sadoldgit

And if Palestine was represented and their entry (or any other song) contained the lyrics “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” that wouldn’t be an issue either?

Yet again, how tone deaf are these people? Even the current lyrics in the Israeli song could be interpreted as referencing 7th October. We have said it so many times before, but it seems that there are people who believe that the lives of Israeli children are worth more than the lives of Palestinian children. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-68462848.amp

It is a cult. You can’t have a rational discussion with members of a cult (especially members of an American cult). Add in conspiracy theorists and you have even less chance of a rational discussion.

We had one in Blackpool South just a few days ago. Technically the election could be called in January 2025. It is all about the principe though, not the timing.

I agree with this 100%. As much as I detest the Tories the people of Dover voted for a Tory MP and if she feels that she can no longer support the party she was elected for she should stand down and force a by-election. It is beyond bizarre that a very right wing Tory now sits on the Labour benches though and the embarrassment it has cause Sunak is priceless! For God’s sake Richi, put yourself and us out of our collective misery and call a July election. (Why didn’t she defect to Reform?)

You think it is ok to put laughing emojis under posts discussing the killing of innocent people? Yes, these morons are laughing because I posted the comments but can you imagine the outcry if I put laughing emojis under any posts concerning the Holocaust? Anyone with a shred of decency would not do that. One of the posters has been making his feelings about Muslims clear for years including his infamous post “thank God my wife isn’t a Muslim” followed up with the assertion that every Muslim in the UK is responsible for the actions of the terrorists because they don’t go to the police with information. Now that is worth a laughing emoji! If someone is talking about the death of thousands of innocent people on a stage, would you laugh? The laughing emojis show how little respect they have for the people dying. It’s that simple. *For the avoidance of doubt, I married my wife for who she is, religion would not have come into it.

If only they could behave like civilised human beings, raise themselves back to some kind of moral high ground and stop targeting innocent women and children. As for the laughing emojis, those people demonstrate time again again what their values are. Genocide can be okay if it is aimed at the people they don’t like.

The “clumsy” Israeli government continue to shut down criticism/scrutiny of their actions. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68961753.amp Meanwhile the butchery of Palestinian civilians is about to kick off again in Rafah despite the growing International pressure to stop. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/5/6/israels-war-on-gaza-live-israel-pounds-rafah-as-truce-talks-stall

Definitely not a Clarkson fan but Mrs SOG badgered me into watching this and I am glad I did. The support cast makes the programme (Gerald 😂) as does the insight into how tough farming in the UK is. Not seen the latest series yet but it is on the watch list and the previous ones are highly recommended.

Delighted for Sadiq Khan. Thank goodness that dreadful Susan Hall failed - another in a long line of god awful Tories like Braverman, Badenoch, Patel, Rees-Mogg, Truss, Gullis etc. etc. etc. He takes a lot of racist abuse for being a Muslim so fair play to him for being prepared to put up with it for an unprecedented third term. This is a victory for his clean air policy too. What a great weekend so far - we beat Leeds, Sunak gets a kicking again and enough of the electorate get off of their backsides to keep the crazies away from power (and even the successful Tory mayor has distanced himself from Sunak!). Happy days with hopefully more to come soon 🥳

I think that the likeliehood of women/girls being assaulted by a trans woman is minimal. Yes, women/girls want a safe space, we all do, including trans people. The simple fact is that women/girls are far more likely to be assaulted by someone they are acquainted with (including family members) than they are by a random trans person. Whilst clearly an issue, it has been blown out of all reasonable proportion and we know why. As with the small boats, sick benefits and all of the other issues that the flailing Tories and the right wing media are throwing at us, it is all about deflection. The vast majority of trans people are not a threat to society and just want to go about their lives without any hassle. Perhaps we should treat them as such and not all as potential sex pests? As has been said already, trans women have been using women toilets for years. How do you stop them without a physical check and how would women/girls feel if they were subjected to a physical examination every time they used a public toilet? If someone is intent on abusing females they will find a way of doing so. Banning trans women from public female toilets will not make women/girls any safer. For those who disagree, do they have the figures for women/girls abused by trans women in public toilets?

The bottom line is that the Israelis are allowed to defend themselves in any way they see fit whereas the Palestinians are not. As for the idea that religion hasn’t got anything to do with this, we are where we are because people take an ancient religious text and use it two thousand years later as evidence that the are entitled to live in certain places. As said, Israeli cabinet ministers are also using biblical references to justify their actions. Ben-Gvir himself quotes the bible in defence of land grabbing in the West Bank. It is beyond naive to say that religion has nothing to do with this ongoing conflict.

As you say, this is for another thread, but I am curious, don’t female changing rooms have individual cubicles? I also wonder how you would manage in the Five Bells pub in Brabourne. It has unisex toilets. Once a person has fully transitioned to female, do you expect them to use male toilets? I know someone who has fully transitioned to male. He has a beard, male pattern baldness and looks more masculine than I do. Although born female how would you feel if he walked into a female toilet while your daughter was there? How do you feel about your daughter sharing space in a changing room with lesbians? I have three daughters and although I worry about them all of the time, the last thing I worry about is their interaction with trans people.

This is the problem now. The Tories have nothing to fight with so they resort to weaponizing issues like trans, migration, sick benefits because they know that will resonate with part of the electorate. You can’t have a grown up conversation or debate now though because they have used these issues as Daily Mail clickbait headlines. Starmer has to tiptoe his way through this minefield where the slightest hint of misstep and it blows up in your face. You mention trans extremists. What about the many trans people who just want to live their lives in a way that feels natural for them? Don’t they deserve more respect than being used a a political football by a failed political party? I also appreciate that this is a big issue for you, but for the right to try and inflate the importance of it to the level of don’t vote for Starmer because he doesn’t know what a woman is is not only demeaning to trans people, but it is hardly a bigger issue than those already stated as being foremost in most voters concerns.

You have exactly the same grasp of global warming as Donald Trump. (And for avoidance of doubt, that is not a good thing).