Ragy Isaac

Egyptian/British. Sadly into politics, religion and serious stuff and have a constant feeling that I'm living in a dream, someone wake me up!

[Nervana Mahmoud @Nervana_1]

@EmmanuelMacron It is deeply frustrating to see European politicians pose as Christian patriots—condemning Israeli police over Palm Sunday in Jerusalem—while staying silent as Syria’s president is welcomed in Germany, despite ongoing attacks on Syrian Christians by Islamist extremists.

[Andrew Neil @afneil]

My monologue from today’s The Times at One with Andrew Neil @TimesRadio

What’s worse? To be an embarrassment? Or an irrelevance?

Well, what’s worse is to be both. How do I know? Because that’s what Britain is under Keir Starmer’s tender care as the most significant geopolitical events of recent times unfold in the Middle East. 

An embarrassment and an irrelevance. 

It’s what happens when you allow foreign and defence policy to be dictated by lawyers who came to prominence and riches on the international law circuit and who show little concern for the national interest. 

Starmer’s default position is to do what they decree. 

So, when the US/Israeli attacks on Iran began Saturday morning our PM was at pains to stress Britain was not in anyway part of the military action. 

Not only that — though this he was not so keen to spell it out — he’d forbidden our most important ally from using UK bases for the assault. 

He was at one, he said, with Donald Trump’s desire to stop the tyrants of Tehran from developing a nuclear bomb. He just didn’t will the means to stop it. 

Was he for or against America’s latest exercise in regime change? He didn’t say. 

Nor would his defence secretary. He drew the short straw and was sent into bat in the Sunday morning media round. 

In a series of excruciating changes, including on this station, from which his reputation will not recover, John Healey refused to say, again and again, if the British government supported the attacks on Iran. Foreign secretary Yvette Cooper went thru the same farce this morning. 

Well, it’s only the signal military action of our time. Why would you have an opinion?

As Healey prevaricated, Iran had started to retaliate by attacking almost every Gulf State, most of them our allies as well as America’s. 

Suddenly it triggered in Starmer’s brain that sitting on the fence was perhaps not the best option. Especially when it looked as if the Iranians were targeting our base in Cyprus too. 

So the lawyers were consulted again, naturally. And, autocue re-scripted at their direction, Starmer appeared again at the prime ministerial podium to say the US could use our bases after all — provided it was only for defensive purposes. 

Those of us without the benefit of a legal education and years of experience on the well-remunerated international law circuit are struggling to see the distinction. 

The US and Israel were already pummelling Iranian missile sites because they were a threat to their allies in the region. Britain did not support that. 

Now Britain has decided it’s OK to pummel them from our bases. Though we won’t be doing any pummelling ourselves. And we’re still not saying if we’re in favour of the pummelling.  

Canada and Australia, both with centre-left governments, have backed US military action. Britain has not. But it hasn’t condemned it either. Colour me confused. 

None of this is to argue for British support or British participation. I understand why we should be wary. But it is to argue we should know where our government stands. Yet we don’t. Hence the embarrassment and the irrelevance. 
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[Daniel Hannan @DanielJHannan]

My God, this is painful to watch. Iran has just attacked British bases in Cyprus. But Labour, worried about more Gorton-style defeats and paralysed by the Starmer/Hermer interpretation of international law, STILL can’t express a view.

[Alan Smith @AlanJLSmith]

Suppose that once a week, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to £100.

If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.

The fifth would pay £1.

The sixth would pay £3.

The seventh would pay £7.

The eighth would pay £12.

The ninth would pay £18.

And the tenth man (the richest) would pay £59.　

So, that’s what they decided to do.

The ten men drank in the bar every week and seemed quite happy with the arrangement until, one day, the owner caused them a little problem.

“Since you are all such good customers,” he said, “I’m going to reduce the cost of your weekly beer by £20.”

Drinks for the ten men would now cost just £80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes.

So the first four men were unaffected.

They would still drink for free but what about the other six men?

The paying customers? How could they divide the £20 windfall so that everyone would get his fair share?

They realized that £20 divided by six is £3.33, but if they subtracted that from everybody’s share then not only would the first four men still be drinking for free but the fifth and sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer.　

So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fairer to reduce each man’s bill by a higher percentage.

They decided to follow the principle of the tax system they had been using and he proceeded to work out the amounts he suggested that each should now pay.

And so, the fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (a 100% saving).

