#Luke ming Flanagan

[vyorei]

Irish MEP Luke 'Ming' Flanagan calling for Ursula Von der Leyen to resign for her unwavering support of Genocidal Israel, he brought receipts.

IRELAND STANDS WITH PALESTINE ALWAYS 🇵🇸💜🇮🇪

Source: @lukeming on Twitter

Video below:

[thekeypa]

“11 months since I looked for the suspension of trade between EU & Israel. They're not listening. If you see Israeli produce in the supermarket. Walk by them. Let them rot on the shelves. The produce is soaked in Palestinian blood.”

[just-ray]

Ireland..

let me educate all of my non Irish mutuals and followers and anyone who gets this on their dash about the hidden political gem that is Luke “Ming” Flanagan. let me tell you, I’ve heard a lot about talented people in politics such as Kamala Harris, or even people who just do funny shit and get away with it, but I SWEAR the world is sleeping on Ming Flanagan.

Luke Flanagan is an Irish politician, but if you bring up “Luke Flanagan” to any sane Irish person, it will probably take them significantly longer to make sense of than if you just called him “Ming”. How or why this is so, I don’t know. I genuinely cannot find where the name came from or why it stuck but it did and now the man is Ming.

He is an atheist, and also pro cannabis legalisation, which is pretty rare in Ireland, but the fact that he’s built a lot of his career around smoking weed is pretty funny.

He was convicted of possession of cannabis MULTIPLE TIMES. He went to prison for it too, and yet, he kept going.

He all went pantsless on a call with the European Parliament a couple of years back, and when they asked him why he did this, he just went 🤷🏻 . “What’s in a pair of legs?”

Despite being autistic and struggling with depression, this man managed to make it into Leinster House, become an MEP and have what I would argue is a wildly successful political career.

His account got hacked a few years back by one of his EU assistants, where the hacker published a Twitter post about inappropriate pictures of another politician under his name, and he bounced back (after a long investigation).

Left wing, atheist and an independent, I actually think Ming Flanagan is a hidden gem of Ireland.

to top it all off he looks like some kind of hp granting wizard you’d find in an RPG.

[angelofthewaterss]

Yesterday my stupid Irish brain mixed up Yu Ming, the character from the iconic Irish language short film; 'Yu Ming is Ainm Dom",

And leftist MEP for Midlands-North-West Luke 'Ming' Flanagan, I called him Yu Ming Flanagan by mistake 😭😭😭

[rodaportal]

🏠 Why Are Irish Workers Still Forced to Emigrate? 🛠️

In a powerful message, Irish MEP Luke Ming Flanagan shares how the housing crisis and lack of secure job opportunities in Ireland have driven generations—including his own family—to leave in search of stable work. With short-term policies and a lack of training, can Ireland and the EU create a future where workers don’t have to leave to find opportunities? 🤔

👉 Watch the full video here: https://youtu.be/Wlgf_i9SuXU

Let’s discuss how we can push for change together! 💬

[newstfionline]

Headlines: Saturday, September 26, 2020

Largest California wildfire threatens marijuana-growing area (AP) California’s largest wildfire is threatening a marijuana-growing enclave, and authorities said many of the locals have refused to evacuate and abandon their maturing crops even as weather forecasters predict more hot, dry and windy conditions that could fan flames. The wildfire called the August Complex is nearing the small communities of Post Mountain and Trinity Pines, about 200 miles (322 kilometers) northwest of Sacramento, the Los Angeles Times reported. Law enforcement officers went door to door warning of the encroaching fire danger but could not force residents to evacuate, Trinity County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Nate Trujillo said. “It’s mainly growers,” Trujillo said. “And a lot of them, they don’t want to leave because that is their livelihood.” The area is in the Emerald Triangle, a three-county corner of Northern California that by some estimates is the nation’s largest cannabis-producing region. People familiar with Trinity Pines said the community has up to 40 legal farms, with more than 10 times that number in hidden, illegal growing areas. Growers are wary of leaving the plants vulnerable to flames or thieves. Each farm has crops worth half a million dollars or more and many are within days or weeks of harvest.

