regular_john

8 minutes ago, MaVilla said:

if we were lucky, we could offload a lot of salary this summer....

 

Lenglet is on £150,000 per week?? Blimey!

I actually think that we should absolutely bring him back if the finances work. At 29, he's still in his prime. He seems to have avoided any significant injury over the last couple of years. He still absolutely loves the Villa and would bust a gut for us as before. He's also now got the experience of playing in the CL, learning from some of the best players in the world, learning from the best manager in the world, playing at the very highest level, winning the league, winning the CL, and would represent a significant upgrade on much of our forward line.

Bring him home!

36 minutes ago, omariqy said:

There’s war and then theres this. 

...a war?

16 minutes ago, Mozzavfc said:

I don't think anyone here are saying Hamas aren't bad people. Most are taking issues with Israel's response of killing thousands of Palestinians who have nothing to do with Hamas. Last elections in Palestine was 2006, the people don't have a choice 

Most civilians of most nations have nothing to do with their governments. That is yet another horror of war.

Apart from military action, what could Israel have done given the events of October 7th and ongoing hostage crisis?

11 hours ago, Jareth said:

In case you are unsure how to react

 

I think a lot of the reactions to this conflict are driven by ignorance regarding the nature and horror of urban warfare. Unlike most conflicts, images of this war are absolutely everywhere, all over social media, and often uploaded in real time. As a consequence, I think many people are seeing images of urban warfare for the first time and, with no frame of reference, are unable to distinguish war from genocide. It would be a bit like seeing a standard bomb go off for the first time and assuming it must have been nuclear because it was big.

Clearly, it is of great benefit to the Hamas PR machine to flood the internet with images of dead children to provoke reactions such as that expressed by Lineker.

What is most fascinating about all of this is that it confirms the power of propaganda and that the internet has, if anything, made it easier to manipulate the emotions and opinions of millions.

Hamas have managed to invade Israel, slaughter over a thousand innocent men, women, and children, burn families alive, commit mass rape, take children hostage and still portray themselves as victims. Absolutely astonishing.

Bottom

Men Behaving Badly

Red Dwarf

Why would IS attack Russia?

49 minutes ago, omariqy said:

 

Yet more anti-Israel propaganda from Owen Jones. The more this stuff gets spread, the more people will fall for it and the louder the noise of propaganda and BS becomes.

Please consider your sources when reposting 

1 hour ago, omariqy said:

The fact you focus on Islam and don’t mention any transgression caused by any other religion or group, shows you where you stand. Islamophobia is steeped in racism. Criticise Islam all you want. Just don’t generalise based on your complete lack of knowledge of anything to do with it. 

Allow me to preface my answer by saying that I am not a fan of religion in general. I think all religions are difficult, dangerous, and divisive on some way, shape, or form. All religions expect that we believe nonsense, engage in dogmatism rather than rationalism, identify non-believers as the 'other' or as 'outsiders' etc.

But, despite this, most of the world's religions are reasonably benign.

Islam is different. As a direct consequence of it's doctrines (Jihad, paradise for martyrs of combat, the concept of 'Dar Al-Harb' etc.) and the example of Muhammad, Islam is uniquely aggressive, violent, hostile to critique and free speech, and clearly at odds with modernity and building a peaceful, global civilisation.

Islamic fundamentalists are absolutely the worst of any religions fundamentalists. Islam at the level of government leads to nothing but failed states, oppressive dictatorships, and population-wide regression (hence the failure of any meaningful cultural, artistic, scientific etc. development in MENA). Even the majority of so-called moderates have some absolutely appalling views on non-believers, women, homosexuals etc.

I focus on Islam because Islam is absolutely the worst religion on the planet. It possibly represents the worst set of ideas that the human mind has ever concocted.

That is why I criticise Islam, not because I don't like brown people.

8 minutes ago, chrisp65 said:

No embarrassment here, my point absolutely stands.

You waded in with a ridiculous catch all condemnation of large groups of people, I thought I’d join the party. 

You want to take it personally, that’s your call. You want to think one side is reasonable and the other side is for muppets, that’s also your call. I can’t do anything about how you process what you read and write.

 

It quite literally doesn't stand. Islam is not a race.

12 minutes ago, omariqy said:

You obviously don’t know what the Hindus have done to Muslims or Sikhs in India. Or what Christians have done for centuries. What atheists have done. Not perfectly is definitely underselling it. You listen too much to your far right pals. Ignorant. End of. 

Of course there have been and continue to be religious conflicts and violence throughout the world. To pretend otherwise is, as you say, ignorant.

However, these groups have all shown that they can live amongst each other perfectly happily and peacefully, and in fact do so in multicultural and secular societies worldwide.

31 minutes ago, Jareth said:

Did you know that Jim Henson, creator of the muppets, created Fraggle Rock to demonstrate to kids that you can have diverse groups all living next to each other but regardless of their wants and needs, they can all get along.

And indeed they can! Christians, Jews, Hindus, Sikhs, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Atheists etc all seem to be able to live perfectly happily amongst each other (albeit not perfectly).

29 minutes ago, chrisp65 said:

 

I think maybe you’ve read something, then assumed something, and then it’s made you angry?

I think you stated that criticism of Islam was 'white racism' shortly after I posted some criticism of Islam

I think I pointed out how ludicrous your comment was. I think you now realise how ludicrous it was and are deflecting to avoid embarrassment.

