Smoqueed

Hopefully the media will give them some space! https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68640917

Exactly! Conversations about TikTok are useful to distract the masses away from actual serious issues. As for the Biden/Trump situation; two old white privileged men… again! That’s not democracy, it’s an illusion of democracy.

The ICJ has delivered its interim decisions: Israel must take all measures to prevent any acts that could be considered genocidal - killing members of a group, causing bodily harm, inflicting conditions designed to bring about the destruction of a group, preventing births Israel must ensure its military does not commit any genocidal acts Israel must prevent and punish any public comments that could be considered incitement to commit genocide in Gaza Israel must take measures to ensure humanitarian access Israel must prevent any destruction of evidence that could be used in a genocide case Israel must submit a report to the court within one month of this order being given https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-68097640 While disappointing that the ICJ has not ruled for an immediate ceasefire; the positive news is that they do believe Isreal has a case to answer and they have in effect, taken the case on!

Speechless

It is my understanding that while the PM can indeed authorise military action, that decision would ordinarily be reserved for an emergency situation. I believe there is a convention that MP’s should have an opportunity to debate military action when there is no direct threat to the UK. I appreciate this provides the other side with a pre-warning but that shouldn’t be allowed to dictate whether or not to follow albeit ambiguous guidelines. I’d suggest it probably wouldn’t alter the outcome also (as you say, depending on who the enemy may be). It’s the principle though, why escalate hostilities (or exacerbate relations) with another country. All this does is keep the Military Industrial Complex making huge profits and the less fortunate inhabitants of this planet more marginalised.

Shame on the US/UK and those other countries which contributed. I can’t speak for the US but I know that a decision to take military action against another country should’ve been debated and voted on in the UK first. Our puppet PM instead just done as he was told. Take no notice of the MSM narrative, and be advised that this wasn’t to keep global shipping moving through the Red Sea. The Houthi Movement (members of the Axis of Resistance and partly funded by Iran, but not controlled by) are taking action against the atrocities taking place in Gaza. They are targeting ships en route to Israel, in solidarity with the people of Palestine, and attempting to facilitate aid ships reaching their destinations. By taking this ill advised military action, the only outcome will be an escalation of violence and retribution. The West should immediately stop acting like the world’s police force and focus on issues at home. It’s sickening ironic, when (to my knowledge), there have been no fatalities from this Houthi action, and the West intervene via bombing their infrastructure! Meanwhile, Israel continues to break international law with the ethnic cleansing of Palestine, and the West provides financial, military and tactical assistance with untrammelled support!

Kudos to South Africa! Their government has recently filed a case at the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of committing genocidal acts in Gaza. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-67844551 https://www.jonathan-cook.net/2024-01-09/dock-israel-genocide-court/ https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20231228-app-01-00-en.pdf Proceedings commenced today: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67942983.amp It’ll probably take years to reach an ultimate conclusion but hopefully, in the interim, will stop this barbaric ethnic cleansing that is taking place before the world’s eyes! Sending peace and love to our brothers and sisters in Palestine.

Any sensible person who actually objectively researches historic and current events will undoubtedly come to the conclusion that Israel is the aggressor. Through occupation, repression, apartheid, and institutionalised discrimination; they systematically abuse the Palestinian population’s rights, and are without doubt guilty of multiple wars crimes. They carry out this atrocious agenda and control the narrative to further Zionism. Israel is an ethnocratic and (arguably) terrorist state. They knew an attack was going to happen, they allowed it to happen. It bolstered public support, and generated billions in military aid to continue to ethnically cleanse Palestinians from their ancestral land (Zionism). The grossly disproportionate response and collective punishment of Palestinians by Israel are wars crimes, and the West and others are complicit. As every hour passes, as this genocide goes unchallenged, they have more and more blood on their hands. Meanwhile, Israel has granted licenses for the exploration of gas and oil sites on the Mediterranean coast and occupied territories. Reserves valued at over $500 billion, a percentage of which is owned by Palestine, who won’t see a single dollar. Sending peace, love and hope to our brothers and sisters in Palestine. From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!

Really sad, her refusal to conform was inspiring. Incredible talent. She was 56 btw.

This is everything

I wonder if Ukraine will win

This is just wrong!

