sadoldgit

You are sounding more like Turkish everyday but well done for taking someone’s position and changing it to suit your own agenda. I will say it one more time. I don’t condone the killing of innocents by both sides. The situation is incredibly complex and I am not taking a “side”. I believe that both “sides” have the right to exist and should make greater efforts to learn to live alongside each other. You chose to twist this and make out that it is somehow anti-Semitic and that, somehow I have more sympathy for murdered Palestinians than I have for murdered Jews. You are wrong and deluded. It is exactly what people with your blinkered view do to Corbyn. The bloke couldn’t be more of a pacifist and calls out terrorist acts whoever carry them out. But because he believes that the conflict here is being made worse by the Israeli government’s treatment of the Palestinians that makes him an anti-Semite. No doubt those who have taken the decision not to light up the Wembley arch tomorrow with the Israeli flag will also be labelled anti-Semites in your black and white world. If you want to play this game it works both ways and your Islamophobia and hatred of Muslims is showing in your posts. Mr Lovely? What an absolutely stupid thing to say. Why would you take the piss out of those trying to show some kind of humanity in an inhuman situation?

My wife asked the question about the conflict in general rather than this particular instance and I replied that I thought that they were both the bad guys. I’m don’t see that gunmen breaking in to houses and killing innocent women, children and babies is any different to killing innocent women, children and babies by raining bombs and missiles on their heads. I guess you can kill more people with a bomb or a middle than you can a gun though so at least one side has a more efficient way of killing its enemies. Yet again we get the deflection of any criticism of the current Israeli government’s action as being “anti-Semitic”. What absolute rubbish. As as has been said, it is entirely possible to be sympathetic and supportive of the Palestinians position (not Hamas) and not be anti-Semitic (like Corbyn). I have heard many Jewish people on radio phone ins criticising Netanyahu and his government - does that make them anti-Semites? There is an excellent article on Twitter written by a Jewish person, Isaac Saul, which covers the history of the conflict going back centuries (the Jews, Muslims and Arabs all come from the Canaanites so share the same DNA). He spares neither side and lays the blame for the latest killings at the door of both sides. Both sides need to compromise. The Israelis need to be guaranteed safety in the previously agreed lands and they need to get out of the occupied territories. If they don’t make the effort to live together peacefully this will only get worse. I get the anger over the recent atrocities carried out by Hamas although it is not an easy watch seeing the destruction of Gaza either. When you look at the figures produced by the UN of people killed or seriously injured in the 13 years between 2008 and 2020 - Palestinians 120,286 Israelis 5,887. - it gives you some idea of which side has suffered more from the conflict. This has absolutely nothing to do with anti-Semitism. It is a fact. Perhaps we can agree that the lives of innocent peace loving Jews are worth exactly the same as innocent peace loving Palestinians?

We certainly can but it was some misjudgement though! I was more bothered about his post saying that even if the rumours were true, we shouldn’t be worried about it any more as he was dead!!! Not sure that he victims felt the same way and it is a strange attitude to have when you are looking after young children as he was doing, presumably as job. How would the parents have felt knowing their little darlings were being cared for by a someone with such a laid back attitude to paedophiles? Also there a few other bothersome posts from the resident misogynist who didn’t seem to have a problem with older men taking sexual advantage of impressionable young girls (“slags”). It was almost like going back to the 1970’s in a Time Machine other than it was only 10 years ago! What I didn’t know at the time was that Ray Teret, Savile’s “adopted son” and sidekick, was jailed for life for rape and sexual assault not long after Savile died (and died in jail). Maybe that gave Savile’s victims some sense of justice?

I don’t think that anyone is saying that what happened this weekend isn’t abhorrent and that the actions of Hamas are excusable. These things do not happen in a vacuum though and atrocities have been committed by both sides over the years. Neither side can claim the moral high ground in this conflict. I agree that we need to stand back and let the UN get on with it. It will only breed more would be martyrs who will look for soft targets on the streets of cities and towns of countries who throw their lot in with Israel (who already have all the help they need through the US).

So we are now being told that the things Sunak said he would do last week are now only “illustrations” of things that could be done 🤔 Great speech today from Starmer who looks more like our PM in waiting every week and is certainly the grown up in the room when compared with Sunak. Labour have had an excellent conference and look energised and ready to get on with the changes we need as opposed to the busted flush that is the Tory party. The election can’t come soon enough.

