are completely innocent and totally helpless to speak for themselves or defend themselves.
Pat Fogarty, Cleariestown, Co Wexford
A 'brutal' excuse by newly renamed planning board to keep airport structures
An Bord Pleanála is now An Coimisúin Pleanála (ACP) – one of the first provisions of the Planning and Development Act 2024.
Unfortunately, the 'change' of title and, indeed, the new act when it is fully commenced will do little to prevent bizarre determinations like that to refuse the demolition of a set of redundant concrete car park ramps in Dublin Airport.
In upholding the decision of Fingal County Council, ACP stated that, notwithstanding the fact that the spirals were not a protected structure, they are of technical and architectural merit by virtue of their brutalist design, associated concrete construction and their unique form and shape, which reflect a distinctive feature next to the Terminal 1 building.
They were built in 1972 to serve a facility that no longer exists. And yes, of concrete – a basic, commonplace construction material.
As acknowledged by ACP, they are not protected structures. Nevertheless, it found a planning rationale to refuse their demolition.
I'm not inclined to go overboard with odious hypothetical comparisons, but consider this: If the same view was taken of the 'brutalist' form of the Ballymun towers and Hawkins House, we would doubtless be celebrating the retention of icons of the 1960s.
Larry Dunne, Rosslare Harbour, Co Wexford
While cringing is a part of life, at least my moments of shame didn't go online
Catherine Prasifka is right to suggest 'cringe' is the tax we pay for trying, but she has a rich future of it ahead ('We're terrified of being labelled 'cringe', but I'd rather embrace it than live in fear', Irish Independent, July 24).
Middle age brings its own species of horror. I regularly drive along and am blindsided by a memory – something I said in 1994 about Tyrone football or people who consume low-fat yoghurt – and groan aloud.
The only consolation is that my sins were spoken, not posted online.
Enda Cullen, Tullysaran Road, Armagh
Corruption in governance will prosper when good people turn a blind eye
Corrupt governments didn't start with one party controlling the media and taking charge of the message or where one party decided what is truth.
Corrupt administrations did not start with one party censoring speech and silencing opposition or where we have one party dividing into 'us' and 'them' and where one party calls on their supporters to harass them.
In the final analysis, corrupt governments started when good people turned a blind eye and let it happen.
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