So Zelenskyy has stated that Ukraine accepts that they won’t be joining NATO: “It’s a truth and it must be recognised.” Right or wrong; hopefully this is the beginning of the end of the conflict! Sending peace and love.

Sure, the elite will always protect their interests but I’d rather history records any war crimes in The Hague and judges him there instead of some kind of street justice. And then they give him the Nobel Peace Prize lmao! When Gaddafi announced his intention to trade his oil for the African Dinar instead of the US Dollar- that signed his death warrant.

For the purpose of clarity, I am neither justifying Putin’s actions or indeed sympathise with him. If you revisit both my posts; I believe I’ve offered an objective perspective based on my neutral position. I have stated that I do not condone the military action, and have also alluded to pacifism and an anti war mentality. Nevertheless, the fact remains that this could have been avoided for the sake of peace. Had NATO made concessions and agreed to cease their eastern expansion (who are they expanding against anyway?!), and no WMD in Ukraine (these are perilous times, why couldn’t NATO have thought outside the box?), then there wouldn’t have been an invasion. The Western neoconservatives also have blood on their hands for allowing this to happen. Why? Because they want Russia to implode, and it will! Putin has been played like a sucker. I totally get what your saying and agree; Ukraine are entitled to join whatever organisation they want. NATO were under no obligation to concede and impose Putin’s treaty, these are however unprecedented times and things are going sideways, fast! We have the potential for WW3 with nuclear capable countries! This threat should’ve provided a stronger desire for mediation and concessions, it didn’t, which just illustrates the contempt the elite has for innocent civilians. As I said, Putin is done, whatever the outcome. Let’s just hope that history is still able to judge him and his collaborators. Surely they’ll end up answering for their crimes in The Hague. (I really should have caught up with the thread before jumping in lol, my bad!) However, and with regard to Palestine and the Middle East in general; what Putin is currently doing has far-reaching implications for any chance of some kind of stability there. Without Russian support, Syria will have little chance against Western objectives, which in turn will lead to more innocent bloodshed and refugees. Sending peace and love.

The idea that Putin wants to re-establish the Soviet Union is nonsense; this is western mainstream ubiquitous propaganda. While Soviet socialism obviously did not ultimately work, there was however a commitment to certain ideals of fraternity and equality; ideals that Putin has absolutely no time for! Admittedly, I’m sure he wants to expand Russia territorially, and rebuild an Imperial Russia to a size akin with the former Soviet Union, but does he want a return to Soviet ideology, I don’t think so. These are two different concepts. Re-establishing the Union would require communism- Putin is not a communist, he’s a capitalist, one which financially benefited from the fall of The Union! The Russian government is an oligarchic state, with power finely balancing between the state and Russian oligarchs. Should there be any attempts to return to communism, then this would certainly disrupt the internal power status quo. Re-establishing the Union. That is a nonstarter! Agreed on Belarus, Russia is after all, their main political and economic partner. Putin has a massive western border to protect- Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia and Estonia. Latvia and Estonia both have small populations which enjoy reasonably good relations with Russia and while both countries border the Baltic Sea and have the strategic advantage this provides; both countries have an approx. 25% Russian population. Perhaps behind the scenes both are heavily influenced by Russia even though they are in the EU and NATO etc. Belarus are aligned with Russia, which leaves Ukraine. Ukraine’s border with Russia is equal in length to the other three countries put together, so we can immediately see how strategically important this country is; not only to Russia but also to Western powers. Ukraine as a fully fledged NATO state is completely unsustainable for Putin. Let us not forget that all Russia wanted was a signed treaty with NATO stipulating that WMD would never be stationed in Ukraine. Was this a big ask if the West has no ulterior motives? All this bloodshed and the shattering of innocent lives could have been avoided if NATO had agreed to a proposal which would’ve guaranteed peace; even if an unappetising prospect! The US Congress was actually debating sanctions as Russia sought diplomatic dialogue. We need to ask ourselves why they rejected Putin’s treaty and what is their ultimate objective with Ukraine? I totally abhor war and conflicts (all they do is drive wedges between nations which should be cooperating for the good of mankind, and keep the military industrial complex making obscene amounts of money from civilian suffering), but I can see why Putin has invaded; from his perspective, for the long term safety of Russia. Also the level of hypocrisy from the West is astounding! While Ukraine has my upmost sympathy and I welcome an immediate resolution to the invasion, and by no means begrudge them all the assistance they can get… It’s frustrating, the level of support they are receiving in comparison to Palestine. Israel has been invading Palestine for over 50 years- where is the international condemnation against Israel! Why aren’t Israeli sports persons being banned from events! Why aren’t Israeli goods being boycotted! Why isn’t the mainstream media highlighting atrocities in Palestine! One thing is for sure: Putin is done! So many ordinary Russians are outraged with the invasion, I can’t see him getting re-elected. Especially with his financial backers feeling the pinch of Western sanctions. Sending peace and love to our brothers and sisters in Ukraine, Russia, and Palestine!

