The war on Gaza has exposed a profound moral failure within the academic profession.
Many who routinely defend liberal rights in other contexts now fall silent—paralysed by fear and self-censorship when the perpetrator is Israel.
Cowardice, plain and simple.
When Saudis killed a journalist from US, our media was justifiably enraged. Israel murdered Shireen Abu Akleh, American citizen. Now, they’ve attacked reporters from CNN, NBC and Washington Post, breaking bones and mangling them. And the media is largely silent. Israel above all.
I recall in 2019 a Belfast bakery won a legal case to not make a wedding cake for a gay couple.
The very same people who cheered the right of refusal of a private business are now going mental that a private Dublin hotel didn't want to host a Zionist conference. 😂😂😂
There are Muslim scholars who have spent decades explaining why music is haram.
Why the wrong kind of beard is haram.
Why a woman’s ankle, visible in the wrong context, requires correction.
These same scholars have found elaborate theological language for why full diplomatic and economic relations with the regime committing a documented genocide in Gaza are "complicated."
"Nuanced."
Requiring careful consideration of "geopolitical realities."
The ankle required no geopolitical consideration.
The precision of religious attention follows the direction of political power.
It always has.
That is not Islam.
That is the religion of whoever is funding the mosque.
New poll on Ukrainian attitudes on the war finds a strong majority – 57% – support an immediate negotiated peace with Russia and territorial concessions
Only 21% support fighting until the Donbass is returned to Ukrainian control
Most overwhelmingly favor a national referendum on peace, rather than allowing the president or parliament to decide
The survey was taken by Rating Group on October 3-5
It follows a Gallup poll this June showing 66% of Ukrainians favoring an immediate negotiated cessation of hostilities
A British man has been arrested under the Terrorism Act 2000 after being found with a haul of books by banned author Sally Rooney. The man was stopped by counter-terrorism police while driving a Ford Transit through Stoke, listening to Macklemore. It’s unclear why they didn’t shoot him on the spot.
A search of his vehicle found 15 copies of the terrorist manifesto “Normal People” in a rucksack. It’s believed he intended to distribute those books to impressionable locals who could be duped into thinking that reading is a good idea.
Andy Burnham has explained Iran was definitely behind the attack, even though he has no evidence to support this claim. Thankfully, the suspect has not been released on bail because we can’t have police undermining the narrative again. It’s clear that Iran plans to nick our diesel and flood the UK with illegal books.
As the UK is a freedom-loving democracy, we literally never ban books unless we have no choice. You can even buy a copy of Hitler’s book in Waterstones, but to be fair, those ideas aren’t far off our current foreign policy.
It shows just serious a threat Rooney poses to national security that we’ve been forced to ban her books. Yes, those books have nothing to do with Palestine Action, and yes, she isn’t bound by British laws when expressing opinions in Ireland, but that’s beside the point.
Rooney is understood to be a key figure in the European wing of Hamas, along with the rap group known as “Kneecap”. She has publicly supported extremist grandmas who hold up signs the government doesn’t like and she once liked an Instagram post from Ms Rachel.
If we listened to people like Rooney, this genocide would be over by now and parts of Gaza would still be intact. It’s a good job our government is standing up to this monster. A formal extradition request has been made, and if Ireland doesn’t comply, we will identify terror tunnels under every building in Dublin. The sooner the better, I say.
It's worth remembering that Obama, in 2016, was asked by The Atlantic's neocon editor, @JeffreyGoldberg, why he didn't do more to protect Crimea and E. Ukraine.
Obama said Ukraine is a vital interest to Russia, but not the US, and it'd be insane to risk war with Russia over it.
and he wants the Ultra-Orthodox to be made to enlist in the IDF.
So essentially the main difference with Netanyahu in terms of where it matters is he wants more conscripts for the army. But dw he if wins get ready for Western media to totally whitewash this guy - including his
Sally Rooney can't sell her books in the UK and you aren't allowed to publish a children's book about Palestine without a Nakba-denial disclaimer, but at least the best free speech journalist of our time is covering what matters.
@columeastwood Colum, have you weighed at all the impact if you expressly supported Palestine Action in that imperialist citadel? Parnell adulation in Ireland? We have to escape those supremacist sociopaths
@RWApodcast Using Ukraine as a proxy against Russia was strategised for decades. They knew Bandera/Babi-Yar/NAZIs was major dent in their 'narrative'. Mi6/CIA ain't idiots & a solution had to be found. Hence, Zelenskyy was selected to counter historical truth. He spits on the Jewish victims
A warning: this story is about the brilliant boxer Darren "the Dazzler" Sutherland who passed away on this day in 2009 and includes details of suicide.
