Current Affairs 2024

[Mervyn and Trish]

I wondered exactly the same. Instead of sympathising with outraged passengers who say they didn't know they should be asking them if they've been living under a rock for the last four years.

[Onelife]

I had to take a deep breath in after reading about these young women…sadly I don’t think they, if any of them will be coming home to their loved ones. My guess is that the story of their fate will read something like they were killed in a bombing raid, where in fact they are probably already long gone having endured the most horrific of ordeals. It is inconceivable that Hamas will allow theses hostages to recall what they have gone through, sadly their fate, I believe, will never be told.

https://themedialine.org/top-stories/wo ... tain-fate/

[barney]

Why all of a sudden are we having all this outrage about passports and the EU - we left the EU four years ago and it was known then that anything over 10 years would not be accepted in the EU.

I suppose there will be another outrage when everyone claims that they did not know that they will need an ETIAS sometime next year (unless it is put back again)

That's weird David because I said exactly the same thing yesterday .

[Mervyn and Trish]

I had to take a deep breath in after reading about these young women…sadly I don’t think they, if any of them will be coming home to their loved ones. My guess is that the story of their fate will read something like they were killed in a bombing raid, where in fact they are probably already long gone having endured the most horrific of ordeals. It is inconceivable that Hamas will allow theses hostages to recall what they have gone through, sadly their fate, I believe, will never be told.

https://themedialine.org/top-stories/wo ... tain-fate/

Yes, very sad. Probably dead like the tens of thousands, including women and children, that Israel has killed in revenge. Oh no, sorry I forgot. The babies Israel have killed were all Hamas Fighters.

[poole boy]

meryn I think you have been listening to much to the bbc news as you only get left wing news on and views on there

[Onelife]

I had to take a deep breath in after reading about these young women…sadly I don’t think they, if any of them will be coming home to their loved ones. My guess is that the story of their fate will read something like they were killed in a bombing raid, where in fact they are probably already long gone having endured the most horrific of ordeals. It is inconceivable that Hamas will allow theses hostages to recall what they have gone through, sadly their fate, I believe, will never be told.

https://themedialine.org/top-stories/wo ... tain-fate/

Yes, very sad. Probably dead like the tens of thousands, including women and children, that Israel has killed in revenge. Oh no, sorry I forgot. The babies Israel have killed were all Hamas Fighters.

Your use of the term “Revenge” appears to demonstrate where you clearly stand on this conflict Sir Merv, indeed it is the first time in any media report that I have read which refers to “revenge “as the motive for this present conflict. Whilst the region has a history of disputes, I struggle to see how defending yourselves from further atrocities such as the one that took place on Oct 7th can be seen as anything other than the right to defend yourself and that of your countries people.

Just a reminder of what happened on Oct 7th as in the report by BBC...

“Several people involved in collecting and identifying the bodies of those killed in the attack told us they had seen multiple signs of sexual assault, including broken pelvises, bruises, cuts and tears, and that the victims ranged from children and teenagers to pensioners.
Video testimony of an eyewitness at the Nova music festival, shown to journalists by Israeli police, detailed the gang rape, mutilation and execution of one victim.
Videos of naked and bloodied women filmed by Hamas on the day of the attack, and photographs of bodies taken at the sites afterwards, suggest that women were sexually targeted by their attackers”.

Whilst thousands have died in this conflict, we should be thankful that the IDF haven’t, as I understand it, resorted to the horrendous way in which Hamas took “revenge” on innocent men, women, children and babies.

[Mervyn and Trish]

When this began I had great sympathy for Israel and respected their right to self defence. But what they have done is savage and has gone far beyond that. Even their great ally the US is getting queasy. I think revenge is a wholly appropriate word.

I think we would agree that Hamas are terrorists. So were the IRA.

What Israel has done is equivalent to if we had responded to IRA atrocities by laying waste the city of Waterford and slaughtering half its population. But we didn't. And we ultimately found peace in Ireland. So how can you justify what Israel are doing?

[Slapstick]

My original stance has not changed in that Israel should have the right to defend their citizens.

As with all conflicts I fully appreciate that innocent civilians will be killed, in this case Hamas's mixing with the civilian population makes it inevitable, however, Israel now need to convince the wider world that they are still taking all necessary steps to prevent innocent deaths, and for me at the moment I'm not to totally convinced.

After 6 months the initial hard reaction should be complete, it now needs to be very specific targets to allow innocent civilians time to get out, a ceasefire is not strictly necessary as long as Israel are doing what they claim, not targeting civilians.

[Onelife]

When this began I had great sympathy for Israel and respected their right to self defence. But what they have done is savage and has gone far beyond that. Even their great ally the US is getting queasy. I think revenge is a wholly appropriate word.

I think we would agree that Hamas are terrorists. So were the IRA.

