RuamRudy

He isn't Nostradamus, he is just a woman beating, drug dealing, convicted fraudster and coward of a man who has a talent for grifting off those who are open to his brand of (sometimes) nuanced racism. Those who defend him are cult followers.

I did, but I would much prefer that @transam explained so that his meaning is not misconstrued.

Yes, I acknowledged that in the earlier part of that sentence that you did not include. Can I request that you don't selectively quote me, please?

His plight? What might that be? The challenges of getting hard drugs? The challenges of standing up for your paedo friends against a press hostile to such people? The challenges of beating up women without the police getting involved? Or maybe committing fraud without getting caught? Poor lad's got it tough indeed.

Do feel free to explain the joke because it's gone right over my head.

A good example of the fluidity and adaptability of language - and how mediation can resolve controversies! I am intrigued that such a thing as the Flag Institute actually exists!

Fair enough - personally, I don't see that celebrating your heritage is taking credit for it; more, to me it's being in awe of it and, I suppose, being a little bit proud that you descend from that stock. Vain and pointless, possibly, but as long as it's not of the supremacist type of nationalism, essentially harmless.

No problem - lots of British people call it the Union Jack too; it's more my pedantry than anything else.

The Union Flag (not Jack) is the flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The flag of England is the St George's Cross.

Why does any country fly it's flag? In the case of England, few countries have been more influential over the past 1000 years. The history of England, whilst both tragic and shocking at times, is also breathtaking and fascinating. If I was English I would want to see that celebrated in the same way other countries also proudly display their flags.

The flag of St George should be proudly flown from every public building in England. Sadly there are many who still see it as being tarnished by it's use by far right extremists, from the BNP to the EDL and now this crop of racist grifters. The way to rehabilitate the image of the flag is to reclaim it. It doesn't belong to the racists; it belongs to every English man and woman. It flown with pride throughout the land.

True, I was referring to more contemporary times but you are correct to point out that the historic actions of the British in Ireland were horrific, as they were in countless other countries over the centuries.

Why are you encouraging the ethnic cleansing of an indigenous people.

I think it's because it's not a Muslim only phenomena. In fact, it makes sense to highlight this fact. Most people are aware of the ultra conservative views of some Muslim countries, but sadly this backward thinking is not restricted to them. This article shows that bigotry exists on a wider plain than just the Islamic world.

You seem quite upset about what consenting adults get up to in the privacy of their own homes. Why does it bother you so much?

I am guessing that the warning was because you used it as a dig at the username of another poster.

Why should whether a people subscribe to 'western values' be the arbiter of whether they should be relived of oppression, especially when, as you admit, the very notion of 'western values' is subjective? There are plenty of countries that reject 'western values' but live in peace, indeed in collaboration with, the west.

It certainly did. It shows that you recognise that renaissance are not overnight, spontaneous events. They come through the freedom of individuals to act and think independently. Fundamentally, we all have the same basic needs and desires. When it boils down to it, there is zero reason to assume that Palestinians are and different to the rest of us. The question therefore is, should we continue to allow Israel to oppress, dispossess and dehumanise them because we don't like the people in charge of them, or should we recognise that they have a fundamental right to the same freedoms we enjoy? Admittedly, there will be issues along the way. Generations of anger at how Israel and the world has abused them cannot be washed away in an instant, but with support from the rest of the world, hopefully a prosperous and peaceful Palestine can return.

What led to liberal western values? So you think that they have always been there?

Or maybe they recognise that the first step to becoming an inclusive society is to become a free society? It is barely 30 years since same-sex activity was decriminalised in Ireland - the west might be leading the way in that respect but this is a relatively new phenomenon.

Every demographic below 65yo + is in favour of rectifying this colossally stupid error. It surely has to come - we will return to Europe.

And No-one holds a candle to you. Sturgeon is history - just like the Tory party are going to be for the next 2 GEs at least. Hopefully that's long enough to reverse the damage done by the racists and allow Britain to return to the EU, albeit on much poorer terms.

Have you had a look at the lot that are going to be chucked into the political wilderness for at least a generation by a country sick to death with their lies and corruption? They make starmer look like a saint!

Who'd have thought that the venn diagram of agreeable views between similarly empathetic individuals wasn't always represented by perfectly overlapping circles?

The growing sense of panic within the right wing press, especially the Telegraph, is a glorious thing to see.