Sutherland grew up in a council gaff in Parslickstown in Blanchardstown, Dublin. His Da Anthony was from the Caribbean island of St. Vincent, his Ma Linda from Finglas. He joined St. Bridget's Boxing Club in Mulhuddart at 14. His coaches saw something immediately. Within weeks he was sparring with the Leinster senior champion and holding his own.
He moved to Sheffield to train under Brendan Ingle at the famous Wincobank gym. He balanced training with part-time work and studied for his A levels in sports science, before homesickness pulled him back. He eventually completed a sports science degree at DCU on a scholarship.
Back in Dublin he trained at St. Saviour's Olympic Boxing Academy on Dorset Street. He won 3 Irish senior titles and took EU Amateur Championship gold in both 2007 and 2008. His great amateur rival was Britain's James DeGale, the pair having a series of memorable bouts. At the 2007 EU Championships in Dublin, Sutherland beat DeGale 23-19 to take gold.
In the 2008 Beijing Olympics he won bronze in the middleweight division. The handsome charismatic young boxer became a national celebrity overnight. As a Blanch head meself, who briefly boxed in a club in Mulhuddart, I remember how proud and jealous we were of this dazzling local lad.
Frank Maloney, the London promoter, whod guided Lennox Lewis, signed him in 2008. Sutherland made his professional debut in Dublin on 18 December 2008, a first-round knockout and kept his streak going with 4 fights, all wins by knockout.
Tragically, underneath the victories there was pain and darkness. Darren Sutherland was found dead in his flat in Bromley, south London, on 14 September 2009. He was just 27 years old.
The inquest held in Croydon in March 2012 said how a cheek and eye-socket injury got infected and wouldn't heal, forcing him to postpone fights and causing significant physical pain. But his mind was suffering too. Without the structure of training and competition, his confidence and peace were fecked.
Notes found at the scene described fears about what his manager Maloney would do to him if he broke contract. He confided in mates that he was terrified of leaving boxing. One friend told the inquest he was scared of Maloney. He had reportedly asked about renegotiating or ending his contract, but Maloney swore he would ensure he did not box for anyone else.
At the inquest Maloney denied he had intimidated Sutherland. He broke down in tears saying that Sutherland had even lived with Maloneys family for months. When asked had he any regrets about how he handled the situation, Maloney said no.
Tony and Linda Sutherland initially didn't believe their son was depressed. They had his body exhumed in September 2010 for an independent post-mortem, unsatisfied with the initial findings. Both examinations confirmed death by asphyxiation from hanging.
Coroner Roy Palmer described Darren as a charming gentleman who lit up a room, but noted he was also introverted, anxious, and needed reassurance. He was perhaps too sensitive and too intelligent for the cutthroat world he had entered. Palmer declined to return a suicide verdict and returned an open verdict instead.
The Sutherland family called for better support structures for athletes making the transition from amateur to professional sport. The coroner wrote separately to the British Board of Boxing Control with recommendations.
Sutherland's memory is honoured by DCU with the Darren Sutherland Memorial Award and an annual tournament. Touchingly his rival DeGale wore the initials DS on his shorts throughout his professional career. When DeGale won the IBF super middleweight world title in 2015, he dedicated the victory to him. RIP Dazzler.
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@RobLooseCannon Remind your audience, RTE & much of media sided with the school & religious zealots on this one beacuse her partner was a SF member. Dublin 4 Estab only turned against the church in mid 90s when they calculated they didn't need their assistance in containing Irish Republicanism
Late stage MAGA is so disgusting and unrecognizable to me, and I find this shocking as one who attended more Trump rallies than I can count.
A woman with a “Release The Epstein Files” shirt stands at a Trump rally shouting at Trump to release the Epstein files and gets physically beaten by the MAGA men around her, who probably call themselves Christians.
Then our obese President makes fun of her calling her “fat” and “him” claiming she’s a paid protestor.
She got thrown out and the men who attacked her got to stay.
MAGA rallies used to be filled with people who agreed with releasing the Epstein files, defended women, and would step in if a woman was attacked.
Now the dying remnant of MAGA is made up of people who emulate their cult leader.
Attacking women, making fun of their looks, and turning on the victims of the elites.
It’s a cult, an ugly grotesque cult that does not display Christian values because the cult leader himself is not a Christian even though the vast majority who attend his rallies would identify as Christian.
Know them by their fruit.
The fruit is rotten.
Because the cult leader himself is a wolf in sheep’s clothing who has led the flock astray.