Going back eleven years and there are some really embarrassing posts from some current posters there. Egg comes out with credit but a few others should hold their heads in shame.

Watching the horrific news reports over the weekend, Mrs SOG asked me, “Who are the baddies in this?”. All I could think of as a reply is that both are. Starmer made the point that it has wrecked any chance of peace in the forceable future. If it is true that Iran are behind this as a part of derailing the efforts to normalise relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia then it has worked at the expense of the lives hundreds of innocent civilians. I can’t agree more, we should keep well out of it both politically and militarily.

I have spent a couple of hours this morning clearing up the glass and debris from a collision at our crossroads last night. It is a dangerous junction on a blind bend and accidents happen frequently. There will be a fatality at some point and that is the reason that people like me pick up clipboards and run speed checks, so that people like Duckhunter, who has had a dig at us, can get from A to B more safely. We have been asking for a mini roundabout for some time but the council won’t do anything about speed calming measures until people die. We did a speed survey as part of a wider survey amongst the villages about spending parish council funds on an electric speed sign which flashes up your speed as you approach it. We bought the sign and it does help slow traffic down through the village, but we could only afford 1 so have to rotate it around the 4 approach roads, which isn’t ideal. A 20 mph limit would certainly help here but as has been said, it won’t stop the selfish drivers who think speed limits do not apply to them. At least it is raising the issue of road safety in residential areas and anything that saves lives and serious injuries has to be a good thing, doesn’t it?

There were reports recently of a major peace deal in the offing but that seems to be have been wide of the mark. It is only going to escalate now. Grim news.

If you bothered to listen the people who understand the wider implications of scrapping it now taking a different view is not childish at all, in fact it being very mature. There is clearly not right or wrong. A decision was made to build it and that has been supported by both main parties over the years. Given that so much depends on the project being completed (go and look at all of the multiple spin off benefits if you haven’t already) and you will see that it is not unreasonable for people to take a contrary view to Sunak (who has not had the decency to take the argument to the House before telling us this is what is happening). Personally I don’t give a stuff about HS2, but given that Starmer has no idea how much extra it would cost to resurrect the project it would be incredibly foolish to state categorically that he would do so now. As it is he has left the door open. A very mature thing to do in the circumstances and probably the only thing he could reasonably do.

But he didn’t say that he wouldn’t reverse it. Why don’t you listen? He said he couldn’t commit to it which is a completely different thing. As we speak contracts are being terminated and the previously acquired land being put up for sale. It isn’t as easy as saying yes we will do it. You keep talking about others being confused but you are the one who doesn’t seem to have a grasp on what is going on. Show us the quote where Starmer says he won’t fund it. What he said was that Sunak has taken a “wrecking ball” yo the project which means that there won’t be a project left to revive once he gets into Downing Street!

I think they have changed that decision now and it will eventually use Euston. Correction - it will only go to Euston if the vast majority of the cost is provided by private funding 🙄 Three reasons why this country has gone down the pan:- Margaret Thatcher, Nigel Farage & Boris Johnson. Lord Duckhunter has backed all three.

This is the problem though Weston, you don’t think. If you did you wouldn’t respond with so much drivel. It sounds like Sunak has nicked Labour’s plan to bring in an anti smoking policy. Just heard Penny Mordaunt’s speech from the conference. For someone trying to position herself as less barking mad than the rest of her colleagues she took a massive step backwards. Maybe all that sword bearing at the coronation has addled her brain? What is is with all the stand up and fight rhetoric? (Wrong thread 😩)