Things to avoid during your Zoom session (Reuters) An Argentine lawmaker has resigned after being caught on a live camera caressing his wife before appearing to partially pull down her top and kiss her breast during a virtual session of the country’s lower house of Congress on Thursday. The lower house of deputies said in a statement on Twitter early on Friday that it had voted to accept the resignation of Juan Ameri, a representative from the northern province of Salta in the ruling coalition. Virtual meetings amid the coronavirus pandemic have tripped up lawmakers before. In June, Ireland’s Luke Ming Flanagan appeared to be wearing no trousers as he discussed policy matters with his European Parliament peers.

Queen Elizabeth II to trim costs as COVID-19 hits income (AP) Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and her family are facing a 35 million pound ($45 million) hit from the coronavirus pandemic, partly due to a shortage of tourists, the monarch’s money-manager said Friday. Releasing the royal household’s annual accounts, Keeper of the Privy Purse Michael Stevens said a lack of income from visitors to royal buildings was likely to bring a general funding shortfall of 15 million pounds ($19 million) over three years. He said the impact of the pandemic is also likely to cause a 20 million-pound ($25.4 million) shortfall in a 10-year, 369-million-pound program to replace antiquated heating, plumbing and wiring at Buckingham Palace, the queen’s London home. Stevens said the royal household would not ask for more government money but would “look to manage the impact through our own efforts and efficiencies.”

As Virus Cases Surge in Europe, Hospitalizations Lag. (NYT) In Munich, normally brimming with boisterous crowds for Oktoberfest this month, the authorities just banned gatherings of more than five people. In Marseille, France, all bars and restaurants will be closed next Monday. And in London, where the government spent weeks urging workers to return to the city’s empty skyscrapers, it is now asking them to work from home. Summer ended in Europe this week with a heavy thud amid ominous signs that a spike in coronavirus cases may send another wave of patients into hospitals. But just how imminent is the peril? As they weigh actions to curb a second wave of the virus, European leaders are dealing with a confusing, fast-changing situation, with conflicting evidence on how quickly new cases are translating into hospital admissions—and how severe those cases will end up being. In Spain, where new cases have surged to more than 10,000 a day, hospitals in Madrid are close to capacity and the government said it was preparing to reopen field hospitals in hotels and in the city’s largest exhibition center. Yet in France, which reported 66,000 new cases over the last seven days, hospital admissions and deaths, while also rising, are going up more slowly. There is a similar divergence between infection rates and hospitalizations in Germany and Austria. And in Britain, which reported 6,178 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday—the highest figure since May 1—just 134 patients were admitted to hospitals on Monday, barely a tenth of those admitted in early May.

Pope to UN: Use COVID crisis to come out better, not worse (Washington Post) Pope Francis urged world leaders Friday to use the coronavirus emergency as an opportunity to reform the injustices of the global economy and the “perverse logic” of the nuclear deterrence doctrine, warning that increased isolationist responses to problems “must not prevail.” Francis laid out his appeal for greater involvement and influence of the United Nations in protecting the poor, migrants and the environment in a videotaped speech Friday to the U.N. General Assembly, held mostly virtually this year because of the pandemic. Francis said the world has a choice to make as it emerges from the COVID-19 crisis and addresses the grave economic impact it has had on the planet’s most vulnerable: greater solidarity, dialogue and multilateralism, or self-retreat into greater nationalism, individualism and elitism. “The pandemic has shown us that we cannot live without one another, or worse still, pitted against one another,” he said. “This is why, at this critical juncture, it is our duty to rethink the future of our common home and our common project.”

Migrants accuse Greece of pushing them back out to sea (AP) Shortly after reaching the Greek island of Lesbos, a group of Afghan migrants say, their hopes for a new life in Europe were cut short when Greek authorities rounded them up, mistreated them, shoved them into life rafts and abandoned them at sea, where they were rescued by the Turkish coast guard. Turkey, which hosts about 4 million refugees, accuses Greece of large-scale pushbacks—summary deportations without access to asylum procedures, in violation of international law. Greece, which lies on the EU’s southeastern border and has borne the brunt of migration flows from Turkey, denies the allegations and in turn accuses Ankara of weaponizing migrants. In March, Turkey made good on threats to send migrants to Europe, declaring its borders with the EU open. In what appeared to be a government-organized campaign, thousands headed to the Greek border, leading to scenes of chaos and violence. Turkey’s border with EU member Bulgaria was largely unaffected. Greece shut its frontier and controversially suspended asylum applications for a month. Uneasy neighbors Greece and Turkey have been at loggerheads for decades over several territorial issues, and asylum-seekers have found themselves caught up in the geopolitical conflict.

