sadoldgit

Really?

I guess we will find out won’t we. Perhaps have a word with the BBC about their frequency of reports from Gaza too? Not sure why you find it a problem though. 14 women and 9 children killed if you are interested in a “precise” air strike Oh, and war crimes do not depend what the motivation of the people who commit them are.

You should go and work for Netanyahu’s press office.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/apr/15/racism-in-britain-is-not-a-black-and-white-issue-it-is-far-more-complicated The above is the article in The Observer that Diane Abbott had the whip removed for replying to. It is universally agreed, including by herself, that it was clumsy and wrong. The point that she was trying to make though is that black and brown people are immediately identifiable by dint of their skin colour and therefore are a greater target more frequently for racist abuse. They are more likely to be pulled over in a car than white people. They are more likely to be stopped and searched than white people. They have experienced more segregation over the centuries due to their skin colour. She was making her point based on skin colour, not religion, and she only mentioned some sections of white people as they experience”prejudice” as she put it, but not racism. Now some people have decided that was antisemitic and some people didn’t think it was. I didn’t think her comments in this instance were, which led to a few posters on here using it as evidence that I apparently hate all Jewish people. She has since had the whip restored and is now standing for Labour at the next election, so we must assume that Labour have decided that her comments were badly phrased rather than rabidly anti semitic and she is free to canvass in a constituency which contains a large Jewish presence. With the news that the Tory Party are keeping Frank Hester’s original donation and a further donation he made after his comments about seeing her made him wanting to hate all black women and shoot her, perhaps it gives more weight to her argument. Starmer quite rightly said at the time that there is no hierarchy in racism, but there does seem to be a disparity here. He is clearly paranoid about any hint of antisemism being levelled at the party again and goes out of his way to distance the party from it, but Sunak, even after being persuaded that he should call out Hester’s comments for what they are, is happy to take money from a blatant racist for his election campaign.

If this is directed at me I have condemned the invasion of the Ukraine by Russia and the killing of civilians. The IRA were a terrorist organisation. Hamas are a terrorist organisation. They both sought/seek autonomy and self determination. The argument stands. You do not deliberately attack targets like schools or hospitals. The Ukraine war has been going on a lot longer than the Israeli attack on Gaza. I expect, if the IDF are still blowing up schools and hospitals in another year’s time I will have given up posting about it.

The likes of Trump, Farage and Johnson pioneered the use of lying about pretty much everything. There is a big difference between them and someone like Blair. He rightly still gets called out about WOMD, you would spend a lot more time calling out the lies told by Trump, Johnson and Farage. Sunak is happy to join that club it seems now. It was once the done thing for politicians to resign if caught in a lie. It is now a perfectly acceptable campaign technique thanks to the trailblazing frequency of lying by Trump, Johnson and Farage. What was that about bringing back integrity Rishi?

Can you imagine the outrage if Frank Hester had made his comments about a Jewish woman? It appears that he donated more money to the Tory Party since he made those comments and they have kept it all. Still no big deal because it is only a black woman eh? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c900138vek4o.amp

No it isn’t. Yes, the IRA weren’t Hamas, but the principle remains the same. It is the same as the IDF shooting Israelis as well as terrorists when they have been taken hostage. https://watchlist.org/publications/what-does-international-law-say-about-attacks-on-schools-and-hospitals/#:~:text=An attack against a civilian,effective contribution to military action.

John Crace is always good value. https://amp.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/jun/05/no-more-mr-nice-guy-rish-embracing-boris-johnsons-brand-making-stuff-up

This from the BBC recently. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckrr1k1xl0lo.amp

You are welcome, but I was just chipping in my five penneth, for what it’s worth. I like to give the Chuckle Brothers something to laugh at apart from the growing civilian death toll in Gaza. 😉

Yet another “precise” strike. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crggq0jygq6o.amp The point was made on LBC yesterday that, if the IRA were hiding people in hospitals and schools, there is no way that the British armed forces would shell them and that the public would support the actions if they did. This has happened so often now that it has become the norm. When will the UN finally take action to stop these blatant attacks on innocent, defenceless civilians?

