kick it off

The decades of suffering goes right back to 1948. Hamas were elected because of the suffering. The first Intifada was nearly 40 years ago....

Oh jesus ****ing christ. So every independent organisation including the ****ing UN are making it up? You can't actually believe this nonsense? I'm done, you're just spouting utter rubbish now that nobody with complete sanity, and more than 5 brain cells could buy into.

Maybe the decades of Israeli oppression, violence, destruction etc had a little bit to do with it?

The latest conflict in Gaza was sparked by October 7th, but it was caused by decades of Israeli imposed suffering on the Palestinian people... That doesn't factor in because since then they have consistently voted for extremist governments hell-bent on a one state solution and the Oslo accords themselves weren't set up for peace and stability. I can't be bothered to go into the nuance of it, but this article explains it for you: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/13/olive-branches-victory-signs-how-oslo-accords-failed-the-palestinians

You said you had reasonable doubt that Israel was using starvation as a weapon of war. I provided evidence (I could keep going, there's plenty more) and then you started rambling about who is allowed to rule on genocide? That wasn't the question we were discussing. None of it is "opinion based" - That is the findings of the people who are on the ground in Gaza. Maybe we should just believe the IDF version of events though. Who needs facts when you can have propaganda? The ICJ also said that to avoid genocide, Israel should take specific measures. Of which, they have not done, so if they're indiscrmiinately bombing and murdering, and they're not doing anything to actively prevent it being a genocide, and they're using starvation and collective punishment as weapons of war, and they're about to go into Rafah after herding the entirety of Gaza into Rafah.... it kind of smells like a genocide. Hamas are not responsible for the aid issues. Israel has illegally blockaded gaza for 16 years and control everything going in and out, unless it goes through a tunnel. Given that aid agencies use legitimate ports and crossings and not clandestine tunnels, and Israel are in control of ports and crossings, and stopping them from doing so... and then bombing aid convoys to further deter aid agencies from getting through, I think it's pretty safe to say they are infinitely more responsible than Hamas for the issues with aid, unless you're an absolute idiot of course?

Remind me again about 1967? Israel's existence is not a barrier to peace. Israeli government policy of land-grabbing, illegal settlements, breaking international law, turning gaza into a concentration camp with the illegal blockade, consistently bombing, murdering are barriers to peace. That's not a difficult concept surely?

Jesus christ. The UN, Human Rights Watch, the EU and a UN sponsored collective of 15 different independent organisaton said Israel is using starvation as a weapon of war. What exactly is giving you "reasonable doubt" that they're all lying for the sake of it? The International court of Justice helped to assuage these "reasonable doubts" you have? "On January 26, the International Court of Justice, in a case brought by South Africa, ordered provisional measures, including requiring Israel to “take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian aid” and other actions to comply with the 1948 Genocide Convention. On March 28, the court indicated that Israel had not complied with this order and imposed a more detailed provisional measure requiring the government to ensure the unimpeded provision of basic services and aid in full cooperation with the UN, while noting that “famine is setting in.” World Health Organisation statement below helped to allay your "reasonable doubts"? "The WHO reported that the number of children under age 5 who are acutely malnourished has jumped from 0.8 percent before the hostilities in Gaza to between 12.4 and 16.5 percent in northern Gaza. Oxfam said on April 3 that since January, people in northern Gaza have been forced to survive on an average of 245 calories a day, “less than a can of fava beans.” Global Nutrition Cluster able to gve you any more certainty behind your "reasonable doubts"? "According to a nutrition vulnerability analysis conducted in March by the Global Nutrition Cluster, a network of humanitarian organizations chaired by UNICEF, 90 percent of children ages 6-23 months and pregnant and breastfeeding women across Gaza faced “severe food poverty,” eating two or fewer food groups each day."

I mean given Israel's consistent and repeated disregard for international law, de facto immunity from any kind of accountability due to US protection in UN security council, and their consistent historic land grabs and expansionist principles, is it any wonder Iran are arming groups around Israel? The primary barrier to peace in the middle east is, and has always been, Israel itself.