Taliban entrepreneurs (Foreign Policy) For decades, Afghanistan’s untapped mineral wealth has been touted as the country’s trillion-dollar El Dorado. But while the Afghan government has never been able to monetize mountains of copper, iron ore, gold, and gemstones, the Taliban have—and are ramping up their mining operations as just-started peace talks aim to shape the future of a postwar Afghanistan. In recent years, the Taliban have deliberately moved to secure control over regions of Afghanistan rich in mineral deposits, from lapis lazuli mines in northern Badakhshan to gold, lead, and zinc in Helmand and vast talc and marble deposits in southern Nangarhar. The Taliban, who already control most of the country’s mineral wealth, are banking on further developing the sector to make it the bedrock of the country’s postwar economy—or theirs, at least.

The Indian navy and China (WSJ) India’s border conflict with China is pushing New Delhi to look for an asymmetric response: flexing its naval might as it deepens cooperation with other democracies that seek to counter Beijing’s global ambitions. India, which operates one of the world’s largest navies, sits astride shipping routes in the Indian Ocean that connect China to its main sources of oil and gas in the Middle East and to its key markets in Europe. Though growing fast, China’s navy still has only limited ability to operate in a region far from its home shores—and has to contend with the U.S. in its own backyard. “On the northern border, the best we can hope for is to achieve a stalemate. But at sea, we have an advantage over the Chinese,” said retired Adm. Arun Prakash, a former head of the Indian navy. “A show of force at sea can send a message to China that you are vulnerable, that we can interfere with your shipping and with Chinese energy supplies. Their economy would be shaken up.”

‘Tis the season for travel in China. But virus fears cast a shadow over festivities. (Washington Post) Zuo Weiwei has been stuck since February in her hometown Wuhan—yes, that Wuhan—and the problem now is that the city is overflowing with tourists. Wuhan’s government, like many across China, has been offering free tickets to tourist attractions to try to salvage economic growth. For better or worse, it appears to be working, as China approaches its first major holiday season since tamping down the coronavirus. The “Golden Week” holiday is one of the largest annual human migrations, with upward of 700 million people on the move. This year, it will be a crucial test of China’s efforts to regain normalcy and prevent new coronavirus waves. The holiday season begins with China’s National Day on Oct. 1, marking 71 years of Communist Party rule. The period also coincides with this year’s mid-autumn festival, a one-day holiday that falls on the night of the fullest autumn moon. With borders closed around the world, those in China itching to travel have had to look closer to home. Around 408 million highway trips are expected to be made this Golden Week, slightly up from last year, China’s Ministry of Transport said on Thursday. But the flood of travelers will make social distancing difficult and brings the risk of new virus outbreaks that could spread rapidly across the country.

Tunisian migrants (Washington Post) The economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic is propelling thousands of Tunisians to make the perilous Mediterranean journey in search of better living conditions, with the largest wave in nearly a decade reaching Italy’s shores. The strict lockdown Tunisia imposed in March was largely successful in containing the outbreak, but the measures devastated the country’s already ailing economy. During the first eight months of this year, nearly 8,000 Tunisians crossed the Mediterranean to Italy, six times as many as last year.

Palestinian elections (Foreign Policy) Fatah and Hamas, the two largest political factions in the occupied Palestinian territories, have agreed to hold elections for the first time in almost 15 years. The last elections, held in 2006, resulted in a landslide victory for Hamas, leading to bloody clashes between the two sides and a de facto split within Palestine, with Hamas taking control of the Gaza Strip and the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority (PA) retaining control of the West Bank. Leaders said a vote will be held within six months. The move follows an unprecedented show of unity among Palestinians in opposition to recent moves by several Arab states to normalize diplomatic ties with Israel.

[emmabeverage]

I destroyed my compost bin! - MEP Luke Ming Flanagan - speech from 11 Ma...