Indeed. The point was made that if they had started in Manchester they wouldn’t now be cancelling the Birmingham to London section. I remember when the plan was launched the focus was on the time shaved from travel to and from London but as we are hearing now, the benefits would have been widespread. https://midlandsengine.org/news-events/true-benefits-of-hs2-revealed/ Sunak is desperate to find something to fight a campaign on. The non existent war against the motorists, supposed “wokery”, the supposed threat to us all from trans people, the supposed hurricane of migrants (are they now going to be trafficked across the Channel by huge wind machines?), smoking (is that really what we all worry about all day?). He can’t fight on the major issues of the day because he and his Party are either responsible for them or have been mismanaging them for years. A commentator said yesterday that he is desperately playing the “looking at the future” card because he knows that the opposition is going after him on the mishandling of the past. Why on earth would you trust the Tories with another 5 years (although some will 🙄) after the clusterfuck of the last 13 years? That is their best shot! The timing of the Partygate film was excellent but his defence of the indefensible will be that he is focussed on the future. I don’t think many will forget that he was also hit with a fine, though not in the thousands like many of us normal people. Nor will forget the ridiculous Eat Out To Help Out campaign that costs millions and helped spread the virus further or that he was a senior part of one of the most incompetent governments in history. If Starmer can keep a lid on his party’s own internal divisions and present a stable and competent alternative he should be on for a landslide next year. We should also see a reemergence of the LibDems as a political force at the expense of some of these horrendous people in what have been safe Tory seats. The Tories look set to implode as the incompetent but almost presentable right faction fight the crazy as a box of frogs far right faction for control of the party. Given that Sunak’s pledge about bringing back integrity to his Party lasted about 30 seconds and that his colleagues have no problem using gutter tactics on a Trumpian level, it looks like it could be the dirtiest campaign on record this side of the Atlantic. If Sunak had a shred of decency he would go to the country now so we have a year less of this suffering. Given that he was beaten by a colleague who didn’t last as long as a lettuce though he will cling on as long as possible in the vain hope that something will happen to help bail him out of a hopeless position.

Even you should understand that it is not illegal to seek asylum when migrants arrive. They only become “illegal” if they don’t seek asylum and disappear. Many of them have to cross the channel as there are so few “legal” routes open to them. Sunak also talked about Starmer’s alleged “legal” migration numbers which he poured scorn on. Show me the bit in his speech where he said he welcomes migrants (even though we need them). You know, like his parents. His voice irritates me too. He sounds like a effete vicar talking to an ever dwindling and disinterested congregation. Even Mad Liz managed to drum up more enthusiasm from her audience, although granted, they are all crazy as a box of frogs.

Things are getting more bizarre today. Mrs Sunak is being used as the warm up act for her husband’s conference speech and in doing so references how his migrant parents came here and built a successful life. Isn’t that an example of multiculturalism working and of migrants being a good thing? Someone should have told Braverman before her speech.

The number of outright lies is so depressing. What is even more depressing is that people still defend these people and vote for them. When you use your major conference to say that you know what a woman is you know they are scraping the bottom of the barrel (although it will appeal to the hard of thinking). We also have the Tory candidate for London mayor, Susan Hall, trying to tell us that the Jewish community feel threatened by Sadiq Khan. Even when several high profile Jewish community leaders come out and say that is not true, she doubles down on her statement. For those who pretend that this Tory Party isn’t lurching to the right, you only have to look at Patel and Farage (yes, the man wearing Union Jack socks at the Tory Conference) dancing together or listen to Patel bigging up GB News (which is not a news service, it is a campaigning mouthpiece for the far right). If you want some idea of what has happened to the Conservative Party, perhaps read Rory Stewart’s new book. When the Tories get kicked out at the next election, watch them turn even further right as the few moderates left will disappear. Jenrick now saying we need to have more babies. Not so long ago we were told not to have babies if we couldn’t afford them. Isn’t the argument about the migrants that we can’t take so many because we are full up as a country? If childcare is already a problem for many how is going to have more babies going to work? It almost as if they have completely run out of ideas and are just plucking stuff out of thin air to make it look like they haven’t.

Will, are you an incel by any chance? Go do some research about how vulnerable many women feel when they are around men they don’t know, and some they do. Go look at the figures for rape and sexual assault. Go look at the figures for domestic abuse. It is quite possible to be wary of the threat they carry whilst not hating the whole gender. Did she mention that she wouldn’t shag anyone in the panel during her interview? No of course not. Your efforts to try and pretend that somehow his comments were okay because you think hers were not haven’t worked mate. Whatever her views on men, during the interview it seemed to me that she was just trying to balance up the discussion. Are men’s mental health issues really more of a concern than women’s to the extent that they should have their own minister? Of course not. She also made the point that women’s suicide rates would be much higher but they have a lower success rate. Does that make their issues less of a concern? Fox’s comments were indefensible and embarrassing by well done for trying. He and the people who support him are one of the reasons who woman have problems with men.

