manxman1980

I agree that the situation was always going to come to a head if nothing was done to stop it. It may just be because of the tone that comes across online but "needs to be dealt with" reads rather sinister. I continue to believe that there must be a better solution to the long term problems caused by the creation of modern day Israel. The problem now is that Israel has a far right leader and Gaza was controlled by the extremist group Hamas and the two were never going to come together and solve the problems.

Well, of course it is untenable now. The Israeli Government have flattened most of it. Let's rewind though before the horrific events in October. What were either side doing to reduce tensions and find a long term solution to Gaza and the West Bank? The world and the Leaders in the region must find a solution that allows Israelis and Palestinians to live peacefully together. Enclaves and exclusions are not going to work.

And yet Israel's actions have been called a probable genocide by an international court. What about the deaths in Gaza not directly linked to the fighting? Don’t forget the Israeli Government deliberately cut off water supplies to the enclave. There has now been a famine declared in Gaza because those 2.1 million people no longer have access to a reliable source of food. I accept in both cases that Hamas have hindered attempts to help but the Israeli Government has also directly caused these conditions. Both sides need to get around the table and talk about a resolution otherwise there will be a genocide and potentially an escalation of fighting in the region.

Which is understandable but you keep verging on saying that it is acceptable to wipe out an entire population in the hope of destroying a terrorist organisation. We know that Hamas is not solely based in Gaza and that their leaders are safely ensconced elsewhere.

I suppose the "helpful" bit is contingent on whether Putin is successful in trying to implicate Kyiv in the attack. It certainly sounds like he has tried. I am not surprised by the treatment that they have received. I am surprised that it was not a suicide attack to be honest but they must have know what would face them if they were caught.

The secondary question would be "where to?"

The other point I will add is that under UK law Gaza and the West Bank are viewed as occupied territory. That places a different responsibility on the occupying nation, in this case Israel. Just to reiterate I do not support Hamas. I do not object to Israel defending its citizens. I object to mass killings of innocent civilians on both sides. I have the same opposition to Russia's actions in Ukraine. Humanity is as divided now as it has ever been. Extremism seems to be everywhere at the moment. Sadly as climate change starts to bite we are going to see much more war and fighting over land and resources. In an ideal world people would realise that it is only through cooperation that Humanity has any hope of survival.

@P.K. you really think those remaining hostages are still alive? Between the brutality of Hamas and the actions of the Israeli Government I suspect they are all dead. Killing more people won't bring anyone back. Getting around a table might just save some lives though. The parallel I am drawing with Northern Ireland is how different terrorist organisations are viewed. How did the war on terror in Afghanistan go? Did the West get rid of ISIS? How about Al Queda? Fighting military campaigns against terrorist groups is not very effective unfortunately.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

The IRA was a terrorist organisation and killed many British citizens in Northern Ireland and England. Why wad it acceptable to negotiate peace with Sinn Fein (once known as the political wing of the IRA)? Why in your mind is/was the IRA different from Hamas? I have told you already. I don't know bur the starting point is to stop the killing on both sides. What is your proposed solution in Gaza and Israel? Stop trying to deflect and answer the question.

That it is a centuries old problem but at one point Jews, Christians and Muslims all lived together in what we know as Israel. Why is that no longer possible? I honestly don't know. So your solution is what? Wipe out all Palestinians? Should the UK killed all the Irish because of the IRA?

Again you oversimplify... I am not expert but the history of that whole region is problematic with power shifting between different groups over centuries. This didn't all start at the end of the second world war but the creation of the modern Israel was never going to go down well with the neighbouring countries and the people who were already living their. To then say that Egypt created the enclave and caused the problems is to somewhat misrepresent the reality. I genuinely believe that Israel was created for good reasons but I have no doubt that there was also some geo-politics at play. I could also argue, using your example, that given the history of Israel since 1948 that it will never be a viable entity as it will always be at risk from some of the neighbouring states who remain hostile to its creation. I don not believe that there are any easy solutions to this but genocide and killing of innocent civilians (by any party involved) is certainly not going to be the answer. That route only breeds more hatred, anger and desire for revenge.