No, the Kibbutzes are not an identifiable group of people according to the UN definition, they are part of the Jewish identity. Click on the links for the academics, in your wikipedia article,who are claiming "genocide by Hamas"... they're almost all Israeli or Jewish 😂😂 Why exactly is it that Israel refuse independent media access to Gaza do you think? What's the legitimate basis for that? There are journalists in almost every war zone during every conflict.... yet Israel won't grant anyone access.... it's almost like they're trying to control the narrative or something. What have been their recent successes in this "military campaign"? What have been any of their successes? What's even their end goal? You have to explain how they're better because you're expressing open support for them. So tell me, what are they achieving by this massacre? The very simple point here, is that you can't answer it can you? You cannot put any cogent argument together that explains why the Israeli government do not fit the definition of terrorists. You cannot explain why it's bad for Hamas to murder people, but it's OK for the Israelis to murder people. You literally cannot even explain what you are supporting or why. Pathetic.

They have literally levelled almost the entirety of a country, indiscriminately bomb the populace, they have forced starvation onto the population (collective punishment, again illegal under international law)... bombed hospitals, bombed refugee camps, bombed aid convoys.... 70% of Northern Gaza is currently experiencing catastrophic hunger according to the UN.... there have been numerous atrocities committed by Israel in their brief history, but regardless of the history of anything.... focusing in on the last 6 months or so, this will be a genocide by the time all is said and done. What threat do Hamas pose to jews worldwide? One side deals in rhetoric, the others deals in bombs... Netanyahu's own cabinet have publically said nuking Gaza is "an option" so clearly the rhetoric isn't any better on the other side of it.... yet somehow you think empty words are worse than fully fledged threats from government ministers with access to nuclear weapons. What is the difference between them? I'm not saying Hamas are good, nobody with any common sense is saying that, but explain to me, in very clear terms, how and why the actions of the Israeli government dropping bombs on sleeping children, maiming and murdering indiscrimately with bombs, using starvation as a weapon of war etc, is actually "better" or more worthy of support than Hamas? They're both terrorists and you can't find a coherent argument to say otherwise.

"with the aim of destroying the nation or group"... I think it's hard to argue that Hamas thought killing 1000 people would destroy Israel or the Jewish community... by definition, genocide has to do with numbers... literal quote from the UN genocide convention below: "the part must be a substantial part of that group. The aim of the Genocide Convention is to prevent the intentional destruction of entire human groups, and the part targeted must be significant enough to have an impact on the group as a whole." So, are there any other ways you want to look stupid today, or you going to give up now? I notice you still haven't explained to me why Israel are better than the terrorists Iran are harbouring? I'm sure you must have something to say on what separates the two right?

You really don't understand the word genocide do you?

You can think what you like, international law disagrees with you. I think by "concluding" the matter, Iran are trying to avoid escalating it. They can't do nothing, so they did "something" and declared it concluded.... but Netanyahu wants to escalate it. I wonder why.... Israel is just a legitimised terrorist state at this point anyway. They consistently break international law and commit war crimes. They're committing a ****ing genocide as we speak. Murdering Palestinian women and children, bombing the **** out of an entire nation, starving the population, torturing "prisoners", bombing refugee camps, bombing aid convoys, using illegal weapons of war on civilians.... all in the name of religion.... so tell me, what separates them from any other "terrorists"? Apart from better weapons and protection from the USA?

