sadoldgit

The IDF promise that they are taking due care not to kill innocent civilians but, not for the first time, manage to kill their own. Little wonder the death toll is so high. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-69019655.amp

As the Minister for Common Sense, my common sense tells me that her brief crosses all departments. You don’t think that they discuss these matters in Cabinet? Oh, that would require employing some common sense on your part wouldn’t it? You really aren't getting any better at this are you? I will spell it out for you. It probably doesn’t make any sense to kick off about lanyards when the health service and most public services have far greater things to worry about. Got it yet, or are you still channelling Esther?

I read the nonsense about rainbow lanyards just after seeing a report about the problems with maternity care in this country and the trauma many women face because of the poor treatment they receive. Perhaps the Minister for Common Sense would like to consider whether the focus should be on improving maternity care before worrying about the colour of lanyards? Meanwhile this government continues to show how out of touch and clueless they are. https://amp.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/may/15/jeremy-hunt-mel-stride-warn-benefits-lifestyle-choice-unemployment And Rees-Mogg continues to display the reason why this country is now where it is. https://www.ft.com/content/0f85a767-e007-449f-950f-9b61674ccf50

Talking of the company that people keep, you couldn’t find a finer selection of pile on merchants, Islamophobes, misogynists, WUMs, trolls, racists, far right apologists and transphobic, homophobic Little Englander Gammons than:- Hypochondriac, Lord Duckhunter, Delldays, Weston SS, Turkish and, on this thread at least, Whelk. (and when I say selection I mean selection, meaning not all of the above are all of the things listed above. Where they are the same though is constantly making things up and pretending other people have posted them or hold those views in order to score points)

How foolish of me to assume that the hostages might need food, water and medical aid too. Three, no four, confused emojis because I suggest that the hostages need food, water and medical aid too? You lot get stranger by the day. Have you now added the hostages to your list of people in Gaza that you are happy to see starved/bombed/shot?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg300jek94zo.amp How do they think that this will help the hostages?

Yet again, Trump demonstrates his command of the English language. https://www.indy100.com/politics/trump/donald-trump-ambidextrous

It looks like Starmer has played a blinder over the Natalie Elphicke transfer. The Tories are now falling over themselves to blacken her name without stopping to think about the consequences. This all happened when she was a Tory MP and not one of them raised an eyebrow. Now, because she has crossed the floor, it becomes an issue for them. Every week Starmer has been chipping away at various Tory PMs, laying traps which they constantly walk in to. They have just walked into another one. Sunak would have us believe that he is the man to lead us in dangerous times. Really Rishi? When you are consistently bamboozled by the leader of the opposition, how do you expect us to believe you can handle the likes of Putin, Netanyahu, and, God forbid, Trump (if he gets elected)? I have just seen this too. Whoops! https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/four-tory-mps-who-made-32793408.amp Do the right thing. Call the election now and disappear into the Californian sunset.

The word “daft” is extraneous regarding his posts.

So I post about double standards and you respond with some nonsense gibberish about Cyndi Lauper? You are so eager to try and have a dig that you fail to engage your brain, as usual. The principle stands. One side makes a political statement and that is perfectly ok by some, the other makes a political statement and it gets ripped apart. The first song submitted by Israel was clearly a reference to the attack by Hamas on 7th October. My point is that if Palestine had submitted a song about being subjugated by Israel the usual suspects would be all over it like a rash. One rule for one, a different rule for the others. As usual you have taken something, changed its intent and fired it back as some kind of point scoring missile. As ever, pal, it’s a dud and if anyone is showing their true colours it is you and your small band of apologists. 14,000 children killed so far? No worries, let’s just post another laughing emoji and justify it by saying they brought it on themselves (as if they had a choice). And before you start again, from the start I have said why Hamas did on 7th October was abhorrent. Multiple that by 7 months and that is where we are now. How would you feel if Hamas had Tel Aviv surrounded and was systematically levelling it and starving its population? Most reasonable people would find that equally as abhorrent so instead of playing stupid childish internet games, give a thought to the people who are suffering and will lose their lives in the next stage of the destruction of Gaza. https://wiwibloggs.com/2024/02/22/read-the-october-rain-lyrics-that-may-get-israels-song-banned-from-eurovision/280185/

Starmer is a socialist, but he is also pragmatic and has learnt how not to win an election under Corbyn and is trying hard not to make the same mistakes. He has done a good job in making Labour electable again in a relatively short time (yes, helped by the incompetent Tories). He has also done a good job in dismantling the traps that Sunak and the right wing media have been setting for him. He looks and sounds like a PM in waiting and it will make a pleasant change having a PM who wants to make a difference and who wants to govern for everyone, not just a select few. It will also make a pleasant change in having someone in control who will not be lead by eons old ideology but will tailor what he believes should be done with the country’s financial ability to deliver. The numerous Tory cabinets we have had over the last 14 years have managed to drag down the UK’s standing in the world and it will take at least a decade to get us back to where we need to be. To get there we need a sensible, pragmatic government who can deliver what is needed, not what blinkered factions of the self interested in the party demand. To get elected Starmer knows that he needs to appeal to wavering Tory voters and the only way he can do that is position Labour as a centrist government, just as Blair did. It pisses off the far left but you can’t change things from the opposition benches and Starmer has demonstrated that he has the determination and focus to do what is needed to do to get this bloody awful government out and replace it with something that resembles a competent, functioning administration.

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.