The sixth man now paid £2 instead of £3 (a 33% saving).

The seventh man now paid £5 instead of £7 (a 28% saving).

The eighth man now paid £9 instead of £12 (a 25% saving).

The ninth man now paid £14 instead of £18 (a 22% saving).

And the tenth man now paid £49 instead of £59 (a 16% saving).　

Each of the last six was better off than before with the first four continuing to drink for free.　

But, once outside the bar, the men began to compare their savings. “I only got £1 out of the £20 saving,” declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, “but he got £10!“　

“Yeah, that’s right,” exclaimed the fifth man. “I only saved a £1 too. It’s unfair that he got ten times more benefit than me!”　

“That’s true!” shouted the seventh man. “Why should he get £10 back, when I only got £2? The wealthy get all the breaks!”　

“Wait a minute,” yelled the first four men in unison, “we didn’t get anything at all. This new tax system exploits the poor!”

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.　

The next week the tenth man didn’t show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had their beers without him.

But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important – they didn’t have enough money between all of them to pay for even half of the bill!　

And that’s how it works.

Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy and they just might not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas, where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.　

For those who understand, no explanation is needed.

For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.

[Ragy Isaac @IsaacRagy]

@JamesMelville You are wrong, wrong, wrong and definitely wrong

[Ragy Isaac @IsaacRagy]

@oelma__ 23

[Kosher @koshercockney]

🔴 Rubio states that Peace Talks broke down because of people like Macron and Starmer deciding to reward Hamas with a Palestinian State.

Starmer, Macron, Carney, Albanese - hang your heads in shame.

[Ragy Isaac @IsaacRagy]

@LBC @NickFerrariLBC Jihad / Gehad is a common name in the Arab world. It is one of the names that can be used for both boys and girls alike.

[Ragy Isaac @IsaacRagy]

@Keir_Starmer Wow, the replies on this thread

[Marina Medvin 🇺🇸 @MarinaMedvin]

Hi @grok—

Please list every country that has sent funds to Gaza since the Hamas takeover in 2006 and compute how much total currency was contributed to Gaza through this day.

[Ragy Isaac @IsaacRagy]

@AAbulyazeid , @amagdy المسلسل حلو و تمثيلكو رائع ، بس ايه النهايه دي، اتفاجئتو في آخر دقيقتين ان دي الحلقة التلاتين فقلتو نعمل عيد ميلاد و خلي الناس تفرح
حد يبلغ المخرج ان الRogz ديساپونتيد

[David Collier @mishtal]

Exclusive:

We have said that @bbcnews has become a propaganda tool of Hamas.

Well here is the proof. Sit down and hold on to something.

Thread ⬇️⬇️⬇️

[Epic Maps 🗺️ @theepicmap]

6. The most western point in China is closer to Germany than it is to the most eastern point in China

[Ragy Isaac @IsaacRagy]

@nabilelhalfawy في فقره حنين لأجواء مصر و الطفوله بتفرج تاني اليومين دول علي رأفت الهجان. هو كان شرط وقت التصوير ان كل الممثلين لازم يكون بيدخنو؟ اكيد حد خد باله وقت التصوير مش معقول عدت عادي.

[Benny Johnson @bennyjohnson]

MUST WATCH: What happens to your home in a…
Category 1
Category 2
Category 3
Category 4
Category 5 [wow]

Please, I’m asking my fellow Floridians to evacuate or seek shelter by this evening.

Storm hits tomorrow. Pray.

[Buitengebieden @buitengebieden]

The reactions.. 😊

[leekern @leekern13]

Britain looks cool. Theocratic men winning an election to yell Allahu Akbar and raise the flag of another people who believe in jihad, holy war and a global Islamic caliphate.

Cool.

[Mike Hoffmann @MikeHoffmann]

I found a guy who goes around the US asking 70 to 100-year-olds their:

• Biggest Regrets
• Biggest Lessons
• Advice to their younger self

Oddly enough, most of their answers are the same…

Here are my top 8:

[Stephen Daisley @JournoStephen]

So, as I understand it, the Islamist threat to MPs is so severe the Speaker had to upend parliamentary procedure to appease it, but also the Islamist threat is being overblown by the right, but also also MPs need more protection. From Islamists. Whose threat is overblown. Gotcha.

[Historic Vids @historyinmemes]

People who haven't watched Game of Thrones will never understand what this scene did to us