Israel broke the Geneva convention and international law by attacking the embassy. Iran took 2 weeks to respond, obviously leaked the response ahead of time, and sent a few hundred of it's **** missiles and drones that they knew would be shot down by iron dome anyway and caused zero damage to Israel... the very definition of "doing something" without doing anything at all. Israel now threaten to escalate. The Western world leaders falling over themselves to blame Iran for "destabilising the region" with an "unprecedented and ruthless attack"... Ruthless. Zero ****ing casualties and it was a retaliation strike..... Israel started it by breaking international law and attacking the embassy unprovoked. Very on brand for Netanyahu. The only ones destabilising the middle east are Israel with their genocide. Yet now, the media are talking about WW3 and nobody is even mentioning Gaza or the litany of war crimes being committed there. Wonder why Netanyahu and his cronies are so keen to make Iran headlnie news right now, in the face of dwindling (at best) global support for their holocaust in Gaza. (Before anyone starts, half my family were wiped out in the holocaust, so I'll use whatever langauge I see fit to describe Israel's actions). This is nothing more than the west putting up some smoke and mirrors to distract from the Israeli atrocities and scapegoat another party. I can't believe anyone can't actually see through this, it's so transparent. Same as "accidentally" bombing aid convoys so that Israel can say "we're allowing aid through but none of the aid agencies wll deliver it".... well yeah, they won't deliver it because it's too dangerous as Israel "accidentally" bomb them. Surely nobody is actually fooled by this **** anymore?

The international streaming remains so the illegal streaming will also remain.

I picked my tickets up in October/Novemberish - Pumpkins are on my list of bands that I want to see but never have - saw Billy Corgan in the shortlived Zwan phase but never SP. If drumming is your thing, check out AJ Hale from Halestorm - that dude is unbelievable. Honestly, I was really looking forward to Ghost - not a huge fan of their music but had heard about their amazing stage show - I was hugely disappointed. Gave them half an hour but it was just boring so I left... Just about made it to the tent to see Coheed and Cambria play a few songs including Favour House Atlantic which I'd always wanted to see live, but yeah, Ghost were rubbish! Pretty much the only band that disappointed me over the whole weekend to be fair. Spillways was cool live, but the stage show/presence was non-existant.

Been to tonnes over the last few years (although I'd wager, not many on here will be on the same vibe!) Since May 2022, I have done: The Script x 2, Sheku Kanneh Mason x 2, My Chemical Romance + Funeral for a friend, Alterbridge + Halestorm, Liam Gallagher, Embrace x 2, Bon Iver, Papa Roach, Muse x 2, Blink 182, Bring me the Horizon + Bad Omens, Tom Clarke (from the Enemy) acoustic set, Corella, DMAs and Download 2023 where I watched: Ice Nine Kills, Bring me the Horizon, I Prevail, Disturbed, Ghost, Evanesence, Slipknot, Metallica x 2, Moionless in White, Asking Alexandria, Amity Affliction, Neck Deep, Bad Religion, Pendulum. Upcoming I have got: Smashing Pumpkins + Weezer Foo Fighters Liam Gallagher Leeds fest for a day (Taking my 7 year old to see Blink 182 for her first gig) Download fest - bought after last year but lineup is weak for my taste, so am going to sell the weekend tickets and just get a Sunday day ticket and a Slam Dunk ticket as there is much more for me doing it that way (Download - Limp Bizkit, Sum41's last UK festival show, The Used, Corey Taylor) (Slam Dunk: I Prevail, Asking Alexandria, You Me At Six last UK festival, the Dangerous Summer, Caskets, As December Falls, LS Dunes, Goldfinger, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus), Funeral for a friend (although they were awful supporting MCR in 2022), We the Kings, Head Automatica. I like music a lot. Of the gigs I've been to over last few years, highlights were Bon Iver who is just an unbelievable musician, Corella who are really up and coming, they're ace. DMAs who are excellent live, and Papa Roach who were awesome, and the whole of Download fest last year was bloody wonderful - every single band I saw killed it.... but Bring Me The Horizon are hands down the best live band I've ever seen, and I've seen ALOT of bands. They are on fire at the moment.

I know someone who taught him at GCSE and A-level (and his brother for that matter). She said he was a really nice, polite, decent kid. Seems like she was right. Class act.