The trouble is the rebuilding programme is going to cost money and that money has to come from somewhere. It is one thing not to increase tax but as we know, by not increasing the tax thresholds it drags more lower income houses into the various tax brackets. If you subscribe to taxing the people at a higher rate who can afford it more then the brackets should be changed but Labour don’t want to step into the trap of raising taxes and the Tories don’t like taxing anyone apart from the poorer section of society so those on relatively high salaries will continue to be okay (apart from having to stump up more for sending their children to private schools). The problem we have is that more of the middle classes are being dragged into the area where they are no ok financially. Labour are between a rock and a hard place. I’m sure they would like to be much more proactive with their rebuilding programme but haven’t got the financial backing to do as much as they would like. The austerity programme and Brexit have stuffed the UK good and proper. Current Tory policies have left Starmer a poison chalice and you can bet your life he will get a kicking from day 1 and everything will be Labour’s fault. Sunak is already distancing himself and his party from the last 14 years. It is all about the future. Of course it is Rishi, because you have nothing to crow about from the past.

Socialism is dangerous? Do you still believe that? I have said many times on here that I don’t think extremist views on either side, right or left, are helpful. The issue we have in the UK (and many other countries in the West) is that we are far more affected by those with a far right agenda.

Of course they are different people. They hold the same xenophobic/racist views though. Would you argue that a Communist from the 30’s held fundamentally different views from a Communist today. One of the defining features of the far right is its hatred of Jews/Muslims/Selective Foreigners. The people you have previously criticised me for attacking here make their views about these people very clear.

Funny when the poorer element of society are told to feed themselves on 30p, give up Netflix, mobile phones and going to the nail bar when money is tight, the higher end of society want sympathy when private school fees go up. Here’s a thought, do what the plebs are told to do, suck it up, tighten your belts and send your kids to public school instead. After all, we are all in this together aren’t we?

Did you hear Sunak say anything last night about the mythical £2000 tax increase being over the period of the next Parliament (5 years)? What happened to bringing back integrity Rishi? Another Tory liar.

If a number of different people have the same xenophobic/racist views against a different set of people, does it make them any less xenophobic/racist? What are you trying to say? That Britain’s far right are okay with Jewish people now because they have decided to hate on Muslims instead? Can you find any examples since before 7th October where our far right groups were cozying up to Jewish people? I don’t think you will find many Jewish people happy to see our far right marching with them.

Continue to play the antisemitic card for anyone expressing any pro Palestinian sentiments if it makes you happy. I have just listened to a statement from a Jewish survivor of the Holocaust saying that what is happening in Gaza is genocide. I guess that makes him an antisemite too? More and more people are calling on Israel to stop the carnage and for both sides to work towards peace.If that makes us all antisemitic so be it.

From what I am hearing this morning there is no bubble to burst. It was BS. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd11m307jjvo.amp I think that everybody understands that Starmer and Labour have a tough job turning this country around after 14 disastrous years. If he was standing there telling us how wonderful things were going to be from day 1 I would be a lot more worried. The worst opposition as you put it can’t be any worse than what we have been experiencing.

If someone votes for, supports or defends someone/policies from the far right on social media, they are no better. You don’t have to be a full on Mosley to be an enabler for that kind of mindset.

As we have seen so often with Trump, Farage and Johnson, if you have got nothing, then just tell a lie loudly and repeatedly. This stuff works on people with a low attention span. Starmer needs to learn about sound bites and how to combat them. This is not a courtroom or even the Commons at PMQs. It is gladiatorial and cut throat. We know all about the 14 years of Tory mismanagement. What is going to stick in many people’s minds is £2000.

Watching Starmer here and on PMQs, especially when he was up against Johnson, he sometimes looks as if he has just found himself in a parallel universe where the rules he grew up with no longer apply. In court you have to abide by certain rules of conduct and they are very strict and regulated. When he finds himself faced with someone throwing out all kinds of crap and doesn’t give a stuff about any semblance of playing by the rules, especially someone who is currently the PM, in front of millions on the tv, he looked baffled at times. He got into his stride in PMQs and I’m sure that his PR team will sharpen him up for the next time. He doesn’t need to spend any more time reminding us of his working class credentials, he just has to reassure the country that he will do what he can to repair the damage done to this country and not repeat the mistakes of the last 14 years. In court you have all the time you want to make your point. In these kind events you have less than a minute. He was better when he was talking about his mission take make things better for ordinary people and that is where he leaves Sunak standing. Sunak clearly doesn’t have a clue about what life is like for normal people and any attempt at empathy comes across as scripted and hollow. No surprise to see the front pages of the right wing press coming out for Sunak.

Call me old fashioned, but I really hope that people don’t vote based purely on either Starmer or Sunak’s performance on something like that. How can you possibly give an in depth and cogent answer to a complex question in 45 seconds?

The BBC have just run a fact check showing Starmer got more right than Sunak who was throwing around a £2k tax rise under Labour which looks unfounded. I don’t know how anyone is suppose to get their heads around this type of questioning, including the two people in the spotlight.