1 hour ago, chrisp65 said:

These are strange times. It must be quite confusing for the average white racist that has known they have to bite their lip, to suddenly be able to express themselves, but only in support of Israel.

Muppet 1: "Someone is criticising Islam for it's myriad of anti-Semitic doctrines and the Islamic world for enacting anti-Semitic prejudice and violence for generations"

Muppet 2: " Oh no! Quick, call them a racist!"

As sure as the sun will rise and the sun will set, muppets will accuse those who criticise Islam of being racist.

I assume you think that means all Muslims are of a certain ethnicity? Or that one must be a certain ethnicity to be a Muslim?

Isn't that a touch ...racist of you?

Islam is not a race, you muppet. It is a set of ideas and beliefs. Criticism of Islam and Muslims is no more racist than criticism of Catholics, Mormons, Scientologists, Jews, Hindus etc.

38 minutes ago, omariqy said:

They don’t have an intrinsic hatred of Jews. That’s Islamophobic. They hate genocidal maniacs. Do you want me to list the massacres Israel carried out before Hamas even existed? Not sure why I’m bothering replying. You’ve obviously no clue about anything at all.

Is that a serious comment?

The Islamic world is rife with anti-Semitism. The Jewish population in virtually every country across MENA has plummeted as a consequence of anti-Semitic violence, pogroms, and attempts at forced conversion. Muslims have been carrying out attacks on the Jews for virtually the entire history of their religion.

Jew hatred is inscribed and codified in the heart of Islam - the Qur'an and the Hadith.

'Allah's messenger said "The Hour will not begin until you fight the Jews, until a Jew will hide behind a rock or a tree, and the rock or tree will say: ‘O Muslim, O slave of Allah, here is a Jew behind me; come and kill him' - Sahih al-Bukhari 2926

Straight from the prophet himself.

Yes, Hamas have only existed since the 80s but Palestinians (not a real term, by the way) and their allies have been attacking the Jews of Israel from the moment they dared to declare themselves a state, and for 70 odd years before that.

So please do not try and stifle the truth of the situation under the guise of 'Islamophobia'. To do so is nothing more than a transparent attempt to shut down criticism of Islam and Muslims.

I must say that Hamas have played an absolute blinder in this conflict so far.

They invade the 'evil oppressor', slaughter well over a thousand innocent men, women and children, kidnap hundreds more, leave their victim with no choice other than to pursue massive military intervention, hide behind their own civilians thereby ensuring massive loss of innocent life, then look on with glee as the world blames the victim for committing 'genocide'. Absolutely unbelievable. 

It's not surprising that the Muslim world, with its intrinsic hatred of Jews, laps it all up. It's quite surprising that so many lefty woke liberal types have swallowed it hook, line, and sinker though. 

36 minutes ago, bobzy said:

That's "fair enough"; but you'd hope there'd be a better way of dealing with a 14 year old with a knife than just killing him.

You would hope so, however he was a 14 year old who repeatedly and violently stabbed a border guard with homicidal intent in the context of a conflict in which Hamas have strapped suicide bombs to children and had them detonate themselves.

How would you, as a guard in the same situation, manage the problem differently?

Would you take the risk of approaching him to restrain/arrest him, knowing that he could try and stab again or could detonate a suicide vest?

Or do you pull the trigger?

This is yet another death that is squarely the fault of Hamas, as are the many thousands of deaths on and since October 7th.

11 hours ago, omariqy said:

 

Yet more Islamist propaganda and lies. The 14 year old had just tried to stab one of the border guards. He got shot because, oddly enough, that is what happens when you try to stab a member of the military to death. The full video shows the whole event very clearly.

1 hour ago, omariqy said:

Shit in shit out 

If there's anything I've said that's incorrect (I don't think there is), I'd be more than happy to engage in an actual adult conversation about it.

When you feel capable of that, crack on.

4 minutes ago, omariqy said:

This actually made me Lol

An intelligent, thought provoking response.

LOL.

On 31/01/2024 at 09:49, Genie said:

What’s the story with the US backing Isreal so hard?

Israel is surrounded by nations full of people that long to see it, and all of its residents, conquered, defeated, and in many cases slaughtered. 

Let's not forget the Iranian statement that they 'kiss the hands' of the attackers of October 7th. The rape, murder, and kidnap of men, women, and children was literally celebrated at government level by a powerful sovereign nation.

If Israel is not able to defend itself and does not have the support of powerful allies, every man, woman, and child within its borders is in grave danger. October 7th should serve as a chilling warning to the intentions of Hamas and their allies.

The very phrase 'From the river to the sea', so mindlessly chanted by knowing and unknowing antisemites, demands the eradication of the Jewish population of the region.

That is why the US so strongly supports Israel, as should we all.

The 3-0 Vs Newcastle last season was the most complete performance I've ever seen from a Villa side. Perfection.

16 hours ago, chrisp65 said:

If they are in any way similar, why has our government been allowing british passport holders to freely move in and out of Hamas territory without issue?

Were they allowing British Citizens to enter ISIS territory for a family holiday or to volunteer as surgeons?

 

A very odd comment

I did not say that Hamas was the same as ISIS, I said they have far more in common than they have differences, which is true.

Have we already forgotten October 7th?

6 hours ago, sne said:

That's the spin now? Hamas and ISIS is the same thing . Apparently they are trying to make #HamasisISIS a thing on social media. Sure those already convinced will eat that s*it up.

They have far more in common than differences. Hamas are very open in their desire to destroy Israel and slaughter all Jews in the region.