Adam Burns

[Adam Burns @AdamBurns7]

A new NI secretary.. and just when the previous one was doing so well...

[Dr. Farbod MBBCh FRCEM @EmergencyBod]

#GeneralElection2024

[Adam Burns @AdamBurns7]

Still no "JaJa Ding dong" at #Eurovision2024

[Adam Burns @AdamBurns7]

@clips_classic @AaronGreenaway happy friday!

[Adam Burns @AdamBurns7]

People wondering about the in's and out's of the DUP meeting.

[Historic Vids @historyinmemes]

The fastest man-made object in the world is the Parker Solar Probe, which is moving at a speed of 692,000 kilometers per hour (429,988 miles per hour). This incredible feat was achieved during its mission to study the Sun, and it continues to provide valuable data for scientists to better understand our solar system.

[The Cultural Tutor @culturaltutor]

A helpful guide to what all those "bits" of buildings are actually called:

[Adam Burns @AdamBurns7]

Everyone is so Geo-politically minded, but can any answer me this...

Where was Gondor when the westfold fell!??

[Pete North @FUDdaily]

Addressing a few tiresome arguments on the Israel issue:

"1) the presence of Israel in the occupied territories is illegal. Always has been. They are literally occupying Palestinian lands and have been pushing Palestinians out of their homeland by force without any opposition. This fact is widely documented and confirmed by even Jewish human rights organisations. Violence against Palestinians is a daily occurrence which happens in silence and with full approval of the western goverments. Palestinian lives literally don’t matter."

Israel concluded some time ago that there is no deal to be struck with Palestinians that will end terrorism against them and does not see any viable two state solution, and they're not wrong about that. They have set about gradually annexing the West Bank, and are waging a slow, bureaucratic genocide against the Palestinians in the West Bank. It does happen in silence with the tacit approval of Western governments. This is for one simple reason: No-one cares. Fifty years of international diplomacy never got close to a viable two state solution. Neither side is interested in maintaining the pretense. It's over and it has been for some time.

The UN and various other actors sustained, nourished, supported and indulged Palestinians, generation after generation, in the belief that uniquely among the world’s peoples in the wake of WWII, they don’t need to accept new realities, new borders, and move on with the lives; that they possess a non-existent “right of return” into Israeli sovereign territory, that their land was “stolen". By indulging Palestinians in the notion that the war of 1948 is not over, that they are somehow, now into the fifth generation “refugees” from that war, and that they possess a non-existent “right of return” into sovereign Israel, by which they can undo Israel’s existence, UNRWA and its funders are ensuring that there will always be new recruits for Palestinian terrorism.

"2) Palestinians live in effectively an open air prison. Their lives are controlled in some pretty Orwellian ways by the Israeli government."

Gaza is under blockade - and that's because Hamas launches indiscriminate rocket attacks on Israel. It should also be noted that Egypt also has a border with Gaza and implements the same restrictions for the same reasons. Restrictions could be lifted were Hamas interested in peace - but it isn't.

"3) at which point do you have the moral right to retaliate by force as a legitimate means of self defence? How many years do you have to suffer ? How many innocent lives have to be lost?"

It is a mistake to assume that the latest atrocity by Hamas is "retaliation". Hamas, fundamentally, is a racist Islamist organisation devoted to the eradication of Jews. The Palestinian cause is a pretext. Kidnapping, torture and rape is not legitimate resistance. This latest atrocity was designed to provoke the maximum response from Israel and Hamas does not care how many people on both sides are killed as a result.

"4) I think we can all understand that acts like these don’t exist in a vacuum. They are born out of desperation. When people lose hope, they do desperate things."

Hamas aren't desperate. Most of its leadership are extremely wealthy by stealing much of the financial aid given to Gaza. Name one other "open air prison" that has luxury car dealerships and full internet services.

"5). You heard about young Israelis who died at a psy trance festival. How many times did they tell you about deaths of Palestinian families ? Trust me, their lives are taken in silence. The narrative is written and controlled by Israel so I would be very careful with trusting anything (literally anything) that is being reporters. Both sides will try to spin, but one has a hugely bigger capacity to do so."

Gazans are often killed by Israeli airstrikes. This is because Hamas operates from hospitals, schools and shelters. Gazans are human shields to Hamas. The air strikes stop when the indiscriminate rocket fire stops.

"6) look at the views and opinions of the Zionist members of Netanyahu‘s government. Not just about Palestinians. About Christians. Basically anyone non Jewish. Helps to understand what Palestinians are dealing with. Listen to how the Israeli Defence Minister describes Palestinians. He said “they are animals and we will deal with them like animals”. Let’s not forget whose playbook the method of dehumanising your political opponents to justify ethnic cleansing and genocide is from."

In the last decade or so, Israel has increasingly gone further to the right. This is part of a wider European trend, but attitudes in Israel have hardened when Israel is subject to endless resolutions in the UN and international condemnation, while sponsors of terrorism such as Iran and Pakistan get a free pass even though both are prolific human rights abusers. Israel no longer feels bound by the international rules based order because they, rightly, perceive it to be biased against them. The prevailing mood in Israel is that there is no negotiated peace to be had, and that the latest atrocity by Hamas justifies a once and for all military operation to end then and this miserable stand-off.

Those who would have Israel abandon its military action are pushing for the status quo in which Hamas is able to continue its racist terror campaign, and for Gaza to remain a dysfunctional and institutionally corrupt enclave - sustained by bad faith actors with the sole motive of destabilising the region and demonising Israel in the eyes of the world.

[Dr. Dan Lomas @Sandbagger_01]

"I hear you're an expert on the Middle East now, Father!"

[The Economist @TheEconomist]

A year and a half after its most recent collapse, the prospects for the return of a devolved government are remote https://t.co/8XcIQ6jDcn

[Aaron Edwards @DrAaronEdwards]

I’m on with @frank_broadcast @U105radio at 11.30am speaking about #APeopleUnderSiege @MerrionPress @Peterocmedia. It’s always a pleasure to speak to Frank! #Books #History

[Adam Burns @AdamBurns7]

Watching Eurovision 2023... and patiently waiting for Ja Ja Ding Dong to come on...

[James Melville 🚜 @JamesMelville]

“Farewell to the Highlands, farewell to the North. The birth-place of valour, the country of worth. Wherever I wander, wherever I rove, the hills of the Highlands for ever I love.”

~ My Heart’s in the Highlands by Robert Burns.

#BurnsNight ❤️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[The National @ScotNational]

On Burns Night, Stephen Flynn (@StephenFlynnSNP) asks if it is any wonder that Scotland considers the UK Government a 'parcel of rogues'

[Richard Murphy @RichardJMurphy]

Sajid Javid says we need to pay £20 for a GP appointment and £66 to go to A&E as a way to solve the NHS funding crisis. He’s wrong because there are so many better options in my new report on funding the NHS. A thread…..

[Health and Social Care Northern Ireland @HSC_NI]

Help free up GP telephone lines by registering for GP online services.
Check here to see if your GP is offering online services - https://t.co/wg0pvtAmAH
Contact your surgery and register for their online services, they will send you log-in details.

[Adam Burns @AdamBurns7]

@thecardstipster @glav_1992

[Emily Hewertson 🇬🇧 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 @emilyhewertson]

Gary Neville getting called out for his Qatari hypocrisy is a great watch.

[Scottish Freemasons @ScotsMasons]

Scottish freemasons will make history by presenting a cheque for more than £1 million to Prostate Scotland.
It is the first time the Grand Lodge of Scotland, whose members are spread across the globe, has raised such a vast sum to be given to a single recipient.

#glos