I don't think I have read one comment on this thread that suggests that Israeli's are bad and Palestinians are good. I cannot answer on behalf of @TheTeapot but the reality is that Hamas have committed terrible atrocities and Israel is entitled to defend itself. The problem, as we all know, is how. The Israeli Government have taken the approach of flattening everything whilst apparently giving sufficient warning for civilians to move to safety. Hamas have certainly tried to hamper that but as you keep pointing out Gaza is not a big place. There are not that many places of safety left. We know from other countries, such as Afghanistan, that rooting out extremists is not a quick or easy protest. We also know that extremists will use the response as propaganda to call even more people to their view. Let us not forget that one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. I know it is easy to point at Hamas, Hezbollah, the IRA and say that they are (or were) terrorists but would you apply the same description to the resistance in France, Norway etc in the second world war? It appears that you have come to the conclusion that the only way to resolve this is to wipe out Gaza and it's population (or at best have them magically move to another Arab nation). I cannot come to that same conclusion but neither will I say that Israeli's are "bad". I do, however, question the Israeli Government and whether it has now gone beyond defence and into something else.

I am not going to argue with John here, however, I would say be careful when completing information for flights etc. Whilst Manx Nationality may not exist there are a number of companies that will let you select "Isle of Man" as your nationality when booking. If your passport then says British Citizen you may find yourself having to clarify when you travel which could delay you. This is at check in desks rather than at Passport Control but do bear in mind that any immigration documents may be checked for discrepancies and that may cause issues.

Certainly through the late 90's the Courier was printed on a Wednesday night.

The press was to small to cope with printing copies of the UK papers as well (especially on a daily basis). They would have needed a huge investment in a new press hall and printing press. They would have needed to import even more reels of paper as well. It is much more economical to print on the existing large presses in the UK and then transport them to the Island. The times when you can't get a paper doesn't bother the owners as the market here is too small for them to care.

I think you are missing the point.. there used to be a printing press on the Isle of Man but it was shutdown as it wasn't cost effective. It was felt cheaper and more cost effective to print them in the UK and ship them over. The printing press on the Island had 3 or 4 people to run it. Two or three people to move the printed papers around and about 15 people to collate the papers. The numbers varied depending on which paper it was. The Courier was always the most demanding as a copy was printed for every household. The Independent and Examiner were not so demanding and were smaller print runs but would still need around 12 people. To remove more people you would need a larger printing press which takes up more room and is more expensive to run and maintain. Doesn't make much sense for the amount of use it would get. They also had to import the reams of paper so there wasn't much of a cost saving. If it is done on weight then the finished papers are much lighter and easier to transport.

It was the Manx Papers (Courier, Independent and Examiner) that were printed there and the press itself was small. The newspapers often had to be printed in two sections and then manually collated. They would not have been able to cope with printing UK newspapers as well. A paper mill would not work on the Island either. It would be too expensive with no market.

Let's see what happens come November and the US Election. If Trump doesn't win all hell may break loose. They have tried an insurrection once. Don't be surprised if they do it again.

A bunch of gun carrying, religious extremists with a cult like devotion and unable to listen to reason.

Arguably the MAGA movement in the US is the equivalent of the perceived Islamic extremism

It really isn't funny though is it? Why? Because it promotes exactly the irrational islamophobia you say is a problem. I happen to know many muslims and not one of them is a terrorist or trying to take over the country. They are hardworking, volunteer in the local community (not just in Islamic communities) and the majority I encounter work in health care.

It was the spreading of anti-semitic tropes that was the issue. I think he could have phrased his comments about why Israel had failed to respond to the warning from Egypt in a better way. As I have said elsewhere it is possible that it was just everyday incompetence and not a deliberate decision by someone in the Israeli chain of command. The right wing press weren't the only ones who were critical of the comments. Everyone was but the Tory party definitely saw an opportunity to try and label the Labour Party as anti-semitic and pro-Palestine. It looks like @Max Power is just parroting that line. We, of course know, that despite having the most diverse cabinet in history, the Tory party have their own issues with Islamaphobia and racism.

You realise that Labour have been taking a hammering in recent weeks because they had not called for a ceasefire in Gaza? They are/were real concerns about Labour losing the votes of the Asian community. It was at the root of the problems with the Rochdale by-election and a major reason George Galloway was so successful. It was also the root of the arguments over the battle between the SNP, Labour and Tories about the wording of a motion in Parliament about a ceasefire.

Yes, United fans would certainly be in that group but won't be the only ones. As you said, it also keeps the title race interesting.