Crixus

I'm not in my home country and neither are any of my siblings - my mum lives alone at 70+ and is fierce and principled. She started talking openly about the current regime, posting online, going to rallies, and I was fucking terrified. I fought, begged and did everything else I could to make her stop because I knew other women of her age who'd been carted off to jail - many are still there. I guess I should've applauded and told her to 'rise up' instead, yeah?

Makes it hard FOR YOU to credit - an opinion, not universally accepted fact. I come from a country currently going through a massive repression of civil rights and other shit - I know how scary it is to contemplate resistance when you're clinging to whatever little you have left, when mortal peril isn't an abstract idea you experience through the latest trendy film or sensationalised news clips, but actual, constant real life where you have seen close friends get picked up and disappeared. Such situations are complex and layered - fear of Hamas reprisals; misplaced faith in them being the only option because that's what they've been brainwashed into thinking, especially when the rest of the world literally ignores them regularly, hardly blinking when hundreds of them are routinely killed by Israel (and probably by Hamas), so essentially thinking they have no choice; hopelessness that comes with being born in a horrible situation with no conceivable way out.... I could go on. Hell, I could refer to the series this board is based on for a fair insight into how such complex life circumstances work.

Not having agency =/= 'let's overthrow the government, piece of cake!'. If it were, plenty of other countries would've done it - North Korea, Russia and the list goes on. Are you saying those millions of people don't have agency and if yes, is that patronising too? And in fact, when you have little control over many aspects of your daily life such as where you can move around, you do not have much agency. A fact is not patronising, sorry.

I know, how 'strange', right?? Perhaps, there is an infinitesimal possibility that the people moving around trying to help are the ones who are able to do so and not the ones grievously injured or starving/dehydrated, and thus those we have footage of (by the way there is plenty of gruesome footage of the latter too, FYI)? Or even, perhaps, that these people are pretty used to hardship and therefore more resilient than your average First World couch potato? But yeah, very strange indeed! ETA: would you expect the UNRWA and others to only raise the alarm when x people have died? Does being proactive to stave off such deaths seem silly and uncalled for to you?

Sorry, but this sort of statement is so infuriating in its patronising and simplistic nature. For one second, put yourself in such a position with complete honesty and confirm how easy it would be for you 'stand up and say no more' - I'd venture it wouldn't be a walk in the park. Much easier to be strong and principled in theory, imo.

Honestly, some of the rhetoric on here is mind-boggling, between the faux-expertise delivered in 'dispassionate' tones, and the casual, sweeping statements like, 'the middle east almost rose up'. TIL scattered, admittedly heated and large protests = an entire region 'rising up'. I would love to see the terminology used when white people protest - bet it's significantly more positive. It's so fucking easy to make suggestions like 'Palestinians should get rid of Hamas, wtf is wrong with them lol'. It's super easy for a subjugated people, half of them kids, to rise up and overthrow violent fuckheads who would just as easily kill them as the 'enemy' - especially when they're living under siege conditions! I mean, wtf don't countries routinely overthrow shitty governments? It should be happening monthly, given how many shitty governments there are. Hell, why is Netanyahu still around??? Why haven't Israeli people got rid of him? And before you say 'Hamas=terrorists so it's different' - yes, they are terrorists. But we're also banging on about how they're the government, right? I've seen loads of posts on here remind us of this. So perhaps both the Israelis and Palestinians should simply overthrow their shitty governments and start over! Hilariously simplistic, this epitome of sage armchair expertise. Last, to be very clear: Hamas and other such groups need to be eradicated in their entirety. Such extremist terror groups cause a shit ton of grief and deaths amongst their own populations, and outside. What happened to Israel last week was unconscionable and horrific and it truly saddens me. Yet, Palestinian suffering has EQUAL MERIT. Getting rid of Hamas doesn't justify killing loads of civilians, just as nothing justified killing all those Israelis. We are all human, but you wouldn't know it with the constant demonising of brown Muslims many people seem to relish online - especially of the subtle, wink wink nature. Such as confidently saying Jewish people have an ancestral claim to those lands without also acknowledging that expelling 700,000+ Palestinians from those lands is appalling - in fact, 'curiously' questioning why Palestinians even think they have any claim (what presumptuous brown idiots!), because of xyz flimsy as fuck 'logic'. Please extend that analogy to the US, Canada, Australia and NZ, and ask all European origin citizens to 'return' the Native Americans/First Nations their ancestral lands in that case - see how stupid and offensive that sounds? I'm brown, and was Muslim by accident of birth. I don't practise and am pretty much an agnostic, if not an atheist, but some of this discourse has me extremely upset and hurt - guess I still have those roots somewhere.

