POLITICS CORNER

[PanBiker]

It was the media that demonised Corbyn when he was leader of the Labour Party.

Socialism is still a taboo word in what purports to be the Labour Party now. Criticizing Zionism as the root cause of the genocide in Gaza is also outlawed.

I am seriously challenged in continuing support for a party that is still supplying offensive weapons to Israel and turns a blind eye to International Courts who have ruled against the IDF's genocide. The planning of a giant ghetto for the surviving Palestinians and the starving of innocent people, again an act against International Law could very well be the final straw for me.

[Stanley]

I am in exactly the same position Ian and for the same reasons. The only thing that stops me walking away is the fact that I survived Blair but I get the feeling that Starmer's version of politics is more toxic and the results will be longer lasting. Like you, the jury is out.

THIS waffle from Starmer in response to a call for support of the Palestinians doesn't help....
More than a third of MPs have signed a letter to Sir Keir Starmer calling for the UK to recognise a Palestinian state. Some 220 MPs from nine political parties have backed the call, external - more than half of them Labour - arguing that UK recognition would send a "powerful" message and a vital step toward a two-state solution. The letter piles pressure on the prime minister after France committed to recognising a Palestinian statehood within months. In an earlier statement after an emergency phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron and Germany's Friedrich Merz, Sir Keir said recognising Palestinian statehood would have to be part of a "wider plan which ultimately results in a two-state solution". In his statement, Sir Keir said: "Alongside our closest allies, I am working on a pathway to peace in the region, focused on the practical solutions that will make a real difference to the lives of those that are suffering in this war. "That pathway will set out the concrete steps needed to turn the ceasefire so desperately needed, into a lasting peace. Recognition of a Palestinian state has to be one of those steps. I am unequivocal about that. "But it must be part of a wider plan which ultimately results in a two-state solution and lasting security for Palestinians and Israelis."
In other words he is trying to kick the matter into the long grass. There should be no hesitation! I am working on a pathway to peace in the region, focused on the practical solutions that will make a real difference to the lives of those that are suffering in this war. is nowhere near good enough!

[Stanley]

See THIS late news.....
Updated 43 minutes ago
Sir Keir Starmer has said the UK is working with Jordan on plans to drop aid into Gaza by air, after more than a third of MPs signed a letter calling on the government to recognise a Palestinian state. A small team of British military planners and logisticians is being made available to help Jordan get aid into the territory. On Friday, Israel said it would allow foreign countries to deliver air supplies in the coming days amid mounting international concern about humanitarian conditions in the territory. However, the UN and aid groups have consistently said airdrops will not get sufficient supplies into Gaza, while the falling crates can cause injury and chaos on the ground. In a statement early on Sunday, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it had started dropping aid into Gaza. Its airdrop "included seven packages of aid containing flour, sugar, and canned food". The head of the UN's Palestinian refugee agency has warned that such efforts are "a distraction" that will fail to properly address deepening starvation.
The head of the Palestinian refugee agency is quite right but I would go further and say it's a smoke screen designed to make it look as though we are doing something when we know perfectly well that this is nowhere near enough. This is a Palestinian Holocaust and I simply don't understand how Israel can even contemplate it, let alone pursue it as an active policy......
This is not anti-Semitic, it is recognition of reality.

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report.
Israel has responded to sustained and growing international condemnation that it is responsible for starvation in Gaza by announcing a series of measures the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said would "improve the humanitarian response". It is allowing airdrops of aid, carrying out the first one itself during the night and allowing the United Arab Emirates air force to follow with another later on Sunday. The IDF also announced that it would allow a "tactical pause in military activity" in some areas and set up "designated humanitarian corridors… to refute the false claim on intentional starvation." Hamas has condemned the moves as a "deception". Israel, it said, was "whitewashing its image before the world". Israel later carried out an airstrike during the "tactical pause." Reports from the scene say a mother called Wafaa Harara and her four children, Sara, Areej, Judy and Iyad were killed.

[PanBiker]

They need hundreds of trucks per day not showcase minor air drops which run the risk of injuring folk on the ground which according to reports has already happened. Not sure if that is what Stanley refers to above.

[Stanley]

See THIS latest BBC post on starvation in Gaza.
There is "real starvation" in Gaza, Donald Trump has said, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted there was no such thing. Asked if he agreed with Netanyahu that it was a "bold-faced lie" to say Israel was fuelling hunger in Gaza, the US president replied: "I don't know... those children look very hungry... that's real starvation stuff." Speaking during a meeting with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Scotland, Trump said: "Nobody's done anything great over there. The whole place is a mess... I told Israel maybe they have to do it a different way." His comments came after the UN's humanitarian chief said "vast amounts" of food were needed to stave off starvation.
Will this from Trump make any difference?

THIS is head of UK political news on BBC channel today....
Updated 23 minutes ago
Sir Keir Starmer will hold an emergency UK cabinet meeting on Tuesday to discuss a peace plan and aid efforts for Gaza, after warnings of mass starvation in the territory. The prime minister presented a European-led peace plan for Gaza to Donald Trump, during a meeting in Scotland with the US president on Monday. It follows a call with leaders of France and Germany over the weekend after US-led peace talks broke down last week, Downing Street said. It comes amid renewed international and domestic pressure on the prime minister to immediately recognise Palestinian statehood.
While politicians talk kids in Gaza starve..... That's all that matters!

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report about the ongoing row over the 'Jimmy Savile' remark....
Nigel Farage has urged Technology Secretary Peter Kyle to "do the right thing and apologise" after he suggested that by opposing the government's online safety law, the Reform UK leader was on the side of sex offenders like Jimmy Savile. Reform has said it would scrap the new law, arguing it does not protect children and suppresses free speech. Kyle told Sky News the law was a "huge step forward" for online safety, adding: "Make no mistake if people like Jimmy Savile were alive today he would be perpetrating his crimes online - and Nigel Farage is saying he is on their side." Farage called the minister's comments "absolutely disgusting" and asked: "Just how low can the Labour government sink?" Kyle refused to back down after Farage's criticism, saying on social media: "If you want to overturn the Online Safety Act you are on the side of predators. It is as simple as that."
What we have here is a clumsy remark by the Labour minister and attention seeking from Farage, his usual mode when he makes statements.
We pay them for this and while they argue the country goes to hell in a basket.

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report on Canada's actions re. Gaza.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has said Canada plans to recognise a Palestinian state in September, becoming the third G7 nation to make such an announcement in recent days. Carney said the move depends on democratic reforms, including the Palestinian Authority holding elections next year without Hamas. His remarks come a day after the UK announced it would recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel agreed to a ceasefire and other conditions and a week after France unveiled a similar plan. Israel's foreign ministry rejected Canada's announcement, calling it "a reward for Hamas". Most countries - 147 of the UN's 193 member states - formally recognise a Palestinian state. Carney said Canada would formally recognise the state of Palestine at the upcoming UN General Assembly. He cited the expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza, and the 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel by Hamas as reasons behind Canada's dramatic shift in foreign policy. "The level of human suffering in Gaza is intolerable and it is rapidly deteriorating," Carney told reporters on Wednesday.
I rate Mark Carney and think that this intervention is important. Many will take notice of it.