Forum Topics

Anti-semitic murder comes to the streets of New York

I wonder how long it might be before the antisemitism which is at he core of support in the UK for the Palestinians in Hamas results in a similar incident in London ?From BBC News today."Suspect charged with murder of two Israeli embassy workers in Washington DC"'The suspect accused of gunning down two Israeli embassy staff members outside a Jewish museum in Washington DC has been charged with first-degree murder, as well as murder of foreign officials and related firearm charges.Wednesday night's attack is being investigated as a hate crime, and more charges are expected, US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said at a news conference.Steve Jenson, from the FBI's Washington DC field office, called the killings "an act of terror and directed violence against the Jewish community".Couple Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim were shot dead outside an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington DC around 21:08 local time (02:08 BST) on Wednesday, police said. The suspect opened fire on a group of four exiting the event, killing the two victims, police said.Police identified the suspect as 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez from Chicago who had bought a ticket to the museum event about three hours before it began. He was arrested at the scene shortly after the shooting.Police said the suspect also shouted "free Palestine" before he was taken into custody.Social media accounts linked to the suspect also indicate that he was heavily involved in the pro-Palestinian protest movement. Investigators said they were working to authenticate writings online purportedly authored by him, accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza, criticising US policy and discussing the use of political violence'.Not that I am suggesting they advocate 'political violence', but those that are so vociferous in attacking Israel and making often unfounded accusations against them, should be careful not to stir up a hornet's nest of potentially violent trouble makers in the UK.Already, the statistics of antisemitic attacks in London are on the rise.

John Hawkes ● 31d16 Comments ● 28d

Why is it only Israel that daily makes the news re 'genocide'?

Jews and many living in or are associated with Israel are the race that suffered the greatest genocide in modern times.For those that might have forgotten, some 6,000,000 were murdered on an industrial scale in Nazi Germany in WWII.This naturally has made them at least wary of how they are considered and treated in the West and the Middle East.Palestinians in their conflict with Israel are not experiencing such a fate.It is claimed that Israel has killed 52,000 Palestinians in Gaza.These are figures put out by the 'Gazan Health Ministry' (unelected).This is known to be run by Hamas  which itself murdered and sexually assaulted numerous women, children and the elderly in October 2023 and still hold many hostages as well as the corpses of those it murdered.It does not distinguish between civilian deaths and those of its fighting forces that imbed themselves amongst the general Populus.And of course Hamas is attempting to enact its Charter Declaration which calls for the annihilation of the state of Israel and its Jewish citizens.But we should not forget there have been and still are many conflicts raging around the world that have resulted in many deaths and claims of genocide.They received and get little attention by the anti-Israel bien pensants and fellow travellers.All the focus is on Israel.For example note the deaths resulting from the following -2023 Masalit, West Darfur Sudan - 15,000 deaths2020 Tigray Ethiopia 162,000 deaths2016 Rohingya, Myanmar - 9,000 deaths2016 China - Uyghur birth rate drops 24% because of genocidal persecution2014 Ukraine - 12,000 deaths by Russians2014 Iraq Turkman 3,500 deaths (by ISIS)2014 Iraq/Syria (Yazidis) - 2,100 deaths (by ISIS)2003 Darfur, Sudan - 98,000 deaths2002 North Kivu, DR Congo - 60,000 deaths1996 Kivu, Zaire - 200,000 deaths (Hutus)1994 Rwanda - 491,000 deaths (Tutsis)1992 Bosnia - 31,000 deaths (by Serbs)All inter-tribal as is the conflict initiated by Hamas against Israel.Cut Israel some slack.

John Hawkes ● 30d9 Comments ● 28d

Sudan - ‘world’s largest humanitarian crisis’