[blogpopular]

DEPUTADO EUROPEU É FILMADO SEM CALÇAS DURANTE VIDEOCONFERÊNCIA

O irlandês Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan, membro do Parlamento Europeu, participava sobre um debate sobre agricultura, mas a câmera mostrou que ele estava seminu.

————————- Bem-vindo ao canal do UOL no YouTube. Aqui você encontra notícias direto da redação, tudo sobre política, matérias especiais e o melhor do mundo do entretenimento.

**…

[mostlysignssomeportents]

MEP tours the farcical viewing conditions for the TTIP text #1yrago

On Monday, Greenpeace leaked the highly confidential negotiating drafts of the TTIP, a top-secret, big-business-friendly trade agreement between the USA and the EU.

The leak was significant because the drafts have been kept secret from elected Members of the European Parliament (though bureaucrats in the European Commission and EU business leaders have had access to them).

The finished TTIP documents are now available, in theory, for MEPs to see. MEP Luke "Ming" Flanagan, independent Irish MEP, video-recorded the farcical circumstances under which MEPs are allowed to view the documents -- documents which will determine the legislative future of the EU for decades to come.

MEPs are made to relinquish their phones and other electronics, and are supplied with pens and paper, but are forbidden from writing down any verbatim quotations from the documents -- on pain of all future Parliamentary scrutiny of the TTIP being cut off.

The EU establishment calls this "scrutiny" of the documents, but as they cannot be published, debated, or, indeed, altered, it's a pretty thin kind of scrutiny.

If this sounds familiar, it should. This rigmarole is nearly identical to the procedures imposed on Senators and Congress members in the USA who wanted to view the TPP documents. The major difference is that US legislators were threatened with prison if they divulged the text of the TPP documents, while MEPs were merely threatened with being denied all future access.

The European Commission has ordered Flanagan to remove his video. He has refused. I uploaded a copy to Youtube for safekeeping.

https://boingboing.net/2016/05/05/mep-tours-the-farcical-viewing.html

[sebastianpribeiro]

Luke Ming Flanagan underwear speech

]’DEPUTADO IRLANDÊS DO PARLAMENTO EUROPEU NÃO PERCEBE E APARECE DE CUECA EM VÍDEO CONFERÊNCIA’!

[finmindo]

@ecb: Letter ECB President to Mr Luke Ming Flanagan (QZ021), MEP, on the Irish economy https://t.co/HT2mXmY4Cr

Letter ECB President to Mr Luke Ming Flanagan (QZ021), MEP, on the Irish economy https://t.co/HT2mXmY4Cr

— European Central Bank (@ecb) June 14, 2019

[newstfionline]

Headlines

Protesters Debate What Comes Next (NYT) The unrest in America’s cities showed no signs of fading on Tuesday as embattled police forces from Atlanta to Los Angeles struggled to reclaim the streets and as protesters debated the future of the week-old uprising. As the demographics of the movement have expanded to include a far more diverse population, the goals have also broadened. Some demonstrators are demanding that all four officers involved in Mr. Floyd’s death be thrown in jail, not just the single officer charged last week. “All four,” they shouted at protests. Many others are calling for the entire system of inequality that they view as the ultimate cause of Mr. Floyd’s death to be torn down and rebuilt. What began as a protest over one man’s death in police custody in Minneapolis has grown into a nationwide movement with diverse activists, tactics and demands.

Embattled at Home, Trump Finds Himself Isolated Abroad, Too (NYT) With American cities burning and the coronavirus still raging, killing more people than in any other country, President Trump also has growing problems overseas. In Europe, after years of snubs and American unilateralism, America’s traditional allies have stopped looking to him for leadership and are turning their backs on him. That was evidenced most obviously this week by the decision of the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, not to attend the Group of 7 meeting Mr. Trump wanted so badly in Washington this month to show that the virus was behind him and the world was returning to normal. Ms. Merkel cited the lingering threat of the virus, but a senior German official who spoke on the condition of anonymity made clear that she had other reasons to decline: She believed that proper diplomatic preparations had not been made; she did not want to be part of an anti-China display; she opposed Mr. Trump’s idea of inviting the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin; she did not want to be seen as interfering in American domestic politics. As Mr. Trump threatens to call in the military against his own citizens, he has become a president that some of America’s closest allies prefer to keep at arms’ length, unsure of what he will do next and unwilling to be dragged into his campaign for re-election. “Leaders in allied nations now think that criticizing Trump is to their advantage,” said Marietje Schaake, a former Dutch European legislator, especially now with the unrest in American cities and demonstrations supporting those protests in many European cities, including Amsterdam.

