Alannah

Men don’t realise that this is a massive win for women.

𝐆𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐦. 𝐈𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝟓𝟖 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐱 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚 𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐏𝐏 Former Garda, Margaret Loftus’s testimony to the Justice Committee on 21 April was a stark and deeply personal account of what she described as both the trauma of domestic abuse and the institutional response she encountered when she tried to seek protection and justice. Responding to questions from Robbie Gallagher, she began by outlining her experience following the granting of a barring order against her former husband, serving Garda, Trevor Bolger. Rather than feeling protected, she said her life within An Garda Síochána became “absolutely hell.” She described a pattern of intimidation and retaliation that included her pay being stopped, transfers cancelled, and what she believed were unauthorised welfare checks carried out on her children. She also recounted incidents where local gardaí were sent to her home after missing person reports were allegedly filed about her in Dublin, creating an atmosphere of surveillance and pressure. As the situation escalated, Margaret Loftus said she received threats on her life. She gathered extensive evidence and brought it to a senior officer in the hope of initiating a criminal investigation. However, within days of submitting this material, she said a direct threat was again made against her life, which she believed indicated that the accused had been alerted. Feeling she had no safe internal route, she took the extraordinary step of writing her own formal statement and sending it directly to the Garda Commissioner’s office. Following that, an investigation team was assigned and attended her home. Margaret Loftus was clear in distinguishing this phase from her earlier experience. She praised the professionalism of the investigative team, noting that the current Garda Commissioner had been the senior investigating officer at the time. She said they conducted the investigation as it should be done, under difficult circumstances and with necessary secrecy, and she expressed respect for their work. However, her broader experience of the system remained deeply troubling. She described disappointment and insult at the outcome of the case, particularly a plea deal involving the Director of Public Prosecutions. Over a six year period, the case came before the courts 58 times, illustrating the prolonged and exhausting nature of the process. One of the most striking elements of her testimony was the contrast she drew between her treatment and that of the accused. While he faced charges of threatening to kill her, she said he was simultaneously supported within An Garda Síochána. He received full free legal aid, was promoted, and was issued with a State firearm during the period when the case file was being prepared. For Margaret Loftus, this represented a profound contradiction, where the same institution responsible for protecting life appeared, in her experience, to reward someone accused of endangering it. She also spoke about the isolation she faced as a member of the force bringing forward such allegations. She felt that many colleagues distanced themselves from her and that she was perceived as “the problem,” reinforcing the difficulty of pursuing justice from within the organisation. Turning to her life now, Margaret Loftus reflected on the personal cost of coming forward. She said that if asked whether she would do it again, her answer sits on a “very small margin” between yes and no, but ultimately she would choose yes.

Adam Carolla on Gynofascism – Why Nobody's Talking About It

There were 10,850 abortions in Ireland last year. The highest ever. However, many mothers didn't go through with an abortion because of the three day reflection period. The Soc Dems want to get rid of the reflection period.

They don't need to publicly "admit it," they just need to continue the chat. Private online dating DMs are completely different from public dating discourse. And from a man's perspective, grossing out 92% is better than getting ignored by 99%. I personally know of a few sexual encounters that started this way. Not my game though. 🤷‍♂️