Yep, me too. Taught as part of O Level Lit, and our teacher really emphasised this speech as a highlight, eloquently depicting the cruel hypocrisy of the non-Jewish characters. I really came away hating them, and feeling for him. But enough derailing.

Entirely true, yet also convenient for him unfortunately.

https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/20/israelis-cheer-gaza-bombing Doubt all you want but it’s been known to happen. Sure this is old, but I wouldn’t be shocked if similar shit is happening now. Claiming no Israelis would ever celebrate Palestinian deaths is absolute bullshit.

Yes, actually we do. Many Israelis have been posting revolting shit online, either mocking the current plight of Palestinians or outright saying they should all be killed. Just like the Israelis who get out nice little lawn chairs to watch the bombardments, and the ones who illegally occupy Palestinian villages and homes with impunity. If you’re trying to imply one side is inherently worse or more evil than the other, that’s naive at best and utterly disingenuous at worst. Also, the Israeli government can’t exactly come out and officially claim they’d like to kill all Palestinians, but there sure as shit are several cunts in previous or current governments who seem to have no problem saying so, such as that ‘justice minister’ did a few years ago (linked in previous thread). And the government’s consistent actions that end up victimizing and killing Palestinians regularly - since decades - speak more eloquently than any statement would. Oh, also Hamas are unequivocally evil and I wish the entire organization would be destroyed and every single member killed. I also hope certain cunts in the Israeli government and IDF get tried for war crimes.

This is a baffling claim. Are you conferring some sort of moral high ground on the Israeli government because Hamas exists?? Did you read the NYT link @Zorral posted that talks about Netanyahu's dealings with Hamas? Also, 'Israel cares about dead children' seems laughably simplistic when you review the number of dead Palestinian children (hundreds in the last couple of days alone) , thanks to heavy bombing and other shit, by the Israeli government. But I guess that was all done with the deepest anguish, simply to eliminate Hamas, right? At no point in the last decade did the Israeli government simply shrug and move forward, despite knowing loads of Palestinian civilians and kids had died at their hands - wtf?? The reality is a bit different (and this individual was in the government): https://www.dailysabah.com/world/mid-east/israeli-lawmakers-kill-all-palestinians-remarks-resurface Then there's Yair Golan's statement about similar trends in Israel now, as existed in Europe before the Holocaust: https://www.timesofisrael.com/incoming-mk-yair-golan-again-compares-right-wing-to-nazis-drawing-ire/ And more recently, an ex IDF general on the ongoing illegal settlements: https://www.timesofisrael.com/ex-idf-general-likens-military-control-of-west-bank-to-nazi-germany/ Laying all the blame at 'Hamas human shields' (which is evil and something I acknowledge they do) seems to absolve Israel of any and all wrongdoing - weird when you look at actual facts.

Whilst it’s heartening to have rational voices, unfortunately they are totally sidelined in such situations, when bloodthirsty extremists on both sides have a clear agenda. It’s fucking tragic, imagining the horror Israeli civilians endured these last few days, and now the terror ordinary Palestinians are experiencing. As for Netanyahu, if this doesn’t get this massively corrupt cunt out of power, then fuck knows what will. I fear he’ll hang on with the excuse of handling the situation and the instability a change in leadership may bring.