As Protests Engulf the United States, China Revels in the Unrest (NYT) The cartoon shows the Statue of Liberty cracking into pieces, a police officer breaking through its copper robe. A man’s head lies on the ground in front of the White House, its facade splattered with blood. “Beneath human rights,” says the title of the cartoon, which was published by People’s Daily, the Chinese Communist Party’s flagship newspaper, and circulated widely on social media sites this week. As protests over police violence engulf hundreds of cities in the United States, China is reveling in the moment, seizing on the unrest to tout the strength of its authoritarian system and to portray the turmoil as yet another sign of American hypocrisy and decline. It is a narrative that conveniently ignores many of the country’s own problems, including its history of ethnic discrimination, its record on human rights and its efforts to suppress protests in Hong Kong. Chinese officials are trolling their American counterparts with protest slogans like “Black lives matter” and “I can’t breathe.” The state-run media is featuring stories about the “double standards” of the United States for supporting the Hong Kong demonstrators. Prominent Chinese commentators are arguing that American-style democracy is a sham, pointing to the country’s bungled response to the coronavirus pandemic and ongoing racial tensions. The propaganda push is the latest skirmish in a longstanding power struggle between China and the United States, with relations between the two countries at their lowest point in decades.

Mexico Coronavirus Cases Spike (Foreign Policy) On Tuesday Carissa Etienne, the World Health Organization’s regional director for the Americas warned that the coronavirus pandemic in the Western Hemisphere was only likely to get worse. The number of coronavirus cases in the United States and Brazil—which together account for over one-third of cases worldwide—has grabbed headlines, but it’s in Mexico where the pandemic could find its next epicenter. On Tuesday, Mexico’s health ministry reported 3,891 new coronavirus cases, its highest daily number since the outbreak began. At over 10,000, the number of recorded deaths from coronavirus in Mexico is the third-highest in the Americas, behind United States and Brazil.

My rabbit for your detergent? Cubans turn to barter as shortages worsen (Reuters) Nelson Aguilar used to sell the rabbits that he raises on his Havana rooftop to restaurants. Now, with an ongoing pandemic, the 70-year-old uses them as currency, exchanging them for food or detergent to avoid multi-hour queues at poorly stocked shops. He’s not alone. More Cubans are turning to bartering to meet their shopping needs, be it in person or on social media groups, as the novel coronavirus crisis worsens existing shortages of basic goods in the Communist-run island. Shoppers had already faced long lines for some staple goods over the last year-and-a-half as Cuba’s economic situation worsened with the implosion of ally Venezuela and amid tougher U.S. sanctions under President Donald Trump. Now, the pandemic has halted tourism, slowed remittances and raised shipping costs, plunging Cuba into its worst economic crisis since the fall of its former benefactor, the Soviet Union, in the 1990s.

Sea, sand and social distancing (Reuters) A cluster of Caribbean islands are reopening this month for international tourism, hoping to burnish their reputations as oases of tranquility after containing their coronavirus outbreaks and implementing strict new public health protocols. The Caribbean is the most tourism dependent region in the world. The move is a pilot test for other regions planning to restart tourism after pandemic-induced lockdowns. Antigua and Barbuda, the U.S. Virgin Islands and St. Lucia are the first to reopen this week. Jamaica and Aruba are set to follow later in the month, with July target dates for the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic.

EU lawmaker reveals more than intended in video call (Reuters) A European Union lawmaker on Tuesday was reminded of the perils of videoconferencing when he appeared to be wearing no trousers as he discussed policy matters with his peers. The European Parliament’s official live broadcast showed Ireland’s Luke Ming Flanagan wearing a shirt and sitting on the edge of an unmade bed with his legs crossed, rubbing his thighs as he addressed an agriculture committee for two minutes. “I was just back from a run so was in my shorts. Decided to put on a shirt to look kinda respectable! That didn’t work out very well!,” Flanagan told Reuters. His light-hearted response won him sympathy on social media where many people shared their own struggles with video calls and working from home amid the pandemic.