I watched the interview and didn’t see her laugh at male suicide rates. I also don’t think that stating that there should be a minister for mental health (all sexes) instead of a minister for men makes you a man hater. Fighting for women’s rights does not make you are man hater. So no, not really a tough one at all. If Fox had issues with anything she had to say about the issues being discussed then he should address those issues, not focus on her sexual attractiveness or otherwise. Incredible that we are still wandering into the “9 Pinter” territory in 2023.

Why doesn’t it surprise me that you have a problem with people who don’t want themselves or others, including children, run over by people going about their daily lives by breaking the speed limit. Actually it does surprise me given the fuss you made about Ray Wilkins and his drink driving issue. Very selective about which laws you think it is okay to break and which ones it is not okay to break. Very Farage of you Duckie. I find it incredibly sad that grown men with children and grand children think it is perfectly okay to break the speed limit in residential areas. [For the two “confused” posters - emojis below - I am referring to Duckie’s comments about about the speed check we did in our village and those who supported his comments]

There have been discussions about bringing in 20mph limits around schools for years. The likelihood of dying or serious injuries being hit by a car at 20mph is significantly reduced and the extra braking distance helps to avoid the possibility of a collision in the first place. Unfortunately a great many people already drive over 30mph in 30mph zones anyway. We carried out a speed check on cars travelling through our village a couple of years ago and the average was around 35mph. If it helps bring the average speed down even if it doesn’t achieve 20mph it will still help. I can’t see it happening though. Sunak seems to think that people care more about the supposed “war on motorists”, ULEZ and canning HS2 than they do about the cost of living crisis, the winter fuel bills, high mortgages, crumbling schools and the state of the NHS. You can expect him to make a big deal about scraping plans for 20mph zones as part of his cunning plan to deflect from the mess his party have already made of the country.

Another misleading bit of red meat thrown out by Braverman to whip the gammons into a frenzy shown to be a lie. I’m sure Batman must be busy otherwise he would have posted this earlier. 🤔 https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/sep/28/braverman-ethnicity-child-grooming-gangs-false-mail-on-sunday

Don’t worry, they are only going to be worn in the warm up. No doubt some will still complain that it will detract from our focus on the match in some way though 🙄

Nothing wrong with campaigning for equality, unless you don’t agree with it of course. It really doesn’t matter what the shirt looks like, the whole point is to raise the issue and get people talking about it, which this is doing.

My point is that this is not an isolated issue. We have senior government officials who think it is perfectly ok to lie and spout racist rhetoric. We have large parts of our media which support these lies and the racist rhetoric. The Sun used to be the low bench mark but it has been super ceded by the Mail, Express and Telegraph who are happy to trot out and support this rubbish daily. Sexual offences are through the roof and not being prosecuted. Hate crimes are climbing. We are being bombarded with a view that we should be scornful of people who are fleeing persecution but feel sorry for others who can afford to send their children to public school and are being asked to pay more. There are more and more reports of the country being “broken” so sticking your head in the sand and pretending that everyting is fine (when you are ok yourself, so why worry?) seems a bit lame to be honest. It’s a bit hard to get excited about news stories of a nice sunny day in September or looking at pictures of baby bunnies when the leader of a party who will contest the next election denigrates a women by claiming on a national news programme that no one would shag her (and although few people would have seen the original interview but it is main news now). When yet another male celebrity is called out for sexual assault. When our Home Secretary makes official speeches that most people would describe as racist in nature if made by a person with white skin. When one of the main high profile projects in levelling up is now in doubt. When young people cannot afford housing and the rental sector cannot cope with the numbers. Strikes are continuing to cripple the country. The NHS has a record waiting list and people are finding it hard to get to see a doctor in the first place. Another teenager has just been stabbed to death this morning. The rivers and seas around the coast are still being polluted with effluent. Our government is rowing back on green issues because they think there are votes in it for them. I could go on with hard evidence that the country is going down the pan but I am now going to look at a picture of a puppy instead and apparently then all will be well 😎