What Israel has done is equivalent to if we had responded to IRA atrocities by laying waste the city of Waterford and slaughtering half its population. But we didn't. And we ultimately found peace in Ireland. So how can you justify what Israel are doing?

The only way you reach peace in any conflict is when you either defeat your enemy or the enemy surrenders. In the case of Hamas, they don’t want peace, they want the destruction of Israel and every Israeli living there, this, I would suggest, isn’t a good negotiating stance for peace or indeed a ceasefire, even if it were possible.
There are very few countries Governments/leaders that would openly condone the killing of innocent civilians in any conflict, yet it is interesting that Americans generally support Israels actions…not surprising considering they too have faced their own atrocities at the hands of terrorists.
If Hamas cared about its civilians, they wouldn’t be using them as shields, they would face defeat with more courage than what they did when slaughtering defenceless men, women and children.

If there is every to be some resemblance of peace between Gaza and Israel it will only happen once Hamas has been removed from power, imo.

[Stephen]

What a joke.

Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas to receive a knighthood and damehood https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-68683313

How is doing the job your paid to do worth a knighthood . They’ll be knocking them out in the Christmas raffle next.

[Onelife]

What a joke.

Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas to receive a knighthood and damehood https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-68683313

How is doing the job your paid to do worth a knighthood . They’ll be knocking them out in the Christmas raffle next.

Just think of all the perks Stephen…You get to meet Royalty for the handover.

[Mervyn and Trish]

When this began I had great sympathy for Israel and respected their right to self defence. But what they have done is savage and has gone far beyond that. Even their great ally the US is getting queasy. I think revenge is a wholly appropriate word.

I think we would agree that Hamas are terrorists. So were the IRA.

What Israel has done is equivalent to if we had responded to IRA atrocities by laying waste the city of Waterford and slaughtering half its population. But we didn't. And we ultimately found peace in Ireland. So how can you justify what Israel are doing?

The only way you reach peace in any conflict is when you either defeat your enemy or the enemy surrenders. In the case of Hamas, they don’t want peace, they want the destruction of Israel and every Israeli living there, this, I would suggest, isn’t a good negotiating stance for peace or indeed a ceasefire, even if it were possible.
There are very few countries Governments/leaders that would openly condone the killing of innocent civilians in any conflict, yet it is interesting that Americans generally support Israels actions…not surprising considering they too have faced their own atrocities at the hands of terrorists.
If Hamas cared about its civilians, they wouldn’t be using them as shields, they would face defeat with more courage than what they did when slaughtering defenceless men, women and children.

If there is every to be some resemblance of peace between Gaza and Israel it will only happen once Hamas has been removed from power, imo.

We will have to agree to differ. I don't believe the only way to resolve conflict is through defeat or surrender. There are numerous examples of negotiated peace. And I don't believe Americans generally support Israel's action. Some do but far from all. So we should call our own truce.

[Onelife]

When this began I had great sympathy for Israel and respected their right to self defence. But what they have done is savage and has gone far beyond that. Even their great ally the US is getting queasy. I think revenge is a wholly appropriate word.

I think we would agree that Hamas are terrorists. So were the IRA.

What Israel has done is equivalent to if we had responded to IRA atrocities by laying waste the city of Waterford and slaughtering half its population. But we didn't. And we ultimately found peace in Ireland. So how can you justify what Israel are doing?

The only way you reach peace in any conflict is when you either defeat your enemy or the enemy surrenders. In the case of Hamas, they don’t want peace, they want the destruction of Israel and every Israeli living there, this, I would suggest, isn’t a good negotiating stance for peace or indeed a ceasefire, even if it were possible.
There are very few countries Governments/leaders that would openly condone the killing of innocent civilians in any conflict, yet it is interesting that Americans generally support Israels actions…not surprising considering they too have faced their own atrocities at the hands of terrorists.
If Hamas cared about its civilians, they wouldn’t be using them as shields, they would face defeat with more courage than what they did when slaughtering defenceless men, women and children.

If there is every to be some resemblance of peace between Gaza and Israel it will only happen once Hamas has been removed from power, imo.

We will have to agree to differ. I don't believe the only way to resolve conflict is through defeat or surrender. There are numerous examples of negotiated peace. And I don't believe Americans generally support Israel's action. Some do but far from all. So we should call our own truce.

Its an awful situation no matter which side of the fence we sit, what I am sure about is that we ultimately want the same thing… something that resembles a workable peace.

[Onelife]

What a joke.

Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas to receive a knighthood and damehood https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-68683313

How is doing the job your paid to do worth a knighthood . They’ll be knocking them out in the Christmas raffle next.

Whilst I do think there is a place for honouring those who go above and beyond in certain areas of their lives, I’m not so sure the formular in choosing who gets honours would stand up too much scrutiny if challenged… especially those who are put forward by outgoing Pm’s who have an open door to those who make the decisions.
I do wonder how many of the recipients would actually accept them if they used a (published) grading system, one where they are honoured by order of merit, such is the case used in university degree achievements. In reality a large proportion probably wouldn’t be deserving of anything more than the equivalent of a second-class degree, with very few deserving of a first-class honours’ degree.
It can only be a matter of time before my name is put forward for which I will only accept if Charlie sends it through the post, and that it has some monetary value on eBay.