Germany and the Netherlands lift some coronavirus travel warnings (AP) The German government announced Wednesday it will ease a global travel warning starting June 15, with cautions set to be lifted for most European countries. Other countries, including the Netherlands, have prepared similar steps this week. In both Germany and the Netherlands, authorities continue to advise against nonessential travel to Britain, which has announced a 14-day quarantine for travelers arriving in the country. The lifting of travel warnings does not automatically result in a return to borderless travel in the 26 European states that make up the Schengen area, which was restricted in March to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Some countries, including Spain, are expected to keep travel restrictions on tourists in place until July. In Norway, most restrictions could even remain in place until August.

Italy reopens borders (Euronews/AFP) Italy reopened its borders to European travellers on Wednesday as the country attempts to rescue its tourism industry. It now faces the challenge of enticing visitors back, as it looks to the summer holiday season as a possible route to some sort of economic recovery. Italy is currently facing the worst recession since the Second World War. On top of reopening its borders to European travellers, Italy has lifted restrictions on movement between regions. International flights are expected to resume in just three major cities: Milan, Rome and Naples.

Cyclone lashes India’s business capital (AP) The first cyclone in more than a century to hit India’s financial capital of Mumbai appeared to have largely spared the metropolis on Wednesday. No deaths or major damages were reported as workers began clearing fallen trees and other debris from affected areas along India’s western coastline. In the state capital, Mumbai, home to Bollywood, India’s largest stock exchange and more than 18 million residents, high winds whipped skyscrapers and ripped apart shanties near the beach. The storm lost much of its power after slamming ashore near the city of Alibag, about 98 kilometers (60 miles) south of Mumbai, the Meteorological Department said.

UK to welcome Hong Kong citizens (SCMP) Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he’s ready to change immigration rules for the nearly 3 million Hong Kong citizens eligible for a British National Overseas passport, allowing them to live and work in the UK, if China imposes its national security law.

With buses inadequate, Filipinos go back to work on bikes—and make their own lanes (AP) The end of a 2½ month lockdown in Manila has been accompanied by crippling traffic jams with restrictions on public transportation, so many people can’t get to work. As hundreds of thousands are stranded from the lack of seats on public transport, cycling has become an increasingly popular alternative. Bike sales have surged under the lockdown. One initiative, Life Cycles, distributed hundreds of bikes to front line health-care workers to get them to their jobs. Biking on traffic choked streets of Manila is not easy, so when Philippine traffic officials did not put up a protected bike lane, one group took matters into their own hands. Bikers United Marshals set up makeshift markers along a major avenue, then deployed volunteers to ensure road safety.

U.N. misses Yemen aid target (Foreign Policy) The United Nations has fallen roughly $1 billion short of its target to help fund humanitarian operations in Yemen. Speaking before the donor conference, Lise Grande, U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen said the UN’s operations would face “catastrophic cutback” if less than $1.6 billion was raised. “We won’t be able to provide the food people need to survive, or the health care they need or the water or sanitation or the nutrition support which helps to keep 2 million malnourished children from dying,” she said. Saudi Arabia’s spending on waging war in Yemen to date is believed to be at least $265 billion.

[seachranaidhe]

The EU: talking of peace - preparing for war. Speaker: Luke Ming Flanagan MEP.

The EU: talking of peace – preparing for war. Speaker: Luke Ming Flanagan MEP.

[thesepeopleproject]

All a big laugh to Timmy Dooley. Whistleblowers watching will have a difficult night ahead of them. How detached are these people.

— Luke 'Ming' Flanagan (@lukeming) February 15, 2017

[meangirlsofleinsterhouse]

[finmindo]

@ecb: Letter ECB President to Mr Luke Ming Flanagan, MEP, on the European financial sector https://t.co/hQWvgSYPsu

Letter ECB President to Mr Luke Ming Flanagan, MEP, on the European financial sector https://t.co/hQWvgSYPsu

— European Central Bank (@ecb) January 16, 2019