Putin has been goaded into invading Ukraine. He has been manoeuvred into this course of action since 2014 when America ousted the previous Russian supporting president of Ukraine and replaced him with their puppet. Hence the annexation of Crimea in response. Putin’s red line ever since has been Ukraine joining NATO and therefore, the very real potential of having NATO (American) weapons of mass destruction on Russia’s border! Putin would never accept that situation. That would be akin to Russia having WMD in Canada or Mexico; would America accept that, of course not! The Russian Foreign Office had consistently tried to engage in constructive diplomatic efforts to avert this current military action. They sought an assurance that Ukraine would not join NATO, and that NATO would halt the eastern expansion. This fell on deaf ears; they then sought assurances that NATO (American) weapons would never be stationed in Ukraine. Considering the fragile state if affairs, a reasonable request for their national security in my opinion. NATO in contrast refused to entertain such a treaty and has merely repeated their assertion that Ukraine are welcome to join with no restrictions, and therefore pave the way for NATO (American) forces and weapons on Russia’s border. There is of course, a wider geopolitical aim, an aim which has been in the making since the Soviet Union collapsed. An intention to isolate Russia from all of the ex Soviet countries. Since the 2014 American orchestrated coup, they have provided Ukraine with over $2 billion in military aid. America and NATO now regularly patrol the Black Sea, and Western warplanes are constantly flying in the area. While Ukraine are obviously entitled to join NATO; poking the Russian bear was only ever going to end in (avoidable) bloodshed. While I do not condone Putin’s military action, I can understand why it has come to this. Sending peace and love to our brothers and sisters in Ukraine and Russia. Depressingly the normal citizens of these countries are merely pawns in a ghastly game of geopolitical chess being played by the ruling elite.

White Hot forever, and ever, and ever. The end.

Kudos to the UK BLM movement for voicing their support of Palestine.

“If you can’t handle me at my worst, you don’t deserve me at my best”

Well, that escalated lol. In my humble opinion, she looks happy and as gorgeous as ever.

Lol, couldn’t be bothered to read the whole thread so not sure if it’s been clarified but it’s definitely ‘half cut’. A common phrase in England meaning drunk. Leak the whole album already!

Gutted doesn’t even come close. I’m gonna need therapy.

The bile warmongering rhetoric and blatant lying coming from the American administration is deeply concerning. Is America the only country with an obvious desire for conflict? No, of course not. Is America however the main instigator and aggressor? Yes, like it or not, it is. There are certainly other countries who are indeed complicit with their encouragement of, and their involvement with an appalling long term Middle Eastern strategy; but America is always the most vocal and abhorrent. It is not a benevolent promoter of worldwide democracy, as it tries to make out. In reality, it has been meddling with Iran since at least 1953, when the CIA removed the democratically elected prime minister Mohammad Mossadegh and replaced him with their brutal puppet; the Shah of Iran. They also supplied Saddam Hussein with weapons, chemical and otherwise, to use against Iran which resulted in the deaths of over a million Iranian citizens during the Iraq-Iran war. They have been proactive with crippling economic sanctions ever since, designed to alienate Iran from the international stage. Under Obama, Iran were given a route into the international stage with an historic nuclear deal that would’ve given the Iranian economy room to grow legitimately. Trump pulled out of that deal and also imposed significantly harsher sanctions. I don’t condone it but it’s no wonder Iranians hate America; they’ve grown up under this foreign oppression and constant threat of war.

Mckenna’s dad is a legend