I watched this game (I lived in Turkey a long time ago and adopted Fener as my Turkish team due to the nickname - don't watch them much anymore but was at a loose end yesterday). There was a big flashpoint in the 98th minute resulting in a mini brawl amongst the players, but the game was pretty bad termpered all the way through and Trabzon fans were throwing stuff every time a Fener player was within range. Turkish football is crazy, especially the Fener Gala derby. This one was one of my favourites as bat**** games go - 3 sent off AFTER full time whistle and Jailson running for his life as the entire Galatasaray squad tried to batter him. Video of the chase is here: https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/7648121/roberto-soldado-galatasaray-fenerbahce-fight-video/ - Just needs the Benny Hill music.

Not in the episode from Thursday, think the UFO episode/s are quite old so might take some digging - I just had a brief look on google but couldn't find them, they definitely exist though

The "stuff you should know" podcast released an episode on Thursday; about the alien abduction phenomenon of the mid-20th century. Pretty much the same deal - mass hysteria due to media coverage and made for TV movies, and general bandwagonning. Died a death since everyone got camera phones. They've done UFOs on an episode before too.

Adam Peters is COOKING in DC. This is such a breath of fresh air. Eagles are having a really nice free agency too. The Cowboys though....😱 Dak on sexual assault charges too... When it rains, it pours.

General manager in most organisations has control over player personnel so makes the draft picks, free agent signings etc. He essentially builds the roster. It's basically the Stuart Webber role of the NFL world. Our coaching team is now put together. Not 100% sure what to make of it, as the up and coming young offensive coach (Ben Johnson) that everyone thought was locked in to be our next head coach bailed last minute amidst a swirl of rumours he'd interviewed badly etc. He decided to stay in his current role, so we hired Dan Quinn who had a fairly unsuccessful stint with the Atlanta Falcons (although he did take them to a superbowl where they blew a commanding lead), but he has spent 3 years since that being a Defensive Coordinator in Dallas and built one of the premier defenses in the league, and he is universally liked and respected around the league. I like the coordinators Quinn has hired though, he's brought Joe Whitt who worked under him in Dallas on board as the Defensive Co-ordinator and brought in Kliff Kingsbury as Offensive Co-ordinator, who has a knack of developing star Quarterbacks which is a good move seeing as we are defniitely picking a QB at number 2 in the draft. Kingsbury has just spent the last few years in the College game coaching Caleb Williams who is one of the best Quarterbacks in the upcoming draft so there is a lot of expectation we will draft him, although Chicago pick 1st and also need a QB - possible we may trade a pick or two to swap places with them so we can take him, there's been a lot of noise that if Chicago draft him, he will refuse to play for them and force a trade elsewhere (Eli Manning is the precedent for this). Time will tell though, theres a few good QBs in this draft. So all in all, interesting times in Washnigton right now.

As a fellow Washington fan, now is the time to start paying attention again. The poison that is Dan Snyder has sold the team, we have a competent and exciting ownership group led by Josh Harris who owns several successful franchises across other sports (the group also includes basketball legend Magic Johnson).... and we have just appointed the hottest prospect going (Adam Peters) to lead the front office, who has spent the last 6 or 7 years as the second in command overseeing the 49ers rebuild and subsequent success. He was coveted as the top general manager candidate across the league and he didn't even interview elsewhere, he took the Washington job immediately. We've spent the last week interviewing the best available candidates for the head coach position, and should be close to appointing one in the next week or so. I trust the new General Manager and the group in charge to make a good decision on this, and we are now seen as an attractive proposition across the league so good candidates actually want to come to DC. We have the 2nd overall pick in the draft, and 5 out of the first 100 picks, and we have the most salary cap space in the league. We are about to begin a beautiful journey - jump on for the ride.

Also, how have we gone from Washington being a total dumpster fire, to securing the GM candidate that the entire league coveted (Adam Peters, John Lynch's right hand man at the 49ers), and being one of the most appealing Head Coach opportunities in the league right now? Finally a bit of ****ing hope for the franchise!