[Mervyn and Trish]

Much as I like you Keefie I think your chances of getting an honour from Charlie are rather less than MeMe getting one. You're more likely to get an invitation to the Tower.

[Onelife]

Much as I like you Keefie I think your chances of getting an honour from Charlie are rather less than MeMe getting one. You're more likely to get an invitation to the Tower.

Which makes me think … why the hell did I put your name forward ‘Sir’ Merv?

[Mervyn and Trish]

Class will always show.....

[Mervyn and Trish]

Is anyone, even OL, going to try to defend Israel killing aid workers, not just the latest group but around 200 so far? Incompetence or deliberate, it is unacceptable either way. Even the US is losing patience with them.

[david63]

And now Israel is trying to claim that they were Hamas gunmen in the convoy and that because it was night they could not see the logos - despite knowing who they were and where they were. It would appear to me that some/many/all of the Israeli army is out of control.

At least some senior officers have been relieved of duty - the cynic in my says that is just a token gesture to appease their critics.

[Onelife]

Is anyone, even OL, going to try to defend Israel killing aid workers, not just the latest group but around 200 so far? Incompetence or deliberate, it is unacceptable either way. Even the US is losing patience with them.

I thought we’d called a truce in trying to bolster up our individual views about this conflict?

The mere fact that you think I might condone the killing of innocent aid workers or indeed civilians is quite frankly absurd.

[towny44]

Is anyone, even OL, going to try to defend Israel killing aid workers, not just the latest group but around 200 so far? Incompetence or deliberate, it is unacceptable either way. Even the US is losing patience with them.

I thought we’d called a truce in trying to bolster up our individual views about this conflict?

The mere fact that you think I might condone the killing of innocent aid workers or indeed civilians is quite frankly absurd.

But you still support Israel's intention to eradicate Hamas from Gaza, even though that is hardly likely to lead to a lasting peac, since most Palestinians would prefer to have Hamas in charge, than any Govt that Israel would accepf

[Slapstick]

The telling part was following the US's "chat", Israel suddenly decides to open several boarders to allow aid in, they know they've crossed the line and if they continue consequences will follow.

Only problem now is trust, aid agencies are quite rightly very reluctant to allow their workers in, hopefully with reassurances given they'll soon start getting aid to those in most need.

No one in their right mind can condone this so called mistake, however Israel still have to defend themselves against the evil that is Hamas.

[Mervyn and Trish]

Is anyone, even OL, going to try to defend Israel killing aid workers, not just the latest group but around 200 so far? Incompetence or deliberate, it is unacceptable either way. Even the US is losing patience with them.

I thought we’d called a truce in trying to bolster up our individual views about this conflict?

The mere fact that you think I might condone the killing of innocent aid workers or indeed civilians is quite frankly absurd.

Well to be fair, to me, you've been very reluctant to date to condemn their slaugher of more than 30,000 people, many of them women and children, or their destruction of hospitals.

[Onelife]

Is anyone, even OL, going to try to defend Israel killing aid workers, not just the latest group but around 200 so far? Incompetence or deliberate, it is unacceptable either way. Even the US is losing patience with them.

I thought we’d called a truce in trying to bolster up our individual views about this conflict?

The mere fact that you think I might condone the killing of innocent aid workers or indeed civilians is quite frankly absurd.

But you still support Israel's intention to eradicate Hamas from Gaza, even though that is hardly likely to lead to a lasting peac, since most Palestinians would prefer to have Hamas in charge, than any Govt that Israel would accepf

I do believe Israel has a right to defend itself and if that means neutralising the threat of another Oct 7th which I remind you, Hamas has repeatedly threatened to do again, then yes, I do Support Israel. That being said I have constantly said there are two sides to this conflict and have stated on more than one occasion that the oppression of the Palestinian people is unacceptable.
I would never condone the killing of civilians and to this end I think Hamas should stop doing so by using their civilians as human shields. I also think if Hamas want this conflict to end then they should hand back the hostages in an attempt to win more world support in condemning how this war is being conducted.
As you say John, any peace will be an uneasy peace but Imo peace will never happen until Hamas no longer holds power …I personally think that the other 48% of Palestinians that don’t support Hamas should be given the chance of forming a new government, one which is prepared to negotiate a way forward, one where both peoples can live alongside each other in their own lands… which obviously would have to be part of the negotiations.

[Onelife]

With the latest news about the majority of IDF troop withdrawal from Southern Gaza lets hope this paths the way for the release of the hostages, presuming that they are still alive? At least Hamas won’t be able to use “they died in a bombing raid” as an excuse for their heinous crimes anymore.