The perspective of an Israeli in Jerusalem - she condemns Hamas unequivocally and also manages to acknowledge the treatment of Palestinians at the hands of the Israeli government/IDF. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/oct/09/israel-war-hamas-benjamin-netanyahu-government

Wow. It’s entirely possible to be appalled and fully condemn the atrocious, barbaric attack on civilians that Hamas has done, and be shocked at this sort of statement - how is this justified? Seems like you’re not aware of the constant atrocities IDF has inflicted on Palestinians for decades. Quite revealing, how many people in the West either seem oblivious or completely ok with that shit happening on a daily basis. Context matters, and pointing that out doesn’t mean one is condoning what Hamas has done. Sick of the blatant bias and one-sidedness.

There were also bad storms during the trip, so imagine lugging troops and horses through that. Not to mention the Romans' traditional aversion to the sea (despite Mare Nostrum, they preferred land travel and battle). He was definitely an incredible general, even if you accept a degree of embellishment in his Gaul commentaries. One of his strengths was speed: he covered huge distances with his legions regularly, often surprising his opponents.

I'd never heard of him but just Googled and was shocked - very problematic. Especially given he used to be a respected historian once. Bit wary of Ali quoting him.

Not just men! I honestly found that shit bizarrely misogynistic as a massive fan of Roman history (Republic only, especially the demise - Empire doesn't hit me the same way).

Have you read Tariq Ali's 'Winston Churchill: his life, his crimes'? I've started and it is scathing! Curious to know how you'd rate it, as to me it seems revelatory as a counterpoint to the standard Churchill stuff one sees in books and video - but it may also have quite a strong negative bias.

Yeah, James Purefoy was absolutely perfect in that role. Iconic. In fact, much of the cast were, especially Ciarin Hinds as Caesar.

Was he such a stellar politician though? He seems to have rather misjudged the mood of his key allies - many of his assassins were close to him, whether having been in his service since Gaul, or having rebelled/fought and being pardoned. In fact, while I personally thought his tactic of mercy was great, it put him in mortal peril. As per everything I've read (which is quite a bit), it was not a noble and altruistic desire to save the Republic that drove his killers, but personal motives and grievances.

I was just there - absolutely lovely, and quite a bit of historical sightseeing etc. I did visit the Abbey, of course, and we also drove to Canterbury. My partner is from Tunbridge Wells, so we ended up driving around from there into Kent/Sussex.

Here too, I agree. I'm not a fan of simply subbing a male character for a female one - for instance, all the stuff about a female James Bond etc. I rather agree with those who say it would be far more interesting to create an original female character in that space. I think a large part of this trend over the last decade or so is cynical money-grabbing on the part of networks and studios, and an uninspiring lack of originality. I also don't think 'strong' character necessarily = physically strong. When I think of kickass female characters, I think of Ellen Ripley, or Laura Roslin from BSG, for instance. A character can be superhumanly strong (like Buffy), but should also be layered, complex and multi-dimensional - and this goes for male and female characters. Out of curiousity, what are some 'flawless' female characters you've seen in entertainment? I can't think of any, but maybe I'm fairly limited in my viewing!

I actually agree. I much prefer well-rounded portrayals of both and imo there is a lot of content out there that does exactly this. I haven't seen Barbie yet, (caveat!) but from what I've read isn't it meant to be a satire and send-up of patriarchy in terms of its damaging effects on both women and men? I would also add that there is a lot of indignation and hand-wringing online about the increased focus on female characters - most of which just seems juvenile and far-fetched.

After around, oh, I don't know, thousands of years of men being not just in charge of the entire world but also having a monopoly on representation in history, culture, entertainment and so on, you'd think a mere 2 decades of more focus on female representation wouldn't spark this level of panic. It also doesn't have to be either/or, in fact. @TheLastWolf, I know you're Indian (hello, fellow South Asian!) and I've seen my share of Bollywood movies - isn't it a welcome change to have female characters who aren't relegated to sexy-sari-rain-dance sequences?

Succession is miles better than Yellowstone, and the final season was stellar imo. Sucks about Paddy - he truly deserved it.