The vast majority of media comment from the BBC to the left-wing press such as the Guardian and even posts on this humble Forum has raged about and denounced what are claimed to be 'humanitarian atrocities' - military actions, civilian deaths etc, carried out by Israel in its war with the Palestinians.Posters on this Forum have stated their positions as to whether they believe Israel is perpetrating such, and if so whether in a time of war some explanation, if not the condoning of them, is possible.However what the continual focus on and denouncing of Israel's behaviour has done, perhaps deliberately, is to turn attention away from what is happening in other parts of the world and what atrocities Islamist Arabs are perpetrating on a far, far more massive scale against non-Arabs in Africa.Even the Guardian and the UN is beginning to take notice and show concern, diverting its attention from Gaza.Today's Guardian."NGOs and UN say country is ‘worse off than ever before’ with wide-scale displacement, hunger and attacks on refugee camps". 'Sudan is suffering from the largest humanitarian crisis globally and its civilians are continuing to pay the price for inaction by the international community, NGOs and the UN have said, as the country’s civil war enters its third year.The UK is hosting ministers from 20 countries in London on Tuesday in an attempt to restart stalled peace talks. However, diplomatic efforts have often been sidelined by other crises, including the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.Two years to the day since fighting erupted in Khartoum between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary (ISLAMIST - my comment) Rapid Support Forces, hundreds of people were feared to have died in RSF attacks on refugee camps in the western Darfur region in the latest apparent atrocity of a war marked by its brutality and wide-scale humanitarian impact.The consequences for Sudan’s 51 million people have been devastating. Tens of thousands are reportedly dead. Hundreds of thousands face famine. Almost 13 million people have been displaced, 4 million of those to neighbouring countries.“Sudan is now worse off than ever before,” said Elise Nalbandian, Oxfam’s regional advocacy manager. “The largest humanitarian crisis, largest displacement crisis, largest hunger crisis … It’s breaking all sorts of wrong records.”There were “massive-scale” violations of international humanitarian law in the conflict, said Daniel O’Malley, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross delegation in Sudan. “All of the civilian population, irrespective of where they are in the country, have basically been trapped between one, two or more parties. And they have been bearing the brunt of everything. The sheer numbers are just mind-boggling.”It is also claimed that as a fall out from this intra-Islamic civil war is that Christians are also being persecuted. In January of this year the US formally declared that the RSF had committed genocide, marking the second time in less than 30 years that genocide had been perpetrated in Sudan.The United Arab Emirates has been accused of fuelling the conflict by arming the RSF. Emirati passports allegedly found on the battlefield last year point to potential covert boots on the ground.All of this does not make for pleasant writing or reading and of course any claims of genocide should not be ranked in order of wickedness.However it does put the claims made against Israel into some form of perspective.

John Hawkes ● 69d23 Comments ● 31d

Eurovision Song Contest

I am not sure I will be watching the Eurovision Song Contest tomorrow. Firstly I have had serious doubts over the impartiality of European voters ever since 1959.Then the UK's Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson singing 'Sing Little Birdie' were pushed into second place by the Netherlands with the song "Een beetje", performed by Teddy Scholten. A song (but who remembers it) ? with rather dubious moral undertones we have now come to expect from that country.But secondly the competition has been predictably sullied by the coming together of the influences of today's drumbeat political issues - the wickedness of Israel and gender politics."The current Eurovision champion (sic) has said they (he is a man so should be 'he') support the decision to ban Israel from the 2025 competition".Nemo Mettler won the song contest in 2024 on behalf of Switzerland with the song The Code.This song was described by Nemo as one that details their (his) experience with accepting their (his) non-binary identity. A song that must have gone down well in pubs, at parties and any other occasion for fun and jollity.'Ahead of last year, the singer joined critics in calling for a boycott of Eurovision if Israel’s Eden Golan was allowed to participate as the conflict in the Middle East continued to rage on.Nemo, who was the first openly non-binary (whatever this means) act to represent Switzerland in Eurovision, was one of nine acts who issued a group statement expressing solidarity with Palestine.This time around, the singer-rapper (sic) has once again objected to Israel’s participation."Israel’s actions are fundamentally at odds with the values that Eurovision claims to uphold — peace, unity, and respect for human rights."Obviously he has not read the Hamas Charter !Views undoubtedly Gary Lineker would endorse as he also once lobbied to get Israel banned from international football competition.Why is a song competition so politicised and life in general so dulled by issues much over stressed both in importance and the public's acceptance of them ?Lulu, Sandie, "Brotherhood of Man" and "Buck's Fizz" with your naughty skirt pulling routine  - where are you now when we so need you, surrounded as we are by so many miserabilists ?

John Hawkes ● 38d18 Comments ● 35d

Bridge envy: Renfrew bridge (£117M) is a 184-meter double-leaf bobtail cable-stayed swing bridge

A selection of quotes from the below links. Work started on site in May 2022 — Open 9th May 2025. £117M twin-leaf opening road bridge across River Clyde opens to traffic — 9th May 2025 The 184-metre, twin-leaf bridge uses a cable stay system similar to the Queensferry Crossing and provides a two-lane crossing for vehicles, pedestrians and active travel as it connects Meadowside Street in Renfrew and Dock Street in Yoker, with the ability to open for passing ships as required.
A sustainable facet to the project was the installation process.  By floating in bridge segments from Belgium, the surrounding region and native ecosystem were not affected by lorries transporting large components. The bridge materials were fabricated in Belgium in a well-ventilated warehouse with controlled conditions. There was no disruption to Glaswegian neighbourhoods due to fabrication, paint, and assembly of the bridge. The bridge is powered by a hydraulic motor system, and the team uses biodegradable hydraulic fluid.


https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/117m-twin-leaf-opening-road-bridge-across-river-clyde-opens-to-traffic-09-05-2025/#:~:text=New%20Civil%20Engineer-,%C2%A3117M%20twin%2Dleaf%20opening%20road%20bridge,River%20Clyde%20opens%20to%20traffic&text=The%20Renfrew%20Bridge%2C%20the%20first,and%20Renfrew%20Riverside%20regeneration%20project.
https://iabse.org.uk/event/site-visit-renfrew-bridge-river-clyde/

Ed Robinson ● 37d4 Comments ● 35d